Laughing, bolstered by Cain’s courage and support, Destiny reached out and patted him on the back. “All right. Let’s go show them they can’t mess with us. Get your bike.”
2
Cain rode a standard roadster, an inexpensive commercial motorcycle that was all function and no flare. He kept the vehicle in top condition, as any proper biker would.
Destiny had gone in the opposite direction, though it damn sure wasn’t an intentional choice. He could say because he was a pack leader and had a lot to contend with, he needed the intimidation factor. That would be a convenient excuse, but it would also be a complete and utter lie. He was attracted to the beauty of the more expensive bikes, the extreme power that came with such specialization.
And if his huge, silver power cruiser was a little fragile on the inside, he would slave night and day to keep it in top shape. He constantly made adjustments and modifications, never satisfied, always knowing there was something better out of reach.
His entire life was a little bit like that, if he really thought about it.
He shoved the thoughts away. There were going to be better times for such introspection. Right now, he had to focus.
No matter where a person lived in the city, they could always hear the subtle rushing sound of the waves lapping endlessly over each other. That was especially true at night, when the tourists slept. It was a peaceful thing, to know nature and the modern world could coexist so close to one another.
The peace of the night was disturbed by the fierce, predatory yowling of twin motorcycle engines revving. Buildings whipped by, insignificant blocks of concrete, like oversized Legos. Playthings for an organized world bikers were never part of. Street lights glanced over the pristine, shining chrome, turning their motorcycles into silver ghosts gliding over the concrete.
Leaning over his handlebars, Destiny pushed his bike even faster. The rumble of the engine was deafening, encompassing every part of his being. He was the bike, one with his ride. He breathed the spray of gravel. His heart pounded each time he hit a pothole or some other obstacle, surging up over the hindrance before thudding back down again on the other side a split second later.
He could have gone faster. He could have gone fast enough to take flight, soaring off the boulevard like a jet leaving the runway.
He couldn’t do that, as much as his blood raced with desire for it. Cain rode ahead of him, pushing his own bike to its—slower—top speed as he led Destiny along to the place where he had seen the members of the other pack.
Streets and neighborhoods passed by. Entire sectors of the city disappeared behind them as they traveled, approaching the boundary line between the two territories. It wasn’t a line that actually existed in the real world, and it wasn’t even a division they had ever agreed upon. It was just sort of there, something the wolves inside them seemed to understand in a way their human brains couldn’t.
“Up here,” Cain shouted, pointing with one finger down at the end of the street, where the stoplight was.
Destiny nodded even though Cain couldn’t see him, revved the engine, and pushed his cruiser ahead of the other alpha. Cain automatically fell back, letting him take the lead.
The light turned red but there were no cars waiting at the intersection, so Destiny blazed right through it. He kept his face down, obscuring his features from any cameras that might potentially snap a photograph of him breaking the law. His long hair helped with that as well, though a shaggy-headed biker might be recognizable even without his face on display.
On the other side of the intersection, Destiny slammed on his brakes. The cruiser swerved and he let it, leaning with the bike as it spun around to the side to face to the left. Cain did the same, though with more ease because of his tamer speed and solid handling.
The toes of his shoes scraping concrete, Destiny guided his bike up onto the sidewalk and in through the nearest alleyway. Scents immediately assaulted his nostrils, all of them familiar and none of them pleasant. Urine and vomit, sweat and blood. Cigarette smoke and the sweet skunk reek of marijuana, cheap cologne, grease, and that foul stink of the sludge-like slurry that always manages to collect at the bottom of garbage cans.
Even in tourist cities, especially in tourist cities, the alleys were not a friendly place to be. They were the land of the drunk, the homeless, and the muggers who might accidentally kill you and dump your body in the ocean.
Alleys were the seedy highways of the city, useful for getting around and not much else.
