Chapter 6 - Layla

Needing time to clear her head, Layla was all too happy to hike from Nightstar to the ally pack's territory in the next town over. Sure, it had taken her all day and all night, sleeping for a couple of hours under the cover of the forest between towns, but eventually, she arrived to find familiar faces welcoming her.

The werewolves of Pine Valley had always been friendly, and though they smiled and greeted her just as they always did, Layla couldn't help but feel something was a little off. The small pack—much smaller than that in Nightstar—appeared quite subdued. And there seemed to be a dark cloud over the town even though the sun itself was blazing down on Layla's back to the point she was forced to pull her hood up to stop her neck from burning.

Even for a werewolf, the sun could be hell, especially when your skin was as fair as hers. Yet, luckily, her skin was still thick enough to stand her ground when two strangers in leather jackets stepped out from an alleyway in front of her.

"Hey there, missy," one of them snarled as Layla sniffed the air. Their scent immediately told her two things: they were werewolves, and she didn't have any idea who they were. She had definitely never seen them in Pine Valley before.

"We've never seen you in town before," the second shifter commented. The way the two of them looked her up and down was almost as annoying as when Zander did it.

Urgh, stop thinking about him! She thought, angry with herself that even during a confrontation, her mind could find its way back to him.

"That's funny because I'm here often," Layla said, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I've never seen the two of you around here, either."

The two men looked at each other, smirking. And when they looked back at Layla, her stomach twisted. It was clear that whatever they were thinking, whatever had just passed between the two of them, it wasn't good.

Fuck! she thought when the two of them grabbed her, one arm each.

"Get off me!" she snapped angrily as they barreled her into the alleyway they'd slunk out of.

"What's in the bag, she-wolf?" the first of the men growled. His scarred face drew close to hers as they pinned her back against the brick building. The uneven, rough stone dug painfully into her back as they seemed to press all of their weight into her.

"None of your goddamn business!" she spat back at the two of them, baring her teeth. She was a messenger. It wouldn't be the first time she'd been attacked for pack secrets, or even the things she brought to trade with other packs, but this was one of the few times they'd actually managed to pin her down. Usually, she was too quick for them.

Why didn't I react quicker? She wondered. Then she growled low in her throat, angry with herself when she realized the answer. She had been too distracted by her own damn thoughts.

"Maybe we'll just take a look and see for ourselves," the second shifter suggested, practically tearing the bag from Layla's back.

"Don't you fucking dare!" she yelled back at him, the first taking over restraining her so that the other could rummage through her bag.

She fought with all she had, trying to wriggle out from beneath him. It was only a matter of time before the second shifter made it through all the packets of fruit, vegetable seeds and other items she had brought to trade and found the hidden compartment at the bottom of the bag, where she kept the important correspondence of her alpha for safe-keeping on her travels.

She couldn't let that happen. Whether the message was a letter of good news, bad news or just a general report of the recent goings-on in town, she couldn't allow either of these guys to see it. It was for the eyes of the Pine Valley alpha only. Never in her life had she failed to deliver a letter, and she wasn't about to start now.

Elongating her claws, she reached down and grabbed hard at the man's groin until she felt something pop. It was a horrid sensation, one that made her feel nauseous, but it had the intended effect.

The man squealed like a little pig, flying backwards, clutching at his balls. He was so red-faced and clearly in pain that Layla wondered whether she might have done a little permanent damage. She suspected it was no bad thing. The world was better off without the offspring of a man who would attack a woman.

She didn't wait to see if he would recover. It wouldn't be too long before he did. With werewolf healing, he would only be down for a few minutes at most. But he was definitely down for the count as he sank to his knees, still clutching his pearls.

The second guy, clearly unhappy with all the seeds and stuff he had found in her bag, turned on her snarling. "Where is the letter?"

So they know I'm a messenger, she thought, making a mental note of it. Any information she had to take back to her own alpha was good information, especially when it concerned the goings-on in the territory of an allied pack. Just because they were allies right now didn't mean they wouldn't one day be enemies.

For now, though, they were allies, and that meant whoever these guys were in their territory, attacking people, were bad news for the Pine Valley pack and the Nightstar pack alike.

