Outside the room there was the sudden sound of a scuffle that startled Allison from her thoughts. Muffled shouting, grunts, slams and bangs. The sound of splintering wood made her heart jump, and light streamed through the remains of a wooden door.
“Michael!” Allison gasped.
Using a newly procured key, Michael quickly removed her shackles, and then proceeded to release Logan and finally Luke.
“Let’s go, quickly!” Michael said.
“Michael, there’s something you should know,” Luke said quickly.
“There’s no time, let’s go!” Michael ordered.
“Michael, I really think…”
But Luke’s voice was cut short when Lydia’s tinkling laughter filled the room into which they’d fled. Allison noticed Earl lying sprawled across a table, clearly unconscious. Michael turned to face her, and she smiled warmly at him.
“Lydia…” he breathed, the color draining from his face.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Luke whispered, leaning toward Michael.
“What a pleasant reunion,” Lydia said. “The family’s all back together again! Except for poor Thaddeus, of course.”
She pouted dramatically, and then threw her head back and laughed heartily. Michael twitched as though he was about to fly at her in a rage, but Luke’s hand on Michael’s arm gave him pause.
“Thaddeus never did anything to you,” Michael snarled.
“Oh, are you forgetting how he forced me to leave the pack because of you, Michael?” Lydia asked. “He left me to fend for myself with hunters after me when I came to you for help. He left me to die!”
“You know why he had to do it,” Michael said.
“Because of our love, you mean,” Lydia said, and Allison’s heart began to pound so hard her hearing began to throb in her ears.
Michael glanced back at Allison, whose face was pale, but stony. She said nothing, and averted her eyes.
“That was a long time ago,” Michael reminded Lydia. “And you know how it turned out.”
“Oh, yes, I remember quite well,” Lydia said. “You dumped me like a hot potato all because your precious Thaddeus bade you to.”
“It was not within my power to resist,” Michael said. “You know that.”
“Perhaps.” Lydia clucked her tongue and added, “Or perhaps you only… go! Quickly!” Her voice had sunk to a hissing whisper as her head turned toward the front door. She pointed in silence to a door behind her, and with no further word, Michael grabbed Allison’s hand and dashed through it, followed closely by Luke and Logan.
Through the kitchen, they broke through a rickety back door and into the forest. In an instant, Michael shifted. His hulking form stood dark and twitching anxiously before Allison. Luke and Logan had shifted as well, and the difference in size between Michael and the other two was startling. Michael was nearly as tall as Allison, while Luke and Logan were only half again as large as a regular wolf.
Michael growled, and Allison was shaken from her momentary shock. She quickly mounted the massive wolf and grabbed thick handfuls of his gray fur. Off he dashed, his paws making scarcely a sound as he bounded through the trees.
Occasionally he would glance over his shoulder, but nothing but Luke and Logan followed. Soon, they arrived back at the cave they’d been hiding in originally. Allison fled instinctively into the darkness, feeling along the wall in the darkness, fumbling for the secret entrance.
She paused, noticing the door already slightly ajar. She peeked inside and gasped, flattening her back against the chilly wall, her heart pounding.
“Michael!” she hissed.
“What it is?” he asked, a bit out of breath and panting. He’d already shifted.
“Look!” she whispered.
She saw his head enter the shaft of light that flooded from the crack, and he grasped her hand and squeezed it. He was seeing what she’d seen. The place was ransacked. Their cots were ripped to shreds, food was scattered across the dirt floor. Everything was destroyed.
“Let’s go,” Michael ordered. “They’ll be here shortly. We’ve no time to lose!”
Allison and Michael left the cave and found Luke and Logan arguing outside. They turned to Michael and blanched at the sight of his grave expression.
“What’s wrong?” Luke asked.
“No time to explain,” Michael said. “We’ve got to go. They’re coming.”
“How did they…” Logan started to ask.
