“What do you mean?”
“Well, I hate to say it but, while the lifespan’s great, most wolves don’t make it that long. Diplomacy is admirable, but it requires a whole lotta words. Now, when we’re on two legs, we manage okay. But we’re part animal, you see. And when an animal gets riled up, you don’t reason with it. Disputes are a physical thing. There’s a lot of fighting that happens in a wolf’s life—fighting for places in the pack, fighting over a mate, fighting over territory, and so on. That accounts for a lot of wolf deaths. About half won’t see two hundred years.”
I suddenly had a whole new level of respect for this withered old man with his dingy yellow teeth. He’d not only lived a thousand years or so, but had probably been one tough guy to contend with to have lasted this long. “They didn’t seem all that violent,” I said more to myself than to the rest of the group.
Old Joe let out a roar of laughter. “Sweetheart, you’ve been around us for a day. And we’re all enjoying a beautiful full moon revelry. You’re seeing nothin’ but the good stuff.”
“There are casualties in every lifestyle,” Lysander said.
“Yessir,” Old Joe agreed. “Enjoy whatever time you got on this green earth.”
I nodded and smiled at the old man. “I certainly plan to.”
A long mournful howl echoed on the breeze. Old Joe perked up and listened. “Someone’s hurt,” he said, all the smile now gone from his voice. He immediately jumped up and started stripping off his clothes. “We need to get out there.”
I turned away to give him some privacy, wondering who might be hurt and if this was normal for a hunt.
Should we be worried? Should I go back and protect Fallon?
What do we do?
My heart started pounding as the questions raced through my mind.
The odd knuckle-popping sound told me Old Joe was in the middle of his transformation. It took all of about two minutes. He managed to say, “Follllllloooooow,” before the word turned into a howl and he’d become a large, thin, white wolf.
He didn’t give us time to deliberate; he took off running without warning, straight into the tree line.
I noticed other wolves in the area were doing the same.
Lysander and I took off too. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nicholas running as well. He must have heard the call.
The older wolf was still pretty quick on his feet. Even though he had said he couldn’t keep up with the younger ones, he was moving at top speed to aid his injured pack mates. He led the charge through the woods amid a chorus of other wolves baying in tune with one another, probably calling out directions or something.
To my left and right, I saw gray and black blurs, other wolves charging to the rescue as well. All of us headed towards the same destination.
The scent of blood hit me before we reached the center of the howling chain. Thick and musty with a hint of sweetness, it called out to me. I stopped in my tracks to take a breath and calm myself. I knew we were about to find a very bloody scene, and I wasn’t sure I could handle it. I’d been good at controlling my inner beast in many bad situations, but I had a feeling this one I was about to encounter would be the worst yet.
I reminded myself to breathe through my mouth, something Lysander had taught me in the very beginning. I could still taste the scent, but it muted out most of the enticing aroma.
The howls continued, and then I heard a shrieking cry. A woman, screaming in terror. Others were suffering. That gave me strength enough to hold the beast at bay. I had to help.
I took off again, running at full speed, and finally reached a small clearing. A cold breeze greeted me there, but it wasn’t the same crisp autumn wind I had been slowly growing accustomed to. This was much colder, and sent an instant chill down my spine. Like an electric current, it raised the hairs on my neck and sent a wave of gooseflesh rushing across my skin.
I’d felt this sensation before.
I gulped back a knot forming in my throat and forced myself to move forward.
As I pushed through the bushes to the clearing, the atrocity hit me. The scene was worse than I had imagined.
Four ravaged wolf bodies lay about in pieces. Blood painted the ground black under the moonlight. The musty smell of it overwhelmed me.
A few wolves were in the process of transforming back into their human shapes. The popping and clicking sounds made me cringe and grit my teeth.
A woman crouched over one of the dismembered wolf bodies. She pulled the largest portion of the body close to her chest and petted its matted fur, while sobbing and mumbling a name I couldn’t quite catch.
My heart broke for her. The dead wolf might have been a lover or a family member, and now he or she was in pieces, but for what reason?
What had provoked this attack? Who could have done this?
I didn’t know what to think and feel. My instincts were on high alert, telling me something worse was yet to come. And even though my heart broke at seeing the carnage and destruction and loss of life here in front of me, bloodlust still nagged at the back of my mind, threatening to take over. I felt like a monster and was ashamed for it.
Connor had transformed, but he was badly injured. A large gash ran the length of his leg. I could see bone and blood poured from the wound like a fountain. “The thing… came out of nowhere.” He choked out the words as if holding back the pain from his voice. “We didn’t have time… to alert the others.”
“We need to get everyone out of here, and fast,” I said. I had to pinch my nose to stop the smell from getting to me. My mouth watered despite the horror before us.
“Everyone, back to the bonfire,” Connor ordered as he attempted to stand. His leg buckled and he slumped back to the ground.
Some of the wolves turned and headed back into the forest. A few, however, stayed, as if guarding their Alpha.
The crisp breeze blew past me again. “Lysander, Nicholas. I feel that cold again. Something else is here.”
Both men exchanged worried expressions.
“Alyssa, you take Connor back. Nicholas and I will clean up and help get the rest out.”
Nicholas pulled off his shirt and wrapped it around Connor’s bleeding leg. “You think you can handle this, Sparky?” he asked me.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really tempted. But, yes, I can do this.”
“Understandable,” Connor said. “Get me back to the compound. Then take care of whatever you need privately.”
“Alyssa, when you get back, alert the others but do not send them back to get us,” Lysander ordered.
“What can we do if it is him?” I asked.
“Pray.”
That wasn’t comforting.
