Bad Wolf (4 page)

Chapter Seven

The
sun blazed across the cabin and the nearby woods. Naked forms spilled out from
between the trees, some stumbling on tired legs while others bounded with fresh
energy. Nikki padded gingerly behind the throng, her body a jumbled mass of
delicious aches. Her pussy throbbed from the outcome of the vigorous game of
chase along with the numerous times Zane woke her up with his mouth or hands.
Her nipples felt pleasantly swollen, and she knew she not only reeked of sex
but looked as though she’d spent the entire night fucking her brains out…which
is exactly what she and Zane had done.

“You
keep walking like that, and we won’t make it to the cabin.” Zane strode
silently to her side.

“Walking
like what?”

“Your
ass is swaying in a most enticing way.”

Nikki
playfully punched Zane on the shoulder. “Does everything remind you of sex?
Never mind, don’t answer that.”

Zane
grinned. “What can I say? You bring out the animal in me. Literally.”

“I’m
not unique in that respect.” Nikki knew Zane had fucked every female in the
pack at some time or another with the exception of maybe one new cub. It didn’t
bother her because she knew physical attraction and lust did not equal love or
commitment.

Zane
stopped and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. “Make no mistake,
Nik. You affect me like no other. Sure, I enjoy having fun with some of the
other girls in the pack, but that’s all it is.”

“I
know that now, Zane. You don’t have to reassure me.” She put her palm flat
against his chest, and she could feel his heart beating beneath it. “As long as
this is mine, I don’t have a problem sharing this.” Her other hand curled
around his semi-erect shaft.

Zane
leaned in and kissed her, his lips pressing gently against hers. “Always.”

For
a brief moment, Nikki considered playing with his cock in her hand but thoughts
of Sara intruded. If she got Zane so aroused that he wanted one last round
before they left the cabin, she would give Sara an opening to challenge her.
She wanted to usurp the bitch but only when she felt she was ready.

“Come
on big boy. If I don’t hurry up and get back to civilization, I’m going to be
late for work.”

“You
just had to be different and have a day job.”

“Well
some of us do have to work for a living.”

Zane
smirked and swatted her on the ass. “Not for much longer you won’t.”

Nikki
opened her mouth to ask what exactly he meant by that, but they had reached the
cabin, and Rachel met them at the door.

“Here
Nik, I brought your clothes. Thought you might want to get dressed out here. I
know you’re in a rush to get to work.”

From
the look on Rachel’s face, she thought Sara must be almost done with her duties
with the new cub. Especially when Rachel shoved the clothes into Nikki’s hands
with enough force to push her backward.

Zane
glanced back and forth at the two ladies, an eyebrow raised in question, but he
remained silent. Nikki shoved her legs into pants and arms into a shirt and
gathered the rest of her belongings. “I’ll put my shoes on in the car. If I
don’t get moving, I won’t have time for a shower, and that would not be a good
thing.”

Zane
laughed. “I can just see you going to work in the condition you’re in. Everyone
would know exactly what you’ve been up to all weekend. Well, not everything,
but enough.”

Nikki
smacked him on the arm before grabbing his head to plant to big kiss on his
lips. “I’ll see you later.”

She
bounded down the pathway to her Jeep and threw her stuff in the passenger seat.
“Rach, you coming soon?” she hollered as she climbed in.

“Yep,
just as soon as I grab my stuff.”

“Okay,
see you at home.”

On
the drive down the mountain, Nikki thought about the days until the next
weekend at the cabin. Since Sara lived in the same apartment building, she knew
she had to remain vigilant. Sara wouldn’t be stupid enough to defy pack law and
challenge her while they were in a human populated area, but she would do
whatever she could to make Nikki’s existence miserable until the next
gathering. Zane would be the only buffer, and she couldn’t expect him to
interfere too much as long as Sara remained the legal alpha female.

Chapter Eight

 “Rach,
I’m home!” Nikki bounded through the door of their shared apartment, the
delicious ache of the repeated fucking of the weekend still felt between her
legs. The cuts and scrapes obtained during the game she played with Zane had
already healed, but the soreness in her pussy remained. “Rach?” Nikki walked
through the apartment to Rachel’s room. “No…NO!” she screamed as she entered
the room and saw the empty closet and the drawers hanging open, their contents
gone.

Her
grief overrode her senses, so she didn’t smell or hear Zane as he came up
behind her. “Shh,” he murmured as he gathered her into his arms.

“Not
Rach, please tell me it’s a mistake.” Tears rolled down Nikki’s cheeks.

“I’m
sorry, Nik. I’m so sorry.”

“Who?
Who challenged her?”

“Sara.”

