Untamed Wolf (16 page)

“Collin, fill everyone in on the last couple of weeks in Three Rivers.”

Something had happened? Dylan switched his gaze to Collin. The Hunter sat forward, hands clasped. “It’s been pretty quiet since you gave them permission to continue. They do their best to ignore me and the others monitoring, and Luciana is always perfectly polite to us. I think she appreciates our presence more than the other wolves…but it’s never been what you would call warm. Some people are friendlier than others. Some of the wolves are doing what we do, making relationships, alliances, and relying on each other. Too many are still too much a Lone Wolf to settle, but it’s been like an armed truce.”

Been,
meaning it wasn’t anymore. Apprehension roiled through Dylan’s blood stream.

“All of that changed about three weeks ago.” Though Collin didn’t glance at him, several of the other wolves did. Dylan didn’t have an opinion yet, so he didn’t acknowledge the moment. “Right around the time Luciana demanded we return Chrystal.” Familiarity colored her name. “She was incensed and it affected the other wolves. I figured once the little stray got home…”

“She’s not a
stray.
” Dylan snapped.

Collin spared him a look. “I figured once the little
wolf
got home, all would return to status quo. It didn’t. Luciana’s off her game, more unsettled than I’ve ever seen her, and her ruthless side is coming out. Fights are breaking out among some of the more dominant wolves. Pretty ugly fights at that, fights neither Luciana nor Rayne were stopping.”

Why the hell weren’t they? Bloody battles in the middle of towns tended to punish the more submissive members. The urgency to abandon the meeting and head right back to the border flooded him.

“Stay put,” Mason said, his gaze a laser right to Dylan’s soul. No arguing the order. “Continue, Collin.”

The Hunter had all of their attention, save Julian. His expression never changed.

“I should say they
weren’t
getting involved, until the one a couple of days ago. A fight broke out in the grocery store. I was there getting food and I couldn’t tell you who started it or why, but it was ugly, bloody and fast. Chrystal was in the middle of the store, terrified. Her fear kept amping, and she’d gone still…like prey. I hid her, and she began to calm down—that’s when Rayne showed up with his brother. The fights ended. All of them. They are putting down every wolf who starts a fight and some of the wolves have left. Everyone who has chosen to leave was turned over to an Enforcer.”

“How many?” The question came from Emma.

“About twenty or so,” Julian said. “And the last two of your humans have approached us, Mason. They have finally agreed to return to Willow Bend.” From the beginning Mason had demanded the return of the five humans who’d helped Luciana and Rayne with their plan.

“Is Chrystal all right?” Dylan asked when no one else did.

“She’s fine,” Collin said, a faint smile quirking his lips. “As soon as the fight ended, she relaxed, then fled back to her place. I made sure she got home, then for the sake of the time, I hung out on the street. I thought Luciana was weeding out the dominants who are really not going to follow her.”

“But you don’t anymore?” More than one wolf in the room stared at Dylan, but he didn’t take his gaze off Collin.

“Nope, I don’t. She has a guard on her twenty-four seven, and Chrystal is starting to flinch under the scrutiny.” Fury sliced through him.
Under guard?
Collin didn’t seem to notice because he said, “As I told Mason earlier, I don’t think Luciana realized what Chrystal was when she got there and now I think she’s as affected by it as the rest of her pack.”

What she was?
“What the hell does that mean?” Dylan pushed away from the wall. Collin needed to stop beating around the bush.

“Dylan.” Mason’s voice snapped through the haze and jerked his attention from Collin to their Alpha.

“What?” His growl reverberated through the room. “I’m asking the questions you should be asking.”

“Are you now?”

“I told you,” Julian said into the silence. “He’s as affected by her as they are.”

Switching his glare to Julian, Dylan’s wolf readied itself. They didn’t want to challenge their Alpha. The fucking Enforcer who took her back to that damn rogue pack? He had no problems challenging him.

