Hunter's Trail (A Scarlett Bernard Novel) (15 page)

Chapter 21

Around ten, Scarlett dozed off, and Jesse let her. He was used to the long hours of staring at nothing, and she wasn’t. Besides, she seemed like she needed the rest. The last few months were taking a toll on her. He saw it in the hollows under her eyes, the pallor of her face, not to mention the knee that was visibly swollen under her yoga pants. He suspected that her knee was worse than she was letting on, or maybe worse than she was admitting to herself. Maybe it had been selfish of him to bring her along. He could have watched Will’s house without her.

He considered driving her back to her van, but Jesse was afraid that if he did leave, even briefly, that would be the moment the nova wolf chose to dump the next body. Jesse didn’t want to miss the chance to stop him from hurting anyone else. And if the nova wolf was really so powerful, he would want Scarlett along to turn it human again.

Besides, she looked like she was finally resting now. After a while, he reached over and pulled the fleece pullover up to cover her lap better. His hand brushed Scarlett’s as he was pulling his arm back, and Jesse was startled at how cold her fingers were. He twisted the key to run the car’s heater for a while before leaning over to put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. She mumbled a sleepy thanks, tucking her hands under her arms for warmth, and he felt a rush of tenderness for her. Since first finding out about the Old World, Jesse’s experiences there had been so connected to his relationship with Scarlett that he forgot sometimes that she was technically human. She’d gone up against things that were more powerful than she was, and her very best weapon only leveled the playing field for a short time. It wasn’t fair. He pressed his lips to her hair for a moment. Then Jesse settled back to watch the entrance to Will’s house, leaving his arm still tucked around Scarlett.

Hours passed. The alpha had left his porch light on, but the little street was quiet, even on New Year’s Eve, and Jesse wondered idly if the whole street took vacations at the same time. He turned the car’s heater on whenever it got too chilly and sipped Diet Coke to keep himself awake.

By two in the morning he desperately needed to urinate and decided it was time to give up for the night. He wasn’t really surprised that they hadn’t managed to catch the nova, but he was disappointed anyway. It would have been nice to get a break in an Old World case. For once.

Jesse had already retracted his arm from Scarlett’s shoulders and was about to start the sedan when he decided he wasn’t going to make it all the way home without peeing. “Scarlett,” he said, and she made a sleepy annoyed noise at him. “Scarlett!” Jesse said again, shaking her shoulder a little.

“What?” she mumbled.

“I’m going to g
o . . .
u
h . . .
well, I’m gonna go pee in the woods real quick,” Jesse said sheepishly. “Then we should go. He’s not coming tonight.”

“
’Kay,” Scarlett replied drowsily. She hadn’t even opened her eyes.

Jesse got out of the car, leaving the keys in the ignition in case she needed to run the heater again. He circled Will’s house, heading for the trees.
It’s too quiet up here
, Jesse thought, as he relieved himself. And damned cold, for Southern California. He zipped up and stretched out his neck, feeling stiff from the long stakeout.

Because of the silence, Jesse had no trouble catching the sound of movement far off in the woods. He froze, his head still bent at an angle, and listened. It had just been a rustling, but fast, like someone had thrown a rock through the trees. Jesse had spent his whole life in the city and had no idea if this was a normal sound for the forest or not. Maybe a big bird?

But no, the sound was coming again, from somewhere lower. He thought of the nova, and his hand went to the gun on his right hip. He was carrying the nine-millimeter Glock, loaded with the silver ammunition.

Now the sound was even closer, and it seeme
d . . .
spread apart. More than one animal? Jesse peered into the woods, unnerved by the total darkness. He took a few steps backward on the lawn, back toward the lights of the house. Then he heard rustling again, much closer now. Jesse lifted his gun and took aim at the woods. Whatever it was, it was coming
fast
.

