“Looking for me?” I ask confidently.
“Wrong,” interrupts Donn. “Vuk Wolf wants to see me. He’s here to talk to me.”
I see the shadows of passers-by cross his tight short-sleeve black top, that he wears despite the fact that it’s cold.
“Why isn’t she in the reading room?”
The people passing by are avoiding walking near him, as if he has a bubble around him that no one dares invade.
“We needed a… safe place. Somewhere crowded, otherwise it would have been impossible to talk today.”
I notice the faces surrounding us: readers, students, a couple of my classmates, Jonathan and Mark. They stare at Vuk, six and a half feet tall, his body tense and leaning forward.
“Why should Vuk want to talk to you?” I ask.
He hesitates, uncomfortable as I am so close to such a restless werewolf. “He doesn’t want you to talk to Graham. He’s not comfortable about you going into the tower. He knows that in there, whatever happens, he cannot intervene.”
Donn stops a few yards from him.
“I guess you know why I’m here,” Vuk says, his fists tightening.
“I know what you want to say. Consider me warned,” replies Donn warily.
“Message received. But it’s not that easy…” retorts Vuk, his voice hoarse and rasping.
“You could have called me,” says Donn, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “You knew I’d be in the library today.”
“Sorry,” sneers Vuk. “My library card doesn’t allow for calls to bloodsuckers.”
Donn’s hand forms a fist, which he hides behind him. He uses his body as a shield between me and Vuk. “This is not the time or the place, stray dog.”
Vuk shakes his head and takes a deep breath. “Oh, I think it is.” He is visibly shaken, his arms and legs quake.
A group of students has gathered behind Jonathan, who is still standing by Mark.
“Why did you come here, Vuk?” I cry. “Weren’t you just supposed to drop in to say goodbye?”
“Goodbye,” he spurts insolently.
My eyes can’t hide my concern as I search his face for an answer. He returns my gaze with a brazen smile, like a kid caught doing something he shouldn’t be doing, but knowing he will go unpunished. “So, do you wanna’ know why I’m here,” he asks, “Or do you wanna’ keep on my back for something I can’t control?”
“Excuse me, but our friendship is important to me. And I don’t want to talk about private matters here in public, like my plans for the near future and deals that risk going down the drain,” I reply prudently, not wanting to antagonize him.
Vuk looks at me detachedly for a moment before turning to Donn.
“I won’t let you take Stella into the Council tower, into that bloodsuckers’ crypt,” he growls in a low voice, looking around cautiously. He is almost back to normal, only his hands are shaking now.
I see Jonathan elbow Mark, and both look on with expectant eyes. Maybe they’re hoping to see a fight break out, anything to alleviate the boredom of a Tuesday afternoon in the library.
Vuk scoffs and hisses angrily.
“You might be able to control yourself at times, but those bloodsuckers you’re taking her to…” He shakes his head reprovingly.
“You’re right, dog!” snarls Donn. “But Stella has to come to the meeting.”
I stiffen up. Donn’s velvety voice growling insults sounds so out of place.
“Or else?” barks Vuk.
“Or else the deal can’t get off the ground. You know that,” replies Donn.
“It’s been my job to protect her so far!” Vuk’s roar echoes in the space between us and the window, its panes vibrating from the blare.
“Yes,” says Donn, placating. “Thanks for having protected her when I couldn’t. I waited two hundred years for her… but I didn’t see her coming.” His voice is wistful. “But you shouldn’t insist, Vuk. Stella has agreed to come to the meeting and Graham loses his patience easily.”
Vuk’s tension doesn’t ebb, and he won’t even look me in the eye. Donn’s statement has caused other convulsions through his chest and shoulders. Donn leans down to whisper in my ear, his words dripping with sarcasm.
“You know him well; do you think my words had a calming effect?”
I throw him a dirty look. Vuk is overcome by another spasm; he breathes deeply and grinds his teeth to calm himself.
Donn nails him with his eyes.
“The Council is the only thing that can protect Stella right now,” he explains patiently. “With Graham on our side, working from the inside behind the scenes, Jack won’t be able to make a move. And do you think Stella would be better off if we left her to her own devices, with Adam on her trail. And he wouldn’t be working on his own if the Council were to start hunting her.” The accusatory tone in his voice escapes neither me nor Vuk, whose lips let out a low hiss.
