by Michelle Fox
Audrey’s mouth went dry while her core practically flooded its banks. Tao finished his sandwich, while she struggled to keep her libido in check. He smirked at her as he made another one, seeming to know the effect he had on her.
To her relief, he changed the subject. “So once we’re done eating, I’m going to call Dan.”
“Dan? He’s your pack alpha?” she asked, not recognizing the name.
Tao gave a curt nod, his expression somber.
“Why so glum about it?” She ate more of her sandwich while she waited for his answer.
“We have a difference of opinion on how to handle Nick.” Tao ate his pb&j in two quick bites and started to make another one.
“He wanted you to kill Nick,” she guessed. Given the alpha had wanted to kill her, it made sense that Nick wasn’t any safer. If she was in charge with a psycho like Nick on the loose, she’d want to kill him to limit the damage to the pack. Of course, she would never go after innocents, though. That was just sick. Nick had made a choice, his victims hadn’t.
Tao gave a curt nod and stared at his sandwich, his gaze intense.
Audrey knew his feelings for his brother had been mixed from the beginning. She imagined, given the threat that Nick posed, there’d been some friction around Tao’s waffling. Not that she blamed him. Audrey didn’t envy Tao’s situation at all, but a choice had to be made. Delaying things wouldn’t make him like what had to happen any better.
“But you can’t kill him, can you?”
Tao took in a deep breath, his eyes full of anguish. “No. I tried.”
“I can do it,” she volunteered. Putting down an animal was never fun, but at least she knew how to do it humanely. “Enough sedative and he’ll never wake up.”
“Yeah, that might be a possibility.” His words agreed with her, but the way he stiffened in his seat implied he wasn’t happy about the idea.
Not wanting to argue, she let it go. “What are you going to tell your alpha?”
He dropped his sandwich on his napkin. “I don’t know.” Pushing his chair back, he stood up. “I need some fresh air. I need to think.”
Not waiting for her response, he crossed over to the sliding glass doors that made up the dining room’s back wall and went outside.
Audrey finished her coffee and tried not to feel guilty. She had to protect herself and the public. If Tao wasn’t able to do it, she would have to step up or Nick would make hundreds of werewolves who all had to obey his every word.
With a sigh, she cleared the table. Normally she was fastidious about doing the dishes right after a meal, but between her injured hand and her mood, she decided to skip it. Besides, it was time to give Nick another dose of sedative.
The thought crossed her mind to overdose him right then and there, but she held off because of Tao. She wouldn’t betray him, couldn’t destroy him like that or his feelings for her.
Because, whatever happened, she wanted Tao in her life. If letting Nick live a little longer was what it took, so be it.
***
Outside, Tao kicked at the grass in an effort to shake off his foul mood. Calling his alpha would only make it worse. He’d thought capturing Nick would improve the situation. Instead, it just meant he had to confront the choice that had been hanging over his head the last few days. Kill Nick or kill a bunch of humans, including Audrey, and turn Nick over to his pack to be killed. Either way, people died.
He ran a hand through his hair and swore under his breath. What an absolutely shitty situation.
For the first time in his life, being a werewolf sucked. He’d always loved it; the smells, the freedom, the power, but now he would give it all up if he could. Tao would rather never shift again than deal with the mess he was in, no thanks to his scheming brother.
How can I face my brothers after this?
Leo and Kai would never forgive him. They’d bonded into a small pack of their own in utero. It was a bond that drew them tighter together than even the family they were. They’d always stood together against the world. Hell, it wasn’t like the pack just took them in. They were wolf born, the stuff of legends and that had made the other wolves uneasy. When it became apparent they all had their own unique strengths, that had put even more distance between them and the rest of the pack. They’d had to fight for their places since before they were born, which probably half explained Nick’s total disregard for Dan.
Tao and his brothers handled the pack’s wariness in different ways. Leo kept to himself and would meet the definition of a hermit if not for the fact he spent time with his siblings. He was such a loner, the pack hadn’t seen him as a wolf since he was a pup. The gossip mill thought he turned into a lion because of his name and tawny good looks.
Kai had gone the medicine wolf route, which, on one hand, made the pack fear him even more because of his magic, and, on the other, granted him more respect. Either way, becoming the medicine wolf had given him his own role to fill in the pack, one that imparted a grudging acceptance of his existence.
Tao, for his part, stepped up and took the position as pack enforcer, which had granted him a certain amount of entre into the pack hierarchy. At the very least, people weren’t afraid of him anymore.
But Nick, well, he’d always tested the limits, never been one to follow any orders. His specialty was arguing with other wolves. Maybe that’s why he wanted to make his own pack. With the way his bite worked, no one could oppose him.
The memory of their mother, Myra, rose in his mind. She hadn’t meant to get pregnant in wolf form. When she talked about their father, she always said he had the charm of a god and could talk her into anything. She met him in the woods, and, for a few weeks, they frolicked together. Then he disappeared and she found her belly full of unintended consequences. He’d seemed like a normal werewolf, but her pregnancy and the children she birthed were anything but.
