Finding Our Way (Werewolf Wars)

by Bethany Shaw

  “No. We’ll have to make a choice.”

  “We’ll radio if they can bring the van up, but it’s going to be hard enough getting our three women out since they can’t change,” Devon said.

  “I know Lark and Nora are good for running, but how is Sarah?” Daniel asked.

  “She is okay.”

  Devon looked up at the signs hanging over the aisle ways. “I’m going to get the gas can and rags. You get the wipes, make sure they’re scented, and the perfume. I’ll meet you at the register.” Devon took off towards the general merchandise part of the store.

  Daniel looked up and slowly started toward the pharmacy. He hoped that’s where he would find what he needed.

  ***

  Nora’s leg bounced up and down as they drew closer to the rest area. Her heart thrummed frantically in her chest and she wiped her sweaty palms over her jeans. I can do this.

  The car had grown quiet as they’d passed the sign indicating the rest area was two miles away. A tense silence filled the car.

  Devon cleared his throat. “Are we all clear on the plan?”

  A series of yes’ chorused through the car.

  Jackson, who was behind the wheel, slowed the van and pulled them into the parking lot. He coasted into a parking spot and set the parking brake.

  “You okay?” April asked, turning in the seat to stare at Nora.

  “Yes,” Nora said, sounding more confident than she was.

  “You are going to do this, and in a few hours we’ll be on our way home.” April reached over the seat and rested a hand on Nora’s forearm.

  “She’s right.” Daniel pressed a kiss to her temple. “Everything is going to work out.”

  “I’ll give you two a minute,” April said, patting Nora’s arm. She shifted and climbed out of the van.

  “You don’t have to do this, you know,” Daniel said quietly.

  “I know. But if April’s sister is in there, if these guys are hurting women, then I have to. It’s the right thing to do,” Nora justified. She wasn’t a soldier, no, but the things these men were doing was disgusting. It had to be stopped.

  “Be careful, Nora.” Daniel leaned forward, his lips grazing against hers.

  Nora wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. His thumb trailed over her cheek before winding in her hair. She deepened the kiss, swirling her tongue with his, and hummed happily.

  “Yo, we’re on a time crunch,” Vincent’s voice carried into the van.

  Nora pulled back, smiling. “We should go.”

  Daniel kissed her one last time. “I won’t be able to do that after you clean up.”

  Nora nodded and licked her lips. “Later tonight.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  ***

  Nora adjusted the rifle over her shoulder as she followed behind Lark. The older Davies sister had set a steady pace for them leading them over the terrain. Nora was sure they had to be getting close to the border. It had been nearly an hour since they had left the others.

  Nora would never forget the tight set of Daniel’s jaw or the tears brimming in April’s eyes as they had set off. She was coming back—they all were.

  Lark came to a halt and looked down at her cell phone. “According to Daniel’s information we should be getting ready to pass onto the Luna’s land.”

  Sarah gripped her gun tighter, her finger wrapping around the trigger.

  “Hey,” Lark snapped. “We aren’t starting anything. We’re a distraction, remember that. They have no reason to hurt us.”

  Sarah narrowed her eyes. “Fine.”

  “I mean it, Sarah.”

  “Let’s just get this over with,” Sarah sneered.

  Nora hesitated as Sarah plowed forward.

  “Keep your eyes peeled,” Lark whispered, following her sister.

  “Is she okay,” Nora asked quietly.

  “She’s mad. I don’t blame her, but it could be a danger to us all,” Lark sighed.

  “I can still hear you, you know,” Sarah called.

  “Good. Let’s keep the chatter about that down, we’re getting within hearing range,” Lark replied. “So you and Daniel, huh?” she asked changing the subject.

  “Yeah,” Nora blushed. Heat crept across her face and she looked down at the leaves beneath them.

  “I know he and Devon don’t get along, but he’s a good guy. I’m glad the two of you found each other,” Lark commented.

  “Thanks.” Nora hesitated and tugged on her camouflage jacket. “Do you think they’ll ever fix things?”

