by Beth Alvarez
With his pistol cocked and ready in his right hand, Kade pulled the door with his left.
The hinges groaned and popped as the door swung outward. He paced backwards, using the door as a shield between him and whatever might be inside, holding his breath in anticipation of an attack.
The door opened wide, revealing near-emptiness inside. One of the ATVs sat in the corner with an empty gas can laying sideways on its seat. A pile of tarps and loose ropes sat behind it, and a stack of plastic totes sat at the far end of the barn, in front of the doors on the other side of the building. Tools and spare parts for farm equipment protruded from the top, forming weird shapes in the dark.
Kade took a single step forward, checking the two nearest corners before going any farther.
Nothing. He stared at the ATV and tarps for a long time, expecting them to move. There wasn’t even a rustle. No sign of anything hiding behind them. No tail or paws beneath the ATV and he could see over the tarps. That left the narrow space behind the storage boxes, and the pair of old stalls in the far left corner. Marshall kept saying he meant to have someone tear them out. Kade wished he had.
He made himself stop breathing. As a vampire, he didn’t need to breathe, but he saw no need to break the habit. Adjusting his grip on his gun, he slid forward.
No matter how quietly he tried to move, he couldn’t stop the click of his cowboy boots on the wooden plank floor. He regretted the choice of footwear, but he didn’t have much else. Not anymore. He should have checked Owen’s room for fancy sneakers. Then maybe the wolf wouldn’t be ready when Kade found him.
He whipped around the plastic totes, training his gun on empty air. Biting back profanity that would have earned him a slap in Felicity’s company, he crept onward, sliding toward the stalls. Both were open. If both were empty, he was going to feel like a fool. He inched toward the nearer one, keeping a safe distance between himself and the stall door.
The full moon offered generous lighting closer to the main doors, but if not for his exceptional night vision, he wouldn’t have been able to make out a thing at this end of the barn. He turned his head to look inside as the stall came into view. Empty.
Instead of stopping, he kept going, searching the last corner as he slid past the doorway and moved toward the second stall. With his finger on the trigger, he leaped into the doorway and leveled his gun with...
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Slowly, he lowered his pistol. He’d been sure the marks in the grasses indicated the wolf had come this way. With the ladder to the loft having been removed to make more room for the wedding, there were no more places the wolf could hide.
Maybe he’d been mistaken. Maybe the wolf had never gone into the barn to begin with. It could have just sniffed at the door and then retreated, leaving a trail Kade had somehow missed. Allowing himself a sigh, he turned to leave.
The wolf lunged for his throat, blue tarps falling off its tail.
Kade pivoted, barely escaping the rake of teeth and claws. His eyes flicked to the gun in his hand. Too close. A shot at this range would almost surely be fatal, whether or not the larkspur coating his bullets was effective. He only wanted to slow the wolf, maybe disable it. He couldn’t afford a reckless shot.
Aiming for the wolf’s hip, Kade twisted to track his target, but the beast was too fast, too agile, spinning the moment its feet hit the ground. It launched itself upward again, jaws snapping shut on Kade’s gun arm. He’d expected that, almost hoped for it. Swinging his arm toward the wolf, Kade pulled the trigger once.
The wolf yelped, recoiling. It tried to bolt for the door, but its injured hip collapsed beneath it and it tumbled to the floor.
Leaping after it, Kade dropped his pistol and grabbed both of the wolf’s legs, dragging it backwards. The wolf writhed in his grasp, snarling and clawing at the floor, kicking hard against his hold. Blood trails marked the planks underfoot and Kade gagged at the scent. The foul, bitter smell of animal blood mixed with the sweetness of human life, creating a sickening blend. Step by step, he moved toward the stalls.
Without warning, the wolf thrust itself off the floor, spinning back to hurl itself against his chest. Reeling backwards, Kade lost his footing and crashed to the floor. The wolf was on him in an instant, pinning him down, lunging for his throat. Pain shot through him, white-hot, and Kade roared.
