Chasing Destiny (Silver Tip Pack Book 2) Page 2

  “I will get that fucker back for this,” he said, eyes blazing.

  “Okay, fine. You can challenge him later to defend your manhood or whatever. But right now, you need to put a lid on it. I want to talk to them. I can’t do that if I’m worried about you doing something stupid and getting your throat sliced open. Got it?”

  Vaughn’s nostrils flared, but he nodded. I clasped his hand and helped him stand up, then shoved him toward Dal. “He’s your responsibility now.”

  “Consider it handled, Bay,” she answered.

  “I’ll be-have.” Vaughn clenched his teeth.

  Satisfied my tiny pack wouldn’t cause any more trouble from here on out, I faced Pace, who had once again dropped the spear. But I wasn’t fooled. The guy could move fast. “So, where to?”

  Pace didn’t fully trust us yet, which was fine. I didn’t blame him, and I wasn’t sure I trusted him either. Still, even three Weres were a match for a dozen or more werewolves, so I wasn’t too worried. He let me walk with him, but behind us Dal and Vaughn traveled surrounded by his pack.

  “Tell me about Reese. We were friends when we were novuses,” he said. “As far as I knew, his whole family died in the attack.”

  “His parents were killed, but not by Noweres. Reese, Jude, and Selene are alive. They’re all in Eury, living with our Silver Tip pack. Reese is our alpha’s True Mate.”

  Pace stumbled on a tree root. “True Mate?”

  True Mates were rare—pairings chosen by fate that couldn’t be ignored. As soon as Dare had scented Reese, he’d known they were True Mates, and there’d been no going back. “They were surprised too.”

  “Does he… have abilities now?”

  That was another benefit of True Mate pairings. “When Reese shifts, he’s huge. Massive wolf, bigger than any I’ve seen. He and Dare can communicate without speaking. And Dare is stronger, his presence bigger.” I kicked at a tree root. “I gotta be honest though, this pairing, their happiness—it’s new. Reese did not have a good life for a long time after he left here.”

  Pace flinched. “Tell me. I want to know how he survived.”

  I started from the beginning, telling him how Reese’s family escaped the Nowere attack on the Whitethroat community. They’d traveled to Eury, where they’d sought shelter with the Bluefoot pack. Except, the Bluefoot alpha had killed Reese’s parents and shoved Reese, Jude, and Selene into forced labor.

  Reese and Jude had escaped with the intent to also rescue Selene, but before they could, they were found by Bluefoot guards. While Jude had been able to hide undetected, Reese was beaten and left for dead. Jude had run to the Silver Tip compound where he’d begged Dare and our pack for help. After rescuing Reese, and discovering he was his True Mate, Dare and some Silver Tip pack members had helped rescue Selene.

  “The Bluefoot alpha is dead now, you said?” Pace asked.

  “Yep, Selene killed him. The whole pack was a mutinous mess when we left. Scouts have confirmed the fighting has stopped, but we aren’t welcome within those walls.”

  Pace shook his head. “I can’t imagine how Reese and his family felt. We grew up so peacefully here.”

  “And now?”

  Pace grimaced. “The attack changed everything. We’ve spent all our time trying to rebuild, but the structure of our pack is completely different. Every member is considered a soldier. We train all the time, and we start our novuses young. I’m sure old pack members would be full of sorrow to see us like this, but never again will I let my pack be nearly destroyed.” As he walked, he slammed his spear into the ground to emphasize his point. “As alpha, this is the choice I made for my pack. I don’t want fear to rule us, but we have to be aware.”

  I nodded. “We run our pack similarly. Every Were is required to train a minimum number of hours a day.”

  Pace brightened a bit at that. “Really?”

  “We have a different background, though. Previous alphas required our pack to run raids. Dare does not. We are building a life within our walls, all while training to preserve it.”

  Pace pursed his lips thoughtfully. “I like that. I hope we can get there some day. Right now, it’s mostly about survival.”

  “Rebuilding takes time.”

  “Yeah, it sure does.”

  The forest around us began to thin, and, through the foliage ahead of us, a large stone wall began to take shape. “Is that it?”

