Jill put her hand on the glass, smiling in her own relief. She had gotten to him on time. “Get back, babe. I'm getting you out of there.”
Damien stepped back as Jill prepared to shatter the glass to get to him. He didn’t want to linger a moment longer knowing what was in store for him if he stayed.
Kain and Holt sprinted around the house. Jill tuned into them talking.
“We have to go. Now or we won't be leaving alive.” Holt was breathing heavily, sweat covering his brow as he bent over to catch a breath. “I know you saw who came in that limo.”
“We did. Jill almost has him.” Lune replied.
Well no time for subtlety. Jill slammed her elbow into the glass, tearing the window from the frame of the house. The noise was bound to attract some unwanted attention. “Come on, quickly. Jump. Lune is below me, he'll catch you. We have to go, now.”
Damien jumped to get caught by Lune before hitting the ground. “Jill. Jill, come on.”
Jill was just about to jump down when Lilith came storming into the room, throwing the doors open hard enough they bounced off of the walls, rattling the foundations.
“You filthy bitch!” Lilith hissed as she charged at Jill.
“Get him out of here!” Jill yelled to Lune.
“Jill! Come with us!” Damien called out to her, afraid to leave her behind.
“Kain! Take him!”
Kain grabbed Damien and the four of them took off, running as fast as they could. Scaling the fence, sprinting at full speed. They were pursued by some of the werewolves guarding the house.
Jill stood face to face with Lilith, making sure she kept her body between the window and the angry vampire.
“You will never and I mean ever touch him again, Lilith. Do you hear me? You think killing your father will make you half the lord he was?”
“Silence, dog! My father lost his ferocity in dealing with you filthy beasts! Every single one of you deserves to be wiped from existence. Under my rule I'll make sure that happens! Your lover may have died at my father's hand but he was a fool to leave you alive. He should have killed you as well!”
A dark and demented smile curved across Lilith's fangs. “Maybe I'll make you watch as I sink my fangs into Damien's throat. How would it feel to know the cycle will end and your precious Lucius will be in the arms of a vampire? Doesn't that piss you off?”
Jill bared her fangs, growling as she lunged at Lilith with such great speed the vampire didn't have time to move. Her claws raked down Lilith's face making her scream in agony as the sting of pure silver burned into her skin.
Lilith's hand trembled as she reached up to her face, taking the black blood from her cheek and looking down at it in her hands. “You...you disgusting...filthy dog!” She yelled, lunging toward Jill only to miss as she effortlessly jumped backwards out of the window. “You're dead! You hear me! I'll find a way to end your life, Jillian Styles! You can't run from me forever!”
After scaling the fence Jill shifted into her wolf form, sprinting through the waning night towards Gabriel's call in the woods.
****
Damien paced beside the car as Gabriel let out another howl, perking his ears to try and hear a reply.
“She should be back by now. What if she's hurt? Kain, I have to go back.” Kain's hand on his shoulder kept Damien where he was. He lowered his head.
“She's coming. I just heard her call. From the sound of it, she's alright. Be patient.”
Damien’s mind wandered back to what Lilith said as he stared at Kain. The lycan alpha was definitely a match for Jill's affection. His dirty blonde hair, tall size and well-defined musculature would be a match for any male. Combined with the inhuman beauty of his people, Kain was, to Damien, more appealing than he was.
“Kain. Lilith told me you and Jill...”
“We didn't. Not once. The most we ever did was make out for the sake of companionship. It never went further.”
“Then what's your history? Lilith said Jill wouldn’t care about me if I didn’t have Lucius’ soul. She would have given herself to you. Is that true?”
Kain sighed. “My father, Pentacost saved Jillian as a puppy. Her pack was nearly destroyed by the vampires. Her mother held out as long as she could but took her last surviving pup and ran. She lay dying beside a brook when my father found her. She begged him to take her. I was about a century younger than Jillian so I guess you could technically say we grew up together since our years aren't the same as yours,”
Kain looked up at him. “Damien, whatever Lilith said to you, most of it wasn't true. I do love Jillian, more than anyone in this world but she's chosen you. I will give my life to protect you for her sake.”
