The Bad Wolf (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

He didn’t have a chance to answer. It was too late. Another car swerved to a stop next to Ryan’s. Amy and Travis jumped out, followed by a bunch of older kids Chloe had never met before. Kelly hung back, her arms around her middle. News must travel faster than the speed of light in Hunde.

“What did you do to him?” Travis demanded once they’d reached them.

Ryan said, “Nothing. We just found him like that.”

Travis studied Ryan for a moment.
It was hard to tell if he believed Ryan or not because his teeth were clenched and his eyes were bugged in anger. “We were on the other side of the lake, we saw you over there. Dad won’t tell us anything yet.”

Amy glared at Chloe then lunged. “We saw a lot of things, actually.”

Someone in the group laughed.

When Jenna tried to
prevent Amy from reaching Chloe, Amy shoved her out of the way. Jenna fell sideways and hit the sand hard.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Chloe growled then bent to help her friend up.
They had bigger things to worry about, like Josh’s death, rather than Amy’s petty jealousy.

By now, the
entire pack had descended upon them. They spread out around Chloe, Ryan and Jenna. There was nowhere to go.

Amy crowded closer
, shoving past Travis and the others. She stared at Chloe and snarled. “You think you’re big shit, don’t you? He’ll just use you like he does all the stupid little girls. He’ll come back to me.”

When Ryan tried to get closer to Chloe, Travis blocked him. Travis said, “We saw the two of you
in the water.”

Chloe’s cheeks burned s
carlet at Travis’s insinuation. Some of the pack laughed or made rude noises. Kelly remained by the Jeep, but was no longer crying. Honestly, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment. For just a fleeting moment, Chloe wondered how Kelly’s friends could be so crass. She’d just discovered her boyfriend was dead and here was Amy acting like Chloe had stolen hers.

Ryan’s hand fisted at his side and his eyes
burned with hatred. “Shut up.”

Travis
ignored him. “Are you gonna give me your scraps when you’re done?”

“What are you talking about?” Chloe’s mind buzzed with questi
ons and the beginnings of hurt.

Travis leered at her. “He’ll get tired of you, sweetheart.”

Her gaze shot to Ryan, but he wasn’t looking at her. Instead he took a step closer to Travis, murder in his blue eyes. “No, not her.”

“
He doesn’t keep the same girl for very long,” Travis said with a sneer. “He’ll ignore you as soon as he gets what he wants.”

Anger danced in
Amy’s eyes. “He always does.”

“Okay, there seems to be some kind of misunderstanding,” Chloe said. “
Whatever you think is going on, isn’t.”

She bent to grab her t-shirt then
began walking toward Ryan’s car.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Amy
grabbed Chloe’s shoulder and hauled her backward. “We’re not done with you yet.”

Jenna placed a hand on Amy’s arm and spoke in a soothing voice. “Hey, let’s just calm down. No one needs to get hurt, okay?
Besides, I think there’s bigger issues we should be trying to figure out.”

Amy's low growl was the only warning
before she lashed out. A bright red welt appeared on Jenna's cheek. The Goth girl stumbled backward and pressed trembling fingers against the handprint. Her eyes were large with surprise as she stared up at Amy. All around them, the pack cheered and called obscenities at her.

“You stay out of it, freak.” Amy stood over Jenna, daring her to make a move. “Or you’ll get hurt too.”

Chloe stood frozen in shock. "She didn't do anything to you."

“Get away from her!” Ryan yelled at them. He shouldered past Travis and
another guy then made his way over to his cousin.

Jenna gripped his hand and allowed him to haul her up to her feet. He shoved the Jeep’s keys into her hand then his gaze flicked toward Chloe. “
Leave. Now.”

Two bigger guys grabbed Ryan by the arms and hauled him backward. For now, they were content just to hold him there.

“But we’re having so much fun!” Amy said with an evil laugh. This time when her hand lashed out, her fist struck Chloe’s right eye.

Chloe’s
head snapped backward and she fell onto her butt. Hissing an ugly curse, she scrambled up and swung at Amy.

Jenna screamed at
them to stop, but both girls were past hearing her now.

Amy darted at
Chloe once again and grabbed her hair. She punched Chloe in the stomach a couple times. The air escaped her in a big rush and she doubled over as puke burned the back of her throat. Amy’s fingers twined in Chloe’s hair and jerked her head upward so she had to look at her.