A huge wolf exploded into the clearing, and Jesse almost shot it dead on pure reflex. It was charcoal-colored from nose to tail, an efficient running machine that didn’t even slow down as it took in Jesse’s presence. He had seen wolves at the zoo, but those topped out at maybe eighty pounds. This one looked to be nearly
twice
that, and his finger instinctively tightened on the trigger. But Jesse understood immediately that if he took a shot, it would miss. The wolf was just too fast. Besides, it was moving
away
from Jesse. He wasn’t in danger, and he couldn’t be sure this was the nova.

Jesse forced himself to take a breath in and out, relaxing his hand on the gun when the second wolf burst out of the woods, and he almost fell down from the shock. This wolf had more traditional coloring: it was a dusky tan that faded down its legs into white paws. Impossibly, it was even bigger than the first, two hundred pounds or more. Jesse had a sense of immense power, of gorgeous, kinetic grace. Then he realized the new wolf was favoring one leg, and that there was a series of long rusty stripes down its body that didn’t seem natural—blood. It was bleeding.

The tan wolf paused in its chase to look at Jesse. Jesse’s stomach twisted with cold fear as the tan wolf gazed calmly at him. It wasn’t growling or anything, but it was so goddamned big that Jesse felt a rush of stupidity. What was he doing out here with this creature? He raised his gun automatically, and now the animal’s lip curled up, a growl starting in the back of its throat. Its canine teeth were enormous, almost as long as Jesse’s thumb. It moved laterally to put itself between Jesse and the charcoal wolf, which had stopped too, a few hundred feet away. With its enemy distracted, the charcoal wolf began to creep back in the direction of its pursuer.

Shit. Jesse didn’t know how intelligent the werewolves were in their other form, but it seemed like the tan wolf understood the gun. Very slowly, he put the gun back in the holster, hoping to pacify the big tan wolf, who must surely b
e . . .
Will? Jesse cursed himself for not thinking to get pictures of the wolves in the LA pack. As his gun went down, the tan wolf’s growling softened, though it kept its eyes fixed on Jesse. The charcoal wolf saw an opportunity and leapt at its pursuer with the total, determined commitment of hunters. The enormous tan wolf sensed the leap and instantly turned to meet the charcoal wolf as it crashed into him with unnatural speed and power.

The two werewolves were a blur of dark and light movement, like animal fights in those old Looney Tunes cartoons, where there was just a cloud of gray smoke and the occasional paw or tail sticking out. Jesse jumped back to avoid being trampled, trying to make out what was happening in the weak light from Will’s porch. The tan wolf was trying to protect itself, but not really attacking its smaller opponent with any seriousness. The charcoal wolf, on the other hand, was enraged, launching forward to snap at the other wolf’s legs and hindquarters. The tussle took both animals a few yards away from Jesse, and he began to edge back toward the car.

But before he’d gone very far, the wolves separated and the charcoal one let out a hacking bark of frustration. Then it froze, blinking, and Jesse was struck by how eerily human the gesture was. The werewolf had an idea. It wheeled around, snarling, and made a sudden beeline for Jesse.

“Shit!” Jesse yelled, scrabbling for his gun again. He got it out but couldn’t get the safety off before the charcoal wolf had two paws on his chest.

Jesse went down hard, instinctively dropping the gun as he brought his arms up to protect his head. He felt the werewolf’s jaws clamp down on his raised forearm in the same moment, and cried out with pain. The charcoal wolf just bit deeper.

The tan wolf hit the charcoal wolf with a rolling tackle, but the smaller wolf had a perfect lock on Jesse’s arm, and it dragged Jesse with it as it rolled, wrenching his forearm in its jaws. He screamed with the pain as he was flipped sideways, nearly landing on his attacker. The charcoal wolf slipped nimbly out from under him and stepped right onto his goddamned chest, the unexpected weight making him gasp. It never let go of his arm.

Suddenly, the sharp pop of a gunshot exploded in the night. Jesse felt the charcoal wolf’s jaw loosen its grip with surprise, and both of them looked toward the source of the sound. Scarlett was on the lawn in front of them, silhouetted against the house lights, her hand extended in the air. She had his service Beretta raised toward the sky, and was grimacing with pain. Jesse didn’t see her cane anywhere.

