Silver Moon (A Women of Wolf's Point Novel) (25 page)

Anderson looked at Becca hanging limp in Leroy’s grasp. “Told you that you should kill that one. She’ll never really turn.”

Oya paled, but before Becca could plead for mercy, the Nester leader stepped forward. “No. This is my fault. I was careless. She’s a new wolf. You remember how hard that is.” Oya’s voice quivered a little. “You don’t know who or what to trust. I thought we were done winning her over and we weren’t.”

“Which is why she gets strapped down now,” Leroy grunted as he heaved Becca up on to the table. She squirmed and kicked but he was too fast for her, and the straps soon clicked in place. Becca bit her lip to keep from crying.

It didn’t look like that would help anyway. The minute she was fastened down, Leroy went for the syringe. She could feel a single tear trickle down her cheek. If last night was any indication, she’d be too disoriented to try and escape tonight either, even with help. But she was damned if she was going to give them more than that tear. Grimly, she clenched her teeth together, closed her eyes and waited for the needle.

Something outside made a noise, some sound that cried out for her attention, but she made an effort to ignore it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t help her now. She’d have to just figure out a way to get away from them on her own, somehow. And the easiest way to do that was to play along. Becca took a deep, shuddering breath and opened her eyes.

Oya was still standing close to her, though now she seemed to be standing between Anderson and the table.
All to the good,
Becca thought briefly, then cleared her throat. “You’re right. I was overreacting. I don’t like the way the cure makes me feel.” She paused between her words, trying to make them sound sincere, if hesitant.

Oya glanced back and flashed her a relieved smile. She shifted slightly and Leroy stepped forward, clearly unwilling to cross between her and Anderson. Instead, he walked carefully around them to approach the table from the far side. The noise outside, when it came again a moment later, was much closer and louder this time.

Anderson scowled at the window. “Don’t you set any guards on this place? Or was that assigned to one of your wolf-boys?” He tossed the words in Oya’s direction, but was on his way out the door before she could respond.

Oya yanked the gun from her belt and raced after him, leaving Leroy and Becca staring after them both. After a moment, the medic shrugged and yanked up Becca’s sleeve. Something inside her took over and she jerked away from his grasp, her body twisting in a fierce convulse jerk that broke her legs free of the restraints. She kicked out fiercely, forcing Leroy back. Another sharp twist and she slid down the table, out of the upper restraints as well.

When she hit the floor in a crouch, she could feel, ever so faintly, her body start to change. And a hot flash, which was almost inevitable. Leroy stepped back, putting the table between them. They stared at each other for a long couple of seconds as if they were both wondering what was going to happen next.

The gunshots outside answered that question for them. Something pinged sharply against the side of the trailer and Leroy hit the floor, rolling past the table. He disappeared behind the countertop, gun in hand, while Becca pressed herself against the wall, trying to watch the kitchen and the window at the same time. It sure wasn’t midnight, so what was going on outside?

Her heart was racing, sending the blood pounding through her head as she felt a wave of heat wash over her.
Breathe,
she thought,
breathe,
forcing her body back under her own control. The wolf was still coming though. She could feel the beginnings of fur, here and there along her arms and her fingers were longer than they should have been. It wasn’t too hard to figure out what would happen if Anderson came back through the door. If he thought she was a monster before, this would be her death sentence.

When she gathered herself up and jumped through the window this time, there was no one to grab her legs. The bushes outside hurt when she landed in a tangle of limbs though. Fortunately, there were more shots and a lot of yelling to cover the noise that she made. She untangled herself and rubbed at a few bleeding scratches while she looked around. It was hard to see what was going on from this angle; all the action seemed to be on the other side of the trailer.

She wondered if it was Erin, trying to rescue her. The idea gave her a momentarily warm, happy feeling until she remembered that could get Erin killed. At the same time, she couldn’t imagine who else the Nesters could have pissed off around here, if whoever was firing back at them wasn’t the Pack. She ventured a cautious peek out of the bushes. It didn’t look like there was anyone nearby. If she ran to the nearest stand of trees, she might be able to look around and see what was going on.

Before she could think too hard about what might happen if this was a bad idea, she rolled out of the bushes and ran awkwardly across the short open stretch into the trees, keeping her head low. Something pinged by, shattering bark down on her head and she threw herself to the ground under the first tree, scrambling to get it between her and the shooters. More bullets flew by, sending a cascade of bark and twigs down on her and she bolted.

She charged almost blindly in her panic, barely noticing the trees she ducked behind or the bushes she tried to use as cover. There was more noise behind her: yelling, more shots, the sound of someone or several someones crashing into the brush. Becca kept running.

Wherever she was, it was well outside Wolf’s Point. Her panicked run had taken her up into the foothills and a little beyond. Once she poked her nose around the rocks, she realized that she could see what appeared to be a ranch in the valley as well as a glimpse of road. The scent of pine came to her on the breeze, mingled with the smell of sheep dung and she wrinkled her nose.

On the other hand, where there were sheep, there were people. People who could direct her to a phone and help. But how did she know it was safe to leave her hiding spot? What if the Nesters were just being really quiet and waiting for her? Maybe she should just hide here until full dark.

She shook her head after a moment; hiding wasn’t going to help. One way or the other, she had to get back to town and let them know what was going on. She squinted up at the setting sun, trying to gauge the best direction to move in. Then she slipped out from behind the rocks, slithering on her belly as she looked around for motion, for color or anything else that would tell her whether or not she was safe.

