by Mia Rose
There’s something hiding in those woods, and I hope that we’re not the ones that find it.
Am I looking for trouble where there isn’t any?
Noelle blinked rapidly, wetting her dry eyes. She pulled her midnight-colored cardigan tighter around her shoulders, and turned up the late night talk show that was playing on the radio. Smooth voices filled her car, the conversation between the DJ and the caller made it feel as if someone had settled in beside her in the passenger’s seat.
Clifton Towers was relatively quiet at night, and a little over twenty minutes before a group of young people walked into the building. Their raised voices told her that they were returning from a night of bar food and cheap drinks.
Noelle peered out of the driver’s side window, and the world was still on the other side. No one stepped down the sidewalks, and no one sat on their stoops and chatted up their neighbors over a late-night cigarette. Nothing was amiss.
Noelle sighed, I’m not sure if I came to investigate the werewolves that might live here or to see if Declan wandered out and left his fiancé behind.
Although her strained conversation with Declan’s employee hadn’t gotten her very far, she still left the Arden Cafe a few days ago with more information than she’d expected to learn. Declan was a cheater. Noelle wasn’t in a place to judge, having compromised her duties and the safety of others for a romp with the hunky building super. And she was confident that Declan seemed like the kind of man that would never hop into bed with another woman.
Or maybe that’s just what I imagined him to be. I’m kidding myself.
The pull that she felt towards Declan was only magnified by the man that she’d dreamt up when she laid in bed at night. Noelle would picture Declan’s hands running over her body, pressing her small form into a tangled mess of shapes and letting her ride out each wave of pleasure. Would it be such a bad thing if she created her own story surrounding Declan? It wasn’t likely that their fun would last for long, or that it would even happen again. What was the harm in expanding on her fantasy?
You never want the guy behind the counter, or the guy that waits the tables. Why do you always have to find the guy that complicates everything?
Noelle smoothed her hair, and pulled the top half of her hair into a ponytail. She sighed, and readjusted herself so that her line of sight would line up with the front doors of the Clifton Towers. The bright-white light from her phone screen illuminated her face.
An article entitled, Colorado Teen Viciously Mangled by Classmate, had been left open. Noelle had spent the last two nights outside of Clifton Towers. She had decided that if the press was dying to get inside during the daylight hours, that she should increase her surveillance around the time that the tenants inside thought that no one was watching them.
Her eyes watered and her jaw fell slack as she yawned; she stretched her arms over her head and turned her neck to the right. On the left, a peek of white called to her from the corner of her eye. She lowered her body and kept her eyes raised toward the glass.
One by one, three brawny men stepped down the front steps of the building, each man wore a serious expression, as if they were about to march into battle. Loose, ragged clothes hung off them, the kind of clothing that would allow for a lot of movement. Noelle’s eyes followed the last man to leave, the man that told her about Declan’s fiancé in the Arden Cafe a couple of days ago. A black tank top clung to his muscular form, he strolled behind the rest of the group. He raised his arm and pointed to an alleyway in-between Clifton Towers and the building next to it.
Noelle could hear their faint footsteps as they disappeared into the darkness.
What are they up to?
She sucked in a breath, filling her lungs to their capacity, and slowly released it. Noelle threw one of her arms into the backseat and grabbed her backpack. The contents rattled inside, the metal of her hunting knife and pistol knocked against one another. With her eyes still glued to the alleyway, she twisted her key into the ignition and pressed her foot against the gas. The car inched forward and a couple of stray rays from the headlights provided a dim flashlight. The kind that uncovered the scene going on in the alley.
The group of men were running through the alley, to the parking lot that was located just behind the building. Noelle sat up straight and her fingers clenched around the wheel. She eased the car forward on the asphalt, and rounded the corner. Noelle’s foot rested on the brake just as her car moved toward the lot. It was completely abandoned, except for a few parked cars.
The top row of Noelle’s teeth ground against the bottom row. If she had the strength, her hands could have snapped the steering wheel in half.
