Hunted Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  “Where will it be?”

  “There’s a small lot for visitors not far away. Just a short walk. Any other questions?”

  “Will I be safe to leave the longhouse to talk with them?”

  “If you’re seeking refuge from magic, then there’s no guarantee. The moment you step outside, you can be spotted by anyone using a locator spell at that moment. It’s a risk you have to consider yourself.”

  “Can my friends come here?”

  “They can step on the porch while you stay inside. You can wave them over or send someone for them. We have a few of our people working in here who don’t need the refuge. They’ll help you any way you need it. Anything else?”

  I shook my head, suddenly feeling like a prisoner.

  “Pick a room, gather your things, and then get to work. You must be useful before you eat, and the next mealtime is approaching.”

  “Okay. Thanks again.”

  She nodded and walked away. I leaned against the wall and tried to let everything settle in. At least Toby’s old pack couldn’t find me—hopefully they would give up soon or better yet, get killed off. Then we could all focus on breaking the curse of the moon or at least finding a workaround, but that would have to be put off once again until this new problem was resolved.

  My eyes misted. I was suddenly so tired—tired of all the fighting and stress, tired of the problems shifting brought, and most of all, tired of the old werewolves constantly getting in between Toby and me having our happiness together.

  I took a deep breath, cleared my throat, and headed for the door. As soon as I stepped onto the porch, my bones started popping. I jumped back inside, it stopped immediately.

  “What the…?” I stuck an arm out there, and fur started to slice through. I snapped it back in, and the fur retracted.

  Then it hit me. I was upset—that was my trigger to shift. And the anti-magic warding of the building protected me from it. If I wanted to go out and grab my things, I needed to calm down first. Luyu had told me to pick a room first. I took another deep breath and wandered down the hall, thinking only about that. Other thoughts that surfaced, I pushed aside until I’d managed to stabilize my emotions.

  There were several small rooms to choose from on this side of the building. All were quite plain, with just wooden walls and floors and mats made out of leather. Decorative blankets hung on the wall. There were no windows. After going up and down the hall a few times, I chose the one nearest the door.

  I was sure I’d calmed down enough not to shift if I went outside, so I headed out to gather my things. The others weren’t in sight—probably busy getting what they needed for their tent.

  The SUV was unlocked, so I went in. My stomach rumbled as soon as I saw the cooler and picnic basket. I didn’t feel like waiting for the allotted mealtime—how could I be sure I’d even like what they offered me?—so I dug into the picnic basket and scarfed down a sandwich. Then another, and washed it down with a bottle of water.

  I went around back and pulled out my suitcase. Just as I was about to close the door, Brick, Soleil, and Carter ran over, their faces flushed.

  “Are you guys okay?” I asked.

  Brick gasped for air. “Toby’s old pack was spotted in town.”

  My stomach twisted. I needed to stay calm until I got back to the longhouse. “You guys should head back and help them.”

  Soleil shook her head. “We can’t leave you.”

  “Toby needs you more.” I turned to Carter. “You can go, too. As long as I’m in there,” — I glanced at the longhouse — “I can’t shift.”

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  I nodded. “I got upset, but didn’t shift. Go. Toby needs you more than I do right now.”

  The three of them exchanged worried glances.

  “I’m safe here, completely protected from magic. The longer I stand out here, waiting for you guys to leave, the longer I’m vulnerable.”

  “I don’t know…” Brick said. “I promised Toby we’d keep you safe.”

  “And you’ve done your part. I’m here. Safety is yards away.”

  “She’s right,” Soleil said. “We can always return.”

  “Go,” I urged. “I’ll be fine. That’s what he’s concerned about. He needs you more than I do right now.”

  Soleil put her arms on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “We’ll be back as soon as we can.”

  “Take all the time you need.” I lifted my luggage and stumbled toward the longhouse as my ribs began popping.

  Chapter 6

  Toby

  I paced the attic, kicking up dust with each step I took. Sneezing, I looked out the window. The long driveway was still empty. I wanted to head downstairs where the rest of the pack was, but these windows allowed me to see the farthest in any given direction. We didn’t know if my father’s pack was going to come barreling down the driveway in trucks or sneak in through the woods. Neither would surprise me, but so far, there wasn’t a sign of them anywhere.

  Sounds of someone climbing the ladder sounded. I spun around to see who it was.

  Jet pulled himself up and brushed some dust off his pants. “Brick and Soleil are headed back. Apparently, Carter’s with them.”

  “Who’s with Victoria? I didn’t mean for them to abandon her!”

  “Brick assures me she’s safe with the bears. She practically forced them to come and help you.”

  That sounded like her. “But what if she shifts? Now she has the opposite problem as before—too much shifting could hurt her.”

  “Brick said the anti-magic prevented her from shifting when she got upset.”

  “At least that’s something. Did you hear anything else about my father’s pack?”

  Jet shook his head no. “Last I heard, one of Tap’s people spotted them in a gnarly biker bar just outside of town.”

  “Thank goodness for Tap and his many ‘eyes’. When was that?”

  “About a half hour ago. Want me to give him another call?”

