Wolf Mountain Peak Complete Series, page 108
part #1 of Wolf Mountain Peak Series
“You can’t be serious,” he grumbled, throwing an angry glare down at her. “She wants my head on a plate, and you’re telling me I should talk to her?”
“It’s the only way,” Ava insisted, maintaining the same, calm tone. “James, you may know about my legacy, but you haven’t seen my wolf. You haven’t seen any of my kind’s wolves for that matter. They’re massive, and they always, always go for the throat. There’s not going to be a shootout. It’s going to be a quick, violent, brutal death. Should I describe it to you?”
Happily for her, her last question was met by total silence. James pulled his right arm out of his pocket, and raised it up to scratch his jaw. Staring into the void, he padded towards her. She felt her heart thumping in her chest. Despite her desire to end Wendy, she knew for a fact that this burden of guilt was going to weigh her down for the rest of her life. Furthermore, little Sean would hate her, should he find out that his mother had been viciously killed by her beast.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” He said with a nod. “I’m not calling her, though. It’d be best if I surprised her. I’ll have to borrow your car, too.”
“Thank you,” She let out a sigh of relief. “Sure, take my car.”
“Listen, I’ve forgotten to talk to you about something, too,” James said, his voice dropping in both volume and nerve. “I went back to my place the other day. It’s a wreck. I’m going to go looking for an apartment after work. Hopefully, we’ll be out of your hair in the next couple of days.”
“You’re not an inconvenience, James,” Ava’s tone of voice sounded sweeter as she pushed her hair back from her face.
“Actually, that’s all I’ve been,” James disagreed with a smile of embarrassment, nodding at the same time.
“You’ve been a lot more than that, and you know it,” she emphasized, intensifying her stare.
“I love it when you do that,” he stated, sitting down on the couch. “That sweet look, with a little bit of anger in it, is just…” he paused, “precious.”
Ava parted her lips, unwilling to come up with a rebuttal because he was bending towards her. Unfortunately, just when she was about to taste one more of his kisses, the sound of her bedroom door opening forced her to think twice. Little Sean emerged from the corridor to the left as she looked over her shoulder. Before she knew it, he had sped past her armchair, and was hurtling towards them. With a long jump, he landed on his knees between them.
“Now, what have we said about the first thing we do in the morning?” James asked, his voice coming out mellow.
“We go to the bathroom,” Sean replied, turning to face Ava. “I’m sorry, daddy. I wanted to see Ava before we leave,” he went on, bending his head down towards her lap. She glanced up at the boy’s father, and then down at him, biting her lower lip.
“It’s a big day today for you, kid,” She spoke, placing her hands on his upper back. “You’re going to see how grownups make a living.”
“Yeah, the hard way,” James added, his face twisting in disappointment. “Let’s go get dressed, sport.”
A look of sadness swept into Ava’s eyes when the two of them left her alone. Her boyfriend had never hidden his feelings for his job, and he hadn’t done so that morning, either. Still, this was a minor issue. He could find something else; he just had to be lucky. The thought that lingered in her mind was none other than his decision, finally, to confront Wendy. For the time being at least, Ava didn’t have to take any measures against Sean’s mother. For her, this was much more important than James’s job.
Chapter Nineteen
James drove out of Paxton, later that morning, trying to find comfort in the fact that, for the first time ever, his own son would be accompanying him to work. However, even though he struggled mightily to find it, he could not. Yes, having Sean around during the long hours of labor would be pleasant, but it would not change his sad reality. The house he had purchased upon his arrival to Highmount was unsuitable for him, let alone a child. He would soon be burdened with rent. He barely got by with the poor money he presently made; and now, he had to provide for his boy as well. Of course, he could work extra hours, but not even that would be enough. In truth, James had to find another job, preferably something in computers, his area of expertise, but doing that in the mountains sounded more like a joke than actual ambition. He could still recall people’s mockery, when he told them he was looking for a job as a computer repairman. Most of them laughed at him, maintaining that mountain dwellers had no need for technology. Only days into his stay in Highmount, he discovered that they were being honest with him. The vast majority of the residents were either farmers or lumberjacks, and the situation was not different in Shandaken.
