CHAPTER 11
The early evening sky was painted gold, red and deep purple. The trees surrounding the compound had started to turn, mirroring the majesty overhead, letting a few fall in graceful lazy circles to the ground below. Carson tucked her hand in Chase's as they strolled along in the muted shadows of the woods, kicking up the leaves that had settled in the pathways. He took a deep breath and stopped, pulling his arm gently until she turned and looked at him. A gentle stain crept up her cheeks turning them a soft pink. Raising his right hand up, he gently cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing against her blushing cheeks. “So beautiful” he murmured. He gently tucked a strand of her coal black tresses behind her ear, then leaning in, nuzzled her neck tenderly, taking in the unique scent of her; lilacs, vanilla and warm sun kissed honey. He groaned. His heartbeat quickened and tingles raced along his nerves from the contact. Inhaling deeply, he felt the wolf in him growl and fight for control. She was right there and the urge to bite her and to claim her here, right now, and to finish the bonding was bordering on a compulsion. He hissed, closing his eyes and took a step back, forcing the beast back into the depths of his stomach. The wolf snarled one more time but backed off when he assured him it wouldn't be much longer, that soon she would be theirs. The gentle touch of his mate caressed his cheek and he opened his eyes, the normal chocolate hue now glowing with gold. “Don't,” he whispered, his voice strained and still gravelly from the inner power struggle. “Not much control.”
She nodded. “I know. I feel it too. My wolf is digging a hole in my belly to get to you.” She dropped her hand and took a step back as well; her back hit a tall spruce behind her. “Just a few more days. I love you, Chase.”
“And I love you too, Carson.”
He took a moment more to calm himself. Closing his eyes again he mentally recited the names of the bones in a human body. Carson has a luscious body. His wolf reminded him, as if he needed it. He growled at the beast to be quiet as he continued to struggle with dominance.
“Chase?”
“I'm alright. Just... Saturday can't come too fast for me. I don't know how much more I can take. I always knew that mates would be a strong pull, that there would be an attraction that you couldn't resist. I mean, I knew it and I've seen it, but until now I never really understood it. I've read the histories; I've heard others speak of it but to actually experience it. I just don't have the words to express how it feels.” He shook himself, satisfied that he was again in control.
She nodded and gave him one of her beautiful smiles. “I know. I've dreamed others and have experienced some of the emotions that they felt at that moment. The emotional moments are the strongest, first loves, bondings, births, even the death of a loved one. There is strength in those moments, and those dreams are the most vivid.”
He opened his eyes again and was studying her intently. “It must be wonderful to experience another's most important moments, to see everything as if you were really there.”
“It is, but also kinda overwhelming. The feelings are so strong, you have to be careful to not get lost. That is the biggest danger of dreaming, that you'll get so caught up in the dream that you forget you aren't them. If that happens, you can get lost with little hope of returning. They are called snares.”
His face had lost all color, turning a pale white with fear. “I didn't know there was a danger to it. I don't want you to dream anymore. Add that to the list of don'ts, but make that a permanent one.”
She chuckled softly and placed one hand on his arm. “It's okay. I know what I'm doing. Normal dreaming is not that dangerous especially when dreaming the past streams.” She closed her eyes and took several breaths. Her face took on a serene countenance. After several moments, she opened her eyes and smiled at him, pulling her hand from his arm. “Your sister, Emma, is a very kind woman and a wonderful healer. She took very good care of the little orphaned boy with the broken arm. And I agree with you, blue is a much better color cast than the pink. I'm glad she used it instead.”
He startled. “How did you...”
She chuckled and pushed away from the tree. “I just dreamed you. I saw the whole incident as if it was happening to me right now.”
He let a breath out. “That's just... Wow. You saw that?”
She nodded, “Yes, I saw the whole thing through your eyes. I felt the pride you had at knowing she was your sister and the curiosity at how she knew to set the bone.”
He pushed his fingers through his hair. “That's freaking amazing. I didn't even know what you were doing.”
“Those that are being dreamed usually don't. I'm fully aware of them, but they don't know I'm there. Well, almost never. I'm still trying to figure out how Zandria knew. There's something different about her and not just her being a human.”
Chase picked up her hand and meshed his fingers with her. He tugged her along with him and they resumed their walk. Inside, his wolf calmed, contented to be just touching her … for now leastways. There was still the desire to finish the bonding and join together, but at least he wasn't shredding his insides to get out at the moment. They continued to walk in silence, that same unearthly quiet that followed his mate wherever she went. It was strange how even the forest seemed to hold its breath when she was around.
