Wolfs bane, p.1
Wolf's Bane, page 1
Wolf's Bane
THE NIGHT ACADEMY
BOOK ONE
SHERI QUEEN
WILDA PRESS
Contents
1. Welcome to Unity Falls
2. Storms
3. Uprooting the Past
4. Warnings
5. Hypnosis
6. Death Comes Knocking
7. Hunting Down the Past
8. Memories
9. Bleeding Hearts
10. Angels
11. Family
12. Sleuthing
13. Finders Keepers
14. Family Matters
15. Best Laid Plans
16. Revelations
17. Hidden Numbers
18. A Gathering
19. Parley
20. Tomorrow is a New Day
21. Torn Between Two Worlds
22. Meeting of Fates
23. Night School
Also by Sheri Queen
About the Author
Copyright © 2024 by Sheri Queen
Print ISBN: 978-0-9998610-6-6
All rights reserved.
Edits by Carrie Gessner.
Cover design by Danielle Fine.
No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.
This story appeared in the anthology Shift’n’Howl in a shorter form. It has been revised and extended to be released as an individual book as the first book in The Night Academy series.
For Stuart Queen, Sr.
~Angels walk among us~
Chapter 1
Welcome to Unity Falls
Kylie Quinn drove her rusty old pickup truck down the main road heading into town, drawing nearer to the wooden sign announcing to outsiders they were about to enter Unity Falls. She was not an outsider in the rural area but might as well be at the moment. She let out a disgruntled sigh and tossed the wrapper from the candy bar she ate as her lunch onto the cracked leather seat. The comfort of chocolate did little to ease her burdens.
Her wolf-shifter family kept pressuring her to shift. Hell. She didn't know why she couldn't do it. Calling forth her inner wolf would solve a lot of problems. At thirty-four, she should have already found her mate. She should have solidified her position in her pack. Time was running out.
She exhaled a long breath, reached deep inside, and pleaded for her wolf to surface.
Thanks to her grandfather's influence with the pack leader and sympathies toward her traumatic past, Kylie had been granted a temporary reprieve from the laws governing supernatural beings living in Unity Falls. Her reprieve would end in a few short weeks. If she didn't shift by her next birthday, she'd be exiled.
So much for unity. She frowned at the town sign as if it had inflicted the ache settling into her heart.
Kylie cranked up her radio and thumped her palm against the steering wheel, tapping out a beat to the song. She didn't pay attention to the words. It was the underlying tempo that she focused on to soothe the tension in her body. She cruised down the center of town, then turned left onto a side road that led to the salvage yard where she worked.
A woman crossed the street in front of her, pausing to pull a red scarf up over her head. Kylie stopped and waited, but the woman stood there a moment, met Kylie's gaze, then nodded and stepped onto the sidewalk. Kylie tracked the woman's progress. She saw her turn and raise a hand to wave at Kylie. Then the woman strode around the corner and out of sight.
Kylie's pulse quickened. She'd seen the woman before and had tried to talk to her even, but the woman never had any intention of communicating with Kylie. The hand wave was a first. This same person had been making an appearance on the twelfth of May every year since Kylie's parents had died.
Over two and a half decades had passed, yet this mysterious figure always looked the same. Tall, slim, blonde hair, pale skin, and a red scarf. Always a red scarf.
A car horn blasted behind Kylie. She glanced in her rearview mirror, saw the impatient driver, and had to let go of the notion of follow the strange woman. Instead, she drove into the salvage yard, with its chain-link fence containing the overflowing mounds of scrap metal and auto parts.
She groaned at the pile of junk waiting off to the side of the parking area for her to enter into their inventory. She parked, snatched up the box of parts she'd brought, and met Pete inside the main office.
"The new kid had to dump the load out front? Seriously?" She plunked the box on the counter in front of Pete, who barely glanced up from his paperwork.
"What do you want me to do about it?" Pete moved away from the counter, his age slowing down his progress, and filed the papers in a drawer. He returned just as slowly and opened the box she'd brought. "Is it all here?"
She scowled at him. "What do you think?"
"I think you've got some bug up your ass and are looking for a fight. I'm seventy-eight. I'm too old for this shit, Kylie. Just spit it out. What's wrong?"
She heaved an exasperated sigh. He was right. Her agitation with the mysterious woman wasn't his fault. "Nothing. It's just, you know, May."
"Yup. I get it. Sorry." His tone softened. He reached over and put a hand over hers. "Losing someone is never easy. I'd be lying if I said the pain goes away. All you can do is keep moving forward."
She smiled, pulled her hand from his, and let him think it was all about her parents' deaths. "Thanks. I'm in a mood. Not your fault." She grabbed the inventory clipboard and waved it at the pile outside. "I'll get on it now so it will be cataloged before the rain comes in later."
Pete straightened and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sounds like a plan."
Kylie took in the movement. "The weather getting to you?"
