by K A Faul
Garett gave her a feral grin. “Yeah, I bet we will, and maybe tomorrow I won’t hold back as much.” He gestured to a nearby oak tree. “You feeling sad because your little raven bitch friend isn’t around?”
Sean frowned, and Garett smirked at him. “What, you got something to say, Never?”
Mina swallowed once and curled her hands into fists. Her heart thundered. She hadn’t gone looking for trouble that night. Trouble sought her out, and now she was obligated to accept it as an honored guest.
“What did you just say?” she snarled.
Sean put his hand on her arm. “It’s not a big deal. Let’s just get out of here.”
“Yeah,” Garett said. “You run along. You two damn freaks, a Never and his worthless sister. You’re a freaking disgrace to your kind, Mina. I don’t know why Thomas is so soft on you.”
Mina took a step forward. “What the hell? Thomas rides my ass.”
“He should be smacking you around more when you lip off.” He glanced at Sean. “You’re weak, just like your Never brother.”
“Fuck you, Garett.”
“I don’t care what he has to say,” Sean said, his tone pleading.
“But I do,” Mina said through gritted teeth.
“You gonna do something about it, princess?” Garett asked, squaring his shoulders. “Maybe you can show me that you’re not such a disgrace.”
“No, I’m not going to do anything about it.”
Garett smirked. “Oh really?”
“Yeah, because you’re going to apologize right now.” Mina stepped right in front of him. Despite her large frame compared to a normal human, Garett still had a good head on her.
“Screw that. I’m not going to apologize to a Never. He’s not even one of us. He’s not a wolf.”
Mina snorted. “You sound like a damned True Breed. How many families in Golden Oaks have non-wolf relatives?”
“Too many.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? What’s next, Garett? You going to tell me about how we should never be in human form?”
The large man leaned forward, his fetid and alcohol-soaked breath filling her nostrils. Mina tried to imagine how much alcohol it’d taken to get a werewolf as large as Garett drunk. She almost admired the level of effort he’d put into becoming a belligerent asshole that night.
“Damn, Garett, what the hell have you been eating, rotting possum filled with wine? It’s called brushing your teeth. Look into it.”
“Just give me a reason to put you down, Mina. You think you’re safe because of who you are? I don’t give a shit if your father is the king. You push me. I push back. And I’m damn tired of your attitude.” He poked her in the chest. She resisted the urge to grab his finger and bend it until it snapped. “Don’t think I forgot that stunt that raven bitch pulled. You think I’m so stupid I don’t know you put her up to it?”
Mina laughed in his face. “I think you’re so stupid that just saying all that without pausing to think is a miracle.”
Garett snorted. “You’ve been coddled all your life. You would have been better off as a Never.”
“Come on,” Sean called from behind her. “He’s not worth it. He’s just trying to goad you.”
Mina barely heard her brother with her pulse raging in her ears. The time to talk had passed. It was time to kick ass.
Tactical possibilities filled her mind.
How do you like that, Thomas? I’m going to apply my training to a little wolf-on-wolf violence after all.
Garett had size, but she had speed, and he couldn’t turn into wolf form without leaving himself vulnerable for a good twenty to thirty seconds, so she wasn’t worried about that. Not to mention, the king would take a dim view of shifting in public, in addition to Garett’s alpha, the Sheriff. They never knew when a tourist might be driving through town.
“Let’s leave right now,” Sean said, “and forget we even saw him tonight.”
“Shut your mouth, Never,” Garett said. “Real wolves are talking. You know what? Maybe the True Breed are on to something. Maybe your mom died giving birth to you because she was afraid she’d deliver another Never. Maybe we—”
Mina smashed a lightning-fast fist into his face. His head snapped back with a crunch. She didn’t stop to say anything else. Instead, she threw another couple of quick jabs into his stomach and then followed up with an elbow to his throat.
The large man collapsed to the ground, struggling for breath. Mina launched a series of fierce blows to his face. He’d be able to shrug off a few punches soon enough, but that didn’t make them any less pleasing.
Garett whipped his fist up, connecting with her chin and sending her sailing backward.
“Mina!” Sean yelled.
She landed on the ground and rolled. She pushed off the ground and rubbed her sore jaw.
Garett pushed himself to one knee, blood all over his face and his nose askew. It would be fine by the next day, but that didn’t detract from Mina’s satisfaction.
“I’m going to knock some damn respect into you,” Garett snarled.
Mina didn’t respond or wait. She launched herself off the ground and swung wide with her fist. He smirked and caught her hand. Just like she’d planned. Mina snapped out with her leg, landing a solid kick in his crotch.
Garett collapsed with a groan, and she leapt back, her teeth gritted.
“You didn’t need that anyway,” Mina said, breaking into a grin. “Since it’s not like anyone would want to sleep with you, you stupid son of a bitch.”
“Mina, we need to leave right now,” Sean said. “This has gotten out of hand.”
Garett pushed himself up, his face contorted in rage. “That’s it, bitch, you’ll be lucky if you can walk for days when I’m done with you.”
“Stand the hell down, both of you,” shouted another familiar voice from Mina’s side.
