Embracing the Wolf

“Hello, Taren,” I said to the man standing beside her. His eyes widened just like Veronica’s had. She looked at him and then back at me, indecision all over her pretty face. A smirk bent my lips as I watched them frazzled.

Veronica steeled her features and stepped forward. I held up my hands and said, “I’m serious. Without that paycheck, how will you take that trip to Europe?” Her steps faltered, and her lips parted.

“How did you know about Europe?” Taren asked.

I grinned—giddy I was making them second-guess themselves. “There’s not much I don’t know.”

“Except who hired us,” Veronica said with a satisfied smile.

I nodded. “Except that, but I plan on finding out soon.”

We considered each other for a moment, silence settling over us like a veil. I watched Taren and Veronica and they watched Anthony and me.

“Smart.” Anthony’s voice filled my head.

Veronica looked at Taren as though they were having a telepathic conversation. Hell, maybe they were. I didn’t know what vampires could or could not do. When she turned back to me, a smile lifted her mouth.

“You want to know who hired us?” When I nodded, she took a step closer. “Look to your right.”

My earlier giddiness faded into the pit of my stomach. I slowly lifted my head to look at Anthony.

“They’re lying,” Anthony said.

I wanted to believe him, but the look on his face looked angrier than shocked. If he were innocent, wouldn’t he have looked surprised or something? I took a step away from him, eyeing the vampires and Anthony.

“You lying sons of bitches,” Anthony snarled before he jumped for them. As he jumped into the air he transformed into his wolf and landed on the vampire to Veronica’s left. They went down in a ball of fur and snarls.

Something blurred in front of my vision. I blinked and found Veronica standing right in front of me. Before I could get my mind working again, her fist sailed through the air, and all I felt were knuckles against my cheek before darkness consumed me.

* * * *

I came to some time later, or at least I was guessing it was later. Wherever I was, it was dark. I couldn’t be sure what time it was. I shifted my body and groaned when a hard throb pulsated through my head. This wasn’t just a headache; it felt as though an earthquake had erupted inside my skull. Squeezing my eyes shut, I winced as I waited for the pain to subside. When I tried to rub my temples, I noticed my hands were held together by what felt like a zip tie. I wiggled my legs, and sure enough, my ankles were bound, too. After a few minutes of deep breaths, I calmed myself down and the pain inside my skull receded to a dull ache. Something hard pressed into my back, and the place smelled like musty earth. Leaning to the side, I moved my hands against the ground only to find it was made up of dirt.

Closing my eyes, I channeled my wolf. My vision automatically became clearer, and I could make out the features of the room. I took in the rock walls and lifted my eyes to the ceiling that was carved out of rock, too. I was in a cave, probably in the mountains somewhere. I studied the space more and saw shadowed heaps to the left and farther back in the cave. I sucked in a deep breath, and along with the earthy smell was staleness—vampires. If they were sleeping, it must be daytime. I could use that to my advantage, but first, I needed to try and get a message to Adam.

I concentrated on his face and thought, Adam? Can you hear me?

I waited a few moments but was answered with silence. Ignoring the pain in my head, I tried again. Adam, please say you can hear me. I tugged against the zip ties on my wrists. I wasn’t sure why the vampires thought plastic strips could hold a werewolf, but I was happy for their mistake. The plastic gave way, snapping and falling off my wrist. Rustling sounded where the vampires slept. I stilled, my eyes going to their bodies. When I was sure they were still sleeping, I bent over to pull on the zip tie around my ankles. With relief, I stood and began moving in the direction I hoped was the exit. There weren’t a lot of deep caves in Wyoming, so the odds were in my favor.

After a few steps, I stopped and turned toward the vampires. If I left, this would all start back over again. I needed to kill them and end this. As much as I knew that, the thought of tearing these monsters apart with my teeth unsettled me. Then I thought about the vision of Adam dying, and it was all the motivation I needed. My feet began moving in their direction, my wolf ready at the surface. It would be easy with them asleep. I could rip their throats out before they even stirred. Or that’s what I thought.

I stood at their feet, eyeing their still bodies in the dark. There were only four: Veronica, Taren, and two others I didn’t recognize. I was just about to change when Adam’s voice penetrated my mind.

“Anna, can you hear me?”

I chuckled to myself, either out of relief, or because we were starting to sound like a cell phone commercial. Can you hear me now?

“Yes,” I said. “I’m in a cave … somewhere.”

