Dark Wolf (13 page)

And used to hide that which would do evil.

May her beauty bloom, showing all the colors of her heart,

May her beauty shade and hide us from all harm.

Skyler didn’t leave loose ends, not when she was fully aware as she was now. He felt real hope for the first time. As long as no other Lycan discovered the hooks were no longer injecting beads of fluid silver into his body, he would have a chance to gain strength. Fen would come.

You have to leave this place. The Lycans preparing for battle changes everything.

She was already fading away.
I don’t care what they prepare for.

Send Josef then. He can slip in and release me.

He cannot. His energy would tip the Lycans off immediately and he’d stir up a hornet’s nest. Paul and I are human. They won’t see us as threats.

Skyler heard him swearing in his ancient language as she found herself back in her hammock. Birds sang loudly, calling to one another as they flitted from tree to tree. The forest was alive as the early morning rays of the sun poured through the canopy. There was such beauty in nature, and now that she knew Dimitri would stay alive long enough for her to get him out of the enemy’s camp, she could truly enjoy where she was.

She didn’t want to argue with him anymore. He was a dominant male, like most of the Carpathian men, and she didn’t blame him for worrying about her. She worried. She knew, because she often merged minds with Dimitri, that safety and health was placed above all else for their females. The species was too close to extinction. Women were too important to risk. There was also the fact that only one woman could be their lifemate. If she was to die, or the male Carpathian missed finding his lifemate, the warrior had no choice but to meet the dawn or choose to give up his soul.

She hadn’t just impetuously jumped into the rescue without thinking it through. She wasn’t an impulsive person. Her earlier life had made her very cautious. Dimitri was severely injured and felt helpless, she understood that. She was human and vulnerable in his eyes, and she understood that as well.

Csitri, I am not in any way reprimanding you. You saved my life. You’ve given me hope and surrounded me with love. I cannot bear the idea of you hurt or injured.

Dimitri, I’m your best chance at escape right now. The longer you’re there, the more likely something goes wrong. I’m not willing to take that chance. I’m just not. If what you say is true, and they are preparing for a war, then they need you dead. And just for the record, I know it’s difficult for you to think of me hurt or injured. Can you imagine what it’s like for me to know you’re hurt? To know they tortured you? That the first night I finally found you I wasn’t capable of removing all the silver? Or stopping the terrible burn?

She brushed at the tears running down her face. She hadn’t been able to hold the connection long enough, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear.
Why do men always think they suffer more when their partner is in danger? Women love as much, they suffer as much. You aren’t alone in this, Dimitri.
She couldn’t help the edge to her voice.

There was a small flash of amusement, and then he poured love into her mind. It was impossible to stay angry with him when he merged his mind so deeply with hers.

I stand corrected, päläfertiilam—my lifemate. I had no idea I had such a fierce warrior woman for a partner. Just make certain you’re protected. I trust that Josef and Paul will watch out for you while you do this.

Relief swept through her.
I promise to be careful, my love. If I get into any trouble, you’ll know. So will the world. I’ll send for Gabriel immediately. Rest now.

One more thing, Skyler. I’m up in a tree, wrapped in silver chain. I cannot free myself. You will need to find a way to remove the chain as well as the hooks.

I am prepared.
She had absolutely no idea yet what she was going to do to get him free.

He laughed softly in her mind, as if he knew she was struggling to figure that piece of his escape out. His laughter wrapped her up in his love, and then the connection between them slowly faded as if he were exhausted.

Skyler took a deep breath and let it out. She might be afraid to walk out in the forest, seeking a Lycan, but still, she looked forward to it. That would bring her one step closer to freeing Dimitri. She sat up gingerly, feeling faint and dizzy.

Josef looked up immediately from his conversation with Paul. “Are you okay?”

She shook her head. “I’ll need your help again.”

“You’re going to have more Carpathian blood in you than Josef does,” Paul said with a little grin. “You should see the weapons Josef managed to get for me.”

Skyler rolled her eyes. “Men. You just couldn’t wait for me to know all about your cool weapons, could you?”

“I almost came over to your hammock and dumped you out,” he teased.