Did I lose them?
The dull roar of an engine coming to life stole her attention, two twin beams of light extended from the far back of the parking lot. Noelle slid down in her seat and propped her head onto her elbow to look out of the window. The headlights whipped past her, and Noelle popped up in her seat. A small sedan was rolling down the road, then the car inched forward with caution, as if the driver was guiding the car carefully along the road so that they wouldn’t arouse any suspicion. Noelle thrust the gear shift forward and drove three car lengths behind them. She followed them, easing forward as they drove along roads that would lead them far away from streets that were lined with apartment buildings, houses, and stores that kept their doors open past midnight.
Noelle chewed on her bottom lip, her left foot knocked against the inside of the driver’s side door.
“Where are they going?” she questioned aloud.
It wasn’t uncommon for people to leave their homes after dark, and the intense wave of embarrassment that she’d feel upon realizing that she’d just intruded on a few friends having a night out would be enough to make her pack it in. And retreat from hunting for the night, as well as any suspicions she had left about the tenants of Clifton Towers.
It was when she wheeled her car onto a dirt path, that she begun to consider that she may have stumbled onto something big.
Why would they drive this far out if they’re just going out for fun? Even the toughest men don’t want to spend a night in the middle of the woods. Not unless they’ve got no reason to be afraid of anything waiting for them in the dark.
Further ahead, the four men hopped out of the car, slamming the doors shut. The cold man from the Arden Cafe looked over his shoulder and then quickly returned his attention to the group behind them. The other three men fell into a line, organizing themselves so that they could receive instructions from the larger man.
Noelle held her breath, and wrapped her fingers around the plastic, circular knob underneath the window. The wind carried their voices into her ears and she cleared her mind so that she could focus on their exchange.
“Maybe Declan has finally snapped, I don’t get what he’s expecting to find out here…”
Her thoughts raced.
“Cassidy is withering away right in front of him, you can’t honestly expect him to hold off on this anymore. He was going to want a few pairs of eyes out looking eventually.”
Their feet fell along the dirt as they walked towards the opening of the woods.
“Gabriel, what if whatever got Cassidy the other night is waiting for us?”
The cold man, who Noelle understood to be Gabriel, responded, “Then we’ll be ready for it. Stay close behind me, don’t go looking for food until we’re done here.”
Noelle’s mouth fell open and she pressed the palm of her hand over the opening.
It’s true, they’re…
The other three men hustled inside of the woods and Gabriel looked to the right, and then to the left. He hunched his shoulders, and his limbs quivered. Gabriel’s perfect skin ripped to shreds and thick, fur replaced it. He fell to his knees and his jaw split open to reveal a pair of massive teeth. Noelle’s limbs were rigid, and the bright-white moon above them bounced off of Gabriel’s dark red eyes. He scraped his claws against the dirt and sauntered into
the clearing.
All of them are wolves. Does that mean that…no, it doesn’t mean that Declan knows anything about this.
Noelle pried her fingers off the steering wheel, and snatched her bag off the front seat. She shouldered her backpack and slowly pulled the driver’s side door open. A cold breeze snaked between her legs as she set one leg down on the dirt road and then the other.
Noelle stepped into the woods, keeping her steps light as she moved behind them. The other three men had transformed, and there were now four wolves up ahead, sniffing along the roots of massive trees. Noelle reached into her backpack and shook her pistol out of it. She slid her finger into the small bit of space next to the trigger and followed behind them.
Are they scavenging for animals? Or are they looking for campers to tear into?
Noelle’s shoulders trembled as she trailed the group, she looked at the lineup of wolves, and each one was bigger than the one that came before it. The beast that she’d seen Gabriel turn into was huge; he was larger than a normal wolf but smaller than a grizzly. The silver color of his fur separated him from the smaller wolves with fur that were shades of brown and black.
She followed them for over half an hour, and they pressed their snouts to the ground and clawed at the dirt, but none of them paid any mind to the animals that trotted by them. One wolf raised his head when a young rabbit bounced right in front of him as he knelt before an oak tree. Gabriel’s low growl forced the submissive wolf’s attention back to the present.
