Page 3 of Kings of Decay
I pulled my prematurely-purchased UCLA hoodie tighter around my body as I dared to flip on the porch light and crack the door open.
The golden light flickered before flooding the front yard with a warm glow. It was impossible to see where the yard ended, and the gravel road began. The only indicator was a few tire tracks swerving along the narrow road. It looked like Dad had slid while leaving earlier. Aside from that, there was no sign of a disturbance.
The terrible howl rang out again, sending me backward to the door. My hand grasped for the doorknob, cold as ice. Ice crunched under my slippers.
“Wolves?” I wondered aloud.
Wolves wouldn’t approach a human settlement without a reason. I didn’t know much about nature, but I’d read something like that before in National Geographic or something.
My curiosity got the best of me as I dared to take a few steps toward the road. Twin lines of pine trees flanked on either side of the road that dashes through the wilderness like a scar. The moonlight cast long shadows across the snow, and the wind swirled up tiny sparkling shards of ice before throwing them along the ground.
The howl erupted again.
Wolves. I was sure of it.
Another howl joined the first, then another, a chorus of voices rising and falling in the distance. My breath caught in my throat as the haunting sound of the beasts rolled through the snowy night.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I’m supposed to use breathing exercises when I start to feel anxious, according to the therapist my dad paid for until we moved. I didn’t think it helped. Shivers run through me, a combination of fear and the cold.
Suddenly, a pair of headlights flashed through the dark, and a massive SUV appeared. The white and black vehicle came to an abrupt stop, sending a shower of snow up from beneath the tires. After a brief pause, the driver got out – an Alaska State Trooper. He clicked on his flashlight.
“Everything okay here, missy?” He asked.
I nodded. “I just thought I heard something,” I said.
The trooper stayed next to his SUV. “Not safe for anyone to be out here alone and unarmed.”
I nodded. “Sorry, I’ll go back in. I just thought I heard something.”
“Heard what?” the trooper asked, pulling his toothpick out from between his lips. He couldn’t get more stereotypical if he tried. …Well, maybe if he had a dozen donuts.
“Sorry,” I said again, without knowing why I was even apologizing. “Wolves.”
A weird expression flashed over his face before he rested his hand on his belt.
I subconsciously let my eyes flick down to his holster before I looked away.
“There are wolves everywhere, missy,” he warns. “You’d better get back inside.”
I don’t wait another second before running back inside. I shut the door with a bang and peeked out the window, holding my breath until the State Trooper drove away.
“What the hell was that?” I breathed.
Troopers have more things to do than just patrol around the outskirts of town, right? What were the chances that he’d driveby just as I was walking out? I couldn’t forget the way his expression went pale when I mentioned the wolves. The thought made my stomach turn.
I double-checked the lock and returned to my laptop, burying my head in my homework and forcing the thoughts away.
Chapter three
Pearce
Iwiped the blood from my hunting knife.No matter how many times I did it, the metallic tang of blood made my head spin. It made me feel like an animal – but even animals had better self-control than me.
“Oy, Pearce,” Ainsley’s voice crept from behind me. “Wolves are out tonight.”
I grinned and stood up. “Excellent. Looks like we won’t have any issues getting rid of the trash.”
A dead man lay at our feet, his throat slashed deep and wide. The snow was stained dark red, so dark it almost looked black in the moonlight.
