Chapter Fourteen
The next day I was energized. The pain was almost forgotten. I crept out of the house in the early morning, tiptoeing past Rick and Shelly. As soon as I hit the grass, I shifted, allowing Nix to go for a run. Then Megan will have her turn.
Nix ran along the cliff and then turned towards the trees. “The cliff is beautiful, but it’s the trees that call to me.” She chuffed as she wove between the trees. The dampness of the moss and small grass collected on our fur. Nix took a deep breath. “I wish life was like this. Peaceful. Quiet.”
Megan chuffed out a laugh. You would get so bored in less than five minutes. Megan turned to me. She is a queen that thinks she would be content in the slums.
I threw my head back at that. Very true. I think she is just restless.
“She can hear you.” Nix snorted out as she ran. We caught a whiff of someone from Vince’s pack, so she went the opposite way. Within minutes, someone was chasing us. “Oh, this should be fun,” Nix took off.
She ran through the trees in winding circles.
Every so often, she caught the scent of another wolf.
Vince’s trackers were out in full force.
She had all of them on her tail after her second circle, and she was playing with them.
By the fourth time around, she had scouted a downed tree and chuckled to herself.
Megan. She called to us. Pump out our scent.
Why? Megan hopped up and ran to the clearing. I followed behind him.
Because. Nix laughed. We are going to have a little fun.
Megan did as she asked. The smell overtook the clearing, and the trackers picked up their pace. Nix started a new circuit, and when we came close to the downed tree, she forced a shift. One second Megan was next to me, the next, Nix was beside me.
Hide in the tree as I hide our scent. Nix snuffed the candle and sent a push of air from us, shifting the scent away as Megan climbed into the tree. Stay still.
The trackers ran by and then froze. “Where did she go?”
Another skidded to a stop. “I…don’t…know.” He whipped around in confusion.
They searched the area, and came back with nothing. “She couldn’t have just disappeared.” Another said, but one tracker laid down.
“Who cares?” I recognized the voice as Thane, one of the guards I used to help train. “I’m going to be honest. We all know he is searching for Amy, and I, for one, ain’t going to be the one to turn her in.”
“Thane, you can’t say shit like that. We have a job to do.”
Thane just laughed. “Do what you want, but we all know Amy is the one in the right. Brandon chose Shannon in front of their entire neighbourhood. How is she supposed to move on from that? We are all not stupid enough to believe Brandon actually stopped fucking the pack bike. Shannon does whatever he wants.”
“Thane for fuck sakes.” Another called.
“You can yell all you want, Clark, but I’m right and you know it.” Thane stretched his back.
“It doesn’t matter. Vince is our Alpha. Not Amy.” Clark settled next to Thane. “I know she has helped us, and she is the best Alpha I have ever met, but we have a job to do.” Clark looked out at the trees. “She took pack members. We need to get them back.”
“What if they don’t want to come back, Clark?” Thane shot up while the rest just watched. “What if they left for a reason?”
Clark shook his head. “If they had, they would have cut ties with the pack.”
Thane snorted. “You and I both know if a wolf severs its pack bonds without another to take its place, they become rogue.” Thane shook his head. “They are probably waiting until they find a safe place to run to.”
“Vince is really pissed about Rick taking off.” A third tracker tossed out. “He must have known some things Vince didn’t want to get out.”
Clark snarled. “It doesn’t matter. Vince is our Alpha.”
“That’s right.” A dark voice trailed from the trees, making everyone freeze.
Vince slipped out of the trees and walked right up to Thane.
“I am your Alpha and to say that I’m disappointed would be an understatement.
” He lunged, snapping Thane’s neck and dropping him to the ground.
“The brotherhood doesn’t allow traitors to live.
” The other trackers snapped into formation, while Thane struggled in pain while his wolf worked to heal the broken neck.
“What Alpha Amy has or hasn’t done is none of your business.
Just that I am looking for her and missing pack members.
Do your job or die.” Vince turned. “Like Thane here.” I wanted to jump out and stop what I knew was coming.
But I felt someone holding me here. I knew if I left, I would die.
I held my breath as Vince ripped his head from his body.
“I told you to search the forest by the school, not here. The others have arrived. Let’s go. ”
I stayed where I was for a long time, staring at Thane’s body, my body trembling with the rage that was coursing through me. How fucking dare he. Thane was a good wolf.
