The Truth About Kadenburg (20 page)

They looked at one another, as if trying to figure out
what to do next. They hadn’t been expecting that; hell, Lorcan hadn’t either.
He watched as the three wolves took off in the opposite direction, high tailing
it deeper into the woods as Lorcan’s heard the best voice in the world.

“I think that was a hell of an idea,” Mr. Bamey stated
as he slid down the embankment, gripping his gun as he grinned. “You ever see
a wolf run that fast before?”

“No, Sir,” Lorcan couldn’t help but to smile.

“Hell of an aim you’ve got there, Richard,” Davey
commented as he stepped closer to the crumpled man in the leaves. “Is he
dead?”

“Hell no, he ain’t dead,” Mr. Bamey replied as he
stared down at the naked male. “But we’re taking him with us. I want some
answers.”

Lorcan let out a sigh of relief as he appeared at his
father’s side, gazing down at their new captive as the urge to shift slowly subsided.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “I want some damn answers, too.”

Twenty
One

D
imitri caught the familiar scent before Mr.
Bamey’s old white and maroon Ford Bronco II even came into sight. He was off
the porch in an instant, making his way down the driveway as his brows lowered
on his forehead.

Why do they have another wolf with them?
He
wondered as his heart rate increased.
What’s happened?

He stood there, with his hands
on his hips as Mr. Bamey pulled up and shut the engine off. Dimitri followed
the ursithrope’s every move as he got out of the cab and moved towards the
back. He peeked around, giving a grin to Dimitri.

“I got something for you,” he said as he lifted the
back hatch.

Dimitri already knew what was back there, and if he
hadn’t heard the faint heartbeat, he would’ve thought Mr. Bamey had brought
home a prized hunt to be mounted on the wall. He was at his side in an
instant, peering into the back of the vehicle to see none other than Luke;
another member of Breslin’s pack.

“I thought you were going out to case the area for
wolves,” Dimitri muttered. “What the hell happened?”

“I can tell you what happened,” Lorcan said as he
pulled his large frame out of the tiny cab, joining them as he lifted his palms
for Dimitri to see. “They tried to ambush us.”

“What?” Dimitri asked, though he was hardly shocked.
He knew -better than anyone-that Breslin would play dirty. That’s just how
the sadistic alpha worked.

“They owe me a new car,” Davey announced as he limped
towards the back of the older SUV model. “Seeing as mine’s kissing face with a
tree right now.”

Dimitri frowned, his eyes lingering on the blisters
Lorcan was sporting. “I’m so sorry.”

“You ain’t got anything to be sorry for,” Mr. Bamey
shrugged as he lowered the tailgate. “But you can help me carry this mutt’s
ass into the house.”

“Yes, sir,” Dimitri nodded
without hesitation.

This was bad. This was
very
bad. The
ursithropes had abducted one of Breslin’s own; at least one that Breslin
actually cared about. Things were going to get worse.

––––––-

As the day progressed, Presley discovered it wasn’t
really all that
bad
to hang out with people that could change into
bears. In fact, they were some of the most down-to-earth people she’d ever
met.

Greg was a lot of fun to be around. His sense of humor
kept her distracted as he joked around about being Smokey the Bear’s long lost
son. It
really
was funny because Greg was a firefighter in Virginia.
He no longer lived with his parents, but he visited often. His younger sister
loved My Little Pony and Art. Presley learned her name was Gabby over a
delicious lunch of brown sugar ham sandwiches and fresh potato salad.

Colin, on the other hand, wasn’t as funny as Greg; but
he was extremely intelligent. Presley was surprised to learn he wasn’t a
surgeon or a lawyer, but instead had a promising career as a professional
football player. What was even more ironic about it was the fact he played for
a team with a bear as their mascot.

Colin was handsome, there wasn’t any questioning it.
He and Greg both shared similar traits to Lorcan and Liam. They were strong,
stocky, and generally good looking men. Presley had to wonder if it was just a
‘bear’ thing.

“So, Presley, what’s your dream career?” Colin asked as
he tossed a football up into the air, catching it easily as his eyes landed on
her face again.

