Three Wild Werewolf Tales (19 page)

“Look, there’s no wait he can jump this high, maybe if he was able to run up to it, but he won’t have the space,” Stephen said. “We still need to cover this up, I still need to put the excavator away safely, and we have to finish all that before sunset.” Since he had dug the pit close to the edge of the forest, it would be easy enough to spread the extra dirt around. But with sunset a little under two hours away, they’d be cutting it close.

Peter and Richard exchanged a look, then Peter shrugged. “Good point,” Richard said. “Fine, you get rid of that thing, me and Peter and Daniel’ll work on covering this up. Do you have any planks around that can help with that?”

Stephen glared down at him. “I can find some, yeah, but you’re helping me put it all back tomorrow. I can’t have my colleagues find out about this on Monday.” He’d also have to fill up the hole again. Hopefully he’d be able to convince his workbuddies some wild animal must’ve disturbed the ground.

By the time he came back, the other three were hard at work covering the pit, although Stephen didn’t think it looked very convincing. As the rest of the pack turned up - Richard had called them as well - they joined in and eventually, the pit was covered with a combination of longer planks, shorter branches, a lot of leaves and some of the ground Stephen had dug up earlier.

“It’s obviously a trap,” he told Peter, only minutes away from sunset now. He felt a tingle at the bottom of his spine, a sign that the transformation wouldn’t be long now. “I don’t think McClanahan is going to fall for it.” Or in it.

Peter gave him a grin that was distinctly wolfish. “Depends on the bait, doesn’t it?”

~*~

It turned out that the pack’s morning meeting had been a lengthy one, and Stephen wished he could’ve been a part of it. Trapping McClanahan in a pit until morning was a good plan. Using an excavator to get the digging done was even better. But using Daniel as bait? “It’s too risky,” he growled, once the sun was down and he had shifted.

Peter had recovered faster from his transformation. “We all know McClanahan wants Daniel. And you’re right, that pit is damn obvious. You really think McClanahan will come anywhere near it unless the bait is something he wants?”

The thought of that made Stephen growl. “What if the trap doesn’t work? What if McClanahan doesn’t fall?”

“Then I will fight him,” Daniel declared, who was still looking slightly shaken after his own transformation. “And you will be with me. And the others will be nearby.”

While Daniel’s obvious confidence in him warmed Stephen thoroughly, he also knew that ‘nearby’ was actually pretty far. The rest of the pack couldn’t be too close, or McClanahan would catch their scent.

“The less time McClanahan spends around that pit the better, right?” Karen said. She’d been sniffing around the edges of the pit. “So Daniel shouldn’t be waiting around here; he should be in the middle of the forest and then he can lead McClanahan here.”

“And McClanahan will be too focused on catching his prey to notice the trap.” Lily added.

“What, and leave Daniel by himself?” Stephen asked. “Not gonna happen, Lily.” He growled briefly at her, but Lily barely even flicked her ears in response.

“Calm down. After what you did last night, McClanahan’ll be expecting you,” she replied. “I’m suggesting you stay with Daniel, then briefly fight with McClanahan so Daniel can run off.”

“And you want me to lose so he can hunt down Daniel?” He understood the reasoning behind the plan, but he didn’t like the idea of having to fight McClanahan again. What if the other wolf didn’t accept Stephen surrendering to him?

“Exactly.”

He turned to Daniel, whose ears were flat, his low tail indicating he was nervous. “What do you think? Can you outrun him?”

“I’ll have to,” he replied in a quiet whine.

Stephen moved towards him to brush his shoulder against Daniel’s. “Hey, you did it before.”

“We need to agree on a few signs, though,” Peter remarked. “How else will we know McClanahan’s in the trap?”

“I’ll howl once if he is… twice if I am or Stephen is or the plan went wrong somehow,” Daniel suggested.

Stephen didn’t want to think about ending up in the pit himself, unable to help while McClanahan continued to chase Daniel. “So that’s our plan?” Somehow, it seemed too simple, too easy. Just lead McClanahan on a merry chase and hope Daniel was faster. And that McClanahan wouldn’t wonder why the ground looked different on top of the pit or smelled something was off.