Michael didn’t answer. He simply shifted, and Allison jumped upon his back, ready to go. Luke and Logan followed suit, and off they went.
Suddenly, Luke and Logan froze. Michael, sensing they’d stopped, immediately turned his head and barked something. They returned with a short, sad yelp, and Michael immediately turned in go back in the direction from whence they’d come with Luke and Logan on his heels.
“Where are we going?” Allison begged, but the three wolves simply sprinted at top speed in the direction of Victor’s cabin.
Allison’s stomach churned and twisted in knots. She’d no clue what they’d spoken of. All she knew was they’d suddenly decide to go back to the place that put them all in such danger.
Before long, Allison detected the scent of smoke in the air. It grew stronger and stronger, and eventually it was nearly suffocating. Allison coughed and squinted through the ever thickening haze of choking smoke, her eyes beginning to burn and water.
Michael lurched to a stop, nearly throwing her from his back. She quickly scrambled down, and the three wolves shifted back into human form. Allison barely noticed their nakedness, now. It had become so familiar.
Michael burst through the front door as flames gushed out explosively around him. He disappeared into the dancing orange and yellow fire and emerged moments later carrying a limp Lydia, who had obviously been worked over quite badly before the fire started.
Luke and Logan shifted back into wolf form once more, and Michael laid Lydia’s lifeless body across Luke’s back. Then Michael too shifted, and Allison quickly jumped aboard.
They raced back to the house and found it miraculously standing. As soon as Allison dismounted, Michael shifted and snatched Lydia from Luke’s back, bursting through the cabin door and laying her limply on the same bed Allison had found herself shackled to when she’d first come to in their den.
“Lydia,” he said gently, tapping her face.
Luke and Logan entered and stood solemnly beside the bed, watching anxiously for any sign of life.
“Lydia!” Michael shouted, slapping her squarely.
Her eyelids fluttered, and the brothers inhaled sharply. Her eyes opened, and she coughed.
“Get her some water!” Michael snapped, and Logan dashed into the kitchen returning with a glass jar full of tap water.
Michael snatched it away and held it to Lydia’s lips. She took a small sip and weakly pulled her head away.
“Lydia, what happened?” Michael asked.
She took his hand in hers and looked deeply into his eyes. Her lips parted, and she tried once… twice… three times to speak. Then she sighed and closed her mouth, swallowing hard.
Michael leaned his ear as closely to her mouth as possible, and she finally managed to croak, “Simon.”
Her eyes closed and her hand went limp, slipping from Michael’s and flopping lifelessly onto the bed.
“Lydia, no!” Logan wailed, kneeling beside the bed and taking her hand in his, pressing it to his forehead.
“Goodbye, sister,” Luke said, his hand gripping the bedpost fiercely.
Michael turned to the others and said, “She said Simon. That can only mean one thing. He’s back.”
“Oh, Jesus,” Luke said. “You don’t really think… you don’t think Simon’s really back here, do you?”
“I’m afraid so,” Michael answered. “And that means none of us are safe. We need to leave town, and quickly.”
“Who’s Simon?” Allison asked.
“Logan, pack a b
ag of food right away,” Michael said, and Logan kissed Lydia’s hand and wiped the tears from his eyes, disappearing into the kitchen. “Luke, get to the safe and put every dollar we have in a backpack, now!” Luke dashed upstairs.
“Who’s Simon?” Allison repeated.
Michael carefully lifted Lydia’s body and headed for the door. He turned to Allison and said gruffly, “Stay here.”
“Michael, who’s…” but her words went unheeded as Michael disappeared.
Just as he returned, Luke and Logan also came back from their tasks and Michael said, “Let’s go.”
“Who is Simon, and where are we going?” Allison demanded.
“I’ll explain when we get there, now let’s go!” Michael shouted.
Outside, they shifted rapidly, and Allison lifted the backpack onto her shoulders and hefted the bag of food onto Michael’s back in front of her. And off they dashed.