Lifting his head, Destiny pulled in a deep breath through his nose, scenting the air. The stench of the alley was like a smack in the face, reminding him of Stacy slapping herself hard across the forehead; he pushed through the offensiveness of it all, combing through the various components in search of one thing in particular.
It was a musky smell, similar to his own wolf scent.
Destiny glanced over his shoulder. Cain gazed back at him, his eyes illuminated from within. “You’re right. They were here.”
“Of course they were here. I’m not blind.”
The urge to fire back a joking retort was vague, easily repressed by the magnitude of the situation. “This isn’t good. They really lingered here.”
“I told you that, too. Were you even listening to me?”
The playful tone to Cain’s voice helped to keep Destiny grounded, reminding him this wasn’t the end of the world. He gave in to the temptation. “Hell no,” he retorted. “I never listen to you. You act like a grandfather, and you ride like one, too. You ever considered getting a moped? It’d suit you better.”
“I was thinking a Segway might be more my speed. Can hand it down to Knox when he comes of age.”
Destiny snorted. “If you were my father, I’d never talk to you again after that. So, what do you think?”
“We hoof it. I wouldn’t trust the bikes in this tight space.”
That was exactly what Destiny had been thinking. The support relieved him. Hell, just standing near Cain relieved him. There might be so much going wrong all the time right now, but he felt right now like everything was right in the world. It was him and Cain, about to head into the dark to kick some ass, just like the old days.
The days before Cain fell in love and fucked up everything.
But it started even before then, didn’t it?
The days before Destiny fell in love and fucked everything up. He didn’t think about those times, not now, not ever.
Dismounting from his bike, Destiny yanked out the key and shoved it into his pocket so no one could come along and easily steal his ride. Behind him, Cain did the same.
Together, they followed their noses and headed deep into the web of alleyways.
The thing about alleys is they are formed between buildings, typically at the rear. Because cities try to pack buildings together into as little space as possible, to increase revenue by having more stores, more homes, alleys can be cramped and confusing depending on the layout of the area. These alleys here, in the very middle of Pensacola were standard as could be, formed by conflicting tangles of downtown streets and cramped between strips of businesses, restaurants, casinos, and prime hotels. If Destiny had been an ordinary person, he would quickly have become lost and probably fallen prey to a mugger or two who saw him as an easy mark.
The deeper they went, the easier it became. The drunk tourists usually only ducked far enough into the gaps between buildings to be hidden while they took a leak or vomited up the side of the wall. They went no further, which meant all those other conflicting scents faded away to be replaced by a musty dampness reminiscent of the dark spaces in the parking garage. That didn’t mean there was nothing at all, of course. Plenty of people went this deep into the alley. Their old scent trails were all over the place, prominent but not nearly as pungent.
The shadows were so thick in some places Destiny could look up and not know where the walls ended and the sky began.
Suddenly, warmth and pressure surrounded Destiny’s
wrist. He stopped and glanced over at Cain, who was holding onto him. Cain lifted his other hand, touching his finger to his lips before gesturing off to the left.
What are you doing?
That was when Destiny heard it. There was no mistaking the sound because he heard it several times per week. Scuffles, followed by thumps and grunts, and echoing thuds. After the most recent thud, a snarl suddenly ripped through the air, reverberating down through the alleys, bouncing off the walls.
Pushing away from the wall, he ran to the left and swerved around the nearest wall. The sounds were closer now, coming from the right, and he ran in that direction. An alcove opened up to the side, and that was where he saw the fighting.
At first, it was impossible to tell anything about the fight except that wolves were involved. Several bodies, perhaps as many as six or seven, writhed together, clawing and biting and thrashing around. Fur flew and blood sprayed up the walls, spattered the ground. Fangs flashed, silver-white in the dark. Deep growls and ripping snarls mingled, forming an ear-splitting cacophony.
Looking closer, Destiny felt his heart stopped as he recognized a few of the wolves in the mix. Knuckles and his stub of a tail, and Crow, with his dusky charcoal-black pelt and clawed ear.
