Call me Luna

9 - Dead wolf

I'm still sitting next to Cora on my bed, waiting for Mason to return. Fortunately, Mira came in and gave Cora something to pull her back to reality. All of this made me feel less like a freak. Cool, collective Cora also has a trigger sending her over the edge. The difference is, she knows the reason and I don't. Also, hunters are less common than men. So, I will be freaking out more often than her.

Relief washes over me as Mason walks into my room and I frown confused. I'm supposed to be nervous and weird around him and now suddenly, I relax when I see him. That is just odd. I guess I should be grateful that I am making progress, but I think this feeling is reserved for Mason only. Maybe because he is Cora’s brother, maybe because he reminds me of Alpha or I'm starting to trust him because he is trying to help me. I do not know, and I suspect the answer might scare me. So, I decide not to decipher my feelings any further.

“Mason,” Cora sighs and runs straight into his arms, sobbing. Tenderly, Mason puts his arms around her and strokes her hair comforting.

“It’s okay, Cora,” he whispers. “It’s just one hunter and we got him.”

Confused I look at them. Look, I know I have amnesia or whatever, but I did not lose my mind. At least, I do not think so. In any case, it does not make sense to me that one hunter can cause such havoc in a village. Everyone was on edge; Cora was just the only one that freaked out. And I gather a hunter killed her brother. So, that makes sense, but the rest of the village? People have been hunting since the beginning of time. Yes, some people practice hunting as a sport and there are poachers. But most people that hunt, are normal. Many years ago, when folk had to live off the land, people had to hunt to eat. Hunting is older than civilization.

“Why is everyone freaking out about a hunter?” I ask straight up. I have enough puzzles to solve, I do not need more.

“It’s complicated,” Mason avoids my eyes as Cora pulls away from him.

“I’m going to wash my face,” Cora mumbles and disappears into the bathroom.

“Complicated?” I flip my eyebrow at him. “Cora told me your brother was killed by a hunter. I get why you two are upset, but why is everyone else?” I demand and cross my arms. I might have lost my memories, but my intelligence is still intact, thank you.

“F*ck,” Mason groans and wipes his hands over his face and through his hair, looking to the ceiling like the answer’s written there. “Around these parts, there’s sometimes hunters that hunt for the wrong reason.”

“In other words, poachers?” I frown. “Do you have endangered species running around here or something?”

“They hunt wolves,” Cora says as she comes out of the bathroom and sits down in the chair.

Fear grabs hold of my heart as I think about somebody hunting Alpha. That is horrible. Why would anyone want to hunt wolves? Wolves are not trophies or on any restaurant’s menu. My mind is desperately trying to make sense of it all, but the puzzle pieces just do not want to fit.

“You’ll need to explain,” I shrug while shaking my head. “Why do they hunt the wolves and why does that send the community into a frenzy?”

“Everyone in this village owns a wolf,” Mason starts to explain without looking directly at me. “We are sort of an unofficial sanctuary for wolves, called Silver Shadow. So, you can imagine that everyone will be on edge when their pets are being hunted. My brother died protecting wolves.”

“That’s horrible,” my face distorts in disgust. “Why do they hunt wolves?”

“They’re very special,” Cora whispers. “And rare. You won’t come across one of these wolves on an average day.”

The picture slowly forms in my head as I think of Alpha. These are not your average wolves. They are huge and obviously incredibly intelligent. I am in an unofficial nature reserve for wolves and there are hunters out there to kill these majestic creatures.

“Where are all the wolves now?” I ask curiously and am a little worried about Alpha. I hope he is okay and did not get hurt when the hunter was here.

“Yes, Mason, did any of them get hurt?” Cora looks anxiously at her brother.

The way Mason grinds his teeth and clenches his fists, I know the answer.

“Is Alpha okay?” I jump off my bed and grab Mason’s arm, desperate to know his unharmed. Surprised he looks down at my hand that is grabbing him and with a blush, I retract my hand and wring my fingers. Oops, I did not mean to do that.

“Alpha is fine,” he smiles reassuringly at me, and I'm grateful that he is sparing me more embarrassment by ignoring me touching him. “But unfortunately, we’ve lost Charles.”

