Wolf's Essence Chapter 10 - Luke

Chapter 10- Luke

I had just finished showering after work when I heard a rapid knock at my door. Not wanting to keep whoever it was waiting, I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, going full commando and no shirt, before I hurried downstairs. I opened it to find my brother, Tyler, standing with a worried look on his face.

“Hey Luke,” he said as he pushed past me and entered my home. Without hesitation he headed directly for my home bar. He poured himself a deep glass of hard liquor before he turned back to me. “I have new information on Gordon's whereabouts. But you're not gonna like it.”

I watched him take a large swig of his drink, as if it were the first thing he had drank in several days. He rapidly emptied it, slammed the glass down and began to fill it again as he spoke. “So, Gordon managed to lead the Hunters away from the civilian population, but they cornered him near the paint pots, north of Old Faithful. Miles' group stayed back and gathered intel. He said. . .” He gave a shaky sigh as he emptied his second glass. “He said they've been torturing Gordon for information on where the pack was, and. . . About the town. They already knew we have a town of shifters and sorcerers. I don't know how they got this information, but they knew.”

I stepped closer to him and gently put a hand on his shoulder. He was shaking, either from fear or worry, or possibly even anger. I couldn't tell. I gave his shoulder a firm squeeze. “Do they know where we are?”

He shook his head. “No, they kept trying to get Gordon to tell them. But he wouldn't give in. So they resorted to dipping his limbs into the hot mud pots. Miles took a video of some of it, but. . . I-I can't watch it again.” He took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me.

I warily took the phone, knowing the password I flicked it open and unlocked it. The screen was already on a video of a group of 4 men gathered around a 5th man riddled in chains. I turned the volume all the way down and stepped into the other room, doing my best to get out of Tyler’s wolf earshot, which was nearly impossible. I focused, enhancing my own hearing, as I pressed play.

“Where is your pack? Where is your town of freaks?” The bigger man, obviously the one in charge, shouted. He was taller than the other men that stood around laughing and pointing at their victim, but it was difficult to guess his real height on the video. But by the way he stood above Gordon, who was shirtless, chained, and on his knees, I estimated the man to be about 6 foot one, three inches shorter than myself. But he was built like a brick house. I'm not gonna try and brag about myself, but I could bench press at least 380 lbs, and that was without using my supernatural werewolf strength. But this man in the video looked as though he could bench twice that. He had a shaved head but a thick sandy blonde beard on his rounded face. I caught a glimpse of a scar on the left side of his head when he turned, it looked to be two large slash marks that started just above his left brow and streaked over his ear and to the base of his skull. The scars looked old, but were vibrant in color. I might have found this man handsome at one point, if he wasn't shouting at one of my captured pack members and closest of friends.

The man roared with anger when Gordon didn't answer him. The man reached out his hand and a younger man, maybe late 20s, possibly around Theo's age, handed over a blade that glinted in the sunlight. Silver. The man pressed the flat of the blade to Gordon's bare chest, which caused the flesh to hiss loudly as the silver made contact. I could see my friend was in pain, but when Gordon still didn't answer, the man grabbed the chains linked around Gordon's torso, pressed his boot to his back and pushed him down toward the boiling mud seeping from the ground in front of him. Gordon tried to fight back, but it was no use. Two of the other men came around and grabbed a large branch that was as thick as my forearm. They put the end of the branch into the chains around Gordon's wrists before plunging it into the boiling mud, dragging Gordon's hands and arms in with it.

Gordon screamed in pain, which rapidly turned into pure agony while his limbs stayed submerged in the boiling mud, which I knew to be at least 280 degrees. When they finally pulled his limbs free, they were still covered in steaming mud, but I could see his flesh below was well beyond saving. Gordon just cried in pain as the man continued to scream at him, craving answers.

Unable to watch the entire video, I skipped to the end. Gordon obviously didn't tell the man anything he wanted to know, and had paid for it dearly. Now, his chest, legs, and even face showed signs that they each had been dipped into the mud pot as his flesh was peeling off in clumps. I should've been horrified, but instead I felt nothing but respect for my friend who showed such loyalty. I was indeed proud to have him in my pack and among my closest allies. Eventually when the man figured he wouldn't get anything out of Gordon, he lifted the silver dagger and plunged it into Gordon's chest. I watched the life leave my friend’s eyes completely before he was dropped into the dirt, the man didn't even have the decency to remove the dagger.