  “No, I will. Do you know how far off Brick and Soleil are?”

  “Probably close. They’re going as fast as his car will allow while listening to the police scanner.”

  “Of course.” They were standard in all our vehicles. I took a deep breath and glanced out the windows, still not seeing anything unusual. “Okay. Once my father arrives, we head outside. If we can help it, I want all the fighting done outside.”

  “I’ll make sure the others know.” Jet climbed down the ladder.

  I continued my pacing, checking each window as I passed and sneezing every so often. My pulse drummed in my ears. The only thing that gave me any peace was knowing Victoria was safely tucked away from magic, surrounded by powerful werebears. The rest of us, on the other hand, had our work cut out for us.

  My father’s pack was larger and they followed no moral compass. They would kill anyone in the way of what they wanted until they got it. Unfortunately, Victoria was on the list now.

  “But she’s safe,” I muttered. I paced around a few more times before pulling out my phone and calling Tap.

  “Toby, my friend,” he answered. “How are you?”

  “Still waiting.”

  “My source says they’re still at the human biker bar, getting drunker by the moment.”

  “That could be to our advantage.”

  “Or it could just make them even more reckless.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “I can always count on your optimism.”

  The former troll king laughed. “The more prepared you are for what’s coming, the better. Someone said that one of your wolf’s vehicles was spotted just outside of town in the opposite direction.”

  “That would be Brick with Soleil and Carter.”

  “I assume Victoria’s safe with the bears?”

  “That’s what I hear.”

  “Good. They’ll keep their word from what I know about the species, which isn’t much. They keep to themselves mostly. I need to get going. I’ll
give you a call if I hear anything new.”

  “I appreciate it, Tap.”

  “My pleasure.” The call ended.

  I stuck the phone in my back pocket and paced, despite the news that my father could be a ways away. If they were getting drunk, it would be even harder to deal with them. They wouldn’t get clumsier—they would turn even meaner and more fearless, not to mention harder to reason with. All the more reason to just take them out completely.

  I’d killed them before. I could do it again, especially with Victoria’s safety at stake.

  The sky grew dark outside as I continued my pacing. Brick’s SUV came down the driveway, and sure enough, three of the four who’d left had returned. As much as I would have rather had them with Victoria, I had to admit it was nice to have the added help here. My father likely had no experience against a valkyrie. Maybe not a jaguar, either. He’d worked with them, sure, but probably not against any.

  Eventually the sky turned light again. My eyes grew heavy. Was that my father’s plan? To tease us, tire us out, and then overpower us? I needed some sleep, and soon. Even just a small power nap would help.

  I climbed down the ladder and went downstairs to the bottom level, finding much of our pack asleep in the main living room. Brick came over from the direction of the kitchen. “Hungry?”

  “Yes, but more tired. I need someone to watch from the attic while I catch some Z’s.”

  “Consider it done.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  “No problem.” Brick turned around. “Hey, Carter. Go up to the attic and watch for the other pack.”

  I chuckled and headed up to my room, glancing in at Victoria’s briefly. I took a deep breath, but couldn’t find a trace of her sweet aroma. We’d all sat in her room for several hours after she left, doing our best to cover her scent. Clearly, it had worked. In fact, I couldn’t pick up a trace anywhere in Moonhaven.

  I went into my room and closed the door behind me without turning the lights on. My body begged me for some sleep, but I went over to the window and lifted a blind. Everything looked good outside, at least from my limited view. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up over me and closed my eyes, giving into my exhaustion.

  My mind didn’t give me rest as I slept, though. I dreamed of battles long gone, trying to pick up on the strategies that had worked before with a whole host of creatures—vampires, werewolves, dragons, and more. I’d seen a lot over the years, and yet having to kill my father for a second time gave me more grief than all the rest. Despite everything he’d done, he was my father, after all. But he wanted to hurt Victoria, so he left me no other alternative.

  Commotion outside woke me. Heart pounding, I sat up and threw aside my covers. I tried to make out what people were saying, but couldn’t. I hurried downstairs, trying to shake off the fog of sleepiness.

  “What’s going on?” I demanded.

  Sal, one of my long-time guards, turned to me. “Tap just called and said your father’s pack was seen headed this way.”

  I looked at everyone running around. “Grab weapons and head outside. I don’t want them in our home if we can help it.” I grabbed a dagger I kept hidden in a cupboard and then dug around for a gun with silver bullets. We also had things stashed outside. After everything I’d been through, I wasn’t one to leave things to chance.

  I found my coat near the door and tucked my weapons safely inside. My pulse raced, as I didn’t know what to expect. Did my father have even an inkling of regret as I did? Or was he so blindly focused on revenge that he didn’t care on any level?

  Outside, pack members stood in position all around the house and near the gate. The rumbling of engines sounded down the driveway. I stared at our wrought iron electric fence. It had kept us well protected up until this point, but nothing was ever certain with my father.

  I saw the dust before the cars. A cloud showed from as far as I could see down the driveway and grew larger as it came closer to Moonhaven. The rumble of the engines grew louder. Dirt blew in through the fence and covered us. I coughed and waved my hands in front of my face.

