The Amulet (17 page)

Suddenly, Alyssa appeared out of nowhere in a puff of smoke to her right. Jessie was too frightened to speak, but Alyssa seemed to understand. She stepped in front of Jessie and the wolf took a step back. Before Jessie could contemplate why a wolf would be afraid of Alyssa, a man appeared behind the wolf. He was the most handsome man Jessie had ever seen. She knew she must have died and gone to heaven from fear.

The wolf turned to look at the man and growled ferociously. Jessie began to back slowly away, hoping to stay unseen. The man moved toward the wolf and Alyssa fell as if she was in pain, her body was twisting and growing. Her clothes ripped and tore and she grew pale. Jessie screamed as she realized what was happening. Alyssa was a wolf!

Jessie's scream drew the black wolf's attention and it lunged at her. Jessie tried to run but she tripped over the script and fell, hitting her head on the driveway. Her vision blurred but she tried to get up and run. She felt pain ripping through her leg. She didn't dare look behind her. The jaws of the wolf had closed around her femur and she felt blood pooling beneath her. Her vision faded to black and she collapsed to the ground.

Alyssa was a second too late. She had been off-balance after transforming and the black wolf had gotten a jump on her. She had reached Jessie before her and grabbed her leg. Alyssa snarled in rage and leaped at the wolf's throat. She dug in her teeth, feeling blood fill her mouth.

The wolf yelped and released Jessie before throwing her body backwards and landing hard on top of Alyssa. Nevar reached the wolf and shoved it off of her. The wolf was female. Alyssa righted herself and advanced again on the she-wolf, keeping herself between her and Jessie's still form. The black were bristled angrily and Alyssa shuddered at her thoughts as she turned and took off.

Nevar, look after Jessie while I see that she leaves.

Nevar nodded that he understood and Alyssa took off after the rogue wolf. She reached out for Xander again, this time, she found him. She gave him the wolf's scent and showed him what she looked like. He responded with red fury and tints of purple regret. If he had not left, they would not have been left unguarded. Regret later, hunt now, she told him. He agreed.

Alyssa was hot on her trail, her scent was glowing red through the woods, careening wildly and not bothering to evade detection. She wanted to be followed, Alyssa realized. She called to Xander, warning him to expect an ambush. He was closing in fast now. The black wolf should be right in front of her, but the trail stopped suddenly.

Alyssa was keyed up for a fight. LunR was roaring to take control, but Alyssa held her back. If the time came, she would release the animal in her, but for now, all was quiet. Alyssa sniffed again, trying to pick up the scent again, but there was no trace of it. How could she just vanish?

Xander's paw steps could be heard approaching the spot where Alyssa had lost the trail. His mind shot her an image of a woman with raven hair and shining amber eyes. The woman who had lured him out of safety and thrust him into a life he did not choose: Katarina.

Alyssa dropped her eyes, unable to look at Xander. She showed him the same woman, smiling, holding an infant daughter, the woman she called "Mother". Katarina had vowed to return. Whatever her purpose had been, she would not cease until she had fulfilled it.

Xander whined and pressed his muzzle to her shoulder. There was shock in his thoughts to find she was the daughter of the one who changed him, but he was trying to hide it beneath layers of sympathy. She returned his nuzzle and together they headed back to the manor.

Alyssa ran with everything she had. She was worried about Jessie. Her leg had been bleeding pretty heavily. As much as she dreaded the thought of what was coming to her friend, she hoped the Were gene kept her alive before she bled to death. She realized she had left Xander's side and she slowed to allow him to catch up.

He was running all out, but he could not match her for speed. It was a wonder Alyssa hadn't caught up with Katarina, or perhaps that's why the trail had vanished. Katarina had probably planned an escape ahead of time. With Alyssa catching up, she had used her ace in the hole to avoid being caught.

