Un.Bridled (Claimed Series #2) (24 page)

Rogues were just as disruptive as Hunters were, if not more.

“Judging from the tracking in the snow, only one rogue was responsible for this,” Cole declared from behind her. “And it wasn’t an uncontrollable rogue. He knew exactly what he was doing.”

“How do you figure?” Hayden asked hollowly.

“The bodies.”
Dark eyes surveyed the mass grave. “He scented every last human in town and hunted them down. He dragged them all here, into the town square in order to display them. Perhaps he knew we would be coming through, perhaps this was simply a result of his own intentions.”

Cole’s words were almost as dead as Hayden’s were. There were lines across his face, lines that shouldn’t have aged him the way they did.

“I have my suspicions that Evan was responsible for this.”

“Evan?”

“The rogue who marked you.”

She rounded on him, furious. “You said you didn’t know who attacked me!”

Cole was hardly affected by her anger, if anything, his pain only seemed to deepen. “I had my suspicions when you told me about your encounter with him. And after coming across
this,
my suspicions were confirmed.” He watched Hayden, as if he were curious to see how she would handle the information given to her. “When I found you, I noticed his tracks were heading north.”

Evan.
Hayden tested the name, wondering what sort of man would commit mass murders like this. Judging from the crazy sparkle in his eyes when he had fought with Hayden, she figured it shouldn’t have come to a surprise. He had seemed mad, deranged.

Cole read her mind. “He’s a sadist, much like Nicolas, only far more unhinged. He’s a dangerous man who has loose morals and principles. He only knows what amuses him and what bores him. It’s why I don’t want you going after him alone.”

She looked down and away from his pointed stare, unable to promise anything. The way Evan had humiliated her and killed Rachel was still so fresh in her mind, revenge outweighed any sort of compliance Cole wanted to coercion from her.

“He called Nicolas his Alpha,” she started, “but he didn’t seem particularly faithful. Is this massacre part of Nicolas’ orders or is it part of Evan’s
fun
?”

Apparently, Nicolas was
Siring more humans, but she couldn’t imagine him condoning something like
this.
Unless, of course, she really was a fool for trying to see Nicolas in a good light. Maybe he was no better than Evan.

Cole grunted darkly. “As I said, Evan has loose morals. He only respects Nicolas as a superior fighter and a man who is driven to create organized chaos. I cannot say if this was predetermined or a simple whim of his.”

Hayden opened her mouth, but shut it abruptly. She detected a faint thumping sound, faint enough to overlook, yet frantic and somehow rhythmic. It possessed a deep, bottomless tenor, something that was unmistakable to her wolf’s ears.

Quickly looking down at the man at her feet, she stared at him in horror. “He’s still alive,” she whispered breathlessly. Her eyes traced the bloody and open wound across his throat. No human could have survived that.

But she had once, those many nights ago at her aunt’s property in Montana.

Hayden looked at Cole, seeing her confused distress mirrored back at her. His eyes then sharpened and narrowed as they stared over her head. At first, Hayden thought he’d seen an enemy in the outskirts of the woods, but she was quickly proved wrong.

“Many of them are still alive.”

Holding her breath, Hayden listened intently, wondering how she could have overlooked something that now seemed so loud and unmistakable. The pulses around her began to rise in volume, synchronizing together in an eerie melody that echoed resoundingly across the valley.

In the sky, the moon had risen, not full, not even a half-moon. “But that’s impossible!” Hayden looked back at Cole. “The December full moon was a week ago. These people were just killed. I thought a werewolf’s venom was most potent during the full moons.”

“It is.” Cole tore his gaze away from her, appearing almost gray. “It was proven that the full moon is the only time a werewolf can successfully
Sire a human.” He bowed his head and a humorless smile graced his stern mouth. “But we are looking at the contrary evidence.”

Hayden stared down at her hands, noticing they’d begun trembling. She was struck with a realization that left her cold. “He’s creating a new species.”

“Hayden.”

Cole sounded cross, but he did not contradict her.

“He’s trying to create a subspecies of the werewolf,” Hayden insisted fiercely. As soon as her mind presented her with the theory, she passionately connected the dots. “Nicolas wants a more intelligent, more in control newborn. He’s making the rogues faster, stronger, and he’s removing the majority of their scent, giving them an advantage when it comes to stealth. I don’t know how it’s possible… but I
know
this is his aim.”

Again, Cole remained silent, neither agreeing with her nor refuting her. “If that’s the case,” he started carefully, “then he hasn’t perfected it yet. I’ve encountered rogues who were strong, but others with noticeable scent. He hasn’t combined all the desirable traits into one body as of yet.”

As if struck with a sudden realization himself, Cole pinned Hayden with a stare. Beyond the dark eyes, there was an emotion Hayden couldn’t quite pinpoint. It unnerved her, simply because it was directed at
her.

“Cole?”

His expression cleared and turned to stone. “Nothing.” With purpose, he strode over to a fallen human. “What’s worse is that Nicolas found a way to Sire humans on nights that aren’t the full moon. The increase in attacks will cause havoc and will threaten our clandestine society. They can only do so much to keep these things covered up.”

“They?”
Hayden crossed her arms over her chest. Cole was being exceptionally secretive and vague. Usually they were in harmony, but she couldn’t have felt more further from him.

“There are werewolves implanted in higher society, engrained in the human population. Some work in the press, some in politics, and many in law and law enforcement. They are responsible for damage control and preventing the public from finding out about our existence.” Cole crouched down next to the human. “Attacks like these, especially if they are consistent, will become harder to cover up.”

Before she could digest the information given to her, Cole angled his face towards her. The lines across his face seemed more pronounced and she was taken aback at the emptiness in his eyes.