“What the
fuck
,” she said, her voice ragged but calm, “is going on here?”

Chapter 22

Jesse grinned with relief. Scarlett lowered the gun to her side and began limping toward them, taking little hopping steps and dragging her bad leg behind her. The charcoal wolf snarled with frustration and launched itself off Jesse, forcing a little
oof
of pain out of him as it pushed off his chest. Then it raced back toward the woods, leaving Jesse and the tan wolf alone in the yard.

Jesse staggered to his feet to go help Scarlett, but there was a sudden movement to his right, and by the time he turned his head Jesse could see a very human Will, stark naked, rolling to his feet. Without even looking at Scarlett, Will squared off opposite Jesse and demanded in a panting voice, “Did it break the skin?”

“Huh?” Jesse looked down and realized he was clutching his forearm. It throbbed with hot pain, but he didn’t see any blood. He held it up, angling himself so he could inspect the arm in the dim light. The thick leather of his jacket had caught the werewolf’s teeth—one or two had gone all the way through, leaving perfect little holes in the leather, but the shirt underneath it was okay. “No, my jacket stopped it,” he said, and Will’s shoulders sagged with relief.

It was only then that Jesse understood the alpha’s anxiety. “Wait, could
I . . .
could he have turned me into a werewolf just now?”

“She,” Will said wearily. He’d dropped down onto the lawn, sitting with his elbows propped on his knees. The shadows hid most of his body, but his nudity didn’t seem to concern him anyway. “That was Anastasia. And it’s unlikely that one bite would have changed yo
u . . .
but yeah. It was possible.”

“Oh,” Jesse said. He didn’t really know what else to say.

Scarlett took one last hopping step to Jesse and held out the gun without a word. He accepted it. A glance passed between them, and then Scarlett looked away. Jesse realized how much it must have cost her to get the gun out of the glove compartment, knowing she might have to use it against someone. “Thanks,” he said quietly. Meaning it.

Without meeting Jesse’s eyes, Scarlett looked down at the alpha. “Will, you okay?” she asked. The concern in her voice made Jesse squint at Will again. The alpha was still breathing heavily, and he had a long, shallow tear down his side that was oozing blood.

“I thought you healed when you changed form,” Jesse said stupidly.

Will smiled briefly, obviously in pain. “A normal change boosts my magic, which boosts the healing.” He tilted his head at Scarlett. “But this time she forced the change—thank you, by the way.” Scarlett nodded. “So I didn’t get the extra healing.”

“Oh,” Jesse said again, feeling like an idiot.

Will rose unsteadily to his feet. “Detective, if you would please take Scarlett inside,” he said. “The back door’s unlocked. I’ll grab some clothes and join you shortly. We can talk then.”

“Do you need help, o
r . . . 
,” Jesse began, but he noticed Scarlett trying to suppress a smile. “What?”

“He wants us to go ahead so he can heal, dummy.” Scarlett held out her arm. “Be my cane,” she commanded.

Jesse holstered his Glock, keeping his service gun in his injured right hand after making sure Scarlett had put the safety back on. His fingers could barely close tight enough to hold it. He slid his left arm around Scarlett’s waist, bending awkwardly to compensate for their height difference, and guided her through the unlocked back door, which opened right into a kitchen. It was tidy but well used, and surprisingly homey: shining hardwood floors and rustic cabin-type accents made the room feel like the kind of place where you could have a cup of coffee and share secrets. Jesse helped Scarlett to the solid oak table, which was clearly used hard, often and lovingly. When she was settled in a chair, he went back out to put the Beretta away in his car’s glove compartment, retrieving Scarlett’s cane from where she’d dropped it just outside the sedan.

“How’s your arm?” Scarlett asked him when he returned. She looked shaky and a little pale.

“It’ll be sore as hell tomorrow, but I don’t think she broke it.” He took the chair next to hers and held open his good left hand. She took it without a word, wrapping both of her hands around his.

