Un.Wavering (Claimed Series Book 3) Read online

  Hayden lost her appetite. “And that would be…?”

  “Nevada. The silver state.”

  2. Chapter Two

  “It’s there, isn’t it?”

  The fierce winds would have carried away her whispered inquiry had it been anyone other than Nicolas on the receiving end. Sitting proud and calm, the ebony wolf merely twitched his ear in response. His blue eyes focused intensely on the small shack built into the side of the mountain.

  Said shack appeared unassuming.

  There was nothing particular conspicuous about it. Quite the contrary, it appeared feeble enough to collapse precipitously in the strong, biting winds.

  Besides the faint aroma of silver scenting the air, the only thing that alerted outsiders to its oddity were the wolves. Wolves were not a rarity in Northern Nevada, especially in the mountains, but it was unusual to see them congregated around a building structure.

  Hayden knew better. Despite Celeste leading rogues, these werewolves had enough control to morph into their canine forms on days that weren’t the full moon. Then again, the term ‘rogue’ was no longer the black and white classification the traditional werewolves created those many decades ago.

  Who knew how many types of rogues were out there, how intelligent they were, how strong they were…

  Leaning against the tree trunk, her fingernails dug anxiously into the cold bark.

  “He’s in there,” Hayden whispered breathlessly.

  She didn’t need Nicolas’ confirmation. She didn’t need to see this old, rundown shack to know her Alpha was inside. Her exhaustion, which had weighed heavily and dampened her spirits, abruptly vanished.

  Adrenaline took its place.

  Cole was finally within reach. His presence was still weak, still murky, but every instinct told her to go into that rotten shack and retrieve him.

  Her foot twitched, and twitched again. The toe of her boot made a steady trail in the snow, inching ever so gradually towards the shack. She began to dismiss the threat of the prowling rogues who stood careful guard.

  There was no rhyme or reason to the wolves’ pattern, anyway. They were simply prowling the outskirts of the shack. Surely, between Nicolas and herself, the watchmen wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

  As if sensing her intentions, Nicolas suddenly animated, lunging at her with uncanny quickness.

  His hackles rose, exposing his sharp canines. A low, almost inaudible growl thundered in his chest as he stood before her, his tail high and hooked aggressively.

  She took a startled step back, but hastily composed herself when no attack came. Observing the raised fur on Nicolas’ shoulders, Hayden reluctantly lowered her chin. She kept her eyes firm, though, refusing to admit total submission in the face of Nicolas’ hostility.

  “I won’t,” she placated softly. “You may think I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid.”

  A part of her was insulted that Nicolas thought she’d charge senselessly into the shack. But he had every right to intervene. Her instincts, no matter how hard she suppressed them, were to retrieve Cole as soon as possible. Briefly, she wondered if this recklessness would worsen once they mated.

  Shaking her head at the senseless thought, she retreated into the trees.

  Nicolas’ displeasure was tangible, but Hayden wasn’t discouraged. Boldly, she crouched down eye-level with the onyx wolf and smirked boldly. The canine snapped his teeth inches from her face and Hayden congratulated herself for not flinching.

  “You said we’re going to use stealth to rescue Cole.” Despite the situation, she found it exhilarating to keep eye contact with the Alpha male. “I can’t wait to hear this plan.”

  Though her tone was mocking, Nicolas obliged. His bones and limbs shifted, gradually turning back to human. He gave her an unimpressed look, an expression worth far more words than he’d ever speak aloud.

  “Silly girl. I have half the sense of sending you down there to act as a distraction.”

  Feeling audacious, Hayden remained unintimidated. “You wouldn’t do that.” She called his bluff. He always bluffed when it came to her safety. “You admitted yourself that you needed me alive to placate Cole. Without me, he’d never trust you again.”

  One minute she had Nicolas in her sights, the next moment she found herself face down in the snow, a hand wrapped firmly around the nape of her neck. The unyielding grip, and its position, set Hayden’s teeth on edge. She bucked against the hold, but Nicolas kept a knee at the small of her back, preventing any counterattack.