Clark is dead. Nix’s voice was low and murderous.
When we get control of the pack, we will make sure all the wolves that supported Vince blindly will be dead, right along with him.
Nix looked at me. We have to go. My rage kept building until I started to scream.
Nix came to my side and pressed me into the ground, then she laid on me.
Amy, calm down until we get back to the cabin.
If we are stupid about this, Vince will trail us back to Carly.
That worked to snap me out of my anger. No matter how pissed I was, I wouldn’t risk our pup. He killed Thane.
Nix looked at me, and she nodded. Yes, but we have people to protect, and the fact that the goddess, or our grandmother, held us here makes me think we are up against more than Vince and his trackers. Nix pushed up. He said the others are here. That means the brotherhood is here.
More reason to go kill them all. I cut in, but she just shook her head at me.
You aren’t seeing this clearly, and I get it.
You were friends with Thane. I liked Thorn, his wolf.
But killing high ranked wolves might be a good idea right now for you, we can’t keep getting lucky.
They probably have Verity with them, too.
We can’t fight magic and wolves at the same time.
I scoffed. Not without any backup. She looked at me.
Let’s stick to the plan. Head to our father’s pack, remove the threat of the rogues, and then get in place for Vince and his brotherhood.
I stared at her for longer than I should have.
Megan decided for both of us. She snuck out of the log and started a winding path back to the cabin.
We kept our scent off and froze every few seconds, just in case someone was close enough to spot us.
I wove a spell that created lookalikes for Megan and sent them in every direction.
We spotted one wolf in the distance and dropped under the cover of a bush. I wanted to scream how frustrated I was, but Megan and Nix kept me under wraps. Why am I struggling this much? My words were a soft whisper, but Nix still heard me.
Our heat is coming in fast, so our emotions are running high. Nix nuzzled my shoulder.
Why aren’t you and Megan more affected? My anger was still bubbling away under the surface.
She pulled back as if I slapped her. You have locked us out still.
What? I shook my head. That’s not true… I trailed off as I said it because if I was being honest, I don’t even remember shutting them off.
Megan called back an agreement. Yeah, you are keeping everything locked up tight. Have been since the bees.
Nix settled next to me and put her head on my lap. You did your best to save us from the pain, which, while appreciated, wasn’t necessary. I know you did it so we could focus on Rick’s wolf. But you shut the door between us, and you have been bottling up everything on your side.
We know you are trying to protect us. But this is becoming a bit of an issue. You’re dealing with all the frustration and anger that comes before a heat. BUT you are doing it alone.
Nix rolled and looked up at me. Let us back in Amy. We can handle the burden together, instead of apart. I stared at my wolf for a few more seconds before I closed my eyes and looked for the door. Nix snorted. Get up.
I snapped my eyes open. What?
Get up. Nix nudged my side. You're thinking as if you are fronting. But you are already here in your mind. Closing your eyes to visualize something doesn’t work if you are already here. Get up. She nudged me again and I stood. Follow me.
We started jogging. She ran through the trees, past the clearing with my magic, and over to the far side. I looked around. Where are we?
This is deeper inside of you. You passed by here in the dark when you met Megan and your magic, when they lived hidden away from you. She ran a little longer and stopped beside an ornate door. The filigree moulding was out of place here in my mind. Fancy, isn’t it?
What the hell is a random door doing here? And why does it look like this?
Nix snorted. You don’t recognize the door? I shook my head. When we were about three or four. Our father took us to the King’s palace. Rowan was a teenager who hated everything about us, but this is a door there. You fell in love with it. Nix looked at me. Now open it.
I took a step, wrapped my fingers around the knob, and pushed it open.
The anger dissipated a little, and I felt like I could think clearly. I took a deep breath as Megan ran the rest of the way to the cabin and we shifted right as the back door opened. My mother stepped out with a frown. “Where have you been?” She growled softly. “I woke up, and you were gone.”
I snorted. “I went for a run.” I tried to slip past her, but her hand snapped out.
“That’s all?” Her eyes tightened, but I just kissed her.
“Let’s sit down for breakfast and I’ll go over what happened.” She watched me for another second and then nodded. We walked into the cabin and Wendy was serving the two girls breakfast.