“Be quiet, Julian.” Mason was suddenly between Dylan and the Enforcer. He gripped Dylan’s shoulder and the wild irritation racing beneath the surface of his skin seemed to calm. “Dylan, is she your mate?”

What?
All at once, everything seemed to snap into place.
Her scent. The sense of peace around her. The desire to keep her.
“I don’t know…” Only he did, because his wolf snapped at him. The animal had no doubts, no questions, only the urge to get to her. “Does it matter right now? Is she a prisoner?”

“It matters,” Mason put a second hand on him, one on each shoulder as much keeping him still as fighting to keep his attention on him. “Is it possible she’s your mate?”

“Anything’s possible.” Not a conversation he wanted to have with his Alpha. No, he should be with Chrystal. He wanted to see her, talk to her, and know for damn certain she was all right. If they’d mistreated her in any way…

“You’re not going to get through to him Mason, not if she really is. All he can think about is how far away from her he is right now and how much we’re worrying him.”

Dylan scowled. “Fuck you, Julian. If you’d done your damn job, she would be safe because she would have understood her wolf. Instead you let her flounder, left her alone and vulnerable to that pack of jackals.”

“Boy, I told you if you wanted to try yourself against me…”

“Shut. Up. Julian.” Mason’s power flooded the room and Dylan sagged a little, as the force of it pushed some of his wild agitation back. “The last thing we need is you bating him. Yes or no, is she an Omega?”

An Omega?
Dylan blinked.

“It’s definitely possible. She was too disconnected from her wolf to be certain. Though the fact she was able to push her wolf down, and function with what to us would only be half her senses leans itself in that direction. If she is, they are only starting to realize the gift they have. They may fight hard to keep her.”

He barely processed the words coming from Julian. Omegas were rare, too rare. Wolves by and large came in two varieties, submissive and dominant. The power structure in a pack relied on the strong looking after the weak. Stronger wolves tended to settle the differences in their dominance through a variety of methods including straight combat. Omegas, though, were different. They didn’t fight—not really—and they didn’t bow. They didn’t find joy in being cared for the way a submissive did nor did they enjoy beating someone else in a fight. In some ways, they didn’t
need
their pack at all, but a pack responded to an Omega.

They were the perfect barometers of a pack’s health. The more upset the Omega, the more unsettled a pack. Eventually, they would turn that upset on the wolf…by punishing her, forcing her to do work, keeping her under their thumb and suffocating her with restrictions. Willow Bend didn’t possess an Omega.

“It explains why she survived the way her parents raised her. I think it also supports why her mother did what she did…” Julian was still talking, and he needed to shut up. “Until we find Dallas, we won’t have that answer.”

“I have an answer,” Dylan said. “I go get her.”

Mason eyed her. “Because she could be your mate?”

“Because she deserves help and a safe place, whether she is my mate or not.” He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the last and until he had Chrystal safe and in front of him, he didn’t want to waste his time on what ifs.

“He should go, Mason.” Felicia said quietly, and everyone focused on her. “If the girl is an Omega, and they are keeping her from her mate…she’ll tear that pack apart and they won’t even know what hit them.”

“Take Julian,” Mason said. “And Collin. Then go.”

“Sure, Mason, I don’t mind helping out.” The Enforcer’s snark earned him a dark look from their Alpha.

“Good. Because it sounds like you were part of the problem.”

Dylan didn’t care who went. “Thank you, Mason. The pilots are at the airfield waiting for me, already.”

“Then go.” Mason waved him off and Dylan sprinted for the door. If Collin and Julian wanted to go with him, they’d better fucking hurry.

T
he alarm went
off at two in the morning, but she was awake waiting for her phone to buzz. Pressing the button to turn the alarm off before it made too much noise, she stared at the ceiling. The wind didn’t seem to be blowing hard, at least. She detected no sound of a whistling noise. Her wolf yawned awake, stretching slowly within her.

