Ty gave the order to split up. “Be sure you plant the dynamite where it’ll do the most damage. When I give the signal, you’ll light yours and run like hell, understood?”
The new wolves nodded.
“Can’t we try our skills out on a few bloodsuckers before we blow ‘em to smithereens?”
Smitty’s anxious bend to sharpen his claws on a few vampires made Ty proud he was the friend he was. “You’ll stick to the plan. Understood?”
“Ay, Lieutenant, understood.”
Shimmering into Wolves of the Western Legend, Ty followed by the new pack, slid into the shadows and disappeared.
***
The cold water hit her in the face, steeling her breath. Laughter followed her gasp. Awaking to her naked body tied to a chair, Sonja sought out the culprit with the bucket. Claudine snickered from behind the trough. Struggling to control her body’s shaking, Sonja jerked uselessly against the ropes, which held her. The wolf within surged at the treatment. Her wolfen nose scented him before she laid eyes on the only other face out of the twelve in the room she recognized – Robert, her undead husband.
Cursing, she tugged at the ropes holding her in place. Disbelief fed into the bewildered frown on her face as she gazed at the vampire who wouldn’t die. “What’s going on?”
“You look surprised to see me, my darling,” Sonja’s dead husband admonished. “I understand though. After all, you did leave the wagon trail thinking you’d seen the last of me, didn’t you?” His long boney fingers brushed along her neck, their long nails cutting tiny lines in Sonja’s flesh. He licked her blood from his nail tip. “Your taste is sweet, like honey to my lips.” He closed his eyes over the sensation. “You never tasted so good, Sonja.”
His smile sickened her.
“Makes me wish I had taken more time with you when I was alive.”
A sneer creased Sonja’s mouth as she stared at the one being she truly despised. “You were never alive.” She spat the words at Robert in a taunt meant to arouse the demon blood in his veins. “Bastard!”
“Let me drain her, Robert, please?” Claudine’s hungry gaze traveled over Sonja slowly.
Robert laughed, lowly, at first, rising to a rumble, which shook the cave walls. “I apologize for my shortcomings, wife.” With a courtly bow, he ran a fingertip along her bare thigh. “So many things I want to do with you, my darling.” His gaze ran up, lingering on Sonja’s sex. “But, I have very little time left to savor your bounty.”
Sonja swallowed convulsively.
“Stretch her out on the table.” He snapped the order to Claudine and the vampires lurking nearby. “I want her veins visible so when we begin the procedure, we won’t miss a drop, understood?”
Sonja spied a great iron vat positioned under a slap of wood laid horizontal on blocks. The lights from several lamps strategically positioned along the walls, glowed with a dancing flicker. Air must be seeping in from somewhere, she mused. Perhaps there was a way out. Working feverously with her tethers, she managed only to wear the skin off her wrists and ankles. The pain of the abrasions proved secondary to the distress in her head. Why hadn’t she listened to Hortence? She needed Ty to help. Like an unspoken reminder, the answer flashed in her mind. Because he hadn’t confided in her, either. It hurt more each time she considered, he’d shut her out. The man she loved, her mate the wolf, didn’t think her worthy of sharing his secret. His locking her out of his plans irritated an already festering wound. A nagging voice in the back of her mind reminded her she’d closed down to sharing her news with him as well. Now, she’d face what came next alone, truly alone.
Another table sat opposite the vat. Perhaps they’d transfuse a vampire with her blood. If she wasn’t mistaken, they planned on draining her almost to the point of death, barely alive for further feedings. Perhaps they feared her strength. Cold! She shivered uncontrollably. They tied her legs spread eagle with her arms above her head. Large glass jars hung from hooks with long rubber tubing running from one jar to another, the tubing ending near her on the table.
Despite her impressive strength in werewolf form, she remained merely a woman whose strength ebbed slowly away. They must have drugged her, her conscious mind screamed. Her limbs grew weighted. Focus, Sonja! Shift and destroy these bastards once and for all! The tiny voice sounded so distant, yet she should listen. What was the point? Her world with Ty was a cruel joke. He’d told her what she meant to him with his actions. Sonja stared blankly at the ceiling swimming overhead, her desolation complete with the knowledge she’d lose her baby. Anguish rose up. She’d lose the only reminder she’d have of Ty.
