Luckily, I knew this terrain well despite having run across it only once before. Knew the barriers and shortcuts with some deep muscle memory that seemed to throb out of the bite on my shoulder. Luke might not be speaking to me, but our mate bond was still active.
So I knew that the gully over there dead-ended the most obvious path toward our destination. If we veered right, though, we could scamper across a fallen log and set up an easy ambush to slow our pursuers down. Perhaps I could sidetrack Carl and join up with Victor after all....
I was running flat out, aware of the fallen pine directly ahead that I’d need to leap over, when I was the one ambushed. A human hand reached out of the bushes and snagged me. My back slammed into a tree trunk. Snarls erupted in my wake then stilled, suggesting Arthur and Bastion had been similarly overwhelmed.
As I blinked away the stars obstructing my vision, my captor gazed at me smugly. Carl no longer looked like a clean-cut businessman. Dirt streaked his cheekbones, he was entirely naked, and his eyes glinted with the wildness of the wolf.
Meanwhile, his words, although calm on the surface, were redolent with the threat of fangs and claws he no longer bothered hiding.
“Sword maiden. It’s past time that you and I found an opportunity to talk.”
Chapter 26
When I didn’t shift immediately, Carl shook me hard enough to rattle my bones together. The air turned electric as he growled out a more-than-verbal order. “Shift.”
Bastion and I hung onto our lupine natures by the skin of our teeth. But out of the corner of my eye, I caught a hint of movement as Arthur was flung into humanity.
Sweat rolled off the older man’s forehead and his fists clenched as he tried to regain his lupine arsenal. When that failed, Arthur bit out human words full of skinless ire. “What kind of wolf brings guns to a fur fight?”
Ah. So that’s why Bastion and Arthur had surrendered so rapidly.
Sun glinted off metal in the hands of Carl’s lackeys. Had they regained their guns before they started, taking turns running parts of the race two-legged? Or just left one pack mate behind to drive their arsenal to Wolf Camp?
The how of it didn’t matter. What mattered was that these guns weren’t blackpowder rifles. They were deadly semi-automatics, and one in particular was pressed up against Bastion’s lupine head.
My pelt twitched upon my back, wanting to slither free so I could speak on behalf of my cousin. But...would it really help Bastion for me to reveal my identity as a woelfin at the present moment?
I thought not. Carl disagreed.
Hot breath raged against my face as my captor leaned in closer. “Do I need to prove I’m not bluffing, sword maiden? Which should I take out first? The old man? The wolf?”
Something metallic clicked. A safety being flicked off? A trigger readied?
I shook my head so frantically my ear banged against a nearby limb.
I yelped and Carl smiled. “Yes, I thought so. Shift. We’ll chat. I’ll let your men go. It’s the civilized thing to do.”
Civilized. I wanted to laugh, but I lacked the proper vocal cords. Instead, I reached frantically for Luke inside my mind.
Because now was the perfect time for backup. Our silent communication wasn’t just heartwarming at the moment, it was essential.
And...it was absent. Luke didn’t answer. Was he still too far away? Too busy? Too angry? Or had that ice splinter in my neck marked a more permanent change?
Whatever the reason, Arthur, Bastion, and I were on our own.
Electricity once again enfolded me. “This is your last chance,” Carl growled. His patience was running thin and I had no way to defuse the matter.
Only...Arthur apparently did.
“Do you really think a pack princess will shift with all of us watching?” he asked, voice scathing.
Did the older skinless know about my pelt? I shot a searching glance in Arthur’s direction, but Carl had already nodded acknowledgement. Apparently, feminine modesty was a valid excuse, even during an ambush.
Meanwhile, Bastion and Arthur were being frog-marched away from us. My head was still turned to follow their retreating backs when Carl released me without warning. My paws struck the ground in a jumble, yet I could have sprinted for freedom...
...If Bastion and Arthur hadn’t been held at gunpoint, that is. I tilted my head up to catch Carl’s eye, gesturing with my chin toward the backside of the tree I’d struck my ear upon.