“You got a better one?” Richard asked. “’Cause if you do, you should’ve said something sooner.”

And he didn’t, he really didn’t. “Fine. Let’s go hunting.”

~*~

“I hate this.”

It was a few hours later, and Stephen had tried to distract himself and Daniel by chasing after a few hares, but his heart wasn’t in it. Even his inner wolf’s sharp hunting instincts had dulled, too preoccupied with McClanahan to focus on something else. “The waiting?”

“The not knowing. What if he doesn’t come? What if he’s waiting for me back home?”

He wouldn’t be able to help Daniel then. “I’m only a phone call away,” he reminded Daniel, but the other wolf remained quiet. “I mean it.”

“I just want this to be over.” Daniel huffed, pawing at the ground. “I don’t want to go home and still have to be afraid of McClanahan; I want to go home and call you for different reasons.” His brow was oddly furrowed as he looked at Stephen.

Stephen tilted his head. “Is that meant to be seductive?” he eventually asked. “Because you look like you ate some rotten old carcass.”

Daniel let out a brief, amused bark. “I guess wolves can’t do that.”

“I’m glad, I don’t want to be attracted to a wolf.” Stephen shuddered at the thought.

Daniel winced as well. “Neither do I. Come on, let’s keep moving and see if we can find McClanahan.”

Stephen ran after Daniel, already dreading the moment they found him.

~*~

They were about a mile away from the cabins when Daniel scented McClanahan, and it wasn’t long before the other wolf found them. “There you are,” he growled, baring his teeth.

Stephen snarled back, putting himself between McClanahan and Daniel. Even if a fight hadn’t been part of the plan, he still would’ve, no matter how much it was going to hurt. “Are you that bad at tracking?” He could smell that Daniel was already backing away, preparing to run. Hopefully Stephen would be able to delay McClanahan to give him a decent head start. If McClanahan caught up with Daniel too soon, their entire plan was ruined.

McClanahan moved closer. “Your pack isn’t here to save you; you should surrender to me now.”

Stephen stood up straight, trying to make himself look as big as possible. “Daniel,” he said. “Run.” Then, when Daniel ran and McClanahan was about to follow, Stephen lunged for him, slamming his body against McClanahan’s in an attempt to tackle him to the ground.

The other wolf managed to dodge him and growled, looking from Daniel to Stephen.

For a long second, he worried McClanahan was going after Daniel, but then he came for Stephen, teeth glinting in the moonlight.

There was no way Stephen was going to win, not with the dull ache in his hind leg. McClanahan’s teeth grazed his fur, and Stephen focused on not getting bitten again, once was bad enough. When McClanahan lunged for him again, Stephen fell, and the two wolves rolled on the ground. Stephen was panting, trying to get up again, but McClanahan was too big and heavy, not to mention too strong. Soon, sharp fangs were on his neck and Stephen whined pitifully. “I surrender!”

Eventually, McClanahan raised his head, and growled a warning. “Don’t come after me, or you won’t be so lucky next time.” Then he quickly bit Stephen’s right shoulder, and while it hurt like hell, the bite wasn’t as deep as the one last night. McClanahan ran off into the night, and Stephen slowly got up, his heart beating fast. Damn, and his other wound had only just about healed. If that was the other wolf’s idea of a warning nip, Stephen didn’t want to find out what he’d do to Daniel if he caught up with him.

He did follow McClanahan, but at a much slower pace. Daniel had had some time to get away, to get closer to the trap. Hopefully it would be enough.

~*~

When he heard Daniel howl, Stephen froze. His ears perked up, but there was no second howl. He could barely believe it, tried to contain his feelings of relief and happiness. Stephen sped up, ignoring the pain from his right front leg. He had to see, smell for himself that McClanahan really had fallen for their ridiculous trap.

Karen and Lily were already there, snarling down at the other wolf. Daniel noticed him and ran up to meet him, his tail wagging proudly in the air, but it lowered when he noticed Stephen’s slight difficulty moving. “You’ve got blood everywhere!”

