by Kim Fox
His pulse was racing as he pumped his legs, both his real and his prosthetic one, sprinting as fast as he could go. So, Jacob is a master skin shifter. Tyler wasn’t surprised. His brother had always been so powerful.
It still gave him chills to think back on that fateful day when he discovered his brother’s true horrifying nature. He was twelve years old and Jacob was furious. Tyler had borrowed his baseball glove without asking and there was something evil in his brother’s eyes that shook Tyler to his core. Instinct kicked in and he just started running.
Jacob caught up to him by the train tracks and gave him the beating of his life. It should have been over, a little sibling rivalry that went too far, but Jacob was all about pushing farther.
To this day, Tyler still got a cold chill every time he heard a train ringing its bells.
After beating Tyler to a bloody mess, Jacob had tied his brother’s wrists and ankles to the train tracks. He just laughed as he walked away, scooping his baseball glove off of the ground and banging the dust off on his thigh. He never turned back.
Even when Tyler begged and pleaded, even when the train’s bells rang out in the distance, even when he cried and screamed out in terror, Jacob never turned back.
In a panic, Tyler managed to rip one hand free, then the other. His ankles were tied tight and his young fingers were trembling, especially as the smoke from the train became visible over the trees. He got one foot loose but his time had run out. The train came into view, barreling towards him like a horrible monster.
He could still remember the conductor with the pencil thin mustache. He was hanging out the window, screaming and begging him to get off the track.
But Tyler couldn’t go anywhere.
He leaned away from the track as far as he could reach, his foot still tied firmly to the rail, and closed his eyes.
That was the day that he had lost his leg. Jacob took it from him. Over a baseball glove.
And Isabelle had chosen him.
“I’ll call you Izzy from now on, okay girl?” he said to the wolf as he ducked under a tree. He never wanted to hear that other name again.
four
“And?”
Isabelle lowered her eyes, her stomach sinking. “He said no.”
“Goddammit!” her father shouted, chucking his glass against the wall. It shattered into pieces. I guess my heart’s not the only casualty in this.
It had been torture to see Tyler again. It was easy to ignore the worst decision of her life when she was in Creston Falls but having seen Tyler’s handsome face up close, the reality of it was coming crashing down.
“What exactly did he say?” Rhett asked. He was standing in the corner of her room with his muscular arms crossed over his broad chest. His hair and features were so dark that he almost blended into the shadowy corner.
“He said that he has a new life now, and he’s not interested in coming back,” Isabelle answered, feeling a heaviness settle in her chest. She had wanted Tyler to come back and take over the ruling position from Jacob but more than anything, she had wanted him to come back for her.
She wanted him.
And she wanted to be his once again.
Isabelle’s father walked across the room, staring at the stone floor as he shook his head and grumbled. His proud elk was standing against the wall, watching him as he paced. “I wasn’t expecting this,” he muttered.
It hurt when Tyler had refused her but how could she blame him? He must hate her after what she did to him; choosing Jacob over him.
“I’ll go talk to him,” Rhett said, stepping forward.
Isabelle sighed as she turned to the window. The windowsill was lined with ravens.
If Tyler had refused her than he was definitely going to refuse Rhett. Tyler had been close to his older cousin once upon a time but that was before he got excommunicated. And Isabelle was sure that Tyler wouldn’t have forgotten Rhett’s role in that day.
Isabelle sighed heavily. “I think we should just leave him alone.”
Tyler had looked so happy (well, until he spotted her). His friends looked nice, especially the one who had come and ‘saved’ him at the end of their conversation with some bullshit excuse about the horses, and he lived on a gorgeous ranch in the middle of Montana. He didn’t need any of the drama and violence of this place. He had created a peaceful life for himself and Isabelle envied him. She would have given anything to leave this place forever and stay with Tyler in his new home.
“Isabelle,” her father whispered. “I know that you two were close. But this is a matter of life and death for our people. Jacob must be stopped. Tyler has his blood and he’s the only skin shifter whose animals Jacob can’t override. It has to be him.”