Shadow Claw wolves, fighting for their lives against what could only be Lethal Freedom shifters.
He didn’t hesitate at all, shifting rapidly into his own wolf form and throwing himself forward. Kicking off the ground, he plunged right into the middle of the chaotic mix, landing on top of several wolves who didn’t even seem to register that he was there.
Shoving out hard with his broad shoulders, Destiny knocked two wolves apart. As they went reeling, staggering and trying to right themselves, he whipped his head around and grabbed the scruff of his pack member. Crow fought against him, his body corkscrewing in self-defense; pain burned across Destiny’s snout as Crow landed a successful blow, clawing him, but he ignored it and dragged Crow out of the mix.
Crow snarled at him, then blinked in surprise and took a step back. He put his back against the wall, not quite seeming to know what to do when faced with his leader in this situation.
Destiny puffed out his chest and pushed Crow further against the wall, sending the message to him to stay put.
Lowering his ears, Crow dipped his head and pressed against the wall.
Turning back to the fight, Destiny found himself staring down the jaws of a wolf throwing itself towards him. Time seemed to slow down. He could have counted the attacker’s teeth if he wanted to.
Then Cain was there, shoving the attacker away and pinning him to the ground. Taking this as his chance, Destiny bounded back into the fight between the remaining wolves and thrust Knuckles behind him. He lowered his head and snarled, bushing out his hackles to make himself seem even larger and more fearsome.
There were three Lethal Freedom wolves, one of whom was achingly familiar to Destiny. Dark brown fur, broken with splashes of milk-white. To see that wolf there in particular sent a pang through his heart, like he had been jabbed with a spear. Pain flooded through his body with every heartbeat, like that spear had been poisoned.
For a moment, it seemed as if the fight would continue even though he had effectively broken it up. That was astonishing to him. Wolves didn’t fight to kill. They fought to dominate and defend, to maintain order. They didn’t throw themselves back into a conflict that had already been resolved, because the fighting was to resolve. Once it was over, it was over.
But now this had been brought to his attention, Destiny realized this hadn’t been an ordinary border scuffle. This wasn’t a case of Lethal Freedom trying to assert their dominance by attacking members from Shadow Claws, after lying in wait to plan their ambush. The wounds on his own wolves were too deep for him to believe that, too numerous, and the LF wolves bore some nasty injuries themselves, the kind born from desperation and fear.
Just what the hell is going on? This was an outright attack.
If Cain hadn’t noticed suspicious activity and reported it, someone might be dead right now.
Snapping his jaws, Destiny advanced on the three wolves facing him.
Two of them were alphas and the third was an omega. They were a fearsome collection of creatures, especially now, with their features warped to monstrous qualities by their hunger for blood. It seemed they might not back down, that the fight would continue.
Destiny braced himself for it, summoning all his strength and letting his muscles tighten until they were like steel coils on the very edge of unfurling.
One of the opposing alphas glanced at the other. Something seemed to pass between them. Some bit of logic, or perhaps an animal’s keen sense of self-preservation. They were already hurt in the fight and now here were two new opponents, Cain and Destiny, who were fresh and unharmed. Add that to the fact they were now outnumbered, and it was clear this was no longer a worthy venture.
As one, the alphas whirled around and dashed off towards the nearest alleyway. They left a scattered trail of blood, which disappeared into the shadows.
Destiny closed his eyes, trying to control the urge to fight that was still coursing through his veins. When he opened them, the remaining omega in front of him had transformed.
The brown-and-white wolf stood before him as a young man with an open, inviting face that even now seemed to be regarding the world with curiosity and fascination. His hair was long and curly and brown, covering the nape of his neck and reaching all the way down to the collar of his t-shirt. His eyes were impossibly dark in the night, though Destiny knew their true color was like smoky topaz, multifaceted gemstones with lighter flecks of amber. His cheeks, chin, and the upper portion of his throat bore scruffy patches of short hair.
