Return of the Alpha (5 page)

Chapter 7

LOUISE

“Promise you'll come back,” Coral said, as we prepared to leave. We'd spent the night in the cave, and were now both fully rested.

“I promise,” I said. “And you must visit us too once our mission is over. There'll always be a place for you in our pack if you ever tire of the lone-wolf lifestyle.”

I hugged Coral, and then Craven did the same. The jealousy which had eaten into me the previous day was now gone.

We ran side by side along the bank of the stream—it felt good to be back in wolf-form.

“Thank you.” I said when we took a break.

“What for?”

“Searching for me for so long.”

Craven lapped water from the stream. “I should have told you about Coral. I should have told you everything.”

“It's okay—I understand. I was a bit put out when I first saw the way you two looked at one another—”

“Nothing happened between us—”

“I know that now.”

“I was at my lowest ebb when Coral found me that day in the stream. I was close to death, and didn't care—I wanted to die. It was one of the few times I came close to giving up on finding you.”

“Did she actually ask you to stay with her?”

“Yes.”

“Why didn't you?”

“I couldn't. Not while there was still a chance.”

We had to travel through two more territories before we'd reach Semron. Both were familiar to Craven—he'd passed through them on his quest to find me. We made it through the first without incident. By the time we crossed into the second, Amlow, it was almost midnight.

“We should find somewhere to spend the night,” Craven said.

“I'm okay. Let's keep going.”

“You need to rest. You'll need all of your strength if we run into any trouble.”

“We've made it this far okay.”

“Amlow is different. I had a few scrapes the last time I was here.”

“What happened?”

“Nothing I couldn't handle, but they patrol their territory in numbers. They expect incursions to take place under cover of darkness. From what I remember, they reduce their patrols during daylight hours. That will be our best chance.”

“Okay. Just a few hours then.” I could barely hide my impatience. We were close to Semron now, and I was keen to push on so I could find out if Marlow was real or a figment of my imagination. I wasn't sure what to hope for. If it turned out he was no more than a character in my dreams, I'd be no nearer to filling the void of my lost years. If he really did exist, I needed to know what exactly our relationship had been. Had we lived together? Had we been mates? Although I wanted answers, I was afraid of what I might find out. How would Craven react if it turned out I'd taken another mate? It would have been a terrible betrayal particularly after he'd searched and waited for me for so long.

We came across an isolated house on a country road, on the very edge of Amlow territory. It was the only building for as far as the eye could see.

“This will do,” Craven said, as he shifted to his human form.

“What if someone comes back?” I shifted too.

“I think that's unlikely. Look.” He pointed to the glass panel at the side of the door. On the floor, in the hallway, was a pile of post.

“How do we get in?”

“The door is probably unlocked.”

I was about to tell him I thought that was unlikely when he put his shoulder to the door, and forced it open. “See.” He grinned. “What did I tell you?”

Whoever lived there had left in a hurry. The table was set for a meal, and there were dirty dishes in the sink.

“What do you think happened here?” I said.

“Why are you whispering?”

“I don't know. It's kind of creepy. Why don't we find a cave instead?”

“I'd rather we were inside. If any patrols happen by, they aren't likely to check in here. Let's take a look upstairs.”

I flicked the light switch, but nothing happened. “Electricity’s off.”

“Hold on.” Craven rummaged through the drawers in the cupboard under the sink. In the second one, he found a candle which he lit using a match from the small box on the worktop. After a few moments the hot wax had stuck the candle to a saucer.

Craven led the way—every second stair seemed to creak. Two of the rooms upstairs were crammed full of boxes, and were obviously being used for storage. The bathroom was much cleaner than I'd expected, as was the only bedroom. I tried one of the wardrobes, and was surprised to find a selection of men's clothes. The second wardrobe had obviously belonged to the woman of the house. The bed appeared to be freshly made. Why would someone change the bedding if they intended to go away? I was getting bad vibes.

“What's wrong?” Craven could sense my unease.

“Something's not right. Something happened here.”

“Maybe someone was taken ill,” he offered. “Or died.”

“That makes me feel a lot better.”

“Whatever happened here must have been some time ago. You saw how much post there was. Come on. We should get some rest.”

I didn't think I'd be able to sleep. My mind was too full of thoughts of Semron and Marlow.

“Louise.”

