Howl (22 page)

I lowered my muzzle, keeping my eyes fastened
to his, and snarled wildly. He didn’t hesitate to answer my
insolence.

Time slowed in that instant. Jason charged,
teeth and muzzle foaming with expectation. He was faster for sure
but I was smaller and rolled under his advancing jaws. In a split
second his neck was within inches of my teeth. I lunged with all my
strength and sank my teeth into his soft flesh. I could feel his
racing pulse beating against my tongue. The air was still for one
brief, perfect moment. Smiling faces flashes before me; peaceful
and silent images of the people I love most played out like
home-made video on mute. They were so close I could almost reach
out and touch them.

That’s when I snapped. I began quaking
violently, the spasms coming from somewhere deep inside my belly.
With aching intention, I clenched my teeth and jerked my head with
lightening speed. Jason’s flesh burst open with a flood of metallic
heat in my mouth. Blood flowed furiously through my teeth and down
my muzzle. A little piece of flesh remained in my teeth as I
loosened my jaws and dropped Jason’s lifeless body with a dull
thud. A hunger, a raging pain seared through me as I licked the
luscious blood off my muzzle. The spiky, coppery taste running over
my tongue heightened my craving.

Everything moved like molasses in winter. I
could hear and smell everything around me – from the sharp intake
of breath from those behind me to the fear and loathing that
competed for prominence in the air. A petite blond female shifted
to my right, each tiny thread of her clothing ripping to shreds.
The male who killed Ethan clawed at the ground, a snort erupting as
he reared back to spring. Each breath he took was long but ragged.
I stole a quick glance at the limp body at my feet. An exultant
hatred overtook what humanity lie inside my wolf skin.

I turned to the others.

The female lunged toward me. She lowered her
head in attempt to knock me off balance. I stood up on my hind legs
and drove down on her back with all my weight. She rolled over but
in no time at all I had her throat in my teeth. She whimpered
beneath me, defeated. Her ears flattened in defeat. Her racing
pulse gave away her terror. I had conquered her as easily as water
conquers fire.

Her male companion skidded to a halt not five
feet before me, ears and head lowering. I jerked my head to the
left, tearing out the windpipe of the female beneath me. The hot
drink of fresh blood was delicious. The male’s howl should have
affected me; it should have made me pause. Instead it made me
smile.

I savored the feeling of ascendancy as the
male snarled at me furiously and sprang. With a turn of body I
maneuvered so that he would have to jump over the body of the
female I just killed. He faltered as he came to the lifeless wolf.
He stumbled and fell belly up. My teeth needed no encouragement as
I tore his stomach apart, entrails spilling this way and that. Less
than heartbeat later, his wolf lay unmoving.

With more fresh blood staining my front I
howled a dangerous challenge to the others. Several more of their
pack, one in wolf form, four human, stood haphazardly around us but
not one advanced. The world seemed to spin but stood perfectly
still. I desperately wanted the rest to challenge me so that I
could destroy them, too. I was boiling in my own hatred. And yet I
was completely calm. I was no longer Sophie. I was Death herself;
ready to deal the final blow to the rest of them. I ached for
it.

Yet, no one moved.

Several minutes went by in stillness with no
more wolves advancing. I could smell the fear that emanated from
each pore of their skins, human and wolf. It hung in the air like a
cottony cloud, seductive and delicious.

They knew.

*

Taking a full breath I howled to the Long
Night Moon. Slowly, deliberately, and with heads bowed they
submitted. Three females and two males, the remnants of his pack.
The energy flowed like a rope twisting and binding each of them to
me. I had never experienced so much power in my life. I became the
earth beneath me, the wind moved with my breath. The trees and
stars called out their reverence.

I shifted back and stood before them. “I
challenged and killed your Alpha. You are now mine and as such you
will obey me. You will not harm another member of my immediate
family ever again. That is my first command.” I stared into the
crown of each head before me. The words I spoke became leaden vines
which snaked out from me to each individual. My will was heavy and
unbreakable. I knew all would have no choice but to comply and my
family would be safe.

