Page 94 of Untamed

28 - That’s a Werewolf

Willa

They came in vehicles. I didn't pay attention. I never thought that the vehicles nearby, nestled into the trees like spiders in their webs, were filled with enemies.

Mactiir's enemies. Now, my enemies because he is mine.

Hands close on my shoulder, my arm. Unfamiliar hands. I snap, biting, ready to tear into flesh, but my mouth is filled with smooth, gag-inducing leather just a moment later. I scream, twisting, searching for Mactiir, but he is covered in tiny orange feathers, like some sort of deranged, evil bird attacked him. Facedown in the dirt, my mammoth Ogre isn't moving.

Fury whips through my she-wolf as bone twists and muscle spasms. The punch to the side of my head stops the shift, stunning both of us into temporary compliance. It only takes moments. Just a few heartbeats. Then, I'm in the back of a vehicle that reeks of wet fur and rotting food.

At first, I don't recognize the wolves in the back of the vehicle with me, but then I see one that I know.Rooster. Just as jumped-up and self-important as he was before. His skinny legs and eyes are a little too squinty and close together for his narrow face.

"Hurry! They're coming for us!"

Panicked voices shout, tires squeal, and engines roar as I'm thrown to the side. Only then do I see the little orange feather sticking out of my thigh. It blurs, right in front of me, as I try to pull it out with fingers that are going numb. I almost have it, but one of the males with Rooster grabs me, tying my hands as a feeling of dizziness washes over me.

Something hits the side of the vehicle hard, rocking it and making the driver yell in panic. His shouts are nearly drowned out by the vicious growls and snarls from just outside the thin metal walls of the vehicle. Rooster picks up a long black metal stick and sticks one end out of the window. Another slam, and the entire vehicle rocks back and forth. My body is thrown into the side of the vehicle. I can't catch myself, can't control my limbs. It's as if my mind and body have been separated.

"We only have to go a few miles, but we won't make it," the driver exclaims.

"All of their vehicles have been disabled, and the alpha is down," Rooster snaps back. He says something that I don’t understand.Gibberish; nonsense, drivel, balderdash.

"What about her?" the dark-eyed male who tied my hands is staring at me warily. In his hands is one of those dark metal things. I stare into the black hole of the...gun. That's what it is. My vision is becoming more and more bleary. Guns are dangerous. Is that what hurt Mactiir? Oh, goddess, did theykillmy Ogre? My heart cracks.

Rooster smirks. "She's his luna. He will come for her, ey? And this will be over. I hold theputa’sleash now.”

I try to growl, my she-wolf snarling in my head. A leash? For some reason, the idea of Rooster being the one to place a delicate, golden chain around my waist makes melivid; irate, fuming, seething.Sick boils in my gut. I swallow, trying to keep my stomach from revolting as the vehicle rocks on its wheels again.

"This big motherfucker is going to make the van overturn," the wolf driving says.

"I'll shoot him," Rooster snaps. “Load the gun.”

I hear a bang, the retort of sound, making my she-wolf erupt in angry snarls and barks.

"Shh!" Rooster murmurs. He grabs my arm. I howl, thrashing, but I’m not trained to avoid him, and this vehicle is so small. My she-wolf whimpers and curls into a tiny ball, but we can’t avoid the sting in my arm.With a whimper, the sound dies in my throat.

The vehicle smashes into something. The gun wavers, the world tilts a bit."Blew a tire," the driver says grimly.

"Keep going, just another mile or so," says Rooster.

The vehicle stops rocking violently. Now it bumps, bumps, bumps, my head pounding in the same rhythm. I throw up. I can't stop it, the pain in my head excruciating.My world grows dimmer, the voices of the three males in the vehicle blurring together as they growl and snap at each other. My she-wolf is frenzied but has gone completely still. Fear hits me as my body suddenly loses energy. I curl into my own body, feeling the blood cooling in my body and the flecks of vomit on my arms.

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Alpha Jax

"This is some bullshit."

"Alpha?" Elias comes to the front of the line of wolves traveling south in a hurry.

"Where are the fucking patrols, Elias?" I ask him, even if I know that he can't answer the question.

"It's like,Lost," one of the younger refugees whispers, but the sound carries through the trees. I hear another whisper, "are we dead?"

The trees are eerily quiet and have been for the past hour-and-a-half. Just after the entire forest shook as if we suffered a minor earthquake. Our pursuers dropped off, both groups disappearing when we reached the river, just as we hoped. But to see no one? Not a single patrol and during times when our pack is threatened?

Dread coats my tongue, and the only thing keeping my alpha-wolf at bay is the female curled into my arms, sky-blue eyes bright with curiosity as she glances around at my forest.

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