Something’s in the Air

SPENCER

“Luna, please, you can’t treat me like this.”

I watched on with satisfaction as the women warriors dragged Sheila in front of the pack; she was howling and fighting them with everything she had in her.

“Silence, you have been a thorn in our backsides since the day you were born Sheila. You have no honor, no pride, and you threatened the life of a destined mate…you will be punished for your crimes.”

Our luna, Chad’s wife, the only other true mate-ship we’d ever encountered, stood strong against the onslaught of curse words hurled abusively in her direction.

“You promised my husband that you would not cause trouble, that you missed your pack and your home. You swore black and blue that you were here to prove you were one of us, that your only concern was helping our pack thrive. You lied.”

The murmur of disapproval washed over the gathered crowd. So that was how she wormed her way back in, good to know. “I will see to your demise if you fucking touch me,” Sheila venomously spat.

“Our rules are set in place out of necessity, and mate-ship is extremely rare. For you to even think of or attempt to destroy it shows you lack empathy and possess cruelty within your heart. You are well aware of what is at stake for all of us, and yet you are so selfish as to try to demolish the last hope we have left? You are not worthy to breathe air.”

I could see our luna was fighting to keep her temper contained. I know she feels she failed as a true mate to our alpha, though none of us sees her like that, it was not her fault.

The Hunters knew how and when to attack; I overheard my dad and Chad talking about it.

“He was mine, he belongs to me.” Sheila’s screeching was like nails on a chalkboard, but then I saw something I never thought I would see.

Out of pure anger, Luna’s claws extended and she swiped with razor-sharp precision across Sheila’s face.

“You are vile,” she growls, her wolf ready to attack. “Chad!” Luna bellowed and Alpha stepped forward. “Cut her ties.”

The pack gasped in horror. This was the worst punishment anyone could endure, cutting her ties meant turning her rogue, packless, an outcast, a true unwanted.

A tie was what kept us bound and thriving, like an invisible cord of energy, it’s what allowed us to feel, to find each other if we were in trouble, it was our homing beacon.

Other alphas could sense these cords, so they knew instantly what pack you belonged to.

“NNNNNOOOOOO!” Sheila howled.

She knew what this meant and considering she had lost her only blood family in the last attack, she would be completely and utterly alone.

For any wolf, solitude destroys you, similar to depression in humans—only a thousand times worse. No one would take pity on her now.

Sheila was desperate, she pleaded, begged, even offered her body as a whore, something our town had never had. Though we weren’t against sex workers, it wasn’t something we thought our town required.

She was at groveling point, utilizing any bargaining chip she could think of to remain, even threw her deceased parents into the pleas for mercy.

But she had gone too far, she should have thought with her brain and not jealousy.

Alpha takes his stance in front of Sheila. I had never seen this done before; it was as rare as mates, and to know you have been thrown out is a fate worse than death.

He placed one hand upon his chest and one on hers as she thrashed wildly. Her arms and legs were held into place by other women warriors as he cut her cord.

“Sheila Wilson, if you had shown any form of regret, your punishment would have been minor. I sentence you to a life of loneliness, an unwanted rogue without a home or pack; you no longer belong to our family. I, Alpha Chad Johnson, release you.”

A distinct snapping sound resonated through our clan, and a prick, almost like a pin needle, stabbed at our heart.

Her body went slack as sobs and deafening howls of pain filled the air; her wolf was crying. “Warriors, take her to the train station with her belongings and leave her there,” the alpha ordered.

All of us turned around with our backs to her, showing solidarity and support for the decision handed down by our leaders. I prayed I would never experience or see something that horrific again.

***

A couple of weeks had passed, and traces of foul Hunter stench were being picked up more frequently around the borders of our town; things were becoming worrisome.

Alpha had ordered no shifting during daylight hours.

At night, if you did happen to venture out when not on patrol, that had to be two to accompany you at all times; this was mainly for the teens who always felt the need to rebel.