"Yeah. A bit. The old neck injury flares up now and then. Must be a storm rolling in. Nothing an old geezer like me can't handle, though, so don't you go worrying about it. I'm a lot tougher than I look."
Kylie chuckled. "You're tough, alright. Just like an old piece of shoe leather." She turned, clipboard in hand, and headed toward the door.
He called out to her as she passed the threshold. "Hey, now. It takes a long time to age leather to perfection. Just you remember that. I've been working on it since you were nothing more than a scrawny runt."
She paused and looked at him over her shoulder. "You sound a lot like Grandpa. Have the two of you been chatting about me?"
He put his hand over his chest in mock surprise. "Why, Kylie, now you're offending me. Chester and I would never gossip."
She snorted. "Right."
Pete laughed.
His laughter followed her as she strode to the pile of junk. A cool breeze ruffled her hair, sending a purple strand whipping across her face. She flattened the papers threatening to fly off the clipboard and glanced at the dark clouds overhead. She sensed a brewing storm, but it didn't feel like a natural force. Something darker was stirring in the air. Its energy sank deep into her bones and pushed against her inner animal.
"I know you're in there. Come on out." The beast within did not come out.
She reminded herself it was no use talking to a creature that couldn't talk back to her. But there was an undeniable connection whenever she attempted to communicate with it. On the nights of the full moon, the wolf stirred as if interested in what was going on, but it didn't bring forth the shift.
When Kylie was younger, a few of the shifters from the pack had gone out for a moonlit run to her grandfather's house. The animal within her had become agitated and thrown itself around like it would burst forth if only it could. It had sent a warning so strong that it scared Kylie. She'd hidden under her bed until all the shifters had left.
Funny how that distant memory chose now to rise in her mind. She wasn't a little girl who hid from danger anymore.
The clipboard slipped from her grasp when a gust of wind encircled her. The papers came loose and flew in several directions at once.
"Dammit." She muttered under her breath, her voice a mix of frustration and resignation. She reached for the closest one, but it blew out of range. She let it go and lunged for another paper as it twirled in a ballet of wind and landed on the gravel-laden ground of the salvage yard.
"Kylie? You okay out there?" Pete shouted from the doorway.
"Yeah. I'm fine. The wind is making extra work for me, that's all." One by one, she corralled the papers, securing them under the clipboard's metal clasp. "No worries, Pete. I've got this. Sort of." Her words floated back to Pete, an assurance laced with doubt.
He chuckled and went back inside.
Particles of dirt swirled at her feet before settling back to earth. She watched, momentarily mesmerized.
A clunk caught her attention as a piece of an exhaust pipe, disturbed by the wind gust, landed at the base of the heap of discarded metal. Kylie's gaze traced the contours of the pile, lingering on the tangled mass of used parts. She glanced at the mound of metal and used parts and groaned. It was a metaphor for her life.
Chapter 2
Storms
It took all afternoon to log the items into inventory and place them in their proper spots. Kylie stacked a few boxes on shelves in the back room. The clock on the cinderblock wall ticked more slowly at closing time. At least, that was how it felt to her. Pete had left hours ago. She was alone, with nothing but her brooding thoughts for company.
The bell above the front door jingled to signal a customer had entered. It never failed that some clown showed up right when she was set to leave.
"I'll be right there," she yelled, heaving the last box onto a shelf. She sneezed as dust floated down on her from a group of old register books she shoved aside when making space for the carton.
"Bless you." A man stood in the archway staring at her.
She froze.
"Aren't you going to say hi?" He leaned against the marred wood door frame, his black hair almost brushing the top of the arch. He tucked a hand in the pocket of his black jeans, which caused the sports jacket he wore to open and reveal the ripple of tight abs beneath a white t-shirt. He grinned, his dark brown eyes filling with mirth, and his stance declared he was willing to stand there as long as it took for her to respond.
She found her composure and allowed her resentment to color her tone. "Why are you here, Rylan?"
"That's a fine hello." He flattened against the wood as she brushed by him.
"As I recall, we stopped speaking to one another. You left Unity Falls for big city adventures." She paused to glare at him before stalking off. She continued with her closing procedures, sweeping the entrance and listening to his footsteps as he followed. "What happened? Did you get kicked out of Manhattan?"
He took the broom from her and began sweeping. "Nah. I'm still there. Work is crazy as always."
She grabbed the broom, forcing him to stop. "Then what brings you back?"
He lost his casual tone and his grin. He stared down at her. "I'm sorry, Kylie."
She remembered that look and the heat that lingered there. She wouldn't give in. He'd left her. Those days were gone.
"Sorry? That could mean a lot of things, Rylan. What exactly are you sorry for now?"
He flinched. "That's not fair."
She raised a brow. "Isn't it?"
He hesitated before producing an envelope, which he held out to her. "I'm sorry for a lot of things, Kylie, but especially for this."
She took it and glanced up at him. There was only one mark on the envelope. She swallowed at the sight of the paw print.