Jill came up through the woods. Her fangs and jaws wet with blood from fighting with some of the werewolves in the forest.
A huge bite taken from her left shoulder made her limp, her breathing heavy from fatigue.
Damien ran up to her without hesitation, his arms wrapping around her thick neck. Her huge paw rested on his shoulder in a half hug.
“I knew you would come.”
She shifted back into her human form, her breathing heavy as she tried to heal the wounds inflicted on her.
Kain reached in through the window of Gabriel's back seat to pull out a backpack containing a spare set of clothes. He tossed it to her.
“Thank you, Kain.” Jill got dressed quickly. “The wound in my shoulder is something I won't be able to heal completely. It'll scar, that much I know for certain.”
“At least you are safe, Jillian. Want to tell me why Lilith was screaming?” Kain smiled, his own relief evident in his voice.
“I nailed her in the face. Silver nails and all, it'll most likely leave one sun's hell of a blemish. We all know how much she loves her face.” Jill let out a slight chuckle. She was one of the few lycans left with claws made of pure silver. Yet another dying trait in the lycan race.
“Ouch.” Gabriel snickered.
Lune was less than thrilled. “This is not the time for laughing. She was just paid a huge insult and now she knows there are at least three alphas in Big Timber. Luckily for us, Desdemona really couldn’t care less about Lilith. The Cardozas rarely ever get involved personally but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep our guard up.”
Holt patted his friend's shoulder, his eyes meeting the other two alphas in front of him. “Stay alert. War is coming. It's just a matter of time. I'm going to be calling in as many of the neighboring packs who are willing to help as possible to join our meeting. I won't force those who don't want to fight to do so. Don't draw any attention, the humans are already spooked as it is. Damien, you're a part of us now, we're going to need help in the human world as well.”
“You’re kidding, right? I've already proven I'm not strong enough to handle avoiding getting kidnapped. Jill got hurt because of me.” Damien cursed under his breath. His own weakness pissed him off. Not only had he gotten Jill hurt again.
Now Lilith was beyond furious and this Desdemona character knew about the three alphas. All of this, in his opinion was his fault for not finding one single excuse to stay inside to keep out of trouble.
“Let Charlie know it's not the wolves doing the killing. If you need to, have Jill or Kain explain things. Whatever it takes to avoid a panic. You have to do this or our families are going to suffer even more than they are. We won't be able to hunt out of fear of being trapped or killed which will starve our pups and pregnant mothers.” Holt replied.
Damien thought back to the pup he'd held in his arms. That little ball of fuzz wouldn't harm a fly, let alone a full-grown person. The thought of her starving made him angry.
“I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try.”
Chapter Fifteen
The sun was just rising when Jill and Damien arrived back at his house. Damien hadn't spoken the whole ride home. His mind was a swirling torrent of thoughts and concerns over everything that had happened. He’d turned down Jill’s offer to drive, choosing
to stare out the window as he thought about Kain’s history with Jill.
When Jill had asked him what was wrong, he just shook his head. He knew she didn't believe him.
Charlie wasn't home yet so Damien took his spare key out of the old mailbox and unlocked the door, flipping on a light so they wouldn't run into any unwanted surprises.
“Damien, what's wrong? You've been quiet since we left the mountains.” Her warm hand cupped his face, her thumb running along his cheekbone.
“Nothing's wrong. Just...thinking.” Damien replied, taking her hand from his face.
“You can't lie to me, Damien. I can feel what you feel. Please, open your heart to me. I want to help.”
Damien didn't reply. He just walked up the stairs to his room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Jill followed him, sitting next to him. She took off her jacket to reveal her sleeveless tank top. The gaping scar on her shoulder exposed to him. The wound had been deep enough, it left a jagged groove indicating where the flesh was torn from the muscle.
“Christ, Jill. That looks bad.” Damien turned away, disgusted. He’d once again been the reason Jill was injured.
