by K A Faul
Concentrate, Mina, Thomas admonished her through the link.
I am.
You aren’t paying attention to your environment. I don’t know what you’re thinking about, but it’s not hunting.
Mina growled. I’ll find Bambi’s mom. I’ll make sure it’s quick. Don’t worry there, temporary alpha. You’re not going to go home hungry.
Her wolf heart quickened at the thought of the chase and the taste of the deer. Drool escaped her mouth.
Mina shook her head, slowing for a second. Even a year after her first shift, every trip on four legs provided a startling reminder that her ancestors were animals and not people. She didn’t know if that made her feel better or worse at times.
Smell anything yet? Thomas sent.
No, not yet.
Garett growled. Mina chose to ignore him. Once she completed the exercise, maybe the asshole would shut up. She didn’t have a lot of hope for that, but it was a better prospect than trying to rip his throat out and then explaining to her dad and Sheriff Storm why she’d done it.
Of course, they might give her a medal for forward thinking. She couldn’t believe that the Sheriff had such a putz like Garett in his pack. Even if the guy was good in the fight, the price of putting up with the dumbass seemed too high.
This was the problem with being in a werewolf clan. It took the whole “you can’t pick your family” idea to an absurd level.
The three wolves passed through a clearing. The sun’s rays poured through the forest canopy and warmed Mina’s fur. She almost wanted to lay down and nap for a bit. Thomas had picked an annoying time of day for the exercise.
Two shadows burst off a tree overhead. She bit down a growl and swiveled her head toward the source. They were nothing more than fleeing birds with nervous hearts.
Mina slowed again. The birds’ fear stuck with her. She wasn’t quite sure how she was so certain. Their scent? Something else? She couldn’t be sure of anything other than she knew what they felt. Whatever it was, it was getting stronger in recent weeks.
Another stray scent struck her, knocking the concern about the birds away, and Mina let out a low growl.
I smell a deer.
Thomas and Garett raised their snouts and sniffed the air. They both let out matching low growls.
I smell it, too, Thomas sent. You take point. We’ll harry it. You make the kill.
Try and not screw up, Garett sent. I know it’s hard for you not to.
Just keep up, Mina sent. Don’t forget I beat your ass the other day on two legs, and now I’ve got four, bitch.
Mina! Thomas sent. Just find us the deer.
She padded along, following the scent and silently praying there wasn’t some secret tribe of weredeer she’d have to apologize to later. From what she’d been told, for whatever reason, Rogan didn’t seem all that interested in raising prey animals up as shifters. She’d always assumed it was some balance of nature thing.
The scent grew stronger in her nostrils, and her heart thundered, saliva building up in her mouth in anticipation. She could already almost taste the glorious meat in her mouth. Soon, so very soon.
A little shudder ran through her. Mina knew she needed to make the kill. A quick strike would be merciful, and it wasn’t like she hadn’t been eating meat her entire life. Like Linh had implied, killing her meal with her own fangs and claws would be more honest than driving up to Golden Burger and asking for a combo meal.
Her wolf vision caught sight of the bushy tail a good fifty yards ahead, and she froze. Her ears flattened as she crouched low and resisted bursting into a sprint. They needed to work as a pack. The exercise was as much about reinforcing that concept as making the kill.
The deer is there, Mina sent. Directly ahead.
Garett and Thomas tilted their heads, looking and sniffing the air.
Garett, you go left, Thomas sent. I go right. On three, two, one…
The makeshift pack burst out of the undergrowth, loping toward the deer, growling and snapping with slathering jaws. The prey leapt away from its own meal, some berries on a bush, and ran.
Sorry, pal. Bad day to be you.
Garett and Thomas let out loud growls. The deer zigzagged as if trying to decide which way it wanted to flee.
Mina pushed her legs, her blood singing in her veins now. Twenty-five yards, twenty, fifteen. She’d soon taste the delicious flesh of her prey and fill her belly.
