Savage (18 page)

There, standing at the foot of the stairs was Jesse, his face wild with grief and rage. He threw himself from side to side, smacking into the banisters, howling like a wolf.

“Jesse, honey, I told you to stay upstairs,” Lucy said, the distress in her voice overwhelming as she and Katelyn rushed to him.

“Uncle Lee, Uncle Lee!” Jesse savagely pushed her away. He glared at Katelyn, the heartbreak in his eyes killing her. As Lucy stumbled backwards and fell, he bolted for the front door.

“Jesse, no!” Lucy shouted.

It was too late. Jesse tore open the door and then he was outside, making terrible, half-howling sounds as if he were strangling. Lucy threw herself after him and Katelyn followed.

With no time to adjust to the darkness, Katelyn could still easily hear the two of them crashing through the trees. She trailed after, night-blind, hoping she didn’t run into a low-hanging branch or trip over a root.

She glanced off a tree and heard a snapping sound as her arm broke. She let out a curdled shriek of pain and fell to her knees. She hunched over, panting in agony.

“Come on, heal,” she begged her body. “Damn it.”

And then, miraculously, she began to feel better. Bones started to knit; she raised her good arm and wiped a sheen of perspiration off her forehead. As the throbbing subsided, she stared into the darkness, listening to Lucy calling for Lee Fenner’s adoring nephew, seeing nothing. Slowly she got to her feet, and staggered one step forward, then stopped. She would be good to no one if she slammed into another tree trunk and knocked herself out. If ever she needed the enhanced night vision, it was now.

If she was lucky, Lucy would catch Jesse. Or Jesse would calm down enough and return to the cabin under his own steam. Surely he could find his way back.

Still, Katelyn shambled forward like a zombie. Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness, but her view was a mere shadow of what she could have seen with the eyes of a fully mature werewolf.

In the distance Jesse howled.

And, then, mid-howl, he was cut off.

A chill danced up Katelyn’s spine.

Lucy caught up with him; that has to be what happened
, Katelyn thought.

She couldn’t stop her thoughts from flying to the Hellhound. What if instead of Lucy, it,
he
, had caught Jesse?

Fear drove Katelyn to go faster. She stumbled, her foot catching in some roots, and fell again. Gritting her teeth, she picked herself up, and when she did, the forest became alive with light and colors. Brilliant scarlet, orange, shimmering with auras of purest white.

She leaped forward, running, her enhanced vision guiding her safely around and over obstacles that sprung up in her path. She could see glowing footprints on the ground — Jesse and Lucy’s tracks.

And then, coming out of nowhere, there was a third set of tracks. Wolf tracks.

Katelyn careened to a stop, nearly crashing into a tree.

She studied the ground, light and heat steaming off the tracks as if they had been burned into the soil. They were running on top of Jesse and Lucy’s human footprints, so neither of them had shifted into wolf form.

She thought of Jesse’s choked-off cry and her heart pounded so hard the vein in her forehead throbbed. She should have grabbed something from the cave when she’d fled, something silver. She hadn’t been thinking. She’d been trying to escape.

She forced herself to start moving again, following the three sets of blazing indentations in the snowy ground. As suddenly as they had appeared, the wolf tracks vanished after about a quarter mile. The hair on the back of Katelyn’s neck stood on end. Instead of knowing the wolf was in front of her, it could be anywhere.

“Jesse? Lucy?” she whispered hoarsely.

She kept going. Where was it? What was it? She scanned the illuminated trees, the coasting ground, even the windy night sky.

Then she heard quiet sobbing. She slowed, wanting to approach cautiously, see before she was seen.

Finally she made out two glowing images. Jesse and Lucy were on the ground, backs against a large tree. Curled in fetal position, Jesse was crying, and Lucy was rocking him, trying to soothe him.

Slowly Katelyn’s vision began to fade, returning to normal, and she wanted to howl in frustration. Just because she had found them didn’t mean they were out of danger yet.

Lucy looked up at her, her own face wet with tears. “I’ve got this,” she said harshly.

Katelyn shook her head and moved in close. She whispered into Lucy’s ear, “There’s someone else out here. I saw wolf prints tracking you just like I was.”

Lucy stiffened. “I haven’t seen anyone.”

“They disappeared a while back. I don’t know what that means.”