A hawk swooped down on to the rocks above her, making her flinch. But that was it. Of course, most of the Nesters wore brown camouflage and would probably blend in with the rocks, but she decided not to think too hard about that possibility. Instead, she pulled herself up into a crouch and ran, crablike, over to a nearby boulder. One thing was certain: if she got home in one piece, she was going to need a chiropractor.

Thinking about her cozy little house made her remember Ed. And Pamela. If they’d pulled anything with the house while she was gone, she’d…she’d…deal with them when she got back. Her lip curled slowly over a dry incisor.

That helped remind her that she needed to find water soon. Very soon, from the headache that was beginning to pound in her temples. Her stomach growled along with it, reminding her to check her hands and face. At least her fingers looked normal now. It was a relief to know that she wouldn’t scare anyone she came across to death. It also made the notion of hunting a rabbit and ripping into it with her fangs less appealing. She remembered the idea crossing her mind when she was running and it sent a hungry shiver up her spine.

Two more boulders and she was on her way down the mountain, moving westward. The sun had nearly set so she hoped that her wolf sight was coming back. If not, she might have to wait the night out here and hope for the best come morning. It wasn’t a very appealing idea.

At least she was more surefooted now than she had usually thought of herself as being. She stepped lightly and quickly around the loose rocks and tiny shrubs until she got to the first stand of trees. Then she stopped to taste the air again. The road was more or less ahead of her, the sheep somewhere off to her right. It was hard to tell from smell alone which was the better bet for getting help and she hesitated before picking the road. With any luck, the Nesters were still too preoccupied to patrol around by van.

But she’d have to be on her guard. She kept walking, and after a few moments, was rewarded by the smell of water ahead. Crossing her fingers against giardia, she stumbled across a tiny little stream and knelt, scooping the water into her hands and gulping it down as quickly as she could. It was wonderful, cold and refreshing. She lay next to it for a couple of minutes and took a few more drinks. Then she got to her feet and kept walking.

The road was closer than she’d thought and she stumbled a little when her feet unexpectedly met the pavement. A quick glance up and down didn’t show any glow of distant or even not so distant headlights. Just her luck, there also weren’t any road signs visible from where she was standing, so she still had no idea of where she was.

After looking around in frustration for a few minutes, she picked the direction that she thought led away from the Nester camp and toward town and started walking along the side of the road. She tried to hug the tree line but it was hard with the ditches and roadside weeds. After ten minutes, she gave up and went out to the edge of the pavement. It was full dark now, so with any luck she’d have plenty of warning if a car was coming.

It felt like she’d been walking for hours on her achingly tired legs. The road didn’t seem to be going anywhere and she had to stop and rest a few times. What if she was headed in the totally wrong direction? It was hard to smell much of anything besides asphalt. Her thoughts kept up a constant whirl of frantic motion that didn’t help her headache much. Her body felt odd, too, stretched and strange, quite apart from the aches and pains.

But at least there was a not quite full moon tonight. It made her insides flutter to see it glowing over the trees, calling to her wolf self. She smiled at it like she would at seeing an old friend in an unexpected location. With moonrise, her luck seemed to be improving: up ahead, she could make out a sign, though it was still too dark to read from this distance.

Without thinking, she broke into a lope and sped over to it, only to feel a crushing sense of disappointment. Wolf’s Point was still another fifteen miles away. But at least she was on the right road. That was something, though it didn’t bring much comfort.

She forgot to check the road behind her when she started walking again. The headlights were bright as a sudden sunrise when they came and she leapt off the road into the ditch like a wild thing. Then she lay flat and still in the shallow puddle of water that filled it. Maybe the driver hadn’t seen her or at least wouldn’t get out to check.

Her heart leapt up into her ears while she listened for the approaching vehicle. Every breath she drew in seemed to choke her. With her luck, she was probably having a heart attack. She tried to center herself but the sound of the car above slowing down made that a fruitless effort.

Wheels scraped on some loose gravel on the road. Whoever they were, they were stopping. Becca bit back a curse. She had no way to defend herself if it was the Nesters. They could just shoot her, dump her in the back of whatever they were driving and take off if they wanted to. The notion took her from scared to angry in less than a minute. In fact, she felt really angry. Angry enough to change. She dug her fingers into the mud beneath her to try and control it.

A car or truck door opened in the darkness above her. First there was silence. Then loud whispers. “Did you see someone? It might have been—”

“I’m not sure I saw anything. Try and call her again.”

“Becca? Are you out there?”

Becca was panting in the ditch now, trying not to change. She knew that voice, didn’t she? She tried to make herself listen harder, tried to pick up any familiar scents. But the last couple of days were catching up with her. She was exhausted and with that, losing control, losing her human self.

The few shreds that were staying awake tried hard to stay alert. At first, there was just the scent of swamp water, vehicle exhaust and pavement. Then, slowly, there was a whiff of something that just might be wolf. Her kind of wolves.

The whimper that tore itself out of her throat wafted up into the air over her head, followed by a soft howl that was too big for her body to contain. The ditch spun around slowly and she felt everything start to go black at the same time that someone, then more someones splashed down into the ditch around her.

“Becca! Hey, open your eyes and look at me. C’mon, hon,” A familiar voice emerged from a body which smelled very familiar. Whoever it was picked her up.

“Get her to stop it. How the hell is she doing that?” The other voice sounded familiar too.

“Give her a minute, will you? We don’t know what they did to her. Becca, honey, are you still with us?”