“Hope it helps,” he said, but his voice suggested otherwise.
“He’ll never walk again. You don’t regenerate missing limbs. Do you think he will want to live eternity in a wheelchair?” Santino asked.
“That’s for him to decide,” I growled the words, both in anger and from the loss of blood making me cranky. I’d need more myself soon too, but Ian needed as much as he could get
now
.
I pulled my wrist away from Ian’s mouth, and he cried out for more. The sensation of pain radiating off him overwhelmed me. As quickly as I could, I bit into the soldier’s wrist and then pushed it to Ian’s mouth.
Drew bent down to inspect Ian’s body. He ripped open the shredded remains of Ian’s coat and the layers of shirt underneath. Some of the wounds were closing. Bits of metal had slowly pushed their way to the surface. I watched as one seeped out of his still-bleeding wound.
“What the hell is that?” I asked.
Santino bent down to take a peek at the wounds. “I warned you they were special mines. Built to maim and kill unnatural creatures. That’s probably just a bit of shrapnel. His body will try to expel it all as it heals. If he were a werewolf, he’d be dying right now.”
Drew bit into his own wrist and allowed his blood to drizzle over Ian’s chest. “We need to get him somewhere safe. He’s going to take a while to heal and needs rest.”
“But what about the others? And Lysander? His coffin may still be out there.”
“You don’t even know if they are still alive. I warned you, there were many traps like this in the forest. My guess is those soldiers were trained to push you into them.” Santino said matter-of-factly.
I stared up at him coldly. “You know, for someone who isn’t supposed to be on their side, you know an awful lot about their plans.”
Santino matched my frigid disposition with his own chilly, biting tone. “Which is why I was able to save you two from this fate. You should be a little grateful. I could have just as easily followed them instead. Then you all would be lying in a puddle of your own blood.”
Drew looked up toward the sky and closed his eyes. He took a few slow deep breaths as if centering himself. “I still sense Nicholas and Crystal. They are alive. I’m going to assume Zuri is with them.”
“Thank goodness for that.” As a young vampire, and especially one not bonded to any of the other elders via a direct blood link, I wasn’t able to feel their presence. Lysander had been the only one I was directly linked to by blood. He’d been both my maker and my lover, and that made our connection doubly strong.
“Then we need to find them,” I said and shot a stern look at Santino, daring him to question me or say anything to the contrary. “We don’t leave our people behind to die.” At that moment, I was never so happy to have been ditched by Fallon. She would have never survived. She was in the safest place possible, surrounded by her werewolf friends.
The ghost of a smile crossed Santino’s aged and scarred face. “I may not agree, but I admire your loyalty.”
Drew stood. “I’ll collect the other soldier’s body and bring it here. Then I’ll find the others. Feed Ian as much as you can while I’m gone.” He met Santino face to face. “You, keep them both safe until I return.”
“I did not come here to babysit,” Santino grumbled.
“What
did
you come here for, then?” I asked.
Santino let out a defeated sigh. “To help Lysander.”
“How did you know…”
“For your help back in Las Vegas, I felt I owed it to him to keep an eye out for your clan, at least for a little while. When I heard of your troubles with the Pandora’s Box, I came as quickly as I could, but I was too late. I know what has happened to Lysander, and so does the Acta Sanctorum.”
“Shouldn’t they be happy? Lysander’s gone.” It hurt to say the word. Lysander wasn’t gone, he was just indisposed. But I still missed him all the same.
“Yes, indeed, because you have created a powerful magical instrument. A crystal that can trap a vampire’s spirit. Think of the application if the Acta Sanctorum could duplicate that kind of magic. It would make their job of ridding the world of unnatural elements much easier.”
My eyes widened in shock. “Back there. In the forest. I heard someone say they had secured the cargo. They were after Lysander the whole time.”
“Yes. And I had come here to help you, but again, I was too late.”
“But why would the Acta Sanctorum willingly use magic? Wouldn’t that make them just as
unnatural
as us?” I air quoted as I said the word.
Santino let out an almost boisterous laugh. “Child, are you that naive? The double standard has never applied to them. I’m proof of that. Quentin was proof of that. They do not care what they have to do to stop the unnatural, they just do it.”