Being wolf-born, Tao and his brothers had spent the first thirteen years of their lives as wolves. She could have killed them or walked away, refusing to care for them, but she hadn’t. She’d loved her boys. All of them. Even Nick. “You remind me of your father. Loving you is how I keep him close,” she’d said once when Tao had asked her about her feelings.
Tao’s heart twisted. He missed his mom every minute of every day. Her quiet kindness, the way she’d ruffled his hair when she approved of something he did, the shine in her eyes when her boys were all gathered around her. She’d been his anchor and compass, and not for the first time, he felt her loss acutely.
What would she do in his shoes? He closed his eyes and contemplated the question. An answer came to him so fast, it made his head spin.
She would stand for what was right and protect those who needed protecting.
His phone rang and Tao growled when he saw Dan’s number come up on the caller ID. Of course it would be his alpha. He sighed. Oh well, might as well get it over with. He’d been planning to call anyway, right?
He put the phone to his ear. “Hi Dan.”
“What the fuck is going on up there?” Dan’s voice was a deep snarl.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I follow the news and I know how many people he’s bit. He’s building a pack. A god damn pack that has to do whatever he says. You name it, they’ll do it by the fucking dozens. I thought you had this under control, Tao. What the fuck have you been doing up there? Getting a tan at the beach?”
“No, sir,” Tao said stiffly.
“Then why isn’t Nick dead? Why isn’t that girl dead? Last I heard she was discharged from the hospital alive and well.”
“I’m not killing the girl,” Tao said flatly. It was not wise to openly disagree with his alpha, but he hadn’t known he was going to say the words. They just came out. There was nothing to do now but keep going and hope he could change Dan’s mind. “She’s innocent. They’re all innocent.”
“They’re innocents controlled by a psychopath, Tao.”
“Then you come up here and kill them.
You look them in the eye and see if you can do it.”
“Yep. Already on it. I’ll be there in an hour. We drove overnight.” Dan sounded satisfied with himself. “I’m going to hunt that brother of yours into the fucking ground and then I’m going to clean up his mess. After that, I’m taking you home and you can stand before the council for your disobedience.”
“I’m not going back,” Tao said. “The pack I run with doesn’t murder people and call it a clean-up.”
“There’s no other way.” Dan sounded exasperated.
“Yes, there is. There has to be.”
“We don’t have time to be bleeding hearts about this. Nick’s still out there. Who knows how many more he’ll turn before we get to him?”
“Nick’s contained for now,” Tao said. “I’ve bought us time to find a better way than killing people.”
Dan was silent for a long moment. “Contained, eh? And he’s still breathing? I didn’t peg you for a weakling, Tao. I’m disappointed.”
“Yeah, well, so am I.” Tao hung up then. His heart began to race and blood pounded in his ears. He’d never defied his pack alpha before, never said no. Now he was disobeying orders, saying he was leaving. Was he crazy?
He shook his head. No. He wasn’t crazy. Just because Nick was wrong, didn’t make Dan right. They were both making bad choices, but for different reasons. Part of his pack enforcer oath was that he would never betray the pack, never put them in peril. He’d always thought that meant following his alpha’s orders, but now Dan was going down a path Tao refused to walk. As far as he knew, the pack didn’t want members committing murder. In fact, they were careful to stay away from humans. The human world meant danger and they’d shunned it long ago. But one thing was the same, werewolves and humans alike frowned on murder. It was a crime, one Tao would not commit. Not against complete innocents.
Everything was coming to a head; Audrey, Nick and Dan would soon collide. In less than a week, Nick’s bite would bring a whole new breed of werewolves into being. Tao only hoped the right people were left standing in the end.
Chapter Eighteen
Audrey pulled her truck into the police station lot and worried her bottom lip. She’d called ahead to make sure the sheriff was there, but the last thing she wanted to do was leave the house. Tao had insisted though, promising to watch over Nick. He wanted her to track down the bite victims and get their information.
They wouldn’t be told about being a werewolf, not yet, but Tao said he needed to know what he was working with. Eight people, nine including Audrey, about to go furry was something of a daunting prospect.
Before she’d left, she asked him, “What’s it like to shift? Does it hurt?”
He’d pursed his lips and thought for a second. “No, it doesn’t hurt. It’s more like a full body stretch after you’ve been sitting for a long time. Sometimes it tickles.”
“What about my hand?” She held up the bandaged hand in question.
“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to say something about that.” He took her damaged hand in his, cradling it gently. “You’ve got pins from the surgery, right?”
She nodded.
“They’re going to pop out when you shift.”
Audrey’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious? Oh my God, I’m going to break my hand again.” Great. Just great. Tears burned her eyes at the idea of going through that pain again.
Tao shook his head. “No. The bones will heal. You won’t need the pins anymore.”
That had left her speechless.
Tao continued, “We aren’t super wolves. We can’t instantly heal any wound. I mean, you’ve seen that with me,” he gestured to his chest, “and Nick. But we do heal faster than humans. In this case, your bones will knit when you shift and you’ll be like new.”
“Wow.” She paused, a thought striking her. “What about my pinkie? Will it grow back?” She hadn’t even looked at her hand yet, still too chicken to unwrap it and confront the loss of a finger.
