Found in Flames

by Desconhecido

  Her mouth opened immediately, but she swallowed her response and slowly closed it again. One of her small, feminine hands landed on his chest, and his palms itched. This woman confused the hell out of his instincts. He’d never been so distracted.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t want to die, Luka. I just want some clean underwear and to get out of these work clothes. Maybe grab a sweater.”

  Knowing exactly how she’d respond, he suggested, “You could always just ditch these things.” He tugged, oh-so-lightly, on the sleeve of her blouse for emphasis.

  Joella sucked in a breath and swatted his hand away. “Absolutely not!”

  Forcing his expression to remain neutral, Luka said, “Then you’ll have to tell me where to find your stuff. I’ll bring you something when I return.”

  Her face scrunched up at his suggestion in obvious disapproval of his offer, but on her the expression was fairly endearing. Still, he waited with feigned patience for her reply, knowing he wouldn’t likely be waiting long.

  “You can’t just break into my apartment,” she finally replied, an undertone of exasperation lacing her voice. “Besides, what if there’re police there?” The last was added with a shrug, as if she didn’t really expect anyone to be waiting for her, and he was reminded of her earlier comment about her job.

  But this wasn’t the time for retrospection and long conversations. “If I can’t get in, I can’t get in,” he said plainly. “But no one’s going to be too concerned about animal tracks in your backyard.” Confused, certainly, but not overly concerned. This was Nevada, after all.

  “I don’t even have a backyard,” Joella muttered on a sigh. “Just a small square of concrete. Fine, okay, you win this one.” She immediately locked her intelligent brown eyes with his and added, “Today.”

  Luka allowed a portion of his grin to show and leaned close, inhaling her scent before whispering, “Deal.” He could hear the approaching clicking of stone-filed nails on rock, indicating that his hunting party was gathering. It was time to go.

  Traveling was easier with four legs, but hunting in a city was safer with two. For that reason the hunting party was stuck carrying small bags on their backs when they ran. It was the best way to transport their clothes. Once they were all dressed, Luka had everyone meet up at the mouth of the alley nearest to Char’s last known location. They would all need as fresh a scent trail as possible. Luka’s gaze lingered, as he was sure everyone’s had, on the smeared chalk outline in the middle of the alleyway. The alley itself was roped off with standard issue caution tape and offensively bright orange cones, but none of that obstructed the scents in the air.

  Justin’s scent was long-gone, replaced and overpowered by the stomach-turning stench of overcooked meat mixed with burned flesh. They would never even know if Justin had been trailing Char or if the witch had found him.

  Luka frowned and continued walking, slowly enough to take in one more deep drag. Char’s and Joella’s scents were stronger, as was his own, but not by much. Too many people had combed through the space in the past few hours. Add to that the fact that Char had likely escaped by riding a single burning ember on a breeze, and finding the bastard was going to be hard. But it had always been hard. Still, he had an idea of where to start. Char was sure to be targeting Joella. With a little luck, he’d already paid a visit to her apartment.

  ****

  “Are you my babysitter?” Joella asked as she approached the woman currently staring up at the clouds. As near as she could tell, the other woman looked just a little older than herself, in her mid-thirties at the latest. She was a bit shorter, notably thinner, and had long, dark brown hair. In all honesty, Joella couldn’t be sure she’d ever even learned the woman’s name. Luka wasn’t overly good at introductions.

  With a grin, the woman straightened and shrugged. “I wouldn’t call it babysitting,” she replied. “Alpha just wants me to help make sure the camp stays safe. Including you.”

  Well, when she said it that way it actually made some sense.

  Holding out her hand, Joella said, “Joella. I wasn’t properly introduced.”

  “Emily.” Her grip was secure, but non-threatening, and Joella found herself inclined to like her. “Did you get enough to eat this morning?”

  Smiling, Joella perched against a boulder and said, “I did, thank you. Do you mind if I ask … that is, I’m just kind of curious….” How did one go about asking these sorts of questions, anyway?