Claudine’s laughter trilled around her like a web of deceit. Through the haze of the drugs, the sound of footsteps approaching brought her back. She made out Robert’s voice. His words, so false, rang loud through the cavern. “You talents are by far the most powerful magic there is, Draco.”
Sonja tracked the movements of a tall, white-haired man in long flowing robes. His hair hung below his waist. He strode straight and confident. His eyes glowed in the light, a cool, crystal-clear pupil surrounded by purple irises. Vivid and hypnotizing, the man stared at her curiously.
“So, this is the werewolf?” Draco’s smile never showed in his eyes. “You’ve done well today, Robert. For this I will repay you handsomely, you and your coven.”
“Thank you, my lord.” Robert bowed briefly from the waist, his dark suit jacket crisply tailored against his frame.
Sonja had known this man in the most intimate of ways and yet never knew him at all. Her head ached. Her eyes wanted to roll back in their sockets. Focus, damn it! Now’s not the time to give up.
“Prepare for the transfusion. The others will be upon us soon.” Draco stepped to the first bottle, positioning it over her, before jamming a needle into her wrist. She wouldn’t give this monster the satisfaction of screaming. Blood ran warm and wet along her arm. Watching her life source draining onto the slab, Sonja envisioned her life flashing before her eyes.
“The time is now. Take this! Start the transfusion!” Draco commanded.
Where Robert had been strong and agile, Draco possessed strength in spades. He shoved the bottle at Robert. Stumbling backward, Robert caught the bottle in a haphazard attempt to protect the blood from spilling.
Claudine’s blond head appeared in Sonja’s peripheral vision as she rushed to aid Robert. Things started to fall into place. So much made since now. A tear trickled down her face. What had she done?
“Be careful, Robert. I have to check on the others. They are near.” With that, Draco left to consult his crystal ball.
“What a wonderful bouquet, Sonja. You’ve been good. Been taking your tonic like an obedient girl.”
Her forehead gathered in perplexed confusion as she tried to figure out what this mad man referred to with his rambling.
“Hortence gave you the exact potion to enhance your blood’s power.” He smirked. “How very convenient for us.”
Claudine hovered nearby like an impatient vulture. Sonja had a moment’s pang of sympathy for the woman. “Be careful, Robert. You don’t know everything - though you think you do. Hortence not only provided me with a blood-building potion. She’s also given me enough poison to kill you all.” With his bemused stare, Sonja smiled. “Go ahead, start the transfusion.” With the taunt, a devious curl appeared on her mouth. Noting Robert’s eyes grew dark, the she-wolf clawed within. Banking the coals of the feral fire of revenge, Sonja continued her taunt.
“The old hag hasn’t enough power to keep her one charge safe from me. Why do you think I’d believe she poisoned us?”
“Isn’t the reason obvious? Don’t you need my blood still? Really, Robert, I thought you smarter than that. If the gift hasn’t given your kind a permanent tolerance for sunlight by now, you’ve been duped, bloodsucker. The joke is on you.” A wicked gold gleamed in Sonja’s eyes as she jerked her head in defiance. Blanking her mind of everything except the belief in the statements she’d ma
de, Sonja watched as Robert mulled over the words.
“You lie!” He threw the bottle, watching it smash against the cave wall. “Filthy female lies, that’s all this is.” He stalked to the other end of the slab. Wheeling to examine Sonja’s face for a crack in her armor, Robert strode back toward her naked body with a finger pointed accusingly. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to dupe me into believing you’ve some element in your blood which stops us from obtaining the gift. I see right through you!” He wagged his boney finger in her direction once more. “You don’t even make a decent werewolf. Mongrel!”
“Robert, the blood! What have you done?” Claudine dropped to the floor with the other vampires wiping up the crimson gift feverishly.
“Silence!” The muscles along Robert’s cheek twitched. Sonja gleaned a great deal of satisfaction in the twitch. Robert never could keep the truth of anything off his face. So, with the twitch, he’d let Sonja know, he had doubts. Good! “The proof is in the light of day, vampire king. You’ve only to step outside to disprove my claims, now don’t you?”