  His weight was oppressive, dominant, and he left her breathless.

  He pressed his lips against her ear, his tone as cold as the snow beneath her. “I am not vying for Cole’s trust, nor his favor. This means you are disposable.” Tightening his grip, he increased the weight on her back. “Rest assured I like you. I am fond of you. If, for whatever reason, you become undesirable in my eyes, I will dispose of you.”

  Exhaling, Hayden glowered at the snow, smart enough to remain limp. She did not rebuke his actions, as Nicolas was asserting his authority. While she preferred to be the more dominant wolf, she knew her boundaries.

  Against the eldest Slayter, she was a defenseless pup.

  “Do I make myself clear?”

  Amber eyes turned hooded with annoyance. “Very clear,” she bit out.

  He released her and she scrambled up, refusing to be on her belly any longer than necessary. Brushing the snow from her arms, she glanced up and noticed Nicolas was no longer in sight. Twirling, she spotted him retreating away from the shack, away from Cole.

  “You’re going the wrong way.” Hayden jogged after the nude man and brushed her fingers across his large bicep. That was all she was able to grab before he pulled away.

  “Now is not the time to attack.”

  “But we can’t leave him.”

  Nicolas stopped and turned. “You cannot think logically because of your relationship with him. It’s a good thing I am in charge. You’d be dead by now, or worse, part of Celeste’s experimental group.”

  Hayden pondered on the latter scenario, before refocusing on Cole. “Every instinct I have is pulling me back towards him.” She hadn’t intended to sound so weak. “I can’t be away from him. Not like this. You promised—”

  “To reunite you with Cole.”

  “Yes.”

  He inclined his head. “And I will. But now is not the time.”

  And without another word, he continued his retreat. His powerful shoulders tensed prominently before he fluidly transformed. He preferred his wolf form, she noticed mutely, probably to avoid any unnecessary conversation with her.

  She stayed back for another moment, glancing at the shack from over her shoulder. A bad feeling settled in her stomach. Even if Nicolas said the right things, about protecting Cole, about doing all this because of his affection for his brother, Hayden still had doubts.

  There was nothing wrong with having doubts, she reasoned. It would be stupid to trust him blindly. But could she trust him enough to follow him into Celeste’s hideout? She couldn’t imagine going by herself, but if it came down to it, she would.

  Pushing away her reservations, Hayden trotted after Nicolas. Despite his vagueness, he had an idea up his sleeve. And right now, that was more than Hayden possessed.

  She would follow him until he proved deceitful.

  But by then, she knew it would be too late to turn back.

  * * * *

  The aroma of burning flesh and blood quickly alerted the two werewolves that something was amiss. Nicolas swiftly transformed back into his human form and maintained a smothering proximity to Hayden, a subconscious and instinctive effort to protect.

  His face was unreadable, but it was drawn sternly, a far cry from his normally mischievous and arrogant façade. Hayden cast him a sidelong glance, her eyes lingering across his rugged features.

  Her heart yearned when she once again noted the similarities between Nicolas and his brother. The sooner Nicolas was clean
-shaven, the sooner Hayden could stop drawing comparisons. Cole and Nicolas were nothing alike, yet the relation was obvious.

  “Shouldn’t we turn back?” Hayden inquired softly as she peeked through the thick brush and towards a decent-sized cabin.

  This was Nicolas’ planned destination, but it was also the source of the foul smell. Going inside was the last thing she wanted to do. How could death and destruction possibly help rescue Cole?

  Strangely, he agreed. “We should,” he consented. “However, considering these men were part of my plan to extract Cole, I would like to know what became of them.” The man’s pale eyes considered her. “You can wait out here. I won’t be long.”

  Hayden bristled. “I think I can handle whatever’s inside.”

  Naturally, Nicolas didn’t stick around to argue. He was already across the clearing, approaching the side entrance. Quickly trailing after the elusive man, she paused alongside him to listen for signs of life inside the cabin.

  Nothing greeted them besides the pungent smell of death.

