Hunter's Trail

Scarlett slid her fingers up into his hair, closing the distance between their mouths. She kissed him tentatively at first, then with increasing need. Jesse returned the kiss with enthusiasm. He still held the bargest’s leash in his right hand, but his grip on it loosened as Scarlett’s tongue dipped into his mouth.

After a few minutes, Scarlett pulled back, and her eyes were shining. “What was that?” Jesse said, half to himself, half to her.

“That . . . was a thank-you,” she whispered.

“For what?”

“For the offer.”

Jesse stared at her a beat before he understood. And then his heart dropped. “I take it you’re not accepting,” he said huskily.

“I . . . ,” she began, but then with a single sharp tug and no sound at all, the bargest’s leash was jerked out of his hand. Jesse yelped with pain as it was dragged off his wrist, and suddenly, the bargest was free, darting down the bridle path into the darkness.

“Shadow!” Scarlett shouted. Jesse tried the bargest’s French name. But she had vanished.

“Did you feel someone?” he demanded, jumping off the bench.

“No, no! I don’t understand why . . .” Scarlett’s eyes moved back and forth frantically as she thought. “The smell!” she cried. “I’m a space in the smell!”

In a flash, Jesse understood. The nova wolf had no way of knowing what Scarlett was—but even before he reached her radius, he would notice that he couldn’t smell her. The absence of proof was proof itself. The nova might not know what she was, but he would certainly know something was off.

Scarlett climbed down from the picnic bench like she was going to follow the bargest, but neither of them had any idea where it had gone. By unspoken agreement, they both froze, listening. There was a short, cut-off growl and the sound of bushy plants being trampled. Then silence. “Lights,” Jesse said brusquely. They both dug out their flashlights and switched them on. It would make them an easy target to the nova wolf, Jesse knew, but they were an easy target anyway. They both flashed the beams around the mouth of the bridle path, but aside from some disturbed dirt, there was no sign of the bargest.

“Maybe she just went after a rabbit or something,” Scarlett said anxiously.

Jesse shook his head. “She’s too well trained to be distracted by a rabbit.” He flashed his beam on Scarlett’s stomach, so the edges of it would illuminate her face. She was looking doubtfully at the bridle path.

“That’s really steep,” she ventured. “I’m not sure I can make it down there with my knee. Or, if I do make it down there, I’m not sure I can make it back up.”

“Wait here. I’ll see what’s going on, and if we really need you down there, you can slide down on your butt.” She nodded. Scarlett looked so vulnerable, and he wanted to tell her to be careful or to go wait in the car. Then he reminded himself that she was far more protected from the nova wolf than he’d ever be.

Jesse held his flashlight with his left hand, using it to support his aching right arm as it held up his weapon. He picked his way down the steep rocky path, which wound around like an infinity knot before leading down into the depths of the park. There was a lot of brush along the path, ranging from knee-high tumbleweeds to wide, stubby trees as tall as Jesse. It was surprisingly dark and felt strangely claustrophobic, especially considering the size of the park. He was very aware of his breathing, which seemed painfully loud and obvious.

In front of him, somewhere behind the biggest tree he could see, Jesse heard a pained canine yelp and a series of scuffling sounds. He circled the tree as fast as he could, the flashlight bobbing wildly as he worked to keep his footing. “Where . . . ?” he breathed, and Jesse caught a brief glimpse of motion even as he moved the flashlight past it. He jerked the light back and saw what it had been: the bargest, frozen with its feet planted and its enormous jaws pinning the neck of a limp werewolf to the ground. The werewolf in its jaws was a deep cloudy gray, smaller than the ones he’d seen before. The werewolf wasn’t moving, and at first he thought the nova was already dead. Jesse stepped closer, cautiously, and saw its chest heaving up and down. The acrid scent of urine stung his nostrils, and Jesse realized the nova wolf had wet itself.

It was a spooky tableau, mostly because both creatures were just staring at him now, silent and unmoving. It was the least doglike thing either of them had done.

He swallowed, mind racing. Of course. Scarlett had said the Luparii would need to use the bargest, which meant they’d need to train it . . . which meant they’d need to teach it restraint. They were trained to kill werewolves on command.

It was waiting for his command.

Jesse did know the French words for “kill it,” because his French teacher in high school had been afraid of spiders. But if he gave the command, he was killing a defenseless creature, one who had surrendered and posed no threat to him. It wasn’t the same as shooting the nova wolf in a fight, and Jesse found himself unable to force the words out of his mouth.

Sensing his hesitation, the nova wolf reared up in a sudden burst of strength, trying to flip itself free, but the bargest let out a low growl and pressed down harder, suppressing the nova easily. The wolf yelped with pain again. It has to be done, Jesse reminded himself. He remembered Kate and Samantha and Ruanna, the women who’d done nothing to deserve the brutality that this monster had shown them. Jesse needed to get justice for those women. He took a deep breath and said, “Tuez-le.”