Red Hood: The Hunt (13 page)

My eyes fluttered open to the sound of grunting, I realized I was hanging over Mari's shoulder and we were going up a dark shaft with twilight above.  A part of me understood that I shouldn't be able to see this well in the dark.  With a final heave, she pulled us out into an overgrown clearing between some pines.  I could hear wolves howling in the distance.

She laid me down and flopped down beside me, panting.  I sat up and looked at her then panicked and grabbed my ankle I looked at some jagged scared flesh under dried blood.  It had healed.  The weight of the world came crashing down on me, crushing me as I whispered, “No...”  I was infected, I had already healed the wound.

I pulled my legs up to my chest and started rocking.  I thought of all the implications.  I'd still be human most of the time, but I'd be susceptible to Marcus' compulsion now.  I'd be a killing monster three nights a month.  I kept whispering “No, no, no...”  Then I was engulfed by warm arms.  I almost threw up realizing they weren't as warm as before, I was just about as warm as her now.

I cried into her shoulder as she stroked my hair.  She shushed me and whispered, “I don't think you are cursed.”

I pulled back and blinked at her, then pointed at my leg and said in a hoarse voice, “The bite is already healed.”

She shrugged and handed me one of her blades.  I stared at the knife in my hand and wondered what she wanted me to do... kill myself?  I'd never... then my eyes flew wide.  I looked at her and the blade.  Then I felt the beginnings of a smile twitching as the weight on my chest eased a bit.  I stabbed my finger with the silver knife.

I just watched myself bleed for a few seconds as the wound slowly closed.  I smiled up into those twinkling blue eyes.  I whispered, “I can hold silver, my blood and skin aren't reacting.”

She was crying now and nodding and she kissed me long and hard.  I kissed back desperately then pulled back with a thought.  “But I'm changed somehow.  I'm healing faster and I'm warmer.”

She nodded again and tilted her head in thought as she stuttered, “I... I think you are like me.”

I squinted my eyes. “But I thought there could only be one Red Hood.”

She shrugged. “I think that the flare of evil magics of the curse, when you were bitten, woke up the cloak and it tried to stop it.  There was a blinding light.”  I nodded and shuddered, remembering the agony that same light caused in me.

Then she said, “And you are still human.  You would have been a wolf by now, sunrise is still a minute off, so you should be under the thrall of the moon once the curse had finished binding you.”  She smiled at that.

Then we both looked around in unison, in sync, as she said, “I grabbed you, and followed the scent of the two black wolves. They used this air shaft to get into the mine.”  She motioned to the shredded timbers that used to cover the hole and the warning sign.

I just realized that I could smell their scent too. And I almost got lost in Red's divine, multi-layered scent that was kicking my libido into overdrive, when the first rays of sun crested the mountains.  That's when the screaming began.

My entire body was in agony.  I could hear bones cracking and extending, my flesh felt as though it were tearing from those bones as a giant taffy machine stretched and folded my skin.  A woman was shrieking.  I wanted so badly to pass out, no person was built to feel this much pain, but I couldn't seem to let the darkness take me.

I realized the screaming woman was me as I felt a giant foot stomp on my skull, flattening it a bit and then pulling at my face, elongating it.  Through my pain, terror peeked through as I realized what was happening, then that great pain was suddenly secondary to my panic.  I felt as if my chest and legs were being compressed in a vise until I heard my clothing shred.

My screams changed to whimpers and yelps as grey, black tipped fur burst out all over my body, it felt like thousands of red-hot needles being pushed out of my flesh from the inside.  My fingers and toes curled into themselves as paws formed, then with one last yelp, razor sharp claws ripped forward and tore through my skin and I sat up.  One word echoing through my mind as I looked down at my wolf body, “No no no no no.”

I looked around trying to calm myself, and realizing I could still think, I hadn't lost my mind to the wolf I had become.  The world came rushing in around me.  My vision was crisper and colors were more vibrant.  I could actually taste the scents in the air, and those smells hit me from every angle, I sneezed and couldn't get them out of my nose, they were overwhelming.

I cringed at all of the sounds, they were so intense it almost hurt, I felt my ears twitching and I flattened them to my head to try to block them out.  They were coming from everywhere and I didn't know how to isolate them or block them.  I whimpered, but then everything came into razor focus when I recognized the sound of a blade sliding out of a sheath.

I snapped my head over to my right and up to Maireni standing over me with her lips pulled back in a snarl, showing her stubby fangs, sorrow was etched in her eyes.  I tried to say something to her, but it came out as guttural growls. She raised the silver blade and I scrambled backwards. I could feel my tail tuck between my legs, and not used to being on all fours I tripped over my large paws and tumbled back onto the ground.  I whimpered as she stepped toward me, my back was to a tree.