"This is your last chance to give me back my bag or I'll give you the same treatment I just gave to your friend," Layla warned, flashing her claws.

The man lifted the bag high, so high that there was no way Layla could have reached it from the ground. He was so damn tall she had to crane her neck to keep her eyes on the bag at all.

But she was small, agile, and she had been forced to climb a fence or two in her day. She could climb a man built like a brick wall any day of the week. And so that's exactly what she did. Taking a running jump, she aimed her feet right at the middle of his chest and sent him flying backwards as she pushed off with her toes to grab for the bag.

Feeling it in her palm, she clamped her fingers around it and dug in her claws, twisting midair to yank it from his grip.

The man cursed as he was thrown toward the ground by the sheer force of her leap, and he hit the cobblestones hard enough that she heard all the air escape his lungs.

Knowing it would be dumb to wait for the aftermath, she didn't stop the second that she landed on her feet. She raced for the other end of the alleyway, relieved to know Pine Valley like the back of her hand. She'd miss out on trading with Mrs. Richards at the grocery store, but at least she was well on her way to the alpha's house.

By the time she made it to the alpha's house, she was more than a little wary of the mood in town. Things were quiet, even for a small town like Pine Valley, and those that usually stopped her to talk or trade appeared far less eager to do so than usual.

After what had just happened in the alley, she was more than willing to do a quick in and out, missing the safety of Nightstar more than ever. It was an odd sensation, especially after years of avoiding the place like the plague while Karl Ryker had been alpha.

Even after the night before with Zander and having the whole pack witness whatever the hell had happened between them at the bonfire, she was more than ready to get home.

"It's good to see you again, Miss Keely," Luke Pine, the Pine Valley alpha, greeted her warmly the moment she was shown into his study. She had always marveled at the extravagance of his home. It was all modern white walls and chrome furniture, suave and sophisticated, nothing at all like the dark wood and cabin-style furniture many of the people back in her own hometown chose. It was clear that the Pine Valley pack had a great deal of wealth, even if they were a much smaller pack than Nightstar.

"And you, Mr. Pine," Layla said as she pulled off her bag and rummaged in the bottom for the letter in its hidden compartment.

"Please, how many times must I tell you, call me Luke," he insisted, looking at her from behind his glasses, which Layla guessed were more of a fashion statement than a necessity since there weren't many werewolves who needed them. He pulled them down off his nose as if to look at her more closely, his brow raised. "I do hope you didn't come to any trouble on your way."

Layla glanced down at herself then and growled when she saw the tear in her sleeve. A part of her wanted to go back to the alley and make those guys pay for ripping her favorite sky-blue t-shirt.

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Layla assured him as she handed over the letter.

The alpha examined her further before giving a sniff. Something akin to recognition crossed his face, but he said nothing as he opened the envelope and turned to read.

Layla waited for him to finish and begin writing a response before she said, "I beg your pardon if I am being too forward, Mist—Luke, but is all well?"

The alpha's hand froze midway through writing. For a second, he didn't look up, and Layla held her breath, wondering if she had overstepped her bounds.

She waited anxiously for his response, hoping not to have put her foot in it too badly.

When he looked up and sniffed again it was clear that he wasn't too impressed with her questioning. Werewolves were awfully secretive with the things going on within their territory, and besides, she was no alpha. She had no right to question the problems of another pack.

"Nothing we can't handle," he said finally, as if he wished to give her a taste of her own medicine.

Layla dipped her head in acknowledgment. There was no need to ask anything further. She remained silent, head bowed and hands clasped behind her back as she awaited Luke's response to Jack.

"All is well in Nightstar, I gather?" Luke asked, head cocked slightly.

Layla cleared her throat and responded, "Yes."

Even if it wasn"t, it was not for her to say.

The alpha regarded her as if he wondered whether or not she was telling him the truth. Then, he scoffed and nodded, handing her the envelope he had just placed his letter within.

"Miss Keely, you are welcome to remain in Pine Valley to rest before you return home, though I would advise that you seek the comfort of the bed and breakfast immediately and stay there until you are ready to travel again," Luke explained, and Layla knew that something was definitely up.

