All eyes must have been trained on Tyler. That’s when Michael made his move. In a flash, he counted, “one, two, three,” and shifted in record speed.
Alyssa let every muscle in her body go slack, which was no easy feat under the circumstances, and slithered to the ground.
Alfred didn’t have enough of a hold on her to keep her upright and was taken off guard. In a flurry of motion, Michael leaped through the air and sank his jaws into the arm holding the gun. A shot went off, but Alyssa thought it went wild. No one seemed to be hit.
She crawled on all fours to get out from under the fight. In a stroke of luck, the gun landed about two feet from her, and Alyssa grabbed it and crouched down beside the cabin.
Long hair hung across her face, making it difficult to see. She sat on her butt a few yards away and brushed the tangled strands from her eyes with her free hand.
Michael had wrangled Alfred to the ground and sat on top of him, but Tyler was still wrestling with Judas. For an older guy, that man was in good enough shape to hold his own.
Suddenly, three wolves bounded out of the trees and entered the fray. Alyssa gasped and then heaved in relief when she recognized the dark rich fur of the Masters’ pack. Two of them knocked Judas to the ground and held him while the other one set a giant paw on Alfred’s chest.
One by one the wolves shifted into human form and secured Fredrick’s lackeys with long lengths of rope.
Justin spoke first. “I get the feeling we need to start carrying rope around with us as a habit.” He jested, but no one laughed.
“You okay?” Michael jogged over to help Alyssa off the ground. When she nodded, he peeled the gun from her fingers and turned to his brothers. “How did you know?”
“Amy.” Justin grabbed Alfred by the arm and jerked the rope tight behind him. “I think we’re going to have to take your truck.” He nodded at the only vehicle.
“Wait, what did Amy have to do with anything?” Michael wrapped his arm around Alyssa and took a few steps toward Justin.
“She came to the house about an hour ago to tell us she’d talked to her father. Turns out he did dig that hole in the woods. It was a long time ago, but the important thing is it’s the only one.”
“What does that have to do with these two bastards?” Michael motioned toward Alfred and Judas where Charles and Ryan had set them on the ground. The two men were grumbling about being outnumbered and innocent.
“Not a thing,” Justin continued. “It was just a coincidence. On her way to visit her father she saw you three heading up here toward the cabin. She also saw these two jokers on your heels. When she casually mentioned that fact, we knew something was up. No one heads up that road except to get to the cabin, and I’m quite sure you didn’t invite company to join you.” Justin chuckled and glanced at Alyssa.
“Where’s their car?” Alyssa glanced around. “They must have stashed it somewhere.”
“Good point.” Justin glanced toward the edge of the trees. “I’ll find it. We can take their damn car and leave you this one.”
“What are you going to do?” Alyssa looked at the two men she’d known her whole life and felt nothing but nausea. She knew her pack leader was behind the entire thing, and she felt sorrow for her family and friends left behind to deal with his highhanded ways. He was so desperate to get Tyler that he sent someone to kidnap him? It didn’t seem reasonable.
Justin cleared his throat. “I’ve personally had about enough of these two. This is the third time they’ve come into our territory with only bad intentions.” He glanced down at the bastards squirming under his control. “I’m surprised Wells still has you two working for him, since you can’t seem to get anything right. First you killed Jessica’s parents and fled without her. Then you show up to kidnap Alyssa and fail. Third times a charm?” Justin raised an eyebrow as if the question needed answering. He shook his head.
Justin turned to address Alyssa. “We’re going to drive the assholes up north to Seattle and leave them with the Northwest Area Pack Council. Let them deal with them. I doubt they’ll see the light of day for quite some time again, if ever.”
There’s a pack council? Alyssa had no idea. She wondered what happened when wolves had squabbles with other wolves. It wasn’t as though you could simply turn them in to the human authorities. What would you say?
“You can’t do that,” Judas muttered. “We’re expected back tomorrow.”
“Guess you should have thought of that earlier, before attempting to kidnap two of our pack members.” Charles swatted Judas on the head.