They sat in silence for another moment, and then Will entered the kitchen, dressed in jeans and a simple blue pullover. Scarlett drew her hands back into her lap. If Will saw it, he didn’t comment.

“Did you guys want anything to drink?” he said tiredly. “Coffee, beer, water?” They both accepted a glass of water, and Jesse took a long gulping drink from his, feeling dehydrated after all the soda.

“What happened tonight?” Scarlett said to Will. “Why did Anastasia attack you?”

Will sighed heavily. He showed no signs of injury now, but he still had the strung-out weariness that Jesse had noticed earlier. He sat down in an empty seat next to Scarlett.

“It wasn’t our most constructive pack meeting,” he muttered.

“You met with them
tonight
?” Scarlett asked, raising her eyebrows quizzically. “On New Year’s Eve?”

Will shrugged, wincing at the movement. “You saw how things have been; it couldn’t wait. The bar started clearing out a little after midnight, so I just put out the
Closed
sign and told the pack to meet in the woods.” He tilted his head in the direction of the national park that met his backyard. “There’s a clearing about a mile in, which we consider the beginning of the pack’s territory in the park. That’s where we start to run on full moon nights.”

“Why not just meet here at the house?” Scarlett asked.

Will hesitated, searching for words. “We don’
t . . .
we try not to have too much conflict here, partly because the house is a place of peace, and partly so if someone loses their shit, they’ll be far away from humans. If it seems like there’s going to be some kind of big argument, we go out in the woods.”

“What happened at the meeting?” Jesse asked.

“There was a lot of tension,” Will admitted. “I tried to explain that Eli was unavailable without going into too much detail. Some of them believed me, I think, or just didn’t care either way. Eli’s made calls to them, but Ana’s got them all stirred up that he’s being forced to lie or something. She’s got half of them convinced about this cure, and we kept arguing, getting nowhere. Finally she challenged me to a fight for alpha.”

Jesse’s jaw dropped, and he saw Scarlett looking just as incredulous. “Bu
t . . . 
,” Scarlett began. “I mean, Ana’s not a delicate flower or anything, but did she actually think she could
win
?”

“No,” Will said flatly. “Ana’s not stupid. Even if I wasn’t the alpha, I could take her. This wasn’t about winning, though. She knew I wouldn’t kill her, so she put me in a position to look bad. If I refused the challenge, I was weak. If I fought her, I was beating up on a weakling.”

“That’s kind of brilliant,” Jesse observed.

“Yes, it is,” Will said matter-of-factly. “So I told her I would fight, but the rest of the pack had to stay human, so they couldn’t interfere. And as soon as we changed I moved the fight away from them.” He shrugged. “I was going to just let her tire herself out, and then change back and try to have a serious conversation with her. But she went after you.”

“Why?” Scarlett asked. “I thought you guys didn’t usually attack humans. I mean, Jesse hadn’t, like, cornered her.”

“No,” Will agreed. “I suspect it was a calculation. She figured she’d either distract me enough for her to really hurt me, or she’d kill Jesse, which would hurt you.”

“Oh,” Scarlett said in a small voice. Without looking at him she reached over and grabbed his good hand again. Jesse wasn’t sure she even knew she’d done it. He squeezed her hand briefly and didn’t let go.

“Things are getting worse,” Jesse said quietly.

“Yes,” the alpha agreed. “And it’s only going to
get
worse the closer we are to the full moon.”

“What happens then?” Jesse asked, alarmed. His stomach was already churning from the adrenaline and soda, and the anxiety wasn’t helping.

“The nova will
have
to change again,” Will explained. “We all will.”

And he’ll attack more women
,
Jesse realized.

Will was looking back and forth between the two of them. “I take it the stakeout was unsuccessful.”

“Yeah,” Jesse acknowledged. “It was a long shot anyway.”

“What else have you come up with?” Will asked tiredly. “I noticed Terrence Whittaker was limping badly tonight. Do you know anything about that?”

“U
h . . .
yea
h . . . 
,” Jesse said uneasily. “About that.”