by Mia Rose
There was a dull thud against the door and Declan crept off the mattress and softly placed his feet against the floor. He pulled the door open, and Gabriel stood on the other side. Gabriel’s eyes were wild, and his right hand was balled into a tight fist. The flickering, yellow light just above him in the hall was focused in on the crease between his eyebrows, and on the tension in his jaw. Declan looked over his shoulder and Cassidy was still frozen in place, snoring into her pillow. Declan stepped out into the hall and softly shut the door behind him.
“What is it?” he questioned as his eyes dipped downward. He knitted his brows together, “What’s in your hand?”
Gabriel raised his palm in between them and flattened it. A dark green leaf unfurled and tucked inside was the small, silver bullet. Declan raised his eyebrows and lifted his hand to it.
“Don’t touch it!” Gabriel hissed. “It’s a goddamn silver bullet. An actual silver bullet, like in all of the myths.”
Declan recalled the oil paintings he’d seen shortly after becoming a wolf. There were dozens of pictures of wolves with their bodies contorted in pain. And with their lips parted in a silent scream, and a hunter would stand behind them. Of course, these paintings were created somewhere in the late 1800s to the early 1900s. Declan had dismissed them as a myth and had never given any real consideration to the werewolf lore that he read after that.
“You were attacked?” Declan asked.
Gabriel nodded and said, “We were attacked, but they disappeared. Cole noticed the way that this,” he held up his hand, “had torn an oak tree apart and we didn’t pursue them.”
“Damn it!” Declan said, he whirled around and smacked his hand into the wall.
A thin crack appeared along the wall and Declan swore underneath his breath.
He turned his attention back to Gabriel and said, “That was probably the person that attacked Cassidy. Why are they targeting us?”
Gabriel shifted his weight to one leg and said, “That’s not all,” he raised his burned fingers up and held them in front of Declan’s eyes. “I touched it for less than five minutes. It almost spread up the rest of my hand but I was able to withdraw it in time.”
Declan’s face became contorted at the revelation of it all.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes and said, “Declan, if this is anything like what got Cassidy the other night, we might be in for more than we can handle.”
Declan waved a hand in front of Gabriel and said, “There isn’t a thing out there that we can’t handle, even if it’s some rogue human that’s found out about us. We’re going to switch up our hunting ground, and double our training in the basement.”
Declan peered over Gabriel’s head and down the hallway.
“For now, make sure that Cole, Bryant, and Jackson don’t mention too much of this to the rest of the pack. They already take my orders as a suggestion, I don’t need any of them acting impulsively and going on a manhunt.”
Gabriel nodded and his eyelids drooped, the muscles in his jaw worked hard to keep his mouth closed, and to smother the scream building up inside of him.
Declan frowned and pointed at his hand, “It still hurts, even afterward?”
Gabriel’s muscles relaxed and he opened his eyes. There was a dazed look in his eyes, and he slumped against the wall. His left hand shot toward the wall and he pressed most of his weight against it.
“Yes,” he said, “it still hurts.”
“I’ll help you to your place.”
Declan slid his arm underneath Gabriel’s armpits and a faint thud echoed throughout the stairwell. Gabriel’s muscles had gone slack and his foot fell heavy against the floor. Once Declan tucked Gabriel away and shut the door, he slid down against the wall.
How does a werewolf combat their greatest enemy? How can I protect my pack from something I can’t bring them back from?
“Who’s going to carry the bullet?”
Chapter 10
Mission
“They’ve got their mission and I’ve got one of my own.”
Noelle spread out her tools in front of her, with her hunting knife, silver pistol, and loose bullets that rested on the hardwood floor. Noelle ran a hand through her hair and toyed with one of the dark strands. When Noelle went out on a hunt alone, these tools were all that she had as backup. She’d walked right into a werewolf den, expecting to find one or two, as they were rare. But she’d tumbled upon an entire pack. There was a part of her that fought for the rationality in this, that screamed from deep within that she could not do this. She couldn’t infiltrate the pack, and take them down, not on her own.
I could get Mom and Dad involved.
Noelle sighed, and tucked her legs underneath her. She reached out and grabbed the hunting knife right off of the floor, and twirled the blade in front of her face.
They’ll go nuts. Shouldn’t I be able to handle something like this now? Isn’t that what a hunter is supposed to do? To complete the impossible by taking on a werewolf anyway?
Noelle knew that it was more than the moral obligation that she felt to eradicate the werewolves. And that it was holding her back from forming a plan to slaughter every werewolf in Clifton Towers.
What if Declan was a part of the pack?
Her fingers traced the spot on her neck where his tongue had teased her. It felt like ages ago since he propped her up on his desk and pumped into her before anyone could interrupt them.
There’s no way.
The feeling that arose in her chest when she first saw him blossomed in between her breasts. She nestled her hand in between her breasts.
There is nothing human about the way that he makes me feel.
Noelle jumped to her feet, the knife fell to the floor and clattered against the surface.
What would she do if Declan was a werewolf?
