Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3)

BORNE VAMPIRES III:

WULF’S REDEMPTION

BY

W.M. PETZLER

‘Fear the night, children, for it has teeth and
seeks to devour you.’

Copyright © September 2015, Wend Petzler

Cover Design © September 2015, Aaron Barton

Kindle Edition

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case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
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This book is a work of fiction and any
resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely
coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and
used fictitiously.

~For Charlotte, the best daughter and friend a mom
could ever dream to have. I love you~

Chapter One

“Mayday! Mayday, we are going down! I repeat; we
are going down! Please, is anyone hearing me?”

Static.

“Shit.” Sweat dripped down his forehead, right
into his eyes, blurring his vision. Risking it, Dan swiped his arm across his
face and quickly latched back onto the airplane’s violently vibrating yoke with
a death grip. Together, he and Steve fought to keep the floundering plane’s
nose in the air.

“Steve,
we’re in deep here.” He sucked in air and let it out in a rush, making his
decision. “I’ve got to go in back and wake ‘em up.”

“Dan,
you can’t! They’re in sleep mode! Hell, even if you
could
wake them, they’ll fry in the sunlight!”

“We’re
dead if I don’t try!” he yelled as he yanked his headphones off.

Resigned,
Steve nodded. “You’re right. Okay, ready to let go?”

“Hang
on tight!” Dan released his grip on the yoke. The plane dove. Steve braced his
feet, straining as he pulled back hard on his yoke, successfully straightening
out the plane … for now.

“Got
it?” Dan asked, praying he did.

“Hurry,
man, don’t know how long I can hold her steady!”

Unbuckling
his harness and seatbelt, he made it to the cockpit door and opened it. “Shit!”

“What’s
wrong?” Steve yelled, glancing back at him.

He
shouted back, “There’s a freaking hole near the rear of the plane!”

“Are
the coffins safe?”

Chrome
coffins gleamed in the faint light cast through the jagged hole. “Yeah, they
appear to be fine.”

“What
the hell you waiting for? Wake Walker! He’ll know what to do!”

Struggling
against the rushing wind and wild roller coaster ride as the plane bucked it, Dan
made his way to the nearest coffin. Unsnapping the three locks, he managed to open
the lid and sighed in relief. The man lying inside seemed unhurt. Dark gold and
brown hair whipped about the man’s sleeping features, oblivious to the disaster
befallen them. Handsome to the point of being too good-looking, there was in
the set of his mouth the grimness of a man who’d seen too much in his life. Then
again, Alexander Walker wasn’t human — he was vampire.

“Forgive me, sir. We need your help.” Shaking the
unresponsive vampire to no avail, his gaze dropped to his wrists and an idea
struck him.

Grabbing a knife off the bar, Dan cut his wrist as
he hurried back to the vampire. Dripping blood onto Walker’s mouth, it had the
effect he’d hoped. The vampire licked it off his lips. Without warning, Walker’s
eyes flew open, glowing emerald-green in the shadows of the coffin. In a blur
of movement, he was out of it, standing beside him. Fangs long, Walker paused.
Surprise lit his features as he stared at the sunlight streaming through the
torn side of the plane. In a flash, he was beside the other coffin and had it open.
Inside was Kai Jordan and she appeared to be uninjured, too.

Shielding his eyes against the faint sunlight
streaming in through the hole, Walker yelled at him over the roaring wind, his
English accent sharp and precise, “What in the bloody hell hit us?”

“Don’t know, sir,” he shouted back. “But we’re
going down!”

“Where are we?”

“Thirty miles west of Magdeburg, Germany.”

“Magdeburg?” The vampire’s eyes closed, as if
physically pained by the name of the city. His eyes flew open as he cocked his
head to the side, listening to something.

Walker shoved him toward the cockpit. “Put on your
parachutes, the plane is lost!”

A whine split the air.

Running to the small, oval window, Dan saw the rocket
sidewinding right for them. “Ah, shit!”

