Wolf Slayer (The Order of the Wolf, #2)(3)
“You stupid beast, I’m not a Huntress!”
The wolf paused and Aubrey let go a held breath. Her moment of relief dissolving as the wolf reared back, gearing up to launch. She pivoted away and drew her blade from its sheath. Time to level the playing field. Shifting her arm out, ready to launch her steel, she spun back, only to be shoved aside in a flurry of fur. A second wolf barreled into the first, a massive brown beast taking the white one in the flank, sending Aubrey careening backward until she landed on her ass.
Snarls, growls, saliva went flying. Confusion rocked through Aubrey, stunning her into a dumbfounded paralysis as she watched the wolves battle. What the f*ck?
She scanned the tree line again in disbelief. Surely, this was a joke. The beasts didn’t attack one another, especially if they were from the same pack—not over a human. At least, that was what the stories said.
Blood smacked against her cheek as the second wolf ripped a chunk of flesh from the first. Aubrey snapped out of her dangerous trance.
She pushed herself to her feet and beelined for her bow—which had fallen a few feet away—nocked an arrow and let it fly. She hit the big white beast through the chest and dropped it. Not a fatal wound, as only a Huntress could deliver a killing blow to a werewolf, but it would slow the f*cker down. She nocked another arrow and aimed for the big brown wolf, but just as suddenly as he’d appeared, he was gone, vanishing into the forest like a ghost.
With shaking hands, she released the tension on the string and lowered her weapon, the usual forest sounds making her jump. With one last glance at the white wolf that still lay motionless on the forest floor, Aubrey tore off. She needed to warn her parents not to come home.
The wolves were after her sister, thinking that she was still living at the cottage—one step behind the Hunters, as usual, but deadly all the same.
Chapter Two
“There are wolves attacking humans,” Jaylon bellowed the moment he transformed from beast to man. The magic was like a rush of light, blinding him, the sensation jolting. Not painful exactly but jarring, and thankfully very quick.
Mayhem cocked an eyebrow and stood from his crouch, his ever-alert gaze tracking each member of his pack. “You were around humans?”
Mayhem had given them leeway to venture off the mansion’s property and outside of their usual forest territory. A brief respite after months spent on tour—the band’s growing success kept them away for longer and longer. Their shifting cycle at the mercy of the sun and moon, the boys spent their nights on stage and days locked up in hotel rooms as wolves, hidden away from discovery. Once back at the mansion, the wolves had scattered, eager for some alone time.
Jaylon shook his head, his mind racing with what he’d seen. “I was hunting a deer, stumbled onto a wolf attack in progress.”
“What kind of wolf?” Raven brushed a stray leaf from his shoulder as he stepped next to Mayhem.
“A werewolf.” Jaylon shook his head, still trying to make sense of it all. “A big white beast. Came upon him stalking a human. I got there just in time to stop an attack.”
“And you injured this werewolf? Did you sense a pack?” Dyami frowned. “Should we be worried about retribution here?”
“I engaged him, we fought. It was the girl who dropped him.” A stunning dark-haired beauty who had radiated power. It had awed him at first, her blue eyes so intense as she stared the white wolf down—unafraid, cunning, dangerous.
“The girl killed him? I thought you said she was human. It’s only a Huntress who can…” Dyami started.
Jaylon raised his hand and sighed. “She shot him with an arrow, deadly accurate. Deadly.” Like she’d been training her whole life. When her shot hit true and dropped the beast he’d been battling, Jaylon knew he needed to get the hell out of there before another arrow took him down.
“So not really a human then.” Raven ran his hand down his face and sighed. “Another Huntress? And I bet you didn’t just happen to stumble onto her either, did ya? You probably were compelled toward her.”
Jaylon’s wolf snapped to attention. Huntress, mine. He’d been tracking a deer, caught up in the chase when he’d scented the other wolf and curiosity got the better of him. Now that he thought about it, there had been an unusual pull in that direction all morning—a mouthwatering need to herd that deer farther and farther away from the mansion’s grounds. “Ah, shit.”
“You need to go back for her,” Mayhem said as he turned toward the house.
“You think she’s his mate?” Raven asked, his gaze flicking past Mayhem to the mansion where his own mate waited.
“Only Jay can know that for sure.”
“It was chaos.” Jaylon shrugged to present the appearance of calm when, on the inside, he was anything but. His wolf growled, clawing for control. In the brief moments he’d watched her, he couldn’t rip his gaze away, even if he’d tried.
“If she’s your mate, then she’s a Hunter’s mate as well, and apparently the target of another pack.” Mayhem sighed. “Fucking complications. You need to go and get her. Dy, go with him.”
Jaylon’s wolf howled with frustration, the thought of his woman in danger forcing a change despite the ever-darkening sky. Transformed into beast once again, Jaylon took off into the woods to find his mate.