He reached out his hand, but dropped it to his side. "I had nothing to do with this. I tried. Really, I did. They put it to a vote, which is why I came home. I voted against the edict."
"I already had an edict delivered to me. What's changed?" She didn't want to open it.
"The timing." He cast his gaze to the floor. "It's not fair. It's ridiculous." He glanced up at her. "I'm so, so sorry."
She ripped open the envelope and read the single line. "They're giving me one week?" She tossed the paper at him. "You're right. It's not fair."
"It's because of the full moon," he said, taking the paper and shoving it in his pocket. "They assume if you're going to shift, that would be the time. If not, then it won't happen at all. Of course, they're wrong. They don't know you like I do. I can help you, Kylie."
The laughter bubbled up and poured from her mouth. They could all shove it. All of them. If it wasn't for her grandfather being stuck in the nursing home and lucid only half the time, she'd leave Unity Falls. The final burst of laughter died on her tongue. She felt sick. Throwing up was not an option. She let the bile slide back down her throat. Let it burn. Let it hurt.
Rylan drew her to him in a comforting embrace, and she let him.
"I can't win. I might as well start packing and say my goodbyes to Grandpa." A tear blossomed at the corner of her eye. "I don't know how long he has left. He's going downhill faster than I expected. Will they let me back for his funeral? I can't be shut out for that. It would kill me."
He hugged her tighter. "I won't let them do that."
Warmth spread through her body. It would be so easy to let him back in. Too easy. She pulled away and squared her shoulders as she wiped away the tear. "Thanks. I'll figure it out. I don't want you to get into trouble over me. But when the time comes, maybe just drop me a text?"
"This isn't over, Kylie. I know someone who can help you. We are going to fight this edict. It's bullshit. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?"
She didn't answer. Instead, she leaned the broom against the wall and headed to the front desk to empty the cash register. She could feel him staring at her, and it made her skin tingle. Her inner wolf was at full attention.
Rylan came closer, standing just on the other side of the counter. Three short feet of wood and Formica separated them. Obstacles like that never stopped them in the past. She tucked the money into a padlock-style pouch and closed the cash drawer while telling herself she didn't still love him.
"I have to drop this off at the bank." She met his gaze. "So, I guess this is goodbye. Thanks for bringing me the edict. At least it was you and not one of the assholes I can't stand."
He placed a hand on the counter. "I meant what I said about helping you."
"There's no helping me. Not unless you can get the pack to back off."
He frowned.
"Yeah. I figured as much. None of us have the power to change the old ways. Someday, when the stodgy bastards in charge pass the reign of power to another generation, then things might be different." She looked into those eyes torn between loyalty to his pack and friendship toward her and wished Rylan was the pack alpha. But that was why he'd left. He moved to get away from the overbearing pack leader, who was his father.
"I have a friend. She's a hypnotherapist. She's good." He hesitated. "I'd like to introduce you to her."
Kylie raised a brow. "You want me to see a hypnotist?"
"Yes. She can help you sort through past events and free your mind from what could be blocking your wolf from emerging." He touched her hand and gripped it with a gentle squeeze. "Please, Kylie. What do you have to lose?"
She wanted to say she could lose everything—her mind, her heart, all that made her who she was, and all that had kept her going through the years. Part of her didn't want to go back to the past. That was the real problem. The past held a lot of hurt. Probing the dark corners and opening doors she'd sealed shut many years ago didn't sound like a good plan. Then again, what choices did she have left if she was to remain near her grandfather?
"When?"
"We can go now. I can give you a lift to the bank and call Sandra on the way."
"Wow. You had this all arranged, thinking I'd go along with it?" She pulled her hand away from him and snatched up the cash bag. "Fine. But I'm driving."
Relief spread across his face. It gave her some reassurance to know he hadn't been completely sure of her response.
She took the keys from her pocket and locked the office door behind them. A gust of wind swirled around her just like before. This time, it engulfed them both. She felt the heat from his body touch her bare arms. She cleared her throat and took a few steps backward to give more space between them.
"Nice ride." She nodded in the direction of his glossy black Land Rover. "You must have done pretty well for yourself since leaving Unity Falls."
He gave a small, uncomfortable smile. "I manage."
"Apparently." She climbed into the dilapidated Ford that wasn't reliable in bad weather but had gotten her where she needed to go—eventually.
Rylan got in beside her. "You sure you don't want me to drive?"
She laughed. "You know me better than that."
He chuckled. "Yes, I do."
"Where are we going?" She stopped at the edge of the property and waited for instructions.
"Sandra has an office out near Miller's Pond, so the bank is on the way. I just texted her to expect us."
Kylie drove onto the main road and turned left. She caught the stares as they drove past the shops on Main Street. A group of older shifters lingering near their standard meet-up by a coffee shop watched them, intent on any fragment of gossip they could glean from Rylan sitting in her truck. Let them stare. Let them make up stories about her. She'd be gone in a few days. That would set their tongues wagging.