Xander growled in his throat at the thought of that woman being allowed to walk the same earth as him. He had to try and keep his anger in check for Alyssa's sake. He used her worry for her human friend to mask his true thoughts. How dare she bite another human? Was she still recruiting? He heard Alyssa growl in return and knew that his mask had failed him.

First Jessie, she told him, then we'll deal with my mother.

It was obvious that Alyssa had mixed feelings about the woman who brought her into the world. On the one hand, she had all the good things she had heard and had probably imagined her to be and on the other, the realizations that there was a dark side to her. She had accepted her mother being missing from her life involuntarily, but she was less than thrilled that she had been abandoned on purpose.

As they reached the manor, Alyssa surprised him by transforming back to her true form. She had lost her inhibitions for fear of losing her friend. He knew it was wrong to stare, but it was hard not to. Her long, lean body had just the right amount of curve to it. She had a strong, sleek back hidden behind her ebony locks, a taut round butt, and viciously long legs. She never broke stride as she ran towards the door.

As she turned to go in, she revealed ample breasts that had not been artificially enhanced, a well-toned belly pierced through the naval, and a stripe of black curls marking her sex. Xander shook his head, trying to clear the fog from his brain with no success. The image was there to stay, but he wasn't going to complain. He followed suit and transformed, though not as gracefully as usual. He had to fight to keep the image of Alyssa out of his mind, lest his body betray him.

Alyssa followed her nose. She smelled blood, Jessie's scent but different, tainted, and Nevar. She followed the smell to the study. Jessie was laying motionless on the overly stuffed leather couch. Before she had a chance to look for him, Nevar was wrapping a blanket around her naked body.

"I would have brought you clothes, but I knew you would never leave her to change."

"How is she? Is she...?"

"She is as well as can be expected. The Were gene is infecting her. The fever has begun to set in already. I gave her something to make her sleep. With any luck, she will be out for the worst of the symptoms."

"What did you give her?" She asked.

"Horse tranquilizer," he answered. "Her body will burn it off quickly, but it is enough quantity that it should knock her out for a while."

Alyssa knelt by Jessie and pushed a strand of blond hair out of her eyes. There was a fine misting of sweat on her forehead and her breathing was ragged, but it was steady. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she looked up to see Xander. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and a concerned look on his face.

"Xander, tell me the truth," she pleaded. "How hard is this going to be for her?"

He sighed, looking out the window. She followed his eyes and saw the moon hanging heavy in the sky. When he turned to meet her eyes, he pushed his hand through his golden mane. "I won't lie to you, 'Lyss. She's got a hard time ahead of her, but it will get better. The wound in her leg is going to burn like fire and it won't begin to heal until she has enough Were blood in her. Right now, her human body is fighting the gene, but the more it fights, the harder the process is. Her body can't win this fight."

"And afterwards?"

"She'll have to battle with the beast the same as you and I have to do. But, you won't have to go through this life without your friend. She will be young for life and stronger than she's ever been before. In the end, it's worth the fight."

Alyssa nodded her thanks and turned back to Jessie. "How long will she sleep?"

"It depends on how fast the Were blood burns it off. It should last about ten hours."

"She's going to be hungry when she wakes up," Xander told them. "She won't understand what's going on, she may even transform, but she's going to need to eat to maintain her strength."

"It is almost sunrise, Xander."

"Is there anything here I can cook for her?"

"The kitchen should be well-stocked," he answered. "Mainly for appearances, but I do enjoy a nice meal from time to time."

"She's going to want meat, but I should help you. It has to be cooked just enough to warm it up and not overly spiced, the redder, the better."

"But Jessie won't eat anything that's not well done," Alyssa argued.

"That was the old Jessie, 'Lyss. She's never going to be the same person she was anymore than you are."

"You keep calling me 'Lyss'," she noticed. "That's Jessie's nickname for me."

He laughed a little and shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, I picked it up from her thoughts, not intentionally," he was quick to add, "but it was just so cute, I couldn't help myself."