“Is someone trailing me?
“Hold on, do you know who the rebel is?” Vuk says simultaneously.
Before replying, Donn hugs me close to his chest, still acting as a shield between me and Vuk. He cups his big, gentle hand around my head, keeping me as far away as possible from him.
“Yes,” he answers in reply to both our questions. “We know who the rebel is. It’s Adam Evans. I know him well. He once meant a great deal to me, more than Aaron means to Graham. We met when we were humans, we were very close. We fought side by side in the War of Independence. We met again in our new lives and then lost track of each other. And now, after all these years, he shows up again, hunting the only thing that means anything to me, that has become…
necessary
,” murmurs Donn, turning to me. “But don’t fret, baby girl. I’m essentially too selfish to give you up. I want you too much to risk losing you. So don’t get nervous; with the Council on your side, the wolves watching your back and me protecting you, we can counteract any attack.”
Vuk looks at him, pure hate in his eyes. He snarls, showing his teeth. “We can deal with the rebel,” he roars.
“Then why is he still on the loose, on the hunt?” laughs Donn, mockingly.
“You’re starting to get on my nerves,” warns Vuk. “You keep repeating the same tactics––deception, escape, deception, escape. He’s starting to bother us, but he doesn’t act. He keeps changing his mind. But he’s not the one who decides.”
“That doesn’t surprise me,” admits Donn. “When he was human, Adam was a strategist. During the war, he was used to undertaking reconnaissance missions in enemy territory and taking orders from me. Then, in his new life, he became a hunter.” I presume from his words that things are looking grim for me.
“Can you explain better, please?” I ask politely, resigned.
“I’m interested in his accomplice; before now we only guessed that he had one,” hints Donn.
“Because she only came out into the open a few days ago,” explains Vuk. “They combed Vermont and now they’re hunting Stella in New Hampshire – our territory – but they’re still on the borders. They can’t penetrate our defense,” he states proudly, a wide smile on his face. “They must have heard about the deal and my deep
bond
– my great friendship – with Stella.”
“Did I hear right? Did you say ‘she’? His accomplice is a woman?”
“It’s his girlfriend, to be precise. Yep, you heard right, bloodsucker,” confirms Vuk, cocky and smug.
“First of all, yesterday, as usual, I saw him try different roads. He seems a bit inconsistent,” Vuk reasons aloud. “But I guess it’s a tactic to find a breach in our defense, to try to defeat us. One false lead after another. But a few minutes after we got there, his accomplice appeared…” That “we” must mean the plural of the pack, this detail does not escape me. “As they were taking flight, I saw that it was a woman. Seems gutsy, I’d say. But not too smart. The
pack
was ferocious, we were all there.” For the first time he confirms what I suspected––his whole pack of wolves was involved.
“Her life couldn’t have been more at risk,” continues Vuk. “One mistake after another, to keep them from seeing the weakness that would have allowed them into our territory. At that point, doctor…” He corrects himself. “My brother almost grabbed her back, but she managed to make it past the border with her boyfriend.”
“What stopped you from capturing them once they had crossed the border?”
Vuk looks at him grimly.
“They came back.”
I am totally and completely lost.
“So
he
wasn’t alone?”
“No,” Vuk’s replies shortly. “His backup came today.”
I roll my eyes… Could I be more confused? But I would bet that Vuk checked his facts when he skipped Professor Wilde’s class.
“He found out about the meeting and called the rest of the family,” concludes Donn calmly.
“He must have heard at the party,” he confesses in a guilty tone. It sounds like an admission. So the person in question was at the party… But there were too many people, far too many, for me to make out who they’re talking about.
Then Vuk looks challengingly at Donn as he says calmly. “I never promised to fight a clean fight, just as long as Stella is protected…”
I shake my head, stunned.
Donn stifles an caustic laugh. “I warned you about Graham not taking this news well. You touched a …raw nerve.” He tries to get us on our way, by moving toward the staircase.
Vuk ignores him and anticipates his move. He comes closer to me and puts his arm across my path to bar the way.
Donn doesn’t try to stop him; he doesn’t want him to lose control and worsen things with the Council. He knows how much Vuk means to me.
“Hey, not so fast,” says Vuk, this time putting his hand against the wall to completely block my path.
“Don’t you get it?” My voice is barely a moan. “I have to go…” I feel as if I am at the epicenter of an earthquake, with the walls shaking around me.
