The howls pounded in my ears, a wild, unhinged sound that paralysed me with fear. The pain blotted my vision, and my whole body sank into a black pit. Angus’ howl rose above the rest of his kind, high and triumphant. It was the last sound I heard before my body went numb and the darkness swallowed me up.
20
Caleb
“Up here!” I jabbed my finger at the dirt road leading into the forest. Luke yanked the wheel hard around. The car bounced up the path, the headlights illuminating dense bush and towering larch and Scots pine.
I hated being back here. Seeing the forest after nearly nine months away, after everything Angus and Robbie had put me through, made me feel like a failure. The scent of my former clan clung to the whole area like after hours at a Cross-fit gym. They had all come to witness Angus’ return.
Here I was, crawling back to the Macleans with my tail between my legs. At any moment, I expected a wolf to leap from the bushes, or a bullet to blast my brains out.
But if Rosa was here, then I was damn well going to march right in and take her back.
My inner wolf clawed at my skin, begging for release. At any moment, I would lose my battle against him. I barked directions at Ryan, who yanked the car so fast around the dirt road I thought for sure we’d come off in the ditch. As we neared the meeting place, the scents grew stronger. The whole forest stunk of rotten, despicable wolves. Ryan had the windows down, and the wind roared around us, blowing the scents of my clan all over me, until they invaded my whole body.
“What’s that noise?” Marcus yelled over the roar of the wind.
I strained to hear. He was right; there was a low humming sound carried on the wind.
Hang on, that’s not humming.
“It’s howling,” I cried, straining to hear what they were saying. “The Macleans have called the whole clan together. They know we’re on our way. They’re waiting for us, and they have Rosa.”
“Are you going to go postal?” Ryan yelled, indicating with his chin the moon poking between the branches.
“Not yet,” I growled, tipping the rest of the pills between my teeth. “We still have to—”
“Pull over,” Luke yelled. “I can’t hold on.”
“What?”
“I said, pull over!”
Ryan slammed on the brakes. I pitched forward, my head slamming against the windscreen, before being flung back against my seat. I glanced Luke in the rearview mirror as he swung the door open. His face had already contorted into a wolfish snout. As his hand shoved the door, it transformed into a paw, the long claws scratching against the glass. Just as I turned around to help him with the door, he threw his weight against it, and toppled out of his belt, landing on all fours and dashing to the trees, a bushy tail flapping wildly behind him.
“That’s one down,” Ryan said wryly, frowning at the damage to the door. “You boys owe me a new interior.”
“We’d better keep driving,” I said, gritting my teeth as my wolf clambered to follow Luke into the forest.
“No need. I think we’re here.”
He pointed up ahead, and I realised he was right. The taxi my stepbrothers stole was parked just up ahead. I recognised the bent trees, the cairns of rubbish scattered at intervals along the road. We were here, at the main meeting place of the pack, our centre of operations.
“How do we approach this?” Ryan asked, as the three of us got out of the car. “They’re all going to be in their wolf forms, and they know we’re here. They’ll overpower us in a heartbeat.”
“I know.” I gritted my teeth.
“The Maclean’s aren’t the only ones here. I can smell Bairds all through these woods. They must’ve heard I was coming, too. They’re here to make the exchange – my mother, for me.”
“That’s just wonderful,” Marcus grumbled. “We’re like foxes to the bloody slaughter.”
I raised my gaze to the moon. The light hit me square in the eyes, and my face exploded with fur. My skin felt as if it were crawling with insects, so insistent was my wolf to be unleashed. Soon, soon, I’d be able to resist no longer. But first, I needed to make sure my pack was safe.
A bird flew across the face of the moon. A black raven. It swooped down and landed on the boot of the taxi, transforming into the same black-haired, tattooed man I’d met on top of the bakery.
“They’re in a clearing just up ahead,” he said. “The wolf Angus has claimed Rosa as his own.”
