Wanted by the Alphas(49)

“There’s only one road in anyway,” he confirms. “This path leads to a dead end. It’s a wood trail from then on for hikers.”

“How do you know?”

He glances at her deadpan. “Do you have to ask? I know every forest trail here.”

Of course. It is the only thing that could be expected of a shifter.

Just as Jared said, the lane terminates in a dead end. Lucien’s Mustang is parked there, and the tall blond man is nowhere to be seen.

Jared gets out. He starts to unbutton his shirt.

“You sure about this?” he asks Shannon.

“Yes.”

She is surer of this than anything in her life.





*





Once Jared has transformed into the huge black panther, it is easy enough for him to track Lucien, who is on foot. They keep to the shadows of the trees, staying out of sight while keeping Lucien on their radar. They have to go on quite a bit in this stealthy manner.

Sometimes, Shannon gets a glimpse of Lucien through the trees, though not often because Jared is staying back. His superior sense of smell allows him to follow Lucien on scent alone. Lucien’s golden head catches the sunspots dappling on the forest floor now and again, and his hair gleams like a bright jewel. She thinks he has some sort of long weapon hitched to his back, but she can’t be sure.

Her stomach cringes at the thought of the weapon that he means to kill Kirk with. What is it? Some sort of magical wand? Or is it a sword? She doesn’t know what modern witches use or whether all the tropes of ancient witchcraft are true.

That is how much I know about Lucien.

They soon come to a clearing near the mountain range. Here, the wind is cold as it sweeps down from the range, rustling the tops of trees. Shannon’s cheeks burn with the chill. As agreed upon with Jared, they keep back within the forest fringe. Lucien may not be able to sense them, but Kirk in his werewolf form certainly will if they don’t keep out of his scent radius.

You want to watch? Then stay behind the battle lines, Jared had said, or I’m out of here.

She had promised not to intervene, whatever the outcome.

Why is she compelled to watch then? It is akin to a mother going to the Roman gladiatorial ring to see her two sons being pit against each other in a fight to the death. And yet she is compelled to watch. To be a living part of it.

The werewolf is already there. His hackles are all raised and he is growling softly, dangerously. Something glistens around his neck. It is a collar of some sort with an amulet hanging from it. It is too far for her to make the amulet design out, though she reckons Jared would probably be able to see it.

Shannon has never seen Kirk wear any sort of collar or necklace, and she wonders if this confers him some sort of protection.

The werewolf paws at the ground. His growls rumble in his chest. They are now like thunder.

Shannon’s heart beats fiercely within her own chest, and the pain of what must happen within the next few minutes is almost visceral throughout her body. She will bleed when they bleed and cry in despair when one of them is felled. This is a no win situation. At the end of this, she will be in sackcloth and ashes.

Please, she prays without knowing what she is praying for.

Lucien stands still as he faces the werewolf. The air is charged with something that Shannon has never experienced, but the smell of burnt iron is rampant. Menace is in every particle, every blade of grass, every shaking leaf that adorns the area around them.

Lucien removes the covered stick from behind his back. He unsheathes it. It is a katana – a samurai sword that catches the sunlight and gleams as brightly as the sun.

Shannon’s breath catches in her throat. She has not expected a witch to be wielding a katana.

Lucien removes something else from his jacket. It is a silver handgun. He aims this at the werewolf, who begins his acceleration towards the blond witch.

Silver bullets!

Shannon clasps her hands to her mouth to keep her from crying out.

Lucien pulls the trigger, and successive blasts go off. The bullets whizz into the air and strike the werewolf, who visibly is impacted. But no blood stains smear his golden fur and he keeps on picking up the pace towards the witch. Shannon wonders if that is what the amulet is for.

Lucien seems ready for this as well. He drops the silver gun and grasps the katana with two hands, the way it is meant to be wielded.

The werewolf leaps into the air for Lucien’s throat. He thrusts the katana upwards towards Kirk’s chest.

“Noooooo!” screams Shannon.

An explosion of light and sound erupts from the katana. The air sizzles and pure blinding light strikes the trees and area in a wide radius. Shannon’s body is thrown back from the blast, and she thinks: God, that hurts.

She smells the burning of the trees but hears nothing as her world crowds in and vanishes into a pinpoint.