“Then… if they have the crystal … we’re fucked!” I couldn’t hold back the panic in my voice.
Drew looked to me. “We’ll get it back.” Then he turned to Santino. “And by ‘we,’ I mean our clan… all of them. Stay here and protect her and Ian while I find the rest of our group.”
“I will babysit if I must,” Santino growled. “But it would be best to move to a safer location. There could be more Saints lurking in these woods.”
“The wolf reservation is not far from here.” I offered, remembering Fallon again. She was in the safest place possible. And not too far away.
Santino winced at the mention of the wolves. “They would kill me on sight.”
I let out a chuckle. “The brave Santino, afraid? When did this happen?”
“It is the full moon, and the entire pack is assembled. I haven’t survived all of these years by being careless with my talents. I have strength, cunning, and speed on my side, but the sheer number of them would negate all of those benefits.”
“Call it what you will; you’re scared to go in there. The wolves are our friends and we are members of the pack too. Theirs is the safest place for us to go. I doubt the Acta Sanctorum would step foot there tonight, for exactly the reason you mentioned. The whole pack would massacre them.”
“Good plan, Alyssa. Go as soon as you can. We will regroup there,” Drew said, and took off running.
Santino grumbled his annoyance, but said nothing further.
Ian squirmed in my lap. The pain he radiated had lessened, but the human’s blood was not working as well as mine had. He still needed more. I listened, but couldn’t hear the heartbeat of the soldier Ian had been feeding on. It was time to switch to the other that Drew had brought over.
“Hang in there, Ian. We’ll get you more blood and take you somewhere safe,” I whispered and patted his head gently.
Santino paced behind me as I attempted to yank the unconscious soldier’s arm closer. With Ian’s head in my lap, it was no easy task.
“Little help here,” I said, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
Without a word, Santino dug his foot under the soldier’s body and flipped him up into the air. He landed with a thud and crunch beside me, dead.
“Thanks for nothing.”
“We’re wasting time. Let’s just move him now before your enemies return.”
“My enemies, huh?”
“We can argue semantics later.” He bent down and scooped Ian into his arms. Ian cursed and hissed in pain, but Santino paid him no attention. “Which way to the wolves’ den?”
“Don’t you know?” I asked with as much snark as I could muster, and jumped to my feet, ready to run.
“Best to enter via the front door than to sneak in through the back, wouldn’t you agree?” he replied with an equal measure of attitude.
I shrugged. There was no use arguing with him at the moment. Getting somewhere safe, and doing it quick, was all that mattered.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I’m lost. Lead the way.”
Santino let out a frustrated groan. “Follow me then, and let’s pray we do not stumble into a hunting party.”
CHAPTER 8
The moment we entered the wolves’ territory, we were surrounded. No doubt the scent of Ian’s blood had alerted them. Werewolves’ noses, if possible, were better than that of any vampire, and on a hunting night, they’d be especially keen to the scent of blood.
At least ten gray and black wolves surrounded us, baring their teeth. I recognized them as werewolves by their size and the way they immediately organized a tight circle around us. None of them hid in the brush; they all walked uniformly toward us, forcing Santino and me to stand side by side.
“Be very still,” I whispered to Santino. “Let them learn our scent.”
Werewolves, though primarily human in thinking, tended to take on their more animalistic side when in wolf form. It was best to approach them with extreme caution until they showed signs of recognizing who you were.
Thankfully, Santino listened. He stood still, holding Ian in his arms, and allowed the largest wolf to approach.
I recognized the thick, shaggy dark-gray fur and let out a small sigh of relief. Aiden.
When the wolf finished circling and sniffing Santino and Ian, he moved on to me. My inspection took no time at all, and when he finished, Aiden sat on his two hind legs and began to change.
The air around us took on almost an electric charge. As the fur fell from his body, the wolf began to twist and contort. Each movement was accompanied by a strange popping sound like the cracking of knuckles. His muzzle shortened, bones began moving and shifting underneath bare skin. It was hard to witness as it looked so painful, but Aiden did not cry out as he continued to shift.