Plunge her knife into his chest and never speak of it again? Would she leave the rest of the pack to their devices just so that she could have a chance to roll around in bed with Declan? That is, if she ever made it to his bed.
Noelle smiled to herself. You’re a mess. If it’s not screwed up enough that he’s engaged and you helped him cheat the other day, he might also be a werewolf. And you don’t even mind. God, I want to mind. I don’t want to feel drawn to him but…
The door creaked, and Abigail’s head came through the space in between the door.
Noelle scowled, “Yes?”
Abigail raised her eyebrows and asked, “Why are you sitting on the floor? What are you up to in here?”
“I thought that I was enjoying some quiet meditation in my room but you walked in. What is it?”
Abigail scanned Noelle’s face, and Noelle rolled her eyes. Abigail had a way of trying to dip her toe into all of Noelle’s private thoughts. She wouldn’t be satisfied until Noelle informed her of every move she was going to make. Especially when she went to bed at night to when she planned on waking up.
“I was wondering if you were feeling up to sparring. I know that you were out pretty late last night, though so if you’re going to… meditate today, I get it. Why were you out so late anyway? Did you have a little trouble?”
“I… I had a little stakeout.”
“Okay, and?” Abigail deepened the crease in between her eyebrows.
“It took all night, and I didn’t find anything useful. I’ll have to try harder,” Noelle replied.
Abigail nodded and Noelle watched as her eyes flew all over Noelle’s room before she said, “Well, your father and I will be sparring, doing a bit of practicing. Let us know if you’d like to come out with us tonight.”
“Will do,” Noelle said, and her eyes burned into her mother’s. Then Abigail sighed, and shut the door.
Noelle had forgone hunting with her parents a couple of years ago, and they knew that she hated when they watched her. She’d liked to be a little girl left to her own devices instead of watching out for the prey. Despite that, they still invited her to spar with them and to sit in on their hunts.
Noelle reached into her backpack and took out a burgundy colored cloth. It was raggedy, long, and with frayed pieces of thread that hung onto the rest of the square for dear life. Noelle folded the cloth over the blade, and ran her hand up and down the length of it. The last wolf left her blood all over it.
From the hallway, Noelle heard Abigail and Garrett shuffling through the hallways; the sound of the bolt being pulled back on a hunting rifle slid underneath her door.
Noelle smirked, they’ve got their mission, and I’ve got one of my own. She loaded her gun, and swept all of her tools back inside of her backpack.
Noelle willed her legs to take another step forward. She craned her neck back and looked at the building. There were four floors inside of Clifton Towers, and if she remembered correctly, there were at least ten doors on each one. If each apartment housed at least one werewolf, that was a minimum of forty werewolves that were prepared to take down a human. Especially one that was wielding a gun full of silver bullets.
A young man walked out of the building and headed straight for the Arden Café. He whipped his head around upon realizing that he’d walked right by Noelle. Noelle grinned and raised her hand in a polite wave. She reached her hands up and adjusted her headband. Sweat was gathering underneath the thick fabric and she knew that she’d feel cooler inside of the air-conditioned halls of the apartment building. Noelle walked up the front steps of the building and pulled the door open.
At the end of the hallway, she spotted a woman with waist length blonde hair, who was slipping yellow sheets underneath the doors. She raised her eyes toward Noelle as she stood up. Noelle’s breath caught in her throat.
She’s beautiful.
The woman’s light-colored eyes gave way to her high cheekbones and perfect lips. If Noelle had any interest in women, she knew that she would have been fantasizing about this woman just as she had over Declan.
Noelle cleared her throat and painted on a bright smile, “Good morning. Is your building manager in?”
The woman looked to the right of Noelle, the door to Declan’s office was shut.
“I’m Cassidy,” she said, “I’m the building manager’s fiancé, and the assistant manager.” She smiled, and a row of perfect, wolfish-teeth gleamed, “I’m sure that I can assist you.”
Noelle recovered and found the words to say, “That’s wonderful. I was looking at the units last week and I thought that I might rent one of them. Could you go over the rates with me?”
A look of annoyance flashed across Cassidy’s face and her eyes shifted toward Declan’s office.
She put on a smile and said, “Sure. Let’s step in here for a moment.”
Cassidy opened the door and led Noelle inside. She took a seat behind the desk that Declan had hoisted Noelle onto a week earlier.
Cassidy’s finger drummed against the keyboard, and then she took out three papers and slid them over to Noelle.
“Okay, so these are all of our current specials and rates for some special units. Is it just you by yourself?” Cassidy paused, her eyes ran up and down Noelle; they lingered on the skin of exposed cleavage for a second before she raised them back to Noelle’s eyes.
Noelle wrapped her arms around herself and said, “Just me, yes.”
Cassidy nodded and typed something else in, then Noelle looked over her head. There was a thin crack in the wall behind her.
Did a scuffle happen in here?
The room wasn’t very nice to start with, it was dated and the walls were yellow in some spots. It was beyond Noelle how the building super could let his office fall into disarray like this, especially since potential tenants would be the ones laying their eyes on it when they came in.
