Strength of the Pack (21 page)

Stanley looked unsure and slightly frightened. “Can that happen?” he asked dully.

“If I go to the Alpha now, we won’t have to find out.” Lucas didn’t wait for Stanley to say that he was dismissed before he turned and walked away. This probably wasn’t what Tim had meant by using the situation to his own advantage, but it had been decidedly satisfying, nonetheless.

Lucas was halfway across the compound when Noah emerged into the sunlight, smiling in his direction.

“What kind of trouble are you causing?” Noah demanded in mock outrage.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Lucas innocently. “I was simply fulfilling my duty as your Dominant and ensuring I was available to look after your well being.”

“I assure you, my needs are simple today,” Noah said, coming to stand in front of Lucas.

“How can I help?” Lucas asked, returning Noah’s smile.

Noah stepped in closer and lowered his head. When he spoke, his breath drifted hotly over Lucas’ cheek. “The scent of you on my skin is fading. Just let me touch you.”

“Do what you need to,” Lucas whispered.

Noah pressed their bodies together. He nuzzled behind Lucas’ ear, and he could hear Noah breathing heavily. Noah shifted and nosed at Lucas’ other ear. Lucas rubbed his cheek against Noah, shivering at the feel of stubble as it scratched his skin.

“Thank you,” Noah breathed, stepping back.

The collar of Noah’s fleece shifted and reminded Lucas of the events of the morning. He reached up and parted the ends of the fleece. Two distinct bite marks were obvious on Noah’s chest.

“How do those feel?” he asked Noah.

“Fucking fantastic,” Noah moaned. “Thank you, Lucas.”

“No need to thank me,” he replied. “If it’s something you need, I’ll do it for you.”

“We should talk later. Right now, I need food.”

Lucas chuckled. “I know that feeling. Go get yourself fed.”

§ § §

Two days later they had found no time at all to talk. The closer they got to the battalion pulling out and Fox Company taking over sole command of Combat Post Toscano, the more hectic life became. Tomorrow at eight-hundred hours, they would be on their own with Captain Stanley in command. He would lose access to Tim Madison and everything he knew about werewolves. Lucas wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow morning at all.

The idea scared Lucas nearly to death.

This morning, though, he still had work to do. Currently, he was going over storage manifests with the team of Marines he had assigned to handle supply logistics. They all had so much to master and so little time.

“Echo-five-hotel; echo-three-golf.”

Lucas paused to monitor the radio transmission. PFC Grant was on guard duty, and the fact he was hailing Noah on comms might mean something significant.

“Go for echo-five-hotel,” Noah responded.

Grant’s reply was immediate. “Sarg, I got sounds coming from the southeast, and once in awhile, the wind blows strange smells this way.”

Lucas’ head snapped up as he looked in the direction of the watch bunker. Grant was one of his werewolves; he’d put more stock in that Marine’s smelling and hearing than he would in many other’s sight.

“You smell anything resembling human, Private?” Noah asked.

“Affirmative, sir. And something combustible.”

Lucas keyed his mic. “All guard posts; Fox-two, keep your heads on a swivel gents. Possible enemy activity to the southeast.”

He saw Noah exit the command building at a jog. “Any signs of movement, Grant?” he asked as he headed for the bunker in question.

“Not that either of us can see through optics,” Grant responded. He’d been assigned guard duty with Catinella.

Lucas and his fellow platoon commander both started after Noah’s receding back. All around the compound, Marines were in motion, preparing to do battle, if that’s what was coming.

“Fox-two; echo-five-hotel,” Noah hailed him.

“Go ahead, Sergeant,” he answered.

“Permission to send Corporal Hubbard to the guard bunker, have him shift and see what he can sense in wolf form,” Noah asked.

Lucas liked that idea. They could utilize wolf senses and still maintain two Marines in human form in the bunker.

Before he could answer, a loud concussion rocked the Combat Post. He ran for cover behind a large gun truck.

“We got rocket fire,” Grant said over comms.

Lucas knew the rockets would be accompanied by small arms fire, and there was a chance of mortars, as well. He expected Captain Stanley to begin issuing orders. Fox Company didn’t take command of the post until the next day, but Stanley was Officer of the Day.

All around him, Marines scrambled into combat positions along the perimeter wall of the post. Lucas knew they needed to man their heavy guns and return fire. That involved issuing orders to Marines not under his direct command. Stanley—or someone—needed to start coordinating efforts and issuing orders, right the fuck now.

“Fox-two,” Noah’s voice came over the radio.

“Sergeant Hammond, get some of our men on the Mark-19s and return fire,” Lucas ordered. That much he had the authority to do.

“Roger that.”

All around them, M16s began to chatter as Marines engaged the enemy.

“Do we have eyes on, yet?” Lucas asked in the blind.

Two more explosions struck the southeast wall, sending debris into the air.

“Affirmative, sir,” Grant replied. “I can see the general area the rockets are being fired from.”

They needed to launch an assault. Where the fuck was Stanley?

Madison appeared beside him suddenly, sliding to a stop behind the truck’s large tire. “Where the hell is your company commander?” he demanded.

“Fuck if I know,” Lucas shouted over another blast.

“If he’s not gonna do his job, Lieutenant Colonel Santos needs to step up.” Madison chanced a glance around the tire.

“We’re under attack! We’re taking heavy fire from all directions!” Captain Stanley’s panicked transmission interrupted them. “We need to call in an air strike!”

“Is he fuckin’ serious?” Madison asked incredulously. “We’re taking fire along the southeast wall, and I haven’t heard a single call for a Corpsman. Have you?”

“No,” Lucas answered emphatically. “What battle is he even in?”

“No one better let him call in air!” Madison shouted over the sounds of chaos.

“Fox-two; echo-five-hotel.” Noah’s voice was surprisingly calm.

