Reluctantly Lycan (8 page)

Jak
hopped out of the car and stood frozen as he took in his surroundings. He heard crickets and owls, the scurrying of animals in the woods. “We should have. We’re going to get murdered out here. Someone is going to chase us and when we look back we’ll fall. The killer will catch us even though he’s walking and slash us up.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s safer here than in the city.” Mara found the makeshift roadblock and tried to pull the heavy log out of the way. “Did they really need a log this big? No one even knows this overlook is up here anymore.”

Jak ran over and pushed while she pulled. He was too skinny and lacking of muscle to do much. It wasn’t budging. He stopped shoving and panted from the exertion. “What do we do now?”

“We would have to walk. Let’s wait in the car until morning. Someone will probably leave by then and move the barricade.” She dusted her hands off on her jeans and headed back to the car.

“This sucks.” Jak mumbled, joining her in the midsized car.

“It was your idea.”

He shot her a frown, reached into a shopping bag from the convenience store, and grabbed a bag of chips. “What does Kaden do anyway? Like for a job?” He crunched loudly on the snack then sucked the cheese off his fingers.

“I don’t know. Take care of the pack. His father owned a business in town. Some of the pack worked there.
Made handcrafted, traditional knives and things. Tourists love that stuff.”

“What about your parents?” He asked.

Marala was anxious and irritable. She rubbed her eyes and leaned against the headrest. “Mom homeschooled the children whose parents wouldn’t let them go to public school. Dad was high pack. They’re protectors of the village. Make sure wild animals don’t hurt the weaker people or kids. Repair things… hunt if things gets rough.”

“And a hunter shot them?”
Jak rolled down the top of the chip bag, the way the conversation was going appeared to make him lose his appetite.

“I was young.
Eight. They were out for a run. Wolves do that. Helps with the stress. When they didn’t return, the pack went out and found the blood trail. The hunters were long gone with the bodies.” Mara hated recounting the memory, but the time for lies had passed.

“Sorry that happened. Who took care of you?”

“Everyone. I stayed with Levi and Elle. You’ll like them if they’re still around.” She turned her head to the side and studied Jak. “You okay?” She sure wasn’t. Thinking about her parents, the past, coming home. It was almost too much.

He nodded.
“Yeah. It’s so quiet. No cars or police sirens.”

“Try to get some sleep.” She ruffled his hair and he swatted at her hand.

“I’m almost a wolf, Mom. You can’t do that.”

She kept the frown of
f her face, but only barely. “Goodnight, Jak.”

“’Night.”
He slipped an ear bud in each ear and closed his eyes.

So much for the quiet.

Kaden
let loose a slew of curses when a tree branch smacked across his face. He’d been tromping through the forest all day and night with no sign of The Wanderer. Kade hated all the mumbo jumbo about the moon, medicine men, and bonding. He believed in it, but despised being bound to it all. Maybe it was the lack of a stable counterpart to sate his lust. Or the ever present emptiness in his life. Half of him was gone. A normal wolf would have leapt off a cliff by now.

“Where are you, Wanderer?” He
yelled loudly, sending lesser critters scurrying.

Nothing.
Then a whisper all around him. “You know what to do. You’ve done it before.” The ghostly voice said.

“I am no longer the pathetic pup that came to you. As pack leader, I command you to reveal yourself.”
Kaden kept his voice steady, though whispers in the woods would make almost anyone want to turn tail and run.

The Wanderer stepped through a cluster of maple trees. He wore a blindfold. His visions did not come from his eyes, but from within his mind. He was dressed in
common clothing, offerings from the other wolves at his shrine. Kaden had never left any gifts.

“Pack leader?
In title or action? All I hear is discordant howls among the pack.”

“I don’t have time for games.”

The man lifted one finger to his mouth. “Shh. Listen.” He held one hand up to his ear. “They don’t believe in you.”

Kaden
growled lightly. “No, shit. You need to listen and tell me where to find the lost boy.”

“Where is
your
boy?” He sat down on the ground calmly.

“Safe with his mother.”

“Is he? Their return will split the wolves, but without them, you will never save the pack.” Wind blew through The Wanderer’s long, unkempt hair, a trail of leaves with it.

“They’re coming home?”
Kaden drew in a sharp breath, relief flooded him, but then fear made him shiver.

“At the full moon, she will save them.”

“What does that mean!?” Kade screamed, the wind picking up. The leaves began to form into a whirlwind, blocking his path and vision when he tried to step toward the prophet.

“Run to them.” The words faded into a barely audible whisper. When the violent weather abated, The Wanderer had disappeared.

Kaden didn’t need to be told twice. He ripped off his clothing as he ran and shifted. The sun rose higher in the sky as he pounded through the forest at break neck speed. The village was no place for his family to be alone with the possibility of a traitor in their midst.

What am I doing?
Taylor asked himself as he shoved his luggage into the overhead compartment and took his window seat. His investigative nature wouldn’t let go of the mystery of Marala and her ex.

After his trip to the massage parlor, he’d called his buddy
and had him run the license plate number on Kaden’s Jeep. The vehicle was registered to an address in Tennessee. Taylor had never been there, but since Mara had a light drawl, he figured he was on the right track.

He had a great plan. Make sure she was okay, no domestic violence or anything
going on, snoop around about the wolf stuff, take some pretty pictures of the scenery, and then get his ass back home. What harm could it do?

An attractive woman slipped into the seat beside him. “Hi.” She said shyly.

Like all women, she was immediately drawn to him. All women except for Marala. Maybe that was the real reason he had to find her. The opposite sex did not reject him and he was
not
about to give up without a fight.

