Wolf's Soul (28 page)

“Impressive display, but I"m still standing, Runt,” Atos taunted.

“Not for long.”

Callum didn"t get a chance to watch his brother. He was busy defending himself from the swarming Blood Robbers. He just skewered a wolf"s heart when he heard Ty"s grunt. Zambro called Ty"s name. Callum turned in time to see Atos stab Ty deeper in the stomach.

Ty"s body bucked from the force.

“Ty!” Callum roared. Blinded by anger and fear, he charged Atos.

Marisol saw it happen. She couldn"t get to Ty without fighting a Blood Robber blocking her path. While Victor kept her back protected, Watt and Bruce remained on her side as she made her way toward the woman.

She must end this fight right now. Before it was too late. There were so many that Atos had wounded. Why didn"t she think about carrying the poultice with her?

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As soon as Marisol came close to the woman, she stopped. The woman looked at her then touched her belly. She was carrying a child. Fear registered on her face, but it was gone a heartbeat later.

“Well, well. What do we have here? A human. I know your kind is stupid, but not stupid enough to join in a fight like this—with or without a powerful sword.”

The woman"s voice was steady Marisol thought to commend her mentally. “I am here to end this fight.”

“You"re giving yourself to Atos?”

“No. By letting you and your baby live.” She didn"t give the woman a chance to absorb what she just said. Marisol had the tip of her sword on the woman"s neck even before she could lift her sword. With Watt, Victor and Bruce standing guard, Marisol looked at Atos and bellowed his name. She called him twice before her voice penetrated his hearing.

Miracle of all miracles, men and wolves stopped fighting.

“Lower your sword or I"ll kill your woman.”

“Marisol?” Callum growled her name.

“Don"t you fucking touch her or I"ll kill you, bitch.”

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“Not before she dies. I swear to god, Atos. She"ll die and the baby she carries if you don"t lower your sword.” To prove she wasn"t bluffing, she pressed the tip of her sword on the woman"s neck drawing blood. The woman gasped.

Atos lowered his sword. Marisol let out a shaky breath. Good god.

“Let Zenaida go.”

Marisol looked at the woman. “I shouldn"t let her live. After what you"ve done to my parents, Atos. But I"m not a beast like you. Next time though, I will not show mercy.”

“You didn"t show my brother mercy. Why is this situation different?”

“Your brother came to my home and threatened my life and Callum"s. It was only right to defend ourselves.”

Atos looked at the man to his left who looked ready to bolt. Marisol wondered if he was the wolf who dared come in her home and escaped through the window.

“I should kill Zenaida, but I don"t kill love, Atos. You love her. I can see it in your eyes. And she"s here because she loves you. I"m giving you a chance Atos.

Leave, take your men with you before I change my mind.”

Atos didn"t move fast enough to her liking. She pushed her sword deeper into Zenaida"s neck. Blood stained her sword and the woman"s neck.

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Atos looked around then nodded to his men. Like ghosts in the dark, the Blood Robbers disappeared one by one. Some helped carry the wounded.

“You"re free to go anywhere you want and we will not harm you.” To Callum Atos said, “This hasn"t changed anything between us, Midnight Howl. I gave you my word. We will not attack the humans, but we will continue hunting the tainted souls. And when we meet again, Callum, I
will
kill you.
” Atos spat then walked toward Zenaida.

Within minutes, only the Midnight Howl members were left standing in the cemetery. Just like that the fight was over.

Marisol met Callum"s gaze. He looked ready to kill her. She mentally prepared her explanation to save her from his ire when Zambro"s anguished voice pierced the air. He looked where Zambro and the others were gathered.

“Ty, brother.” Zambro held one paw on his lap.

Marisol rushed to his side. “Ty, darling. Look at me,” she cupped his face and choked on her sob when she saw how badly cut he was.

“Marisol, we need your poultice,” Zambro whispered. “Please. He can"t. I won"t let him die.”

“I, I don"t have it with me,” she looked around frantically. “We need to stop the bleeding.” Someone thrust a shirt in her hand. She pressed it on Ty"s wound.

The shirt was soaked with blood in a matter of seconds. “Find me mint leaves, 300

mar—marjoram, rosemary, beeswax or honey. Now!” She turned to look at Ty again. “Ty, just hang on.” She knew the men shifted into wolves, but didn"t pay much attention to them.

Ty whined. Blood oozed from the side of his mouth.
“It’s okay, Marisol. Share
the wine…the wine…with Cal for me.”

His voice was weak, but Marisol heard him. “What? What wine, Ty?”

Zambro let out a string of curses. Rodolf held Ty"s head as he wept openly.

Callum sat beside her gripping Ty"s huge paw.

“We"ll keep the bottle unopened until you"re better, bro.”

“I don’t believe in fairytales, Cal.”

“Ty, save your energy.” She rubbed his soft fur. “Where the hell are the leaves?”

She couldn"t tell how long it took before the Shape-shifters came back with the leaves. She didn"t care. All she cared about was that the leaves landed on her lap. “I need a bowl.”

Someone handed her a helmet. Marisol used the hem of her shirt to wipe it clean before pouring the honey inside. “Callum, please help me cut this in small pieces.”

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Callum quickly tore the leaves. He didn"t say anything, but his actions spoke loudly. He feared for his brother"s life. His hands shook the leaves were landing outside the helmet.

“Is that it? That"s the secret of this poultice?”

“That"s no secret.”

“Them leaves are everywhere?”

Marisol ignored the murmurs. Ty looked dead and his chest barely moving.

