by Mia Rose
“What?” asked Declan.
“What if we want to leave the pack?” he asked plainly.
“You can always leave whenever you want to,” Declan spoke slowly, “but I would strongly suggest that you stay. You will need us to guide you. To help you learn your new strengths, and how to develop control of your wolf form.”
“I know, we will need help. But we can’t get it here. We need to leave or else Noelle will find us and she will kill us.” Garett looked over at his wife who was struggling to compose herself. “It’s our only option, Abby.”
“Speak for yourself,” the younger woman said. She had remained quiet over the course of all of the revelations and finally spoke up.
“Megan!” an older woman admonished.
“I’m staying right here. If Noelle wants to try to kill me, that’s fine. But I’ll be ready for her.”
“Megan, what in the world are you saying?” Garett argued. “You’re not making any sense at all.”
“We wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you!” Abigail cried out. “It was your stupid strategy that set us all up for the attack, perfectly.”
“And it was your husband’s idea that we all go out and hunt in the first place! ‘One last hunt,’ he said. One last hunt is right!” The woman reached over for Megan’s hand, but Megan pulled it away and stood up from her chair.
“You all can argue about your game plan as much as you want, but I’m staying.” With that, she left the basement, pulling the door so hard that the loud banging sound reverberated throughout the room.
“I am not leaving my daughter.” The woman stood from her chair and quickly chased after Megan. Three of the other family members stood up and followed after them, leaving only Garett and Abigail sitting there.
“Garett, what are we going to do now?” Abigail asked her husband.
“We are going to stay for now,” Garett said, looking into the distance in a stare. “We are going to try to make this work.”
“What about our daughter?”
Garett looked at Abigail and took her hand in his. “We no longer have a daughter.”
“What if we want to leave the pack?”
Chapter 3
Taking Charge
“It’s official! He’s back!”
Noelle looked at Edmund and searched his eyes for something —anything at all that might indicate what he already knew.
“Noelle,” Edmund said, “what really happened to your family?”
“Edmund, please. I don’t want to lie to you about things, but there are just some things that you will not understand —you can’t understand it.”
“Try me,” he said, leaning back on the chair. Noelle looked at him steadily. “Okay, I’ll go first then. Your father came into the hospital with a large wound that he said he got from an animal —one that none of you saw, but one large enough to do severe damage. Shortly after, you end up in the hospital from a car accident because you were speeding, as though you were being chased by something. Now, I am here at your house where you have hurt yourself, yet again, and you want to tell me that you fell in the garden.”
“All of those are true, Edmund. I don’t know what you expect me to say to you at this point.”
“I expect you to tell me the truth, Noelle.” He sighed. “Okay then, answer me this question, why is there a crossbow sitting on your kitchen counter?”
Noelle’s eyes shot over to the kitchen and sure enough, a crossbow sat on the counter. It looked like it was her father’s old one which he must have left there, right before they went on the hunt.
“We hunt recreationally, I told you that. That’s what we were doing that night my father was injured.”
“Interesting,” Edmund said, “you know, as a doctor my memory is very good. If I recall correctly, your father said you were all out there to do some star gazing, nothing was said about hunting.”
Noelle felt trapped —she hadn’t wanted to lie to him but she also knew that the truth was going to be too much for him to handle. She recalled the days when her parents first told her about their own family’s calling; she’d thought they’d both gone mad. It took a really long time —and a lot of convincing, for her to finally come to accept her destiny.
“Noelle, just tell me what it is. I know I can help you,” Edmund pleaded with her.
“How do you know that for certain, if you don’t even know what it is?” Noelle scoffed. “Okay, you know what, here goes. The night my father was attacked? We were out hunting and he was attacked by a werewolf. And the night I got into a car accident? You’re right, I was running away from something —a werewolf. And last night? I didn’t fall into a garden bed. This, well, this happened because I was kneeling down next to my family. My family who are now all undergoing the transformation to become werewolves. I told you it would sound insane, and so I guess now is the point where you run out the door?”
Edmund studied her face for a long time, but his expression gave away nothing. Noelle felt as if he was examining her soul the way his eyes seared into hers.
“How long ago?” he asked, seeming to understand.
“What?”
“How long ago did the transformation begin?”
“Are you —wait, what? Are you making fun of me? Is this funny to you?” Noelle looked shocked that he was so calm.
“Noelle!” he yelled. “Answer the damn question! How long ago did they begin the transformation?”
“I don’t —I mean, at least a few hours ago. I’m not sure when they were bitten.”
“We may have time then. But I’m not making any promises.”
“Edmund, what the hell is going on? Now it’s your turn to do some explaining here. How are you not freaking out right now? I just told you that we hunt werewolves and that my family —I mean, how are you just okay with this? And what do you mean we have time?”
“Noelle, in this world, we are often forced together with people who can help us in some way. You and I —you thought that you were alone, but you’re not. You have me.”
“You didn’t answer any of my questions…” Noelle trailed off.
