The Lost Wolf's Destiny

“My mother must have been a Shifter, because Jacob is human. I don’t actually know what happened to her, because I remember absolutely nothing about her. Long story short, Jacob caught me changing into a wolf. He viewed this as a sign from his God that I was a demon, and he set about trying to purge my body and—as he said—make me holy again.”

Swallowing, he pushed away the image of his vibrant sister, beaten and lifeless. “His methods were horrific. I believe he would eventually have killed me. I managed to escape, and I ran. I haven’t seen him since. It’s been fifteen years now.”

Watching him, her eyes, a shocking shade of green, went soft with sympathy. “You must have been very young.”

“Fifteen.” While he tried to factually relay his horrific past without growing emotional, his wolf reacted with hers on another, more primal level. Though he knew she had to be aware of this, externally she showed no reaction.

Was this how it was normally between Shifters, he wondered? At the thought, a wild sense of longing possessed him, something unwanted and unwarranted, and which he promptly pushed away.

“That’s it. When I saw you and your little girl on the news, with him promising he could heal her, I knew I had to come and stop him. I drove from Seattle.”

She nodded.

Watching the emotions trace across her beautiful face—shock and horror and revulsion—he stopped talking. There were no more words he could say without revealing the most important part of all. His sister’s death.

Silence. He waited, almost defiantly, for her reaction. Half of him expected condemnation, as if all of what had happened had been his fault, as if he’d somehow deserved the actions of the so-called pious man of God.

He also feared she would panic, because in revealing his past, he’d also revealed what Jacob had in mind for her little girl.

* * *

As Lucas talked, Blythe found herself listening in a sort of horrified fugue state. Disbelief, shock and terror for Hailey mingled with revulsion that a so-called man of God could do such things to his own son.

And what about her daughter? If Lucas was right, she’d delivered her baby girl into the clutches of a madman.

When he finally finished, the silence rang with a thousand questions, none of which she expected him to be able to answer.

“Why?” she finally asked. “Even if you being able to shift was—is—out of the ordinary, you’re his son. Throughout history, other parents have learned to deal with that. What would drive him to...recoil from you like that? Why would any father do such a thing to his own child?”

“I’ve asked myself that very same question a hundred times. I don’t know that I can explain the unexplainable. But as far as I can tell, it’s because of his belief system. In his narrow-minded view, such a thing as a Shape-shifter cannot exist. I’m a werewolf, he said. He honestly believed—believes—that I have a demon inside me.”

“That you come from hell,” she said, still unable to entirely wrap her mind around the idea.

He nodded. “Yes.”

“But since he’s human, that means your mother...”

“She must have been a full-blood. But she died when I was born and he destroyed everything of hers. I’ve never even seen a picture.”

“Seriously?” Again, such a thing was beyond her comprehension.

He shrugged once more, as if it didn’t matter. “Yes. I know nothing about her.”

“Then you had no one to teach you to...”

A shadow crossed his face. She got a sense that there was more, that he hadn’t told her everything. But she didn’t press him, not now. Hellhounds, he’d already revealed so much horror, the thought that there might be more was staggering.

“The first time I felt the urge to shift, I freaked out.” He sounded rueful, speaking of something that broke every Pack law she could think of regarding children. The first change should be a special thing, guided with a loving hand. Like Hailey’s would be, if she lived that long.

Blythe clenched her fists. Though she felt sorry for this man, listening to him talk about the past wasn’t going to help save Hailey.

He cocked his head. “You must be wondering how all this relates to your daughter,” he said, as if he’d read her mind.

Masking her inner turmoil with what she hoped passed for calmness, she nodded. “Yes. Yes, I am. Tell me. What do you think your father—”

“Jacob.”

She acknowledged the difference with a dip of her chin. “What does Jacob want with my daughter?”

Instead of answering, he asked another question. “Does he know you’re a Shape-shifter?”

“No, of course not.” Puzzled, she frowned. “Why would I tell him something like that? He’s human. You know the law.”

“Since I’m not actually part of your Pack, no, I don’t. But no matter. I think Jacob has somehow learned that you and your child are like me—Shape-shifters. Since he believes these powers came from a demon, he’s on a holy mission to wipe out the evil. He intends to cure your daughter—not of her physical ailment, but her spiritual one. Even if it kills her.”

For a split second, she couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think, couldn’t move, couldn’t even swallow. “Then we’ve got to go help her,” she finally managed. “Now.”

Expression grim, he shook his head. “You heard what happened when you tried to call the police. He’s got the entire area in his pocket.”

“Then we’ll go out farther.” Desperate now, she began to pace. “The FBI will help.”

“Not if they talk to the local police and are told you’re a crackpot.”

Stunned, she stared at him. “Are you serious?” she asked. “You really think that’s what will happen?”

He nodded.

This was like something out of a nightmare.

“These people really are crazy,” she said, trying to keep her hands from trembling. “How is that possible? An entire town...”

“He’s a very hypnotic speaker.”

She stared at him, letting him see her disbelief. “Are you saying he hypnotizes people?” Then, before he could even answer, she inhaled sharply. “Hellhounds. Are you saying he hypnotized me?” That explanation would certainly clear up a lot of things.

Lucas grimaced. “To be honest with you, I don’t know. It’s entirely possible.”

She took a deep breath and released it. “It sounds like you think no one is going to help me.”

The wry grimace he made didn’t make her feel any better. “At least no humans will. What about your Pack?”

“I don’t know. I’ll call them.” She grabbed the cell phone and then stared at it in frustration. “I’m not sure I know the number. It’s stored in my cell, which he took from me.”

“So it appears you’re on your own,” he said, without inflection.

His lack of emotion was beginning to get to her. She glared at him, determination and ferocity coursing through her. “Then I’ll do it by myself. I have to get my daughter out. I don’t care if I need to rip out some throats to do it.”

As another Shifter, no matter what his upbringing, she believed Lucas would understand. When in their wolf form, they all retained their human intellect. This made them deadly fighters when they needed to be.