Nevertheless, moments afterwards, he realized that he didn’t need a strategy in order to stay safe from gunfire. No more bullets were flying around. The silence of the forest was only disrupted by the sound of his frantic gallop, and the occasional piece of brush or twig that gave way under his massive paws. Even so, the silver wolf did not stray from his plan. The shooter could be biding his time, waiting for the opportune moment to open fire yet again.

  Jumping over a big bush that blocked his path, he spotted Tommy’s light-brown beast hurtling up an uphill slope of the forest. Before he knew it, Larry’s crème lupine entered his view from the left. The distinctive scent of gunpowder compelled him to quicken his pace. He wasn’t far now, and, judging by the similar reaction of his comrades, they had also caught that scent. Unfortunately though, when the ground leveled out, a quick look up ahead sent chills rippling across his skin. The moonlight was coming through a wide opening between a big, thorny bush and a balsam fir tree. They were dashing towards a clearing. He wouldn’t be able to use the trunks as cover. But, for the silver beast, this wasn’t a difficult choice. The risk was worth taking. Very soon, he would hopefully be face-to-face with his assailant. He didn’t know whether he could find another opportunity like this or not.

  Tommy and Larry’s wolves rushed out into the clearing with Ray right behind them, his menacing growls rising above theirs. Still, standing on the empty patch of land, the odor that flew into his nostrils sent a wave of disappointment washing over him. He knew the exhaust fumes of a diesel engine too well to make a mistake; and when he glanced left, he discovered their origin. A red pickup truck was racing up the steep, uphill road. For a second, he considered continuing the chase. However, his target was more than four hundred yards away, opening the distance between them, speeding towards a hairpin turn. Running ahead of his comrades, he stared up at the vehicle while a sad yip escaped him. Ray slowed his strides, reaching the edge of the road. He was only able to catch a glimpse of its brake lights, just before it turned right and up another hairpin turn. The truck disappeared into the night, leaving a raging and frustrated Bradford wondering what else he could have done to catch the man who had so brazenly threatened his life as well as Julia’s.

  Chapter Seven

  Ray’s return from the hunt did not resemble at all his earlier gallop across Lockhart forest. Disappointed and mad at himself for his failure, he didn’t have the heart to run back to his mate. The short trip to Paxton was now a long, grueling torture. He literally dragged his paws across the forest floor, struggling to fathom why he had lost such a golden opportunity.

  To add to his frustration, Julia, along with his brothers and their mates, had gathered in the diner’s parking lot. As soon as their eyes met, she rushed off towards him, calling out his name. Yet, the silver wolf’s pride had been shattered into a million pieces. Too distraught to face her, he merely padded to his right, avoiding her altogether. Immediately after that, Raul and Dean attempted to address him as well, but Ray did not stop for them, either. He had a long narrative ahead of him, and speaking to them naked was out of the question. So, Ray elected to stride back to his cabin, while the entire incident swirled in his mind.

  While he dressed himself, a river of emotions overwhelmed his heart: terror for almost losing the love of his life; anger at their attacker; but, mainly, shame for his inability to catch the shooter. Nevertheless, Ray realized that he had to overcome them. Giving in to fear would not avail him, otherwise, it would lead to conflict with Julia and his entire family. Sooner or later, it would drive him into doing reckless deeds, and possibly even bring about his own destruction.

  After exiting his bedroom, he began walking down the stairs. The slender hand on the railing informed him that he was not alone. Julia was glaring up at him, tapping her fingers on her hip impatiently. The chattering coming from his living room was a clear indication that his family had followed her back to his home.

  “Can you tell me what the hell that was all about?” she barked out, her face contorting with rage. “I tried to hug you and you just…” she paused, “... avoided me.”

  “I’m sorry, Jules,” Ray croaked out, dropping his gaze to the wooden steps when he reached the bottom landing. “I lost him. I was too upset.”

  “Yeah, but I was worried sick about you!” Julia cried, narrowing her eyes at him. “Didn’t you think of that?”

