Chapter 21 Casey
Casey
I try not to sigh as I follow my date around the hiking trail as we head deeper into the mountains. He had been adamant about not meeting in town, and whilst that was a little bit of a red flag, since I have five big wolves who can eat him if he tries something, I was not terribly worried.
I really should have been.
“Did you see it!” He turns and bounces up to me. “Did you see the bird?” His enthusiasm might be infectious…to a five-year-old.
“I saw it.”
“It’s a brown thornbill. It’s excellent to know they are here.”
I look around, noting the half dozen other brown thornbills in residence. Should I point them out or…no. My date rushes off, crouching over some rabbit shit and poking it with his finger.
I look at my hand and pull out my hand sanitizer, rubbing it all over–twice. I glance to my left, where I can feel the intense stare of Angel. His head is low, but his fur is catching too much light; he shouldn’t be this close.
He’s hunting my date.
I bite the inside of my cheek and try not to imagine what Marcell Donnelly the Third would say if confronted with a huge white wolf. Or acknowledge the other thought that’s making me feel all shivery inside.
Marcell is wire-thin, no doubt because he forgets to eat and spends all his time in the forest chasing animals, which he is, surprisingly, incredibly bad at.
“Come on, I found the tracks of a bear.” He gives me a huge smile, but I don’t think he’s really seeing me. “I studied the bear for my thesis.”
“Have you ever seen one?”
His eyes get hard, and he lifts his chin. “I do not need to see an actual bear to be an expert. Casey, I have already told you, I am a professional and highly qualified. I studied for seven years. I know more about them than almost anyone in the field.”
“Uh-huh.”
My reply doesn’t impress him, but I think he’s going to continue trying to find this bear regardless of what I say.
I nod and follow, but when I pass the tracks, they are scuff marks from a dirt bike. Seriously, if you’re going to be into animals, you should probably at least learn how to track and identify them properly.
Hazard huffs, and I whip around, finding him standing there, right out in the open. He wags his tail, opens his mouth, letting his tongue hang out.
“Hazard! Please don’t-”
The red wolf flashes me a mischievous look and crashes through the trees, making as much noise as possible.
“THE BEAR! AFTER IT!” Marcell cries.
Oh, sweet lord.
I’m tempted to leave him to it, but Hazard would have no problem accidentally losing him out here. I do not want to spend the night hunting this moron down.
He’s already spent two hours showing me pictures of his cats, Snowball and Dark Pepper.
Apparently, Snowball has a yeast infection and is being treated with herbal remedies that he learned from the native people he met, supposedly, while he was searching for the rare and endangered horned puff adder, which has ancient medicinal properties in its tears.
I had worked very hard not to roll my eyes.
I’m wondering if the person who’s paying him to do this is secretly hoping he’ll try to pat something poisonous and die. To be fair, it’s an effective way to kill someone. I don’t think there’s any way to trace the death back to the boss, especially if he removes paper trails.
I need to stop thinking about offing this guy, get him back to town, and get back to my mountain, without a rap sheet, preferably.
I grumble as I follow the loud sounds of Marcell. He suddenly explodes through a bush, holds a finger to his lips, shushes me, and then cups his ear, listening intently.
Who is this guy, and what’s wrong with him? Did he forget his meds this morning?
To my absolute annoyance, Wrath is sitting right behind him, staring at his face, slowly wagging his tail back and forth.
“This way!” he shouts loud enough to wake the bear he’s trying to hunt down and runs off, never once seeing the predator at his back.
This is ridiculous. I turn to the wolves.
“Which one of you picked him?”
Wrath looks at Riot. The pitch-black wolf snorts and slinks into the bushes as I gesture rudely to him.
None of them come to save me, but I think they are getting some kind of perverse pleasure out of this. I trudge up the path as my date darts from bush to bush, shouting when he finds something of note, which, of course, is anything but.
“Shall we head back to the car?” I suggest.
He gives me such an offended glare that I immediately feel guilty and then wonder why.
“We’re on the verge of discovery; it’s our duty to this planet to see this through.”
“Humanity never did much for me.”
He doesn’t hear me but continues on. He undoes his jacket, and I watch in growing horror as he uncovers a hidden fanny pack, stuffed full of–what is that? I peer closely as he pulls out…oh, a sample jar. At this point, I’m not even surprised.
Hazard bounces out and woofs at him.