Adam released a relieved breath. “I thought … It’s been almost twenty-four hours since I last heard from Anthony.”

I crinkled my brows. “Anthony?”

“He sent a message that the vampires arrived and that you had surrendered to them. When we reached the spot where he said you guys were it was empty. I haven’t heard from you or him since, and I thought …”

I frowned, confused. So while I was talking to the vampires last night, Anthony had been sending a message back to the pack. So much for the vote of confidence. Then I remembered what the Veronica had said, that Anthony hired them.

“Is Anthony with you?” I asked.

“Isn’t he with you?” Adam replied. “We figured you were both with the vampires.”

“Nope, just me,” I said. “They’re sleeping right now.”

“Good, get out of there. I’ll send hunting parties out to find you.”

I eyed the sleeping vampires. “I have to end this, Adam. They won’t stop otherwise.”

“Anna,” I could tell Adam was trying very hard to keep his cool. Though his voice sounded calm, I could hear the anger hiding beneath it. “Just because they’re sleeping, doesn’t mean they can’t wake up. Vampires can be up during the day; they just can’t step into it. Just get out of there, and together we’ll go back and take care of them.”

I debated on what to do. It would be smarter to escape and then lead the others back to the cave, but what if the vampires moved again? Their still bodies temped me, taunted my wolf to sink her teeth into their pale flesh. I could almost feel her begging within me to be released.

“If you find Anthony,” I said. “Don’t let him get away. The vampires admitted that he was their boss. I will see you soon.”

I wished telepathy worked like a cell phone and that when you were done talking, you could simply hang up. It wasn’t like that at all. I might have been done discussing my course of action, but Adam wasn’t.

“Anna, do not attack them. You cannot take on multiple vampires.”

I ignored him and began stripping my clothes. I would need them undamaged after I changed back to my human self. Adam’s worry slammed into me like a bumblebee trapped under glass. It hit in my chest as though trying to convince my mind I did not want to do what I was thinking about doing. I faltered for a moment, my fingers lingering on the hem of my capris.

“Fine,” I said. “I won’t do anything. I’m leaving and will send you a message as soon as I know where I am.”

The anxious worry subsided, and I could think clearly again. I hated lying to Adam, but I couldn’t think with his voice and emotions in my head. If I second-guessed myself while in the middle of attacking four vampires, I would definitely end up dead.

“Good,” Adam said. “Just get back to me, Chante.”

“I will.” I sent them message and prayed those words wouldn’t make me out to be more of a liar.

Once undressed, I knelt down on my hands and knees and turned my mind over to my wolf. I could feel her elation at being released. A whoosh of energy washed over my bare skin, sending goose bumps pebbling over my body, and then I was on four paws. It amazed me at how quickly my transformations happened now. In the beginning, they had been painful and took almost five full minutes.

My wolf shook her fur out as though she was shaking the last bits of me off her. Slowly, she padded around the bodies until she stood beside one of the vampires we didn’t know. It was a man with short black hair and a five o’clock shadow. He slept with his arms bent behind his head, oblivious that sharp teeth hovered just inches from his throat. My wolf opened her mouth and lowered it closer to the vampire’s throat. As I thought about her ripping his throat out, a sense of excitement raced through my body. It was poetic justice that a man who had spent his life drinking from the necks of humans was going to die from getting his ripped out.

My wolf didn’t wait any longer. She clasped the man’s throat between her sharp canine teeth and squeezed. The man’s eyes snapped open wide as his hands clawed at her snowy fur. With just a little more pressure, the man’s esophagus crushed in on itself. Blood coated my wolf’s tongue, but the taste was bitter compared to the richness of animals. When the man stopped flailing, she paused and listened for any sign that her kill had disturbed the sleep of the others. When she was happy that it hadn’t, she clasped the man’s arm in her teeth and dragged him away from the others. With soft footsteps, she moved to the next, a woman with short red hair and a spray of freckles across her creamy skin. She didn’t hesitate this time. She struck the woman’s throat in one crushing blow. The woman didn’t have enough time to struggle or cry out.

Two down, I thought, two more to go.

I should have figured Veronica and Taren wouldn’t be as easy as the first two. Veronica shot up, her eyes wild and fangs out. She raised her nose in the air and inhaled, her eyes shooting toward the two dead bodies at her feet. Of course they would have smelled the blood from my wolf’s kills. I should have killed them first. A feral snarl fell from her lips. Taren popped up behind her, his features just as wild.