If they were normal wolves, maybe the deer would have had a chance, but a single werewolf would have been more than enough, let alone three.
Ten yards. Five.
Mina let out a loud growl. Four, three, two.
She pounced, her huge form colliding with the deer. The animal sprawled on the ground, the huge wolf on top of it. She opened her mouth and jerked it toward the animal’s neck, eager to end the hunt.
Overwhelming fear radiated through her. She shuddered for a moment, staring into the eyes of the prey.
Make the kill! Thomas shouted in her mind.
I’m sorry, Mina thought, but didn’t send to Thomas. This isn’t for sport. You’ll feed us.
Make the ki—
Mina’s strong lupine jaws snapped shut on the throat of the deer.
Fear. Pain. Acceptance. Then nothing at all.
Mina lingered there, her jaws tight around the crushed throat of the deer, the blood of her kill leaking down her throat, her human side recoiling and her wolf side urging her to eat.
Good job, Mina. Take the lion’s share, Thomas sent. It’s your kill.
Shouldn’t that be the wolf’s share? Mina sent back. The sarcasm didn’t do much to quiet her raging heart, but Thomas couldn’t know how much the kill had affected her.
Just eat, Mina, she thought to herself.
The three werewolves finished their feast and lay about for a few minutes in silence, licking their paws.
Mina could imagine what it might look like if some unaware human stumbled into the scene: three unnaturally large wolves chilling like they were at some party next to a fresh deer carcass. Maybe they needed a few bowls filled with beer.
She was the first to shift back. She didn’t rush it, instead enjoying the cleansing pain for a good ten or fifteen seconds longer than normal. Something about the surreal clarity of the kill and aftermath left her unsettled.
Once Mina was back on two legs, she also retched. The coppery taste of the deer’s blood remained in her mouth and no longer tasted as satisfying. She wiped at her mouth with her sleeve. A streak of brownish-red blood coated her jacket.
It’s not like I haven’t had venison before. This just happened to be uncooked.
Garett and Thomas both shifted.
“Wait,” Garett said, eyeing her. “She still has her clothes on.”
“Sad you don’t get a peep show, Garett?” Mina said, hoping she didn’t look as pale as she felt. “Not like you haven’t seen it before. Get over yourself.”
He snorted. “You got nothing worth looking at anyway, Mina.”
“Yeah, whatever. Don’t be mad just because your dic—”
“Show it to me,” Thomas interrupted, frowning.
Garett growled but didn’t say anything.
“Show you what?” Mina said, feigning an obnoxiously innocent look and voice. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Thomas glared at her. “I’m not in the mood for games.”
“Are you ever?” Mina unzipped her jacket and reached into her shirt. She pulled out the preservation amulet and held it up. “I’m guessing this is what you’re talking about?”
“Where did you get that?”
Mina smirked. Even though every cell in her body cried out for her to say a little birdie got it for her, she worried Garett might run right after Linh, but at the same time, she didn’t want to point the finger at Sean. She doubted whatever her brother did to get the amulet was much better than some of Linh’s antics, and an asshole like Garett was looking for an excuse to mess with her broth
er, son of the king or not.
“I know people, and those people help me out,” Mina said. “Because they adore my wonderful personality, unlike you.”
Thomas snorted. “You aren’t supposed to have one.”
“It’s not against any rules to have one.”
“What about the rules of this exercise?”
Mina tilted her head and then looked up for a moment. “Huh. I don’t recall you saying anything about that yesterday or today. You can’t get at mad at me for violating a rule that you didn’t even tell me about.”
Thomas gritted his teeth. “It’s a violation of the spirit of the exercise.”
“Not a violation of anything.”
“There needs to be discipline. There are rules.”
Mina shook her head. “I just chased down a deer, ripped out its throat, and ate it. All without a side of fries. Stow the Army drill sergeant BS. Our kind isn’t exactly about always following rules versus instinct, and my instinct was that I wanted a preservation amulet.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
Thomas gestured toward the amulet. “Why did you want one so badly?”