It made direct impact the plane’s tail. The
explosion sent him and Walker flying upward into the ceiling before dropping
them hard onto the floor. The tail of the plane splintered, metal shredded,
screeching, as the wind grabbed it and ripped it clear off.

Dan screamed as he was sucked out of the cabin.

✝✝✝

The earsplitting growl of the engines sputtered,
switching to a high-pitched whine as the plane plunged downward. Fighting his
way back to the now upended coffin, Kai lay on the floor, still shut down. Alex
lifted her into his arms. Conflicted about what to do for Steve, he heard the
hissing of another rocket approaching. Gripping tighter his precious load, he
leapt out of the plane by way of the missing tail, narrowly missing the rocket
as it made a direct hit.

The blast was deafening.

Focusing, he partially shifted, growing bat wings
large enough to carry him and Kai away from the raining fire and debris. What
was left of the plane struck the forest below. The wreckage sent a massive fireball
of jet fuel and flames shooting straight for them. He managed a burst of speed,
veering away before the fire could claim him and Kai. Not that it mattered.

The full force of the mid-morning sun hit him. His
face burned as sunlight touched him. There was nowhere he could hide. Smoke
issued off his exposed skin. Damn, his hair was on fire! Gritting his teeth, he
held onto Kai and made for the safety of the trees. Close. So close! Smoke and
flames rolled off him, the leathery vanes of his wings ignited like crepe
paper. Pain unlike anything he had ever endured in his centuries walking the
Earth engulfed him. Blinded by blood and flames, he made out a huge tree below
him. Quickly, he tucked himself closer to Kai just as his legs struck jagged limbs.
Smacking the back of his head, he saw stars briefly. Unable to stop their
descent, he braced Kai as they hit the ground.

Dirt exploded around them. Winded, he inhaled dirt
and choked on it. Coughing made the agony he suffered intensify. At last he
could draw in a wheezing gasps, he found his body was beginning to numb as his
fried flesh made contact with the cool soil. Mercifully, the trees blocked out
the glaring sun. Groaning, he forced his blistered and blackened hand up and
summoned dirt to cover him and Kai. In the earth, he would heal and recover.

Before sleep overcame him, the word so hated, so
filled with anguish and torment arose in his mind. Magdeburg.

Aw, bloody hell.

Chapter Two

January 13, 1819, Magdeburg,
Germany

“Alex, you must stop.” Lisle giggled as he licked
the sensitive skin of her bared, inner thigh. “We cannot make love again. My
husband will be home soon. If he finds you in our bed, he will surely kill us
both.”

She gasped, writhing in delight as he advanced
upon her womanhood and sampled her sweet nectar. Well-versed in the art of pleasuring
a woman, he suckled and nipped at her tender flesh until she whimpered her
desperate need for release. He lifted his head and grinned at her, refusing to
give her what she craved. Moaning, Lisle bumped her plump, creamy white thighs
at him, demanding he finish what he’d initiated. Instead, he rolled off the bed
and walked in all his naked glory to where his discarded clothes littered the
Prussian carpets. He tugged on his drawers, donned on his leather breeches, and
laced them closed.

“Alexander, are you truly leaving me?” She stared
at him in disbelief as he drew on his white dress shirt and dark green waist
coat, quickly buttoning them.

Shoving the matching green silk neckcloth in his coat
pocket, he sat down on the armchair set beside the bricked fireplace and pulled
on his Wellington boots. “As you stated, madam, your husband will return home
soon, and I’d rather not face the Magistrate over the infidelity of his lovely
wife.”

Amused as she thumped her hands in frustration
upon the bed, he held back his laughter as she wailed, “You are a cruel beast,
Alexander Wulf! Why do you enjoy tormenting me so?”

He replied mockingly, “Why, dearest Lisle, I only
profess to have your best interest in mind. To protect you, I must be on my
way.”

