Cabin in the Woods
Packing wasn’t hard. This wasn’t a vacation. Even so, with my mind racing and constantly trailing off, I had to repack a single backpack three times before I felt like I’d got all the right things.
Rudy’s a werewolf.
I only knew the basics about people who became werewolves through a bite. Everything was so under control these days that situations like this were more and more uncommon. Generational werewolves were far more normal, being those who were the offspring of the offspring of the offspring of the originals, perhaps even older. With complete mastery at hand before they ever had the ability to infect another human, it was rare for things to get so uncontrolled.
Besides that, there were measures. Pure silver- really pure, the stuff that needs extremely harsh chemicals and dangerously powerful furnaces- was enough to cause a werewolf to back off, if not outright hurt them. A first generation werewolf- someone who’d just been bitten- would take a lot more damage from something like pure silver.
But who carried anything like that on them? That stuff was expensive, and considering the danger it posed to a good percentage of the population, under high regulation. The military probably owned most of it.
My mind raced and raced, pouring over all of the bits and pieces I knew. Anyone who’d ever had a problem with the government or the FBI would now know his greatest weakness. The hard part- or the first of many hard parts- would be in transporting him.
A single drive in less than 12 hours was just not going to happen. Even if we pushed ourselves to a breaking point driving, we would not get Rudy home before nightfall, and even if he was in complete control of his faculties, he’d be totally volatile. If he hadn’t changed yet, that was even worse, because he was a ticking time bomb for when he’d burst apart and be completely and utterly out of control.
Aegis was on the phone when I caught up with him downstairs.
“Understood,” he said, nodding at me. “Got it. We’ll do that then. Your equipment is probably better for transport.” He ended the call, shifting his attention to me. “Won’t need the trailer, after all. The FBI is agreeing to transport Rudy themselves, free of cost, plus an armed escort.”
“Probably realized that he’s kind of a valuable target,” I said dryly.
“Exactly. They need you to sign for him- and that’s not just for releasing him from containment.” Aegis frowned, crossing his arms. “They’re signing him into your responsibility.”
“So be it,” I said simply. “I’m not leaving him behind.”
“I’ll be co-signing that,” Aegis said, nodding. “Werewolf Hollow is not leaving him behind, either. Besides that, they want me there, anyway.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’m an Alpha they’ve worked with. Having an Alpha on hand- one that they trust- will be particularly useful for any and all risks moving forward,” Aegis explained. “I’ll be able to overpower him.”
“Mom?”
I turned to see Lucy standing in the kitchen, looking up at me with enormous eyes.
“Hey,” I said, walking over to her and squeezing her. “Everything’s going to be all right.”
“I’m scared.”
“Me, too.” I squeezed her tighter. “But Rudy needs us. He needs our help, now.”
“I know.” I pulled back to see her bottom lip quiver. “Can’t you stay?”
“I can’t,” I said softly. “I have to go. Not just because they need me, specifically, but because Rudy has to see me there to get him.”
“Why?” This was Dylan. He moved forward now, appearing from the shadows, expression hard to read. “Why does it have to be you?”
“Isn’t it dangerous?” Collin asked anxiously. “Maybe I should go, too.”
Aegis chuckled from behind me. “A good sense of duty, but I’ll be with her. I will keep your mother safe.”
“It has to be me,” I said, “because Rudy’s suddenly a werewolf. The exact kind that… you know.”
Understanding dawned on Dylan’s and Collin’s faces, and then they nodded. Rudy wasn’t just a werewolf; he was a dangerous, uncontrolled, generation zero werewolf, the kind that had taken everything away from me a decade ago. I had a pretty good feeling what he was feeling.
“Go get him,” Dylan said, grim. “We’ll be fine.”
“I’ll be staying here with the children,” Leanne said firmly, stepping forward. “I hope you don’t mind. I figure it’s better we don’t interrupt their routine.”
“My house is your house,” I said, standing, flooded with relief. If anyone could command respect from my children, it was the ex-Luna of the pack.