When he finished, Aiden let out a small groan, stood up, and stretched his newly transformed body. He stood completely naked in front of us, not bothering to cover himself. He sneered at Santino. “You brought a Saint here, into our territory. Why?” An animalistic growl accompanied his words.
The surrounding wolves echoed Aiden’s growls.
Worry shook me to the core. I was an honorary member of this pack and was still new to their laws, but I knew the consequences of breaking them were severe. What if coming here had been a bad idea?
“He’s no longer a Saint,” I said, my voice warbling with fear. “And… we are in desperate need of sanctuary.”
Ian mumbled incoherently in Santino’s arms. The scent of his blood began to turn sour, as if infection had set in, though I knew that was impossible; vampires are immune to human disease. There was no time to waste in getting him to safety and figuring out what was going on.
“Ian is hurt,” I blurted out. “We were ambushed. There could be more still in the forest.”
“And you risk bringing them straight to us? How stupid are you?” Aiden snapped at me with all the command and intensity of a drill sergeant.
He was right; if they had followed us, then we would have led them straight to the pack. That would reveal their location if the Acta Sanctorum hadn’t already known it. Either way, it was the pack’s duty to protect their members. That was one of the oaths we had all taken when being made honorary members. I held my head up and tried to banish the fear from my voice. Wolves respect you more when you’re confident. “We had no choice. As a member of this pack, I ask for your protection.”
Aiden, second to the Alpha, had the authority to grant us sanctuary. If he did, no other wolf would challenge it. He paced the space in front of us and stroked his smooth chin, while pondering what to do. All of the wolves surrounding us turned their eyes on Aiden, waiting on his order.
My heart pounded as I waited on his decision. Why wasn’t he simply saying yes and letting us pass?
“C’mon, Aiden, it’s me. Please, we need to get somewhere safe, and Ian needs help. He might be dying.”
The circle of wolves growled, as if telling me to shut up and wait for their leader’s decision.
“They do not want me here,” Santino said matter-of-factly. “They think I am a spy.”
“You are more than that, Saint,” Aiden spat the word out. “You are a death-bringer to all. You may have fooled Alyssa, but you do not fool me. I know of Gareth’s pack in Colorado. None escaped that massacre. I should rip out your throat on principle alone.”
“My past is well documented. I will not argue that,” Santino said, with no hint of remorse.
If I wasn’t mistaken, he sounded almost proud as he said those words. That would do nothing to help our cause.
“He has done many bad things, but if it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have destroyed the Acta Sanctorum’s operations on the West Coast.” I hoped that bit of information would sway the vote.
Aiden turned to me and eyed me suspiciously. “You would vouch for this… Saint?”
I met his eyes in a defiant stare. “He’s not a Saint anymore. You have my word.”
The moment I said that, I felt a sinking weight in the pit of my stomach and had to turn away. Vouching for someone, in the wolf pack, meant putting your life on the line for them. Though I knew Santino had done good, and I hoped he was firmly on the side of good now, I still wasn’t a hundred percent sure. If he screwed us over, I’d pay the price with my life.
“You give your word… knowing the consequences?” Aiden asked.
I gulped down the lump forming in my throat, and then turned to Santino and mouthed the words, “Don’t fuck me over!”
Santino gave a nod.
“Yes,” I said, meeting Aiden’s eyes again. “I’ll vouch for him.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Aiden said, and I detected worry in his voice. I could only imagine what he must be thinking. His girlfriend, or mate, or whatever wolves call their significant other, was my best friend, Fallon. I didn’t suppose it would go over well if he ever had to kill me.
“I hope so too,” I whispered, hoping and praying that I had made the right choice.
“Then follow us.” Aiden crouched down and began to transform back into his wolf form. Gray hair sprouted all over his body. His hands and feet shrank, accompanied by the sound of popping knuckles. The sound grated on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard, but Aiden showed no sign of discomfort as his body contorted and reshaped. In a matter of minutes, he had regained his animal form and took off running into the woods.
The circle of wolves broke and chased after their leader. Santino and I followed close behind.