The trees thinned then cleared and the crystal blue of the lake stretched out before them. Looking over at her, he saw the huge smile break her features as she tipped her head back and welcomed the warmth of the sun. “Come on,” she whispered and pulled him towards the large boulder that had become their spot. They got to within a few yards when he stopped and pulled her to a halt beside him.
“What is it?” she looked up at him.
“Don't you smell it?” he asked her.
She took a long sniff in the air, the smile falling away. “Blood,” she whispered then looked around.
“Stay here.” He dropped her hand and lifting his face into the wind, followed the blood trail as it led him straight towards their special place. Picking his way around the smaller boulders littering the ground, he climbed up on top of the rock then stopped, all the color draining from his face.
“What is it?” She took a step closer, craning her neck as if she could see.
“Go. Get the Enforcers,” Chase hissed and knelt down next to something dark on the top of the rock.
“What is it?” she repeated, hesitating.
“It's Leo. Or rather, what's left of him,” he replied flatly. “Go! Carson now!”
She jumped and shifted, the tatters of the pale blue sundress flying in the air to flutter around her. Shaking herself a moment, she yelped and took off running as fast as her four paws would go.
Chase watched her go and worried about her safety. He was relatively sure whatever had done this was gone; he didn’t scent anything abnormal in the area. He turned his attention to the surrounding woods, inhaling deeply. There was nothing there bigger than a fox for several miles. Whatever had done this was definitely long gone. He couldn’t help but think how as wonderful it was being in the middle of a huge forest when you were a wolf, having no cell phone coverage sucked in times like these.
“Be safe, Baby,” he murmured and turned his attention back to the eviscerated corpse lying at his feet.
.-~*~-.
Will paced back and forth, trying to get his head to wrap around what he was looking at. Micah's orders could be heard over the soft murmur of the onlookers that had gathered, a circle of imposing wolves facing outwards, leaving the leadership of their pack inside examining the body. Chase had donned a pair of gloves and was touching the body, examining it, while Carson paced slowly back and forth behind him, chewing on her bottom lip. A few feet away, Jeff was speaking with Leo's father. Miriah consoled his mother, stroking her hair as she murmured soft words to her. Forcing himself to stop, Will knelt down next to the healer and nodded towards the bloody remains.
r /> “You have any answers, Doc?”
Chase shook his head. “I don't understand this. The jugular was ripped out, along with most of the soft throat tissue. That's a killing blow anyway you look at it. But look,” he pulled the bloody arm off the chest and laid it beside the torso. “See the slashes? The heart, lungs, intestines are all utterly destroyed.”
“Wild animal? Maybe a bear?” Will asked.
He shook his head. “A wild animal that attacks is either protecting its young or hungry. This is the wrong time of year for cubs and the all organs are intact within the torso; nothing was taken or consumed.” He pealed his gloves off and stuffed them inside out into his pocket. “It was a wolf attack. A very angry werewolf and I'd say most likely from this pack.”
Jeff climbed up and stood beside them looking at the body. “Why would you think that?”
Chase raked his hands through his auburn hair and gestured towards the body. “It’s the whole condition of the corpse. He was attacked, from the front, by someone who he knew.” He knelt pointed at the hands. “First off, look at his fingertips. Notice they are intact without claw egress. Pulling a fresh rubber glove out, he slid it on his right hand then gently opened Leo's mouth. “The same with his gums- they are still intact with no fang vents. We can therefore reason that he never shifted. Now think on this. If you were face to face with someone you don't know, wouldn't you be on guard and ready to shift? In the millisecond that a decision is made or instinct steps in, the tissues of the fingers and the gums are already splitting to make way for the change. There are none. Now if he had been a wolf when he died, he would revert to human, but those same egresses would not heal as a wolf's energy has to be pulsing through him to heal. Death would stop that.” Gently he rolled the body up on its side. “ I know he was attacked from the front as there are no wounds on his back, head or neck. All the damage occurred between his chin and his groin.” He let the body roll back on rest on the boulder. “No, Leo was human and facing someone he thought of as a friend when he was killed.” Chase finished speaking and stood up. “We have a rogue.”
Jeff swore softly then turned and paced along the small area on top of the boulder, pinching the back of his neck. Chase watched him, frowning. The alpha was stressed and no doubt his wolf was fighting to break free. Pinching the back of his neck was an attempt to control him as it resembled a move to force submission. In fact, Chase often did it himself. Glancing over, he patted Carson's arm then nodded towards the Sanders family standing at the edge of the woods, their gazes never leaving the rock where their son lay in a pool of gore. She nodded in understanding and watched him jump down from the boulder and walk towards them.
