Echo Falls (9 page)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Aidan growled with a mixture of desire and satisfaction as he looked at Phoebe’s closed apartment door. Though they hadn’t discussed it with words, they both agreed that the activities they’d rather be doing probably weren’t the best things to be doing just now.

And well enough. Part of him wanted to lose himself to the world – get lost in
her
– just to kill the horrible open pit in his stomach that had been there since he’d gotten the call about Thomas. But he wanted his time with Phoebe to be about her and him, not a means to an end. She deserved more than that, and, frankly, Thomas’s memory deserved more than Aidan trying to escape it.

Thomas would be laughing at him right now, were he alive. He’d be calling Aidan a fool for not sweeping Phoebe up and exploring every beautiful inch of her while he had the chance. But Thomas could no longer say the words and Aidan wanted answers.

He left the building and turned on his phone. He’d missed a call from Will. Probably wondering where he was, judging by the time. He sent Will a text letting him know he was on his way and then drove to Sophie’s.

Will sat in their usual booth facing the door, opposite a man with black, curly hair. Aidan walked over and sat beside Will, keenly feeling the lack of Thomas’s presence. He shook the hand of the man who introduced himself as only ‘Axel’. He had steely grey eyes and a large, old scar running from his right temple to the corner of his mouth.

“I’ve updated Axel about the specifics in the case,” Will said. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

Though Axel had been Will’s connection, Will still didn’t like the idea of letting the stranger in on the case. But they both knew that only Axel could confirm that a Hunter had killed Thomas and the others. And only Axel could tell them how to get rid of the problem.

“And?” Aidan asked.

Axel scratched his nose. “You have a Hunter.”

Aidan exchanged looks with Will and then back at Axel. “There’s no doubt?”

Axel yawned.

“Okay,” Aidan said. “We have a Hunter. What do we do about him?”

Axel rubbed along his scar with his ring finger, frowning. Aidan wondered if he’d demand money or something else in exchange for the information. That’s how most lone wolves operated. They tracked and took down people like Hunters for money, favors and safe travel. He’d never met one personally until now, but the alpha before him had dealt with a few.

“I need a smoke,” Axel said finally.

Will, already familiar with Axel’s preferences, pulled a pack of cigarette papers and a bag of tobacco from his jacket pocket and slid them across the table. Axel arched his eyebrow and nodded. He then opened the packets and began to roll a cigarette.

“I don’t remove Hunters anymore. Your choices are to do it yourself or hire someone else. The closest one I know can probably be here in a week if she isn’t busy.” Aidan and Will must have looked hopeful because Axel shook his head. “The full moon is in three nights. Your Hunter is going to try something before then.”

“How do you know?” Will asked.

He ignored Will and looked at Aidan. “Either he kills again by the full moon, or he’s being sloppy and playing games with one of your wolves. Check with your pack. Ask if anyone has been followed or received gifts.”

“I would know,” Aidan said, his voice holding a warning.

“Hunters don’t wander into a town for no reason,” he said, eyeing Aidan. “Especially not a place like Echo Falls. They hunt. Your Hunter followed someone here. My guess is that he’s still hunting that one wolf.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

After Aidan left, Phoebe took a long shower. Her great announcement to her apartment the night before that she wouldn’t run anymore left her feeling… nothing. Surely there should have been relief or a feeling like she could take on the world. Yet she felt like she’d decided to go with the blue cloth napkins instead of the green; the decision had been made but nothing had changed.

She stepped out of the shower and pushed thoughts of Liam away. They would only lead her in circles.

Wrapping her towel around her body, she walked back to the kitchen, started the jug for coffee and opened the newspaper to the commercial real estate section.

Before all the nightmares and the running, she’d been about to put money down on a small office for her business. With a beautiful front window, simple but elegant front room and a back room that only needed a coat of paint, it would have become the perfect studio. The dream of that particular office had faded, but she hoped she would find an even better one. Perhaps one with a room she could turn into a private office.

The paper yielded a few good prospects, and she decided to take the day off to go look at them. In the back of her mind, she hoped the acts of normalcy would free the rest of her mind to come up with a solution for Liam.

Liam
. She thought his name but didn’t dare whisper it. To utter it out loud would bring him crashing down her. Not that not saying it would protect her. He’d made it clear that he’d found her. She could only wait until he decided what he wanted to do next.