  Tires slowed to a stop over the gravel on the other side of the fence. Engines cut, one after another. The air cleared. My old pack climbed out of Land Rovers, Jeeps, and tricked-out pickup trucks. They stood in a line, wordlessly, in front of the gate, each brandishing automatic or semi-automatic weapons. Some members climbed on the hoods of vehicles and held their guns high. They all wore leathers, spikes, and stoic expressions. It would have been less unsettling if they appeared angry or fierce as I would’ve expected.

  Several of my pack glanced over at me, obviously waiting for me to make the first move or give them instruction. I studied our visitors. They outnumbered us three to one, and that was if more weren’t on their way.

  I adjusted my coat around me and sauntered up to the gate, keeping my focus on my father, who stood in the middle of the line. He jutted his jaw and stepped forward, keeping his expression steady.

  “What do you want?” I stopped an inch from the electric gate.

  “You don’t know?”

  “Me?” I clenched my fists and readied them to grab one of my weapons.

  He laughed cruelly. “That would be too easy. No, son, you need to suffer. If the past has taught me one thing, it’s that Victoria is key to your agony.”

  “You’re not going to kill her again.”

  “I don’t intend to. At least not for a while. We’re going to torture her until she begs for death, and then keep hurting her. And then you can blame yourself for it. If only you’d followed the rules of our species, but you had to break away from our pack and ignore every rule set in place.”

  “The rules have no point. We can all live in peace, you know.”

  Several behind him laughed.

  “That’s not for you to decide, now is it? You may have been born next in line as an alpha, but it wasn’t for you to act like one while I was still alive. Sneaking out of my house to marry the daughter of my enemy. You couldn’t have dishonored me more, son.”

  My nostrils flared. “If you expect an apology from me—”

  “Hardly. You have no respect for me or our long-honored traditions. Hand over Victoria before we make your new pack suffer the consequences.”

  My eyes widened with surprise.

  “That’s right. I have more than one way to get what I want out of you.”

  I straightened my back. “She’s not here.”

  “Don’t try me, boy. We have this place surrounded.”

  My stomach dropped, but I kept my face from showing emotion. I spun around slowly, studying the woods around the property. Sure enough, I could see people standing among the trees. Either he’d quadrupled the size of his pack or he was working with quite a few others.

  I turned back to my father. “She isn’t here. Do you smell her? Has a locator spell shown that she’s here? If that’s the case, you need a new witch.”

  He stepped closer, only inches from me. Either one of us could’ve reached between the bars and strangled the other, but the buzzing of the charged fence warned us from doing anything so stupid.

  “Where is she?” He patted his gun and tapped the pistol grip. “Let’s not make this get ugly.”

  I took a deep breath. “She had some business to take care of—far away. I don’t even know her location, so you can’t beat it out of me.”

  Father’s lip curled and he scanned the property behind me. “If that’s the case, let us have a look around. Like I said, I have no intention to kill you. It’s her I want.”

  Anger surged through me, but I managed to keep from showing it. “Why should I let you in?”

  “We have the place surrounded. Either I look around with permission or by force. The choice is yours.” His nostrils flared and his eyes narrowed. He tapped the rifle again. “What will it be?”

  I gritted my teeth. What other choice did I have? I gave a slight nod.

  “If it turns out she’s here, then y
ou’ll be the only remaining member of your pitiful ‘pack.’”

  Chapter 7

  Toby

  I punched in the code for the gate, and it opened. My father stepped onto my land. I glared at him. “One call from me will bring in a multitude of powerful supernatural creatures.”

  “No need for threats, son. If we don’t find her, we won’t so much as disturb a speck of dust.” He pushed past me, followed by the rest of his pack. Only the ones standing on vehicles remained in place.

  “Hey!” I narrowed my eyes. “I said you could look.”

  My father spun around and glared at me. “My pack and I are one. Don’t test me, boy.”

  “The others remain where they are.” I glanced around the woods. The hiding werewolves stayed put, also.

  “Fine.” My father and his pack marched toward my home.

  Fury made my veins pulsate. All it would take would be one motion from my father, and they would all come out and attack. I should have sent word for Tap to send in some of the toughest guys he knew, but I hadn’t expected my father to come with so many others.

  My old pack members glared at me as they walked past me and sniffed my property. Most of them I’d known since I had been learning to walk. Old friends glowered at me with expressions showing they wished my father would give them permission to kill me on the spot.

  My current pack looked at me for direction. I just nodded for them to hold their positions. My father and two of his sidekicks went toward the front door.

  Trembling with anger, I followed them. My father turned to me. “You can wait out here, son.”

  “Stop calling me that.”

  “I’ll call you anything I want, boy. Stay.” The three of them went inside.

  My feet remained in place, following the law of the alpha. He was my natural alpha, but I’d broken free of his hold centuries before. I fought my legs and walked to the doorway. Father crept up the stairway while one of his men went toward the main living room and the other one into my office.

  Crashes sounded from in the mansion. It took all of my self-control to remain outside. I wanted to run in and throw the werewolves against the walls and shoot them with my silver bullets. But if I did that, my entire pack would be dead within a matter of minutes.