The Alpha's Search (The Craven Trilogy, #1) (7 page)

“I don't know why he did it. I was just so scared.”

“Hardly surprising. Are you sure you wouldn't like a drink?”

The interview stretched to over two hours. I was mentally exhausted and struggling to keep up with his questions. I'm sure he sensed I was keeping information back. I was worried he might think I'd had a hand in Alison's death. I could have told him the whole truth, but what good would that have done? If I'd mentioned vampires or shifters, he'd have thought I was crazy for sure.

“Okay.” Westwood said. “I think that's everything I need.

“What now? Do you have men looking for Craven?”

“Don't worry yourself about that. It's in hand.” He stood up. “Would you wait here for just one more minute?”

What choice did I have? Were they really looking for Craven? Did they even believe he existed, or did they think I'd killed Alison, and made up the whole abduction story? No—they couldn't possibly think that—after all, it would have been easy for them to check my story. The motel staff could confirm I was with a man.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Westwood said. “I've arranged for a car to drive you back to Camthorpe. The local police there will want to speak to you.”

“Any news on Craven?”

“Not yet.” Westwood smiled. “Don't worry. We'll find him.”

––––––––

I
had to wait almost an hour for the car that was to take me back to Camthorpe. I wasn't handcuffed, so maybe they did believe my story. The driver introduced himself as DC Andrew South. With him, was a WPC who said I should call her Anne. She sat in the back seat with me. I wasn't sure why it needed two of them to make the journey with me, but I didn't question it. I just wanted to get back home.

Anne was very friendly, and it wasn't long before I forgot she was a policewoman. She was incredibly chatty, and I was happy to let her do all of the talking. She was due to get married in two months time, and was understandably excited. Normally, I'd have found such conversation tedious, but after the previous few days, I welcomed anything
normal
.

“Bloody idiot!” DC South cursed. He kept glancing at the rear view mirror.

Both Anne and I looked through the rear window. A blue BMW was tailgating us. We were on a quiet country road with plenty of room to overtake.

“Why doesn't he come past?” Anne said, more to herself than anyone else.

“Because he's an arse hole.” DC South pressed the button to open the driver's side window. Once it was open, he put out his arm to wave the BMW past. “Come on then!”

The BMW made no attempt to overtake nor did it reduce its speed.

“Are either of those two the guy who abducted you?” DC South asked.

“No.” I'd already checked to see if it was Craven, but I didn't recognise either of the two men in the BMW.

“I'm going to call for backup,” Anne said.

Just then, the BMW pulled out and began to overtake.

“Wait,” DC South said. “Looks like he's got the message. Bloody idiot. Get a note of his registration. We can have words with him later.”

As the BMW began to overtake us, I could see the faces of the two men more clearly. I still didn't recognise either of them.

“Come on then!” DC South sounded exasperated. The BMW had drawn level, but seemed to be making no attempt to complete the manoeuvre. “Come on—”

Just then, I was thrown sideward into Anne. The BMW had hit our car on the side.

“What the fuck?” DC South managed to regain control of the steering, but the next impact sent us off the road.

*********

W
hen I came around, the police car was at a strange angle. My head was spinning, but I soon realised I was alone in the car. I wasn't sure how long I'd been unconscious—probably no more than a couple of minutes. I tried to release the seat-belt, but the catch was stuck—the impact of the crash must have damaged the mechanism. I could see four figures on the road. Anne had a gash on her head. DC South appeared to be unhurt. Opposite them were the two men who'd been in the BMW. DC South had his baton drawn; Ann had what appeared to be a taser in her hand. I hit the seat belt catch again—it had no effect. DC South was gesticulating and shouting at the two men. They didn't appear to be intimidated—one of them was actually smirking. DC South edged closer to them. Anne followed his lead. I hit the seat belt catch again. It wouldn't budge.