Jill looked down at her shoulder. “I can cover it if it displeases you.”
Damien shot up from the bed, his shoulders tensed. His hands rigid. “Displeases me? Damn it, Jill, it's not that! It pisses me off that once again you've had to go through so much to save my worthless ass. Because of me, Kain, Gabriel, Holt and Lune are all in danger now too! I could have gotten them killed!”
“I wasn't going to let her turn you, Damien. I couldn't handle it. It would shatter my soul to pieces.” Her arms wrapped around her, gripping her shoulders at the thought that she couldn't have made it on time. Knowing Damien, he would have begged her to kill him with her own fangs.
“How did this start, Jill? What went so wrong it has the two of your races tearing each other's throats out?”
Jill rose to go stand next to the window, looking out over the expanse of the landscape as she tried to picture the past. “I only know the stories Pentacost told me when I was old enough to hear them. The exact event was lost many centuries ago.”
“Tell me.” Damien came up behind her, his hands rubbing her shoulder against the pain he could hear in her voice.
Jill reached up behind her. Her hand petting the soft flesh of Damien’s cheek. The light tickle of his facial hair teasing her skin as he bent down to kiss her jaw. She closed her eyes, sighing.
“Centuries ago, before the songs of the children of the night were heard, Luna rose into the sky greeted by the brothers Tenebris, the night father and Barghast, the shadowed one. In the beginning, it was only the gods in the heavens. Everything else was dark and empty. Tenebris and Luna were lonely and longed to have children of their own. As millennia past, they began falling in love with one another. Tenebris, eventually proposed to Luna. This angered Barghast for he was in love with her as well. His jealousy burned the blazing red of his eyes. He threatened his brother, swearing if he went through with his marriage to Luna, he would forever hunt and kill any children they had,”
Jill felt a pain in her chest, the memories of countless innocent lives lost as a result of jealousy burned with anger inside of her. Damien put his arms around her, holding her to provide support.
“Despite this, Luna married Tenebris. Their love gave birth to the wolves. The rulers of the night. To Luna it wasn't enough, she wanted more. She asked Tenebris to help her bless us with the ability to change. To live among man. As his own gift, Tenebris gave us inhuman beauty and the ability to stand on two legs with power beyond any force in nature. For centuries they loved their children but,”
Damien sat down on the windowsill to allow Jill to snuggle into him for comfort. She lay between his legs, her cheek against his chest. The soft beat of his heart helped to ease the tension working its way into her soul.
“Barghast's rage soon fell upon us. His soul poisoned to the point he began to feed on the blood of man,”
“In order to carry out his threats, Barghast's fangs found the veins of man's greed and fear, giving birth to the first vampire. He bade him to hunt down the children of Luna and Tenebris, killing all he saw.”
Damien ran his hand through Jill’s soft hair. His sense of amazement overwhelming him. It was as though he could see the events Jill was describing in his mind’s eye. “What about the werewolves? Did Barghast have something to do with them?”
“Yes. His shadow fell on one of my kind, dementing the beauty Luna and Tenebris created. His curse had been fulfilled. The Blood Wars had begun. Tenebris feared the genocide of his children so much he called upon Luna's sister, Solaris to aid in our protection,”
“Solaris answered his cries and reached out her hand to drive the shadows away, damning them only to live in the darkness or die in the sun's light.”
“Jill, I still don’t understand the Purifiers? I mean, it’s the reason I’m being hunted, right?” Damien asked, eager to learn why he had become public enemy number one on the vampire’s most wanted list.
Jill looked up at him, her eyes sullen. Her fingertip tracing the muscle of his chest under his t-shirt. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. We don't know their origins. We only know they tried to protect man's world from being wiped out by our war. I only met one in my entire life on this planet. According to legend they can live just as long as one of us, if not longer.”
“How long can a lycan live?” Damien asked, curiously.
