Hidden in Sheridan (Tainted Series: Book 1)

Moon: FULL MOON

Levi - We burst through the police station door, practically dragging Sterling behind us. He had every intention of ripping Rhydian apart. At the time it hadn’t occurred to me that locking him inside that cell would have kept my best from committing murder.

After successfully evading the four officers inside, the three of us pile down the steps onto the street. That’s the moment Sterling realizes torn between calling for his dad or racing home...

“A Howl won’t reach them. You have to catch your Alpha.” Ity sighs. “We will try to evacuate your pack.”

Sterling looked at me, “Can you?”

“You go. I’ll protect them.” I say.

He believed me. Sterling barely blinked before he turns and runs for the southern hills, shifting the moment he steps into the back alley.

“I’ll be faster on foot,” I explain, then my mother’s voice brings everything to an instant halt.

“On foot where? Levi? What’s wrong?” The police door slams behind my mother and my body floods with adrenaline. I freeze, pleading with myself to hold my human form.

“Levi?” She says my name with such weight that I feel the truth boil up, dangerously close to my mouth.

I swallow hard, “I accidentally locked Rhydian in the cells!” I blurt.

“What?”

“I’m sorry. I was trying to get out of here before you saw.”

“I’ll just unlock him-”

“You can’t. I broke the key in the lock.” I don’t recognize my voice at this point, “I’m sorry, Mom.”

Trinity is suddenly at my mothers side. Her smile soft as she touches my mom’s wrist capturing her attention. Making a motion between her and me, Ity then places her hands together, in pleading motion.

“You need him, Now?” Mom glances back at me then returns to the girl beside her. Who, with pleading eyes, repeats the motion.

A reluctant lines crease my mothers jaw, “Okay. You are in trouble and when I am done with this double shift, tomorrow afternoon, you and I will sit down for a very long lecture. At the end of which I will have some very drastic consequence thought up. Do you understand?”

“Yes ma’am.” I say and Mom adds her most pointed look for emphasis. The look makes me smile. A passing thought softens my heart and I quickly wrap my arms around my mom.

I apologize again and she squeezes me back, “Okay, get out of here. Be safe. And I’ll figure out how to rescue your friend from jail.”

I hear Wendy roar to life. I spin around to see Ity in the driver’s seat and the passenger door open, waiting for me. I climb in buckle my seatbelt as Ity shift Wendy into gear.

As long as I’ve had her, no one else has driven Wendy. However, somehow Ity was getting that bronce to do things I never dared imagine. Such as, not stalling at 88 miles an hour.

“I have never seen you drive.” I say, gipping the door handle as she zips down the back roads. It’s not until we turn down the lane to the Wolf home that she finally speaks.

“I don’t.” Ity says, her tone and expression solemn. “I need to make something clear.”

“That you’re a shoe in for NASCAR?” I half joke. She ignores me.

“This is not my fight. I will help get Sebastian and the cubs out, but…” She pauses as she takes another sharp corner. “… if I do get pulled in and I tell you to run. Promise me, you will grab everyone you can and you will run.”

My head shakes no, “I won’t leave you behind.”

Her right hand leaves the steering wheel and grabs a fist full of my collar, shoving me hard against the passenger seat. “If I tell you to run, you grab everyone you can and run. You cannot save me. Do you hear me?”

I open my mouth to protest, but I know that fighting with her now wouldn’t help any.

“I hear you…” I start. The response brought with it the needed release of my shirt as the Wolfe house came into view. “…but hearing and doing, are two different things.” I finish.

I could hear Ity’s teeth grind but as she E-brakes Wendy in front of the house, I open my door and slide from the moving Bronco. My feet skid in the loose gravel but it doesn’t slow my stride. Within a few moments I’ve run in through the back door.

As usual it’s open, and I can see children bustling from room to room. Some still in wolf form.

Mrs. Wolfe spots me as she enters the kitchen. She wipes her hands on her apron, “Sebastian said you were with the Omega at the Police station.”

Keeping my voice low I approach her. “He was a distraction.”

She grabs my arm and holds fast. As wife of an Alpha I’m sure she has to be able to hold her own and run the pack in the Alpha’s absence. Even now her hands, bordering on claws, she holds me firm. “Distracting us from what?” She asks.

“To weaken your Alpha by killing off his pack.” I finish. Her hand drops from my arm. “they might already be here.”

Fury flushes through her face. She rips off her apron, tosses it in mid turn and bursts through the swinging kitchen door. A low growl resinates from her throat and brings all in the house to reverenced attention. Even my bones vibrate with the urgency of her call.

“Misty, get the cubs in the van, anyone under 10. Maddy follow me.”

