Ethan lay on the sofa, reading his school notes, when Zyga came running through the house. The front door slammed after him, causing Ethan to jump. The notes on his lap slipped and scattered over the living room rug.
Zyga did not have a stitch of clothing on. His skin glowed with sweat, and the hair was plastered to his scalp like an auburn cap sparingly sprinkled with gray. But the tracker was not his usual calm self today.
"Ethan! Cody! Damien! Cody, get the emergency bag!" Zyga barked. He did not bother covering his stark state.
Zyga went wild, leaping from window to window, scrambling over chairs as he shut the panes and drew the blinds close. His hairy chest rose and fell, and his lips curled back in a snarl that did not hide slightly extended canines.
"Ethan!" the maddened man snapped, catching him wide-eyed. "Quit your gawking and get your father's shotgun. We have a Dhampir in the area".
"Dhampir? Here?" Ethan parroted like a dummy.
In all his life, he had never set eyes on a Dhampir. Well, he had also never gone out of the territory. All he knew was they were savages who killed werewolves for fun and drank human blood. His limbs froze, and his mind ran images of disemboweled wolves and people with their heads torn off.
A quick smack upside the head by Zyga brought him back to his senses, and Ethan scrambled to obey his commands. The boys upstairs came thumping down the stairs in their pajamas, with his little brother lugging a duffel bag behind him. Damien's half-lidded eyes struggled to stay open while a yawn split Cody's face in two.
"Cody, Damien. Go to the basement and bar the door behind you. Don't come out till I tell you to," Zyga instructed.
Like cubs with good pack training, the two nodded and hurried off without question.
The basement door slammed as Ethan climbed on a dining chair, reaching for the shotgun above the upper cabinets. At summer training, they were taught that twenty percent of the gun's efficiency against a Dhampir depended on a good aim and the rest on a whole lot of luck.
Without the advantages of his wolf, a one-in-five chance was better than nothing. If he got a good shot in, that could slow it down long enough for Zyga to deal with it.
Zyga sprang upstairs, taking the stairs two at a time. His steps echoed on the hardwood floors as he went from room to room, banging windows shut. Then a high-pitched bark tore through the night air that ended in a short howl. It was the wolf code for alarm.
Every werewolf in the pack who heard the cry would be tuning in to the pack mental channel now. At least, every Lycan who had found their wolf. Ethan could only imagine the updates and commands flying over the link. All his ears got was the alarm howl echoed by others.
Thanks a whole lot for nothing, Luna! He swallowed the bile in his throat as he loaded the gun.
Even during this emergency, when everyone worked together to keep the pack safe, he was isolated from his people. And if the moon deity finally decided to answer his prayers tonight, it might be too late for him to fight off the Dhampir. As it stood right now, he was as helpful as a door guarding a house without a lock.
He double-checked that the safety was on and the bullets were in place, then held the shotgun to his side. His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and his fingers grew clammy around the wooden barrel, yet Ethan's curiosity led him to peer out through the blinds.
Catching a glimpse of the notorious species wouldn't hurt, would it? Unfortunately, he could not even see beyond the glow of the porch light.
"Get away from the window, you idiot!"
Ethan jumped, bringing the gun around. He had not heard the old man come downstairs. At least, Zyga had found a towel to wrap around his waist. Ethan backed away, grateful that he had secured the safety on the gun.
Familial love aside, it would be suicidal to accidentally kill the only thing standing between him and the Dhampir outside.
A scant moment later, his eyebrows drew together when Zyga went to stand at the exact spot he had scolded him from. Ethan simply shook his head and checked the basement door to ensure it was locked. As well as the backdoor through the laundry room. Then he returned to settle on the dining chair he had left in the kitchen, placing the shotgun across his lap. Like the calm before the storm, a tense silence descended on the house as they stood watch. Every chirp of a cricket or creak of the floorboards roared like thunder, and Ethan's shoulders tensed with each sound.