“This is your fault,” Amy
sneered. “This is happening because of you, an outsider. We don’t want you or your kind here.”

“Stop,” Jenna pleaded.
“It isn’t her fault. What happened to Josh had nothing to do with her.”

Amy shook Chloe’s head then m
ade sure she was pointed in Ryan’s direction. There was no way she could miss all the action. “This isn’t just about Josh. This is about what’s right. And this pathetic outsider is the furthest thing from right. You are mine, Ryan. Not hers!”

The big guys continued to prevent
Ryan from coming to Chloe’s aid. Ryan slung one of them to the ground then turned on the other. The guy backed away, but Travis pounced. Together, Ryan and Travis struggled in the sand, neither boy able to gain the upper hand. At one point, Ryan was on top of Travis, punching him repeatedly in the face. After about three hits, Travis managed to throw Ryan off of him. Thankfully, none of the others jumped into the fray. They seemed shocked or perhaps they just liked the idea of the boys spilling each other’s blood.

Jenna screamed then ran toward them. Kelly had the forethought to grab Jenna’s arm. In a low voice,
like she was afraid the pack would hear, she said, “Better not to get in the middle of that.”

The guy Ryan had knocked down
came to his senses and scrambled up to his feet. Hatred warped his features into something ugly. He picked up a large piece of driftwood and swung it.

Kelly screamed, “Greg, no!”

Ryan ducked out of the way. The second time Greg swung it, Ryan too busy grappling with Travis to avoid it. The wood splintered against the back of his head and sent him sprawling onto the sand. He didn’t immediately move.

Greg
looked surprised by the outcome and chucked the wood over the hill. He glanced at Travis to see what they should do next. So far, Kelly just stood aside, clutching Jenna’s arm and watched as the assault happened.

Travis
stalked over to Chloe. He gripped her arm, digging nails into her flesh. When he smiled, she could see the blood and dirt in his mouth. He leaned in and growled close to Chloe’s ear. It didn’t sound entirely human. He tightened his grip and made her cry out. “You and your mom are gonna leave Hunde.”

Ryan
got to his feet then wavered. Blood trickled down his temple and pooled at his shoulder. "Let her go."

Travis laughed and hauled her
up.

Chloe jerked against his rough hands and attempted to pull away.
Travis’s grip was like an iron vise.

One of Travis’s hands
roved over her arm then cupped her breast. He gave it a rough squeeze. "Why don’t you make me?"

Ryan's hands fisted.
“Get your hands off her.”

Travis laughed then licked the side of Chloe's neck
. She squealed then tried to pull away again. Ryan launched himself at Travis, unadulterated fury burned in his eyes.

Travis shoved Chloe to the
ground then met Ryan head on. Both boys exchanged punches. Neither was willing to back down as the sound of fists smacking against skin rang out. Greg broke away from the others to join the scrape.

Ryan punched
Greg in the face and a shock of blood ran down his chin. The older boy fell backward then tumbled down a small hill. Travis and Ryan continued to kick and punch at each other. Travis’s nose was bleeding and one of his eyes had swollen shut. Ryan looked no better. Crimson stained his fists and chin.

Amy jerked Chloe to her feet.
“Ryan doesn’t really like you, you know? He’s just pretending because my dad told him to keep you under control.”

“That’s not true!” Jenna defended her cousin. She tried to move closer to Chloe, but her path was cut off.

Kelly eyed Jenna. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if you try anything.”

Jenna said, “I just want this to s
top. Help me stop them, Kelly.”

Amy whipped her head around to snarl at the other girls.
The air around her shimmered for just a moment then she seemed to gain control of her emotions.

Chloe
yanked her arm out of Amy’s grasp. She fought the sting of tears. “That’s not true.”

“It is,”
Amy laughed, clearly enjoying this. “My dad’s the pack alpha. Ryan does what he’s told.”

This knowledge hurt worse than Amy’s fists
had. Chloe sucked in a gulp of air as tears stung her eyes. Ryan had only pretended to like her so she wouldn’t tell anyone what they were? His kindness, their kisses, none of it was real?

Jenna’s hands were on her shoulders and her words were soothing, but Chloe no longer heard her.
Her world had just shattered around her.

Amy laughed then kicked
at her leg. “You’re so pathetic. Why would Ryan like someone like you? You’re a human, an outsider.”

