Chapter 22

Our enemies shifted in the open, not bothering to glance around in search of observers. They knew that their sheer presence as a living roadblock would halt our car’s forward momentum, and they didn’t care who caught sight of their super-human transformation in the process.

Electricity behind my back suggested that so many werewolves shifting in such a short amount of time had triggered Sinsa’s change of form as well. But Ginger and I remained resolutely human as several males stalked toward us along the sand-scoured road.

There were six enemies in total. All young. Seething with testosterone. Complete strangers.

But they recognized me...or so I assumed once the lead shifter made a beeline for my door rather than heading toward the driver’s side. He tapped on the thin sheet of glass separating me from his half-feral presence, then his teeth bared into a shifter snarl.

For an instant, I was back in the root cellar with Lupe. Damp, dark. Panting breaths drawing closer. Air acrid with terrified sweat.

But I couldn’t help the bloodling if I failed at whatever test had been set in front of my physical form. So, ripping my mind free from Lupe’s frantic clinging, I instead glanced quickly in Ginger’s direction.

I’d felt my companion tuning in to my internal conversation but couldn’t be sure she understood what I was asking now. Would she manage to ignore this earthly battle and instead focus on attempting to contact her twin? I could only hope so as I rolled down my window and complied with the male’s silent demand.

“Not worried about unwitting bystanders?” I berated the stranger, knowing I sounded like a schoolmarm but hoping a bit of bluster would throw him off his game. Despite my admonition, the ambush location had been well chosen, with nothing but sand dunes on either side and with no vehicles apparent either before or behind us. Help definitely wasn’t on the way.

Back to fake it ‘til you make it, I thought, sitting up straighter and pretending the loss of the transparent barrier between us didn’t make me itch to pull out my sword and slice threateningly at the air. Unfortunately, I was trapped within the metal husk of the car with barely enough room to turn sideways, let alone to draw a weapon. Once again, I was unable to protect myself with anything other than words.

Unfazed by my tough stance, the male leaned closer. His head jutted forward in a show of lupine threat even as his fingers curled closed around the hint of window glass still exposed between us. In stark contrast to the wintry air rushing in the open window, I could feel his hot breath pressing against my bare skin, the sensation sending tiny hairs erect all over my body.

“National Seashore,” my opponent answered once the blood was pounding frantically in my ears and my breathing had accelerated to a staccato rasp. “Down season.”

His terseness—a sign of a rampant wolf—was nearly as unsettling as his proximity. But I maintained a polite smile anyway...until a strong compulsion lapped up against my skin, pulling against my muscles and nearly thrusting me out of my seat before I knew what was happening.

The intensity of the tug suggested that my enemy’s physical strength was the least of my worries. And as my limbs began moving without my consent, it became obvious I wouldn’t like the result if I succumbed to his compulsion.

Luckily, my inner beast was stronger and faster than she’d been just a few months earlier. Soundlessly, she fled on swift paws, running faster than the compulsion could follow down through chest to stomach, then deeper into the dark recesses of our shared body. In seconds, I was left to face our opponents alone.

Well, not entirely alone. The slam of one car door closing and the creak of a second one opening proved that Ginger had taken advantage of the males’ tunnel vision to disembark and release our lupine companion from the back seat as well. Together, my allies stalked toward our shared opponents, rounding the rear bumper and coming into view on my right-hand side.

Despite the fresh forces, our contingent was clearly outnumbered and obviously outmatched. Ginger’s sharp tongue and Sinsa’s spunk aside, my crew mates were considerably smaller and weaker than the shifters they faced down. And my own inability to fight off the male’s compulsion in the traditional fashion proved we were weak in other areas as well.

Perhaps that’s why the bystanders met Sinsa’s warning growl with easy laughter. “A party of bitches,” one male murmured almost too low for me to hear.

This is what we wanted, I reminded myself. This was why Ginger had chosen to keep our deputation all-female—she’d hoped that hide-bound males would underestimate our prowess and lower their guard.

Now, I took advantage of the males’ amusement to push my own door wide and step out onto the sand. “No, boys,” I said with a confidence I was surprised to find wasn’t the least bit feigned. “Not a party of bitches. A bitch attack force.”

***

Their amusement broke over us in waves. But, honestly, I didn’t care. If this was the worst the All-Pack alphas had to offer, then I needn’t have worried we’d be turned back before we achieved our goal. After all, what did this band of males plan to do—laugh us to death?

Then, finally, the shifter in the lead wiped the mirth out of his eyes and held out his right hand. “Keys,” he demanded, his voice abruptly cold.

I raised an eyebrow, offering nothing. Beside me, Ginger stood with hands on hips, wolf-form Sinsa pushing up against the side of her leg. “We’ll make our own way to All-Pack, thank you very much,” the redhead countered cheekily. “But I do appreciate your offer to drive.”