Lisle jumped off the rumpled bed and snatched the
filmy, sea-green robe draped across a silk, pink and cream striped settee and gracefully
slipped it on. Pulling her long, disheveled silver-blonde hair from under her
robe, she stomped to stand in front of him. Clenching her small hands into
fists, she shouted, “You bastard! Never come to my bed again! You sicken me
with your foppish ways.”

Slipping on his heavy, black wool coat, he shrugged.
“As you wish. There are plenty of women in Magdeburg who would lovingly fulfill
my needs.”

“Alexander, you will not touch another woman! If
you do, I’ll make you pay dearly!” Lisle snarled at him, folding her arms
across her ample bosom.

Chuckling at her, he spread his hands out, palms
up, and inquired, “And what do you propose to do to me, Lisle, if I refuse to
bend to your threat?”

Her light blue eyes narrowed to malicious slits and
in the glow of the candles’ lit darkened to indigo. She hissed, “I’ll tell my
husband
what
you are.”

His amusement vanished. Advancing upon her, he
asked softly as he towered over her, “And
what
exactly am I?” He could see her fear as it clawed at her throat. Smelt it as
she struggled to contain it.

Just when he thought she’d lost courage and would end
her threat, a sneer curled her lush, pink lips. “A creature of the night, you
be. You are
vampyre
. A
bloodthir
—”

Before she could finish, he grabbed her by the
throat, yanked her closer to him. “Why think you I am vampyre?”

“You are never seen during the daytime. I’ve
offered you food and have declined it!”

“Not that I need defend myself to you or anyone
else, why would I be in town during the day when I am at home? As to food, I
merely hunger for you whenever I call upon you,” he whispered as he tilted her
head back, exposing her throat. Pressing his lips to her warm skin, molding
them to caress her, he swirled his tongue along the soft muscles of her neck.
She relaxed in his grip and moaned as he raked his teeth against her heated
flesh.

“Alex, make love to me,” she begged.

Hovering his mouth above hers, he made to kiss her,
only to withdraw. Observing her cheeks flushed with her desire, he found he no
longer wanted her. “Lisle, I regret I must leave.”

“Will you return to me tomorrow night?”

Releasing her, he shook his head. “No, Lisle. I
will not return.”

She blinked, breaking the sensual trance he’d
woven around her. Fury replaced desire. “Then I shall ensure the good people of
Magdeburg know what you are! I’ll wager your entire family is vampyres! You
will be driven out of town!”

“Take care your threats, Lisle. I do not take
kindly to them and deal harshly with those who issue them to me!”

“To hell with you and your threats! You can’t hurt
me. My husband will protect me!”

Forcing a calm demeanor, he replied, “
Mrs
. Breber, I must advise you that
spreading lies about me and my family is unwise. Point in fact;
you
have secrets you wish kept. For example,
how will your husband,
such a prominent
and well-respected man of the law, react when he learns his wife spreads her
legs like a common whore? Accusing me of being a vampyre would be minuet in
comparison to his rage at your unfaithfulness, would it not?”

“Fine.” Lisle lifted her chin. “Go then. See if I
care whose thighs you crawl between.” He released her and went to the window,
opening it.

She screamed at him, “I hope your cock rots off,
you bastard!”

Alex placed his black velvet top hat on his head,
setting it at a jaunty angle. “My thanks for a pleasurable evening.”

Shrieking her rage, her delicate, porcelain
features mottling. “I hate you! Leave my house immediately!” She thrust her
finger at the window.

“As you wish, madam.” Tipping his hat to her
mockingly, Alex heard his brother whistle outside. Sparing a glance down at the
snow-covered street below, he saw Aldric waving at him. He returned the gesture
him. Alex gave her a short bow. “Lisle, I am regretful our affair ended on such
a sour note.”