The wolf’s ears pinned back and it jerked backwards, abandoning its attack. Knowing he wouldn’t get another chance, Kade plowed a knee into the wolf’s stomach. Every muscle strained as he flipped the monster up and over him, flinging it into one of the empty stalls. It yelped when it hit the wall. Before it could rise, Kade slammed the stall shut and latched the door from the outside.
The wolf lunged against the door and howled in frustration, clawing madly at the wood. But that stall had been built to withstand angry animals much bigger and stronger than a lycanthrope, and when the wood barely shuddered beneath the wolf’s assault, Kade sank to the floor with his back against the split door’s bottom panel.
The wounds on his neck weren’t deep. They could have been, but he still wore the bandaging Felicity had wrapped over the burns. The padding meant nothing vital was damaged, but blood still poured from the injuries, coating his shoulders and chest and soaking the bandages. It took a great deal of strength to get to his feet again. He staggered to the front door, pulling it closed and scooping his pistol from the floor. He hadn’t noticed he’d lost his hat; he picked it up and dusted it off before returning to the stall. Pressing fingers to his neck, he explored briefly with his fingertips before pulling his hand back. With a bandage already present and with how fast he healed, the bleeding wouldn’t last long. As long as he sat still and didn’t move while it was scabbing over, anyway.
“I hope you’re happy,” he muttered toward the window on the top half of the stall door, where a golden eye glowered at him.
Kade sank to the floor, holstering his gun and pressing his hat onto his head, finally giving himself a moment to breathe. Though it had only been a few days since all this began, it already felt like forever. But the bleeding would stop, the sun would rise, and then he’d have the answers he needed.
* * *
A low, anguished moan in the stall behind him snapped Kade out of sleep. He didn’t remember falling asleep, but at least he felt a little better. The bleeding had stopped at some point, though his throat and shirt were both crusted thick, his skin itching beneath the bandaging. As long as he fed again before removing the bandages, it shouldn’t bleed much. Too bad he’d returned his leftovers to the fridge before setting off for round two of the hunt.
Planting both hands on the floor, Kade pushed himself up with a grimace. Sunlight filtered in from cracks in the barn walls and a sliver where he hadn’t gotten the door all the way shut, but the sounds coming from inside the stall were definitely human.
The noises stopped as Kade stood. He didn’t realize he’d groaned until then. Oh well. It wasn’t like he could help it, and it wasn’t as if it made any difference. He still had someone trapped in the barn with him, and unless someone happened across them, they’d be stuck there until sundown. He certainly wasn’t in any condition to brave the sun. Gripping the bars of the door’s window, Kade wasn’t sure he was in any condition to be standing up, either. He was bone-weary, weakened, and hungry.
“Oh, God,” a voice groaned on the other side.
Kade peered into the stall and blew out a breath that wasn’t quite a sigh, but came dangerously close to it. Brady. Pity for everything the man had been through blended with relief over how smoothly everything had gone. Sure, he’d been bitten, but it could have been worse. If he hadn’t been able to catch Cole, Brady could be dead.
“Oh, God!” Brady almost wailed, scrambling back against the wall. “F-Father forgive me, f-for I h-have s-sinned-”
Raising a brow, Kade leaned against the door. “Are you Catholic?”
Brady paused, blinking. “No.”
“Then what are you doin’?” It took effort not to laugh.
The cowboy’s expression grew so bland it was clear he didn’t know, himself. Then he glanced down, seeming to realize for the first time that he was naked. He turned sideways, awkwardly covering himself. “I thought I killed you. When I woke up, you weren’t breathin’. You were cold as dead. I touched you.”
Had he? Kade hadn’t even noticed. It wasn’t like him to sleep that deep, but he supposed exhaustion had gotten the better of him. “’Fraid I’m not that easy to get rid of.” He unlatched the door, letting it swing open.
“I thought you were someone else,” Brady said, lowering his eyes. “I thought you were...”
“A hunter out to kill you?” Kade stepped into the stall, easing himself down to sit just beside the open door. “Bein’ honest, you ain’t far off.”
