Growl

  “I’m so sorry about your father, Cole” she said softly. “But you can’t blame his death on Jesse, he didn’t kill him, the hunters did.”

  Cole turned toward her. “I know who killed my father. It was a worthless human with nothing better to do than kill for sport.” He chuckled to himself. “It’s kind of ironic, don’t you think? Humans used to hunt my kind, now I hunt them.”

  “Is that what your hunts are about? Getting revenge for what happened to your father. That’s insane. The people you are killing now didn’t have anything to do with your father’s death.”

  “I hunt humans because I hate them. You think that I’m a monster but humans are the real monsters. They hunt for sport and prey on those weaker than them. They use weapons to give them an advantage. And they don’t care that every time they kill an innocent animal, they are breaking up a family. So why the hell should I care about them. Hell, humans even turn on their own kind. They kill each other all the time over nothing. They have no sense of loyalty at all.”

  Against her better judgement, Lacey scooted closer to Cole and rested her hand on his arm. She knew that he was a killer and not someone she should trust or get close to, but the pain she heard in his voice touched her in a way that not many things did. “I can’t even begin to understand what you’ve been through, Cole. All I can do is tell you that not all humans are like that.”

  “Really?” he said sarcastically. “And what about you, huh? How have people treated you and your gift? Have they embraced your difference? Have they accepted you for who you are?” He saw the pain in her eyes before she turned her head away from him. He had his answer. “I didn’t think so. Let me guess, you grew up being teased and ridiculed by neighborhood kids for being different. You didn’t have many friends and the few that you did have only liked you for what you could do for them. But despite how others may have treated you, I’m sure you had two loving parents who helped you through the rough times and told you how special you were to them even if no one else saw it. Am I right?”

  At the mention of her parents, Lacey jumped from the bed. “You don’t know a damn thing about me or my life. You think you’re the only one that has ever lost a parent, well you’re not. Your father was taken from you, mine left voluntarily because he couldn’t stand to be around me. And my mother, she blamed me for him leaving. She never even tried to get close to me. She wanted nothing to do with me because she was just as scared of my powers as everyone else. At least your parents loved you, mine feared me.”

  Lacey wiped away a tear that slipped from her eye. Cole stood and tried to wrap his arm around her but she pushed him back. “No, I don’t need your sympathy just like you don’t need mine. Everyone has a sob story to tell but you can’t live in the past, you have to move on. Which is what I did, I left home and I found someone that accepts me for who I am, someone that I love and that makes me happy. And you’ve taken that little bit of happiness away from me.” She turned her back to him and said sadly, “Just leave me alone.”

  Cole stood in the middle of the room, unable to take his eyes off Lacey. He wanted to go to her but then again, he didn’t. He was already feeling a lot more for her than he should. Before he could do something that he might regret like kiss her again, he quickly left the room.

  As soon as Cole left, Lacey sat down in his chair and covered her face with her hands and cried. She cried for the pain she knew Jesse and Cole felt from losing their parents and she cried for the pain that she felt from losing hers. She might not have lost them in the same way that Cole and Jesse lost theirs but her parents were still lost to her nonetheless. And no matter how much she told herself that she was doing the right thing by staying away from her mother, it didn’t make it hurt any less.

  *****

  Zack was relieved from his guard duty outside Lacey’s door by one of his friends and he went in search of the newbie that Cole and Kevin had brought back from Jesse’s. He found him in the kitchen eating a sandwich.

  Zack had been keeping an eye on him over the last couple of days and he was certain that he would be interested in helping him with his plan to get rid of Cole. The boy wasn’t hiding his dislike for the werewolf lifestyle at all.

  “How have you been doing, newbie?” Zack asked him.

  Kyle looked up from his plate and gave Zack a go to hell look. “What do you want?”

  Zack smiled and sat down at the table. He remembered how much he hated his life right after he went through the change. He was just as aggressive as Kyle was now.

