Scarred Wolf by Charlene Hartnady

4

Three days later…

Jaxon

I spot her immediately.How can I not? She’s wearing the tiniest shorts I’ve ever seen on a woman. They’re paired with a tight little sports bra…top…thing. None of it leaves much to the imagination. I get it; another ruse. Dress like a sexy siren. Keep any sniffing wolves off their guard.

I’m still not falling for this bullshit!

I came prepared today. I touch my pocket. I’ve been watching her for three days now. Always from a distance, very careful not to let her catch sight of me. I know her routine. I’m ready to take her on. I’m in a black tank top and jogging shorts. I lean forward to put on a show of stretching, and then tighten the laces of my black sneakers. Every muscle is corded. All of my senses are firing on all cylinders.

I see my mark up ahead; she’s already a couple of hundred yards away, and gaining ground, but that doesn’t bother me. I could be on her in seconds if I was going in for the kill.

No killing today, Skau, I remind myself. Uncle Garret was right – a wolf kill in the middle of this quiet little town would draw too much attention. My nailbeds still tingle, and my teeth ache to sharpen and lengthen. I want to chase her down and make her pay for what her family did. I don’t! Everleigh Moone will get what’s coming to her soon enough. My pack owns a security company. I know her name and all her particulars. She’s squeaky clean on the surface. I know better.

I can hear her breathe, strong and rhythmic as she strides past me at an easy lope. Long, golden legs pump effortlessly as she covers the ground along the wide paved pathway through the park. That damn platinum-blonde ponytail swings behind her. She’s wearing headphones and seems oblivious to the world around her. More of the same bullshit plays through the earbuds.

I touch my hand to my pocket again, reminded of my conversation with my father and uncle just before I left the pack.

“Take that piece of shit out, Jaxon,” my father growled. Glaring at me for a few long seconds. My uncle defused the tension by telling me, yet again, how to administer the potion he’d concocted.

I kept my eyes on my uncle’s face as he handed the neatly wrapped package to me. Inside, it contained several glass vials of amber fluid, disposable syringes and a pack of hypodermic needles.

“Now remember,” my uncle warned. “First-prize is to inject it directly into the bloodstream. But that’s going to take some doing. Intramuscular will do it. And if you have no other option, find a way to get the pre-wolf to ingest it. Pour the liquid into a drink, or their food. I’ve made this shit strong enough to take down an entire pack, so don’t sweat it if you don’t manage a full dose; I’ve changed the formulation since we first spoke. Remember to be careful of a human accidentally ingesting it.” His eyes widen with the strict warning. “It wouldn’t end well.”

I’d nodded.

“Don’t fuck this up,” my father’s eyes narrowed. “It’s a simple task. I could even send a pre-wolf to do it. I could send a pup. Get it done or don’t show your hide back here again. If you fail, I’ll kill you myself.” From the glint in his eyes, I could see that he meant it.

I pretended he was joking and snorted. “Of course, I’ll get it done.” My voice was even. My heart was just about beating out of my chest. I didn’t like him threatening me back when I was a kid, and I still don’t like it. My father isn’t himself right now. I guess I need to cut him some slack.

The perky pre-wolf waves at an old man feeding pigeons; the movement pulls me out of my own head. The old guy looks like the world just stuttered for a moment and then beams. “Hi, Evie,” he yells while waving with a slice of white bread.

Hard ignore!I’m not buying this whole sweet act. There’s a whole lot of evil lurking in the dark depths of that mind. Even if she doesn’t look evil, she is. Get your head in the game, asshole, I tell myself. This needs to happen…now! Once she’s clear of the humans, in a quiet part of the park, I’m acting.

I straighten up and set off down the path behind her, allowing myself to gain ground in long, easy strides. The air is crisp in my lungs and I revel in the feeling of my body doing what it does best…moving, flexing, stretching. I fucking love to run.

Within seconds, that platinum ponytail is swaying between her shoulder blades mere feet ahead of me. I glance down for a moment, catching the sight of her toned arms pumping, lean thigh muscles tensing…the muscles of her ass are clenching beneath the snug spandex of her tiny shorts.

