Page 24 of Huntress and the Thorn Court
My sole goal was to get out of the meeting alive. Whoever wanted to meet me was either part of the responsible party and was laying a trap, or they were being truthful and did want to share, but either way they knew who was rebelling in the pack.
I debated on sharing the note with Gideon, or one of his higher ups, but I couldn’t risk it if I was being watched. That excuse sounded reasonable enough, but deep down I bristled at the idea of answering to anyone. Even at home, my father and I constantly went head to head about my lack of informing him until after I’d done something. I couldn’t submit to the wolves. It just wasn’t in me no matter the repercussions.
Ten ‘til midnight, I slipped from my room. The manor was ungodly quiet. For such a huge place, I expected some noise. The Hunter’s Order was never quiet. There were always groups working no matter the hour.
I half expected to find a guard waiting outside my room. I doubted Gideon finally conceded that I could take care of myself. Perhaps the guard had merely slipped around the corner to use the restroom and I’d better be gone before he got back. Slithering down the hall I used the shadows to conceal me. My steps were light, a skill I had mastered in training, as I moved across the carpet and up the stairs.
I didn’t know what level the dome was on, but I glided along each story, finding the next flight of stairs. Each floor was filled with doors, until I reached a level that had a door blocking it off at the landing. Opening it, the floor seemed vacant of everything but vast empty wall space. Moving down the hall, I noticed an opening in the bare wall, moonlight spilling from the mouth of the corridor.
Adjusting the razor blade between my fingers, I entered the passageway. The dome allowed the moon to fill the room with milky light. The waning gibbous still brightened the night sky. While I didn’t visibly see anyone, the hairs on my arm stood at attention announcing someone was lurking in the shadows. I walked into the room seemingly unaware. Within seconds I had pinpointed where the man was hidden without letting my eyes linger on the spot disclosing my knowledge.
“Hello?” I whispered shyly. Better to let whoever think I was timid and use that to my advantage.
“I’m surprised you came.”
I spun feigning a startled gasp, even going so far as to dramatically place my hand over my chest, but couldn’t hide the real puzzlement that covered my face when I saw who stood before me. “Ron?”
“It’s Rick,” he sneered.
I knew his name. I just liked ruffling his feathers. It was becoming more and more clear that this was indeed a trap, especially when I saw his two friends materialize out of the murky darkness. I was baffled how I’d missed them.
I didn’t think Rick was intelligent enough to pull off the coup. I smirked at the idiocy that they’d setup.
“You think it’s funny that we’re here to pay you back for what you did?”
“Funny? No. But in a cosmic sort of way?” I shrugged. “Maybe. And pay back for what? You’ve got to be more precise.”
“For embarrassing us!” he hissed getting angrier.
His friends were glaring at me as they moved to surround me. I caught a glint of metal as the moonlight reflected off a knife. That wasn’t good. If their plan was to rough me up, why would a werewolf need a weapon?
“Did your friends laugh that it took three of you to take on one of me? Or was it that you three spent more time kicking your own asses instead of mine? And yet here you are again; three big bad wolves taking on the little unarmed huntress. What mighty men you all are.”
Rick roared and started shifting.
“Son of a…” I hissed.
His two friends had begun moving to flank me but froze when Rick’s bones began to pop. Either this was unplanned, or he was starting the show early. It would take maybe a minute for him to completely shift at the rate he was forcing the turn. I didn’t know what I’d do then, but for the moment I needed to limit him getting extra assistance.
Shoving off from where I stood, I launched myself at the man to my left who held the knife. He hadn’t expected me, too fixated on Rick. I sliced my hand across his throat. With him facing away, I was lucky to miss the arterial spray. I didn’t like killing unnecessarily. If I’d been armed with actual weapons, I might have only attempted to incapacitate him, but I wasn’t going to risk my life for these men who’d come to hurt me. The other man noticed what I’d done when his friend dropped to the ground. He charged, slamming into me, the knife skidded across the room toward the shifting werewolf. The razor was knock from my hand. My head bounced off the wall dazing me more than a jolt of that magnitude should have. I had to remind myself that I was still recovering from a concussion. A hard enough hit to my head and I might not survive.
My attempt to knee him had the man taking a step away giving me enough space to reach into my pocket. Withdrawing the bulb, I slammed it on his head being sure to hold it with the washcloth avoiding shards to my skin. He yelled as the small particles got into his eye. That hadn’t been my intention and if he wasn’t most likely trying to kill me, I might have felt bad about it.
Wrapping my arms around his head, I gave it a quick jerk, breaking his neck.
I barely had a moment to breathe before Rick finished his transformation. He was a beautiful brindle wolf with a white underbelly. Under any other circumstances, I’d have taken the time to admire him.
I was down to one weapon. Reaching into my pocket, I slipped the hanger onto my hand. It would be no match for a fully transformed werewolf. Rick didn’t give me long to prepare before he darted at me. I reared back and swiped causing a line of deep crimson to bloom. Rick froze. Chillingly slow he turned, snarling at me.
I took a hesitant step back when a second growl resounded in the room. Both Rick and I glanced towards the door. I watched as Gideon fluidly shifted from man to beast. There was no sound of bones breaking or popping in and out of place and it was done in a matter of seconds. He simply melted from one form into the other shredding his clothes in the process. Gideon shook of his midnight coat before crouching low, snarling at the other wolf.
Rick had just enough time to peer at me before Gideon was on him, pinning him to the ground. Muscle shifted and bones popped as the brindle wolf quickly morphed back into the man. It was a risk he was taking, a painful one. A werewolf was the most vulnerable when he was in between forms and with how fast he was shifting, Rick was forcing it making it much more painful. Gideon was honorable and did nothing as we waited for Rick’s shifting to be complete.
“Alpha,” Rick’s voice trembled. Even as a dominant wolf he knew he was in deep shit.
Gideon shifted back even more gracefully into his human form.
“Whom are you working with?” Gideon hissed through clenched teeth.
