Deep Wolves (6 page)

“After what he did, that much is obvious.”

“I needed it to be emphasized. He’s not some ordinary man.”

“Then who is he?”

“I don’t know. But whoever he is, he has access to these.”

Irvine raised his hand and I looked at the small object between his fingers. He placed it down upon the table. I moved closer and picked it up. It looked like a bullet but not like anything I’d ever seen before. It was metallic but the center was clear glass.

“Those aren’t ordinary bullets,” Irvine explained. “Those were designed specifically for wolves like Vaughn. They’re filled with something. Once it gets into their bloodstream, it’s like a ticking clock. We barely got to him in time.”

“He’s going to be okay though. Phoenix said—”

“He’ll be okay, Ms. Everhart. But it was close. A few more minutes and who knows what could have happened.”

“What is it? Silver?”

Irvine shook his head. He unsheathed the sword attached to his back and showed it to me.

“Look,” he said as he pointed at his blade. “I was blocking the bullets as he fired at you. These dents… They’re not normal. Silver wouldn’t cause this kind of damage.

“If not silver then—”

“I told you, Ms. Everhart. I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know who that man is or what his motives are. But I suspect that what he’s doing has to do with what happened several months ago. There was someone behind it. Maybe it was the man who attacked you. I don’t know. But I’m here now and I’m seeking the answers you and I are both looking for.”

I shuddered as I thought about what could possibly be happening. If Irvine was here and didn’t have the answers then this was serious. More serious than I wanted it to be.

I suddenly remembered the man I saw in the bar earlier that night. I remembered the way he looked at me and the feeling I had.

“There was someone earlier… He stopped by the bar I worked at. He looked like he was from out of town. He stared at me like he knew who I was.”

“What did he look like, Ms. Everhart?”

“He was dressed in a suit. He was young but his hair was white.”

“White hair?”

“Yeah. It didn’t match his face. I… Was he the one firing at us?”

“I don’t know,” Irvine shook his head. “I didn’t see the color of his hair. He was too far and it was too dark. I could only make out the figure of a man on the rooftops before he escaped. But whether or not it’s him doesn’t matter. Rest assured, Ms. Everhart. I
will
find the one responsible for attacking him.”

“Thank you, Irvine. I-I can’t thank you enough.”

“But like I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t just chance that brought me here. I need help.”

“Of course. But what can I do?”

“Not your help. Vaughn’s.”

“Vaughn? He was just attacked and—”

“Ms. Everhart, I know it’s a lot to take in right now but time is of the essence.”

I sighed and tried to regain my composure. So much had happened tonight but I knew that this was just the beginning. There was a deeper issue here. Irvine’s presence alone was proof of that. My mind hadn’t wandered from Vaughn.

“I want to see him.”

“Okay,” Irvine nodded. “But you have to let him rest. Believe me, if he was able, I would be talking to him right now.”

Irvine and I made our way to the back of the shop. Vaughn was laying on the table unconscious. They had wiped the blood from him but still, I had never seen him like this before. His wounds bandaged and the red covering his body, I broke down immediately and started to cry. I rested my head upon his chest as the tears rushed from my eyes.

Don’t leave me. Please…

I could feel his heart beating faintly underneath my ear. But seeing Vaughn nearly lifeless reminded me that even a man like him was still mortal. And the thought of losing him made me break down even more.

“I’ll be waiting outside, Ms. Everhart.”

I listened to the sound of Irvine leaving me while I rested upon Vaughn’s chest. I stood up straight and looked down at him. I felt helpless. The only place in the world that I thought was ours and ours alone had been invaded. I didn’t even feel safe in Phoenix’s shop.

I made my way back out to the front. Irvine was sitting there and looking out the window. He sipped on a cup of something that Phoenix had prepared for him with a calmness that I envied at the moment.

“So what
do
you know?” I asked him.

“It’s happening again, Ms. Everhart.”

“
What?
”

“What happened here is happening again. In New York City.”

“The murders.”

“Yes. Except it’s worse. Much worse.”

“How?”

I gingerly took a seat in front of Irvine, afraid of what I was about to hear. Irvine took another sip of his drink and sighed deeply.