A harsh growl erupted nearby and Chloe was shocked to see that Travis had transformed into the blond wolf. He
lunged and snapped at Ryan. When Ryan threw his arm up to protect himself, the wolf clamped down with powerful jaws. Blood welled around the wolf’s mouth and dribbled the sand.

Ryan howled in pain
and anger then kicked the wolf in the ribs. The animal fell away then scrambled up to attack again. Ryan kicked Travis again. This time the wolf yelped then tumbled down toward the water’s edge. Greg ran after them.

Amy cast one last
menacing glance at Chloe before darting away. With a sneer she said, “You’d better go back to Fort Collins before things get too hairy for you and your mom.”

A gunshot filled the air and sent a trill of terror through Chloe. Mackie’s loud, booming voice echoed off the lake. “Enough! Break it up.”

Everyone scattered. It was as if no one had ever been there, save for the disturbed sand. She wondered how much Mackie had witnessed before finally stepping in to put a stop to it.

Jenna put her arm around Chloe’s shoulders then helped her to the car. “I’ll be right back,” she sai
d then moved toward her cousin.

Chloe climbed into the Jeep then watched as Jenna returned to Ryan’s side. He
cast an angry glare at Mackie then declined Jenna’s help. He walked on his own. Ryan was hurt, but too proud to admit it. Chloe’s heart lurched in her chest. She wanted to go to him, make sure he really was okay, but her damaged pride prevented her from getting out of the car.

His fists looked as though they’d been through a meat
grinder. His nose and chin were caked with blood. Chloe didn’t want to know if it belonged to Travis or if it was his own.

Mackie spoke to them for a moment then glanced at the Jeep. His deep frown told her he didn’t approve of Ryan spending time with her either.

She huddled in the back of the Jeep until Jenna parked outside her house.

On the ride home, Ryan kept stealing glances at her in the rearview mirror. Each time she noticed him looking, she would turn her face to look out the window. There was nothing to say.

Chapter Fourteen

“How was the lake?” Karen asked when she returned home later that evening. She’d been on a date with Coach Lewis. “Did you and Jenna have a good time today?”

Chloe lifted her head from her knees then turned the television
off. She hadn’t exactly told her mom that Ryan would be there.

Sighing, she said, “It was horrible.”

Karen came into the living room, turned on the light then stared at Chloe. Her lips pursed in displeasure when she spotted the black eye. “Who did this to you?”

“It doesn’t matter
.” She dropped her feet to the floor. “Can we please just go back to Fort Collins?”

Her mother frowned then sat on the couch beside her. “What happened, honey? I thought you were finally beginni
ng to fit in and make friends.”

Chloe’s bark of laughter forced her mother’s eyebrows upward. “I’m never going to fit in
. Not here. And I don’t have any friends, at least not any real ones.”

“What happened?” Karen asked then scooted closer. She took Chloe’s hand in her own then pulled her into an awkward hug. “Did you and Jenna get into a fight?”

For several moments, Chloe said nothing. She laid her head on her mom’s shoulder then drew in a calming breath. When she finally spoke, everything came rushing out. The only parts she omitted were how some of the residents in Hunde turned into a real pack of wolves.

Karen was quiet for several moments after Chloe stopped talking. She stroked fingers through Chloe’s hair and just held her like she had when
she was smaller. “I’m so sorry, sweetie. I wish you hadn’t seen that poor boy’s body.”

Chloe relaxed and closed her eyes. It had been so long since her mother had
held her. It was nice, despite the reason for it.

After several long minutes, Karen said, “I
also wish you’d told me that Ryan would be there.”

“I
thought he liked me.” A fresh wave of tears stung Chloe’s eyes. “Besides, Jenna was there as well.”

“You still should have told me.
” Karen’s stern voice broke through the calm. It was evident that she was angry that Chloe snuck out with a boy, but she didn’t say anything more about it. Instead, she said, “It sounds like this Amy girl picks on you because she’s jealous.”

“
What does she have to be jealous about? Ryan and I didn’t do anything. Besides, there were more important things to worry about, like how Josh was just lying there with his guts out.” Chloe said with a miserable sob. “It was like no one really gave a damn that he’d died. He was supposedly their friend.”

Karen said nothing, just continued to hold her.

“Ryan was lying to me all along. He never actually liked me.”

