by Willow Cross
Her prey exited the gas station. Shana’s haunches drew up ready to spring. This time the fates worked in her favor. The attendant stood outside the door, her back to the parking lot, turned a key in the lock, and disappeared around the corner of the building. The moment she was gone, Shana moved. She raced across the small lot, leaping through the air to land on the young dark-haired woman. As they fell to the ground, she shifted and became human. Mid scream, she wrapped her hands around the woman’s throat and squeezed, silencing the noise. In seconds, she had her in the car and drove off to find some place more secluded. Now she had clothes and a car, if the Jag was any indication of the woman’s wealth, she also had money. It was time to get out of this blasted country. Time to head where she’d find older, wilder, and more dangerous help than she’d ever find here. It was time to go home.
***
Shad jumped as his pocket buzzed. Pulling out his cell, he sighed when he read Gramps across the caller id. Flipping it open, he said, “Yep.”
“Where are you?”
“Just crossed the Indiana line.”
“And?”
“Nothing. We’re following, I think. Can’t tell for sure. We’ve only run across one set of prints. They’re in a vehicle now. Tracks lead up to an oil stain and broken glass. We’re just guessing they even went this direction.”
“And they haven’t called either of you?”
“No, Gramps. And they aren’t going too. They don’t want either of us involved in this mess.”
“Harrumph.”
“Where’s Heather?”
“Asleep in the back seat.” Shad answered as he glanced in the rear view mirror.
“You keep her with you.”
Shad sighed again, but did not answer. He was fully aware his grandfather no longer trusted him. He had good reason not to. If he found them, the only thing he’d try to do, is help them escape. With or without Heather’s help.
“You hear me boy?”
“Got it.”
“Call me if you find anything.”
“Yep.”
The line went dead. Shad closed the phone and dropped it on the front seat beside him.
Fuming, he glanced over at Ashley curled up in a fetal position in the corner. He needed to talk to her alone, but getting rid of Heather for two minutes was impossible. She took the whole babysitting thing much more seriously than they’d counted on. Sarah hadn’t called, he didn’t need to lie about that, but he thought he knew where she was going. She was a smart girl. She’d know staying in the states would be dangerous. If the authorities were searching for them around the Mexican border, the safest place to go would be Canada. Where in Canada was a different story all together. It’s a big country, with many places to cross over. Luck alone, would aid in finding her, and once he found her, they would leave together. Without Heather.
***
Jason stared at the pre-paid cell in his hand. Pete and Sarah would flip out if they knew he was even considering calling Ash, but for very different reasons. Sarah’s arguments were valid. Although she trusted them both, she didn’t want them brought into this. They were already in trouble with their family, and probably the law as well. Anyone with half a brain would be watching them. Letting them know where they were was asking for trouble for everyone. Ashley’s smiling face flitted through his mind. Glimpses of the wind in her hair, the sun dancing across her luscious dark skin, the way she looked at him, drew his attention from the phone in his hand. “Shit,” he said and shoved it in his pocket.
Sarah was right; it wasn’t fair to involve them in this. Even though he had nothing to do with Thomas’ death, the others were on his shoulders. He wasn’t looking at prison time; he was looking at a death sentence. Leaning against the car, his head lowered. As much as he wanted to see her, he had to face the fact that he’d never see her again.
“Are you ready?” Sarah asked
Jason’s head snapped up. “Wow, I didn’t hear you come back.”
No longer the happy young girl he remembered, Sarah’s eyes had dark circles under them. Her facial expressions, once smiling and bright, were now set in constant anger and worry. “Sorry. You seemed pretty far away, where were you?”
Jason shook his head. “No where really. Just thinking.”
A pained look crossed her face before being replaced with emptiness once again. “Don’t think. Don’t reason. It hurts too much to do that. We have to do it this way, Jase. It’s the only way to save everyone.”
“I know. I don’t like it, but I know.”
The ringing bell over the gas station door signaled Pete’s exit. Both their heads turned and watched him walk to the car with a large brown paper sack in his arms. “Okay, this ought to last us for today anyhow.”
Sarah nodded once, and entered the car.
Pete searched Jason’s face. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing.”
“I don’t like what I’m seeing in her.” Pete whispered.
“I don’t either. It’s like she’s broken now.”
“We need to help her.”
Jason shrugged. “She doesn’t want our help.”
Pete rustled through the bag and pulled out a farmer’s almanac. “Full moon tonight. Guess we better find some place isolated to go to ground.”
“We’ll be fine. I don’t think we need to worry about that anymore.”
Pete placed his hand on Jason’s shoulder and hissed. “You and I will be fine, but she’s new at this, and she’s never turned before when she’s already in a rage. All these other times we’ve shifted, there’s been no full moon. Mark my words, she won’t be fine. We need to get her some place safe, and we need to prepare to keep her that way. What do you think she’d do if she ends up killing people, Jason? On top of all this other crap, you think her mind would handle that okay?”
