Wolves among men (20 page)

“All we have to do is get a jump on him,
right? How hard can it be?” She shook her head and
sighed.

“Ethan, listen to me. Don’t you think that in
all this time that someone had to have tried that at one point?
It’s not numbers and it’s not brains that are going to get to him.
And besides all of that he never fights for himself. He sends
others to do it for him so finding him is a whole other ball game
in itself.” I chuckled and rested my head on the back of the couch
as she lectured me.

“Look, it’s not that we don’t appreciate the
enthusiasm it’s just that we have been at this for a long time. We
know where he’s been but not where he is. Fighting his minions is
all well and good but it doesn’t change things and it doesn’t solve
the problem. What would have happened to you had we not shown up
when we did?”

That was a stupid question. I was amazed I had
survived even though they did. There was no doubt in my mind that I
never would have made it without them, not to mention what would
have happened to Cordillia. I looked over at her.

“You know the answer to that.” I
sneered.

“Exactly, now imagine that our numbers are
small and his are great and even then he would never ever leave
himself out in the open and vulnerable. He sends ambush parties
like the one that attacked you. Look at this.” She stood, walked
over to the kitchen table and pulled a newspaper out of a large
leather bag. I walked over to her and took a look at the front
page.

Second Hiker Goes Missing This
week

Police urge caution when entering
the woods.

I scanned the rest of the article quickly my
eyes returning to the picture of the missing boy.

“Toby, age nineteen goes missing in what
appears to be another bear attack in the Oregon woods just three
days after the first victim’s camp site was discovered,” I read
aloud. “I know this boy.”

“You met both of them.” She added as I dropped
the paper on the table and met her gaze. “He sends one out to
gather new pups, feral wolves to fight for the general so to speak.
We’re not the only ones in danger, Ethan. A lot of people will get
hurt or worse.”

“So what do we do?” I asked as the room went
quiet and a sort of sadness washed over us. She shook her head as
she put the paper back into her bag.

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out.” I
walked back over to the couch and sat down with a loud sigh. I
wanted to help, wanted to stop this but I was just as stumped as
they were. I felt her sit slowly next to me, a heavy feeling washed
over me as she sighed. “We will figure this out, you have to know
that.” She smiled as my eyes met hers. “For now we’ll just keep low
and try and come up with a plan.” I just smiled half halfheartedly
as my head swam with options, ways out of this mess.

I sunk into the couch and covered my eyes with
my arm as the others continued their conversation around
me.

“James, is there any telling where he might
hit next?” She sighed after a moment of silence and without looking
up at his reaction I knew that the answer was a no.

“I could make some calls. Maybe see if some of
the packs up north might know something.”

“Please.” I felt her fall back next to me and
the sound of a book being slammed shut was the last thing I heard
before I fell into an uncontrollable bout of soft laughter. I could
feel them staring at me as my laughter grew louder and in a way it
felt good.

“Something on your mind?” Logan chuckled as
his footsteps echoed across the hard wood floor.

“Oh no.” I smiled as my hysterics began to
calm. “It’s just that,” I shook my head as I sat up and leaned
forward on my knees. “none of this would have happened if I hadn’t
forgotten my wallet.” I chuckled as they looked at one another in
confusion.

“What?” I looked over at Matt as sank back
into the chair he had claimed. “What does that have to do with
anything?”

“The night Sam found me,” I motioned toward
her. “I was mugged, stabbed and she changed me to save me but none
of it would have happened if I’d had my wallet.” I dropped my head
to stifle my chuckle at the end.

“Oh wow!” Matt groaned. I looked back up as he
ran his hands over his face and smiled. “So all of this over a
couple of bucks?”

“People have killed each other over less.”
Cordillia smirked as she sat down on the floor next to
me.

“That’s very true.” He smirked for a second.
“That is also very sad.”

“So there is something I was curious about.” I
turned to Sam, hoping to change the subject from my momentous
stupidity to something of a little more value. “Why do you think
Jonathan would have been sent to find me?”

“You started this, isn’t that enough of an
explanation?” Logan piped up as he took a seat next to my sister
and handed her a glass.

“Well sure but doesn’t it seem like a waste of
time and resources to go looking for me?”

“Maybe he wanted to thank you,” Matt offered
from his chair.

“What?”

“You know,” He shrugged. “Shake the hand of
the man who set him free.”

“Oh please.” I smirked. “He could have come
out of hiding at any time. He didn’t need me to set things in
motion.”

“Well he didn’t need you but you sure did make
things easy on him.” She looked over at me with a smile.

“Maybe I’m reading you all wrong but none of
you seem to terribly upset about this.” Sam shrugged and the others
followed suit.

“If you ask me,” I turned my gaze back to Matt
as he cracked his neck loudly. “It’s about time we just take him
out.”

“Matt…” Sam cooed and crossed her arms over
her stomach.

“Look I don’t want anyone to get hurt either
but I’m tired of being afraid of this asshole.” Sam sighed and
shrugged. “We’ve been hiding from him for nearly a century and
every day it feels like he could come out of nowhere and destroy
everything we have built for ourselves.” She nodded with a sigh and
I watched as everyone turned their eyes to the ground. “I’m tired
of waiting for him to make his move.” He turned his gaze to me and
smiled. “I know you don’t see this as anything close to a good
thing, Ethan, but thank you.”