“Anderson?” Cora’s fingers jerk up and cover her mouth as she looks at Mason with big, tear-filled eyes.

“What happened?” I ask as I go stand next to Cora and put my arms around her shoulders. She has comforted me so many times today, now it is my turn to support her.

“A hunter went into their home looking for food. There was an altercation. Betty and Grayson were wounded, but Charles wasn’t so lucky.” Mason explains and I notice the strain on his face. He was not kidding that these hunters were not normal. I mean, if the hunter only wanted food, why did he harm people and kill a wolf?

“So, Charles the wolf tried to protect the humans Grayson and Betty and the hunter killed him?” I ask just to make sure. The fact that they refer to the wolves by their name like their human is still a little confusing for me. “And the commotion in the clinic was when the wounded Grayson and Betty were brought in?”

“In a nutshell, yes,” Mason replies but avoids eye contact with me. A nagging part within me is trying to tell me that Mason is hiding something. A hunter harming people because he was hungry. That is absurd. There is more to this story, and I know it, but I push it aside. I am being ridiculous. I am a stranger to these people. There is no reason for them to entrust me with their secrets. Especially if you keep in mind my circumstances.

“Where’s the hunter? Do we know him?” Cora asks as her fear and sadness step aside to make way for anger.

“He’s in the dung … jail,” Mason answers as he clears his throat. “And no, I’ve never seen the man before.”

“F*ck,” Mason mumbles as he pushes his fingers through his hair.

Intensely I look at him. His blue eyes are clouded and every single muscle in his body is tense. If a pin drops next to him right now, he will jump through the roof.

“What aren’t you telling us?” I eye him as I slowly take a step toward him, and he looks at me in shock as I confront him. “A wolf died, two humans were injured, and you caught the culprit. A terrible incident for sure, but partially resolved since you caught the guy. Still, I can touch the tension that is radiating from you. There’s more that you’re not telling us.”

Mason only looks at me with his magnificent blue eyes. I cannot figure out if it is worry or pity in his gaze. What I do know, is that my skin is starting to crawl from top to bottom, and not in a good way. More like you are looking at the person that is about to sentence you to death.

“Mason?” I whisper when it feels that I am about to choke on the tension.

“He was looking for you,” he finally whispers and this time I am sure it is worry that is in his eyes.

The Hunters

The coal from the cigarette glows a bright red as Felix inhales it deeply. Irritation gnaws at him as he waits for Wesley. The day is running out and they are no closer to an answer.

“What did she say?” Felix asks as Wesley gets into the car.

“Three days is the best she can do,” Wesley replies as he puts on his safety belt. “It’s the best she can do since it’s off the books.”

“That’s a long time to leave The Boss hanging,” Felix growls as he starts the car and joins the traffic.

“Maybe we should give Emmet a call, he might’ve got lucky,” Wesley looks out of the window as Felix weaves through the traffic at a dangerous speed.

“I’m not phoning that pr*ck,” Felix huffs. “He’s going to wander those woods to death and still come up empty-handed. I know this guy at the private airport, he’ll help us without any questions.”

“What are we going to do if we can’t find her?” Wesley groans.

“If the DNA results come back positive, we’re going to turn this whole state upside down. If not, we’re grabbing the first girl that we can find and take her to the boss, claiming that she’s the one Rowan captured.”

“You know The Boss will kill her, right?” Wesley arches an eyebrow.

“Rather her than us,” Felix mumbles and turns on his indicator to turn off to the airport.

They drive in silence to the hangar where numerous helicopters are visible. Felix parks the car and Wesley follows him as he gets out.

“What’s up, Henry?” Felix greets as he walks up to a man who is busy working on a helicopter.

“Well, if it isn’t the devil himself,” Henry snarls as he cleans his hands on a rag. “And to what do I owe this misfortune?”

“Remember that favor you owe me? I’m here to collect,” Felix smirks. “I need an intensive tour over the woods.”

“With pleasure,” Henry sneers. “Anything not to see you again. But it would have to be tomorrow when I’m done servicing it. There’s no way it will take off right now and stay there.”

“I’ll see you at dawn,” Felix nods and walks back to the car.

“What the hell was that?” Wesley whispers as he follows Felix.

“He slept with my ex-wife,” Felix grins as he gets into the car.