“Not much of it.”
“I agree. It’s been rough. We’ll bring in something big today, and that will help out the poor folk.”
“Why are you so scared to go beyond Clover’s limits?”
“I’m not scared of anything,” Jackson laughs. “But there are legends in these hills, boy. Maybe if you aren’t local, you don’t know them.”
“Clueless,” I say.
“Ancient powers, kid,” Jackson says. “Apparently, our ancestors ran from it. But me, I’m not the running kind. Especially when there’s power involved.”
“I know what you mean.”
Jackson laughs. “Okay. Maybe we’re a bit more alike than I realized.”
“Only one way to find out,” I say. “I assume we’ll get to know each other pretty well, if you’re sticking around to be my beta.”
“Oh, I am,” he assures me. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but at your side.”
I bet.
We walk towards the north edge of town, and I keep my senses on high alert. I know a hunting run could be an excellent opportunity for Jackson to take me out, but I don’t think he’s that stupid.
If I mysteriously die on a routine run, all my black ops boys will move in here and clean the town out from top to bottom. They’ll raze the place, killing and capturing the menand taking the women and children to live in the other towns—and the poor folk probably wouldn’t protest too much about it, either.
I know the smartest thing to do is take Jackson out immediately. I can smell his evil deeds and schemes all over him, and I don’t need any evidence to execute him for it, either publicly or right now. As alpha, it’s my right, and no one could stop me.
But he has power here. So much of the pack—even the people I’m trying to help—could turn on me if I killed him. I can’t just murder anyone I want. I have to do better than that.
“Okay,” Jackson says. “You know my buddies, don’t you?”
Jackson gestures at Bruce, Axe, and Rafe, who wave to us from a nearby outcrop.
“Yep, I’ve met them,” I answer. The five of us come together with brief nods and greetings.
“We’re just going to push north through this gully,” Jackson says. “And try and bring down some bighorn sheep. There’s a good-sized herd nearby, and we’ll come upon them pretty quick. We should be able to bring a couple down without too much trouble.”
“No problem,” I say, pulling off my shirt. “What are we waiting for?”
All of us undress and shift, and Jackson leads us down the first gully. As he reaches the lower plains, he pauses and gestures upwards with his head. Axe and Bruce split away, covering the edges of the mountain in separate directions. I follow Jackson, and Rafe follows behind me.
I don’t like this.
We keep up a hard run as we pass through the gully, and I can smell the others keeping pace above us. Pretty soon, I can smell the bighorn, and Jackson slows down, lowering himself to his belly to stalk through the grass.
I look up on the ridge and see Bruce and Axe high above and far ahead, and I know they are going to drive the herd back towards us. Jackson turns and nods to me, and I nod back, swinging left to flank him. Rafe moves in the opposite direction, so we have the end of the gully covered.
Even though everything is working exactly as it should, my instincts are screaming.
They could kill me at any time. I could take them all out if I had to, but not if they take me by surprise.
When all of us are in position, Jackson lets out a very low yip. A couple of the bighorn look up, but before they can react, Bruce and Axe explode from the trees, barking and snarling, turning the herd as one to charge at us.
I stay low in the grass, ready to pounce the second the sheep get close. They power towards us in a thundering wave, horns low and hooves nimbly leaping through the rocky terrain. As the first line reaches me, I leap out and tear the throat out of a young buck.
I hear growling nearby and the sounds of a scuffle as Jackson brings down a sheep. Further on, another falls, and I know that has to be Rafe. A quick glance shows me Bruce and Axe are still at the back of the herd, driving them towards us.
I charge forward, leaping and bringing down another sheep. For the next few minutes, my conscious mind leaves me, and my body is released into the joy of the slaughter, the surrender to my own primal nature. When I begin to recover mysenses, the majority of the herd has moved on, and only a few stragglers remain, desperately running to catch the others.