Usually, she was invited to do as she pleased and stay as long as she liked. She never stayed long, of course—just long enough to rest and trade enough to make a living for another week.

Luckily for her, her recent trip to Blackwell Falls had been great for her wallet, and she didn't have much need for further trade.

She did, however, have a sharp curiosity within her to know more about whatever the hell was going on in Pine Valley. There was a dullness to the alpha's gray-green eyes that she had never seen before, and he looked tired, weary even.

Something was going on, and the twisting of her stomach told her that she ought not to stick around to find out what that was.

"I thank you for the offer of hospitality, Luke, but I have been traveling a lot lately, and I think I should rather like to return home quickly," Layla said, dipping her head in respect to the alpha.

Luke nodded his acknowledgment. "One of my men shall escort you out."

With a click of his fingers, the door was opened, and Layla shown out. It was only when Kyle, one of Luke's personal guards, had seen her back to the front door that he asked, "Hey, Layla, you don't happen to have any more of those wolfberry seeds, do you?"

Layla smirked at that and pulled off her bag to reach inside. "Kerry liked them then?" she asked, pulling out a bag of the seeds in question.

"She loved them. Hasn't been able to find them anywhere else," Kyle said, smiling back at her. "She's been bugging me to see when you were next on your Pine Valley run."

Layla's heart warmed to hear it as she handed over a bag of the seeds. Taking the cash he offered in return, she reached into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out a card with her number on it. "You should give her this. She can give me a call herself next time."

"Thanks, kid, you're a lifesaver!" Kyle, who could have only been a couple of years older than her own twenty-five, beamed at her and looked as if he were about to ruffle her hair. She was glad that he didn't. This was the usual interaction she was used to with the males of her race—those that weren't Karl Ryker's cronies, anyway. People always treated her like a kid, a godsend, were just friendly in general. It was only in Nightstar she had ever been tormented or abused, and now that only seemed to come whenever Zander was around.

And here she was, thinking of him even when he wasn't. She was really beginning to get on her own nerves.

"Make sure to remind her to soak them in lukewarm water the night before planting," Layla instructed him, and Kyle gave her a playful salute before sending her on her way.

"Take care!" he called after her, and she threw a wave of acknowledgment over her shoulder.

Almost the second she turned the corner away from the alpha's house, the dark cloud settled over her again. Something wasn't right in Pine Valley at all. There was a thick tension in the air that left her even more determined to be on her way swiftly.

There were even fewer people out on the streets than there had been when she arrived, and the creeping feeling that continued to run down her spine grew more and more uncomfortable.

Why did I decide to hike? She wondered, wishing she'd borrowed one of the messenger cars that Jack had begun supplying since his takeover, yet another way he proved he cared for his packmates and their safety. Before, Layla had traveled by whatever means she could. Getting by on a messenger's salary hadn't really allowed for travel expenses or buying a vehicle of her own, but she had gotten by, and trading often helped. She was used to hiking to Pine Valley, but today of all days, she wished she hadn't.

And when she was almost out of town, she realized that her day was just going to go from bad to worse.

"Well, well, there she is."

The voice was oddly familiar, and Layla recognized the two men sitting on their motorbikes on the street corner all too well. The one still cupping his man jewels was clearly still having trouble after her attack on them. His pale face suggested he was in quite a good deal of pain.

Layla had to bite back the urge to laugh. Maybe it would teach him not to go laying hands on another she-wolf again. But from the way the two of them were glowering at her, she wasn't sure she was going to be so lucky.

"I would have thought the two of you might have learned after the first time," Layla said, standing her ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she looked for an escape route. Luckily for her, she knew Pine Valley almost as well as she knew Nightstar. She just hoped that these guys didn't.

"And I would have thought you might have learned just to give up whatever information you have to save your sorry hide, being a messenger and all," the one whose balls she hadn't injured growled at her.

"I wouldn't be all that good at my job if I did that, now, would I?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her head, standing her ground.

"Better a live messenger than a dead one," the injured wolf snarled, and the two men looked at each other, their malicious intent clear. Layla gulped. This was about to get even hairier than it had been before.

