Amanda headed to bed early, claiming a headache from all the activity in the morning. She showered and slipped into her favorite nightgown, burying herself beneath the thick covers to ward off a chill that had seeped into her bones, despite the steamy July temperatures. Sleep swept over her like an evening wrap on a cold night.
She dreamt and saw the visions her daughter spoke of at the cabin. A huge werewolf who tore apart a mother and child, leaving their bodies behind for a broken man to find. But unlike the visions that had stopped then, her dream continued. A man, shattered by the loss of his family, became a hunter, learning and studying his prey like a scholar does his textbooks. He learned of the full moon ritual that brought out the sort of wolves that killed his family and one by one, he took them down. He hadn’t the need to hunt like this before and he obtained a silver bullet shooting sniper rifle just for this purpose. As it turned out though, the man was savvy and smart, picking off his prey like deer, one by one.
Amanda shot up in her bed, shaking from the dredges of the dream that wouldn’t leave her. She showered, if only to be warm again, and then headed to the kitchen to make coffee and prepare.
“You’re up early,” Romeo said. A moment later he added, “What’s wrong, Amanda?”
“I had a dream that I can’t forget and I’m worried that it means more than I want it to.”
“Care to share?”
Amanda sat next to her husband, thankful for the bond they shared, even from that first day. “I saw the visions Sarina told us about, but it went further than that. I saw the man, the husband, shooting us, hunting our kind like deer. He had some special rifle that shot huge silver bullets that dropped the wolves he shot with one bullet. I think whoever he was, he passed that hate for our kind onto his offspring. I don’t have proof, Romeo, but I feel something terrible coming.”
“Well,” he said, placing his hand over hers in a show of support. “Then I suppose we need to visit the cabin again and see what else we can learn.”
They made preparations that morning and at noon, Amanda, Romeo, Sarina, Brody, Elijah and Penelope all headed out to see about the cabin.
“You think the boys will be okay?” asked Sarina.
“They’ll be fine,” Amanda reassured her daughter. She couldn’t blame her. After the time she’d had bringing them into the world and then having them kidnapped, any mother would be overly protective. The mere fact that she could leave them behind to venture out like this was a testament to her love of family, all family. “Shawna knows who to call if she needs anything and we won’t be gone more than a night and a day.”
“Alright,” Sarina said with a sigh. “Then let’s get on with it.”
Arriving at the cabin, Romeo, Brody and Elijah worked to set up camp while Sarina and Penelope began the necessary steps to call forth the cabin’s memories. It took nearly two hours for everyone to be ready and the men sat back, ready to see what all the fuss was about this cabin. When Amanda stepped in front of them, they cheered, making her laugh at their silliness.
“Gentlemen,” she said. “I present the Cabin in the Woods: A Reenactment.”
Everyone chuckled and then everything changed as Sarina and Penelope began to chant. The wind began to swirl and sway through the massive trees as Penelope’s powers took center stage. Then, like a movie reel, a man appeared before them. The hurt in his heart was so evident on his face that Amanda sucked in a breath.
“It’s the man from my dream,” she whispered to Romeo.
The man, anger and grief a powerful mixture in his soul, pointed a rifle at a now naked man and growled, “You’ll never touch another human soul.”
The resounding echo of a bullet leaving the chamber of that rifle echoed in her ears as Amanda watched the werewolf expire. That’s how the movie reel played time and time again. Wolf after wolf saw their end the same way, at the end of a rifle that pierced them with such a large volume of silver that they couldn’t recover.
When the visions ended and Sarina and Penelope finished, they cleansed the area and came to sit by the fire. “That’s what you saw in your dream?”
“Yes,” Amanda replied. Continuing she added, “I don’t know if the man ever had children, but whatever is coming, there’s something brewing between our kind and the human world we live in. I’m not sure we can stem the tide.”
“I’m not sure of much,” Elijah said, grabbing his wife’s hand. “But I’ll do whatever it takes to protect Penelope and Jeremiah.”
“The feeling’s mutual, little brother,” Romeo said, giving a shake of his head. “As alpha, however, I have an entire pack to think about. What’s best for us, especially if there are people out there trying to pick us off?”
“Should we move?”
“And uproot our entire pack?” Romeo asked. “I’d like that to be the last resort, outside of war, of course. We’re tired of war and Fenris and Lilith never actually got that far.”
“I can agree to that,” Amanda said. “Even without all-out war, we lost good members in just the one major attack. I don’t think our pack would do well with another attack like that, especially if the aggressors are carrying silver bullets in their guns.”
“We need to learn more,” Brody finally said. He’d kept silent for a while, letting everyone else hash it out, but the truth was that his family was just as involved as everyone else. He’d die to protect them and the legacy they were making. “We need some recon.”
“Recon?” Sarina asked.