  “I want to help you” Zack said and glanced around the kitchen to make sure they were alone. “I know you don’t want to be here. I heard Kevin talking about how you didn’t want to leave Jesse’s warehouse when they found you. I can help you go back there, back to your friends.”

  “They aren’t my friends” Kyle growled.

  “Then why didn’t you want to leave them?”

  Kyle looked Zack in the eye as he spoke, “Because they wanted to teach me how to control myself and all Cole wants to teach me is how to kill. I don’t want to be like him or you.”

  Zack leaned over the table. “Then let me help you go back to Jesse and his pack.” He sighed, “I’m sure you know that the girl Cole has locked in the back room is Jesse’s girlfriend. He’s going to kill her. I overheard him and Kevin talking earlier. Her powers are useless to us because she can’t use them without major side effects. You could get her some help. Tell Jesse where we are so that he can come rescue her.”

  Kyle sat back in his chair and stared at Zack. Something didn’t feel right. Why was Zack trying to help him and the girl when he hadn’t even spoken two words to him since he got there? And from what Kyle had gathered from watching Zack, he wasn’t the kind of man to help anyone. “Why are you offering your help? I got the impression you were loyal to Cole.”

  Zack smiled. “Impressions can be deceiving, Kyle. I am loyal to this way of life. Unlike you, I enjoy what I have become. I just think this pack would be better served with someone other than Cole as our leader. I’m tired of hiding what I am from the humans. We are the stronger species, they should be hiding from us. We’re wolves and the instinct to hunt and kill is too strong to be satisfied with the little hunts that Cole allows us have. Once he’s out of the picture, I’m going to take over the pack and we will have hunts every night. And if you want, I’ll make you my second in command. We could rule this town.”

  Kyle looked at Zack in disbelief. He couldn’t believe Zack was stupid enough to think that he would help him murder even more people than Cole was already killing. Kyle wanted to stop the murders not increase them. But the idea of getting away from Cole and his pack and going back to Jesse’s was very appealing. And he knew that Lacey needed help too. He had already heard several of the guys talking and making bets on how long it was going to take for Sasha to find a way to get to her and kill her. He had to help her. “Okay. How are you going to get me out of here without anyone seeing us?” he asked.

  “You let me worry about that. You just do what I say and you’ll be out of here soon. We have to wait for the right time” Zack said and left the kitchen.

  *****

  Kindal was leaning against the wall in the chain room, watching Steven. He was sitting in the middle of the room with chains holding him in place. She felt bad that he had to be kept restrained but he wasn’t adjusting well to the change. Every time anyone got near him, he would lash out at them. He even attacked Scotty when he brought him some food a few days ago. Luckily, he didn’t do much damage. The gash in Scotty’s arm healed nicely but the attack turned him against Steven. It was now up to Kindal to make sure that he got fed. Trevor and Tonya were too busy, Devon and Tyron were out searching for Cole’s hideout and Jesse hardly ever came home anymore. He spent all of his time searching for Lacey.

  “Are you finished with your plate, Steven?” Kindal asked before moving from the wall.

  He looked over his shoulder at her and made a growling noise deep in
his throat. “Why do you bother feeding me? Just kill me. Put me out of my misery. I’ve already told you that I don’t want to live my life as an animal.”

  Kindal slowly approached him. She knelt down in front of him. “Things will get better. Once you can control yourself, we’ll let you out of here. You’ll find that the way we live isn’t much different than the way humans do.” She reached for his plate and he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her closer to him. He stared at her angrily. “What don’t you understand? I don’t want to live like this. I’d rather be dead.”

  Kindal looked at him. He was an attractive man and she was sure that when he was human he must have had women falling at his feet to be with him, but she wasn’t one of those women. She jerked her arm away. Steven looked surprised by her strength.

