Wolfen (42 page)

“Whoa,” Casey breathed. She’d probably never seen a proper
car in her whole young life.

Still chuckling, Aiden went to take a closer look.

“The tires are still good,” Arik said. He had his head under
one of the cars, and if Aiden was any sort of predator, he’d take the
opportunity to cut the man down that instant. Alas, he enjoyed Arik’s disappointment
and Desiree’s rising despair too much to deprive himself just yet. “Gas tank
looks good, and chassis is solid.”

“Guess it’s just the body that couldn’t handle the wear and
tear,” Aiden noted. “Something you can relate to, right, Stumpy?”

Desiree swallowed hard and pivoted around to inspect the
supply bins. Her shoulders sagged. Apparently, she hadn’t found anything
immediately useful. “Guns,” she said. She didn’t take any out. Mistake. “That’s
it. No food, no water, no tools. Just…guns.”

“I thought you said the cars were stocked,” Arik accused.

Aiden nudged Casey into the other car, and motioned for her
to duck down while he circled around.

“They were!” Desiree returned. “There were supposed to be five
more trucks here. Someone must’ve beaten us to them. Do you see any tire
marks?”

“
Aiden,
” Casey stage-whispered.

He waved her back, and held a finger to his lips for
silence.

“Who the hell gives a shit about tire marks,” Arik snapped.
“We couldn’t catch up to them if we tried!” He slapped his palm on top of the
rusted jeep roof. “This was supposed to be a sure thing, our ticket out of
here!”

“It still is,” Desiree insisted. “If we can get the engine
started, we won’t need all of that other stuff. We can drive to the nearest
town and stock up on everything.”

Aiden took advantage of their squabble. The beast had had a
taste of satisfaction; it would not be denied a second time. He checked to make
sure Casey stayed put, then stalked a wide circle around his prey to get to his
blind side.

“
If
the engines start?
If
there is gas in the
tank.
If
the tires don’t blow out after a mile, and
if
we don’t
turn into convert feed before we find a road! That’s an awful lot of
ifs
for
a Hail Mary, Dez.”

Aiden sneaked up behind Arik, so close he could see the
hairs rise on the back of Arik’s neck as he became aware of Aiden’s presence.
Desiree’s eyes widened in warning, but Arik reacted too slowly, and Aiden
caught the elbow aimed at him, twisted it up behind Arik’s back, and drove the
human’s head into the car. Arik slumped to the ground still alive, and would
stay that way, unless he interfered again. A deal was a deal.

Then Aiden jumped onto the truck bed, startling Desiree away
from the car. She fell onto her ass, and started crawling backward, casting
around for anything she could use as a weapon. Aiden stalked her retreat, fangs
aching. Finally, he’d have his revenge and, oh, he couldn’t wait to taste it on
his tongue.

Desiree hurled a stone at him. Her aim was shit and the
stone flew wide, not even close enough to make him flinch. She crawled farther,
grabbed another one—bigger, heavier than the first—but rather than throw it,
she held it up as a weapon.

Aiden snarled and pounced, knocking it from her hand before
he pinned her down. She thrashed beneath him, screaming for help. Wouldn’t do
her any good this time; she was trapped, helpless. And Aiden was enjoying the
hell out of it.

He snapped his teeth and, predictably, she shrank as far
away as she could, face turned to the side, eyes squeezed shut. It bared that
delicate, pale neck for him to rip out. Her pulse fluttered, and Aiden ducked
his head, salivating for a taste of her blood. He nosed along her skin,
breathed in deeply of her fear…

…and froze.

His bloodlust drained in a rush, halfway-protruded fangs
receding as the world realigned in a dizzying shift of confusion.

No—not possible.
A sensory illusion, nothing else.

Aiden growled, choking with frustrated anger, and opened his
mouth to finish this.

He couldn’t.

Shaking his head like a wet dog, he tried again, but instead
of biting down, he breathed in more of her scent, tasted it on his tongue, and
recognized…Wolfen. Diluted, faint, but there. Somehow the bitch had Wolfen
blood in her—
his
blood. It was a marker, branding her as familiar, and
the primitive, pack-centered part of his brain bypassed the logic center that
said she was the enemy and immediately flipped the switch from Destroy to
Protect.

He couldn’t kill her.

Son of a bitch!

“What did you do!”

Desiree whined, refusing to answer.