Robert glanced at the length of the tunnel in consideration. “If you’re telling the truth, you’ll pay dearly, my wife. There’ll be no reason to keep you alive, now will there?”
“No, darling! She’s trying to trick you.” Claudine’s whiny plea fell on deaf ears.
Sonja’s face went blank. With a lift to her chin, she challenged the undead king to consider her words.
Robert glanced down the long path once more. “Take the bitch down from the slab,” he growled. “Quickly, before the sun sets.”
“But, my lord…” One of the vampire assistants began.
“Did you not hear me?” His voice rumbled through the room. The others cringed in fear. “I said take her down. Leave the collar around her neck.” He glanced once more in the direction of the corridor to the outside. “I will see about this with my own eyes. Follow me, Claudine.”
***
At the cave’s entrance, Ty lingered a moment. He was about to go into the den of the undead. Hadn’t he sworn off getting anywhere near them if he could help it? The problem always remained, the damn vampires didn’t see things the same way he did.
“You men keep to the shadows. I don’t want to lose any of you to those blood suckers, clear?” The heat of his gaze warmed the darkened cave. The wolf would soon be upon him as the vibration in his voice bordered on the savage. Yes, the beast within clawed for freedom.
“Yes, Sir.” Connors gave Ty a salute.
Smitty shoved his elbow into Connors’ side. “We may not be in the Confederate Army, fool, but saluting an officer, even a shifter, makes him a walking target for the enemy. Don’t you remember anything I taught you?”
Connors growled low. “I’m sorry, sir. Hard concentrating with all this blood rushing in my head. I hear the confounded stuff!”
Ty couldn’t help the laugh. Gripping Connors’ forearm, he nodded. “The blood’s not changed, Connors. It’s the same blood – ‘cept now, your sense of hearing is heightened. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it before long.”
Smitty picked up his bundle of dynamite, slinging the burlap bag over his shoulder. “See you soon, Sir.”
“You can count on it, Sergeant.”
They separated, each going down a different tunnel. It wasn’t long before the sound of footsteps echoed in the tunnel. Praying Hortence’s spell against detection by the vampires worked, he slid into an outcropping of rock to wait.
Soon, several undead Union soldiers appeared along with Claudine. His heart kicked against his chest wall. So, this was why she’d appeared out of the blue. Ty swore under his breath. She had always been an opportunist.
He wasn’t prepared for Robert’s voice or the image of Sonja, naked and stained in her own blood as Robert hauled her along toward the cave’s opening. The bloodsuckers didn’t waste any time in taking the gift.
“You’ll never get away with any of this, Robert.” Sonja’s words echoed down the hall. Even if, by some miracle you do survive stepping into the sun’s light, the others will hunt you down and kill each and every one of you. I’ll promise you that.”
Ty swore under her breath. The chance of him coming back was slim. Hadn’t he watched him die? Cold congealed in his bone marrow. How were the vermin managing reincarnation?
They neared the entrance to the cave.
“Do be a good girl and don’t try to run off. I’d hate to have to put a silver bullet in you, especially when you’re about to prove how we still need you desperately.”
Faint laughter floated back to where he crouched. Robert must have lured Claudine with a promise of money. She always went first class.
There were five besides Robert and Claudine. Taking care, Ty slipped closer. He could take them all. With help from his mate, he’d make sure they never troubled them again.
Suddenly, the vampires, sensing his presence, wheeled with teeth exposed.
Emerging from the craggy rocks, Ty shook his wolf free, before lunging at the nearest vampire. Teeth sank into flesh. Cries of anguish echoed in the tunnel. One flew at him as he snarled and lashed back. Blood sprayed over the walls.
Sonja’s wolf broke free of the collar, taking out her jailer.
Taking hold of another vampire, Ty tore flesh from bone and howled in fury at the attack another launched on his back. Fending off fangs and claws, he tore the neck from one and clamped down on the chest of another. His fur liberally stained with blood matted to his body. The deep gray of his coat showed the marks of claws and teeth yet he continued to fight.
Sonja struggled with a vampire given to strength, yet little agility. Pivoting, she shoved her hind leg into his groin, sending him staggering backward to the ground. She lunged at his throat, tearing his flesh from his undead body.
