When Will I See You Again (8 page)

He felt the burn in his muscles as he pushed himself harder, flying across the field, praying there were no potholes. All it would take was one slip, one twisted ankle, and he’d be a goner.

Panting, he reached the edge of the tree line and dared a quick glimpse behind him. He could see the silhouette of the other man, still in pursuit. He was too close for comfort. Alexx turned and plunged into the relative darkness of the woods.

Panic welled up in Alexx’s chest. He didn’t know which way to go. How long could he keep this up? How long would it take the man to grow weary of the chase and give up? Would he ever reach such a point?

He pressed against one of the trees, the bark digging into his back. He held his fist against his mouth as he worked to still his heavy breathing.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” the man called out.

Gasping, Alexx pulled his cell phone from his pocket, his hand shaking. He pushed 9-1-1 but nothing happened. What the hell? He held the lit face of the phone close to his face—he had no bars.

Great. He slid it back in his pocket. Something clutched at his sleeve. He pulled against it, breaking free of the hold.

“I’m here…” He heard a low chuckle.

Alexx blindly ran.

The voice followed him, taunting him. “You have no place to go. Let’s end this now.”

He tripped over a tree root and went sprawling. Pine needles stabbed into his palms. He scrambled to his feet and kept going, ignoring the pain that pierced his knee.

He thought he saw a dark blur out of the corner of his eye. He
turned away from it, brushing his shoulder hard against a tree. It tore at the sleeve of his jacket. He bounced off and kept going.

These woods were deeper than he’d given them credit for.

Even if he did reach the other side, no telling what was there. He might be heading into a blind alley. But he might also end up near the highway, and that was the hope that kept him moving.

He tried to stay in the shelter of the trees as much as possible, but that wasn’t as easy as it sounded, and he ran into them as often as not. Maybe once he got out of the trees, his cell would work. He began to pray beneath his breath.

He thought he heard a dog bark somewhere, the sound bouncing through the trees, impossible to tell where it came from.

His stalker had fallen silent. Although Alexx was grateful not to have to listen to him, it also meant he had no idea where he was.

The trees thinned a little, enough to allow streaks of moonlight to pierce the blackness. They dappled the ground, providing a slight illumination. Up ahead, Alexx caught a glimpse of something that didn’t look like a tree. He ran toward it, only to fall across another root, ending up on his back. Before he could regain his feet, the man was there, standing above him.

Alexx screamed, his voice echoing around him.

“Damn, boy, you shoulda cooperated.” The man began to bend down toward Alexx, the knife blade in his hand. Alexx drew back his legs and prepared to kick, but a menacing growl held them both in check.

Standing mere feet from them was a large black wolf with bright topaz eyes that glittered in the moonlight. It growled again.

Through the trees above him, Alexx caught just a glimpse of the full moon, and the realization of what was happening washed over him. He was about to learn more of the supernatural element
of Crescent Bay than he’d bargained for.

Alexx stared, transfixed, at the sight of the magnificent wolf.

Chills traveled up his spine, settling at the base of his neck. There was something about him, something that drew Alexx to him…

The wolf’s hackles were raised, and from his throat a low rumbling growl issued. His eyes were locked on the man who stood over Alexx.

The man shifted the knife from one hand to the other and bared his teeth in a wide grin. “Does doggy want to play?”

Another low growl was his only response.

Doggy? Was this man serious? Or just stupid? Alexx was a relative newcomer to Crescent Bay, but even so he understood only too well the presence of the wolf on tonight of all nights.

The appearance of the animal quadrupled Alexx’s courage.
Damned if he was going to lie here and take it, or play the victim.

He aimed an attention-getting kick at the crotch of his would-be attacker. The man grunted and doubled over, and Alexx hastily scrambled backward, running into a large fir tree that stood solidly behind him. He pushed up against it, using it for leverage as he gained his footing.

He kept one eye on the man, while he took stock of his surroundings. From the corner of his eye, Alexx spotted what appeared to be a structure. He could barely make it out, camouflaged as it was by the trees around it. His first thought was that maybe it was a hunting cabin. His second idea was maybe he could find a weapon inside.

“You son of a bitch! I’ll make you damn sorry you did that.”

He took a menacing step toward Alexx.

Think, think—don’t panic.

Alexx tried to visually gauge the distance to the structure, triangulating the path between all three objects—himself, the man, and the building. Could he reach it before the man reached him?

And would that make any difference? All he knew was he had to do something. Anything was better than standing here, waiting to die. He took a deep breath and tensed his muscles.

Suddenly Alexx froze as a long howl shattered the night. The sound took his breath away. He glanced toward the source and, for a long moment, he stared at the wolf, silhouetted in the moonlight.

As he watched, the wolf drew back upon its powerful haunches before he launched himself at Alexx’s attacker. The man turned, facing the wolf. His knife glittered ominously in the moonlight.

The wolf leapt and caught him in the chest, and he tumbled backward under the weight of the animal. Man and beast rolled in the shadows, a mass of snarls.
Alexx drew as close as he dared, trying to see what was happening in the pitch black shadows of the trees. Both bodies appeared to be in motion, from what he could see. He had no way to determine who held the upper hand. He heard what sounded like the crunch of bone, followed by a strangled guttural utterance.

Then the yelp of the wolf.

The two figures separated, both panting heavily. The man stepped into a patch of light, clutching his hand to his chest. He saw no evidence of the knife in that hand. The wolf’s eyes glittered. Alexx shivered at the sight. His lips were drawn back, teeth in full evidence as he snarled.

The three figures formed an eerie tableau.

“Call off your dog! If he gave me rabies, I’ll fucking sue you!”

The man’s words sounded incongruous given the circumstances.

Alexx didn’t bother to inform him that was no dog, or correct his misapprehension as to the animal’s ownership.

