Blood for Wolves

chapter 11

Night quickly grew darker, and for a while I worried I wouldn’t be able to find my way back. But the nearly-full moon and stars gave off enough light in the open field to see the dark hulking shape of the barn in the distance. I opened the door tentatively.

“Wolf?”

Huffing and panting came from the far end. I tiptoed in. Wolf paced between bales of hay, his face damp with sweat, nibbling on the end of one thumb.

“Wolf?”

His head snapped up in my direction, his eyes flashing gold, red, and then settling back to normal again.

“Oh, Caroline, it’s you.” He stretched in a way that made it look like he was uncomfortable in his own skin. He shook his collared right foot in irritation. A familiar tingle caught my attention, and this time I knew what it was. Magic. The collar around his foot was magical in some way. Maybe that was why it irritated him all the time. Did he know?

“So, did you find the little lambkin?”

I eyed him. “No, not yet. She’s still here, right?”

“Oh she is, she is. In her little bluebell dress, prancing and parading just like all the little lambs in the field, tender and soft and warm and mouth-watering.” He growled faintly.

“I think you need to lie down.”

Gold flickered in his eyes. “Do I now? Why? Because you say so? Caroline, the great studier of wolves. You know everything about us, don’t you? Should I obey?” He advanced toward me, taking a step with each thing he said. “What if I don’t? What will you do? Are you going to act like every other human out there? Yell for help? Get them to come running just like they always do?”

“Wolf,” I said, managing to keep my voice stern.

“I am not a dog, Caroline. I don’t obey commands like a mutt hoping for table scraps. I’m a wolf. I do what I please.”

A sensible person would have backed up, left him alone. But I studied wolves for a living, and I wasn’t going to roll over and show my belly on this one. If I was his mate, then I was an alpha too, damn it, and I wasn’t going to let him push me around.

“Not tonight you’re not.” I pointed at him. “You’re going to stay right here in this barn.”

Suddenly my back was against one of the horse stables, Wolf’s hands slamming into the wood on either side of me.

“Would you like to know what I did, sweet Caroline? Hmm?” His eyes flickered gold-red for a moment and he bared his teeth. I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me. “Would you like to know what got me impounded? Several months ago I went out into the farmlands. I killed two sheep and I ate them. Oh yes, I ate them.” He snapped his teeth together. “They were tasty and bloody and delicious and raw. But I was hungry, oh yes, very hungry. I hadn’t eaten in months you see. It’s hard to catch deer by yourself and sheep are stupid and hemmed in and penned in. But the farmer’s son caught me. He backed me into a corner with a scythe, calling to his family. They were going to burn me up right then and there. So what else could I do? I jumped at him, and I bit him, oh yes, I bit him good, but just on the arm, and I escaped.

“They caught me later, the black coats, indeed they did. Roped me up and locked me into a box to rot and curl up and cry and howl, set to burn along with all the other wolves in there, all of them for stealing sheep or cows or chickens or rabbits. One every day. Every day, set on fire, howling until they died, black burnt flesh that had to be peeled off the poles.”

His eyes had gone completely gold and swam with red as he talked, his breathing heavier in his anger. “Everyone always telling you what to do. Always looking over your shoulder lest you get a bolt in the back. And now you think I’m going to pay attention to you, little human ghost girl?”

I shoved him away from me with every ounce of strength I had. He snarled, but I didn’t care.

“Then why did you pick me?” I shouted in his face. “Huh? Then why did you pick some pathetic human woman like me to be your mate?”

The anger faded from his face and the yellow in his eyes dissipated. He stared at me for a few moments before squeezing his eyes shut.

“Caroline…” He doubled over, putting his hands to the sides of his head. “I didn’t… Oh it’s wrong, it’s all gone wrong!”

He bolted past, out the doors, nearly crashing into Alex as he did so.

“Hey, what the—”

I took a few seconds to recover before running after him into the night.

“What the hell is going on?” Alex yelled after me.

“Don’t worry, it’s okay,” I called back. He wouldn’t believe me. Rightly so. I didn’t even believe me. But I couldn’t let Wolf run around at night in this state. It couldn’t be safe for anyone. He’d already disappeared from sight, and fear welled up in me. I had to find him. I had to rein him in somehow. I’d just about lost hope when an unmistakable wolf howl erupted from the woods to my left, echoing through the darkness.

I followed the sound into the trees. The forest canopy blocked out most of the moonlight, only a handful of beams breaking through. I stopped to give my eyes time to adjust as much as possible. I didn’t want to stumble around blind in the dark, and I didn’t know how much time I had before it would be too dark to see anything at all. I listened hard. Far off to my left, a voice floated through the trees. The faint sensation or magic tugged at me, vaguely reminding me of the necklace and the hidden magic that held Marianne in the town. Bits of a one-sided conversation sifted through the darkness.

