Wolfen Secrets (The Western Werewolf Legend #3) (19 page)

Suddenly, she heard footsteps running toward
the cavern. Jeb appeared with the wolf pack. Smitty, along with the
others, stood as unclothed men, the change still fresh in the flush
on their faces, the heat of battle evident in their arousals.

“We’re here to get you out. Are you okay?”
Smitty sporting a Yankee cavalry hat over his privates, nodded at
Ty. “Is he dead?”

The mere idea brought a constrictive squeeze
to her heart. “He’s out. I think Draco’s magic is at work here.
How’d you manage to get this far? There’s a force field.” She kept
her eyes above their waists as each was having a considerable
amount of difficulty keeping their modesty about them.

“This place is apparently a maze of tunnels.
We blew up two sleep chambers, killing another couple dozen
bloodsuckers. We kept tracking the smell, heading this way and here
we are.”

“Here Smitty,” Jeb handed Smitty a pair of
pants from one of the dead assistants Draco had left lying about.
While the others helped themselves to vampire clothing, Jeb stepped
to Sonja. “This Draco is where?” he asked scanning each dark
corner.

I’m not sure. He left on “more pressing
matters” only minutes ago. We’d better get out of here now. He’ll
be back soon. I can’t imagine him waiting long before beginning the
draining process.” Glancing from one man to another, her lips
thinned, setting in a tight line. “Each of you needs to watch your
backs. He will use whatever means at his disposal to take as much
blood as possible. You each have my blood now. He’ll do his best to
capture you too. I’m sorry we got you into this.” Her conscious
weighted heavy. “You men have been through more than enough
misfortune without trying to help Ty and me.”

“Ma’am, beggin’ your pardon. We took an oath
to protect the pack.” Smitty held the cavalry hat in his fingers
now. With pants on, he showed a bit more composure and even managed
a smile for Sonja. “For nearly four years, we followed the
lieutenant through bloody hell, pardon my French. He’s a good man,
Miss Sonja – a good man. Ain’t gonna hold being a werewolf against
him, neither.”

With the statement, murmurs and nods went
through the rest of Ty’s unit. Even a couple of Jeb’s subordinates
nodded in agreement. Smitty cleared his throat, before staring into
her eyes. “He’s like family, Ma’am.” Unable to stop, Smitty coughed
before wiping a hand under his nose. “I think I speak for everyone
when I say since you are with him, you’re like family too.” His
gaze bounced left to right. Each man murmured his agreement.

Sonja couldn’t stop the tingle of pride and
warmth which swamped her. Her men, too. She smiled. “Thank you,
all. It warms my blood to hear you say that, Smitty. Will you help
me with him?”

Smitty and the others gathered Ty, following
Jeb back down the same shambled tunnel she and Ty had emerged from
not long ago.

“Do you think we’ll be able to get out,
General?” Her concern for their safety warred with the small bit of
courage she had left. “Wouldn’t it be a better idea to go another
route?”

Jeb’s jaw, set in a hard line, moved slightly
as he pursed his lips. “You hang on to the general. I wish you’d
call me Jeb. You really ought to consider calling your
brother-in-law by his first name. After all, we’re going to be
family soon.”

Sonja could only blink as she stumbled after
the tall, dark figure of the officer turned vampire. Had he asked
for Briann hand? She wanted to ask him what had changed his mind,
but there was no time.

Rushing as fast as the small passage would
allow, they soon arrived at the collapsed tunnel entrance. Jeb
lowered Ty’s unconscious body to the ground, propping him against a
damp wall.

He hadn’t answered her earlier concern over
getting out. When he raised his hands, palms out, she jumped. Fire
shot out like a bolt of lightning and hit the debris with a force
unlike any she’d ever seen before. Reaching over, she covered Ty’s
face with her chest and buried her head in his long hair. The sound
of earth vibrating out of the hole made her want to look - she’d
better not.

Smitty braced against the wall, covering her
back with his. Wood, earth and stone flew from the rubble blocking
the entrance. “Nothing to fret over, Mrs. Brooks. General will have
us out in a jiffy.”

Nerves played down her spine like the tiny
legs of a Granddaddy Longlegs. Fatigue and dread battled for
control. She bore down on the concern over Ty’s condition. There’d
been no change. Soon, to her delighted surprise, Jeb had an opening
big enough for them to crawl through. The surprise compounded when
Draco wasn’t there to meet them on the other side.