All week long, the fights in town had grown uglier and uglier then Luciana dropped the hammer on all of them. Curfews. Clear cut guidelines for social interactions, and the two remaining humans had been sent off. Like the wolves who left before them, they packed their bags and moved out without a word. Chrystal’s building was empty, save for her, which meant no Melanie reporting on her every move and no one in the house to listen to her.

Brick was still her shadow, however, but Chrystal never went out at night unless she had a project she’d been assigned. She’d been careful to adhere to that schedule no matter how much moonlight on snow beckoned her or the stars…She loved to look at the stars. Patience, and persistence were the keys to getting away long enough to go see Dylan.

She only needed an hour. The route to the river would take her nearly that long to traverse. Once across the bridge, she could lose herself in the woods. After she reached the border, her plan was a little sketchy. Sitting, she glanced at the waterproof bag she’d packed some of her clothes into. She would stow her phone inside, as well as some food and water. Well, maybe not water, she didn’t want to weigh herself down too much.

In addition to practicing her shifting, she’d about mastered sliding into the bag’s strap. It had taken several attempts of shortening it, shifting, testing, and shortening it again to get the measurements right. But she and her wolf had it down. They could shift, load on the bag and open both doors in ten minutes or less.

Listening, she searched for the sounds of breathing or movement. Anything to indicate someone else was in the house. She didn’t quite think Luciana would move her shadow in as a neighbor, but then she didn’t know why Luciana set Brick on her in the first place.

He used to talk to her. Except for the one kiss, he’d never expressed any romantic interest. Lately, all he did was follow, watch, and herd her away from the line if she looked like she might cross out of the immediate vicinity of the town. And he was
always
there. Still, she didn’t hear anything betraying his presence. Slipping from the bed, she padded to her bathroom—just a midnight visit.

Making as though she were using the bathroom, she flushed the toilet, then washed her hands before climbing onto the toilet lid so she could peek out the small window. A light from the porch caught on the falling snow. But it fell straight, not in gusts, a simple dusting atop an already snowy landscape. The perfect kind of snow—it would bury her tracks as she ran.

Excitement shivered through her. The first genuine spark of happiness she’d experienced since returning to town. Her initial pleasure in her new home had waned. More, it had become a prison and she was trapped on the inside with the inmates. The joy she’d experienced around the other wolves had devolved into wary mistrust, and she was forever waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Knockdown fights were a daily occurrence and Luciana’s warmth carried a trace of suspicion. Maybe it was all in Chrystal’s head, or maybe she wasn’t cut out for pack life. Whatever it was, she wanted to leave...and she wanted to see Dylan. Then she would decide if she wanted to call one of the other packs or Julian.

Becoming a Lone Wolf again didn’t hold much appeal, but it seemed a far more desirable alternative to her current predicament. Leaving the bathroom, she tiptoed to the bag and tucked her phone into the zip pocket. She had it on vibrate, lest it give away her presence to anyone on patrol.

The quiet street beyond beckoned. She’d have no better opportunity to make her escape.
Ready?
Her wolf seemed to vibrate. They were both excited. After stripping off her nightshirt, she made sure to zip her bag completely closed, then set it on the floor. Three deep breaths, then she reached for her wolf. The rush exhilarated her…she could almost feel Dylan getting closer.

On four legs, she wiggled with excitement and slid into the strap. It worked the first time, though she had to squirm to get the tight fit into place. Ready or not, she put her plan to action. One good thing about having a mother who liked to disappear in the middle of the night from one location to another—Chrystal knew exactly how to pack her bags and make a quiet exit.

Once out the front door, she cut between her house and the big one next door. It was one of the last to be renovated and had no occupants. In all her running and exploring, she’d identified her three best routes out of town. All took her well away from the main road and all relied on access points nowhere near Rayne and Luciana’s bed and breakfast.

Sticking to the shadows, she tested the snow. It was powdery, and she could run along the top decreasing the damage the steady falling snow would have to cover. At the end of the block, she rolled through the piney bushes, crushing some of nettles and masking her scent. After she passed the last occupied house, she dropped the pretense of slow, deliberate steps and trotted.