Misty and Maddie, the silver haired woman, open their mouths to speak but one look from Mrs. Wolfe and they fell into step, following her orders. The cubs were less respectful. They stumble over each other and bicker while moving. The triplets, in human form, help scoop up the littles still playing and follow Misty out the door towards the garage.

Maddie, Mrs. Wolfe and I rush out the front door and find Ity standing beside Wendy, doors wide open, her eyes scanning the trees.

“Is something wrong?” Mrs. Wolfe questions. I pause beside Ity.

Keeping her eyes on the trees, Ity slowly nods her hand pointing quietly to our left.

With my heart racing I should feel panicked and worried. Instead my ears twitch, and like the slides on a soundboard app they shift through the different sounds shift around me. I carefully sort through each one until I hear it. The soft paw steps in the snow. The smell of foreign wolves drifts through the evening sky. Ones that smell of juniper and buffalo musk. There are two in the woods ahead, then two more … coming from inside the house.

Mrs. Wolfe and Maddy run into the woods, I turn on the balls of my feet and bolt for the garage. Screams and howls, echo as I reach out with my claws and dig into the door frame.

I pull.

The door tears like aluminum foil which I throw behind me. On the other side, two wolves: A female, brown and agile. A White-Wolf with silver eyes and what looks like scaring across his left front paw. Together they were attacking.

One of the triplets, Sarah, is swinging a hockey stick, trying to protect the younger wolves who were cowering inside the van. Misty, a chestnut colored wolf with bright blue eyes, bright red blood seeping from her neck. She must have been taken by surprise, and though she was injured, she wasn’t backing down from the foreign brown female.

Mrs. Wolfe’s howl breaks out behind me. She and Maddie chase the other two wolves from the trees and across the yard. Mrs. Wolf’s howl again vibrates through my bones and with my own fierce growl, I respond to her call.

My challenge is heard by the Brown-Wolf before me. She turns her attention from the injured Misty and rushes for me. One, two, three feet, I throw my feet forward falling into a slide under the leaping Brown-Wolf. Before she can turn around I grab the injured Chestnut Wolf, Misty. I toss her through the open van door. Then maneuver myself between the cubs and our attacker.

That’s when I catch my first glance at Ity. Undetected she slips toward the van. The extra large white vehicle is still parked securely behind the last section of the three car garage. Its automatic door still closed. I force my eyes away to avoid giving away her position. But out of the corner of my eyes I can see her slide into the van’s passenger side door. I growl again at the Brown-Wolf, threatening to attack, when the van engine revs to life.

Wheels spun and the white fifteen passenger van bursts through the remaining garage door. Kicking up dirt and snow she screeches to a halt in front of Mrs. Wolfe.

“DRIVE!” Mrs. Wolfe shouts. I hadn’t noticed the quick faze of Sterlings mom, but she was suddenly there, yelling at Ity to Drive.

Ity ignores the woman’s demand. She kicks open the door and points directly behind Mrs. Wolfe. “Sebastian!” She shouts. Mrs. Wolfe spins around and spots the young boy in human form trying to get to the van but a Young-Auburn-Beta was closing in behind him.

Mrs. Wolfe runs to save the young boy and the distracted pause quickly fades. I lock eyes with the Brown-Wolf, who finally takes the chance to advance on me. I use my clawed hands to swipe and dodge her sharp bite. She misses once but her quick paws gain traction easily until she’s lunging at me again.

I dodge the next attack but she twists her body at the last moment catching my arm with her teeth and ripping my flesh.

Through the stinging sensation I hear Sarah’s young yelp. The White-Wolf had bitten down on the hockey stick right on top of the girls hand. Her other hand flew up, balled in a fist, and slammed down hard on the White-Wolf’s muzzle. It winced but almost mockingly refuses to let go.

I duck and kick at my own opponent and I succeed at shoving my foot square into her rib cage. The Brown-Wolf’s teeth finally release me as she flies in the opposite direction.

Using the kicks momentum I spin around to dive back inside the garage. I wrap my arms around the White-Wolf’s middle and tackle it into the cement floor. Surprised, the White-Wolf releases its hold on Sarah’s hockey stick and I throw him hard to the ground, cracking the cement floor beneath.

Dazed from impact, I roll to my feet, scoop up Sarah and run for the van’s open door. I leap in at the same time Mrs. Wolfe throws Sebastian inside. The three of us collide on the seat and Sebastian rolls to the floor.

Mrs. Wolfe shouts again for Ity to drive, and this time the girl complies. Slamming her own door shut Ity shifts the van into motion. With the help of the injured Misty, in human form, we pull the van door shut and speed down the road.

CHAPTER END