Found in Flames

by Desconhecido

  The ‘den’, as Emily had referred to it, Luka had claimed for them was behind them. Far enough that Joella couldn’t make out the rocks surrounding it. But they still hadn’t found Michelle’s boys and Joella was sure she wasn’t the only one who found that odd.

  “Animal scent,” Emily replied, lowering her head again. “Mountain lion.”

  Joella’s eyes widened. “Mountain lion? Isn’t that dangerous?” There were always lions in the area outside of the city, so she shouldn’t have been surprised. But that also meant she knew the kind of damage they could do.

  “Very,” Emily said. She turned a serious expression to Joella and added, “I would understand if you wanted to go back.”

  Frowning now, Joella shook her head. “No, I want to help.” She swallowed, glancing forward, and asked, “Is it near the boys?”

  Emily started forward again, walking at a brisk pace. “I’m afraid so. I’ll probably have to shift again soon.”

  Jogging to catch up, Joella said, “So I guess ‘werewolves only turn on full moons’ is a lie?”

  “Technically,” Emily said. “It’s the only time we’re physically compelled to shift once we reach maturity, so some can certainly choose to live that way.” Her tone made it obvious that she didn’t personally understand such a choice.

  “You said ‘once you reach maturity’,” Joella said. “What about children, like the boys we’re looking for?”

  “It’s different for pups,” Emily replied. “At the boys’ age they shift to wolf form when their emotions spike. Fear, joy, sadness, that kind of thing. Then they have to calm down and really put effort into shifting back to human form. Over time young wolves learn to control the shift.”

  I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else…. This was a terrible time to be playing Twenty Questions, anyway. She just couldn’t help herself. Joella glanced down at the dirt beneath her feet just in time to catch sight of the distinct impression of a predatory feline. The lion had come this way, and recently since the loose dirt hadn’t been disturbed yet. That realization sent a shot of nervous adrenaline into her system and Joella wiped sweaty palms again over her dirty slacks. “The mountain lion—?”

  “She’s close,” Emily said, her voice hushed. She’d simultaneously dropped to a knee and was taking sharp, shallow breaths.

  Joella opened her mouth to ask another question, but the sound that followed wasn’t hers.

  A loud, gut-churning roar filled the air. It was a sound of warning and danger. A threat Joella’s human instincts begged her to heed. But her feet remained locked in place, because she was pretty sure she’d heard something beneath that roar. Something like canine whining and sharp puppy yelps. The boys!

  “Don’t get too close!” Emily instructed as she hurried to shed her clothes. Her body was rolling with the shift before she’d finished, but she managed to step out of her shorts without destroying them. The moment the shift was complete, Emily leapt forward with a howl.

  Taking a deep breath, Joella moved to gather Emily’s clothes. “Okay, Ella,” she mumbled to herself, “You can handle this. Werewolf trumps ordinary mountain lion… right?” She could only hope so, because otherwise they were all dead.

  Joella followed the sharp, elongated whines until she found what she was searching for. Wolf-Emily was standing her ground, teeth bared and ears flat, against a lone mountain lion. And behind Emily were two smaller wolves, their paws still too big for their bodies, gathered together and whining fearfully. The whole scene was surreal and terrifying.

  Seeing some of the people she’d met in the past twenty-four hours turn into wolves was weird enough, but even seeing them as canines didn’t really drive it home. They were wolves. As fierce and loyal and powerful as any wild wolf. Standing there now, watching Emily try to intimidate the lion, it was easy to recognize the danger. Gone was the laughing, friendly woman she’d been talking to earlier. The transition was startling.

  The mountain lion growled lowly and took a partial step forward, to the side. Apparently the wolf thing wasn’t as impressive to a mountain lion. But Joella didn’t need to think about that. The only way she could help Emily—or any of them—survive now was to get to the boys. Maybe she could get them away and the four of them could make a grand escape. Surely the lion wouldn’t chase them all the way back to the den?

  The snapping sound of angry canine jaws, coupled with a hair-raising growl, pulled Joella out of her thoughts. There just wasn’t time to formulate a plan or weigh the options. It was time to act.