  “You’ve got questions?” Emily invited, climbing onto the rock behind her and crossing her legs. “Fire away.”

  Joella opened her mouth, but the questions swarming her mind all rushed to come out at once and she couldn’t grab hold of any single one. Did she want to know about Luka? Obviously. But she wasn’t so sure that should be her immediate focus. What about werewolf mythology? Or physics? Or witches? And what else was real?

  Laughter drew Joella back to the moment and she cringed. She’d been caught, of course.

  “I’m sorry,” Emily said, containing herself as best she could. “Honestly, I can’t imagine what it’d be like to learn overnight that an entire species I’d never believed in actually existed.”

  That piqued her interest and Joella asked, “You mean you were born a werewolf?” A brief pause and she blurted, “Is it even okay to call you that?” Was there a more PC term for ‘werewolf’?

  Emily grinned. “It’s fine. And yes, I was born this way. Most wolves are, since Turning a human into a wolf is illegal.”

  “Illegal?” That wasn’t something she’d expected to hear. “You mean Luka’s opposed to it, or is he not the final authority?”

  At this Emily paused and rolled her hands together as she thought over her answer. “Yes and no,” she finally said. “There’s an ancient set of laws, put into action by the original Alpha according to legend, that all subsequent packs traditionally adhere to. If another Alpha were to publicly denounce them he’d probably get himself assassinated. We’re generally a loyal, and therefore respectful, type, you know?” Emily shrugged and added, “I don’t think any of us know Luka’s personal stance on the subject. The ancient laws are like guidelines on how to build and run a successful pack.”

  “Emily,” another female voice interrupted, earning Joella’s attention. The other woman was a little older, had short brown hair that framed her cheeks, and her forehead was marred with frown lines. She flicked a glance of awkward acknowledgment to Joella before adding, “I’m sorry, but, have you seen the boys?” That was where she’d seen this woman before. This was the woman Joella had seen with those two young boys, likely their mother.

  “Not since Alpha left,” Emily replied, a frown dipping her own lips.

  The woman sighed. “I was afraid of that. They’re not in the main clearing or the little nook they like to sleep in.”

  Emily immediately stretched to her full height, still on the boulder, and cast her eyes out. “Go on back to your spot, Michelle. Hopefully they’re chasing a bird somewhere and will be back in a minute, but I’ll look around. Is Lew patrolling?”

  “He is,” Michelle assured her. “Should I find him?”

  “No,” Emily said, shaking her head. “If they go out that way he’ll find them on his own.”

  Taking a breath, Michelle glanced forward and quietly asked, “What if they went toward the city?” It was clear from her tone, even without an enhanced sense of smell, that this was Michelle’s true concern. And that much Joella could understand.

  “Maybe I can help,” Joella said before Emily could reply. When both females turned their attention back to her she added, “Another pair of eyes can’t hurt. And if they did head toward the city, I can definitely help there.”

  Michelle’s dark brown eyes softened and she smiled. “That would be so kind of you, thank you.”

  “Alright,” Emily called as she stepped down to the ground. “Let’s look around here first. I should be able to find their scent since they haven’t been gone too long.�
��

  “They’d been down for a nap when I saw them last,” Michelle said quickly.

  As they made their way toward a side-cropping of stones decorated by prickly desert bushes, Michelle in the lead, Emily quietly said, “I’m going to have to shift to get the scents. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

  Joella frowned, running over what Luka had told her just earlier that morning. “You mean you don’t have an enhanced sense of smell in this form?”

  “We do,” Emily assured her, “but I’m still learning to be a tracker. And our noses—all of our senses—work better in wolf form.”

  “Here,” Michelle said. “I tucked them in right here. They’d curled up and everything.” She was pointing to the center of the stone gathering, where the rocks seemed to have formed a shallow, slightly underground cave of sorts. Nothing big enough for a human child to fit in, let alone two. Fortunately Joella didn’t embarrass herself by pointing that out before realizing the boys probably hadn’t been ‘human’ when they’d crawled inside.