Lucy slowly disentangled herself from Jesse and stood up. She turned slowly, sniffing the air. Then she locked gazes with Katelyn.

“It means that we’re surrounded.”

Jesse sat up. “It’s Justin. He’s coming to get Kat. He’s going to marry her.”

“No, he’s not,” Katelyn said firmly. Her face was hot. “He’s marrying Lucy.” She looked straight at Lucy. “And I really do hope that’s him out there.”

“He didn’t send you for us, did he?” Lucy asked.

“No,” Katelyn admitted.

Lucy growled deep in her throat.

“Can you tell who’s out there?” Katelyn asked. “Are they on our side?”

“Can’t
you
tell?” Lucy asked savagely. “You’re such a two-faced—”

“Justin
is
going to marry Kat,” Jesse said, wiping his face. “You’ll see. He’s trying to make me a mate, but I only love Lucy.”

Katelyn blinked. Lucy cocked her head and peered at him, clearly just as taken aback by what he’d said as Katelyn.

“You’re so sweet, darlin’,” Lucy said. “Sweet as sugar. But what do you mean, ‘make you a mate’?”

Jesse put his finger to his lips. “It’s a secret.”

And before Katelyn could say anything, all hell broke loose.

13

HOWLING WEREWOLVES TRANSFORMED
in midair from human to wolf as they dropped from the trees. Huge growling werewolves with black and gray pelts exploded out of the darkness and rushed Katelyn, Jesse and Lucy.

“Run, Jesse!” Lucy screamed. “They’re Gaudins!”

The trio wheeled around, fleeing for the cabin, but their attackers had the advantage of surprise.

Hot breath flashed across the back of Katelyn’s neck and she jogged left. There were wolves everywhere, bursting out of hiding places and charging.

Katelyn put on a burst of speed as she realized her change in direction was taking her farther away from the cabin — and her gun. Fangs flashed between her and sanctuary and she zigzagged to throw off the enemy. But the invaders kept coming at her. She had to shift to wolf form so she could defend herself, wolf to wolf. She had to turn and fight. It was her only chance for survival.

Unless I can get the gun and make it work.

Her breath expelled in hard, misty pants as she tried to circle back around. There were so many werewolves she couldn’t count them. A howl vibrated against her eardrums and something deep inside her, primal and unconscious, registered that it was the call of a friend.

Jesse must have recognized the howl. Katelyn heard him bellowing, “Help! Help!” and Lucy shouted, “Gaudins!”

A river of fearless werewolves, tawny, gray, and white, poured into the battle. One of the oncoming werewolves dove at another. She knew it was a male; his massive teeth sank into the throat of the enemy and he shook his huge head, ripping flesh. There was blood everywhere, spraying the trees; to Katelyn’s enhanced vision the blood glittered and glowed as if it were being shot with flamethrowers.

Blood dripping from his muzzle, the werewolf that had taken the throat of the attacking Gaudin looked hard at Katelyn. Katelyn’s vision telescoped, as it often had when she’d first been bitten and her body had begun to change. The Fenner werewolf had blue eyes.

She’d been attacked and changed by a werewolf with blue eyes.

He dipped his head in recognition but she didn’t know who it was. Arial had put a price on her head. Many wanted her dead. There could be Fenner werewolves ready to save Lucy and Jesse but not her.

As if he had read her mind, the Fenner wolf lunged at her, jaws wide, snarling, and Katelyn backed away as fast as she could. She tripped over something and fell, hitting her head so hard the world went black for a second.

A second was all it took for the Fenner werewolf to sail into the air at her. Then another werewolf sprang between Katelyn and the werewolf that was targeting her and took it down. The two rolled, howling with fury, biting and swiping at each other with their sharp claws. Katelyn’s attacker pinned her champion and clamped down ferociously around its neck.

Blood geysered into the air.

The victorious werewolf raised its head and looked at her.

Katelyn bolted. Her arms pumped as she forced herself to pour on speed. If she could get to the Subaru, she could lock herself inside and drive. She didn’t have a lot of gas but she had some. Maybe the gun would finally shoot.

The car, where was the car? She grunted, terrified, fighting down panic as she searched the landscape for it. If she went the wrong way she was dead.