  Without holding the door open for her, Nicolas entered the cabin, his steps inaudible. Hayden matched his stealth, but she couldn’t stifle the startled gasp from escaping her lungs. She observed the scene before her, fighting the sharp nausea.

  There were twelve men, all murdered by varying degrees of brutality. Some were still sitting around a table, their attacker clearly taking them by surprise. Most of them had broken necks, their throats torn and bloodied. Others had deaths that were more gruesome, varying from fractured skulls, ripped abdomens, and a face plant in the fireplace.

  A werewolf was clearly responsible.

  Hayden watched as a steady trail of blood dripped from one of the men’s throats and onto the floor with a pitter-patter-like melody. Tightening her jaw, she looked away.

  Though, the walls didn’t prove to be much condolence either.

  Eyes dilating, she analyzed the wolf skulls hanging proudly next to their respected wolf hide. Weapons, rifles, and other weapons propped against the walls, unused and untouched despite the brutality that recently took place. Photographs of men lined the walls and tables, each frame proudly displaying a fresh wolf kill.

  Those weren’t ordinary wolf skulls or wolf hides. Those belonged to werewolves.

  “Hunters,” Hayden spluttered in accusation. “You wanted to ally yourself with Hunters? How were these men supposed to help us rescue Cole?”

  Her overwhelming pity for these men suddenly vanished. Instead, she callously viewed it as an eye for an eye.

  Nicolas barely paid her any heed as he coldly assessed the carnage. “I’m certain Cole explained to you the importance of Hunters. They must exist if the werewolf exists.” He paid special attention to a photograph on the wall. “Without them, there would be no order. Traditional werewolves can only do so much to eliminate rogues.”

  At her sides, her hands curled into fists. “Hunters are what started all this. They ran us out of Albertville. They destroyed our homes. They don’t know right from wrong, they only know bloodlust.”

  The Alpha male offered Hayden one of his customary smirks. “Come now, Hayden. You don’t honestly believe that, do you?”

  She stubbornly avoided looking at the dead bodies. “I do.”

  Nicolas tsked. “The rogues orchestrated the evacuation of your home, not the Hunters. What was the one thing that would trigger such a reaction from the Hunters? What was their Achilles heel? Or… more appropriately, who was holding their leash?”

  Hayden bit the inside of her cheek. “Red Donovan,” she grumbled out.

  Slowly, the tension left her body as she began thinking rationally. When she was on the run with Rachel, she’d come to the same conclusion.

  Somehow, the rogue werewolves managed to get to Red Donovan, who’d still been recovering from his injuries with Falco. Either the rogues had killed Red Donovan, or they coerced a traditional werewolf from town to kill him.

  Either way, the end result was catastrophic. The flimsy truce between the Hunters and the Albertville werewolves had crumbled.

  “They’re smart,” Hayden commented reluctantly with a hint of unease. “The rogues.”

  “Celeste is an exceedingly smart woman. A very noteworthy enemy. Or ally.” Nicolas grabbed one of the rifles and turned to her. “From here on out, I think it’s best if you forget the stereotypes. Rogues are no longer uncontrolled. Traditional wolves are no longer honorable. Humans will no longer be oblivious. And Hunters are no longer the police force of the werewolf community. Trust very few. If any.”

  She stared.

  It was unnerving to be amongst a dozen of corpses, but Nicolas’ warning somehow made her even more on edge. “That’s ridiculous,” she rebuffed. “How are we supposed to win if we can’t trust anyone?”

  Nicolas abruptly stopped inspecting the rifle and gazed through her. A soft, nearly inaudible scoff escaped his lips. “My dear girl, this isn’t about who wins or who loses. The victor has already been crowned.”

  His words froze her. “Then what’s the purpose?” she asked. “What is it all about?”

  The Alpha flashed his teeth in a wicked smile. “This is about surviving.”

  “Surviving,” Hayden repeated numbly.

  “Yes.” Nicolas replaced the rifle on the rack and grabbed a long sword. “Things will never be as they were.”

