Embracing the Wolf

I floated in one spot, kicking my legs and swaying my arms through the cool water. The lake was full of people, all rough housing. There were a few people playing a game of chicken and a lot of flirting going on. The full moon brought out our friskiness. I watched the scene, remembering the last time I’d been here. I searched for Sawyer, but couldn’t pick him out of the crowd. Maybe he wasn’t even here. This was our lake, the spot we’d skinny-dipped at before we gave into our desire and slept together along the shoreline, and Adam had witnessed it.

I pushed the thought aside, it was a memory best left alone. My eyes flitted along the tree line. I didn’t understand how everyone could be so blissfully blind to his or her surroundings. Why wasn’t anyone else worried about the attacker from the ceremony? You’d think a pack of wolves would be ready to hunt the son of a bitch down. Then another thought occurred to me; maybe Adam didn’t want to draw attention to it. Was it because it would clarify how fragile our bond was, or because he wanted to appear strong and in control? Either way, I couldn’t see the landscape without looking for movement of a second attack. If what Wade thought was true, and we were dealing with a vampire, then we were safe during the day, right? I was getting my facts from movies and stories; maybe vampires weren’t allergic to the sun or garlic. Hell if I knew. One thing was for sure—as soon as the full moon was over, I was buckling down and figuring this shit out.

Chapter Sixteen

With so many wolves, we had to break people down in seven different teams. Each pack picked a designated Leader, and together they took down their meal. The Everwood pack stayed together, and now we feasted on a moose. I lay with my paws outstretched, a chunk of raw meat before me. My tongue slipped out and licked against my bloody muzzle. Adam lay beside me, busy with his own piece of the moose. We were deep in the mountains, tall pine and birch trees surrounding us. The cover of leaves and needles was so thick; the light of the full moon couldn’t penetrate the coverage. The darkness was an opaque shroud veiling us. I knew a human wouldn’t stand a chance of navigating through the inky oblivion.

In the distance, one of the packs howled. Adam was instantly on his feet, quirking his head to the side. The rest of us followed suit, tilting our heads to gauge their distance. Wolves howl to communicate with each other. Its instinctual and universal for every wolf. When another round of howling echoed through the tall snow-covered mountains, Adam’s voice filled my head.

“Do not wander from my side, Anna. Stay close, and follow my instructions to the T, understand?”

Whatever had the other pack riled up wasn’t good. Their calls warned of a threat, and I had a sneaking suspicion it was the same person who had shot Adam.

“Anna!” Adam growled when I still hadn’t answered him.

“Understood.”

“Good,” he replied and then began ordering the rest of the pack. “I don’t know which pack that is, but it sounds like it’s coming from Trigger Lake. Joe, do you agree?”

Just then another round of howling bounced off the mountains and trees, and then another pack joined in, singing their warning to the rest of us.

“I can’t be sure,” Joe said. “It sounds like it’s coming from all around us.”

He was right. With the way the mountains amplified their howls, we couldn’t be sure which direction the pack was.

“We should split up,” I added.

“I agree with her,” Joe said.

It took Adam a split second before he too agreed with my decision. “Anna, you’re with me. Joe and Asher take eight wolves each. Joe head south, Asher west.”

They got to work at picking their teams. I made sure Elle and Chelsea were with me and because Chelsea was with me, Wade was, too. It gave me peace of mind to know that he was looking out for her. Together, we ran through the mountain. I kept pace with Adam, flanking his right, while the others flanked me.

Another round of howls filtered through the trees.

“Stop.” Adam’s voice filled our heads, and we all halted. His head swiveled around, his body turning in a circle as he took in the landscape.

“That one was close, but there’s something else …” He lifted his head in the air and sniffed. A deep rumbling growl vibrated up his throat as his lips curled over sharp teeth. “Stay close, Anna. The rest of you fan out.”

“What’s going on?” I’d just asked the question when the stale scent hit my nostrils; the same scent I had smelled the night of the ceremony. There was someone or something close. The hairs on the back of my neck rose as my eyes roamed over the inky darkness. There was a small clearing, enough to allow the glow of the moon to illuminate a portion of trees. The rustling of leaves drew my attention to the left, but I couldn’t decipher if it was the breeze or something else.

“Up ahead.” Wade’s voice filled my head, taking me by surprise. I was still new to this alpha thing. I suspected that only my pack could talk to me while in wolf form, but now that Adam had pledged himself to me, making me an alpha, I was open to all other alphas telepathically.

Adam and I turned our heads at the same time. A lean body shrouded in darkness stepped out of the forest, its movements unhurried. My hackles rose while my lip curled up in a snarl.