Heading for Wolf Mountain, he readied himself for another hard day at work. As he approached the designated spot in the forest though, he discovered that he had arrived there early. There was only one vehicle in the area, parked under a cedar tree, close to the edge of the woods: Joe Stanton’s dark-gray pickup truck.
“Watch your step, Sean,” He advised as the child jumped over the trench, on the side of the road. His gaze followed him, while he lazily walked into the forest. The child didn’t go far. Locating a low-hanging branch on a nearby balsam-fir tree, he thrust his arms up and grabbed it as his father made his way towards his colleague. Joe was sitting on the tailgate of his truck, twisting a saw in his hand.
“Morning, James. Who’s the kid?” he asked, tossing a quick glance over at Sean.
“Good morning. That’s my son,” James’s response might have been blunt, but he was much too concerned about his livelihood to consider coming up with more lies.
“You have a son?” Joe exclaimed, his brows shooting up, the handle of the saw slipping through his fingers. “How come you’ve never talked about that?”
“Because it’s a long, sad story,” James groaned when he reached the tailgate. “Let’s just leave it at that.”
“Ned rang me up about five minutes ago. He’s got a flat tire, twelve miles south of here. I’m pretty sure we have at least another half hour to kill, before he shows up,” Joe said, folding his arms across his chest. “I can tell my story first. What do you think of that?”
“I wouldn’t mind talking first, man,” James shrugged his shoulders as he leaned his side against the cab. “It’s just that I’ve got other things in mind right now.”
“Do you remember my first couple of weeks on the job?” Joe inquired, raising his gaze to meet his.
“Yeah,” James nodded, somewhat puzzled by the start of his narrative. “You were clumsy; you hurt yourself a lot. Ned had even given you a nickname. ‘Mr. Klutz.’ I don’t know if you’d heard him, but he’d kept mumbling something like ‘goddamn, good-for-nothing city boys.’”
“I had,” Joe gave an amused snort. “Anyway, how well do you know that girl you saved last week?”
“Look, I respect what you’re trying to do here,” James stated, shifting his gaze from Sean to look down at him. “You want to make sure you don’t give away anything, but you don’t have to. I know about the Bradfords. They’re shifters, like Ava and your girl, Melissa.”
“Very well,” Joe praised with a swift nod. “I used to be a lawyer in New York. I was married back then. Her name was Laura. I lost her in this…” he paused; “freak accident. I hit rock bottom when it happened. In fact, I don’t recall much of the first few weeks after that car crash. I was looking for a way out of my misery, when this mysterious man showed up, outside a bar. But, he wasn’t really a man. He was a demon, by the name ‘Azazel.’ He said he’d take away my pain, if I sold my soul to him. In return, I’d also get money and fame. However, there was a catch. I would only get to live another eight years. Then, he’d come to collect.”
“Holy God…” James whispered with his mouth open and his face slack with shock and disbelief: “a demon?”
“Yes, sir,” Joe affirmed, tightening his jaw. “Melissa found out, of course. Nothing can skip past Helena. That witch is so powerful that she just blows my mind. She told Melissa to stay away from me, but she wouldn’t. When Helena realized that my girl wouldn’t change her mind, she decided to help me out. By then, I was making a lot of money. I’m talking seven figures. But, to claim my soul back, I had to get rid of it all: cars; cash; the works. And I did. I gave up my whole life in New York, just to be with my Melissa. In the end, the entire Bradford family and I stood up against the demon. Helena got stabbed; she barely escaped with her life. I killed that prick; but, if it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
“Impressive. And shocking,” James commented, casting an appreciative glance down at him. “Just how hard was it for you to move up here? I mean, let’s face it, living in the mountains is no picnic.”