Pain filled my chest, not just for the loss of a pack member, but for the loss of a truly dear friend. I stared at the phone for a few moments, using one hand to cover my mouth at the horror I had witnessed and stifling the cries that escaped my throat as tears rolled down my cheeks. But my sorrow did not last long, within moments it was replaced with such anger that I wanted nothing more than to rip the bald mother fucker’s head off. He was no a man. He was a monster, and he deserved to pay for what he had done. But I knew there was something more important that had to be done first.

I returned to Tyler, who was still hunched over the bar and now sipped his drink, which I guessed to be more than his 3rd as the bottle was missing a lot more alcohol than when I left the room. I put a hand on my brother’s shoulder once again as I spoke in a soft voice. “You don't have to come, if you don't want to. But I'm going to go retrieve his body and bring him home for the moon ceremony. He deserves at least that. I'm going to gather a few other pack members, and a few sorcerers. It's up to you.”

He didn't hesitate, he turned and looked me in the face with contentment. “I'm coming with you. He was my friend too. It's only right that I help you bring him home.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I’d prefer it no other way.” I said before I paused and looked out the back window to the house across the lake. “I. . . I need to do something before we leave. I'll meet you at the town entrance in an hour. Be sure to grab Miles and his group, we'll need their help finding Gordon.”

Tyler gave a nod, “I'll do that. Thank you Luke.”

I watched him leave before I faced the window again. I knew I needed to tell Theo I was leaving, but what was I going to say? Hey, I'm going to go on a dangerous mission to find my friend’s corpse, I might not come back, so see you later? Fuck no. I figured I'd just wing it instead.

As I drove up to Theo's house, at the tail end of the hour, I could hear raised voices, well a raised voice, shouting furiously. My supernatural hearing was able to pick up most of what was said.

“You vanish for days without telling me, just so you can sneak off to a town in the middle of nowhere?” It was a female voice that I heard, and as I pulled up to the house I spotted Theo standing next to a second vehicle, a small gray Mercedes, with several bags piled in the backseat. Next to him stood a young girl that looked to be close to Theo's age. She was thin, with light chocolate cream colored skin that glistened beautifully in the sunlight. Her hair was a dark shade of brown, one side of her head looked to be shaved, but as I got closer I saw cornrows braided. The other side of her hair was long and flowed to end just above her shoulders. Her body said she was an athlete, maybe a swimmer. But her hair, voice, and the way she jabbed a finger into Theo's chest said that she meant all business.

Seeing her shout at him and jab him in the chest made my blood boil. A low growl emanated from my chest as my wolf paced within me. I slammed my truck into park, got out and stormed toward her with such ferocity that I wouldn't have been surprised if I caught fire. Who the hell did she think she was to push him around?

“Hey,” I shouted at her, my fury resonating to the point of making my throat feel scratchy. “What do you think you're doing? Back off!” I pushed my way between them both as I glared down at her. How dare she yell at Theo, how dare she touch him like that, how dare she threaten my mate. He was mine, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone-

“Luke, it’s okay.” Theo said as he put a hand on my shoulder. His gentle touch snapped me out of my rage just enough for me to feel that my nails had begun to grow into claws. With little focus I retracted them before Theo was able to see. Theo walked around me and gestured toward the girl, who was also glaring her own fury back at me and looked ready to kick me in the balls. “Luke, this is my friend Cat.”

“Oh, so I'm just a friend now, I get it.” She said fiercely as she folded her arms and looked away.

Theo put his hand to her face and pushed her head back about three inches and continued to keep his hand on her face. “Okay, fine.” He said with an amused sigh. “This raging walking thorn bush is Cat, she's my best friend from back home.”

