CHAPTER 3

The truck twisted through the narrow roads. Water from the day’s rain pelted the roof with loud tings while drips accumulated around the tiniest of cracks and splashed Connor on the cheek routinely. He punched at the cracks to make them stop, but his efforts only made them worse.

Dammit.

Nothing was going right. It was such a beautiful morning only to turn into a gloomy afternoon. Worse still, his gas gauge registered close to empty.

He tried his best to push everything aside and focus on his destination: the Cliff Walker den. Tess would be waiting for him there, he knew she would. He could already feel soft contours of her skin and smell her sweet scent.

A passing car honked as Connor pulled the steering wheel and the car back into his own lane. He shook his head to snap from his memories and saw a gas station just up ahead which he begrudgingly pulled into.

The place was ancient. Old wood served as siding and most of it was showing signs of mold or rot. The awning over the gas pumps had several holes that pooled water up and poured it down on the patrons below. Along-side the service station a trio of motorcycles sat with a tarp hastily tossed over the top.

He pulled the truck into the only available gas pump and splashed his way into the station. The inside of which wasn’t much better than the outside. Mismatched shelves with rows of candy and other consumable goods lined the racks and a single cooler sat in the back of the station, advertising alcohol and soda.

The trio of bikers who must have owned the cycles outside leaned against the far wall, chugging on their beverages when Connor entered. None of them smelled like wolves.

Good.

“I hear Mutt is on a warpath,” said one. Connor paid it as little mind as possible. A bunch of idiots talking wasn’t something he was interested in.

“Pfft, who cares? The guy lost half his gang the day after that fight,” said another, “nobody wants to roll with a loser.”

“Yeah, but I never saw him this angry. I hear he’s thrown down a bounty on that kid he got in a fight with,” said the third.

“Really? How much is the bounty for?” Asked the second.

“Ten large. Quite a chunk of change if you think you can take him out,” said the third.

“Ha, no thanks. I don’t fight against guys that can dodge a shotgun at point blank and throw Mutt around like a ragdoll,” replied the first.

“I heard there’s some crazy guy that took the bounty already, anyway,” said the third.

“That guy must be nuts,” laughed the first.

Dodging a shotgun at point blank? Throwing someone bigger than him? That sounded suspicious. Connor didn’t realize he’d been standing in front of the clerk without saying a word this whole time.

“You goin’ to order something?” the clerk asked.

“I gotta fill up outside, twenty should do it,” he said, handing the clerk a fresh bill. The clerk nodded and clicked a button on the register. Connor couldn’t shake his interest in what the bikers were talking about. He turned, strolling casually over to join them.

“What the hell do you want,” asked the first biker.

“Information,” Connor said, “I heard you say there’s a bounty going out for some kid. What did the kid look like?”

“What’s it worth to you?” Asked the biker, rubbing his fingers together.

Like I’m going to pay you shit…

“Fine, do you know where I can find the guy that put the bounty out?” Connor asked instead.

The bikers looked him up and down.

“Get lost, scrub,” the second replied.

“Wrong answer,” Connor said. They were asking for what was coming. Connor wrapped his hand around the neck of the first biker, and slammed him to the ground. Even without the added strength of his shifter heritage he was more than a match for the man wriggling beneath his grasp. The clerk reached for a shotgun that was hidden behind the register. Connor whipped his head around and growled.

“I’m going to ask one more time,” Connor growled, “What did he look like and where the hell can I find the guy that’s lookin’ for him?”

“You better let him up now while you still have a head,” the clerk said, racking his gun.

I don’t have time for this.

Connor could feel the call of his wolf. It was ready to pounce on everyone in the station. But, these guys were all human. If he shifted here and one of them got out, who knows what would happen next.

If.

Connor pushed the thought down, holding the wolf at bay. He returned the biker to his feet, but still held him against the wall, his feet dangled to meet the floor. He stared daggers into the remaining bikers who were all too ready to bolt.

“Talk.”

“Alright, alright,” the biker said, almost pissing himself, “It was some tall, gangly bastard. Had a smokin’ hot girlfriend. They showed up and busted up Otto’s a few nights ago. Mutt put a bounty out on ‘em and he’s been ridin’ around the mountain. I hear he’s found himself a new gang at some lake on the other side of the mountain.”

Connor lingered a moment, staring them down; he was satisfied with their answer. His blood was returning to normal, the wolf was satisfied for now.

“One more question,” Connor said, “did you get a look at the man that Mutt hired?”

The biker he released doubled over and coughed.

“I got an okay look at the guy, he didn’t look nothin’ special but there was a claw mark that ran along the left side of his neck. Guy gave me the spooks just lookin’ at him, Mutt called him Eli. Somethin’ about him bein’ a hunter.”

A hunter? Could it be the hunter? The one that that killed those bears back at the den? Of course that dumb little mongrel Alex would get us in trouble with a hunter. Not even part of the pack anymore yet still his shit came back to Connor. He clapped the biker on the back and smiled through his teeth.

“I’m glad we could have this friendly chat,” he said, “We are friends after all, right?”

The bikers looked to each other, only to turn back to Connor and nod quickly.

“And, friends don’t go blabbin’ to nobody about friendly matters, right?”

Again, the bikers all nodded in unison.

“Good,” Connor said, “You boys have a nice day.”

Connor walked past the clerk, who still had his gun shouldered. His finger had the trigger half pulled; Alex didn’t want to wait around for him to finish what he started. He sloshed his way out of the small station and back into the rain. The bikers didn’t take their eyes off him until after he finished filling up his truck and was long gone down the road.

That hunter means trouble. Alex was quick but there was no way he’d outrun a bullet, especially not one from a hunter.

Dammit, why do I have to save that little self-righteous piece of shit?

He was Tess’s only brother. Even though he wasn’t part of the pack anymore that still stood for something. Once Connor could get his hands on the hunter, he’d make sure to take the hunt out of him.

It would be another hour drive before he’d get to see his beloved Tess. The Cliff Walker den was a pain to get to, and for good reason, it was safe. He would have run the entire distance on his own four legs if there were no other option.

I need to get to Tess quick.