“Do they all belong to the AVW organization or whatever you call them? And is that just a huge group of speed-loving werewolves?”
He chuckled. “Someone watches too much TV. We do not use the term organization, just pack. The AVW is considered an umbrella type of pack, one that encompasses many with the cooperation of their alphas. And no, not all of the Reinhard belong to the AVW, mostly those of Raul’s generation and newer. And yes, I guess you could say they are all speed demons.” He shrugged. “Most of our kind are. We love to run, and driving something fast is the next best thing.”
“Is the AVW the only umbrella pack?” I asked.
The look of approval he gave me made me feel like teacher’s pet. That thought took me to all kinds of dirty places.
“No. There is also the AVV, the American Viking Varúlfur, though they tend to be the older generations. I used to be one of them,” he said, voice growing quiet with the last sentence.
I wanted to know more, but I could tell by the distant look in his eyes that was all I would get on that subject. “The other pack that came after me, on the road. Which one are they?”
“Arnoddr.”
His short answers suggested a new direction was called for. “How do the packs work? Is there, like, an alpha that everyone follows?”
To my surprise, he answered quickly. “Two, a male and a female, lead the pack together. Their family is considered konunglegur—royalty. The sons or daughters, whichever proves the best leader, usually rise to the position after their parents reach a venerable age and become elders.”
“Usually?”
Again his jaw clenched so hard that if he weren’t a varúlfur (I was finding that term was more comfortable than werewolf, maybe because it made it less fantastical), his teeth may have cracked. Through his parted lips I could see that both his top and bottom fangs had extended a bit.
“Sorry, you don’t have to—”
“No, you need to know what you are getting into. Struggles for dominance between the three packs is always ongoing, though it is usually kept to a minimum. Struggles for dominance within the individual packs is another matter. The elders consider that pack business and they do not get involved in it.” Voice drifting off, he swallowed hard and looked out the driver’s side window for a moment.
After almost a minute, I didn’t think he was going to go on, and at this point, I wasn’t going to push him. Finally, he did. “Raul is the alpha’s son. His pack arranged a marriage for him to solidify an alliance with the Arnoddr pack, and if they are forced to recognize and accept you, then that alliance crumbles.”
The breath knocked right out of me as if I had been struck. It took a minute to recover. I shifted sideways, needing to see Ty better.
“Why would Raul want to ruin that alliance?” And arranged marriages? Seriously?
When he answered, I definitely saw the flash of extended fangs. “I honestly do not think the whelp cares. Ever since we were children he has only ever been concerned with what affects him directly.”
That led down an avenue of self-loathing I really didn’t want to travel right now. How could I have been attracted to a man like that, again? Anger built and built until I felt like a tea kettle about to blow. Then I did. It hit me in a wave so powerful I gasped and slammed back into the seat. I became acutely aware of the moon, far below the horizon and hours from rising, but there nonetheless. It was getting much, much closer to being full. That awareness resonated through me until it was all I could focus on.
“Whoa, Sonya, relax, take it easy,” Ty’s voice soothed from somewhere far away.
The vehicle slowed. Gravel crunched. We stopped. Before I knew what I was doing, I flung the door open and spilled out onto the ground. My insides burned like they were going to combust. I had to get somewhere cooler. Down on all fours, I crawled toward the forest edging the road. Soft earth against my palms soothed me. Using a tree trunk, I braced myself and stood. The colors of the forest took on new depths, greens becoming more vibrant, browns deeper, and whites brighter. My teeth ached something fierce, as did my fingers. Before my very eyes my fingernails lengthened, hardened into claws. I screamed.
Instincts raged as if against an internal cage: run, hunt, kill. Where the instincts and my human conscience met I felt the edge of the madness I’d been hearing so much about. It felt like a massive storm waiting to swallow me whole and never spit me out. And it was inside me. Panic pushed me closer to the edge of that storm.
Ty’s shadow fell over me, his hand coming to rest on my back. “Let go of your anger,” he urged.
