Vaewolf: Damn the Darkness: The Prophecy's Promise (Hearts of Darkness Book 3) (5 page)

“No. We should be very clear on this point. One, you are not a burden.” Dylan’s rigid jaw could have been solid granite as he spit out each word separately. “And two, we will not be equals in every way. That won’t be possible.”

The tension in his jaw loosened, but his words, although firm, sounded rough with emotion as he drew her into his tight embrace. “Love, each of us will bring something of value to this union. Who we are and what we are will find a balance, and our abilities will complement one another’s. Each of us will be the strength to the other’s weakness. You are my life mate, a gift beyond measure. Never, no matter what happens, never think of yourself as a burden.”

Understanding for the first time what true love meant, Caitlin’s chest tightened, and because tears clogged her throat, she whispered, “I love you, Dylan.”

“Good. I love you, too. Now let’s go home and I’ll show you how much, and then you can show me.”

With a wink, he took her arm and helped her to the car. “We’ll take the rental back tomorrow.”

“Dylan?” she said when he’d closed the door behind him and started the engine. “For some unknown reason, my fear of small places isn’t the same as my concern about being a target. Claustrophobia is irrational—isn’t something I can physically control.” The irrational anxiety was in her head so she would have learn to deal with it. “But I can eventually deal with it mentally, because I know the danger isn’t real.”

“Aye and what else, lass?” Dylan leaned back in the driver’s seat so he could see her face and wiggled his eyebrows to tease her out of her dark mood, but he hadn’t expected what came next.

“I’m frightened,” she whispered. “I need to work and get my mind off myself—look for answers.”

“Now, there’s a brae lass.” The pride he felt for her increased. She was the type of person who needed to take action. Sitting around waiting for answers wasn’t her style. “When we get home, we can go through the evidence and Niccolai’s papers...after I take your mind off your worries. Pleasure will relax you. Then later, we’ll see if there’s any mention of this rapid onset in his records.”

Home?
The word sounded foreign to him but felt right on his tongue. He hadn’t experienced a true home in over three-hundred years. And Caitlin was the reason the estate had begun to feel like a home.

His phone rang and he said, “It’s Shelby returning my call.” Dylan pressed the accept button. “Yes. She had a panic attack. You sensed right. But she’s working through it.” He winked at Caitlin. “I think she’s already manifesting symptoms of stasis. You should feed before you come out to the estate, because she’ll need extra blood before I take her out to the mausoleum. And Shelby, be careful. There’s been another incident I’ll tell you about it later.”

Dylan added he’d see her at the estate with more news. He could fill her in on the new danger then. Millions of questions fought for attention as he contemplated Caitlin’s sudden condition. The dilated pupils, the dark essence, and the blackness swirling behind her eyes indicated there was more going on with her transition than he cared to consider.