Micah scrambled up on top of the rock. “The patrols reporting in so far indicate no tracks and no intruders in pack lands.” Glancing down at the mauled wolf he shook his head sadly then grunted. “I told you it wasn't a little harmless poaching.” He turned and jumped off the rock and stalked back to where several of his Enforcers were standing waiting for orders.
Will watched him then looked at Jeff. “I think it’s time to get the council involved. First we find a mauled human, then all those animals, and now a murder.” When Jeff nodded, he jumped off the rock and made his way back to the grounds.
“Animals? What animals?” Carson asked.
Jeff blew out a long breath and looked over the calm of the water. Once he had his thoughts in order he turned to his daughter. “We've had some dead animals show up over the past few weeks. At first we thought it was the kids messing around. You know how pups are, they run and hunt, enjoying the freedom of their shifts. We find four or five carcasses a month, usually on or around the full moon; rabbits, squirrels, things like that. When the numbers increased, we thought maybe there was a little poaching going on and beefed up patrols just in case. But taking into account Zandria and Leo's attacks, I'm beginning to think it’s all somehow connected. I just wish she would talk to us and tell us what happened. All she will say is that it didn't happen here.”
“How many dead animals are you talking about?” she asked.
“At least eight in the past week alone and not all small game either. Two bucks, a doe and a coyote in addition to the smaller stuff; all had their throats ripped out but not eaten in any way.” The alpha hesitated and turned back. She could tell he was fighting with something.
“What else aren't you telling me?”
He covered his mouth with his cupped hand and scrubbed his jaw. He refused to meet her eyes for a moment so Carson reached over and placed a hand on his arm. “Tell me Poppa,” she whispered. “What else?”
He dropped his hand and huffed out a breath. “Alright. There's one other disturbing thing about the kills. They were all found in the compound and not in the woods like normal.”
She furrowed her brow. “In the compound? I've not seen it or heard about it.”
Jeff gently pulled away from his daughter and looked at the ground. “That's because they have been removed before anyone discovers them. Last thing we need is to frighten anyone. Every night sometime between midnight at sunrise, these kills have all appeared in the same places. No matter how we've watched, they always manage to slip them in.”
“Where in the compound?” she started to ask. He hesitated again and she felt a finger of cold fear inch up her back causing goose bumps to raise on her arms. “Where, Poppa?” Part of her knew she wouldn't like his answer, but she had to know.
“Our home. Carson, the kills are left at our house; front door, back door, porch, under a window, but it’s always at our house. It puts me into mind blood offerings that feral wolves do, but that's ridiculous. There aren't any around here, and why leave them around us anyway, It's either that or some sort of warning, but a warning about what, for whom?” He looked towards the woods and saw a few pack members making their way over with a body bag and a stretcher. “Come on, let’s let them do their job.”
Carson opened her mouth to say something but stopped and jumped down, landing lightly on her feet. Together they walked away from the little knots of wolves standing by watching the gruesome scene. When they were far enough away, she pulled on his shirt. “Don't you think we need to warn everyone?”
He rubbed the back of his neck nodding slowly. “Yeah, I was just thinking that myself. Look, I need to go take care of a few things. Will you be alright?”
She nodded. “I'll stay with Chase.”
“See that you do. I don't want you wandering around alone.”
She nodded again then wrapped her arms around her midsection. Glancing over her shoulder, she stared into the darkening woods, and shivered. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she felt like she was being watched. Scanning the nearby trees she didn't see anything but just to be on the safe side, moved over and slipped her hand into her mate's as he spoke with the grieving family. Immediately, she felt better with him pressed against her tightly. He smiled down at her then kissed her head tenderly before turning back to the conversation at hand. Suddenly she got that prickly feeling again and stiffened; turning her head quickly she glanced over her shoulder and saw a pair of yellow eyes watching her from the deep inky black of the stretching shadows. She hissed. “Chase!”
He stopped mid-sentence and followed her eyes to the woods. “Intruder!” he bellowed and pointed towards the woods, grabbed Carson and pulled her protectively behind him. Before anyone knew what was happening, a half dozen Enforcers shifted and streaked towards the forest while Chase watched, keeping himself between the woods and his mate. Ten minutes passed as all activity on the little beach stopped and all eyes were trained on the spot where they had disappeared.
Another ten minutes passed and finally, they began filter back through the trees. Micah loped over to where they were standing and shifted back complete with the manifested of clothing that only the oldest and strongest of wolves could manage. “Got away
,” he grunted at Jeff. “Couldn't tell who it was either, but one thing I know for sure, whoever it was, they are pack. There are no new scents in the woods.”