DC South and Anne were only a few feet away from the two men now. Anne had the taser pointed towards the man closest to her. Suddenly, one of the men made a move. I tried to make sense of what I was seeing. The man's clothes appeared to drop from him as his body changed form. Both DC South and Anne stopped dead in their tracks. In what was no more than a blur, the second man transformed too. Where moments earlier there had been two men, there now stood two huge wolves—teeth bared. Anne was taking small, backward steps away from the beasts. DC South seemed to be frozen to the spot. When the first wolf pounced, Anne tried to fire the taser, but the wolf was on her before she had time to pull the trigger. DC South looked on in horror as the first wolf ripped open Anne's throat. Before he had a chance to move, his own throat was pouring blood.

I couldn't breathe. My whole body was shaking. The two wolves wasted no time in tearing the two stricken bodies apart. I tried the seat belt again—desperate now. It was hopeless. When I looked up again, the two wolves were walking towards the police car.

“Help!” I screamed.

The first wolf was next to the car now. Its snout smeared the side window—it was only inches from my face. The second wolf growled and bared its teeth. The front passenger door was hanging off its hinges. If I could just get the seatbelt open, maybe I could make a run for it. I hammered the catch so hard it cut my hand. I hit it over and over again.

“Come on, damn you! Open!” I screamed just as the catch gave way. The seatbelt popped open.

I pushed the belt away, and turned around.

The wolf's head was now inside the open door.

*********

A
s the wolf moved closer, I braced myself. Any second now, it would launch itself at me. It was all too much to bear, so I closed my eyes.

The car rocked under a tremendous impact. It felt as though it had been hit by another car. When I opened my eyes, the wolf, which had been only inches from me, had disappeared. A terrible howl came from the road. There were now three wolves just feet from the car. The largest of the three had its back to me, and appeared to be in a stand-off with the other two. This was my chance to escape.

I slid forward into the front seat. The original two wolves were moving gradually to either side of the larger wolf in what appeared to be some kind of scissor manoeuvre. I was in the front seat—next to the open passenger-side door. I noticed a gash on my right ankle; I hadn't even felt the pain. The larger wolf growled loudly. Moments later, the other two attacked it. That was my cue.

I pushed myself out of the car. It was slippery underfoot, but I managed to scramble up the grass bank. In front of me was a stretch of open land covered in heather. Behind me echoed the sounds of a ferocious fight. I didn't look back—my only thought was to get as much distance between me and the wolves as possible. If I could just find somewhere to hide—maybe a cave. Perhaps my dreams hadn't been nightmares at all—perhaps they'd been premonitions. There was no time to worry about that.

The ground was uneven, and my ankle was throbbing. Twice I stumbled—grazing my legs. When I'd covered about a hundred metres, I realised I could no longer hear the sounds of the fight. I stopped and turned around, but immediately regretted my decision. There, in the distance, I could see the figure of the larger wolf. He was looking directly at me. I turned and ran, but my legs felt like jelly. I seemed to be making no progress at all. Within seconds, I could hear the sound of paws pounding the ground behind me. I looked for anywhere I might seek refuge—anything would do—there was nothing. I stopped running—it was pointless. Exhausted, I turned to face the predator.

The wolf skidded to a halt no more than six feet from me. Its snout was stained with blood. There was no sign of the other two wolves, so I assumed this giant had seen them off. I was bout to become its third victim.

“Come on then!” I screamed. “What are you waiting for?” I picked up the small rock by my foot. At least I could him a bloody head before he took me out. “Come on you bastard!”

––––––––

T
he wolf transformed into human form right in front of my eyes.

“Are you okay?” Craven said.

I couldn't speak.

“Louise. Are you okay?” He began to walk towards me.

“No! No! Don't come any closer.” I was almost hysterical. I couldn't think straight. I'd expected to die—I thought it was all over. But I was still alive, and right there in front of me stood Craven—naked.

“It's okay.” he said. “Everything's okay now. You're safe.”

In that moment, I knew everything he'd told me was true. He
was
a wolf-shifter. Lassiter
was
a vampire. My name
was
Louise, and I
was
a ... I could hardly bear to think about it.