Stephen kept walking, although he moved slower. Karen and Lily were there, McClanahan couldn’t get out now. He could smell the fear and anger in the air. “It’s not as bad as last night,” he replied, his eyes on the pit. “So it worked?”

“Yes,” Daniel replied, walking by Stephen’s side. “I ran across it and it was already creaking, so I stopped on the other side, pretending to be tired. I know what he’s like, that he wanted to gloat before attacking me. He stopped right on top of it and was in the middle of threatening me when he fell through. You should’ve seen the look on his face.”

But despite Daniel’s good news, he was still worried. “I’d like to see the look on his face now.” Stephen exchanged a glance with Karen and Lily, then stood at the edge of the pit, looking down.

McClanahan reared up, his claws scrabbling to get purchase. “Coward,” he snarled. “A real werewolf fights fairly.”

Stephen sat down. “You are the last person I’m gonna take advice from.”

He could smell Alex and Richard now, and was glad for their company. Not that he didn’t think Karen and Lily would be able to keep McClanahan in the pit, but the more, the better. Once Peter and Holly had arrived as well, McClanahan had given up on trying to get out, at least for the moment. He had lain down, his golden eyes darting from wolf to wolf.

“It’s looks worse than it is,” he told Alex, who had suggested they call Nathan. “What do we do about him?” he asked, turning to Peter expectantly. The other wolf had to have some idea.

Peter turned to his wife. “What do you think?”

“We’ll let him out after sunrise,” she said. “So he can find his own way home.”

“Let him go?” Stephen was shocked. After everything McClanahan had done, they were going to let him go?

“Yes.” Holly was now looking down at the other wolf, who was visibly surprised as well. “We’re going to let him out, naked and vulnerable in the cold. The next town is about five miles away, he can probably manage that.”

McClanahan growled. “You wouldn’t dare, bitch. You think I’m gonna leave? Who’s going to stop me from breaking into your house and taking what I need?”

“I would,” she replied calmly, while Peter snarled at him. “Unless my husband gets to you first.”

“I could drop him off a mile outside town,” Richard offered. “By the side of the road, even.”

“I’ll help you with that.”

Stephen was relieved Alex had made the offer; Richard shouldn’t be alone with McClanahan. Holly and Peter looked out for each other, as would Karen and Lily. And he had no plans on letting Daniel out of his sight.

McClanahan was pacing in a small circle now. “A mile isn’t that far.”

“You can come to our town if you like.” Holly’s tone was sweet. “But I don’t think the local Sheriff likes having naked vagrants wandering around.”

“Pretty sure he’ll arrest you as soon as look at you,” Peter added, tail wagging.

Stephen looked at Daniel, to make sure he was fine with all of this. “You agree?”

Daniel met his eyes. “Well, either he’s going to get pneumonia or get arrested. I don’t know which one I like best.”

That made McClanahan leap up, but while Daniel winced, he didn’t back away. “You think you’re safe now? I know your scent, I can find you again.”

“And I know yours,” Daniel snarled. “I can outrun you.”

“You better hope so the next time the moon is full or -”

“I won’t be alone next time!” Daniel then looked at Stephen. “Right?”

“Of course you won’t be,” he replied. He didn’t care if Daniel stayed with him, or if he had to go to Daniel. He’d prefer not to be in the city during the full moon, but he wasn’t going to take any chances.

Daniel moved away from the edge. “I’ve got nothing more to say to him.”

Stephen went after him, back into the forest. “You’re welcome here for the next full moon, and the one after that, for as long as you like,” he promised. “My guest room’s always available.”

“I’m not staying in your guest room, Stephen.”

Stephen tried not to laugh. “Please, stop trying to look seductive as a wolf.”

“Shut up.” Daniel buried his head in Stephen’s neck for a moment. “I’ve had a long night.”

“But you’re happy with the plan?” he asked, enjoying the warmth of Daniel against him.

“Yes. He’ll be humiliated, cold, probably hungry too… he’ll be as miserable as he’s made me. I can’t thank you and your pack enough.”