Blood Rites (31 page)

Cynthia paused briefly. "Jacque, I truly am
sorry."

Jacque held up a hand to stop her. "Save it, let's
just get our butts out of here. We will deal with the rest later,
okay?"

They held hands as they crept through the cabin as
quietly as possible, looking around constantly to make sure the
really were alone. As soon as they were sure, they made a bee line
for the front door. Once again they crept out silently. Cynthia
took in a deep breath, scenting the air.

"They're not here. Let's go." With that she pulled
Jacque off the porch and out into the night. They ran hard and fast
through the trees. Jacque didn't know how Cynthia could see but was
glad that she could, because otherwise Jacque would have become
intimately acquainted with one of these lovely trees they were
breezing by. Jacque was trying hard to stay on her feet but Cynthia
was making it very difficult. Just when they would get in a rhythm
Cynthia would make a sharp turn, causing her to stumble a few steps
before gaining her footing again. This went on for what seemed like
hours but probably was no more than 30 minutes and then they
finally found a creek. Cynthia didn't even hesitate as she ran
straight for it.

Without pausing she pulled Jacque into the cold
water. Jacque's breath caught as the chill seemed to seep into her
bones. Cynthia never slowed. Suddenly Jacque doubled over as pain
shot through her body.

"Jacque, are you alright?" Cynthia asked as she kept
Jacque from taking a nose dive into the creek.

"I don't know. It's hard to breathe, the pain is so
intense." Jacque tried desperately to drag air into her straining
lungs. She felt Fane stir in her mind.

"Jacquelyn, I can feel you are in pain. Are you
alright? We are in the woods on the way to the cabin."

Jacque couldn't hold back the sob of relief that came
out. He was here. Fane was here and he would rescue her.

"We aren't at the cabin anymore. Logan and the
other wolf left and we broke out,"
Jacque told him.

"Where are you? How far from the cabin are you?"

"Cynthia, Fane wants to know how far from the cabin
we are," Jacque told the doctor.

Cynthia looked off in the direction they had just
come from. "Probably about two miles east. Not far enough.
Why?"

"They are here in the woods on their way to get
us."

"Fane, she said we are about two miles east from the
cabin. How far away are you?"

Just then they heard a loud angry howl in the
direction of the cabin.

"They're back." Cynthia grabbed Jacque's hand and
started to run again. "We have to get farther. Once in their wolf
forms they will be able to run fast."

"Fane, Logan is back at the cabin. Where are
you?"
Jacque knew her voice sounded shaky even if it was in his
mind.

"We're about a mile from the cabin. Tell Cynthia we
have a car parked two miles west of the cabin."

Jacque was trying again to stay on her feet as they
ran through the creek. The water level changed constantly and made
it difficult to stay upright.

"Fane said they have a car parked two miles west of
the cabin." At her words Cynthia changed direction and crawled out
of the creek, dragging Jacque behind her. They paused briefly and
Jacque watched as Cynthia stuck her nose in the air and took a deep
breath, then cursed low. Jacque heard the rustling and crunch of
leaves and knew why Cynthia was cursing. Logan had found them.
Without thinking Jacque let go of Cynthia's and took off running.
She heard Cynthia shout her name but Jacque didn't stop. She
couldn't stop. All she could think was that there was no way she
was going to be at Logan's mercy again. She would rather die than
go through that again.

Cynthia watched as Jacque ran then turned back to
where she could hear Logan running. She made a decision then. She
had gotten Jacque into this and she would do anything she could to
get her out of it. She phased into her wolf form and waited for
Logan to come crashing through the woods. He stopped just at the
edge of the creek and his wolf form was huge, much larger than
Cynthia's. She snarled at him, showing her teeth. She remembered
how he had manhandled Jacque, how he had forced himself on her, and
that fueled her rage. She watched as Logan took a couple of steps
back and then jumped. He cleared the creek with no problem and
landed several feet from her.