  “I don’t know. There is a lot of bad blood between the two of them. I’d like to see them work it out, so would Claire,” Lark said. “This thing tonight could be a good first step.”

  “I hope so,” Nora replied.

  A loud shrill sounded to their right and Nora’s pulse roared in her ears. They’d just entered the Luna’s property.

  “Let’s do this,” Lark murmured.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nora’s eyes darted around the woods. Trees and bushes covered the vast landscape. The wind caused the foliage to sway in the breeze, but she couldn’t see anything. Where were they? Fear raced through her and she gripped her gun tighter, drawing it closer.

  Sarah walked backwards joining Nora and Lark as they took in their surroundings.

  “How long do we have to wait?” Sarah hissed her gun held at the ready.

  “Shhh,” Lark hushed her sister.

  A flock of birds flew up into the air, causing the women to jump. Nora pointed to her left. “Over there.”

  Lark took a step forward. “Hello?” she called out, her voice shaking slightly as she stared into the distance. “Is someone there?”

  The tree rustled and Lark raised her gun and Nora followed her example. Pay attention! She chided herself. One slip up and that could be it for all of them. She ground her teeth together and waited anxiously for someone to emerge from the brush.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” a man called as he stepped into the clearing, holding his hands up in the air. “I didn’t mean to startle you,” he assured, giving all three of them a once over. “What are you doing out here? There aren’t many houses out this way and the state parks quite a ways away.”

  “We got lost,” Lark started, her voice coming out smooth. “We were out hunting with our boyfriends and they started tracking a deer. They left us at camp, but we got bored and decided to go look for them and, well, I think we might be really turned around,” she chuckled nervously, tucking her lip between her teeth.

  “What’s with the sirens?” Nora asked, even though she knew what they were. The stranger didn’t know that she knew, and they needed to keep it that way. She slowly lowered her weapon to her waist, but took care to keep her hand on the gun so she could fire it if needed.

  “Oh those,” the man waved, smiling. “It’s nothing. We’ve had some problems with wild animals coming onto our property. There is a little bit of a wolf problem in this area. It helps to deter them. They should go off any minute now.” He took a step forward, keeping the large grin on his face. “So you three are lost, huh?” he propped his palms on his hips, showing off his sculpted upper body.

  “Yeah,” Lark answered, smiling sheepishly. “I don’t suppose you have a phone or something we could use? We’d like to call our boyfriends and see if we can figure out where we are.”

  The man smiled, pointing at Lark’s gun. “Why don’t you put that thing down, sweetheart, and I’ll take you back to the house. There’s a phone there you can use.”

  “Oh,” Lark laughed. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to point that at you, I forgot I was holding this.” She put her gun down letting it hang freely from the shoulder strap. Her face flushed red and she looked down at the ground. “I thought you were a deer. Would have given us something to hold over the guys head if we caught one before they did.”

  “Good thing you didn’t shoot me,” he chuckled, his eyes appraising them.

  Nor
a shuddered her stomach curdled with revulsion as his eyes roamed over their bodies. There was something predatory about his glare. Her arm hairs stood on end and she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Keep calm.

  “Come on this way. Main house is about a half mile from here. We could be there in a few, call your boyfriends, and maybe get you lovely ladies a bite to eat.” He took a step back, motioning them to follow. “I’m Chip by the way.”

  “Thank you,” Lark gushed, taking a step forward. “I’m Ginny, this is my sister Genevieve, and our friend Ava,” she said pointing to each of them as she gave out fake names. Nora couldn’t help but wonder if the names had been planned or something the blonde had just thought of last minute. Either way, it was a good idea.

  Nora looked over at the younger Davies as Lark finished the introductions. Sarah’s jaw was set, her fierce blue eyes fixated on the man in front of them. Although, she’d lowered her weapon, her pointer finger remained poised precariously over the trigger.

  Noticing that Chip was staring at Sarah, Nora knew she needed to say something to draw his attention away from her. “Thank you so much for helping us. My feet are so sore, I don’t know if I would have made it much longer,” she groaned, yawning.