Cassidy handed over three copies of the lease and said, “These are an example of the leasing agreement for three different types of units. You’re more than welcome to take these home with you and review them. Then you can always call and one of us will get you taken care of with a full-blown rental application. Do you have any questions for me?”
Noelle shook her head and replied, “No, that will be all.”
Where’s Declan?
Cassidy pushed back her chair and stood up; her body bent at the waist and her right hand flew up to rest on her back.
“Is everything okay?” Noelle asked.
Cassidy’s eyes snapped open and she straightened herself out, “I’m fine, I just threw my back out the other day, and the damn thing won’t work with me.”
She punctuated this with a chuckle, but her smile didn’t extend all the way to her eyes.
Cassidy ambled towards the door, and pulled it open, “It was very nice to meet you, Noelle.”
“You too.” Noelle extended her hand for Cassidy to shake and raised her opposite hand towards the stairwell, “Do you mind if I take a look at the halls upstairs? I like to see what the layout is on each floor.”
Cassidy’s hand tightened and she replied, “They’re all the same. I’m afraid you can’t get into a unit without a key.”
Noelle smiled, “Oh, I know. It’s just easier to dream and envision myself here if I can get a feel for the place.”
Cassidy swept her hands out toward the staircase and said, “Have at it, then. Please don’t take too long, though. I’d hate to disturb any of the tenants.” She grinned, and stepped over to the left, giving Noelle plenty of space to climb up the staircase.
“Thank you!” Noelle said, and trudged up the staircase.
Cassidy watched her climb each step, the ends of her dress were picked up by the air conditioner that was positioned near the steps.
Cassidy narrowed her eyes and opened the door to Declan’s office, before slamming it shut and locking the door.
“They’ve got their mission and I’ve got one of my own.”
Chapter 11
Explore
“We don’t have to stop exploring whatever this is.”
Declan turned away from the bright monitor screen in front of him, a web page was left open on the screen, it contained a detailed document that outlined how the ‘myth’ of silver bullets and how werewolves came to be. Declan sighed, university students surrounded the computer section of the Arden Cafe. Towards the end of a row of computers, there was a young man slumped over his keyboard, with a thin stream of drool that leaked onto the desk.
Declan blinked, and wet his tired eyes. He’d been hunched for over a screen for the last twenty-four hours. He thought he was making the right call when he abandoned the perfectly good computer in his office to get some fresh air while he searched. But the calming atmosphere of the cafe and the smell of coffee wafting into his nose pulled his attention elsewhere. He slid off the chair and stretched his arms over his head, the stressed muscles in his shoulders and neck popped as he moved.
At least the cafe is empty today.
Declan walked across the wood floor and navigated the new display that the baristas erected the night before, then he approached the counter. The barista behind the counter today was older than he was used to, and with a sigh she lifted her head up from her clipboard and pen. She walked over to the register.
She wore a tight-lipped smile, “Good morning, what can I get started for you today?”
“Morning. The other girls here usually know my usual…”
The barista chuckled and said, “I’m not obsessed with getting to know every pretty guy that comes in. I don’t live in a romance novel unlike my employees. I’m happy to learn your order so that I can be in on the secret, though.”
Declan chuckled and said, “That’s fair. I’ll take a Venti Mocha, nothing special added to it; make it as strong as you can.”
She nodded and typed his order into the register, Declan handed her a bill and allowed his gaze to drift toward the window. It was another brilliantly sunny day, and it seemed out of place given the heavy that hung over Declan’s days recently. The sky should have been dark, and rain should have been incessant. The thunder should have clapped above Clifton To
wers. While he wished for a drop of rain, Noelle walked by the window. The snug fit of her dress stood out to him first. It was navy blue, and stopped just before her knees.
Declan reached over the knickknacks that were painstakingly arranged by the register, and grabbed his coffee.
“Thanks,” he walked through the front door.
He squinted his eyes against the sun and looked over at the front steps of the apartment building, then locked his gaze onto Noelle. He took a few hurried steps forward and gripped her arm.
Noelle whipped around and twisted his arm the opposite way. Declan gasped.
Noelle’s mouth fell open and she stuttered, “I… I’m so sorry, I’ve been catcalled by a couple of guys and I thought that you were getting handsy.”
She released his arm and Declan rubbed the skin on his forearm, his body was already fighting against the bruise that threatened to form.
“I’m fine. Did you just come from the apartments?” He looked over his shoulder and then back to Noelle’s face.
Her lips were painted a rosy color, the pop of pink complemented her pale skin well. Noelle nodded, and looked over his shoulder. Cassidy was nowhere in sight.
“I was taking a second look at the units,” she smiled, “I thought that I might see you there.”
The corners of Declan’s lips began to turn up into a smile, but he quickly replaced it with a tight-lipped grimace.
“Listen, I’m not… I’m not the kind of guy that cheats, or sleeps with any woman that I want…”
“Despite the fact that you could have any woman that you wanted.” Noelle smiled coyly and said, “I know that you’re with someone. I just met her, actually. She’s stunning.”