Embracing the Wolf

“We will leave a trail of bodies in our wake until you turn yourself in, Anna,” the vampire said. Her words sounded muffled as she spoke around the two large ivory daggers extending from her gums. When she struck the woman’s neck again, this time harder, I yelped. Taren joined in on the feat, lifting the woman’s wrist and burying his fangs in the soft skin there. Two more tears dripped from the woman’s eyes, falling soundlessly against her pale cheeks while her eyes stared forward.

The worst part about having visions was that I couldn’t do anything. As much as I wanted to help the two humans, I couldn’t. They were already dead, and I was only here as a spectator, witnessing their savage deaths—helpless. No, not completely helpless; I could help these two by tracking down the monsters and running a stake through their hearts.

A soft whooshing of air was my signal that the vision was ending. I kept my eyes locked on the two vampires and their feast, allowing all of the emotions I was feeling to surface.

“I’m going to kill you,” I whispered the promise, not that the vampires could hear me.

I blinked, and I was back in the present. Same motel room, except the two humans were now dead, and the vampires were gone. Nausea swam through my stomach, and I curled my lips inward to keep from vomiting. It didn’t help though; I could feel it rising in my throat. I turned and ran toward the small bathroom, making it just in time to puke into the dingy toilet. I wasn’t sure if the vision caused the sickness, or I was just disgusted by what I saw. Either way, I hugged the cool porcelain until I expelled everything in my stomach.

A warm hand rubbed my back while another drew my hair away from my face. I knew it was Adam, but I couldn’t acknowledge him while on the verge of spewing again. Just having him there, trying to comfort me, helped settle my unease.

When I sure I wouldn’t throw up anymore, I stood, turned on the faucet, and cupped my hands underneath to take a drink.

“Did you see anything useful?” Wade asked.

A rumble reverberated up Adam’s throat. “She’s sick,” he growled. “Give her some time before you start interrogating her.”

I splashed water on my face and curled my fingers around the sink’s edge. Looking up, I found three pairs of eyes watching me through the mirror. My thoughts volleyed between keeping the information to myself and telling them. In the end, I decided telling them the truth was for the best.

“They plan to keep killing until I turn myself into them,” I said. “They knew I might be watching and made sure to say that so I knew the repercussions.” I hung my head and closed my eyes as the last waves of nausea left my body. “I’m going to do it,” I added.

The room was quiet for a couple moments until Elle spoke up.

“You’re going to do what?”

I looked up again, meeting her eyes in the mirror. “I’m going to turn myself over to them.”

“Like hell you are,” Adam said.

“Anna, don’t be stupid,” Elle added.

“That’s what they want you to do,” Wade said.

I gave a humorless laugh, knowing this is what telling them the truth would get me. It’s not like I expected them to be like, “Yeah, we think that’s a great idea.”

I turned to face them. “They’re not going to stop, and I can’t let any more innocents die on my account. The quickest way to end all of this is to kill them, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” I pushed past the three of them, gave one last look to the dead couple on the bed, and left the room.

Chapter Twenty

“We need to talk about this,” Adam said as we got out of Wade’s SUV. A large group of werewolves were clustered around the yard. In our absence, Joe and Asher had made sure the wolfy games continued.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said, pushing through the crowd. As I passed bodies, I realized everyone was looking at me, some with amusement, others with worry or pity. What the heck is going on?

Adam curled his fingers around my bicep to stop me. I knew this wasn’t easy, his heart was in the right place, but the vampires wanted me—not him. I kept seeing the dead humans’ eyes staring lifelessly. I knew if I didn’t give myself up, those wouldn’t be the last dead eyes I saw.

“Anna Avery,” a female voice boomed through the crowd.

Adam stopped trying to talk to me, and all the surrounding wolves grew quiet. The crowd parted as Chloe walked toward me, a smirk on her face. Her eyes were bright with an elation I didn’t understand. When she stopped in front of me, she placed on hand on her cocked hip and smiled wide at me. My eyes wandered to the surrounding faces, and again I saw looks of anxiousness.

“What the hell do you want?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Chloe,” Adam said, his voice hard. “Now is not the time.”

“Oh, I think now is the perfect time,” Chloe said. Looking at me, she said, “Anna Avery, I challenge you.”

Gasps rang out around the yard, while some people cheered. It took me a moment to understand what she was saying.