I glanced over my shoulder at Daniel. He
knelt on the ground, his expression tight and emotionless.

“Hold him.” I growled.

Tristan and John secured Daniel’s arms behind
his back though he didn’t put up a fight.

“Explain yourself.” I demanded.

“Jason is my cousin. He asked me to work my
way into your pack.”

“But why?”

Daniel stumbled over his words ever so
slightly. “You are one of the last packs he made contact with. You
keep to yourselves and Jason needed someone to get a feel for the
strength of your Alpha. Another war is brewing Sophie. Jason has
been collaborating with various packs around the East to coordinate
assaults.”

“On humans?” I growled.

He nodded.

“Why would they…?”

“There are many of our kind who no longer
want to hide. And the only way to bring us out in the open is to
demonstrate our strength and numbers. Take the fight to the humans
first.”

“They will get us all killed!” I snarled. “We
can’t defend ourselves against the entire human race!”

“Not unless we fight together.”

My head reeled from what I was hearing.
Another war?

“Why take control of my pack? We were never a
threat.”

“But you were a threat. Gavin was never going
to support him. I realized from the moment I met him that Gavin
would do anything to keep Jason in check, even if it meant fighting
him head on.”

Stomach bile filled my throat. “Did you have
him killed?” I choked on my own rage.

Daniel's eyes locked onto mine. “I didn't
mean to, I swear it! I texted Jason as soon as Gavin left for the
reconnaissance. Jason said he would only speak to him, present his
case for joining in the fight against the humans and try to bring
Gavin to our side. I never thought he would actually have him
killed!”

“You vicious dog,” My hand flew to his
throat. “I should kill...”

“Sophie no!” Tristan yelled, releasing Daniel
from his grasp.

“Please!” Daniel croaked as his hands
grappled with my wrist. “I never meant for anything to happen this
way.”

“Why Daniel? Why would you do this?” I spat.
“All your talk of belonging with this family, your friendship with
Gavin, you tried to make me your mate....”

“I….” He gasped. “I loved you from the first
moment I met you. I was supposed to stay here just long enough to
get Gavin on our side. But then I met you and everything
changed.”

My eyes bore into his. Fear and passion, love
and anger flashed in his eyes.

“I belong with you Sophie. You have no idea
how much I hate myself for causing this pain for you and your
family, even if it was unintentional.” He whispered.

“Then why did you do it?” I snarled.

“I just want to live in the open. No more
hiding who I am, fearful that they will come for me. Jason
convinced me that we could unite our kind and create a new world
for werewolves. And I truly believed that he would be reasonable.
He promised protection for your entire pack if you and I were
mated, whether or not Gavin supported our cause. It was the only
way to keep you truly safe. Jason became increasingly unstable and
when he killed Gavin I realized what danger you were in. I couldn’t
bear to think of what he would have done to you, to your family, if
you weren’t bound to me. But you had to go and chose the human over
me.”

“Jaime may be dead now for all I know.” I
heaved with hatred.

“I'm sorry for the pain but not sorry for the
loss. He is just a human, after all.”

My nails dug into the smooth tissue of
Daniel's neck until they made several punctures. “Sophie you're
going to kill him!” Tristan cried out as a gurgling sound escaped
Daniel's throat. I wanted to rip his windpipe out right then and
there. “Fifi, please!”

Daniel’s eyes pleaded more than Tristan’s
words ever could. Behind the anger lay a man no different than me.
What I wouldn't give to live without fear. To have avoided the last
months of lying, denying, and pretending I am something else. To
simply be in the world. Did Daniel deserve to die along with the
others? Hadn't I already killed enough of my own kind today?

I loosened my grip. Daniel collapsed against
his own arms, choking on air and blood.

“You will leave and never set foot on my land
ever again or I will not hesitate to rip you in two.” I growled as
he nodded carefully before rising to his feet and stumbling off
into the wood line.

“Kylin and Granddad, get Ethan ready for
burning.” My husky voice reverberated around the yard.