Mina let her brightest grin shine. “To see that angry look on you and Garett’s face when you finally realized we were on equal footing.”
Garett’s face twisted into a full-on scowl. Thomas only pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Anyway.” Mina gestured to the half-eaten carcass. “I hunted a deer. I killed a deer. I ate a deer. That’s the damn spirit of the exercise. I did everything I was supposed to do today, and so unless this really was about you two sneaking a peek, I’d get over the preservation amulet.”
Thomas’s gaze flicked between the carcass and Mina, some of the irritation fading in his eyes. “I’ll be honest. I’d thought you’d choke, and I’d have to make the kill. You hesitated for a second.”
“You know what they say about your first time.” Mina shrugged. “And the only choking I was doing was on all that delicious venison.”
She looked back at the deer. The meat filled her stomach, providing a satisfying fullness, but now that she again walked on two legs, more pity returned for the downed creature than the satisfaction she’d felt on four legs.
“We done here?” Mina asked. “Or are you going to continue to berate me for accomplishing the exact task you asked me to do? Next time, I can fail, and you can praise me for that if it’d make you feel better.”
“We’re done.” Thomas gave her a curt nod. “Keep in mind what happened today. See what you can accomplish when you’re taking something seriously?”
Mina laughed. “All I can see is that you guys took me on the worst date ever. I had to get my own food and prepare it myself.”
Thomas let out a sigh. Garett grunted and glared at her.
Mina waved and turned her back, letting her smile drop.
Delicious. Exciting. Almost too exciting. The kill both fascinated and horrified her.
“At least I won’t be hungry for a while,” she mumbled.
Chapter 7
Mina yawned and stretched out on the couch in her living room. The afternoon had gone well enough, minus the whole “her best friend shooting at someone” thing. Though she couldn’t help but find it funny.
A light knock at the door had her on her feet in seconds and heading to the door.
“Wonder if Garett’s stopped by for a free kick to the balls,” Mina muttered to herself as she reached for the door.
She doubted it. Going to the king’s house to cause trouble would be too much, even for a hothead like Garett.
No angry werewolf stood on the other side, just Linh.
Mina nodded to the couch. “Everything okay with you?”
“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?” Linh headed toward the couch and dropped down, crossing her legs.
Mina closed the door before speaking again. “Uh, because you opened fire on a member of the Sheriff’s pack in front of an unfriendly witness, his packmate.”
Linh wagged a finger. “No, no. I opened fire in the general direction of a member of the Sheriff’s pack.” She grinned. “It’s a key distinction.”
“Not like I care, but I didn’t know if Garett would keep his mouth shut or not. Thomas doesn’t want trouble, but you probably should steer clear of them both for a while.” Mina sat on the other end of the couch. “Plus, I worry because Darius is about as uptight as Thomas. Maybe even more so.”
Linh nodded. “The funny thing is, it’s like he knew something had happened. He was complaining at me all day about stuff and generally being bitchy, but he didn’t mention anything about Garett.” The wereraven’s smile faded, and she sighed. “I wonder if that’s why he did what he did. Heck, at least it’ll make it easy for me to avoid the knucklehead brothers.”
Mina narrowed her eyes. “What did Darius do?”
“He’s ordered me to Seattle for a few days, and I leave tomorrow morning. Says it’s for Messenger stuff, something about delivering some stuff to the packs there. Not sure how long I’ll be gone.”
Mina frowned. “And you don’t believe him?”
“I don’t know. He’s usually a little better about giving me notice, and the timing, you know? It’s a little coincidental. Darius doesn’t like shifter politics in general, and so it’s not like he’d want to make a big stink about things either in my defense or to make Sheriff Storm happy.”
“Still doesn’t sound like him to be that sneaky.”
Linh shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe there’s an emergency or something, or just some top-secret crap that we’re not supposed to know about.”
