Indigo Moon (34 page)

Such casual cruelty scared her. Patrick and the young man with the crushed chest had been working for this unknown pursuer. Failure was obviously not an option in that pack. Failure equaled death. An unpleasant, painful death.

A small part of Isabelle felt sorry for Patrick. The air hung heavy with his failings and his ultimate terror. He had been no better or worse than any of the young runaways Ren had helped. Though now it seemed he had never been in her pack at all, but owned by some other Were. A much deadlier master.

Isabelle shook the sadness from herself. The setting sun still warmed her fur and her trail scents. The breeze was timid tonight. It would be a fine evening for tracking. She burrowed under the scent of Patrick and his short brutal life, and found Hope, Joey, and Mouse. Good smells, den smells. The sunset glowed brighter for her because of these scents. Her heart was filled with eagerness and she bounded into the trees to follow them, always aware of the darker, deadlier scent that fell between her and friends. Their predator had a head start and was following them, too.

*

“There’s more coming in from the south. From Lost Creek direction,” Robért reported. “Amelie has been tracking them since noon.”

“How many?” Marie barked.

“Three, so far.”

Marie swung around to face Ren.

“More of yours?” Her tone was hard. It was clear her trust was wearing thin. Ren shook her head.

“I came with Godfrey. No one else.” These had to be Luc’s rogues. Maybe even Luc herself, except she’d be surprised if Luc entered this valley so openly. Her sister was stealthy. You didn’t know Luc was there until she bit.

Ren kept quiet, even though she knew her silence was aggravating.

“This valley’s like a thoroughfare today,” Marie groused at Robért. “Help Amelie corral them toward the compound. Then we’ll see what we’ve got.”

“I’ll send her some backup.” Robért excused himself.

“You think it’s your sister, don’t you?” Marie said.

Ren shrugged. “I can’t see her wanting to return here. Little Dip holds no good memories for us.”

“It holds you. And
you
stole from her,” Marie said. In the wolven world that was reason enough for a fight to the death.

“Tell me about Isabelle.” Marie’s demand was not to be ignored. Ren shifted uncomfortably. She did not want this. She did not need to be judged, especially by the Garouls.

“When she arrived in Bella Cool we both liked her.” She held Marie’s eye, Alpha to Alpha. “I met her through her aunt and was captivated quite quickly. It became clear that Isabelle liked me back. But Luc…Luc wanted her, too, I think because she knew Isabelle was special to me. Luc can be very competitive and she’s used to getting what she wants. When it became clear Isabelle preferred me, then Luc decided it would be fun to give me a little gift…”

“So she sired a mate for you?” Connie, Marie’s partner, spoke for the first time. Her tone was incredulous. Ren stiffened.

“I didn’t ask for this. I tried to stop it, but I was too late. Isabelle had already been infected. Luc wasn’t happy that I took her plaything away before she was finished.”

“Finished? How bad was the attack?” Marie wanted to know.

“Luc clawed her and the infection started. But later…later I bit her, and reopened the wound. I pushed her deeper into it. I made her mine.” Ren’s vice was flint hard. She dared them to challenge her claiming back her mate.

“I remember you both as cubs.” Marie’s voice was softer. “Luc was very strong-willed, very wild.”

Ren’s smile was so bitter she could almost taste it on her lips. “So was I.”

“Luc was cruel,” Marie said bluntly. “I don’t sense cruelty in you. I smell strength and loyalty, and compassion, even. You’re an Alpha, aren’t you?”

“I have a small pack. They’re very young.”

“How young?” Now Claude spoke. His face darkened. “Why are you making a pack with young people? That’s crazy.”

“More gifts?” Marie asked.

Marie had seen through her. Ren stood rigid; anger pulsed from her.

“I was in veterinary college for years after our parents died. Luc stayed at home and ran the farm. It wasn’t until I came back that I realized how feral she had become. She had moved out and taken permanently to the woods. I let her be, but over time she got it into her head that I was lonely. She began bringing me presents. Kids on the run she had found and…changed—”

“Attacked, you mean,” Connie said. “Luc is feral. She’s out of control.”