They sat in mutual silence for a while before Kade unbuttoned his shirt. Caked in blood as it was, it was still better than being naked. He tossed it across the stall. Brady caught it, draping it over himself without a second look at the blood. Instead, his eyes were fixed on the bandaging around Kade’s arm and neck.
“Don’t be feelin’ too proud,” Kade said, lifting his hand to his throat. “I was already all doctored up before I came after you.”
“You bled enough to die.”
“I’ve been through worse.” Truthful as it was, Kade knew it wasn’t comforting. He shrugged, leaning back against the wall again. “Like bein’ shot, back in December. Got shot a lot, back in December.”
Brady licked his lips. “You sure you’re not dead?”
Kade raised a brow. “Never said I wasn’t.”
Silence.
Shrugging, Kade went on. “Guess we both got secrets, now. You tell me the rest of yours, and I’ll tell you the rest of mine. Fair and square. Deal?”
Slowly, the other cowboy nodded.
Kade had interrogated people while hunting often enough that he knew never to go first. “So I already know what you are. Had you on my list of people it could be, even. When’d you contract lycanthropy?”
Brady stared at him, a crease forming between his brows.
Country boys. Right. “When’d you start turning into a wolf?”
“Oh.” Brady cleared his throat. “This is the... third time.”
Kade was surprised it had taken him that long to notice. “Do you know how it happened?”
“I didn’t at first.” The cowboy lowered his eyes and once again, Kade felt a stroke of pity. “Then I looked it up. Borrowed Marshall’s computer when I could, found things online. I... I killed a wolf, right around then. Thought it was a coyote. It was chasin’ deer around twilight and I thought it was gonna be a problem for the cattle. Didn’t know it was a wolf until after.”
“Never heard of anyone becomin’ a werewolf just from killin’ a regular wolf,” Kade murmured.
Shaking his head, Brady went on. “It wasn’t quite dead when I went to have a look at it. It bit me. Not bad, just a scrape on my hand. I put some antibiotic on it and forgot about it.”
“Until the full moon?” Kade asked.
“Until the full moon.” Rubbing the back of his hand where Kade assumed he’d been bitten, Brady sighed. “The first time was the worst. Second, I mostly just hid. But afterwards, I kept feeling this push. Like I needed to be out there, runnin’ and huntin’ and such. That was when I learned I could change whenever. I thought... I thought if I could learn to control it, then I wouldn’t... change with the moon.”
“Nobody escapes changing at the full moon,” Kade said, touching his neck again. The bandage was still sticky, making it hard to tell if that pulling was the gauze clinging to his skin, or scabs trying to break open. “But things’ll get clearer. Better. If you’re already changin’ back and forth on your own, then you’re already past the dangerous part.”
“What do you mean?”
Kade shrugged. “The part where you lose your head. Lotta young wolves go feral without guidance. Or at least, that’s what we call it. Sometimes the wolf and man don’t mesh. Sometimes the wolf wins out and the man disappears.”
Brady’s eyes narrowed. “We?”
His turn, then. “Hunters,” Kade said. “Like me.”
A guarded look crept onto Brady’s face and he stayed silent.
“I ain’t gonna hurt you.” Kade winced the moment the words left his mouth. “More than I did, anyway. How’s your hip?” The wound would persist when he changed back, but it would heal fast. Werewolves healed almost as fast as vampires did.
“It hurts,” Brady replied. “But it could’ve been worse. I’ll be off it for a while. Not sure how I’m going to explain that to Marshall.”
So Brady didn’t know the extent of his abilities, regardless of being able to control his wolf form. “We’ll figure it out. You just be glad it was me that got you, and not Cole. If it’d been any other hunter, I don’t think I could’ve convinced him to let me come after you.”
“Lucky break,” Brady muttered, not sounding like he meant it.
Kade paused. It was a lucky break.
The chances of running across a hunter he knew were high. There weren’t a lot of them; Kade didn’t know how many Keepers there were, but he did know most of them didn’t exercise their right to a hunter. There were fewer than fifty hunters spread across North America, meaning that encountering Cole wasn’t an unreasonable coincidence.