  “The sooner you stop fighting and accept what you have become, the happier you’ll be. You can still have a good life. There are many advantages to being a werewolf and if you stop to think about it, you’ll see that I’m right. So stop sulking and feeling sorry for yourself and grow the hell up. You are not the only one with problems around here and we really could use another dependable person in our pack. Things are falling apart and there’s nothing I can do to stop it. I could use some help, so learn to control your shifting and stop acting like a damn baby” Kindal said grouchily.

  Steven was stunned at the way she spoke to him. She had never said more than two or three words to him while she watched him eat. Over the last few days, he had hoped she would talk to him but he wasn’t expecting her to jump down his throat like she just did. He knew that he wasn’t adjusting well and most of it was because he was mad about what had happened to him. He was feeling sorry for himself and hadn’t even tried to look at his situation as anything other than a death sentence. Maybe Kindal was right. Maybe he could still have a good life if he tried. He looked up at her. “Will you unchain me?” he asked in a low voice.

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t. I won’t let everyone down again” she whispered.

  “What do you mean? How did you let them down?”

  Kindal looked away with regret. “The whole pack is falling apart because of me. The night that we found you, I was supposed to watch Lacey and I left her alone. Cole took her and it was my fault.”

  Steven could see the sadness on her face. “Who is Lacey?” he asked.

  “She was a very special person. She was my friend and Jesse’s girlfriend.”

  Steven nodded his head in understanding. “Ah, I see. Well, I’m sorry for your loss. How did she die?”

  Kindal shook her head and tried not to cry. “We don’t know for sure that she’s dead. But she’s with Cole and that’s a fate worse than death. Even if she is still alive, I don’t think she’s the same as she used to be. She’s been gone for almost two weeks. Cole has probably changed her by now and taught her to kill humans instead of help them.”

  She walked toward the door whispering to herself, “I’d rather think of her as dead than as a willing member of Cole’s pack.” She walked out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving Steven alone again to think about what he wanted to do with his life. Live it chained to a wall or by helping others. The thought of being able to help Kindal made him smile. He didn’t like to see her upset. And he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty that he was the reason she and her friends had been out that night to begin with. If they hadn’t been searching for him, Lacey wouldn’t have been kidnapped and Kindal wouldn’t be hurting.

  Steven looked at the chains around his ankles and made a silent vow to himself to try and learn how to control himself so that he could help Kindal make things right again.

  *****

  Jesse waited impatiently in the alley by the bus station. It was one of Jaden’s favorite hangouts and Jesse needed to find out if he had any new information.

  Jesse glanced around the corner and saw Jaden talking to a human girl. He whistled to get his attention. Jaden looked over to where Jesse was and when he saw him, he took off running in the opposite direction.

  “What the hell?” Jesse said to himself and took off after him. He caught up to Jaden a few blocks away and pushed him against the wall.

  “What the hell are you running for, Jaden?” he asked breathlessly. Normally, he could run for hours without tiring but since he wasn’t eating right or getting enough sleep, he didn’t have as much strength as he usually did.

  “What...what do you want, Jesse?” Jaden asked nervously.

  “You know what I want. Have you heard anything about where Cole is hiding? Or about Lacey?” Jesse asked. Just saying her name formed a lump in his throat. He was starting to lose hope.

  Jaden shook his head. “No man, I haven’t heard anything. I don’t know where Cole is. He hasn’t been seen since he took the girl. I don’t think he’s even in town anymore. I went by a couple of his most popular hideouts but they were empty.” Jaden looked away nervously, like he was ready to bolt the first chance he got. He did have some news about Lacey but he was too afraid to tell Jesse. He liked him and didn’t want to be the one to deliver the news that was going to devastate him. “Look Jesse, I’m your friend and I don’t like what you’re doing to yourself, man. It’s time to move on. Just forget about the girl.”

  Jesse shoved him against the wall again, harder this time. “Why do I have the feeling that you know more than you are telling me?” he growled.

  Jaden looked away. Jesse grabbed his face and turned it toward him. “What do you know?”