Ren fell silent. Unease rolled off her. She hated exposing herself and her sister to their scrutiny. Luc
was
out of control, but she did not want her hunted down like an animal. She wanted Luc to have a chance. Ren believed her ferine behavior could change. She refused to believe Luc was lost to her forever.

“Don’t judge her. You were the ones who sent us away. What did you think would happen to cubs without pack guidance?”

“My mother made the correct decision at the time.” Marie’s response was measured. “Your parents were to keep contact. There was a support network here for them. They knew that, and used it when you were younger.”

“Our parents died and Luc followed her natural inclinations. She grew weary of fighting it.”

“And her inclination is to attack humans? These young people,” Marie said. “What happened to them?”

Claude bristled and Connie glared. It was not good. Ren reasoned there would be no help for her here. She had blown her chances by telling the truth about Luc and her own sorry life. She took a deep breath. She might as well leave and look for Isabelle on her own. She had wasted enough time on this futile quest.

“I don’t need this—” Her answer was cut short by Robért’s return.

“Marie! You need to come see this. Amelie has arrived with the intruders.”

Ren moved to the front porch with the others. From the back of the small crowd she blinked in amazement at the scene before her. Godfrey joyfully swung a dark-haired woman into in his arms in a massive hug. Beside them Joey sat hunkered on the dirt, a huge shaggy pile of golden fur. He looked around with great interest, idly scratching a scab on his belly. Mouse sat curled up against him, a tight ball of nervous dissatisfaction. Her ears flattened, and her eyes darted left and right, looking for an escape.

A crowd of curious Garouls crowded around the arrivals, much to Mouse’s hissed consternation. Joey, on the other hand, loved the attention. His tongue lolled out in a friendly leer for everyone.

“Amelie. Get them some water,” Claude said.

A young woman approached with a jug of water. Mouse spat like a cat, while Joey happily gulped down the drink and burped his appreciation.

“Mouse! Joey!” Ren ran to them. They lurched to their feet, yelping in delight, and leaned into her. Mouse clung to her leg, and Joey squashed her in a joyous bear hug.

“It seems they’re yours, after all?” Marie joined her, taking a closer look at the newcomers.

“I left them in Canada. I’ve no idea how they arrived here.” Ren was mystified. She kept touching and stroking them. She ran her fingers through their fur, pressing her face into their necks and breathing them in with great big gulps of homesickness.

“Patrick’s responsible.” The woman who had arrived with them approached her. “Patrick kidnapped Mouse, and Joey came after her. He ended up rescuing us both.” She held out her hand in welcome. “Hi, you must be Ren. I’ve heard so many good things about you. I’m Hope, and these are two of the best and bravest Weres I know.”

Joey’s chest puffed, and Mouse peeped out from behind Ren’s leg to acknowledge the praise.

“Compliments indeed,” Marie told Ren. “Take them to your cabin. We’ll find them some clothes. It’s been a long and eventful journey, and I expect to hear all about it over supper.”

There was a warning in her voice. Ren caught her eye and realized the Garoul Alpha meant to have her answers. It was decision time. Her request for help would either be accepted or rejected this nightfall. Ren led her wards away, Joey loping at her side and Mouse still clinging to her waist. She could scarcely believe they were here but was thrilled to see them. She missed her pack and her home den, and wanted more than anything to hear Mouse and Joey’s story.

*

“And Hope wouldn’t let me bite him. She said Ren got to have first bite and I said that was okay but I got to bite him next.” Mouse stopped to draw breath and stuff more venison in her mouth.

“And I carried Hope all the way here on my back and ran real fast,” Joey said.

“But it was my idea, so we could go quicker because Hope is so slow because she has only one eye.” Mouse was not going to be outdone.

“And she threw her eye at Patrick and he screamed and I hit him with a rock.”

“I told them that already!” Mouse barked at him.

