Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen

Tyler Trip

“Welcome to Mt. Oaks,” I announced, my voice laced with a hint of sarcasm as I parked the car and gestured toward the quaint mountain town.

Caroline was seated next to me, while Lux, Keegan, and Grant occupied the back of the spacious vehicle.

We’d made the trip down to the human side of the mountain after a brief meeting with the pack.

I’d introduced our guests, explained their purpose for being here, and urged my pack members to continue with their daily routines. They had a ton of questions I couldn’t answer.

Grant squinted. “Where are the people?”

I glanced out the window and noticed the streets were empty. No couples leisurely walking, no children playing in the park, and no teenagers hanging out at the coffee shop.

“Strange,” Lux murmured, her eyes scanning the scene outside her window.

“Where would everyone be in the middle of the day?” Keegan wondered aloud, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t know,” Lux replied.

Keegan turned to her, a questioning look on his face, and she repeated herself. It took me a moment to realize that his hearing must be impaired.

It was only after this realization that I noticed how closely he watched everyone’s lips when they spoke.

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I wondered what could have caused a werewolf to lose his hearing.

I cleared my throat. “I’ve only been here once before.” I frowned. Had I seen anyone on the street during my last visit? I couldn’t remember.

Caroline was the first to step out of the car. I watched as she closed the door behind her, raising her hand to shield her eyes from the sun as she squinted.

She hadn’t told me what had transpired between her and Mick, but I could tell something had shifted since she and Grant had stopped their constant bickering.

We all followed Caroline down the street, Keegan’s hand wrapped around Lux’s as they walked.

I watched them, a pang of longing in my gut. Lux, a slightly taller girl with honey blonde hair, reminded me of what it felt like to hold her hand in mine.

“These situations can escalate quickly,” Grant murmured to me as he fell into step beside me. His hands were casually tucked in his pockets, but his clear eyes were alert as he surveyed the street.

“How have you been,” I asked, “since the war?”

He shrugged, his gaze drifting to Lux and then to Caroline. “A lot has changed,” he admitted. “I lost a lot and gained more. It’s been…hard trying to adjust.”

I rubbed my jaw. “The last time I saw you—”

Grant cleared his throat. “Lux healed fine,” he informed me. We both turned as a laugh escaped from Lux’s lips and she playfully shoved Keegan. “So did I.”

“So, the White Wolves?” I asked.

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe one day,” he mused. “But Livy… She’s not the same anymore. I think it will take a new alpha to reunite the Pura Lupus.”

I nodded, thinking about the pack of elite wolves and how they had served as our kind’s law enforcement before the war. Grant had been one of them. “What about you?”

I glanced at Caroline, my jaw tightening. “I’m trying to make things work.”

Grant nodded. “That’s all we can do.”

I sighed. “Starting with the issue of the humans here.”

“Like I said,” Grant added, “problems like this tend to escalate.”

We reached Lux and Keegan, who were standing still, their faces serious as they stared into a store window. Caroline met my gaze as we approached, her face pale and shaken.

~WEREWOLVES KEEP OUT.~

~WILL SHOOT WOLVES ON SITE.~

~NO WOLVES WELCOME.~

I shivered. “Those are definitely a violation of the treaty.”

Grant’s face was stern. “Let’s go inside.”

Keegan frowned, looking down at Lux. “I didn’t hear him right—”

Lux sighed. “You did.”

Before any of us could react, Grant had pushed open the door of the small shop. It appeared to sell hiking gear and a variety of outdoor sporting goods.

We all watched as Grant walked up to the cash register and rang the bell on the counter.

“He’s definitely a Ryder,” Caroline muttered, watching her brother with fascination. I saw the same thing she did. I saw Han in Grant’s impulsiveness, aggression, and defiance.

I slowly pushed open the shop door, my eyes fixed on the back door as Grant rang the bell again, growing impatient. “Hello!” he yelled. “I need some help!”

The small space was filled with everything from snowshoes to grappling hooks. I flipped through a few survival guides, the knot in my stomach tightening with each passing moment.

Grant rolled his eyes and slammed his hand down on the bell repeatedly. “Hello!”