“That’s impossible. Douglas would never agree—”
Cole leapt off the boot and flipped it open, revealing a man stuffed inside, dried blood caked to a wound on his head. Barry the taxi driver, I guessed. From the smell of him, I guessed he’d been dead some hours.
“He has agreed to support Angus’ claim. It seems he hasn’t taken kindly to you establishing a new pack, and abandoning your mother to her fate. Angus has given Rosa his mark.”
Rage shuddered through my body. How dare they touch Rosa like that? How dare they try to mate her without her consent? My hands shook violently. I tried to curl them into fists, but my fingers had become short toes with long claws.
“It’s no good.” I gritted my teeth. “I can’t hold it any longer. Listen, I’m going to the Bairds. It’s my only hope. Follow me in your animal forms, but stick together and don’t go near the clearing—”
My words turned into barks as my mouth transformed. I pitched forward as my knees snapped back, landing with my paws in the dirt. Seams tore as my body transformed, my clothes no longer fitting. Luckily, though the leather cord tightened around my thick neck, it stayed on.
Instantly, my wolfish senses kicked in. The scent trails through the forest lit up like a carefully constructed map, new smells and sensations assailing my body. My mind reeled, drinking it all in.
The man who was Caleb faded from my mind. I no longer had any sense of my human identity. Now, my veins thrummed with raw energy ready to be unleashed on my enemies.
I whirled around to face my pack. They had transformed, too. Cole sat on the bonnet, his black feathers resplendent in the moonlight. Where Cole and Marcus had stood were two large foxes, one a deep reddish brown, the other a lighter tan colour. Their bushy tails thumped against the fallen leaves as they waited for directions. From the edge of the forest emerged Luke, his head bent down as he trotted toward me.
I stared back at the two foxes and the raven. Instinct told me they would be an easy meal, and my stomach growled with hunger. But they carried my smell, the scent markers I had placed on them to identify them as friends. They were my pack. I wouldn’t eat them.
Rosa. You have to save your mate.
I sniffed the dirt, seeking out the trail I wanted. I led the way into the forest, Luke close at my heels, and the foxes following some distance behind. Cole darted from branch to branch, keeping an eye on things from above.
I could tell from the way the paths crisscrossed that Bairds had been here several times in the past month, although they hadn’t clashed with the Macleans. I guessed they’d been monitoring the area, figuring out when the best time to strike would be. Another strong smell wafted across my nostrils, a familiar scent that brought up the few good memories I had from this place.
Mother.
She’d been here recently, with the last few hours. That meant that, for now, at least, she was still safe.
The Baird smell grew stronger, overpowering the other scents of the forest. I followed the main scent trail until it emerged into a clearing right on the edge of the Maclean territory. The smell of the Bairds swirled all around it, and there were fresh tracks heading off in all directions. But I couldn’t see any wolves in the trees.
They should be here, I said to my pack as I paced around the outside of the clearing. Stay back, it could be a trap—
A wolf stepped out of the darkness, directly into my path. His eyes glowed, his front legs spread apart, ready to pounce. He pulled his lips back revealing rows of long, sharp teeth.
Caleb Lowe, the wolf
growled. I’ve been waiting for you.
21
Rosa
My eyes fluttered open. I’m awake. I’m—
Pain seared through my body, and a terrifying coldness spread through my arms and legs. I tried to raise my head, to move my limbs, but I seemed frozen in place. I opened one eye, and stared up into tree branches and the moon glowing directly above. Everything came flooding back to me; the car ride, the clearing, the wolves, Angus’ bite—
I must’ve passed out after he bit me.
No wonder, the pain coursing through my body was unbearable. I gritted my teeth and raised my head, trying to see what was going on.
Wolves danced around me, teeth bared, tails beating furiously. They leapt over each other, howling and barking as they celebrated their victory. Angus’ leering face loomed over me, his teeth pulled back into a vicious grin. Blood dripped from his gums.
My blood.