I lowered my head and closed my eyes, waiting for the killing blow.  It is what I deserved, I was a monster now.  A killing machine... but I could think.  I wasn't supposed to be able to think.  The woman I had been falling for was going to be the instrument of my death.  But nothing happened.  I could hear her heartbeat, but not her breathing, in the world of sound, she was silent.  Then in a small voice I had never heard her use she asked in a whisper of her own, “Daria?”

I sat another second, cringing then opened my eyes and chanced a look up at her.  She stood above me, her long killing blade poised above her head in both fists ready to drive down for the killing blow but she was motionless, her eyes seemed to be pleading.  I nodded once and she crouched, disbelief in her eyes and she locked eyes with me.  The power of her gaze made me want to roll over and show my belly and throat to her.

The blade tumbled from her hands onto the ground between us and she covered her mouth with one hand.  She whispered, “Oh, Daria.”  Then she grabbed me by the neck and pulled me to her and she sobbed.  I tried to cry too, but all I did was whimper.  I let her hold me as I attempted to understand what had happened to me as I watched the sun rising over her shoulder.

I sat there feeling the air filling my powerful lungs, feeling the strength of my foreign body.  I was a werewolf, it was daytime and I was a werewolf.  A thinking wolf like an Alpha. 
How is this possible?

I basked in the warmth of Mari's embrace and her scent was my world, it filled me, it made me feel safe, it made me... want her.  Something primal in me remembered she had claimed me, this was the scent of my mate.  I whimpered knowing that if I were stuck like this, then we could never be together, and I would never know her love.

Then she released me and placed her face just an inch from the wet black nose at the end of the grey fur muzzle in my vision.  She stared directly into my eyes again and I forced myself to stare back, I wanted to lower my gaze.  Wait, no, that was the wolf wanting to submit, I submit to nobody!  I was not a wolf!  I looked back into her eyes, trying to mask my confusion and anguish.

She smiled crookedly.  “God, your wolf is beautiful Detective.”  I chuffed which was the closest to a laugh I could get. 
Oh fuck, I'm wagging my tail!  How embarrassing is that?
  Then she gave me a reassuring look and reached over to her blade on the ground.  I shied away as she moved it toward me.  Her hand was on my furry cheek and I leaned in and closed my eyes. 
Is she going to end this nightmare for me?

I opened my eyes and the blade came toward me and I flinched back anyway even though I wanted her to do it.  Her brow furrowed as she squinted at me, somehow reading this in my wolf face.  She whispered, “I'm not going to hurt you, silly woman.  Give me your paw.”

I looked at the knife, then down to the ground at my large paws with those dangerous looking claws that curled more like cat's claws than wolf.  They were killing claws.  Then I raised a paw, she took it in her hand then she smiled at me.  She locked eyes again, giving me a reassuring look and said, “My what big teeth you have.”  I chuffed and gave what I thought was a smile at the joke at a time like this.  Then yelped and whimpered when she pricked the pad of my paw.  The minx had been distracting me!  She grinned, “Oh shush you big baby.”

We both looked at the blood on the blade as it just sat there, being blood, doing what blood does, absolutely nothing.  My eyes went wide when I realized what she was doing and what the non-foaming blood on the silver blade meant.  She whispered it in disbelief, “You are not infected with the lycan contagion.”  Then she met my eyes again with confusion on her face that matched mine. “Then how is this possible?”

Then she looked down at her cloak then back at me as she whispered, “Did I do this?”  Then she looked appalled and ashamed and said quickly to me, “Oh God, I'm so sorry Daria.”

I leaned my massive chest into her, laying my head on her shoulder and she encompassed my neck in a two-armed hug.  When she released me, I wanted to reassure her and I felt playful, so I grinned then lolled out my massive tongue and licked her face from the bottom to top in one big sloppy slurp.

She rocked back to land unceremoniously on her butt as she looked at me in mild shock then started laughing.  It was so melodious to me and I felt happy I was able to lighten her mood.  I wanted to tell her this wasn't her fault.  It was so frustrating not being able to speak.

Then both of our heads whipped toward the west as I could plainly hear a group of men making their way up the slope about a mile away.  The voice of Marcus caused me to stand, my back arching and I could feel my fur prickling as my lips curled back to show my two inch fangs as I gave a low, dangerous growl that vibrated through me.

