Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Lily

The wolf stared at her. A long, ropey tongue slithered out of its jaws and licked its lips. Lily held her breath.

It was bigger than any wolf she’d ever seen – bigger even than Elijah, an Alpha. Auburn fur shone like blood in the moonlight. Slowly, with oozing arrogance, its lips pulled back from its teeth into a sadistic, canine grin.

Lily took a tiny step backwards. She kept her eyes on the werewolf, her heart thundering in her chest. Blood raced past her ears, and every sound, every crunch of the undergrowth beneath her shifting weight, was magnified.

An owl flapped its wings. Lily took another timid step away from the wolf. Still it did not move; it remained where it stood, though its glossy black eyes were locked on hers. Tremors shuddered across her skin, raising the hair on the back of Lily’s neck.

Another step. Another. Then –

A twig cracked beneath her foot. Lily froze.

Her lungs ached to inhale a deep breath, but she kept her breathing shallow. Her eyes darted from tree to tree, searching the shadows for anything – help, ideally, or, worse, another potential threat.

Lily didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want to become something she hated, even in order to protect herself. Time stood still as the last vibrations of sound faded, and as she waited – for what, she wasn’t sure – she prayed that the werewolf would turn and leave.

Then the wolf took a step towards her. Fear rammed into Lily, an unstoppable force almost bowling her over.

She had seen him shift without the full moon. He had to be part of the Red Ripper pack. And, no matter how much she wanted to turn tail and run, she could not stand by and allow him to get closer to Sea Pine. She had a responsibility to them, no matter her muddled feeling towards their Alpha.

Lily held her ground. A blaze of pride burned through the fear, and she stood tall. She’d left home without any weapons; she didn’t know what her human form could do against such a huge wolf. But she had to try.

She glanced between the trees. The wolf’s size might work to her advantage, she decided. She had struggled to fit between the trees in places. To reach her, he may have to shift back into his human form. Then, Lily would have a chance in combat against him. She hoped.

Lily kept her focus on the wolf. She watched every twitch of his muzzle, every adjustment of his ears. They were, it seemed, at a stalemate.

Then the wolf sat down. Lily frowned at it. Was it a trick?

“I see you’ve met Affande,” jeered another male voice. Lily spun in a tight circle, looking behind her.

“Over here, sweetheart.” A new voice laughed alongside the first. “Bless her, Morvand. She can’t seem to find us.”

“How amusing,” tutted the first. Morvand, Lily assumed. Her eyes found the two figures in the shadows on the far side of the clearing, and bravery she did not know she had possessed her.

“Maybe you should stop hiding in the shadows, then,” she said. Her voice did not sound like her own in the strange atmosphere of the clearing.

This was it. Everything around her seemed to shrink. Here, alone in the pine forest, was her defining moment. Who was she? What did she stand for?

Taking a final, deep breath, Lily moved to the edge of the clearing. One single row of trees kept the wolf – Affande – from launching at her. Between him and the two others, Lily had little chance of fending them off with her fists. She’d need her wits instead.

“Come on, boys,” said the second, still nameless, voice. “Let’s show the little lady what she’s up against.”

Together, they stepped into the moonlight. Lily shivered.

One was handsome. The other looked… wrong.

“Reckon she likes the look of us, eh, Morv?” The second, more handsome of the two nudged the first with his elbow. Huge and muscular – the man was surely almost seven feet tall – Lily knew she stood no chance. He carried himself with a confidence that told her he knew he looked good. His brown hair even swished across his forehead just so.

Her fists clenched at her sides.

Morvand was no less muscular, but it looked odd on his frame. He had an elongated nose with a dorsal hump, and a pointed chin atop wide, bulky shoulders packed with muscle that did not suit his build. Lily swallowed hard.

The wolf paced in a tight circle around them, knocking the handsome one with his wet nose. Morvand rolled his eyes.

Lily hoped that tiny show of humanity would be enough.

Then more people spilled out into the clearing behind the wolf, the handsome one, and Morvand. Lily’s knees went weak as they filled the empty space behind the front three, watching in terrified silence as men and women, all just as tall and muscular as the first two.

Her breath hitched in her throat. Should she run?

Even with Sea Pine at her back, Lily doubted their chances. This was it – her only opportunity to stop Red Ripper. If they attacked…

Lily gulped.

“You’re the Red Ripper pack, aren’t you?” She took a shaking step into the clearing. The trees offered little protection to her in the face of so many enemies. Taking note from Atticus, she stretched up to her fullest height and broadened her shoulders as best she could. She had to appear strong, no matter the circumstances.

She’d faced insurmountable odds before. But she’d had Elijah looking out for her then, without her ever even knowing it. Perhaps –

No. She’d left him behind. Guilt wormed its way into her chest, squirming alongside the fear.

“That we are.” The handsome one smiled, slow and arrogant. His blue eyes watched her keenly.

“Are you the Alpha?” she wondered aloud.

He laughed, and Morvand’s nasal snicker joined in. A few of the amassed crowd behind them chuckled too, which only made the handsome one’s grin grow wider. It was devilish, and Lily’s body became an empty, hopeless pit.

There was no way out of this.

“We fly in the face of tradition,” said Morvand. “We are all equal here.”

The handsome one cocked his head. “Perhaps you would like to join us, Lily Cole.”

Was this it? Her one chance? She could go with them peacefully, send word back to Elijah somehow – send intelligence on their movements, on their goals, maybe even draw them away from Sea Pine from within –

How did they know her name?

“You know of me?” she asked.

“Rather well,” said the handsome one. Turning to the crowd behind him, he added, “Bring him out.”

Panic made her veins turn to ice. She could do nothing but watch as, from the very back of the group, a man was dragged by two of the Red Ripper pack – one a man, the other a woman, both of equal, ridiculous height and muscle mass – a hand clamped over his mouth, but kicking and screaming as he was yanked unceremoniously to the centre of the clearing.

Nausea choked her. Agony wound around her body, holding her fast, unable to move as she recognised the painfully familiar brown eyes searching desperately for hers.

His hair was longer than when she’d last seen him, and burnished with gold streaks from the summer sun. The moonlight cast him in silver, but she could fill in the gaps in colour from years spent at his side.

“Dad,” she whispered, tears making her vision blur. They streaked freely down her cheeks, specks of heat against the freezing cold of her skin.

The handsome one’s chest puffed up. “Glad we got the right one.”

The woman holding her father drew out a blade. It glinted wickedly in the moonlight, and she smiled, exposing ragged teeth. Her dad struggled desperately, shrieking her name against the hand digging into his mouth.

“Don’t hurt him!” Lily cried, running towards him. Morvand rushed to restrain her, and though she tried to dodge his long-fingered hands, he was unnaturally fast, even for a werewolf. Lily’s skin crawled at his touch as his bony fingers wound around her biceps. “Please,” she begged, hanging limply against his arms. “Please don’t hurt him.”

“Come with us, and your dear old dad will live,” he cooed in her ear. “Refuse, and his throat will be slit where he stands.”

Horror and panic turned Lily’s bones hollow. Weak with fear, unable to think, she nodded.

Her eyes stayed trained on her father’s as she spoke. Tears pooled in his eyes, a gleaming brown-gold mirror of her own; her tears carved unspoken apologies and promises into her cheeks, and understanding settled in his gaze even as he struggled against the hands binding him. He shook his head, but the deal was done.

“I’ll come with you,” she said.