Futile attempt
1366 Words
BRAHAM’S POV
I smelled her the moment she stepped out of that beat-up Ford.
Martha's scent; cheap perfume, rage, and desperation…cut through the park like a blade. My wolf surged forward, claws scraping at the inside of my skin.
"She's here," I murmured into the comm unit hidden in my ear.
"Copy that." Renan's voice crackled back. "North side, moving toward the playground."
I kept my position behind the large oak near the parking lot, watching through the gaps in the leaves.
Around the park, six of my pack sentinels blended into the afternoon crowd; A jogger. A couple on a blanket. A man walking his dog. All connected through the bond, alert and ready.
Millie sat on the bench with Callie, both facing the playground. Their backs were to Martha. Perfect targets.
Leo went down the slide, his laughter carrying across the grass. Completely oblivious to the monster watching him.
Good. He should never know how close she came.
Martha moved closer, adjusting her baseball cap. Her hands trembled even from this distance. The bitter tang of her fear mixed with something darker. Intent.
My canines lengthened. I pulled my sunglasses down to hide the gold bleeding into my eyes.
A man approached Millie's bench. Mid-forties, forgettable face, notepad in hand. A professional smile plastered on.
"Excuse me," he said. "I'm doing a piece on local families and park safety. Mind if I ask a few questions?"
Millie glanced at Callie, hesitant. "Um, sure. I guess."
The man launched into his questions. How often did they visit? What did they think of the playground equipment? Standard journalist bullshit.
But I caught his scent. Faint, but there. Martha's cheap perfume clung to his jacket.
"Renan," I said through the mind-link. "The man talking to Millie. He's with her."
"Copy. I see him. Want me to intervene?"
"No. Let it play out."
She moved. Closer now.
Leo wandered toward the swings. Toward her.
Every instinct I had screamed at me to move. To grab him. To tear Martha apart before she could get within ten feet of my son.
But I held position. We needed her to make the attempt. Needed witnesses. Needed ironclad evidence.
Martha straightened. Said something to Leo I couldn't hear over the distance and ambient noise.
My hands clenched into fists. Claws pressed against my palms, threatening to break through my skin.
"Not yet," Renan warned through the mindlink. "Hold position."
Then I saw it. Martha's hand reaching out.
Leo's small fingers wrapping around hers.
She was leading him away. Toward the parking lot. Toward her car.
At the bench, the journalist kept Millie and Callie distracted with endless questions about safety protocols and community concerns. Their backs were still to the playground.
Martha moved faster now. Leo chattered beside her, his voice carrying on the breeze.
They reached her car. She opened the back door, and I saw her mouth move.
Leo climbed in without hesitation.
The door shut.
Martha rounded to the driver's side.
"Now!" I barked into the comm.
I was already running.
The journalist at the bench suddenly stepped back, muttered something about running late, and disappeared into the crowd.
Millie turned. Saw the empty playground.
"Lionel!" Her scream ripped across the park. "Where's Leo?!"
She spotted the car…spotted Martha getting in…and took off running.
But I was faster.
The engine started.
I was twenty feet away when Leo cried out.
But it wasn't a child's cry.
The sound that came from inside that car was deep, guttural, inhuman. A roar that rattled windows across the parking lot. The air itself seemed to thicken, pressing outward with raw power.
Even from outside, I felt it. The power of an emerging wolf, terrified and calling for help.
Martha's face went white.
I reached the back door and didn't bother with the handle. My fingers hooked under the door frame, and I ripped it clean off. Metal shrieked and tore like paper.
Humans gasped. Phones rose.
I didn't care.
Leo sat in the back seat, his small body trembling. His eyes…those beautiful eyes that were usually hazel…blazed gold. The pupils had elongated into slits.
"It's okay, buddy," I forced my voice gentle despite the wolf trying to claw out of my throat. "I've got you."
I pulled him from the car as Millie reached us, face streaked with tears.
"Baby, baby, it's okay," she sobbed, taking him from me. She pressed his face against her shoulder, one hand cupping the back of his head.
Leo buried himself against her. His small body shook, and slowly…so slowly…the gold faded from his eyes.
Martha sat frozen behind the wheel, staring at us with absolute terror etched across her face.
"What…what is he?" she whispered.
I leaned down until my face was level with hers through the window. Let her see the gold still blazing in my eyes. Let her see exactly what she'd almost taken.
"Your worst nightmare."
The police officers we'd coordinated with pushed through the gathering crowd.
"Martha Harvey?" One of them approached, hand on his cuffs.
"Yes, but you don't understand!" Martha pointed at us with shaking fingers. "Did you see…his eyes…he's not human! None of them are! They're monsters!"
The officers exchanged glances. One touched his radio. "We need a psych eval at booking."
"No! I'm not crazy! Look at them!"
But Leo's eyes were normal now. Hazel and confused and fully human.
And mine had faded back the moment the officers appeared.
"Martha Harvey, you're under arrest for attempted kidnapping, child endangerment, and stalking." The handcuffs clicked around her wrists.
"This isn't over!" she screamed as they pulled her toward the patrol car. "Do you hear me, Millie? This isn't over!"
The police car doors slammed shut, muffling her screams.
Through the bond, I felt my sentinels' emotions; Shock. Questions. Protective instincts flaring toward Leo.
"Stand down," I sent through the mindlink. "He's safe. Threat neutralized."
Their acknowledgement came back as relief.
Around us, the crowd pressed closer. Phones still recording. Questions flying.
"Is the child okay?"
"What happened to the car door?"
"Did you see that woman try to drive away with him?"
I finally felt my canines recede. The gold drained from my eyes, leaving them their normal color. My wolf retreated, still snarling but satisfied that the threat was contained.
Renan appeared beside me, his face carefully neutral despite the questions I could feel through our bond.
"The journalist," I said quietly. "Tell me you got him."
His jaw tightened. "Lost him in the crowd. But we got his photo. Facial recognition is running now."
Damn it. One got away. But not for long.
Millie still held Leo, rocking him gently. Her whole body trembled.
"Let's get them home," I said.
"Police want statements."
"They can’t wait." I met his eyes, letting him see the Alpha command there. "My family needs to go home. Now."
He nodded and moved to intercept the approaching officers.
I guided Millie toward our car, one hand on her back. Leo's face was still pressed against her shoulder, and I could hear his rapid breathing.
"Almost there," I murmured. "You're doing great."
We reached the Range Rover. I opened the back door and helped Millie settle Leo in his car seat. His hands clutched at her shirt, not wanting to let go.
"I'll be right here, baby," she whispered. "Right in the front seat. I'm not going anywhere."
Slowly, his grip loosened. She buckled him in with shaking hands.
Callie appeared, slightly out of breath. "I'll drive. You two need to be with Leo."
I didn't argue. We climbed into the back on either side of Leo's car seat.
As Callie pulled out of the parking lot, I looked back once.
The crowd was dispersing. The police were still there, taking statements from witnesses. Martha's beat-up Ford sat abandoned, the back door still hanging at an odd angle where I'd torn it off.
And somewhere in that crowd, or already gone, was the man who'd helped her. Daniel Chen. The private investigator who'd been paid to distract my mate while someone tried to steal my son.
He wouldn't stay hidden for long.
No one who threatened my family ever did.
- Writer
