by Roxanne Lee
"He won't admit to wolves being in town that night but maybe we can get close enough for you to catch that scent again."
Maybe. It was worth a try, anything was better than the nothing we currently had. I fell into silence once more, staring at the headstone and the words that became blurred in my focus. I could see well enough in such empty darkness - the animal paced close to the surface and her vision was without equal. Her rumbles of displeasure vibrated the bones of my ribs, making sure I understood her position, showing the human what the wolf promised to achieve - death to the culprit and a torturous one at that. She was a conniving soul, perhaps one perfectly suited for me. We had a fluid relationship, a bond that grew early and in such synchronicity that it even included that extra part of us both - the little piece of raven jewel that hid beneath the satin gold.
I turned towards Ty's ice, blue eyes, illuminating in such a starless sky. He had gotten himself a sister in the years we'd survived together - not biologically but siblings regardless. I hoped this wouldn't be our last crusade, that at the end, when all had fallen into harsh light and our secrets exposed for all to see, that we remain standing. My feeder stirred within its bindings, secure straps of twisted metal that locked iron bars around an entity that proved its worth with each passing season.
Over forty years ago, the Alpha had refused the feeder admittance to the pack, banished wolves so young to the wild. Now the pack will meet the wolf they’d forgotten - leak that sickly, sweet fragrance of fear she likes so much - understand that in the face of such perfect cohesion between several parts of the same well oiled machine, they'd lose a swiftly decided battle.
I stood from the step turned ice cold in those Siberian winds. One last look on the marble that heralded a final resting place. "Come on, let's find somewhere."
Ty nodded and followed as I walked the path to the large wrought iron gates. We needed a place to stay for the night, our usual was now covered in death..
Rain like showers in the summer. It had been some perfect mix of storm and sun.
Chapter 2
I could almost taste the hunger in the air. Some primitive call of the untamed. Savage satisfaction for a nature that sings its proud song to me.
That utter weightlessness of flying high - unhindered by all that sits on shoulders like great marble headstones - unbreakable and immovable to a common man.
Perhaps I’m selfishly snowed under by crimes that shouldn’t be mine to solve. Hounded by deaths I feel bound in chains to give closure to. And so I long for that moment, just the chance to break away from this grisly cycle.
Until then I suppose I'd have to live this life, the one that says I'm beholden to past mistakes and future remedies. That I'd have to put my own path on hold while I chased some others satisfaction and ensured some others dues are paid. I couldn't begrudge Michael or Sarah their payment only, sometimes I find myself wishing for that freedom - one without this constant circle of doom that only gives me tiny moments of pleasure. Find, chase, repeat. It seems a continual thing, a never ending pattern of bodies and new leads that eventually becomes nothing but more bodies. It’s unnaturally tiring, a worn down kind of tired that is probably evident beneath my plastered-on smile.
I sat facing Ty, his always present smug little smile twitching on full lips. Those deep, blue eyes sparkling as he watched passers-by through the window to the right of us. Our cushioned booth was slightly dented, years of custom creating a smooth dip in the foam, giving us a semblance of privacy in the old cafe. Steaming mugs of milky coffee with hints of hazelnut and cinnamon warmed our hands. I took the deepest breath, let that heavy, sweet aroma fill my lungs, allowed the scent to travel to my brain and remember past cafe's with similar mugs of coffee and similar watching of people. This will mark the twenty third time we’d left such a scene. The first we’d had to see for almost five years. Just when there seemed to be an end to the horror, some new wolf emerges to slaughter. At one time, perhaps nearer the beginning when I'd not been so closely guarded and hiding such a need for control of my life, there was a certain amount of excitement. One that I knew Ty shared equally, a feeling of anticipation of the chase, that tiny leap in your stomach that all such animals feel. How quickly that became lost in a madman’s favourite game.
I sighed at the thought that I'd so far wasted my life. Too long spent sifting my way through sickness, lifting the heavy cloak that guards the masochist we track, allowing the truth of him it's moment in the light.
I find it hard to admit just how empty it makes me feel. That maybe, if I didn't have Ty, I'd have nothing. Only death and failure.
I'd hate to think that he feels what I feel, he is my one light in the darkness, a candle that flickers and wavers but never extinguishes. He has become my conscience, my empathy, my future. I drown in the knowledge that without him I am doomed to live an immortal existence of emptiness.
I am officially pathetic.
"So...looks like someone killed the ass."
I looked at Ty for a moment - regaining the present and putting a stop to the bloody massacre my thoughts were becoming. "Wait, someone killed the Alpha?"
He nodded and grinned in utter glee. "A female, no less."
I had to laugh at that, it didn't even matter why she'd done it, I was simply ridiculously happy that he'd had his comeuppance in the most karmic way possible - the man had not been a fan of women. It was somewhat gratifying that all his hate and unfounded bigotry had been ended by one woman and her, no doubt, righteous anger.