“Jesus,” a man grumbled as he emerged from the backroom. He was thin, with a beard wider than his gaunt face and sharp, dark eyes. “Can I help you?”

Grant gave him a cold smile. “I’m looking for a good hunting knife.”

The man grunted, nodding toward a display to the left. The entire wall was filled with knives of various lengths and shapes. My gut churned.

“Right there,” the man grumbled, “the ones on the left are good for beginners.”

“I’m no beginner,” Grant retorted lightly. “I’m an experienced hunter.”

The man scoffed. “I’m sure, kid.”

Grant wandered over to the wall of hunting knives, picking one up and examining it. I moved closer. “What do you recommend for skinning an animal?”

The man sighed heavily and came around the counter. He was wearing sturdy rubber boots and a pair of dirty cargo pants. “This one will do for your average buck,” he said, handing Grant a knife.

“What about something with a thicker pelt?” Grant asked. “What about for a wolf?”

The man’s sharp eyes darted between Grant and me. “A wolf?”

Grant nodded. “What blade did you use on that one?” The White Wolf gestured to a photo that was framed behind the cash register. I hadn’t noticed it until then.

In the picture, the store owner was down on one knee, one hand gripping a knife and the other a wolf pelt.

The man gulped hard. “Where are you boys from?”

“Mt. Timbre,” I replied, my voice a low rumble.

His eyes widened in surprise. “Out,” he yelled. “Get out!”

Grant made a tsking sound, picking up a knife and flipping it with ease. “Did you fight in the war?” he asked. “Or did you just hunt wolves for fun before it all started?”

The man was scurrying back to his cash register, his beard quivering. “I said ~get out~,” he hissed. “You saw the sign on the door. You saw—”

“We did,” I interrupted. “Shooting werewolves is a war crime now. A violation of the treaty—”

“There ain’t no treaty that’s going to bring back my son—”

“Or my mate,” I shot back. “Or my pack members, my friends, my family. We all lost people during the war.”

I watched as the man’s eyes clouded over, saw the hatred burrow deep within his gaze at the mention of a pack. “My son never died in the war, you—”

“While we’re sorry for your loss,” Grant drawled, “you can’t threaten to shoot wolves after your government declared peace between our species.”

“Filthy fucking animals,” he spat, “asking for peace after what you did, what you continue to do.” I tensed as the man reached under the counter and pulled out a long rifle. “Get out of my shop.”

Grant’s growl was long and low. “How many other businesses in town practice the same safety techniques as you?” he asked, eyeing the gun that was pointed at his chest.

The man’s hands were steady. “Half on this street, three-quarters on the next. If the rest of the people on Mt. Oaks knew what was good for them, they’d get a gun to protect themselves too.”

I bristled. “The wolves in my pack aren’t a threat to you—”

“Your pack?” the man echoed, swinging the gun toward me. I blanched. “~Your~ pack? You must be the alpha then, eh? Must be the man in charge up there on that godforsaken mountain.”

He jabbed the gun in my direction, lifting an eyebrow in warning.

I lifted my hands cautiously. “I’m the alpha.”

The man spat in my direction. “You bastard,” he raged, “you’re probably the one who ordered my son dead, huh? It was probably you who told your fucking wolves to—”

The shop door swung open.

The man turned, his gun lowering slightly as he watched Caroline enter the store.

She kept her eyes downcast as she touched the items hanging on the wall, taking her time as she looked over a pair of hiking boots.

“Who are you?” the man bellowed, his face steadily turning redder.

Caroline looked at me, her eyes showing a hint of panic at the gun that was still aimed at me. “A customer,” she declared, bringing the hiking boots up to the cash desk.

The man looked between Caroline and me and narrowed his eyes. It must’ve been me, must’ve been the worry on my face that gave her away.

“So, a bitch joins the mutts?” the shop owner mused, moving the gun to Caroline. He clicked the safety off and lifted it to her head.

Grant snarled. “Put the fucking gun down, you idiot.”

The man didn’t rise to his bait. He stared at Caroline and she stared back, her eyes unyielding and her mouth set in a grim line.

I made a move to stand in front of her and the man jumped, firing off a warning shot that barely missed Caroline.

I yelped, my heart suddenly pounding in my throat as I stood there. “We’re leaving,” I announced, giving Grant a hard look when he shook his head.

