Chapter Two
~ Radulf ~
I felt like a stalker as I forced myself to turn away from the house and run off into the woods. I tried to tell myself that I was only looking out for Ajag and Sy's safety when I stayed behind after the others had gone for a pack run, but even I knew that was a lie. I just wasn't sure why I was so intrigued by the man.
I was bordering on obsessed.
It was a new feeling for me. I was pretty much a fuck 'em and leave 'em kind of guy. I didn't stick around long, no matter how good someone's ass was. I didn't like emotional entanglements. Staying here on the ranch was probably the longest I'd stayed in one place in years.
I kept waiting for my wolf to start growling at me, telling me it was time to move on. So far, it hadn't happened, and that was weird for me, too. He liked people even less than he liked staying in one place. For once, he seemed content to stay exactly where we were.
I just had no idea how long that would last.
I stayed to the shadows provided by the trees as I stalked through the forest. The pads of my paws barely made a sound as they beat against the hard ground and undergrowth.
Silence hung heavy over the forest tonight. I didn't know if that was due to the fact that I was racing to catch up with the rest of my pack or if it was because I was alone in this little patch of the forest.
When I reached the creek south of the ranch house, I stopped and looked around, scanning my surroundings for any signs of danger, before leaning down to lap up some of the cool, clear water.
Once I was done, instead of heading out to catch up with the pack, I walked over and settled down on a small patch of wild grass with my head resting between my paws. The grass was cool to the touch, which eased some of the heat I had built up during my run.
As much as I knew building pack bonds through running together was important, I had no desire to join the others tonight. My thoughts continued to go back to the two people back at the house.
It was disquieting to say the least.
I knew from the way we had found Ajag in his wolf form that he was an omega wolf. Considering my experience with omegas was pretty much nil, I found that fascinating.
It just didn't think that was what truly intrigued me about Ajag. There was something in his cobalt blue eyes that set my insides on fire and made me want to spend every second of every day with the man's eyes on me.
Yeah, that brought me right back to that whole stalker thing. At this rate, Ajag was going to file a complaint against me with the shifter council.
Or worse.
I lifted my head as my brain started to go down the rabbit hole. We'd left Ajag and Sy at the house alone believing they would be safe there, but what if they didn't stay there?
I leapt up and started running back toward the house just as fast my paws would take me. I had been so wrapped up in my obsession over Ajag that I had totally missed that he was just waiting for the right time to leave.
He had refused to go on any pack runs or even come downstairs to eat with the rest of us. Except for when one of us had gone up to the attic where he and Sy were staying, he had avoided us like the plague.
I had thought it was because he was afraid and needed time to heal from his injuries and whatever had happened to him under the cruel hands of Carlton Brass.
Now, I wondered if he avoided us because he was trying to prevent forming any pack bonds. All of the pieces fit. I just didn't understand why he was fighting against us so hard if this was the case. Granted, we could be a bit surly on occasion, but we weren't bad wolves.
Most importantly, we were creating our own little world here on the ranch with our own rules. Sure, we followed the rules set down by the shifter council so we weren't sanctioned, but beyond that, we were creating a place where being a dire wolf wasn't a bad thing.
I had grown up hating what I was until I hit my early twenties, and then I was pissed at everyone for making me feel that way. My rebellion came in many forms, but I usually displayed my anger with my fists.
What could Ajag be rebelling against?
Made me wonder if there was more going on here than just his issues with Brass. It wasn't like the omega wolf had discussed it with any of us, so no one knew.
I skidded to a stop when I reached the small clearing by the side of the house and dropped down onto my hunches.
Something was wrong.
I lifted my muzzle into the air and took a strong sniff of the night air. My lips curled back and I let out a low sub-vocal growl. Strangers were on our land. I smelled at least three distinctive scents, ones I hadn't smelled before.
I wanted to warn the others that we had invaders on the ranch, but making noise right now was not in my best interest. I needed to find out what was going on before I raised the alarm.
I stayed hunched down close to the ground and started crawling closer to the house. I wasn't positive that was where the intruders were, but I wasn't positive they weren't.
That was the direction the strange scents were coming from.
I didn't realize Sy was curled up in a fetal position in the tall grass, his hands covering his ears and his eyes squeezed tight, until I was almost on top of him. I scooted up close to him and nudged him with my nose.
Sy opened his eyes. For a moment, the acidic scent of his fear exploded and burned at my nostrils, but then he seemed to realize who I was and his fear was replaced by joy, and a bit of desperation.
He wiggled close to my face before grabbing my muzzle with both hands. "Bad men come," he whispered. "They hurt Ajag."
I started to lift my head, but Sy's grip was strong for such a little guy.
"Ajag say run and hide." Sy sniffled. "He yelled at me."
Made sense if Ajag was trying to protect his brother, he'd probably yell. He wouldn't mean to, but he'd be in a panic, especially if strangers had shown up and tried to take them.
I hated shifting because I could hear and smell better in this form, but I needed my words. Sy still had a hold of my face when I slipped back into my human skin.
"Rad," he whispered before shooting a look toward the house. "You go save Ajag?"