“Vampire,” Wade and Adam said in unison.

Adam moved closer to me, his ebony fur meshing with my ivory. “Do not make rash decisions, do you hear me? Now is not the time to ignore my warnings.”

Since I’d never dealt with a vampire, let alone met one, I wasn’t about to run off halfcocked. “Don’t worry,” I told him. “I have no plans to die tonight.”

“Such a pretty, pretty wolf.” A raspy feminine voice carried across the open space and to my ears. My wolf perked up in anger, itching to charge forward and take down the new threat.

“Three more,” Elle called.

I spared a glance behind us and found three more bodies emerging from the forest. Why were vampires in the forest on a full moon? I was sure their sudden appearance on our mountain was more calculated than coincidence.

“Keep a ring around Anna,” Adam ordered.

“Adam!” I snapped. “No one person in this group is more important than the other. No one will die protecting me because you are overprotective.”

“I swear to God, Anna,” Adam responded. Even his inner voice has a growl to it. “Just remain with the group and let me deal with this.”

Dealing with it was the problem. Since it was the full moon, we couldn’t change into our human forms and communicate with the vampires. Then again, being in our wolf forms offered more protection. We were stronger, faster, and more lethal on four paws, and something told me we would have to be. I didn’t think these bloodsuckers showed up to rub our bellies.

“Anna Avery?” the female vampire asked, pointing a finger toward me. Now that she was closer, I could make out her features: tall and thin with shoulder-length dark hair. She wore skinny jeans with knee-high boots and a cropped leather jacket. I don’t know what I was expecting, but she wasn’t it. If it weren’t for the stale odor coming from her, I wouldn’t have even known she was supernatural.

Adam growled, pushing into me so that I had to step back. I bumped into another body and noticed the wolves had listened to his orders and formed a circle around me. I might have had insecurities where fighting was concerned, but since transcending into an alpha, those uncertainties had vanished. Now, all I worried about was those around me. Chelsea was barely two weeks old. It should have been her we protected.

“We can do this two ways,” the female vampire said. “You can either surrender yourself, Anna Avery, or we can take you and kill your wolves in the process.”

“Asher, Joe, head back toward us,” Adam ordered. “Don’t even think about moving, Anna.”

I thought about the wolves surrounding me, putting their lives on the line to protect me, and it made me sick to my stomach. Knowing I could return the favor and save their lives tempted me to step forward. If the vampires were on the mountain just for me, then I would make sure that no one got hurt on my account.

Ignoring Adam, I took a step forward. Adam whipped his head around and full out growled in my face.

“Get. Back. Now. It’s not the time to play the hero.”

My steps faltered only because I knew if something happened to me, it would ruin Adam. Had it not been for our bond, I would have pushed forward and surrendered myself.

“What’s it going to be puppy dog?”

The vampire was answered with growls, snaps, and snarls. Her cherry red lips curled up in a sinister smile.

“I was hoping you would say that,” she said right before she disappeared. I blinked, staring at the empty space she’d just occupied. A whimper tore through the still night. Whirling around, the other vampires had attacked our small pack. When I began forward, something snagged my tail and halted me.

“Don’t,” Adam said. “They’re more than capable of taking care of themselves. Just stay close and wait for Asher and Joe’s group to get here.”

I looked back at Adam’s black wolf with disbelief. Another whimper burned my ears, drawing my attention back to the fight. A vampire—a man with a shaved head—had Wade by the throat and was lifting him off the ground. Another man was taunting Chelsea, tapping her muzzle and then disappearing when she snapped at his hand.

“We have to help them,” I said before ripping my tail from Adam’s sharp teeth and charging forward. My tail would probably have a bald spot, but that was the least of my worries. I couldn’t stand by and play spectator while our pack was being attacked.

Leaping, I landed on the vampire that had a hold of Wade. My teeth sunk into his shoulder until a warm spray of blood flooded my mouth. He dropped Wade and began flailing back and forth to throw me off, but my teeth were firmly locked into muscle. If I was thrown off, a little piece of this vampire was coming with me.

“Son of a bitch.” I heard the echo of Adam’s voice in my head, but was too concentrated on the vampire. I yanked backwards, angling my paws against the vampire’s back. More blood filled my mouth, its staleness coating my tongue and teeth. The man fell backward right before I jumped off his back. Just as I was about to strike his throat, Adam’s large body shoved me out of the way. With a feral growl, he struck the vampire’s jugular and yanked his head to the side, ripping out his throat.