“I told The Agency what happened. I wiped the entirety of the Rucai out because it was necessary. I told them they were murdering women in an attempt to find a new Alpha for their clan. They needed someone to breed with.

“The latest police discovery in New York was similar to what happened here. Too similar. The Agency immediately started keeping tabs.”

“They saw one of the wolves responsible?”

“That’s right. They actually managed to capture him.”

“What did they do to him?”

“The Agency has methods I don’t entirely approve of. They weren’t able to get much out of him until he died. But what they did learn is that he’s part of the Nakas Clan.”

“The Nakas? So you’re going to stop them.”

“No. I’m afraid to admit that even I’m not capable of that. There are simply too many of them.”

“How many?”

“Thousands, Ms. Everhart.”

“Thousands…”

He nodded and confirmed what I thought I heard. To think that there were that many wolves capable of committing those kinds of murders made my stomach churn. I didn’t want to think about what could happen even though the situation was forcing me to.

“Which brings me here,” Irvine explained. “This is unlike anything I have ever done. The Agency is not asking me to destroy them. I cannot. They have sent me to negotiate.”

“Negotiate?”

“Yes. I am to quell any uprising the Nakas are trying to cause before it gets any worse.”

“B-but… They won’t listen to reason. You saw what they did here. What makes this any—”

“Ms. Everhart, I recall quite well what happened here. My official orders are to stop them. Negotiation is preferable simply because of the numbers. But I will do whatever it takes.”

“And how are you going to stop them? How are you going to convince thousands of wolves to stop when you don’t even know why they’re doing it? What if they won’t listen?”

Irvine scoffed as I asked all of the questions. What he was trying to do seemed impossible. The Rucai were small in numbers. Vaughn single-handedly destroyed them. I couldn’t imagine what it would look like if there were thousands of them running over New York city.

“That is where Vaughn comes in,” Irvine explained. “Wolves won’t listen to me but maybe they will listen to their own kind.”

“So you want Vaughn to be the one to talk to them?”

“Not at first. I need Vaughn to talk to all of the other clans in New York. Their numbers aren’t as large as The Nakas but if they were to band together, maybe they could work together and stop this. Maybe we can find out what’s really going on. This behavior is strange. For one clan to go off the rails and break the peace they have with the humans hasn’t happened… well, it’s never happened.”

“Why Vaughn? Why can’t you do it?”

Irvine laughed at my suggestion. Vaughn was in the back room, half-dead. He wasn’t even conscious yet and Irvine wanted him to do an impossible task.

“I don’t have the best reputation with wolves, Ms. Everhart. I carry weapons for a reason. The only negotiation I know involves a crossbow bolt.”

“So you want Vaughn to go out there and stick his neck out for you? He can’t. I…”

The thought of losing Vaughn reentered my mind. I remembered what they did to Summer. I remembered how Vaughn was forced to kill the only family he knew. And I thought about how close he had come to dying just moments ago. Irvine had saved his life but this was too much. I couldn’t let him just run away from me again not knowing whether or not he’d return.

“No,” I shook my head. “You can’t let him do this.”

“Ms. Everhart, that’s not your decision to make.”

“I don’t
care
! He barely escaped with his life. You saw what happened last time. You said it yourself. There are thousands. You can’t reason with them. They’re just going to kill him and—”

“Ms. Everhart, please.”

I didn’t even realize that I had raised my voice until Irvine put his hands up to try and calm me down. I took a deep breath and tried to gather myself. I collapsed onto the chair in front of Irvine and tried to wrap my head around everything. It was all happening again.

Why did this have to happen? Why did it have to happen now? Everything was so perfect…

“I’m tired,” I muttered.

“I know. Phoenix’s accommodations aren’t much but I’m afraid they’ll have to do for tonight. Please, Ms. Everhart. You need to get some rest.”

“But what if—”

“I had a long nap. Don’t worry. He won’t return while I’m here.”

He winked at me and I felt some relief. Irvine stood up from his chair and slowly made his way toward the front window and stared outside. He looked stoic as he stood there, looking out into the city without any expression on his face.