My lips drew back from my teeth, several of which had become exceedingly sharp. “Can’t,” I growled.
The storm within whispered about how wonderful it would feel to tear into Ty’s flesh, feel the heat of his blood spraying over me, taste his meat in my mouth. Oh Gods, it saw Ty as a threat. The growing panic pushed me another step closer.
“You have to. Do not let the anger control you. Control it instead. It is not your fault that you were drawn to Raul. He was the first of your kind you met. It was natural to be drawn to him. It is not your fault.” The second time he said it, the words sank in.
I became aware of the warmth of his hand on my back as he stroked up and down, the nearness of his body, so tall and strong looming over me. I didn’t want to hurt Ty. He was my friend, my teacher, someone who cared about me, someone I cared about. My claws became fingernails once again. A long breath eased out of me, my anger along with it. Not quite ready to trust my judgment yet, I moved around the tree and took a step away.
“Well done,” Ty said. The pride in his voice made me stand a bit straighter. But then, he hadn’t seen my claws, or been privy to my thoughts.
Those horrible thoughts made me want to vomit. Holding a hand up to keep him away, I took several more steps into the forest. “Give me a second, please.”
The cool breeze moving through the trees felt good on my face. I lifted my chin into it. Several breaths later I felt grounded, in control. For good measure, I waited another few seconds before turning and walking back to where Ty stood waiting.
The concern on his face made my chest tighten. “Would you like to go back home?”
That made me smile; home. I shook my head. “No. I need to do something normal, mundane. A coffee shop is exactly what I need right now.”
He smiled and nodded, falling into step beside me, close enough to be comforting, but not quite touching. It meant a lot that he respected my need for boundaries at the moment. It meant even more that he cared about what I needed and was so willing to give it to me. If only Ty’s chivalry could save me from the madness.
Chapter Thirteen
Sonya
“So, if you aren’t working for one of the packs, was it this Council you mentioned that sent you after me?” I asked after the drone of the tires on the asphalt became too loud.
His blank expression revealed nothing, but tension filled up the cab of the truck as if it were thicker than air. I hated that I was bringing up so many sore subjects for him, but these were things I had to know. His reactions had me worried about the packs for more than one reason. And I desperately needed a distraction from the memory of the madness waiting just on the other side of the precipice I balanced over.
“Yes, the Alpha Council. They are comprised of alphas from all three packs and they sent me because they know I am neutral.”
I had just regained enough focus to process what he said and ask more when he pulled into the parking lot of a coffee shop. Damn. Before I could get my seatbelt unbuckled, he shut the truck off, got out, and was halfway around to my side. Like a gentleman of old, he opened the door for me and offered me his hand. My body screamed at me to take that hand, revel in the feel of his skin, his warmth. This damn attraction had to be a werewolf thing, part of the verða maybe. Because Gods knew my emotions were not to be trusted where men were concerned—particularly if I were going mad.
Yes, a heightened sexual instinct.
That made sense. The other option didn’t even warrant considering. I was not going mad. I would not. Raising an eyebrow at the offering, I ducked under his hand and stepped from the truck in one easy leap. He shrugged and closed the door. Swallowing the desire to apologize, for what I had no idea, I strode around to the sidewalk at the front of the truck. The heat of his body tried to wrap around me as I passed by him. Resisting its pull almost took more resolve than I had. The devil was in the distraction. But hell, at this rate, resisting my attraction to him alone was threatening to drive me mad.
“If you would like to go ahead and order, grab a table, I have to run to the store across the way.” With a thrust of his head, he indicated a grocery store down a few buildings from the coffee shop. “I will meet you back here in a few minutes.”
“Sounds good.”
Nose in the air, drawing in a deep breath, he started to back away, eyes scanning the parking lot as he went. Was he worried about Raul showing up here? Seeing as he was being detained, I didn’t think that was possible. I was about to ask when he turned and started to stride away at a swift pace. Shrugging his weirdness off, I started for the coffee shop. My eyes only betrayed me once or twice, sneaking a peek at his fine backside as he walked away. Fine, maybe three times.