She spun toward the source and spotted a scowling Thomas, rushing toward the scene.
Garett shook his head. “You’re not my damn alpha.”
Thomas glared at him. “But I am your damn beta.”
“For now.” Garett growled. “Tired of letting this bitch dance all over us, and I’m going to teach her a lesson.”
Thomas stepped in between Mina and Garett. “If I have to pound some sense into you, I will.”
Garett scoffed. “You serious? You’re taking her side?”
“I’m stopping you from making a mistake.”
The large man shoved Thomas. “Get the hell out of my way.”
“What the hell is going on?” bellowed a loud voice from behind.
Everyone spun toward the source. A huge middle-aged man in a police uniform stood there, Sheriff Storm. A broad hat sat atop his shaved head. A long, jagged scar ran across his face, a reminder of a close encounter with a golden blade.
All the fire drained from Mina. Of course, starting a fist fight in the middle of a park in town would have attracted attention. She’d known better, but she couldn’t muster any regret. Not after what Garett had said.
The Sheriff crossed his arms. “I got a call about Mina Golden brawling with one of my pack members in the street, and I said, ‘No, that can’t possibly be true because neither of them would be that damned stupid.’”
“They were already fighting by the time I got here, Sheriff,” Thomas said.
“She hit me,” Garett said, pointing to Mina. “I was just defending myself.”
“Yeah, I hit you,” Mina said, some of the fire returning. “Given the crap you said about my brother and mother, you’re lucky I didn’t shift and tear your worthless balls off with my fangs.”
“Watch it, Mina,” Garett said. “Just because—”
“Shut your damn mouth, boy,” the Sheriff roared.
Garett grimaced and looked down at the ground.
Under any other circumstance, Mina would have loved seeing Garett humbled, but she knew Sheriff Storm would have more than a few harsh words for her soon enough.
“But Sheriff,” Garett began, “he’s a N—”
“Didn’t I already tell you to shut your mouth?” This time, the older man’s voice wasn’t as loud, but the tone left no room for debate, even from a loudmouth like Garett.
The Sheriff returned his attention to Sean.
Sean sighed. “I’m sorry, Sheriff. I tried to get her away, but in her defense, Garett was being a dick, insulting her, which I don’t think she cared about as much, but then he started calling me a Never, saying the True Breed are right and that sort of thing. Even insulting our mother.”
The Sheriff’s face darkened, and he shot a baleful gaze at Garett. “Go back to your house, and stay there until I can talk with you.” Garett opened his mouth to say something, but he shut it at the Sheriff’s raised hand. The alpha nodded at Thomas. “Make sure he gets there.”
Garett grunted and walked off. Thomas hurried after him, whispering something Mina couldn’t make out. His pack member’s response was another grunt.
“Sean, go home as well,” the Sheriff said, his voice calmer. “I have to talk to your sister alone. She needs to understand a few things.”
“Sheriff, she was only trying to defend me.”
“Go home, boy. Now.”
Sean sighed and shook his head. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked off.
That left Mina alone with Sheriff Storm. Mina swallowed. She figured they were about to have a loud and one-way conversation.
Chapter 11
“Let’s take a walk around the block, shall we?” Sheriff Storm said, nodding his head toward the sidewalk. His tone made it clear he wasn’t asking.
“All right,” Mina said. “But I’ll cut to the chase, Sheriff. I’m not going to apologize to that asshole, and I don’t give a crap if I hit him first. He said things that he had no business saying, and my only regret was that I didn’t pop him in his nose earlier.”
“Walk first, talk second, Mina. I want your blood cool before I bother having the conversation. Reasonable words burn to a crisp in hot heads, whether yours or Garett’s.”
Mina sighed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I guess it’s better than being arrested.”
The Sheriff gave her a toothy grin. “It is at that, and that option is still on the table if I don’t think you’re going to be calm.”
Mina stared at him for a second, wondering how her father would react. The problem was that she knew exactly how he’d react. He’d be angry at her for causing trouble for Sheriff Storm.
“I’m totally calm,” Mina said. “Calmer than a corpse.”
The Sheriff chuckled. “Then let’s go for a walk.”
They strolled onto the sidewalk and around the block. A few people on the other side of the street waved at them, and they both returned the gesture. In a tiny town like Golden Oaks, everyone knew and interacted with everyone. They had to, even if they didn’t always like to. There was too much risk of exposure to the outside world otherwise.
All the money, effort, and connections werewolves had acquired to protect themselves only went so far. In the end, human civilization, once rural, had become urban, and the wolves were creatures of the forests, not the cities.
In the end, it was probably the partially combined efforts of bloodsuckers, mages, and others who lived in cities that kept the eye of humanity off the wolves, if only indirectly. Most supernaturals didn’t want humans sniffing around the hidden world, and even angels had their own inscrutable agendas. If the greater human public found out about any individual type of supernatural, the others would be targeted soon after.
The Sheriff cleared his throat once they were away from any friendly townsfolk. “You know what I like most about your father, Mina?”
“His dashing smile? His singing voice? The way he rocks that beard?”
