Leader of the Pack (9 page)

She was snapped out of her realization as she heard the whispers getting closer. No one seemed to know what was coming. She tried to say something to the man and woman she had been watching but no sound came from her mouth, no matter how hard she tried. The voices were getting louder and more insistent. Aislinn felt compelled to move on. She knew there was more she was meant to see.

As she came out of the woods she passed a large standing stone and found herself in a kind of clearing. All around her there were men and women, wolves and women, wolves and men, and pairs of wolves rutting. The sounds of intense, unrestrained pleasure echoed through the clearing. She looked around at where she was. There was something here she was meant to understand. But she was missing it.

She turned and looked back the way she came. The voices were getting closer and she was getting scared. She could feel a hot breath on the back of her neck and eyes on her body. She knew that whatever was coming knew that she was here. She found herself staring at the stone she had passed. There was an elaborate carving on the large stone, but she didn’t know what it meant. When she turned around she realized that she was standing in a circle of large stones. They were all covered in symbols. She looked from one to the other. They were Gaelic. Why were there Gaelic symbols here? Aislinn counted nine stones in all.

As she started to wonder where she was and why all the other scenes were books and this one was a circle of standing stones, she noticed the couple rutting in the center of the circle. Actually they were fucking in the middle of the entire wolven orgy. The apparently female wolf on the bottom was snow white. She was panting and heaving with the effort of the large black wolf on top of her. He was coal black. As she looked into the animal’s eyes her heart shattered. She knew that it was Cullen. This was his wedding that everyone had been talking about. The snow white wolf was Jenna. Aislinn was watching him fuck her. The voices were getting closer but Aislinn didn’t care anymore.

Suddenly an icy hand was on her shoulder. Aislinn turned around to see Rafe staring into her eyes. The voices stopped. “You see,” he said. “Your destiny is with me. You’re better than this. Do you want to be some beast, rutting in the mud, birthing puppies,” he asked with disgust. “He doesn’t want you anyway.”

* * * *

Cullen grabbed up some napkins and had sopped up most of the water before he noticed the glazed over blank stare on Aislinn’s face. She had gone deathly pale and there were beads of sweat on her forehead. “Aislinn,” he said and waited.

When she didn’t respond, he took hold of the papers and pulled them out of her hand. Cullen reached out and touched her face. Suddenly she gasped and looked wildly around the room as if she didn’t recognize where she was. “Rafe,” she hissed in a terrified whisper, pulling away from Cullen as if he had just bit her.

At that point Cullen didn’t care what anyone thought. He virtually jumped the booth to sit next to Aislinn and take hold of her. She was trembling and fighting him. It took a moment for her to come back to reality. By then there were a number of people staring in concern. A glare from Cullen sent most of the back to their own business.

“Shh, Aislinn. I’ve got you,” he whispered softly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he promised.

Aislinn felt him wrapped around her. He was the safety that she never seemed to have no matter where she went. At first she was afraid she would start to cry again. When the tears didn’t come she figured that she must have used up her allotment for the day. She pushed him back from her. “You won’t be able to stop it. He’s coming and he’s going to get what he wants and then me as well.”

Cullen let her push him away. The deadly tone in her voice seemed to reach into him and make it hard for him to breath. “What are you talking about?”

She looked over at the papers that were on the table. “You’re looking for someone who is looking for something. It’s in those papers and I saw it.” Rafe was the only other person she had ever told about her premonitions, and she had regretted it ever since. She was trembling now. She knew that she had to tell Cullen. He was the one that the vision was for. He was meant to save all those people somehow.