  “Look, it won’t happen again, alright?” he reassured her, in a weakening voice, moving around the staircase.

  “You must have a death wish or something!” Helena reprimanded him, furrowing her brow when he sauntered across his kitchen. “Chasing after a gunman all alone? Are you kidding me?”

  “I wasn’t alone,” Ray countered, holding on to his temper. “Tommy and Larry were with me the whole time.”

  “That’s right; you gave him three targets from which to choose,” responded the witch, a wealth of cutting sarcasm dripping from her tongue, her face hardening even further.

  “He did the right thing,” Raul joined the conversation, voicing his opinion, keeping his tone calm and steady, watching Ray approach him in the corner of the room. “They all did. What happened out there, kid?”

  “I was talking to Julia, when the first bullet missed me by a hair,” Ray began, glancing around him. “We dropped down onto the ground and took cover behind a tree. I sneaked a peek through the fork in the tree. It was just like the assault on Rob. The shooter was far out into the woods. So, I shifted; I couldn’t let this slip. But, the son of a bitch was fast. I don’t think it took us more than two - three minutes, maybe, but by then, he’d already taken off. I saw his truck on the road. It was too far, though. Chasing after a moving vehicle is risky. We could have all gotten killed.”

  “He’s a professional,” Helena concluded, her voice riddled with tension. “I’ve been doing some research since the other day. Assault rifles are comprised of five or six rather delicate parts. Snipers cannot carry them in one piece; one of those parts might break. They have to carry them in cases. Our human was cool enough to disassemble his rifle in the dark, and leave before you even got close to him. I’m sorry boys, but it seems that James’s theory is correct. We’re dealing with a very skilled human, with a military background.”

  “That’s true,” Raul agreed, giving a slow nod. “I sent Martin out, when you and the guards came back, Ray. The tree he hid in was twenty feet away from the clearing. Martin said to me he found more than fifty shell casings under it.”

  “He anticipated the wolves’ charge,” Helena concluded once more, staring into the void. “He had already planned his escape. You’d have to be twice as fast to catch him. He knows his enemy’s capabilities. He’s been studying you.”

  “He’s a goddamn ghost,” Raul groaned, scratching his forehead. “I had no idea humans could be that quick. I’ll set up another guard at that clearing.”

  “You cannot be serious!” the witch grumbled, lifting her gaze to glare up at him. “No, Raul. I repeat; he’s a professional. He’ll go where he’s least expected. He’s already used that clearing twice. We should focus on our eastern borders. He could also use the hillside under the road to the interstate, but that’s unlikely if you ask me. It’s very steep, the bushes up there are too small to provide cover, and he risks detection by oncoming traffic.”

  “I can’t leave the entire west side unprotected, Helena,” The Alpha said, his voice firm, shaking his head in disapproval. “We have the bloodsuckers to worry about, too, remember?”

  “I never said you should,” she continued. “Leave that to me. Second son…” she went on, shifting her gaze to Dean. “Would it be okay with you if I borrowed Kate for a few hours tomorrow? I could use the company.”

  “Sure, go ahead,” he encouraged with a nod. “If you can convince her, she’s all yours.”

  “Oh, I’m not worried about that,” the witch said a big smile spreading across her face.

  “Am I the only one who doesn’t like the idea of two women alone in the forest?” Ray wondered, raising his voice somewhat. “They’ll be like sitting ducks out there.”

  “Worry not, young one,” Helena winked at him. “Don’t forget that my spies will warn me, should they notice anything out of the ordinary.”

  “I’ll triple the guards on the eastern border,” Raul interjected, reaching his arm towards his brother’s back. “I’ll instruct them to stay away from any clearings.”

  “Make sure you tell them to look up every once in a while,” Ray suggested, turning to him look at Raul when the Alpha rested his hand on his shoulder blade. “That douche bag could be hiding anywhere.”

  “Excuse me, but…” Julia faltered, stepping beside her mate, her gaze locked on the witch. “Where do vampires fit in? I mean, all we know so far, is that some lunatic is running around with a rifle, using us for target practice. We haven’t seen bloodsuckers; we haven’t smelled them. Is it possible that the dead deer and the shooter are unrelated?”