“I’ll be here, too,” Jade said. “I’m not as responsible, but I’m definitely fun enough for distractions.”
Lucy’s lip quivered. “You’ll come back?”
It was a question she used to ask far more when she was younger. I planted a kiss on her head. “I will always come back,” I said softly. “Always and always.”
----
The drive toward Aegis’s house- our last stop, so he could pack a change of clothes- was quiet. Both of us were deep in thought.
“What’s the protocol for all of this?” I asked; his car was turning up a side road now, trees standing thickly on either side. It was a street less traveled, houses few and far between.
“Unfortunately, it’s still bunkers,” Aegis said. “We tried our best to make it as homey and comforting as we can here, but it’s hard when shifting causes you to go mad. Lots of destruction down there,” he muttered.
“A bunker.” I sighed, rubbing my face. “That sounds miserable.”
“It is. I’ve got a whole system, though. I haven’t had anyone stay there longer than a year.”
I blanched. “Oh, poor Rudy. A year in a bunker…”
“It won’t be so bad. He can have visitation. We’re here.”
He pulled off the road and up a gravel driveway toward a house that did not, at all, look like whatever I had been expecting, and yet also, like something that belonged here.
It was certainly larger than I had expected. A two story dark-wood house that was like a ritzy cabin in the woods greeted us. There was a flowerbed, but it was weirdly devoid of any plant-life.
“Technically,” Aegis grunted, stepping out onto the sloped driveway, “it’s Jade’s house. She bought the land and had it built; I take the bottom floor, and she has the upstairs.”
“She must… make really good money off that social media career.”
“Oh, it’s insane,” Aegis snorted. “She usually streams at night. I don’t understand it at all, but it seems to make her happy. She’s done some charity events, too, and gets all these crazy deals with advertising companies.”
I shook my head. “No wonder Dylan’s on cloud nine.”
“Yeah, but it hasn’t taught her how to be able to grow any flowers.” He nodded toward the empty flowerbeds. “She’s killed everything she’s tried to plant, and I’ve got even less skill with that.”
We made our way up toward the front porch, which had beautifully carved railings and perfect, nearly brand new furniture, including a porch swing.
“The kids would love it here,” I said, raising my eyebrows. “I’m surprised you guys didn’t stay with your mom, though.”
Aegis sighed as he sorted out his keys. “We wanted to, believe me, but after dad died, she got… weird. She wanted to be alone. Spent days out in the woods, getting lost and hiding her tracks so no one could find her. She took it really hard. I would have liked to have stayed anyway, but telling my mother ‘no’ is… very difficult.”
I compared that with the Leanne I had seen the past two days and shook my head. “It’s hard to believe she was like that at all.”
“Tell me about it. I think she’s using you to try to pull herself out of it. Or maybe, you’re an inspiration to her.”
I blinked, taken aback. “An inspiration?”
“Sure.” He lifted his keys. “Your staying away from Werewolf Hollow is a lot like her running out into the woods to keep away from society. If you could overcome it for the sake of your children, then maybe she felt that was her sign to do the same. Or maybe it was simply her desire to find you and help you.” He screwed up his face. “It could also have been the sudden desire for grandchildren.”
I burst into laughter, blushing slightly as he pushed open the door and led the way in.
The house was… quiet. It hit me like a wall of bricks as Aegis moved down a hallway, and I stayed in the entrance, completely in awe.
It flowed straight into a very open floor plan; there was a cozy sitting area with wide windows that opened out to the forest, plus a fireplace, directly to my left; an open kitchen with dark wood cabinets and a pantry that looked like a walk-in closet was to my right; and the entertainment room at large sat straight ahead, complete with a floor-to-ceiling glass back wall, a massive television set to one side, and the most beautiful, barely-touched couches I had ever seen.
The whole thing was like some crazy picture of a huge, million-dollar house you’d see in one of those fancy magazines, where you weren’t even sure the whole thing was real.