I flicked eyes to the window and watched as mothers took their young children to school. It was a crisp January and the Christmas break had fallen quickly back to the rat race. Everything was just bit too fast, people moving without stopping to take a breath of the world around them. How sad that even this small town had succumbed to city living. The wolf slowed the human down, begged to stop and take that breath. I snorted softly, she may be fast - exquisitely so, right up until she came across a bush that needed investigating. "Who is she?"
He took a long gulp of his coffee and I caught the cinnamon scent as it swirled around in his mug. "Don't know, didn’t catch her name. Has some balls though."
I smiled and agreed readily, I hadn't met her but I already liked her."Who's taking over? The Beta?"
He shrugged and lifted those sea blue eyes to mine. "He's not here, from what James said, no one's heard from him for a while. Not only that but James is one of the few remaining males in that pack, they all took off a couple of months ago and haven't returned. If anyone knows why, they aren't talking."
I sat in silence for a while. Alex leaving was one thing, nearly all the males was quite another. "What the hell is going on?"
He shrugged again, a habit of his when he had no answer to give but thought he needed to give me something.
"We'll just do what we planned from the start, the hill to the east of their territory is still a decent place to hide out while we figure out our next move. Hell, if they get a new Alpha maybe he won't be as much of a prick."
Ty grinned at me and reached out to tug on my hair, "You just harboring some feelings of grief there, Sash? Because lover boys gone and gotten his head lopped off?"
I cringed at the thought, that Alpha had hated us both with a passion born from ignorance and yet he still felt he was owed some sort of sexual payment for me living on land he claimed was his. Not damn likely. I'd have cut it off before it touched any part of me.
Ty winked and a devilish smile cut across his face, "bet you're missing old grabby hands huh?."
He could laugh all he liked, I knew full well that he would of taken the breath from his lungs if the Alpha ever attempted to touch me. "Don't be gross. Don't think I won't bring up Lydia if you carry on." I tried to hide the smile that grew to beaming at his uncomfortable shiver. The problem with a pack containing so many un-mated females is that any male starts to look good after too long a wait - even one with a little extra not so hidden under the surface.
He tri
ed to hide his reaction and only served to make himself look even more shifty. "Woman was mental, let's just leave it there shall we?"
I graciously bowed out, we had basics to get before heading out and much more would lead to an endless argument. I gulped the last of my coffee and slid out of the booth, hearing Ty follow me as his trousers squeaked against the plastic-like leather of the seats. We started towards the local store and I took the lead quickly, fully intending on leading with the list. I’d learned my lesson last time and remained in charge of all things essential. He was a child in adult form.
By the time I’d paid, nothing felt better than the wind on my face, chasing the stifling, enclosed air far away. I gave Ty the supplies and sent him on ahead, giving us both a little break from each other. He was fresh air to a stifling existence, like the emergence of the moon after the sun’s heady heat. There’s only so much togetherness we could take though, not enough wolves in our unconventional pack to lessen the demands of such social creatures.
Our pack was formed early, in a stark kind of horror that begged children to become fully grown adults. Sometimes, it was perhaps a blessing - losing parents who betrayed the very nature of the wolf. Too selfish and greedy to spare time for the child they'd birthed. I'd like to be able to blame at least some of it on their feeder, that empaths are just not suited for reproducing. But that would be reproof against the same creature I housed - one that worked willingly with the wolf that prowled inside.
Our mothers had been the same seemingly soulless beings, too intent on feeding that hunger with darkness to give any time to a baby. Our fathers both a mix of wolf and empath - mine a particularly strong wolf that gave me an animal mean enough to lead. Ty was different; a little more feeder and a little less animal, a mix that gave him some rather surprising abilities. I'm somewhat guiltily glad that we ended up orphans so early, we had less time to become so corrupted by people lost to feeding off sin - becoming the emotion they consumed so readily.
Neither of us needed as much as they had seemed to, we could go a long time suppressing that hunger and we did so regularly. Sometimes we made it a fortnight, sometimes longer and we were careful with what we took. We learned to live with what we are, safe in the knowledge that we’d wrapped that entity in enough confinement to breathe a little more easily. I was currently okay with my heritage, happy almost. It's a rare occurrence and one I'm never able to hang onto but there it is - some kind of glaring hope for the future.
I looked towards the forest as it spanned the furthest point in front. Tall trees bare of green as the winter's frost strips it's coat, fog descending low to hover at ground level, a little bit of magic that cloaks and divides and swirls to cover tracks. The territory ran the length of the forest and beyond, stretching far into the next town, some eighty miles that's marked and distinctly divided for our species. I grinned as we neared, hopefully there were still some wolves on patrol to notice our entrance. I always did enjoy the chase.
