Wolves among men (18 page)

“
No!” I screamed as his
cold, dark laugh pierced the air and I grabbed her, holding her
bleeding and dying body close to me.

“
I’m so sorry,” I
whispered as the life left her and darkness surrounded me throwing
me once again into the unknown.

My eyes shot open and just as quickly I was
taken over by the searing pain of the light that had become
unfamiliar to me. “Son of a bitch.” I groaned as I placed my arm
over my eyes trying to block it out. The sound of birds chirping
outside came in through the open window followed by a cool breeze
that swept over me bringing with it the smell of the woods that
surrounded us. I lay there quietly and allowed my eyes to adjust to
the light as I let the images of my dream swim through my head.

I had no idea what it meant, if it meant
anything at all but at least now I knew to be careful. Whether I
was psychic or just plain crazy, I decided it wasn’t a bad idea to
keep my eyes open from now on. I sat up slowly and braced myself as
I waited for the pain to come. To my surprise I felt well. After
what I had gone through it was amazing to think that I wasn’t even
so much as sore but I wasn’t about to question it. I stood and as I
stretched I relished in the feeling of movement happy to be a part
of reality again happy to be in a world where the nightmares were
at least controllable.

I made my way to the living room, following
the sounds of chatter and soft laughter. I didn’t need to see her
to recognize the sound of Cordillia’s happy voice. Something out
there was making her smile and for that I was glad. I peered around
the corner and saw her sitting on the floor with her back to the
couch. I was right, she was glowing. A young man about her age sat
in front of her, he looked nice enough and by the way she was
laughing at everything he said it didn’t take a genius to notice
that they had gotten to know each other pretty well while I was
out.

I scanned the room and saw two more men I
didn’t recognize, the smaller of the two was reading by himself
near the open window at the front of the house. The other, a man I
was sure just stepped out of the army was staring intently at the
fish tank near the back door. It was a little unsettling as I
watched him for a few moments and not once did he break his
gaze.

I scooted into the living room slowly and
quietly. I wasn’t the shy type but I really didn’t know what to
say. Turns out, I really didn’t have to say anything. Cordillia’s
eyes flashed to me and her face lit up.

“
Ethan!” she screamed as
she stood from the floor and ran to me throwing her arms around me
and squeezing me tight. I held her for what seemed like forever.
Everything melted away as I took in the scent of her hair, the feel
of her arms. I didn’t want to let her go. Not now, not
ever.

“
Hey, Cordy, it’s good to
see you,” I whispered as she pulled away. She smiled at me as the
others started walking over to me.

“
You feel alright, man?”
the youngest of the group asked me. He was well built for his small
frame, his spiked blue and black hair complimented his punk attire
nicely. But despite the hard appearance he was going for he was
still just a kid with a kind look about him.

“
Surprisingly I am,” I
answered him. He held his hand out to me and I took it as the
others closed in.

“
That’s good, I mean we’ve
seen some pretty hardcore beatings but man, we weren’t even sure
you were gonna survive.” He grinned as he let go of my
hand.

“
I’m Logan by the way,
this is James,” he said pointing to the small one that was reading
a moment ago. He waved nervously and shoved his hands into his
pockets as he looked over at Logan. “And this is Matt,” he said
pointing to the man who was staring at the fish tank a moment
ago.

He was tall and not just that, he was
muscular as well. He looked like there wasn’t a day in his life he
didn’t spend in the gym and I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of
wolf a man like that would make.

He shook my hand, nearly crushing it in the
process and went back to staring at the fish as Logan and Cordillia
led me into the living room.

“
Don’t mind him, he’s got
a tendency to be rude but it’s nothing personal,” Logan spoke as I
sat down on the couch. “Besides,” He chuckled. “we don’t take him
along because he’s good with people. He’s a tank if you know what I
mean.” He smiled at me.

“
So, how long was I out?”
I asked only now realizing how thirsty I was. Almost as if she read
my mind, Cordillia sat down next to me and handed me a glass of
water.

“
About two weeks give or
take,” Logan said leaning back on his hands.

“
Damn,” I muttered as I
placed my now empty glass on the floor. I thought for a moment as I
stared at my hands. I had so many questions and I didn’t even know
where to start.

“
We know you don’t know
much,” James piped up before closing his book and walking over to
us. He took a seat on the floor facing me. His eyes were kind as if
he knew what I was going through, what I was thinking. “Whoever
turned you…” he trailed off.

“
Was an irresponsible son
of a bitch that could have gotten a lot of people killed or worse,”
I heard Matt bark as he came around the couch and took a seat in a
rather large overstuffed leather chair. It was the first thing I
heard him say and to be honest the gruffness in his voice didn’t
shock me at all.

“
What do you mean?” I
asked trying not to make eye contact with him. Despite the feeling
that we were all friends, I couldn’t help but feel a little
intimidated by his size. He sighed and shook his head.

“
It’s not that we don’t
welcome pups or anything like that,” he spoke a little gentler this
time. He leaned forward and met my gaze. “It happens but it’s
stupid and reckless to change someone and just leave them like
that. And in my experience it never ends well.”

“
That’s not always true,
Matt,” Logan interrupted him.