  “No problem,” Chip beamed. “Let's get you inside.”

  Nora let out a long breath hoping Sarah didn’t do anything rash. She swallowed hard as they started to make their way through the woods. Things were about to get dangerous—maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

  ***

  Daniel crept through the tall grass, keeping his upper body hunched over. The backpack of supplies he wore weighted him down, keeping his movements from being as fluid as usual. Devon moved along beside him, he nudged Daniel on the shoulder, then ducked down behind a large rock. The alpha pulled out his cell phone and looked down at the map on his touch screen.

  “We’re here. Any closer and they’ll spot us, or smell us,” Devon said showing him his phone. “We’ll wait here for the perimeter alarm to go off. Then we’ll find a quiet place by the water to stay. Hopefully, the Luna’s will be distracted enough they won’t notice us and the stream should give us a little more protection against their sense of smell since a lot of wildlife frequent there.”

  A loud blare belted out into the air. Devon nodded as he peered around the rock. Daniel followed his gaze, watching the tree line for movement. When there was none, Devon motioned him forward and the two brothers sprinted into the trees.

  They darted through the woods pushing themselves faster. The two wolves had to make it onto the property before the alarm was shut off or they would trip it again when they crossed over. If they didn’t then their entire plan would be a failure and Nora, Lark, and Sarah would be in a precarious situation.

  Daniel’s heart beat rapidly in his chest as he leapt over a log. Sweat began to bead on his brow as the sharp wail grew closer. They were almost there. He couldn’t fail Nora, he would make it onto the Luna’s property.

  A blur of grey and white flew toward them on their right. Devon nodded tearing off in that direction. Daniel balled his fists and then flexed his fingers willing his hands to transition. The bones popped and fur sprouted out.

  Devon propelled forward faster and Daniel surged on keeping pace with him. The wolf lunged at them and Devon slid to the right as Daniel ducked to the left. Together, the two brothers spun and sunk their clawed hands into the wolf’s back. The wolf howled. Devon withdrew his nails and sliced them across the wolf’s throat, letting their enemy fall onto the ground. The wolf writhed in the dirt as it drew its last breaths.

  “We need to keep moving,” Devon said his golden eyes meeting Daniel’s. The alpha tugged his bag higher up on his shoulder before racing off again.

  Daniel took off after him. His bag jumped across his back, the jugs he carried collided with his back with each move he made. Lighter fluid filled the air and he cursed realizing one of his bottles of the flammable liquid was leaking. Great! That couldn’t possibly be safe, but then again, nothing about this mission was.

  Devon slowed down holding up his paw as a signal.

  They stood in a large clearing. A spring was to their right and the only sound he heard was the rustling of running water. The trees towered up into the sky effectively shading the entire area.

  Daniel walked toward the water. Several deer tracks were imprinted into the soft mud. Moss and algae filled the air. As he got closer, he noticed a small embankment that would keep them almost entirely out of view from any angle. “We could stay down there,” he suggested. “Until Lark texts.”

  Devon sighed, taking one last look around. “How close are we to the house?”

  Daniel thought for a moment as he tried to remember the layout of the land. He’d run through these woods on several occasions. He just needed to recall where the water was in correlation to the house. It needed to be an accurate recollection too. Nora’s life could depend on how close he was. Any miscalculation could mean death or something worse for her, Lark, and Sarah. “I’d guess about a half-mile,” he finally answered having thoroughly racked his brain.

  “Okay. We’ll stay here,” Devon said taking his bag off and walking to their hideaway. He dug his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “It will be getting dark soon. Let’s hope Luna’s guys turn in. We’ll use the gasoline to douse the foundation of the housing complex then light it up. We need to take out as many men as we can. The less that can be sent to Abilene, the better.”

  Daniel nodded in agreement. They needed to take out the enemy. He sat down on a log next to Devon and adjusted the straps of his backpack, but didn’t take it off, just in case they needed to move at a moment’s notice. He closed his eyes and hoped that Nora was okay—she had to be.