Noelle kept her eyes wide open, and had her pistol at the ready. There had to be some devious reason that they came out, if not to feed. She tapped her gun against her hand and sighed with relief when the barrel popped open and there was a silver bullet in each chamber.
Now how do I separate them?
Noelle raised her gun and pointed it to the left of her, she squeezed her eyes shut as she fired. The whistling sound sent nesting birds flying into the air; the leaves of an oak tree shook and fell on top of her.
Noelle swept her hands over her head, and sent loose leaves falling to the ground. Further down, the wolves swiveled their heads underneath the trees. Noelle raised her gun once more, and aimed for Gabriel’s head.
Noelle pulled the trigger, and the bullet went sailing toward the pack. All the wolves scattered, haphazardly running about in twos. One of the black wolves rushed Gabriel and the impact vibrated through the dirt underneath them. Noelle dropped to the ground, and pressed her body against the dirt. Her fingers were stained with brown as she reached to her side and snatched her pistol off the ground.
Her heartbeat reverberated in her ears, and she watched as Gabriel raised his head off the ground and gazed at the bush that Noelle used for cover. A bead of sweat rolled down Noelle’s forehead and fell into her eyes. She smashed her left eye closed and held her breath as Gabriel’s paws moved along the dirt.
She clenched her gun, feeling reassured by the cold steel as she felt Gabriel’s footsteps approach her. Just as Noelle tensed to spring off the ground and fire a round in between Gabriel’s eyes, a man’s voice cut through the darkness.
“Gabriel, there’s something that you might want to look at here.”
Gabriel halted, one silver paw hovered in the air. His eyes narrowed to dark red slits, and fury built inside of him at the thought of their assailant going free. Noelle released the breath that she was holding as Gabriel turned around and headed back to the oak tree.
There’s too many. It’s good enough that I know the truth and where they are now.
Noelle stayed low to the ground and her eyes spun around in her head, seeking an inconspicuous pathway out of the woods. She twisted her neck over her shoulder, and Gabriel wore his human guise again. Now, his back was turned toward Noelle.
Noelle hopped to her feet and darted through trees, their voices rang in her ears as she headed fast back to her parked car. Noelle sprinted as fast as she could, leaving behind a potential fate of being stringy meat, stuck between the teeth of a hungry werewolf.
Her heart and lungs exploded under the pressure as her car finally came into view. She slid inside through the passenger side door, and maneuvered her sweaty limbs over the center console and into the driver’s seat. Noelle exhaled, her unsteady breath clung to the steering wheel. She lifted her head off the wheel and put the car in drive.
Noelle checked over her shoulder for signs of the wolves or the men that they pretended to be, and peeled off down the road, kicking up a cloud of dirt in her wake.
“Am I looking for trouble where there isn’t any?”
Chapter 9
Bullets
“Who’s going to carry the bullet?”
Gabriel pulled his eyes away from the dark green bushes that rustled up until a moment ago.
I told Declan that something might be waiting for us.
Gabriel pulled his lips back into a snarl and turned on his heel. Just ahead, Cole’s black form drew long, violent lines down the tree trunk.
“What is it?”
Cole, Jackson, and Bryant began their transformations, and within moments, became men again. Cole stretched his lean arms over his head, and idly scratched at the mop of brown hair on top of his head. Cole was one of the only men in the pack that refused to crop his hair short as everyone else had done. Cole pointed at the tree trunk that he’d been clawing into a moment before.
“There’s something in the tree. Whoever fired off that round isn’t shooting a normal gun. I don’t think that was a late-night hunter.”
Gabriel’s eyes looked between the concerned faces of three younger men in front of him and he nodded, “I’ll look at it.”
He stepped forward and laid one palm flat against the bumpy bark of the oak tree. He stretched his neck and peered into the hall that the bullet had carved into the tree. Gabriel twisted his face into a frown and his eyes widened.