“I’m not going to lie to you man, it wasn’t an easy decision,” Joe took on a firmer tone of voice and his face hardened. “I had more money than I could spend; I was a celebrity of the legal world. But, I was miserable. I was missing my Laura, and I didn’t know to whom I could give my trust. You see, that’s the shitty truth about that life. Most of the people you meet don’t see you as a person. They only respect you, because you’ve got money in your pocket. Without it, you’re nothing to them. Melissa made that decision a lot easier for me. When she told me she wanted to set me free from that curse, I thought I was hallucinating. This courage runs in the family, though. Her brothers’ stories can attest to that. They all went to insane lengths to be with the women they love.”
“I was kind of spooked with the ‘shifting’ thing,” James confessed, dropping his gaze down to the ground. “I said to myself: ‘What if we have an argument someday and she attacks me?’ But, Ava’s in complete control of that. In fact, I’ve never even seen her shifting yet.”
“It’s amazing to think that the big, bad shifters can be killed by something as common as a broken heart.” Icy chills swept right through James’s body, like cold poison in each and every vein, upon Joe’s statement.
“What?” He asked. His gaze shot up to meet Joe’s when Joe opened his eyes wide.
“You didn’t know?” Joe squinted at him.
“Know what? What the hell are you talking about?” James insisted, his face contorting with a mix of anger and sheer confusion.
“Damn…” Joe whispered, lifting his hand to rest it over his eyes. He shook his head in regret. “I’m sorry; I thought you knew.”
“Will you tell me already?” James groaned. He leaned over towards him.
“Well, it’s pretty much what it sounded like,” Joe started, pulling his hand away from his face. “Wolves have weak hearts. In the event that they lose their significant other, they die a slow death. They have three, maybe four years to live.”
A gasp of shock escaped James and he clasped his hands behind his head, his elbows pointing forward. His ears had not fooled him earlier. The horrifying truth froze the blood in his veins. He was hoping that he had misheard his colleague, or that there was a different meaning in his words; yet, his explanation did not leave any room for doubt. Shifters had a most unlikely weakness. And, much to his annoyance, one that Ava had failed to mention. Why had she kept him in the dark? Why would she keep this secret all to herself, when she was quite straightforward with him, concerning her nature? He couldn’t know, and, most of all, he could not - and would not - venture a guess. What he was fully aware of, was the fact that he had to confront her.
“I’m guessing you’re not in a talkative mood right now,” Joe’s voice ripped through the silence as he hopped off the tailgate of his truck.
“Sorry, Joe; I’m not,” James muttered, staring into the void. “Just ask Helena. She’ll tell you all about it.”
For a moment, he considered returning to Paxton. It was less than five miles away, but it wasn’t the distance that forced him to reject that notion. The conversation he needed to have with Ava could not be done in haste. She had to provide an explanation, and that could take a while. His supervisor would not appreciate another delay; Ned had been kind enough to give him a week off with pay. James wouldn’t repay him by chasing after answers. Alas, he had to wait until the end of his shift.
Chapter Twenty
Predictably, the revelation about Ava made meeting with her James’s number one priority. He was in no condition to go out searching for an apartment. Finding a new home requires time and a lot of patience. The hours he would need didn’t bother him, but he knew very well that he could not be patient enough at this point in time. His desire to get an answer from Ava was much too strong to be put aside. Therefore, at the end of his shift, he and little Sean departed from Wolf Mountain, and, in spite of his announcement to her that morning, he drove through Shandaken, ignoring any rental signs that he came across.
Daylight was slowly fading away when the two of them left the scenic town behind them. Glancing around at the trees on either side of the road, James wondered how to phrase his query. Ava had been wonderful to him and his child so far. He might have been mad at her, but she didn’t deserve an angry approach. He wouldn’t get anything by alienating the only person who had stood by him in his darkest hour. James had to be very careful indeed. A poor choice of words or even a loud tone of voice could give away his anger, and lead to a huge argument with catastrophic consequences. Turning right and onto the downhill road just outside Paxton, he opted for a calm approach.
Moments afterwards however, just before he reached the first hairpin, he spotted another, black vehicle on the top of the road, in his rearview mirror. Tension tightened the back of his neck as he saw the three-pointed star on the front grill. It was a Mercedes. In all his days in Paxton, James had never seen a luxurious car like that. Upon making the dangerous turn, he shifted his gaze down to his son.
