Page 42 of Ancient Promises

“Our father,” Zihndyr said.

“He was no father of yours,” Eivross countered. “You kill and you take. You’re no brother of mine, no king of honor.”

The train horn blew again.

Eivross tossed his sword toward his brother, just off to the side enough to make him flinch and lose his balance. He shot forward and caught his brother around his waist with both arms, flapping his wings as fast as he could and driving his brother through the air, away from the storage facility.

Zihndyr dropped his sword, trying to get free from Eivross’s grip. He dug his claws into his sides until Zihndyr howled and hot blood poured over Eivross’s fingers. The train horn blew again, a light shining in the darkness as the sound of the train pounding on the tracks grew louder.

Stay safe until I get back, Diem.

Driving his brother forward, he flew down the tracks right into the oncoming train.

* * *

Fiona Harper put her car’s window down when she reached the train crossing with the gates lowered, the red lights blinking. She loved to hear trains and hoped it had a lot of cars so she could enjoy it.

“You could have gone the other way and we wouldn’t be stuck here,” her sister, Bella, said irritably.

“What’s got you in such a hurry to get back to work?”

They both worked at their parents’ bar, Club 1818, in Fremont. She waitressed and bartended, but it wasn’t her life’s work. Her parents were alphas of their wolf pack and wanted her to take over the bar when they retired at some point in the future, but her favorite thing to do was teach the preschoolers at their pack school.

“Because Dad said we needed to hurry back since we’ve got to do inventory.”

“Which I hate, and so do you, and that’s also why I took this way. Because even without a train it would take longer.”

“I could just tell Dad that you’re a slacker.”

“I work harder than you, Bells.”

“Bitch!”

They both laughed.

In between the train whistles, Fiona swore she heard something else, like a desperate howl.

Her heart panged. “Did you hear that?”

“The train? Yeah, I know you love trains, you goofball.”

“No, a howl.” She leaned out of the window and closed her eyes, tapping into her wolf. She heard the sound again. It was definitely a feminine howl, but there was something else in the howl, like a big cat.

She put the car in park and opened the door.

“Fi! What are you doing?”

“Someone’s in trouble.”

She stripped at the side of the road, tossing her clothes onto the seat. “Drive home and tell Dad I went to help someone.”

“Fi!”

She shifted and shook herself out, then darted across the train tracks as the train barreled down toward the crossing. Something screeched overhead, but she didn’t spare a glance upward, focusing on the feeling of a wolf in danger.

She had no idea if it was one of her pack members who had called for help, but a wolf was in trouble, and she was going to answer the call.

* * *