BlackWolf Legacy

by Sydney Addae

  Niall shrugged but didn’t say anything.

  “We were forced to sell acreage as well,” Harold said.

  “Is it possible that’s the underlying reason for this problem?” Angus asked Grandfather.

  “What? The loss of land?” Grandfather asked.

  Angus nodded.

  “Good question. I have no idea, although it was always within the rights of Pack to sell their land. The Round Table or humans could not,” Grandfather said.

  “I’ll have Maheegan search the records as well,” Silas told his men.

  “Niall is probably right. I’m thinking the ritual or whatever happened took place wherever the Alpha’s main interests were,” Hawke said. “Amynta, Asia’s mother, said Nikolas taught her to ward property and other things. I’ll ask if she’s aware of the ritual since she knew both Nikolas and Konstantin.”

  “I’d forgotten that,” Silas said. “Since she knew them personally, it’s possible that she witnessed the ritual or knows the name of the Mage. Get as much information from her as possible, I think she’s our best link right now.”

  “Will do,” Hawke said.

  “Shall we go into exile until this matter is resolved?” Razor asked.

  “I’m not leaving Renee,” Storm snapped.

  “What if you hurt her by mistake? Our beasts are not responding rationally,” Razor said obviously on the other end of the spectrum.

  “I can’t hurt her, plus, she’d kick me in my balls if I tried. You do as you’d like but my mate would never agree to me leaving her over a problem like this. Nor would I ever leave her. We’ll go someplace together if necessary, but I will never leave her,” Storm said with a note of finality.

  “What you say makes sense, I’ll discuss it with Trista when we return. We may go with you and Renee,” Razor said.

  “I didn’t say we were leaving,” Storm ground out. “I said if I left it would be with my mate.”

  “Understood,” Razor said in an eerily calm voice.

  Silas cleared his throat and his mind of that bizarre exchange. “At this time neither of you need to leave. If necessary you can stay with Thomas and the others in their Compound where there’s less people. If you do decide you need to be completely away from people, we have the island. You can always stay there.”

  “Thank you, Alpha, it’s good to have a back-up plan,” Razor said.

  “Indeed,” Silas said thinking of Jasmine and Shyla at the beach. “Just so everyone understands what I want done. Hawke and Damian will start the research with Amynta and Maheegan by gathering information from that time period. Once they’ve gotten information, we’ll discuss it and go from there.”

  Damian, Hawke, Angus, Razor, and Storm all agreed. “Storm and Razor you are free to discuss everything with your mates and develop plans to keep everyone safe. I think Razor is right in thinking to two of you should be together.” Silas could only pray that both men didn’t get angry at the same time. That would be a disaster.

  Silas looked at the men in the silent room and realized he missed whatever they said. “What’s the next step?” he asked.

  “We wait for information,” Harold said. “Each of us will research and attempt to discover what happened between Alpha Nikolas and the Mage. What will you be doing?”

  “The same thing. Damian and Hawke will lead this part of the research,” Silas said.

  “Will you bring Maheegan into it?” Niall asked.

  “Yes, she’s really good,” Silas said.

  Niall nodded. “One of the best if not the best.”

  “Until next time, Gentleman. Enjoy the rest of your day.” Silas left the group.

  When he opened his eyes, Angus opened his seconds later, and Grandfather’s body disappeared.

  Silas turned his head and inhaled. “Someone’s on the island.” He and Angus leapt off the deck.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  JASMINE HAD READ SEVERAL chapters when her guest’s breathing changed. She jerked and opened her eyes. When she saw Jasmine and Shyla, her eyes widened as she glanced around the room and finally at her arm and the bed.

  Tears filled her eyes and she cried so hard it looked as if she couldn’t breathe. “Thank.... Thank... you... oh god,.... Thank.. You..” She continued crying into her hands as if she were afraid to see and believe she was safe.

  Genuine pain and sorrow filled the room. Her bruises were nothing compared to whatever horror this young woman had suffered and faced. She cried until her voice was a mere croak, and her eyes were swollen.