If she could get across the open expanse toward the trees separating the town from the road…it was a blind spot for the town. One Patrick had used to access the road and intercept the foreign Alpha during her visit. A small culvert ran through the middle of the trees, more than enough coverage to disguise her run and she could parallel the road for miles.

The ice-slicked bottom made her footing a little treacherous, but also removed any sign passage. Swallowing a yip as she skidded her way to the bottom, she wanted to jump and pounce at her success. Stifling all those ridiculous urges, she went still and listened. No footsteps crunched in the snow, nothing unfamiliar—or familiar for that matter—touched her nose.

She’d done it. She’d slipped her leash.

Checking the sky, she found no trace of moon or stars. The heavy cloud cover continued to deposit snow. That was okay. She knew the route to follow as long as she paralleled the road, and she knew when to cross to find the river.

Won’t Dylan be surprised?

Then she ran, using her speed to cover ground and generate warmth. She had a long way to go before she rested.

T
he regular trips
made to Three Rivers meant they kept two to three stocked SUVs on hand at the regional airport closest to the small town. Like the airport he used, the local was closed to anyone without private access or a personal plane. The wolves piloting kept up a light banter with Collin, though neither Dylan nor Julian said a word. The Chief Enforcer seemed to be keeping his own counsel on the matter at hand, and Collin gave them both a wide berth.

Omega or not, Dylan didn’t really care. He wanted to know Chrystal was all right. Yes, she’d been a pain in the ass, but…his wolf clawed at him. No, she wasn’t theirs, not yet. The disgruntlement rolling off his wolf coupled with the length of the flight left his temper even more on edge. He charged his phone on the flight. As soon as they touched down, he called her. To hell with texts and subterfuge. He wanted to hear her voice, and let her know he was on his way.

No answer. It rolled to voicemail, which her provider told him she didn’t have set up.
Dammit.
He sent a text, but she didn’t answer.

“I’ll ride with Dylan,” Julian said. “Collin, you bring the second SUV. Mason will be calling Luciana when we are five minutes from Three Rivers.”

Some part of Dylan’s mind acknowledged the ambush nature of the plan. They wanted to give Luciana no time to hide Chrystal. An Omega. They were so damn rare…mostly because they ended up dead. He didn’t know a single pack who possessed one, but then would the pack advertise their presence if they did? If the last several months had taught them anything, they’d learned they knew so little about the other packs. Hunters spent time traveling to them, but the average wolf didn’t.

Julian didn’t argue when Dylan took the driver’s seat, his focus on the road ahead. The tires slipped a little on the ice, but he corrected his speed and angle to recover nicely. Collin’s headlights were right behind them.

Ten minutes of silence filled the vehicle and Dylan tapped the steering wheel in time to his pulse. Why the hell had he let Julian take her back in the first place? “If you knew what she was, why didn’t you say something?”
Why the fuck had he kept so silent?

“Because I didn’t know for sure,” Julian’s even tone carried no trace of regret or ambivalence.

“You had to suspect. You’ve known her for how long?”

“You bedded her, and you didn’t know. One would presume your intimacy revealed more of her nature than I did. She survived her heats without a lover or someone to lock her down. She ran alone without a pack for years. Her mother left her to fend for herself…yes, Chrystal will tell you she left her financially secure, but what fourteen year old do you know who can manage to do their chores, their homework, go to school regularly and never alert even the human authorities to something being wrong?” The Enforcer laid out the facts, facts Dylan already knew. Chrystal stated them as if they were normal. “Even when we are young, we need the bonds of pack, but Dallas made sure to keep herself distant from her own child. Why would a mother do that? Had she hated her or truly feared the child’s presence would get her killed, wouldn’t she have been safer if she’d killed her? So no evidence remained?”

A sociopath might have done exactly that. “I don’t know her mother. I don’t know how she could have done any of those things.” Or how Chrystal managed to keep her kind, sweet nature in the face of so much ugliness.

