Rescued by the Pack (3 page)

“Is there anything I can bring you to do?” Logan asked. “I know you must be getting bored.”

“I am, to be honest,” Allison agreed. “Do you have a computer?”

Before Logan could answer, Michael interjected, “No computers. No outside contact at all.”

“I already told you I’m not going to tell anyone about you,” Allison said. “I just want to…”

“I said no!” Michael’s voice resonated through the room like thunder.

“God, fine!” Allison hissed at him. She turned back to Logan and said, “Magazines or books would be fine.”

“What kind?” Logan wanted to know.

“Fashion magazines, romance novels, horror… no scratch that, I don’t think I’m in the mood for horror… maybe a mystery,” she said.

“Hmm, I don’t think we have a lot of fashion magazines or romance novels around here,” Logan admitted. “None of us really reads those. But I think Luke may have some mystery novels.”

“That would be fine,” she said agreeably.

Logan left the room to locate something for Allison to read, leaving her alone with Michael. She frowned and stared at the wall in the corner opposite from where Michael was sitting.

“Why are you so disagreeable?” Michael wondered aloud.

“Why are you such a control freak?” Allison snapped.

“I’m protecting my pack,” Michael spat. “You have no idea what it’s like for us. Do you have any clue what would happen if people found out we’re werewolves?”

Allison said nothing. She hadn’t thought about that.

“I’ll tell you what would happen,” Michael went on. “People would hunt us down and it would become a situation of kill-or-be-killed. We don’t want that. We don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“So you don’t kill anyone?” Allison asked seriously. “I thought werewolves were supposed to lose control during a full moon or something.”

“Some do,” Michael admitted. “The pack we saved you from is savage, cruel. They do kill humans now and then, which is why we felt the need to save you from them. We don’t do that. We’ve learned to control ourselves.”

“Oh.”

“So you see why I have to control the situation the way I do?” Michael asked. “I’m not a control freak for the fun of it. I’m protecting my family, my brothers.”

“So your pack is like your family?” Allison asked.

“It’s the only family we have,” Michael said.

“Did you ever have a real family?” Allison wondered.

“My pack
is
my real family,” he snapped.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” Allison quickly apologized. “I just meant… well… where are your parents?”

“My parents are human,” he said flatly, but he refused to say any more than that.

“How is that possible?” Allison asked. “Did you get bitten by a werewolf or something? Is that how…”

“No, that’s not how it works,” Michael interrupted her. “The werewolf gene runs in some human families, but it’s extremely rare that it manifests.”

“So your parents know about you?” she asked.

“I don’t wish to talk about it,” he snapped.

Allison opened her mouth to argue, to demand he talk to her, but she quickly closed it. Clearly, this was a touchy subject for him. She decided to let it go.

“What about Luke and Logan?” she asked.

“You’d have to ask them,” Michael said flatly. “I’m not in the habit of divulging the personal information of others in my pack.”

Allison scrunched her face up in frustration.

“Alright, fine. Is there anything we
can
talk about?” she sighed.

“Must we talk at all?” Michael asked, clearly growing more annoyed.

Allison clenched her jaw and fought to stay silent. She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to fly at him and strike him. But she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She crossed her legs and started to swing her upper leg furiously.

The silence hung thick and deafening in the air. The icy chill between the two of them was nearly palpable, and Allison’s annoyance was just as much so. She was just about to start chewing her fingernails when Logan returned with a stack of books and placed them on the table beside her.

“This is all I could find,” he said apologetically. “There are a few thrillers and mysteries, but most of them are pretty old.”

“Why thank you, Logan!” she gushed dramatically. “It’s so refreshing to see a polite young man who is so willing to be kind to a lady.”

Michael snorted behind her and muttered, “Lady. Yeah, right.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed into slits, but she chose to ignore him. She simply gritted her teeth and looked up at Logan with the most sincere smile she could manage.

“I really appreciate this, Logan,” she said.

“No problem,” he answered, smiling happily. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No, this is great,” she told him. Logan turned to leave, but she stopped him by saying, “Logan, would you mind staying for a while? I think Michael’s getting rather tired. He’s turned quite snarky.”

With that, Michael stood up so quickly that his chair squeaked across the wood floor and banged harshly against the wall, sending flecks of drywall and paint clattering to the ground. With his fists clenched into white-knuckled balls and his jaw muscles rippling, he stormed from the room.

“What… was that about?” Logan asked. “Never mind, don’t answer. Luke will be here to relieve me soon so I can get some sleep. I’ll stay with you until then.”