She closed her eyes and let Josef give her blood, grateful he was adept enough to keep her unaware when she consented to his aid. She took the water bottle Paul offered and drank, more to make certain there was no aftertaste in her mouth than because she was thirsty.

“You don’t think the Lycans will sense the Carpathian blood in her do you, Josef?” Paul asked, suddenly anxious.

“They can’t tell we’re Carpathian until we use our energy to manipulate the elements,” Josef said. “I read the emails between Gregori and Gabriel.”

Skyler scowled at him. “You
hacked
my father’s email?”

Josef shrugged, completely unrepentant. “He made it easy. I told him his password needed to be a lot better, but he didn’t listen. They never do. I hacked the prince as well.” He held up his hand to stop her when she opened her mouth to give him a lecture on privacy. “Better yet, I managed to find and hack two of the Lycan council members.”

Skyler closed her mouth. Somehow hacking the Lycans’ email didn’t seem nearly as bad as hacking her father’s email or the prince’s.

“Did you find anything out about what’s going on?” Paul asked.

“Only that they seemed to want to work things out with the Carpathians. They want them as allies. They obviously are terrified of the ones they call the
Sange rau
, but they’re certain they can convince Mikhail of the danger.”

Skyler frowned, shaking her head again. “Josef, Dimitri says he’s being held in a war camp. The Lycans are preparing for a battle. It has to be with Mikhail. Did any of the emails mention Dimitri?”

“No, which I thought was a little odd.”

A small fox trotted into their camp, and then came to an abrupt halt as if confused by the presence of the three of them. He was beautiful, his fur coat thick and bright. He shook his tail, gave an indignant bark and retraced his footsteps back into the brush.

Skyler laughed softly. “Life just goes on no matter what’s happening, doesn’t it?”

“That fox was a little annoyed with us,” Paul said.

“For a moment I thought it was Gabriel and my heart nearly stopped,” Josef said. “I’ve thought a lot about where I want you to scatter my ashes after he kills me,” he added.

Paul and Skyler looked at Josef’s sorrowful expression, the dramatic hand over his heart, and both burst out laughing simultaneously.

“He’s not going to kill you, Josef,” Skyler soothed. “He’ll just . . . you know . . . do his Gabriel thing.”

“He’s going to kill you,” Paul assured. “Dead. For certain. But he’ll make you suffer first.”

“Don’t look so happy about it, bro,” Josef said. “He’s going to kill you, too.”

Paul shrugged. “Better him than Zacarias. I’ve got like five of the craziest Carpathians known that are going to be eager to strangle me; you’ve only got a couple.”

“We’ll get in and get out with no one the wiser,” Skyler said. “That way no one will get killed.”

“Sky, I’m going to be in the ground when you go wandering in the woods,” Josef said, worry taking the laughter from his voice. “You’ll be very vulnerable. Paul won’t be able to be too close to you, so you have to make certain that there is as clear a line of sight as possible from Paul to you at all times. He’s your only protection until sunset.”

“I honestly don’t think the Lycans are going to worry about me rescuing Dimitri. Our papers are in order. We’ve set the camp up perfectly to be a working environment, and they must know of Dimitri’s organization to save the wolves. He’s set up preserves all over the world. Of course they have no idea it’s that Dimitri they’ve wrapped in silver.”

“There are other things in this forest to worry about than just the Lycans,” Josef pointed out. “Wild predators live here.”

“I know, but most of them come out at night. Really, I feel like between you and Dimitri, I could use a little encouragement.”

“I think the plan is solid,” Josef said. “I think your presence will draw a Lycan to you. Just make noise. I want you aware, that’s all.”

She heard the reluctance, the concern in his voice. He would be in the ground, unable to aid her if she got into trouble. She knew, like Dimitri, being helpless would be the most difficult thing of all. “I’ll be hypervigilant,” she promised.

“Were you able to remove the silver from his body?” Paul asked. “All of it?”

Skyler nodded, relief sweeping through her. She hadn’t realized how tense she was until that moment. “Yes. And one of the Lycans gave him blood. He’s been starving for over two weeks, so it wasn’t nearly enough to bring him to full strength, but it should be enough that he can get out on his own after I remove the hooks and chains.”