Cullen started to say something but she stopped him so that she could just get it all out and done. “I sometimes see things. Visions, premonitions. Sometimes the past, sometimes the present, and sometimes the future.” Cullen could barely hear her speaking. Her eyes were glassed over and she looked so weak she might fall over if the air touched her wrong. “I’ve always seen them for myself, but I think that one was meant for you. Rafe, that’s his name, the one who you’ve been trying to find. He’s coming to you. Tonight at your wedding.” When she said that the tears that she had thought were dried up started to well in her eyes and her voice cracked. “The places he destroyed. They all had books and papers. He was looking for a book of some kind. Whatever it was he found it and now he is trying to find a place. He knows where it is and he’ll be there tonight. During the celebration, while everyone is…” She stopped and her eyes met his. Cullen had completely forgotten that he was to be mated that night. He would have stayed there with Aislinn for the entire evening if this hadn’t happened. “He’s looking for a clearing with nine standing stones.”
Then he’ll be free to come after me again
, she thought.

With more strength then Cullen would have believed she had left she pushed him out of the booth so that she could get up. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. But now you need to go to them. He’ll kill everyone.” Then Aislinn ran out of the restaurant.

If it hadn’t been for what she said he would have chased after her. But if the pack was in immediate danger he’d have to deal with Aislinn after that. Rissa arrived with their food as Cullen was picking up the papers and turning to leave. She stared at him with confusion.

Cullen took a minute to gather his thoughts. “Aislinn had to go home sick. When someone is able, please check on her.” Rissa nodded. “I’m sorry I won’t be eating. I need to leave.” Rissa nodded again and then watched as Cullen swept out of the restaurant.

Chapter 5

Be wary of the man who urges an action in which he himself incurs no risk.

-Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Aislinn found herself back at her apartment. She had originally intended to pack up and run. She had about $200 in cash from tips hidden beneath her mattress and she figured that she could catch a bus and get out of town before Rafe finished with the wolves. But as she walked inside she only barely managed to lock the door behind herself. She had never had a premonition that strong before or during the day, not to mention the court case and then Cullen. Just thinking his name hurt. It briefly occurred to her that her premonitions had always given her information about the future in a fuzzy way. She knew that usually what she saw was a warning and not guaranteed to happen that way. But the one she had tonight was awfully close to happening for there to be much that could change it.

She walked over to her bed and collapsed onto. She didn’t even manage to get her shoes off. Falling into a fitful sleep, she just prayed she didn’t have any more visions for now.
I know I’m in trouble. I know he’s coming. I know that Cullen Arnauk is someone else’s. I don’t need to know anymore right now,
she thought at whatever forces brought the premonitions on as she felt herself fall into oblivion.

* * * *

Cullen paced in the elevator. When the doors finally opened into the great room his friends cheered his entrance, until they saw the look on his face. “Every able fighter, even the ones who didn’t plan on attending, need to gather in the garage and get out to the reservation. There’s going to be a raid tonight.”

They all stood in shock a moment, not wanting to believe what he was saying. It made no sense. Why would there be a raid on a lycan reservation. Was the source of their troubles recently really that stupid?

“NOW!” Cullen shouted when no one moved. Suddenly the room burst into action. An alarm that hadn’t been used in decades was sounded and the pack snapped into action with a confused chaos that gave Cullen a sick concerned feeling. There was a reason that the Arnauk enjoyed the peace they had. For a very long time this pack was at constant war and always ready and able to fight. As Cullen looked around he wondered if Keith was right. Maybe it was time for the peace to end. This was not how the Arnauk went into a battle. He would have to deal with this as soon as possible.

A caravan of black vans and SUVs with tinted windows filed out of the parking garage at the Madadh-Allaidh Saobhaidh and roared down the road toward the reservation. The reservation was a 50 mile square of land that Cullen had acquired when he had first founded the pack. It was mostly wooded, with a small mountain range that bordered one side. A manor-like cabin was nestled into the forest at the foot of the mountain, and a number of older pack members had retired there. There were also a number of cabins that Cullen had allowed to be built in various locations around the forest. Most of those were the homes of lycans who preferred a solitary life for one reason or another, but still wanted the safety of belonging to a pack. The manor itself was just as elaborate at the den in the city, but it was also built to be self sustaining. There were not electrical lines that led out there and there were no cell towers that reached far enough into the territory for a signal. The manor ran on generators and solar power. The only outside contact was through a satellite phone in his office. The sat-phone only worked if it was taken outside and into the clearing, when the satellite it used wasn’t being blocked by the mountain. There was no way to call ahead and tell people to watch for an attack.