Edmund sighed and leaned forward in his chair. He wrapped his hands behind his neck and faced the floor as he spoke, “I come from a family of hunters as well. Actually, my name, Edmund —I was named after the original hunter.”
Noelle looked at him, completely speechless. Could this really be happening? How could she know if he was playing some sort of cruel joke on her by going along with her story? Was it a coincidence that they were both supposedly named after original hunters?
“If what you are telling me is true, then tell me, what can kill wolves?”
Edmund looked at her without skipping a beat and said, “Silver.”
Noelle nodded, but she still wasn’t completely sold. That was folklore and many people knew the answer to that. Especially, if they knew about werewolves in general terms.
“Okay, and what is this about having time? Time to do what?”
Edmund stood up from his chair and walked over to the crossbow sitting on the kitchen counter. He lifted it and stroked the handle, admiring the craftmanship that went into the piece.
“Edmund?” Noelle repeated. “Time to do what?”
He looked up and said, “Time to save them.”
Declan waited in the basement after the family left to talk to Gabriel. Once the door closed behind Noelle’s parents, Declan faced him.
“What the hell was that?” Declan asked.
“What?” said Gabriel with a chip on his shoulder.
“You need to realize that you not only changed these people’s lives, you completely upturned their core values. How in the world can they believe in what they did before? This isn’t a typical transformation.”
“Yeah, no shit. How could you not tell me that you were fucking a hunter?”
Declan’s hands curled into tight fists. It was taking everything in him not to punch Gabriel in the face, but he resisted, despite how much he kne
w it would feel good.
“Gabe, do you see what you’ve done? Seven of our pack members —killed. They aren’t coming back. They are gone forever because you needed to lead them all out there to seek revenge. Let me ask you, do you feel better now?” Gabriel glared at Declan, but he did not respond. “Well? Do you?”
“No,” mumbled Gabriel.
“So, we just lost seven pack members for nothing. And we’ve ruined seven other lives for nothing! You still feel like shit and Cassidy is still gone. This is exactly why you should’ve listened to me. This is exactly why I am the alpha and you are not!” Declan’s skin rippled slightly, but he took a deep breath as he reigned in his inner wolf.
“What do we do now?” Gabriel asked.
“Get everybody down here.” Declan sighed. “The first thing we need to do is pay our respects to our lost family. We can figure it out from there.”
Gabriel nodded and stalked off in the direction of the door. He ripped it open and went upstairs to call a pack meeting. Declan stayed in his position as the members started trickling in like ants looking for food.
He noticed that the energy in the room was almost non-existent. It felt as though every member had been drained of life. Declan saw Noelle’s family shuffle in last and stand at the back of the room.
“Hello everyone, and thanks for coming down here on such short notice,” Declan stated. “Last night, we suffered a great tragedy. Seven of our members have been lost forever, and sadly, we have no one to blame but ourselves for that.” Declan looked straight at Abigail as he spoke.
There was a silence that fell over the room like a haunted night. A weird calmness and a strange eeriness at the same time could be felt, and it swept over them all. It had not been an easy time for any of them, and there would be the feeling of grief that would play out for the lost members over time.
“We wanted revenge for Cassidy, but all that brought us was more bloodshed and more loss. We now have another pyre to build; to honor our members. I want all of you to think about the decisions we’ve made as a pack, including the actions we’ve taken, and the consequences we are now facing from those actions. This is a sad day for all of us as a family.”
Declan led the pack out of the basement and everyone got into their cars to drive over to the woods. Gabriel drove his truck to where he had kept the bodies of the deceased wolves covered with a large tarp. It was good timing because the bodies were starting to become noticeable through the stench.
Declan arrived first and headed to the same spot where he had burned Cassidy’s body. The pack began gathering sticks and leaves to use for the pyre, and one by one, they started burning what little was left of the bodies. The wolves howled in grief-stricken pain and watched as the fire burned. The ones they loved so well, now gone. Forever gone.
It seemed like hours had passed, then one by one, the members began leaving and heading back to the apartments. Declan thought he was the last one left. He stood, staring at the smoke which lifted high into the sky.
“Declan!” He nearly jumped at the voice. He turned to find Abigail standing behind him.
“I didn’t know you had come,” Declan said.
“Yes, well I may not have known these people, but I did play my part in all of this.” Abigail shook her head softly and said, “I am truly sorry for your terrible loss.”
“I am too,” Declan responded, turning back to face the fire. The two of them stood there together, side by side watching, until the very last ember burnt out.
Edmund helped Noelle off the couch and led her to the bathroom. She needed to take a shower so badly to wash the memories off her body. She stood there looking in the mirror and she was astonished to find streaks of dirt on her face, and leaves still tangled in her hair. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
He kissed me looking like this? Noelle asked herself. She almost laughed, but she felt too tired. So much had been happening over the last few weeks —she felt like she had lived an entire lifetime in a matter of days. And now, with the newest revelation about Edmund, she had no idea what to do with the latest pieces of information.