Even though Craven had spoken in a whisper, it still woke me with a start.

Before I could speak, Craven had put his hand gently over my mouth. Our eyes met, and he gestured toward the door. I nodded to show I understood, and he moved his hand away. I strained my ears—trying to pick-up on whatever it was he'd heard.

“Someone's downstairs,” he said softly.

I heard it now too—footsteps on the stairs. Had the owner returned?

Craven got to his feet. I did the same. We were on opposite sides of the bed—both of us staring at the doorway. What were we going to do? How would we explain our presence? Had the owner already called the police?

I almost jumped out of my skin when the glass shattered behind us. We spun around to see a broken window.

“What have we here?” The tall vampire said, as he brushed glass fragments from his suit.

  “They aren't humans.” This voice came from behind us. Standing just inside the doorway was another vampire. “They smell way too bad to be human.”

I glanced at Craven. There wasn't even a hint of fear on his face.

“We're just passing through,” Craven said. “We'll be long gone tomorrow.”

“The arrogance,” the tall vampire said. “It's bad enough we have to put up with the local shifter scum. Why should we allow outsiders to contaminate our territory?”

“We'll leave now if you wish,” I offered.

“Can't you control your mate?” The tall vampire addressed Craven. “I assume she belongs to you.”

“I suggest you allow us to leave,” Craven said. “That way no one gets harmed.”

“What makes you think I care what you suggest?” The vampire sneered. “The humans who lived here failed to heed our warnings, so we were forced to
deal
with them. Now, it's your turn.”

The vampire took a step towards me, but in that same instant, Craven shifted. I did the same. The vampires had made the fatal mistake of hesitating a second too long. Craven took the one by the window; I took the one near the door. Had they made their move while we were still in human-form, the odds would have been in their favour. As it was, they were no match for our wolves.

“Are you okay?” Craven asked. The two vampires were lying dead at our feet.

I nodded—the taste of blood still on my lips.

“There'll be more of them here any moment” he said. “We have to get out of here now.”

He was right. The two vampires would have sent word back of our presence. Their arrogance had been their undoing. If they'd waited until they had numbers on their side, we'd have been no match for them.

Still in wolf form, Craven only just managed to squeeze down the narrow staircase. Once outside, we set off towards Semron. We'd just have to hope we didn't run into the reinforcements.

*********

“Have you done?” Craven asked.

“I'm sorry,” I only just managed to say through tears of laughter. “If Zema could see you now, I'm not sure he'd consider you alpha material.”

Craven tried to pull down the tee-shirt which was several sizes too small. It was stretched so taut that the seams threatened to burst open at any moment. We'd stolen clothes from washing lines in a small village we'd passed through, just before we crossed the border. I'd had no problem finding clothes to fit me, but Craven hadn't been so fortunate.

“Pink is definitely your colour,” I said, and then collapsed into laughter again.

“Remind me why I spent forty years searching for you.”

“I'm sorry.” I gave him a peck on the cheek. “I especially like this little guy.” I poked the cartoon squirrel on the pink t-shirt which Craven was sporting.

“You'll pay for this.”

“Oooh. Are you going to punish me?” I smiled. “Is that a promise?”

“You're impossible.” Craven turned to look out over the valley. “Does this look familiar?”

We were on a hillside looking down over Semron territory.

“I don't see anything I remember, but—.” I took a deep breath. “I do have a sense of something—something familiar.”

“I suppose we should start over there.” He pointed to the city in the near distance.

“I want to go alone,” I said.

“That's not happening. It would be suicide.”

“Not necessarily. If I'm right about Marlow then I must have lived in this territory for some time. If that's the case, no one will attack me.”

“That's a big
if
.”

“I'm sure—”

“Based on what? A dream? That's not being sure. That's being stupid.”

“Okay. How about a compromise?”

“Not if it involves you going in there alone.”

“Hear me out.”

Craven scowled, but nodded for me to continue.

“Let me take the lead. You can follow a few hundred metres behind—out of sight. As soon as I encounter the local shifters, we'll know if my theory is correct or not. If I'm wrong, and I was never a member of this pack, they'll let me know.”

“By tearing your throat out? Good plan.”

“If there's any sign of aggression, I'll turn-tail and make my way back to you. If they follow, we'll stand and fight.”

“I still don't like it.”