by Sky Winters
Chapter One
Aspen opened the door to find two federal agents with sour expressions standing there. Moose looked toward them and then returned to his conversation with Grant. This wasn’t good, but they had known this day would come.
“I’m Agent Tamryn, and this is my partner, Agent Hanover. We’re here to speak with you about the explosion down at the falls,” one of them was saying.
“What’s that have to do with me?” Aspen asked.
“We don’t know. That is what we are here to find out.”
“You came at a bad time. We’re busy at the moment.”
Agent Tamryn glanced around him toward Moose and Grant, then around the front room of the club at all the other people milling about. He turned his gaze back to Aspen and scowled.
“You see these big yellow letters on my jacket?” he said.
“Yes. ATF. Quite clear.”
“Right. We are here investigating at the behest of local authorities and forensics teams. They have determined that the explosion was both deliberate and that the explosives used were government issued, military grade. Now, I wonder if there might not be at least a member or two of your club that might have military ties who could have procured such a supply.”
“Hmm. That does sound like a good question,” Aspen replied, turning back toward the room to address those present. “Any of you order any explosives from Acme U.S.A. lately? Perhaps an anvil?”
There were some nods and laughter from all around the room. Aspen turned back to the agents and shrugged his shoulders dismissively. The agents both looked at him with furrowed brows and pursed lips.
“You think it’s funny that hundreds of men were blown up while attending a simple club meeting? That means nothing to you at all?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. What I can tell you is that it has fuck all to do with my club and you’re not welcome here.”
“Said like a man with something to hide,” Agent Hanover added, her face screwed up in disgust. “All we are asking for is a few minutes to come in and speak to you and any of your men about what you might know. Even the smallest thing might assist in our investigation.”
“Unless you have a warrant to enter our club and a subpoena that compels us to answer questions, you can go fuck yourselves,” Aspen said evenly. “Got either?”
“Well, no. We just thought you would want to help. You know, be neighborly . . . a helpful part of your community.”
“Then you are much worse at detective work than I would have given you credit for. If you had spoken to a single person about me, you’d have saved yourself a trip. I’m neither helpful nor neighborly. Neither are my associates.”
“I guess that concludes our business here then. All right. We’ll be back when we have what we need to get a little further into this conversation then.”
“Good luck,” Aspen said, closing the doors, and walking back toward Moose and Grant. He nodded for them to follow him to the office. A few minutes later, they were standing alone in his uncle’s exterior space where they normally held meetings.
“What are we going to do about them?” Grant asked.
“Nothing. Only three people in this building know what happened conclusively. The rest might have some idea based on the quick way we insisted on them all being seen, but they know nothing definite. Still, they need to be reminded that they do not talk to anyone. Make sure they understand that even the least little thing they say could be somehow twisted and used to dig a little further.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Moose replied.
Aspen nodded and sent him out, asking Grant to stay behind for a few moments. Moose made his way back out to the main area and called everyone together, making a note to catch those not present once he was done with the majority. He was in the middle of his discussion with them when Elizabeth came lumbering in, now very noticeably pregnant.
“Where’s Grant?” she gasped.
“In a meeting with your father. What’s wrong?” Moose asked, hurrying toward her as she seemed a bit unsteady on her feet.
“The baby. The baby is coming.”
“I’ll get him,” Moose told her, calling out to one of the nearby women to stay with her.
Hurrying back to the office, he knocked and then went right in without waiting. Aspen’s head jerked up angrily, as it wasn’t cool in their club to barge in before being given an okay to do so. Still, this was something he knew would be forgiven under the circumstances.
“Elizabeth is in labor,” he blurted out.
Both men rushed past him, barking at several others to get their bikes and follow. Aspen disappeared down the hallway and returned with his wife, Amanda. A young girl called Jacqueline followed behind them with a baby in her arms. Everything was suddenly chaotic with Grant helping Elizabeth out to the car, as Amanda gave the girl last minute details on taking care of the baby. Beside her, Aspen did the same with several of the members of the club.
“Do not let anything happen to my son while I’m at the hospital waiting on my grandchild to be born,” he warned them.
“Not a chance,” one named Owen assured him.
“Let my uncle know we’ve gone. Tell him I’ll call when we know something,” Aspen added as they turned to follow Grant and Elizabeth into the car waiting outside.
Around it were a half dozen bikes. Moose jumped on his own and pulled out in front, leading the pack as they made their way. This had all been well rehearsed. Elizabeth and Grant’s child would be only the second baby born into the Silver Wolves MC in the past twenty-five years. The curse put on them by a rival bike club, The Dire Wolves, had assured that their line would come to an end and, as their numbers dwindled, attempts to go ahead and eradicate them early had become a way of life.
That was until Amanda had become pregnant. The MC, once resigned to becoming extinct, was now hopeful that things were changing. It had been a disappointment that only Amanda and her step-daughter, Elizabeth had been able to get pregnant, but it was a start. The only question was what made them special? What was it about the two of them that allowed them to conceive. Elizabeth was adopted, so it wasn’t related to a shared blood line between her and Aspen. It was a puzzle that would hopefully one day be solved, but for now, they just had to make sure the babies that were born were well protected.