“Why?” Isabelle said with her chest aching. “Haven’t we done enough to him?”
Her father walked across the room and took her hands in his. “Isabelle,” he whispered. “This is bigger than any one person. We are one of the strongest communities of skin shifters. Where will our people go when Jacob destroys it all?”
Rhett sighed and then headed for the window. “I’ll go talk to him and make him see. He can hate me all he wants to but this is his duty. He is one of us after all.”
The window opened with a squeak and the ravens flew off as Rhett climbed out. Isabelle stared at the dark sky as dozens of ravens took flight, following Rhett away. As much as she wanted everyone to leave Tyler alone, she still hoped that Rhett would be successful in bringing him back.
Isabelle sighed as her father cupped her cheek and gave her a sad, warm smile. “This was never the life that I wanted for you.”
“I know,” she whispered as she tugged her sleeves over her wrists. Isabelle always wore long sleeves. Her arms were covered in bruises shaped like Jacob’s cruel fingerprints, and her father didn’t need to see any of that. It was hard enough for him to see his daughter married to a psychopath; he didn’t need to know all of the gruesome details that went along with it.
“Do you think he’ll come back?” she asked, fighting back tears.
Her father sighed, his huge shoulders slumping forward. “I don’t know. But if he does come back, he’ll be coming back for you. That boy was always so crazy about you.”
A tear slipped out and slid down her cheek. Her father was ready for it and wiped it away with his thumb.
“He won’t come back for me, Daddy,” she said, dropping her eyes. “I broke his heart.”
“Maybe,” he said, pulling her in for a hug. She always felt better with her father’s big, protective arms around her. “But you’re definitely worth taking another shot on.”
Isabelle let the tears flow. What she wouldn’t give to go back. To go back to when it was easy to smile, to when it didn’t feel like there was a constant weight on her chest, to when Tyler loved her and she loved him. She wanted to go back to the time when she actually meant something to her true love.
Oh, how that would feel. To go back to a time before her heart was broken from having to break his.
Her father squeezed a little tighter taking some of the pain away. “Do you still love him?” he whispered.
Isabelle sighed into his arm. “Loving someone isn’t always enough, Daddy.”
He leaned back, looked down at her and smiled. “Love is always enough.”
She sighed. “Not always.”
Isabelle knew first hand how hard love could be. She had to walk away from Tyler while still loving him. She had to turn her back on him as his heart shattered. There was nothing harder than that and she had been reliving it, regretting it, every single day since.
Her father’s elk, Bach, began stirring by the door, lowering his head and grinding his teeth. Her father pulled away from her and hurried to the door.
Isabelle dropped her eyes and wrapped her arms around her cold body. He was coming.
The door handle turned with a squeak and nausea crept up Isabelle’s throat. “You should leave, Daddy,” she whispered.
He
r father just ignored her, staring at the door as his fingers tapped the handle of the short sword hanging from his belt.
Isabelle’s heart began pumping like a jackhammer. “Daddy, don’t do-”
The double doors swung open, ripping the words out of her mouth.
Jacob stormed in with a wild look in his golden eyes. Isabelle gasped as he marched right up to her, grabbed her arm and yanked her forward.
She closed her eyes as he pulled her in close, sniffing her. His touch disgusted her, leaving her stomach heaving and her skin crawling. She leaned back as he sniffed her hair with his vile nose.
She couldn’t believe that she had found him good looking at one time in her life. His tousled brown hair, square jaw, and golden eyes had driven all of the girls crazy when they were younger. Now they just made her sick.
He stunk. More than usual. The stale stench of strong alcohol was assaulting her nose and she cringed, swallowing the whimper in her throat as he squeezed her arm hard.
“So it is true,” he said, releasing her with a vicious smile on his vile lips. “Why did you go see my brother today?”