The man was still staring at Caroline. “You read those damned signs,” he said, mostly to himself. “You read them and you still came in. The three of you must have a death wish.”

He clicked his tongue. “I can help.”

Grant threw the knife.

The man grunted as he fell, the gun firing again. I dove for Caroline, pinning her underneath me as Grant lunged, following the arc of his knife, and slamming into the man behind the counter.

Caroline was staring at me with wide, blue eyes, her mouth forming a silent cry. Panic surged and swelled, taking over every instinct as I searched her face and body for any injury.

Even after I realized she was okay, I still had to search.

My body coiled as the man howled in agony, and the shop door opened as Lux and Keegan ran inside.

Caroline pushed lightly on my chest and I eased myself off her, trying to swallow the panic and worry that had overcome me.

Grant was standing again now, his face barely flushed as he held onto the howling man.

The knife was embedded deep into the shop owner’s shoulder, and the wound gushed blood each time he struggled to free himself from Grant’s hold.

“Animal!” the man shrieked.

Grant snarled. “Enough.”

The man continued to scream.

“Grant,” Lux gasped, looking at the injured shopkeeper. “What in the name of the Goddess did you do?”

Grant shrugged. “I threw a knife at him.”

Keegan frowned. “We can’t throw knives at humans.”

“But they can shoot us?” Caroline growled, stepping away from me as her cheeks flushed. My heart was still racing, my instincts still telling me to stand in front of her, to make sure she was safe.

“Of course not,” Keegan answered, his words slightly muffled, “but the alliance is much shakier on their end.”

We all turned as the door to the shop opened and a small woman entered. “Greg?” She took one look at the six of us and screamed, then turned and fled before any of us could stop her.

“For fuck…” Grant cursed, dropping the squealing man to the floor and picking up the rifle. In a few swift movements, he had disassembled the weapon.

Lux crossed her arms over her chest. “What exactly was your end game, Grant?”

Her brother had no real answer. “The signs aggravated me.”

“Animals,” the man wheezed on the ground, clutching his bleeding shoulder where the knife still stuck out from his skin. “Dirty animals.”

Grant kicked him swiftly in the ribs. “He aggravated me too.”

Lux let out a sigh. “We already went over this in Iowa,” she said, her voice strained.

Grant just shrugged. “Keegs is the one who’s good with words,” he reminded her.

The bell above the door chimed, drawing our attention as the door swung open. Standing in the doorway was Mr. Moray, the mayor of Mt. Oaks.

He was dressed in a dark gray suit, his black and silver hair neatly combed, matching the stubble on his chin.

He flashed a smile when he saw me, stepping into the shop and locking the door behind him with a gloved hand.

“Mr. Trip,” he greeted me. “I must say, I’m surprised to see you here.” His hazel eyes flicked to the shopkeeper, who was now moaning in pain, clutching the knife in his shoulder.

I clenched my jaw. “We were almost shot.”

Moray gestured dismissively at the door. “As the sign suggests.”

“The treaty—”

He cut me off with a click of his tongue. “Careful.”

“So, this is the Sun Warrior?” Grant growled, wiping the blood from his hands onto his pants.

Mr. Moray looked at me, disappointment in his voice. “Alpha,” he said, “you brought outsiders to our gathering.”

His gaze moved from Grant to Caroline to Lux to Keegan. I watched as his lip curled in distaste. “Keegan Stone,” he spat out.

Keegan lifted his chin in response.

The mayor moved towards the whimpering man on the floor. With a swift, rough pull, he yanked the knife from the shop owner. A string of curses and screams followed.

The mayor smiled, examining the bloodied blade.

“I remember you, Keegan; Stan’s obsession with you.” His eyes darted to Lux and Grant quickly moved to stand protectively by his sister.

Caroline started to follow, but I reached out, grabbing her hand and pulling her close to me.

The mayor’s eyes dropped to our intertwined hands, and I realized I’d made a mistake.

“You’re breaking the peace treaty our species agreed to,” Keegan said, his voice deep and rumbling. “By letting your people continue this cycle of violence and hatred—”

Moray rolled his eyes. “Politicians,” he sighed, “so boring.”

