Keeping within the tree line, Hannah made her way over to the truck. As she moved closer, she was able to make out the outline of cages in the flatbed. Focusing on them, she heard the metallic scrap of paws on the metal.
She stepped out of the trees and into the clearing beside the truck. Four cages took up the flatbed, and inside them were grey wolves. She couldn't tell if they were werewolves, her senses weren't developed enough yet. But she knew what she could do to find out.
Taking a deep breath, she focused on her wolf spirit. Specifically, on the deep yellow her eyes changed to when it wanted to be known. She let the wolf take over and flashed her yellow eyes at the wolves. It worked! They flashed their eyes back at her.
Returning to herself, she opened the cages, realizing these men had to work for the Hawthorn coyote pack. She opened the cages to release the wolves, wondering why they didn't let themselves out when the men disappeared, but the wolves didn't move.
Spotting a glint from one of their necks in the moonlight, she reached around the neck of the closest wolf and felt a collar made from leather, silver, and other items she didn't recognize. It was the work of a witch.
The collars had a secret clasp she didn't have time to figure out. She opened the truck door and spotted a toolbox. At the bottom was a folded buck knife. Carefully using the large blade, she cut through each of the collars, and the wolves leapt out of the cages and into the forest. One shifted into human form, a girl probably not much older than Hannah, with short dark hair.
"Thank you, but you should run. I don't know how you did it, but I'm sure they'll take a human, too," she told Hannah.
"Wait," Hannah said as she sliced a lock of her auburn hair off and handed it to her with one of the collars. "Give these to Caleb, your Alpha. He'll understand."
The girl nodded, quickly changed back into wolf, and with the collar and her hair in her mouth, dove into the forest. Hannah was alone with the truck. She couldn't understand why hunters would need a witch to capture wolves, especially when the coyote had been killing them. Then she remembered Caleb saying her father was among the missing.
She realized the Hawthorn must have grown impatient waiting to find her. They turned to other witches who claimed they were wolf charmers and tested them with captured wolves. As she turned to leave, the two men masquerading as hunters in jeans, work boots, and field coats stepped out of the forest.
"Well, what do we have here?" said the smaller of the two men.
"She's probably one of those tree-hugging activists who also saves wolves," said the taller man. "Awfully pretty, too. I bet Abel would love her."
Her back was against the truck. The two men closed in. Hannah ran, hoping to get away, knowing if she could just make it back into the woods, she'd be okay. But the taller man quickly grabbed her.
She kicked and flailed but it was useless. Still holding the knife, she plunged it into his bicep.
"Fuck!" he yelled as he let her go.
She ran again, but the smaller man tackled her, throwing her onto the ground where she hit her temple on one of her circle stones. The clearing went black.
Chapter Sixteen
Waking up, Hannah felt the cold, wet cement against her cheek. Slowly, she opened her eyes and let them adjust to the dimly lit stucco room. As she sat up, she realized she wasn't alone.
By a large, rusty iron gate stood several naked people, each of them dirty and bruised. Werewolves.
Without any windows or furniture, the room looked like a crypt. The only entrance into the room was the gate. Walking over to it, she pulled then pushed against it with all her might.
"It's locked. They might be ineffective, but they always remember to lock it."
The voice came from a man kneeling in the corner, as dirty and abused as the others. He had sandy blond hair with grey at his temples. He reminded her of Caleb, except this man was older and not as muscular.
Moving closer to him, she felt an air of familiarity even though they had never met. She was sure this was Knox, her father.
"I'm sorry, have we met?" he asked. "You're awfully familiar, but it has been a long time since I've interacted with humans."
"No, we haven't met. I just have one of those faces, I guess," Hannah said, not wanting to introduce herself as his daughter while they were trapped.
"Well, I'm Knox," he said, keeping himself covered.
"I'm Hannah. Any idea where we are?"
"No. I know we're near water, but that could be anywhere." He inhaled and tilted his head, looking confused. "You're hiding something. Something on you doesn't smell right."