“Where’s the boat? We have to get Ty to
Hortence.” His regenerating powers should have taken care of a
concussion by now. “Smitty, I’ll need you to steer.” Turning to
Jeb, she shared a conspirator’s grin with her newest family member.
“Can you cover our retreat, Jeb?”

Warmth infused his words. “With pleasure,
Mrs. Brooks.”

“What happened to Sonja? If we’re going to be
family, I’d think you’d be able to call me by my first name.” With
an arch to her brow, she eyed him stoically.

Jeb paused a moment, before bending slightly
from the waist in the briefest of bows. “My apologies, Sonja. I
find myself at your mercy, dear sister-in-law.” His own smile was
thin and the twinkle in his dark eyes said he’d play the game and
enjoy it. “Please excuse my witless blunder and accept my humblest
apology, won’t you, dear one? I will guard your escape with my
life.”

Through the ordeal, one had to keep a sense
of humor. Sonja managed a grin as she curtsied. To the general’s
surprise, she grabbed his face for a conspirator’s kiss. Jeb’s
laughter followed her down the embankment to help Smitty and the
others.

“Looks like rain,” Smitty observed when
they’d reached the river. “Here, get under this tarp. Cover as much
of the lieutenant as you can. We’re gonna get you back, don’t doubt
that, Mrs. Brooks, it might be a bit tricky though.” Fishing inside
his coat, Smitty brought out a revolver. “There’s six wooden slugs
in this here gun. I got more in my pocket. If the dern warlock is
affected by wooden bullets that’s great. Something tells me he’s
not. Use these if we get close to any bloodsuckers, okay? Do you
still have the dagger Ty gave you?”

Sonja cut a knowing eye in
his direction. Without saying as much, she nodded, setting about
the task of camouflage. The proverbial sitting ducks - unless
Hortence had shared a spell with them before she’d done her
disappearing act again.
Damn that
woman
, Sonja swore.

With outstretched fingers, Sonja shot the
Confederate Captain an order. “Give me a pocket full of refills or
as many as you can spare and I’ll do my best, Smitty.” She smiled
solid and steady while her insides churned as if caught in a
hurricane.

Soon they were underway. The small boat
wasn’t suited for so many. The water lapped greedily at the sides.
Soon the bottom of the vessel started to fill.

“Clemens, Baby, get your hats off and bale
water! Otherwise, we’re gonna sink!” Smitty’s grim expression told
Sonja, the captain was worried. The night air hung like a wet
blanket around them. An eerie silence marked this area of the
Mississippi. No breeze blew, not even a mosquito ventured near.

“Bad feeling I has about this, Captain.”
Collins worked the oar in the water while he peered into the dark
undergrowth along the water’s edge. “Vampires could be
anywhere.”

“Pipe down, Private, Smitty hissed from the
front.” He focused his eyes on the murky water searching for their
next landmark. “Men to bow, cease rowing. Men to port row faster.
Easy, that’s it. Now back to bow. Row, men, row.” He lifted his
hat, wiping the sweat beading along his forehead. “Damn, I can’t
see a thing. Mr. Clemens, get up here. See if you can find the bend
in the river, which marks our turn. Won’t do us any good if we ram
ashore in the fool darkness.”

“Smitty…if I may - can I help?” Sonja
whispered. “Remember your wolf eyes!”

“What?” Smitty growled. “Uh, right, our wolf
eyes.”

She heard him grumble something about being
so new, the shine was still on his wolf hide. “Never mind, we don’t
have time - here, watch the lieutenant. Let me know what you’re
looking for. I’ll find the marker.”

“The bend at McArthur’s bluff is coming up.
Hold the boat steady, lads. We can’t meet our maker on the rocks.
It wouldn’t be fittin’.” He raised a stout finger. “Do ya see
anything, Mrs. Brooks?”

Sonja strained to focus her superior vision
in the direction he pointed. “There’s something dark up ahead. We
have to turn right or we’ll hit it. Now, Smitty, turn now!” With
her voice rising to anxious levels, she concentrated on the dark
wall. Unable to tell whether it was rock or trees, she gripped the
side of the boat tight, praying they’d veer out of the way of
whatever the dark mass was.