“What did you do……made it worse……awful…hungry………I don’t know…yes, she keeps looking……expect me….work like this…”

I trailed after the voice. Just as suddenly as it came, the strange sensation disappeared. Suspicion crept over me. A few moments later I peered around a tree and found Wolf walking around.

“Wolf, who are you talking to?”

He snapped to attention. “No one.” The he squeezed his eyes shut. “This is awful. Awful. I’m a cursed creature, that’s what I am, just like the rest of them. Can’t even control myself. Why did it have to be you? Just because you smell so good and you’re not afraid of wolves and just right and then I push you off and snarl and snap like a werewolf, just like they all think I am…”

“Are you disappointed that you chose me?” I said softly.

Even in the dim shaft of moonlight I could see his miserable face. “No,” he rasped. “It’s just…it’s wrong. It’s all wrong. The moon. It’s never this bad.”

He sank to his knees and put his hands to his face as if to hide from everything. Protecting himself from the moon. Hiding from me in shame.

I took in a deep breath and went to him. I dropped to my knees so we were face to face and gently took hold of his arms.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m here. I found you.”

He took his hands away. I touched his cheek and leaned forward to put my forehead against his.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking slightly.

“I know, don’t worry. Focus on me, okay? I don’t think you’re cursed. It’s just this place. You can’t help it.”

He pulled me close, holding on for dear life. I shushed and murmured reassuring things in his ear, stroking the back of his head. His skin was hot on mine—hotter than I’d ever felt it before. I was his anchor. The moon pulled and demanded his attention, his wolf side, but I could bring them both back down. As long as he stayed with me, he was safe.

“Come on,” I said once his breathing had calmed some, “let’s go back and get some sleep. I don’t want Alex to worry.”

“Will you stay with me?” he asked. Terror sat in his eyes, knowing that if I went away, he’d lose himself again.

“Of course I will.” I smiled at him under the moonlight. “I’m your mate, remember?”

His face lit up like I’d just said the magic words to banish the moon and its influence forever. Then it softened and he kissed my hand tenderly.

We walked back to the barn hand in hand, and I hoped Alex had enough sense to keep his mouth shut.

I awoke to sunlight streaming through the high set barn windows. Alex was stretched out on the floor across the room with his hat over his eyes in classic cowboy fashion. I had slept all night lying on Wolf, my head comfortably on his chest listening to his heart beat at least twice as fast as my own. His arms were tucked around me snugly like a child—or perhaps a dog—holding his favorite toy. I rubbed my cheek over the soft fabric of his shirt and sighed in content. Two nights of blissful sleep in a row. More than I could hope for in a place like this. Wolf shifted a little, letting out a tiny huff. I smiled. For a brief moment I wished there was no demonic magic beast, that this wasn’t a rescue mission. I wished that I’d just met a man—it was okay if he was a half-wolf—and was on vacation with him. Happy. Maybe even…

His eyes opened and for a second they flashed red before returning to their normal hazel color. My little daydream faded. He looked down on me and grinned rakishly.

“Good morning, my sweet.”

“Morning. Are you feeling a little better?”

He lifted his head and inhaled deeply. “Much better.” His hands squeezed me where they rested. He sighed, rumbling deep in his chest. “So plump and juicy and delicious. I’ll bet your heart is sweet and tender. I’m so hungry…”

I pushed myself off him immediately. “Okay then, time for breakfast. Alex!”

Alex bolted upright, his eyes still half closed. “What?”

“We need to eat.”

We kept breakfast short since I wanted to spend as much of the day as possible looking for Marianne. I focused on putting together a large meal for Wolf though. The last thing I wanted was for him to get too hungry while we were away and start wandering the fields looking for sheep.

“We’re going to the village now,” I told him while Alex peered outside. “Are you going to be good by yourself?”

He was mellower than yesterday, but mellow in a different way. He kept his head a little lower, his smile darker, more dangerous. His eyes, though they weren’t gold or red, still held an unpleasant element, as though he craved everything. I shuddered.

“Yes,” he said, his voice low and smooth as silk. He slipped his hands around my waist. “I’ll be very, very good. So good, I wouldn’t hurt a wood mouse.”

He grinned, his canines sharp in the sunlight. I wondered if the Wolf I knew was even in there somewhere. I nodded absentmindedly and patted him on the chest.

“Good. That’s…good. We’ll be back if we find anything.”

He dipped his head and inhaled again, licking my neck and then grazing his teeth over my skin. The sharp points of his fangs scraped lightly over my flesh.

I pushed him away, breathing hard, frightened and yet aroused all at once. He stared back, unblinking, running his tongue over his lips. His intensity was almost too much to bear. That it excited me was a bit disturbing.

