I reached into my pocket and found it empty. I hadn’t remembered to grab her a treat before I’d left the house. To be fair, there was a lot going on.
“Sorry, girl, you cleaned me out earlier.”
She lifted her chin up and snorted louder.
“You’re telling me.” I shook my head. “You’ll have to catch me later. I’ll get my shit together and next time I’ll be prepared.”
Her attention went past me. Was she watching the cows?
I looked.
Just beyond the fence, in the forest of the Lennox property, I saw what Riblet was looking at. Thick gray coat, graceful movements—it was a wolf. I stood staring—it was beautiful, and somehow familiar. That didn’t make any sense.
Fucker could have been the one that attacked Dad.
Riblet grumbled and started running. I backed away.
She burst through the fence, heading straight for the wolf.
Cattle scattered in every direction as the sow crashed through the herd.
“Riblet!” I held my arms out and slowly approached the hole in the fence, herding the cattle away from the breach.
Across the field, Riblet rammed through the fence on the far side of the valley. I was afraid for her, worried that the wolf could hurt her, but instead, she chased the wolf away from sight.
Now I had two holes in the fence to fix, and no one to help me do it. This day just kept getting worse and worse.
Chapter Five
Chase
Since my dad wasn’t home, I’d thought I could go for a run. I hadn’t planned on going to the edge of the Mountain Peak Ranch, but that’s still where I’d ended up. I hadn’t counted on seeing Harper, even if I’d wanted to. And I hadn’t counted on the boar.
Sharp tusks scooped upward behind me. I could stand my ground and fight, or I could run. The sow was thrice my weight, easily. And I didn’t actually want to hurt her.
She seemed to be Harper’s pet, following her around while she completed her chores. The strangest part of the whole predicament was the fact that boars didn’t chase down wolves. Defend their young? Sure. But race through the center of a herd of cattle, charge through two wooden fences, all just to reach a lone wolf who was minding his own business? Never.
Until now.
When we were safely clear of Harper’s line of sight, I looked for a place to make a stand. The last thing I needed was Harper chasing after us so she could shoot the monster of a wolf who threatened her companion. The two of us needed a fresh start. How the hell was I supposed to convince her that we were meant to be together if she thought wolves were the enemy and that I had harmed instead of helped her father? With the way we had left things, I wasn’t sure what she thought.
With a quick turn, I darted off the path. Low branches and thick brush tore at my fur, but for as hard as it was for me to traverse, it had to be harder for the sow. The distance between us grew, as she slowed but I didn’t.
Still, she charged forward, plowing down and uprooting small bushes.
I could stay and fight. I would win, but boars were stubborn. She wouldn’t stop until I injured her enough that she couldn’t go on, or I trapped her. Neither option was what I wanted, so I chose a third.
Knowing the landscape as well as I knew myself, I tore toward the fissure I couldn’t yet see. With a small turn, I raced forward, picking up as much speed as the forest would allow.
There. The ground met an abrupt end, soil and brush replaced by a rocky cliff. Using all of my strength, I sprung from my back paws and dove over the pit.
Sunlight broke through the trees, the breeze rustling through branches. With my front legs extended, I reached for the bank of the other side. My paws slipped along moss-covered rock as I landed, and I slid to a halt safely on the other side. I turned and watched the sow behind me.
She slowed as her hooves slid on loose stones. Then she stopped at the edge of the fissure and lowered her snout. She stomped her frustration.
I left her there, content that she wouldn’t follow, then returned to the edge of the forest where I’d left my clothes. My father would be home by now. I liked my chances better against the sow, hell, against ten boars.
Leaving behind the trees and abandoning wolf form, I shifted and dressed.
Nestled in the center of a clearing stood the home I’d grown up in, completely secluded from the outside world. It was a massive cabin built of local wood and bearing large windows. There was space for a huge vegetable garden and an open field where Ethan and I had chased each other around growing up. Three of the pack’s youngest shifters ran across the field now, kicking a soccer ball and giggling as they went.
I crossed the field, giving the kids a wide berth, and made for the door. But I didn’t get that far before I felt his presence—my father, the alpha.
“Chase.” His voice was all command as he approached from the driveway.
I turned and met him halfway, my inner wolf torn between submitting to the alpha and challenging him. The urge to defy him had grown every year since my first shift. Being in the same room was difficult, living under the same roof harder. I knew he felt it, too. He showed it in the way he talked to me, in the distance he put between us.
“Father.” I nodded.
“Where the hell were you last night?” His jaw twitched beneath his golden beard.
“I was—”
“Don’t bother answering. You weren’t here.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.
There wasn’t anything I could say to make things right with him, even though I knew I’d done the right thing.
“You missed your interview. Do you know how that looks, Chase? Do you even care how that reflects on me?”
I took a deep breath and kept my voice even. “It won’t happen again.”
“That’s right it won’t. You need to be strong and disciplined to defend this pack. The Tribunal will teach you that, because you sure as hell aren’t listening to me.”
I clenched my teeth and kept my mouth shut.
“I don’t even know if I can get you another chance at an interview after the stunt you pulled. That means joining the ranks at the bottom. It’s shit work. And with the way you’re acting, it’s what you deserve.”