Chapter Ten
“Where are we going?” Logan asked.
After hours of traveling, they’d shifted into human form and were walking carefully through the woods.
“Primrose Peak,” Michael answered.
“Why Primrose Peak? Isn’t that Seth and Wyatt’s territory?” Logan asked.
“It’s safe territory,” Michael said. “I know they’ll let us stay there for now. Plus, they do things differently up there.”
“What do you mean?” Logan asked.
“Do you have to ask so many questions?” Michael groaned.
“Last one,” Logan said. Then he quickly added, “For now.”
Michael sighed and rolled his eyes and said, “They don’t follow ancient pack law. They have their own set of laws that have been working for them for a few decades.”
Logan clearly wanted to ask more questions, but wisely refrained. Allison could tell that everything had already reverted to the way it had been before Logan originally disavowed. Michael was once again Alpha, no ceremony needed.
“Michael, who is Simon?” Allison asked.
“Now you with the questions, too?” Michael sighed.
“Just answer me,” Allison said.
“Simon used to be Alpha of Victor’s pack,” Michael answered. “He and Thaddeus were good friends many years ago. Then Victor convinced him to go rogue, and that lead to the death of Thaddeus. I guess Simon felt guilty over the death of his friend, so he left. Went out on his own, I guess. But when he left he said he’d come back and destroy us all. He’s a raving lunatic.”
“That makes no sense,” Allison said. “If he blames himself for what happened to Thaddeus, why would he want to do anything to you?”
“I told you, he’s a lunatic,” Michael answered. “He absolutely lost his mind, and he was sure everyone he knew was conspiring against him somehow.”
“Wow,” Allison said. “And you couldn’t talk to him?”
“No one can,” Michael said. “And if he’s back, the further away we get from this area, the better.”
“Besides, Seth’s pack is strong,” Logan added. “I don’t think even Simon could take them.”
“Who is Seth?” Allison asked.
“He’s Alpha of the Primrose pack, and his brother, Wyatt, is their Beta. Second in command, basically. Their territory is known as Primrose Peak. It’s a few days North of here,” Michael said. “Seth is very powerful, and his pack is very loyal. He’s a good friend to us, and he was a good friend to Thaddeus, too.”
“And you think he’ll let us stay there?” Allison asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Michael answered.
“You don’t think he’ll be upset about us dragging our troubles into his territory?” Logan asked.
“Seth is a good guy,” Michael said. “He’d never turn away a friend in need.”
Allison began to notice the pain of her bare feet again. She gritted her teeth and tried to stay quiet, but she noticed Luke sniff the air, and then he froze and looked down.
“Your feet are bleeding,” Luke pointed out.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly.
“Sit,” he said, pushing her onto a log.
He kneeled in front of her, picked up one of her feet, and examined the bottom. A low rumble sounded within Michael’s chest. He glared down at Luke as if he might attack him at any moment.
“Calm down, Michael,” Logan said, grabbing Michael’s arm.
“Tell him to take his hands off her,” Michael snarled through gritted teeth.
Luke sighed and pulled himself back into a standing position, approaching Michael. He poked his chest out defiantly.
“I don’t see why you have to act all possessive, Michael,” Luke said. “You know pack law. She is ours, not yours.”
Michael’s jaw clenched and relaxed repeatedly. His lip curled into a snarl, baring his teeth.
“Michael, chill,” Logan whispered, his grip on Michael’s arm tightening.
“She’s mine,” Michael said. “Pack law or no pack law.”
Allison’s mind began to reel. She was utterly confused. Michael had said they were unable to disobey pack law as if they were under mind control, but now he was breaking all kinds of their rules.
“Michael, I thought…”
“Stay out of this!” Michael warned her.
She sighed heavily and folded her arms across her chest. She said nothing, but she glared stormily at Michael.
“Let’s just get to Primrose Peak,” Logan said. “Come on.”