“Some inside intelligence,” Brody explained. “We need to send one of us into the human realm to see what’s really happening. If a war is brewing, one of us should be able to figure out who’s behind it all.”
“What about the change that comes over us? We can’t have that happening. And whoever we send may need considerable time to flesh this all out.”
“I’d like to volunteer,” Brody said, not meeting Sarina’s eyes. He didn’t need to look at her to know she was shocked, as well as, pissed off. “Is there a way to keep me from changing when the full moon occurs?”
“I can check,” Amanda said. “But I’m not sure you’re the best candidate.”
“Why?”
“Because my daughter might skin me alive for sending you into a viper’s nest unarmed.”
“Who said anything about being unarmed?” Brody gave a sly smile. “As for the rest of it, that’s between Sarina and me, no offense.”
“None taken,” Amanda replied with a light chuckle. Brody had the keen understanding that she already knew the fight that was coming his way and that some secret part of her was rooting for him to win out against it.
***
“Are you out of your mind?” asked Sarina.
Brody waited, slowly hanging up his jacket and rolling the sleeves up on his shirt. When he turned around he couldn’t keep the grin off his face. “I ever tell you how sexy you are when you’re mad?”
“Don’t you dare start in on me Brody Duscene! You know damn well that there’s no way in hell I’m letting you leave our family for God knows how long. I won’t lose you to those monsters.”
“Who’s saying anything about losing me?” he asked, coming closer to her. She was outrageously sexy, mad or not. “I’m just going to see what they’re talking about, listen to their stories, gain some inside information. I’m not going to turn tail and run away when things go bad, if they’re even heading there. Just because that cabin keeps showing us a man who was righteously pissed off, doesn’t mean that the human race is heading our way with pitchforks.”
“And if they are?” she asked, fear coating her skin like a fine perfume.
“Then we’ll meet them and hopefully before any blood is shed, we can show them that not all werewolves are evil.”
“Our kind has preyed on them,” Sarina said.
“Yes, I’ve been guilty of that myself,” Brody said, “until I met you.”
“Really?”
“Yes,” Brody replied with a knowing grin. “Your pack doesn’t feed on humans. I made sure my pack understood that before we joined your pack.”
“I didn’t know that,” she said, stunned. “I just assumed—”
“Right,” he said, grabbing her hand. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, loving the way her fingers flexed at his touch. “Well, your parents helped with teaching my pack members to feed on mainly pigs and cows, and wild game but anything animal will do.”
“Huh,” Sarina said. “I never really thought much about it before now. To be honest, I never thought much about the co-existence between our two kinds, until my mom went to the cabin. Eating them does make it hard to live and work near them.”
“Think that’s why no one besides the Delta pack really lives around here?”
“Well, we are a noisy bunch of bastards when the moon’s full.”
“True that,” Brody replied. “So, does that mean we’re agreed that I can go get some info?”
“Fine,” Sarina said. “But don’t expect me to be thrilled about it.”
“I won’t,” he said, his light eyes sobering.
“How do we keep you safe during the full moon?”
“Your mom said that it might be possible to turn off or neutralize my werewolf genes so that when the full moon comes, I won’t change. But we’ll need to test it this month before I go. Can’t risk having me change while I’m in the human world.”
“Um, no. That would definitely be bad.”
“Yes it would.”
***
The full moon came in July and Brody stayed back with the women, testing Amanda’s theory that his genes could be turned off or altered somehow. The moon rose high and beautiful as cool light shone bright in the sky. It filtered in through the double doors and into the kitchen of the Traverse mansion as everyone waited to see if Brody’s body would give in to the change or if he’d remain in his human form.
Ten minutes after the moon finished rising, Brody still remained in the flesh of a man.
“Guess it worked,” he said. “It’s wicked though, on the inside. I can all but feel my wolf stalking around inside. He’s none too happy to be cooped up.”
“I bet,” Amanda said, coming to join him and Sarina in the kitchen. “Still, it’s an important step to take. We certainly can’t have you turning into your wolf in the middle of what could turn out to be a quiet lynch mob.”
“True,” Brody said. He looked at Sarina, whose eyes said what her voice wouldn’t. He tucked her close and pressed a kiss to her brow. “I’ll be fine, sweetheart.”
“You’re not the one who has to stay behind and wait,” she said.
***
Two weeks later, Brody knew the time had come. The following morning he’d be leaving to hitchhike his way to what was generally referred to as human-country. It wasn’t more than fifty miles outside the Delta area, but that fifty mile expanse might as well have been the Atlantic Ocean to most of the wolves that lived inside the New Delta area.
“I still don’t like it,” Sarina said, her pouty mouth making Brody want to smile. Hiding his grin was a chore when it came to his gorgeous wife.