  “That would be one hell of a coincidence,” stated Helena, her smile fleeing her face. “I wouldn’t call it impossible, but all the evidence suggests that they were in the area at the same time. The blood we found on those deer was still fresh. The box that contained the cell phone was dry. It couldn’t have been out there for more than a couple of hours.”

  “Well, since we’ve covered everything, I’m out of here,” Raul patted Ray on the back, starting off across the living room. “You kids have a good night.”

  “Goodnight,” Ray sighed, watching his two brothers and the witch stroll towards his kitchen. In his opinion, the chosen strategy was not bad, but it wasn’t ideal, either. The Paxton pack was on the defensive, taking measures to ensure that no harm would befall them. They were not hunting down their enemies. However, this was their only viable option. Much to his frustration, they were still in the dark, unaware of the identities of their persecutors. Ray hoped with his whole heart that they would soon discover more about this mysterious alliance between humans and vampires. Otherwise, he, his family, and everything else that he held dear, would perish in a world of agony.

  Chapter Eight

  The following morning, work acted, to Ray’s heart and mind, like a remedy to an infected wound. Minute after minute, hour after hour, he and his brothers preoccupied themselves with hammers, bolts, exhaust pipes, and pistons repairing and restoring their customers’ motorcycles. None of them even mentioned anything outside work. Ray welcomed the distraction, even though it would not be long before it expired. Spending time on his passion had ever been more than just a job. It was sheer fun for him on any given day, and this day was not an exception, in spite of the darkness that had begun to engulf his hometown.

  Inevitably however, at the end of business hours, the issue they were facing popped back into his mind. Upon having lunch with Julia, it occurred to him that he could not stay home by any means. His tension was so great that doing nothing felt like torment. Enjoying a relaxed afternoon with his mate sounded more like a bad joke. Despite his profound fatigue, Ray Bradford soon walked out of his home, in search of clues, and more importantly, peace of mind. Being out in the open, seeking the human who had assaulted them would make him feel useful and good about himself. It was definitely preferable to inactivity and waiting around for any news.

  Ray jumped into his truck, and drove out of the estate, asking himself about his next course of action. The answer was easier, perhaps even more so, than he could dare to imagine. He would go back to the spot where he and his comrades had chased the human. In particular, he meant to go over the man’s route, and look for any physical evidence that Martin might have missed. Much to his pleasure, he had the weather on his side. There hadn’t been any rain in Paxton in more than twenty-four hours, and there wasn’t a shred of a cloud in the sky that night.

  The tires squealed when he stepped hard on the brakes, gazing out of the passenger window of his truck. Sweeping his gaze across the wide clearing that separated the forest, Ray stepped out of the vehicle. Tiny drops of water on the soil were glimmering in the moonlight. He moved around his car, dragging his gaze down to the road. Just a few feet away from him, he noticed a muddy trail of shoeprints along the asphalt. It went up and continued after the spot where he had parked his truck.

  “Not a bad start,” he thought to himself, jumping off of the side of the road and into the clearing. Looking over his right shoulder, he glanced up and saw the line of trees inside the part of the woods he and his comrades had come from. Luckily for him, the moon and the stars proved to be a valuable ally. Within seconds, the ample moonlight helped him locate more shoeprints. They were rather far from where he stood, but he could clearly make out their path. They were forming a semicircle, starting from just outside the forest, and going all the way up to the road. But, such brightness would have been useless, had it not been for the prints themselves. The shoes had dug into the mud. Ray slowly approached the one closest to him as a cold breeze blew through his hair. Standing over it, he discovered that it belonged to a large man. It was easily a size twelve. The Alpha’s youngest brother was getting more and more intrigued by the second. The human in question moved extremely fast for a man of his size. But, before he could take another step, Ray caught something out of the corner of his eye: a glare, just two inches beside his left boot. The edge of a sparkling object, covered in moisture, was sticking out of a small, thorny bush. Bending down, he yanked it out of the brush, and picked it up. Ray used his fingers to wipe off the tiny droplets of what appeared to be a locket which piqued his curiosity. An old, black-and-white picture of a baby girl filled his view when he pulled up the cover. There was an inscription on the back, which read:

  C. W.

  “God, I hate riddles,” he moaned, shoving the pendant into the pocket of his jeans. His first thought was to carry on with his search. His finding was not much of a clue. Still, the annoying buzzing of his cell phone overthrew his plans. It was a text message from James.