  “Yep, that’s home.” Pace came to a stop. “Luckily our structure was mostly unharmed. We’ve patched up what the Noweres destroyed, so it’s secure.”

  I glanced behind me to see Dal alert and Vaughn glaring at each spear-wielding werewolf. “So,” Pace said. “What is your purpose here, then?”

  “Scouts reported that you were rebuilding. When we told Reese, he was hell-bent on coming down here himself. As the alpha’s mate, that wasn’t really possible, so I came with a team. If you’re willing, we’d like to open up some communication between the packs. We can trade, help each other out.”

  Pace stood with his hands on his hips. “I guess we can arrange something. I know I should have reservations about whether you’re telling the truth, but I’m going with my instincts here, which tell me that you are who you say you are.”

  I gestured behind me. “We’re outside your compound now, so we’re outnumbered. Even if we shift, that’s still three Weres to however many pack members you have inside.”

  “Only about a hundred, although a quarter are novuses.”

  “Okay, still. Three to…whatever. We’re not a threat. And we don’t intend to be one.”

  Pace studied me for a long moment. “Fine, we’ll take you inside. Respect me and my pack, and we’ll be okay.”

  He set off walking once again, until we came to a stop in front of large wooden doors. He whistled and, after a returning shout, the doors began to open. Pace held out his hand and bowed dramatically. “Bay, brother to the alpha of the Silver Tip pack, welcome to the home of the Whitethroats. I hope you find our hospitality agreeable.” With a grin, he sauntered through the open doors, and I followed.

  Chapter Two

  It’d been over ten years since the largest Nowere horde recorded descended upon Astria, nearly destroying several packs including the Whitethroat.

  Of course there was no trace of the attack, not after all this time, but as we entered the compound and took in the state of the pack, I could imagine this had once been a bustling, peaceful place to live.

  Foundations of homes that once stood were still visible as stone rectangles in the ground—the area where family members would have slept and eaten now covered over with grass. Some had rebuilt these foundations into small huts, where the remaining pack members lived, evidenced by the smoke wafting from the chimneys and the sounds of novuses hollering inside.

  “Our main building is strictly for meetings and training. All pack members build and tend to their own houses. We have a small farm with livestock and crops along the south wall. It wasn’t always like this. After the attack there was…” Pace’s eyes clouded. “Chaos. We were starving and vulnerable and in mourning.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said, as I watched a werewolf mother shoo her young one inside a hut, casting a wary glance at us as we passed. The spears of the guards pointed at Vaughn and Dal probably didn’t help her sense of safety.

  “It’s okay. I was young, and most of the survivors then were my age. No adults. Our parents had protected us at all costs, hiding us in a small tunnel. I get that protecting the young was instinct, but our lives after that, all alone…it was no way for us to grow up.”

  “But look at what you’ve accomplished.”

  Pace laughed bitterly. “Sure, but this took a lot of blood and sweat. Mostly blood. You think everyone just peacefully voted me as alpha?”

  I didn’t want to compete with him on who had suffered more. My mother had killed my abusive father, then I watched her die at the hands of my uncle. Oh, and my twin sister had been turned by a Nowere. So yeah, e
verything was fucked for everyone. “I’ve seen and been through my fair share of bloodshed. I understand.”

  Pace’s lips twisted. “Yeah, I guess you have too.”

  As we continued to walk, the homes got closer together. Soon we reached the front doors of a large building. It was probably a quarter of the size of the Hive, the largest building back at Silver Tip. But then, the Hive housed the entire pack in apartments.

  “We have a couple of rooms here where we can put you up. If you don’t mind, I’d rather not have you roam around camp unattended. Most of my pack aren’t too fond of Weres.”

  “Fair enough,” I said.

  Pace turned around and faced the group of werewolves who had been following us. He pointed to a male and a female at the front of the pack. “Baron, Tati, stay with us. The rest of you are free to go.”

  There were a couple of murmured protests, which Pace ignored. Vaughn didn’t help matters by sneering at every single werewolf as they stalked off back to their homes. “Seriously?” I whispered at him.

  “One poked me in the ass with a spear,” he growled.