“Leave her alone,” her father warned, stepping forward with his hand gripped on the handle of his short sword.
Jacob just rolled his eyes, not even bothering to turn towards him. “Leave us, old man. This is between me and this whore of a daughter of yours. It doesn’t concern you.”
“No!” Isabelle screamed when the shlink sound of her father’s short sword being drawn echoed in her room. “Daddy, no!”
Jacob finally turned with an amused look on his face. Isabelle grabbed his arm and pulled with all of her strength. He just shrugged her off easily.
“Leave, Daddy,” she begged. “Please! I’ll be fine!”
He didn’t listen. Her stubborn father just held his ground, staring her husband down with narrowed angry eyes. He looked terrifying with the sharp sword in his hand and with the towering elk by his side. Bach’s head was lowered, his sharp antlers pointing at Jacob menacingly.
“Step away from my daughter, Jacob,” he commanded in a booming voice.
“Your daughter?” he said with a mocking laugh. “No. No. No. You gave her to me, remember? Now she’s my little whore and I can do anything I please with her.”
“Daddy, go!” Isabelle screamed. “Please!” She had seen that look in Jacob’s eyes before and bad things were about to happen.
“You have disrespected this family for the last time,” her father said as he raised the sword, pointing it at him.
“Your family is a joke,” Jacob said, snorting out a laugh. “The Lexington family name was distinguished and proud once upon a time, but you, old man, have turned it into a laughing stock. Walking around with that pathetic reindeer like you’re some kind of shitty Santa Claus. Not to mention having a whore of a daughter. Your son is the only one worthy of your once honorable name. At least he serves his rightful ruler.”
Isabelle gasped. This was going too far. Her father’s large arms were flexed and he was gripping the short sword with white knuckles. He was breathing heavy and glaring at Jacob with hard, flinty eyes.
“Jacob,” she said in a calm voice as she stroked his arm. “My father has had a tough day. Can we please excuse him so that we can talk alone?”
“I’m not going anywhere,” her father hissed through a clenched jaw. His wide chest was thrust out and the muscles in his neck were as tight as guitar strings. “I’m never leaving you alone with this monster again.”
“Monster?” Jacob said with a scary grin. “You want to see monster?”
“No,” Isabelle gasped, trying to pull him away. He shrugged her off and pushed her back. It was a simple push but it felt like a train had hit her. She flew across the room and slammed into the wall with a thud. When did he get so strong?
She screamed as her father rushed forward, swinging the sword from side to side in sweeping arcs. Jacob struck out, punching him in the ribs as he easily avoided the blade. Her father fell backward, crashing into the wall. He grimaced as he clutched his side, still glaring at the beast in front of him.
Jacob grinned as he walked over to the elk who was frozen in place. Bach should have been going nuts after seeing her father attacked, but he was as calm as could be. That could only mean one thing…
“Such a beautiful animal,” Jacob said, sliding his hand over Bach’s back. “How long have you two been linked? Twenty years? Thirty?”
Bach lowered his head and walked towards Isabelle’s father. He was still on the ground, holding his ribs with one hand and his sword with the other.
“I’m going to tell you this one time, old man,” Jacob said as he channeled Bach, guiding him forward. “Everything you have is mine. Your daughter. Your son. And even your animal.”
“Jacob, no!” Isabelle screamed, staring at the elk’s deadly antlers in horror as he approached her father.
Her father’s eyes flickered white as he tried to regain control of the animal who had been his companion for decades. But Jacob was too strong. He was a master skin shifter who could steal control of any animal.
Bach lunged forward, sinking his antlers into her father’s shoulder, chest, and arm. Her father never screamed. He just grunted and clenched his teeth as he stared into Bach’s eyes.
Three then four points of his antlers pierced her father’s skin, and Jacob kept guiding him forward, making the huge animal rip apart her father’s flesh and muscle.
