Cold Mercy (Northern Wolves) (23 page)
Hell, he’d keep them all safe.
Shadows stretched between the trees, like inky fingers that clawed their way over the ground, inch by inch, as darkness slowly stole the light from the day. Zeke felt the demon grow in strength as dusk settled firmly across the sky, the sun falling low along the horizon. The other wolves would come soon. Unlike him, they didn’t seem to be trapped forever at Morrigan’s side. He wondered where they each went, because every dawn he felt them fade until finally, it felt as if their pack bonds had snapped.
There was a sense of numbness that filled the demon before the wolf laid down to slumber. But every night, as the moon began to sing and the sun to wane, Zeke could feel the bonds returning, the demon growing stronger. Fingers stroked through his fur and Zeke knew Morrigan petted him, even though the demon didn’t look at her. Instead, the wolf stared at the body of the man on the ground, waiting.
Contempt roiled through his gut and Zeke could feel the hatred, the distrust. Bali hadn’t been happy to make this wolf and Zeke got the distinct impression that the demon hoped this one failed. But Zeke saw a finger twitch in the snow, then another and another. Slowly, the man began to spasm, a low groan sounding from him and Zeke held himself perfectly still in the demon’s mind, for once hoping the creature wouldn’t realize he was there, just in case he wouldn’t be allowed to see this.
White fur bled out over human skin, followed by the sickly crack and pop of bones. Loud snaps that would have had Zeke flinching if he’d had control of his own body. Instead, the black wolf watched impassively, the demon oblivious to the horrified man who shared his mind. A ragged cry broke from the man and his head rolled back. His face bloody from Morrigan’s attention last night seemed to break now, and Zeke watched as a white muzzle sprouted—his human head morphing into that of a wolf.
The change was slow, painful, but Zeke had to watch every second of it. This was what had happened to him. He knew it in the very core of him now. A demon had taken this man too, changed him, and now, like Zeke, he’d be locked in some sick, twisted monster’s psyche. A prisoner in a body that had once been his.
But one of them had escaped. That knowledge let Zeke kindle hope in his heart. If one could do it he still had a chance, he just had to find a way. Bali growled, an ominous sound in the slowly darkening forest, and Morrigan’s hand tightened on the ruff of his fur. “Enough. We need him. I can control him, and with him, you can control the pack easier.”
The demon didn’t like that, and Zeke startled as Bali imagined his teeth sinking into the still-changing man’s throat, ripping it out. But with Morrigan’s hand in his fur, Bali made no move to kill the new wolf. Blood dripped into the snow as a bone pierced skin, and then, finally, the man’s clothes lay in tatters on the ground and a wolf lay in a heap on top of them. His sides heaved, a slight wheeze sounding from its lungs.
It was a long while before the wolf lifted its head, looking dazed. Shining blue eyes blinked and Zeke couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The wolf turned, fixed that gaze on Morrigan, and snarled. Fangs flashing in the evening light. It made no move to rise and go after her, but there was nothing friendly in the animal’s gaze.
Bali’s muscles tensed, flexing as if he wanted to lunge, but something inside the wolf stopped him. He
couldn’t
. This wolf could not be harmed. Zeke felt the iron certainty like a rock in his gut and it only pissed the demon off more. This wolf was an enemy, one Bali hadn’t wanted to bring back, and now, when it snarled at their queen, Bali couldn’t even lift a fang to protect her.
Zeke couldn’t help but wonder why. Bali could have ripped any of the other wolves apart, but some kind of magic held him back from harming this one.
“Welcome Fahlow,” Morrigan said, her voice sultry and sweet, and Zeke found himself drawing back deeper inside himself, just to get away from her voice.
But this wolf—Fahlow—didn’t cower, he didn’t flinch. Instead, he pinned his ears back and his growl turned deeper, rougher. A vicious edge to it that snapped out in the cold air, threatening. Then those cold blue eyes landed on Bali, unforgiving and unwilling to submit, and Zeke knew this wolf wasn’t pack. He wasn’t like the others. Though he could feel the others waking for the night, one by one their pack magic reaching out to him, connecting the demon to his pack.
