Shadows crossed the little windows in front of the cabin. Ragged curtains prevented me from seeing who was out there. Fear had me clinging to the wall of the cabin as I held the knife in a death grip. I steeled myself for a fight; I wasn’t going to be tied up and tortured again.
The door crashed open to reveal a very angry looking Joel Latro striding through. He crossed the room in three large steps and came to rest directly in front of me. He was dressed in a tight black t shirt and black cargo pants. His black boots were caked with mud. He looked furious, but spoke softly.
“Put the knife down, love. We are not here to hurt you.”
“The giant, Lucas, isn’t here,” I said cringing against the wall. The cabin was filling with large angry looking men dressed like him. “He ran into the woods,” I finished.
“Oh, don’t worry, love, we’ll find him and when we do the mutt will never bother you again,” Joel’s jaw tensed as he said the last of this statement.
“NO!” I shouted at him, getting the attention of every man in the cabin. “Please don’t hurt Lucas! He never hurt me, he thinks I’m Linda. Those creepy assholes brought me here to hide me.”
“They were supposed to kill me, but they wanted insurance. They gave me to Lucas because they thought he would keep me … here.” I gestured wildly with my knife to the cabin.
“I don’t even think Lucas understands what is going on, he’s out of his mind. He said you killed his Linda, did you do that?” I stared hard at Joel caught between being angry for poor crazy Lucas and terrified for myself.
“Elizabeth, please put down the knife,” Joel said sounding like he was pleading just a little, “and no, I did not kill Linda. That happened a long time ago and now is not the time to explain it.”
I placed the knife on the hearth beside me and sagged into the wall. I was so relieved he was here. Joel’s strong arms were around me pulling me close before I slumped completely.
“I promise not to hurt Lucas, love, but if he’s not in his right mind I may to have him restrained. Did he know the… men that brought you here?”
I pushed my nose into his chest and inhaled his heady aroma. “No, kind of, I don’t know. And I know they aren’t men, you aren’t either.”
Joel’s hand came up to gently stroke my cheek and I felt his lips on my still damp hair.
“Please, don’t be afraid of me,” he whispered.
I looked up into his eyes and smiled wanly, “I already told you I wasn’t.”
Joel reached down and started to gently turn the broken remains of handcuffs on my bruised wrists.
“Lucas broke them, the thugs had me,” I choked up a little, “tied and gagged when they brought me here.”
Joel pulled me tighter and whispered, “I’m so sorry love,” into my hair.
I recognized Nate coming out of the small bedroom, the sock/gag I had been wearing pinched in his fingers. I answered his unspoken question with a nod. He handed the gag to Joel who smelled the dirty fabric deeply.
I felt claws on my back where Joel was holding me and a growl started to resonate in his chest.
“Calm, my friend,” came Nate’s smooth voice, “she is safe and now we know for sure.”
I shivered a little at the breeze blowing through the still open door. I felt Joel push me down beside the fire. He turned to one of the men that was with him and started to quietly issue orders. A jacket, a pair of jeans, and thick socks were produced quickly. Soon, I was dressed and warm. Everything was 3 sizes too large, but it was still a big improvement on being near nude.
Joel paced in and out of the cabin, directing his troops as they looked for Lucas. Nate, however, never left my side. He stood like a sentry to my left. It felt a little weird to have him standing guard over me.
“Aren’t you bored just standing there?” I asked him finally. “I’m fine now. You could probably go do something else.”
He snorted at me and smiled, “I have my instructions, but thank you for asking.”
A few moments later I was glad he was there. I nearly jumped into the fire when the growling erupted outside. I knew what was happening when I heard the name Linda being screamed repeatedly. Nate took a step to position himself between me and the door. Soon though, all was quiet again and Nate relaxed his pose stepping back.
The men with Joel were very efficient, cleaning up the remains of what was to have been dinner, putting out the fire, and even tidying the small cabin. I sat in the middle of their ministrations with my guard watching and listening, but not really present.
Joel finally returned nodding to Nate. Nate bowed his head to Joel and left the cabin. Joel picked me up and moved me out the door. We headed for a series of dark tinted Suburbans that now took up the entire front yard of the cabin.
Joel slid me into the back of one of the vehicles then disappeared for a few moments. I recognized his driver from my prior experience and managed to smile at him. When Joel rejoined me he pulled me onto his lap. I wrapped both arms around his neck and laid my head on his shoulder.
“What did you do with Lucas?” I asked him. I felt protective of the crazy giant. Without him the kidnappers would have done horrible things to me.
“We had to restrain him and he’s coming back with us,” Joel sighed.
I looked up into Joel’s eyes and saw him warring with himself.
“Look, I get this is probably a big secret, but I saw those creatures that brought me here. I saw Lucas change in front of me. I know you are like them, too. Please, just tell me what is going on.”
A soft chuckle from the front seat reminded me Nate had also slipped into the SUV with us.
“I don’t know where to start, love.”
“Start with Lucas,” I suggested. “Who is Linda and why does he say you killed her?” For some reason I couldn’t care less that Joel turned into a hairy beast, I just wanted to know if he had killed an innocent woman.
“That’s a difficult place to start, but I’ll try to explain it. You know we aren’t humans, we are werewolves. The difference is far from skin deep though. We need family to survive. Werewolves thrive in a community, to be cast out of one; it’s usually a death sentence. Lucas was cast out.”
I nodded my understanding and Joel continued.
“You asked about Linda, she was Lucas’s mate, his wife, in your world. She wanted power and authority; she wasn’t satisfied with her life. She thought she could overthrow my father as Alpha, as ruler, of the pack. She didn’t go about it in the normal way. She used magic to poison the pack leaders above her, her and a group of others that felt the same way. The poison didn’t work right and they were caught.”