The moonlight reflected off the exposed edge of the silver bullet, and the space surrounding the bullet hole had been disrupted. Although the rest of the oak tree had raised, there was tough bark covering it; the site where the bullet entered had cleared any loose pieces of bark from around it. Instead, a smooth, sanded surface was revealed, and the tawny colored patch stuck out like a sore thumb against the aged, nut-brown tree bark. Gabriel pulled his head back and looked at his pack mates.
“I think we missed a big one.”
Gabriel’s eyes rested on Cole, who at the last minute, shoved Gabriel out of the way. An inkling of fright rose up in Gabriel’s chest, and he pictured the bullet tearing through his fur, bloodying the ground underneath him. His pack mates would have been left unprotected, and he might have bled out under this tree. Gabriel inhaled, then exhaled.
Stop it. Don’t let them see that you’re shaken. How can they follow you if you crumble right now?
Gabriel swallowed, and raised his index finger and thumb to the bullet. A gasp escaped from Cole as Gabriel reached inside of the cavity and tugged on the bullet. A howl erupted from Gabriel’s throat, and his left hand flew upward and gripped his right forearm. Gabriel bared his teeth and yanked his arm and the bullet out of the oak tree. The bullet fell in between his feet and he examined the bullet. Like magic, a thin stream of smoke rose off of it.
Gabriel lifted his eyes towards Cole and said, “That wasn’t a bullet from a big, game hunter.”
His declaration hung between the four of them until Jackson cleared his throat and said, “Are you sure?”
Cole and Bryant glared at Jackson, and Gabriel’s long legs took two steps along the dirt and he held his fingers up for Jackson to see. Jackson looked as if he wanted to curl up inside himself and die; the skin on Gabriel’s fingers had been completely pulled back to reveal the bright pink, pulpy flesh underneath it. His fingers throbbed, and Gabriel pulled his hand back toward his own face and felt a stab of pain in his fingertips.
“We’re going back. This is more than enough information for Declan to look over. Jackson, you’re driving.”
Jackson nodded and said, “Who’s going to carry the bullet?”
Gabriel crouched down and wrapped his uninjured hand around a fallen tree branch resting on the roots of the tree. He pried one of the wide, green leaves off of the branch and wrapped it around the bullet.
“I’ve got it.”
“Maybe Cassidy could take a look at your hand,” Bryant commented.
Gabriel peeked at the silver bullet nestled inside of the leaf.
I don’t think that Cassidy will be able to look at much of anything for me, especially if she was attacked with anything like this.
Declan slid his arm from underneath Cassidy’s snoring body. His face was caught in a tangle of her blonde hair, and his legs were entangled with hers. A faint, floral scent emanated from her pores, and Declan’s hands danced over her skin. It had taken hours, but Cassidy had finally drifted off into sleep. While she didn’t complain of as much physical pain, Declan didn’t miss the way that her eyes would bulge out of their sockets, keeping herself alert to threats.
Two nights ago, Declan climbed the staircase and opened the door to reveal Cassidy in her wolf form, her head was pressed against the floor. She resembled a dog that had just been swatted on the nose, pressing itself onto the floor in a corner of the house. Cassidy had insisted that she just wanted to stretch her legs, but Declan could sense an involuntary transformation with little trouble. He’d seen too much happen with the new wolves that they welcomed into the pack, and Cassidy almost never revealed her wolf without the cover of acres upon acres of woods to cloak her.
How could this have happened? She knows how to stay concealed, she knows how to protect herself from humans.
Declan rolled onto his back and stared at the small, paint covered bumps on top of the ceiling. The full moon had risen high in the sky and moved towards the east, and Declan still couldn’t will himself to shut his eyes for more than twenty minutes at a time. If he didn’t focus his thoughts on Cassidy, then he fought with his conscience about Noelle. Sleep was supposed to be his only salvation from his headaches, but each time he laid down to sleep he just worried over Cassidy, or thought of ways to eliminate whatever was waiting for his pack in the woods.