“Okay, you two. Enough.” Marie laughed. They were sitting outdoors by a blazing fire pit. A huge table was laid out before them, covered from one end to the other with food. Any Garoul who was not on guard duty had come by to share in the meal. It seemed everyone was mesmerized by the young guests. Their adventures were truly amazing.

“So this is your pack?” Marie turned to Ren, utterly charmed.

“About fifty percent of it.” Ren looked across the table at Joey and Mouse, still barely believing they were safe and sound and sitting before her. A quick call to Jenna on Marie’s phone had assured her all was under control at the farm. Jenna was delighted to hear Mouse had been found. It had been a tense week. Ren hung up content all was well in Singing Valley; she knew she could depend on Noah and Jenna. They were a more than capable couple.

“There are two more at the farm,” she said to Marie. “Luc brings these kids to me when they grow ill. She doesn’t know how to tend them through the werefever.”

“But you did. You helped them survive,” Marie said.

Ren nodded. “I have the almanac Grandma Sylvie gave my mother. I use the recipes in it, but it’s outdated.”

“Is it some sort of experimentation?” Connie asked quietly, so that Mouse and Joey did not overhear. “Why does Luc do it? She must realize the survival rate is low, if nonexistent.”

“At first I thought it was because she wanted a pack of her own. But after a while it reminded me of a cat bringing home half-dead prey. Luc was proud of her presents; it took her a while to understand something was wrong. Too many weren’t surviving.”

“How many? Can you guess?” Marie asked.

Ren felt sad at her answer. “No. Most died before they reached me. Luc lives near Lonesome Lake. She has no pack with her, as far as I know. She lives alone.”

“Why is she after Isabelle?” Hope asked. “She tracked her all around Portland, trailed her to my house, and then chased her all the way out here.”

“I think because she knew I…” Ren cleared her throat. After all Hope had been through, she deserved the truth. “Because Isabelle is very special to me. I wanted to get to know her more, but she had to go back to Portland after her vacation was over. We agreed to keep in touch, but Luc laughed at the idea. She said I should just take what I wanted. I disagreed.” She looked at Joey and Mouse eating their dinner and chatting happily with the younger Garouls. They were healthy and happy and proved that good things could come out of bad. “So she attacked Isabelle…for me. Because she knew I would never do it for myself. And she knew how much I loved her.”

What else was there to say? The damage was done. Luc had taken the small pack hunting. Not an unusual thing to do. They had to learn. She had led them straight into the path of Isabelle’s car, and then, with Patrick’s help, it became another sort of hunt altogether. By the time Ren had arrived, Isabelle had been mauled and infection had set in. All she could do was help her fight the fever and hope that when Isabelle emerged as wolven she would accept Ren for a mate. It was a skewed and ill-conceived courtship, and Ren had moved too fast with her own needs. She had bitten Isabelle during their lovemaking to try to force their bond. She had been frightened Luc’s poisonous touch would skew Isabelle’s affections in some way. She had been insecure and greedy, and Isabelle had run from her. Now she had to find her before her wolfskin grew and she mutated. It would be a painful and terrifying ordeal for Isabelle to go through with help, never mind on her own.

And she definitely had to find her before Luc did. If she could save Isabelle, maybe she would be forgiven. Maybe they could start again. It was all Ren had to hope for.

“So Luc wants to find Isabelle and bring her back to you?” Hope asked.

Ren shook her head. “Luc wants to kill her.”

The meal was over and Ren had ordered her cubs to go and rest. This was the time for strategy, to ask outright for help, and she didn’t want the youngsters to overhear her plans. They moved to Marie’s cabin to talk over the situation.

“Isabelle went after Hope, so there’s a good chance she’s still on Hope’s trail. Perhaps she’ll find her way to Little Dip, too?” Godfrey said.

“If she’s following me then she’ll walk straight into Patrick and his gang. I’m not sure how many there are of them. We counted three at the Lucky Seven,” Hope said.

“Four,” Godfrey corrected her. “Remember the big black one that ran across the road as we left the parking lot. It was humongous.”