Tao’s eyes filled with regret. “No. I’m afraid that’s not part of how werewolves work. I’m sorry, Audrey.” He’d hugged her then, and she’d sniffed into his shoulder, ashamed of her feelings. It wasn’t just that she’d lost her pinkie, but that Nick had literally eaten a piece of her. That freaked her out more than anything. It was a violation, like being robbed of something that should only belong to her.
“It’s okay,” she’d murmured into his shoulder.
And then he’d told her to leave. To find out how Nick’s victims were doing. Were they local? From out-of-town? Did they have families? What kind of work did they do? Were they good people? Could they be trusted?
“We have to find a way to manage this somehow,” Tao had explained to her. “My pack will never take them in. They’re not just wolf made, they’re tainted by Nick’s bite.”
“Are there other packs? Maybe they would help.”
“Yes, there are other packs, but they’re just as insular. Werewolves survive by being quiet and keeping secrets, which means new members are not on their to-do lists.”
“So what do we do?”
The big man heaved a sigh. “We make our own pack. That’s what we do. Somehow.”
Which was how she ended up asking the sheriff for a meeting. Not only had he been bitten, he would have a list of all the other victims too. The plan was to interview everyone under the guise of making an official report to the national park service. Thanks to her job, she had some official capacity in the situation and Tao wanted her to use it to their advantage.
Taking a deep breath, she left her truck and headed into the police station, a squat brick building with very small windows. Inside, a female officer with a buzz hair cut sat at the front desk.
“Can I help you?” she barked.
“I’m here to see Sheriff Martin.”
“Sign in here and I’ll take you back.” The officer pointed to a form on her desk. Once Audrey had scrawled her name and arrival time on the appropriate line, the officer escorted her through the station to the sheriff’s office.
“Have a seat, he’ll be right with you,” said the officer before disappearing, ostensibly to return to her post.
Audrey perched on the hard wooden chair in front of the sheriff’s desk. Going by the appearance of his office, Sheriff Martin was a neat man and something of a minimalist. Only a day planner and a computer occupied his desk. The walls were just as bare. A calendar featuring a blue race car hung all by its lonesome, serving as the only decoration in the room.
“Ranger Levine,” came the sheriff’s smooth, baritone voice as he stepped into his office. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
He settled behind his desk and looked at her, his dark brown eyes scanning her like he was hunting for clues. “How’s your hand?”
“Fine thanks. How are you? I heard you were attacked, too.” Sheriff Martin looked just as handsome as ever, but with Tao in her life, Audrey didn’t react with immediate lust like she had the last time she saw him. She didn’t even glance at his pecs.
“I’m good.” He held up his arm and pointed to a large band-aid on his forearm. “It was a superficial bite.”
“But he broke the skin, right?” she pressed. It was important to be sure he was well and truly bitten.
“Oh yeah. I have exactly two stitches. Nothing compared to what you went through.” He cleared his throat. “So what can I do for you? If you have a ticket you want fixed, I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Audrey waved her hand. “No, nothing like that. I’d like to get a list of everyone who was attacked by the wolf.”
He frowned at her. “What for?”
She straightened in her chair. “I need to put a report together. As you can imagine, this kind of animal attack requires a certain amount of paperwork.” She rolled her eyes, pretending to be annoyed by the bureaucracy. “You know how government agencies are.”
“Yeah, but I thought you were on medical leave for a while.” At her shocked expression he
said, “I talked to Jay at the hospital.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that. Well, yes, I am on leave, but the paperwork still has to be done and,” she shrugged, “truth be told, I’m kind of bored at home so I thought I could at least work on this.”
“Yeah, sure. No problem.” He tapped on the keyboard of his computer and then a printer on a small credenza behind him whirred to life. When it was done, he handed her the paper.
Audrey squinted at the names, quickly noticing they were evenly split between men and women. Like Nick had been making mating pairs. She recognized almost all of the names:
Richard Smith, a young doctor who ran a small walk-in clinic in town.
Annie Timmins was with the fire department.
Danielle Stevens was a cop she’d met a few times.
Christine Hiltz ran the local (and only) bookstore.
Andrew Marksman owned a few restaurants along the Lake Michigan shore and lived in Glen Vine. From what she’d heard, he was quite wealthy.
Mike Gable, who Audrey knew only because he was president of her bank and had set up her checking account himself.
There was Sheriff Martin, too, of course.
The last name on the list, Charlotte Wills, she didn’t know and hadn’t even heard the name before. Odd, given the insular nature of Glen Vine. The town regulars all knew each other.
Audrey considered all the people whose lives were about to change. What struck her was they were all between the ages of twenty and forty, mostly successful or at least independent and many held a position of authority in the small Glen Vine community. Was Nick trying to shore up a human power base too? He had to have deliberately targeted people, had to know who they were because they didn’t work together, which meant he’d sought them out.
“Miss Levine?” The sheriff’s voice interrupted her thoughts.
She jumped slightly as she came back to the present. “Yes?”
“Was there anything else?”
“Yes, who is Charlotte Wills? Is she a tourist?”