“
Yes it is,” he barked.
“We’re in the middle of a war, not to mention the hunger and
confusion that comes with something like this. You can’t just
change someone and walk away hoping for the best. Ethan here got
lucky but it could have been a lot worse and you
know
that, Logan,” he
spoke fiercely turning his gaze to meet the boy’s.

“
Sarah wasn’t left on her
own, Matt, she made a choice.”

“
She made the wrong one!”
he barked loudly. Logan stood quickly and James moved back to get
out of their way. Even I was pressed against the back of the couch
just in case it came to blows.

“
No, she didn’t, Matt! She
did what she had to do,” he spoke through clenched
teeth.

“
Had to my ass, Logan. She
became one of them and she didn’t have to.” Matt stood his ground
and stared him down, a fire burning behind his eyes.

“
You have to let it go,”
Logan spoke calmly. “We’ll find her, we’ll help her,” he tried to
reason with the angry giant.

“
Killing them is the only
way to help them!” he screamed, moving forward and breaking the
small gap between the two of them. Matt began to shake and his skin
was turning red as the sound of the door opening behind us broke
the tension.

“
Enough!” a voice barked
from behind me. A small dark haired woman walked around the couch
and placed her hand on Matt’s shoulder. She looked into his eyes
and he began to calm. “Sit down or I will take you down,” she spoke
calm but assured. Matt did as she said and Logan followed suit
before she spoke to him. She turned to me, a smile crossed her
face. She was young and fair skinned her black hair tied back at
the nape of her neck. She was tall and thin but something about her
told me she wasn’t someone to be messed with regardless of her
size. Her blue eyes sparkled and shone a kindness I hadn’t seen in
a very long time. I caught myself staring into them, almost unable
to look away for even the slightest of seconds.

She held her hand out to me and I took it
gently. Her skin was soft, almost fragile and the smell of
strawberry’s drifted off of her as she squeezed in between
Cordillia and me.

“
Hello, Ethan,” her voice
was softer this time, kinder. “My name’s Samantha but everyone
calls me Sam if you prefer.” She smiled at me. I assumed she was
waiting for me to speak but I couldn’t. I was lost in her eyes. She
was beautiful and all I could do was smile in response. The silence
was broken by the sound of Logan laughing from below us.

“
I think someone’s in
love,” he chimed as she shot him a nasty look. “Ethan,” I heard him
call but as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t take my eyes off of
her. “Yeah he’s a goner.” He laughed again as he stood and walked
to the kitchen. I shook myself out of it and I could feel my face
turning red as she smiled at me.

“
How are you feeling?” she
asked softly. I smiled.

“
I’m fine, really.” She
nodded and looked over at Cordillia.

“
She’s been waiting for
you to wake up,” She looked back over to me. “Are you two really
close?” She asked with an almost worried tone. I nodded.

“
Is that a problem?” I
spoke as Logan walked back into the living room and handed me
another glass of water.

“
No not at all. Actually
it’s quite the good thing.” I gave her a questioning look as I took
a drink. “I think the reason that you didn’t go feral like so many
new pups do is because you had something,” She looked over at my
sister and smiled. “something to keep you grounded.” Cordillia
smiled and I could feel my face going red again. She was right,
Cordillia was my reason for everything that I do, that I did. That
would never change.

There was a long silence in the room but it
wasn’t the kind of silence you want to get away from, it was
something pleasant. Smiling, I scanned the faces in the room and
for the first time in all of this I felt normal. There were others
like me, others that I could learn from and others that could help
me.

“
So tell me, Ethan,” Sam
broke the silence and in a way I was glad she did. “I’m sure you
have a lot of questions and I’m curious. What’s the most pressing
thing on your mind?” she asked with a smile. I thought for a moment
and was surprised that the first thing to come to mind had nothing
to do with them at all.

“
Marcus, Robert...” I
stammered. “Are they okay?”

She looked down at the floor and spoke
softly, “I’m afraid not.” I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“
What happened?” was all I
could muster.

She thought for a moment before answering
me, “Marcus was dead when we got here, it was quick. But after you
went down, Jonathan went after Cordillia. Robert gave his life to
protect her.” It took a while for everything to sink in and
eventually all I was left with was the unmistakable feeling of
failure.

“
Ethan, it wasn’t your
fault,” she spoke softly, I felt her hand on my shoulder and I
shrugged it away.

“
Yes it is,” I barked as I
stood and stormed out of the house and into the familiar clearing
where we spent our last moments in peace. I heard the door shut
gently behind me as she followed me outside. I didn’t want to talk
but what choice was there.

“
Ethan,” she started to
speak.

“
Go away,” I barked again,
my back to her. She didn’t move and I wasn’t sure if I actually
wanted her to.

“
I’m not leaving until you
understand that this wasn’t your fault and I mean that.”

“
What do you know?” I
growled as I turned to face her. I could feel the heat in my body
growing and tears forming behind my eyes. We were face to face and
despite the sweetness in her eyes I was angry. No, I was pissed
off. “None of this was supposed to happen. Cordillia wasn’t
supposed to come with me. I was never supposed to meet Robert. A
lot of people died because of me, because I screwed up,” I almost
screamed at her