Nikki
jerked upward, pulling her head from Zane’s shoulder. Her voice shook with
grief. “What? But why would…nevermind, I know why she would. She did it to get
to me didn’t she? She’s trying to provoke me.”

“I
think it’s more than that, Nik. She knows she can’t beat you in a fair fight,
so I think she’s trying to rattle you. If she can knock you off-balance, then
she has a better chance.”

“How
did happen? Rachel was supposed to be leaving right after I did.”

“Sara
ambushed her on the way to her car. She hid behind a nearby tree and landed on
Rachel as she was opening her car door. By the time she managed to change, it
was too late. Too much damage had already been done. I don’t think she even got
a hit in.”

“That
bitch! It wasn’t a fair fight!”

“But
well within pack rules, Nik. You know that. We must be aware of our
surroundings at all times. Danger is a constant companion for people like us.
Rachel should have sensed her coming, but she didn’t. By pack law, since Sara
got first contact while Rachel was still in human form, she didn’t have to back
off and wait for her to change.”

“It’s
a horrible rule!”

“Maybe,
but now some of the newer cubs will be more aware of what’s going on around
them. They see it as a warning.”

“You
know as well as I do that Sara didn’t do it as a warning for the cubs.”

“I
know, but she broke no laws within the pack. There’s nothing I can do.”

“But
I can.” Nikki pushed away from Zane, but before she could reach the door, his
hand closed over her wrist.

“Stop.”
Zane’s voice lowered in warning.

“She
was my best friend, Zane. I can’t just let it go.”

“I
don’t expect you to, but there’s a time and place for it. You can’t challenge
her here. You know that. Any aggression you show towards her until you can
formally challenge her will be seen as insubordination against the alpha
female, and she’ll punish you for it, and she’ll be well within her rights to
do so. As it is, she’s going to do everything she can to make your life
miserable until the next gathering.”

Nikki
screamed in frustration and then dissolved into tears as Zane drew her into his
arms once more. He held her tight and let her mourn the loss of her friend
until her sobs quieted, and her body stilled.

“I
hate her, Zane. She will pay for this.”

“I
know she will. In the meantime, you must hold onto your temper. She’s going to
do anything she can to goad you into exploding, so she can do more than just
have fun with your body. Don’t let her do that.”

“I’ll
try, but it’s not going to be easy.”

Chapter Nine

Nikki
knelt and placed flowers on her friend’s grave. Since Rachel had no family, and
no other friends outside the pack to question her disappearance, she had been
buried on pack land near the cabin. Nikki hated the fact no service had been
held and no stone marked the grave, but it was the pack way. Only members with
family or friends outside the pack received a traditional burial. Those deaths
were usually explained away as a wild animal attack. Luckily for the pack, very
few of them had family, so the official burials were few and far between and
had not attracted the attention of the authorities.

“I’m
going to make her pay for this, Rach. She’s going to die a slow and painful
death. She doesn’t deserve mercy.” Tear drops slid down her skin and dripped
onto the fresh turned earth that marked the grave. “I know she’s going to make
my life hell until then, but she’s already done her worst. Nothing she can do
now would ever be worse than taking you away. She screwed up and used her trump
card first. You were right when you said she doesn’t fight smart. She doesn’t
deserve to be alpha. She’s too damned stupid.”

The
wind brushed against Nikki’s face and brought with it an unfamiliar scent. A
concentrated sniff brought the scent back and identified it. Blood. Human
blood. “What the hell?” Nikki jumped to her feet and ran in the direction of
the scent, sniffing as she went to remain on the right track. When she reached
the source of the scent, anger boiled inside her. Lying unconscious on a bed of
leaves was a naked young woman. Scratches filled with blood and dirt marred her
alabaster skin. Several ragged holes oozed blood on her shoulder. Nikki knew
she’d find matching holes on the woman’s back. “Shit.”

***

“We’ve
got a rogue wolf.” Zane paced back and forth across Nikki’s living room.

“You
think?”

“You
forget your place,” growled Sara. “You will be punished for your insolence.”

Zane
whirled to face Sara. “It will be my decision to punish Nikki if I see fit. Her
insolence was directed at me, not you. It seems she isn’t the only one who
forgets her place.” Sara rocked back in her seat as if the words were an actual
blow. “Besides, we have more important things to worry about.”

Adam
burst through the door. “What’s this about an attack? It seems like the entire
building is congregated in the lobby, and they are all talking about it.”

“Nikki
found her up by the cabin. The girl can’t be more than 21.” Zane leaned against
the door frame the separated the living room from the kitchen.

“Bit?”

“Oh
yeah. Huge one on her shoulder.”

