Cloaked in Secrecy

by T. F. Walsh

  “Why travel with crossbows? Makes you look c-crazy.” He wavered on his feet. “Have you considered getting help?”

  Raising her crossbow to target his face, she said, “Time for your farewell.”

  “No!” I shoved him behind me. “Leave him alone.”

  “Fine by me if you both want to die.” Her gaze flickered to the bus and back. “I planned to kill your brother in Sofia after he transformed in front of everyone at the full moon tomorrow night and revealed your kind, but if I have to do it now … ” She shrugged. “So be it.”

  My mouth fell open at the same moment a flash of high beams and the tooting of a horn came from behind me. I spun to see a car approaching fast, but the whir of a crossbow bolt whizzed past my ear and pierced the front windshield of the oncoming vehicle.

  The vehicle fishtailed out of control, sliding wildly across the snowy road. That’s when I recognized Father’s BMW. Every inch of my body snapped to attention.

  The car came to an abrupt halt about fifteen feet from the bus, and before I could make sense of why Father was here, I ran toward him. Please don’t let him be hit, please no.

  “Stop, or he dies.” Kalina’s voice boomed across the night.

  The terror coursing through my veins tripled in speed. Halting a few paces away from the Beemer, its blinding headlights preventing me from seeing beyond the windshield, I turned around. My entire body shuddered.

  Enre was on his knees, blood dripping from his mouth, and his body swaying. Behind him, Kalina stood, the crossbow pointed at the back of his head. “Come back, nice and slow, or your boyfriend dies.”

  Enre kept rubbing his face, shaking his head. Dread crawled through me.

  “There’s enough poison on the tip of the bolt to kill him instantly,” Kalina continued. “Lucky for you, I only grazed him earlier.” Tilting her head to the side, she stared down at Enre, who’d collapsed on all fours, his arms trembling, his back arching. Was he going to shift?

  “He’s really struggling, isn’t he? Poor little doggy.”

  His head snapped up, his brow and mouth pinched as he fought through the pain.

  “Don’t do it.” My words were for Enre not to transform, but Kalina took them as hers.

  Her boot collided with Enre’s butt, sending him sprawling to his stomach on the snow-covered road.

  “Move.” She gestured to me with the crossbow. “Free the prisoners. I want your brother to see you die.”

  Standing there, my limbs numb, I stared at Kalina. Rage burned through my veins. I yearned to tear her to bits and smash her into the ground. I might have been the pacifist of our pack, but in this situation, I’d gladly break her neck.

  “Now.” She stepped away from the bus. The forest was at her back, and Enre remained between us.

  Without another thought, I hurried to the bus, grabbed the corner of the windshield, and pulled, but it wasn’t budging. I scanned the inside of the bus for the officers’ weapons.

  The creak of a car door opening farther down the road drew my attention. Over my shoulder, I spotted two figures climbing out of the BMW—Father and Damir. This was officially the first time I’d been thrilled to see the quick-tempered, aggressive wulfkin.

  “I had this under control, Alena,” my father said, his tone gritty and filled with venom. “Why is he here?” He pointed to Enre, who crawled away from Kalina. Father shook his head. “This is the exact reason I didn’t tell you Nicolai’s transfer was tonight, or that I would be breaking him out on the road rather than in Sofia. Because I knew you’d do something stupid like this.”

  A sinking sensation swirled through my belly. “But I could have helped you.”

  “You never listen,” he said.

  “Fascinating,” Kalina butted in. “Family squabbles. Well, if it helps, neither of you were going to succeed.” She broke into a cackle. The sound grated along my spine.

  My next words flew out, fast and dead-on, targeting Father. “You knew Nic was killing those humans, and you covered for him? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Ha, this is getting good,” Kalina said. “Told you, Maxim, I’d pin you down soon enough.” Her voice lowered, growing heavier and louder. “Did you also cover for your son when he killed my father in Serbia, you monster?”

  Even from my distance, the glow of the dancing flames revealed Father’s frown.

  “You know nothing, Kalina,” Father said, turning toward me. “Alena—”

  “Save me your pity story,” Kalina replied. “So it’s okay for the innocent lives to be taken because I don’t understand your bullshit. Well, fuck you, and welcome to my life.”

