chapter thirteen
With a whistle on his lips, Wolfrik skipped a rock along the rippling surface of the Manama River. After patrolling the area in wolf form all morning and early afternoon, he and Aden had shifted near the caves.
Wolfrik skipped another rock. This one bounced along the water six times before sinking. He grinned to himself and said, “Not bad.”
Aden looked from the river to Wolfrik and raised his eyebrows. “You’re in a good mood,” he noted.
“It’s called getting tail. You should try it.”
Aden grunted and turned away.
“Don’t want the dirty details?” Wolfrik taunted, following Aden across the rocky shore.
“No.”
“Good, ’cause I’m not giving any. What I do with my female is my business and hers—really good stuff, by the way.”
“I thought you weren’t talking about it.”
“I said no details. Lucky for you, I’m going to be in a good mood tomorrow, too.”
Aden snorted in amusement.
A woman’s scream pierced the air, followed by a ghastly screech. Wolfrik and Aden took one look at each other then dove to the ground and shifted. Wolfrik had to push himself to keep up with Aden, who had longer legs. They splashed across the river, leaving Wolf Hollow territory, and careened through the forest toward the commotion. The screeches became louder as they flashed past trees, gaining speed.
There had been no sign of vulhena since Tabor, Aden, Raider, and Emerson had slaughtered a nasty herd of them in the valley. Now here they were sticking their ugly faces near their borders yet again. The fuckers had killed Wolfrik’s parents. He hoped there were dozens of them up ahead. He’d rip them all to shreds. The more, the better.
There were three circling a tree.
Well, better than one.
In the tree, a young woman clung to the trunk and yelled at the beasts, tearing at loose branches that she threw down at the screeching animals.
The vulhena were so intent on the woman, they didn’t notice Wolfrik and Aden creeping up from behind until the two wolves were on top of them. The third vulhena screeched hysterically as Wolfrik’s teeth tore into its companion’s back.
A claw slashed at Wolfrik’s back. He whipped around with a brutal snarl and lunged at the third vulhena. The unnatural creatures were able to get onto their hind legs and stand as this one did. Big mistake. Wolfrik took it down by the legs, landing on its chest as they hit the dirt. He went straight for the jugular and tore out its throat.
Once certain the creature was truly dead, Wolfrik returned to the vulhena he’d left wounded. It stood on all fours, bleeding into the earth, its black eyes shining with malice. Wolfrik growled. The vulhena screeched. They ran at each other and crashed together into a flurry of biting and clawing as they bellowed their rage and death cries. While Wolfrik tried to get the animal by the neck, it jerked around and sank its teeth into his haunch.
Wolfrik’s lips lifted, showcasing his fangs all the way to his gums when he snarled. He whipped around and knocked the vulhena onto its side then pounded on the squirming creature while it was on the ground. Wolfrik locked his jaw around the vulhena’s neck, shaking and tearing at it until his teeth tore through the black, hairy skin and blood gushed out.
A calm quiet settled over the forest. Wolfrik temporarily forgot about the woman in the tree. He licked his chops, standing beside his two kills. The third vulhena was stretched out over the earth like a burn mark beside Aden, but the werewolf paid it no attention. He stood, alert, staring into the branches.
Wolfrik shifted, stood, and kicked the dead vulhena closest to him then spit on it.
“May you rot forever,” he said, as Aden shifted.
“Wolfrik?” a faint female voice gasped.
That voice. That damn gut-wrenching voice. He’d hoped never to hear it again. It was the door to the past and all the pent-up, raging emotions he’d stuffed into that caged space. It didn’t belong in the wild.
Wolfrik jerked his head up and snarled into the tree. Sparrow still clung to the trunk about twelve feet off the ground. Her brown hair was a tangled mess, her clothes ripped up, and skin bruised, scraped, and bloody.
Wolfrik shook his head slowly and chuckled humorlessly. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
“Who is she?” Aden demanded.
Wolfrik lowered his head, happy to redirect his attention back to his packmate. “Her name is Sparrow and she’s the sister of Hawk, the bastard who runs the compound I was stuck in for three years.”
Aden’s eyes narrowed. “What’s she doing here?”
“Good question. What are you doing here, Sparrow?”
They folded their arms and stared into the tree. Sparrow wisely made no move to climb down. She attempted to brush her hair out of her eyes while holding on, but it kept falling back over her face.
“I ran away,” Sparrow sputtered, “and now I’m seeking asylum. Will you offer it, Wolfrik, after what I did for you?”
Aden looked at Wolfrik and raised his brows. “What did she do for you?”
Wolfrik shrugged.
“I set him free,” Sparrow called down.
Wolfrik’s lips drew back over his gums. “What was the point of setting me free only to lead your brother and his men right back to me and my packmates?”
Aden’s jaw clenched and body stiffened. “We have to kill her,” he said.
Wolfrik gave a snort of amusement.
Nice to finally see the werewolf has some chops.
Too bad he couldn’t make good on Aden’s suggestion.
“We can’t kill her. That would only make her brother more determined to turn over every rock until he found out who took her life. No.” Wolfrik’s eyes went out of focus as he stared into the forest. “Somehow, we have to return her to the city.”
“No!” Sparrow screamed from overhead—right before she shimmied halfway down the trunk and dropped down. “You can’t take me back there. I was as much a prisoner as you.”
“Oh, really? Stuck behind bars?” Wolfrik took a step toward her then another. “You lived in a cage, did you?” Her lower lip trembled when he took his next step toward her. He enjoyed watching her shrink back, lean away, back up and nearly smack into Aden.
Sparrow jerked her head in alarm, eyes widening when she noticed the towering, muscular form closing in on her. They had her trapped between them.
She faced Wolfrik, angry tears gathering in her eyes. “You killed the love of my life, and still I let you go.”