“Sour?” she repeated as her eyes went wide. A
blast of cold wind blew out the candles, leaving only the fire as light. Gazing
upon Lisle, he drew back in alarm as her eyes became feral-looking in the
reddish-glow cast the chamber. The skin along her cheeks seemed to stretch
taunt, dark hollows formed under her eyes.

Her voice deepened as she spoke, “You bring death
and suffering to the innocent. None of us will be safe from you. No one.” Her
words lay heavy in the air, foreboding rippled in dark, menacing waves, and it
left Alex apprehensive.

Before he could form a response, the shadows
around her dispersed and she was the same beautiful woman he had bedded half an
hour ago. Perhaps he should make her forget their affair? He made to take her
into his arms when he heard his brother call out to him from outside.

“Alex, move your ass! We need make haste for Wulf
Manor.”

Smirking at him, as if she knew what he’d intended
to do, she dipped into a curtsy and danced away to the bed. “You should not
keep your brother waiting. Dawn is only a few hours away,” Lisle said cheerfully
as the vivacious woman he had bedded numerous occasions reclined upon the soft
mattress and stretched out.

“Farewell, Mrs. Breber.” Ducking out the opened
window, he stepped off the ledge and landed beside his twin brother, who was
elder by ten minutes.

None could tell them apart. Identical in every
physical detail were he and Aldric, with the exception of temperament. Aldric
was quiet and scholarly, a gentle soul. Not him. No, he lived life to the
fullest, enjoying every manner of mischief and trouble-making, behind their
father’s back, of course.

Speaking of trouble, Lisle’s words haunted him. Perhaps
he should return to her and take her blood, placing her under his power? No, if
he did and his father found out he’d tampered mentally and physically with the
Magistrate’s wife, there’d be hell to pay. No, he would have to trust Lisle
would fear his telling her husband about her infidelity and keep silent her
theory he was a vampyre.

“Alex?” Looking at his brother, he saw Aldric’s
concern. “What ails you this early morn, brother?”

“I ended my tryst with Lisle Breber.” He started
walking, needing to place distance between him and the Brebers’ tidy
three-story brick townhouse.

“She did not take it well, I gather?”

“No. In fact, she threatened to tell her husband
details about me, or rather what I am.”

“The part of you bedding her or that we’re—” Aldric
left his question hanging.

“The ‘or’ part. She has somehow managed to discern
what we are and threatens to expose me to her husband.”

Stopping in his tracks, Aldric demanded, “How does
she know
what
we are? We have been
extremely careful since we moved here from Berlin.”

“I am clueless how she has gleaned such knowledge.
I’ve never even fed on the woman! She pointed out I am not seen during the day
and never witnessed me eating food. How she connected that to vampirism is
beyond me.”

“Her conclusion is quite a stretch without
witnessing us feeding or angered,” Aldric commented, appearing anxious.

Equally worried, Alex shrugged his shoulders. “I
will watch her and discover if her threat is merely the jealous ranting of a
jilted lover or if she seeks to truly bring me ruin.” Jerking his collar up to
cover his ears more to ward off his uneasiness than the biting cold, he
grumbled, “Where is our carriage? Herrick knows better than to wander off with
dawn closing upon us.”

“At Post’s Livery. The horses were nervous, so I
told Herrick to station the team inside where they would be warm and safe.” The
mournful wail of a lone wolf broke the eerie silence belonging only to the
early hour before the dawn.

Eyeing the dark slopes of the Harz Mountain, he
said, “The horses can sense the wolves are near.” Inhaling the chilled air deep
in his lungs, he smelt the dry, dusty scent, recognizing it as the coming of
yet another snowstorm. Already the River Elba was frozen over and several feet
of snow blanketed it, the city, and countryside.
 

“It is der Wolfmonat: the month of the wolf. And
it’s proving the worst winter in Magdeburg’s history. If this foul weather does
not break soon, life will become perilous for both man and beast. The mortals
will be forced to send out hunting parties to subdue the wolves, who only seek
to stay alive.”

