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The next day, I woke to a racket that sounded more suited to a battlefield than to a quiet town, and my heart sank when I saw the pub was surrounded by angry wolves. George was the only wolf still on two legs, but he looked ready to tear Dad's throat out. Dad, on the other hand, looked calm in the face of so much canine anger, but still, I felt like my heart was in my throat. "You need to turn around and naff off," he warned, his voice cold and smooth. "You've no business here, and if you think you can snatch my daughter away a second time, think again. My boys won't let their sister go, and I won't see her sent back to that house of horrors so she can be beaten into silence."
George growled low in his throat. "She's my daughter," he said. "You need to release her at once! Or I'll rain hell on you and your two sons, just as my father did to their covens long ago!"82Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8ginPanZFX
Dad rolled his eyes. "Nice try," he said. He snapped his fingers, and I cried out as complete darkness fell, snuffing out the lights as if a giant hand had reached down. Howls filled the sudden night, and I shivered as I fumbled my way towards the door so I could turn the light on. I collided with a warm body instead; Tom. He put his arms around me, pressing my face against his bare chest, and I held on for dear life, relieved he'd intervened before I did something rash. Lights meant danger, so I closed my eyes and focused on the sound of Tom's heartbeat.
Outside, the howls were still sounding through the darkness, and I could just make out George's voice as he screamed orders. But whatever he tried didn't work; daylight didn't return, and Dad yelled something in return that was way too rude to repeat on paper. A howl and a yelp told the tale, and Tom guided me to the window as the darkness lifted. Not enough to see too clearly, but enough for me to make out George, lying senseless on the ground at Dad's feet. Mary snarled and leapt at Dad in a vengeful rush, but Dad simply held out his hand, and a sudden flare of blue-white light struck her right between the eyes, and she dropped on the ground beside her mate, stunned. That was enough to send the rest of the pack running; though two members did shift back to human form so they could scoop their alpha and luna up, and once they were gone, the darkness lifted completely, bringing natural daylight back to the town.
Dad soon came upstairs, his eyes blazing as he explained the fallout to come. "George won't be run off a second time," he said. "I'm sorry, kiddo. You've got to get out of here, and fast. Tom'll take you up north; I've made contact with some relatives in Preston, and they're far away enough that George can't get to them yet. Once you're under they're care, they'll ring the place with spells and call in the cavalry. It's going to be all out war once George calls in his favours, and I won't have anyone caught in the crossfire a second time if I can help it."
I swallowed the tears that threatened to come, and hugged him ferociously, feeling my ribs creak as he hugged me just as fervently in return. No words needed to be said; I packed my scarcely unpacked suitcase, and after saying goodbye to Martin, Tom and I jumped in his bronze Beetle and hit the high road. Dad advised us to leave the car at St Albans City station and take the train the rest of the way; George's pack would have no way of tagging us once we were on the train, and since they were still shocked at their leaders' downfall, it would be some time before they even thought to start the hunt. By then, Tom and I would be well on our way to the north, and the search would reach a blank wall once we arrived in Preston.
I admitted to more nerves than I liked, but Tom squeezed my hand as we navigated our way through the mid-morning traffic. It wasn't terribly busy, but we seemed to be hitting every single red light, and it was making me more than a bit anxious. "Just rotten bad luck," Tom assured me. "George won't have the faculties necessary to try any smart tricks; Dad's hit on him temporarily disabled his spells of misdirection, and his pack's going to be too discombobulated to even try and reestablish his spells. We're in the clear for now."
Still. I was immensely relieved when we reached St Albans City station, and even more relieved when we'd safely parked our backsides on the next train for St Pancras International. Tom must've felt the same; as the train pulled out, he heaved a long sigh of relief as he put his arm around me and gently tugged my head to rest on his shoulder.
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