Hunted Wolf

by Stacy Claflin

  Luyu’s eyes narrowed even more, barely revealing slits of color. “You need to leave.”

  Akule stepped up next to her. “Now.”

  I clenched my jaw. “Not until we have answers. I need to know where my fiancé is.”

  “This is your last warning.” Luyu’s voice was practically a growl.

  Carter motioned for me to return to the Hummer.

  I crossed my arms. “You were supposed to protect her.”

  Luyu reached for the sky and cried out. She shifted into a large grizzly before my eyes, sending shreds of her dress in all directions. She roared. The noise echoed all around and shook the ground. Akule also shifted into a huge bear.

  “Come on,” Carter urged. He stepped toward the Hummer.

  I held Luyu’s gaze. She roared again, this time reaching her claws toward my face. I stood taller, refusing to back down. Luyu roared, sending spittle onto my face. I wiped it, but stared her down. There was no way I would stand to be scared off twice in such a short period of time.

  “Toby!” Carter exclaimed.

  I looked into Luyu’s eyes and then Akule’s. “I’m not here to fight, nor will I judge you for her running off. We need to find her, and fast.”

  “We need to go,” Carter said. “They like me, and I’m afraid.”

  “I’m not. Will you help me find her?”

  Luyu shifted back into human form. I kept my gaze on her face. Her nostrils flared. “You may look around the longhouse for clues. Gather her things, but ask no more favors. We tried to help, but she rejected it.”

  “I’ve rejected nothing, and I’m certain she had a good reason to take off.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Gather the girl’s things.”

  “You hate werewolves, right?” I stepped closer to her.

  “Toby!” Carter said.

  “Of course. Especially the men.” Luyu’s mouth formed a straight line.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Carter smack his forehead.

  I took another step toward Luyu. Akule roared, stepping closer to me. I ignored him and kept my focus on Luyu’s eyes. “Well, I happen to be fighting one of the cruelest and deadliest werewolves of all time.”

  Luyu’s eyebrows raised.

  “You’ll find me to be a valuable ally. Help us fight James Foley and his wolves, and the majority of the evil werewolves will be eliminated. I once led the world’s werewolves in peace. We co-existed with vampires, even.”

  “I heard about that.”

  “Will you work with us?”

  “If you agree to help us should we ask you sometime.”

  “Deal.” I extended my hand.

  She shook it. “I will prepare my people.”

  “Thank you.” I turned around and headed for the longhouse to gather Victoria’s things. Carter stared at me, eyes wide and face pale.

  Chapter 14

  Toby

  “Slow down,” Carter warned. “Getting pulled over isn’t going to help anything.”

  “I can outrun the cops.”

  “This isn’t you. You want the pack to have a solid reputation with the humans.”

  “Isn’t me?” I fumed. “Maybe that’s the problem. I’m too nice. Weak.”

  “Weak? No, definitely not.”

  “I was humiliated and overpowered by my father—on my own property!”

  “Your dad came in with automatic weapons and a werewolf army. Nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re still an alpha worthy of respect.”

  I snorted. “Right.”

  “It’s true. And you really should slow down. You won’t be able to do much for Victoria while sitting in a jail cell if you get caught speeding.”

  “You think I can’t take on a cop or two?”

  “I think you’re letting your anger have too much control.”

  I grumbled, but didn’t say anything. However, I did ease off the gas slightly.

  We sat in silence for a while. As we neared town, Carter spoke up. “What’s the plan?”

  “Locator spells. We’re going to find Victoria and my father, and then take everyone who will go with us. I’ll kill my father once and for all, then bring back Victoria.”

  “I’ll give Soleil a call and let her know. She can spread the word for everyone to be ready.”

  “Sounds good.” I clutched the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. Fury pulsed through me like a raging dragon. I would find them and kill my father.

  At a stoplight, I plugged the earpiece into my phone and called Frida, giving her a heads-up about the locator spells.