During the day Harper was protected by Alpha, while Dad and I hunted their movements. We were lucky because a few teachers in Levi’s school belonged to our pack, which kept him protected.

At night, either Clade’s house or mine was patrolled, and on the weekends they hid in wolf form keeping guard.

Our main priority was to keep them safe but still remain as normal as possible in our movements.

We were being watched; that much was clear, so we had to keep everything flowing as though we were unaware of their presence.

We had become complacent in our little town, not having to worry so much about Hunters in a few years offered us sanctuary, and we used to shift into our animal spirits whenever the need arose.

Now, with the restrictions and the protection roster in place, our pack was feeling the weight of everything, and everybody was on edge.

I was lying in bed next to my gorgeous mate, going over next week’s training schedule, when Levi knocked on the bedroom door.

I picked up my phone, noticing it was almost eleven. “Come in, Levi.”

He timidly slipped inside with Rusty, and they both made their way to the bed. I placed the file in my top drawer and patted the bed between Harper and me. He climbed in and got comfortable next to me.

“Coach?”

“Yeah, cowboy, what’s up? Why are you awake so late?”

“I had a bad dream.”

“What kind of a bad dream?”

“I was being followed by wolves.”

I thought it was odd for him to be dreaming of wolves, considering he was being protected by them. “And what happened in this dream of yours?”

“I was running and they were chasing me, I was scared.”

A chuckle rumbled from my chest, “Leivon, what do you know about wolves?”

“That they are scary,” his innocent eyes stared up at me seeking ease to his confusion.

“Ah, well let me tell you a secret. Wolves you should never fear, they will always protect you and your mom and anyone you love.”

“Even Papa Clade?”

“Yes, even Clade. See, wolves live in packs, like a family. Their lives revolve around ensuring their pack or family, are well cared for and always protected. They don’t ever hurt unless their family is threatened, it is simply not in their nature to attack anyone without just cause. Their alpha won’t allow it.”

“What’s an alpha?”

“An alpha is like the big dad of the pack, he takes care of everything. If there is a problem, he sorts it out, he is in his position because he possesses great strength. He is a fair and just leader, understanding and kind but brutal when necessary. He ensures the prosperity of his clan, kind of like the president or a king, his word is law.”

“A king? I want to be an alpha.” Leivon smiled to himself. I hoped I hadn’t said too much but just enough to help shift his unnecessary fear.

“Ah, no way. You’re a cowboy, that’s way cooler.”

“You’re right, coach, way cooler. Are you going to send me back to bed?”

I giggled, “Nah, you can stay. I love having ya mom and you close, like a wolf pack, you are both my family now.”

“Every night then? Us three and Rusty?”

Oh man, he was too much, I heard Harper snort next to Levi.

Here I was thinking she was asleep when the whole time she was listening in, cheeky shit.

Got to pay more attention to the rhythm of her heart next time. “Maybe not every night, but tonight you can, now move over, you’re hogging the blankets.”

He burst into laughter as I playfully poked his side. “I am not, I’m too little.”

***

“What are we looking at here?” The following day, Dad and I had been called out to the Yeirs’ property, they owned the drive-in theater on the south side of town.

Philip Yeir shook our hands gratefully.

“Fitz, Spence, thanks for coming.”

“What’s going on, Phil?” Dad questioned.

“Ah, I don’t quite know how to explain it, might be nothing, might be just teenagers? But I thought I better call it in, just in case.”

The distinct stench of tangerine hit my nose, and my face scrunched in disgust, all actions missed by the human, Philip Yeir.

Dad eyed me suspiciously, and I gave a slight nod—hunters had been here. What looked like a fire pit sat in his back paddock.

I bent down to touch the ground surrounding it; the earth was still warm below my fingers, which meant they had moved not too long ago.

My heightened taste receptors picked up a tang of metal on the air and what looked like blood, trailing off into the dense thick bushland.

“Alright Phil”—Dad clasped his shoulder—“we’ll take it from here. There’s no need to worry just yet; could have been kids, and one of them was reckless, probably hurt themselves. We’ll take some samples and survey the area, see what we come up with. We’ll keep you informed on anything we find.”