“Any
ideas?”

“Either
it’s a wolf from another pack or a lone one poaching on our territory, which I
doubt, or it’s one of our own gone rogue. I hate to say it, but my guess is
it’s one of us. The closest pack is over a hundred miles away, and there
haven’t been any reports of any lone wolves around. It’s too big a coincidence
for the attack to have happened on our land. It’s got to be someone from the
pack.”

“But
no one is missing.” Nikki volunteered from her spot on the couch. “Aren’t
rogues usually easy to identify?”

“When
they follow the usual pattern, yes,” answered Zane. “Rogue wolves are usually
the result of blood lust or a mental break down. We don’t have anyone in the
group who fits that pattern. The symptoms from both always show up long enough
before a meltdown for us to intervene.”

Adam
perched on the arm of the couch. “So we have a killer in our midst?”

Chills
raced down Nikki’s spine. Rachel’s words from the weekend came back to her.
For
her, it’s all about the kills.

“Did
you think of something, Nikki?”

Nikki
glanced over at Sara, her eyes glittering as she waited for an answer.

“No.
I don’t have any idea who could have done it.” Nikki thought she saw a flicker
of something in Sara’s eyes but it was gone before she could figure out what it
was. Had Sara lost control and attacked that girl? Or had she done it simply
for the fun of it? Nikki didn’t know the answer, but she felt it in her bones
that Sara was the one responsible. “I’m going to go check on her. She’s got to
come around soon, and she’s going to be scared when she does.”

Nikki
felt a pang of sadness as she entered the room that used to belong to her best
friend. The injured young woman lay upon Rachel’s old bed. They had called in a
doctor who knew preternatural creatures existed and could be depended upon to
keep their affairs confidential. He examined the victim and declared she would
be fine once she regained consciousness. Of course, she’d become one of them
because of the bite, but there was nothing to be done about that now.

She
sat on the bed beside the girl and brushed tawny hair away from her forehead.
If the young woman was twenty-one, she wasn’t much younger than Nikki. At
twenty-five, Nikki would be considered by most people to still be too young to
know much about the world. Unfortunately, Nikki knew more than she wished she
did. Had her sire been a member of most existing packs, he would have been put
to death immediately for biting Nikki. Instead, he was the alpha of his own
pack, and therefore, set his own rules. Most packs prohibited turning a minor,
and a small number were beginning to prohibit turning anyone who didn’t
consent. Her sire’s pack followed none such rules. She had been bitten at the
tender age of thirteen.

Her
sire had been a horrible alpha, and the pack suffered because of it. The
numbers dwindled quicker than they could be replenished, and eventually only
she and he remained. They moved from their home in search of another pack he
could dominate, which lead to him challenging Zane. Her sire made the mistake
of thinking he could defeat Zane because he was younger than most alphas. Zane
killed him in the fight, which automatically meant any of his pack now belonged
to Zane. In the space of two years, Nikki had risen through the ranks without
having to kill anyone. She had also learned how a true alpha ran his pack. Zane
was tough, but he was also honorable.

The
girl stirring brought Nikki out of her reverie. Her eyes fluttered open, and
she shrank away from Nikki. When the girl opened her mouth, Nikki knew by the wild
look in her eyes a scream was seconds away.

“Shh,
it’s okay. You’re safe.” Nikki gently stroked the young woman’s arm, and
instead of screaming, she simply whimpered. “My name is Nikki.”

“Where
am I?”

“You’re
at my apartment. I found you out by the cabin and brought you here.”

“Why
here? Why didn’t you take me to the hospital?” The woman’s voice rose an octave
as fear gripped her. “I was attacked by an animal. Couldn’t you see I needed
help?”

“It’s
okay.” Nikki continued to stroke her arm in an effort to calm her. “I’ll
explain everything to you, soon. I promise. What’s your name?”

“Misha.”

“Okay
Misha, I know you’re scared, but I need you to try and remain calm. Look at
your arms. What do you see?”

“I…there’s
just dirt. How can that be? There were long, deep gashes! I saw them!”

“I
know. But you heal faster now.”

“What
do you mean?”

Nikki
sighed. This part was always tricky. Very few cubs actually believed it when
they were first told. Most had to be held against their will until the first
change, when they had no choice but to believe. It made things difficult to say
the least.

“I
know you aren’t going to believe me, but you need to keep an open mind. The
animal that attacked you wasn’t an ordinary animal.”

“It
was a wolf. I saw it. What’s not ordinary about a wolf?”

“Was
it the same size as a normal wolf?”

“Well,
I don’t remember, but I’m sure it was.”