That is, unless she got to him first. Right now, he assumed she would try to run, like she’d done every time before. He couldn’t expect that she’d decided to make a stand and had chosen Echo Falls as the place to do it. She had to use that to her advantage.

She grabbed a sticky note from her desk and stuck it on the paper. She’d written down the addresses of places that sold hunting gear as well as a couple kitchen supply stores. If all else failed, a few sharpened paring knives would have to do.

When she walked out of her apartment that afternoon, she felt better than she had in a long time, hopeful even. She stopped just before she stepped on the thorny stem of a black rose. Her heart slammed in her chest as she looked around, even though she knew in her gut he wouldn’t be there. She picked up the rose and opened the note tied to it with black ribbon.

‘Tsk, tsk, tsk. Whore.’

Her stomach heaved and she screwed her eyes shut as if doing so would make the note go away.

Liam knew about Aidan. And he’d been outside her door while she’d been reading the newspaper.

Somehow he’d watched them together, maybe even passing Aidan in the hall as Aidan left. He knew Aidan had been in her apartment and may have even listened in on their conversation. Liam wouldn’t be at all happy about that. How would he punish her? Would he hurt Aidan? Why had she been so careless?

“Damn!” she yelled, slamming her fist against the door frame. The rose, as fresh and crisp as if it had been cut that morning, pricked her finger. Only then did she notice that the end of the stem had been carefully cut to a point as well.

A small drop of blood welled up on her fingertip as she looked at it. The wolf surged forward in her mind, making her gasp. The wolf wanted a fight. The wolf wanted to stalk Liam, hunt him and take him down. Being prey for so long had worn her down, but she had taken it because her human side wasn’t ready to survive.

Now she’d accepted a pack and a home. The time had come to defend it. The call for the hunt flowed through her and she tossed the rose on the floor, crushing it with her foot.

“Screw you, Liam,” she said softly and tossed the broken rose aside.

Later that day, Phoebe shouldered her shopping bag as she stood outside a brick office building and checked the paper one more time to make sure she had the address right. She hadn’t been planning on actually looking at offices, but something defiant in her wouldn’t be satisfied until she did. The first two places had left her disappointed, one being on the very outskirts on the opposite side of town to her apartment – which prompted her to buy a full city map on the way back – and the other place looked like it hadn’t seen a ray of sunshine, a decent paint job or a human inhabitant since the 1970s.

She wouldn’t have stopped at the third office if it hadn’t been going for such a good rental rate at the perfect place in town – a block away from Sophie’s café and a few blocks away from the police station. Safety, food and a prominent place where plenty of foot traffic would wander by. She couldn’t have asked for a better place. At least, on the outside. The storefront window had a curtain behind it that hid any view of the inside. She traced her fingers over the carefully painted “For Rent” followed by a phone number on the glass.

“You really shouldn’t bother. You won’t be living in Echo Falls for much longer.”

Phoebe turned around and saw Mia regarding her with an expression of amused pity. Phoebe barely stopped herself from rolling her eyes, settling with a deep calming breath instead.

“Mia.”

“Bebe. You and I need to talk.”

“It’s Phoebe, and I don’t think so,” Phoebe said and tried to move past her.

She held her arm out in front of Phoebe, placing her hand on the window. “But I do.”

Phoebe pursed her lips, wondering if Mia would have been so keen for confrontation if she knew Phoebe had three sharp knives she’d just purchased in her shopping bag. She might even consider taking Mia out with the shoes she’d bought for the wedding as well if she got in a pinch.

“Look here, kitten, you and I have a few things to get straightened out. I’ll give you some credit because you’re new here, but there are some rules you need to get familiar with. In a hurry.” Mia frowned when Phoebe stared ahead. “You may think you’re clever making friends with Elle, but she’s a second in command’s mate.
Second.
That’s it. She’s not going to get you rank in the pack, no matter how hard you try. Everyone new starts at the bottom and guess who the newest member is?”

Calm. Calm.

“Next, don’t try showing me up in front of pack members again. Especially not Aidan or any of the other males. You might not have noticed, but I’m high rank around here and I don’t like it when unintelligent bitches make my life difficult.”

Phoebe’s knuckles went white as she clenched her fists. The ‘calm, calm’ mantra melted into the pure disgust bubbling up within her.

“Last, stay away from Aidan. Even if he did think you were worth his time – he is the generous sort – you aren’t worth the pack’s time. You’re not alpha female material.”