“Damn,” the alpha swore softly and started to pace. “Get everybody back to the compound. Then I want you to go door to door and make sure everyone is accounted for and tell them there's a mandatory meeting at ten in the morning.”
.-~*~-.
The pack room was filled to overflowing with every member of the village. Nervous whispers mixed with shuffling of feet and the scrape of chairs as they waited impatiently for their alpha to speak. Most had heard about Leo's murder and it made them skittish. Finally Jeff called them to attention.
“Ok, first off, as you probably know, Leo Sanders was found murdered last night by the lake. I'm not going to go into details but the crime seemed to be unusually vicious and we're pretty sure the culprit was most likely known by him. Until we can catch the one responsible, I'm instigating a mandatory curfew. Starting today, unless it's an emergency, nobody is to be out of their homes between dusk and dawn.”
There were several angry mutterings in the crowd.
“It's for the safety for everyone. I'm also asking you to not go into the woods alone and to keep a very close eye on our children.” His eyes swept the room and the uneasy shifting around. “I would rather not have to place a compulsion on you but I will if I must. Nothing means more to me than the safety and well being of our people. I'm asking you to please be aware, be diligent and keep yourselves safe. If you hear or see anything unusual, please report it to myself, Will or one of the Enforcers. With a little luck this will only be necessary for a few days.”
“What about the bonding? Is it still on Saturday?” a voice called out from the crowd.
Jeff nodded. “Yes, Carson and Chase's bonding ceremony will still be held in the clearing on Saturday. I don't think whoever did this would be stupid enough to attack a whole group of wolves so we will be safe.”
There were a few nervous chuckles as he smiled at them in an attempt to diffuse the tension in the air. “Any more questions?
There were none. Jeff dismissed the pack and hopped down from the platform and strolled out.
Carson's eyes scanned the room and found her friend sitting on the other side. “I'm going to go talk to Rachel. I'll call you later,” she whispered to Chase. He saw where she was looking and nodded, kissing her cheek before getting up and walking out the door. Catching Rachel's eye she motioned towards the front.
They met at the front of the room as people started filing out. “Hey. I didn't know your parents were back.”
Rachel shrugged and looked at the couple sitting on the front row. Her father and mother lived in Roanoke to be close to their businesses and allowed her to live in their house in the village alone. Given the recent events, she wasn't so sure that they would allow it for much longer. “They came back this morning after Jeff called all the pack in about Leo.” She stuffed her hands into her back pocket.
“Rach...” Carson sighed heavily. “Look, I'm sorry. I've been so caught up in everything that's been going on- it's no excuse but I'm really sorry. I haven't meant to ignore you.”
The petite redhead chewed her bottom lip a moment. “Hmm... do I forgive you for being a thoughtless, love sick woman or let you stew a little longer.” She pulled a hand out and tapped her lips. “Decisions... decisions.” Finally she dropped her hand. “Well, okay. I'll let it slide this time, Chica, but only because you're getting yourself hitched this weekend. Consider it an early mating gift.” She grinned and hugged her best friend.
“Whew, I was afraid there for a minute you'd be so pissed that you wouldn't be there Saturday.”
Rachel laughed. “Are you kidding? You haven't seen me in my dress yet. There's no way that I'm not going to miss it and the opportunity to show off.”
Carson visually relaxed. “Really, though, I'm sorry about everything. I didn't even realize how long it had been since we just hung out until last night when I was going over stuff. What you say that we take a girl's night tonight and eat things we aren't supposed to, do mani-pedis and watch sappy movies until our mascara runs.”
“It's a date!” Rachel hugged her best friend again. “Besides, you have been so out of the loop in panting love land, you haven't heard the latest news.”
Carson sighed all dramatically. “What's his name again? Jack something?”
The smile on Rachel's face was dazzling, making her entire face brighten. “Bishop, his last name is Bishop. He's from Chatham Pack and we've been dating for a month now. That's the longest I've dated one person in... well ever. He's such a doll and I just love him to pieces.”
Carson groaned. “Poor Jack.”
“Hey now!” Rachel punched her friend in the ribs. “He happens to like my 'spirit', thank you kindly. You'll get to meet him this weekend. He's coming up for the mating ceremony.”
“Well come on, let's hit the pack store before all the chocolate fudge ripple is gone.” Carson pulled Rachel towards the door. “And it's my turn to pick the movie. I think its a Steel Magnolia kind of night tonight.”
“I'll meet you there, let me let the folks know. They are so worried these days.” Rachel drifted off towards where her parents stood talking to Miriah and Jeff.
Carson watched her go. “Aren't we all?” she murmured then made her way out the door toward the store.