But the silence- without the kids around, I became suddenly aware of the fact that it was just me. It had never been just “me” before, because I’d never actually been alone. I did overtime, took part-time jobs, anything to keep all my available hours filled. I went to school meetings, after-school events, plays, birthday parties- never was I so alone.
It felt oddly deafening.
“I’m down here,” Aegis called, breaking the spell and making me jump.
The hallway was just past the kitchen. I walked down it toward one room on the left, the door open and spilling light out into the hallway.
Aegis’s room was exactly like him. There was a small, dark bookshelf against one wall that was filled entirely with engineering textbooks, books on different periods of history, and a few that were specifically geared toward werewolves and their part in the world. He had a king-sized bed with simple black covers, a few posters depicting enormous monster trucks, and… very little else.
Clean, methodical, and to the point. Exactly what you might expect from someone who had been trained from a very young age to be a leader.
He was zipping up a duffel bag and frowning, mumbling to himself and obviously trying to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything.
“Should be enough,” he said finally, throwing up his hands and looking at me.
Instantly, we both froze, and the silence of the house blanketed the room. My heart began hammering in my chest.
We were alone… in his house… in his room… together. There was no one else there. My pulse quickened, and I could hear the pounding of my heart in my ears.
This is so not the time, a small voice at the back of my head wailed, but as in any situation like this, all logic was quickly going straight down the drain.
My mouth went dry. The kiss from the other night careened around in my skull, and for some reason, I felt my lips part; Aegis’s amber eyes snapped down to my mouth, and I saw him swallow.
“We… need to go,” he said, and his voice was thick and husky.
It was as if the entire universe itself was trying to drag me toward him. I tried to speak, failed, tried again. “I… can’t feel my legs.”
Real smooth, that voice said sardonically, but Aegis didn’t react. His eyes flicked up to mine, and he swallowed again, tilted his head, and took one step toward me.
It was like standing in the middle of the African Savannah and watching a lion taking big, purposeful steps toward you. Huge, powerful, lean, yet total control all rolled into one very strong predator.
But there was no fear. Instead of prey, I was the lioness.
Or maybe I should’ve gone with a wolf analogy… either way, he was walking toward me, closing the distance, and I didn’t move. I couldn’t, didn’t want to, wouldn’t- my legs were stone.
“Sylvia,” he breathed, when he was standing just in front of me.
I tilted my head back, the world spinning slightly. Every nerve in my body was fighting to get to him. “Aegis.”
He sucked in a breath, eyes closing for a second, before he looked at me again. “This trip is going to be really, really hard if we can’t even make it onto the road without this happening.”
His hand moved up to my face, rough fingers touching my skin and leaving a trail of fire in their wake.
“Please,” I whispered.
His expression changed, that cautious guard crumbling like dust, and he pulled my face to his, lips on mine in seconds.
It was like being scorched by the sun. I was Icarus, flying too close, and I was more than happy to burn.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he deepened the kiss, pushing me up against the wall. He felt incredible, his weight against me, warm, comforting, heavy. All the universe felt like it was tipping into place, all the planets aligning, all the galaxies… crashing into each other or something, whatever. This was everything I’d ever wanted. Nothing before now mattered.
One hand trailed down my side to my waist; he pulled me closer to him, holding me, kissing me. Every touch was a demand, and I was absolutely fine with telling him yes.
Then, with a heavy groan, Aegis managed to pull back from me, bracing himself against the wall and breathing like a man in agony.
“Come on,” he groaned. “We can’t. We need to go.”
I had to fight to remember why. Where were we? What were we doing? Who was I?
But it all came back. I closed my eyes, leaned my head against the wall, and dragged in a shaky breath.
“Right,” I breathed. “Yes. Let’s go. I’ll… I’ll race you.”
As I quickly ran from the room, my head thick with fog and feelings I hadn’t felt in… ever, I realized he was right.
The danger in this first part of the journey wasn’t going to have anything to do with Rudy… it was potentially being completely alone with this man that I was apparently made to be with.