‹ Prequel: Alpha
Sequel: Aspen County ›
Streak of Black
Chapter 4
It's harder to get back to the house now that the guards are on the lookout—harder but not impossible. We work our way around the guards and the house in order to get to the garage. Fortunately, they all figured we wouldn't bother with the cars—savages that we are.
Sneaking into the garage proves to be fairly simple. And there are tons of cars to choose from! Foreign sports cars, SUVs, Vans. Rudi heads straight for the nearest van and hops into the front seat, kneeling down and beginning to mess with the wires. Meanwhile, the rest of us load into the back. This one is almost exactly the same as the one I was brought here in and the one that Andre took us home in.
"I got it!" Rudi calls back to us. "Everyone hold on!" She presses a button and the garage door opens. She drives out and down the cobblestone path. We're going home.
* * * * *
Despite my constant anxiety and paranoia on the way home, no one follows us. We make it back to the house using Andre's secret route, and most of us stay in the van while Eyulf, Ryder, and Nox run back and grab the backpacks that all of us packed. I even put one together for Charlette and Gabrielle with some of Susanne's old clothes for Charlette, diapers that I bought for Gabrielle, and some of our softest blankets we had stashed in the house. Once the guys return, we take off again as they distribute the bags.
"So do you guys have some type of plan or something?" Charlette asks, still cowering as far away from all of us as possible. She isn't comfortable near any of us.
"We're going to go to France to stay with some relatives of ours until we can get you somewhere more secure. In the meantime, we're going to set up a paper trail leading to Canada."
"Canada?"
"No one would ever expect it,” Eyulf chimes in. “We’ll be ‘traveling’ all over the country, and while they follow that trail, Ryder has a friend that can get us some passports and paperwork to get all of us onto the plane and to France."
"Isn't that illegal? And won't it be bad if we get caught?"
"Trust me," Ryder pipes in. "This guy's been making fake I.D. forms since middle school. He'll get us what we need."
She still looks anxious but holds her tongue. I was a little worried when Ryder suggested this, but it was our only option, so I went with it.
Rudi suddenly stops the car. We all tumble around in the back, and Gabrielle whines. "Rudi, what the...“ I pause in my progression to the front of the van. Through the windshield, I'm blinded by two sets of headlights, an undistinguishable figure disguised by the brightness. But I'd recognize him, even his shadow, anywhere. The trench coat, the fedora, the casual way he stands with his gun by his side.
I want that man dead.
I look away, unable to bear the sight of even his shadow. "Any ideas?" I ask the Pack—my voice sounds pleading.
Eyulf smirks at me. "I may have one," he says slyly with a wink. He reaches into his bag and pulls a shiny knife out. "How good is your aim?"
I grin mischievously back at him and take the knife with a grateful nod. I reach for the door, and my over-protective brother, very over-protective boyfriend, and concerned cousin all stand up as best as they can in the limited space. I sigh and roll my eyes. "Really, guys? I think I've been through enough to be able to confront this guy alone unarmed. Now I have a knife. I’ll be fine. Just ask Charlette."
They all exchange worried looks and I carefully cross my arms so that I can give them attitude without causing myself bodily harm. Finally, Lovett reluctantly concedes with a hesitant nod. Ryder sighs dramatically after a few seconds, and Nox follows suit, too shy to fight against me without backup. I give them all a reassuring wink, kiss Ryder on the cheek, and duck out of the van.
I clutch the knife tightly in my hand as I move to stand in front of our van directly opposite the man who killed my parents. I'm tempted to just let loose and kill him right now, but I force myself to stay calm for the sake of Gabrielle, Charlette, and, most importantly, my Pack.
“My dear young wolf, you have something that doesn’t belong to you, as well as two someones. I’d appreciate my possessions and people back.” His voice is laced with poisonous honey.
"Call your men off, step aside, let us pass, and I promise to try to keep myself from killing you," I call out to the murderous stranger standing before me.
He chuckles, and my grip on the knife tightens. "My dear young wolf, you are just as foolish as your father was." He ignores me growling at him, and I find controlling myself becoming tougher and tougher. "Noble, but very, very foolish. Now, here are the conditions for you and your Pack of mongrels going back to that flea-ridden cabin you all call a 'house.' Hand over the girls and the van, and I'll allow you to walk away from this. Tonight."
I shrug and examine the knife. "How about you let us pass, with the girls and the van, and I don't plunge this gorgeous piece of silver into your heart from where I stand?” I pause and think for a second. “Tonight."
"Well, my dear wolf, it appears as though we are at an impasse." He examines his nails with a false sense disinterest in the situation.
