Wolf Dream (4 page)

“What exactly are you going to do with him?” Jarak asked while closing the front door behind him.

“Find out more about Nicholas. What’d you think?” I asked, with maybe a touch of a snippety attitude.

“Well, maybe we
should wait for your father,” he snapped back at me.

I sighed with a grumble
. “The last time I checked I was wearing big girl panties and could make my own decisions.”

“Oh come on
, brother, have a little faith in her,” Ian said as he walked over to where we still stood by the door.

“Stay out of this
, Ian,” Jarak mumbled. Maztic appeared and sat next to him. Uh oh, that couldn’t be a good sign. I needed to intervene.

“Alright
, boys, you both just need some space.” I stepped in between them. I wasn’t sure if that was smart, but if they killed each other I was sure I’d get stuck cleaning up the blood.

“You afraid I’ll hurt him?”
Jarak quipped.

I rolled my eyes at him and
folded my arms. “Oh pa-lease.”

“Hurt me? You wouldn’t stand a chance, even with your wolf.
Es is just saving you,” Ian said with a sly grin.

“Enough!” I was getting ready to let them have their fun
and have a knock-out drag-out fight. The testosterone level was too high and it needed to come down—like now.

Jarak ground his teeth. “What’s your plan?”

“My plan is to make him talk.” I hadn’t really thought about my plan. I just knew that I wanted him to talk. Why I hadn’t thought of kidnapping a breed before now was beyond me. Heck, this war could have been over months ago had I been this smart.

No better time to try out my spontaneous idea than right
now. I walked over to where he sat cross-legged on the floor. His eyes were red. That was new. Usually they were a copper color. He could try whatever magic he had, but he sat encased in mine, so it would never leave his little bubble. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold up the barrier because I could already feel myself weakening from using so much magic for so long.

I kicked out at his foot, tapping the sole of his boot. “Hey. You ready to talk?” I didn’t wait for a response. “What’s your name?”

He continued to glare up at me. Not one word left his mouth.

I guess he really wanted it rough. I shot my hand out, along with it a streak of electricity. His body jerked and he fell over. I watched all his muscles
go taut as he strained against the pain. I almost smiled. Was it strange to want to feel good about torture? I didn’t care.
He was going to die soon anyway
, I tried to justify my actions.

I let up the shock
, more for my benefit than his. My arm was getting heavy and it began to ache. He gasped for air as he lay curled up on the floor. I kept telling myself I should feel bad for him, but nothing came. “I asked a question.”

“
Tony,” he spat out in between breaths, sitting himself up.

“Well
, that’s a start. Now, maybe you can tell me about Nicholas. Where is he?”

He shook his head
. “I won’t tell you.”

“You sure?” Ian stepped up, towering over him.

“I’d rather die,” Tony seethed through clenched teeth.

I nudged myself closer. “That can be arranged.”

He snapped out at my leg. I barely moved out of the way before his sharp elongated fangs slashed my jeans. Ian was immediately by my side and snatched me around the waist, moving me quickly away, but I was pissed off and squirmed out of his grasp. Angrily, I kicked Tony’s jaw, sending him backwards. He didn’t understand who he just tried to bite. I could feel the heat of my powers rising to the surface as my blood boiled.

“You just made a big mistake.” Ian bent down next to him and grabbed
him around the collar. Dregan and Luna appeared next to us. Both of them snarled, showing off their sharp fangs.

“See? She’s gonna get hurt.” Jarak sidestepped over to where
Tony lay and squatted next to him. It took all I had not to kick him. Instead, I rolled my eyes and bit the inside of my cheek.

Ian glared at his brother.
“Jarak, move out of the way. Just because you and Julie are back together doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk. Why don’t you go find your precious witch and leave us to work.”

At least Ian approved
of the torturing of the breed. Luna flanked Dregan as he inched closer. I folded my arms and raised a brow at Jarak. “You know, there was a time when you wanted to help me. A time when finding out about Nicholas and killing him was your top priority. What changed?”