“Why don’t you just get out of here and leave us alone?”

The man took a step toward Alexx. “Because I need to—” A warning growl from the wolf stopped him in mid-step. “Fuck!”

The wolf moved toward him. The man suddenly dropped to his knees. At first Alexx thought he was praying. But then he realized he must be feeling about for the knife. If he found it… Well, he didn’t want to think about that.

The wolf’s steps were swift. He took up a position between Alexx and the man, facing the latter. He made no move to touch him. His tail twitched back and forth, his muscles poised as if prepared to spring. Alexx felt heartened at his presence.

“Can’t you just go away?” Alexx tried reason again. “Leave us alone and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

“Not likely,” the man muttered. He threw apprehensive glances
at the wolf. One hand was drawn up against his chest, making it difficult to search the ground with the other.

Alexx spotted the knife. It glittered against the dark forest floor. Acting on impulse, he started to dive for it, just a moment too late. The man reached for it with his bad hand. He raised it triumphantly in the air, making a slicing motion in Alexx’s direction. Alexx flinched, expecting to be cut, but the blow never came as a dark shape intruded itself between him and the blade.

Alexx realized that the wolf had intercepted the knife blow.

“Noooooooooooo!” Alexx screamed. Without thinking, he reached for the wolf, tried to pull him to safety. The animal stood its ground, refusing to be budged.

“Oh fucking Jesus Christ.”

The man’s voice had changed. For the first time Alexx thought he heard a note of fear. He surmised it was the sudden realization of what—or who—he was actually facing.

“Oh fuck, fuck, fuck. No, no, not worth it.” He started to back away. “Keep him away from me.” He was obviously trying to sound menacing, but he was not succeeding in any way, his tone too laced with fear to be effective.

Alexx held his arm around the wolf’s body, felt his heaving breaths, the warmth of his fur.

“Go away!” he yelled at the man. He tightened his grip around the wolf, praying he wouldn’t try to follow. “Please stay,” he whispered. “Don’t go after him. He’s not worth it.”

The wolf turned his head. His topaz eyes glittered brightly in the moonlight, filled with comprehension.

With a last foul exclamation, the man turned and began to run in the opposite direction, presumably back the way they’d come, still clutching his arm. He didn’t look back, crashing through the
undergrowth, the noise quickly dying away as silence reigned once more.

Alexx leaned his head against the side of the wolf. He tried to still his own trembling, but now that it was over—at least he prayed it was—the adrenaline ebbed from his system, and he couldn’t stop shaking.

His fingers soothed and caressed the wolf’s fur, trying to focus on something, anything other than what had just happened. He felt a wetness there. “Oh God.” He thought the man had missed them both, but apparently he’d gotten the wolf. How bad was it? The wolf didn’t seem to be complaining.

Correction—werewolf. Not the same thing, was it? Alexx wasn’t sure. Science had never been his strong suit. Especially anything to do with animals. And he had barely begun his research on the supernaturals, still a lot to be learned there.

So what was he supposed to do? Hell if he knew. But he did know he couldn’t just leave him there. He also couldn’t take him back to his room at the boarding house. Alexx’s landlady, aka the Black Widow, wouldn’t permit him to have a dog in his room, much less a wolf. Where else was there to go?

A drop of water hit his nose. He turned his face up only to have more fat drops splat on him. The night had just begun to rain on them. Great. Alexx sighed.
Just great.

Well, they had to get out of this before it got any worse. A rumble of thunder suggested that it would do just that. But where to go? Not like he had a car or anything. Then he remembered the small building he’d seen. They could take shelter there, at least until the rain ended and he could take stock of the situation.

Assuming they could even get in, that was.

“Let’s go into that shack, why don’t we?” he suggested to the
wolf, waving toward it. He had every reason to believe his words would be understood. It seemed the sensible thing to do, anyway.

He tried not to lean on the wolf too heavily as he got to his shaky legs. “Can you walk?” The wolf nodded, as if he understood.

Of course, he understands, doesn’t he?
Alexx leaned down, keeping an arm about him, searching for the cabin.

The wolf seemed to know just where to go, and Alexx followed his lead. The rain was thicker now. He didn’t think it would last, but this would be shelter until it let up. The wolf pawed at the door, and Alexx pushed. It opened easily. He breathed a sigh of relief. At least something was going his way.

Once they were both inside, he closed the door and felt for a locking mechanism, but he found none. Whoever owned it probably didn’t keep anything of value there, nothing he was worried about losing. He was surprised to find a small cot, collapsing on it gratefully. The wolf leapt up beside him.

“Let’s take a look at you.” He carefully felt about the wolf’s fur, searching for the damage the knife had wrought. The blood felt as if it had coagulated already. It must have been a superficial wound. “You okay?” he asked, running his hand over the top of the animal’s head. The wolf licked at his face, taking Alexx by surprise.

“You seem okay, guess I’ll have to go with that for now. So, what are we going to do?”

For that, the wolf had no answer.

Alexx felt suddenly very tired. The night, and the alcohol, were all taking their toll. He felt a yawn coming on. He tried to stifle it, but that didn’t help as another came fast on the heels of the first.

The wolf nudged his chest.

“What is it?” Alexx asked.
Did I do something wrong?
The
wolf kept pushing, until Alexx found himself flat on his back on the cot. He began to laugh. “Okay, okay, I get it.” He pressed his hand against his mouth. So sleepy.

He turned onto his side, one hand still resting on the wolf, as if reluctant to break contact with him. The knowledge that this was no ordinary wolf, but a werewolf, didn’t bother him in the slightest. He felt comfortable with him, no matter who or what he was. The wolf settled against him, and Alexx wrapped his arm about him, burying his face against him.