The bell hanging on the glass door jingled as I entered, a clear tone that rang above the swishing and banging of coffee drinks being made. Ten or so tables filled with college-age students chatting or typing took up the floor space, leaving a small aisle clear that led to the counter in the back. Three baristas worked with what was no doubt a caffeine-induced speed, hands a blur as they mixed up drinks for the four people standing at various points along the counter. The rich, wonderful aroma of fine coffee, flavored syrups, and milk made my mouth water in anticipation.
One step inside the door and the euphoria that began to settle over me tore away like duct tape being ripped from dry skin. Something—no someone—in this room set my nerves to screaming. Bumps rose all over my skin and chills spread out from my center. Every smell and sound amplified until I was drowning in a sea of sensations. Then one suddenly banished the others. The beating of a heart that I knew with a terrible certainty was a varúlfur, terrible because something about them wasn’t right. Drawn by both a need to help and a force I couldn’t fight, I walked toward their table.
Or, her table, rather. A young brunette with a bright stripe of purple in her hair, who had to be under eighteen, sat alone at a table, wide eyes staring out the window. The paper coffee cup in her hand shook so badly it was a wonder there wasn’t coffee all over the table. Next to her chair sat a beat-up backpack, one of its straps hooked through her right leg. Her clothes were rumpled and slightly dirty and she smelled as though she hadn’t bathed in at least a week. Compelled by a force I didn’t understand, I sat in a chair across the table from her.
“Mind if I sit here?” I asked. A bit late, yeah, but my mind was still trying to catch up with where my body was leading me.
One twitch and her gaze shot to me, her body going tense.
When she didn’t respond I leaned my elbows on the table and whispered, “Are you all right?”
She made a strangled sound and shook her head.
“Are you from Hemlock Hollow?”
Confusion clouded her eyes and again she shook her head. “Never heard of it,” she said so quietly it was scarcely more than a broken whisper.
Prickles of alarm began to work their way up my arms. Ty hadn’t mentioned any other varúlfur being in Missoula, or anywhere for that matter. It seemed he and I had a lot more to talk about. But right now I had more pressing matters to worry over, like why something about this young woman felt wrong.
“I know what you’re going through. I think my friend and I can help,” I said.
She made a sound between a snort and a laugh and fixed half-crazed eyes on me. “I seriously doubt that.”
“Trust me, I do and I can.”
“Really?” she growled, baring fangs at me.
Now her whole body shook, as if she were struggling to control something and was quickly losing.
For the first time, I willed my fangs to grow, and they did. Hiding my surprise, I smiled, exposing them to her. “Really.”
The girl pulled back so fast her chair rocked back onto two legs. She teetered, arms flailing. Faster than I ever imagined I could move, one of my hands shot out and grabbed her right wrist. I steadied her, holding tight to that wrist and rising with her as she stood, making it look as though I supported her. A few eyes turned our way.
“Enough caffeine for you, time for some air,” I said aloud for the benefit of the onlookers.
Thankfully, she resisted only long enough to grab her backpack and toss it over her shoulder before walking to the door with me. A breeze carrying the scents of blacktop and fast food hit me like a slap as we walked outside. How something I had once loved could now smell so foul, I had no idea.
“You’re one of them,” the girl whispered in a harsh tone.
Her darting wide eyes told me she would attempt to run the first chance she got.
“Them?” I asked.
She tried to pull her arm from my grasp but I held tight easily. “Like the son of a bitch that bit me, that turned me into…this.”
I walked her over to stand beside the bed of the truck, putting it between us and the windows of the coffee shop. “I’m nothing like that one, trust me. I was bitten and turned against my will too.”
Some of the fear leaked from her eyes, but the tightness around them betrayed her wariness. “You were?” Hope tinged her quiet voice.
I nodded. “They aren’t all like him. We aren’t all like him.”