Mia raised her arm as if to touch her and Phoebe grabbed Mia’s wrist. She forced it down, sending Mia tottering on her high heels. With her shoulders back, she couldn’t match Mia’s height but she glared at her all the same as she twisted Mia’s wrist.

“You are so far from my range of caring right now. As far as I am concerned, you do not exist.”

Mia sputtered a bit and Phoebe held her gaze until Mia looked away.

Suddenly, Phoebe’s phone went off. Without releasing Mia’s hand, she checked the phone.

Elle.

She finally released Mia and looked at her with all the disgust she could muster. She did not have time for people like Mia, and she hoped the woman finally understood that.

“Don’t talk to me again,” Phoebe said and then walked away.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Three days.
Three days later and she had nothing. No plan of action, no more ‘gifts’ from Liam and no clue what to do next.

Phoebe stared out at the window as Aidan drove them out to the meeting place, seeing but not really acknowledging the sights as she rubbed her still sore fingertip. They took a slightly different route than the one to the falls, driving onto the rougher roads sooner and staying on them longer.

She and Aidan sat in the front seats while three other pack members, including River, squeezed in the smaller back seats. She briefly wondered if Aidan should consider getting a minivan if the pack always had to cram together in as few vehicles as possible. Then her mind drifted back to the inevitable: How to confront Liam.

Her confidence barely existed, but she still knew what she had to do. She’d somehow get a message to him, turning herself over to his mercy. He’d enjoy that, and he’d take his time to savor it – time she could use against him.

But how to do it and still keep enough of an advantage to take him down…

She looked over at Aidan, who gave her a reassuring smile and then looked back to the road. If Mia had said anything about their encounter, he either didn’t care or didn’t want to talk about it.

Looking at him made her feel warm and more than a little dizzy. The want to be near him bordered on a physical ache in her. That desire spurred her on to take a stand like nothing else could. But she couldn’t let herself get too close to him until she knew they were truly safe.

A van and a station wagon had already parked in the small valley. With a few camping props strewn around, anyone who might wander in would likely assume a group of teenagers had gone out camping for the weekend. A large group of teenagers, but still. They’d carefully picked their spot, though, and Phoebe doubted any humans would be wandering into their parking site randomly.

Aidan and Phoebe got out of the truck, Phoebe then turning to lower the front seat and let the teens out. River and the boys looked at each other and then Phoebe and Aidan before wandering off. Aidan closed his door and walked around to Phoebe.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Hm?” She looked at him. “Yes. Sorry. Wolf wants to get on with things. She’s never run with a pack before.”

He smiled. “Wolf is going to enjoy this. I promise.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

He reached over and held her hand, studying her face. “Are you sure you’re okay? I get the feeling something is going on in that mind that you’re not telling me.”

“There is, but it doesn’t make me not okay,” she said as she blushed, keenly aware that their hand-holding could be seen by anyone who happened to look over. She resisted the urge to look and see if anyone had noticed and gestured for him to lead the way.

They waited another five minutes before a minivan carrying the last of the pack members arrived. Will, Elle and six others walked over to the main group. Elle side-hugged Phoebe and smiled.

“The beauties of having a minivan,” she said. “You always end up being late because you pick up the most people. And have to drop the baby off at the sitter.”

Will looked at Phoebe, the dark circles under his eyes making Phoebe want to walk away. “Hey, you okay?”

Phoebe shook herself, forcing a smile. “Yeah, of course.”

Both Elle and Will looked at her, disbelief clear on their faces, but they didn’t push it any further. Phoebe crossed her fingers that they would just pass it off as nerves from running with the pack for the first time. Somehow, though, she figured they were smarter than that.

Aidan stepped into the center of the pack, drawing everyone’s attention. The pack quieted as Aidan looked around to make sure everyone had arrived.

Phoebe stepped closer to Elle and Will. Elle wrapped one arm around her shoulders, squeezing her briefly.

Aidan cleared his throat. “Welcome, everyone. We’ve gathered here early to talk before our run. Before we start, I’d like a moment of silence for our lost pack mate, Thomas Sinclair.”

Everyone nodded and the people wearing hats took them off. Finally, Aidan nodded and lowered his head, the pack following suit.

