by Laura Hysell
“Shh,” Vanessa whispered, touching me lightly on the shoulder. “Don’t get lost.”
“Lost?”
“Lost in the smells. Do you know where you are?” she asked, turning in a circle.
I stopped and looked around, taking in the forest. Trees towered above me, tightly packed together with thick underbrush. We stood on a small game trail that branched off in numerous directions. I shook my head and looked back at Vanessa. “We’re far from the house, aren’t we?”
She smiled and nodded. “Jed’s property is vast. It wouldn’t take much for a human to become lost out here. We’re not human though. I think it’s time to take your training to the next level.”
“Next level?” I asked.
She grinned and said, “Let’s play a game. I’ll hide and you come find me. Remember to use your senses. Count to ten.”
I closed my eyes and felt the rush of wind as Vanessa race away through the woods. After I counted to ten, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath. Her scent still floated through the air. Knowing Vanessa, she would be running away at top speed. I turned in the direction she had gone and began following her scent. At first I moved carefully, picking my way and sniffing the air to track her. The slower I walked, the faster her scent diminished. I picked up speed, following after her until I found myself back where we had started. Her scent mingled with my own, heading in different directions. She had backtracked through her own trail. I stopped, turning in a circle as the scents mingled in my nose. What now?
I took a deep breath and turned, slowly dissecting the scents. One was slightly stronger than the others. I turned in that direction and hurried after her. Once again, I came to a spot where her scent seemed to go multiple directions. The scents were all new, so I was definitely closing on her. I turned and used my eyes and ears, hoping to see or hear something out of place. A twig snapped in the distance. A rustle of branches sounded from a different direction. I turned, trying to differentiate the sounds. Smells and sounds weren’t helping much, and I couldn’t see any sign of her passing. One way seemed as good as another. I moved toward the sound the breaking twig had come from, creeping silently in the hope I’d sneak up on her.
CHAPTER FIVE
Sneaking through the woods was fun, and hunting was even better. I challenged myself to step quieter and quicker, darting through the trees. Vanessa’s scent was faint, but grew slowly stronger. I smiled to myself, confident I was on the right track. The wind blew through the trees, sending her unique smell to me again. This time, it was mixed with another scent. I stopped, trying to figure out this new smell. It was familiar, but I hadn’t been around very many people since turning furry in order to learn their scents. Even figuring out Vanessa’s scent was a trial, and I had spent the past hour tracking it. I glanced up at the sky, taking in the angle of the sun and amended my presumption. It had easily been two hours or longer.
As I drew steadily closer, sounds drifted to my ears. People were talking. I sniffed the air again, trying to analyze the other scent. The only thing I knew for sure was that it wasn’t Mark or John. The scent was clean and almost odorless, as though the person had taken great pains to be that way. Careful of the brush under my feet, I moved closer. Vanessa came into view first. Her back was to me and she had her hands on her hips, her stance saying loud and clear she was unhappy. I inched sideways until the other person came into view. The first thing I saw was short blonde hair around a heart-shaped face. She was still dressed in the blue dress. I sighed as she swiveled her head toward me. Vanessa turned as well, her frown quickly turning to a smile as I stepped into view. The scowl on the other woman’s face only deepened.
“You found me,” Vanessa said, smiling widely and turning her body around to face me. She widened her eyes and rolled them dramatically. “Apparently Beth found me too.”
“Well, your scent is all over the place. It wasn’t hard,” Beth retorted, looking sharply back at me. “A child could have found you.”
“Did you need something, Beth?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Not from you,” she snapped.
Vanessa moved up beside me so we stood together, making a united front. “You already relayed your message. Now, if you don’t mind, we were busy.”
“Maybe I should help with her training, since all you seem to be doing is playing childish games. You were born a wolf, so you really don’t know what it’s like to be turned. I do. In fact, I’m probably the only person who really understands what she’s going through, since the same thing happened to me,” Beth said, stepping toward me. “How’s it going anyway, Isabella? What’s it like knowing that your chances at a real life are over? You’ll live hundreds of years looking exactly the same, while all your family and friends grow old and die. Everyone around you will get married, have kids, have grandkids, and you’ll still be the same. Alone. Forever. Don’t forget that.”
“I’m not alone,” I responded.
Beth laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “You mean Mark? Did you forget what happened after I turned? I know he told you. He felt so guilty about it that he left the Pack. He ran away. It’s what he does. Instead of sticking around to make sure I was okay, he left. And he’ll do the same to you!”
“He won’t. This is different,” I said, not wanting to listen to the woman even as I felt the blood drain from my face. Beth worked hard to make my life difficult, but her words had struck home.
“We were together for a long time before I turned; before my brother died. You think your little fling with Mark makes a difference? You think you’re different? Do you think he loves you? He’s going to leave you!” she screamed, spittle flying from her mouth. “Then you will be just as alone as I’ve been. Then you’ll understand. Someone will finally understand!”
