The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 16

MADDOX

“What the actual f**k was that, Wilder?” I slam the car door behind me, the gamma in question and my beta tucking into the vehicle behind me.

“What?” the red head asks, clueless.

“That s**t you pulled in there,” Asher clarifies, clearly just as put out as me.

“She was just playing hard to get,” Wilder says dismissively.

“No, she wasn’t,” I growl in frustration. "She was clearly uncomfortable. In fact, she looked terrified the second you touched her.”

“Well she was acting like we haven’t seen her naked before! We paid for a show. I wanted a show. She struts around naked regularly, so what’s the big deal?” Wilder sounds like a petulant child.

“I swear to the Goddess, just shut up,” I say disgusted, “I don’t want to hear anything from you for the rest of the night. I don’t know what your f*****g deal is, but if it happens again, I will demote you from Gamma.” He glares at me through the rearview mirror but keeps his mouth shut. We make the rest of the drive home in an uncomfortable silence.

“What has gotten into Wilder lately?” I ask in frustration.

“Not sure, but it’s getting out of hand,” Asher replies, “Not paying his debts, multiple times, and then the stunt he pulled with the dancer?” I nod in agreement, thinking back to the scared look on the poor woman’s face. All color drained from her face the second Wilder started interacting with her, the scent of fear and distress was coming off her in waves. It made my wolf uneasy and agitated.

“Have you had a chance to ask him about who he might of pissed off enough that they’d want him dead?” I sigh, changing the subject.

“I’ve tried, but he dodges the question every time,” Asher’s usual calm tone is laced with irritation.

“Go get him and bring him in here,” I rub my hands over my face, exasperated.

Asher is gone barely five minutes before he's walking through my office door with an anxious looking Wilder in toe.

“I’m done with the bullshit, Wilder. Do you know who attacked you,” I stare him down, his brown eyes refusing to meet mine.

“Of course I don’t!” He snaps at me and I growl at him in warning.

“Watch the tone.”

“I don’t know who or why, alright? Can we just drop it?” The Gamma crosses his arms over his chest.

“No, we can’t. Someone trespassed and attacked one of my pack, tried to KILL you. This is serious,” I throw back at him, and he still won’t meet my gaze. I’ve known him long enough to know when he’s lying. “You’re on house arrest. You aren’t allowed to leave pack territory, and you aren’t allowed outside of the pack house unless accompanied by me or Asher.”

“WHAT?! I’m not a f*****g child,” the red head protests.

“Then stop acting like one,” I snap, “I’ve had to pay off your tab, TWICE, and then last night? Your behavior was disgusting, man.”

“How? I was just trying to get what we paid for,” Wilder growls.

“She clearly said ‘no’ and you kept pushing,” Asher finally spoke up.

“They never cared before,” the Gamma grumbles under his breath.

“What is that supposed to mean, Wilder?” I narrow my eyes at him. He turns his head, finding something more interesting on the wall to look at. “Wilder, I asked you a question.” He remains silent, shifting from foot to foot uncomfortably.

“Fine, if this is how you wanna f*****g play it. Get the hell out of my sight. I don’t want to see you for the rest of the day. Tonight, we’re setting up an ambush for whoever attacked you. We figure he’ll want to come back to finish the job, so we’re gunna use you as bait. I want you to be ready to go by ten.” That got his attention. Anxiety is clear on his face, but he doesn’t say anything, simply leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose.

“Make sure everything is ready for tonight,” I groan to Asher, who nods before leaving the office.

Everything is set. Wilder is in position, walking like he’s on patrol while every quarter mile or so someone is stationed, watching and waiting. Natalie and a few other witches she convinced to help are cloaking us while also concealing scent. It’s a little unnerving not knowing exactly where everyone is or being able to smell them.

It's been several hours, and nothing has happened so far. I'm just about to call it when Wilder's voice pops into my head.

'I think I heard something,' he sounds mildly panicked.

'Whose closest to his position?' I ask the entire team.

'He just passed me, so he's somewhere between me and you,' Asher responds.

'Okay, Wilder, keep going like nothing's wrong. Asher, head in his direction and I'll do the same.' I start moving, going as fast as I can manage without making too much noise.

'She's in the trees. I can hear her,' Wilder reports in.

'Almost to your location,' I reply.

'So am I,' my Beta responds.

It only takes another thirty seconds before Wilder comes into view.

'I see you. I'm going to trail behind, see if I can spot anything,' I inform Wilder, who is looking very anxious with his ears back and tail down. I scan the tree canopy for any out of place movement.

'I think I saw something,' Asher states, 'in the trees to his three-o-clock.' My eyes start scanning, and then I see it too. The leaves of a lower hanging branch are swaying unnaturally, and find a dark figure hiding in the foliage.

'Spotted,' I answer back, 'Asher, standby, I'm going to try and flank.' I creep my way around until I'm behind the tree, keeping my eyes glued to their location. He's in the process of pulling out a weapon once I'm positioned directly under him. I watch in curiosity until he's pulling back an arm, axe raised and poised to throw.

'He's about to engage,' I warn before leaping. He's just within reach, mere feet away. He's mine. He’s not getting away.

My teeth clack together loud and painfully as they bite down into nothing. I blink, stunned and confused. When my paws land back onto soft earth, I search around frantically but don’t see the target anywhere.

'He's gone, I lost him,' a snarl fills the forest air.

‘I know, I saw…’ Asher pauses, ‘I don’t know what I saw. He was there and then he wasn’t.’

‘FIND HIM!’ The order roars out, the fury pumping in my veins surely palpable through the mindlink. Uncomfortable tense energy comes rushing through the connection, every assisting wolf now on high alert and anxious.

A loud yelp breaks my tirade of rage. I whip my head in its direction just in time to see Wilder collapsing to the ground. A few large bounds and I’m there hovering over his prone form. His chest is rising and falling shallowly. Blood stains the russet fur as it trickles down from an axe protruding from his shoulder.

‘Wilder has been hit. He’s incapacitated but still breathing,’ the message is meant to sound calm, but it comes out with a growling edge. ‘Someone come grab him and take him to the infirmary. Everyone else join me and Asher at this location.’ A resounding ‘Yes, Alpha!’ comes through from multiple voices. I scan the trees, determining a general direction based on the direction the axe is facing. It’s quiet, unbearably so. The only noise is Wilder’s labored breaths and the faint footsteps of Asher prowling the perimeter.

Rubies shine in the moonlight, like a lighthouse warning ships in the night. A growl rumbles in my throat, ready to charge at the assailant, but in the blink of an eye, he's gone. Before I can register what's happening, red eyes are once again glaring into my green ones, but this time only inches away. So close I can feel their breath fanning over my face. The sudden proximity is disorienting, there's no time to process anything, and suddenly, something hard and sharp is colliding into the side of my jaw. The impact is jarring as it jerks my head to the side. When I finally recover and get my bearings again, the attacker has vanished.

'Asher, can you see anything? What the hell is happening?'

'He's... I don't know. He's there one second and gone the next. It's like he's blinking in and out of existence,' the Beta says, confused. I look down to check on Wilder, only to choke on my own spit. The axe that was once lodged in his body is now gone, and so is the new specially made prosthesis. Red liquid is oozing out of the wiring ports, the stray wires frayed from being ripped off Wilder's person.