“Have you ever known an Omega?” Julian didn’t sound as disconnected, nor did his question carry the air of academic.

“No. Stories of them, yeah, but Willow Bend doesn’t have any Omegas.” At least none in his lifetime. “Hell, I don’t know any packs that have one.”

“There are two in Delta Crescent.” The revelation shocked Dylan. Enforcers didn’t usually provide inside information to another pack. “You’ll need to know that if she is exactly as we suspect. At some point, she’ll want to talk to them.”

Filing the info away, Dylan nodded once. The drive wasn’t that long from the airport to Three Rivers yet it seemed to stretch out interminably. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

“About why I didn’t do anything if I suspected?”

Through gritted teeth, Dylan said, “Yes.”

“Are you her mate?” Was that a note of amusement in his voice?

“It’s none of your damn business.” He was her friend. He cared. Until he spoke to her…he wasn’t anything more.
Not yet.

“Then my answer is none of your business. If she wants to ask me, I’ll answer.”

Asshole.
Dylan punched the accelerator to the floor, to hell with the speed limit.

Though it seemed to take forever, they arrived at Three Rivers in fifty-four minutes. Better time than his last drive with Chrystal in the front seat instead of Julian. His gut clenched at the full streets. It was an hour before dawn, yet the whole town seemed awake.

Awake and waiting for them. Glass littered the ground outside one of the shops, and the windows had both been shattered. The coppery scent of blood lingered over the top of snow—blood and anger. A lot of anger.

“Well,” Julian’s dry tone spoke volumes. “This will be fun.”

Dylan put the SUV in park and slid out of the truck. Collin was a step behind him and Julian exited on the other side. Four wolves migrated to their side—including Jerome LeClere, a Hound from Delta Crescent. “You have an ugly reception waiting for you,” he’d pitched his voice low. “Be careful.”

The other three were from Hudson River, the Yukon pack and Sutter Butte respectively. Like Collin, they’d come to watchdog the pack and to help keep it in line—to a point.

“Where is she?” Dylan demanded, scanning the wolves heading in their direction. She didn’t appear to be among the gathered. He recognized none of the wolves save for Luciana and Rayne, both of whom glared at him as they walked toward them steadily. The gathered wolves parted for their alpha.

“About that,” Jerome kept his voice low. “They were already looking for her when all hell broke loose.”

Collin tapped his shoulder. “I’m going to check her place. I’ll be back.” Dylan wanted to go with him, but he bore the brunt of an Alpha’s focus, so he faced her instead.

Julian leaned against the hood of the car, and most of the wolves nearest them backed away when he swept a glance in their direction. Julian in front of them, Luciana behind—even as aggravated as the wolves were they didn’t want to earn the attention of either one.

“You,” Luciana pointed a finger at him. “It’s your fault all of this is happening.”

“Sure,” Dylan said with a shrug. “Why not? Where is she?”

Blowing out a breath, Luciana’s gaze chilled. From an aesthetic standpoint, she was a lovely woman. Beautiful bone structure, exquisitely dark hair, which set off her skin tone and deep, dark eyes. Too pretty. Too perfect. Like one of those dolls in a window. Glancing away from her, he studied the crowd. No visible sign…and no scent markers.

“
We
will find her. You will all leave.” Power backed the order, and the weight of her command struck him. “She’s had enough confusion from the likes of you.”

The likes of him?
“You know, lady, I got no beef with you personally. But if you or Julian or her mother had done your damn jobs, we wouldn’t have an issue.” Straightening he took a step in her direction. “So we can do this the hard way or the easy way…I don’t give a damn about you. I care about her. Where. Is. She?”

Luciana didn’t flinch under his stare, and he didn’t drop his gaze. The promise of violence licked the air, and his wolf readied. He’d take on the Alpha if he had to, but she wasn’t important. Only Chrystal.

“If you want to challenge me, you have to say the words.” The murmuring ceased at her statement.