There was no bond between Bali and Fahlow.
And Zeke knew this one would not be a wolf the demon could command.
So why had Morrigan woken him?
Her fingers played over the back of his neck, but she didn’t have to restrain him. Bali wanted nothing more than to lunge and sink teeth into flesh and fur, but he couldn’t. He tensed, but his body refused to move. That knowledge gave Zeke hope. Maybe this one wasn’t as evil, maybe this one could help Zeke escape.
“Bali,” Morrigan said softly, and the demon turned his attention to his keeper, unhappy, but obeying. “We must fetch Fahlow his sacrifice.”
Zeke caught the flash of memories pouring off the demon then. The other wolf had been woken once before. He’d refused to hunt with the pack, to do Morrigan’s bidding, until he’d tasted his first human blood.
“Get him someone special for me.” She knelt, her long fingers curling over Bali’s muzzle as she tilted his head up to look in her eyes. The wolf shuddered at the connection and Zeke could feel her pushing an image into his brain.
Long blonde hair, eyes the color of blue spun glass
.
A white wolf snarling outside her house, protecting her.
The traitor’s mate
, Bali thought, but Zeke had a very different view.
The one who’d escaped.
The demon gave a rumble of assent and pulled free, darting into the growing darkness of the woods. He heard a troll give chase behind him, but Zeke could do nothing but go along for the ride. Bali was almost giddy with the thought of fetching this wolf’s mate. After all, they’d take what mattered to him, just like he’d taken himself from Morrigan, stripping her down one of her defenses.
Blood, in this world, was always paid with blood. An eye for an eye.
A wolf for his mate.
Zeke screamed out in his mind, as if he could warn her, but as the dark hunter ran through the woods towards the familiar strip of land, the scent of dogs thick on the air, there was nothing he could do to save her from her fate.
***
Eden’s back throbbed from hiking through the woods all day. The dogs yowled from their chains, bouncing eagerly at the thought of dinner as she stacked the full stainless steel dishes on top of one another. They hadn’t found Quinn yet and Kennedy’s silent form in her kitchen tore at her heart. Her friend was dangerously close to breaking down and Eden could see the unshed tears in Dee’s eyes, barely kept in check.
“It’ll be okay,” she whispered and Kennedy nodded, an almost hollow look to her eye.
“He was a good guy.”
“He still is.” Eden paused, the last dish sitting on top of the tower in her arms, and she thought about sliding the stack onto the counter and walking over to embrace her friend again, but Kennedy shook her head.
“Please just go feed them. If either you or Ro hug me even one more time I’m going to lose it. I need a moment.” Dee forced a grim smile. There was no hope left on her face. Rowan had made a run home for supplies and they’d all agreed that camping out at Eden’s was the smartest option. Bay had shifted once the search had been called in for the night and was currently loping back to Quinn’s car to see if he could pick up the scent and get an idea of how to rescue the ranger.
If he could, he’d come back for them.
“If anyone can find Quinn it’ll be Bay.”
“I know.” Kennedy closed her eyes. “I just keep thinking about all those dead pets. A kid died the other day. Lucas Brown. Hypothermia in his own bed. The house was seventy-five degrees inside, no one can figure it out.” She looked at Eden then, fear blatant in her eyes, and Eden almost ignored her friend’s plea and hugged her anyway. “Quinn’s been gone a night and all day today. I’m worried about what we’re going to find.”
Eden blew out a long breath. When she was honest with herself, she was worried about what they were going to find herself. She found it very hard to believe Quinn could still be alive. Her fingertips played over the steel bowls as she chewed her bottom lip. How could she convince Dee of something she didn’t even really believe herself? With a sigh she lugged the stack against her chest and took a step towards the back door. “Ro will be here any minute with Dorie and I’ll be right back inside.”
Using her hip to bump open her backdoor, Eden headed out to the dogs. Slinging bowls to the ground in front of each kennel, she moved through the pack with a sense of dread hanging over her shoulders. She’d made Bay promise her he’d come back before trying to rescue Quinn and she trusted him.
