Eyes of the Unknown Wolf

Kiarra

I wasn’t sure why, but the connection I felt for this wolf I’d never met before was intense. As he turned to leave, he looked me dead in the eyes. It was like I’d known him from a past life.

“I’ll come back for you.”

That’s all he said before he shifted and ran into the woods beyond our borders. I didn’t want him to go. I wanted to know more about this beautiful creature. But it was just as well he left.

Some of my members were closing the gap. I could smell them.

“Kiarra?”

It was Big John, and he looked like he had been looking for something. I smiled, my eyes catching three other guards coming up slowly behind him. I couldn’t put my finger on why, but they seemed suspicious.

Was it the scent of my mate?

“You alone?”

“Yeah,” I laughed, “did you send out a whole search party?”

“Ah, no, no, we just have a lot of ground to cover, and Rose is looking for you,” he said, still a little hesitant, still searching the woods behind me.

“Well, we better not keep Mother waiting,” I smiled, “you know how impatient she can be.”

He nodded but said nothing.

As we returned, John and his guards took turns scouring the grounds for a scent they knew didn’t belong.

I could’ve told them the truth, maybe I should’ve, but something inside told me to keep this to myself. This pack was very particular about mating.

Even if, by some miracle, the wolf I met was my match, in my world, that didn’t mean anything.

There was a wisdom to the process. That’s what my father had always said.

After all, our pack had been thriving on the principles established within the Apex territories. It just made sense.

As we approached the pack house, I could see Rose impatiently pacing. Though she didn’t look angry, there was something behind my mother’s eyes that confused me.

Was it fear?

“Gentlemen,” she feigned a smile, “thank you for collecting our curious Kiarra, who has a shift to do.”

Big John shifted into human form, “Yes, Luna, and all clear on the perimeter.”

“Indeed,” Rose replied with eyes stuck on my form, “you’re released.”

John and his guards stalled a moment, and I knew then that I was right.

They could still smell him.

Rose gave a curt nod and extended her arm around me, “Well, what did you get up to, young lady?”

“I just went for a walk; I needed to clear my mind,” I lied only in part. The last few days, I had anxiety that was off the charts.

“Well, you have been working an awful lot!” she gushed with pride, “I’ll tell you what, after your shift is done, I have a surprise for you.”

She turned to grab the prisoner’s clipboard, “Here you are. Now, we have a few new bodies down there that I don’t trust. Be careful, you hear me?” she smiled.

I skipped down to the cellars as I wondered what on earth my mother had cooked up this time. Whatever it was, I was sure it was going to be amazing.

The cellar door buzzed, and I made my way down the cobbled stones.

“Morning, Glenda!”

“Kiarra, my dear! How are you?” she beamed back to me, “running a little close to the wire, aren’t we?” Glenda winked as she put one single finger to her lips, “I’ll never tell.”

I giggled and took up my swipe card, “I hear we have some new ones today?”

“We do, and I want you to stay clear of them,” Glenda replied in earnest.

Rose had warned me already, but I dared not steal Glenda’s thunder.

“I can come with you,” she offered, but I knew I needed to do this alone.

“You work hard enough, Glenda. I got it,” I winked and passed through the secure door.

Once I was alone, I gathered myself as I walked past each cell for the headcount.

These checks always made me laugh because there was no way any of these prisoners were getting out of there. Even if they somehow got free from their bonds, no one made it past Glenda.

No one.

The fluorescent lights above my head did nothing to brighten the mildewed stench down here. In fact, they did nothing at all because it was still hard to see into the darkness of each cell.

After the fifty known heads were counted, I looked behind me, my eyes following all the way to the front entrance I’d come through.

I wondered why both my mother and Glenda had tried to warn me so hard about this new batch of prisoners. I looked back to the end of the hall and listened. If they were so quiet, what was all the worry about?

I inhaled deeply and decided the only way to find out was to look for myself. Gingerly, I tiptoed to the last cells, coming into a clear view. I stopped to look at my list, and there was the name I’d never seen before: Angela.

There wasn’t much to go on, but I could see that she’d trespassed and was a known enemy of the Apex Pack. If she was so well known, then why was this the first time I’d heard of her?

I crouched down and peered through the bars. My heart pumped with the anticipation of whoever cowered in the darkness.

Through the bars, I faintly saw a delicate-looking form.

“Hello?” I called out, curious to see if the captive would engage.

“Kiarra?” I heard a hoarse whisper back, “Oh my God! How did you find me? I mean, thank you! We better hurry! Do you have the keys?”

I stood up in shock.

Who was this woman? How did she know my name?

Questions began to swirl through my head, but I could manage to speak only one, “How do you know me?”

She scuttled as close to the bars as her clanking chains would allow, the desperation in her eyes a reality I’d never known.

“What do you mean? Kiarra! It’s me! Angela!”

She was practically yelling now, which meant she was attracting attention I didn’t want.

I couldn’t place where, but I’d seen her before.

“I’m sorry, I don’t know you, and no, I won’t be letting you out,” I replied calmly, though the intensity in her face had started to unnerve me.

“Kiarra, stop fucking around and get me the hell out of here! What the hell are you talking about?”

“Look, I’m sorry, I, I …” I stammered, not knowing what to say.

This wasn’t the first time I’d encountered a crazy rogue, but the fact she knew my name was more than I could handle.

“When Aidan finds this out…”

“Aidan?”

I felt the blood drain from my face. How could she know the name of my mate if I only just met him? Though my intuition told me something was off, all I could think of was getting the hell away from her.

She must be a security risk, and that must be why she’s down here.

“Kiarra! Please!” she begged, but I couldn’t take any more of her raving.

She was a certified lunatic.

I laughed to myself as I headed back to the door.

“Kiarra!”

The door slammed behind me, and the auto locks clicked in.

By the time I reached the surface door, Glenda had gone on her lunch. I threw my ID on her desk and made my way to my mother’s office.

As I walked past the pack house and waved here and there at the members who passed by, all I could think about was the eyes of that wolf.

Was there any truth to her pleas? Did she know me? Why didn’t I remember her?

~Who was Angela?~