  Joella’s attention was distracted as Emily peeled off her clothes calmly, belatedly reminding Joella that she’d seen the group do that the night before, too. And she supposed it made some sense. Emily handed her garments—just a pair of jean shorts and a shell-sleeved tee—to Michelle a beat before her skin rippled. All Joella could do was watch as the woman she’d been talking to a moment before arched, the echoing crack of popping bones sounding in the air, and dark brown fur shot up from her previously pale skin. As Emily settled on four paws, shaking as if she’d just taken a bath, Joella found herself wondering at the color of her fur. It was exactly the same as the color of her hair in her human form. Was that a coincidence? Or was it true for all wolves?

  Emily moved easily toward the opening, crawling low on her belly and sticking her nose into the hole. Joella watched as the dirt puffed in time with the deliberate sniffing noises Emily was making.

  “They’re just barely eight,” Michelle whispered, clutching Emily’s clothes tightly. “They haven’t even learned how to resist the moon. They don’t know the first thing about humans.”

  “I’m sure Emily will find them,” Joella promised, resting a hand on the mother’s shoulder. The tears in Michelle’s eyes hurt her heart.

  Emily crawled out, shook the dirt off her head, and whined at Michelle.

  Releasing a breath, Michelle nodded. “Thank you.” She turned, holding the clothes out to Joella, and added, “Emily will need these if she shifts back.”

  “Oh,” Joella said brilliantly. “Of course.” She managed a smile and added, “We’ll find them, Michelle.”

  ****

  Naturally Joella’s apartment had been sealed by the local authorities, but Luka hardly cared about that. He slipped in through the back, finding himself somewhat appalled at the ease. No one had noticed a large, dark brown wolf leap the fence in broad daylight. He’d opted to go in in wolf form because escaping would have been easier if he were caught. But now, as he cast his gaze around, he figured he may as well have walked right up to the front door. Whoever was watching TV next door obviously didn’t pay any attention.

  Ultimately, though, that didn’t matter. He needed to get a few things and get out. What did matter was taking a good sniff around while he was there. It didn’t take long for Luka to deduce that Char had, indeed, stopped by. But he didn’t seem to have lingered, either. Char’s scent was strongest by the front-facing living room window, indicating that he’d only come up to the window.

  Luka glanced down, finding a burnt hole in the bottom of the screen of the conveniently opened window, and a haphazardly discarded portion of a newspaper on the carpet at his feet. The paper had Char’s scent, too, so he slammed the window shut a little harder than was necessary, lifted the paper, and turned toward the interior of the apartment as he looked for the message. It didn’t exactly take much effort to find. Char had merely circled the headline in bright red. A warning.

  A taunt.

  Growling, Luka crumpled the paper and tore the ball to pieces before stalking into the kitchen.

  He hadn’t been inside too many human homes, but he knew enough to know that this one was lacking. The kitchen was one wall, consisting of cabinets and minimal appliances. She’d added a countertop appliance at the expense of half her counter space, and from the scent of it, the coffee maker beside the fridge was the most overused. Her refrigerator was plain, with just one magnet, baring a company logo, holding up a handwritten list of groceries. He tugged open the fridge, finding it lacking most of what he’d read on the list.

  Leaving the kitchen, Luka turned to follow the hall that would take him to her bedroom. He paused, almost directly across from the closed interior door, as his eyes were drawn to the framed photographs on the wall. There were only three, and one wasn’t actually a picture. It was a college diploma, dated less than three years earlier. Beside it was a picture of a younger Joella, a bit too thin for his tastes, smiling and holding on to a woman he had to assume was her mother. They had the same eyes and he could see the similarity in their smiles. Centered above those two was a portrait of Joella’s mother, smiling patiently. She looked just a little older than in the other image. He thought briefly of grabbing one for her, just in case something happened to the apartment, but decided against it. He only had so much room in the bag he’d brought with him.

  Still, was there really no one else in her life she wanted to remember?