“There is no way you, or either of us, could ever carry Dimitri. He’s too big of a man,” Paul said.

“Excuse me.” Josef blew air on his fingernails and polished them on his shirt. “You’re forgetting my mad skills. I could float him out of there.”

Skyler rolled her eyes at his blatant bragging. “And every Lycan in the forest will feel that rift in the energy field and come running.”

“I just wanted you to be very aware of my talents,” Josef said. “I
could
do it if it was necessary, that’s all.”

“Could you carry him out of the forest on your dragon’s back?” Skyler asked, suddenly very serious.

The smirk disappeared from Josef’s face. “If it was just him, sure, but not with the both of you as well.”

Skyler reached out her hand to him. “It won’t be necessary. You can give him blood. Paul and I will as well. He’ll be fine. Even if he has to go to ground for a night or two, we can hide. And if we can’t do that, we’ll have our fall back plan.” She spoke with far more confidence than she felt.

“So the silver is out of his body and a Lycan gave him blood,” Paul said, his tone speculative. “Maybe all of them aren’t bad.”

“Dimitri knows I’ll be coming for him tonight and he’ll be ready. I just have to figure out how to get the hooks from his body and the chain from around him. It’s burned into his flesh. Literally burned into it. His arms, his chest, all down his legs. They wrapped him up like a mummy in silver.” There was disgust and anguish mixed together in her voice.

Paul slung his arm around her shoulders. “He’s alive and he’s waiting for you. We’re getting him out.”

“So we laid a trail for you,” Josef said. “I’ll take the two of you deeper into the woods. There’s no sign of Paul anywhere, leading in that direction. Our tracks will go in two opposite directions, clearly searching for you. If a Lycan stumbles across, or goes looking for tracks, we’ve done a good job of making it look as if you’ve been gone several hours.”

“I’ll need a sprained ankle,” Skyler pointed out.

Josef frowned. “That’s the one part of the plan I’m not wild about. You can’t run with a sprained ankle.”

Paul burst out laughing. “
Hello
, you idiot. Have you forgotten who she is? She can heal anything, including a sprained ankle.”

“I just am squeamish about giving myself any injury,” Skyler admitted.

“Cause she’s such a girlie girl,” Paul teased.

Skyler made a face at him. “I don’t giggle.”

“You giggle,” Josef said, flicking her chin with his finger. “I’ll help you with your sprained ankle, but you’ll be hobbling around until someone comes. Groan a lot.”

“If
someone comes,” Paul emphasized. “It’s a big forest.” He suddenly grinned. “This is your big chance to really show your girly side. Weep and look beautiful while you’re doing it, like they do on television.”

Josef snickered. “Her face turns red when she cries.”

“So does the end of her nose,” Paul contributed.

“Way to make a girl feel beautiful. Neither of you are ever going to find a woman who will put up with you.”

Paul shook his head. “Zacarias has a woman doting on him. Seriously, Skyler, if that man, as mean and as scary as he is, can get a woman, anyone can. It gives a man hope.”

Josef smirked. “I’ll have a lifemate. She’ll have no choice,” he added.

“Poor woman,” Skyler said. “I’ll befriend her and teach her how to box your ears when you get obnoxious.”

“What makes you think I’ll get obnoxious?” Josef demanded.

“You will never give up playing pranks. She’ll be afraid to go around a corner in case you fly at her in the form of a giant bat or something worse.”

Paul punched Josef in the shoulder. “She’s got you there, bro.”

The smile faded from Skyler’s face. “I have to figure out how to get the silver chains off of Dimitri. I know I can remove the hooks. I was able to get the silver to back up to their point of origin, and I could melt the hooks if I had to, but that chain. It’s actually in his skin. Any ideas that don’t include triggering the Lycans’ ability to feel a spike in energy?”

The two men looked at one another.

“Can you cut it off?” Paul said. “Josef can provide the tools you would need.”

“That depends how deep it’s embedded in his skin,” Skyler said. “I guess I’ll have to see it before I can make a decision. I haven’t really taken a look around him. I’ve been so busy concentrating on getting that silver out of his body that I didn’t think to see what his surroundings were.”