  “Boys!” she called, needlessly lowering her voice to a projected whisper. “Quick, this way!” As she spoke, she tucked Emily’s clothes under one arm and gestured rapidly toward herself. But only one of the pups seemed to hear her, casting a lingering glance in her direction. They were still whining, still frozen with fear. “Boys!”

  The pair looked over at her again, fuzzy ears twitching in all directions. The closer of the two turned as if to move to her and the mountain lion let out a loud, shattering roar.

  And all hell broke loose.

  Emily intercepted the mountain lion as it lunged forward. Their bodies crashed hard into the dirt, rolling, as fangs and claws pierced fur-covered flesh. Joella could barely hear for the deafening growls. The boys sprinted forward, yelping, but just as the nearer of the two reached her the lion’s tail swiped the other. The second pup stumbled, leaping backwards in fear, and with a panicked yelp took off at a run. In the wrong direction.

  Time stood still as Joella quickly ran through her options.

  Just a dozen feet ahead of her Emily was brawling with the mountain lion. Both combatants were bleeding from multiple wounds, but the lion refused to yield.

  At her feet the remaining pup was doing his best to howl, the sound coming out as a high-pitched whine.

  Behind her was the path to safety, the way back to the den.

  And to her left was the direction the other boy had run off in. Toward what, she wasn’t sure, but instinct insisted he wouldn’t know how to double back to find home.

  She certainly couldn’t fight with the mountain lion in Emily’s stead, and the child at her feet couldn’t track his fleeing brother. So she dropped to her knees, stroking a gentle hand down the pup’s back to get his attention. “Go that way,” she instructed, pointing back. “Just run and cry, someone will hear you.” She ended the order by swatting his side with the clothes in her other hand, startling him into obeying. With a final glance at the fight, she dropped the clothes and pushed into a run in the direction the other boy had gone.

  Please let me find him!

  In hindsight, Joella supposed she should have been a little more specific with her silent prayers. She’d blindly torn through the prickly, disorienting brush, turning at the sound of a sharp, pain-filled yelp, until all of a sudden the pup was within sight. Up against a rock three times his size and holding an injured front paw off the ground. Spots of blood dotted the dirt around her, but she barely noticed them when she realized why he was cowering.

  Standing between them was the man she’d last seen in that darkened alley. The witch who’d killed Luka’s friend, the very same witch who now, supposedly, was after her.

  “Char,” she breathed, her stomach dropping to her feet. What the hell was she supposed to do now? What chance did she stand against a real life witch?

  The boy whimpered again and Joella swallowed heavily. Poor odds or not, if she did nothing the boy would be killed.

  “Ah,” Char began with a chilling smile as he slid his dark stare to her. “So you know my name now.”

  “Leave him alone,” Joella demanded, fighting to keep her voice stable.

  Dark brow lifting with exaggerated curiosity, the witch asked, “Which ‘him’ are we talking about, exactly?” He gestured toward the pup and added, “This one? Or the bigger, angrier one who rescued you last night?”

  Both. But the ‘bigger, angrier one’ wasn’t her priority right then. “The boy. Leave the
boy alone. Let me take him home.”

  Char grinned this time. “Pick one,” he replied. “But choose carefully.”

  Thrown, Joella hesitated. He was clearly playing some kind of game, but what was it? What was the catch here?

  “You look confused,” Char continued. “I can either leave this one alone,” he said, “or I can let you take him home. Not both.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” she said, her mind still racing to figure out his point before she fell for it.

  Char only shrugged and tucked his hands into his pockets.

  Infuriated, Joella drew a breath and strode purposefully to the pup. She lifted him as gently as she could considering that he was already probably half-grown. He helped by curling his paws over her shoulder and holding still, for which she was grateful. She didn’t really have the upper-arm strength for this kind of stunt.

  “Home it is, then,” Char said with a smirk.

  “Actually,” Joella said, glaring at him, “I choose option C. You go straight to hell.”

  Char laughed, the sound echoing around them, and shook his head. “How about I bring hell to you? Volvenda ignis.”