“Beth,” I began, but she cut me off.
“No, you’ll see! They’ll all see. They call me crazy and insecure. Everyone talks about me behind my back, like I don’t hear them. I can’t move on. I can’t let Mark go. I can’t make friends. I can’t embrace being a wolf. Of course I can’t. My life was ruined that day! I lost everything,” she continued. Her screams had turned to tears, but she didn’t stop. “I lost my brother. He was my only family. I was turned into this creature! It might have been okay. I might have been able to cope, but he left! Mark left me alone! He was all I had left, and he dismissed me because I was broken!”
Tears filled my eyes, and I reached out to embrace her. I don’t know what I was thinking. Perhaps I thought that this was some sort of bonding moment for us. I was wrong. The moment my hand touched Beth’s shoulder, she swung out at me, her fist making impact with my chin and sending me flying. Stars spun before my eyes, then she was on top of me, her hands pounding into my stomach. I grabbed her arms and rolled until I was on top of her, but her fists continued to fly. Vanessa moved into my peripheral, but I waved her away. This was between Beth and me.
In my distraction, Beth landed another blow to my chin, sending me sprawling onto my back for the second time. This time, I immediately rolled away before she had a chance to pounce. She followed me, her fists flinging at me in rapid speed. There was no finesse to her fighting, just raw, animal energy. Her eyes glowed golden, but she kept herself in human form. I dodged her blows, stepping back from her short reach. She changed tactics, kicking out at me. I dodged to the side and swept her leg, knocking her onto her back. She was incredibly fast, rolling back to her feet before I had a chance to retaliate. I didn’t know how to fight her. She fought with pure fury, changing tactics in the blink of an eye. I bounced back, watching and waiting. She growled in frustration as she found herself unable to land another blow. That’s when she made her mistake.
She swiveled in a roundhouse kick, but instead of bouncing back, I kicked my foot out and knocked her off balance. She stumbled, and I moved in for the attack, sending a flurry of punches at her midsection. Over and over I punched, until she had stumbled back and her eyes had grown wide with pan
ic. Then, I balled my fist and punched up in an undercut to her chin, sending her flying. She landed with a thud on her back. I moved quickly forward, ready to continue the fight, but she held up a hand in surrender. Tears filled her eyes as she shook her head.
I stared down at her, watching this woman cry tears of pain, humiliation, and anguish. This fight was a long time coming, and it should have been satisfying, but it wasn’t. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. She cringed, as though expecting me to beat her while she was down. I held my hand out to her, unmoving, waiting for her to make the next move. She stared up at my hand, then slowly moved her eyes to my face. The golden glow around her eyes began to recede. With a shuddering breath, she took my hand. I hoisted her to her feet and made sure she was stable before letting go.
We stood quietly, saying nothing for several minutes as our breathing returned to normal. After Beth’s eyes had lost their wolf glow, I decided to break the silence. “Beth,” I began, but she shook her head.
“Stop, I need to apologize,” she said, her voice cracking. “I’ve been terrible.”
“You’ve been a bitch,” I replied.
She smiled weakly and nodded. “I know.”
“Do you hate me that much?”
“I don’t hate you. I don’t like you, either. It’s just…” she stopped and looked at me directly. “You brought Mark back. When I saw him for the first time in years, it was like all those old feelings came flooding back. But he was so wrapped up in you. And you’re a fucking idiot.”
“Excuse me!”
“You went running off with vampires. You let them bite you. Not just once, either, but again and again and…”
“I get it,” I interrupted.
“Now,” she retorted. “You get it, now. You’re awfully slow on the uptake.”
“Okay, I deserve that, I guess. I didn’t realize that they were so evil, but then again I didn’t even know they existed!”
“They’re vampires. Do you think a creature that drinks human blood in order to exist is angelic? These things are a step up from demons. Nothing they say or do is for the greater good. But you kept believing their bullshit!”
“Henri controlled me! I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t even know what I was doing.”
“Fine, I’ll give you that. But what’s your excuse for running off with that first vamp? Patricia?”
I let out a breath and threw my hands in the air. “Fuck, Beth, they were already in my head back then! I get it, though! I screwed up royally. Don’t trust a vampire. Lesson number one, and I failed. I made a mistake. I made a lot of mistakes. I have to live with the repercussions. I do not need you throwing that shit back in my face. You have no idea what I’ve been through the last several months. No idea,” I said, stopping myself before the tears began.
“I do know,” she said softly, almost sympathetically. “Your thoughts when you turned were open to all of us. I listened, when most of the others didn’t.”
“What did you hear?”
“You were the blood-sucker’s mindless sex slave.”
“Don’t sugar coat it,” I retorted.
“That was sugar coating it,” she replied. “You learned the hard way just how powerful vampires can be. It’s valuable information. You’re gonna have to turn what happened to you around. Learn from it and look to the future.”
“Like you did? You’re one to talk.”