“Is that all?” I asked.
“You think you deserve more?” His laugh was wicked and unforgiving.
“I mean, is that all you need to say?”
“You want to go back up to your room and play with your guitar? Go right ahead. But you miss the next interview and I’m sending your ass away and I’ll tell them to give you the worst job. Maybe scrubbing prison toilets.”
I didn’t say a damned thing. Best way this could go was me leaving before it got worse. If I said anything, it would be worse.
“Nothing, huh?” he said. “Fine, go.”
I took his dismissal and I walked away. Fury coursed through my veins, and I tamped it down as best as I could until I was inside my room, guitar in hand. Only when I was alone did I let go of the tight control I held over my emotions. Only when I was alone did I let my anger show.
When night fell, I took to the woods. My mood was still sour as I shifted and followed the game trails out into the darkness.
Usually being here was all it took to ease the disquiet I felt after I was forced to interact with my father. But not this time.
There was something off, and it wasn’t just me. It was something in the air.
The fur on the back of my neck stood on end, and I felt a chill bite at my skin. The forest was wrong, just as it had been the night before, just as it had been when I’d found Mr. Wainwright.
I hadn’t come out here searching for whatever was disrupting the natural order of the forest, but now that I was here, it was all that I could think about.
Questions flickered through my mind. What happened to Mr. Wainwright? Who or what attacked him? And what was wrong with the forest?
I needed answers, and that desire compelled me to head toward the hu
ndred-year-old tree, to where I’d found the rancher bleeding, to where something sinister lurked.
There was someone or something out here that didn’t belong, and I would protect my pack’s territory. I didn’t need to be alpha or have Tribunal training to do that. Whatever had attacked Mr. Wainwright was a threat not only to my pack, but to Harper, too. That alone was enough to drive me forward into the unknown. I would never let anything hurt her. She didn’t have to accept me as her mate, or even trust or like me—I would still protect her.
I returned to the hundred-year-old tree. Thick gnarled branches reached up toward the blackened sky. The trunk was wide and twisted, battle scars from storms long past. The oak stood tallest in the forest, dwarfing everything around it. If the forest itself was a living organism, the hundred-year-old tree was its heart.
This was where I’d found Harper’s father. There wasn’t much to see anymore, though the scent of blood still clung to the air. I circled away from the rocks, looking for tracks or broken twigs, any sign that someone else had been here.
A few feet away from where I’d found Mr. Wainwright, there was some tall grass that had been trampled—likely by the rancher, since there was no sign of anyone else. I followed the faint trail of boot prints to the rusty barbed wire fence that separated the Lennox pack’s forest from the Mountain Peak Ranch.
The scent of blood was stronger here, though like the rest, not fresh. And there, dangling from one of the barbs, was a tiny shred of torn flannel. Even with wolf eyes, colors weren’t as distinct at night as they were during daylight, but it appeared similar to the shirt Mr. Wainwright had been wearing when I’d found him. This must have been where he’d crossed over into our territory.
The prints I’d followed had been slow in pace, not quick based on the width of stride. It appeared that he hadn’t been startled until he was attacked near the flattened grass. But by what?
I was making progress, and I wasn’t about to stop now, even if it was forbidden to leave the pack territory while shifted, or even to journey this close to the property line. Figuring out what had happened to Mr. Wainwright was more important than following rules. Let it just be one more mark against me in a whole list with my father.
I padded a few yards away from the fence and then charged, pushing hard on my hind legs so I could leap over the barbed wire. The trail continued right where I landed, and I followed, searching for further sign of what had happened. Maybe whatever had attacked the rancher had stalked him first.
The treeline here was farther out than it was where I’d seen Harper. Here, the forest continued beyond what I could see of the ranch property. But even so, the pasture couldn’t be too far.
Ears up and alert, I listened for signs that I wasn’t alone. There was nothing, not even the stomping of cattle. There was only the whisper of rushing water from a stream up ahead.
The ground was soft, bushes and vines giving way to feathery moss. I followed the sound of the water, turning along a large rock face. On the other side was a little creek. I walked alongside the current to a small cliff and a waterfall that emptied into a pool below. Untouched beauty—if I had it my way, all my time would be spent in places just like this—serene, tranquil, secluded.
I circled down the hill, around the rocks, and to the edge of the pool. The gentle waves glittered in the moonlight, the cover overhead broken just enough for a circle of sky to look down upon the water.
Had Harper ever visited this place? If not, maybe I could show it to her. We could share a private picnic under the stars, a meal of all of her favorite things. I wanted to know each and every thing she favored—wine or beer, her favorite fruit, the sound she made when she laughed. I wanted a chance to see her smile. I wished she was here with me now, to race through the forest together, to climb into the water and share a kiss beneath the gentle waterfall.
I imagined the feel of her touch, her skin against mine. The way she’d taste—sweet just like her scent. The softness and weight of her ample breasts in palms, the way her eyes would flicker shut as I reached down between her legs—
Something snapped me out of my reverie, something foul.