“Be my guest,” Carl agreed easily. We both understood that he had the upper hand, but he reminded me anyway. “Just know that your friends will be the ones to regret it if you take off.”
I DIDN’T TAKE OFF. Instead, I stared hard into the forest, hoping there weren’t eyes there to see as my pelt slid away from human skin covered with goose bumps.
This forest was too exposed for comfort. Where was a briar patch when I needed one?
I couldn’t conceal my shift, but I could literally cover up my pelt once I regained humanity. Brushing fallen leaves off a square foot of ground, I tucked the pelt under them while speaking loudly enough to—I hoped—cover up the rustle of my work. “What’s so important that you had to ambush us?” I demanded, letting annoyance bleed into my tone. Skinless didn’t do subtle, so I might as well be honest with Carly’s betrothed.
“This appeared to be the only way to get an audience,” Carl answered from the other side of the tree. I’d half expected him to creep around the trunk while I was busy shifting, but he’d toed the gentlemanly line to protect my modestly...while at the same time leaving guns at Bastion and Arthur’s heads.
The thought of my cousin in danger was enough to laser my thoughts back into focus. What had Carl’s lackey said while we were dancing? Right....
“I assume this is about Carly?” I asked. “Let me guess. You want to tell me that you’re so deeply in love that you can’t wait another year to be joined at the hip. You want me to lobby Luke on your behalf to move up the date of your mating. Is that about right?”
“Not exactly.” Carl’s voice dropped so low I could barely make out words without my pelt’s assistance. “I like the kid, sure, but that’s not why this is time sensitive. I’m a second son!”
That last part exploded louder than I suspect he’d intended. A nearby rustle suggested his men were uncomfortable with the outburst.
I, on the other hand, smiled at the proof I’d gotten under Carl’s skin...then I forced my lips into a frown so my reaction would sound somber. “I wasn’t aware of that. That must be a tough spot to find yourself in.”
Carl sighed, his tone turning petulant. “It is. While our father’s alive, I have value as the spare. Once he’s dead, I’m a threat to my brother’s authority.”
I hummed, hoping Carl would keep talking. When he didn’t, I nudged him verbally. “You’re going to need to lay it out for me. I sympathize, but I don’t see how I can help you.”
“Allies,” Carl told me bluntly. “I can see that your pack is floundering, but I’m willing to gamble on you and Luke coming out on top. I’ll support your autonomy now if you hand over Carly as collateral. A promise to scratch my back when the time comes.”
“When the time comes to...?”
“To take out my brother.”
I blinked, replaying his words in my mind. Was I misunderstanding? Was he really saying...?
Skinless, I reminded myself. Different world. Different rules.
And, with Bastion and Arthur in danger, I had to play along. “If we support you? You’ll give Carly time to grow up?”
“To grow up?”
Now Carl was honestly puzzled. I gritted my teeth. Did I really have to say this part out loud?
The answer, apparently, was yes. When Carl remained silent, I elaborated. “The kid’s fourteen. Will you give her a few more years of childhood before you expect her to have sex with you?”
“No.” Carl was on the other side of the tree, but I could almost see the disbelief on his face. “What are
you talking about? Carly’s of breeding age. Her child will be Luke’s heir unless you pop out a baby pronto. It might take a few tries to get a useful male offspring. Carly and I need to start now.”
AN HOUR AGO, I’D BEEN willing to accept that Carl and Carly might make a good match once she was a few years older. Now, it was all I could do not to slip back into my pelt, leap around the tree, and rip out Carl’s throat.
Instead, I cleared my own throat and hid behind my mate. “Look, you know that isn’t my decision to make. Luke will do as he sees fit....”
I didn’t manage to finish my sentence. Instead, I yelped as my head whipped backwards. Hair threatened to part company with my scalp as someone new manhandled me into submission.
I fought back. Of course I did. Slammed my heel up against my opponent’s shins...only his shins weren’t where I expected them to be.