“Typical boy behavior,” Karen said softly. “He probably just wanted to …” The nugget of infinite wisdom was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone. Karen shifted on the couch to reach it and Chloe groaned. It was probably Coach Lewis.

Her mom pressed the phone to her ear and color rose to her cheeks. Her lips pursed and her gaze darted to the front window. She was only on the line for a moment before she hurried to the peg by the door and snatched her keys. “The alarm at the clinic just went off. That was the automated system that called me. I’ll be back.”

“Mom, wait!” Fear boiled in Chloe’s gut. What if the pack was playi
ng another mean prank? When her mother hurried out the door, Chloe sprang up and followed. “Can’t the sheriff deal with it?”

Karen jumped into the car, giving Chloe no choice but to do the same. Her mom gunned the car down the driveway. “Whoever broke in
is probably gone. Plus, the system only calls me. I really didn’t think anyone would mess with the place so I didn’t add Sheriff Mackie to the call list.”

“Oh,” was all Chloe could say as worry gnawed away at her insides.
“Shouldn’t we call him now?”

When they reached the clinic, Karen uttered a low curse. The
front door stood wide open and the alarm shrilled inside. Dogs in the kennel howled and barked at the commotion.

A nervous jitter raced down Chloe’s spine as confusion, fear and agitation washed over her.
This time instead of only one animal’s emotions, she was receiving all the clinic’s tenants at once. It was enough to make her head feel like it had split wide open.

Karen hopped out of the car then hurried inside. She silenced the alarm then poked her head out the door.
“Come on in. Whoever did this is gone.”

Chloe
moved with extreme caution as she loped into the building. The things on the shelves and counter had been knocked onto the floor. Kibble, cans of food, brushes and antibiotics along with other pet drugs and items scattered the two short aisles at the front of the building.

“Paisley!” Karen called in a baby-ish voi
ce. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.”

Chloe moved to the back of the building and entered the kennel area. There
were about five dogs and two cats. One cage on the cat side was open, no occupant. Another next to the big dogs was open, the door hanging off its hinges.

Though the
remaining pets had calmed considerably, a few still paced their quarters. One of the dogs wagged his tail as she approached. His relief swallowed her and she seemed to absorb some of it as well. She carefully eased her hand into his kennel and smoothed fingers over his soft fur.

Her mother observed this with a smile, but didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter
though, Chloe still didn’t want a pet. Ever. Not even a goldfish.

“Was
anything stolen?” Chloe asked.

Her mom nodded. “Looks like someone smashed the
medicine cabinet. I won’t know for sure until I do inventory, but it looks like some of the tranquilizers are missing.”

Her mother turned from the broken cabinet and
said, “We’re missing a cat and a dog. Can you help look for them while I call Sheriff Mackie?”

Chloe nodded with a grimace. Sheriff Mackie’s kids were probably
the ones to blame. She glanced at the kennel and spotted the dog’s name on a piece of paper above the broken door. Buck. Judging by the size of the dog’s accommodations, he was a big sucker.

Nervous anxiety rattled Chloe’s nerves
when she entered the closest exam room. A grey tabby cat hissed and hunched its back. The animal’s eyes were large and yellow as it watched her edge around the exam table.

“The cat is in room one!” Chloe called to her mother. There was no way in hell she was
going to attempt to pick it up or put it back in its carrier. Not when it was hissing and spitting like a crazed demon. The thing had razor sharp claws at the end of its paws too!

She closed the door behind her so the cat couldn’
t escape then searched the rest of the building for the canine. Her search extended outside, around the side of the building.

“Buck?” She eased closer to the wooded area behind the building and considered turning back. “Where are you, Buck?”

A sickening fear struck her, followed by pain. The dog was hurt and hiding. Crap, she’d have to go into the trees surrounding the building.

A low whimper sounded close by, followed by the sound of something scurrying through the underbrush.

“Buck, come on out. Come on, boy. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Instead, a big black wolf with glistening black fur trotted out of the trees to greet her. His ears were forward, his
tail curled upward like a flag.

“Go away, Ryan.
I don’t want to see you.”

Ryan ignored her demand and began sniffing the dry leaves on the ground instead. He rooted through the leaves with his snout and pawed at the dirt. Suddenly his blue eyes met her gaze. His tail seemed to quiver and he whined.

“There’s blood. The dog must be hurt,” Ryan’s voice rang out clearly in her head.