“I need to take care of this,” he murmured quietly. “Please lend me a knife.”

Hayden blinked, turning immovable at the implications. “Cole…” she trailed off hoarsely, unable to find the words she needed. Gazing across the town square at all the strewn bodies, she shook her head. “You shouldn’t have to do this.”

She didn’t want him to do it.

He unfolded from his crouched position and reached for her coat. Nothing but firm resolve settled across his expression. “If you’re right, and Nicolas is trying to create an indestructible enemy, then its best we destroy them when they’re at their most vulnerable.”

Opening her coat, he grabbed one of her knives and unsheathed it. Hayden didn’t stop him. She didn’t know whether she felt more concerned for the humans or for Cole. But the heavier question was how she could stand by and allow something so morally and ethically wrong to transpire.

There were children here. They were helpless and they were victims.

“Cole…”

She was going to stop him. She wanted to. But when she saw the naked emotion in his eyes, her chest tightened enough to muffle her words. Though he tried to hide it, she knew he didn’t want to do this either, but considered it his duty to do so.

“I—I can help you…” she whispered instead.

Cole curled his hands around hers and smiled faintly at her offer. “I don’t want this on your hands.” He kept her gaze. “After I finish here, assuming they have a phone in town, I will try to contact someone who can clean this up. In the meantime, I want you to go wait for me in the woods.”

The very idea repulsed her. How could she hide in the woods and condemn Cole to a task this immoral?

Sensing her reservations, Cole released her hands and gave her a slight nudge. “I don’t want you to see this, Hayden.”
I don’t want you to see me like this.

The words hadn’t been uttered, but Hayden could clearly hear what he didn’t say. The confession made her even more determined not to leave him behind. Not long ago, Cole told her she’d been lucky that she hadn’t been the one to execute the rogues. Now she understood why he had forced her to accept what she’d seen that night with Asher.

This really was reality.

At their feet, the man gurgled and gasped, his eyelids snapping open to reveal amber eyes. He appeared bemused at first, but as if remembering the attacking wolf before he lost consciousness, he flinched and scrambled backwards on his hands and feet.

Cole advanced quickly, grabbing the man around the ankle to stop him from fleeing. Tugging the man forward, Cole brought back his fist.

“Please!” The man begged desperately. “Please no!”

With a curled fist, Cole punched the man in the temple twice, effectively knocking him out cold. He poised the knife over the unconscious man’s chest but stopped. “Go,” Cole ordered gruffly, avoiding Hayden’s eyes. “There is no room for argument this time.”

He then embedded the silver knife straight through the man’s heart.

Hayden turned and fled, running as quickly as she could away from the sounds of execution.
Coward,
her mind whispered cruelly.
You wanted to be an Alpha, yet you cannot face the consequences.

Though a part of her wanted to turn back and prove to Cole that she could endure, her legs refused to stop moving. She ran until she could no longer hear Cole and his mercy killings, though she hesitated to call it that. Those people had no choice.

Eventually, she came to a stop and raked her hands through her hair. She stared up at the canopy of naked branches and thick pine needles, wondering if there was a reasonable alternative to this mess.

She understood Cole’s decision, and the Hunters’ reasons, yet she couldn’t help but to feel as if it was the easy way out. But what would be a realistic alternative? Traditional Alphas could take custody of the newborn werewolves, but that could be a drain on their resources, and above all else, a risk to the rest of the pack.

Moreover, Hayden didn’t know what kind of side effects these newborn werewolves possessed. If Nicolas really was playing around with the biological chemistry of werewolves, there could be destructible traits installed within the newborns, making them an even larger threat.

Now, more than ever, Hayden hated Nicolas and his rogues for what they were doing. Not only were they attacking humans, completely taking away their blissful existence, but they were also putting Cole and the other Alphas through a great deal of emotional distress. Whatever the rogues had intended by chasing the packs out of Albertville, they’d at least succeeded in shaking the werewolf community.

She was afraid to know what Nicolas’ endgame was comprised of if they were already struggling for stability. 

When Cole returned, he found her sitting upon a log. With a drawn expression, he set down a plastic bag at her feet and then proceeded to hand her a clean knife. She stared at the offered weapon. Just like the blade, Cole’s hands were clean, too clean.

Dirt had once stained his palms and fingernails as a result of their trek in the wilderness. But now, his skin and nails were spotless. He had tried to scrub the blood from his hands, to wash away the evidence of his deeds. But the blood was just that, physical evidence. Hayden knew he would never truly rid himself of the memories.

With a heavy heart, Hayden accepted her knife back.

“Did you get in contact with someone?”

Cole sat down beside her. “I did.” He grabbed the bag and trifled through it. “They will take care of rest.”

She watched him closely. “Are we going to wait for them?”

“No. They are experienced in taking care of these things. I would just get in the way.” His dark eyes rose and caught her staring. “Our job, the Alphas’ job, is to kill the rogues before they can do something as destructive as this. I wasn’t able to prevent it, but I have done my part.”

If it were anyone else sitting next to Cole, they would have been fooled by his façade. It was almost remarkable how he was able to hide what he truly felt. He hid his emotions behind a sense of duty, behind a sacrifice he had agreed upon when accepting his position as Alpha.

But Hayden knew him better than that.

“I’ve brought us some light dinner.” Cole pulled out some dried fruit and jerky. “We should eat and then continue on our way. I imagine we’ll reach the cabin in a couple of hours.”

He tossed Hayden a bottle of water and packaged beef jerky. She took it gratefully, hungry, but guilty for being so after what she witnessed. Beside her, Cole ate mechanically, appearing unaffected and only determined to move on. Through their link, Hayden couldn’t feel much, but she could feel the hollowness.