Instead, my foot contacted air, sending me careening off balance. I screamed as the grip on my curls became the only thing holding me erect.
“I told you she’d say that.”
I could barely make out his words over the rushing of blood in my ears. But I could tell who was speaking. Victor. He and Carl were buddies?
It was hard to think around the pain of Victor ripping out my hair by its roots.
From the other side of the tree, Carl kept questioning me as if I wasn’t being scalped the slowest way possible—through my own body’s interaction with gravity. “Is that your final answer?”
I hated the fact that I was gasping and wriggling like a fish out of water. The wriggling had a purpose though. One foot found soil, and that support was enough to let me hear something far more ominous than the ripping of my own hair follicles.
Sticks breaking. A grunt. All from the direction Bastion and Arthur had been dragged off to.
Of course my cousin would try to help me...never mind that he was facing superior firepower. I hadn’t heard a gunshot, but I still needed to shut this party down.
“You will mate with Carly over my dead body,” I ground out at the same time I spun in Victor’s arms.
After all, a hand in my hair wasn’t debilitating as long as I had my feet under me. Now that I was ready for it, the searing pain was manageable.
Okay, almost manageable. I could barely breathe as I kneed Victor in the groin then tore free, leaving a handful of hair behind me.
But it worked. Victor groaned and sagged. Without the hair connection, I was able to move freely.
There was just one small problem. Victor had collapsed directly onto my leaf-covered pelt.
From the other side of the tree, Carl called out a question. A wolf barked—Bastion, I’d know him anywhere. He was free. And Arthur too? I had to assume so.
Because there was no time to second-guess myself. What sounded like dozens of feet were converging on our location.
I spared one glance for Victor, writhing atop the leaf litter that hid my shed wolf skin. Much as I hated to admit it, it was safer to abandon my pelt, reunite with Arthur and Bastion once we’d shaken our followers, then return once our enemies had moved on.
And, if I was lucky, maybe Luke would come and help us.
Either way, the first order of business was staying out of our enemies’ clutches. So I sprinted into the forest, ignoring the lurch in my belly, leaving both my pelt and a big chunk of hair behind.
Chapter 27
A sharp stick tore into the pad of my heel, but I ignored it. I had barely a moment’s head start and already the bushes echoed with crashing searchers.
Not just behind me either. All around me. Had Carl and Victor both called in reinforcements? I didn’t particularly want to find out.
I did want to find Bastion and Arthur...but that would have to wait until I lost my pursuers. First order of business—make like a wild animal and go to ground.
Luckily, borrowed knowledge of the terrain still clung to me like secondhand cinnamon. I followed the whiff of remembered spice downhill to a stream bank so steep I could hunch down and be invisible once inside the cavity. Clay walls crumbled as I leapt for momentary safety. Icy water splashed up against my naked calves.
Down here, the burble of moving water covered the nearby patter of lupine footsteps. I couldn’t hear if they were coming...and maybe they also couldn’t hear me going?
It was the only chance I had, so I took it. Slipped on stones and caught myself on roots until my fingernails were black-rimmed and my toes white all over. Then I marched upstream for what felt like eons but was likely less than a mile.
There. A faint memory of Luke seeking shelter inside a rotted-out beech tree during a sudden thunderstorm. The bank was nearly too high to climb up here. A wolf could have made it, but I was merely human....
No, even without my pelt I was woelfin. I kicked footholds into the side of the stream bank, clawed at the soil, drew myself inch by painful inch out of the gully created by the eroding power of water.
On the top, I lay with my eyes closed, listening and hearing distant rustles only. The wolves were hunting, but they hadn’t found me yet.
I opened my eyes and stared up at the smooth gray bark of a familiar-to-Luke beech.
The shelter looked just like I’d thought it would. Unfortunately, I was larger while human than Luke had been lupine. The space wasn’t really big enough to fit inside, but I managed. Stuffing myself into damp darkness, I reached out to Luke with my mind yet another time.
