Eternal Hearts (43 page)

“No,” she admitted, suddenly feeling like a little sister again. “I’ve never even seen one…other than in movies.”

Dominic laughed at her again. “Believe me when I tell you it ain’t fun. Their claws are razor sharp when they wear their big war form, and they get damn near twice as big as they are when they’re human. Think of a werewolf as a hairy chipper shredder.”

Toni cringed at the visual. “Does silver work?”

“Nope, this ain’t the movies. You basically gotta tear them to pieces. Their bodies heal like ours, but a whole lot faster, so you pretty much gotta dismantle them before they’ll actually die. They draw their power or whatever from nature, and that shit’s every
fuckin
’ where. They’re not restricted by their blood, or fueled by it like we are. It’s the one point they really got us beat on.”

“Have you fought these two before?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t fought them, but I’ve seen them before. The twins are known for blowing shit up.” He pointed to the other wolf in the picture. “That’s Thomas, the twins don’t go anywhere without him. He’s like their uncle or some shit. They all lived in the northern woods back when I was here. Clint told me Alexander and the old Enforcement Team died two years ago
tryin
’ to kick ‘
em
out. But that’s old news now. What we really need to find out is what they have in common with Stryker.”

Toni closed her eyes as a dull pain tinged with anger shimmered in her blood. So that was what happened to Alexander. She absently touched the side of her neck where he’d bitten her the night he’d turned her. He might not have always been there for her, might not have prepared her for the life he’d thrust her into…but he didn’t deserve to die like that.

Now she definitely wanted to find out what the werewolves were doing in Chicago, and whether or not Stryker had anything to do with it.

She stared at Dom. “Do you think they’re here to blow me up?”

“I doubt they’re here for you. They could be here for Sydney, which I’d be fine with, maybe Clint, Christian, Derek Ballard, or anyone else who had something to do with them getting kicked out.”

“What? Why would they be here for any of them?”

He ticked off his fingers. “Locke controls the city, and because of that he’s always a target. Clint’s the eldest of our line in the city, which means even though Locke handpicked Brick and the boys as his Enforcement – they still answer to Clint when the night’s over. Derek,” he said, then paused to laugh, “Derek funds the Enforcement. He’s the reason they have heavy, sometimes military grade weapons, which were no doubt used to kill the dogs during the fight to kick them out. Hell, Stryker may have them here for Murdoch. Maybe she’s looking for a self-made promotion to Councilor.”

“Who’s Murdoch?” Toni asked.

“Murdoch is Stryker’s Elder. He’s never been overly fond of her, but she’s a useful tool. He’s probably still the Elder rep for the Techs, which is probably where these pictures came from. He’s half the reason Locke always knows what’s going on. Murdoch’s got web cams strategically hidden all over the city. He sees what’s going on all the time, day or night.”

Toni massaged her temples. “How do you know all this stuff?”

He laughed once again. “I was here for a couple years before I got kicked out. This is shit you’d know too if you’d been here longer. I’m guessing this is the reason Clint came and got me. He knew that I’d know all the shit you don’t. Plus, it ain’t like I’m gonna let anything happen to you. You’re my baby sister.”

Toni smiled at him. “I appreciate that.”

“Hey, that’s what brothers are for.”

She pulled the dog bite report out and dropped it on top of the stack. “Well, from what you’ve said so far, it’s not gonna be easy to narrow down who the werewolves are here for, and this is really the only place we have to start.”

Dominic looked up at her. “Nothing in vampiric society is
ever
easy. You’ve got a bunch of people cursed to live forever who wanna control everything they can get their hands on, and every single one of the fuckers are more than willing to kill anybody who gets in the way.”

“So where’s the best place to start?”

“Why don’t you go get your sword taken care of and I’ll go talk to Murdoch? He may have some new info, or at least some ideas on what Stryker might be trying to accomplish, if she’s even the one behind all this. Give me your cell number and I’ll call you when I’m done. Then we’ll meet back up and go check out the zoo together.”

Toni rattled off her number and waited until Dominic entered it into his phone before she asked, “What happens if the werewolves are at the zoo when we get there?”

“I don’t think they will be. I think they only used the zoo as a way into the city. After a day or so, I bet they were long gone and not a damn person who saw them at the zoo even remembers they were there. If Stryker’s got something to do with this, a lot of people won’t remember shit. Tech’s are known for mind tricks.”

She grabbed Dominic’s arm when he headed for the door. “Promise me you’ll be careful and not start any trouble while you’re out.”

His mouth twisted into a devious smile as he flung the door open and stepped out into the hallway. “I’d promise, but I don’t lie to people I love.”

Toni watched the door close and sucked in yet another deep breath. Dominic may have been a little rough around the edges, but he was still very much her big brother.

Chapter 20

Toni parked her car in the driveway of a nice but weathered cabin on the far southern outskirts of the city. She stared up at a curl of thick white smoke billowing from the backyard then frowned.

She really hoped she was in the right place, because if she wasn’t – she had no clue where she was supposed to be. She’d driven up and down the creepy overgrown street three times, once she’d finally found it hidden between a mass of snow covered trees, and this place appeared to be the only livable home in sight.

