Wolves among men (24 page)

“
And what did I
say?”

“
You’re dying. I can save
you,” I answered quickly. Sam breathed loudly as I watched her, her
eyes resting on me for a moment before she returned them to the
road.

“
I didn’t speak to you.
Ethan.” She turned to me and smiled. “I’m not
telepathic.”

“
Then what was it?” I
asked as she turned her eyes once again to the road in front of us.
She shrugged and shook her head.

“
I don’t know, maybe a
false memory or something.”

“
But you were
there.”

“
Yes.”

“
And I was
dying.”

“
Yes.” She smirked. “You
had a knife sticking out of your stomach, I’m pretty sure it’s safe
to say that you weren’t walking away from that.”

“
Why were you there?” She
stiffened as soon as I asked the question. Her smile faded and her
eyes locked onto the road as she gripped the steering wheel tightly
and shook her head.

“
I was hunting one of
Malik’s kids and I heard you scream so I came running,” her tone
was as emotionless as the fake smile she offered me before turning
her eyes back to the road.

“
Bullshit.”

“
What?” she snapped with a
smile.

“
Bullshit, you’re hiding
something.”

“
No I’m not.” She smirked.
“What makes you think-”

“
It’s not what I think
it’s what you told me.” I laughed lightly. “You’re good at tracking
down lost pups well I’m good at reading people and your body
language screams bullshit.”

“
How do you figure?” She
smirked as she took a sharp turn that pressed me uncomfortably into
the door. I righted myself and cleared my throat as if about to
give a lecture.

“
You tensed up when I
asked you why you were there, your answer was quick and vague.” She
laughed lightly and shook her head as I continued. “You wouldn’t
make eye contact with me and I’ve seen you smile enough to know
when you’re faking it.”

“
Okay, okay.” She laughed.
“You’re good.” At least her smile was genuine this time as she
looked to me and smirked.

“
I was following one of
Malik’s kids, that wasn’t a lie,” she turned her eyes back to the
road, her smile lingering as she spoke.

“
How long were you in
town?”

“
A week, maybe two.” I
nodded. “Anyway, I saw you a few times and I....” She stopped and
shook her head. “It’s stupid.”

“
No what is it?” She took
a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.

“
I knew where you worked
and I was going to introduce myself that night but before I got the
chance those guys were pulling you into the alley so I backed
off.”

“
You just let them take
me.”

“
Not exactly.” She snapped
lightly. “It’s not like I wanted you to get hurt but as a human I
couldn’t do much.” She sighed. “We’re strong but not taking on two
big guys with a knife strong.” She smirked. “I couldn’t let you see
me change but by the time I got there the damage was already done.”
Somehow it didn’t matter to me that that night had lined up to make
me what I was, that somehow circumstance and time had conspired
against me.

“
You wanted to talk to
me?” I asked with a smile. Sam had always been beautiful to me but
something about knowing that she had seen something in me made my
stomach flutter and for the moment I couldn’t help but grin. Her
cheeks reddened slightly as she nodded.

“
Yes.”

“
Why?” She laughed loudly
and turned her eyes to me once again.

“
I don’t know. You seemed
interesting to me.” She smirked. “And you’re not exactly a troll
you know.” I felt myself blush and turned toward the window to hide
it.

“
Okay.” The silence in the
truck had grown nearly unbearable and I turned myself from the
window to face her. “Change of subject?” I offered.

“
Yes, thank you that would
be great.” She chuckled as we turned off of the highway and onto a
series of winding dirt roads. We couldn’t be far now and I could
feel myself growing excited at the prospect of meeting others like
me. I sat up in my seat and cleared my throat, waiting for any sign
that we were approaching the factory but so far the only sight
there to greet me were the passing trees and scattered road
signs.

“
So you told me we don’t
age.” She nodded. “I’ve figured out that we hear, see and smell
things differently and we heal fast.”

“
It’s all pretty basic
Hollywood stuff.” She shrugged as she took a sharp turn, pressing
me into the door uncomfortably.

“
Okay I got one,” I sat up
and spoke excitedly. Her eyes flicked to me quickly before
returning to the road in front of us. “There’s no chance that this
is one of those things you grow out of right?” She laughed loudly
and shook her head.

“
Ethan, I’ve been this way
for over two-hundred years I think it’s fair to say that the change
is permanent.”

“
Wow, two-hundred
huh?”

“
Yup.” She
nodded.

“
What’s your secret?” I
chuckled lightly. She shrugged as we passed the dilapidated ruins
of an old cabin, forgotten by time and swallowed up by the forest
that surrounded it.

“
Oh you know, good diet,
exorcise, eternal damnation and the souls of the innocent.” I
laughed loudly and shook my head. It felt good to laugh, to enjoy
the company of someone who didn’t take her lot in life too
seriously. It was a luxury I hadn’t been afforded until
now.

“
So is the whole silver
bullet thing true?” Sam chuckled and shook her head.

“
Not even close. Just
about anything that will kill a person will kill one of us the only
difference is that were fast, strong and hard to catch.” I nodded.
Marcus had told me the same thing when I asked the day that
everything went to hell. But she needed a change of topic and I
needed conversation to keep myself from dosing off so I figured it
was just as good a question as any.

“
Why am I so freaking
hungry all the time?” She laughed lightly.