Behind Angus, Douglas’ wolf looked on, a satisfied expression on his face. It being the full moon, none of the wolves could change back, which meant I couldn’t hear what they said to each other. But I knew enough to know what would happen next: Caleb would come, and they would fight him, and overpower him, and then I’d become Angus’ mate and Caleb would be lost to me forever.
I had to find a way … but I could barely move. My shoulder throbbed with pain where Angus had bitten me. I’d managed to turn my head to see the wound, but the sight of it made my head spin. He’d torn a whole chunk of skin away. My body was frozen with shock. I was helpless to save myself.
Caleb, if you’re out there, if you can hear me, don’t come here. It’s too late. You can’t save me. Don’t come, please. Don’t get yourself killed for me. Please, Caleb.
22
Caleb
I bowed my head and sat down, leaning my chest into the dirt in a sign of respect. Behind me, Luke did the same.
You have a pack of your own now. Irvine’s thought landed in my head. t wasn’t a question. Irvine Baird didn’t ask questions, he knew everything that was going on in shifter circles. I wondered how long the Bairds had been watching me.
Irvine was the Baird alpha. He’d come into the job quite young, being only a year or two older than me. His father was quite unexpectedly shot by a local poacher, who then had to be silenced so he wouldn’t reveal the existence of wolves in the forest. I remember Irvine going to take care of the poacher himself, then coming back and telling his pack that they would no longer kill without good reason. I’d dealt with Irvine on some occasions, running errands for Douglas. I always found him to be level-headed and fair, and he would never hurt or kill unless there was a direct danger to his pack. Which was why the kidnapping of my mother was so odd.
The Lowe territories are mine now, I answered. I control them, and I needed a pack to help me defend them.
And the Lowe treasures, what of those?
Bingo. So our suspicions were correct. Irvine did think I had the Benedict Ring. I decided to feign innocence. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.
This isn’t a time for lies, Irvine growled. I can see the ring around your neck.
Right. I’d forgotten about the leather cord hanging there.
I understand the Macleans have your fated mate. We must stop them before they do something they’ll regret.
Why the ‘we’? You have my mother.
She is unharmed. You’re the one we want.
Now we were getting somewhere. I stood up, showing him I was his equal. What do you want with me? You can’t just take the ring, you know. Only members of my pack can use it.
I know. We want your pack to join with us.
Excuse me?
Irvine tilted his head to the side. His eyes deadly serious. Let the Bairds and the Lowes become allies. You will keep your alpha status. You will retain your ancestral lands in the Crookshollow Forest. But you will have the full power and protection of the Bairds behind you.
His words threw me. What he was offering was completely unprecedented. Wolf packs were highly territorial and rarely made alliances, unless there was some huge local threat to overcome.
A wolf darted up beside me. It was Luke. He thought, Why are you offering this? You’re infinitely more powerful than us.
Because, as Caleb has pointed out, both the Lowe territory and the Lowe treasure are useless without a Lowe, Baird thought. My jaw dropped open as the wolf sat down across from us, his stomach touching the ground in the ultimate sign of respect.
This is for real, I thought. He wants an alliance. But why? What does he want to do with all the power of the ring?
If you want an alliance, why take my mother? Why did you not just ask me?
Irvine turned around and beckoned into the forest.
“Hello, my son.” A warm voice echoed from behind the trees.
My mother stepped out from the forest, her red hair bouncing around her shoulders in loose waves. She wore her city clothes – a narrow pencil skirt and long-sleeve blouse. Dead leaves crunched as her heels sank into the soft earth. Her smell overpowered me, and I rested my head on the ground.
She patted my head. “I know you think it’s dangerous for me to be here with the Bairds during the full moon, but don’t fear. I’ve been meeting with Irvine in secret for months, ever since I discovered the existence of the Benedict Ring.”
She discovered it? Of course. My mother was a librarian at the University of Aberdeen. She was responsible for the medieval collection. If anyone would stumble across our name in some long-forgotten tome, it was her.