“I have no idea,” she shrugged, wiping her sweaty palms
against the thighs of her jeans. Why did she think playing two-hand touch was
a good idea right now? Lorcan, his father, and that nice old man had gone out
to ‘case’ Kadenburg to see how close the werewolves were at the moment; yet
here she was, playing a game.

“No idea?” Colin echoed as he tossed the football to
her. She easily caught it and he quirked a brow. “Well, what do you like to
do?”

“A lot of things,” she replied, observing the worn
football between her hands. It was obviously an old toy of Lorcan and Lima’s.
They probably shouldn’t have been playing with it. She didn’t want to do
anything that would upset Liam’s family; especially Lorcan.

But Mrs. Bamey told me to go outside and get some
fresh air,
she reminded herself as she tossed the football back to Colin.
I’m
only doing what she told me to.

“I like movies and music. I
have a few TV shows I watch religiously,” she caught the ball again, watching
as he took a few steps back. “I really liked gymnastics as a kid.”

“Oh, so you’re flexible,” Colin chuckled, giving her a
wink.

Presley’s face heated up as she threw the ball a bit
harder, listening as it made impact with his chest. His laughter grew louder
as he shook his head.

“I’m only messing with you,” he promised. “I know
you’re off limits to me.”

Catching the ball once again, Presley frowned. “What
do you mean I’m off limits?”

Colin’s smile faded a little as he tilted his head to
the side. “Aren’t you and Lorcan sort of a thing?”

Presley blinked, tossing the football back in his
direction as she laughed. “Um…not really?” She replied.

Do not say that!
Her bear growled
furiously.
He is the one for us, Presley. Do not give this male false
hope!

“I mean, we’ve been friends
since forever ago,” she continued, smiling a little at the thought. “Lorcan’s
a great guy, but we’ve never like, hooked up before.”

“I see,” Colin said as he slowly spun the football
between his ginormous hands. His dirty blond hair fell into his eyes as he
smirked. “I mean, it’s obvious you’ve never hooked up before.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

His eyes sparkled as he gazed at her again. “Because
once you hook up with your mate, that’s it.”

“That’s it, huh?” Presley asked with a laugh. She
rested her hands against her hips as she glanced up at the sky briefly. Fluffy
white clouds rolled by overhead. It almost felt like springtime. “So like,
when you find your mate you sort of just…never stray from them or something?
What is it? True love?” She smirked.

Colin didn’t share her humor as he nodded his head.
His expression became more serious as his eyes darkened. “Stronger than that,”
he responded in a firm tone. “The love of an ursithrope cannot be matched by
anything else in the universe.”

Presley let out a low whistle as her brows lifted on
her forehead. “That sounds intense.”

“Oh, it is,” he promised. “I mean, at least that’s
what my mama always told me.”

Presley watched Colin curiously as he took another step
closer to her, his eyes raking over her body in a way that caused her skin to
crawl. It wasn’t bad, by any means, but she wasn’t sure that she
wanted
him to look at her like that.

“So you don’t have a mate?” She asked, her mouth
becoming dry as he stopped right in front of her. She lifted her eyes to meet
his swirls of green and brown, but she quickly looked away.

“It would seem that way,” he replied as he held the
football out for her to take. “I guess I’m just waiting on the right catch.”

Presley’s eyes lowered to the football and she had to
wonder if he was using a play on words. Her heart hammered against her ribcage
as his scent infiltrated her nose. Colin’s natural smell was vaguely similar
to Lorcan’s, but there was a different spicy fragrance, too.

He smells –nothing-like Lorcan!
Her bear
roared. The intensity of her bear’s anger was so fierce that her head began to
hurt. Presley winced inwardly as her lips anchored into the faintest of
frowns.
We do not want this bear. He is not the bear for us.

“Are you okay?” Colin asked.
His baritone voice intruded her thoughts and just as she opened her mouth to
reply, a new scent masked his.

Her head turned as quickly as Colin’s, and she heard
the low growl sounding from deep within his throat.

“What is that?” She asked softly, thankful for the
distraction as he dropped the football against the grass.