More voices joined the wolf’s lonely howl, winning
a sad smile from Alex. He hated the idea of hunting the wolves. He held a
special fondness for the beasts and to hunt them went against his firm belief
in allowing them to rule the wild. However, the nature of wolves was to hunt
easy prey. Pets and children of Magdeburg would be their next target since
there was no barrier to enter the city with the river blanketed with ice and
snow.

The metallic jingle of bits and creak of leathers
alerted them to the team of four, perfectly matched, elegant black Dutch Friesians
prancing smartly toward them. Their driver, a Gypsy by the name of Herrick,
whistled to the team, hauling back on the reins to bring the regal beauties to
a halt beside him and Aldric.

“Good morning, my lords.” Herrick tipped the rim
of his black, short, squared hat to them. He made to jump down, Alex waved him
to stay.

“Hold, my friend. We can open our own door.”

Grinning, Herrick nodded. “My thanks, Master Alex.
Ye be kind to an old man.”

Aldric snorted. “Old my ass! You are only five and
twenty and you’d best know not to exaggerate it,” he warned with a scowl that
threatened to turn into a grin.

“Ah, Master Aldric, it not be the years that plague
me, it be the miles I endure carting you, young lords, about.”

“Damn, gypsy!” Aldric mockingly shook his fist at
the grinning, swarthy-faced Gypsy. “Always wanting us to pity you.”

Placing his hand upon his heart, Herrick chortled,
“Aye, Master, we, gypsies always seek to shirk our duties whenever given the
ripe opportunity.”

“Aldric, Herrick,” Alex sternly interjected, “if
Father caught you, two, jesting, we shall surely be in trouble.”

Placing his hand over his heart, Aldric said to
him solemnly, “Yes, brother, you are correct. We should not be informal with
the hired help.” Winking outrageously at Herrick, who inclined his head in
agreement, and both were wearing a broad smile the entire while. Aldric clicked
his polished black boots in proper form. “We should bear in mind our noble and proper
military upbringing and not associate with the servants on a familiar basis. We
are lords and should not debase ourselves.” Aldric saluted him and finished
with an exaggerated bow.

Chuckling at Aldric’s antics, Alex opened the
black-lacquered door bearing their family’s coat of arms — two black wolves facing
each other opposite sides of a silver cross. “Be wary of your teasing, brother.
Father is quite serious in his beliefs concerning our conduct with the servants
and less tolerant in our perchance for mischiefs than we hope. Let us not be
caught in either, shall we?”

Somber, Aldric nodded. “Aye, brother, you prove
wiser than I in matter’s concerning Ulrich.”

“Only in light of the Iron Wolf’s unpredictable
temperament, do I seek the prudent path,” he replied, equally solemn. Swinging
inside the carriage, he took a seat on the green velvet-covered bench as his
brother took the one opposite after shutting the door behind him.

Peering out the glass window, the darkness should
have reassured him that dawn was several hours away, the familiar panic grabbed
hold him. He dreaded the dawn, not unusual for a vampire, except his was due to
experience, not necessity.

“Herrick, make haste home,” Alex ordered.

“Aye, Master Alex.” Herrick clucked to the horses
and the thrust of the carriage set him back in his seat.

Closing his eyes, he settled back in the padded
seat, remembering the dawn which haunted him still. Before their third
birthday, he and Aldric had only known that the sun was to be feared and they were
to never go outside during the day. Their parents vanished at dawn. Mata was
their nanny a cared for them, loved them, unlike the man and woman who had
given them life. Gypsy by birth, her family had been sworn to serve the Wulf
family, just as Hedrick and his were. She had taught them how to be vampyre,
instructing them since the bastard who’d sired them and the woman who’d given birth
to them had not bothered to do it. In the week before his and Aldric’s third
birthday, she must have known something was building within Ulrich, because she
had made them practice ceaselessly on how to control their minds and bodies, to
shut down.