Our plan was rather simple, we'd sit and wait and watch for the Alpha that comes. Perhaps he'd be one to see our side, perhaps he'd use his station to at least listen for a change. I surprised even myself at times; even the most cynical could not help wishful thinking. I'm afraid that he won't listen, that he'll be the same as the last, or worse, and then I might snap my steadfast control, the one that bashes for that freedom it craves. I'd spent too long denying it air and now it's suffocating in staleness - nearly twenty years of finding those bodies and my subsequent failures.Now this new wolf that had taken the mantel from the one we’d never caught, changed the game on me to target people that were innocent. I’d lost the original villain but I’d not lose his copycat.
I'd reached the end of my rope and now this Alpha will dangle on the end, swing for my answers and strangle til he replies correctly.
He'll help or he'll regret denying me.
Chapter 3
My foot lifted from the frozen soil without much thought. A small smile tried to make its way over my lips. One step and I'd be on pack territory. One step and we'd see if all had fallen apart in the wake of one wolf's death. I saw the moment I passed that invisible line, felt the tug as my foot continued of its own volition and tried to pull the rest of my body along with it. I saw Ty out of the corner of my eye, eyebrows raised in amusement and arms crossed casually across his chest as our shopping lay at his feet. He watched as my foot halted an inch above the ground just beyond that line.
"Are you teasing me or yourself?"
The giggle I let loose was utterly childish. "It's excitement, I know as soon as I put my foot down the chase begins."
He shook his head and grinned back at me,"Well, anytime today, Sashy pants. Or I'll cross first and steal your thunder."
I scowled back at him, if he tried I might just seriously hurt him. His job was to stay with the bags, not to steal my fun. Not only do I enjoy the chase...and the inevitable win, Ty needed the moment to mask our scent. A rather useful ability he'd acquired that, not so much took the actual fragrance away but more blocked the wolf's capacity to smell it. Those wolves would feel the break in the boundary as soon as I stepped down, but I'd give them something to chase while Ty masked our eventual path, become the bunny to their vicious wolf. It was a working relationship we'd fed with several failures before the painless and perfect performance we now enjoyed.
He coughed as I once again hesitated and stamped his foot impatiently. "Seriously, Sash. Come on!"
I sighed and teased him a little more before grinning widely and hopping forward. I turned to look at him rolling his eyes and fighting the grin trying to stretch his face. "You know, one day you'll be just a bit too cocky."
I shrugged and gave him a little wave as I heard the first howl in the distance."Don't wait up for me."
He waved me on dismissively and I took in the light, crisp air that seemed to wrap the forest in life, air free from such heavy, tainted particles that made it seem so much harder to breathe in town. I stayed completely still, facing the opposite direction to the oncoming thuds of monster steps. Ty had moved to slide behind a thick oak tree, one that hid even his bulky frame, and settled in stillness awaiting the heavy vibrations to pass. I heard them gaining ground quickly, they'd be running full out to see what had passed their border, what had ignored their trespass warnings.
I breathed again, let that air fill my lungs to capacity, allowed the freshness to filter out the smog that clogged and stifled and slowed my speed in its pollution. I tied my hair back out of my face, ensured the long, black strands wouldn't whip around my eyesight in the resisting wind. I could shift and run but my human form was fast enough and I didn't need the wolf to outrun these pack animals. I felt the moment they saw my outline, obscured slightly by the thick branches of dense trees and wilted undergrowth. They roared an angry call my way, an affronted sound at my audacity. I only smiled as their steps brought them ever closer, past the tree that hid Ty and further on, so intent on my trail, an animals maddening addiction to chase the prey they'd locked on. I allowed them one step further, a wisp of touch as a claw scraped for purchase, drew them further into my trap only to push from the ground and sprint into the wind as their reaching fingers grabbed air instead of cloth.
I flew. A speed so intense I barely felt the rustle of dead leaves on the ground. A fusion of muscle and oxygen that flowed freely through aching limbs of lactic acid, a burst of power that expelled me forward in a rush of gale force wind. I was maddeningly free for this moment and it was unsurpassable, a fleeting gasp of the highest pleasure for a wolf that felt so often the tightest strap of restraining chains.
I heard their resulting angry roars, I heard their steps become one as they gave chase in pack form. Rage filled steps that were clumsy in their urgency. I laughed into the wind and it grabbed hold of that mocking sound and flung it back at the pack. They responded in a choir of roars that thundered at my fleeing figure. I could admit to poking a little too much at their ego - these were female wolves and I took full
advantage of their vengeful natures, goading at their pride until they fell into thoughts of devious revenge. I knew well how distracting such thoughts could be and I would play my advantage in any way I could.
I easily stretched the distance between us to half a mile, no more than that in case I inadvertently lost them. I was far enough in front to still call to their animal instinct but not far enough to allow the human intellect to override and begin to wonder at my game. I could very well end the chase, stand before them and challenge the females chasing me but these would be the largest females in the pack, one or two I could handle easily but more than that and I'd be in trouble, would have to resort to measures that wouldn't just incapacitate but kill. On the animals strength alone they had me out matched and I doubt they'd be particularly forgiving in their current state of mind. It's a good thing I'm more than just the animal.