Red was in motion, grabbing my shredded clothing and stuffing them in her cloak.  We were in sync again. She simply held a hand out and I was by her side as she dug her fingers into the fur on my shoulder and we ran, her hand never leaving me as we ran faster than I had ever hoped to move in my life.  My sinewy muscles flexing as we went, I felt so... powerful.

We slowed as we heard men coming down the slope from above.  They were flanking us, herding us back toward Slater Mining, hunting in a pack.  But Red and I were a pack too, we both gave matching growls as she started guiding us toward the mining headquarters with subtle pressure through our contact.  “Maybe we can get a call out for help there.”  Then we exchanged looks as we ran and she gave a wickedly delicious smile. “And our pursuers don't know about you.” I chuffed, I could smell a nasty surprise in their near future.

I looked on in horror as the sun peeked over the horizon and Daria shrieked in pain, her body arched back in an unnatural angle.  I could almost feel the excruciating agony rolling off of her in waves, I could smell and taste her pain and terror.  Had the werewolf bite poisoned her in some other way?  She didn't react to silver.

Oh God, I couldn't lose her, I had just found her.  I had finally made the decision to let her into my heart, something I said I would never do again after watching two prior mates wither and die as time claimed them.  But like I told Daria, she was a woman who fought when others fled.  The woman punched a godforsaken werewolf and joked about it.  She was... glorious.  I was going to dedicate myself to her when all of this was over.  And maybe then I would be human and could grow old with her.

I looked on in my own terror, knowing nobody could survive the contortions her body was going through.  Then as her clothing started tearing, I realized what was happening.  No!  But how was it possible?  It was daylight.  I swore, “Rahat! La Dracu!” The curse was taking her from me.  A grey pelt with black tips exploded from her as her jaws expanded and fangs dropped down from her muzzle.  Her screams turned into yelps and whimpers.

Dear God, don't do this to me, I have been a good servant.  My blood ran cold knowing that any moment it was going to be her or me when her wolf took over.  I entertained the thought of just letting her kill me.  I was falling for the woman and couldn't kill her.  But then I thought of what Daria would want.  She wouldn't want to be a monster who only thought of killing, of possibly killing another human being.  She'd want me to see to it that she never could.

I looked at the huge female wolf she had become, the largest I had ever seen.  She was... beautiful, is the only word that came to mind.  She was bigger than most male wolves and I saw the steel coils of muscle rippling under her pelt.

The wolf that had been the woman I had fallen for was cringing and sneezing and whimpering.  The way she seemed to be wincing and cocking her head looked like she was trying to block out the sounds of the world that appeared to be overwhelming her.  I took its distraction to strike.

I pulled one of my long wolf-killer blades from its sheath in the lining of my cloak as I curled back my lips in a snarl. I was angry that this beast had taken my girl from me and I was forced to end it here.  Her head snapped over to me and she growled as she clumsily stumbled back into a tree, tail tucked between her legs in fear.  This caused me to hesitate as I grasped the blade over my head.  She wasn't attacking.

She lowered her head with her ears flat to her skull and she closed her eyes like she was wanting me to finish it.  I just stood there stupidly, trying to rationalize the wolf's actions. 
Was she in there still?
  I squeaked out half in hope, half in desperation, “Daria?”

Nothing happened for a second, then the wolf's ears pricked up and she opened her eyes from where she cowered in front of me.  She looked at me and made a very human nodding gesture as our eyes met when I crouched in front of her.  My heart skipped as I realized I was not staring into a wolf's eyes, those were the very human brown eyes of Daria staring back.  Her eyes looked conflicted like she wanted to avert her eyes like a wolf would.  But it was here, I could see the human intelligence in those wonderful eyes.

The blade slipped from my hands and tumbled into the dirt as my heart sped up in excitement.  She was still in there, I hadn't lost her!  I covered my mouth then whispered, “Oh, Daria.”  And I wrapped my arms around the beautiful wolf 's neck, Daria's neck, and hugged her as I cried.  She whimpered with me.

Oh good lord in heaven, her scent was amplified by her wolf musk.  I just sat there inhaling, it was intoxicating.  She was the only one for me.  I needed to break the God forsaken lupine curse so that we could be together again, or die trying.

I finally released her, was this the same curse or something different?  She hadn't reacted to silver earlier.  What about this form, had the infection just taken longer to take over, and how was she a werewolf in sunlight?  I put my face directly in front of hers to show her I trusted her, I could feel the hot breath of her wolf on my face, I locked eyes, maybe a little too intently.  She started to lower her eyes, submitting to me.  No, that was a wolf reaction, Daria wouldn't submit like that, but then her face tightened and she snarled a little. I could feel the low subsonic rumble of a growl as she forced her gaze defiantly back at me. 
There she is!  That stubbornly strong woman!

