by Alexis Davie
After Farrah arrived home, she took a shower and settled on her couch, finally checking her messages on her phone. There were quite a few from Dusty, who seemed more and more worried after every message. She dialed his number and leaned back against the couch.
“Thank God you’re alive!” he exclaimed into the phone. “Where the hell have you been?”
Farrah closed her eyes and tried to conjure up an acceptable answer to his question. She couldn’t tell him the truth, could she?
“I didn’t feel well after I left the bar, so I called an Uber and it took me home. I took a couple of Advils and it knocked me out for almost the whole day. I just got back from getting my car.”
The lie came so effortlessly that she instantly felt guilty, but she had no other choice. Dusty would think she had lost her mind if she told him that she was kidnapped by a wolf shifter, had sex with him in his office, found out her father was a wolf hunter who tried to kill the Alpha quite a few times, and might have fallen in love with this Alpha in a matter of a day. Fuck, she didn’t even believe it herself.
“Are you okay? Do you need me to come over? Is there anything you need? I can go to the drugstore—”
“No, I’m fine, Dusty, but thank you for worrying about me,” she answered quickly.
The last thing she needed was for Dusty to come to her house. He’d immediately see that something was wrong, and she couldn’t tell him why.
“It’s a good thing this is our weekend off, right? Murray wouldn’t have been too happy with you going missing in action for a whole day,” Dusty said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. I guess my brain still feels a little groggy from the Advil,” she sighed. “What are you up to?”
“Some friends and I are going hiking, actually.”
“You have friends other than me?” she joked.
“Very funny. I would have invited you along, but it’s just a bunch of guys and—”
“I get it. I don’t like hiking anyway.”
“If you had longer legs, then maybe you would,” Dusty joked.
“That’s not my fault,” she laughed with amusement. “Have fun, and don’t worry about me. I’m going to claim the couch as my sanctuary and watch a bunch of old movies while eating everything edible in my apartment.”
“That sounds like a typical Farrah weekend off,” Dusty retorted. “But you make it sound so good!”
“I know, right?” she chuckled, feeling a little better from talking to Dusty.
“I should get going. We’re leaving a few hours before sunrise.”
“Be careful, okay?” Farrah added quickly.
“Of what?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just want you to be safe.”
“I’ll be fine. You know me.”
“I do. Have fun, Dusty.”
“You too.”
The call disconnected and Farrah bit her bottom lip as she placed her phone on the couch beside her. She had always known Dusty was an outdoorsy person, but didn’t think he was the kind of person who went hiking in the dark. Wasn’t that just asking for trouble?
Farrah hoped that he and his friends wouldn’t run into trouble and get themselves killed in the process.
A loud and sudden knock on the door made her jump and she stood from the couch. “Who is it?”
The knocking continued, even more urgent than before, and Farrah opened the door. Her eyes widened as she stared at the one person she had never thought she’d see again.
“Owen?” she gasped.
“Hey, sis.”
Farrah was in such a state of shock that she couldn’t even respond.
“Can I come in?” Owen asked, but by the time she nodded, he had already brushed past her and she slowly closed the door.
“Wh-what are you doing here?” she stuttered and turned to him.
His light brown hair was messy and disheveled, and even though his face was covered in stubble, he looked exactly the same as the last time she saw him.
“I’m sorry to just barge in here, sis, but I need your help—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Farrah walked over to him, put her arms around his shoulders, and hugged him.
“Oh my God, I thought you were dead,” she gasped as she breathed in the familiar scent of her older brother.
“It takes a lot to get rid of me,” he cringed painfully.
Farrah stepped away and noticed the patch of blood on his shirt. “You’re bleeding! Sit, let me look at it.”
“It’s fine.”
“Goddammit, Owen, just sit your ass down.”
Owen obeyed quietly and Farrah lifted his shirt. He had two shallow cuts in his side and Farrah frowned. “What did this to you?”
“Don’t you mean who?”
“It looks like an animal attacked you,” Farrah said, but stood up before Owen could respond.
She rushed to the bathroom and took out her emergency kit from the cabinet. As she reentered the living room, Owen was still seated on the couch.
Farrah sat down on the coffee table and started to clean the cuts in Owen’s side. “What happened to you?”
“I was in a bit of an accident,” he answered vaguely, but she knew exactly what it could be.
Owen had never been the best liar, plus he had a knack for getting into trouble.
“Who did you piss off this time?” she scoffed.
“I didn’t piss off anybody, Farrah,” he muttered and then winced as Farrah placed an alcohol wipe against his skin. “That stings.”
“Good, now you know how I feel.”
“What the hell did I do?” he asked incredulously.
“I haven’t seen you or heard from you since I left Detroit, and now you’re here, in my apartment, bleeding from two gashes on your stomach and you expect me to just help you, at the snap of your fingers.”
“Farrah—”
“I’m such an idiot,” she muttered to herself as she placed a bandage against his skin, covering the scratches.