“Don't try to speak,” Craven said as he helped me back to the road. “Everything's going to be all right.”

I doubted it. How could anything ever be
all right
again? Nothing would ever be
all right
again.

We took the BMW. Craven had collected: my holdall from the stricken police car, and the clothes which had been discarded by our would-be assailants. I noticed that the two dead wolves had transformed back into human form on death.

“What's wrong?” Craven had seen my tears, and put his arm around me. “It's over now. You're safe.”

I didn't answer. I wasn't crying for myself, but for the young policewoman who had been planning her wedding.

Craven took care of the formalities as we booked into yet another motel. This one was a little more upmarket than the one we'd stayed at the previous night.

“I've booked adjoining rooms,” he said, as we walked up a single flight of stairs. “Are you going to be all right?”

“Yeah, I'll be okay.”

He saw me to my room. “I'm just next door. Call me or knock on the wall if you need me.”

I nodded. “Craven,” I called just as he was about to leave.

“I'm sorry I didn't believe you.”

“That's okay. Get some rest. I'll check on you later.”

––––––––

I
climbed onto the bed; I'd never felt so alone. Everything I thought I knew about myself had been destroyed. Before all of this had started, I hadn't had much of a life: no money, so-so job, no boyfriend. But at least I'd been a normal human being. What was I now? Some kind of freak show? I'd read a thousand paranormal books, and I'd always enjoyed them, but that was when I'd thought they were make-believe. Escapism—that's all they'd ever been to me. I didn't want any of this—I wanted my boring, mundane, no-boyfriend life back. In my mind's eye, I could still see those wolves as they tore the life out of poor Anne. I hated the idea that I was one of those creatures. I couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

“Louise? What's wrong?” Craven looked surprised to see me at his door.

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.” He stepped aside. “Do you want a drink?”

“No thanks. Can we talk?”

“Sit down.” Craven pointed to the solitary armchair.

“I need to understand,” I said.

“I know. I'll tell you whatever you want to know.”

“Was that Milton? Back there on the road?”

“No. They were two of his pack. He probably thought they'd be enough to see you off.”

“Will he try again?”

“Yes. He won't give up until you and I are dead.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We have to find a pack. The two of us alone don't stand a chance, but if we can be accepted into a pack, we should be safe.”

I hesitated before asking the question I really wanted to ask. “Am I really like you?”

“A wolf shifter? Yes.”

“How can I be? I can't change into wolf.”

“You can. You've just forgotten how. It'll come back to you once you allow your instincts to take over.”

“But I don't want to. I don't want to be one of those dreadful creatures—”

He frowned.

“Sorry. No offence.”

“It will feel like the most natural thing in the world. You're a beautiful wolf. Even more beautiful than your human form.”

It was possibly the strangest compliment I'd ever been given, and I felt my cheeks flush. “Why don't I remember any of this?”

“I don't know. You were missing for so long.”

“How did I go missing? What happened?”

“I have no idea. It's possible Lassiter took you, but I can't be sure.”

“And you've been looking for me for forty years?”

Craven smiled. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“You're my fated mate. We were born to be together. I vowed I would keep on searching until I found you or knew for sure you were dead.”

“What about your pack?”

“I left them behind. I couldn't expect them to follow me. They wanted me to take another mate, but I would never do that.”

His words hit me like a hammer to my heart. No one had ever shown that kind of affection or devotion to me before. Something stirred inside me—a long forgotten emotion—I tried to keep a hold on it, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. I wanted him to pull me into his arms, but he was waiting—waiting for me to feel the same connection he felt.

––––––––

B
y the time I left Craven's room, my head was full of thoughts, questions and fears. I didn't expect to sleep, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light. It was almost eight o' clock when I woke the next morning.  As I lay in bed, I thought about my accident and the aftermath. My first memory was of waking up in A&E. I'd been found unconscious by a woman taking her Akita for an early morning walk. My mind drifted back to that fateful day:

I opened my eyes—someone was looking down at me.