They began to circle one another, looking for an
opening. Cynthia knew she unmatched Logan in size but she was fast.
If she could keep him distracted so Jacque could get to the car it
might be enough. Logan took a step towards her and she growled and
snapped her teeth at him. She lunged forward, knowing her boldness
would take him by surprise. She was right. She went in low and
latched onto one of his legs. Cynthia heard Logan yip and then felt
his teeth latch onto her side. She thrashed her body, letting go of
his leg and rolled to get out of his bite. She continued to roll
until she was up on all fours again. Logan tried to lunge for her
before she could right herself but she jumped to the side. He was
so close she felt the air from his bite ruffle her fur. He turned
quicker than she would have thought a wolf his size would be able
to and grabbed her back right leg before she could move. She felt a
snap and let out a loud whine. Logan released her leg and backed
away. He was taunting her. He knew she could never defeat him. She
let out a whimper as she tried to put weight on the broken
appendage. Logan lifted his upper lip in a snarl and lunged again.
Cynthia tried to jump out of the way but her weight shifted
unevenly and Logan was able to grab her left back leg. She twisted
and rolled, trying desperately to get out of the death grip he had
on her. Again she felt a snap and the pain that raced up her leg to
her spine. She realized now he didn't plan to kill her, he just
wanted her immobile. She laid on the ground, her body heaving, her
two broken legs lying useless. She began to drag herself forward
with her front legs. Logan sunk his teeth into her neck and
squeezed. He didn't break her neck but as the world around her got
fuzzy, she realized he was cutting off her air, and then everything
went black.

Jacque ran blindly, her arms thrown out in front of
her, desperately trying to keep herself from running face first
into a tree. She felt horrible for leaving Cynthia but the thought
of Logan getting his hands on her was just too much. She stumbled
over a fallen tree branch, falling forward but caught herself on
her hands. She pushed herself up again and started forward without
bothering to dust her hands off.

"Fane! Logan found us. I freaked out and took off
running and left Cynthia behind. I don't know where I am."
Jacque reached out for him, hoping that maybe he was close to
her.

"We are tracking him. We just passed the cabin about
a mile ago. Keep running, Jacquelyn. I will find you.”

Jacque nodded her head and then remembered he
couldn't see her.

"Please hurry."
Jacque heard a loud howl not
far behind her.
"He's getting closer."

Jacque kept running, but fell to the ground when the
pain that was becoming more intense wracked her body. She rolled
onto her side, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from
screaming.

"Luna, what is it? I can feel your pain."

"The pain is getting worse. Whatever is happening
to my body, it's getting worse."
Jacque squeezed her eyes
closed and tried to take slow, deep breaths. Pushing past the pain,
she rolled onto her hands and knees and began to crawl. If crawling
was all she could do at the moment then so be it but she wouldn't
just lay there on the ground and wait for Logan to come rip her
apart. Unfortunately, she didn't make it far before she heard a low
growl behind her. She turned her head and sure enough a huge black
and grey wolf stood there. His head was down low, all his hair on
his large body seemed to be standing on end. Jacque turned, not
wanting her back to him and fell onto her butt. She began to try to
scoot back away from him as he began advancing on her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, hoping maybe
to distract him. "Why would you want me when you know I am not your
true mate?"

Jacque squeaked when all of a sudden there was no
longer a large wolf before her, but a naked man instead.

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be alone? To
be empty on the inside and feel like you are being consumed by it?
That is why I'm doing this. I need a mate. There are so few females
and Fane is still a pup. He has plenty of time before the darkness
begins to drive him mad. But me, I'm old. I need a mate."

Jacque kept her eyes firmly planted on his face as
she listened to him. She could see the pain on his face but after
what he had done to her she couldn't feel sorry for him.

"You have to already realize that I will not make the
darkness go away for you. You have to know that only your true mate
can do that," she tried to reason.

"It will be better once we mate. That will make us
one and then the madness will be contained."

"Logan, it's not going to happen. I am not yours! I
will never be yours."

Logan lunged at her, pushing her onto her back. He
grabbed her hands and pushed them down into the ground as he leaned
forward placing his nose against her neck. Jacque whimpered at his
closeness, hating the feel of his skin against hers.