  “I have … a job. Just a job.” That was what she’d said earlier that morning.

  Growling again, Luka forced his feet to continue down the hall. He knew full well he didn’t know much about Joella. Like why she honestly felt she had no one who cared about her. Why she put up with a job even he knew she loathed. What he didn’t understand was why he wanted to change that. He wanted her to tell him about this job, and this boss who treated her inappropriately, and he suspected that story would make him want to rip the bastard apart limb by limb. For the first time in longer than he cared to think about, he was actually curious about someone else’s backstory. And he didn’t know why, but he suspected that answer was also why he was taking time away from his hunt to pick up a change of clothes.

  “Something comfortable,” he rumbled to himself as he moved toward her closet. That had been her stipulation, after all. Most of her pants were jeans or slacks, and since slacks were what she was complaining about he immediately vetoed those. So he grabbed out a pair of jeans and a pair of sweatpants. To those he added a lightweight shirt from her dresser, a slightly heavier shirt for sleeping, and a pair of sandals.

  As he folded the clothes into the bag, tucking them next to the shirt he hadn’t bothered to put back on after his last shift, Luka’s eyes roamed the room again. Generic, off-white paint was all that adorned the walls and old, bent blinds covered the lone window. Her dresser was several years old, but in good shape. No mirror, though a handful of makeup supplies rested atop. Her bedding was dark green and rumpled, though other scents in the room told him she wasn’t the one who’d left it that way.

  Nothing in the apartment gave him the feeling that she’d really made it a home. It was functional, he supposed, but just barely.

  A part of him, which he shoved back immediately after acknowledging it, suddenly just wanted to return to the pack and pull her aside. To put off the hunt for another day. What was one more day?

  One less day and Justin might still be alive.

  Char was still the priority. And standing around in an abandoned apartment was wasting daylight.

  Chapter Five

  Char had walked right up to her window. Well after sunrise and certainly after the authorities had wrapped the area in their bright yellow caution tape. The front of Joella’s apartment faced the center of the complex. And yet no one had reported it. That or the men in charge of solving her supposed murder just didn’t care enough to follow-up on such reports. Given the ease of his own entrance and subsequent departure, Luka was more inclined to b
elieve the former.

  Not that it mattered. He had what he’d come for, and something even better. A lead. Char’s scent was less than an hour old.

  In no time he’d doubled back to the front of the apartment, again on two legs, and picked up the trail. Following it would be easy as fresh as it was, unless, of course, the bastard had again let himself blow away like an ember on the breeze. But Char’s scent turned just a block beyond the complex, not deeper into the city but instead out, toward the desert shrubbery. In the direction of Luka’s pack. Did he know where they were staying?

  Doesn’t matter. He’ll just corner himself going that way. Not that he particularly wanted Char making it to his den when the den was housing a young family and the human woman Luka had taken it upon himself to protect. Emily and Lew were the only fighters not out on the hunt, and though Luka knew Michelle would fight to defend her pups, none of them were prepared for a face-to-face with Char. And the last thing he wanted was for those pups to grow up like him—without a pack, or even a family, because of a bloodthirsty witch.

  Luka ground his teeth, images of his own past flashing across his mind. Choking smoke, thick heat. The undeniable stench of overcooked flesh mixed with singed fur and sprinkled with blood. Then the bodies had come into view. Charred, unrecognizable forms that had once been ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’. Those were his last memories of his family. He refused to do that to one of his own. If it was the last thing he did, Luka would see to it that no other child—human or wolf—would suffer like that at the hands of Char and his family.

  So he picked up his pace, jogging toward the tree line Char’s scent led to. Once he passed the trees, he could shift. Four legs would enable him to run faster, and a truly canine snout would pick up the trail better. With a little luck he would finally catch the elusive monster.

  ****

  “What is it?” Joella asked as Emily paused and lifted her human-esque nose to the air. A faint breeze blew into their faces, but Emily had already explained that that was actually being helpful. It gave her a better idea of what was ahead of them.