“The current’s swift. It’s taking us right
into the rocks. We can’t stop!” Smitty’s anxious words rang out in
the darkness. With little more than their skin about them, the wolf
pack worked hard to avoid the danger. They weren’t going to hold
off the inevitable. Sonja rushed back to Ty’s side, holding him
close. With the first water rushing over them, the wolves were in
trouble. The boat fell back with the wave as it rolled back from
the shoreline and within seconds was hurdling toward the rocky
shore again. Since the boat was small, the wolves had little chance
to man a defense against the churning water. Given the pressure the
river exerted on the bend in the rocky bluff, the boat wouldn’t
survive. Soon men dove from the boat as the wooden hull gave under
the strong current mixed with the pounding treacheries of Mother
Nature.

As the boat separated, Sonja clutched tight
to Ty. His body like dead weight would take them both under.
Perhaps the water would rouse him. “Oh, wake up, Ty! You have to
wake up.”

The water was cold. She hadn’t expected the
low river temperature. Her breath caught with the jolt. Yet, there
was still no reaction from Ty. With the assault, her body reacted
by starting to shift. “No, oh no!” She held on to the lieutenant.
“I will not change!” she screamed into the night. All around her,
men were shifting with the river’s threat of drowning. Smitty,
half-turned, swam to her. His hairy jowls full of water as he
reached for Ty. His paws already formed, slid off the lieutenant
like he was coated in oil. “Tis no good, this time, Miss, The wolf
is upon me.” He slid from their grasp and dog paddled to a board
floating in the current.

Watching Smitty, an idea formed. Sonja
snagged a board as it floated by. “Here, use this.” She shoved the
board at him. “Use your weight. Go down! Get under him from below!
I’ll steer him onto the plank. Pray to God, we can keep him from
drowning.”

Smitty, along with Clemens did as told, so
within minutes, they had the lieutenant balancing on the flotation
device. He threw a rope tied to the board around Ty before the
change took him completely.

Sonja growled into the darkness when even
with her superior strength, she wasn’t able to prevent the
lieutenant from slipping her grasp. Watching him slowly drift away
from her, she moaned low and feral. Soon the night awoke with
strangled howls.

The change proceeded swiftly. Before long,
Sonja, the she-wolf of the Western Werewolf pack swam to the
nearest bank. Some were doing the same, while others of her pack
drifted further downstream. Her sense of smell caught on a
disgusting aura of sorts. The vampires were near. She leapt to her
feet, ready for a fight. They swarmed in from all directions,
clutching, picking and clawing at the werewolves on the ground.
With one swipe of her long talons, she managed to tear one attacker
to pieces. Still, others surrounded them. As one of the pack
screamed out in pain, others set to growling a warning aimed at
their enemy. They’d be dead like fish in a barrel if she didn’t do
something quick. Her telepathic voice reached the pack members.
Instructing them to attack individuals, rather than wait for one to
come after them, she managed to formulate a plan. Racing to aid
several wolves battling a vampire, she soon vanquished the
lecherous scoundrel, before hurling his lifeless body into the
water. “Smitty – behind you!” With a fierce growl, Sonja lunged at
the captain’s attacker. “The bullets in the gun would have been a
plus,” She moaned aloud. “So would hands.”

“Ah, my dear, you fight well.”

Sonja’s skin crawled.

Draco appeared out of the thin fog blanketing
the ground. “Your skills are improving with each passing day.” The
curl of his lip coupled with his perusal told her he coveted her
for more than her fighting abilities.

“You’ll rue the day you
brought this plague upon us, Draco. I warn you. You’ve not seen the
last of my kind. Even if you do manage to trap my pack with your
powers, me and my kind will hunt you down to the ends of the earth
and back again. On
that
you can depend!” She leapt upon the warlock,
clawing and slicing his hide readily. Yet, he simply laughed as the
blood gushed from his wounds.

“Your powers don’t frighten me, Draco. I’ll
have my day.” With that, Sonja sprang into action, tearing through
the rest of the vampires like they were nothing more than stick
figures.

Without an army to fight his battle, Draco
began to dissipate into the fog. “I’ll be seeing you and the babe
soon, my dear. Don’t worry your pretty head about that.” The grim
reminder of his knowledge she was with child, gripped Sonja’s wolf
with a force equal to her strength. Laboring under a keen awareness
he would carry out his plan swiftly, she wheeled. Retreat, this
time, was the better part of bravery.