“Be good,” I breathed. It was all I could say. Then I retreated out of the barn, sliding the lock home behind me.

For the entire day Alex and I scoured the town. We asked people about strange occurrences, anything at all that seemed out of the ordinary. No one had anything to say. We looked for tracks. We looked for strange houses, horses, or people. We’d circled the town three times by afternoon, but the town was as cozy and normal as any small town could be. The occasional sensation tugged at me, but every time I tried to focus on it, it faded away.

Alex sighed, annoyed. “There’s nothing here, Care. Are you sure she’s still in the town?”

“Wolf would have told me if she moved.” Except it seemed Wolf was no longer in full control of his senses. The full moon was tonight, though at the very least he wasn’t quite as violent as the night before. At least, so far.

Alex folded his arms, glaring at a nearby field. “Well this is just peachy. Our families don’t have any idea of where we are, we can’t find this mystery kid you’re looking for, and the crazy guy in the barn can’t be trusted.”

“He’s not crazy,” I muttered.

“Right. Sorry. Half-wolf,” Alex said, as if being a half-wolf was any better.

I stared down an alleyway. Maybe the thing had left with Marianne during the night and Wolf just wasn’t aware enough to pick up on it. Maybe the moon had affected his mind and he lied to us. Maybe…

I stomped my foot as if to physically stop myself from thinking. I was sick of doubts, doubting myself, doubting Wolf. I wanted answers; I didn’t want to run around in circles anymore.

“Marianne is here. We just aren’t looking hard enough.”

A couple started down the alleyway, slowed, circled around for a few moments before turning and walking back the way they came. Strange, I thought. The weird pull started again.

“Yeah, but I don’t think we can afford to not find her for much longer. What if this thing wakes up and takes her off again in the meantime?”

Another person, a woman, walked into the alleyway.

“We’ll just have to keep tracking her until we get her,” I said absentmindedly.

The woman turned around a few times, lost, until she walked out again.

“Real reassuring, Caroline.”

I straightened. “There’s something wrong with that alley.”

“What?”

“I just saw three people walk in there and then walk right back out again.”

“So? Alleys are dangerous.”

I wrinkled my nose at him. “In this place? During the day? And only six feet long?”

I strode toward the alley. This time an old man started to hobble through it, only to get confused and wander out again. I stopped Alex once we reached it.

“You stay here. Keep an eye on me and see what happens.”

“What kind of plan is that?”

“It just looks like it makes people decide not to go that way. If that’s true, I’ll just come back out and you can snap me out of it.”

He sighed, shifting uncomfortably.

I walked down the alleyway slowly, taking in as much detail as possible before whatever magic was at work hit me. There were two doors on the small walkway, one set into the left house and one in the right. The door on the right had a black square over it. As I drew closer, I realized the square actually had a symbol on it. White—in the shape of a shield or family crest—with a black bird spreading its wings on top of it, and something coiling around it. A snake. Finally I stopped right in front of the door and looked around confused, though not for the reason I expected.

I beckoned to Alex. “Hey, come on down here.”

He came to stand next to me and stared up at the crest. “I don’t get it.”

I shook my head slightly. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we’re not from here.”

Alex grunted. As I stared at the emblem, an image of bluebells flashed through my mind. I tentatively reached out to touch the wall beside the door.

“Caroline, don’t. You don’t want to wake anything up.”

“I don’t think it will,” I said. “I think it’s still resting.”

Alex took his crossbow from his shoulder and pointed it at the door. My fingers met the whitewashed wood. There she was, Marianne. In my mind I could see her, laying on a bale of hay, asleep, her hand clutching at the prickly grass. I gasped and backed off, letting my hand drop.

“What?” Alex glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

“She’s in there. Marianne. She’s asleep.”

“How do you know that?”

“I saw her. I don’t think this house is real. Or something about it…” I shivered. Everything felt strange in that place. “I don’t think we can open the door. I think we have to kill it.”

“Where the hell are you getting all these deductions?”

“I don’t know,” I snapped. “I don’t know. I just…. I just am.”

I could relate to Marianne in her lost state. I knew what it was like to be alone and afraid. But the old witch’s words nagged at me. “You are the Guardian.” What was going on here that I didn’t know about? Whatever the case, I still didn’t know how to open the door or deal with magic. We needed Wolf.

“All right. You stay here and keep an eye on it. I’m going to go get Wolf. He might know how to deal with this.”

“Look, I don’t exactly know what’s going on with him or between the two of you, but are you sure he’s functional enough to come out here?”

“If not then I can just ask him and come back.”

We retreated out of the alley.

“All right,” Alex said. “Go get your wolf buddy. I’ll hang out right here. Too bad the radios don’t work.”

I gave his shoulder a squeeze and ran off to the barn.