  Shyla offered her a bottle of cold water.

  She took it with both hands upturned it and drank as if she hadn’t tasted any in days. “Thank you,” she whispered as she placed the empty bottle on the nightstand. She closed her eyes and opened them again. “Thank you. I thought I was dead,” she said in a ragged whisper.

  “Can you talk about it? Who was that man who shot at you?” Jasmine asked.

  “I don’t know. I never saw him before today.” She shook her head. “I heard him yesterday or the day before, they kept a bag over our heads.” Inhaling deeply, she covered her face and wept.

  Jasmine’s heart went out for the young woman who couldn’t be much older than her two daughters. “What’s your name, love?”

  “Lynda. Lynda Belite,” she whispered. “They’re gone. Dead I think.”

  “Who?” Shyla asked.

  “My friends. We came to see the Darien Pass together.”

  Jasmine had heard of the place and looked at Shyla who shrugged. “Is that in Darien National Park?”

  Lynda nodded.

  Jasmine shook her head. Certain parts of the Park were dangerous and people had been kidnapped, ransomed, and even murdered from there. “Start at the beginning and tell us what happened so we can help you.”

  Lynda slid down with her eyes closed tightly while shaking her head. “It was horrible. Who does that?” Her eyelid flew open and she stared at Jasmine. “Who kills people for sport?”

  A chill ran down Jasmine’s back. “For sport?” Surely she hadn’t heard correctly. Maybe there was a misunderstanding or something.

  “Yes. They told them to run and then they ran after them. I heard the gunfire in the distance. They were talking about where the bullets hit.” Lynda’s words tumbled out one after another without a breath as if she needed to clear her mind as quickly as possible.

  Jasmine stilled as images formed in her mind. It had been years since she dealt with humans and was shocked that they preyed on each other like this.

  “Tell us what happened,” Shyla said, her tone soothing.

  “We’re environmentalists. I’m an engineer. Tony is... worked as an environmental scientist, so did Daphne.” She covered her face with her hand. “Oh god, Daphne. No... no, no.” They allowed her to weep for her friends while wondering how this could’ve happened.

  Lynda wiped her face with the back of her hand, took a deep breath and continued. “Andy managed a small environmental company that specialized.... in exotic plants found in the rainforest. For months, we... we planned a day trip into Darien National Park. Living in Arizona... the trip to Darien was a dream.” She pressed her fist to her mouth to stop from crying.

  When she pulled it together again, she inhaled and looked at Jasmine. “We hired a guide that we met in Meteti. He took us into the forest and the rest is a blur. We were taken from there to a place.” She covered her mouth to silence the scream until she stopped shaking.

  “They told Tony and Andy to run. They beat them and told them to run for their lives,” she whispered when she could talk. “They took Daphne somewhere.” She shook her head. “They ... they put me in a boat, removed the ropes.” She held up her arm and Jasmine saw the faint rope prints. “Said I was free to go.” She shivered. “His eyes... so dark and wild. He’s... he’s a crazy old man.”

  Jasmine met Shyla’s glance before looking at Lynda again. “He set you free?”

  Lynda shook her head. “No.” There was so muc
h hatred and pain in that one word, Jasmine leaned forward and placed her hand on Lynda’s leg.

  “What happened, Lynda?” Jasmine said.

  “It was the same as before, only they hunted me in the water, not on land.” She closed her eyes and pulled the cover off her legs. “They put that on me.”

  Jasmine had seen what she thought was an anklet. “Remove it.”

  Shyla snapped off the metal bracelet and left the room.

  “How’d she get that off so easily? We tried everything to take them off and couldn’t,” Lynda asked.

  Jasmine shrugged. “Finish telling me what happened, you’ll feel better getting all of that poison out.”

  Lynda looked toward the open door which Shyla had left through. “Where did she go?”

  “Probably to take that tracker someplace they won’t ever find it,” Jasmine said.