  Father stepped closer. Damir followed with his hands clenched at his sides. Enre was already climbing to his feet. The crackling tension in the air wasn’t from the lofty fire or the muffled voices from within the back of the bus. It was from the fight about to break out.

  Convinced all the blood had drained from my face, I clutched my fists to my chest, quivering from the truth. I faced Father, but my response was barely a whisper and I doubted anyone else heard it. “How could you?”

  “Stay right where I can see you,” Kalina said toward the other three wulfkin. “Or she gets it. You know what I want. Retribution.”

  Shivers slithered up the back of my legs as the crossbow pointed poison in my direction from a few paces away. I was an easy target. Father and Damir stood near the Beemer. Enre was farther in front. Three sets of eyes locked onto Kalina.

  “Get inside the bus now.” She spat the words in my direction, her gaze narrow and crammed with the promise of death.

  I yanked on the corner of the window again, using my wulfkin strength, but made no progress. The crunch of snow made both our heads jerk toward Father and Enre. I spotted a flash of Damir vanishing around the back of the bus where the fire roared.

  “If your pet mutt doesn’t return by the count of three, she dies.”

  Father and Enre said nothing but stared at Kalina as if they were hunting a deer.

  “One.”

  My body quivered, and a crackle at the back of the bus told me the fire was spreading.

  “Two.”

  No footfalls. Where was Damir? Hell.

  “Three.”

  A sudden explosive pain struck my back above my shoulder blade. Thrown forward onto the bus’s windshield, I slid down the glass and crumpled to the side. My world slanted. A momentary blindness took hold, and my throat seized up.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  ALENA

  Was this death?

  Father. I was leaving him behind. Nicolai would also die. I’d lose my pack family and Enre. I could no longer deny it. I loved him and had made too many excuses to avoid him. Too late. I was dying. All the missed opportunities speared my heart.

  My eyelids flipped open. My next inhale was sharp and agonizing as I gasped for air. A throbbing ache lanced across my shoulder. I shoved the confusion away, convinced the poison was making its way through my body. How long did I have?

  Whimpers fell from my lips as I tried to push myself upright.

  Screams from inside the bus echoed around me, and the stink of gas filled my nostrils. My whole body trembled. Sonia’s words cascaded into my head, the ones about me influencing huge change. Except what difference would my death make?

  Each breath hitched in my chest, and every slight movement was excruciating.

  Nicolai. I had to tell him how sorry I was for getting us killed.

  Behind me, a cacophony of voices, snarling, and a distant howl blurred into the background as I pushed myself to my hands and knees. Each move had me crying. I refused to die. Not like this. I collapsed again; my body curled in on itself. Clenching my jaw tight, I rode the torture flaring down my spine. Take small breaths. You can do this. I kept repeating the mantra in my mind. Dragging myself up onto my arms, I reached out for the window.

  My hand slipped. I tried again, except someone snatched my ankle and dragged me backwards on my stomach away from th
e bus. My gaze stayed locked on the vehicle, my insides turning to cement as my fingernails dug into the snow to claw my way back. And then I saw Father’s feet near the front of the bus. He ripped away the rest of the glass in one grunting move and leaned in, smoke billowing out past him.

  Prisoners, one by one, staggered out. Father was there, taking the police officers outside and placing them on the side of the road. Where was Nicolai?

  I came to a stop, and within seconds, a wet nose pressed against my cheek. Mila? On my next inhale, I corrected that. Enre, in his wolf form. He was alive, thank the moon.

  Slowly, I lifted my head, wanting to thank him. But the side of the bus, engulfed by flames, caught my attention. Prisoners were emerging, coughing, stumbling away from the accident. Most sprinted down the road, back toward the city.

  The roar of the wind gushed past, snowflakes hitting the side of my face, landing in my open mouth. The vision ahead became a blurry haze of oranges and grays. My head swam, my body numb from the cold. A pair of bare feet stepped into my vision.