Then she spotted it. One moment it was a glowing rectangle and then her enhanced vision shut down. A werewolf sailed over her head. She huddled close to the earth, straining to pinpoint the car again, afraid to move. She had lost sight of it and she stayed where she was, panting, afraid. But she couldn’t let fear hold her down. The fight was savage and brutal, and she’d be taken down just like a deer if she didn’t leave the killing field.

For the second time that day she scrambled toward her Subaru.

But this time she didn’t make it.

Beside her car, a werewolf she didn’t recognize transformed into human shape. It was a woman, naked, and she yanked open the car door. Katelyn grimaced, remembering that she had left her gun inside. A werewolf would smell the silver. The stench might encourage her to leave or to investigate. Not everyone knew about Katelyn McBride’s secret weapon.

The woman climbed into the car, cutting off that avenue of escape. Disheartened, Katelyn veered off into the trees and ran as fast as she could. She kept running, knowing that although she was still physically strong and had superhuman endurance, at some point she would tire. She couldn’t double back for Jesse and Lucy. She couldn’t falter.

She couldn’t rest.

So she kept going, and it started to snow. Flakes drifted, then fell, then sleeted. The downfall would cover her old tracks but possibly reveal her new ones. She kept going as icy branches whipped her cheeks and snowflakes clumped her eyelashes. The howling of the wind mingled with the cries of dying werewolves.

Finally she had to stop. Pressing her back against a tree trunk, she yanked the phone out of her pocket, saw one bar, and tried to call Daniel again. The call failed. Failed again.

She was taking in huge gulps of air. Sweat iced her skin as she pushed desperately away from the trunk and took a few stagger-steps forward. Her clothes were soaked. If she’d been merely human, she’d be half-frozen by now. But the cold was sucking up her reserves of energy.

She was in trouble. Deep trouble.

She tried to redial. Nothing.

There were fewer howls. In her ears, her heartbeat roared. She couldn’t seem to suck in enough air.

Lurching forward, she grabbed a branch and used it to drag herself along, then clung to another one and called on her reserves to put one foot in front of the other. The direness of her situation was sinking in — alone, in the forest, no car, no gun, no contact, and no friends.

How had the Gaudins known to attack here? In her mind’s eye she saw Cordelia. She’d had Katelyn’s phone in the bayou. Had she somehow jacked it? Werewolves possessed a loyalty instinct, she’d been told. Once they identified their superior, they felt compelled to follow them. Cordelia had mated with a Gaudin. That would make her feel loyal to them. But she had married outside the pack of her birth. She must still feel loyal to the Fenners on some level — even if the Fenner alpha had banished her.

Then Katelyn circled back to her own sense of loyalty — not to packs, but to people. To a person. To her friend.

Would Cordelia still be her friend if she knew that Katelyn’s grandfather was the Hellhound?

I don’t know that for sure
, she reminded herself, as her stomach did a flip and her throat tightened.
And I don’t know if he killed Daddy. I don’t know any of that.

She wasn’t going to go there now. She was losing it, getting more scared and desperate by the minute and yes, feeling the cold. It was seeping into her bones and they were stiffening, aching. There could be Fenners searching for her. Gaudins, too. Where was Justin?

Slushy snow on the ground was icing up, covered by the powdery white sprinkling overhead. She walked on pine cones and pine needles as she kept moving. Where were Daniel’s gang of bodyguard werewolves? She’d been worried before that they’d been following her. If only they were following her now.

Then she realized that something was pricking at her awareness. There was a sensation between her shoulder blades, like someone poking her with a long, frozen finger.

Someone watching her.

She pretended to drop something and glanced around as she bent over. The blood rushed to her head and a wave of dizziness sent the world swirling. She forced herself to breathe slowly until the sensation passed. She saw no one, wolf or human, and she looked just as hard for places to run.

She was out in the open in a vulnerable position. If only she had her gun. She had changed so much from the girl who had first arrived in Wolf Springs. Her grandfather had had to bribe her with tickets to Cirque du Soleil to get her to pick up a rifle and learn how to shoot. Now she was wishing she could blow someone away.

Only if I’m in danger
, she thought.

But she
was
in danger. She could still feel fingers between her shoulder blades, walking up her backbone and wrapping themselves around her neck. It was almost a physical sensation, terrifying, and she touched her neck just to make sure there was nothing there. The Hounds of God claimed that they used magic to turn themselves into werewolves. Was somebody using magic on her?