The hope I had heard in her voice blossomed in her eyes, brightening them from brown to an almost golden hue. I let go of her arm. She immediately crossed her arms over her chest, but it did little to hide how much she shook.
Her eyes darted about, not as if she were looking for an escape route this time, but more like she was looking for witnesses. “We’re werewolves, aren’t we?”
“We are. You haven’t been through the—well, your first shift yet?” Though I was growing comfortable with the Icelandic terms, I figured she wouldn’t have a clue what they meant.
She shook her head. A breath eased from me. For some reason that felt important, as if part of me knew that would change matters considerably.
“My name is Sonya.”
Her shaking slowed and her shoulders relaxed a bit. “I’m Candice.”
“I’m glad we met, Candice. There are people that can help you through this. You aren’t alone.” Saying the words aloud made me face the fact that I wasn’t alone, either.
The idea both thrilled and terrified me. My entire life I’d been alone. It was easier that way, less people to worry about, to disappoint.
She snorted. “Hmm, well that would be new.”
Soft though they were, I heard the distinct rhythm of Ty’s footsteps coming across the parking lot. To keep her from growing alarmed, I turned and motioned in Ty’s direction with a thrust of my head. “Here comes my friend now.”
Looking at his tall, broad frame striding with a confidence few possessed, I realized it would be difficult to look at him and not become alarmed. The man had a presence about him, one that brought Norse Gods to mind. Why the sight of him thrilled me instead of alarmed me, I wasn’t sure. Maybe I was well on my way to madness after all. Though he stopped at the tailgate and leaned against it with a casual air, the lines between his brows and around his eyes revealed his tension to me almost as much as the tang in his scent.
“Who do we have here?” he asked through a forced smile.
“This is Candice, and she needs our help. She’s like me,” I said, though from his demeanor I could tell he already knew she was a newly bitten. But the words were for her sake, not his.
Running a hand through his blond locks, Ty blew out a breath. “I am sorry this happened to you, Candice. Our kind are fo
rbidden to do this to anyone who is not willing.”
The girl tightened her arms around herself and thrust her chin higher. “Yeah, that’s what she said, yet here we are.”
“You hungry? Shall we go grab something to eat and talk?” he suggested.
The casual shrug she gave couldn’t hide the way her eyes lit up.
Eager as she was, she refused to get into the cab of the truck with us. Despite only being about sixty-five degrees outside, she insisted on riding in the bed. Still on the edge of wanting to trust Ty myself, I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t know us, and from the looks of her she was a runaway who had been on her own for a while. Those types didn’t tend to trust anyone, something I knew all too much about. After going through a fast food drive thru, Ty took us to one of the half dozen or so parks that made Missoula feel more rural than city. It was easy to see why he chose this city to live near.
In somewhat of a state of awe, I listened as he told Candice most of what he had already told me, using a tone and manner that put the girl at ease. Once in a while she would lower her burger to ask a question, but for the most part she simply devoured the food he put before her and listened. Her ability to absorb it all in stride impressed me, and the fact that she ate two mega-size meals—double cheeseburgers and fries—made me feel a little less guilty about eating an entire one myself. After a bit of careful prodding, Ty and I determined the person who bit her wasn’t Raul, which only made me feel slightly less murderous toward the bastard. From the pinched look of confusion on Ty’s face when she gave her vague description of her attacker, he couldn’t place who it was. She had been attacked at night while walking back to her “pad” as she put it, which sadly turned out to be a place beneath a bridge. When she finished her second meal and began eyeing the fries I had left, I pushed them her way. The hesitant, almost ashamed smile she gave me brought up memories I quickly stifled.
For the first time since I had been bitten, I felt normal. No, better than normal. Helping her felt natural and right on a level that went deeper than even my desire to be a doctor. I couldn’t explain it. With a certainty that was a touch disturbing, I knew I had been drawn to that coffee shop, to her. Could it be madness creeping in? Worry over it ate at me, but I didn’t let her or Ty see it.
Bitten & Beholden (Children of Fenrir Book 2) Page 13