I cross my arms over my chest like I did in the van. "Yes, I guess we are. So why don't we do a head count? I have a van full of werewolves—“ I pause here and call the pack out mentally to join me, hearing doors open behind me "—and you've got a few humans." I look around me. Ryder stands to my right and Lovett is on my left with the others fanning around us. "So I suggest that you just get in your car and go home." I smile sweetly, leaning against Ryder like he's a column on our porch.
The man remains shadowed from view and snaps his fingers on one hand. Every door of the two vans next to him opens, allowing tall, muscular men to emerge and stand by his side. He has 11 men with him, but I refuse to back down.
"Let us pass and this will be so much more painless," I warn. He begins to laugh, and I shrug. I lift the knife, measure the throw, and let it go. It twirls in the air twice on its path before lodging itself painfully in the man's stomach. He sinks to his knees, clutching his gut but refusing to remove the knife just yet. Several of his men raise their weapons against us, preparing for war, and we stand at the ready. Five of the men escort my victim into the van on my left and turn around, heading in the direction of their mansion.
The remaining six members of the barricade approach us warily, knowledgeable of not only our strength, but also our lack of weaponry. I know that they plan to use that to their advantage, and I quickly assess the situation. If we can get back into the van without getting shot, we might be safe.
Get into the car, I command mentally to the Pack. I know that they're probably exchanging reluctant glances, but we don't have time for arguments. Get in the car now! Trust me.
I hear reluctant footsteps dragging, doors opening, and doors slamming unnecessarily loud. I roll my eyes and step forward slowly to stand face to face with the men. Now go, Rudi.
The second I say it, I take off running into the forest to the left side of the road. Rudi shoots off like a bullet in the dark night, and half of the men follow me while the others go after my friends in their vehicle.
I lead them on a wild goose chase, zigzagging everywhere and leaping over rocks and bushes that are too tall for them to copy, delaying them. But I make sure that I stay as close to the road as possible, and I eventually lose them.
Rudi, come to the left side of the road and slow down just a little, I command as soon as I can no longer hear the men running and huffing behind me. My feet hurt a little from the mini-marathon through the forest on the rough terrain, but I have to keep going just a little longer. I move closer to the road and see my friends, leading the enemy by only a few meters. I gulp, and I climb onto a rock. I crouch down and leap, landing on the small ledge on the side of the van with a thump and immediately searching for the handle. I throw the door open and climb against the wind into the cab.
I lean against the headrest for a second and take a deep breath as Rudi stares at me, nobody believing I that just did that. After a second, reality hits me, and I push my shock to the back of my mind.
"Step on it, Rudi."
Sneaking into the garage proves to be fairly simple. And there are tons of cars to choose from! Foreign sports cars, SUVs, Vans. Rudi heads straight for the nearest van and hops into the front seat, kneeling down and beginning to mess with the wires. Meanwhile, the rest of us load into the back. This one is almost exactly the same as the one I was brought here in and the one that Andre took us home in.
"I got it!" Rudi calls back to us. "Everyone hold on!" She presses a button and the garage door opens. She drives out and down the cobblestone path. We're going home.
* * * * *
Despite my constant anxiety and paranoia on the way home, no one follows us. We make it back to the house using Andre's secret route, and most of us stay in the van while Eyulf, Ryder, and Nox run back and grab the backpacks that all of us packed. I even put one together for Charlette and Gabrielle with some of Susanne's old clothes for Charlette, diapers that I bought for Gabrielle, and some of our softest blankets we had stashed in the house. Once the guys return, we take off again as they distribute the bags.
"So do you guys have some type of plan or something?" Charlette asks, still cowering as far away from all of us as possible. She isn't comfortable near any of us.
"We're going to go to France to stay with some relatives of ours until we can get you somewhere more secure. In the meantime, we're going to set up a paper trail leading to Canada."
"Canada?"
"No one would ever expect it,” Eyulf chimes in. “We’ll be ‘traveling’ all over the country, and while they follow that trail, Ryder has a friend that can get us some passports and paperwork to get all of us onto the plane and to France."
"Isn't that illegal? And won't it be bad if we get caught?"
"Trust me," Ryder pipes in. "This guy's been making fake I.D. forms since middle school. He'll get us what we need."
She still looks anxious but holds her tongue. I was a little worried when Ryder suggested this, but it was our only option, so I went with it.
Rudi suddenly stops the car. We all tumble around in the back, and Gabrielle whines. "Rudi, what the...“ I pause in my progression to the front of the van. Through the windshield, I'm blinded by two sets of headlights, an undistinguishable figure disguised by the brightness. But I'd recognize him, even his shadow, anywhere. The trench coat, the fedora, the casual way he stands with his gun by his side.
I want that man dead.
I look away, unable to bear the sight of even his shadow. "Any ideas?" I ask the Pack—my voice sounds pleading.