Because, walking through icy creek water, I’d realized Bastion, Arthur, and I weren’t the only ones in danger. If Victor was willing to ally himself with Carl, he was more than a disgruntled pack mate. This was looking less and less like the lead up to an Alpha’s Hunt and more and more like a no-holds-barred coup.
So I pushed wordless images in Luke’s direction. Shared the fact that Carl and Victor had allied against us. Relived my ultimatum (probably not the smartest move in retrospect). Mentioned the chunk of my hair that counted as the first token, assuming Victor still intended to call an Alpha’s Hunt rather than going the back-stab route.
The sharing was cathartic, like a good cry cradled in the arms of a loved one. But the warmth of sharing faded when no one answered. A big black beetle crawled off the side of the rotting tree interior onto my forearm, and it was all I could do not to leap out of the tree and into the night.
Yes, night. While I was communing with no one, the forest had succumbed to darkness. I could barely distinguish a glimmer of gray sky through the leafy canopy, and now I had no pelt to pull up around my neck and enhance my sight.
Instead, I shivered as signs of the skinless swept through the darkening forest. Howls. Shouts. Footsteps. None of them very distant.
I hadn’t escaped. I’d merely won a stay of execution...and that was just for myself.
Bastion and Arthur were out there somewhere. Together, I hoped. Recaptured, possibly. I’d gambled on Victor and Carl giving up, or on Luke appearing to fix the problem. Given the formers’ tenacity and the latter’s absence, it was time to go back where I’d come from, regain my pelt, and save Bastion and Arthur myself.
So I listened while the closest set of footsteps moved past, waited thirty seconds longer, then eased the beetle off my skin and slid out of my hiding place.
As my eyes adjusted, the forest lightened a little. Which was a good thing since, peltless, my senses were merely human. Moonlight turned out to be enough to keep me from running into tree trunks. I did, however, catch thorns on my skin in rather unfortunate places while hunting for one particular deer trail promised by the whiff of remembered cinnamon.
There wasn’t time to disentangle briars the painless way, so I pushed through. Let my toes sink into damp earth while curving around toward my destination. Wolf noses would pick up my trail soon, I suspected. Still, it would help to come in from the direction opposite the one in which I’d left. I could....
Wolf eyes stared back at me out of the night.
I HAD NO WEAPON. NO sword, no knife, not even lupine
skin and claws.
Instead, I crouched, scrabbling through the leaf litter in search of sand to throw in the eyes of the wolf who’d found me. Unfortunately, the leaves were thick here. My fingers sank into soft rot rather than gritty soil. I expanded my search, this time hunting for a hefty branch.
“Honor.”
Arthur’s murmur—more breath than word—stilled my fingers. His naked body gleamed pale in the near darkness. At his side, the wolf turned its head...and revealed Bastion’s white-streaked snout.
It was all I could do to keep my own voice as quiet. “You’re safe.” I wanted to grab my cousin and squeeze him. Instead, I satisfied myself with eliminating the distance between us and stroking my hand once, hard, across the top of his head.
Despite the leaf particles I was likely smearing onto his fur, Bastion nuzzled my fingers for one split second before Arthur cleared his throat. “What’s the plan?”
“It’s...complicated.” I slid past him, continuing along the deer trail that would intersect with another deer trail then lead me back to the spot where I’d stashed my pelt.
Only, Arthur’s hand came down on my shoulder, stopping me. “No disrespect, sword maiden. But perhaps you should be lupine?”
I wanted to laugh. Of course I should be lupine. I should also have a sword, a cell phone, and my pelt.
At my side, Bastion whined as if he’d caught at least a hint of what I was thinking. Was that how he’d found me? Our connection, although not quite as intense as twin sense, was definitely an asset.
Arthur, on the other hand, was turning out to be more of a detriment. I tried to wriggle out from under his hand, but his fingers tightened until they pinched my shoulder. “Luke asked me to protect you,” he continued. “That direction isn’t a safe one.”
“It’s not safe, but it’s necessary. I”—I glanced down at Bastion—“I left something important behind.”
Alpha's Hunt Page 12