Though she wanted to ignore him, she couldn’t help but be drawn closer. She crouched to inspect the ground. Sure enough, se
veral drops smeared the leaves.

On the other side of the building, the crunch of gravel grabbed her attention. She quickly moved back to the side of the
clinic to peek around to the front.  Coach Lewis’s little blue hatchback was parked out front. Had Karen called him to the rescue?

Sheriff
Mackie’s cruiser rolled to a stop next to the hatchback. He hitched his gun belt up then strode toward the clinic with a sense of purpose.

Karen met him outside
. “They made a mess and let some animals out of the kennels. I think there may be some tranquilizers and other medication missing.”

Sheriff Mackie didn’t comment, but Chloe could swear she saw him tilt his head to sniff the air. His gaze slid toward the side of the building she was hiding behind, bu
t she ducked away just in time.

“I know where the dog is,” Ryan said from somewhere in the dense trees.

Chloe turned to look for him, fully expecting him to be in human form now. Instead, the shiny black wolf trotted out of the undergrowth.

“Did
you do this?” She had to know.

Ryan made a sound of disbelief.
“I can’t believe you’d ask me that.”

“What am I supposed to think?” she whispered, afraid Mackie would hear them. “You’re conveniently behind the clinic.”

“I heard the alarm,” he said with just a touch of hurt in his voice. “I thought you or your mom might be in trouble.”

Chloe had nothing to say. Did he think he could get back in her good graces just because he did something nice?

Ryan walked just ahead of her as she navigated the path through the trees and thorny bushes. Finally, Ryan stopped and the air around him seemed to shimmer as if his very image had begun to melt. In a blink of an eye, he was there, fully in human form. And he was naked!

Chloe wanted to look away. She knew she should look away, but just couldn’t. The smooth curve of Ryan’s back and buttocks drew a sharp gasp from her. He glanced over his shoulder at her, a slight smirk on his face. Had he purposely wanted her to see him naked?

He bent to pick up a pair of shorts he must have discarded earlier. He slipped them on then turned to face her. “The dog is over here.”

Together they moved toward a pile of brush
and downed limbs. The dog whimpered and the swish of his tail swept the leaves out of the way.

“Hey Buck,” Chloe cooed in the most friendly, nonthre
atening voice she could manage. The dog was older, his chin and ears beginning to grey.

Buck’s ears
lay flat against his head and a low growl issued from his throat. Though the golden retriever’s tail wagged, his eyes conveyed the fear and pain he felt. Chloe felt every bit of it as if it was her own.

Ryan’s hand gripped her arm, keeping her from getting
too close. “Careful,” he warned. “He’s hurt and scared.”

Chloe glared at him
. Like she needed Ryan to tell her this? She spoke softly to him then held out her hand. The dog stopped growling. Tail thumping the ground, he whined again then licked her hand. He inched forward as his intelligent brown eyes searched her face for any threat. When he saw none, he inched a little closer to her.

Eventually
Buck crept out into the open where she could look him over. His wary eyes stayed trained on Ryan. His entire body quivered, reminding Chloe that dogs were afraid of him.

The pad of
Buck’s left front paw was cut. He must have stepped on some broken glass when he’d run from the building. Blood trickled from the paw and he held the leg up to prevent his weight from resting on it.

“Please tel
l me you didn’t do this, Ryan.” She was desperate to believe he hadn’t.

He seemed offended. “Of course I didn’t. Why would you think that, Chloe? I
s it because of what Amy said?”

Chloe didn’t answer.

“She was lying.” Ryan rested a hand on her shoulder.

Chloe
shot a glance at Ryan then shrugged his hand off her shoulder. “Go get my mom.”

R
yan stared at her for a moment and seemed on the verge of saying something more. Finally, he turned to hurry back down the path, snagging his shirt from a tree branch on the way. He pulled it over his head then slipped on a pair of flip-flops before disappearing through the trees.

Moments later, Karen moved cautiously down the path. Co
ach Lewis was right behind her.

Chloe’s stomach knotted and an intense anger overwhelmed her. At this point, she was unsure whether it was Buck or
she who was so upset at seeing the coach.

“Let’s get him to the clinic,” Karen said.
“I need to clean his paw before he can be stitched up.”

Coach Lewis
carefully picked Buck up then carried him back up the path.

Karen practically tripped over herse
lf as she followed close behind him. “Put him in exam two.”