“I didn’t come here expecting any of that,” Owen told her. “I need your help with something else.”
“If it’s money—”
“It’s not,” Owen interjected.
“Then what is it?” she asked.
“You’re probably not going to believe me, but I have to tell you something.”
Farrah sat quietly watching Owen, not sure what he was going to say. She wondered whether he would tell her what was going on without lying to her like he had in the past.
“I’ve been hunting werewolves, Farrah.”
“What?” she asked.
“That’s how I got the scratches.”
“You were hunting werewolves,” she repeated.
“I know this sounds crazy, but—”
“Did you hunt with Dad?” she asked, looking at him steadily. “When he was still alive?”
“How do you even…”
“Does it matter how I know?” she asked.
“I guess not. You’re just so calm about it. We both know that’s not how you’d normally react,” Owen pointed out.
“Trust me, I also freaked out when…” she stopped mid-sentence and composed herself, “…when I found out.”
“Twice.”
Farrah regarded Owen with a frown and cocked her head.
“I hunted with him twice. He was amazing, Farrah. I’d never seen him like that before. He was such a badass,” Owen told her.
“Apparently,” she sighed and reached for her bag. She took out the journal and handed it to Owen. “This is how I know.”
“Is this—”
“Dad’s journal.”
Owen paged through it and glanced at her in shock. “Where did you get this?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why do you keep saying that?”
“Because it doesn’t.”
There were a few seconds of silence and Owen paged through the journal for a short while. “This is great. We can use this
.”
“What do you mean?” Farrah asked.
“I’m going hunting in a few hours, with a few others, and I want you to come with me.”
“What? No!” Farrah exclaimed and stood from the coffee table.
“Please, Farrah. If you’re as good with a crossbow as I can remember, you’re going to be a natural,” he pointed out. “Plus the Alpha is here in New Orleans, and we can take him out, together.”
“No, I can’t just kill them.”
“Farrah, they’re monsters! They killed Dad,” Owen said angrily. “Don’t you want justice for Dad?”
“It’s not justice, Owen. It’s revenge.”
“To me, that’s the same thing.”
“No, I’m not going. I’m sorry.”
“I honestly thought that you’d be the one person who would understand why I want to do this,” Owen said, raising his hands in the air with exasperation. “That Alpha is responsible for Dad getting outed.”
“That’s ridiculous. He wasn’t anywhere near Detroit when it happened,” Farrah blurted out, and her eyes instantly widened when she realized what she had just said.
“What did you say?” he asked and narrowed his eyes.
“I met the Alpha.”
“You met the Alpha,” Owen repeated slowly.
“Yes, and he’s not a monster.”
“You don’t know that,” he scoffed. “Where did you meet him?”
“I saw two of his henchmen—”
“His Betas?”
“I guess that’s what you call them,” she mumbled. “I saw them turn into wolves and kill a guy in the parking lot close to the bar where I work. I hid behind a truck, but they saw me. They took me to their Alpha and…”
“And what?”
“He didn’t kill me, Owen.”
“But he could have.”
“He didn’t. He’s not the monster you think he is,” Farrah insisted.
“Give me a fucking break, Farrah. Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? They killed Dad, they kidnapped you. What more do you want them to do to us?” Owen asked in exasperation.
“Pike didn’t do anything to me that I didn’t want him to,” she said slowly.
Owen narrowed his eyes at her. “I don’t believe this. You have feelings for him? You allowed him to get inside your head, and somewhere else, and you fell for his charm and all that bullshit.”
“No,” Farrah said and shook her head. “It wasn’t like that.”
“That’s what he does, Farrah. He’s got special supernatural powers. He can charm the pants off any woman, and make them do whatever they want. He compels them to do what he wants. He has no regard for human life.”
“No,” Farrah said and tears filled her eyes.
She wasn’t exactly sure why she was defending Pike all of a sudden, but as his face flashed before her eyes, and she remembered the way he made her feel, she knew.
“Farrah—”
“I am in love with him!”
Owen glared angrily at Farrah and shook his head. “No, you’re not. You just think you are. He’s trying to control you, to manipulate you. You don’t even know what love is.”
“I’m just going to pretend you didn’t say that,” she gritted her teeth.
“Whatever. I don’t need your help, especially since I realize you’re on the wrong side.”
“There are no sides here, Owen. I can’t go with you, and I can’t let you do this. I can’t lose you, too.”
“You lost me as soon as you fucked that dog,” Owen hissed and stormed past her, but she grabbed his arm. “Dad would be ashamed of you right now.”
“Owen, please don’t do this,” she pleaded urgently.
Owen glared at her, his blue eyes, so similar to hers, flickering with anger and loathing. “Try to stop me, and I’ll kill both of you.”
Owen yanked himself free from Farrah’s grasp and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door loudly behind him.
Farrah let out a terrified and hopeless gasp as she stared at the door.