Jarak threw his arms in the air. “Fine. You guys question him.” He pointed
a finger at Ian. “But if she gets hurt, it’s on you.” He turned and left, shaking his head.

My gaze trailed after him. It felt like years since we’d really gotten along. This whole war messed everything up and I hated it. I brought my attention back to Ian. He was unwinding a rope, letting it spill out onto the floor in a pile. “What are you doing?”

He gave me one of his famous mischievous smiles. “Playing. I have an idea. Wanna join?”

He always seemed to bring me out of my funks when it came to Jarak lately. I grinned. “Well, he is
sorta my prisoner.”

“That’s my girl.” He finished with the rope and began wrapping Tony in it. I watched curiously as he finally tied it off. Tony looked more like a mummy wrapped up in rope than a hostage. I couldn’t help but smirk.

“What are we doing, exactly?”

He picked up and flung Tony over his shoulder.
I immediately forced the breed’s mouth to stay closed by just pushing a little more magic toward him so Ian wouldn’t get bit. He could still move everything but his mouth. With his head, Ian gestured to the back door. “Come on, it’s easier if we don’t get blood on the floor; it’s a pain to clean up.”

I glanced at Jarak
, who stared at us from the edge of the kitchen, but said nothing. I followed Ian out of the house dutifully, closing the door behind me.

Chapter
Four

An Old Flame Returns

Esmerelda

Tony kicked and thrashed around in Ian’s arms
. I placed an immobile spell on him to save Ian from having to fight so much. I stepped over fallen logs behind Ian as we hiked up the mountain even further.

“Can you tell me exactly what we’re doing?” I asked
, out of breath more from the exertion from using so much magic than from the hike.

He turned with Tony still on his shoulders and walked backward. He gave me a playful grin. “Getting answers.”

Ugh, sometimes I really hated his vague replies. “Okay, well, how are we gonna do that?”

He stopped walking and dropped Tony on the ground. “How do you kill breeds
, Es?”

I raised a brow at him. What was he getting at? “Um, I’m not sure killing him will get us any closer to knowing any more about Nicolas.”

He chuckled. “No, I mean, how do you kill them?”

I released a breath and placed my hands on my hips, shifting my weight to one leg. “Stab them,
and then behead them.” Images of when I first met Ian and how I had to kill Ree filled my mind. I shivered knowing Meadow was still out there. I closed my mind to clear my thoughts. I couldn’t think of her right now.

“Alright, but do you know how long it takes to weaken them to a death state if you don’t stab them in the heart?”

Tony’s eyes widened.

I shook my head. “No.”

“You’re about to find out.” Ian spun around and pulled out a stake from his back pocket. I mused over how prepared he always was. “Let up on your spell a bit so he can talk.”

I released my hold on
him just enough, as Ian instructed. It felt good and I immediately let myself enjoy the fact that I didn’t feel as weighed down.

Tony spit at Ian’s feet. “You’ll never get anything out
of me.”

Ian shrugged. “We’ll see.” He squatted down and grabbed
Tony’s wrist and slammed the stake into the pale skin.

I felt my stomach twist
even though it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Tony cried out, but then clenched his jaw shut.

Ian bobbed his head a little
, like he had a tune in his head. After a couple more nods, he pulled out the stake and moved down to Tony’s thigh and plunged it in deep. This time, Tony’s cries were much louder.

Ian left the stake there and stood up. “So where’s Nicolas?”

“I don’t know,” Tony whimpered as he fought off the pain.

“That’s a lie,” Ian said as he kicked the leg with the stake. Tony hollered out.

I moved closer, understanding Ian’s motives a little more. “You want to be tortured? Just tell us where Nicolas is, or tell us anything for that matter and it can all end.”

Tony seethed through his clenched teeth. Ian kicked his leg again. “
Oww… What the hell, man.”

“S
he’s talking to you.”

Tony glared at Ian as he spoke
. “So? Why should I care who talks?”

Ian tipped his head my direction. “This is gonna get old real fast.”