“More mutts,” Colin responded as he stalked towards the
front of the house.

“More mutts,” she echoed, sighing in relief. At
everyone would be too busy dealing with a werewolf to notice how badly she was
trembling.

Stupid boys,
she thought as she followed a good
distance behind Colin.
Why do they feel the need to put pressure like this
on me? I just got out of a relationship! I don’t want another one.

You want one with Lorcan,
her
bear stated.

Presley scowled.
Lorcan just lost his brother,
okay? He’s vulnerable. I’m vulnerable. It wouldn’t be a good combination.

Her mind wandered back to the night before. She remembered
all too well how wonderful it felt to be in Lorcan’s arms. He held her until
she fell asleep. That memory alone stirred emotions in her that she hadn’t
been sure she could ever feel again.

You have always been a good combination,
her
bear argued.
He has been fond of us since we were a cub. He wants you.

You make me question my sanity,
Presley
commented as she rounded the house and stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing
the naked man they were carrying into the house. He was groaning softly,
seemingly trying to make his way back into the land of consciousness as his
head rolled from one side to the other.

Presley quickly averted her gaze. She didn’t want to
see
that
much of him. Why was he even here?

The scent of blood reached her then, and her stomach
twisted into anxious knots as she pieced the puzzle together. Well, sort of.
Something had obviously happened while the older ursithropes were out, and they
had somehow managed to capture an injured werewolf-but why?

“Come inside, dear,” Mrs. Bamey said as her hand rested
against Presley’s shoulder.

Presley gazed up at the older female, noting the look
of worry on her face as the corners of her lips curled into a deep frown. For
some reason, it made Presley panic. To see Mrs. Bamey seem so worried couldn’t
be a good thing.

––––––

The tension in the air was so thick that Lorcan was
certain he could cut through it with a butter knife. After what had happened
only a few short hours beforehand, everyone was on high alert. The laughter
and reminiscing of times gone by were long gone, and everybody was
simultaneously coming to the realization that this was very real; and it was
very dangerous.

“He’s going to come back,” Parson murmured as he kept
his eyes on the steady trail of cigarette smoking rising into the air. He
grabbed for the cancer stick, placing it between his lips as he took another
drag. “Eye for an eye, isn’t that his policy?”

Mr. Bamey had been chain smoking for the past hour.
The ashtray on the table was full of extinguished butts that had met their end
at the hands of the worried ursithropes. They all knew that it was only a
matter of time now.

“There wasn’t a damn eye to be taken in the first
place,” Davey stated angrily as his fingers curled into his palm. He shook his
head slowly. “What he did to Pierce was nothing more than cold blooded
murder. He had no reason to come back here and kill Liam,” he grunted. “And I
ain’t got any care for Liam liking that mutt, either. Breslin didn’t have a
right to kill anybody.”

“You think we don’t know that?” Mrs. Bamey asked as she
pulled a pitcher of cold tea from the fridge. She slowly made her way around
the table, refilling empty glasses; half-empty glasses. Lorcan figured she
just needed something to do to keep from going crazy. “He has to be stopped,
and we need to figure out how we’re going to handle him when he makes his
move. He’s going to come back for that boy.”

“Let him come back,” Colin smirked. “We’ll be ready
for him. He surely can’t take on all of us.”

“But if his entire pack comes, then we can’t take on
all of them,” Greg frowned. “We may be young and able, but we’re no match for
a pack of wolves.”

“I’ve got guns,” Mr. Bamey nodded his head. “We’ve got
more than enough ammo to put all those damn fleabags out of their misery.”

As much as Lorcan wanted to believe it would be that
easy, he wasn’t sure he could ignore his gut feeling. He knew Breslin would
return at any moment, and they weren’t prepared. They still needed more
ursithropes and even if any more returned, they wouldn’t make it in time.

How in the hell am I supposed to protect Presley if
I can’t even protect my family?
He wondered.

Speaking of which, his eyes scanned the kitchen before
he turned his head to look in the living room. Arnold Goult was seated upon
the couch with his arms crossed over his chest, but there was no sign of
Presley.

Where had she gone off to?