The trip was only three hours long. But it felt as though it took all night. When they arrived in a rush of concern and warning, the people who were there were all stunned with disbelief. It just didn’t make sense. Who would be stupid enough to attack such a large group of Arnauk on their home territory?

Cullen found the atmosphere of the entire place strange when he first arrived. There had been a number of bonfires lit and the celebration had started without him. Both things were completely out of the ordinary for a mating. Bonfires in general were out of the ordinary for the pack. These bonfires had an odd look and smell to them. They burned exceptionally high, had a greenish tint to the flame, and gave off a scent like burning flowers. That would be more than enough to scare all the local wildlife off. The pack preferred to not scare away any game that might be in the area. Especially considering that a hunt might occur as part of the celebration. Additionally, the fact that there were dozens of couples already undressed and rutting was also strange. That kind of thing should definitely have not started until Cullen and Jenna began their part. Cullen noted the oddities, but then dismissed them. His mind fought the idea of ignoring it briefly. But he decided that there were more important things to think about than the small problems with the ceremony setup.

Then there was Jenna. The minute the announcement was made that the ceremony might be canceled she started screeching and didn’t stop. She followed along behind Cullen blaming the situation on him and accusing him of making excuses to cancel the mating. Cullen couldn’t help but wonder what had her in such a panic. There was more going on with her right now than he knew, but he didn’t have time to figure it out. The current plan was to make things look like everything was normal, in a way that resulted in everyone being ready when the attack came.

Convincing Brennus of the trouble was the hardest part. He was inclined to agree with his daughter about Cullen’s motivations, even if he was making the accusations in a more diplomatic way. In the end Cullen agreed to set things up to defend from an attack while still going through the motions of the ceremony. If the attack never came then the mating would be completed and it wouldn’t matter. If, however, the attack did come, then everyone would be ready and they might not lose as many lives.

* * * *

Aislinn felt herself being pulled into her dream. She fought against it as hard as she could.
I don’t want another vision
, she cried into the blackness. As the scene flashed into view she was standing in the woods beside one of the large stones she had seen before. Rafe was standing next to her.

“I’m glad you could join us,” he said in that sweet tone of voice that she had believed was sincere for so long. He had this ability to get into her head and change her perceptions. She doubted herself for so long, because he could make anything seem reasonable. She shivered as she thought about things she had done for him. That was, until she realized that he was doing something to her mind. At first, she had thought he cared about her, then she thought he was drugging her, but after she escaped she realized that he could get into her head and make her think things. It wasn’t until she had been gone for over a year that everything started to clear and she started to make sense of things that had happened.

Aislinn didn’t know if what she was seeing was one of her own premonitions or something Rafe was making her see. Aislinn tried to leave the circle of stones, but when she turned to go there was nothing behind her. There was nowhere to go. When she turned to face the scene again she could see the people milling about and Cullen and Jenna. She had her hands all over him, and although he didn’t look very happy about it, he was allowing it. When Jenna reached down to stroke Cullen’s cock Aislinn turned away. She found herself looking at Rafe, who was watching with great interest.

“You know. I had originally thought to bring you here when I first took you. This place holds power for people like us. You’ll see. You’ll come to appreciate me once I show you.” His eyes never left the couple. He seemed to be waiting for something. “We’re the same you know.”

“I’m nothing like you,” Aislinn hissed at him.

He just smiled. “I don’t mean morally or ethically. I’m referencing our abilities. That’s why I had to have you. You know how few of us there are left. The bloodlines have thinned over the years and most of us don’t know what we are. But there are some. Once I have all of what was stolen from us I’ll find the others as well. I’ll make us strong again. If you really want the pet wolf so badly and he survives this, perhaps you can keep him once I’ve relieved him of his throne.”