Hannah looked at him with worry. If he was able to tell she didn't smell right, it was only a matter of time before the other shifters in the cell realized it, too. As long as everyone thought she was human, she was safe, or at least safer. Not knowing how much longer the potion would mask her hair, she knew her time was limited.
"Please don't say anything," she whispered. "I'm going to try to get us out of here. There are people looking for you and once they realize I'm missing, they'll be looking for me too."
"No offense, but how do you think you'll be able to get us out of here? You're just a human. I've been here for weeks."
"I'm not sure, but maybe I can call someone," she said.
"They're not going to let you use a phone."
"Can you keep an eye out? Make sure the others don't see what I'm doing and if anyone comes, stall them."
"Sure, not like I'm doing anything else," he said. "Plus those shifters won't notice anything, their minds are gone from the torture. Now they're like dogs at a pound waiting for rescue."
She looked back at the door and saw the shifters were still looking out, waiting. Hoping they'd stay distracted and block the doorway from anyone who passed, she looked around for something she could make a circle out of, but didn't see anything. The room was completely bare.
She knew she could summon the dead to speak to her, she couldn't see why she couldn't summon the living the same way. She had to at least try. It might be their only way out of there. Frustrated, she put her hands in her cloak and felt the stone Caleb handed her not so long ago. She removed her cloak and gave it to Knox.
"Here, I'm sure you could use something to wear," she said.
He slipped it on and smiled at her gratefully. "If we do get out of here, there are others. I've seen them brought in. There have to be more like me who survived the coyotes' torturous experiments. I need to free them, too. Do your thing and hurry. I don't know what's going on, but your scent is changing quickly."
Hannah nodded and took a deep breath. Just what she needed, more pressure. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she bit her bottom lip as she wiped her moist palms on her jeans. This has to work, she thought.
Crouching down, she drew a circle around herself on the floor with the stone. With it still in her hand, she closed her eyes and thought about Caleb handing it to her. Then when he arrived on his motorcycle to pick her up for their first real date. Lastly, she couldn't help but smile as she remembered them running out of the restaurant on their night together.
"Hannah? Where are you?" Caleb said.
She opened her eyes to find the room dark and empty except for the soft glow of Caleb. In his hands were the collar and her lock of hair.
"The coyotes got me, Caleb. I don't know where we're at, but there are a lot of shifters here. Even my...I mean...Knox."
"Your hair doesn't smell right. I can't find you if I can't smell your scent."
She was quiet for a moment. He couldn't help her if he couldn't find her scent, but if she had her scent, she was in even greater danger. In the distance, she heard a bell dinging insistently. It was a familiar sound but not something she heard everyday. Slowly, it dawned on her that the ringing was the drawbridge. There was only one like it in the area.
"Caleb, the drawbridge. I can hear it! And we're in a cement room that's wet."
"I know where you're at, Hannah," Caleb said. "I'm on
my way."
Hannah opened her eyes and found herself back in the cell. Knox blocked the door with the others while a man yelled from the hallway. His voice was familiar and turned Hannah's blood cold.
"Where's the human? I know it's her, I recognize that cloak. Let me through!" Renfield demanded.
Chapter Seventeen
"Where is she?!" Caleb roared at the young girl who brought him a strange collar and a lock of hair he recognized as Hannah's. The hair didn't have her scent, but he'd recognize it anywhere. "Answer me!"
Caleb was in a back room at Night Shift. He, Erich, and Joaquin had offices there. It was a central location they could use safely with the bar as a front. The office was stark with little furniture except for a desk and a couple of chairs. Caleb didn't see the need to splurge like some of the other Alphas he knew. His office was for utility. If he wanted comfort, he'd go home to his den where he had privacy.
"I...I don't know! I told the human to run. We were so frightened, no one else even stopped to thank her. She released us from the cages and removed those collars. I don't know what happened after I left. I came straight here to give you those things like she asked."
