CARTER’S POV“This is really bad, Carter, someone is dead!” “Screaming at me won’t change anything Ciara.”“Do you have any idea what would happen if the other packs found out?”“Everyone knows. A tortured and killed wolf is not exactly a secret.” I was patronizing. She needed to relax.“You know that’s not what I mean. You started the chain of events that led to his death.” Ciara said.I was about to retort when Max walked in.“What can I help you with Max?” “Alpha Carter. I just got a report of another death. Her limbs were all broken. It looks like she was tortured.” Max said.“What pack?” I asked. Max looked angry, which was out of character for him.“Ours. Her peers have gone out to retrieve her body.” Max replied and walked out without waiting for a response.He was angry at me it seemed. I had more things to worry about right now. I would put him in his place soon. “There’s going to be a war for sure. All because you could not figure out a way to feed your pack.” Ciara spat
ARIANNA’S POVI had been bartending for days now. It was a fun job. Tess’s dad had put in a good word for me and I started immediately. My days had started to look less gloomy. That was a lie. I had decided to stop dwelling in everything dark going on in my life now. Tess’s mom had commented that the mother’s mood usually affected the baby, and that I should try to shake off the blues.How she knew I was pregnant was still a mystery. I had not told her, I had not told anyone. I had smiled and nodded at her advice at the time. But I decided it was good advice, I didn’t want my baby to be sad and gloomy. So I was trying to find things to be happy about. It did not help that an unusual amount of wolves had been stopping by the bar since I started. It was a roadside bar and grill. A lot of truckers stop here while enroute to deliver or back home. Not Tess’s family trucks but others from around the country.It also saw a lot of travelers, people driving cross country, or people who got s
CARTER’S POVI drove by the compound first. I wanted to know what I was walking into. It was late but there were lots of flood lights. It was a big compound with space to take their many trucks and some buildings. These were regular humans, I would start off soft first, if I caught even a whiff of a lie, they would be sorry. It was a little past midnight but their gates were still open. I sat in my car contemplating whether to go in or come back in the morning. I decided to go in. I walked up to the gate, where a scrawny man was smoking. “Are you lost?” He asked me as I approached.“No, not lost. I have been driving for a while though. Was wondering if there was somewhere I could rest up.”He gave me a once over, almost like he didn’t believe me. I saw his eyes go to where my car was packed.“That’s your truck, isn’t it?” He asked me.Did he want my truck? “It is. Is it packed wrongly?” I asked, trying to figure him out.“No, nothing wrong with you’re packed. It’s a big truck. It
ARIANNA’S POVIt was pitch black when I opened my eyes. I was sure I was gone. The pain in my leg had gone from soul crushing to just terrible. I tried moving and realized I was hogtied. I pulled on my restraints but it just dug deeper into my skin, making me wince. Where was I? The room was blacked out, there were no windows. I could not tell where I was or what time of the day it was. I took a deep breath and tried to listen. All I could hear was the echo of blood in my ears from the pain I was feeling. “We are moving.” I said out loud. My voice was lower than a whisper. I could barely talk, but I could feel the van moving and I could hear the hum of the engine. How long had we been moving? Where were they taking me? I tried pulling on my restraints again but it just dug deeper into my wrists and ankles.I lay still for what I assumed was hours. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I thought about how fast my life had fallen. And my baby. My baby was the only good thing I had right no
ARIANNA’S POV I was locked in a room. Not a room, it was basically a cage. They had moved me from the living room, down into the basement and further down. The farm house seemed to have been built on top of an ancient building. The walls were made of old brick and the door had clearly been replaced. It was strong thick metal. I knew because I tried kicking it and it sent shocks through my whole body. I sat there not knowing what time it was or how I would get out of here. Nobody knew where I was. Tess and her family would be so worried. The only good thing about being down here was that I was not tied up. Other than the spot where that bullet was dug out of me, my limbs had stopped hurting. I walked around the room multiple times, looking for loose bricks or space in the wall that would make it easy to break but all I found were hooks. Whoever fortified this room was thorough. The door finally opened and my tormentor walked in. His eyes were captivating. They were never dull, li
CARTER’S POVHe said they had taken her. Taken her where? He had no idea. She had asked him to run and he listened. They should have taken him instead. I drove slowly on the empty road trying to think. They would not head back into town and the roads were deserted this time of the night. I drove at full speed out of town, I kept an eye out for any vehicles out and about. I passed just one truck barrelling down the road but it was heading in the opposite direction, back into town,I kept going and was about throwing in the towel when I caught the tail lights of three vans, They were blacked out, there was no way to tell what or who was inside, or how many they were.Hunters usually travelled in groups of five, sometimes six. They would not need three vans for that. I slowed down and followed at a distance, contemplating what to do. I was sure that these were the hunters that took Arianna. But I could not pick a fight again this night. I would not have the element of surprise and this
CARTER’S POVWe finally made it to my truck and I drove off. We were about five minutes away before she finally spoke.“Carter?” Was she still confused?“Yes, it’s me. Were you expecting someone else?” I hoped she could hear the mockery in my voice. She had rejected me for Luciano and he had kicked her out. Talk about poetic justice.“It’s not that. Thank you for coming to get me.” at least she was grateful, she might want to hold on to her gratitude. I simply nodded without saying anything. After what just happened she should be grateful and just let me have her fur. It’ll grow back, with time. I only wanted fur, those hunters would have taken every last tooth. I tossed her a bag with some food in it. I watched her eat from the side of my eyes. She went through that burger really fast. I guess torture made you hungry. “How did you know I was here?” She asked as she wiped her mouth. “I followed you after they took you. I almost ran into a friend of yours, literally. He ran straigh
LUCIANO’S POVI had been on the road for days now. It was one dead end after the other. The last conversation I had left a bitter taste in my mouth. I was able to track Tess down, she recounted being attacked by someone strange and scary. She hadn’t seen Arianna since that night. She gave me directions to this roadside bar and grill. The manager said Arianna took off that night and nobody had seen her since. I knew finding her would be hard, but I didn’t think the identity of the rare wolf would get out so fast. Now she was out there or even captured. I could not stop playing back my conversation with Tess. “Strange how?” I asked her.She looked jumpy, scared. She didn’t know how to say what she wanted to say. “Tell me. Please, I think I may have had a similar experience. I still don’t know how to talk about it.” She took a deep breath before answering. “It must have been some kind of trick, and the light in the room wasn’t turned on. So it was just light from the passage.” Sh