The Pack - On the Run

“Butt back a bit... yeah, that’s good. Focus on your target, look at the front sight... and shoot.”

I pull the trigger. The loud bang echoes through the forest, scaring a murder of crows, and they take wing, cackling wildly. As the gun kicks in my arms, I hear a metallic pang and watch an empty can fall off the log and get swallowed by tall grass. I “yay” loudly, feeling proud of myself.

“Nice shot,” Dad declares, lifting his brows, clearly impressed with me.

I whirl on my heel.

“Not bad for a rookie,” I joke, cocking my head to the side as I beam at him.

Dad throws back his head and gives me a hearty laugh.

“Not bad at all, honey. But don’t get too overconfident - it’s only your first go.” He tries to bring me down to earth. But I can’t be brought down when I’m soaring through the sky, overwhelmed by my feelings of invincibility.

“Well, as you can see, I’m a natural,” I smirk, pointing the muzzle at the second can.

Then I shoot.

***

The car park at the foot of the Dover Hill Wildlife Sanctuary was as deserted as the road behind me.

The evening’s fog started clouding above the grass and between the trees, blanketing us in the thin milky whiteness. It was getting dark. As the shadows rose and their slim fingers began slowly creeping towards the tree line, the dim light of the only street lamp flickered alive, bathing the area in a yellowish hue.

I realised I found myself in a perfect backdrop for a murder scene.

I immediately regretted my decision.

Meeting without any backup was risky enough. Meeting without any backup and notice an hour away from the only source of help at dusk? Plainly stupid.

Turns out I happened to be stupid.

I exhaled, gripping my coat’s pocket where I had placed a gun a while back. I had been carrying a Glock in my backpack ever since we left our hometown. It had been mum who had given it to me. But I had never used it, never had felt a need to - until now.

I was actually glad for the comfort the steady, heavy weight of the metal at my side brought me. Still I hoped it would stay where it was - in my pocket.

An abrupt knock on my side window made me jump in my seat.

I snapped my head, taking in my father as he gripped the handle, trying to pry the doors open. I slid the window down.

Here comes nothing.

“Can you help her?” I asked dad as a way of greeting, not yet ready to leave the safety of the car.

Dad clicked his tongue in disapproval. “Why now, Josie. Have I ever led you astray?”

He hadn’t, but he was different then.

“Let me see her,” Dad ordered, his voice horse with emotion.

I unlocked the car and got out, watching him round the vehicle and rip the side doors open. While dad looked at mum, his face became oddly gentle, his red-rimmed eyes a tad softer.

“You’ve no idea how I longed for our reunion, how I wished I could gather your mother in my arms again. She should have never left! None of you should!” Dad snarled, striking at the hood so hard he dented the metal. I winced, licking my suddenly chapped lips. I gripped the gun at my side, but as soon, dad relaxed and let his hand fall freely at his side. “But now... Now we’ll be together again, Josie. Where’s your brother?”

Safe.

“I couldn’t get him out. They were watching him,” I lied, my throat clenched, voice horse.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him back. Now that I bit your mother, she’ll turn and become the Luna of our pack. And I’ll be your Alpha. We’ll be a whole again,” Dad murmured, focusing back on mum.

I felt bile rising in my stomach. “Why did you bite mum?”

Dad gave me a condescending smile. “How else would she become one of us? She’s my mate. I can’t possibly live without her.”

There was an odd logic to his words, one that made me realise dad was ready for anything to satisfy his needs. Even if he helped mum, we would never be free of him. Mikey would not have a chance at a normal life. Dad had almost killed him once while he had a tantrum - who could say it wouldn’t happen again? Dad was a walking danger that had to be stopped...

Why would I ever think differently?

Oh my God. Oh my God...

I gripped my hair, feeling my heart breaking in half. This was a bad idea. Such a bad idea. We were doomed.

“Now we must go to a safe place where your mother...”

A sudden snap of a bone cut him short. Mum wailed in her seat, and dad looked at her with a pure, undulated fascination.

“It’s happening... A bit too soon, but never mind that... It’s happening, Josie!”

Another snap. Mum whimpered in her sleep, and dad hurried to gather her in his arms. I watched with morbid curiosity as he placed her on the dirty ground.

She balled up on herself, moaning, as another wave shook her body. Her feverish, bloodshot eyes flew open while mum was bent forward as if under some force. As her rib cage tore through her skin, jutting out funnily, her limbs were splayed at strange angles. The blood pooled underneath her at a worrying speed, and mum yelled, spitting red from her mouth. Her heart was beating a hundred miles per hour.

I covered my ears and shut my eyes.

“C’mon baby,” I heard dad muffled voice as he crouched next to the love of his life, watching the fur sprout out of her body. “That’s it, darling. You’re doing fine, you’re doing great.” He kept on mumbling, blind to the truth in front of him.

I wasn’t an expert on first shifts, but even I knew something wasn’t right. Mum was stuck halfway. Not a wolf, not a human.

“C’mon baby... You can do it..."

But mum's wolf refused to listen to dad. Then, it dawned on me.

“Dad's not her mate...” I whispered the truth under my breath as the tears pooled in my eyes. I took a shaky step toward the murdered of my mother, taking out the gun. “You’re not her mate! You’ve lied to me! And now she’s dying because of you!” I accused, pointing the muzzle at dad’s heart.

“Stop this nonsense, Josie. Of course, she’s my mate! Look, she’s...”

Mum sighed unevenly, and then her heart stopped. Dad’s eyes winded in shock while I closed mine, feeling grief swallowing me whole.

“Dead. Mum’s dead,” I finished for him, numbly.

Then I pulled at the trigger.