Removing most of the Dire Wolves pack in an explosion had been dirty work, but it had been necessary. While there were a few left that might threaten the Silver Wolves at some point, their numbers were too far reduced to fight any significant battles, even against a bunch of older wolves like themselves. Now, it was just a matter of rebuilding so they never found themselves in such a tenuous position again.
They rolled down the darkened streets toward the doctor’s facility, Aspen driving Grant and Elizabeth with himself in the lead and the rest of their group behind. They wound their way quickly through the backroads that led to their destination, making good time.
Moose strained to see ahead of him. The fog was thick tonight, but the roads had been cleared. Now, though, he could see something else in the distance, laying on the road. An animal, perhaps. He slowed a bit, causing Aspen to honk the horn impatiently, but he didn’t try to pass. He would know that if they were slowing, there was a reason.
“Fuck!” Moose uttered, realizing what he was seeing ahead of him and it was a lot closer than it had looked. He braked hard, almost throwing himself over the handles, but he couldn’t afford to go around it and try to stop. If Aspen didn’t realize what he was doing, he might not be able to stop the car in time. He’d much rather he hit him, if it came to that.
Wheels screeched behind him as he stopped in the middle of the road and jumped from his bike, kicking the stand as he barreled forward and dropped to his knees. She was still breathing, thank God. She was trying to say something, but her words were slurred as if she were drunk or drugged. The lights of his motorcycle and those of the ones stopping behind him lit the scene well enough that he could s
ee blood staining the white tank top she wore.
“I’m just going to see how bad this is,” he told her, pulling up the side of it.
“What the fuck is going on?” Grant demanded, stepping out of the car, and making his way forward.
“I don’t know. She was in the road. I think she’s in shock. Let’s get her in the car and let the doctor look at her since that’s where we are headed anyway.
“Was she hit by a car, you think?” Grant asked, some of the others gathering around.
“No. That’s a wolf scratch down her rib cage. She was attacked . . .,” he began to say, but his words were cut off by growls from all around them.
They came out of nowhere, in the nearby woods. There weren’t many of them, only two adults and a half dozen younglings, from the look of them.
“Dire Wolves,” Moose hissed, jumping to his feet.
Grant was quickly barking orders at his father-in-law.
“Get her out of her! We’ll handle this,” he yelled toward the car.
He didn’t wait for an answer. There was no time. He and Moose both shifted, as did four of the others. Aspen stopped the other two, waving them forward with him. The car squealed around the edge of the wolves, clipping one of the younglings in the process. He yelped and fell to the pavement before dragging himself down into the ditch. One down, easy enough.
Snarls filled the night as the two packs fought ferociously, snouts tearing at one another as blood flew and claws ripped into one another’s pelts. A scream from behind Moose drew his attention behind him and he whirled about to see one of the younger wolves, dragging the woman off the road by the leg as she tried desperately to fend him off before collapsing, likely from shock.
Moose shot forward, knocking the wolf backward and clamping down on his hind leg in retaliation. It whimpered and tried to pull away as one of the larger adults snapped at Moose. Rather than wasting time, he quickly jerked his head sideways, locking his jaws down around the neck of the first wolf and twisting violently. There was a loud cracking sound and then the limp body fell by the roadside.
He hated to kill a youngling like that, but he hadn’t been left a lot of choice. Around him, the night was filled with the violence between the other members of the Silver Wolves and the remaining Dire Wolves, but he still had the adult to deal with. Their heavy bodies slammed against the pavement as they tangled in a fight to the death. It seemed to go on forever, but it had likely been less than fifteen minutes. When the noise stopped, there were several Dire Wolves running for the woods, some of the youngest ones. The adults were dead on the road.
Some of the pack started after them, but Aspen stopped them with a loud growl. They paused and turned back, shifting back into human form, as did Moose and Aspen.
“Let them go. They are just boys. Most likely forced to be here. Everyone okay?” Grant asked.
“Yep,” came several replies.
“Moose?” Grant asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Alright, let’s get to the doctor’s office,” he said, turning toward one of the other guys to speak. “Carter, get back to the clubhouse and let them know what happened here. Make sure they stay on alert and let me know everything is okay there, first chance you get.”
“Will do,” Carter replied.
“Rest of you, come with me. I’ll have to ride bitch with someone.”
“Take my bike,” Moose told him. “I’ll call 911 and make sure this one gets to the hospital.”
“I’m not leaving you out here by yourself,” Grant told him, turning to Gray. “Stay here with him and wait for help, then go back to the clubhouse.”
“I don’t want to cut you short on men with the Dire Wolves on the prowl,” Moose objected.
“We’ll have enough. I don’t think they’ll be back. Someone tipped them off though. That’s a bigger problem to worry about.”
“Yep. Alright, let’s get a move on. You’ve got a baby to see born and I think this girl may be in shock. I don’t think she’s hurt too bad, but she’s seen a lot of confusing stuff tonight, I’m guessing,” Moose told him.