  “Alena, I’m going to remove the crossbow bolt. It’s going to hurt, but I’ll make it quick.” Enre’s voice wavered. “Use your healing, focus on that.”

  Wasn’t he a wolf a second ago? He remained out of my line of vision as I lay there, convinced death was coming for me. I still hadn’t seen my brother.

  A sudden and excruciating gnawing twisted through my shoulder and down my arm. The torturous explosion of pain deepened around the wound. My screams escalated.

  Enre said something, but his words were lost in my agony and my cries for him to stop. A bolt landed in front of me, the tip covered in blood. My blood.

  He applied pressure to the lesion and wrapped his jacket over my shoulder and under my armpit, all while I lay on my side, whimpering. The blinding torture spearing through me eased slightly, but not enough to stop my shaking. The care Enre showered on me was equal to that of a family member, not an enemy. I owed him my life.

  I visualized a funnel of energy pouring into my shoulder, stronger and wilder by the second. Drawing healing from the world around me, I shut my eyes and pushed beyond the suffering, past the arctic chill settling in my bones. I imagined myself warm, free of horrific torment, and anywhere but in the middle of the road with my head in the snow.

  Silence fell around me. It was too quiet, in fact; not even the wind blew. Opening my eyes, it took me several moments to take in the scene. I lay between the bus and Father’s car. The fire crackled, but I no longer felt the heat. The wind and snow had stopped.

  Ahead, Father dragged a coughing Nicolai from the bus. Blood dripped down my brother’s face.

  I scrambled to my feet; the inflamed soreness had dissipated from my shoulder, but haziness still circled in my head.

  Kalina came into view from around the front of the bus, her crossbow aimed at Nicolai. Behind her, Lutia appeared with an arm wrapped around Damir’s throat and a bolt aimed at his temple. Where had she come from?

  “Stop.” I took a step forward, but my knees buckled and I fell over. Quickly, I scrambled to my feet again, fighting the fog in my head threatening to knock me out.

  “Lutia?” Father asked.

  “You were going to report me to the Varlac,” she said.

  “We can still work it out. Stop now, or you'll be an outcast. No pack will take you in."

  “Not if you all die tonight.”

  My insides scorched. With each passing second, my strength returned tenfold. My wound barely stung now. How was my body healing so fast? I moved forward, step by step, holding myself upright.

  Then a blur flashed past my side—Enre in wolf form—toward Kalina.

  She released a crossbow bolt, dead straight for Nicolai.

  I screamed.

  Father threw Nicolai aside, and the bolt slammed into his chest, sending him crumpling to the ground next to my brother.

  “No!” Shivers captured my limbs. My throat was raw from yelling.

  Enre crashed into Kalina, bringing her down, the crossbow tossed out of her reach. In that same moment, another wolf appeared from behind the bus—Mila—who leapt onto Lutia’s back, ripping into her neck. Lutia’s shrieks pierced the night.

  Every nerve in my body exploded with fire, another yell howled from my throat. Then I stumbled forward, not a single twinge across my body. My muscles tightened.

  I bolted, snow crunching and sliding beneath my boots. My sights were set on Father. Nicolai leaned over him, pleading for help.

  Throwing myself to my knees beside them, I reached for the bolt sticking out of Father’s chest above his heart.

  Father caught my hands in his icy, weak grip. “Don’t. It’s too late.” His breaths grew raspy, slower.

  “I can heal you, hold on.”

  Nicolai was on his feet, pacing toward the BMW and back, murmurs coming from his mouth, his head shaking.

  “Alena.” Father’s voice was barely a whisper. “Nicolai doesn’t know what he’s doing in his wolf form.” He sucked in a short breath, his face twisted in agony. “He doesn’t remember what he’s done. Don’t break his spirit.”

  “Don’t worry about that now.” My voice wheezed as I placed my palms on the entry point and called for the energy that had buzzed around me seconds earlier.

  “Pull out the bolt, Nic,” I called out. My gaze never left Father or his struggle to keep his sleepy eyelids open. “Stay with us. Don’t go.” My throat stung. I poured everything I had into Father, healing him, wiping away the poison. It had to work.