  Lynda’s eyes widened and then normalized as she stared at Jasmine. “You aren’t scared they’ll come here? They have guns and are evil,” she said in case Jasmine hadn’t realized the danger.

  “No, I’m not afraid,” Jasmine said meeting Lynda’s gaze for several long moments. The fear in the room eased as Lynda nodded slowly.

  “Seems I’ve been scared for days. It’s still hard to believe they took us in broad daylight, for no reason. Why? I keep asking why they picked us?” She shook her head. “It makes no sense. None of this makes any sense.”

  Jasmine didn’t have any answers. Silas wouldn’t want her to get involved. The Goddess forbid them to get involved with humans. But she wasn’t full-blood or half-breed and not under the Goddess which caused several problems between her and Silas. His faith in the Goddess was absolute and he didn’t question anything. Jasmine had seen the Goddess make too many mistakes to believe in her infallibility. The woman had erased Silas’ memory of his first mate and child which set a disastrous course for the child. Jasmine respected the Goddess, but she couldn’t worship anyone who did something like that.

  “How did you escape?” Jasmine asked to get a better picture of what went on.

  “I... I jammed the motor boards’ on switch, tore some material from my top and tied it to the control lever to keep the boat heading straight ahead and jumped overboard. I didn’t see this place until I had been in the water a while and heard them cursing and searching for me.”

  Jasmine marveled at Lynda’s ingenuity and determination. Silas would demand Angus scan Lynda with the bracelet to make sure she told them the truth but she believed the girl. Which meant what?

  Silas couldn’t get involved. Jasmine understood that and realized those men may get away with murder. She might have to swallow that but she would help Lynda get home. At the moment she had no idea how she would accomplish that without involving any Pack, but she’d think of something.

  “Are you hungry?” Jasmine asked sensing Lynda’s fatigue.

  “Probably but the idea of eating makes me nauseous.” She looked around. “Are you sure it’s safe here? I don’t want you to get hurt or anything.”

  “You’re safe. Rest. I’ll be here when you wake,” Jasmine said. Shyla would return any moment and Silas would wake soon when he sensed her uneasiness which she tried to hide.

  He would be furious.

  Shyla entered the room drying her face with a towel. “I took it out to sea and dropped it in the deep.”

  “Good.” Jasmine looked at Lynda who had fallen asleep.

  “They were still here and went after the bracelet,” Shyla said.

  “Thanks for taking it out there.” Jasmine hadn’t told Shyla to do it and it touched her that her friend did it on her own.

  She shrugged. “They were making a fuss on the other side of the island, it gave them something to do and focus on for now,” Shyla said. They both knew that wouldn’t be the end of it. Jasmine and Shyla were potential witnesses to attempted murder and Lynda was a key witness to whatever happened to her three friends.

  CHAPTER SIX

  THE HUM OF AN OUTBOARD engine pulled Silas to the beach, while the scent of an unknown human drew him to the cottage.

  “Jasmine?”

  “Oh, you’re awake?” Jasmine asked.

  He filtered her response for sarcasm, anger, or curiosity. “Yes. I need to tell you what’s going on but there’s a boat near the shore and I smell gunfire. What happened?” He moved toward the shore and the boat since she sounded okay. Angus fell in next to him as they ran toward the other end of the island.

  “Some men on a boat were shooting at Lynda as she swam onto the shore. When she fell bleeding, we brought her inside. It’s awful what they did to her and her friends.”

  Silas bit back a groan. Jasmine in nurturing mode meant she planned to help the human no matter what he said.

  “Why were they shooting at her?” he asked as they came closer to the edge and saw the same older man from the other night trying to get through the security shield.

  “I think they were hunting her... for a game or something.”

  Silas stopped and remembered the two dead bodies that washed ashore the other night. The man had mentioned something about the accuracy of the shot. At the time Silas hadn’t paid much attention and had been glad when they took the bodies and left.

  Angus looked at Silas, frowning. “Shyla says these men were hunting the girl for sport with a tracking device. She took it out into the water but who would do such a thing? Why?”