Keegan bristled. “We’ll report you to the leaders of both species,” he threatened. “You’ll be stripped of power and charged with crimes of—”

Moray sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh no,” he said, “you wouldn’t want to do that.

“Not when I have a terrified witness to a group of werewolves terrorizing my town. Not when I have a man bleeding out on the floor of his own shop after a ~werewolf~ attacked him with a knife.”

I growled. “That man held us at gunpoint.”

Moray frowned. “I don’t think my witness remembers any gunshots.”

Caroline stiffened beside me. “We don’t want to fight.”

Moray’s eyes sparkled as he looked at the bloody knife, then at Grant. “Seems like that’s not true for all of you.”

Lux held up her hands. “You’re fighting for a lost cause,” she said. “The Sun Warriors died when my father… When he… When…”

She swallowed hard, and I knew she was thinking what we all were.

I had watched it happen live. Watched as her father, Stan Freeman, the leader of the Sun Warriors, shot her on live television when she jumped in to save his life.

“Your father was weak,” Moray spat, pointing a gloved finger at her. “He was a liability to our cause. His personal issues meant nothing to the rest of us.

“We joined forces to eliminate werewolves because they’re a threat to our families, not because of some woman who rejected us.”

Lux glared at the mention of her mother. “Why try to revive what’s already been settled?”

The mayor looked at Keegan with disdain. “I heard your pretty little speech on TV. I was in the building when Stan Freeman failed our cause so spectacularly.

“I didn’t believe a word, wolf,” he snapped, “and I’m glad I didn’t fall for your lies.”

Keegan shook his head slowly. “I wasn’t lying when I said what I did about our two species. I meant every word.”

Lux took his hand. “We don’t have a choice,” she said. “We have to report—”

Moray slammed the knife onto the countertop. “I will never accept peace between us,” he said, his voice dark. “Not while the beasts on your mountain continue to hunt and terrorize the people in my town.”

I was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

The mayor let out a harsh laugh. “Playing innocent doesn’t change the past, Trip,” he said, kneeling down beside the shopkeeper.

“Nothing will make me forgive the blood your kind has spilled here on this mountain.”

“That man needs help,” Caroline said, her eyes wide as she watched the shopkeeper shiver. From the corner of my eye, I saw Grant flinch.

Moray frowned, nodding once before he reached for the hunting knife. He put his hand on the man’s shoulder, murmuring reassurances.

Then, he locked eyes with me as he pressed the knife to the man’s throat and slowly drew the blade across his skin.

Lux covered her mouth with her shaking hands, while Keegan pulled her into his side. Caroline was rigid beside me, but she didn’t look away, didn’t flinch as a new fire was lit in her eyes.

Grant swore and raged, but I held him back with all the strength I had.

The mayor stood and dropped the knife, looking down at the man as he twitched and bled. “It’s truly unbelievable,” he whispered, “what your kind is capable of.”

“It was a flesh wound,” Grant snarled, struggling against me. “You twisted, sadistic fuck—”

Moray clicked his tongue. “To think that you came into this town, provoked this poor man, made him fear for his ~life.~” He looked at the gun on the ground.

“When he tried to scare you off, you took his weapon.” Mr. Moray picked up the gun and hit the man over the head. That’s when I realized why he was wearing gloves despite the heat.

“Stop,” Lux cried out.

“Then you chucked a knife at him,” Mr. Moray said, feigning shock. “You let him writhe and bleed for close to thirty minutes before you all had a good laugh and decided to finish it.”

He shook his head. “I got there just as you gripped the knife and cut his throat.” He looked straight into my eyes as he said it, peeling off his gloves.

“I tried to save him,” the mayor said, pressing his hands to the man’s gory wound. He held up his bloodied hands a moment later. “But I was too late.”

Grant lost it and growled, and I clenched my teeth as I tried to restrain him.

“He was already gone.”

With another growl, Grant shoved past me, his goddess-given strength overpowering me.

I couldn’t stop him as he grabbed the mayor’s collar and landed a solid punch on his face. “Grant, no!” Caroline shrieked.

Grant punched him again. “Why would you kill one of your own?” he yelled. “He would’ve been okay if—”

The mayor smiled despite his busted lip. “And then I was attacked,” he croaked. “I barely got away with my life after a werewolf grabbed and assaulted me.”