Now, she was blushing. Here she was, naked, wrapped in a blanket, and she was blushing over a nickname. She felt so ridiculous. "Alright, Wolfie, let me get some clothes on and you can teach me how to cook for werewolves."

Nevar was laughing before she had finished talking. The air felt significantly lighter than it had all night. Alyssa looked back at Jessie's now shivering body, then at the blanket wrapped around her. Jessie needed it more. She didn't dare look to see if anyone was watching, she couldn't. Her hands swung the blanket around and she covered Jessie with the warm fabric.

Alyssa smiled as Jessie's shivering slowed down, then stopped. Jessie would have done the same for her, she knew. What's a little embarrassment compared to the tragedy of what she was now going through? Alyssa knew part of the blame rested on her shoulders. If it wasn't for her, Jessie would never have crossed paths with a werewolf, and not just any werewolf, her own mother! Katarina had a lot to answer for when she crossed paths with her again. That, was Alyssa's vow.

Xander realized what Alyssa was doing just a split second before it happened. He didn't have enough time to debate looking away from her, and then, he couldn't look away. His hand gripped the towel around his waist tightly. Her glorious body was exposed once more and he felt his blood running hot through his veins. He would have offered his towel to her, but his body threatened to betray him and it was all he could do to control his thoughts.

She seemed to move in slow motion as she rose from Jessie's side and turned to leave the room. Her skin was pink with a new blush of color that spread from her cheeks to the tops of her breasts. He felt a tightening sensation in his groin and tried to tear his eyes away from her beautiful behind swaying from the room. Only when she was completely out of sight was he able to regain control of himself. From the corner of his eye, he could see Nevar had fallen under the same spell.

It was dark and stormy. There were eyes hiding in the darkness. The black wolf was after her. She started to run, but the wolf was gaining on her. She felt her heart racing and sweat pouring from her brow. She was burning up. She felt like she was on fire and pain ripped through her body. She screamed out in fear and pain.

She hadn't realized her eyes were closed until they shot open. There was no wolf, but the pain she felt was unbearable. She grit her teeth against a wave of knives running up her leg as a bolt of lightning lit up the unfamiliar room. Standing in the doorway was a hulk of a man that closer resembled a Greek god. Tall and muscular, his long golden hair hung around his shoulders like a lion's mane. He had an animalistic quality to him. His eyes were so intensely blue they seemed to glow in the dark.

She was scared at first, but he didn't seem to pose a threat to her. In fact, he looked like he was guarding her. Jessie tried to talk, but all that came out was a low rumble from her throat. The sound startled her, but another wave of pain wracked her body and she doubled over as the fire engulfed her.

Suddenly, she felt hands on her and she lashed out blindly. She heard Alyssa's voice cry out in surprise and pain, and the hands pulled away from her. No, this is not what I wanted! She didn't want to hurt her best friend! If she injured Alyssa, it could ruin her career, the press would have a field day, and their friendship would be in jeopardy. She wanted to apologize, but she could only grunt and groan. The pain was too much.

Alyssa was in tears, not from pain, but from heartache. She had tried to comfort her friend, but she had been hasty and careless. Jessie had clawed her face by mistake. She could hear Jessie's thoughts and knew that her friend had not meant her harm, but she also did not know how much power she had in her now. Her talons had cut deep. She was part wolf, part human.

Her wounds would heal quickly, but she was hesitant to touch Jessie again. She had grown fur around the bite wound in her leg and her feet looked more like paws. Her canines were elongated and she suspected that was why she was growling instead of talking. Xander had warned her that the signs would be subtle at first. It had only been a little over eight hours since she had been bitten, but they were hopeful that she would progress quickly.

As Jessie's body seemed to relax out of the pain, Nevar entered the room with the meal she and Xander had prepared. A large rare porterhouse steak dominated an entire plate in the center of the tray. A Cornish game hen was set to one side and a half rack of ribs was on the other. Alyssa had insisted on a side of mashed potatoes, made just the way Jessie liked them, but Xander had added bacon to the dish.