“Shit.” Jason stretched and looked up at the sky. “This nightmare never ends.”
Pete shoved the bag in Jason’s hands. “Get over it buddy. This is life now, and we’re the only ones that can handle it. We have to protect her now, not just from everyone else, but from herself.”
Jason shoved the bag back into Pete’s arms. “Shut up, and get in the car. Do something useful and make me a sandwich.”
Pete grinned as he opened the car door. “I’ll make you a freakin sandwich, and then I’ll get out the road map and try to find someplace close. We may have to drive a few country roads, but there's bound to be some abandoned houses around.”
“You do that.”
As the car turned onto the highway, two men watched from the garage attached to the gas station. “Did you smell that?”
“Yep.”
“Two Alphas traveling together? You ever heard of such a thing?”
“Nope. But I ain’t never heard of a female either, and that chick is definitely one of them.”
“You better jump in the truck and follow them. Make sure they leave our territory.”
“And if they don’t?”
The taller grease monkey spit on the ground. “Well if they don’t, I guess they’ll get good look at how we deal with encroachers. Boss ain’t going to like this one bit. Hey! Don’t just stand there gawking, get after them.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sarah looked around and shook her head. From appearances, the small run down house hadn’t been occupied for many years. Way out in the middle of nowhere, both Pete and Jason had assured her it was necessary to isolate themselves from everyone. She wasn’t sure she believed them, but they’d pitched such a fit that in the end she’d decided it was better to be safe than sorry.
It had been twenty-four hours since Shana had shifted to human form and Sarah had no idea where she was. Kicking the wood post in front of her, she growled under her breath. She hated not knowing where the woman was. If she didn’t accomplish anything else, she would kill her. Fulfilling her mothers’ last words was the only thing that meant anything to her now.
“Wake up.”
Jason said from the doorway.
Sarah’s glanced over her shoulder. “I’m awake.”
“Well how about you answer me then?”
Her mouth drew to the side as she turned to face him. “Okay, I’m awake now. What did you ask?”
His eyes narrowed, but a smile fought to gain access to his lips. “That’s hard for you isn’t it?”
“What?”
“Admitting you’re wrong.”
Closing her eyes, she arched her back and stretched. Losing the battle against her face, she broke into a smile. “What was it you asked?”
“Yeah, go ahead. Ignore it, but you know I’m right,” he laughed.
“I’m not admitting to anything,” she smiled.
His face grew serious. “I’ve missed that.”
“Missed what?”
“Your smile. What she did to you has changed--”
“Don’t.” She shook her head.
Exhaling, he moved to where she sat. “Sarah, I--”
She looked away into the woods. “Don’t, Jase. Just leave it.”
“Fine. Consider it left. Pete and I are going to shift and scout the woods. Just to be on the safe side. Want to come with?”
“Nah. Thanks though. I’ll just wait here.”
“Might be fun.”
Her eyes met his for a moment before returning to the trees ahead. “No, you go ahead.”
Jason shrugged. “Have it your way then.”
A few seconds later, both Pete and Jason left the house in wolf form and headed into the trees. Part of her wanted to join them, but the rational part of her knew that allowing the link created when in wolf form was a bad idea. If they saw into her mind, and knew what she was really thinking…
***
The scent trail was strongest in the clearing. Jason raised his head and growled. “I’m smelling at least twenty.”
“Same here.” Pete answered.
Raising his head to the darkening sky, Jason whined. “We’re out of time. If we leave now, we might make it another two hours away.”
“That guarantee’s nothing. Two hours would give us distance from this pack, but we have no idea how populated that area will be.”
“We better get back. This is going to be a long night.”
As they raced through the trees, the sun settled in the horizon leaving purple and pink streaks across the sky. The moon was already up, when they sky grew black and it dominated the night, the others would come. They had no doubt. Stuck in another pack’s territory during a full moon was the last place they should be. And it might be the last place they would be.
***
“I still think we should just get out of here!” Sarah said.
“There’s no time for that now,” Pete answered.
Arms crossed, Sarah was in the mood to argue. “You don’t even know if I’ll freak out or not. Just because I’m pissed at Shana does not mean I’ll go ape shit. I do have fairly decent self control.”
Jason placed a hand on her arm. “Sarah, look at yourself. You’re already edgy and restless. Not to mention the foul mood you’ve been in for days. Do you really want to be me? Do you want to live with that for the rest of your life?”
A frenzied howl stopped her from answering. Worried, the three watched the tree line. “That’s it then,” Pete said.
Jason nodded. “Let’s do it.”
Leaving Sarah to stand alone on the threshold, both men stripped down and shifted. Within seconds they stood, one on each side of her, waiting for her to change as well. Sarah sighed before turning and entering the house. After carefully undressing and folding her clothes, she shifted and joined them. “Are you sure they’ll be hostile?” she asked.
“When Lycans enter our province uninvited, they are met with extreme prejudice,” Pete answered.
