“Yeah! I don’t get to play them that often since my dad limits my screen time. Can we get some games?” Her face lit up into a real smile for the first time since I had met her. All I could do was nod, enjoying how lovely her eyes were when she was happy. They didn’t seem so grey-blue anymore, instead looking more like the summer sky.
I ruffled her hair, smiling back. “Come on. I own a Switch and you can get some games for it.”
“You own a Switch?” Her jaw dropped and I couldn’t hold back a laugh anymore.
“Yeah, though I never use it. I use my PC for everything.” I started pushing the cart, keeping her next to me.
We hit up the electronics section and then I let her pick out a lot of junk food and snacks. I knew I needed to feed her real food, but I was already stocked up on everything I needed for a couple weeks. If I could treat her with a mini vacation during the mess her family and life had become, I would.
She was happier when we were back at the bar. Together, we managed to get everything upstairs and she changed into cleaner clothing. I kept her old, dirty, and torn things, putting them in a plastic bag. I didn’t know why I wanted to keep them safe, but the urge was there so I followed it.
As I cooked dinner later that night, I figured things would be great for the week. Her father, no matter what happened to him, raised a good kid and she would be fine in the end. I just had to keep her distracted and happy.
That was, until my magic screamed at me. I gasped, dropping the wooden spoon I had been using to stir the chili I was whipping up. My chest tightened as I closed my eyes and focused, trying to decipher what my magic was telling me.
“Wolves,” I whispered, knowing she couldn’t hear me. Then I snarled loud enough that she jumped. “Wolves are coming.”
Chapter Five
It took less than a minute for me to get all the information I needed. I started rambling, hoping Carey picked any of it up, since it was unnatural for me to tell others these sorts of things. Normally, I went on instinct. My magic would tell me of an intruder and that drove me to chase down the new predator in my territory. I couldn’t do that this time, not if I wanted Carey to stay safe.
“They just entered my territory. They’re moving too fast to be in their wolf forms, so they must be on US-175. That means they’re coming right this way, or close by. They might be following a trail—or maybe they had a lead on where we are. It gives us roughly thirty minutes until they get here if they stay on the road.” I locked eyes with her across the room as I turned the stove off. The chili was practically done anyway. “Carey, when I say hide, you will, is that clear?”
“Yes.” She dropped the Switch and jumped off the couch, twiddling her thumbs. “Um. What if they’re my family? What if they’re here to get me and take me somewhere safe?”
“That’s not how this works,” I answered. “Your father, if he knew how this works well enough to send you here, would know that I can’t give up claim on my charge until I know without a doubt that he or she is safe. I told the big honchos that run things on this continent that I had two conditions for that. One was peace in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The second is that I know your family is alive or dead and that no more trouble is coming their way.” I ran a hand through my hair, looking up to my ceiling, trying to think of the best way to say what I needed to. “Carey, if these wolves are here, they can’t be friends. Any allies we might have wouldn’t come to try and take you from me or give away your position. Did anyone in the pack know I was here except your father?”
She only shrugged, which didn’t bode well for me. I figured when she arrived that her father wouldn’t tell anyone who he was planning to have protect his daughter, but secrets always got out. That meant I had to adjust. After this, I had to get her packed and into my car.
“Anything? Do you have anything that could tell me who these wolves might be? Who was in your father’s inner circle? Who were his top five?”
“I don’t know! They kept me pretty far away from pack things!” Carey threw her hands up.
I sighed, nodding. “Okay. I want you to grab your bag and the new clothes and take it all to my bedroom. I’m going to go down and secure the bar. You have to stay up here, okay? No matter what you hear or what anyone says to you, you have to stay here.”
“Until?” Her big grey-blue eyes were wide in fear now. At least the severity of what was happening was sinking in.
“Until I come get you and we leave. They’ve come on my territory and they know better. There’s only one way for this to end.” I started walking, not bothering to grab shoes or anything. It would all be in my way anyway. When I reached the door, I turned back to her, watching her grab everything she could hold and begin to haul it out of the room. “Carey. These wolves might have been a part of your father’s pack, but I need you to remember one thing for me.”
“What’s that?”
“That the loyalties don’t matter anymore. Right now, every wolf from your father’s pack is on their own until stability is brought back to the area. You can’t trust them.”