Again, the males laughed, only this time the gales of merriment felt less jovial and more hard-edged hungry. “They’re babes in the woods,” called out a shifter in the back. “Can we take them down now?” demanded a younger male only a foot away from my left shoulder. “Tasty,” added a third.

Despite myself, I shivered and the lead male patted me gently on the cheek. It took all of my willpower not to turn my head and bite off his thumb.

“You’re not in danger here,” he consoled me, shooting a quelling glance over one shoulder before his compatriots could start back up with their heckling. Then, drawing a line in the sand with his heel, he added, “But this is the boundary of All-Pack’s territory. Step over and you’re fair game for any wolf who wishes to take you on. Turn around and you’re free to go home with our well wishes and god speed.”

I nodded silently, pulling at the plastic door handle. These males were just the greeting crew, I’d long since realized. And now they’d told me the rules. So we’d get back in the car, lock the doors, and drive like mad women down the road. Bathroom breaks be damned, we wouldn’t stop again until we got there.

“Eh, eh, eh,” the male halted me, his hand slamming down atop mine. In response to the force of his pressure, my fingers twisted painfully against the hard plastic, proving that the shifter’s definition of “not in danger” and mine were at serious odds. “No more driving. And, if you cross the line, no more semblance of humanity. You’ll arrive as wolves or you won’t arrive at all.”

I glanced quickly in Ginger’s direction, trying to decide whether it was worth bluffing and pretending to leave, only to return to my original drive-like-hell plan. Were the other alphas likely to turn us away if we showed up at All-Pack surrounded by a modern human conveyance? And, on the other hand, would we wind up dead in a ditch if we attempted to run all day in lupine form while evading bands of enemy shifters?

My friend opened her mouth to respond, either answering my question or complaining about the manhandling. But instead of words, only a yelp emerged as one of the males abruptly spun her around, twisting an arm up behind her back as he rooted around in her pants pocket in search of the previously requested keys.

“Got it,” her assailant reported a moment later. But rather than removing his prize and releasing the twin, he allowed his hand to trail suggestively across Ginger’s hip as it made its ascent out of her pocket and over her exposed flesh.

Now it was my turn to growl, relative strength of our enemies forgotten and wolf once again at the fore as I responded to the illicit groping of my friend. “You bastards,” I started, only to pause as Ginger shook her head subtly. No, she was right—we were wasting precious time.

As best I could guess, we’d barely made it past the initial island before being stopped by this mob of males. Which meant we had fifty miles and a half-hour ferry ride remaining before we reached the spot where All-Pack began at sunset.

Meanwhile, the clock was ticking down fast. Only eight hours of light remained on this shortest day of the year...and there would be no wiggle room at the far end since the boat across the sound only set off once an hour.

I’d hoped to arrive at midmorning, to set up camp and hunt down the Taylor alpha soon thereafter in an attempt to wrangle an alliance with the only clan I’d yet to ask for support. Taylor was Stormwinder’s distant cousin, his small territory located only a few miles away from that of the Tribunal member who lorded it over all of the other alphas in his region. But despite the affiliation implied by blood, I’d hoped the former’s proximity would actually work in my favor.

Perhaps Taylor was sick and tired of playing second fiddle to the older male. Perhaps Taylor would join Franklin and the Byrds to depose Stormwinder from his lofty perch. Perhaps Taylor would stand up and vote for Wolf Landing to become an official pack.

It had always been a long shot, but one I was willing to take. Now, though, it looked like my party would be lucky to achieve our destination by the time All-Pack was officially underway. Fifty miles on human feet meant thirteen hours of heavy walking at best. If I protected my weak wolf, then we’d arrive in the dark, exhausted and road weary, long after the meeting had begun.

On the other hand, running the gauntlet in lupine form was inadvisable. My wolf had been growing in strength over recent months, but she quivered now in the face of a male weaker than any of the other strangers likely arrayed across our future path. Because why set your strongest wolf as a greeter when you could save him to harry and rip at the hides of wolves deep into the race?

Still, I knew what I had to do. So, raising my chin to signal my intent to my friends, I grabbed for my lupine counterpart. Despite being hidden, she’d been waiting. Now, she woke from her slumber alert and excited, and together we shifted as we leapt, clothes falling away and males exclaiming in surprise as females they’d considered beneath their notice transformed far more quickly than enemies could follow.

Then the three of us were running flat out up the side of the nearest dune, loose sand dribbling away beneath scrabbling paws. Hot breath on my heels was no worry but joy. The pursuers weren’t enemies, intent upon mayhem. Instead, they were clan members protecting my back.

Together, we crested the rise. Ginger panted on my left, Sinsa on my right. Before us, beach and ocean stretched out in every direction, the endless wind whipping waves into a froth.

We paused for half a second, checking over one shoulder for pursuit. Then, pushing outwards, we soared.