Terry Spear - Silence of the Wolf

With a snowstorm threatening, Tom Silver examined the tracks of the second wolf reported this week by a disgruntled farmer. The tracks circled the sheep pen and then loped off toward the woods. The farm was in the Silver Town werewolf territorynot that the human farmers had a clue they lived in an area claimed by a pack of gray werewolves.

Wearing an old jacket, hip-high rubber boots, and dungarees, farmer Bill Todd scowled at Tom. Your brother said hed take care of these wolves. Three weeks of threats to our sheep, and nothins been done about it.

Were looking for them, Tom assured him, standing to his full height.

Sheep and calves are being threatened at different farms and ranches, Bill railed. Five. We cant be up all night patrolling for wolves all the timeand your brother said we wouldnt have to. I swear, if I see a wolf, Im going to shoot it dead before it gets to my livestock.

Well get the wolves that are doing this, Tom reassured him. They had to before a farmer or rancher shot an innocent werewolf or a wolf that was all wolf. He glanced at the tracks the wolves had left.

The three of them arrived before sunrise. I heard a noise, came running out here with my rifle and a camp light, and shined it right into their glowing green eyes. When I set the lantern down and aimed the rifle, they raced off. I took a shot, but the damned weapon jammed.

Well take care of them. Do you mind if I leave my pickup truck here for a while? Tom didnt wait for an answer. He immediately stalked through the snow, tracking the wolves.

Bill called after him, Hey, a snowstorms headed this way. You cant hunt them now.

Tom kept going. He appreciated the farmers and ranchers frustrations, even though Toms oldest brother, Darien Silver, took responsibility for their losses as the owner of the land the farmers leased. The pack couldnt afford to have humans accidentally shooting werewolves or harmless wolves. Some pack members were too newly turned to have a lot of control over their shifting, particularly with the full moon approaching in another week.

Tom followed the trail, which seemed to indicate only one wolf had run this way. Tom knew better. One would precede the others, leaving what looked like one set of tracks to disguise how many were in the pack. The trail the lead wolf left would also make it easier for the others to follow.

Flurries whipped into a thicker curtain of snow. Tom wanted desperately to shift and run the wolves down. But his brother had ordered that none of the pack shift within five miles of farms and ranches until they resolved the matter.

Tom had only managed to cover a mile and a half from Bill Todds spread when his cell jingled. He didnt have to look at the ID to know Darien was calling him and would order him home. Yeah, Darien? Tom continued to watch the trees as he followed the wolf tracks.

Bill Todd called me. Said that fool youngest brother of mine tore off, looking for wolf tracksunarmedand the snows coming down hard, so theres barely any visibility. He said, and I quote, No damn sheep is worth the life of a good man.

Amused that Bill would say that, as much as he loved his sheep and wanted the wolves dead, Tom paused. The snowflakes grew fatter, nearly obliterating any open space between them. The snow quickly filled up each of the paw prints left behind.

Breathing heavily, Tom picked up his pace, not wanting to stop.

Tom, well get them. Some other time. I want you home. The snows coming down hard enough that youll lose track of them soon. Visibility is worsening.

We have to stop this, Darien.

I know. We will. Come home. Darien sounded like he was asking, but Tom knew better. His brother was the pack leader and his word was law.

Tom stopped and smelled the air, hating that he couldnt catch any whiff of which wolves were causing the trouble. He surveyed the Colorado blue spruce trees for any movement. He felt in his bones that the wolves were watching him, waiting to see if hed keep searching.

Wolves didnt normally attack people. But Tom and the rest of their wolf pack suspected these were not wolves but rogue werewolvesand that meant all bets were off.

Next time, Im not stopping for anything, Tom warned both Darien and the wolves that might be observing him.

He saw movement. A gray wolfs tail rose for a second as the wolf turned and bounded through the woods.

Tom took off running, forgetting he hadnt ended the call with his brother. Darien could hear Toms heavy breathing and his quickened pace as he stomped over the frozen ground.

Tom, if I have to

I saw one of them, damn it.

Who was it? Did you recognize

Just the flash of a gray tail. I dont know who it was.

You cant run him down. Not as a human. It could be a trap.

Tom stopped running, swore under his breath, and again watched the woods.

If three of them are responsible, you wont be any match for them even if you shift.

Tom hesitated.

Damn it, Tom.

All right. Tomorrow, if we have fresh tracks, Im hunting them down once and for all.

Elizabeth Wildwood had barely arrived in Silver Town before the snowstorm hit. Surprised the owner of Hastings Bed and Breakfast was a gray werewolf, Elizabeth was thankful the sweet woman didnt seem to mind what Elizabeth wasor wasnt. She had four more days leave from her job at the Canyon Press in Texas to write an article on skiing at a Colorado resort. But that wasnt the only reason why she was here.

She quickly retired to her room and called North Redding, a red wolf from Bruins former pack, which was now led by another red wolf Elizabeth didnt know. Technically, her father had also belonged to the pack, but she had never been part of it. North had been the only one from the red pack to treat her without scorn. Elizabeth hoped to connect with him despite the storm, but she wouldnt go to his place to meet him. His home was too close to where her uncle lived.

North, I just got in. We can meet tomorrow. Ill give you the time and place in the morning.

You said you would arrive tomorrow. You were supposed to stay with me. You agreed Id pick you up at the airport and bring you to my house.

I never agreed to that, North. I said Id decide when I arrived in Colorado. She didnt want to say she didnt trust him. Truth was, she didnt trust her uncle. If North let it slip that she was in the area, Uncle Quinton or her half brother, Sefton, might try to finish what they had started last time. Especially considering why she was here.

Youre afraid Ill tell your Uncle Quinton that youre here? Is that it? If he knew what I planned to share with you, hed kill me! North was angry that Elizabeth didnt believe in him, but she couldnt. He might not be working with her uncle and half brother, but he was still in their pack. It was just safer this way.

I flew in early ahead of the snowstorm. Why wont you at least tell me what the evidence is? she said to placate him.

Cant.

Fine. Talk to you tomorrow. She had hoped never to return to that part of the country. After her parents were murdered, it hadnt been home for her. It never would be. Killing her uncle wouldnt make things right, but it had to be donefor her parents, for her, and for the pack she had never belonged to.