Page 16 of Beckett's Fate
One of the men chuckled, his hand resting on the stock of his rifle. “Just a hiker, huh? Funny thing, we’ve been tracking something out here. Something not... normal.”
Her pulse quickened. They knew. She’d heard the hunters had come up with a way to differentiate shifters from humans. It wasn’t always foolproof, but Irene was convinced if nothing else, they suspected.
“I don’t want any trouble,” she said, taking a cautious step back. Her mind raced, calculating her options. She couldn’t let them find out what she was, couldn’t let them?—
The leader raised his rifle, the barrel trained on her. “You already found it.”
The shot came before she could think, the bullet kicking up dirt inches from her feet. Irene snarled, the sound low and guttural as her wolf surged to the surface. There was no more time for pretense.
In a blur of movement, she was consumed by the swirling mist, her body bending and twisting as it reshaped itself. Her red fur covered her skin, and she prepared to launch herself as soon as the mist dissipated. The hunters recoiled in shock, but she didn’t give them time to recover. As soon as the mist was gone, she lunged forward, knocking the rifle from the leader’s hands, her teeth bared as she growled low in her throat.
The others scrambled, their movements panicked as they fumbled for their weapons. Irene darted between them, her claws raking against the leg of one man as he cried out in pain. A second shot rang out, grazing her shoulder, but she barely felt it through the adrenaline coursing through her veins.
She turned on the shooter, her teeth snapping inches from his arm as he stumbled back. The scent of fear filled the air now, mingling with the metallic tang of blood. Irene didn’t relent, her wolf driving her forward as she forced the men to retreat.
Spotting her backpack with the journal and map, she grabbed it in her teeth. As soon as she’d created an escape avenue for herself, Irene darted into the trees, her injured shoulder burning as she pushed herself forward. The hunters shouted behind her, their voices growing fainter as she put distance between them. She wove through the forest with practiced ease, her paws skimming over the ground as she sought a higher position.
When she finally stopped, her chest heaving, she crouched behind a cluster of rocks, her ears swiveling for any sound of pursuit. The forest was quiet again, the only noise her ragged breathing and the faint rustle of leaves in the wind.
Shifting back to her human form, she checked the wound on her shoulder, grimacing at the sting but marking it as nothing more than a graze. Blood seeped between her fingers, but it wasn’t enough to slow her down. Not yet.
“Damn it,” she muttered, leaning back against the rock. The hunters were closer than she’d thought, and their presence wasn’t just a threat to her—it was a danger to everyone in Silver Falls.
She closed her eyes, forcing her breath to steady as her thoughts turned to Beck. He needed to know. As much as she hated the idea of involving him, the hunters were more than she could handle alone. And if they discovered what he was... what all of those in Silver Falls were…
The thought made her stomach twist. She couldn’t stay here. The hunters would be regrouping soon, and she needed to get back to the Bristlecone before they found her trail again.
She quieted her mind and once more called forth her wolf. The swirling mist enveloped her, and she emerged once more as a red wolf. As she started back toward the trailhead, her thoughts lingered on Beck. His warning echoed in her mind, low and protective. He’d been right, these woods weren’t as empty as they seemed.
And now, she needed to figure out how to survive them—before it was too late.
Irene made her way up the back stairs of the Bristlecone Bed & Breakfast, her steps quick and deliberate despite the pain flaring in her shoulder. She managed to make it to her room where she shifted and used the keycode to get in. The cozy warmth of her room enveloped her, the scent of freshly baked bread wafting up from below mingling with the faint tang of woodsmoke, but the comfort it offered was hollow. She couldn’t let herself relax. Not now.
She pulled on a set of clothes and using the backstairs, came around the B&B to enter from through the front door. Ruby Wilder stood at the far end of the dining room, wiping down the counter with a practiced ease. Her sharp eyes flicked up as Irene entered, narrowing slightly at the sight of her pale face and tense posture.
“You’re back earlier than I expected,” Ruby said, her voice laced with curiosity. “Rough hike?”
“Something like that,” Irene replied, her tone clipped as she dropped her pack on the floor and herself into a nearby chair, fixing Ruby with a pointed look. “We need to talk.”
Ruby’s brow arched, her movements slowing as she set the cloth aside. “That sounds serious.”
“It is,” Irene said, her eyes locking onto Ruby’s. “I know about Silver Falls. I know about you—all of you.”
Ruby’s face didn’t betray a flicker of surprise. Instead, she gave a small, measured smile. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Don’t play coy with me,” Irene snapped, her frustration bubbling to the surface. “I know what this place is, Ruby. And I know what kind of people live here.”
Ruby’s smile faded, her gaze sharpening. “And what exactly do you think you know?”
Irene leaned closer, lowering her voice. “I know there are hunters in the valley. The kind of hunters who don’t stop at deer or wolves. The kind who go after shifters for sport—and profit.”
For a brief moment, Ruby’s mask slipped, her eyes narrowing with a flicker of something that might have been fear—or anger. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by a calm façade.
“I think you’ve been out in the woods too long,” Ruby said lightly, picking up the cloth again. “People get paranoid out there, imagining things that aren’t there.”
“I’m not imagining this,” Irene said, her tone hard. “I saw them. Armed, organized, talking about tracks and signs. They’re here, Ruby, and they’re not going to stop. They’re out there right now, and you’re standing here pretending nothing’s wrong. If you don’t take this seriously, it’s not just me they’ll come after—it’s everyone in this town.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” said Ruby, her hand stilling, the cloth hanging limp between her fingers. “You showed up here posing as just a regular ole hiker, but turns out that not only are you a shifter, but you’re after the treasure.”