"Should I turn off the light?" Ethan whispered.
"No!" Zyga stood still by the window. "I can see in dim light. The Damphir can see even better in the dark. You cannot."
"What was he doing here?"
"I'm not sure. He was under the trees when I first sensed him."
"Wha-"
"Later, Ethan! Keep your ears open and eyes sharp!"
"Yes, sir."
Once again, he asked Luna why he had not found his wolf yet. He could have had his answers by now if he was connected to the pack.
The minutes stretched to an hour. Yet, they waited in silence. Ethan had his back to a corner of the kitchen while Zyga monitored outside for movement.
"The pack is coming," Zyga announced. Ethan came up to look.
Soon, the sound of several paws thudding on packed earth signaled the approach of numerous wolves. A midnight-black wolf who stood just below Ethan's navel led the charge. He was larger than a decent number of the wolves behind, yet his size did not slow him down. Thanks to the posters in the pack library, Ethan could identify the Snow Pine alpha even in the dark. Alpha Ryden gave a short woof as he got closer to the cabin and then loped off into the woods without a backward glance.
Two of the newcomers stayed behind to join Zyga, and the rest followed close on the alpha's heels.
Ethan stared out into the darkness long after the black wolf's silhouette blended with the shadows and melted into the night. His awe at the impressive werewolf leading the pack battled with his disappointment at the man he knew Ryden was.
Patience, he reminded himself. With Luna's blessing, one day, I'll be out there, hunting with the rest of the pack.
He could almost feel the wind sweeping over his fur and the answering calls from other wolves as they sped through the trees. Shivering with excitement at that thought, he turned his back on the scene outdoors.
Ethan returned to the chair in the kitchen but did not put the gun away. With the arrival of additional security, he could afford to relax a bit. The stress of being wound tight for hours in his convalescent state weighed heavily on him.
Zyga cocked his head to the side as if listening to the wind. He did not speak, but Ethan knew the tracker listened to updates from the search parties outside.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hours later, Ethan's mother returned to find Cody and Damien asleep on the sofa. Ethan was on watch in the kitchen while Zyga patrolled the house in his towel. She kissed her youngest son and then engulfed Ethan in a fierce hug, relief evident on her face.
Ethan was confused by that. He had not even come close to seeing the Dhampir.
Zyga joined them in the kitchen, and they spoke in low tones to avoid waking Cody or Damien up.
"Seen him?" Ethan asked his mother.
She shook her head. "They put the entire city on lockdown. Only wolves are allowed out. Meghan is stuck at the hospital. Zyga, they said you saw him first. Here?"
"Yes. He was standing under one of the trees, watching this house." Zyga related the evening events to her, speaking out loud for the benefit of Ethan.
Now that Zyga was in the mood for sharing, Ethan did not hold back his questions.
"But why here? Was he hungry? There are more humans beyond our borders."
"I don't know," Zyga said with a slight shrug. Then added, "Naturally, they avoid us. A Dhampir only seeks its next source of food, and they don't like wolf blood. So there should be no reason for him to come here unless he's driven to do so. This one seemed like he was looking for something or someone. And when I chased him, his movements weren't chaotic like a Dhampir. He was seasoned."
Zyga looked at the kitchen wall clock. "It's almost sunrise, and he still hasn't been found. I believe the blood-sucker is a vampire, not a Dhampir."
Ethan's heart skipped a beat, and his mother gasped.
A/N
Hi lovelies, thanks for reading.If you loved it don't forget to vote, comment and add to your library.
Writing and editing this part... all I could think of was I hope I never get into a situation like this. The tension alone would be too traumatic for me. And I had a deeper respect for people like Zyga and Ethan who can keep their head in the game in times of trial.
I would love to here your feedback on the story in general and this chapter in particular.
What did you like?
And what didn't you like?
What did you think about the characters?
Next chapter is already being edited. I will post it in a couple of days.
Ciao!