“Noelle?” Edmund called from outside the door. “Are you okay? Do you need help?”
She realized with dismay that she would not be able to get undressed by herself, yet again. She opened the door to find Edmund leaning up against the wall, staring distractedly at the ceiling.
“Yes, I need help,” she admitted.
He walked into the small bathroom behind her and turned her so that she was facing away from him. He lifted her top over her head as quickly and as carefully as possible. He then hooked the waistband of her pants and pulled them down. Noelle stood naked and she shivered at the thought of his eyes gazing over her body.
He directed her closer to the shower and when Noelle tried to look back at him, he gently directed her to face forward. He turned on the water and helped her inside, and to Noelle’s surprise, she realized that Edmund was in there as well. Without facing him, she couldn’t tell what he was doing.
What felt like minutes later, she felt his hands lathering her back with body wash. He massaged at her shoulders and around her neck. He lifted each arm carefully, massaging all the way through her hands. Noelle could feel her knees getting wobbly, but she was using the arm rail to keep herself as steady as possible.
He continued lathering her as he made his way to the small of her back. He massaged her butt very softly, pulling at her skin tenderly and circling around. Finally, he pressed his own body up against hers and Noelle realized for the first time that he was also naked.
She could feel his hard cock pressing against her and he pushed it so that it sat between her legs. She could feel her body trembling with anticipation for him.
He poured more soap onto her chest and lathered it over her breasts, massaging her nipples with his thumbs as he cupped them. Slowly, he rubbed her stomach and made his way down to that sweet spot between her legs. Noelle let out a gasp as his finger began rubbing the small section of raised skin. It was more than good.
He inserted one finger; then two, and pushed them in and out of her body, feeling her getting wetter with every touch. He kissed the tender skin at the base of her neck and he trailed his tongue along the side and up to her earlobe.
Noelle wanted to turn to face him, to kiss him, but he kept her facing the other way. He never changed the pace of his pulsing fingers and Noelle let out a moan of approval. Slowly, steadily, he felt it all as she finished. Her body quaked with satisfaction and desire.
Noelle was finally able to turn to face him and he smiled at her, pleased with himself for reaching the goal. She leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips. She was taken by his approach. He had been both sexy and gentle. There was a definite chemistry between them both.
She couldn’t help but compare her experience with Edmund, to the nights she’d shared with Declan. With Declan, everything seemed so urgent. Essentially, it was always just a raw, physical passion. No names, no stories, just two bodies meshed together in unison. But with Edmund, it was as if every single touch had a deeper meaning behind it. It was as if making love to him would be like trying to decipher the true meaning of an intricately-beautiful piece of poetry.
She hadn’t known that she could feel like this about anyone and it made her doubt her feelings toward Declan. That was never love —not in the true sense of the word, at least. That was just lust that was trying to become something more. She’d wanted it to be more.
With Edmund, there was an aching in her bones that made her feel incomparably strong, and weak, all at the same time. She felt that with him by her side, she could accomplish anything. For the first time since last night, she had hope that her family might survive this.
As Declan started to drive back, he decided to try and stop by Noelle’s house first. He wanted to check in and see if she might be ready to speak to him. As he pulled into her neighborhood, he noticed an unfamiliar car sitting in the driveway.
He looked into the windows of the vehicle, but he didn’t see anything. Declan walked up to the door and knocked a few times. There was no answer. He pressed his ear against the door but he couldn’t hear anything. He knocked again, but there was still no answer.
She’s probably asleep or something, he thought to himself.
He walked around the side of the house and looked into the window of her bedroom, but she wasn’t there. From there, he could hear the sound of the water running from the bathroom. Declan considered staying there to wait for her until she got out, but he decided against it. He walked back to his car and with one last look at the house, he drove off back to the apartments.
As Declan pulled up, he noticed that most of the pack members were in the parking lot waiting for him. Declan climbed out of his car and asked, “What’s going on, guys?”
“We were just wondering if there was going to be another pack meeting?” a young woman with short red hair asked him.
“Probably tomorrow, essentially. I mean, we’ll have to gather to figure out what’s happening next.”
The woman exchanged worried glances with the man who stood next to her.
“What is it?” Declan asked them.
“We just —we need to know something.”
“Well, what is it? I can try to help out.” He remained calm.
“Are you going to be our alpha again? Shit has gone seriously crazy ever since you stepped back, or whatever. We want you back.”
Declan smiled, despite the fact that he was surprised by their sentiment. He nodded and said, “I never stopped being your alpha. All of this —it was a lesson. And I hope that you have all learned from this.”
The woman broke into a large smile and rushed up to Declan and gave him a tight hug. “Thank goodness!” she exclaimed. Declan smiled and walked away, but in the distance, he could hear the woman announce to the other members, “The answer is a resounding ‘yes!’”
“It’s official! He’s back!”