Aiden snarled, grabbed her by the throat, lifting her to
dangle in the air as he pushed to his feet. Hurting her caused him physical
pain, and the beast yanked hard on its leash. “
What the fuck did you do!
”

She slapped at him, kicked out and managed to tap his knee.

“Aiden, stop!” Casey cried.

His head whipped around. There stood his little girl, eyes
welling with tears, hands wringing the front of her shirt.

“Please,” she said.

Betrayed by his own nature, Aiden roared, aching to make
something bleed. He tossed the woman aside, and took off in the other
direction, so fast, nothing could stop him.

It still wasn’t fast enough to outrun what Desiree had done.

Just like Bryce with Sinna, Aiden was now bonded with the
Bitch.

Desiree’s ass hit the ground hard, and she coughed, gagged,
wincing with pain. “Arik,” she called, but her voice wouldn’t work properly. He
should have been up by now.

Casey cried and screamed for Aiden so loudly, Desiree wanted
to slap her. What the hell would it take for that girl to realize her best
friend was a monster?

“Casey, stop it!” The three little words felt like razor
blades in her throat. “Arik!”

She sagged with relief at his groan. Still alive. They still
had a chance.

“The fuck happened?” he slurred.

“Aiden flipped out on us.”

Arik struggled to his feet, holding onto the car as he came
around to her side. “Then why are we still alive?”

Good question.

Casey sobbed and wailed. “
Aideeeeen!
”

“Enough, Casey. He’s not coming back.”

The girl screamed so hard, her body shook, and she dropped
to the ground, wailing her misery until she started to gasp and wheeze. Poor
kid had to be scared out of her mind. Desiree didn’t blame her for melting
down, but couldn’t she have picked a better time? Maybe when Desiree wasn’t
around?

“It’s okay, Case,” Arik tried, in a kinder voice than
Desiree could muster. He tried to hug her, but Casey pushed him away. “We’re
gonna be okay. I’ll get us someplace safe.”

Desiree left them to it in deference to getting herself up
off the ground. She had to crawl to a tree so she could stand up. With one leg
and no crutch, she was done for out here, and Aiden knew it. Twice now, he’d
had her life in his hands, and both times she’d been so certain he’d end it. No
more fear. No more pain. No more of this goddamned uncertainty.

And here she was, with every blow the worse for wear. But at
least she’d finally hit rock bottom. No way her situation could get any worse.

“I”—wheeze—“want”—wheeze—“Aiden”—harder wheeze.

“Oh, shit, Dez, I need you!”

Desiree sighed. So much for rock bottom. “Can I not catch a
goddamn break?”

“Dez, come on!”

She maneuvered closer to them, over the uneven ground. Casey
was going pale, lips bloodless, struggling for breath too much for this to be
just an emotional upset. She was having an asthma attack.

“What do we do?”

Oh sure, the kid gets priority treatment. Never mind the
woman with seventeen fresh stitches and throat damage from multiple chokings.
She’d be just fine.

On the other hand, it had been Desiree’s idea to take Casey
with them. She’d been so eager to put Haven behind her, she’d already forgotten
about all of their pesky health problems.
Thanks for the refresher, kid.

“Get a fire going, and get me that water canteen,” she
ordered, then sat next to Casey, leaned the girl forward, and rubbed her back.
“Casey, you need to calm down. I want you to close your eyes and imagine
something pretty, okay?”

Arik swore as he upended the pack, dumping everything onto
the ground. He tossed the canteen to Desiree.

“Here, have a drink.”

Casey tried, but she spilled more than she swallowed, and
she cried out, scared out of her wits.

“Head down.” Desiree continued to rub Casey’s back. “Easy
does it. You’re okay. You’re going to be fine.” She hoped.

Arik piled a few twigs together, and lit them in seconds.
With everything so dry around here, starting a fire was easy. Putting it out
later would be the bigger issue. “Now what?” he asked, and gently blew on the
flame.

“Go through the supplies and tell me what you brought.
How’re you doing, Casey?”

In answer, Casey groped for her, and curled her fingers
tight in Desiree’s shirt, holding on for dear life. She coughed, expelling more
air than she could take in, which made the wheezing worse. But she was still
breathing, and that was as good as they could hope for.

“There’s nothing here!” Arik said. “I didn’t take any meds.
We can’t use any of this.”

“Do as I said, and tell me what you have. I’ll decide if we
can use it or not.”