I cover my face with my hand as Marcell screams in a high and strangely female way.
“Do you see that? Do you see it? It’s a wolf. A big red wolf.”
I remove my hand as Hazard rolls on his back and paws at the air.
“That’s a dog, not a wolf.”
“Excuse you, but I’m the wildlife expert, and I think I would know. I spent seven years studying at the highest ranking university with the best animal courses.”
“Oh, did you?” I snap. “I know that is a dog.”
“How do you know that? It’s clearly a wolf.” The dismissive arrogance of this man is maddening.
I growl in frustration. “Hazard, come.”
He snaps to his feet, jumps three bounds, and lands beside me, woofing up at me. Appearing for all intents and purposes like he’s a red Labrador Retriever.
The others spread out, slinking out of the brush to range about me.
Marcell staggers back. “Don’t hurt me!”
What?
I roll my eyes and stroke Hazard’s ears. Riot presses against my thigh, no doubt urging me back to the town so I can get my car and head home.
“You’re shifters.”
The horror in his voice is surprising. I thought he was an expert.
“No-”
“You are! I know a shifter when I see one. Don’t kill me. I won’t taste nice, I promise.”
“Oh, for god's sake, of course, they aren’t going to eat you. Besides, these are my dogs. Not shifters.”
He whimpers and darts off, running into the bush, but he’s running the right way to the car, so I ignore him, turning back to Khaos instead.
“Well, this was a massive waste of time.”
“To be fair, it was extremely entertaining,” Khaos says as he changes into his human shape.
I whirl on him, stepping up into his space. “This better not be your idea of fun.”
He catches my hand, and I lose track of my thoughts, instead staring at where he’s holding me.
“It’s not, I promise. None of us would put you through that deliberately.”
I lift my eyes slowly until I’m staring into his golden eyes. “You promise you won’t do that to me?”
“I promise,” he says gruffly, and his thumb strokes over mine, one long caress that sends tingles through my stomach. My mouth goes dry, and all I can do is stare at him.
A wolf howl breaks us apart.
I listen intently. “That’s my father. You guys need to get back onto my land.”
“No, we’re not leaving you-” Riot growls, but I stalk past him.
“If you want to keep us all safe, you need to go back to the cabin. It’s the only place they won’t find you. I will be fine. Just head up there. I’ll go down and get the car and be back there as soon as I can.”
They hesitate, but another three wolves join the chorus.
“Trust me to be able to handle this,” I say softly, full of confidence.
Khaos dips his chin. “Let’s go.”
“No, Khaos, this is wrong-” Riot protests.
“Now.”
Hazard sweeps me into a hug. “You call if you need help, and if you aren’t home in four hours, we’re coming to get you.”
“I’ll be fine. They won’t hurt me.” As long as I play along and luck holds me.
Riot doesn’t look convinced, and he lingers.
No one has ever lingered or worried about me since my mother died. I give him a smile of reassurance, and he finally steps back, shifting into a wolf and following the others.
I don’t move, standing there for a long time because I know those howls; they are hunting howls. And they aren’t my family.
They are someone much worse.
Jonas.
I have to get to town, get my car, and get back to the safety of the mountain without him finding me.
I crouch down, make sure my boot laces are tight, zip up my jacket, pull my hood on, and then I plunge off the trail, racing straight towards town.
The rough terrain should slow me down, but I’m so desperate that I fly through, allowing branches to snatch at my hair, scratch my arms up. When I see the town, I slow down, working my way closer to where my car is parked.
I stay in the trees, watching intently before I dash down, pressing myself up against the side of Mason’s Hardware store. I creep down the street, glancing furtively as a car slowly cruises by.
I’m only a few feet from my truck, and I think I’ve made it. I’ve got my keys in my hands, relief is already filling my body, when he steps out from behind the car beside mine.
“Just where have you been, breeder?”
I scowl, rocking back on my heels. Surprised because he set a trap, and Jonas isn’t normally that patient or smart.
I can’t run. I can’t fight.
All I have is outsmarting him and luck.
I hope she’s on my side today, she’s never been before, though.
“Jonas,” I whisper his name with all sorts of dread and fear.
My future mate leers at me in a way that is terrifying and brings back memories I’d rather keep buried.
And all I can do is stand there, feeling the terror wash over me and the dawning realisation that I just made a huge mistake.
And there’s no one coming to save me.