“Sean, please, lay down for me, okay?” He requested, making his voice sound very sweet. “We’re almost there. Ava will be waiting for us. I’ll tell her I dropped you off at your mom’s place. Then, you’ll pop up and surprise her.”
“Cool!” Sean cheered, scooting over to the edge of the backseat. The child obliged him, lying down on his chest. A split second later, James put his foot hard down on the gas pedal, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, feeling his pulse rising. As he headed for one more hairpin turn, however, the roaring engine of the fancy car sent a wave of fear washing over him. James focused his gaze on the passenger-side door mirror, watching his pursuer’s vehicle pop out of the bend behind him. The skin on his face tingled with fear when a gun emerged from its passenger window. He lowered his head, just before the crackling sound of the weapon echoed in the wilderness. The bullet shattered his rear windscreen, tossing hundreds of shards of glass flying across the interior.
“Daddy, what’s happening?” Sean cried, the fear in his childish voice sending James’s adrenaline into the ozone layer.
“Stay down!” He yelled loudly, his baritone filled with worry and terror while he swerved his car right and left. Smoke rose up into the air from the rear tires as the back of his Camaro slid out of the lane. James locked his gaze on the Bradford estate, hundreds of yards away from his spot and to the right as he straightened out the car. Despair was starting to set in. Outrunning his pursuers seemed like an impossible task. But as he whirled his head around to check on his son, a deafening, banging sound drew his attention. With a mere, upward glance, he discovered its origin. A massive, white wolf had actually landed on the roof of the Mercedes, inflicting a deep dent on the aluminum body. In the blink of an eye, a second, dark-brown beast jumped off the cliff on the left. Its heavy body smashed into the rear windscreen, snarls and menacing growls filling James’s ears. In sheer awe and disbelief, he swallowed hard, bringing his gaze down to his boy. Luckily, Sean was unscathed, but his entire body was shaking. His father returned his gaze to the road up ahead, an instant before all four tires of the Mercedes screeched. They left skid marks on the road when the driver swerved left. Thick puffs of smoke rose up from their surfaces as it banked right. The two wolves jumped off the roof and over the hood at the last minute. James looked in his rearview mirror, watching the fancy car begin to flip over and over on its side, the continuous impacts smashing windows and aluminum alike.
Believing that the worst was over, James eased on the brakes. Before he could address his son, though, yet another, incredible sight compelled him to think twice. Three, even larger wolves were galloping up the road, parallel to one another. A gray lupine was just in front of a light-brown and a silver beast, hackles raised, their tails swishing out behind them. Understanding what would soon transpire, James chose to focus on Sean. He hadn’t forgotten Ava’s words, when she mentioned that:
“Wolves always go for the throat.”
Moreover, he could still feel the adrenaline rushing through his veins; he couldn’t even begin to imagine a seven-year old child’s fear.
“It’s over, buddy,” He said, his breath coming out in pants as he reached his arm over to the backseat. “Are you okay?”
“I think so,” The boy replied as his father swiped the shards off his blue sweater. Wrapping his fingers around his arm, James pulled him closer, at the same time throwing a glance out his broken windscreen. The Mercedes was in the middle of the street, lying on its roof, its rear facing him. The silver and the light-brown wolf had already pulled the two passengers out of the vehicle, and were dragging them across the road by their wrists, while the gray one was in a shallow trench, on the edge of the forest, staring at them. James picked his son up, and then twisted his small body in the air, before easing him down onto his lap.
“What’s that noise?” Sean asked softly, resting his head on his father’s chest while more growls and snarls filled the air.
“It’s just some dogs, pal. They’re fighting over a ball,” James claimed, stroking the back of his son’s head. Coming up with a lie about the noise was not difficult. He wouldn’t need to explain any further. What he really dreaded, was the moment that the wolves would attempt to finish off the aspiring assassins. Their agonizing screams would scar the child’s soul for the rest of his life. Sean was young, but he wasn’t stupid. He would understand what has happening.