“There’s…” Arik shook his head. “Bandages. Sutures. Honey—”

“Toss me that. And heat up some water. What else?”

Arik did as she asked, then stared again at the hopeless mess.

Desiree scooped honey onto her finger, and stuck it in
Casey’s mouth. “Talk to me, Arik.”

“Fire starter, a pot, dried meat, that herb box from your
lab—”

“That! Give me that.”

He tossed it to her. The contents of the wooden box were
Desiree’s modest claim to fame. It had been her idea to start an herb garden.
Didn’t matter that Klaus had commandeered and locked her out of it, he’d still
allowed her small bunches to dry and store. Desiree’s stash amounted to a
handful of versatile herbs in minimal quantities, ones no one had been allowed
to touch. Now, they might save Casey’s life.

She took two small linen pouches from the box, and tossed
one back to Arik. “Put two big pinches of that into the water for tea.”

He sniffed it and made a face. “What the hell is it? Smells
sweet.”

“Licorice root.” She rolled the other pouch between her
fingers to break up the flowers a little, and put it under Casey’s nose.
“Breathe in for me.”

Casey made a face and tried to push it away, but Desiree
persisted. “I know it smells strong, but it’s just lavender. It’s flowers. You
like flowers, don’t you? Breathe in. That’s it. Nice and easy.”

The tea boiled quickly, but it needed a few minutes to brew
and cool before Casey could drink it. While Desiree tended to her, Arik cleaned
up the mess he’d made, checking on them every so often. He was a nervous wreck
in a way that seemed much too personal. Had he had kids in another life?
Desiree had never bothered to ask.

When he was finished, he brought the tea over and sat on
Casey’s other side. “You okay?” he asked.

Casey breathed a little easier, but it was too small of an
improvement. She leaned against Desiree, eyelids drooping, and it was a tossup
whether passing out would calm her enough to open her airways, or whether the
lack of oxygen would make her sleep and never wake up again. “Where’s…Aiden?”

Desiree rolled her eyes. “He’s gone, Casey. He ran away.”

She moaned and turned her face into Arik’s side, latching
onto him instead. What, the medic saving her life wasn’t good enough anymore?
What the hell? Where was the undying gratitude, the fawning and profuse thanks
for being able to take a breath? At this point, Desiree would settle for a
little less scorn. Was that too much to ask?

Arik tossed Desiree a questioning look, and she glared. “You
should get your gun,” she said. “We don’t have any protection out here.” And
Aiden might come back to finish what he’d started.

No, scratch that. He would definitely come back. For Casey,
if nothing else. Well, this time Desiree planned to be ready for him. She was
done and done taking abuse—from anyone, no matter how big or bad they were.

Arik brought over several guns and gave one to Desiree, just
in case. She liked the heft of it; much more comforting than a rock. With this
in hand, she didn’t have to worry about aim anymore.

“So,” she said conversationally. “Where do we go from here?”

Arik stared blankly, but when Desiree subtly gestured to
Casey, he nodded and played along. “I figure we could head for the nearest
town,” he said in an effort to put on a calm front. “Find a place to stock up,
maybe sleep in a bed for a night or two.”

Casey reached for the canteen to drink.

Desiree pulled it away. “No, honey, you need to drink that.”
And she nodded for Arik to give her a sip of the licorice brew.

Casey didn’t like it, but it wasn’t much of a struggle to
get some of the tea into her; she was too scared and weak to resist. One sip at
a time, she downed the liquid. One breath at a time, she calmed and quieted,
drowsing against Arik.

“What happened back there?” Desiree asked later, voice low
so she wouldn’t wake the girl.

Arik glanced at Casey, then ducked his head. “Guess we led
the dogs right to our door.” He shrugged. “Best I can tell, converts latched
onto the scent of the troops Klaus sent out and followed them back to Haven.”

Where they’d finished off the rest. It’d been a glorious
night for the gray bastards—all available human chattel, dead in a matter of
hours. Clean sweep; wham-bam, thank you ma’am.

“Jesus.”

Arik tossed another piece of wood onto the fire. “It’s done.
We might still have a decent head start, so I say we use it. We have cars;
let’s just get the hell out of here and not look back.”

If only it were that easy. What would they do for food and
shelter? It could be thousands of miles before they found people again—
if
they found people again. One able-bodied man with a little girl and a cripple.
What would they do when they ran out of gas?

It would have been less painful if they’d just stayed in
Haven for the slaughter.