The vampire managed to get to his feet as the wound disappeared.
With her blood running hot, she lunged again at the vermin sending them both hurdling backward. Pinned under her weight, he clawed and lashed out with fangs snapping at her throat. Using her great paw, this time she took his head off. In the troughs of the blood lust, she scanned the battle for Robert. Back from the otherworld, his strength renewed, the vampire that wouldn’t die stalked toward her. Blood ran from multiple wounds, clothing hung in tatters on his lank frame. She’d have to outwit the bastard for he was too smart to be taken easily. Launching her body at his, he tossed her off, sending her slamming into the cave wall. The blow cleared her mind of all but the need to kill. Lying at the base, she heaved a breath, yet remained where she was. The tactic being to draw him out and let him believe he had the upper hand. Relaxed and confident, he’d be more likely to make a mistake. She waited, slowing her breathing to almost nothing as Hortence had taught her. If the enemy thought you dead, they assumed they’d won and you could execute a killing attack.
Robert sauntered toward her, giving her ribs a kick.
In the trance, Sonja didn’t react, though the blow sent white hot fire burning through her body.
“Damn you!” Her lover’s voice rose above the screams and howls. “She’s not supposed to die!” His lament reverberated over the blood soaked ground where others lay as they’d fallen, broken and dying. “Curse you, Robert, I curse you’re very soul! With teeth bared, his blue eyes smoldering, Ty raged at the injustice of losing his mate. Snarling and gnashing his teeth, he wallowed in his misery.
Thinking he’d won, the fight, Robert stood, feet braced, hands on hips. “You worthless dogs, can’t even stay alive. I still have you, Loflin. You’ll do nicely. I’ll even find you a new bitch to sire more of your filthy breed. You should thank me for my generosity!” His laugh echoed in the tunnel.
The timing was perfect. A quick roundhouse kick to Robert’s kidney before taking his feet from under him and ramming her fist into his gut, Sonja sent the bloodsucker flat of his back.
Robert doubled over.
Sonja turned, sneering in contempt of the vampire. “Com
e on you son-of-a-bitch. Mess with us and get what’s coming to you.”
“You can’t hurt me.” Robert snarled as he crawled forward on all fours, “I’ll be around after all of you are gone.” Wheezing a breath, he stumbled to his feet.
Storm clouds chased the sun across a volatile sky. Sonja’s taunt to lure him into the sun was working. The sunlight still prevailed, catching on his shoulder.
Smoke rose off his Union uniform. “Ah!” he cried out as fire engulfed his frame.
Unable to control the pleasure in seeing him ablaze, Sonja’s wolf howled out in fierce pleasure.
Thinking they had him, Sonja and Ty shifted quickly. Their celebration was short lived, though.
As quickly as he’d ignited, Robert regained his composure. Thrusting out his arms, he raised his eyes to the sky. The vampire started chanting. Soon, the vampire turned into the warlock Sonja had seen in the cave.
“What the hell...” Ty yelled. His talisman began to glow with a beautiful blue light. “Sonja, here!” He tossed her the necklace. The light grew until even the warlock couldn’t look at her.
In the intensity of the blinding light, the body of the Guardian appeared. His seven-foot frame dwarfing even Draco’s presence. “Draco, you’ll find my patience with you at an end. Your evil magic is finished. You’ve driven the last werewolf from their home. You’ll have no powers form this day forth. I condemn you to the other world!” Raising his long hairy arms, Guardian summoned a great wind, one so powerful it tore trees from the ground.
Ty lunged for Sonja, gathering her close. “Did you see that? The talisman brought the Guardian back.”
Sonja clutched at his shoulders, holding on with all her strength. “Draco possessed Robert’s body?”
Ty shook his head as the first of the dynamite exploded in one of the tunnels. The explosion threw them forward, directly into the path of Draco.
Snatching Ty up, Draco raised him over his head with one hand. Jerking Sonja around to his side, he hissed, “Be careful, my old friend. Be very, very careful…” White pupils bulged as the warlock taunted the Guardian with his prisoners. He shook Ty like a puppet and squeezed Sonja’s neck in his vice-like grip.
Wolfen Secrets (The Western Werewolf Legend #3) Page 13