“For what?” I asked softly. Matt sighed
heavily and smirked.

“We don’t have to wait anymore. It’s done, we
can end this.”

“I never thought about it that way,” Sam
offered thoughtfully as she nodded. “We have a lot to
lose.”

“And we’ve just been sitting her waiting to
lose it,” the room went silent as his words hung in the air and a
heavy weight fell on us all. I ran through everything I had been
told in my head. I was happy, excited even to have people like me
for a change. To feel normal and to feel welcomed since this whole
mess had begun.

But a bigger part of me was scared. Scared of
what all of this meant and for the first time it wasn’t Cordillia I
was so keen on protecting. She was a part of it sure but it wasn’t
just her life that was on the line anymore. My momentary lapse in
control had put a lot of people in danger, had started a war and
now it was just a matter of time before all hell broke
loose.

Thinking about it in terms of the bigger
picture made me feel small and helpless but it didn’t take much
more than a glimpse around the room into the faces of my new
friends to bring me back to reality and put the pieces where they
belonged.

As time passed the conversation grew lighter
and laughter invaded the room. Everyone was smiling and that was a
sight I was dying to see. There was no fear in this room, no stress
and no worry. Just us enjoying the time we had together and the
company we shared.

The next morning I woke and before I had a
chance to really register what was going on I jumped off of the
couch and to my feet. That smell, it was everywhere and as if on
cue I heard footsteps behind me as Sam stopped at my
side.

“Where is it coming from?” I growled as Matt
sniffed the air from behind me. She just shook her head as she
scanned the room slowly. “Where are the others?” I asked as quietly
as I could.

“Shush.” She hissed as she moved from my side
and began to circle the room carefully. I watched her glide slowly
across the floor with a sort of grace I had never seen before. She
didn’t make a sound and I was amazed at just how fast she could
maneuver. Before I knew it she was back at my side, Logan and James
behind us.

“It’s fresh, they’re probably still here,” she
whispered to Matt. He nodded as she turned to the other two. “Get
your things quietly and meet back in here as fast as you can.” She
turned to me quickly, the usual sweetness in her face gone and the
look of a warrior stood in its place. “You too, Ethan,
go.”

I turned and headed down the hall looking into
each one of the rooms as I passed them. Logan was throwing clothes
into a rather large backpack. James had what looked like an entire
library shoved into a suitcase amidst a few T shirts thrown in
where they would fit. Matt saw me and shut the door as I was
passing but there was something missing I thought as I stopped at
the doorway of the last room.

I pushed the door open as I tried to figure
out what it was that seemed out of place and as I got a glimpse of
the room it hit me like a ton of bricks.

It was destroyed. The nightstand had been
knocked over, the bed tossed and the window broken. Her things were
still here but she was nowhere to be found. I ran back down the
hallway and toward the living room. My heart raced and my mind
began to think the worst as I found Sam standing near the window
peering out into the woods that surrounded us.

“She’s gone!” I screamed.

“Ethan, what’s-”

“She’s gone, the rooms destroyed and I can’t
find her. We have to find her!” I shouted. I could feel the tears
behind my eyes as she put her arms around me gently and led me back
to Cordillia’s room. Matt was already inside by the broken window
as Sam walked in front of me and started to slowly search the
room.

“There’s no smell in here,” Matt spoke softly
as he looked out into the clearing. He turned and began to sift
through the mess. He moved the quilt off of the bed and my heart
sank as the smell of blood filled the air.

Chapter
Thirteen

Sam looked over at me as I stared down at the
lingering red pool on the mattress. I could feel their eyes on me
but my mind couldn’t pull itself away from the steady stream of
thoughts that fueled my anger. What had happened? Why hadn’t I been
there? Where was she? I felt myself losing control I felt the
monster tearing at the edges of my sanity, threatening to break
free and tear apart everything that stood between Cordillia and
I.

“Ethan, get a hold of yourself,” I heard Sam’s
voice calling out to me. Just like that my focus changed from my
thoughts to the searing pain in my hand and the large hole I had
made in the wall next to me. I felt a scream escape my chest as I
began to tear the room apart. I ripped my hand out of the wall and
landed another hit, another and then another. I was angry, scared
and hopeless and this was all I could think of as I destroyed the
once beautiful bedroom. My body grew hot and my pulse raced but
before I had a chance to change I felt someone grab me from behind
and knock me to the ground.

“Ethan!” I heard Matt scream into my ear. I
thrashed and roared as I tried to get out from under his
hold.

“Let me go!” I roared as I struggled under his
weight.

“Ethan! Listen to me!” I heard him scream
again. I didn’t want to listen. I wanted to fight, to find her and
end this. He lifted me off of the ground and pulled me out of the
room as I struggled against him.

“Let me go! Get off me!” I screamed as he drug
me down the hallway. I felt a sharp pain in my head as he threw me
to the ground and pinned my arms to my chest. I tried to free
myself but he was stronger than I could hope to be in that
moment.

“Ethan, calm down and listen to me, man,” he
begged as I struggled and writhed against his grip. I was beyond
pissed off and he was standing in my way. “We’ll find her!” he
screamed. I went limp in his hold and looked up at him as I
struggled to catch my breath. “We will find her,” he spoke
carefully as I began to calm. I looked around at the worried faces
that peered down at me and somehow I knew it wasn’t a false
promise. In that moment he was being as honest as he could with
me.