  Jaden let out a deep breath. “I heard that Sasha tried to kill the girl by poisoning her food. She almost died. It took her a few days to get better and then she tried to use her powers to escape and was found screaming on the floor. I was told that she was covered in blood and Cole had to knock her out to get her to stop screaming. He knows now that her powers are useless to him because they have limits.” Jaden paused and looked away so that he didn’t have to see the anguish on Jesse’s face. “I heard that Cole is going to kill her but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

  Jesse let go of Jaden and stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground. He sat down on the sidewalk as images of Lacey screaming on the floor flashed in his mind. He knew how bad her headaches were and the thought of her in pain broke his heart. He pulled the choker that he had bought for her from his jacket pocket. Looking at it and knowing how much she liked it, made him feel a little closer to her. He closed his fist around the green heart pendant and held it to his chest.

  “I’m so sorry, Jesse” Jaden mumbled.

  Jesse ignored him and walked away to continue his search. He was running out of time. After almost two weeks of not knowing whether or not Lacey was even alive, he finally had some hope. She was still alive and waiting for him to save her.

  *****

  “Alright, here’s the deal. I’m going to start a fight with one of the guys tonight as a distraction and when I do, I want you to go into my room and climb out the window. I’ve already got someone else to distract the guards outside so you should be able to get away without anyone seeing you. Here are the directions to Jesse’s warehouse” Zack said and handed Kyle a piece of folded up paper.

  Kyle took the paper. “Are you sure this will work? What if someone sees me?”

  Zack smiled. “Then you’re screwed because I will deny everything.”

  “Of course you will” Kyle said and walked away.

  *****

  Sasha knocked lightly on Cole’s door before pushing it open. She stepped inside and saw him asleep on the bed. She smiled and started taking off her clothes and dropping them to the floor as she crossed the room. She crawled into bed beside him and rested her hand on his bare chest. He moved in his sleep and she stiffened. A few seconds passed and Sasha let out a deep breath and snuggled closer to him. She was surprised that Cole hadn’t caught her scent and kicked her out of his bed. But then she remembered that he had been keeping guard over his human pet and figured that he prob
ably hadn’t slept in a while. She gently lifted her head and placed it on his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his waist. It felt so good to be near him again. She stayed like that until she fell asleep, just like old times.

  Hours later, Cole’s eyes fluttered open and for a second he thought that he was with Lacey until he looked down and saw Sasha asleep on his chest. He pushed her head off him and sat up in bed. Sasha woke up when her head fell to the mattress.

  “What are you doing in my bed, Sasha?” Cole growled.

  She reached for his arm to pull him back down with her but he got out of bed before she could. “Why do you keep pushing me away, Cole? It’s pointless, you know. I’m never going to give up on us. You brought me into this life when you changed me. You told me then that I would be yours forever and I’m holding you to that. I’m yours and you are mine.”

  “Get out!” He yelled and grabbed her by the arm and tugged her toward the door.

  Sasha pulled him to a stop and yanked her arm away from him. She stared at him with pleading eyes. “Cole, I’m warning you...don’t push me away again. I give you my word that if you agree to give us another chance, I won’t touch your little human pet. But if you don’t, I will kill her. And I will make her suffer like no one has ever suffered before” she said each word slowly and with as much hatred as she could muster.

  Cole grabbed her face with his hand and squeezed. “Nothing in this world could ever make me want you again. You have slept with almost every member of my pack but yet you claim to love me. You are incapable of knowing what real love is and you disgust me. And as for Lacey, well she won’t be human much longer.” He smiled. “I’ve come to a decision about what I’m going to do with her. It’s going to be very interesting to see how well you fare against her in a wolf battle. I’m hoping that her powers will increase with the change. But there is also the possibility that she will lose them altogether. I guess we will just have to wait and see. Until then, if you go near her, you won’t get the chance to fight her in a fair fight because I will kill you myself.”