I wanted to laugh. Ian had about as much patience as a five-year-old. “Well, we can’t have that.”

He gave me a wink then turned back around. “
You heard the lady.”

Tony’s
face went white and his sneer dropped from his face as Ian squatted down next to him.

“Oh my gosh. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to
tease? If you’re gonna kill him, then just do it already.”

I popped my head up. A woman with short blonde hair came o
ut from behind the tree line. A small wolf with a mixture of white, black, and brown fur covering the tiny body and a black patch of color surrounding her right eye, walked closely beside her. The woman carried a large, dark purple duffel bag that she had slung over her shoulder.

Ian's shoulders slumped
as he stood back up. He hesitated before taking a step back to stand with me.

She stopped and looked down at Tony then up at me. “I’m Lauren.” She
dropped her bag and reached down to scratch the top of the wolf’s head. “This is Kara.”

I cast a side glance at Ian. His lips were drawn tightly together and he had a raised brow. I couldn’t help but feel that he knew her, but he never said a word. Fine. I guess I needed to introduce myself. “I’m Esmerelda.”

Lauren smiled at me. “I know. I mean, who doesn’t know that.”

So much for the sweet factor. I could see why Ian didn’t seem too happy.

“Ian, you look just as yummy as ever,” she said before chewing on her bottom lip.

Ugh, seriously? I about threw up in my mouth.

Ian tipped his head. “
Yeah, well, thankfully I can’t say the same for you.”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. What was going on?

Lauren stood up and waved her hands all over. “I know, I know. You and miss witchy are together now. I’m not here to ruin it. I’m here to help.” She shrugged. “I can’t sit back and let you have all the fun.”

Ian rolled his eyes. I totally felt like a third wheel.
Awkward
. “Lauren, how do you know Ian?”

She sashayed a little
and giggled. Yup, I was sick. “Well, for a while we kinda saw each other.” She held her hands up. “Don’t worry, nothing serious, just more for fun than anything.”

I closed my eyes to let it sink in.
“Of course.” Why did all my boyfriends have girlfriends who kept popping up? They didn’t see any boys from Nevada showing up at the cabin coming to claim me as an ex.

She clapped her hands together, startling me. “So, are we killing him, or just maiming for now?”

Tony struggled against my holding spell, and I was getting weak enough that I almost let it go with his last pull.

Ian lowered back down to one of his knees. “I think I’m past maiming.”

The tension in the air spiked to a new thickness. “Um, maybe we should try asking him one more time.”

That seemed to peak Lauren’s interests. She bent down with Ian. “What are we trying to find out?”

His grip on the stake got tighter. “Lauren, seriously, what are you doing here?”

She let her shoulders fall dramatically. “I am hurt that you don’t believe me. I was bored watching over that bratty little witch over in the east and Hela told Kara about how Esmerelda was back and that you guys were going after Nicolas.” She rolled her head back. “Oh come on
, Ian, I need some action, I wanna have fun. Kara and I are going stir crazy. Besides, you guys will need more than just Dregan and Luna.”

My muscles tensed and I straightened my back at the mention of Luna. It bothered me that she knew who I was bound with. Not sure why, maybe because it took me eighteen years to find out myself and it seemed that everyone else around me already knew.

“We have Maztic and Hela as well,” Ian said through clenched teeth.

She fisted her hands and brought them to her chest. “Hela’s here? That is so awesome. Wait, did you say Maztic?”

Ian let out a deep aggravated breath. “Yes.”

“I can’t believe he’s here. Didn’t she awaken the witches? I thought he’d be long gone with Julie by now.”

I threw my hands in the air. “She is right here. And no, Julie’s here too.”

Lauren stood up. “Sorry. I’m just excited to see everyone. It’s been a long time.”
Her eyes lit up and she spun around. “I almost forgot.” She unzipped her bag and rummaged around until she pulled out a pair of what looked like red chopsticks and handed them to me.

“What are those?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to take them. They could be a trick or something.