  “Humans,” Silas said. “Who knows why they do what they do. Look at him wasting all that ammunition and the other ones just stand and watch.”

  “What should we do?” Angus asked.

  “It’s forbidden for us to become involved in human affairs. However, we can defend ourselves. We should go for a walk on the beach, just to see what’s going on during such a beautiful day,” Silas said, turning and heading in the opposite direction.

  “Sounds good.” He paused. “I didn’t realize you hadn’t told Jasmine about these men from the other night. Shyla bit my head off for not mentioning it to her either.”

  “One more reason to get these men off my island so I can spend time with my mate,” Silas said as they walked through the shield and strode in the direction of the man shooting into the trees.

  The older man continued firing into the foliage and didn’t see them approach. Silas erected a barrier for him and Angus and stopped a few feet away to watch. One of the younger men stared at them, nodded and returned to the boat.

  Smart lad.

  When the older man finished his rounds, the other male standing nearby pointed at Silas and Angus. They stared at each other for several moments.

  “He doesn’t smell right,” Angus said.

  Silas hadn’t noticed and inhaled. “Smells human to me.”

  “Yes, but there’s something off. Look at his eyes, it’s like he’s on drugs or something,” Angus said.

  “Is there a reason you’re shooting on my island?” Silas asked the man.

  “Who the hell are you?” the man asked.

  “The owner of the island,” Silas said as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and watched all three men. The one on board wanted nothing to do with anything. These two however, were a different matter.

  “Where’s the girl?” the older man asked as he held his hand out. The guy placed ammunition into the older man’s hand. While watching Silas and Angus he reloaded his weapon.

  “I haven’t seen a girl,” Silas said.

  Gun loaded, the old man pointed it at them. “Last time, where’s the girl?”

  Silas stared hard at the gun. “Last time, I haven’t seen a girl.”

  The man pulled the trigger and it backfired, knocking the old man off his feet. He hit the ground and Angus was on him immediately. The man standing nearby pulled out his pistol and aimed at Angus. Silas backhanded him so hard he flew toward the boat, hit the side and slid into the water. The young man in the boat jumped out and dragged the man onshore.

  Angus stood and staggered backward.
“This one’s bad. He hunts people for target practice. He owns the local police and is in charge of a large criminal organization. He’s killed so many people I couldn’t count. Pity I can’t kill him?” He looked at Silas with a plea in his eyes. “If we don’t, he will be back like a flea searching for a dog.”

  Silas thought about it, he really did. In the end, he held the Goddess’ decree above all. “We cannot.” They turned and walked in the direction they came.

  “Tio Estevan? Tio? Can you walk? I’ll get you back to the boat and take you home.”

  Silas looked over his shoulder at the young man who hadn’t wanted to be involved and wondered what he was doing there. Somehow, he got his uncle on board, started the engine and drove off.

  As much as he wished it was true, Silas doubted he had seen the last of Estevan.

  <<<<>>>>

  When Silas entered the cottage, Jasmine stood in the living room with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. “This isn’t the first time those animals came to the island?” The heat of her anger brushed against his cheek.

  Silas told her what he saw that night, how he handled it and why. “I cannot get involved with human affairs, you know that.”

  “What does that have to do with you telling us that a crazy man on a boat with guns picked up two dead men that they shot? Isn’t that information you would expect me to tell you?”

  Of course, it was. “I forgot and I apologize.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You saw two dead bodies and you forgot? How is that even possible? It’s not something we see every day or month or year. I can’t remember the last time you saw dead bodies.”

  She was right and he knew it. “There were other things on my mind, I hadn’t been able to sleep, the nightmares, which are significant by the way.” He wanted to change this subject.

  Her face changed and her gaze narrowed. “I see. Let me ask you this.”

  He knew where she was going and would give anything not to have this discussion again.

  “If those two recent college graduate students had been wolves, would you have remembered their bodies washed ashore and told me about it?”