“You want to … fight me … for Adam?” I couldn’t help the breathy laugh leaving my lips. My mind went through stages of shock, disbelief, and then understanding. Chloe was really challenging me to fight, and knowing her, it would be to the death. I stared at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to say it was a joke. Unfortunately, wolves did not joke about fights or politics. The gleam in her eye made sense now; she already expected to win, expected to get Adam. The emotion that hit me in that moment was indescribable, something akin to rage but much, much stronger. I had never been more pissed than I was right that minute.

“Not for Adam,” Chloe said, “to claim my rightful spot.” Her eyes trailed over Adam, and my body literally shook with my anger. “Though, he’s not a bad prize either.”

Adam stepped in front of me, his hands fisted at his sides. “You touch her, and I’ll kill you. I don’t care what clan you’re from. I’ll go to war with your family before I’ll let you challenge my Chante.”

A body pressed against my right side, but I couldn’t look anywhere but at Chloe. My wolf was just beneath the surface, ready to maul her and turn her creamy skin into pretty ribbons of flesh.

Chloe rolled her eyes at Adam’s threat. “You know very well you cannot interfere with an official challenge, Everwood, no matter who your family is.” Her eyes slid to me, a devious glint reflecting in her eyes. “What does it feel like to know your mate doesn’t even think you can defeat me?” she said to me.

I rushed forward, ready to tear her apart. Strong arms banded around my waist and held me back. I kicked and thrashed against my captor’s arms, screaming for them to let me go. What really drove my fury over the edge was when Chloe threw her head back and laughed.

“You’ll get your chance,” a man said against my ear. “Don’t let her make you look like a fool.”

I don’t know why, but those words helped calm me down. I stopped fighting and sagged against the arms holding me for a moment before standing on my own and looking up at the person holding me. My mouth opened in surprise as I realized I was in Anthony’s arms.

I smacked his hands. “Let go of me.” He obliged, but not before rubbing a small path against my stomach. I cringed and stepped away from him and toward Adam. I caught Sawyer’s eyes in the crowd. His face was white as his eyes zeroed in on my face. I moved my gaze to other faces, and they all looked the same. Everyone already assumed Chloe would beat me, and that pissed me off more. Okay, so maybe I was a young werewolf, and she was from a respectable clan, but a little bit of assurance would have been nice.

“If you go through with this,” Adam said. “I will step down as the alpha of Everwood. Females cannot be alphas of their own pack. What will you do then, Chloe?”

Chloe blew out a breath and pursed her lips. “If you’re the type of man who could abandon his pack, then I wouldn’t want you as a mate anyway. I’m sure there are more than a few willing fellas here that would take your spot.”

“I won’t pledge myself to you,” Elle said, stepping forward.

“Me either,” Joe added.

“Or me,” Sawyer said, making his way through the crowd.

This went on until almost every wolf in our pack vowed not to pledge himself or herself to Chloe. Out of twenty-five wolves, only five did not speak up. I didn’t hold their silence against them. From what I heard, changing packs was scary.

“If a challenge is won, the winner owns the loser’s pack.” We turned our heads to see Maggie Everwood stepping through the crowd. Today, she wore a sage green pantsuit, and her blond hair was pinned up in its usual spot. “While it’s nice you all love and respect Adam and … Anna,” she said, coating my name with the disgust she felt for me. “You cannot deny a new alpha. That is our way.”

“But I can,” Adam said. “You’ve stooped pretty low, but I never thought you would do this,” he said to his mother.

Her eyes moved back and forth, a sign she was embarrassed her son had talked back to her. “Adam, I only want what’s best for you, and this … mutt … is not it.”

“How dare you spout off what’s best for me,” Adam said. “You thought Eve was best for me, and she ended up killing innocent humans. Had it not been for us, she would have revealed our secret to the humans. I think it’s safe to say, you don’t know what’s best for me.”

Maggie’s lips thinned, and her eyes squinted. “You will not talk to me like that. I will not argue over that wretched woman.”

I wasn’t sure if she was talking about Eve or me. When her eyes flicked to me I got my answer.

“Stop,” I said loud enough so my voice would carry. I stepped in front of Adam so that I was only a couple feet away from Chloe and Maggie. I fisted my hands and took a couple deep breaths, eyeing Chloe with derision.