Except coincidences didn’t happen within the Keepers’ organization, or at least not often. Kade had been the one to report the hunt, and Cole—his only good friend among the hunters—had been given the contract. It stank of manipulation.
He’d owe Thaddeus a thank you.
“I suppose so,” Kade said at last.
“So what do we do now?” Brady asked.
Reaching for his pocket, Kade frowned. “You got your phone?”
Brady glanced down at himself, covered only with Kade’s bloodied shirt, then scowled.
“Sorry. Dumb question.” Kade checked his other pocket, turning his head to search the floor of the barn. He’d had his phone when he left the Hilltop House. It must have fallen out of his pocket during the scuffle. “Looks like we may have to wait until sundown.”
“What for?”
“You really wanna go streakin’ across the ranch? You got a gunshot wound to the hip and I...” Well, Kade didn’t have to finish that. It was no wonder Brady had thought him dead, considering the mess. “I can’t go outside, anyhow. Not until sundown.”
The other cowboy’s eyes narrowed.
He’d dragged it out long enough. Kade couldn’t help a smirk, though. Brady wasn’t stupid, but he was a bit more reserved than James or Charlie. Whatever conclusions or suspicions he had, he’d likely keep them to himself. But Kade had promised secrets in return for secrets, and it was only fair. Regardless of whether or not he asked.
“I guess I shouldn’t mislead you,” he began, shifting to make himself more comfortable. They might be there a while. “I ain’t a hunter. Not anymore. Gave that up when I came back to stay. My... employer wasn’t too happy with me. But...” He trailed off, unsure what to say.
Brady gave him a knowing look. “Felicity?”
Yes. That was it. The best explanation. Stifling a grin, Kade nodded, staring at the ground. “Yeah.” Then he sobered. “She deserves a lot better than what I can give her. I ain’t like you. You’ve got hold of yourself. Hang out most of the month, vanish for a few nights around the full moon... You could spend the rest of your life in Holly Hill and nobody would ever know your secret. But me?” He shook his head. “I don’t know how long we’ll make it before I have to leave. Lycans have the advantage there. I have to hide every day, or else...”
Instead of finishing, he unwrapped his arm. The burns were still there, looking little better than when Felicity had bandaged them. With new injuries to worry about, his healing would be even slower.
Brady examined the burns for a long time.
“How long you been hiding?”
“Close on eleven years, now.” Kade wrapped his arm again. “Until recently, Filly was the only one who knew. Now the people in on it are multiplyin’ faster than I can handle, and not everyone takes to it as well as you.”
“You saw me as a wolf last night. I think it’s fair I not get freaked out that you’re a...” Brady trailed off, a hint of uncertainty on his face.
That was fair; Kade hadn’t really spelled it out, and he wasn’t the only kind of critter that came back from the dead. “Vampire,” he supplied.
Brady’s eyes flicked over him, his expression shifting to bland thoughtfulness. “Huh.”
“Thing is,” Kade went on slowly, “there are a lot more of us than there are of you. Werewolves, I mean. And my kind, well, they’re...” He paused, searching for the right term. Experience had given him strong opinions on the organization he’d worked for, opinions which weren’t always appreciated by his peers. But at the end of the day, he’d always decided they were no different than any corporation run by the living. Business was business, and it wasn’t his fault if his employers sought to trample anyone else.
“They’re the overseers of things like us,” he said at last. That they were self-appointed didn’t matter. “Things that ain’t normal. And when things like us get out of control, hunters like Cole—like I used to be—get sent out to take care of it.”
Brady flinched.
“Exactly.” Kade didn’t like sharing that piece of news, but the sooner his companion understood how precarious his situation was, the better. “Like I said, sometimes the man and the wolf in someone like you don’t get on. Lycan goes feral, loses their mind, they’re dangerous. No doubt about it, and I won’t lie, I’ve taken some out. Problem is, somehow, somewhere along the line, somethin’ got mixed up.”
“Is that why that hunter came after me?” Brady asked. “He thinks I’m nuts?”
Kade nodded.
“Is he going to kill me?”