Clarity (26 page)

They didn’t say a word as I got out, but they didn’t drive away until I was inside the house.

I hoped they didn’t show up at Nathan’s house when the other werewolves turned up for a fight.

We didn’t need any more blood to spill.

Nathan

We all woke up earlier than usual. Our dogs barked to warn us that werewolves were at the door. Good ones, hopefully. I couldn’t focus properly. My body itched to change, to protect my own. I tried to wake Amelia, but she was too ill to do anything other than groan and roll over.

“I’m worried about her,” I told Byron. “All of these headaches and dreams… I know you said the change isn’t possible until her birthday, but what are we supposed to do with her until then? She can’t stay in bed for months.”

“We don’t have time right now,” he said, stress etching deep lines around his eyes. “If it’s the change coming, there isn’t a lot we can do for her. And if it isn’t, she’s safer here until we deal with those wolves. I promise you, if she’s worse tomorrow, I’ll take her to the hospital myself.”

He squeezed my shoulder before hurrying away to speak to Ryan, but I wasn’t reassured. Not at all. I remembered my change, how unexpected it had been and how nobody had been there when it felt as though my head split in two. I took some water upstairs to leave on my sister’s bedside table, hoping she would know she wasn’t alone.

Perdita
arrived earlier than I expected, and I met her in the driveway with an eager embrace. I took her hand in an attempt to stop it shaking.

“It’ll be okay,” I reassured her. She nodded, but the tense expression on her face never changed.

“Come on,” Jeremy called from the doorway. “We’ve been waiting to go over everything.”

We followed Jeremy back into the house and to Byron’s office where everyone save Amelia had already gathered.

Perdita’s
apprehension soaked the air. We stood side by side, barely touching, as Byron discussed the plan one last time.
Perdita
was instructed to lock herself in the house with the dogs and Amelia. The rest of us would hide in the adjoining houses until the wolves came.
Willow
hadn’t found out when exactly they would come. She hadn’t even seen her pack mates. All she knew was that she was expected to go after
Perdita
to distract my family. It chilled my blood to think of all of the people who had conspired to hurt
Perdita
, all because of me.

Perdita
and I said our goodbyes on the upstairs landing. If anything happened to me, the werewolves would find their way to her. All or nothing. Together or gone forever. I saw the worry darken her eyes, heard it quicken her heartbeat, and scented a mixture of fear and desire that mirrored my own. We hadn’t spent enough time together, hadn’t had the chance to really figure out what the future had in store for us, and it might be too late.

For many seconds, we held each other’s gaze. Inches separated us, but they might as well have been miles. I was almost afraid to say goodbye in case it tempted fate, in case our goodbye kiss would be our last.

Finally, she spoke. “See you soon.” She sounded determined, and it gave me strength.

“Of course,” I said, giving her what I hoped was a confident grin.

A shiver ran through her, and doubt filled her eyes. I ran my thumb across her cheek, committing the curves of her face to memory. I had something to come back to, and that made the difference. Leaning against the wall, I cupped her head and dropped a light kiss on her lips. “I won’t be long.”

Her arms curved around my shoulders, pulling me closer. Her kiss was urgent, desperate, taking my breath away. I lifted her a little, just to hold her closer, but Byron came to separate us before the need grew too strong, when there was still a chance of stopping us.

“It’s time to go,” he said. “We’ll make sure your door is locked before we leave.”

She nuzzled my cheek, and when she pulled away, her eyelashes were wet. She squeezed my hand and walked into Amelia’s bedroom without looking back, leaving me bereft. She called the dogs in a shaky voice, and when they had all run in, she closed the door. The key turning in the lock made a harsh noise that seemed to connect with my heart.

“They’ll be fine,” Byron said, but his excitement won over anything else. I followed him downstairs, knowing that whatever happened, I couldn’t allow a werewolf to get past me. And I had to get back to that girl. Things had been difficult between us through little fault of our own, and I was planning on making everything better as soon as the danger was gone from our path. I would make it all up to her.

Downstairs, the air tingled with battle lust.

We split up into pairs—Byron and me, Jeremy and
Opa
, Ryan and
Willow
. Ryan and
Willow
were to fall back and be the last guard, the surprise.
Willow
shook with her thirst for blood. Ryan was calm, but concerned. His worry became my worry because he knew exactly what to expect. Jeremy surprised me with the aggression steaming from his body. My
Opa
was strangely subdued, but we all dealt with what was coming in different ways.

My family hid in the houses adjoining our own, Byron and I in the house to the left, Ryan and
Willow
settled down in the shed out back. A guardian triangle, ready in all directions. I stayed in a back room, while Byron kept his post at the front of the house, just in case. We didn’t know exactly where the wolves would come from, but we could guess they would approach from the back, perhaps sneak along the houses until they made it to ours. The front of our house was too open, with nowhere to hide.

My body shook even before I saw the wolves approaching. I gave a low whimper to alert Byron. He was beside me in a flash. The werewolves came closest to the house where Byron and I hid. We had phased at least two hours beforehand, but the waiting hadn’t been too long. We had been keeping guard, and my wolf understood that.

My wolf caught the scent of strange werewolves first. My wolf desired blood… more than that, vengeance. My wolf wouldn’t let them close enough to the house to catch
Perdita’s
scent. Thoughts of my sister left me. It was all about
Perdita
. Her words had stuck with me. “See you soon.” I could see her soon. I could definitely do that.