But Desiree was beyond giving a damn anymore. She was tired
of being afraid; tired of feeling weak and useless; tired of being less than,
damaged, without purpose. Klaus was dead, and damn, if Aiden hadn’t been
right—she was glad of it. They were free and clear, and the only things she had
to worry about were the direct consequences to her actions and one crazy
Wolfen. She could handle this. For the first time in her life, it felt like she
had some smidgen of control over her existence. She wasn’t about to give that
up. Not for anything.

As the evening started to grow long, Casey breathed easier.
Still hissed a little, but improved enough to lie down and sleep without Arik
freaking out over her not waking up. They let her rest while Arik gathered more
wood and did a perimeter check. Desiree cataloged their supplies in the
meantime.

The good news was Arik had managed to grab some pretty
important basics that would be hard to come by from now on: knives and tools, a
collapsible fishing rod, space blankets, and the medical equivalent of a sewing
kit would be a lifesaver. The bad news was none of it was edible. They’d need
to hunt for their sustenance, which meant relocating to an area with wildlife
bigger than a fly.

Desiree rubbed her face tiredly, and stoked the fire. It’d
get cold during the night. Already the temperature was dropping, and the little
flame wouldn’t last them very long. She hoped Arik came back with a truckload
of wood.

Casey was finally asleep, cheeks a healthy pink. She’d make
it ‘til morning. After that was anybody’s guess. The licorice would last
through a few more tea brews, maybe ten if they rationed. It was by no means a
long-term solution. They needed help.

A branch snapped.

Desiree twisted around, groping for her gun. “Arik?”

No answer.

The sun was setting, and every pass of wind through the
foliage made her think something was out there. Despite her brave front,
nighttime in the open was creepy as hell. She palmed the handgun and switched
off the safety.

“Stop playing around—this isn’t funny!”

Movement in the darkness, too steady to be random. Footsteps
approached, and Desiree raised her gun, blindly pointing in the general
direction of their source.

The footsteps stopped, then resumed, slower, more cautious.

Desiree squinted at a pair of fireflies, then gasped when
she realized they were eyes. Aiden. He stalked toward the fire, human enough in
body, but something in his posture and the piercing eyes trained steadily on
her, made Desiree question just how human he was in mind.

Factor seven,
she reminded herself. On a scale of
one-to-nine, he ought to be safe. But his recent history begged to differ. The
gun wavered in her hand, and he took another step forward.

“Stop right there!” she snapped, and tightened her hold to
steady the gun. Her balance was precarious enough as it was; she needed her
free hand for support.

Casey stirred. “Aiden?” It was her voice, not Desiree’s,
that stopped the Wolfen in his tracks.

He tilted his head, crouched to the ground, knuckles against
the earth and an arm braced on his knee—a predator preparing to strike. “Put it
down,” he said in a deep, rumbling voice so calm, it chilled her.

No! No more cowering. You live, or you die, but you do
not
give up!

“Aiden?” Casey sat up, excitement making her breathe faster,
harder. Too soon after her attack. She’d relapse if she wasn’t careful. “Aiden,
you’re back!”

The Wolfen didn’t even glance at her, all of his focus
trained on Desiree and the gun.

Picking up on the tension, Casey didn’t rush to him. She
frowned and hugged her knees to her chest. “You left me!” she accused, chin
wobbling. She sniffled, and Desiree detected a wheeze.

So did Aiden. His eyes flickered to Casey, and just as
quickly returned to Desiree. “You have one shot before I tear that gun from
you, along with your arm.” Every word he spoke flashed a hint of fang. Not as
huge as before, but there, nonetheless. “Think you can make it count?”

It should have cowed her, and for a second there it did. But
then Desiree raised her chin and steeled her spine. In point of fact, she could
make the shot count. She could do irreparable damage to him quite easily. All
she had to do was aim at Casey, whose plaintive breaths grew louder by the second.

But there was no surer way to set Aiden off again, and
Desiree didn’t want to blow her advantage. Aiden hadn’t attacked yet and wasn’t
blustering to intimidate her. He wanted the girl badly enough not to risk a
full-throttle assault. Good. It meant Desiree still had a chance to get out of
this with her neck intact. “I think if you were going to kill me, you would
have done it earlier.”

“I was caught off guard. It won’t happen again.”

He meant it. His claws dug into the ground. Given half a
chance, he’d tear her apart without a second thought.