“But I have to trust you.”
I winced at the bitterness in those words. I was telling her to not trust men who probably guarded her, helped raised her. They were probably honorary uncles and friends she watched grill with her father. She was probably friends with their children.
“He sent you to me,” I said gently. “He didn’t send you to them.” Why? I had no idea, but I was absolutely planning on finding out when I got my hands on him. If he was dead already, I figured a witch might help me contact his spirit. That wolf needed a piece of my mind, and I fully intended to give it to him. “He sent you here, sweetheart.”
“I know…” She continued walking after that, disappearing into my bedroom.
“Lock all the doors, then hide in the closet!” I called, turning to leave.
I jumped down the entire staircase, checking my back door first. I bolted it closed, then the secondary lock. I didn’t need it for the area I was in. No, the extra locks were only because of what I was and the potential trouble being a werecat could bring me. Now they came in handy.
With that door secure, I pushed open the door that led to the bar. I propped it open. I needed to be able to see the staircase in case any of the wolves tried for it. I kept the blinds closed and went to the front door. It was locked, but that’s not what I wanted. I flipped the latch, hoping the wolves would try it first. It was past dark now. Perfect.
Then I went to the bar, my cat clawing to come out. I couldn’t let the monster play, not yet. Closing my eyes, I focused on my territory and my land. The wolves were still moving, closing in on my location on the highway. Damn, I had really been hoping they would abandon the car and run the woods instead. I had twenty minutes now. I turned off all the lights from my spot, letting my eyes adjust.
I poured a drink once I was done. I could hear Carey above me, moving things around and probably getting ready to run once this was over. I hoped so, at least.
Fifteen minutes and my hands began to twitch. The full moon was tomorrow night, which meant every single one of the wolves would get faster shifts, but then again, so would I.
At ten minutes, I began to pull off my clothes. Thankfully, my normal patrons didn’t even bother showing up today, or they must have checked the door, saw the closed sign, and turned around. None of them were around, and I hoped it would stay that way.
Five minutes to go, I Changed. The pain tore through me as the bones broke and reformed, taking me down onto all fours. I snarled as the pain flared and took the air from my lungs. Hands became giant paws. My canines became five inch saber teeth. My eyes focused and adjusted to the dark, even better than in my human form.
Roughly a minute. That was my Change time now. A shift between forms faster than even one of the oldest werecats could do. It was much faster than any werewolf would ever be able to perform.
I jumped onto my bar and lay down. It was high enough to make me feel level with anything that walked through the door. I focused on my territory. The wolves had stopped five minutes out and were going through the Change, most likely. It made my hackles rise.
In human shape, they could speak to me. I would get information, then probably kill them. In wolf form, they were a hunting party. There would be no talking. There would only be a fight.
I could have left and hunted them down, but my instincts were against the idea. Staying close to Carey was my number one priority. If I left to hunt them down, I could miss one, and it could come here and take her or kill her. That wasn’t an option. This was my first Duty and hopefully my last. I wouldn’t fail it. I couldn’t fail it.
The wolves were running now. I flexed my paws, extending my razor-sharp claws. I heard their paws hit the gravel of my parking lot, though one wasn’t in wolf form. I could hear the hum of a small engine and the tires hitting the gravel, kicking it up. It was a sound I was familiar with, like a small dirt bike. I bared my teeth, licking between my fangs. One stayed in human form. Interesting.
I stood up slowly, all four hundred pounds of me, tense and ready to pounce as I heard the footsteps toward my door.
“We come in peace. We’re only here for the girl. If you give her up, you’ll live,” the werewolf in human form called out.
I snarled, making my answer known. They had already broken one rule by coming onto my territory without my permission. They were here for my girl, my charge, my Duty. They were idiots if they thought I was going to let them leave with her and just go back to my life. I was in this now. There was no turning back.
The door opened and a wolf ran in. I took my shot, leaping off the bar and barreling into the smaller predator. The yelping noise it made as bones crushed from the impact would stick with me. I would win. Only fools came after a werecat.
Something bit into my back leg, trying to yank me from my prey. Snarling, I pushed the wolf I was on down more as I turned to swipe at the other wolf. I could smell them now. Even if one or two lived through this fight, I would always remember them. I would always know which idiot wolves thought they could come into my territory and take something precious.