Before I could pick up Connor to take him back, I heard the sound of distant footsteps. Confused, I looked around to see where it was coming from. Nicholas and Lysander were doing the same. A moment later a chill crossed my body, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand at attention. Unlike the wintery cold feeling that accompanied the ghostly killer, this resembled the sudden eerie feeling of another vampire approaching. For a moment, I thought it could be Zuri or Ian, as they had been at the camp with us, but no, they wouldn’t be sneaking up on us.
Dead leaves crunched under heavy footsteps ahead of us, the sound getting louder with each passing second.
The few wolves that remained were still in their animal form. They perked up and stood at attention. Their fur bristled as they stared into the woods.
It was hard to tell who was who; they were all gray wolves of similar size and shape. Two, however, backed up slowly, toward Connor and stopped at his side. I guessed them to be the brothers.
Anticipation had my heart racing. The monster inside of me was already chomping at the bit, begging for me to let loose and sate my need for blood, but the uncertainty of our situation had me ready to run for safety. I stood up and side stepped past one of the wolves flanking Connor and placed myself next to but just behind Lysander.
A dark figure slowly emerged from the thick bush ahead of us. For a moment I thought it was Santino. He had the same shaggy appearance, though his hair was much longer. As he passed through into our clearing, moonlight hit his face and I let out a gasp of shock.
“Edmond,” Lysander growled. “I should have known.”
“That’s your problem, Lysander. You should do a lot of things, but you don’t.” Though looking like a vagabond, his voice still had that same pompous French accent I’d remembered. “Unlike you, my sad little nemesis, I don’t dwell on what I should have done. I take action.”
Edmond looked at me and smiled. “How are you liking my present? I heard your little human friend was the one to open it. Was it a grand surprise?”
He held up the open box, the lid in one hand and the bottom in the other. Slung over his shoulder was a cylindrical tube missing a cap at the end. I could see the wooden tips of a scroll poking out. Those must have been the memoirs we were looking for.
The wolves were crouched as if ready to spring. Their ears were pinned back to their heads. They bared their large teeth at Edmond, but made no sound. I wondered if they would spring on him, but they held their ground, probably waiting for an order to strike. Connor remained silent, however, as if studying Edmond.
“I spared you, against my better judgment,” Lysander said with a growl. “I showed you mercy.”
“Letting me live was a big mistake. But then again, you were always soft. I knew if I played your little game, I’d win the sympathy of your pathetic clan. So I picked up your little urchin and carried her home while Kallisto’s house burned. I cried and sobbed and begged for forgiveness of my sins, while you all healed from your wounds. I knew you wouldn’t kill me then. I had your whole clan convinced I was a poor manipulated man caught under the thumb of Kallisto.” He let out a mocking laugh.
“You gained your freedom. Why bother with us after that?” Lysander asked. “And why involve the wolves?”
“Revenge. Sweet revenge. Though I admit, I hadn’t counted on you gaining the support of the wolves. I figured they would run you out of town when they saw the mess you made of that house.”
“We didn’t make that mess,” I snapped at him. “You did.”
“Yes, unfortunately that part of my plan didn’t work out as well as I’d hoped.
C’est la vie
.” He shrugged.
“Revenge for what? We did nothing to you,” I said, my fists clenching at my sides. If Lysander wasn’t going to rip his throat out, I certainly would. He’d played us all and sent that spirit thing to destroy us.
“You did nothing.” He scoffed. “It is because of you that the life I knew was destroyed.”
I was thoroughly confused at that point and assumed Edmond had lost his immortal mind. “But Lysander gave you back your life and your freedom.”
“Yes, let us all thank Lysander for everything that happens in this world. He’s so wise and powerful. Just because he granted you immortality, little one, doesn’t mean he is the gods’ gift to the world. Lysander has always been the bane of my existence. Now that I have the means, I will finally be rid of him.” He held up the two halves of the box and let out a boisterous laugh.
“Lysander did nothing to you. He tried to stay away from you. He wanted nothing to do with you or Kallisto.” I grabbed Lysander’s hand and squeezed it. He looked down at me and smiled. Pride filled his eyes.
Edmond snorted. “Kallisto always loved him. Even when she shunned him, she still held the torch for him. Even when she made me king, she still harbored feelings for him. I was glad to be rid of him when he went to live in the new world. But no, Kallisto had to follow, and so we did. She was obsessed until the day her head was removed from her neck.”
“So shouldn’t you be happy that she’s gone?” I asked.
“No, you twit. Her love or obsession, whatever you wanted to call it, was our downfall. I couldn’t care less if she loved me. I was a king. As Kallisto’s official mate, I was a ruler of the most prestigious clan in existence.” He held his chin high and puffed out his chest as he spoke. “I was powerful. I was important. I had everything.”
“Wow, for an ancient, you’re really a fucking baby, Edmond,” I said with as much snark as I could muster. “Crying about how bad your life is. You sound like a teenage girl.”
Nicholas sniggered.
“Why aren’t you blaming Santino or the Acta Sanctorum for all your troubles?” I asked.
“Oh, they’ll have their day too. Have no fear of that. But you fail to see the bigger picture. If it weren’t for her damn obsession with Lysander and the need to take away everything he has,” Edmond pointed at me, “The coven would still be in existence. It was her idea to move us to Las Vegas, a no man’s land among the supernatural world. I warned her not to go, but would she listen? No.”
The wind shifted around us and the bone-chilling breeze blew through the trees.
“Oh don’t worry, it won’t attack yet. Not while the box is open. Well, it won’t attack me, at least. I can’t say the same for the rest of you.” Just as he said that, the wind whipped through again and took one of the wolves in its wake. Yelping could be heard in the distance.
That poor wolf didn’t stand a chance
.
Edmond held up the box again. “I must thank you, Lysander—before I have you killed, that is—for being so detail-oriented. Your writings have been so useful. I’d have never known the secret of the Pandora’s box without them.”