  “Only poked you? I was hoping one of them gave you a good whack.” Dal crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Why are you being difficult?” I asked him. He opened his mouth to retort, but I held up a hand. “Think before you shoot an answer back at me that I’m going to make you regret.”

  He snapped his jaw shut, shuffled his booted feet in the dirt, then blew out a harsh breath through rounded nostrils. “I don’t know. Something has me unsettled. Don’t you feel it? Smell it?”

  Yes, I was unsettled. My skin was tight, and my shift felt close to the surface. But I chalked it up to being surrounded by a strange pack. This had never happened to us—we’d always been with the Silver Tip pack. “Sure, but we’re a long way from home. I don’t expect to be comfy. Try to ride it out, meditate, something. Okay?”

  Vaughn seemed relieved I commiserated. “Sure, Bay. Sorry.”

  “It’s all right, I just… I need you, Vaughn. I need your A-game.”

  He straightened his spine, eyes brighter, and he looked me square in the eye. “You got me.”

  “Good.” I turned to Pace, not bothering to be embarrassed. I wanted him to see we treated pack fairly. “Sorry, we’re good to go now.”

  Pace’s smile was amused. “Great. I smell food so…I’m assuming you all are hungry?”

  “Starved,” Vaughn said quickly.

  “I could eat,” Dal answered.

  I smiled at Pace. “Feeding us would be great. We appreciate it. And in the future, we’ll be happy to arrange trading of foodstuffs and other supplies.”

  Pace’s expression didn’t change, and he studied me for a few seconds before turning away wordlessly.

  We ate at a crude wooden table on the bottom floor of the main building. Pace was polite and talkative, but he didn’t try to hide the fact that he watched our movements, especially Vaughn’s. I didn’t bring it up. We were three strange Weres among a pack that had already spent over a decade rebuilding. He had a right to be wary.

  I was still unsettled, but I needed fuel, so I chewed on the cured meats—some type of game—that we were served without really tasting them. Vaughn had descended into morose silence while Dal’s gaze darted around, her nose lifting to scent the air.

  There was something here, something they were hiding. After we ate, Pace showed us to our rooms, which he locked from the outside, saying, “It’s for your safety.”

  Being kept from my pack members only made me more uncomfortable, which Pace would know. He was keeping us off our game on purpose. And as the leader of this expedition, I wasn’t content to just go to sleep.

  I’d never really been good at following the rules. That was Dare’s job. If something was supposed to be off-limits, then I wanted it that much more. Of course, that got me into all kinds of shit that Dare bailed me out of, but you only live once, right?

  I had one window in my room, which was boarded and locked. I picked the lock with a sharp claw and eased open the boards in time to see Pace walking across the grounds four stories below, a bundle in his arms. A quick sniff told me it was food. I watched him, eager to see where he was going, but he disappeared around the corner of the building. “Fuck,” I muttered, glancing around my room, then out the window again.

  A small stone ledge, maybe a foot wide, was visible below, and it seemed to go around the building. I hated heights—fucking hated them—but face your fears and all of that. With a deep breath, I sat on the window frame, my legs dangling outside. The ledge was far enough that I’d have to drop to reach it. This could go well or very, very badly—I’d either land on it or plummet to the hard dirt.

  I inhaled and exhaled slowly, kicking my legs a bit, feeling the breeze on my face. I could do this. I wanted to know what Pace was hiding. With a lick across my dry lips, I counted off. “One, two, three.” I turned my body so I was facing the wall, and, with my hands on the ledge, slid down slowly until the edges of my boots touched the ledge. Next step—letting go of the windowsill. I released one hand, placing the ball of one foot on the ledge. I braced myself and dropped my other hand.

  The world tilted as I nearly lost my balance and scrabbled at the stone, looking for a handhold that wasn’t there. With a yelp, I plastered myself to the wall, taking deep breaths until I was sure I wasn’t going to fall. Dare would have been able to leap down no problem, the alpha bastard. But I wasn’t quite that strong or agile.

  I took a minute to get my breath, because I’d wasted enough time already, then I began to shuffle along the ledge. The sun had dropped, and I was grateful my room was on the building’s darkened east side. The last thing I needed was some nosy werewolf raising the alarm that I’d escaped.