I’m looking for weakness. Assessing the pre-wolf. I yank my eyes upward. I can literally feel the wolf inside her. At least, my wolf can feel her wolf. Her beast has grown ever stronger day by day. Too fucking strong.

I reach into the pocket of my shorts and take out the syringe. I uncap it and palm it carefully, keeping the sharp point aimed out from the edge of my fist.

It’ll be easy. I’ll sweep past, swipe out with my closed fist, and allow the needle to pierce the soft flesh of her ass.

I look around, noting that there are no humans around. She strides away from me and so I pick up the pace, keeping my breath steady as I take aim at the perfect spot. I keep my eyes trained there.

I grit my teeth and focus. I’m milliseconds away, one taut stretch of thigh away. I’m edging forward, leaning across as I run. I swing my arm out, waiting to feel the needle meet flesh and then—

Nothing for an instant…weightlessness…

And then impact. A jumble of limbs and warm flesh and I’m hitting the ground.

What the actual fuck?

Somehow, she’s ducked down at the last second and I’ve crashed into her and we’re both on the ground, tangled together. I grunt as she gives a sharp scream, and now I’m looking into her eyes. Instinctively, I’ve wrapped my arms around her and swiveled to hit the ground first, taking the full weight of her on top of me. I barely feel the rough gravel beneath my shoulders as I stare up at her plastered against my chest. I’m staring into eyes that are the most impossible shade of blue I’ve ever seen. They’re a deep turquoise…clear as an island reef. They’re also big and innocent. So damned innocent.

I frown because I know it’s a lie. It has to be. She’s a Moone. It doesn’t matter that she’s calling herself Miller nowadays. Bullshit. Just like the look she’s giving me now; it’s all an act. I wait it out.

“Are you okay?” someone asks from above us.

Fuck!It’s a human. Good thing I didn’t get the needle in. This could have been messy. “Um…yes,” the she-wolf blusters. Her eyes turn back to mine. “Oh! Oh my gosh, I’m so s-sorry!” she continues, breathing through glistening pink lips. I hate that she’s still plastered against me. I want to shove her away. I grit my teeth and raise my torso, taking her along with me. By the time I get us both to our feet, I’ve fixed a scowl back onto my face. I want to cast a quick glance around us to see what happened to the damn syringe, but she hasn’t released eye-contact. That means I can’t look away.

She frowns. “I’m really sorry.” She pulls her lip between her teeth for a second. “I…I think I…tripped?” The pre-wolf shoots a look down to where one of her shoelaces is untied.

Are you kidding me?I don’t say the words out loud, but I want to. Is this a joke? She stumbled over her shoelace?

Bullshit she tripped.

I’m not buying it.

I’m not!

I’ll play along. “A shoelace?” I snort, anger building inside me. I can’t help it, it’s a lifetime of rage. “Can’t you dress yourself? And look where you’re going next time,” I snarl at her. So much for being incognito. “You could have hurt someone.” I narrow my eyes on her startled face, then turn abruptly, using the movement to look around for the syringe. Shit shit shit. I can’t leave that stuff lying out here. I stifle a sigh of relief as I spot the little plastic cylinder embedded beneath a hedge nearby. I’m going to have to retrieve it as soon as she moves off.

Still playing games, she licks her lips, “Look, I’m really sorry.” I sense her reaching out a hand to me. As her fingertips graze my arm, I feel a crackle through my skin and I suck in a breath, yanking away from her.

Jesus Christ!So much power in that simple touch. Does she know what to do with it yet? God help us if she ever figures it out. If she ever hits her prime. Ignoring her anxious eyes, I shake my head dismissively and jog away, leaving her staring after me. I’ll go back for the syringe in a few minutes. What a fuckup!

Now, more than ever, I know that I have no alternative. I have to strip those powers from her before it’s too late. Before another wolf from the Moone line tears our pack apart. There’s no doubt she’ll finish what her parents started all those years ago. To kill what’s left of my family and to lead what’s left of the pack under an iron claw.