It was an odor. A fur-raising, out-of-place stink that set my animal instincts to fight or flight. For a moment I’d almost forgotten I wasn’t a man, but a wolf. And I was grateful.
Bending my knees, I crouched down and let out a low growl of warning. Whatever the hell was here wasn’t going to take me by surprise as it had Mr. Wainwright.
A rustling came from the woods behind me, and I spun around to face my enemy.
I didn’t know what to expect, but it sure as hell wasn’t this. A frail woman in a deep red dress stepped forward. The thin fabric flowed over her hips and dipped into the dead leaves on the ground below. What hiker chose a sleeveless gown for a midnight hike? None.
Her skin was as pale as the starlight that reflected from the pond, and her red hair fell in loose curls around her bare shoulders. Though she wasn’t my type, she appeared physically attractive, if a bit gaunt.
But that wasn’t what struck me. It was the feeling she stirred in my gut, a wrongness that made me want to climb out of my skin.
She took another step closer, and every fiber of my being told me to run. But I didn’t. Was this the thing that had mauled Harper’s father? It couldn’t be...could it? The woman considered me for a moment, just as I did her. She took another step closer, and I noticed her strange gait.
I chanced a look at her feet, and found she had no feet at all. Instead, she had tiny black hooves. I followed the shape upward, to her strange thin legs, coated in short brown fur. They were almost like that of a deer. Strange. Wrong.
It took every ounce of self-control I had to remain still. I would see this through for Harper. She deserved to know what had happened to her father. She deserved justice.
The creature took one more step, then stopped and cocked her head. Her mouth opened, but she hesitated as if she wasn’t quite sure how to speak.
“You are. Not man.” Her tone and cadence were eerie, as if her voice was being played in reverse. The sound alone sent a shiver up my spine.
“You’re not my type either, lady,” I growled in the shifter tongue, not giving a damn whether or not she would understand.
The monster opened her mouth again, this time without considering her words. This time her jaw snapped and her lips opened wide. Like the edge of a venus flytrap, her mouth was lined with thin, needle-like spines. The monster shrieked, a haunting sound that echoed through the dark.
If there were bats left in the trees, the sound would have made them flee. It was the sound that made all man or beast run—it was horror itself.
The monster lunged at me, raking the fur on my side with razor sharp claws. Had those claws been on her hands before? I hadn’t noticed them. Had she partially shifted somehow?
Maybe she wasn’t a monster at all, but some kind of mutant shifter. It didn’t matter. Not now.
With a swipe of her claws, she came at me again, this time stabbing downward at my head. This was my chance. I raced forward and threw my weight into her legs, fangs first. As my teeth sank through thick fur, the taste of rot licked my tongue.
The monster shrieked as my teeth met bone.
Bile rose in my throat, the taste of her vile flesh overwhelming my senses. I released her and darted away as she reached down for me. I escaped before she could grab me and crouched from a distance, letting out a warning growl. She looked at me with wide eyes, almost like a human face expressing surprise. But everything with this thing was almost. Almost human. Almost animal. Almost shifter. Nothing was right.
Still, she must have been used to easy meals. Me? Well, I wouldn’t go down so easily.
Chapter Six
Harper
Chores should have been done hours ago. But with the breaks Riblet made in the fence, and the fact that I didn’t have any help, it was well past dark before I finished. When I finally closed up the barn doors for the ni
ght, so much time had passed that I expected the sun to rise again at any moment. My muscles ached, and fatigue threatened to force my eyes shut.
Usually I enjoyed nighttime on the ranch. The air was light and the sounds of distant owls and wolves and the chirping of crickets carried through the valley. But tonight was different, and not just because I was exhausted. The air was heavy, and the only sound I could hear was the howl of wind. It creeped me the fuck out, because there was no wind.
A shiver washed over my skin, and I decided the best thing to do was go inside for some damn sleep. Maybe I’d get one of Grandma’s old quilts out of the linen closet and curl up with my well-worn copy of Little Women. Reading would settle this feeling, and then I could rest. A good night of sleep could fix just about anything.
The silence of the valley was shredded by a violent shriek.
I froze mid-step. The shriek was like sharp nails creeping over my shoulders, like some unseen force was watching me, and every one of my hairs stood on end.
Foxes, coyotes, wolves—I’d seen and heard them all at one time or another up here, but this sound was something else. I’d never heard anything like it before, and hoped to never hear it again.
Another sound followed, something different—a thrashing in the woods. Barking and snarling carried over the hill next to the pasture. That sounded like a wolf.
I’d never feared nature, not the rocky cliffs scattered all around the ranch nor the animals that lived in the mountain forests. Reasonably cautious—sure. Afraid—no.
But after what happened to Dad, I wasn’t willing to let the wolves have a thing, not even a damn rabbit on our property if I could help it. I’d shoot the bastard’s vicious ass and maybe the pack wouldn’t come back. Maybe I’d feel a little better.
I turned from the farmhouse and ran back toward the stables where Dad kept the hunting rifles. We didn’t use them often, but sometimes they were necessary to save the cattle from predators. And that’s exactly what I intended to do.
Midnight Wish: A Werewolf Shifter Romance (The Protectors Quick Bites Book 1) Page 3