"Leave!" he growled.
She ran out the door as he paced the room, his boots thudding against the Formica floor. What happened to her scent? She couldn't have lost it so quickly. Something else had to be going on. Caleb wished he knew what and he blamed himself for not knowing.
Hawthorn was definitely behind this. Just from what little that girl was able to say and the stench of coyote on her, it was enough to go after them. But with Hannah in their clutches, he had to be extra careful.
Caleb couldn't go full steam ahead to Abel when Hannah could be located somewhere else. The fact that shifters had been missing for all this time, without a trace, meant that Abel was more conniving than he thought.
He'd have to head out to the clearing where the girl said Hannah rescued them and see if he could find a traceable scent. Sending a quick text to Erich and Joaquin to join him, Caleb pulled on his black leather jacket and opened the door to leave, still holding the collar and Hannah's lock of hair.
Pain shot through his head. Clutching it, he leaned against the wall to steady himself, unsure what happened. With the light of the room searing his eyes, he shut them for relief. When he opened them next, the room was dark with a single light that lit Hannah, who sat cross-legged on a cement floor.
"Hannah? Where are you?" Caleb said.
"The coyotes got me, Caleb. I don't know where we're at, but there are a lot of shifters here. Even my...Knox."
"Your hair doesn't smell right. I can't find you if I can't smell your scent."
She was quiet for a moment before she spoke. "Caleb, the drawbridge, the bell! I can hear it! And we're in a cement room that's wet."
He knew exactly where she was. There weren't many drawbridges in the area that clanged a bell when they rose. And he knew from his youth of an area dubbed 'the catacombs' that was a defunct shelter during an early war.
"I know where you're at, Hannah," Caleb said. "I'm on my way."
Driving his motorcycle at top speed, Caleb arrived within minutes of speaking to her. He descended the pier near the drawbridge like he did in his youth and entered the catacombs from the back. He knew Abel well enough to know exactly where he'd be–in the great hall.
The corridors were empty. He tried to find Hannah's scent, or even that of the other shifters, but they were masked by the strong salt air of the ocean. As Caleb entered the great hall, Renfield slipped out of the room. No matter, Caleb would deal with him later.
"Where are they, Abel?" he growled.
Abel Barlow was a small, balding man with hunched-over shoulders. There was nothing Alpha about his appearance anymore. His looks had wasted away as the coyote spirit inside him grew stronger. But what Abel lacked physically, he more than made up for with his intellect and cunning.
With a smug look on his face, Abel sat back on his mock throne, an oversized chair with a tall back. "Took you long enough to get here. What was it? The human? Did you not care enough about your own people to try to find them until now?"
Caleb kept his head, knowing Abel was trying to manipulate him into getting angry. As he circled Abel, Caleb counted the number of coyote shifters in the room. Five. He could count on that number at least doubling once he attacked. He could take them.
"Release them all now and I promise not to kill you," Caleb growled, his teeth clenched.
Abel chuckled. "Such a sense of humor! I know you're alone, Caleb. And I have my entire pack here. What is that? One versus one hundred?"
"I like those odds."
Hannah's scent suddenly came over Caleb. Glancing to his left, he saw Renfield leading her and a small group of shifters down the corridor. Hannah saw him. Her face filled with relief then fear as her large green eyes scanned the room. She grabbed Renfield and spoke hurriedly, but before Caleb could tune in to hear her, the first coyote attacked.
Caleb quickly let his wolf spirit take control. As a wolf, he dwarfed the coyotes and smacked the smaller animal out of the way with his large paw. The coyotes attacked at once. One by one he eliminated them, teeth sinking into fur or a swift shake to break a neck. One by one the coyote bodies were tossed like garbage against the wall. Keeping an eye on Abel, he made his way closer to his throne as the coyotes slowed their attack out of fear.
"I saw how you looked at her, Caleb. She's the witch, isn't she? I had her all along, but she tricked me. What a powerful charmer she must be to control the likes of you."