She mixed the honey and the leaves. When the ingredients were at the right consistency, she knew it was time to add her blood. Was it really necessary? Were her parents blinded with false belief that her blood could help cure fatal wounds?

Why would her parents believe it so, she had no idea. When she was little, adding blood to the poultice was cool. She didn"t mind the small prick on her fingers. As she got older, she considered the process a secret. One that made her feel different, above others. The secret in itself was power but when she hit adulthood, contributing blood became a tradition. She didn"t ask questions whether her blood was necessary or not. Perhaps it had to do with her secret wish that her blood was indeed helping cure wounds. Dad"s poultice helped cure Callum"s wound and stopped him from turning. Would a poultice without her blood work?

Ty groaned. His body made a spasmodic jerk.

“Callum, help me apply this on his wound.”

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Callum nodded. He helped spread the salve then sat back on his heel. “I"ve seen Mark use this poultice. It should work right away. Come on, bro. Hang in there.”

Ty"s body continued to jerk and more blood came out of his mouth. He was dying.

“Marisol, I don"t think the poultice is working. It should hurt him. The poultice burns the wound before it started healing. Are you sure about the leaves?

Is this the same one that you gave me?”

Callum was right. When she applied the poultice mixed with her blood on Callum, the effect was right away. “Give me your knife, Callum.”

“A knife?”

“Yes. Now,” she practically screamed the last word.

Callum handed her the most beautiful dagger she had ever seen. “Will this do?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, she opened her hand, palms up and cut it open. She hissed from the sharp sting. Her eyes blurred from tears. “Callum, mix my blood with the rest of the salve. Quick.”

While she dripped blood into the helmet, Callum stirred the mixture using his fingers.

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The wound was so deep Marisol hope the poultice would work. “Put this on his wound.”

As soon as the mixture touched Ty"s open flesh, his body lifted off the ground. He growled so loud Marisol"s hair stood on end. And then he quieted.

Marisol couldn"t contain her emotions anymore. A sob escaped her mouth.

Ty"s agony was over.

304

Memories of her father"s casket lowered into the hallowed ground came back without warning as she listened to Zambro give his short prayer for the ones who didn"t survive the fight. Pain, sorrow, regret, and fear swallowed her whole.

Her knees buckled from the weight of it. If it weren"t for Callum"s hold on her waist, she would have collapsed on the ground. She collapsed on his chest instead.

Death was cruel. It took not only the life of the dead, but part of the living, too. For Marisol, a big chunk of her heart broke off and went with her father to his grave. Bits of her heart went to the Midnight Howl members who fought beside Callum and his brothers. For the sake of humans and her. It amazed her how the Midnight Howl clan continued to protect the humans, the very same species that cost them their immortality. How could she repay them? She wished the humans knew how lucky they were to have guardians of the night, protecting them without expecting anything in return.

Her energy was practically zero by the time they got back to the den.

305

Marisol sat on the bed staring at her bandaged hand. She felt refreshed after a long hot shower and relieved to be back in the comfort of the den. Endy met her outside the elevator and welcomed her back using the ancient language. Those who heard them communicate in Gael were surprised, but it was the murmur about her blood that rang in her ears. The secret of the poultice was no more.

Tonight, her question about whether she possessed a power like her mother or not was answered. Know she knew. In her blood lies Youven"s DNA.

It must have been during the time when she was little, helping prepare the poultice when her mother discovered the potency of her blood. She was helping cut the leaves when she accidentally cut her finger. The blood dripped in the mixture. Her mother didn"t throw the poultice away but saved it. Her mother must have tried it on a wolf and found that it was potent.

She wiggled her fingers. It was interesting how the poultice could cure other wounds but not her own. Kind of like her mother"s power to see others future but not hers. Marisol sighed.

“Does it hurt?”

Marisol looked up. God, how the Shape-shifters could move stealthily was beyond her. “A little.”

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Since the fight, he hadn"t talk to her. He just kept on looking at her with his angry blue eyes. Just like what he was doing right now. She wondered if he"d take her back to her barn. Funny, but thinking about leaving made her feel melancholy.

She raked his body with her gaze. Now clean from blood, dirt, and grass, she could see the cuts on his body. All were quickly healing, but still visible.

Thankfully, Atos"s sword didn"t hurt him again. When she was at the clinic, waiting for Doctor Yousney to clean her cut, soldiers and women talked about the fight, the brothers magnificent fighting skills, how she nagged Victor into taking her to the cemetery, her intervention and bold threat to kill Atos"s woman, and Callum"s last life. Life that he thought worth losing just for her.

“You"re angry.”

“And you know why.”

“I didn"t listen to you, again.”

“No, you didn"t.”

“That"s alright. Be mad at me, but please don"t get mad at Victor. He didn"t want to take me to the cemetery, but he didn"t stand a chance. My persistence and stubbornness wore him out. Besides, he wouldn"t have been able to keep me down here anyway.”

“I"m not mad at Victor. At least not anymore.”

“Why did you do it?” she asked then lowered her head.

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“Do what?”

“What do you mean do what?” She realized she snapped the question.

Annoyance and irritation quickly spread in her system. Her father would always guess that she was tired based on her mood. And right now, she was so freaking tired.

“Victor told me you didn"t get to eat. You were planning on going to Goon"s restaurant when he saw you.”

“So what? What has my missing dinner got to do with my question?”

“When a person is hungry, he or she tends to become snappy.”

Marisol sighed. “Sorry. I am hungry and tired. And the remnants of fear still linger in my blood.”

“There is nothing to worry about now. Atos will not come after you especially after sending him a small jar of your poultice for Zenaida"s cut.”