She was more convinced than ever that these guys weren't Pine Valley wolves. And from their asking about the correspondence and the fact they knew she was a messenger, she was almost entirely sure that they were enemies of the town's pack, if not her own, too.

Though she didn't recognize them past having met them that afternoon, there was something awfully familiar about them. Perhaps it was just that their attitude stank and reminded her of Karl and his gang, or even her ex. Or maybe it was something else. She couldn't be sure. But one thing she was sure of was that she needed to get the hell out of there, and fast.

Another thing she knew was that she needed to get them away from their bikes. She could run like hell, but even in her wolf form, she was no match for a motorbike, no matter how hard she tried.

She glanced over her shoulder at the alleyway close by and cleared her throat before she looked back and hissed under her breath, "Not here."

She glanced back again, over her other shoulder this time, hoping that the two idiots would be fooled. And as luck would have it, they were as dumb as they looked. At least, they appeared to be, exchanging a look and slipping off their bikes when she inclined her head toward the alleyway.

She pulled off her bag as she headed into the alley, hoping to really sell it to them. She even lifted the flap that covered the zip to keep everything inside dry as the two men followed her. At the far end was a chain-link fence, one she had already climbed a couple of times in her years as a messenger. It wasn't the first time she'd had to run from Pine Valley, though it was definitely the first in a few years.

In wolf form, she'd manage it in a single bound, hopefully giving her enough time to get away during the confusion.

"Maybe we didn't give her enough credit before," one of the men suggested. "She's clearly smarter than we realized."

He held out his hand as if to take whatever she had to offer.

Being a keen gardener and trader, what she was about to do was going to hurt her soul like hell, but it was her or the seeds.

She reached into her pocket, grabbed a handful of seed bags and threw them as hard as she could at the two men.

Then in the very next second, she twisted on her heels and started to run for the far end of the alley.

Dangling her bag by the strap between her teeth, she took a flying leap at the chain link fence and clambered up the final couple of inches, throwing herself over the top before the two men had even recovered from the packets that had been thrown in their faces.

Hell, they were slow for werewolves. Luckily for her, they were much heavier than she was, and their feet slapped the ground hard as they started to follow.

Bile rose in the back of her throat when she glanced over her shoulder to see that they were shifting in mid-run.

If they shot over the fence in wolf form, she was done for if she remained human.

All she could do was shift herself. And so she did, shaking off her human skin as quickly as possible. She grabbed her backpack firmly between her jaws and darted off down to the far end of the alleyway.

The fence rattled as the two huge wolves flung themselves over the top of it.

Their pounding paws remained hot on her heels even as she threw herself full force in the direction of the town gates.

She was a Nightstar wolf. If these guys weren't Pine Valley wolves, she had no idea if the other pack would be willing to help her. Though they were allies, without a witness to say what had happened, who was to say they hadn't tried to help before she was ripped to shreds?

No. Her only hope was to outrun them or hope she could make it back to Nightstar before they managed to catch up to her.

It was only a few miles, but after having walked it already that morning, she was exhausted. It took every ounce of adrenaline she had to keep her going forward.

Just get home, she kept telling herself. Just make it home.

She wasn't about to be the first Nightstar messenger ever to get caught on a run. Nor was she about to let herself get torn to shreds. Besides, she knew the landscape like the back of her hand. She knew every hill, every furrow, every little hidey-hole.

If it weren't for their keen sense of smell, she might have found a place to hide and lie low until they had passed, but with so much open land, field and forest between Pine Valley and Nightstar, there were very few places to hide that a werewolf wouldn't be able to sniff out its prey.

With the sun beginning to go down and the moon coming out, they were only growing faster and more dangerous.

Though she felt the strength coursing anew in her muscles thanks to the energy of last night's full moon and the silver light that began to shine down upon her, she still felt the exhaustion of a day's travel gnawing at her.

Two wolves who clearly traveled on motorbikes were far more likely to catch her than she was to get away.

She leapt over a ditch, wincing as she caught her forepaws on the hard, stony soil. The pain lanced up her forelegs, but still she continued on. She couldn't afford to stop for even a second.