  When I eased around the corner, I spotted Pace right away. He was exiting a small hut that lay secluded along the back wall near the farms. Every other home-like structure in the compound had open windows, but this one was all boarded up. Something was in there. Something alive that he was feeding. What if they were hiding a Nowere? Some packs kept Noweres to study. And if one was in there, I wasn’t staying here another minute. Fuck this pack, I wasn’t about to be Nowere bait.

  I had to see what was in that hut. I didn’t care if I got caught, either. What were these werewolves going to do to me? Kick me out? Fine, then.

  Pace didn’t notice me, passing below at a fast clip. Once he was out of sight, I gauged the best way to get down. My gaze landed on a drain spout, brackets holding it to the building’s side. I eased over to it, and then, quick as I could, I shimmied down the spout, cringing when my weight threatened to rip it from the building. When I was about fifteen feet from the ground, I jumped down the rest of the way, landing as softly as I could.

  In a crouch, I ran to the front door of the hut. It was locked, something barring entry from inside, so I found a window along the side with a loose board. Prying off the nails, I managed to create a space large enough for me to peek through. I wasn’t barging in there to get bitten by some pet Nowere.

  Nothing was moving inside—all I saw was a dirt floor—and I pulled the wood back more to get a better view. Toward the back of the space, an oil lamp illuminated the foot of a bed with two human feet hanging over the edge.

  They weren’t moving.

  I tugged the wood panel, creating a crack that my body could slip through. Well, barely. I kept my eyes on those feet as I squeezed my frame inside, but they didn’t move as I landed on the dirt floor in a crouch.

  The first thing I smelled was Silver Tip. My pack. The smell hadn’t been detectable outside, but in here, it reeked so much that my head spun. There was something familiar and unfamiliar about it, a weird combination that had alarm bells slamming into my skull.

  The form lay on the bed with its back to me—wearing only a pair of leather pants. From the size and musculature, I assumed he was a male. And he was definitely Were from the smell of him—Were and my pack member. His hai
r hung in blond, stringy strands onto the thin pillow beneath his head.

  His back rose and fell with deep breaths, each one fogging my head as the smell of my pack strengthened. Who was he? What was Pace up to?

  I crept closer, unable to focus on anything now but getting close to the Were. I rounded the bed, taking in his visible ribs, bony hands. He was sick or dying, and I eyed the numerous injuries to his exposed skin. I knelt down next to his head and extended a cautious hand to tug away the hair covering his face.

  When I got a look at his features, my heart stopped.

  I recognized those full lips, the proud nose. His cheekbones were sharper than I remembered—he’d been only a teen with remnants of baby fat the last time I’d seen him. But this couldn’t be him, not when Dare told me he had died sacrificing himself to a Nowere pack.

  My arm brushed his hand where it lay on the bed, and he opened his eyes. The blue of his irises hit me like a gut punch, because there was no mistaking it now, not when I saw those eyes that haunted me most nights, not when I was now very positive this was… “Nash,” I gasped out.

  His eyes fluttered, sleep still resting heavily on his features. The corner of his mouth kicked up a bit, as he reached a hand slowly toward my face. His lips parted and his breath was a rasp, barely a whisper. “Bay.”

  The sound of my name in that voice roared through my body like rainwater rushing down a dried creek bed. I drank it up greedily, already eager to hear it again. I leaned into his touch, and his fingers made contact with my face, just a brief brush of warmth. Then he came fully awake with a jolt.

  He shouted in alarm and scrambled off the bed, crashing to the floor on the other side while I slammed into the wall behind me, not understanding why he was acting like I was something to fear.

  He flew to the far corner, cowering into the shadows, and in the semi-darkness of the hut, all that I could hear was the dual panting of our breaths. None of what I was seeing made sense. When Dare had found Nash, he’d been near death in a Bluefoot pit. When Dare tried to bring him home along with several other pack members, they’d been overrun by a Nowere pack. Because of his condition, Nash had volunteered to lead them away from the main pack. We all assumed he hadn’t survived.