Destiny knew from personal experience with this beautiful man, that amount of growth meant he hadn’t shaved in about four days. Soon enough, he would decide that maybe he didn’t want a beard after all, and he would shear it all off again. Less than a week after doing that, he would grow tired of maintaining the look and let it grow again, where the cycle would continue. He was like that, one of those people who always had to be trying something new, who could never stick with anything for very long.
Including me.
He was abruptly aware of the wolves behind him, watching him, waiting to see what he would do. To Crow and Knuckles, this omega was a stranger, an obnoxious fly of a person who hadn’t gotten the hint he should leave. Neither of them had been with the pack long enough to be able to understand why Destiny was practically paralyzed by him. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have understood even if he bothered to explain. Neither of them were very emotional men. They were typical bikers, with their own unique senses of justice and righteousness, though decidedly lacking in anything deeper so far as Destiny could tell.
To Cain, this sudden stillness was a completely understandable reaction. He knew better than anyone else present what it was like to love someone and then to lose them to the other side.
This omega was the reason there were two opposing sides at all.
Before he was even really aware of doing it, Destiny shifted back into his human form as well. Picking himself up from the ground as he transformed, he stood to his full height and looked down at the omega. “Markus Tremors.”
Markus, the younger brother of the leader of Lethal Freedom. The one with whom Destiny had his failed relationship.
Markus smiled, though right now it was more of a smirk due to the rueful twisting of his lips. It was a look Destiny knew so well, having seen it every time Markus lost a game or argument. He used to kiss the smirk away, cheering his omega up until they both forgot the prior conflict. “Dusty. Fancy meeting you here. I wish I could say I’m surprised. You always did like to stick your nose in places where it didn’t belong.”
Though the words were biting, the intent behind them to hurt, Destiny didn’t feel much pain at all aside from what he was already experiencing. There had always been something exciting about Markus,
and the way he always spoke his mind in any situation, no matter what it might cost him. Old feelings were slow to fade; Destiny felt a slight, warm tingle of excitement deep in his groin, a part of himself he often neglected to be the leader everyone thought he should be.
“I think I’m within my right to get involved here. These are my wolves that you’re attacking.”
“Who is this?” Knuckles demanded. He had transformed back, as well. His voice was absurdly and astonishingly deep for a man, somewhere in the realms of a cannonball being fired and a whale moaning serenely in the depths of the ocean.
Markus’ eyes flicked in the direction of the alpha. “Quiet, Stubby. I’m not talking to you. I’m talking to your lovely leader here.”
Knuckles went silent. He had always been sensitive about his missing tail, though as of yet no one had managed to get the story from him about how it had happened.
Markus turned back to Destiny, folding his arms across his slim chest. The gesture was petulant and absurdly alluring. Being closed off from Markus made you want to try all the harder to breach whatever wall he had built, as if the lack of him was too much to bear. “Maybe there’s a reason we were attacking. You didn’t really consider that a possibility, did you?”
“There’s always a reason. But is it a good one, Markus?”
No one else, not even Cain, would have noticed the way Markus suddenly blinked twice in a row. People blinked all the time. It was a fact of life, unavoidable, arguably necessary, though there were certainly creatures who got along just fine without eyelids. However, for just an instant, that double flicker conveyed hesitation, doubt.
Then Markus was smirking again as if there hadn’t ever been any lapse at all. His lips twisted up even more bitterly than before. His warm lips, so sweet, tasting sometimes of coffee, and other times of soda or champagne. Whatever drink he was most passionate about at the moment. “What’s the matter, Destiny? Can’t handle a little bit of confrontation? A little bit of change? Looks like you’re losing your grip in the face of something different. Some leader you are, right? Right?” He addressed this last part to the wolves standing behind Destiny, all of whom had turned human by this point. “Your aggressiveness doesn’t change the fact that you aren’t right all the time.”
Destiny's Love Page 3