“Right,” she murmured, shaking her head. “I started to, you know. Before Mark showed back up with you. I had started to move on. I even thought I’d found someone, but now, I don’t know.”
“Someone? In the Pack?” I urged.
A slight flush crept up her cheeks and a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth before she caught herself and plastered a blank look on her face. “About Mark,” she began, but I cut her off.
“Mark is not your concern.”
She pursed her lips, not happy at being cut off, but she didn’t come back with the snippy remark I expected. “Just remember what I said.”
“You too,” I replied. “I think a lot of us need to move on and look to the future.”
She nodded and turned away without another word. I stood watching her, until Vanessa walked back over and patted me on the back. “That was possibly the best thing I’ve seen in ages!”
“Vanessa,” I chided.
“No, seriously,” she said, turning me to face her. “You have no idea what it’s been like dealing with her. She deserved to have her ass handed to her, although I kind of wished you’d kept going. Maybe she’ll start acting like a normal person again. She can be pretty fun.”
I doubted that, but I kept my thoughts to myself. Some of the things she had said bothered me. Our situations were very similar, and Mark had acted particularly guilty regarding turning me into a werewolf. Earlier, I had been sure of Mark’s feelings on the matter. Now, doubt had crept in. I counted on Mark to be by my side, but what if he wasn’t there? What if he left me? Would guilt throw him into a tailspin?
You worry too much, Aidan said, breaking through my sudden melancholy.
I thought I told you we’d talk later.
He didn’t respond, but I had the feeling he wasn’t far away. I smiled and looked back at Vanessa. “Well, what’s next on my training schedule?” I asked.
“Oh, nothing for today. Jed wants us back in time to get cleaned up before dinner. He also wanted me to give you some tips for tonight,” she added.
“Tips?”
“The reason Beth came to find me. So I could fill you in on our guest situation.”
“Okay,” I said hesitantly as Vanessa and I began our trek back to the house.
“Delegates from several Packs are here. Jed has been gathering them. First, it started with just a few people he knew, as a collaboration. As the vampire influence began to spread across the globe, more Packs decided to seek cooperation. Since Jed had inside knowledge of what was happening, and your brother is here working on cures, Jed’s home has become base. We already started sending the vaccine to other Packs so it can be distributed.”
“Wow, sounds like a lot has happened,” I mused. The world went on while I was Henri’s slave, I thought bitterly. I shook my head, trying to get the memory of Henri’s mouth and hands all over my body out of my mind.
“Some of the delegates here are from more traditional Packs, like my original one. They don’t look as kindly on mixing with humans.”
“Good thing I’m not human anymore.”
“But you brought a human with you, and your brother is here. He’s valuable, though, and he stays away.”
“Killian,” I said, smacking myself in the head. “I forgot all about him. Is he okay?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I haven’t met him yet. Not in human form, anyway. He’s in the cabin with your brother, though. We can stop by on our way back.”
“Great idea,” I replied, feeling guilty I had forgotten all about the man who had helped me escape. I thought of Raoul, feeling the weight of his death settle on my shoulders. How many more would die?
“Just be on guard when you do meet the other wolves,” Vanessa said, returning to the matter at hand.
I nodded. “I’ll be careful.”
“And don’t bring up the vampire-controlled werewolves. It’ll be hard enough with Mark there,” she added.
“Why will that be hard?”
“One of our visitors was being controlled. We were forced to kill him. It’s how we realized werewolves could be controlled, and how Justin was able to work on an antidote. It’s a touchy subject, especially with Mark walking around free now. All eyes will be on him. That’s why John is shadowing him.”
“To keep everyone safe in case Mark suddenly freaks out,” I said, nodding my head.
“No, not just that,” she said, and I turned my attention back to her. She pursed her lips and glanced over at me. “John’s there to keep Mark safe from everyone else. If he makes the wrong move, he might just find himself
with a silver bullet to the head.”
CHAPTER SIX
Vanessa and I took our time walking back toward the main house. I told her about my time with Henri, finding in her someone I could confide in. I had lost months of time under Henri’s control that I would never get back. Then, he’d made me his Queen. I still wasn’t sure how that had happened. I shuddered to think about it. Even with Vanessa, I skirted around the details, only giving her a rough outline. The last thing I wanted to talk about was sex with a vampire. Half the time I wasn’t sure if Henri wanted me for sex, or blood. It seemed a little of both, which is probably why I had remained human as long as I had. Nothing like having a personal sex slave and blood bag all rolled into one.
As the cabin came into view, I told Vanessa about Raoul and Killian. They had helped me overcome more than just Henri. They had helped me conquer my fear. I fervently wished that Raoul was still alive, but at least Killian had survived. Although, I had a feeling Killian would be a tough man to kill. He had shown that more than once. We stepped up to the cabin door, and Vanessa stopped me before I knocked.
“I never thanked you,” she said softly.
“Thanked me?”