“Kill him, Daddy!” Isabelle pleaded from across the room. The sword was still in her father’s hand. He could stab the elk and save his own life but he didn’t. Her father was a good man, the best man, and he wouldn’t harm his best friend, even to save his own life.
He just sat there, grunting as the antlers ripped him apart and his thick blood began to cover his body.
“That’s enough, Jacob!” Isabelle screamed as she jumped up. The color was draining from her father’s face, giving him a ghostly appearance.
Jacob spun on his heels and glared at her with his beautiful golden eyes shining like fire. “Where is my brother?”
“Please release the elk,” she said. There was so much blood.
“I will,” he said, his voice hollow and emotionless. “When you tell me where my brother is.”
Isabelle’s pulse was racing. She couldn’t breathe. Her father wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer but she didn’t want to put Tyler in danger. God, there’s so much blood.
“Where is he?” The elk took a step forward, digging the hard antlers further into her father’s flesh. Her father cried out in pain.
“Stop,” she begged. “Please. He’s in Colwood, Montana. On the Clawed Ranch.”
Jacob’s lips curled up into an evil smile sending cold shivers erupting through Isabelle’s body. What had she done?
“I knew I could count on my faithful wife,” he said, grabbing her chin and yanking her forward. He crushed his foul lips to hers in a revolting kiss that made her want to vomit.
“Please release my father,” she begged in a whisper.
Jacob rolled his golden eyes and released the elk. Bach pulled his head back, sliding his antler’s out of her father’s body.
Bach lowered his head and let out a horrible, heartbreaking cry when he saw what he had done to his best friend. The thick red blood dripped off of his antlers and onto the cold stone floor.
“I’ll see you soon, wifey,” Jacob said as he headed for the double doors of her room. “It’s time I pay my brother a little visit.”
Isabelle ran to her father as Jacob left the room. His pale face was covered in a sheen of sweat and his ragged breaths were coming out weak and slow. Bach’s head was lowered, looking devastated at what he had done.
“I’ll call Rosaline,” Isabelle said, rushing to the phone. She spoke to the community’s only doctor and then rushed back to her father.
Skin shifters healed faster than humans but not nearly as fast as regular shifters. He would need some bandag
es and some stitches or he would bleed to death.
“It’s going to be okay,” she whispered as she cradled his head.
“I’m sorry,” he said, staring into space with blank eyes. “It should have been Tyler. It should have been Tyler.”
Tyler.
What did I do?
Would there still be a Tyler after tonight?
five
“You got arrested for espionage?” Kylee asked as the squad sat around the firepit. It was early in the evening and the sky was gray with low hanging somber clouds. Even the colorful leaves on the trees weren’t nearly as vibrant as they were earlier in the day.
Tyler leaned back, rubbing his full stomach. Stetson had made him meatloaf to cheer him up after a rough day. It was good but it wasn’t really doing the trick.
“How did you know that I got arrested for espionage?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the pregnant sheriff.
“Wow,” Layla said, running her fingertip along the circular edge of her wine glass. “You’re a spy? Like James Bond?”
“Not exactly,” Tyler said. How did the spotlight get turned onto me?
“He’s more like Jason Statham in Transporter?” Camilla said. “Right, Tyler?”
He had to laugh. These girls were always good at cheering everyone up. “That’s it,” he said, pointing at Camilla. “Just like Statham.”
“I knew it,” she said, pumping her fist.
“But seriously,” Kylee said. “Espionage? What the hell?”
Tyler sighed. It was all so long ago. “After I…left, my hometown, I started working in security as a bodyguard.”
“Did you guard anyone famous?” Camilla asked, leaning forward with a wide smile on her face.
“Semi-famous,” he answered with a shrug. “There are A celebrities and B celebrities, she’s like a Z. Maybe a little z.”
“Who?” Layla asked.
“Kim Fox,” he said, crinkling his nose up. “She’s some hack writer that I guarded at a romance convention.”
“Ah,” Camilla said, looking disappointed. “I thought you were going to say someone cool like Tom Hardy.”