  Joella paused, just a couple of feet ahead of him. What did he just—? But the answer was already apparent, as bright orange flame shot up from the ground directly in front of her. She stumbled back instinctively, eyes widening as the flame raced out and around, forming a circle around them. Trapping her and the boy inside, inside with Char. The boy whimpered, attempting to nuzzle closer to her, and she couldn’t help but think that she understood. She didn’t want to be there, either.

  “What’s it feel like to be a dead girl?” Char asked tauntingly.

  Turning to face him for lack of anything better to do, Joella snapped, “I’m not dead yet.”

  Char shrugged again. “That’s a technicality. But I can let you breathe a little longer … if you’ll tell me where the wolf den is.”

  “No way.” She wasn’t about to sell out Luka’s people, even if some of them would probably not have returned the favor.

  Sighing as if greatly inconvenienced, Char lifted his hands out at his sides. “Suit yourself.” The flame surrounding them flared, growing taller as the heat spiked, and for an instant Joella was sure she and the boy-pup in her arms were about to die. And in the next instant she registered the dark brown shape that seemed to have flown through the rising flame, front paws extended and fangs bared with violent intent.

  Unfortunately, Char noticed him, too. His eyes immediately widened and he spun, a curse falling from his lips simultaneously.

  The wolf—Luka, she was certain, despite that she’d never seen his wolf form—was primed to sink his fangs into Char’s collar, just shy of his throat, when Char’s body burst into ash and embers. The fire immediately snuffed out, thick, dark plumes of smoke rising up to the sky before dissipating on the wind. Luka crash-landed on the ground, skidding to a halt mere inches from Joella’s feet. He shook his head, coughing up ash, before finally looking up at her.

  And she was right, it was definitely Luka. She recognized his deep, powerful, captivating eyes. They lost nothing of their allure in his canine form. But more than that, it seemed the scar she’d seen in the cave haunted this form, too. It was stretched, but still curved around his jaw and under his eye. Instead of looking like a scar on flesh, though, it was a flowing trail of furless skin, a trail, she realized, that wound down his throat and right front leg. It even appeared to dip onto his chest, but she couldn’t quite tell.

  “Luka,” she said finally, taking a half-step backwards and dropping to her knees. The pup in her arms adjusted enough to look over and whimpered. This time it sounded more shameful than fearful.

  Luka huffed, shook himself, and turned completely around. He took half a dozen steps before his body rippled, the fur receding as he began to shift. Joella could only watch, transfixed, as dark fur sank into quickly pinkening flesh. The thick tail swished and shortened rapidly until it was gone and Luka’s back arched, front paws coming off the ground. With a final roll of his shoulders he straightened, standing firmly on two human legs. Completely bare.

  Joella’s cheeks flushed as she found herself staring unabashedly at his naked ass. His tight, perfectly rounded, naked ass. Which was beneath his strong, taut back. She’d never realized it before, but apparently she found strong shoulders incredibly attractive. And when she was finally able to pull her eyes away from those two distracting aspects of her new view, she realized even his damned legs were sexy. Seriously, weren’t men supposed to be the ones with leg fetishes?

  She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut when he bent to retrieve something from the base of a nearby tree. There’s a child in your arms, for goodness sake, Ella!

  On cue, the boy began carefully squirming. Assuming this meant he wanted down, she set him gently back on his feet, only belatedly remembering that he’d had an injured paw. He promptly lifted it, licking at it with his ears down.

  “Let me see?” she asked softly, holding a hand out.

  He looked up at her and extended his paw, allowing her to examine the pad. As she’d suspected, one of the toe pads was cut, though no longer actually bleeding. He’d probably stepped on a sharp rock or something in his panicked flight. But at least he would be okay.

  “Are you hurt?” Luka asked, coming to stand behind the boy. His feet were bare, but she quickly registered the sight of denim around his ankles. He was at least dressed enough for her to safely look up at him, then.

  Releasing the paw, Joella lifted her gaze to the man who’d saved her—again—and shook her head. “No, I—” She cut herself off when she realized pants were the only thing he’d put on. He was still mouth-wateringly shirtless. And that scar, as she’d noticed earlier, really did wind down his throat, over his shoulder, and down his right arm. Almost to his elbow. But only an inch or so curled onto his chest.