  Hayden placed a hand on her chest, feeling the comfortable weight of her throwing knives underneath her coat. “So it’s pointless? Going after Celeste?”

  “To what? Kill her?” The man chuckled. “Quite the contrary, pup. It would be wise to cut off the head of the beast. She alone controls the Carriers, and in turn, the Carriers control the beasts they’ve Sired; a mindless, resilient army. Puppets.”

  She perked up at his admission. “So we can still win. It—”

  “Killing Celeste will certainly bring with it some incentives.” Nicolas unsheathed the long sword, its silver blade catching the light. “However, while the traditional wolves had their backs turned, oblivious, Celeste was working diligently behind the scenes. There is no way to reverse the damage she’s done. ”

  Nicolas brought back his arm and swung the sword powerfully. The blade cut straight through the neck of a dead man at the table, instantly decapitating the corpse.

  Hayden pressed herself against the wall, immediately drawing the conclusion that Nicolas had lost his sanity. Before she could reprimand him, she heard the slow, uneven heartbeats.

  She turned cold.

  They were alive and turning into beasts, not unlike the one that bit them.

  It was similar to the time Cole had to exterminate the survivors of the small town on their way to the cabin. But unlike Cole, who had struggled to veil his regret upon killing the mass of innocents, Nicolas possessed no shadow of remorse as he continued beheading the Hunters.

  Then again, the two situations couldn’t have been more different. The Hunters were not innocents. They’d chosen this lifestyle. They’d known the consequences. Oblivious humans, on the other hand, never knew what hit them.

  Hayden turned away as Nicolas severed the remaining bunch. The smell of blood made her gums itch and her canines elongate, yet she remained firmly by the door.

  “Is this too gruesome for you to stomach, Hayden?” Nicolas taunted, always observant, always watchful. “And here I thought you were striving to be one of the fiercest women—”

  “Who bit them?” Hayden interrupted, hardly perturbed by his mocking. “Did a Carrier do this? Why?”

  “So many questions…” he trailed off, taking care of the Hunter who was halfway in the fireplace. “It is difficult to tell. Celeste has finally perfected the Carriers’ chemical makeup. They do not have a scent and neither do their spawn.”

  A good length of time and silence passed before Hayden repeated her last question.

  “Why? Why do this?”

  Nicolas whirled around, cleaning the blood ceremoniously from the blade. His eyes
glittered as he gazed at her steadfastly. “Cole has held your hand for far too long. You are capable of deducing your own answers. You are a smart girl.”

  Her nostrils flared at the insult. Cole never coddled her. He was, in all actuality, very similar to Nicolas in terms of challenging her. Though it was tempting to defend herself, Hayden remained silent and analyzed the situation.

  It didn’t seem like Celeste was hesitant in ordering her three Carriers to infect as many humans as possible. In fact, it was disconcerting how public she was making these slaughters.

  “She wants the whole world to know.” Behind her back, Hayden pressed her palm against the doorframe, giving herself strength at the sudden rationale. “She’s trying to infect as many people as possible. So when humans do find out, werewolves will ultimately be the superior and majority race.”

  “Yes,” Nicolas agreed. “Who knows how many of Celeste’s werewolves are out there. Their altered composition gives them an advantage over traditional werewolves.” The Alpha male hung the sword back in its rightful place. “But why kill these people in particular, Hayden?”

  The answer came to her immediately. “She’s exterminating all the Hunters.”

  “Yes and no.” Nicolas wiped his hands together, smearing the blood between his palms and turning it dry. “By turning the Hunters against all werewolves, she’s preventing any possible alliance between them and the traditional wolves. And as you already know, Hunters carry grudges.”

  His words hardly had a chance to sink in before the sound of diesel engines roared outside. Hayden jerked away from the door, listening as several pairs of feet rushed towards the cabin.

  Instantly, she knew they were human and that they were Hunters.

  Nicolas grabbed Hayden’s bicep and all but hauled her off her feet. He dragged her towards the back of the cabin, hardly concerned with stepping on the carnage at his feet.

  “I hope you excel at dodging as much as you excel at asking questions.”