As much as I didn't want to, I did calm slightly at his words. My pulse slowed to the point that I was able to reel my wolf back in and keep it buried. As much as I wanted to let my wolf out and shred this young girl in Theo's honor, however, I knew he wouldn't enjoy watching me dismember his friend, especially not after I had just watched my own friend’s death. I stepped back and stood close to Theo, my arm brushed his and caused that amazing tingling to course through me. As I did, the new girl, now known as Cat, unfolded her arms and put a hand on hip as she flicked her hair gently, yet attitude poured from her.

“And don't you forget it,” she said as she pointed at Theo sternly, and it was all I could do to keep from growling. She then turned her attention to me. Her entire demeanor instantly changed from aggressive to polite and gentle as she extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Luke, was it?”

Going against every instinct to attack, I slowly extended my hand and shook hers. That was when a familiar scent reached my nose, a scent I had spent my entire life around. It was faint but there was a definite hint of almond, wood, and wet dog. It was a smell that I knew very well and had gotten so used to that I almost didn't catch it. I decided it was best to keep silent and just stared at Cat while we shook hands.

She eventually let go and shrugged. “As Theo said, I'm Cat. Well, Catherine, but everyone calls me Cat.”

I tried, but I couldn’t stop myself from cracking an amused smirk. I shook it away quickly and wrapped an arm around Theo. “It's… nice to meet you too. But, I hope you're done shouting at this young man. I need to talk to him real quick.”

“Oh, yeah, sure. Go ahead. I'll just,” she used both thumbs to gesture over her shoulder toward the house. She grabbed a bag from what I assumed to be her car and dashed into the cabin.

The moment she closed the door I turned to Theo and gave him a quick once over. “Are you okay? She didn't hurt you?”

He chuckled. “No, she would never hurt me. She's just upset that I came on this vacation, but didn't tell her I was leaving or how long I was going to be gone… or where we were going.”

I raised a brow. “You didn't tell your “best friend” about your trip?”

He lowered his head and gave it a subtle shake. “No, I didn't. I had so much on my mind that I spaced it. She eventually called my mom, who told her where we were, and invited her to come stay with us. Which I'm not against, at all, of course.”

I lifted his chin gently to look him in the eyes. Damn he was beautiful. “I look forward to getting to know her. But, I'll have to apologize to her about my outburst another time. Theo,” I said as I wrapped both my arms around him and held him close. “I'm leaving shortly.”

“What do you mean “leaving"? Like on a business trip?” His face showed his concern.

I gave a slow nod. “Of sorts. A dear friend of mine passed away suddenly, and my brother and a few friends are going to go pay our respects.”

“Oh my God, Luke.” He gave me a tight hug, resting his face against my chest, and my body erupted with the wondrous tingling sensation. “I'm so sorry to hear that.”

This was torture. I hated not telling him the full truth. I wanted to tell him that a member of my pack had been killed and we were going to go retrieve his body and hopefully kill his murderers. But, I didn't think that would've gone over too well. Instead, I rested my cheek on the top of his head and just swayed us softly back and forth.

“Thank you. Now, I shouldn't be gone for too long. I should be back hopefully by morning. Possibly tomorrow night at the latest.”

He gave his adorable chuckle. “Wow, an overnight trip, and you wanted to let me know? That's sweet of you. Please stay safe.”

“No promises, my brother drives like a maniac. But I'll be back, and see you soon.” We shared one more tight hug before we pulled apart. I stared down into his beautiful emerald green eyes and admired the way he stared back into mine. I brushed my hand across his cheek, which he obviously hadn’t shaved within the past two days as he had a thin layer of scruff growing in. I eyed his lips and glided my thumb across them. I leaned down till our foreheads touched and took a deep breath of his amazing scent. I pushed forward gently and our lips brushed ever so-

“Hey Theo, do you want to go get something to eat or-" Cat said as she opened the door. “Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Yes you did, I could hear your heartbeat behind the door. I thought to myself as we both glared at her.

“Uh, sure, I guess.” Theo said before he gave me one of his time stopping smiles as he stepped away. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

I gave him a smile of my own and nodded. “To be continued.” I said as I walked back to my truck. I gave him a wave before I drove away.

A few minutes later I passed my brother in his black truck as I took the road out of town. He waved to the other members of our pack, who had been waiting nearby, and they all fell in line behind me and we sped our way toward our destination.