  Clearing her throat, she pushed to her feet and said, “I’m fine. Thank you. But he has a cut.”

  Luka’s attention dropped to the pup, who was looking up at him with his ears back in expectation of a scolding. He looked for all the world like a regular puppy who’d had an accident in the house. Instead of saying anything, Luka scooped the pup up with his free hand, holding him around the middle and against his side for support. “He’ll be fine,” Luka replied as he swung the bag she’d barely noticed over his opposite shoulder. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Six

  “I don’t think he’s figured out where the den is, though,” Joella finished quietly. Her tone was appropriate for the somber mood of the evening.

  “How would you know?” Vanna challenged, arms crossed over her chest.

  She sensed Luka tense beside her and spoke before he could start growling, her voice calm. She met the female wolf’s glare with steady eyes. “Because he wouldn’t have asked me to lead him here if he did. He would’ve just killed us and moved on.”

  Undaunted, Vanna returned, “He could’ve just been playing with you. Or, hell, maybe you’re lying to us. Maybe you did tell him.”

  At this Joella sucked in an insulted breath as outrage flared within her. Luka, who was sitting closest to her, reached over as if to hold her in place. Whatever he was going to say, though, was again interrupted. This time by Michelle.

  “Bite your tongue, Vanna,” Michelle snapped. She brushed her fingers through the hair of her nearest son, whose head was resting in her lap as he slept off his afternoon exertion. “If it weren’t for Joella and Emily my boys would be dead. And unless your nose is broken you know darn well she’s not lying.”

  Releasing a breath, Vanna argued, “Fine, then. Maybe she—”

  “Enough,” Luka finally cut in, keeping his voice low. He narrowed a firm glare on Vanna and added, “Find a way to get over this petty jealousy of yours, because I’m sick of it.”

  Vanna’s eyes went wide and Joella pulled in a deep breath. For as surprised as Vanna obviously was, Joella was just as shocked. She ho
nestly hadn’t expected Luka to call out his own pack member on her behavior, at least, not quite so publicly.

  When Vanna finally bowed her head and muttered an apology, Luka lifted his gaze to the gathered group. Only Max and Emily were absent. Emily had been badly wounded in her fight, so naturally her husband—or, as Luka had explained, ‘mate’—refused to leave her side. Luka had also explained that for as bad as Emily’s injuries were, thanks to some impressive werewolf healing, Emily was expected back on her feet by the end of the week. Assuming, of course, that Char didn’t find them before then. And apparently the fact that he was even looking startled Luka. Joella had the distinct impression that Char had never bothered to pursue them so blatantly.

  “Russell, Chad,” Luka began firmly, dragging Joella back to the moment. “You’re on perimeter duty tonight. Vanna, Morgan, I want you hunting at first light.” Four heads bowed silently in obedience and Luka pushed to his feet. “Get some rest.” He held out a hand to Joella as the rest of the pack broke, heading out to their chosen spots, and quietly added, “Let’s go.”

  Joella looked up at him, confused by his instruction. She took his hand anyway and asked, “Go where?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead he adjusted his hold on her hand and led her away. She assumed they were returning to the cave he seemed to sleep in, but he took her past it. Past what passed for a tree line. They walked until she realized the dirt beneath her shoes was sprouting grass. Surprisingly green grass.

  “Where are we?” she mumbled as they slowed to a stop. There were a couple of trees and a large, full bush around them, more grass than dirt on the ground. And something just ahead reflected the silver glow of the overhead moon. Something like water. She hadn’t even realized something like this was so close to the city!

  Her distraction was quickly forgotten when Luka used their joined hands to pull her into his chest. One large, strong hand caught her cheek, fingers slipping into her hair, and his chest vibrated with a growl as he covered her lips with his. Joella’s eyes fell closed and she curled her fingers over his bare chest, the warmth of his skin shooting through her and fueling her renewed desire. She offered no resistance when his arm curled around her waist as his tongue invaded her mouth.