“No, listen to me!” roars Vuk heatedly. At this point, I realize… it is him quaking, not the walls.
I sob and stare at his huge trembling hand. I feel a stabbing pain run down my spine.
Vuk’s expression changes, he looks at Donn with torment in his eyes; they are half-close, as if he were focusing all his concentration on a demanding economics problem.
“No!” growls Donn, shifting me behind him further, holding me at arm’s length. I can feel him shiver. He obviously didn’t want things to reach this point with Vuk, but I don’t know…
“Donn…” I say, trying to find a way in. I feel like my back is to the wall in all senses. “Donn,” I try again, frustrated.
He looks at me but doesn’t answer. I’m not sure, but I think I see some relief in his face, probably glad that Vuk’s outbreak has brought no harm to me.
I watch Vuk’s contracted face, he’s obviously in pain. Judging by the way Donn is staring at him, it almost seems as if he is torturing him with one of his evil powers, burning him up with the power of his thoughts.
The crowds start to disperse; they eye Donn anxiously, obviously coming to the same conclusion that he is dangerous.
I try to regain control of my emotions, but I feel the tears that start to roll down my cheeks as soon as I close my eyes.
Vuk jumps again, but with a slight effort he manages to lie down on the floor, but he can’t hide the agony in his eyes.
My gaze goes back and forth between Vuk’s grim sneer to the impassible look on Donn’s face. “What are you doing to him?” I demand.
“It’s nothing,” Vuk hisses between clenched teeth. “It’s just that Graham has a good memory, that’s all.”
“What has Graham got to do with it?”
Donn looks at me out of the corner of his eyes, acting as if he hasn’t heard, then turns his focus to Vuk again, a new urgency on his face.
Vuk grinds his teeth, prey to another convulsion, this time seeming to come from within his body. He tightens his fists and curls up into a ball.
Donn’s protective arms have become a constraint; Vuk’s pain has always brought out my defensive instinct. There is no logic behind this, seeing as I can hardly provide him with the physical protection he needs. But my arms, held fast by Donn’s, want to reach out to him, to take him in a loving, comforting embrace.
Donn releases his grip, but holds onto my hand, still keeping his body between mine and Vuk’s.
“Having fun?” spits out Vuk. “I bet Graham couldn’t have such fun in the upper floors of the library; another reason why I don’t want Stella to go down there.”
Donn is piqued; he slowly unfurls his lips to reveal his teeth. “Shut your mouth, Vuk,” is all he says, as he coldly watches his body go into a spasm.
Vuk looks daggers at him, I can’t take it anymore. “That’s enough! Whatever this Graham is doing, it has to stop now!” I explode.
“The Council is no joke, Stella,” warns Donn. “It’s Vuk’s own fault if he has caused Graham displeasure, even if…” He holds his breath an instant. “Even if he is brave and I appreciate his sincerity.” He shakes his head admiringly. “He knew the risks… the unbearable pain he is feeling.”
A new seizure washes through Vuk’s body. I would rather have Jack or Adam kill me a hundred times than see Vuk suffering like this. I suddenly feel that I should have asked him for the go-ahead before agreeing to anything, I know he wants what’s best for me more than Donn; he has been the one protecting me this whole year, he’s the one who has never left my side.
I turn to Donn, these thoughts still swimming round my head, but he interrupts before I can get a word in.
“I think you know he will never give you his blessing,” he says, without a blink.
Then he turns away from me. “Vuk,” he whispers.
“No!” Vuk roars, his jaws clenched, his grinding teeth exposed.
“I’ve decided I can’t live without her,” He continues, glancing at me. “Which leaves me no other choice. It’s the only option.”
I look from one to the other, biting my lip till it bleeds. I don’t want to cause Vuk any more pain by disagreeing with him.
A second later I’m glued to the wall, Vuk, now on his feet, preventing me from moving. Donn’s face darkens. He grabs my waist to try to pull me free. “Don’t touch her, dog!” warns Donn. “Take your hands off her!”
Vuk slowly lowers the arm that is pinning me to the wall. Probably the best option, seeing as he doesn’t want it ripped off. Then he leans his face into mine, his expression free from bitterness. Indeed, it shines with calmness, but his eyes betray his suffering. He drops the bad boy posturing, as if he has totally forgotten about Donn’s presence.