“I don’t know. Your dad say anything?”
Mina scoffed. “He doesn’t tell me anything. I think as far as he’s concerned, until I’m in a pack, I don’t need to worry my pretty little head about kingdom matters. Though he has been tenser lately.” She sucked in a breath. “I did overhear him mentioning True Breed to Sheriff Storm the other day.”
“You think they are stirring up trouble?”
“Maybe. The one thing Dad did tell me is there have been rumors the True Breed have been working more with other supernaturals. It makes it complicated for loyal wolves to handle it without causing all sorts of trouble.”
Linh snorted. “What good does it do to be a wolf supremacist and then run around kissing the ass of bloodsuckers or spellslingers?”
Mina snorted. “Maybe they are working with angels.”
“Yeah, I kind of doubt angels would feel okay around a bunch of wolves who want to kill half the planet. From what Darius has always said, it’s not like the halo patrol want much to do with us sad little mortal types anyway.” Linh rolled her eyes.
“True enough.” Mina shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe nothing’s going on, and I’m overthinking it. I mean my dad’s King. He’s always got something he’s worrying about.” She frowned. “That still doesn’t mean that Darius is exiling you either. I mean, he may be uptight, but it’s not like he’s a fan of Garrett, either.”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it.” Linh heaved a long sigh. “Even if I wouldn’t make myself obvious, I did want to be around to watch your back.”
Mina laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Linh. I can handle Garett. Thanks though, and…” She trailed off at the sound of the front door opening.
Sean stepped through a moment later.
The frown vanished from Linh’s face, replaced by a stupid grin. Mina almost laughed at the change. Instead, she kept her own expression to a smirk. Truly the mistress of self-control.
“What’s up, Sean?” Linh asked. “Got anything interesting to tell me?”
“Nothing. Why?” He eyed Linh then Mina.
The wereraven shrugged. “Heard you’re a smuggler now. Or maybe a pirate.” She smirked. “I can’t be a parrot, but I could be the raven on your shoulder.”
Sean groaned and glared at Mina. “You told Linh?”
Mi
na rolled her eyes. “She can keep a secret. She’s a freaking Messenger for crying out loud.” She winked. “By the way, you should have seen how annoyed Thomas got over it.”
Sean rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, I don’t know if the whole thing was a good idea if it pissed him off. I just wanted to help you out, not cause trouble for you.”
“Oh, whatever. It’s not a big deal, and if anyone’s making trouble for me, it’s me.”
Her brother stared at her and shook his head. “I don’t know if I should be contributing to your lack of control.”
Linh laughed. “I think Mina was born that way, Sean, and I don’t ever think she’ll change.”
Mina grinned at Sean. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, it’s not about a lack of control. I’m always in control. It’s everyone else around me who is losing their temper and what not. Assholes like Garett.”
Sean started toward the kitchen.
“Oh, is that what you’re claiming now?” Linh said. “That you’re always in control?”
“Like you can talk, Little Miss Shot At Someone,” Mina responded.
Sean spun on his heel, his eyes widening. “You shot at someone?”
“Now who can’t keep a secret, Mina?” Linh said, her cheeks reddening. “Thanks for that.”
“Who did you shoot?”
Linh waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal, Sean. I didn’t shoot someone, just to be clear. I shot in the general direction of someone because they were being an asshole. He had it coming, and I couldn’t even have killed him if I hit him, so there’s no story here. Not really.”
Sean scrubbed a hand over his face. “What you’re saying is that you shot at a werewolf.”
“Well, yes. But an asshole werewolf. That’s the key distinction here.”
“That doesn’t exactly narrow it down.”
Mina leaned back against the couch and shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s been handled with some patented Mina Golden diplomacy, and it won’t affect things.”
She spared a quick glance between Linh and her brother. No one needed a third wheel around, and even if her friend worried about her flock’s rules, Mina didn’t. Linh had to leave the next morning, which meant this was probably her only time to see Sean for a while.