  “I’ll run the spell in her bedroom,” Frida said. “Being surrounded by her things will give it more power. As for finding your father, I’ll wait for you. We’ll use your blood.”

  “Thanks, Frida.” I ended the call.

  Carter turned to me. “Soleil is going to spread the word. She’s going to tell everyone to head for Moonhaven, unless you say otherwise.”

  I shrugged. “Sounds as good as anything.” My mind swam, making it hard for me to make a decision.

  By the time we made it back to the mansion, three times as many vehicles were parked along the fence.

  “Looks like Soleil kept her word,” Carter said.

  “I hope Frida had luck finding Victoria.” I scrambled out of the Hummer and ran inside. The house was filled with the buzz of conversation. I nodded toward a few guests who greeted me and then rushed upstairs to Victoria’s room.

  Frida gave me a sad smile from where she sat in front of a circle of candles, petals, and bowls. “It appears she’s safe, but she’s almost in the exact location I saw your father last time.”

  I threw my coat on the bed and sat on the floor across from her. “Time to find out if he’s still there.”

  “Your hand.”

  “Wait. Doesn’t blood have to do with black magic?” I almost didn’t care, as long as we found Victoria and my father. But given the lengths Gessilyn always went to avoid the dark arts, I had to ask.

  “Usually, but right now it has to do with finding a blood relative. We’re still in the realm of good magic.”

  I held my arm over an empty bowl. Frida handed me a knife. I sliced my palm and squeezed the blood into the bowl. She touched the wound, and it healed immediately.

  “We need to hold hands.”

  She took both my hands. I closed my eyes, knowing the request was coming. Frida spoke in a foreign language and a breeze rustled around us, bringing the aromas of the candles and flowers to my nose. My feet fidgeted as I waited impatiently for the results.

  “Please sit still or this won’t work.”

  I forced my feet into submission. Then my thumb started tapping. “I’m trying.” I took a deep breath and tried to clear my mind. It seemed I couldn’t get anything right today.

  Somehow, I managed to remain still. After what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, the breeze stopped and Frida let go of my hands.

  My eyes flew open. “What did you see?”

  “He’s still in the same general area. There were some mixed signals. I assume because your old pack is nearby, and of the same bloodline.”

  I nodded. “Our pack has been intermarrying for centuries. That’s why they’re out to get me.”

  “That explains it. I’m not sure exactly where your father is, but they’re close to her.”

  “Do you know anything about the mutt she’s supposed to be with?”

  “These spells just give me locations.”

  I jumped up and paced. “Can you do anything to help us once we find my old pack? They want to hurt her, and there are a lot more of them than us. We’re rounding up others, but I have no idea how much help we’re actually going to get.”

  Frida gathered the petals. “I can do plenty. Do you want me to use runes to send people other places? Do you want me to send them into other time periods? I can work on something to make your pack temporarily more powerful. Should I go on?”

  My mind spun. As ni
ce as it would be to send them to a different time period, I didn’t want to mess with changing the past or future. “Where can you send them?”

  “Anywhere I can place a rune. I can send them back here or to another country. Since we’re on a time crunch, it’d have to be somewhere I can get to with a rune now—somewhere I’ve already been.”

  “As tempting as that sounds, I don’t know if it’s actually a good plan. We’d have to eventually kill them, anyway. It’d just be putting off the inevitable.”

  “It’s up to you. I can work on something to boost your strength.”

  I stopped and stared at her. “Can you come up with something to get us to shift without the moon?”

  “Sure. Do you have a month? Maybe more?”

  “No.”

  “Then let’s focus on the problem at hand. Head downstairs and make your plans. I’ll get to work on a spell.”

  “Thanks, Frida. I really appreciate this. Your family has already done so much.”

  “Glad to help. You guys have become friends. I want to see Victoria safe, too.”

  “We’ll throw you guys a party or something once all this is over.”

  “Just save your girl.” She turned and gathered the remaining items from the circle. “Go.”