Jill closed her eyes, a low growl formed in her throat. “Damien, in our early history we could live for centuries if we weren't killed by man or slaughtered by vampires. Many of us long to live out the lives of a normal human to get back into Luna's loving embrace and out of the chaos. Many are forgetting, ignoring the call of our mother. Others are giving their lives in last ditch efforts to take some of the vampires down. Our world is a world of fear and unease. It's not for the faint of heart.”
Damien brushed his knuckle over her cheek. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pressured you into telling me.”
Jill took his wrist in her hand, softly kissing it. Hearing the soft murmur of the streams of his blood as it drifted peacefully in his veins gave her peace. His pulse was calm. His heartbeat gentle and comforting. “It's okay. You deserve to know why you’re being hunted. I just wish I knew more.”
Damien had been curious about the Purifiers but so far no one could answer any of his questions. All he knew was there was something about him the vampires saw as a threat big enough to want him dead.
Lilith’s words came forward in Damien’s mind despite his best efforts to suppress them. His heart hurt so bad he needed to know so he could move past the feeling of betrayal nagging in the back of his mind.
“Jill, I have to know. If I didn't have Lucius' soul inside of me, would you have given me a second look? Would you even know I existed or cared to know?” The words tasted bitter as Damien said them. He wanted to trust Jill’s love for him but his uncertainty couldn’t be ignored.
Jill's lips met Damien’s in a loving kiss. It wasn't demanding or possessive like Lilith's had been. Her hands tangled in his hair, holding him in place as she savored the taste of him. She positioned her hips so they relaxed against his, her stomach flat against his own. Her breasts conveniently pressed against his chest.
She pulled away, staying close to his face. “Damien, I told you. I’m not going to chase ghosts anymore. You took my breath away the minute I saw you. My heart fluttered like a hummingbird's wings when I saw these gorgeous jeweled eyes of yours. I knew I wanted to be with you the rest of your natural life. I didn't mind taking things slow as long as I could eventually have you to myself. You may have Lucius' soul but you have made it your own. Its unique song is more beautiful than any I've ever heard,”
Jill ran her hands down Damien’s sides, positioning them so she could begin guiding his shirt up.
“It's your voice that I hear, your heart that I feel, your pain that fills me when
you're under stress. Your blood that flows through me.”
Damien pulled away from her, his brow furrowing in confusion. “My blood?”
“When you were hurt by Stoker, I had to do something truly desperate to save your life. I think it's time I told you,” Jill took a deep breath, knowing what she was about to tell him would sound strange to anyone that wasn't a lycan or hadn't seen it done before.
“I've tasted your blood, Damien. You were dying. The only thing I could do to close the wound was use the curse inside of me. To my kind, the sharing of blood is as sacred as sex. It gives us the ability to talk to each other, even if we're miles away. It's how I heard you when you begged me to hurry to rescue you.” Jill sighed, her fear of him rejecting her inched forward in her mind.
Strange? Strange didn't even begin to describe the way Damien felt about what he'd just been told. Didn't vampires drink blood?
“I know what you're thinking and no. It's not the same. For us, it’s a bond. All of our memories, our feelings become one when we share it. Vampires drink blood to stay alive, maintain their power and create more of their kind.”
“Wait, so because you healed the wound in my side, now you can tell what I'm feeling. What I'm thinking?” Damien asked, confused as to how Jill knew what was going through his mind.
“No, it's not like mind-reading. Only lycans bound together by the gods can read each other’s minds. It is rare. Think of our bond as more of a telephone. You don't have my blood in you so you can't hear me but I can hear you. I can't talk to you. It's an unbreakable bond that keeps us together even if we leave each other.” Jill said, her concern intensifying the more she felt the growing unease in Damien.
“Okay. That doesn't make any sense to me and quite frankly, creeps me the hell out.” Damien replied, slightly disturbed. Internally he was debating on how to process what he’d just learned.
Jill scooted away from him on the other side of the sill. “Do you want me to leave?” She sat on her knees waiting for his reply.
Blessing of Luna (Wolfgods Book 1) Page 16