Filled with rage, Caleb charged towards Abel. He didn't care if Abel chose to remain in human form, he'd take his life anyway. As his powerful paws brought him within reach, he felt a sudden sharp pinch in his shoulder. Slowly, a throbbing pain radiated down his shoulder, stopping him.
He fell to the ground before reaching Abel, who jumped out of the way and ran to a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and bright emerald green eyes. In her hands, she held a bow with another arrow cocked.
"Bet you didn't expect me to have this kind of back up," Abel said as he grinned at the woman beside him. "This is my Faith. Just wait until you see what she can do."
Wearing a dark flowing dress, she looked like she had stepped out of the 19th century, but while the soft wrinkles at the corners of her eyes hinted at her age, Caleb didn't know anything else about her. He was certain the Council didn't know about her, either.
Baring his teeth, Caleb stood and slowly took over for his wolf as he changed back to human form. His adrenaline held back the worst of the pain from his injury, but he knew he needed to be careful now.
As he yanked the arrow from the thick muscle of his shoulder, a group of shifters entered the room to help him as they changed into their different animal forms. Hannah was behind them. Caleb recognized some of his missing pack members as well as a few panthers and lions. The rescued shifters entered the great hall in small groups and Caleb guessed they were slowly being freed. As their numbers increased, they fought the rest of the coyotes while Caleb kept his eyes on Abel and Faith.
Hannah ran over and touched Caleb's shoulder where blood trickled from his wound. Her eyes glowed amber and Caleb knew the fighting was too much for her. She wouldn't be able to control her wolf spirit much longer and could change at any minute. If he was going to protect her, he needed to capture Abel quickly.
Changing back into wolf form, Caleb charged towards Abel, easily avoiding Faith's second arrow. Beside him appeared a large bear and a panther. His friends had arrived.
Abel shifted into a coyote and ran down a nearby corridor, leaving Faith behind. Erich roared, and Caleb let the bear chase after the coyote Alpha while Joaquin cornered Faith with his teeth bared.
"Hmm, a panther," she said seductively. "I haven't tried charming one of those yet."
Faith stared at the large cat and slowly Joaquin lowered his head. Caleb shifted back to human form, then sat at Abel's throne and
wiped the blood off his skin. The wound was already healing. Stunned to see his friend being charmed by the witch, he almost didn't realize Hannah had knelt beside him to look at his injury.
"It'll be fine, it's hardly even bleeding," she said.
"I heal quickly. Hannah...the panther."
She looked in the panther's direction, her eyes narrowing. "I've had enough of this!" she said angrily as she got up.
Hannah, her eyes glowing yellow from her wolf spirit's growing control, stormed over to the blonde witch where the panther lay at her feet, purring contently. Caleb watched intently as the wolf took over his mate.
"Charm this, bitch!" Hannah said before her fangs sprang forth.
Hannah jumped on top of the other woman and snapped at her neck, scaring her. The blonde woman screamed, cutting her enchantment over Joaquin, who shifted back to human and sat confused with his head in his hands.
Caleb smiled, recognizing the strut of the werewolf when Hannah stood up and smiled. The blonde reached up to grab Hannah's hair, but she spun around and punched her in the jaw, knocking her out cold.
Hannah closed her eyes briefly and when she opened them, they were the green eyes Caleb fell in love with. He was wrong to think staying away from her would protect her. Letting her wolf spirit come forward was the best protection Hannah could ever have.
Chapter Eighteen
In the month since the Hawthorn pack had been captured, Hannah and Caleb had spent every moment together. Busy enjoying life in the present, she hadn't even gone to the clearing to speak with Pea or Rebekah.
Caleb said he needed to take care of some business, so she went home to visit her mother, Eliza. While doing some of her laundry, Eliza came out of her bedroom humming happily. Hannah had never seen her mother so happy and knew it was because of Knox.
The Crane Curse Series Complete Boxed Set (Shape Shifter Romance) Page 9