But what if he got jumped alone in the woods?
What if they killed him too?
Smuggler jumped up, his large paws slamming into her hip, and Eden grunted under the impact. His bowl was the last to go down and so she crouched next to him, letting the now-six-month-old pup press himself against her side for some butt scratches. He loved that spot just above the base of his tail and tossed back his head in a goofy grin, all wiggles and tail wags. He looked every bit the ‘rascal’ Bay still called him.
Her heart squeezed.
Please let him come home safe
.
She gave Smuggler one last pat and started to push up from her crouch when an eerie howl sang through the air. The hair on the back of her neck lifted as she turned in the direction of the sound. Some small part of her brain insisted it had to be Bay, even when the rest of her knew it wasn’t. Not with the instant coil of fear in her belly, the raw panic starting to clamor in her heart even before her gaze landed on the black wolf slinking out of the shadows.
Ears pricked forward, he opened his mouth in a grin, revealing long canines under those dark lips. The teeth of a predator. Eden took a weary step back, one hand automatically sliding into the pocket she kept the bar of iron in. Bay had insisted she keep it with her every time she went out, so she’d left it stuffed in her jacket. After all, she hardly needed it to protect herself from him inside.
Though she’d never needed it outside either.
Her heart slammed, the loud drumming beat washing out the panicked sounds of her dogs barking as the whole world narrowed in on the black wolf gaiting towards her. His eyes were black, almost blending completely in with his shadowy fur. She wanted to turn and run for the house, but some small sane part of her brain reminded her that was stupid. Foolish.
Prey ran. When you ran into a bear in the woods the last thing you wanted to do was run. Even with dogs, running could trigger a snap of instinct, a sudden drift back to the hunters they’d once been. Eden’s hand closed around the bar of iron and it centered her. She froze, her body suddenly stiff and straight. Her eyes dropped from the wolf’s, sliding away. She wasn’t a challenger, but she wasn’t food either, her body language said.
The wolf didn’t care. A long growl curled from him, slipping through the wind until it shuddered in the air around her. And it still kept coming, stalking across the snowy field between the forest and her kennels, ears pricked forward. “Hey!” she screamed. “Get!”
Eden took a threatening step forward and in answer, the wolf lunged. Fear drove her to react before she could think. Scrambling backwards she tripped over Smuggler’s chain and landed in the snow. She scrambled to get to her feet, the iron bar clasped in her hand, and suddenly the wolf was there. A massive paw struck her from behind, flipping her over, and Eden slammed her fist upwards, the iron in her hand.
The wolf leapt away, its ears pinned to its head. Heat scored her palm before the bar cooled again. Instantly, she saw the wary glint in the animal’s eyes, the way it shrunk backwards a few steps, only to arc around her, looking for a weakness. Eden lunged at it, the bar outstretched and the wolf darted out of range again.
“Dee!” Eden called. “Dee get a gun!”
Fear made her legs wobbly underneath her, but she kept her feet. One fall, one slip, and it would all be over. The black wolf would be on her even before she hit the snow. “Get back,” Eden snapped, constantly moving to keep herself between the wolf and her dogs, the wolf and her house. “Get out of here!”
The word came out harsh, ground out between her teeth, but the wolf just flatted his ears and growled. Not willing to back down anymore than she was. Branches splintered from the forest and Eden flinched at the sound, unwilling to look away from the wolf, even when hysteria threatened to grab hold of her.
A troll roared from behind her and her dogs turned frenzied. Their barks of alarm turning to raw fear, high pitched and half yelps. But unlike if they’d been alone, they didn’t dart into their kennels. Those closest to her still leapt at their chains, launching themselves at the wolf half circling in front of her. They were no more willing to abandon her than she was them.
The barking grew louder, panicked, and in the distance Eden heard her back door swing open.
“Kennedy! A gun!”
Then one of the dogs screamed and Eden tore her gaze away from the black wolf, the bar of iron still extended between them, only to see Smuggler flat on the ground under the troll’s claws. His little body thrashed helplessly, but so far, the troll hadn’t hurt him.