The Range is a ghost town. Well, even more ghost-towny than usual.
I encounter no one on my twenty-minute run, which brings me within spitting distance of the farmhouse. That I was running on four legs instead of two means I wasn't slow. I guess that explains Erin's utter certainty that no one would hear me scream.
Frankie and his heavies probably took me to a cabin on the very edge of Stone pack land for it to take me so long to get back to the heart of it.
Other than a brief detour to our cabin, I quickly worked out that Kier wasn't there.
That his scent was even more faded than mine reveals he didn't come back to the cabin after he left to go find me a stupid charger. So something must've happened to him, and I bet that something begins with a J and ends in N.
At the entrance to the farmhouse, I slow and eventually stop because I'm confused. Not because I'm lost. I'm not. I'm right where I need to be.
The thing is, no one else is.
I could shove the door open with my head and venture inside the building that smells strongly of Jaxon, a scent my wolf and I agree that we don't like, but it'd be a waste of time. There is no one there.
The house is as empty as the Range appears to be, which means the entire pack is somewhere else. But where?
If I was a regular human, I don't know what I'd do. Maybe I'd wander around looking for clues, hoping to stumble over something that would lead me to the pack.
Fortunately, I'm not. I have a nose to do my hunting for me, and it's telling me I want to go east, away from the bulk of the cabins and toward the mountains.
So east is where I head.
Until Frankie and his heavies emerge from the side of a cabin just ahead, forcing me to stop. Six of the seven shifters standing between me and where Kier likely is are in their wolf shape. That Frank is still human tells me who I'm facing down.
The odds aren't great if I'm being honest. They're downright terrible, even with the benefit of my teeth and claws to aid me in this showdown.
"The alpha would prefer for you to sit this fight out," Frank drawls.
I snarl at him, since telling him to fuck off is impossible to do with a mouthful of wolf teeth. From his eyes narrowing, it's clear he got the message.
"He would prefer you not to come to harm since he has plans for you, but if you're stubborn, I doubt he'd mind a few hard knocks to do something about that stubbornness. He may even be grateful."
Stubborn, I guess that's one word for what I am, and it's clear from the sneers on Frankie and his heavies' faces that this is not a trait they appreciate.
I stalk toward them, psyching myself up for a fight I know I'll eventually lose, but a fight I can't walk away from. They stand between me and Kier. There's no way I'm turning tail and running. No freaking way.
"Fine, have it your own way. If you must-" Frank goes down. Hard. Like, I hear the bones in his face break kind of hard.
At first, I'm not sure what the hell is happening, and neither are his heavies who turn to gawp. My surprise lasts maybe half a second because that's how long it takes my eyes to lock on the reason for Frank's broken face.
A large ash gray wolf with piercing green eyes gives me a passing glance before clamping his powerful jaws around Frank's neck and biting down.
Blood sprays everywhere.
I'm too stunned to do anything but stare, and I don't think I'm alone because the heavies who answered to the now-dead Frank aren't moving either. No, they're staring just as open-mouthed as if they can't believe what they're seeing.
I've rarely seen a shifter kill as efficiently as that. By rarely, I mean never. There was no lead-up, no growling, no… anything. Just one minute, Frank is threatening to beat the stubbornness out of me, and the next, he's dead.
I don't usually scare easily, but this will do it.
The mysterious wolf steps off Frank's body and pierces me with his stare, his muzzle still covered with blood. I'm not afraid to say that a part of me-even the wolf side of me-would turn tail and run if I didn't need to get to Kier.
While the odds of my survival against Frankie and his heavies were small, they're practically non-existent against this green-eyed alpha wolf.
When he growls low at me, I come dangerously close to running. I've even started turning, but then I stop because he isn't staring at me with death in his eyes. He catches my eye and then turns to look east, exactly the path I was taking before Frankie and his heavies ambushed me.
He wants me to go. Not only that, he's telling me to go.
Unfortunately, a couple of the heavies realize that sooner than I do because they lunge at the ash-gray wolf. From their delayed response, I gather this wolf isn't someone they know, given he just ripped out their beta's throat.
Or maybe he does belong in this pack. It's messed up enough.
With painful ease, the green-eyed wolf slaps a lunging wolf away with a large paw, sending him crashing to the ground. He takes the other down and tears out his throat. He does it with the confidence of a wolf who knows how to put someone down fast and hard. Neither of the downed wolves gets back up again.
When another of the four remaining wolves tenses, ready to lunge, the green-eyed wolf turns to stare at him, and he stops. Just like that.
The power of an alpha stare is a sight to behold, I think with a mournful sigh, and one that I'd kill for. But, before I can dwell too much on who I'd be prepared to kill, I hear a low growl coming from the east. It's not loud, but I'd recognize that growl anywhere.
Kier.
I'm edging around the heavies in front of me so I can get to Kier when one of them leaps into my path. He doesn't block me for long, because the mysterious wolf is suddenly in front of me, delivering a powerful body blow that sends him hurtling away, leaving my path clear once again.
I nod before skirting around both him and the heavies who are now working themselves up to attack this new enemy in their midst.
Even when I hear snarls and growls behind me, I don't turn around. All I'm concerned about is continuing east towards the challenge that I know Kier must be fighting.
I feel the wind ruffling my fur as I run, moving so fast it feels like I'm flying. My paws barely touch the earth before I'm in the air once again. I know I should probably be thinking about what I'm going to do when I get there, but I figure I'll think of something when I do.
The wolf side of me snorts. One glance at the furry pink handcuff I'm still wearing confirms that I'm not the best at thinking on the fly. But by then it's too late to think up a plan because I'm right where I need to be, the location of the challenge.
It's a mostly quiet fight between two large wolves, with the occasional low growl as they circle each other. Gathered in a loose semi-circle around them are the Stone pack who have left their cabins for this alpha challenge.
About half of them are standing around in jeans or sweats, arms crossed, others sitting chatting among themselves as if they're at a fucking picnic, and not at a fight I'm sure Jaxon has blackmailed Kier to lose.
There are hardly any women. Maybe four, and of course one of them is Erin, who glances at me but then goes right back to watching the fight.
Within feet of the circling wolves, a male shifter steps in my path looking ready to order me to do something.
I don't wait to hear what he has to say. I launch myself at him. After I've taken him down and I'm standing on his chest, I snarl in his face.
He lies completely still, the scent of his fear deeply satisfying. I show him my teeth before stepping off him and stalking away.
Jaxon, a lighter brown wolf, not as heavy compared to Kier's gray wolf shape, is staring at me with furious gold eyes, and he's not alone. Kier's blue eyes are filled with naked relief and tinged with amusement at my sudden arrival.
Since my entrance wasn't exactly quiet, I can't say I'm surprised that I halted the fight.
Rapid footsteps approaching have me spinning around, just in time to see another shifter, this one also still human, diving at me.
One swipe of my claws sends him crashing back, and I hope the sharp tang of his blood in the air will serve as a deterrent to warn others away, and in case they don't get it, I sweep my gaze over them, daring them to venture closer.
When a couple who looked like they were on their way toward me stop, I offer them a sharp-toothed grin. The rest look away.
With no immediate sign someone is about to attack me, I turn back to the fight that still isn't happening, briefly meeting Kier's eyes. Then I settle down on my haunches and incline my head as if to say, I'm here now, you can continue.
Amusement flickers in Kier's blue eyes, but only briefly. He turns his head to Jaxon and stalks toward him.
It looks like the challenge is on.