“Hello?” Then a strange pecking sound.

Mara groaned a little.
Why is someone at the door so early?
Disoriented, she opened her eyes to see a man staring at her through the driver’s side window. A scream caught in her throat, but then she recognized him. He’d stepped back and she opened the car door, climbed out, and threw her arms around his neck.

“Levi!” Seeing one of her former foster parents made her happier than she’d expected.

Jak opened his door, looking groggier than his mother. He rubbed one eye with his left hand and yawned.

“You haven’t aged a day.” Levi’s gaze locked on
Jak. “I’ll be damned. He looks like a young Kaden. And a little of you, too.” He smiled at Mara, releasing her from the hug and walking over to Jak with an extended hand.

“I’m
Jak Dakota.” He shook the hand firmly, just as he had when he’d met his father.

“It’s an honor to meet the next pack leader.”

Mara sighed. “You don’t know that he’ll be leader.”

Levi shrugged while
Jak looked on with a pale face. “There has been trouble, so he may not be. Either way, Kaden will be leader for a long time. Speaking of which, I was on my way to town to speak with some people. He told me to call and tell you not to come.”

“Go figure. Wants me to bring
Jak home and then changes his mind. All he’s ever cared about was himself.” As her mother would have said, Mara’s face turned
red as a pickled beet
. Both men sensed the fury emanating off her and Jak wasn’t even a wolf yet.

“Miss Mara.”
Levi called her as he had when she was a child. Never scolding, always soothing. “It would be best if you left. The leader is, well, volatile.”

Jak
looked directly at his mother and shook his head. “No. We stay.” He pointed at the ground for emphasis.

“He’s right, Levi. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s time we returned.”

“Of course.” The wolf gestured to his truck on the other side of the log barrier. “Let’s gather up your things and I’ll give you a ride to the village. Afterward, I’ll return your rental car. It is a rental, right?”

Mara nodded. “Yes.”

She hefted a couple of trash bags out of the car, dodged Levi’s offer to carry them, and tossed them into the bed of the rusty bucket of a truck. Jak did the same. When the items had all been removed, Mara took a seat in the cab and Jak climbed into the back.

“The wolves will give him a hard time since he’s a city boy.” Levi said when he slid onto the torn leather
bench seat and shifted the truck into gear. It groaned in protest.

“I know, but he’s from a respected line of wolves. He’ll be fine.”

“You’re bloodline is not as... revered.”

Mara had heard that before.
A red headed, fair-skinned, and green-eyed woman among a bunch of wolves descended from Native Americans stood out. “Just because my ancestors were not native to America does not mean they were not a loyal and loved bloodline.”

Levi nodded. “I didn’t intend to disrespect your lineage. Just reminding you of how
some
of the pack feels.”

“I shouldn’t have to remind you that I was chosen.”

“I remember. How did that work out?”

She
held her tongue, knowing the fatherly figure meant well. “It’s yet to be seen.” What she meant by that, she didn’t know. Her intention was not to play the “chosen” card, especially so early, but if it kept people off Jak’s back… so be it.

Her scent nearly knocked Kaden out of form. The lusciously natural, sweet smell told him The Wanderer had been right long before his saw Marala. Kade burst forth from the forest and crossed his small town swiftly, charging straight for his front porch. The wolf, so stealthy in the dark, stood out like a large black shadow in the sunlight.

Mara,
Jak, and Levi had been sitting on Kaden’s front porch in wooden rockers while they waited. When Kade growled, Levi jumped out of his chair and moved it in front of him as it the chair would stop the wolf from attacking.

Kaden
sniffed at Mara. She smelled of fear and like Levi. Another threat vibrated in his throat and he took a step of warning toward his second in command.

“I’ll leave you alone. Things, uh, to do….” The beta lowered his eyes, not turning his back on the pack alpha until he was far enough away that he would be able to shift and maybe make it to his house in time.

Kade nudged Mara toward the door with his nose. She twisted the handle. It was unlocked. He was glad the stubborn woman knew better than to argue with him in his territory, his home turf.

“Dad?”
Jak’s voice came out barely more than a whisper. In his rage, Kaden hadn’t paid any attention to his son. The wolf’s eyes softened a little, shocked by the moniker. He may have been Jak’s father, but he’d yet to prove he was any sort of dad.

“Everything looks the same.” Mara said softly when she walked inside.

Kaden had no interest in redecorating his parents’ long time home. Even if it was his house now. There were no small critters preserved by a taxidermist. Only a rival of equal strength was worthy of preservation in the house. A massive, black wolf, strikingly similar to Kaden, had been stuffed and mounted. The imposing creature stood in the corner of the living room. It was a constant reminder of the brutal deeds performed to maintain stability within the pack.

The rest of the house had normal cabin décor. Wooden furniture, deep maroons and greens
rounded out the color scheme, and tons of photos. At the top of each doorway and window dreamcatchers hung. Not the kind from the flea market either. These were made by the female wolves of the pack with reverence and respect for the spirits.

Kaden
scoffed before shifting into human form and walking stark naked to his bedroom without a word. Mara and Jak exchanged glances.

“Don’t worry. The wolf in us doesn’t always think logically.” Mara said to her son.

“Yeah. I’ll never be that aggressive.” He gulped.

“Probably not.”

Jak grimaced. “Not too thrilled about everyone seeing my equipment either….”

“Obviously your father has little qualms about it.” She rolled her eyes, but found herself envisioning
Kaden’s tight butt as he walked down the hallway.