"You don't even smell like him anymore," he growled.
"You smell like me. Do you really think he is going to want you
once he smells another wolf all over you?"

Jacque looked Logan straight in the eyes. "Fane will
always want me no matter what you do to me."

Logan snarled at her boldness but didn't back away.
He took her hands and raised them above her head, holding both
wrists with one of his hands. He took his free hand and grabbed her
chin, holding her face in place as he leaned forward. Jacque
realized he was going to try and kiss her and she began thrashing
wildly. He held her tighter and she flinched at the pain in her
wrists. He gripped her face tighter as his lips came brutally down
on hers. She thrashed her body trying to throw Logan off but he was
too big. Before he could pull his lips away, Jacque opened her
mouth and bit down hard on them.

Logan snarled as her released her mouth. Glaring down
at her, Jacque shivered at the feral look in his eyes.

"It's like that, is it?" He asked her as he pulled
his hand back. Jacque realized he was going to hit her and tried to
move her head out of the way. She squeezed her eyes closed, waiting
for the blow. It never came. Instead, the weight that was Logan was
suddenly gone as he was thrown from her body. Jacque opened her
eyes to see Fane leaning over her.

"Fane?" she whispered his name as tears began to
stream down her face.

"I'm here, love." Fane reached for her but stopped
when she cried out in pain.

"It's getting worse," she ground out through clenched
teeth.

"We're going to get you out of here just as soon as
the others catch up." Fane was cut off when he felt teeth sink into
his arm. He growled loudly and turned to face Logan. Fane lunged
for Logan and phased in mid air.

"Fane!" Jacque yelled as she watched two large wolves
clash in the air. Sounds of snarls, growls, and teeth snapping
filled the air. Jacque pulled herself up so she could see the
battle that raged before her. She gasped as she saw Logan grab onto
Fane's side, but he must not have had a firm grip because Fane
slipped away. She was so entranced with watching Fane and Logan
that she didn't notice the five other wolves that slowly crept up
to her. She startled when she felt a cold nose touch her arm. It
was then that she noticed that Decebel was carrying Cynthia in her
wolf form.

"Decebel, is she alive?"

"She is. She has two broken legs but I think those
are her only injuries," Decebel told her, "Jacque, we are going to
take you to the car that is waiting with your mom and friends. Can
you walk?"

"I'm not leaving Fane," she said firmly.

The largest of the five wolves growled low at her.
She looked at him and knew it had to be Vasile. The power flowing
off him was unmistakable.

"I'm not leaving him, Vasile. You can growl and snarl
all you waaa..." Jacque couldn't finish as she grabbed her stomach
and tried to breathe through the pain.

Decebel looked at Vasile. "Let me help him finish
this. It would be over quicker and we could get her out of
here."

Vasile shook his big wolf head once and snarled.
Jacque decided that must have been a no. They all snapped their
heads back to the fight when there was a loud howl. Jacque couldn't
believe the amount of blood that matted Fane's fur, it was
everywhere. She covered her mouth to keep from screaming out.
Surely that wasn't all his blood, she prayed it was not all his
blood. She watched as Fane leapt forward and latched onto Logan
briefly, then giving his head a quick jerk she saw him tear away
fur and flesh as more blood poured out of Logan. As she continued
to watch, wanting to turn away but not being able to wrench her
eyes away, she realized that every time Fane lunged forward he
would literally take another bite out of Logan. There were holes
all over Logan's body and blood poured from him. He was weakening
from blood loss and she watched him stumble. Fane took advantage of
Logan's moment of weakness. He lunged, landing on Logan's back and
sunk his teeth into his neck. She watched as Fane began to thrash
his head back and forth like a puppy with a new chew toy and then
heard a loud snap. Logan's body went limp in Fane's jaws. Jacque
realized that Fane had broken the wolf's neck.

Fane dropped the lifeless form and threw his head
back and howled. Jacque flinched as the other five wolves and even
Decebel in his human form howled in victory with him. As the howls
died down Jacque added her own howl, but hers was out of pain as
once again she doubled over. Only this time the pain was too much.
She held her breath and felt tears seep from her eyes just before
she passed out.