My own family stood still as statues. “Burn
Ethan immediately. Lorelei, call Thomas and explain what's
happened. Leave the wolves where they lay. Thomas may need their
corpses.” Without another word, the remnants of my family carried
another brother to ash while I made my way into the house and left
the carnage behind.

Once in my room, I caught a glimpse of my
reflection in a picture frame. I didn’t recognize the grotesque
scene in front of me. Blood stains covered most of my chin and all
down my naked chest. There were streaks of drying blood on my arms
and waist. I went to the bathroom and I splashed water on my face,
quickly wiping away the scarlet with a damp washcloth. I startled
at the sight of my own eyes staring me down through the mirror. My
grey eyes were dark; like the skies before a terrible storm. Gone
was the lighthearted, carefree shine.

I was no longer me. I felt it in the pit of
my stomach. I had transformed into something sinister. It was as if
my smooth edges had been grated against a rough surface. I was
jagged and hardened. I was now lethal.

I tore my eyes from my reflection and
finished dressing quickly.

~Darkness lies
ahead~

The month following Jason’s assault on our
land, I worked non-stop in my new and arduous position as Alpha.
The days blurred into the nights as I dealt with uniting two packs
who basically hated each other. After several all-out fights, one
so brutal that John and Tristan nearly tore apart a female and two
males from the Moshannon pack and I had to wrestle my twin to the
ground, I commanded a truce. Our newly united packs never openly
fought after that moment though the mistrust lingered in the eyes
of each and every wolf, especially when those eyes were turned
toward me.

“We are in this together now, whether you
like it or not!” I bellowed.

The barely-restrained snarls and growls died
down though icy glares stayed fixed on each face.

“Perhaps we are not ready to be joined on one
land. We will maintain two separate residences for now – The
Larsens will stay at their home in Moshannon State Forest and the
Matthews will stay here in the National Forest.” I declared.
“However, in three days' time the Full Wolf Moon comes. We will
take our first hunt as a united pack. We are not going to break
each other down. We will stand together; as one pack, as one
family.”

A few minor rumbling growls erupted from the
groups before me. Each pack stayed in closely guarded circles, one
to my right, and the other to my left. Beneath the waxing pewter
moon, I let out a deep, slow howl.

Around me a chorus of tones began, hesitantly
at first, and then with increasing vitality as the crescendo
built.

*

During this time, Thomas and I set to rigging
evidence of cross-bred dogs in the National Forest. Above
protestations and pleads for burning, we returned the corpses to
the Moshannon pack's property and hastily build a cage to house the
bodies. The wolves were to remain, untouched, until Art, the
patriarch of the Moshannon pack, called the police. The Moshannon
pack may have wanted a fight with humans but I did not. A cover-up
was my only option.

“How long until the autopsy reports are
done?” I asked Thomas as I poured a cup of coffee for him.

“At least three weeks. That's how long I have
to wait so as to avoid arousing suspicion. I think it will be fine,
though. The Conservation Officers and Police are ecstatic to have
found the animals’ bodies as fast as they did. Although, it helped
that Art Larsen turned himself in.” He gave me a sideways glance,
recalling when Art, the patriarch of the Moshannon pack, offered to
come clean and confess to illegal breeding. It wasn’t a decision
that sat well with his family especially since I agreed to let him.
It was intended, on his part, as a gesture of good-will and faith
in the new pack yet his children resented it and seethed whenever
the subject came up.

“The judge may be more lenient since he came
forward on his own, although, he could be facing manslaughter
charges since the ranger died. If he's convicted, he could be going
to jail for a very long time.” Thomas set down his coffee and put a
hand on my shoulder. “The police believe they all had knowledge of
it. Last I heard there was talk of charging each individual with
unlawful breeding and maintaining dangerous animals.”

“That is not going to help our inter-pack
relationship.” I ran a hand through my hair and took a deep breath,
not willing to let the stress topple me. “But that’s the way it is,
I guess. The humans can't learn the truth. I have enough to worry
about right now without bringing the war to our front line.”