Grant let go of Moray instantly, and the mayor laughed, spitting blood on the floor next to the body. Lux went to her brother’s side, but he pulled away from her, his eyes deep and haunted.

I felt a surge of hatred as the mayor stood up again, dusting off his suit, now speckled with blood. A vivid red against the stark gray.

“This is what I’ll tell my citizens. This is what they’ll believe.

“The people who protected your kind, who wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt will turn. They’ll see you for the monsters you are.”

“You are the one who killed this man,” I rasped. “You’re the one who is a monster.”

Moray shrugged. “I was just a witness to a massacre you committed, Alpha. Only a beast is capable of this kind of slaughter.”

My stomach churned. “You don’t want another war.”

“Oh, I do,” the mayor raved. “We were so close to winning. So close to driving the beasts out of this country.”

I shuddered at his words, the truth in them. I had been on the battlefield in those final moments.

I had heard our highest leaders wondering if it would be enough, if our strength and abilities would be enough, to overcome their sheer numbers, let alone their technology.

Lux’s eyes were filled with tears. “You’re disgusting.”

The mayor grinned. “You won’t be reporting me, Lux Freeman. You won’t run to the leaders and wave the peace treaty in their faces.

“No, because if you do, I will spin a tale so damaging that no one will doubt your guilt.”

Grant bared his teeth. “I should kill you right now. I could.”

Moray tilted his head. “I’m a fair man, I acknowledge that you have the power to ruin me as I do you. So, I’ll offer a fair trade.”

His eyes moved to mine. “We settle this, Alpha. We deal with our differences. Since you seem inclined to meddle in my business here, I will make it so that my affairs involve you.

“Whoever kills the other first has the right to plead their case to their species, to paint the other as evil and malicious.”

“That isn’t what I want,” I responded calmly. “I don’t want the upper hand in another war, Moray. I want the violence to end. I want there to be harmony, as there once was between our kinds.”

“Harmony?” he echoed incredulously. “You were lying to us, deceiving us.

“You took our young women, made them integrate into your packs, and have your children. You owned our lands, made us pay taxes to you.

“You took opportunities from our children, endangered their lives, played with them like they were toys.”

“Propaganda,” Keegan shouted out.

“Truth,” Moray countered.

I steeled myself, turned my face into a hard, unyielding mask. “We’re done here.”

Moray nodded. “Tell your scarred friend I say hello,” he said darkly. It took me a moment to realize that he was speaking of Ryan.

My former beta had always been hard on the human population here. Almost as extreme as Moray himself.

“He’s no friend of mine.”

Moray just shrugged and left the store.

“The body…,” Lux murmured, her eyes slightly glazed.

“We leave it,” Grant forced out, his face pale.

Caroline was watching him closely. “Grant—”

He jerked away instantly, running from the tiny shop and escaping the sharp smell of blood and the sharper scent of death.

With Grant gone, everyone looked at me for answers. I stared down at the body, a distant memory tugging at me.

Another time. Another body.

“He’s right,” I decided. “We leave the body.”

“But—”

“What are we supposed to do?” I snapped, my nerves starting to fray.

Caroline took my hand silently and stoically. “We can’t be seen moving a body through a town of humans. We can’t call their police force for help.

“The best we can do is leave without anyone seeing and hope that Moray keeps that witness in his back pocket for now.”

Lux was shaking her head. “How could he do this? How could anyone think that we would…?” She choked off, and in her eyes, I saw the memories I was trying to escape from.

Memories of the war. Of wolves hanging from trees, people dead in the grass, homes burned to the ground.

“Let’s go,” I ordered, my voice starting to shake.

Grant wasn’t there when we got to the car. From the torn clothes we spotted by the trees, we guessed that he had shifted, resigning himself to running the rest of the way back to our territory.

I gave him that freedom. I felt he needed it after what Moray had done.

The ride back was silent as we all tried to process what we had seen; tried to comprehend the new threat we had to our safety.

I replayed the day over and over in my head, trying to make sense of all the moving pieces.

The only conclusion I came to was that my pack was in danger.

And I was responsible.