  “Job’s done. Voice and background noise are loud and clear. Get over here, ASAP. Trust me, you’ll be surprised.”

  Without much thought, he postponed his investigation. He might have been dying with curiosity to retrace the human’s steps, but James’s message sounded especially intriguing, to say the least. It was an actual clue, instead of a prospect of one. Therefore, Ray chose to hurry back to his truck, eager to see for himself just what Ava’s mate had discovered.

  As he drove back to Paxton, Ray couldn’t help but wonder about the picture of that little girl. Why would an assassin carry such a thing with him? Who was she? Furthermore, the fact that he kept it in an old pendant struck him. It could mean that either he was old-fashioned, or that he was old. Nevertheless, the latter was simply a ridiculous notion. The human was strong enough to cover more than a quarter of a mile in almost one minute. He was athletic, and humans are anything but athletic when they age.

  Parking his vehicle on the right side of the main road, Ray gripped the door handle with confident fingers, the sound of two, female voices filling his ears. A glance in his rearview mirror told him that Julia and Monica were crossing the street.

  “Hey,” he muttered, exiting the truck. “Where are you guys going?”

  “Ava called me earlier to invite me over for a cup of tea,” Julia informed him, looking up at him over her shoulder. They stepped onto the sidewalk. “The doctor here just saw me walk past her cabin, and asked if she could tag along.”

  “James messaged me, to tell me that he’s done what I requested,” Ray declared, strutting towards them. “Fingers crossed.”

  “I wouldn’t get my hopes up,” Julia uttered, pursing her lips as she rang the bell. “Even if he’s done an amazing job, what are the chances of finding out anything from just a voice?”

  “Good evening, everybody,” Ava pulled her front door open with a smile gracing her face. “How are you doing? Come on in.”

  “It’s good to see you, girl,” replied Julia, returning the smile. Ray noticed James, sitting at the kitchen table, with his laptop in front of him.

  “Over here, man,” James said, waving him to the seat next to him. “Come take a look.”

  “Well…” Ray sighed, his quick footsteps bringing him closer to James. “I really hope you’ve worked your magic, city boy.”

  “I have,” James claimed and leaned his back against his seat. Ray sat down on the chair beside him. There were two waveforms - a red and a blue - on the screen, surrounded by tiny buttons that he didn’t even bother to decipher. He had never been a fan of technology, and he wasn’t about to start being one now. “The blue one is the background noise. Check it out,” James went on, pressing the “spacebar” key on his laptop. A gentle, yet unfamiliar sound - to Ray - filled the room. It was rhythmic and somewhat faint giving the impression that its source was not so near to the receiver.

  “It’s so beautiful,” Monica commented as a small smile burst upon her lips. “The ocean is just majestic.”

  “Waves on the sand, mountain man,” James explained. “Now, it’s time to listen to her.”

  “Her?” Ray raised an eyebrow, whipping his head left to face him. “It’s a woman?”

  “Yep,” James nodded. “That’s the surprise I told you about in my text,” he continued, once again pressing the “spacebar” on his laptop.

  “Hello, Bradford’s.”

  A sigh of utter shock filled the room as the woman in question spoke those words. Immediately, Ray looked up. Julia had put her fingers over her mouth, tossing a hollow gaze down at the screen, speechless, whereas Monica’s face had fallen with total disbelief. With her mouth partially open, she glanced down at the computer, and then back up at her friend.

  “Oh, my God…” she let out a soft whisper of despair, lifting both of her hands up to her temples. “That’s Carrie Stinson; she’s Julia’s mother.”

 

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