One glance over her shoulder told her what she already knew. They were still in hot pursuit and growing closer with every ragged breath she took.

Still, she pressed forward, relieved that the ditch at least seemed to slow them down by a few seconds. And every second counted right now. To them, it was the difference between getting or losing information for their pack alpha—whoever he was—but for her it was the difference between life and death.

She'd heard plenty of tales of messengers going missing or getting killed due to pack rivalries, but never had she found herself on the bad end of one of those stories. She wasn't about to be the next tale told around the full moon bonfire next month.

And so, though her lungs were burning and her feet were bleeding with the effort of how fast she was running, she ignored the seizing soreness in her limbs and rushed headlong into the forest that bordered Nightstar.

This was the longest part of the journey. The forest grew thick and wild for a good two miles before finally thinning out closer to the town, but luckily for her, she knew every tree and bush after playing hide and seek and catch the squirrel as a pup in those very same woods.

That was the only thing that gave her hope she might actually manage to get away.

And even if she didn't, she was so close to being within range of her pack that she was certain if she found enough breath to howl for help, they would come running. She only hoped they'd have enough time to reach her if it came to that.

The pounding paws and panting breath behind her told her that maybe, just maybe, she might have held them off for long enough. The sounds were growing quieter, further and further away.

Managing to make it past the halfway point through the forest, she was almost certain she would make it to the town. Swiveling her ears back behind her, she tried to inhale enough to draw in the scents around her.

Maybe there was another member of the pack close by. One exhausted she-wolf against two man-wolves wouldn't stand a chance, but if she even had one of her packmates at her side, she might manage to survive this.

She couldn't smell anyone. Nor could she smell the vile scents of the two wolves chasing her. The wind was blowing from behind, and she was almost certain that she should have been able to, unless…

Hope flared inside her. Maybe she had managed to shake them, after all.

Running on just a little further, almost within the sight of the town, Layla skidded to a halt to catch her breath. If she couldn't smell them, she was almost certain they had to have fallen behind.

Dropping her bag so that she could open her mouth to draw in lungful after lungful of air, she allowed the scents of her familiar home to waft over her tongue.

Just knowing how close to home she was gave her a small boost of energy to remain on her paws.

She was just about to pick up her pack again when she realized she wasn't alone.

The growling laughter seemed to surround her, and it was with great horror that Layla realized the two wolves were coming at her from both sides. How they had managed it, she didn't know, but they had somehow maneuvered around her, coming at her almost entirely upwind, leaving her unable to smell them.

Thinking only of the letter in her pack, she grabbed the strap and darted back the way she came, hoping she might be able to outrun them just long enough to turn back and head for home once more.

Yet, it quickly became apparent that it wasn't to be. No sooner had she grabbed the bag and taken off than she felt a clawed paw slice her rear legs out from under her.

Twisting in midair, she just managed to stop her chest from crashing into the ground as she was flung toward it.

Still, she hit it hard, the wind knocked right out of her lungs, leaving her unable to howl for help.

When the first wolf landed on top of her, she knew that she was done for.

He growled low in her ear, a menacing, deadly sound that told her she was going to die. His jaws snapped close to her ear, and she knew it was a warning not to try anything again.

There was very little she could have tried to do. He was three times her size, and she was exhausted. All she had left to do was to lie still and hope that he would just take the bag and go.

She still didn't want to give up the correspondence, but it was all she could give to save her own hide. And she was certain that unlike Karl, Jack wouldn't blame her for it.

And so, she closed her eyes, praying that the bag with its letter hidden inside would be enough to save her and waiting for fangs to meet in her throat. One way or another, it would all be over soon.

That's when the howling came. It was a warning of its own, and though Layla wasn't entirely sure of the voice, it sent a thrill through her the likes of which she had never felt before.

She wasn't as alone as she had believed.

As the wolf leapt from the underbrush, Layla realized she would have recognized those deep blue eyes anywhere.

And though she was more than a little grateful for the way he barreled into the wolf on top of her, a part of her couldn't help but think, why did it have to be him?