She had to do something, but she didn’t know what. Clearly, Owen was on a rampage to kill Pike and anyone who stood in his way.
6
The tall grass skimmed Pike’s knees, but he was in a world of his own as he made his way through the woods a few miles out of the city. He had gone on a scouting expedition with Talon and Reed, but he wasn’t paying much attention to what was going on around him, or what Talon and Reed were saying. His thoughts drifted back to Farrah again and again, and no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t forget about her. He replayed their final moments in his mind and considered every single scenario where things could have been different. If he had said something different, would he be lying beside her at that moment, instead of out in the woods in the middle of the night?
The full moon shone brightly up in the dark, velvet sky, but the gloriousness of Pike’s surroundings paled in comparison to the vision of Farrah’s face in his mind. Everything paled in comparison when it came to Farrah. He wondered what she was doing, and whether she was thinking of him as well. Most probably not, as he had been a terrible jerk in their final moments together in the car. There were so many things he had wanted to say to her at that moment, but he couldn’t. He knew his life, and he didn’t want to complicate hers by dragging her through his. She deserved to have a normal life, and she deserved to be safe, which was why he had to let her go. She wouldn’t be safe with him. There would always be enemies and hunters alike who would use her to get to him, and he didn’t want that to happen.
Despite his unwillingness to admit it to anyone, he desperately loved Farrah. Even though he had only known her for a day, he knew she was the one he wanted to be with. It might have sounded absurd if he said it out loud, but it made sense to his heart. Usually, he didn’t listen to his heart, but this truth was simply too overwhelming to ignore. He wished he could turn back time and hold her for a minute longer.
“Boss?”
Pike glanced up and noticed Talon and Reed watching him with concern on their faces. Reed raised his eyebrows expectantly, which gave Pike the distinct impression that they had asked him a question, which he did not even hear.
“What?”
Talon and Reed exchanged quick glances before Talon slowly approached him. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” Pike muttered and carried on walking.
“You miss her, don’t you?” Talon asked, which made Pike slow down and sigh.
“I can’t miss her,” Pike murmured.
“You can, and you do.”
Pike sighed again and his shoulders slumped. “Yes, I do. Is that what you want to hear? Do you want to hear me say it? Do you want me to admit that I can’t stop thinking about her since the second I let her go? Is that what you want to hear?”
“If it’s the truth, then yes,” Talon answered.
“We should head back,” Pike said and changed direction. He caught the scent of something, but he wasn’t sure what. “Do you smell that?”
Before any of them could react, there was a rustle of grass, followed by a metal snapping sound. When Pike spun around, Reed had disappeared from sight.
“Reed?” Talon called out and rushed over to the spot where he was last seen, followed by Pike.
“Oh my God,” Pike gasped, who reached the spot first.
Reed had been caught in a large, metal snare trap, the metal teeth protruding from his chest, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
“Reed!” Talon called out and crouched beside the dead Beta.
Pike stepped away took in his surroundings. The metal snare trap looked familiar, as was the scent which suddenly hung in the air.
“Talon…”
“What is it, boss?”
“Something is about to go down,” Pike whispered.
The grass rustled in the slight breeze, and as Pike glanced up, he noticed them through the trees.
There were five of them, a
ll carrying crossbows and walking toward Talon and Pike at a swift pace. As they came closer, Pike narrowed his eyes and he recognized Owen Walker, Farrah’s brother, the leader of the five.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the Alpha going on a midnight stroll with his Betas,” Owen scoffed, “or one of his Betas.”
“He’s dead now, you bastard!” Talon growled. “You killed Reed!”
“One less mutt to deal with,” Owen snarled and pointed his crossbow straight at Pike.
“You don’t know who you’re dealing with, Owen,” Pike called out to him, but an arrow plummeted into his shoulder, shoving him backwards viciously. Although he managed to stay on his feet, his shoulder stung with pain.
“I don’t really care what you have to say right now, Alpha,” Owen said in a derogatory tone. “I am here to get justice for my father!”
“Justice and vengeance aren’t the same thing, or maybe it is to you,” Pike gritted his teeth.
“You know, Farrah said the same thing to me when I told her I was going hunting for you,” Owen sneered.
At the mention of Farrah’s name, Pike’s jaw clenched and his heart ached in his chest, or maybe it was the second arrow which Owen shot at him.
Pike could no longer contain his anger or his pain, and his dominant wolf form took over. Black fur rapidly grew from his skin, covering his entire body in a matter of seconds. His shoulders hunched as he dropped on all fours and his green eyes shone ferociously from between his pitch-black fur. His sharp fangs glistened in the moonlight and he let out a loud snarl.
Talon, a snow-white wolf, flanked him on one side, his head lower than his body, ready to attack. His growls were louder than usual, filled with anger and emotion over the death of Reed. Reed and Talon had been Betas for a very long time, and they had become like brothers, which made Talon a very dangerous wolf at that moment. Wolves who were filled with rage and anger were the most dangerous of them all.