Page 25 of Wolf

My heart in my throat, I work my way around the front, noticing splashes and smears of blood-red paint. The damage only gets worse. One tire slashed. My belongings lie scattered far and wide, including the stuff that was in the trunk.

Leaning in, I smell sharp, acrid urine, and jerk back, smacking my head in the process. This isn’t random vandalism. Pissing in someone’s vehicle makes it personal.

Who would do something like this? Malcolm was angry with me, but I can’t see him doing something like this. It’s too physical for him. Too uncouth. He’d never whip it out and pee in public. Never.

I stumble back from my car, glass crunching underfoot for multiple steps, and fumble my phone from my pocket. My fingers work automatically. Despite what he’s done, Wolf is the only person I can think of to call. The only safe person in this town.

The phone rings. My mind races. Will he answer? It’s much too early for him to be working at the bar.

Barely through the third ring, he picks up, and something in my soul that I refuse to acknowledge is soothed. “Julia?” He sounds confused. I can’t blame him, I told him to go.

I manage to stutter it out to him, that my car has been vandalized.

“You’re at home?”

“Yes.”

“Stay there.” He hangs up, and it isn’t long before I hear the approaching roar of a bike engine. I can’t believe how fast he is, his response prompter than the police ever could have been.

He comes ripping down the street, leaning over the handlebars, his face wild, eyes glinting. He barely comes to a stop before he leaps off and goes straight to me, muscles rippling, leather shining, and sweeps me into his arms to hold me against his firm chest. He’s shaking, growling. “Whoever did this, they’re gonna pay. Fucking bastard.”

I’m shaking too as I lean into him, unable to resist my cravings in spite of knowing I shouldn’t, knowing this is an awful time for it. Or, maybe, it’s the best time. “Wolf, I…”

He touches a rough finger to my lips, silencing my quivering words. “Not now. Let me fix this.”

Everyone around me fixes things for me because I’m too broken to do much on my own.

Wolf makes several short, businesslike calls. By that point, Mom’s come outside to see what’s going on, her eyes widening at the sight of my car. Wolf fills her in at the same time as I begin to hear more bike engines approaching, and car engines, too. What seems like a presidential motorcade comes pouring down the streets, surrounding the house. Huge bikers dismount, grabbing boxes and tools as they approach. One of them is Steel. Everyone knows Steel because he’s the biggest and baddest, the leader, the one the rest call Prez. The VP, Edge, is there, too. And another man with a snake tattoo, and a tall, dark man, and a thin, sleek man who moves like a shadow. And more.

A few more men step out of the vehicles, but so do multiple women, further astonishing me. I know one of them is Leah, Steel’s wife. Their relationship was a whole thing that gripped the town for a while, because Leah’s father was a powerful man who hated the bikers. The others, I don’t really recognize. One is pretty in a vampiric way, all pale skin, gray eyes, and raven-black hair. Another radiates an otherworldly beauty and kindness, her heart-shaped face and light hair giving off elfin vibes.

Steel strides forward to meet us while the men and women cluster behind him, like army ranks. His raven hair and sharp gray eyes help me to form an instant connection between him and the pale black-haired beauty. She’s obviously his daughter. That’s where the physical similarities end because this man is built like a tank, muscles on top of muscles. He looks like he might struggle to enter doors normally, that’s how big he is.

He stands before us, this formidable man with his ruggedly handsome face, features chiseled from stone. “I guess you’re havin’ some trouble, aren’t you, Julia?”

His voice is almost too deep and low to hear properly, a wave of infrasound that thrums in my chest.

With all those eyes on me, waiting for my response, I want to go and hide behind my mom, let her do the talking. I can’t. I have to face this because whatever is going on, it’s my fault.

I look into Steel’s sharp gaze, and somewhere past the cutting blades, I see real emotion, genuine concern. Looking away from him, I see the same thing from the others. It’s more obvious on the women, but the fact that they’re all here literally just for me is evidence enough.

“I guess I am,” I say. “My car… You can see it for yourself.”

“Yeah, we sure can,” Edge growls. He steps up beside Steel and somehow, he’s more intimidating to me because he’s got this, well, edge to him, one that his good looks serve to accentuate. Steel’s daughter stands close to him, too close for casual acquaintance.

I don’t know these people. I don’t know their dynamics. If they told me their names, I’d never remember half of them.

Steel claps his hands together. I jump a little and Wolf clamps a hand on my wrist. “We’re gonna help you with this,” Steel says. “We always are fixin’ up dings and dents on our bikes and our old ladies’ cars. We can get you some new windows too, if you want to hand over your car keys. Otherwise, we can tell you where to go for that.”

“Why?” I blurt out. He lifts a thick brow, asking for clarification. “Why would you do that? Why would you all come here?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do!” Leah strides forward to take my hand. It’s a strong hand, soft and comforting. She has the looks of a porcelain doll without the fragility. “You have a son?”

How does she know that? Well, maybe they’ve been talking about me coming back to town. Helena’s a small town, so anything is worthwhile gossip.

“Artie. He’s inside.” Probably confused and frightened, being left on his own while all these strange people descended on the house.

“I have a son, too. So does Stephanie.” Leah indicates the elfin beauty, who smiles warmly. “Ginger and Doreen have the kids—they’re Brick and Snake’s old ladies. Maybe we can arrange a playdate sometime if Artie wants to meet other kids? Anyway, let’s all go inside while the men do their thing. It’s going to be loud and messy.”