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“That’s no way to act after you’ve just gotten up. Go and get yourself a drink and something to eat. There’s nothing to do but relax,” Buck said casually. His eyes gleamed with amusement and he clearly took great joy in torturing me, which only made me more frustrated.
“Where’s Jack?” I repeated, this time more tersely, through gritted teeth. Buck folded his arms and regarded me with a wry stare. His smile was slanted and he placed his beer down on the table.
/> “Jack has gone to speak with the Hunters,” Buck said. The color drained from my face and my jaw dropped.
“He what?”
“He went to speak with the hunters. Last night a message came to us. Turns out that after our little scrap in the forest they want to talk and try to sort things out. I guess now that they’ve finally tasted blood they’re willing to negotiate, or at least that’s what they claim,” Buck said. A hint of pride crept into his voice as he referred to the wolf he had killed. The image of that dead wolf filled my mind. At the time it had been easy to forget that it was a man. A shiver of fear crept down me as I realized that perhaps I was not as prepared to be a part of this world as I thought. There was a side of it that was vicious and deadly.
“You don’t think that’s true?”
“After all the crap they’ve pulled over the years? No way,” Buck scoffed. He picked up the bottle and took a swig. “They aren’t interested in peace. I tried telling Jack that, but he said we owed it to everyone to at least see if there was another way out of this. He seemed to think we might be able to get some information about their numbers as well. We haven’t really been able to send out scouting parties for fear of losing men,” Buck said.
“Where do they even live?”
“In the town that used to be the home of our community,” Buck snarled. “But it’s a trap. It has to be.”
“I’m surprised you’re not there with them. I would have thought they’d want their most powerful wolf,” I said. I was trying to get under his skin, but it didn’t work. He just wore that same slanted smile again, and I found it was me who was getting agitated.
“I thought the same thing, but there’s enough of them going that they should be able to take care of themselves. Jack wanted me back here to defend you, in case this is all some elaborate plan to get to you. Matt’s here as well, but he’s out in the meadow gathering herbs in case a lot of healing is needed. So it’s your lucky day, you’re stuck with me,” he sat back down and stretched his arms behind his head, pushing out another chair, gesturing for me to sit down. I looked at it and felt annoyed that Jack had deemed it fit to leave without even telling me. I refused to sit down and instead went to the bar. I pulled out a packet of chips and a bottle of beer. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but I needed something to quell the aching doubt in my gut.
When I muttered my displeasure about Jack’s actions, I did so without thinking, and of course Buck responded.
“There’s still a lot for you to learn Trish. When you get to know Jack better you’ll start to realize that he’s not the most reliable person. He’s the leader of the pack and that matters to him above everything. He’s going to do whatever he thinks best, no matter what, and there’s no use talking him out of it, you just have to go with the flow.”
“I see. Well I’m glad I have you and your words of wisdom here,” I said bitterly. “But it’s not as though you care about anything other than the pack either. You’ve already told me that you’re only goal in life is to keep the pack together.”
“Yeah, because I’ve seen how easily it can be torn apart,” Buck said. For a moment the confident smirk disappeared from his face and he scowled. There was a darkness in his eyes that intrigued me and hinted at a deeper soul.
“What do you mean?”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know.”
“Buck, come on, if we’re going to be stuck in here together then you might as well tell me. It’s not like we’ve got anything better to do. And you never know, talking about it might help,” I said. Buck leaned forward and he looked as though he was about to speak when he suddenly twitched and his ears pricked up. He cursed under his breath and rose abruptly, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me out of the bar.
“What are you doing?!” I cried. “Get off me!” he opened the door and flung me inside. His eyes were intense.
“Stay out of sight. They’re here,” he said, and those words were enough to make my heart sink. Fear crawled all over me and I suddenly felt vulnerable again, as vulnerable as I had when the three men had first approached me outside of the bar. But they had turned out to have good intentions. I knew these Hunters didn’t. Buck slammed the door behind me and returned to the bar. He was the only defense I had, and as a last line of defense went he was a pretty damned good one, but I had seen how deadly the Hunters could be and I didn’t want to sit there helplessly and do nothing.
I pushed the door open and kept low as Buck opened the door. His enhanced senses had allowed him to hear the approaching Hunters far before I did, but the roar of their motorcycles soon became apparent and it only made my fear increase. Buck stood at the doorway, hands on his hips. His frame was a silhouette and he waited patiently for them to approach. Out of the wide windows I saw the three of them, each of them meaner looking than the last, all burly and stocky. They walked slowly and pulled off their gloves. Buck walked back inside while I scurried behind the bar, hiding in fear. There was a gap between the bar and a handily placed mirror, so I could see everything that went on.
The three Hunters approached the bar.
“Where is she?” one of them growled.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s only me here. I guess that the peace talks haven’t gone well?” Buck replied. He took a sip of his beer and didn’t seem troubled at all. I couldn’t help but be impressed by how cool he was under pressure, especially considering that he was outnumbered three to one. Even though I had seen how viciously he had fought in the forest I was still afraid for him, as I didn’t think such a thing could be repeated, not without any backup. I thought about running to the meadow to try and find Matt but I didn’t dare move now in case they saw me.
“Ha, peace was never on the table. Your leader is a fool if he believed that we’d ever consider making an agreement with you.”
“It seems we have at least one thing in common then,” Buck said. “But unfortunately for you it’s just me here, and you really should have stayed at home.” Buck took a final swig of his beer and then launched the bottle at the first man. In a rage he threw himself at the three men and pummeled them as hard as he could. He shoved tables to try and separate them and drove chairs into their chests. He moved in such a flurry that it was almost impossible to keep track of him. Everything was a weapon and for a moment I thought that my fears had been misplaced. He was so strong that it didn’t seem anything could dare stand up to him. His long arms reached out in thrashing punches, he twisted and turned and seemed to know where the Hunters would be before they even moved. It was a raw, violent dance and I was captivated by it.
But then the Hunters started to fight back.
Chapter Twelve
I clamped my hand over my mouth, stifling my anxious gasps as the Hunters overcame the confusion borne from the initial flurry of Buck’s attacks and regrouped. They fought as one and Buck wasn’t being as successful at fending them off as he was before. When he jabbed at one, another came in and thrust a hook in his gut. He still took a lot of punishment and lasted much longer than any other man would have in the same situation, but it seemed as though there was only going to be one conclusion.
The hunters wrestled him down. A table crashed under the weight of the four men. Buck wriggled amid the maelstrom of arms and flesh, and managed to free himself with a mighty roar. He squirmed away and ran to the pool table where he grabbed a cue and started flailing it around wildly. The Hunters recoiled at first, but then one of them grabbed the end and Buck’s attack stopped, at least with the cue. But he pulled the Hunter towards him and stuck out his arm. The Hunter’s face crashed into Buck’s forearm and there was a crunch as his nose broke. It must have been like running into a brick wall.
