by Mae Clair
“I already know that, Father.”
“Did you also know the only way you can kill him is with a silver bullet or by beheading? As an alpha wolf, he’s practically invincible.”
“Not to me.” Caleb willed his eyes to flash silver.
Rick blanched. “Fuck, don’t do that. It’s unnerving.” He scraped a hand through his hair. “I planned everything so your future would be mapped out–the money, Weathering Rock–but I can’t fix this.”
“I don’t want you to fix it.” The abrupt ringing of the phone cut off the rest of Caleb’s reply.
Rick scowled. “Voice mail will get it.”
Within seconds, Wyn’s voice crackled into the silence. “Rick, pick up. If Caleb is there, he needs to get his ass back here. Seth showed up and took off with Arianna.”
Caleb didn’t wait to hear the rest. Before his father could move, he bolted out the door for his truck. His worst nightmare had come true. Seth had Arianna.
Hell bent, he drove for Weathering Rock.
* * * *
Caleb slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt at the top of the driveway. He left the truck door hanging open, keys dangling from the ignition and rushed up the porch steps into the house. “Wyn!” He stalked into the parlor, heading for his nephew’s den. “Winston!”
“Here.” Wyn materialized behind him in the doorway, a wet towel pressed to the back of his head. His wavy hair was unkempt and his shirt hung sloppily over his belt.
Caleb crossed the room in three strides and grasped him by the shoulders. “Where is she?”
“I don’t know.” Wyn grimaced. “The bastard sucker-punched me the moment I opened the door. He had to know you weren’t here.”
Caleb heard the sound of Rick’s Porsche in the driveway. His father sprinted into the house, looking as frazzled as Caleb felt.
“What happened?” Rick demanded.
Wyn shook his head, dropping the towel to his side. “He laid me out, then took off with Arianna. I found this taped to the inside of the door.” He passed a sheet of paper to Caleb, who unfolded it and read the brief note aloud:
It’s time to end this. If you want your bitch, come find me. S.
“What the hell?” Rick shook his head. “Find him where?”
Caleb wadded the paper into a ball and savagely shot it across the room. “How long ago was he here?”
“An hour,” Wyn said. “Look, Caleb, maybe we should get the cops involved. He took Ari. That’s kidnapping.”
“No police.”
“But you don’t know where the fuck he is. By the time you figure it out, Arianna could be–”
“He won’t hurt her. Not right away. He wants me to watch, the sick bastard. He’s got to be close by.”
“If he came in a car, I didn’t see or hear it. That means he’s on foot.”
“We could split up,” Rick suggested. “Cover more ground.”
Caleb nodded. He had a hunch he’d find Seth in the field they’d been transported to three years ago. The same place Wyn had initially found him. It bordered the thicket of woods where he and Arianna had made love. He eyed his nephew doubtfully, noting the blood on Wyn’s collar.
“You should stay here. You don’t look in any condition to–”
“I’m going. If that SOB hadn’t caught me by surprise, she’d still be here.”
“This isn’t your fault.”
“It’s my fight.”
“Mine too,” Rick stepped to his side.
Caleb felt a lump in his throat. How had he have ever been foolish enough to think he didn’t have friends? “I’d rather you both stay here. I have an advantage you don’t.”
“Werewolf blood?” Wyn dragged the towel over the back of his neck. “I’ll bank on a thirty-eight. After that girl was murdered, I bought a gun and had six special bullets made. Silver. Here–” He pulled his cellphone from his pocket and shoved it into Caleb’s hand. “I’ll go with Rick. Whoever finds them first calls the others. Agreed?”
Caleb nodded, glad his father and nephew would have the protection of deadly silver. He had no intention of calling and dragging them into the fray, but it didn’t hurt to let them think differently. “Get the gun,” he said to Wyn. “I need something upstairs.”
In his bedroom, he rummaged in the closet for his sword. The blade was steel, not silver, but he’d kept it sharp and well-honed the last three years. It had tasted blood during the war and would again tonight. Narrowing his eyes, Caleb felt the tip.
It would behead a man easily.
Before the night was over, he or Seth Reilly would be dead.
* * * *
Arianna moaned. Her head felt like it wanted to roll from her shoulders and explode into a thousand pieces. Cool grass pressed against her cheek, pungent with the earthy musk of dirt and stone. She tried to sit up, but her stomach backwashed into her throat on a wave of pain.
“Don’t get up on my account,” Seth Reilly taunted.
Arianna swallowed and crawled to her hands and knees. She could see the grassy expanse with the pond a short distance away, where she and Caleb had made love. A black duffel bag made a lumpy silhouette beneath a grouping of trees. She blinked, trying to clear her head, and used the trunk of a maple to pull herself upright. The world bobbled unsteadily.
Seth took an unhurried step forward. “The sun’s setting. Do you know what that means, bitch?”
“Stay away from me.” His eyes were magnetic, black as polished onyx. “You’re a monster.”
“Not golden and fair like your brave colonel?” Seth’s lips curled in a sneer. “Did he tell you what a coward he was at Crinkeshaw? How he stayed with the troop and ordered me ahead?”
“He did what he had to.” Arianna refused to listen. So much bitterness and hatred over one incident.
“You think I hate him for this?” Seth lifted his arm. She knew he’d been injured, but it looked whole and undamaged. “Stupid bitch. I hated him long before that. He had everything–a family who loved him, wealth, money, parents of position. I had nothing!”