“Appreciate that, Fitz, I’ve got stuff to do, so I’ll leave you to it. I hope it turns out to be nothing.”

“We appreciate you informing us. Better to be safe than sorry, eh?” I stated with a smile.

Once he had left, Dad and I got to work. We knew that it was, in fact, Hunters, but whose blood? We didn’t know.

That’s when, for the first time since the outcast, Sheila popped into my mind.

We collected samples and bagged anything that seemed out of the ordinary after photographing the scene. We would return at night, in wolf form. Our animals could analyze better.

“This ain’t her, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Dad guessed my thoughts.

“I know she has done wrong, I know that the sentence was necessary but if it is her blood…that’s a shit way to go.”

He nodded in agreement.

***

I walked into Clade’s house and stood in the doorway as Levi was being twirled around in time with the music from the kitchen radio.

Clade spotted me and pushed a beer across the table as I took my seat, loving the happiness that boiled up inside, just from a single glance at my future.

Harper had not spotted me yet and as some lyrics belt out—~honey got a booty like pow, pow, pow~—Harper bent over and popped her delicious ass back three times.

Levi giggled. Clade and I, however, burst into laughter.

She whipped around so fast that she slipped, falling flat on her backside. This caused me to almost choke on my own saliva as her face went bright red.

Her hands covered her face as I slowly got off my seat and crouched down in front of her, pulling her hands away.

“Why didn’t you say something?” she questioned with her eyes scrunched shut.

“And miss that? I’m regretting the fact I didn’t catch it on film.”

She finally graced me with those beautiful orbs of hers, and I winked. “God, why must I always make a fool out of myself in front of you?”

“Oh, sweet cheeks, we are going to play that song again and you’re going to do that in my room.”

She playfully swatted my arm. “Never.”

I pulled her to her feet. “Oh yes you are.”

Harper rolled her eyes and went back to the stovetop to dish out dinner. Sitting down as we talked about Levi’s day, Clade asked me how work was.

“The kid said you guys are working on a big case…real dickheads.”

“I didn’t say dickheads,” she snapped at him before turning to me. “I didn’t say dickheads.”

I chuckled. “Ah, it’s okay, they probably are dickheads, they certainly aren’t nice. I’ll have to go out tonight, there’s been movement reported in the forest on the outskirts of town. Dad and I have to investigate it.”

“No sleepover?” Levi questioned.

“And miss out on seeing my favorite cowboy? Never. I’ll be here when you wake up, I’ll just be gone for a few hours.”

I looked Harper dead in the eye. “I’ll be out of cell phone range, but I’ll be back. Make sure that window is closed.”

She looked worried but nodded. We had talked about this, and she was trusting in my words. I was proud of how far we had come; it gave me hope.

While Harper was putting Leivon to bed, I seized my opportunity, “you still got your hunting rifle?” I whispered to Clade.

“You that nervous?” he questioned back in hushed tones.

“Concerned. Look, I shouldn’t tell you but you need to know how serious I am. We found a trail of blood, could be nothing, could be something. With the men we are tracking and the movement, I fear it may be more of the ‘something’ and less of the nothing.

“Fair enough, I’ll pull it from the safe.”

“Make sure it’s loaded at all times, wouldn’t be a bad idea to teach them how to shoot either.”

“She won’t allow Levi to touch a real gun.”

“Feel like breaking the rules? Doing it behind her back?”

“Shit, boy, now you got me spooked.”

“Just think about it, will you?” he nodded at me.

“So if you’re out of cell phone range, what’s my next option here?”

“If you hear anything at all, even if it turns out to be a rabbit, call Chad immediately. He’s our next point of call, he and the farmhands will be here within minutes, we’ve already organized it.”

“Be straight with me, what are we really facing here that’s got you setting up backup plans and protection for them?” He points towards the hallway.

“Murderers, sadistic and evil murderers.”