Howls echoed through the trees from seemingly every direction. They were surrounded. And if the volume of sound were any indication, there were many more than twenty.
Glints of red light showed through the trees. Close set, and in pairs, Sarah knew they were eyes. Many eyes. The clouds overhead, blanketed the night sky. At this point she was scared, but still had her wits about her. As usual, her brother and Pete were wrong. Older didn’t always mean wiser.
Raising her head, she sniffed. The light breeze carried the scent of the other pack. Mostly male, she thought she might have the upper hand. If and only if she was careful in her approach. “Stay on the porch. I’m going to go out and meet them.”
“The hell you are,” Jason growled.
“We already know we can’t take them in a fight. The best thing to do would be to plead our case, and let them know we stopped here unaware until it was too late.”
Pete nuzzled her neck. “You are a female alpha. They won’t care this was accidental. All they will care about is killing you.”
“Well, if that’s so, they’ll have a fight on their hands, won’t they?” Sarah said as she moved forward. Senses working together, she attempted to distinguish one scent from another. Her mind stretched out, feeling for the alpha in the woods. As though her consciousness drifted away from her, she floated above those still hidden in the woods. Gently, she touched on each as her mind drifted by. To each one she spoke, “We mean you know disrespect or harm. We were caught here by accident. We had no idea this place was spoken for until it was too late.”
From some she felt uncertainty, from others…unbridled revulsion. Words drifted in and out of her mind.
“Abomination.”
“Poor child.”
“Leave them.”
“Kill them”
As her mind finally met with the alpha, the clouds above began to break apart. The cold light of the autumn moon shone brightly on Sarah. Her body began to twitch. Muscles spasms rocketed through her and deep inside the crazed rage at what she had seen began to take over. Without conscious effort, the scene of her parents' death played over in her mind. Her head flew back enabling a monstrous howl of challenge to issue forth. “Come and take me if you dare. I am death. I am the end. Come to me.”
“No!” Jason screamed in her mind. “Get a grip! Keep control!”
Lightening fast, Pete moved to stand beside her. Crouched and ready to protect her, he let out ferocious growl.
“Both of you stop it right now! This will do us no good.”
Sarah spun to face him. Eyes wild, her thoughts made no sense. She barked and growled, waiting for Jason to approach, ready to rip out his throat.
“Sarah, stop! Fight it. It’s just the moon. Nothing else.”
In reaction to her challenge, the outsiders moved forward through the trees. Howls and muttered growls filled the night as they inched closer to their prey.
Nostrils full of their scent, Sarah spun again to face the oncoming opponents. Her heart raced inside her, threatening to beat out of her chest. Mind spinning with emotion, she whimpered. Seemingly from a distance, she felt a calming mental touch. “Shhh. It’s all right. Calm now. You’re creating much more fuss than necessary.”
Closing her eyes, she turned her head to the east. The presence emanated from that direction. “That’s a girl. Now you three just sit tight. No more shenanigans.”
A loud bark stopped the approaching wolves in their tracks. From the east, a large black wolf streaked with grey loped across the lawn to meet another, even larger wolf. Within seconds, the two moved fifty yards in front of Sarah. “You need to calm down. I can see you are new to this. We’ve taken that into consideration. Where is your pack, and why haven‘t you been trained? You should have never left your pack this early in your training.”
“We had no choice,” Jason answered. “We were under attack, and had to disband. Our leader, my uncle, was killed.”
As the smaller wolf relayed the message to the larger, the other wolves retreated to the forest, but maintained a perimeter around the house. Jason and Pete sighed with relief. Sarah, still fighting moon madness, took no notice.
“Can sh
e shift back? Does she have enough control for that?” the black wolf asked.
Jason placed his head against Sarah’s. “Can you?”
Sarah flinched, jerking her body away from his.
Looking at the two newcomers, Jason answered, “I don’t think she can. Not right now anyhow.”
The smaller wolf, a female, stepped forward. “Listen to me. Look into my eyes.”
Lips pulled back to reveal her teeth, Sarah growled again.
“Look into my eyes.”
Sarah met her gaze.
From the initial eye contact, the woman entered her mind. She sorted and sifted through memories, stopping here and there to glean necessary information. When she came across the White Horns, she whimpered, but kept searching. After seeing Shana and what she had done, the woman retreated. “You kids stay here for tonight. Daniel and I will be back first thing in the morning. Do not leave this place. You will not be safe should you venture away. We will post guards to see that you do.”
“Who are you?” Jason asked.
“I am Adriana. We are the Kalanah clan. We have many things to discuss, but it must wait till morning. Sarah is in no frame of mind to hear what I have to say.”
Jason and Pete dropped their heads in submission.
The large black wolf, that must have been Daniel, growled at Adriana. She nodded her head in his direction before returning her gaze to the three travelers. “Do not mistake kindness and understanding for weakness. We will return come dawn.”
At that the pair turned and sped into the darkness. Pete’s body relaxed as they moved out of sight. “That went much better than I’d hoped.”