  I spun around and went downstairs. Even more people had filled Moonhaven. I nodded a hello to the ones near the stairs and went to the kitchen. Brick and Bobby both stood at the stove, working furiously.

  Brick turned to me. “We’re never going to be able to feed all these people.”

  “We don’t have to.” My stomach rumbled, reminding me of the impending full moon. “We need to start traveling north and find Victoria before my father’s pack does. They’re all north, near the ocean.”

  “Everyone’s going to be weak without food—and lots of it.”

  “We can get them to hit some drive-thrus on the way up. It’s going to take too much time right now. Let’s pack this up and get going.”

  Bobby poured some stew into a bowl. “Just eat. You look like you’re going to pass out.”

  My stomach rumbled again, and I started to feel light-headed. Had my father timed it this way on purpose?

  “Take it.”

  I grabbed the stew and sat down. A troll who reminded me of Tap sat next to me, talking with some others around the table. I scarfed down the food, listening to them discuss the terrain near the tip of the peninsula. My mind continued to spin. I took another two bowls of the meaty stew until I finally felt stable enough to lead the enormous group.

  I called everyone’s attention. So many came into the kitchen that not everyone fit. “This isn’t going to work.”

  “Sure it will,” Brick said. “Just tell us what to do.”

  “Okay.” I climbed onto the table, feeling a lot steadier than before I’d eaten, and went over the details. “I’ve got pictures of most of the pack. They’re old, but everyone still looks the same. These are the people we need to kill.” I climbed down and made my way into my office to where I kept a family album.

  I opened to a page of my father and held it up. “This is their leader. He’s the most dangerous, but the others are nearly as bad as him.” I handed the album to the person nearest me and made my way toward the front door. “I’m leaving now. I suggest everyone stays close. Their power is in their numbers—we need the same.”

  Brick, Jet, Ziamara, Soleil, and Tap followed me to my Hummer. I gave Tap a double-take. “When did you get here?”

  “While you were eating. You think I’d miss this?”

  Chapter 15

  Victoria

  “Are you okay?” Stella asked.

  I couldn’t pull my attention away from my sister. It was definitely her, only with shorter hair and modern clothes. She stood with a group of people about our age. One guy with a backwards baseball hat and a skater shirt had his arm draped around her shoulders. They laughed about something and shared a kiss.

  She pulled some of her hair behind her ear—it barely stayed, as short as it now was. A girl beside her pointed to the next float and Elsie turned, delight filling her eyes as the float neared. It held a group of good-looking guys singing a popular song.

  “Victoria?” Stella asked.

  “My sister’s over there.”

  “What?” Stella exclaimed. “The one you’ve been looking for?”

  “Yeah. Across the street in the purple and green top.”

  “The one with the skater boy attached to her?”

  I nodded, still taking in the sight of Elsie standing there.

  “Are you going to talk to her?”

  “We can’t cross the street during a parade.”

  “Sure we can. We just have to run in between the acts. There’s plenty of room.”

  My heart nearly exploded out of my chest as my dream replayed. What if she wanted nothing to do with me?

  “Come on.” Stella tugged on my arm. “This float’s almost past.”

  I couldn’t move.

  “What’s the matter?”

  How could I explain my dream without sounding like a fool? It was just a dream, but it had felt so real. And given that Elsie hadn’t found me, it meant she probably hadn’t tried. It seemed like the entire supernatural world knew Toby and I were back together.

  That was it. Maybe Elsie was upset over that. I was returning to the life I’d always wanted. Hers had been destroyed. The human she’d gone to the dance with would’ve been long dead. Even if he’d returned after the other side released the dead, he’d have moved on with his life, having married and had children.

  “Victoria?”

  “I’m not ready.” I gasped for air and stared at my sister. She looked so happy. What if her seeing me ruined all that?

  “You haven’t seen her in how many years?” Stella asked. “I’ll bet she’ll be thrilled to see you.”