Still annoyed with Michael, Allison shoved her nose in a book and said nothing. She tried to enjoy her reading, but it was impossible with the thoughts of her captivity still lingering about like a choking fog.

About an hour after Michael stormed out, Luke arrived sweating and out of breath. He slammed the door behind him and locked it quickly, glancing out the window anxiously.

“What’s wrong?” Logan asked, jumping to his feet immediately.

“They followed me,” Luke answered breathlessly.

“What? Are you sure?” Logan asked.

“Of course I’m sure!” Luke shouted. “One of them got me.” Luke lifted his shirt to reveal a nasty looking wound over his left ribcage that appeared to be a row of several vicious claw marks.

“Oh, my God!” Allison gasped, running to Luke’s side and trying to survey the damage. “Here, let me look at it.”

“It’s fine,” Luke said, letting his shirt drop.

“Luke, it looked…”

“I said it’s fine!” Luke snapped at her.

She jumped back and frowned at him. “It looks terrible.”

“It’ll heal in a few minutes,” he argued.

“A few… minutes?” she gasped.

“We heal fast,” Logan interjected.

“Apparently…” Allison muttered.

Luke was still staring out the window, his eyes scanning the trees as he lifted the curtain aside.

“Go get Michael,” Luke demanded.

“But he’s…” Logan tried to argue.

“Do it!” Logan snapped harshly.

Logan quickly dashed out of the room. A few moments later, a groggy Michael stumbled red-eyed, but remarkably alert through the door.

“What’s going on?” Michael demanded, pushing the curtain aside and peeking out.

“They followed me home,” Luke said. “I tried to shake ‘em, but they wounded me. I’m not sure I managed to lose ‘em. I’m sorry.”

“You’re gonna be if they find her,” Michael snarled.

Allison’s heart was pounding savagely in her chest. She backed away from the door slowly, bumping into the chair and causing a loud shriek as the legs skidded across the floor. Michael was startled, and he turned to face her.

“Watch where you’re going!” he snapped.

She opened her mouth to spit something back at him, but seeing the genuine concern on his face, she quickly closed it again and slipped meekly into the chair, grasping the arms tightly. Michael’s attention quickly turned back toward the window.

“What should we do?” Logan asked, his muscles quivering with tension.

“Logan, get her to the safe room,” Michael growled. When Logan did not immediately respond, he snapped, “Now!”

Allison’s heart jumped, and she sprang to her feet. Logan placed his hand on her back and gently pushed her toward the kitchen. She allowed herself to be pushed along, though a dirty kitchen with tiles falling from the walls, past a flimsy wooden door, and down a rickety wooden staircase. The steps creaked loudly as they descended. At the bottom of the stairs, they stopped outside a thick metal door set into a concrete wall. Logan gripped the metal handle and pulled.

“Get in,” Logan demanded.

Allison hesitated briefly, but then stepped into near pitch-black darkness. Logan entered behind her, and she heard a loud screech and a clang as the massive door closed behind them. Logan flicked a switch on the wall and a dim light filled the room from a bulb suspended from the ceiling, casting eerie shadows about the room.

“What is this place?” Allison asked, her eyes flitting about.

“Safe room,” Logan answered. “

“What’s it used for?” she wanted to know.

“Umm… it’s a long story,” he told her. “Probably best you don’t know.”

She shivered as a number of scenarios rushed through her mind. She lowered herself slowly onto the edge of a sparse cot and began to chew her fingernails. She watched through a swath of hair as Logan paced the floor anxiously.

“Do you think they’re alright?” she asked.

“I’m sure they’re fine,” Logan answered a bit too quickly.

Allison gnawed more furiously at her fingernails. Her heart was thudding frantically in her chest.

“Look, why don’t you lie down and get some rest?” Logan suggested.

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

“I’m fine, Logan.”

“I can hear your heartbeat,” he said. “You’re not fine. Just lie down and get some sleep. They can’t get in here.”

Allison sighed, but she complied. She lied down on the squeaky cot and tried her best to relax. Her heart continued to thump wildly, and she began to tremble. A few moments later, Logan sat gently beside her. His hand rested carefully on her shoulder.

“Allison?” he asked softly.

She looked up at him, and his expression was one of gentle concern.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

His arms wrapped her in a strong, protective embrace. She found herself melting into it, burying her face into his warm chest. Her hands fell against his skin, and her heart fluttered erratically for a few moments, and then began to calm.

“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Logan vowed. “I promise.”

Allison felt her muscles begin to relax slightly. Her eyelids were heavy, and she was only barely aware that her breathing was slowing down. Soon, she fell blissfully into a peaceful slumber.