Wolf Spell 1 (28 page)

– Jarak –

I exhaled a deep breath; assuming this conversation probably wouldn’t go very well. Ian hasn’t talked to me since our father left me his fortune and property. It wasn’t my fault he never stayed around. He was older than I was by three years.

“What do you want?” Of course he’d answer with his attitude.

“Hi Brother, nice to hear from you too.”

“Fine, you want a family connection. How’s this—Brother, what the
hell
do you want?”

“Okay, I’ll cut the chit chat and get right to it. I need your help.”

“No.”

“It's about Esmerelda.”

He was silent, and then I heard him clear his throat. “You mean Adonia’s daughter?”

“If we can’t protect her then she’ll never defeat Nicholas, then we’ll all be slaves to him or die.”

“
You
might be his slave, but I’ll die first.”

“Look, I need your help to protect her. Your one of the best Guardians, or you would be if you ever cared for anyone.”

“Fine. You still living up the mountain?”

“Yeah.”

I heard a click then dead silence. I knew he’d come. I wasn’t sure what would happen once he got here, but at least he would be here and I’d deal with that when it happened.

– Esmerelda –

“I’ll meet you at the bottom of the mountain.” There was no way I’d go down that trail in a vehicle.

“Es, come on, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Yeah, I don’t think so. I’ll just figure a way to magic myself to the bottom in an hour. That should give you time to maneuver down the mountain.” I planted my feet in the dirt beside the truck. I wasn’t budging. I’d been practicing transporting myself in secret and felt confident I could do it.

He sat in the truck’s driver’s seat, propping his foot on the side step, I scooted between his legs waiting for his answer. “Okay, but one hour and you be there, understand?”

I nodded. He pulled me in for a kiss before twisting around and shutting the door. The engine growled as it came to life.

“You two should just get together and get it over with.” Ailaina watched beside me, with her arms folded.

“Oh stop it. I’m not even sure what we are. One minute it’s all kisses and butterflies, the next he’s moody and pushing me away. I don’t know. I know this might sound strange, but I’m not sure he’s the one for me anymore.”

“Really? You think that?” We both turned to walk back into the house.

I stopped, looking back at the truck. “I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”

I checked the clock on his cell phone he left for me. It was barely ten thirty in the morning.

We walked back into the house and straight to the kitchen. I could easily magic food now, but it was enjoyable doing things myself. I closed the fridge door after snagging a cheese stick and a couple of bottles of water, handing one to Ailaina.

I saw a movement from the corner of my eye and tensed. I used my finger to my mouth, telling Ailaina to stay quiet. She moved to the corner and waited. I set the water on the counter and pressed my back up against the wall. I tiptoed myself to the edge where I could peer around the corner by the stairs.

A hand clamped over my mouth as soon as I leaned to look. I screamed out against the intruder’s hand as he pressed his tall body up next to mine, giving me no room to breathe between him and the wall.

Ailaina flung herself on him, pounding her fists onto his back like a mad woman. “Let her go!”

“Shhh, unless you want to be blood bait,” the stranger growled. She stopped hitting him and darted to the wall next to me.

His deep whisper surprised me. Cobalt eyes stared down at me. They looked familiar, but I had no clue who he was. His almost black hair had a rough texture and tousled, giving him a sexy bad boy hairstyle. Small stubble showed off his five o’clock shadow.

I stopped protesting, and he released his hand from my mouth, but he never moved his body away. “Someone’s broken your protective spell. There is two blood suckers right outside.”

“How did you know about the spell?” I whispered back.

“I could sense it around the property. I walked around until I found the break. It’s not a large one, so it has to be from someone who isn’t near as strong as you are, but it's still enough to let the dark creatures in.” He stepped back just a half step. It was enough for me to glance down and fully see his black jeans and matching t-shirt.

His muscular arms were tense and ready to fight. I was all too aware of his closeness as his body heat radiated to mine. His legs pressed up against mine, and it took all I had to remember I didn’t know who he was. There was something about him that I knew, but I couldn’t place my finger on it.

“Who are you?” I questioned.

“Ian. Jarak’s brother.”

My eyes must have given away my surprise that I tried to hide. That must have been where the familiarity in his eyes came from.

He smirked. “So he hasn’t told you about me.”

“He doesn’t talk much about his family… or past.”

“Do either of you know how to kill a vampire?” His husky voice was quiet, but it spoke volumes of pending danger.

I nodded. “Yes, Jarak told me how, but I haven’t done it.”

He handed me a wooden stake from a duffel bag, his other hand holding two more, one he handed to Ailaina. “Here, take this and force it through the heart. After you do that, I’ll take care of the rest of the job.”

I grabbed the stake and swallowed hard. They were about six inches long and fit easily in my grasp. At that moment, everything became real, and I wished I’d taken the death trail down the mountain with Jarak.

A footstep on the wood floor sounded from the entryway. Ian held his finger to his mouth telling us to stay quiet. He peeked around the corner and raised two fingers.

My heart sped up. I wasn’t sure I could do this. I took a deep breath as he slipped away from me. He nodded and took off toward the front door. I followed him.

He flung himself on one of the prowlers, tackling them to the floor. I stood in shock. The other vampire was Ree.

I gasped. The stake in my hand became heavy.

“Surprised?” I didn’t have time to register what she said.

