Page 15 of Breathe Again

Clara had been pre-med in college before she switched to veterinary science. She now worked as an animal activist, travelling the world. She was the good sister, not me.

“Okay, she’s starting to freak me out here, what is wrong with her?” Ruby asked.

“Nothing that I can tell,” Clara said at the conclusion of her examination of me. “Where’s Cole? Maybe something happened?”

Lily looked at me. “Did you fight?”

I nodded.

“Is he next door?” she asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know where he is, and I don’t care. Just drop it, Lily.”

“Wait, I knew you had a crush on Cole Anderson when you were a teenager. Are you telling me you still have a thing for that playboy? Girl, no wonder you’re upset. That boy is way out of your league, Lizzy. He’s a manwhore with a total ‘bad boy’ package. He’s dark and daunting, brooding, probably got his heart broken by a girl. Remember what a good kid he was back in the day? Now look at him. . . covered in tattoos, probably drives a motorcycle. He’s trouble, Lizzy. I know Dad loves him, but I’ve dealt with his type before. One step above the Larkens is what he is.”

I growled at my sister, and she jumped back in shock, hurt in her eyes. The Larkens were once Pack, but their leader, Jedidiah Larken had a major falling out with Dad, so Jed had taken his followers and left. They didn’t go far. They settled just across the railroad tracks in an old rundown trailer park.

“You’re not helping the situation, Ruby,” Lily argued.

“I’m just warning her, Lil. She needs to know these things,” Ruby insisted.

“I know exactly who he is, Ruby,” I said coldly, rising and putting on my shoes. I knew they meant well, but I couldn’t handle them and the emotional fallout from a confrontation with Cole. I had to get out of there. At the door I turned and said, “He’s my one true mate. I’m the one who broke his heart. I’m the one that turned him in to that brooding manwhore.”

With their mouths hanging open in shock and Lily grinning from ear to ear, I left my house, and took off running towards the open fields as fast as my legs would carry me.

“Where are you going?” Clara yelled after me, concern evident in her voice. I ignored her and just kept running.

I needed to be alone with my thoughts in the open wild. As soon as I could, I stripped off my clothes while keeping my pace, and shifted mid-air. My wolf landed with a soft thud on all fours. I took off at a full sprint heading for the barn. When I was certain no one was around, I shifted back and saddled up my most prized horse. I realized the fault in my decision when I went to mount.

I was naked as the day I was born. Ruby had claimed I was too much of a prude to be naked in front of anyone. I’d show her. I climbed up on my horse, gave her a good kick in the side, and we tore off as fast she could run, my hair blowing in the wind and me feeling more alive than I had in years. Blood was pumping through my veins, and I was filled with adrenalin as I rode.

I didn’t have a clue where I was headed, and I didn’t much care, either. I didn’t want to think. I just wanted to feel. I let go of the reins and threw my arms out into the wind. If I closed my eyes, I could almost imagine myself flying. I took a deep breath of fresh air, but it was tinged with a pungent odor.

My horse checked up and reared back on her hind legs. I wasn’t sure how I managed to stay on, and the world was spinning when she dropped back down to four legs.

“And what do we have here?” a sinister voice said. “Why, I do believe this is our lucky day, boys.”

Larkens. My wolf was instantly on full alert. What were they doing in Collier territory? There was a small patch of trees just up ahead, but we were going too fast to steer clear of them. Five grown men walked out from the cover of the trees, eyeing me like I was a piece of candy.

They spooked the horse again, but when she reared up this time, I lost my footing and slid to the side. The stirrup caught the inside of my leg and sliced it deep. I shifted into my wolf the second my feet touched the ground, knowing my injury would heal much faster, and I wasn’t as exposed to the Larkens.

My sudden action scared the horse even more and she took off at a full gallop, leaving me alone with five Larkens. The hair on my back stood up and I crouched, giving a low, menacing growl in warning for them to back off.

“Mitch, circle around her and we’re gonna try and wrangle her towards the woods,” one of the men said to another.

“She’s going to bite me,” Mitch complained, and with good reason because if he got much closer I would.

With two slowly moving to block me on the right, and two more heading towards my left with Mitch behind me, I felt trapped. I let out a howl and they started to jump into action, but before the two on the right could grab me, I lunged out of the way. What were they doing? What did they want with me?

The closer I edged towards the woods, the stronger the pungent odor became. It sort of smelled like stale alcohol. I looked into the woods, more out of curiosity than anything, and saw what looked like an old still. These fools were making moonshine on Collier land. Clearly I wasn’t dealing with the brightest lightbulbs in the pack.

Mitch made to grab me from behind, but only managed to smack the cut on my leg. I yipped and howled in pain.

“Enough,” a booming voice said as Luke Larken walked out of the woods. “Leave her alone now.” The others instantly backed off. I was too shocked to move.”

Luke and I had gone to school together way back when. Collier wasn’t large enough to justify our own schools, not even with the Larken wolves added to the count. We all attended a nearby human school, except those few families that refused to send their kids there and chose to homeschool. Luke and I had never exactly been friends, but he had always been nice to me, and his presence now brought me a slim bit of comfort.

“Lizzy, you okay?” he asked me, and I nodded my big wolf head at him.

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