“Sounds right. Be careful.”
“We will,” Moose replied, nodding toward Gray as he pulled his cell phone out and called 911, giving them directions and a brief description of the woman’s injuries.
Grant hopped on his bike and roared down the road, followed by two of the other bikes, while the third was already well down the road on his way back to the clubhouse. Moose tended to the woman as best he could, using his handkerchief to staunch the flow of blood from her side. It was a long scratch, but not very deep. He could have probably taken her to the hospital on his bike instead of giving it to Grant, if not for her hysterical condition. Last thing he needed was to lose her off the back of the bike on the way. Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quickly.
“What happened to her?” one of the paramedics asked.
“Don’t know. Looks like an animal attack.”
“You weren’t with her?”
“No. I found her like this.”
“No ID. No phone, nothing. She’s not coherent, just mumbling something about huge dogs,” the other paramedic said.
“Alright, let’s get her on the bus and in for evaluation. Jane Doe the paperwork on the way.”
“Do you mind if I go with you?” Moose asked.
“Sure. I guess. Closest thing to someone she knows at this point,” the paramedic said.
“Thanks. Gray, let Grant know where I am.”
“Will do,” Gray replied, hopping on his bike, and heading off in the opposite direction as the ambulance closed its doors. A moment later, they were ripping through the darkness with lights and sirens as the woman babbled in what surely sounded like confusion to the paramedic sitting beside her, but made perfect sense to Moose.
“The man. He turned into a dog. A big dog. Maybe a wolf. A big black wolf,” she muttered over and over.
Chapter Two
“It’s a boy,” Grant was saying over the phone when a doctor emerged from the exam area.
“Did you come in with the young woman found on the road?” he was asking.
“Grant, that’s great man. I’m gonna have to let you go. The doctor is here and I’m trying to find out who this woman is and how she got mixed up with the Dire Wolves.”
“Good idea. Talk later.”
“Yep. Congratulations, man.”
“Thanks,” Grant told him before he ended the call.
“Yes. I came in with her.”
“She’s resting comfortably. I can’t really give you any details on her condition due to privacy laws, but she’s going to be fine. We are putting her in a room now if you want to wait a little longer and check on her yourself. The nurses said you came in with her, but don’t really know her. Still, you are the closest thing to a friend she has until we find out who she is.”
“Not talking yet, then?”
“Not yet. Maybe tomorrow after she rests.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.”
“The nurses will let you know when she is in a room where you can visit. Visitation hours are technically well over, but it’s almost morning anyway. I’ve told them to make an exception for you.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
An hour later, Moose sat beside the mystery woman’s bedside. He couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she was, even in a hospital bed. Her skin was flawless, youthful. She was a good twenty years younger than he was by his estimation. It was hard not to be attracted to her, even in her current state. She groaned and squirmed a bit in the bed, making him ashamed for even thinking of her like that when she was bound to be in great discomfort.
A few moments later, she opened her eyes, seeming to look through him more so than at him. She sighed and squinted in his direction for moment as if trying to make him out and being unsuccessful.
“Who are you?” she asked finally.
“I’m David Kelley, but everyone calls me Moose.�
�
She seemed to absorb this for a moment, still looking at him in confusion.
“Do I know you?” she asked in a groggy voice.
“No. Not exactly. I found you on the highway. Well, me and my guys. I called the ambulance for you.”
“Oh,” she said, closing her eyes.
Moose waited for her to say more, but she was out cold again. He chuckled to himself and tried to close his eyes for a bit. It had been a long night and he had been sitting here waiting for her to wake up for hours. He could barely stay awake himself anymore. He dozed off in his chair, oblivious to anything until a bit later, when he heard voices. Jumping up, he was in fight mode, ready to shift. Instead, he found himself looking at a man and woman in white coats who seemed amused.
“Have a nice nap?” the girl in the bed asked from behind them.
“It was okay. You?” he replied with a slow smile.
“I’ve had better,” she told him.
“Hi. I’m Doctor Fox,” the man told him.
“Moose,” he replied.
“Moose? Well, we’re just a couple of animals, aren’t we?” the doctor replied.
“What?”
“Moose? Fox? Animals . . ..”
“Ah, right. That we are.”
“Anyway, we came in to check on our lovely patient here. She’s doing fine. We’ve got stitches in her side and her concussion is clearing up. She’s out of the woods and can go home.”
“Sounds great.”
“Just have her make an appointment with my office in a couple of weeks to remove the stitches. You can take her home.”
“Oh, I uh. Yeah, okay,” Moose replied, on the verge of telling him that he didn’t really know her, but then deciding he would just talk to her once he was gone.
“See you soon,” the doctor told her as he left.
“I’ll be right back with your discharge paperwork,” the nurse told her before following him out.
“Well, good news for you then,” Moose said, turning back toward the young woman in the bed.
“Right,” she said glumly.
“You don’t seem very excited about getting to go home.”