Cocking her head, she gave a sinister laugh and threw herself at me, knocking me to the floor. I pushed at her, trying to get her off me. I didn’t have time to know if Ailaina was okay or not as I struggled to get Ree off.

Her fangs brushed against my neck, but never punctured the skin. I fought with everything I had, but she was so much stronger. I pulled energy from Luna and held her up, keeping her away from my throat.

I didn’t have the strength or speed she had, but I had magic. It was hard, but I remembered my training with Victor and pushed all I had at her, sending her flying into the wall by the stairs. I held my hand out, keeping her there. I could feel the energy from Ian’s fight with the other vampire build in the room, giving me more than enough power to restrain her against the wall.

Luna appeared by my side, her snarling growl rumbled through the house. I knew she’d be there to help if I needed it. I grasped the stake tight in my hand and walked toward Ree. Closing my eyes, I shoved the wood deep in her chest. Deep tissue tore under my pressure, then a resistance and a loud crack from the tip of her sternum breaking. Then I pushed the stake through a thick wall of muscle I knew was her heart.

Opening my eyes, I didn’t let go but stood there immobile, staring at her face as she went limp. Warmth covered my hand as her blood flowed down it. I could no longer breathe. Everything around me spun, and I became sick.

Ian came up behind me, removing my hand from the stake and I backed away, slumping to the floor on my knees. Ree’s body drooped to the floor. Her once pure skin turned dark and looked burnt. Her flesh became ash and crumbled away.

I wasn’t sure how to feel as I watched him walk to the kitchen and grab something from his bag. I cringed. It looked like a machete, but I hoped I was wrong. Luna strolled over to me, and I buried my face in her fur, peeking out just enough to see Ian.

He ambled over to the first vampire he’d taken down. Squatting beside him, he lifted his arm with the weapon and forced his hand down, beheading him. My stomach twisted. I turned away from Luna and threw up. I refused to open my eyes again, but clutched Luna’s fur in my hand. I breathed through my mouth not wanting to smell the pungent scent of death that filled the cabin.

Ian’s hand rested on my shoulder. “Come on you need to get outside.”

I gagged and fought to keep from throwing up as he led me past a headless body and outside the house. The smell of the metallic blood wafted through the air and clung to my skin.

“Wait! Where’s Ailaina?” I twisted, wanting to go back for my friend.

He continued to urge me outside. “She’s fine. Actually, she passed out at the first sign of blood. She’s safe on the kitchen floor.”

“Oh, God. I can’t believe I just killed someone. I’m gonna be sick again.” I doubled over and spewed—again.

“You’re gonna have to get a stronger stomach if you’re gonna live through this.”

I glared at him. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”

“Get over it already.” He wiped his bloodied hands on his black jeans.

So much for having a caring sibling—Jarak’s brother was a jerk. All I wanted was to be in Jarak’s arms. I pulled the cell out of my pocket and looked at the time. It was almost time to meet Jarak, but I couldn’t wait at the house without him any longer.

“I need to leave. Tell Ailaina, I’ll be right back.” I gave him no explanation. He didn’t deserve one or need one. I used the energy of the forest and transported to Jarak’s truck.

I can’t say how it happened or how it felt. Just one moment I stood outside the house and with the next blink, I sat next to him in the truck.

Jarak jumped, making the truck swerve, but corrected his movement. “Es, you scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry.” I was numb; thinking about appearing in his truck without a warning wasn’t something that crossed my mind.

“Es what’s wrong? What happened? You’re covered in blood.”

“Ree.” I had no emotion, but sat there staring out the window.

“Are you okay?”

“I killed her.”

“Sweetheart it’s okay. You did the right thing.”

I let the tears fall. My heart was broken. I’d killed somebody. He stopped the truck, got out and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. His shoulder became soaked from my tears that I couldn’t stop crying.

“Shhh. It’s okay.”

“No—it’s not.” I whimpered in-between sobs. “It was—Ree. I Killed her.”

“You had to. If you didn’t, she would’ve killed you. Was it actually her? Are you sure?”

I sucked in a shaky breath and nodded. “Yeah.”

He stood there and let me cry everything I had out on his shoulder. He never tried to push me off. My snuffles finally subsided with fewer tears. I pulled back and wiped my face with the sleeve of my sweater.

“We’re at the bottom of the mountain. We’ll be in Stanley in about five minutes.”

I nodded, but stayed silent. I looked down at the blood that dried on my skin. Without a word, I magicked it gone. All trace of what just happened, except for the pain it left in my heart, vanished. Ree’s lifeless face haunted my mind.

He darted around the truck and climbed back in the driver’s seat. He reached over and grasped my hand. “It’ll be okay.”

I wanted to believe him, but it was so hard. I could still see her body hang limp by my hand. That wasn’t something I wouldn’t forget anytime soon, along with the image of Ian cutting off that guy’s head.

My stomach churned and flopped around. I struggled with the urge to throw up, let go of his hand, and wrapped my arms around my middle.

“Don’t think about it. It’ll just make it worse.”

“Yeah.” I just wanted the stupid war to be over. I didn’t think I could do that again, and I wasn’t sure how to kill Nicholas after killing Ree. It will be so much harder than I ever thought when I actually have to come face to face with him. All of this was like a training party.