“I went to Douglas first, of course,” she explained, still stroking my head. “But the stubborn old git wouldn’t have anything to do with the Lowe family. So I came to the Bairds for help.” She took a step back, so she was standing beside Irvine, and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Luckily, Irvine has the same vision as me.”
What vision? Why didn’t you talk to me before coming to your enemy? I pawed the ground. I wished I could transform into a human and talk to her, but I hoped she knew me well enough to answer most of my questions without me needing to ask. Above all, I wanted to ask her why she hadn’t told me, but I suspected I knew the answer already.
She confirmed it. “I am sorry I kept you in the dark. I couldn’t tell you, my son, because you weren’t powerful enough. If we’re going to put my plan into motion, we need the loudest, youngest, toughest voices in the shifter world to get onside. Of course, I was going to bring you in once I had all the pieces in place, but then the old Lowe caves were discovered and you ran away before I got the chance.”
She smiled. “When I heard you had reunited with your cousin and reclaimed your territory, I was so proud. I’ve wanted so badly to see you for months and months, but I couldn’t risk going down to Crookshollow without Douglas finding out. Instead, I had the Bairds ‘kidnap’ me, in the hopes it would bring you up here, and the final stage of the plan could come together.”
What is this plan? Why do you want the ring? I asked the wolf.
Because it is time, Irvine hissed. It is time the shifters of the world stopped hiding in the shadows. With the ring, we will be able to reveal ourselves at last. We need the ring to act as leverage for when we establish ourselves within the human world.
Whoah. That was their plan all along, to use the ring’s power to reveal the existence of shifters and gain a voice.
You can’t be serious, Luke said.
We are very serious, Irvine said. Shifters should not be hiding, living as criminals because that’s the only avenue open to us. I want a better life for my pack, and my children. I want a voice in government, and I want our rights recognised, and our culture celebrated. Don’t you want this for your people, too?
I thought of Rosa, of what she’d said about not being able to hide the way we did. Every day she walked down the street, knowing she was different, and that people hated her because of that difference, but she lived her life anyway. I thought of how brave she, and others, were to stand up f
or their rights in big and small ways, to be the trailblazers who would make life better for countless future generations.
For all our talk of bravado, shifters had chosen to hide because we were afraid of what would happen if humans learned we lived amongst them. It had never worked so well in the past. But we’d just given up, retreated back to the shadows, while people like Rosa blazed on. The world was different now. There was a culture of tolerance and understanding, even though it wasn’t always perfect.
I wanted to be brave, like Rosa. I wanted to show her that I was proud of who I was, as she was proud. I wanted to stand beside her and know I had done the best for my kind.
I glanced from Luke to my mother, before turning back to Irvine. Yes. I want this. I agree with you. It is time.
What? Luke cried. I ignored him.
Then let us unite, and take the ring to our government, Irvine said. We have no time to waste. We—
I don’t have it.
What’s that around your neck, then?
I broke the cord with my claw, and the ring toppled into the dirt. It’s a cheap goth trinket. We don’t have the Benedict ring. We only learned about it a few days ago. But we will make it our mission to find it.
But-but I don’t understand, Irvine spluttered. Without the ring, how did you make your claim on the Crookshollow forest? How did you dispel Angus and Robbie over your border?
I gave him a grin. Sheer brute force. There was no one down there except for a few vulpines and a couple of rogue wolves, who were easy to send packing. Then we just re-established the old boundaries and let the rumour mill do the rest. Shift in Focus really blew things out of proportion.
“What’s going on?” My mother tapped Irvine on the ear. “I hate not being able to hear what you’re all saying.”
Irvine snorted, shaking his head furiously. My mother’s brow furrowed. “He doesn’t have the ring?” She bent down and picked up the ring, frowning as she realised it was hollow pewter and a cheap glass crystal. She tossed it away and frowned at me. “Then why did you come here? How were you intending to set me free?”
Writing the Wolf: A wolf shifter paranormal romance (Wolves of Crookshollow Book 2) Page 19