“
Because your metabolism
is higher, it’s the same reason your body temperature runs high and
you heal fast.” It made some semblance of sense to me but in a way
not enough. Not wanting an in depth explanation of how werewolf
biology works however, I let it lie and turned my attention to the
front.

The Trans Am had stopped
and a rather large blond woman was approaching the driver’s side.
My heart thundered in my chest as she pointed the car forward and
we began to head up the long dark road. It was covered over with
trees so thick even the sunlight had a hard time making its way
through the foliage. I could hear the sounds of the country over
the rumble of the truck engine. Birds chirping to the morning sky,
crickets that had not yet caught on to the daylight and the sound
of footsteps as whatever creatures were nearby took off deep into
the woods as we passed.

Sam chuckled as a large
broken down building came into view.

“
What?” I turned to her
and asked quickly.

“
I can hear your heartbeat
from here.” She smiled.

“
Is it wrong that I’m
excited?” I smirked. She shook her head and smiled as we pulled
into a large circular driveway and threw the truck into park. I
didn’t know if I was supposed to wait or if it was safe to go and
somehow I didn’t care. I threw open the door and stepped out into
the crisp morning air, rocks crunching beneath my feet as I walked
slowly toward Sam, waiting for her cue to move ahead.

“
What’s wrong?” she
whispered as I stopped at her side.

“
What do I do?” She
laughed weakly and placed her hand on my back.

“
Don’t worry so much.” She
smiled. I nodded even though my stomach was twisting and turning
with a strange mix of excitement and nervousness.

“
I can’t help it.” I
looked up at her as a million and one thoughts raced through my
mind. Something in her eyes told me everything would be okay and as
I watched the others pile out of the tiny silver car I began to
feel like everything would be okay.

Looking up, I took in the
sight of the expansive and weather worn building in front of me.
What once was a small factory on the outskirts of town had been
stripped clean of its beautiful sheen and left dull and neglected
amidst the woods. Massive in its frame, it stood nearly three
stories high and looked more like an oversized house rather than a
factory of any kind. With its steeped roof, lawn chairs and the
well cared for garden that decorated the front of the building
there was nothing left of the old factory that it once was. Cracked
rust colored bricks made up the outside of the structure and
somewhere behind it lay the ruins of what once was a well-used
smoke stack that had since been left to rot and decay in the summer
sun. Trees surrounded us, bringing a sense of seclusion and safety
as we waited quietly in their welcoming shadows.

It wasn’t long before the
large double doors at the front swung open and an older looking man
with a friendly look about him walked toward us. My heart thundered
in my chest, excitement and fear filled me as he nearly jogged
toward us.

“
Sam!” he called, opening
his arms to her as he approached us with a smile. She took him into
her embrace and closed her eyes as he rocked her back and forth.
“It’s so good to see you,” he cooed as she held him
tight.

“
You too.” She patted his
back and after a long moment finally released him and watched with
a smile as he turned to me.

“
This must be Ethan,” he
spoke warmly and offered his hand to me. I took it graciously and
nodded, barely able to contain my excitement.

“
The newest member of my
pack.” She smiled as she placed her hand on my shoulder and smiled
up at me warmly.

“
It’s nice to meet
you.”

“
I only wish it were under
different circumstances, son,” the remorse in his voice was hard to
miss as he let go of my hand and motioned for us to follow him. Sam
stuck close to my side as Logan and Matt followed quietly behind us
but before I had the chance to look back the massive front door
swung open once again and to my shock and surprise a line of people
began to flood out and take their places in front of us.

Women, children, old men
and everyone in between stood happily before our tiny group. Sam
and the others greeted them as if nothing magnificent had just
happened but I, in my infamous naivety stood silent and still,
staring at the faces that smiled back at me. They were all wolves
like me, I could smell it on them and I counted at least forty
bodies as I scanned their faces curiously.

Out of the corner of my
eye, I could see Sam stop and turn to me. The others followed her
lead as she made her way to my side slowly. Somewhere in my
observation I had fallen to my knees, wide mouth and shocked at the
display that greeted me, a sign of hope after the desperation and
fear of the days before.

All the bitterness I felt at my
situation, all the loneliness and hopelessness that had come to
feel like friends drifted away and in their place came a rushing
sense of sanity, safety and hope. I felt Sam kneel down next to me,
her arm wrapping itself gently around my shoulder as she took me
into her embrace.

“
I’m not alone,” I managed
to utter as she squeezed my shoulder gently. Logan, James and Matt
looked down at me as I choked back the flood of emotion that shook
me and made it almost impossible to breathe. Sam helped me to my
feet and pulled me into a soft reassuring hug as the others looked
on, their smiles never fading as I did my best to take it all
in.

“
You never were, Ethan,”
she whispered as she patted my back. I nodded in thanks and
followed close behind her as she led me toward the building and
past the hopeful faces of friends to come.

Chapter
Sixteen

“
This doesn’t look like
much of a factory.” I smirked as I took a look around the expansive
main room. The building had been renovated over time and despite
the alterations that were made it still held a glimmer of what it
once was.

“
That’s because it hasn’t
been in nearly fifty years.” Grant chuckled as he flipped on the
lights. The building came to life with the hum of florescence and
my eyes struggled to adjust as every dark corner, every shadow
disappeared with the pop of the blinding white lights.