The Challenge (The Pack 2)

“Sissy,” Monster’s panicked voice cut through my fear as I glanced up to see his terrified face peering down at me. “Hurry.” He gestured for me to climb, glancing over his shoulder in fear and I scampered up that tree like I’d done it a million times.

I heard the voices right as I slid onto the platform. Monster stared at me with wide eyes, no longer so interested in hunting Hanleys as two of them walked below us. I laid on my belly, afraid to twitch with them so close. I knew if they so much as sniffed they would discover us and we had nowhere to run.

“Dude, I don’t think we should be here. We crossed the border some ways back.” Whoever spoke had my full agreement. They shouldn’t be there and they needed to go back.

“Don’t be such a chicken shit. I want to find that hot little she wolf,” the other one said lewdly. I opened my eyes to find a hole in the board and wished I’d kept my eyes closed as he rubbed himself suggestively. “Whoever catches her gets to keep her.”

“Yeah, you do that,” the smart one muttered, staring at him like he was stupid. “Keep the she wolf so she can rip your balls off when you try to mate her.”

The other one slapped him across the head. “I’d make sure she learned her place. Kind of like you need too.” He reached for his zipper and I hastily shut my eyes, not even wanting to know what was about to happen. “Now, quit being a little bitch.” I heard liquid hitting the ground in a stream and couldn’t resist a peek. The idiot was pissing on the ground beneath the tree we hid in. The other guy stared at him resentfully, undoing his zipper slowly as the idiot wandered away still pissing and splashing urine all over everything. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Monster wrinkle his nose. Thankfully, I couldn’t smell it but clearly, he could.

The one that liked to live hunched his shoulders as he peed against a bush, shaking his head and muttering under his breath as he kept an eye on his companion.

“You smell something?” The idiot asked, raising his head and sniffing the air. “Almost like a female in heat.”

“I can’t smell anything besides your piss,” the smart one responded, zipping up as I froze in place.

“You sure you a wolf, boy?” The other one taunted, wandering back underneath the treehouse. I barely breathed, terrified he would realize how close we were to him.

“Better wolf than you,” the smart kid retorted cockily. “Smart enough to know when its time to get the hell out of here.”

The idiot raised his hand like he was going to smack the kid but shook his head instead, bumping the kid’s shoulder as he walked past him. “You’re lucky I’m hungry, otherwise, we’d have words.”

The kid nodded, his face unconcerned by the threat, when the idiot froze, inhaling deeply. “There’s a female here.”

He spun around, his expression almost feral as he inhaled again, his gaze zeroing in on the makeshift ladder as my heart shuddered to a stop. I glanced at Monster, who looked as petrified as I felt. I mouthed, “HIDE,” to him and he shook his head. I nodded, putting as much force as I could in the silent gesture. He skittered backwards on light feet, disappearing into the gloom until all I could see was the reflection of his eyes until that was gone too.

Laughter taunted me from below as the idiot called up, “Come out, come out, little wolf.”

I was tempted to shout, “Come and get me, asshole,” but didn’t want to make the situation worse. I scrambled for a weapon, cursing myself for forgetting Dom’s rules. Always carry a gun. Shoot first, ask questions if they survive.

I frantically tried to reach Dom through our bond but my mind was so saturated with fear it was like shouting down an empty tunnel. I could hear the words echo back to me but they weren’t reaching him. I wanted to cry in frustration and fear as anger welled up inside of me. I wasn’t a wolf, I wasn’t strong, and I couldn’t stop them. It was the last realization that almost broke me as the idiot Hanley started up the tree.

Movement distracted me as Monster braced himself on the other side of the entrance, an old baseball bat gripped firmly in his hands as he stood guard.

“Wolves can’t climb trees,” he told me matter of fact and I smiled, hope that maybe we could survive springing to life inside of me. “Tell Dom,” he added, preparing to play whack a Hanley as soon as a head popped into view.

I risked a peek through the little hole as I tried to calm down enough to reach Dom. Monster’s plan might buy us time, but if they worked together it wouldn’t be long before they overpowered us.