I smiled broadly at her and teased her with the truth.  “God, your wolf is beautiful Detective.”  She chuffed with a cute doggy smile on her face.  I bit back a chuckle at her wagging tail.  I wanted to test something out, so I gave what I hoped was a reassuring look and grabbed my blade from the ground. She shied away from me and I caught a small whine.  I smiled and placed a hand on her cheek, good lord, her fur was as soft as goose down, not coarse like it looked.  She closed her eyes, leaned into my touch with a very un-wolf-like sigh.

She opened her eyes as I moved the blade toward her paw.  She flinched back, her ears flattening to her head, she looked afraid and resigned.   Oh lord she thought... I furrowed my brow and whispered, “I'm not going to hurt you, silly woman.  Give me your paw.”

She seemed to consider it for a long moment then raised a paw to me.  I smiled, they were huge with thick black pads underneath, it was the largest female wolf paw I had ever seen, with those dangerous looking claws.  My Daria didn't do things in halves, did she?  I smirked at the gorgeous beast and said, “My what big teeth you have.”  She chuffed at my Red Riding Hood joke and gave that cute doggy grin again.  I didn't look down as I pricked the pad of her paw with the knife.  She yelped.  I rolled my eyes, “Oh shush you big baby.”

We both looked at the blood on the blade and I watched the paw heal in seconds as I released it.   There was no silver reaction!  I whispered, “You are not infected with the Lycan contagion.”  I met her eyes again and asked in confusion, “Then how is this possible?”

Then I had a sudden realization, that odd reaction and burst of magical energy as the cloak tried to activate when she was bitten.  I felt the magics of light and dark cancel each other out.  Then I blanched as I asked the universe, “Did I do this?”  I was so ashamed,  I had done this to the woman I thought I could love.  I begged the Lord for forgiveness as I said, “Oh God, I'm so sorry Daria.”

I was taken off guard when she leaned her bulk into me, her wolf had to weigh more than she did, where had the extra mass come from?  Wolves usually retained the same mass when they changed, well except for Marcus, who got larger.  Wait, was Daria an Alpha now?

I sighed at the heat radiating from her as she laid her head on my shoulder.  I did what any sane woman would do when a gorgeous creature like this was pressed against her.  I wrapped my arms around her neck, burying my fingers in her soft downy fur.  I hoped we could get the curse reversed so I could show her my love.

I released her then I saw a mischievous glint in her eye as she suddenly licked my face, covering me with doggy slobber.  I swear she was laughing with that chuffing sound as I fell on my rear.  The wolf aspect the curse forced into me wanted to make her submit for that, but the woman in me wanted to laugh merrily at her.  The woman in me won out as I laughed.

But almost as if invoking the wolf aspect had been a sign, both of our heads snapped toward the west, humans...  I sniffed, pulling air across my tongue and through my flaring nostrils... no, infected humans, being lead by Marcus were heading up the mountain toward our location.

Daria took a menacingly aggressive stance, and she snarled, showing her glittering fangs.  Again I felt the subsonic growl build until it was audible.  She looked so strong, so dangerous, so... I swallowed back my arousal.  I was reacting how I would to a mate. 
We hadn't bonded had we?
  I smiled at the thought that maybe we had, I had never shared so much with a person before her.

I don't know why, but I grabbed Daria's torn clothing and stuffed them into a large storage pocket sewn inside of my cloak.

Then without thinking or speaking I reached a hand out and Daria was there. I dug my fingers into her pelt on her shoulder and we ran.  I kept in contact with her as we ran.  I was half elated as we ran at lycan speed, faster than any human could move, faster than any natural wolf.  The power of her strides seemed to thrum in time with my own as we covered ground at breakneck speed.  I admitted to myself with that feeling, that I was running with my mate.

I cocked my head as I caught voices a half mile ahead, coming down from the peaks.  The pack in human form were hunting us, herding us back toward the mining headquarters.   With virtually no pressure from my fingers, I conveyed my wishes to Daria and she responded as we turned toward Slater Mining.  I said, “Maybe we can get a call out for help there,”  We exchanged glances as we ran.

Then I realized we had a weapon they weren't aware of, and they were only in their human aspects.  I gave Daria a devious grin. “And our pursuers don't know about you.”

She gave a doggy grin and chuffed.  I could smell the anticipation of a fight coming from her and it excited me.