Eyulf smirks at me. "I may have one," he says slyly with a wink. He reaches into his bag and pulls a shiny knife out. "How good is your aim?"
I grin mischievously back at him and take the knife with a grateful nod. I reach for the door, and my over-protective brother, very over-protective boyfriend, and concerned cousin all stand up as best as they can in the limited space. I sigh and roll my eyes. "Really, guys? I think I've been through enough to be able to confront this guy alone unarmed. Now I have a knife. I’ll be fine. Just ask Charlette."
They all exchange worried looks and I carefully cross my arms so that I can give them attitude without causing myself bodily harm. Finally, Lovett reluctantly concedes with a hesitant nod. Ryder sighs dramatically after a few seconds, and Nox follows suit, too shy to fight against me without backup. I give them all a reassuring wink, kiss Ryder on the cheek, and duck out of the van.
I clutch the knife tightly in my hand as I move to stand in front of our van directly opposite the man who killed my parents. I'm tempted to just let loose and kill him right now, but I force myself to stay calm for the sake of Gabrielle, Charlette, and, most importantly, my Pack.
“My dear young wolf, you have something that doesn’t belong to you, as well as two someones. I’d appreciate my possessions and people back.” His voice is laced with poisonous honey.
"Call your men off, step aside, let us pass, and I promise to try to keep myself from killing you," I call out to the murderous stranger standing before me.
He chuckles, and my grip on the knife tightens. "My dear young wolf, you are just as foolish as your father was." He ignores me growling at him, and I find controlling myself becoming tougher and tougher. "Noble, but very, very foolish. Now, here are the conditions for you and your Pack of mongrels going back to that flea-ridden cabin you all call a 'house.' Hand over the girls and the van, and I'll allow you to walk away from this. Tonight."
I shrug and examine the knife. "How about you let us pass, with the girls and the van, and I don't plunge this gorgeous piece of silver into your heart from where I stand?” I pause and think for a second. “Tonight."
"Well, my dear wolf, it appears as though we are at an impasse." He examines his nails with a false sense disinterest in the situation.
I cross my arms over my chest like I did in the van. "Yes, I guess we are. So why don't we do a head count? I have a van full of werewolves—“ I pause here and call the pack out mentally to join me, hearing doors open behind me "—and you've got a few humans." I look around me. Ryder stands to my right and Lovett is on my left with the others fanning around us. "So I suggest that you just get in your car and go home." I smile sweetly, leaning against Ryder like he's a column on our porch.
The man remains shadowed from view and snaps his fingers on one hand. Every door of the two vans next to him opens, allowing tall, muscular men to emerge and stand by his side. He has 11 men with him, but I refuse to back down.
"Let us pass and this will be so much more painless," I warn. He begins to laugh, and I shrug. I lift the knife, measure the throw, and let it go. It twirls in the air twice on its path before lodging itself painfully in the man's stomach. He sinks to his knees, clutching his gut but refusing to remove the knife just yet. Several of his men raise their weapons against us, preparing for war, and we stand at the ready. Five of the men escort my victim into the van on my left and turn around, heading in the direction of their mansion.
The remaining six members of the barricade approach us warily, knowledgeable of not only our strength, but also our lack of weaponry. I know that they plan to use that to their advantage, and I quickly assess the situation. If we can get back into the van without getting shot, we might be safe.
Get into the car, I command mentally to the Pack. I know that they're probably exchanging reluctant glances, but we don't have time for arguments. Get in the car now! Trust me.
I hear reluctant footsteps dragging, doors opening, and doors slamming unnecessarily loud. I roll my eyes and step forward slowly to stand face to face with the men. Now go, Rudi.
The second I say it, I take off running into the forest to the left side of the road. Rudi shoots off like a bullet in the dark night, and half of the men follow me while the others go after my friends in their vehicle.
I lead them on a wild goose chase, zigzagging everywhere and leaping over rocks and bushes that are too tall for them to copy, delaying them. But I make sure that I stay as close to the road as possible, and I eventually lose them.
Rudi, come to the left side of the road and slow down just a little, I command as soon as I can no longer hear the men running and huffing behind me. My feet hurt a little from the mini-marathon through the forest on the rough terrain, but I have to keep going just a little longer. I move closer to the road and see my friends, leading the enemy by only a few meters. I gulp, and I climb onto a rock. I crouch down and leap, landing on the small ledge on the side of the van with a thump and immediately searching for the handle. I throw the door open and climb against the wind into the cab.
I lean against the headrest for a second and take a deep breath as Rudi stares at me, nobody believing I that just did that. After a second, reality hits me, and I push my shock to the back of my mind.
"Step on it, Rudi."