  “I love you both. Take care of e-each … oth … ” His voice faded, and he froze, eyes open, no life behind them.

  Tears blurred my vision as I sobbed. I clasped my eyes shut and hauled the energies from around me, not caring if I offered every ounce of my own strength.

  The sensation of fire trembled through my limbs and streamed into him. I continued drawing more energy … more than ever before. It wasn’t enough. Tears ran down my cheeks and off my chin.

  A faint voice said my name. Was it Father?

  I snapped open my eyes and found him still lying there, not moving. My hands pressed to his bloody chest but felt no pulse.

  “Alena,” Nicolai said as he ran a hand over Father’s eyes, closing his eyelids. “It’s too late, let him go.”

  “No!” My body went numb.

  My brother’s face resembled how I felt inside: sadness pulling his features down, his eyes glistening, and his skin snow-white. When I glanced around, the trees on either side of the road were bent over, curved inward, as if reaching for us, for me, for Father.

  “You did that,” Nicolai said. “During your healing.” He leaned across Father and placed a kiss on my brow, his warmth spreading through me.

  Little made sense, and I didn’t care to understand it right then. But I did know one thing. My dreams had, in fact, been a warning. A premonition. And I’d done nothing to stop them from coming true. To save my father.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  ENRE

  Kalina quivered beneath me. My paw pressed to her throat above the Interpol badge, claws drawing blood. My jaws were inches from her blurry face. Shit, I’m losing my grip.

  With lips peeled back, teeth exposed, I was ready to tear into her flesh. Every hair on my back stood on end as my wolf demanded we finish her. My muscles tensed, and I salivated at the idea. After all, she knew our kind existed and deserved to die after killing Maxim.

  Nausea refused to leave my gut, sending uncontrollable shivers through me. Alena’s healing mojo helped a bit. I needed more. The icy poison still coursed through my veins.

  “Do it already, you disgusting monster.” Kalina’s eyes narrowed, and her mouth twisted. “I welcome death if it means seeing my parents again.”

  Oh, she’d get her wish soon enough.

  Ripping Kalina’s life away would give me the ultimate pleasure, but it wasn’t mine to take. Alena deserved that right because of Maxim.

  Squirming under me,
Kalina shifted her hips slightly. Movement to my left caused me to jerk my head around. Her hand gripped a blade aimed at my face.

  I jumped back and snapped onto her wrist, teeth biting down hard. The blade fell on the ground as she screamed. Her cries did nothing to loosen my grasp, and neither did the weak punches she threw into my ribs.

  Near the front of the bus, I glimpsed Blackie hauling Mila by her tail away from Lutia’s limp body. Mila released Lutia and snarled, fighting against Blackie’s pull. A part of me pitied Lutia. If she hadn’t spent so much time backstabbing wulfkin, she wouldn’t have ended up as wolf chow.

  Free from Blackie, Mila pounced toward me.

  A deep growl rolled through my chest. This isn’t for you.

  Mila slipped a few paces away, then sprinted toward Nicolai, who knelt next to Maxim. Leaping up, her front paws landed on his shoulders. Nicolai embraced her in a hug, his face buried in her fur.

  Towing a protesting Kalina, I dropped her arm and released a throaty grumble to Alena.

  She was on her feet, pacing in a small circle near her father and brother, her arms tight across her stomach and her mouth moving but no words coming out.

  She stopped her frantic pacing and turned. I retreated a few steps to indicate that Kalina was all hers.

  The shriek of sirens closed in from behind me.

  Kalina, cradling her injured arm against her chest, pulled herself upright to a sitting position. “You’re all murderers. Even your own kind loathes you. Lutia betrayed you. She told me of Maxim’s plan to break Nicolai out after overhearing him talking about it.” Kalina’s voice shook. “And killing me won’t hide what you are. The truth always comes out. You kidnapped the missing girl, Mila Antov, too. Your brother probably ate her.” Trembling, Kalina’s gaze scanned the road behind us.

  “We were trying to save Mila from humans like you.” Alena pointed to Mila by Nicolai’s side. “She’s stuck in her wolf form, and we’ve been trying to help her because I doubt her human mother would accept her this way.”