“Peace offering. I just came from China.” She waved her arms around her again. “I’ve spent way too long over there, I guess, because bringing a gift for you just felt right. These ones aren’t made for eating, but I have seen a lot of women wear them in their hair. That’s not a traditional use, but oh well, it looks cool. Anyway, red is for good fortune, and I thought you could definitely use that. Soooo…”

I took the chopsticks
from her and flipped them over in my hands. I didn’t restrain my smile as I noticed a wolf carved in the end of each one. “Thank you.” Okay, I admit it, they were beautiful. She was kinda growing on me. Maybe she wouldn’t be as bad as I thought.

“Can we get back to the task at hand?” Ian grumbled down by Tony.

I nodded. “Definitely.”

Lauren’s face widened with her smile. “Oh! Let me help. Torturing is
kinda my specialty.”

I folded my arms over my chest. “There’s a specialty for that?”

“Well, let’s just say that I’ve done a lot of it.” She snatched the stake from Ian’s grasp before he even noticed.

“Hey,” he yelled. “That one’s mine. Get your own.”

She tossed it back to him. “Fine. Jeesh. Mine are better anyway.” She returned to her duffel bag and pulled out a shiny silver stake.

“Silver?” I asked.

She gave me a cheesy smile over her shoulder. “Of course. I don’t just kill vampires for fun. Well, yes, I do, but I also do it for a living. Wood breaks and splinters off, with silver I am guaranteed to kill them.”

I knew the look on my face
must have been priceless. “You kill for a living? I thought you watched witches in the east.”

She shrugged. “
Yeah, but that gets boring so on my downtime I hunt vamps.”

Ian stood up. “Can we please just get on with it already? Putting off his death is torturing
me
.”

Lauren stepped over Tony in a straddle and leaned down. She traced her stake down his face and stopped on his chest, right over his heart. “So I assume they’ve already asked you questions. I have this stake
, and I will kill you with it, so you better talk fast.”

Tony’s
eyes widened. “Then just kill me.”

Lauren shrugged. “Okay, but unless you talk it’s gonna take a long time, very painful.”

She began to push the tip of stake in his skin until he cried out. “Are you gonna talk?”

His face glistened as beads of sweat dripped from his forehead.
He swallowed hard and cringed as she pressed harder.

I looked at Ian
, who stood with his arms folded as he watched. Tony cried out, making me want to look away, but I didn’t. Lauren smiled as she pushed hard enough that the veins up his neck began to turn black. He gasped for air. “Okay… He’s back in Spain.”

My heart
froze. Nightmares of his dark underground cells still haunted me. Spain was my least favorite place. It was also where Meadow was last seen.

“It doesn’t make sense. Why would he leave you here?” Ian stepped closer to me.

Tony gasped again. “He’s weak.”

“Lauren
, let up.” Ian rushed forward and grabbed Tony’s shirt. “What do you mean he’s weak?”

“Just what I said. He had to return to Spain because he depleted his powers and is now unable to keep us alive.”

I stepped closer. “How did he deplete them?”

Tony laughed. Ian grabbed him tighter and Lauren replaced her stake to his chest, making him stop. “After you awakened the witches it did something to us, all of the breeds. We began to fall, most of us died. Nicholas gave us his blood to keep the few of us alive, but in return it weakened him. His powers are all but gone. He has to rejuvenate so he went into hiding.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “I don’t think returning to Spain is hiding out. Something’s up. It’s like he wanted us to find him. It was too easy to get information.”

Ian let go of Tony, letting him drop to the ground. “I agree. Something isn’t right.”

“You said only a few crossbreeds are left. How many are a few?” I asked.

Tony scanned each of our faces. “I’m not sure, but the last I heard there was only around a hundred or so left.
But those of us left aren’t dying anymore.”

Well
, that was comforting yet upsetting to know, as long as Nicholas couldn’t make any more I guess a hundred was doable. We could take them out. I nodded at Lauren and she finished with her stake. I looked away. I still didn’t like watching them die, even though it was a lot easier to handle now than it was in the beginning.