  ***

  Nora and Lark sank down into the plush, tan leather couch. Nora sat upright, keeping her back perfectly straight. Her fingers curled around the side of the armrest and she swallowed down the lump forming in her throat.

  This is so not a good idea.

  “Make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to go get a few bottles of water for you all. Here is my cell if you want to contact your boyfriend,” Chip said, handing over a long black device to Lark. “I’ll be right back.” He walked out into the hall and the group of men that had greeted them at the front door followed behind him.

  Nora shuddered and turned to Lark. Her fingers were already skimming quickly over the touchpad of her own phone. Chip’s phone sat cradled to her as if she were ready to swap them out if needed. Within seconds, the message was typed and she smashed her finger down on the send button. The blonde let out a long breath and tucked her phone into the sleeve of her jacket.

  Sarah sat on the armrest next to her sister, crossing her arms over her chest. Her gun rested in her lap, and her hands laid over it, ready to spring into action.

  Footsteps padded towards them and all three women’s eyes looked up to the door. A woman—who couldn’t be over thirty—walked into the room. Her mousy brown hair was pulled up into a bun and her eyes stared at them hesitantly. She clutched a few bottles of water against her swollen belly. She stared at them for a moment before moving toward them.

  Nora gasped her heart racing as she stared into a pair of familiar brown eyes. This was April’s older sister—she was sure of it.

  “Here is some water,” the woman said quietly. She knelt down, her face right in there’s. “It’s not safe here. You should leave. Now!” she whispered so quietly it was barely audible.

  Nora’s eyes widened and she gripped the edge of the sofa harder. The woman stood up straight and backed away. Reaching out, Nora grasped the woman’s hand. “Wait!” she hissed. “Are you Emma? April’s sister?”

  Tears welled in the woman’s wide eyes and her bottom lip trembled. That was all the confirmation she needed.

  “You should leave,” Emma repeated quietly. “You’re not safe here.”

  “Wait,” Lark mouthed. “Let us help you
.”

  Emma drew in a quick breath as she looked at the blonde. “There are too many men here. We’d never all make it.” Her hand rested on her stomach.

  “Emma,” Chip’s voice called from the hallway. Emma backed away from them as his boots clunked against the wooden floor. “Everything okay?” he questioned as he came into the room. He placed a possessive hand around her hip, drawing her into him. Emma stiffened and closed her eyes, but quickly relaxed.

  Emma smiled. “They were just asking about the baby,” she said smoothly, rubbing her hand over her abdomen.

  “Another boy,” Chip exclaimed his hand coming to rest over hers.

  “How many do you have?” Nora asked. We’d never all make it. Of course, Emma wouldn’t leave her children behind.

  “This will be our third,” Emma said a small smile slipping over her features.

  “It’s getting late. Why don’t you head upstairs to tuck Abel and Alexander into bed,” Chip proposed.

  “Of course.” Emma nodded. “It was nice to meet you.” She gave Nora one last look before turning and leaving the room.

  “Were you able to contact your boyfriend?” Chip asked.

  “I sent him a text,” Lark said, handing the phone back. “He hasn’t responded yet, but he probably has it silenced. They were really intent on catching that deer. I’m afraid they may not even know we are missing.”

  “Wouldn’t want that deer to get away,” Chip grinned. “You’re more than welcome to stay here until you reach him. The woods can be dangerous at night. There have been a few wolf attacks and one of our hands spotted one near the property just last night. ”

  “Thank you, but we wouldn’t want to put you out,” Lark said.

  “Oh, it’s no problem at all,” Chip assured waving his hand. “If it were my Emma out there I’d want someone to offer her hospitality.”

  Cold chills zipped down Nora’s spine at his reference of ‘my Emma’. Did he think he owned her? Probably, she realized. “So, Emma, she’s your wife?” Nora asked, curiously. She knew April would want to know and if they couldn’t rescue Emma, the least she could do is find out more about her sister. Although, she wasn’t entirely sure how much of a help it would be to know. It seemed Emma’s situation was not ideal.