Michael flinched toward Luke, but finally relaxed. He shook his head and said, as he turned to walk away, “You’re not worth it.”
“Likewise,” Luke said.
Michael ignored the slight and kept walking. It was still a long journey to their destination, and nightfall was coming.
A chill was in the air, and Allison noted the familiar scent of a coming snowstorm. Wearing a tank top and shorts with no shoes was one thing when the temperatures were in the seventies, but the chill crept through her clothes and made her skin crawl with constant goose bumps and stiffened her nipples. She wrapped her arms around herself, but it did little to quell the chill.
“She’s getting cold,” Logan said. “We need to find her something warm to wear.”
“There’s a snowstorm coming,” Luke said. “Logan’s right. She won’t survive in this weather.”
“I’m fully aware of this,” Michael said. “What kind of useless Alpha do you take me for?”
Allison saw Luke’s mouth open, but quickly close again. She was thankful he’d managed to keep his thoughts to himself, if only this once. Her feet were beginning to ache as much from the cold as from the wounds that mottled her soles, and she was in no mood to hear them argue.
Chapter Eleven
A wolf howled in the distance, and Allison’s hair stood on end. She froze, but Michael perked up and shifted himself. He belted out a somber response, and moments later two large wolves trotted into sight. They shifted into human form, and Michael followed suit.
“It’s good to see you, Michael,” said the taller of the two men. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been better,” Michael answered. “A lot has happened since we last spoke.”
“Well, come back to the den and you can tell us all about it,” Seth said.
Seth glanced at Allison, who was staring into the distance, avoiding letting her gaze fall on the two nude men who greeted Michael.
“And who is this?” Seth asked.
“Her name is Allison,” Michael answered.
“A new mate?” Seth asked. “I don’t smell you on her.”
“She has not yet been officially claimed,” Michael said. “Besides, you know we follow different pack laws. We still follow the old ways.”
“Oh, right,” Seth said. “The whole pack or death thing, right?”
“So it was supposed to be,” Luke spat contemptuously.
Seth raised an eyebrow and said, “Trouble on the home front?”
“I have… made mistakes,” Michael
admitted.
“He copulated with her on his own,” Luke growled.
“Well, I can see where that would be a problem under the ancient laws,” Seth agreed. “Luckily, we no longer observe such laws at Primrose Peak.”
“That’s right,” Wyatt said, speaking for the first time. “For decades, we’ve followed a law that said the Alpha alone may claim his mate, and no one else can touch her.”
“Of course, that rule, too, has been bent,” Seth added.
“Oh?” Michael muttered.
“Wyatt and I have claimed a mate together,” Seth said. “But by choice, not because of some outdated laws.”
“Interesting,” Luke said. “The most progressive pack we know, and they are following the ancient laws after all.”
“As I said, we didn’t do it because of laws,” Seth corrected Luke. “Wyatt and I were jealous over Callie, and we both wanted her as our mate. We saw that she was on the verge of leaving, and we knew we couldn’t push her away by continuing to argue. It just made sense for us.”
“How did you…” Michael started to ask a very important question.
“There will be time for more questions later,” Seth interrupted him. “Come. We’ll prepare a welcome feast back at the den!”
Seth and Wyatt’s den was just that… a den. Allison had heard Michael’s pack refer to their run-down house as their den, so she hadn’t been expecting a literal den. It surprised her when Seth pulled back a wall of natural vines and leaves to reveal the entrance to their den.
“Wait,” Allison said, pausing at the entrance. “They don’t go by your old pack laws. So that means they’re not going to try the whole mate or kill thing. Right?”
“Seth and his pack have never lived by that law,” Michael assured her.
“Barbaric,” Wyatt muttered. “A lot of the ancient wolf ways were. We considered ourselves enlightened here at Primrose Peak.”
They entered the den and headed down a corridor that led into a very large cave-like room with a huge bonfire built in the center, which currently wasn’t lit.
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