I made my way to the back of Phoenix’s shop and saw that Vaughn was still resting peacefully on the table they had laid him on. I sighed and sat on the couch along the side of the wall. I watch Vaughn breathing, waiting for him to wake up. But he didn’t. My eyelids grew heavy…

Chapter 7

I didn’t know how much time had passed when I woke up. Vaughn was no longer lying on the table in front of me. I wished that it was just a nightmare. I was holding onto the slight hope that it never happened. But when I stood up I could see the trail of blood on the ground. It was splattered on the table and my arm was still bandaged and in pain. I sighed as I made my way back out to the front of The Phoenix Tavern. Irvine was still standing there at the same spot I had left him. Vaughn was sitting at the table next to him. I wrapped my arms around him and he looked up at me.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Ariel. I’m fine…”

His hands trailed along my arms as I held onto him. There was a point when I thought I’d never have this feeling again. I knew what laid ahead for the both of us so I savored this moment for as long as I could. The emotions were beginning to rush through me and I was forced to do my best to hold my tears back.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m not going anywhere, Ariel. Not as long as you’re with me.”

Irvine slowly turned around and looked at the two of us. He was biting his lips. As he stared at us, I watched his throat shift as he swallowed.

“You guys spoke to one another?” I asked the two of them.

Irvine nodded.

“So, now what?” I asked. “What are you going to do?”

“I have no choice,” Vaughn said. “I have to go with him.”

“But you can’t!”

I walked around and looked down at Vaughn as he sat in his seat. He looked away from me, staring at Irvine while I pleaded to him.

“You remember what happened!” I shouted. “Irvine’s sending you to your death! You can’t expect to negotiate with these wolves. It doesn’t matter how much support you have from the other clans. There are thousands of Nakas. You’re dealing with killers.”

“I know that, Ariel,” Vaughn sighed. “And one of them came here and tried to kill the both of us.”

“But what does that have to do with the murders in New York? How do you know they’re connected?”

“I don’t. Irvine doesn’t either. But what happened to my clan is happening to another. I can’t just leave my own kind to die.”

“But—”

“Ariel, please. Your life is in jeopardy as well. Innocent people are being murdered. I can’t just let this go on and ignore it. I have to do what I can. These murders don’t add up. Who knows when they’ll stop? Who’s to say they won’t come back here and attack you or your friends?”

I sighed because I knew it was the right thing to do. I only wished that Vaughn didn’t have to do it. And I was upset because I felt so helpless.

“Nobody here is taking this lightly, Ms. Everhart,” Irvine said. “There is something happening. It’s bigger than all of us. And something must be done to stop it.”

“Then what about me?” I said. “I have to go with you, Vaughn.”

“No,” Vaughn jumped up out of his seat. “Completely out of the question. I can’t—”

“She’s right,” Irvine interrupted him. “What lies ahead for the both of us is dangerous. But leaving Ms. Everhart by herself just makes her a target. I don’t doubt that the man targeting you may try to use her.”

“By bringing her along, he’s already using her.”

“True. But it’s a hand we’re forced to play. There is no safer place than with the both of us. You know that, Vaughn.”

“Yeah…”

Vaughn sighed a deep breath and looked at me. The blue eyes that always brought me joy were the same ones causing so much strain at the moment. We had already been through so much and now we had to leave the place we were beginning to call home.

“Then it’s settled,” Irvine interrupted my brief moment with my boyfriend. “We’ll leave for New York City as soon as possible. Get your affairs in order. I won’t wait for you.”

“Wait!” I stopped him. “New York is hours away. My car is broken down and you came here on a motorcycle. How are three of us going to get there?”

“I’ll have it taken care of, Ms. Everhart. Just make sure that you’re ready to leave within the hour.”

Irvine left the shop and disappeared. Vaughn wrapped his arms around me and I embraced him tightly.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he sighed. “But I’m here. I’ll always be here. I promise you that.”

Vaughn’s reassurance didn’t work as it normally did. I could feel myself growing more anxious as I thought about what exactly we were getting into. But I did my best to remain strong and not let my emotions get the best of me. We were backed into a corner. We didn’t have a choice. There was nothing else we could do.