Phoebe was the last to lower her head, caught in awe for a moment at the closeness of the pack. Now her pack. She sighed and closed her eyes, aching for Thomas as both a pack mate she didn’t know and a death she could have prevented.

I will make this right, Thomas.

Aidan cleared his throat again and everyone looked at him once more. He looked back over his shoulder at the setting sun and then at the group. “I’m not going to waste time. As some of you know and some have guessed, a Hunter has come to Echo Falls.”

Chatter erupted in the group, people turning to each other with mixtures of fear and grim satisfaction at being right when they would have rather been wrong. Phoebe frowned and looked at Elle.

“What is a Hunter?”

Elle blinked. “I… You don’t know?”

Phoebe shook her head.

Will turned to face them and looked at Phoebe. “A Hunter is a human who kills werewolves. They track us, they find us and they don’t stop. There are stories of entire packs being killed off in a matter of months.”

She wrapped her arms around herself. “They have a name?”

“Yes,” Elle said. “They’ve been around nearly as long as we have and they think we’re an abomination.” She rolled her eyes. “They think killing us off is a service to the world. That they’re good Samaritans.”

Abomination.
How many times had that word haunted her nightmares? A Hunter? Of course. No wonder he killed other werewolves while he stalked her; he thought he was bettering the world.

“What you are is not right, Phoebe. Not clean. You are no longer human and do not belong in this world. I will help you find release from what you are.”

“Phoebe?”

“You will find peace, Phoebe. I will be the one to give it to you. You will not have to live as an abomination anymore.”

Phoebe sniffed and blinked away the tears.

“It’ll be okay,” Elle whispered, hugging her. “The Hunter won’t hurt you again.”

Aidan held up his hands and everyone began to quiet. “A Hunter hasn’t been in this town since before most of us were born, but
we
still have the advantage. He is in
our
territory. We don’t know why he’s here –”

“Why don’t you ask your girlfriend?” Mia asked.

Everyone turned to look as Mia stepped to the front of the group. Phoebe hadn’t noticed her before, stuck in her own thoughts while Mia stood partially hidden by other pack members until now. Looking plainer but infinitely more dangerous in a flimsy yellow sundress, Mia crossed her arms over her chest.

“Mia,” Aidan said, his tone warning.

“You know, don’t you?” she asked, taking a step toward Phoebe. “He’s hunting you and you’ve known it all along. Our pack has been in the crossfire since you got here and you haven’t said a word. That’s not very pack-like behavior, is it?”

“Mia, leave it,” Aidan said. “We don’t know anything at this point.”

She spun around to face him. “Hunters don’t just
turn up
. They hunt. He’s followed someone here, and I’m willing to bet he’s hunting
her
.” She pointed at Phoebe.

Phoebe lifted her chin and met Mia’s glare with one of her own. All Mia’s threats of Phoebe being bottom rank came flooding back as she felt all stares coming from the other pack members. Most weren’t ready to think one way or another, but doubt filled some faces. Fewer still looked almost as threatening as Mia. She lifted her chin a little higher. If she handled this well, it could mean higher standing in the pack.

Mia turned back toward Phoebe, taking another step toward her. “Nothing to say, little puppy? Not going to defend yourself against the truth? Sad, little puppy.”

Elle tried to hold her back, but Phoebe shook her off and stepped forward. People began whispering, wondering what trouble the newest wolf had brought them. Not only that; they were wondering how wise their leader was to so openly accept a lone wolf.

The sun had fully set behind the mountains, but the moon didn’t quite yet have enough power to force the change. Phoebe felt her wolf surge within and kept moving forward. The wolf wanted to fight, to establish a place in the pack and get the annoying female out of her way once and for all.

“Or are you the Hunter?” Mia asked, matching Phoebe step for step. “Have
you
come here to kill us? You’re betraying your own kind because you can’t stand being you.”

“Mia!” Aidan said.

They stood face to face and Mia smiled. “I understand. I wouldn’t be able to stand myself if I were you.”

Suddenly Mia grabbed Phoebe’s hair and forced her head back. Phoebe cried out and flung her hand forward, the base of her palm hitting Mia squarely on the chin. A little higher and Mia would have had a broken nose. Mia yelled and yanked harder on Phoebe’s hair.

A few people lunged forward, but Aidan reached them first. Phoebe tried a few times more to bite and scratch Mia, but Aidan blocked her every time. He forced them apart, holding Phoebe around her waist with one arm and holding Mia back by her upper arm with his other hand. Phoebe squirmed but couldn’t break away from his solid hold around her.