“Go for Fox-two.” Lucas wasn’t feeling any fear or anxiety from Noah. He hoped it was because Noah wasn’t overly worried about their situation. He reached out to see what he could sense.

“Permission for Hubbard and me to shift and gather intel in order to help range the MK-19s.”

The only thing Lucas was picking up from Noah was calculated determination. “You stand down, Sergeant,” Lucas replied. “Send Grant with Hubbard since Chandler’s rated on the MK-19.” Annoyance flared strongly down the connection with Noah.

“Due respect, sir, Grant is young and inexperienced.” Despite his feelings, Noah’s tone was calm and respectful.

“The Alpha is needed to provide leadership, Sergeant Hammond, you have to interpret what your werewolves sense,” said Lucas. “No putting yourself at unnecessary risk.”

There was a long pause. Lucas could feel Noah’s annoyance abate. “Roger that.”

“Are the wolves going to be leaving the compound?” Tim asked.

Lucas had nearly forgotten he was there. He relayed the question to Noah.

“Not at the moment, sir,” he answered. “I’ll advise if it becomes necessary.”

No sooner had the transmission ended when the howls of two wolves came from the eastern side of the compound. Gooseflesh rose on Lucas’ skin.

“That is never not an impressive thing,” Tim said. Lucas glanced over to see him grinning.

Lucas turned so he could see the eastern wall of the post. He could just make out the huge gray wolf and his brindle companion. They trotted among the Marines returning fire on the unseen enemy.

Noah issued quick, precise orders over the comms. The heavy weapons began firing in coordination with each other. Almost immediately, the rate of rocket fire dropped off.

“Lucas, there you are!” Captain Stanley suddenly slammed down onto his knees beside Lucas and Tim. “I thought you’d been killed.”

Lucas bypassed annoyance and shot right to pissed off. He had to keep his cool, though. “I don’t know why you would have thought that, Skipper. We haven’t sustained any casualties.”

“We’re under siege,” Stanley continued, eyes wide and wild. “They’re coming at us from every side.”

“They’re coming at us from the eastern wall, sir,” Lucas corrected him placidly.

“We’re going to die. All of us. You have to do something.” The captain was hysterical. There was no other word for it.

“We are, sir.” Lucas glanced at Tim, who was watching Stanley with narrowed eyes. “My men are ranging the MK-19s to take out the enemy positions.” The rocket fire continued to drop off as they talked.

“You have to send the Pack,” Stanley demanded.

Lucas froze, a chill running up his spine. It was quickly replaced by anger, burning white with its heat. Noah’s anger added itself to the mix, as did his alarm at Lucas’ sudden emotion. Lucas locked down the link. He could handle the captain, and Noah didn’t need to be distracted by this lunacy.

“No, sir. That’s not necessary,” Lucas replied calmly. “There are two werewolves gathering intel, and that’s all we need.”

“We’re going to die,” Stanley insisted. “You have to order Hammond to call the Pack like last time. You have to make them stop this.”

Rage slammed through Lucas, and he clenched his jaw, struggling not to become insubordinate. “Due respect, sir, that’s not how it works. I’m not going to abuse their trust in me, the True Alpha’s trust in me, by issuing such a useless order.”

“Lieutenant Young, let’s go check on your wolves,” Tim said, standing and grabbing Lucas’ arm. “The rocket fire has all but stopped. We should check their status.”

As Tim dragged him toward the eastern wall, Lucas was relieved. “Thank you for that.” They could hear Stanley behind them, yelling unintelligibly.

“He’s lost his mind,” Tim muttered.

Without warning, Noah was standing directly in front of them, his expression angry and concerned.

“Sergeant Hammond. What’s wrong?” asked Lucas.

“You tell me.” Noah’s eyes darted briefly to Madison before returning to Lucas. “Sir.” He added as an afterthought.

“Nothing for you to be concerned about. We need to stop this rocket fire, Sergeant,” Lucas replied.

“If it concerns you, it concerns me,” Noah said, completely undeterred.

“Once we stop that enemy fire, everything will be fine,” Lucas assured him.

At that moment, Chandler let out a loud whoop of triumph. Quickly, those around him joined in. The celebration spread through the compound. From the eastern wall, the loud howls of the two werewolves told the end of the tale.

All sounds of combat ceased.

“Enemy combatants successfully neutralized, Lieutenant Young,” said Noah, expressionless.

“Fan-fucking-tastic, Sergeant,” Captain Madison said, slapping Noah’s shoulder. “Lucas, you check on your men and start your debrief. I’ll take one of my platoons out and recon the area.”

“Thank you, Captain.” Lucas gave him a grateful nod.

“What the hell was going on earlier?” Noah demanded when Tim had jogged off.

“Someone was getting on my nerves is all.” Lucas reassured him. “I was in no danger.”

“That’s not what it felt like.” Noah’s eyes were pale blue, nearly silver, and flashing dangerously.

“Let it go, Sergeant,” Lucas ordered, needing Noah to drop it before it got out of hand.

Noah looked like he wanted to argue, but Lucas’ order was enough. He stood down.

Lucas was startled by two giant wolves as they passed by at a full run. Their large paws made thunderous sounds on the hard packed Earth. As one, they circled back, this time loping at a casual pace. Their eyes shone bright with pleasure, and their tongues lolled out of the sides of their mouths. Lucas watched in fascination as they circled him and Noah several times before sitting down. The wolves took up position, one on each side of Noah and him, equidistant apart.

The wolves were huge. Noah was much larger than either one of them, but they were still huge.

“Now what?” Lucas asked Noah.

“They’ve completed their mission, so they just need to be told they’re allowed to shift back,” Noah answered. “They’re both young, and with the adrenaline in their systems, they won’t be able to shift immediately.”