I used the same low tone he did when I spoke. "Where is he, little man?"
Sy's hair flopped over his head as he shook it. "Not know."
Damn.
I peeked up over the tall grass to see if I could spot anything out of place. I wasn't thrilled when I didn't. Sy wouldn't lie about something happening to his brother, but there should have been some sign of something.
"I want you to crawl to those trees as fast and as quietly as you can." I pointed off to the trees I had just come from. "Can you do that for me?"
Sy didn't even answer me. He just started moving toward the trees on his hands and knees. I shifted back into my wolf form so I could protect him better and then started crawling after him.
We were lucky the grass here was so tall and the shadows were thick. They hid us from view, but I also realized it could hide someone else as well, which was why I wanted to get to the woods. It was easier to hide a dire wolf and a child behind a tree than a blade of grass.
Once we were safely hidden in the thick trees, I shifted back. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"Ajag said we had to go. I didn't want to, but he said."
Damn it, Ajag!
I was going to strangle him when I found him.
"We started to leave, but bad men came. Ajag said to run and hide, but they hit him." Sy dragged his arm under his nose, which was really kind of gross. "I ran like he said. I did what he told me to do."
I gently patted Sy's arm. "You did good, Sy. You did exactly what Ajag told you to do."
Tears flooded Sy's eyes when he looked up. "I want Ajag."
"I know, little man."
I hugged him to me as I tried to figure out what my next step needed to be. I couldn't take Sy back to the house without knowing it was safe. Ajag would never forgive me. But I couldn't leave him here unattended either.
"Sy, the men that hurt your brother, were they human or shifter?" I wasn't sure if he was old enough to know, but I could hope. "Did they smell like me and the others?"
Sy shook his head. "They smelled...not furry."
That was good enough for me.
"Cover your ears." As soon as Sy did what I told him, I shifted back into my wolf form, raised my face into the night air, and let out a howl that was sure to bring the others running if they were within hearing distance.
I just hoped it didn't bring the humans running.
I gave my best wolfie grin when I heard a series of answering howls.
They had heard me.
I shifted back to my human form and scooted over to lean against the tree, Sy still cuddled in my arms.
As much as I wanted to run to Ajag's rescue, I couldn't leave Sy, and Ajag wouldn't want me to. I just had to wait for help to arrive and hope we weren't discovered before then.
I drew in several deep breaths and released them slowly. I had to stay calm so Sy didn't feel my growing agitation. He might not have gone through his first shift yet, but he was still a wolf. He would know.
I rubbed little circles on Sy's back to help him remain calm as well. After a few minutes, his body went limp and his breathing evened out. I glanced down to find his eyes closed.
I continued to rub his back as I leaned my head back against the hard bark of the tree. The minutes ticked by at a snail's pace. By the time I heard another howl, I was ready to snarl. I covered Sy's ears for him this time and let out a yip. I didn't want to howl and wake him.
A moment later, a large black wolf broke through the tree line. Ze'ev shifted as soon as he reached us. As soon as he was human again, he glanced from me to Sy. "What happened?"
"Sy said some men showed up and tried to take them. Agaj told him to run and hide." I swallowed tightly. "I don't know what happened to him. I thought it would be better to stay here and protect Sy."
A furious snarl ripped from Ze'ev's lips.
"Sy said they were human," I added, "but I don't know how well developed his ability to differentiate between smells is."
"Humans?"
I glanced down at Sy to make sure he was still asleep. He seemed to be. I hadn't felt the tension return to his small frame. "He said they hit Ajag."
I planned to rip out the throat of whoever laid a hand on him.
When the bushes rustled, I stiffened and tightened my arms around Sy, until I recognized the wolves coming through the underbrush. As soon as they reached us, they shifted.
Gundulf stared at the child in my arms. "What happened?"
"Someone came onto the ranch and attacked Ajag and Sy," I explained. "Ajag told him to run. I found him hiding in the tall grass."
I pushed myself to my feet and walked over to where Jackson stood. He had only been a true wolf for a couple of weeks, but he would know what needed to be done. I had no doubt he would protect Sy with his life.
"I need you to take him so I can go find his brother."
Jackson didn't even hesitate. He simply held out his arms.
"Gunny, stay with Jackson and Sy," Ze'ev directed. Even if he was the alpha of our pack, it really wasn't an order. Not many people were stupid enough to give Gunny orders. "Keep them safe."
Gunny nodded before stepping over to stand next to Jackson.
"I'll come in through the master bedroom," Ze'ev said. "Lu can take the second floor. Rad, you use the kitchen door. Don't shift unless you have to. If these are humans, they may not know about us."
"Don't get dead," Jackson added.
That was the plan.
I let out a small chuckle as we started toward the ranch house. We were all naked. That wasn't too strange for us, but if there was anyone in the house they were going to be in for quite the surprise.
When we got to the edge of the tree line, we split off. Ze'ev and Lu heading to the right side of the house. I went toward the far left side using the barn to hide me.
When I reached the far corner, I crouched down and peeked around the side. I had really expected to see some sort of activity and it unnerved me when I didn't.
I didn't recognize the car parked right in front of the house.