“I know,” he said, moving his hands up and down her arms while they watched the waning moon as it shrank in on itself. “I also know I wouldn’t have volunteered if I didn’t honestly think it needed to be addressed.” Raising her chin with his finger he looked into Sarina’s dark eyes. “I don’t want to leave with this between us.”
She sighed and went into his arms easily. Even hating the idea, Sarina knew she’d never send her man away with angst between them. Still, it wasn’t easy knowing how she’d suffer while he was gone. Since the day they’d become mates, the only times they’d been apart had been against her will. She’d never chosen to spend that time apart and even now, it wasn’t a choice she’d make on her own. But her pack needed to know what the humans were planning if anything. She wouldn’t trust anyone else to get the job done and stay alive doing it. “Promise you’ll come home safe to me and I’ll put it away.”
“Considering you’re the only woman I want, the only one I’ll ever want, I’d say that’s a promise I can commit to.”
Sarina felt her heart lurch and then she sighed as Brody took her mouth. The tenderness that oozed out of him wrapped around her like a blanket, comforting her as she prepared to make the biggest sacrifice of her life. She wanted to pull him close and beg him not to go, but that wasn’t what he needed to face this. He needed her strength and unwavering support. And tonight he needed the heat and fire they made between them.
Pulling back, Sarina lifted her shirt over her head, showcasing her beautiful breasts and offering herself to him. A grateful smile split his lips, bringing out the small dimple she so loved. Then that fire lit his eyes and his teeth were grazing over her flesh. Ripe for his touch, Sarina moaned when those teeth caught her nipple between them, nipping her skin in all of her most erogenous places. Brody’s hands mastered her body as he carried her to their bedroom.
“I’ll never have enough of you.” It was something Brody said often, but Sarina never got tired of hearing it. She felt the same way, for whenever Brody touched her, she felt like the most beautiful creature on Earth. And now, she knew it didn’t matter if she was in her wolf or not, that knowledge remained. Her body hummed as Brody found her most sensitive areas. Wound tight by the way his hands touched her, Sarina exploded when Brody’s fingers found her hot and ripe.
“Again,” he breathed and Sarina rushed to meet him, her hips bucking hard and fast against him. He wrecked her again, only then demanding the fulfillment of his own needs. Readily she worked to arouse him. Straddling Brody so that her hips sat over his, Sarina slid her wet folds over his length, grinning when he moaned. Over and over again she tortured him, taking just his tip into her entrance before pulling away. Even when he was left breathless, she didn’t give him respite. She’d always loved teasing him, but this time, when there was no given length of time before she’d see him again; she wanted it to last forever.
Brody couldn’t see straight, such was the torture that his wife inflicted on him. His tip was throbbing as his cock begged to fill her. Fresh off two orgasms, the woman meant to drive him mad with her hot, wet slit. She just kept rubbing herself against him, as if she didn’t know how the whole situation was supposed to go. Surely he wasn’t that bad of a teacher. Still, she wasn’t letting up and if he didn’t change this particular game, he’d come all over himself.
Gripping her lovely hips, Brody picked her up, loving the way she giggled. That giggle strangled on a cry of ecstasy when he brought her wet pussy down on him, impaling her with every inch of his rock hard dick. Again and again he lifted her, enjoying the way her breasts hung in his face as she held onto him. Her beautiful ass smacked against his thighs as she rode him. Already blinded by need, Brody saw nothing but black as he thrust into her at the end, ruthless in his pursuit of their mutual satisfaction. Her cry of his name would echo long after tonight. It would carry him through this next chapter until he could come home to her again.
***
Morning dawned like any other day as Brody showered. He dressed in jeans, a worn t-shirt, and a baseball cap that covered his blonde hair. “You look so damn normal,” Sarina chuckled. “Definitely not like my Brody.”
“Daddy,” little Jedidiah said, holding out his hands. Brody took him from Sarina and nuzzled his neck.
“You be good for Mommy and keep little Brody out of trouble okay?”
“O-tay,” the little boy said. With blonde hair and blue eyes, he was the spitting image of his father and Brody couldn’t have been happier about his two little boys.
“Daddy!” Brody Jr. said as he ran toward his father. Brody scooped him up and tossed him in the air. He was dark haired and dark eyed like Sarina, but his spirit was all Brody. “Come back soon.”
“I will, buddy.”
“I wuv you,” he said, piercing his heart, again.
“I love you too and Mommy and Jedidiah.”
“Come home soon,” Sarina said before she drew him close and kissed him deeply. She clung to him, as if her life were infinitely tied to his. In a way he supposed it was. Without her, he’d be… he’d be dead. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled her impossibly closer, tasting her with the warm tip of his tongue. When she grazed his lip with her teeth, Brody pulled back.
“I’ll only be gone as long as I need to, to get the information your father needs,” Brody said, his voice harsh as his emotions began to show. “Then I’ll be home to you.”
“Good,” she said with a smile.