The Sheriff chuckled. “He knows when to fight and when to hold back. That’s why we’ve had a good reign of peace under him, and why we don’t have trouble with other clans, Hunters, or shifters. A lot of other wolves in his place would have had us in a lot of battles, tough battles that would have cost wolf lives.” He shook his head. “A lot of the clans have a lot more problems with that sort of thing.”
“So what you’re saying is, I need to know when to hold back?” Mina scoffed. She’d held back. She didn’t try to rip Garett’s throat out with her teeth or shoot him thirty times. It was hard for a werewolf to die in a common brawl, even if the other person was trying.
The Sheriff nodded. “It’s a lesson you can at least start trying to learn. I know Garett has his issues, but Thomas is a lot cooler headed, and don’t think he’s not informing me about your progress and your attitude. Not that I don’t know about your attitude already. It’s not exactly like you’ve ever known how to hold your tongue. Too much of your mother in you. Maybe if she were still alive, she could have helped keep you in check.”
Mina’s heart kicked up. Heat flooded her face, and she gritted her teeth. If she’d been talking to someone other than the Sheriff, she might have already exploded.
“Attitude?” she spat. “Garett’s the one with attitude. He called my brother a Never. As for my mother, he mocked her. Saying she probably died because she was afraid of giving birth to another Never.”
The Sheriff took in a deep breath. “I’ll be talking to Garett about that. Your mother was a good woman, and she deserves his respect.”
Mina sucked in several breaths and shook her head. “Even ignoring all of that, an Unturned can’t fight back against a werewolf. If I don’t fight for my brother, then I’m no kind of wolf at all, and I’d gladly pound Garett into the pavement and take my punishment than stand by and let him screw with my brother and talk crap about my mom.”
The Sheriff pulled off his hat and rubbed his head for a second. He redonned his hat. “I know, Mina. I know, but if you know someone’s more likely to poke at you, then you need to practice more restraint, not less. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that what he did was okay, and I will punish him as his alpha, but I also need you not to make more trouble about this incident by talking about it with your father. I’ll inform him myself after I’ve dealt with Garett.”
Mina snorted. “Is that what this is about? You think the little princess is going to run to Daddy and tell him, ‘Off with Garett’s head’?”
“I think that you’re a pissed-off young woman who is upset about your family. I’m not saying you don’t have reason, but I have to look after my pack just as much as you’re concerned about your brother.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t need my father to solve my problems. Hell, I was doing a pretty good job of taking care of the problem before Thomas and you showed up.” She shook her head. “I don’t even get why you tolerate a bastard like Garett. I’m not saying you have to exile him or anything, just why have him in your pack? Because he’s tough?” She threw her hands up. “You don’t even have him working as a deputy because he’s such a knucklehead.”
“We all have our roles, Mina. Both in our packs and in the clan.”
“Like official dumbass? I’d say fool or jester, but Garett isn’t that funny.”
The Sheriff let out a long sigh, and he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Mina couldn’t help but wonder if Thomas picked up the habit from his alpha.
“Yeah, Garett’s a dumbass sometimes,” Sheriff Storm said. “No one’s ever going to deny that. And, yeah, that’s why I don’t have him working as a part-time deputy, unlike Thomas. No one in the pack will deny he’s a hothead, but he’s also stupidly brave, and we need men like him to ensure the safety of Golden Oaks.”
“Safety? From what? The occasional tourist who took the wrong exit on the highway?”
The Sheriff watched her in silence for a long moment before speaking again. “You know what the problem is right
now?”
Mina groaned. “I thought we established that: Garett is a dumbass who insulted my family. It’s a pretty clear problem. I hit him, and I’m not going to blab to my dad about it.” She shrugged.
“No, the problem is your father has almost done too good a job as king.”
“What the hell does… what are you talking about? How can you do too good a job? You want him to what, tax and execute more people or something?”
The Sheriff stopped walking and stared down at Mina. “You’ve lived your entire life in Golden Oaks in a time of peace thanks to your father.”
“Okay,” Mina said, dragging out the word. “And that’s a bad thing? You would prefer if we were constantly dealing with people rolling into Golden Claw territory or Golden Oaks and killing people?”
“You’re not understanding what I’m saying, girl.”
“Then enlighten me, Sheriff. Educate my young mind.”
“All this peace has changed you from what you could have been,” he said. “Altered your potential. You’re trained for a different type of life.”
Mina crossed her arms. “How did it change me? What have I become?”
“Soft.” The Sheriff delivered the charge in a flat and almost clinical tone of voice. “Very soft.”
She gritted her teeth but said nothing. She’d seen the charge coming, but it still hurt to hear him say it.
“Look, most wolves your age are soft now,” the Sheriff continued. “These are good, kind, and easy times for the Golden Claw.” He held up a hand. “That’s not a bad thing overall. Yes, it means your father is doing a good job, and he’s kept the entire territory under control. We have almost no problems with other shifters, other supernaturals, or even Hunters. But it’s not always been that way. You know that, right? Even if we don’t talk about it, it’s important to remember.”
Mina swallowed and gave him a shallow nod.
His piercing gaze unnerved her. “Does your father ever talk about the coup at all?”