Nikki
shook her head. The rationalizing had already begun. No matter what the girl
had actually seen, her brain was going to tell her it couldn’t be true, and it
was going to fill in the blanks with something more rational.

“I
don’t think so, Misha. If you think real hard, you’ll remember this one was
larger than normal. Wasn’t it?”

“I
don’t know. Maybe. But so what?”

“It
wasn’t a normal wolf, Misha. It was a werewolf.”

Misha
sat up suddenly. “A werewolf?” She laughed derisively. “You’re crazy, lady.
There’s no such thing as werewolves.”

Nikki’s
hand tightened on Misha’s arm to keep the young woman from springing out of the
bed. “I’m not crazy, Misha. Werewolves are real. I should know. I am one…and so
are all of the people who live in this building.”

Misha
attempted to pull her arm free from Nikki’s grasp, but the young cub’s strength
was no match. “Let me go.”

“I’m
sorry, Misha, but I can’t do that. Until you go through the change once, you
won’t be able to control yourself. It’s too dangerous to allow you to be among
regular people right now. You have to learn how to reign in the beast within
you.”

“You
can’t keep me here against my will!”

“I’m
afraid we have no choice. The pack is responsible for you now. I found you on
our land, so it had to be one of us who bit you. I promise we will find out who
did it and when we do, that person will be held accountable. It’s against pack
law to turn anyone against their wishes.”

Misha
tugged against Nikki’s grip once again. “Please let me go. I just want to go
home.”

Nikki
felt a tug at her heart. She hated the lost look new cubs had. “I’m so sorry,
Misha, but this is how it has to be.”

The
bedroom door opened and Zane strode through.

Misha
looked toward him, her eyes pleading. “This crazy lady won’t let me go. She’s
talking about werewolves and crap. She wants to keep me hostage!”

Zane
smiled and gently caressed Misha’s check. “Sorry little cub, but Nikki’s
telling you the truth.” Before Misha could make another sound, Zane pulled the
hypodermic needle from behind his back and stabbed it into Misha’s arm. The
young woman’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell back onto the bed.
“Adam!”

Adam
strolled into the room and nodded at his alpha. He knew the drill. He loped
over to the bed and scooped up the young woman and carried her from the
bedroom. He would make sure she was comfortable in the holding room before he
left her.

Nikki
slumped back against the headboard. “Oh, Zane, this is awful!”

“I
know, but we’re doing what we have to do. It’s been awhile since we’ve had a
non-consensual bite, but at least those were from wolves not in our pack.”

Nikki
ran her fingers through her hair. “You’re not going to like this, but I have a
gut feeling I know who did this.”

Zane
grimaced. “Yeah. I bet I know who you think it is because I’ve got that same
funny feeling. She can’t be doing it herself though. I didn’t smell her on the
girl.”

“Why,
Zane? Why would she do this? Why now? And how is she doing it?”

“Honestly,
I think it’s been coming for awhile. With every challenge and every kill she’s
gotten hungrier for blood and power. I think killing Rachel was enough to throw
her over the edge. If you hadn’t shown up to Rachel’s grave, I’m afraid Misha
wouldn’t be alive right now. She’s come across a rogue wolf somehow. I don’t
know how she’s managed to entice him or her into attacking people for her, but
I still have a gut feeling she’s behind it.”

“Damn
her! The attack on Rachel was bad enough, but this just takes the cake. I hate
this! We can’t prove she is the one behind who attacked Misha, so nothing to
can be done right now to stop her.”

“Sara
might be unbalanced, but she’s not stupid. I don’t think she’s going to orchestrate
an attack on anyone else right now. She knows we’ll be on the lookout for the
rogue. We always send out regular patrols after something like this happens.
She’ll sit back and wait until things calm down.”

“It
will be time for the next gathering by then.”

“Probably.”

“Then
I need to get busy. I have no choice now but to challenge her at the next
gathering. I can’t wait anymore for her to come after me. I can’t take the
chance of another innocent either losing the life they are used to or losing it
permanently because I was too chicken to stand up and fight.”

Zane
nodded. “You know I can’t officially take sides against the alpha-female, but I
will do what I can. I’ll let Adam know you want some extra training since you
were the one who found Misha, in case you happen to run into any trouble. He
can help you fine tune your attack and defense skills. I know you can beat her,
but Adam is good at helping you expect the unexpected, and that can be a plus
with someone like Sara.”

He
reached out and grabbed Nikki’s hand and pulled her off the bed and into his
arms. “Just remember what I told you after Rachel’s death. She’s going to be
looking for any excuse to punish you. Please try to watch your mouth around her
and avoid her as much as possible.”

“Don’t
worry, I will.”