  I frowned. “She never once tried to find me all those years on the other side. I tried to find her, but she made no effort.”

  “Didn’t you head this way just so you could find her?”

  “Maybe.”

  “If she’s mad, I’ll deal with her. You need answers.”

  I swallowed and turned to Stella. “You know, you’re right.”

  “Of course I am, but now we have to wait for this marching band to go by.” She glanced around the crowd. “It looks like it’s going to be a while.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. That gave me some time to think about what to say to her—if I could think over the loud music and the cheers. The music vibrated through me, making it next to impossible to consider my words to Elsie.

  Finally, the band passed. Stella grabbed my arm and dragged me across the street before a float full of clowns made their way down the street. My mouth went dry as we neared Elsie. She and her friends laughed at the clowns, not noticing us.

  I jumped onto the sidewalk just as the float came to where we were. Something hard and small hit my head. I turned around. Clowns were throwing candy as children and a few teens chased after it.

  Stella pulled me through the crowd until we were right next to Elsie and her friends. They didn’t notice us. The guy wrapped around her made fun of the clowns and their entire group burst into a fit of laughter. Stella nodded toward them.

  I shook my head. What was I supposed to do? Just walk up to her and introduce myself as her formerly dead sister? Ask her how she’s been since our father killed her?

  My pulse raced through my body. If Stella hadn’t been standing there, clutching my arm, I would have turned away and ran. I knew she was safe and happy. That was what I’d been concerned about. Now I knew.

  “Go,” Stella urged.

  “No.”

  She arched a brow.

  I yanked my arm away from her hold and remained in place. She shoved me so that I stumbled directly into Elsie.

  “Hey, watch it!” She turned and glared at me. Her eyes widened and her face paled as recognition covered her face. “Victoria?”
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br />   The guy wrapped around her pulled her closer. “Are you okay, El?”

  She continued staring at me. “Yeah, this girl just bumped into me.”

  “Elsie—” I said.

  Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t call me that. In fact, don’t call me anything.”

  My heart shattered. The dream had been real—she wanted nothing to do with me. Regardless, I was there and needed to try. “Can’t we talk?”

  Elsie’s expression stiffened. “Nothing to talk about.”

  “It wasn’t my fault.”

  “I don’t care.”

  They moved around her, standing closer to me. “What are you talking about?”

  “Nothing,” Elsie said quickly.

  Tears stung my eyes. “There’s so much we need to talk about.”

  “Who are you?” asked the guy.

  “Drop it, Tray,” Elsie snapped.

  “Will you give me five minutes?” I asked. “Then I swear I’ll leave you alone forever if you want me to.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “And if I don’t?”

  “I won’t give up.”

  Elsie muttered under her breath and pulled from Tray’s hold. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Want me to stay with you?” asked Tray.

  “I’ll be fine.” She weaved through the crowd and broke free.

  I followed her to an empty picnic table. “Where have you been all this time, Elsie?”

  “I go by El now. Not that stupid, old-fashioned name with too many memories.” Her voice cracked. “What do you want?”

  I swallowed. “My only sister. I searched everywhere for you on the other side. Where were you?”

  She shrugged and stared at some initials etched into the table.

  Taking a deep breath, I stepped closer. “You know, I was killed that night, too.”

  Elsie stared at me, her eyes wide. She held my gaze, so I took that to mean she wanted to hear more.

  “I ran away from Father to Toby. We were going to leave together, but his father killed me.” I had to keep it short since she’d only given me five minutes.

  She studied me, still not saying anything.

  “Father and his pack are gone now—again. I found Toby after the other side opened, and then Father found us. Let’s just say that it didn’t work out for the pack. He and our brothers are gone, along with most of the leaders. Mother survived, but I haven’t actually talked to her. She didn’t do anything to protect me when the pack leaders—never mind. I don’t want to talk about this. I want to talk about you. Where have you been?”