Tainted blood? But exactly whose was effecting her? His or Shelby’s? Or God help them...was it both? Would he lose her?

~~~~

On the way back to
Sang Froid
, Caitlin forced him to pull over three times. The estate gates were right up ahead, but her stomach couldn’t wait.

“Stop!” Caitlin gagged and opened the door, hanging her head out before Dylan brought the car to a complete stop.

“Again?” Dylan brought the car to the side of the road and stopped. “Ach, lassie, shush, shush, shush.” The words sounded sympathetic as he rubbed her back.

After, swishing water from her bottle and spitting refreshed her mouth, but when her gut continued to spasm, she stepped from the car and doubled over.

“Give me a minute. Sorry...”

“Ach, lass, no need to apologize. ’Tis no’ yer fault ye’r going through this.” He started to get out.

“Stay.” She clenched her jaw trying to keep her nerves calm, but nothing kept her churning stomach from repeatedly rebelling. No matter how many times he’d offered to help with her anxiety, she refused. It wasn’t the impending stasis. It was fear.

When she’d entered Dylan’s life knowing she was nobody in the greater scheme of things, a mere mortal, she’d been convinced he was the target. In this new world she’d uncovered, for some damned reason, her senses told her it wasn’t Dylan, after all. Someone had painted a target on her back, and so far, no one had stepped forward to explain why. No one knew for certain who wanted her dead, truly dead, or why, but according to the latest reports, there were plenty of hired assassins ready to take her out. The demon who shot her hadn’t been working on his own. Since the healing, the investigation hadn’t turned up anything. The team wasn’t any closer to finding answers than it had been before. While she searched for answers, Caitlin would deal with this fear, and try to minimize the risk to those around her.

She waited behind the car for a few moments, then wiped her mouth and took a drink from her water bottle before getting back in the car.

“Better?”

“For now, thanks.” She twisted in her seat to face him as he started the engine. “Dylan, after I was wounded during the hostage negotiation, you and the council believed you’d been targeted, right?”

His eyes went dark as they always did when she brought up the subject of her death. Dylan nodded as he turned on the engine and pushed the code to open the gate. “The whole thing looked like it was a set up to separate us, get to me through you, and send me out of control.”

No answers, just more questions.

“I don’t think I was collateral damage. What they did was isolate you to get to me. But why? Even though all the new evidence indicates you were probably right after all, why not go after you before—when you were with me?”

“I don’t know.” Dylan shrugged. “But we have everyone out there asking questions. We’re certain to find something. Ramon has a few leads on the demons, and with Jackson back, he and the pack will be useful, too. They can sniff out the jaguars and the demons, even in the swamp.”

When he pulled the car up in front of the house and turned off the engine, Caitlin turned away. “Let’s talk about something else. Something we do have control over. Evidence. Tactics. Information.”

The uncertainty about being the demon’s target wouldn’t be as easy to ignore. She needed facts. Only working the case would ease her anxiety. But for now, she wanted to put everything behind them.

“If that’s what you need, I’m ready to go over what I know. Stay there. Let me come help you inside.”

He got out of the car and circled to open her door. With one hand planted firmly on her back for support, he gripped her elbow assisting her to the entry.

Chapter Six

Capturing the Witch

Six enormous wolves with silver eyes accompanied Jackson, stepping stealthily through the forest in spite of the ground covered with dried leaves. He and his pack stalked two males who, with the exception of the horns wrapped tightly against their heads, could have passed for human body builders.

“More demons.”

Jackson and his werewolves moved forward, hunting and sniffing the air, waiting for the precise moment to strike.

The sharp sound of a branch snapping startled everyone. The unknowing prey and the hunters immediately stopped. Each demon male twisted to look and listen. The wolves, in order to remain hidden, silently dropped back into the brush. Jackson circled to the far side and waited still as death, not even breathing.

Then from a tree in front of the demons, an owl dropped to the ground. With wings fully extended whipping the air, the shape changed into the form of a tall slender woman with long flowing hair the color of copper covering most of her nakedness.

“Shifter.”
The tattoo on her hip gave her away. Only certain witches born to the magic were capable of shifting, and they were both powerful and dangerous.

Jackson sent the message mentally to his pack. “
Not just any shifter.
W
itch shifter. Kade, do you have the trap bag?”

“Yeah. We’ll need the iron and the witch’s rope, right?”

“…And the torque.”

She reached into an obscure hole in the tree, pulled out a cloak, and covered herself while the demons were preoccupied with the shock of having an owl turn into the pretty witch.

From the cover of the trees, with the pack at his back, Jackson listened closely to the exchange taking place. The witch took a carved wooden box from her cloak and handed it to the taller of the two men. The other handed her a small package in exchange.

Before the transaction concluded, Jackson gave a silent order to attack with a shake of his head and a low growl. His shift from wolf to vampire happened so quickly, no one watching had time to move. But when Jackson attacked the witch, she struggled to free her hands. She needed her hands to spell caste. He ignored her physical efforts and instantly mesmerized her to prevent her from using magic, thus controlling her for the moment. Once the rest of the pack attacked the demons, it didn’t take long to subdue them.

Advantage wolves.

With the assignment temporarily in hand, Jackson shifted again, this time assuming his other persona, the wolf with the blood-red eyes and fanged teeth of a vampire.

The witch went deadly still.

He recognized the fear in her eyes, but there was something else, too. Curiosity.

“I’ve heard rumors about a being, part Were and part vampire, but everyone dismissed the tales as myths.”

“If you cooperate, you may live to confirm the myth.” He flashed his fangs and warned her, “But understand, I am more.”

“Kade, get me the witch’s rope.”

Jackson chuckled to himself, and considered the witch’s consternation as he bound her hands with a woven witch’s rope. “There. No magic. The devil’s rocket in the rope should keep you out of trouble until I determine if you’re a danger.”

She huffed an indignant sound, and when he lowered his lips to her neck, she gasped. He sniffed and heard her pulse quicken.

“This will only hurt for a moment,” he said. After he took a small about of her blood and closed the bite wound, he nuzzled her neck, and whispered “You do taste delicious.”

“It didn’t hurt at all.” She bristled with indignation and narrowed her eyes on him. “You lied. Why?”

“Fear is a memorable taste I can’t resist. Now, I can always find you.”

Jackson turned her to face him and watched her tremble. She’d been confident enough from the start, but Jackson tasted the adrenaline, the fear in her blood. And fear was a rush he should avoid. His dark side liked the flavor too much.

“Now tell me,
cher
, why would a pretty little thing like you meet these two ugly dudes out here in the bayou…all alone?”

“No answer?” Brave little fool. He used the
voice
on her. “You will answer me.” She’d have to answer truthfully. Her magical cloak and being born a witch shifter would protect her against other shifters or demons. Under normal circumstances, her gifts may have made a difference, but she’d never encountered a being such as Jackson.

She sighed, blinking several times. “I know nothing of my assignment.”

He sensed her struggle against his thrall and gave her credit for being persistent.

“I have a gift for you.” Jackson said, “Kade, hand me the torque. He’d bound her hands with the woven rope made of devil’s rocket. It prevented her from performing magic. Taking her blood guaranteed Jackson could always find her, and the torque…it prevented her from shifting. She’d hate it.

Unable to move, her eyes shifted from one side to the other trying to see behind her as he hung the torque about her neck and fused the edges together with his power. She would not be able to perform shift while it remained in place. And Jackson would maintain control of her mind with his
voice
.

“What was your assignment, little witch?”

“I was sent by the head warlock of our coven to make an exchange with the ones who met me here. Then I was to take the herb from the demons to a local witch.”

She was telling the truth. Whoever the warlock was, he was a careful man. Apparently, awaiting his next command, the witch’s eyes glazed over.

“The warlock—his name?”

“Nicodemus Jones.”

Who was this Nicodemus Jones? And what was the warlock up to conspiring with demons?

“Who was the herb for?”

“I don’t know. Once I picked it up, I was supposed to deliver it to Cassie or Tanya at the Witch’s Brew.”

Anger bubbled within Jackson like a boiling cauldron. Why deal with covens outside the district? What were local witches doing colluding with a warlock capable of contacting demons? Disappointment in one of his own spread like poison through his blood. Tanya had been one his favorite witches. But how well did he know her. They’d drifted apart when his pack responsibilities interfered. Should he ever have trusted her?