Wolfrik snarled. “Your brother killed Eric, and you know it—I was just a tool. That’s why you let me go. Revenge, not pity.”
Sparrow sucked in a breath. He saw the truth in the flash of her eyes.
“They beat me unconscious after I freed you. I couldn’t open my eyes or walk for days,” she spat. “Think of what they’ll do to me if you make me go back. You know that Hawk will—” Sparrow’s next words were cut off by a squeal of dismay as Aden locked his arms around her. “Let go of me!” Sparrow shouted, twisting in Aden’s arms.
Wolfrik smirked. The werewolf shifter’s muscled arms were stronger than rope.
He leveled a cold gaze at the human. “Whatever Hawk does to you for fleeing is on you, Sparrow. You shouldn’t have come here.”
Sparrow glared at Wolfrik. “Fine. You don’t want to take me in, then let me go.”
“Afraid we can’t do that,” Wolfrik said. He looked above her shoulder into Aden’s eyes. “Can you guard her in the river caves while I speak to the council?”
Aden nodded.
“Wolfrik, please,” Sparrow whispered desperately.
His jaw clenched as he ran scathing eyes over the shoes laced over her feet and the blue bra strap peeking out through her tattered shirt.
“You think I would put a single human life above the safety of my entire pack?” Wolfrik’s billowing words required no response.
Sparrow’s mouth hung ajar right before her body sagged against Aden and the werewolf shifter was left holding her up rather than restraining her.
“We should kill her,” Raider said, arms folded tight against his chest as he stood outside Jager’s hut.
None of them were sitting, not after Wolfrik delivered the chilling news.
He explained, again, why killing Sparrow would lead to worse problems. If Hawk found his sister dead, he’d want to know what had happened and wouldn’t stop until he found out. If she simply disappeared, he’d never stop searching. Either option could lead Hawk and his men to the hollow.
“We’ll have to move,” Heidi said solemnly.
“No one’s moving. This is our home,” Sasha snarled.
“This is all his fault!” Palmer pointed a finger at Wolfrik. “He led the human straight to our home.”
“He didn’t lead anyone here,” Sasha said, glaring at Palmer. “She found us on her own, and if she can, so can others. We already lost David because humans got too close. We need to protect our home—not point fingers.”
Jager nodded. “Sasha is right. We’ve always known humans might venture into the woods. We can tuck tail and run, or we can fight.”
The voices around him turned fuzzy as an idea began forming in Wolfrik’s head. Maybe Sparrow’s appearance wasn’t the doom the old shifter woman from Glenn Meadows had foreseen, but an opportunity to rid the world of Hawk once and for all.
“We can use her as bait,” he said.
The voices quieted around him, and six pairs of eyes stared into his.
“Keep her on the outskirts—guarded in a cave by the Manama River—far from the glade and den,” Wolfrik continued. “Meanwhile, set up scouts on the hilltop to keep watch over the wasteland. If they see anyone coming, we’ll have at least a day before they reach our border on foot and another day before they come anywhere near our communal areas—plenty of time to kill them all.”
Emerson frowned. “They have guns.”
“We have arrows for long range,” Sasha said, “and fangs and claws for up close.” Her teeth gleamed when she smiled.
Damn, she was an incredible female. He should have listened to her about serving on the council sooner.
“It will be difficult for them to aim once they reach the woods,” Wolfrik added.
Emerson looked at Sasha, eyes expanding on a thought. “Could Tabor knock them all unconscious like he did with the vulhena?”
Sasha twisted her lips in thought. “Maybe. I’ll ask him.”
“Who will guard the human?” Emerson asked next.
“Aden,” Wolfrik answered.
“We’ll need him in the fight,” Emerson said.
“What we need is someone to prevent her from getting away and warning her companions,” Wolfrik returned.
Sasha chewed on her bottom lip. “She’d do that?”
Wolfrik rubbed the back of his head. “Doesn’t matter. Even if she tried to keep her mouth shut, her brother would torture her for information.”
“His own sister?” Sasha asked.
Wolfrik nodded.
Sasha scoffed in disgust. “Humans,” she muttered.
“We can ask Garrick to scout. I know he would be more than willing,” Raider said.
Sasha flashed him a grateful smile that slithered inside Wolfrik’s gut.
“First we need to take a vote,” she said. “We can stay and protect our home, or relocate north of the Glenn Meadows shifters—far enough from the wasteland that the humans could not reach us with their limited locomotion and supplies. Those in favor of staying, raise your hands.”
Sasha, Wolfrik, Raider, Emerson, and Jager raised their hands at once.
Heidi sighed. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect my children, and I believe that goes for all the parents in the den.” She glanced at Palmer, who inclined his head. “I will support the council’s decision, but I think we should allow den members to make their own choices and give families the option to relocate until a time when the threat has passed.”
“I think that is more than fair,” Sasha said.
The rest of the council nodded.
“I will assign two teams to keep lookout,” Jager announced.
“Thank you, Jager,” Sasha said.
“Will you make the announcement at supper?” the old man asked.
“I think you should,” she said. “I believe the pack will feel reassured hearing the plan from an elder.”
Although Jager didn’t smile, there was a contented glow in his eyes. Wolfrik admired Sasha’s clever diplomacy.
“And the two of you will alert our den members?” Sasha asked, turning her attention to Palmer and Heidi.
“Yes,” Heidi said solemnly.
Sasha lifted her chest and pressed her lips together in a line as grim as a dark horizon. “Then it is settled. Let the humans come and feed the animals and insects of the forest with their rotting corpses.”
Wolfrik nodded.
Yes, let them come. Let Hawk face me outside the pit. I will repay every blow, every wound, and every hurt I was forced to endure and inflict on others under his orders.
One last epic match for Cujo.