It wasn’t until after she’d gotten out of the car and slowly made her way past the cabin that she realized the smoke was coming from the chimney of a rather large building. Reminiscent of a barn, it was made of stone and had two huge wooden doors cracked open on the side.

She smiled when she noted the closer she moved to the building, the warmer the air around her became. And now that she really looked around, there wasn’t any snow within fifty to sixty feet of the place.
Curious as to the reason why, she reached out and touched the wall, but jerked her hand back when the dark stones seared her fingertips.

She stared up at the doors. It had to be like a sauna in there, and all she could picture was some burly medieval man with a handlebar moustache and arms bigger than her thighs. Sweat would be pouring off his brow as he banged a hammer against a piece of glowing red steel.

She smiled to herself. Okay, maybe Dominic was right…maybe she had seen too many movies.

But when Toni slipped between the doors and stepped into the large room her jaw nearly hit the floor. The man standing across the room definitely had a medieval look, but there was no crazy handlebar moustache.

Tall with a thick, very muscular build, his long silvered hair was pulled into a loose ponytail at the base of his neck. He stood bare-chested, wearing an odd looking pair of brown leather pants that disappeared into an even stranger looking pair of boots.

His hard features appeared hawkish and weathered, much like the cabin she assumed he lived in. She tilted her head as she stared at him. Handsome didn’t seem appropriate. Regal, yes, but not like Christian. The man before her, whose narrowed eyes were focused intently on the glowing red steel in his bare hands, wasn’t polished like the Lord of Chicago. He was older, both in look and the power she felt radiating from him.

She frowned. She couldn’t find the right word, couldn’t lock on whatever it was that made him seem so commanding, so…

“Ancient.”

She shivered as his deep, resonating voice filled the room, charging the air around her. Yup, that was the one. That was the word she couldn’t find.

He considered the steel in his hands for a moment before his voice enveloped her again. “Robert told me to expect a beautiful young woman this night, possessing eyes the hue of fired amber.” He raised his eyes to stare into hers. “You must be Toni.”

She nodded. “Yes…are you…
Molenyar
?”

The corners of his mouth, which was framed by a moustache and a beard just as silvered as his hair, tipped up slightly. “That’s the name I etch into my blades.”

Toni pulled her eyes away from him and glanced around the room. She felt like she’d stepped back in time. Everything, even the few chairs against the far wall, looked old. Granted, they didn’t appear to be nearly as old as their owner, but they looked ancient nonetheless.

She focused her attention back on
Molenyar
just in time to watch him form the end of the red-hot steel into a razor sharp point with his fingers. How in the world could he do that?

“You’ve never seen someone craft a blade before?”

She shook her head. “No. Especially not like that.”

He raised a chiseled arm and motioned to the wall behind her. “What type of weapon do you feel suits you best?”

She turned around and stared wide eyed at the wall. She’d been so stunned by the man working near the fire, she hadn’t even noticed it. Covered from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, were swords and other kinds of weapons she’d never seen before.

She moved closer to the wall and carefully studied each of the blades. The craftsmanship was amazing, but the fine details on some of them were absolutely unbelievable.

“With a small stature such as yours, I’d advise returning to where the blades begin.” Even though she knew he was behind her, it felt like he was all around her when he spoke. “The blades you’re viewing at the present moment are made for a man standing no less than six feet six inches. They also weigh far more than you’re able to carry.”

Toni cast a glance back at him over her shoulder, brow firmly arched. “How do you know how much I can pick up?”

“The power of my blood allows me to not only see, but sense it in your stance. Far superior to any human female you may be, but I surmise you’d find it taxing on yourself and the Veil should you choose to wield a three hundred pound blade.”

She turned back to the wall. “What?
Three hundred pounds?
They really weigh that much?”

“Some weigh more, some less.”

Toni stilled and straightened as a tingling sensation crawled across her skin, followed by the warming and rushing of her blood. She gasped and sucked in a mouthful of searing air when she felt an unexpected pounding in her chest. It started slow and hard, but picked up and lightened as each second passed.

She stared down at her chest. She could see the rhythmic pulsing just above her left breast. Her heart was beating. Her heart was beating again and Drake wasn’t anywhere near her.

Closing her eyes, Toni forced herself to calm while her body, the best she could tell, went totally haywire. It didn’t hurt, but at the same time, it didn’t necessarily feel all that good either. It also sent terror screaming through every cell in her body.

“It knows.”

She looked up when she not only heard, but felt
Molenyar
next to her. “What do you mean?”

He smiled. “You belong to me, and your blood knows.”

She stepped away and narrowed her eyes as anger she didn’t really feel exploded in her blood. “I don’t belong to you. I don’t…I don’t belong to anyone!”

His smile faded, but only slightly. “I am the second eldest of the Warrior line, Toni. No matter how many years may separate us, your blood is still mine.
Her
depth of emotion is still ours. We will always share, and shall forever be, part of something much larger than ourselves.”