In spite of myself, I almost burst out the door there and then. A nip from Byron stilled my
tremoring
body. We had to do things the right way. I remembered Byron’s last words to all of us.

“Give them a chance to run. Let them make the choice to fight or not.”

Four wolves appeared—two brown, one black, and one sand-coloured. At least we weren’t outnumbered. Ryan and
Willow
would only add to the sense of us being in charge; at least, I hoped so. For yet another time, I wondered if they would betray us, if that had been their plan all along, or if the lure of their pack would be too strong. But Ryan had looked determined before we split up, and I knew he could control
Willow
. Jeremy had wanted to be paired with
Willow
, but Byron had said no. I wondered if he didn’t trust his own son.

The wolves crept closer, keeping to the edges of the extended garden, refusing to walk in a straight path. They were all large. Ryan had said there were few true warriors left, yet there were four. I knew they would put up a fight, but if we could prove to them we were in control, they might even see there was another way for them.

Ryan wanted to keep them with us, to force them to be on our side, but Byron was adamant that everyone get to make their own decision. I liked that idea; it was smart. After Vin’s dictatorial rule, maybe a choice would suit some of the wolves.

Byron nudged me out of the way. He would go first, and I would follow. Hopefully, we wouldn’t be ripped apart before the next duo joined us.

I sensed Byron’s anger, and I knew he would fight to the death to protect what we had, to repay for what we had lost. I knew I could count on him to fight like my father. I could only hope to make him proud, to make
Perdita
proud. The thought of her made my heart swell. I was falling in love with her, with the person I already knew I would someday love without limits, and it was for her that I would keep myself safe. I knew that for certain as I waited for the wolves to come closer.

They moved further into the large, unenclosed garden. I thanked Byron’s common sense yet again for renting a place in an empty neighbourhood. It might be far from the city, but it had been worth the privacy after all.

I tried not to snarl as the wolves came closer. The silence in the air was eerie, and I wondered if they could feel their luck running out. One of the brown wolves turned back, and Byron darted out, making the most of their disbanding. I followed quickly, snarling, sounding like so much of a monster, I surprised myself.

The running wolf hesitated, frozen to the spot. The sand-coloured wolf took a couple of seconds to gather himself. The brown wolf leading the way ran toward us before the black wolf even realised we were there. The leader pounced on Byron, and they both rolled on the ground, fangs snapping. I aimed for the black werewolf and felt the weight of two wolves on me instead. I realised too late that the sandy wolf had recovered quicker than I anticipated. I could sense the fourth running away, and that felt wrong. A harsh bark in the distance let me know Jeremy was following him.

Snapping wildly, I tried to stay calm as two older wolves attacked me. Fight, my wolf urged. Kill.

I gripped one by the throat, but the other was on my back, stopping me from shaking the wolf’s neck until it broke. Suddenly, I was free, and the sandy wolf was rolling on the ground in attempt to get away from my grandfather.
Opa
pinned the wolf easily, his teeth catching the back of the wolf’s neck, but my opponent slipped out from under me, taking advantage of my distraction.

Down to one enemy, I threw my entire weight at the larger male. He backed out of reach of my snapping jaws. Then, he moved toward the house, toward
Perdita
.

I went berserk.

With a howl, I raced after him, leaping onto his back and sinking my teeth into the fleshy part of his neck. He crumpled beneath me, whimpering, as I shook him hard.

Perdita’s
face made me fierce.

Perdita’s
face made me let him go.

I stepped back and sat next to him. He curled up in a ball, watching me warily, waiting for me to finish my attack. I glanced back at my family. They all seemed to be taking care of their opponents. The plan had been to dominate before showing mercy. So far, the plan was going well.

The werewolf next to me jumped up as if to run, but I pounced and held him down until he stopped struggling. Sitting next to him again, I growled a warning.

My opponent tried to crawl away, but a bark from me stilled him almost instantly. I felt invincible, ready to take on the world. I might have hurt him, but I knew
Perdita
wouldn’t want me to turn into one of them, so I didn’t.

The wolf’s ears pricked up, and I sensed Ryan and
Willow
approaching. I waited, a coat of tension covering me, until I was sure they weren’t going to attack us. Ryan barked harshly at the wolves, and I saw they recognised him and were confused. As one, all six of us ran at the wolves, herding them, barking and snarling, snapping at their ankles as they fled.

Ryan shifted, comfortable in his nakedness, and shouted after them to let Vin know he was challenged. I hoped he knew what he was doing. Vin had Ryan’s daughters after all.

We all headed back to get our clothes, phasing and checking for wounds—nothing more than a couple of scratches and a bruise or two. The relief released a whole load of tension from my shoulders. We grouped together after we dressed, joking and laughing as the adrenalin left our bodies.

“Easier than I expected,” Byron murmured. “Let’s hope they heard that challenge.”

“You sure that was a smart move?” I asked Ryan as we headed back to the house.

“The girls have value. He won’t get rid of them,” he said firmly.

“That went well,” Jeremy said.

“I told you,” Ryan replied, a rare smile on his face. “They aren’t a match for you, not really. You didn’t need our help, and they saw that. Vin will definitely hear about this.”

Byron was quiet, although he had a happy expression on his face.
Opa
had gone back into his shell again, and I wondered what it was he thought about when his attention was so distracted from everything else.

“But be warned,” Ryan added. “He’ll do whatever it takes to bring more of them with him next time. If I know him at all, he’ll try and gather all of the lost and lone wolves.”

“We can do the same,” Jeremy said.

A scream from the house chilled my blood.

Perdita