Mia looked about to get loose from him, but he glared at her and she backed down. Only then did he release Mia into the waiting arms of other pack members.

Aidan kept his arm around Phoebe, who bared her teeth at Mia. He reached over and pinched her nose briefly. She blinked, the action so unfamiliar that he instantly had her full attention.

“Mia,” Aidan said again. “Exactly when did you forget how this pack works? No accusations without proof. Absolutely no attacking new pack mates!” He looked at Phoebe, the anger in his eyes not lessening. “You are new to this pack and no more than a pup as far as we’re concerned. Have more respect for your elders.”

Phoebe opened her mouth to protest. Her wolf knew better and had the power to shut her mouth, accepting the chastisement. It didn’t sit well with either of them, but to do so much as glare at Mia right now would damage her new standing and force Aidan to do more than chastise her. Leaving it might even gain her some favor amongst Mia’s enemies.

She relaxed in his arms and lowered her gaze. At least he didn’t ask them to apologize to each other.

“It’s getting late,” Will called.

“The point,” Aidan said, looking around, “is to be careful. If you sense anything wrong, tell others. Tell me. Tell Will. We are a
pack
-” He looked at Mia and then Phoebe. “- and we can stop the Hunter from killing again. Now get ready. Tonight we hunt for Thomas.”

The people holding Mia only let her go completely when she turned away from Aidan and Phoebe. Not one for modesty, she pulled her sundress up over her head as she walked.

She couldn’t have said ‘kiss my rear end’ without words any clearer.

Aidan released Phoebe, who retreated back to Elle and Will. Her anger faded away, replaced by a fluttering embarrassment as she watched the pack strip down.

She should have expected this. Hadn’t she learned after her first change that clothes only irritated her wolf (and leaving them on was a sure way to get ripped up underwear by morning)? Yet she hadn’t thought to apply the need for nakedness to being in a pack. At least
they
didn’t seem disturbed, but most of them had probably been stripping down in front of each other for years.

Good for them
, she thought.

“This is the part I don’t like,” Elle said, smiling as she unbuttoned her blouse. “You would think that one of us out there would be a scientist who could come up with some sort of skin tight outfit that would change with us. Getting naked with other people will never be a good time for me.”

Phoebe looked over her shoulder at Aidan and then at Elle. “Did I screw up?”

Elle shook her head and held her hand to Phoebe’s cheek for a moment. “Mia gets away with too much as it is. You did what half of us have wanted to do for a long time.” She looked at Phoebe, who hadn’t touched her clothes despite the ever-increasing pull of the moon and the wolf. “Do you want to go behind the van?”

Tempting, but… She looked back over her shoulder again to see Aidan’s bare chest and swallowed. Hard. Her hands flexed as she imagined running them across his skin. Did he feel cool or hot in the damp of the evening? Would he push her away, still angry, or would he pull her against him to share the pull of the moon?

She sighed softly. If she could only get a private moment to be with him.

He caught her gaze and she looked away, grateful for the shadows covering her blush. She’d do much better to keep clear of him in wolf form for now. Her wolf didn’t have any of her hang ups or worries about life complications. Her wolf would happily do many things.

She would happily do them in human form, too, but she didn’t want to think about that. Her cheeks heated up even more and she licked her lips, pulling her t-shirt up over her head.

Will stepped away as Elle helped Phoebe to carefully remove the bandages from her shoulder and back. She didn’t need nearly as many now and kept them mainly to ward off infection.

“You’re mostly healed,” Elle said quietly.

Phoebe said nothing, feeling the other pack members staring at her various scars. Elle couldn’t cover her from every angle and she fought with herself every step of the way to keep undressing. She slipped off her shoes, socks and then her jeans. Her thigh injury was by far the worst, even with her wolf healing abilities.

She unwrapped the bandage, wincing at the sight of the injury. Though littered with teeth and claw marks surrounded by purple bruising, at least her thigh looked like it was healing at a healthy pace. The stiches would come out during the transformation, but she likely wouldn’t need them after.

More scars. The last scars.

The moon called out to her then in a way only the wolf could truly understand. She hurriedly took off the rest of her clothes, bathing her skin in moonlight. She looked to her right just long enough to see Elle and Will standing together holding hands, eyes closed, as their wolves came forward.