“He was your friend!” Arianna spat. She tried to inch around the tree, but her knees were shaking. Her cheek throbbed where he’d struck her, shooting needles into her temple and jaw. She doubted she could take two steps without falling on her face.
Seth knew it too. “For as long as I found it useful. The idiot should have killed me when he caught me spying for the Confederacy, but he didn’t have the balls. I went south, into Florida’s marshes and swamps. There are dark things in the swamps if you know where to look, Arianna.” He took another step, his eyes holding her riveted.
“I met a woman who knew the old ways. Magic brought over from the Slavic countries. Her great grandfather had become a werewolf by choice. All it took was blood, a willing soul and a pact with the darkness. I made the same pact and became what I am.” He lifted the arm again, rolled it in a circle. “How do you think I healed this?”
She looked away, hating the sadistic glee in his eyes. If she screamed, would anyone hear? Shadows hung thickly under the trees. Beyond the edge of the woodland, the fading sun gleamed on the roof peaks of Weathering Rock. To die within reach of home, her life with Caleb just beginning…
She couldn’t let it happen. Wouldn’t let it happen!
Seth squatted on his haunches, grinning like a hobgoblin. “Relax, Arianna. I’m not going to hurt you.”
That stopped her long enough to make her look up, her hands still clutched to the tree. She felt a small flicker of hope that died immediately when her tormentor licked his lips.
“Yet. You might find it interesting to know I never planned to kill Caleb when I ambushed his troop.” He grinned. “I wanted him to suffer. To have that fucking control he values so highly, ripped away. Your husband is all about honor, confidence, and doing the right thing. I knew life as a werewolf would be torture for him.” He paused and cocked his head as if remembering something amusing. “And then there’s this century. I never plann
ed on landing here, but I knew time travel was possible. As you pointed out, I was Caleb’s friend. I stayed overnight at Weathering Rock several times as a teenager. One night, while everyone else slept, I crept into the attic.”
Arianna gasped. “You found it–everything Rick had hidden tying him to this century.”
Seth’s lips curved higher. “Driver’s license, credit cards, even that clipping from the Sagehill Business Journal. It was dated over one hundred and fifty years in the future.”
“You never told anyone? Not even Caleb?”
“You mean Saint DeCardian?” He stood, cagey now. “Hell, no. I left everything the way I’d found it, tucked in a box. I didn’t know what any of it meant, but I thought about it a lot, and I watched Caleb’s father. I started to notice he was different. When chance sent me here, I had the advantage of knowing time travel existed. It made it easier for me to adapt. I have everything I want. Money, women, drugs. There’s no one in your world who can touch me. No one who knows my secret except Caleb.”
“That’s why you’re here. Now, after all this time.” Abruptly, Arianna understood. For three years, Seth had kept his distance, living a life of debauchery. He had power over others, weak-minded men and women he influenced for personal gain. The only threat to that existence was the man he’d left alive to suffer a curse. The satisfaction of tormenting his enemy had suddenly become secondary to Seth’s survival.
He sauntered closer. “Smart woman. I would have killed him that night you almost ran him down with your car. We were hunting each other. I was going to end the game, but you intrigued me.”
“You were the wolf I saw outside my window.”
He nodded. “I liked the way you looked, and decided to wait. I amused myself by killing the deer, then the jogger and the girl. By coincidence, I’d already hooked up with your sister. I always keep a whore on the side for entertainment.”
“You’re a pig!”
“Wolf.” He began to circle her. “You’re the entertainment tonight, Arianna. You and DeCardian.”
“Stay away from me.” She looked wildly about for anything she could use as a weapon. In desperation, she scooped up a rock.
Seth laughed. “Woman, I can make you drop that with a single snap of my fingers. Don’t you know what the fuck I am?”
Terrified, Arianna hurled the rock at him. She pivoted and dashed recklessly through the trees, racing for the open field beyond the woodland. Branches raked across her cheek and Seth’s unhurried laughter bubbled in her ears. He enjoyed the game, the thrill of the hunt that brought mastery and conquest. She could smell his excitement, the stench of sweat and male pulsing off him in waves. She sensed when he changed, his body flowing effortlessly from man to wolf. Fear rolled up her spine and coiled into her belly. He was playing with her, keeping his distance while she blundered desperately ahead. Would he tear her to shreds, butcher and savage her? Would he rape her first?
A branch ripped her blouse and sent her sprawling to her knees. The jolt boomeranged into her head, but she stumbled forward, fighting down sobs. He would tire of the game soon and overtake her. Oh, Caleb, Caleb, I don’t want it to end this way. I love you so much!
He was almost upon her. She stumbled again, then burst from the thicket with an explosion of effort.
Straight into Caleb’s arms.
Chapter 34
“Stay back!”
Caleb shoved Arianna aside and swiftly drew his sword. He’d sensed his rival the moment he’d neared the thicket, the stench of dark magic and wolf overpowering. Seth erupted from the trees in a flurry of matted brown fur and fangs. Caleb slashed with his sword, the sharply-honed tip sinking deeply into wolf-flesh. The beast twisted, snarling in rage, and the jar of impact buckled Caleb to one knee.
Seth’s momentum carried him backward to the ground. He had no choice but to drop the sword, needing both hands to fend off the wolf’s snapping jaws. He gripped the animal’s head, the breath of his enemy hot and fetid on his face. The stench of wormwood and decay engulfed him. In the back of his mind, Caleb knew the ragged gash in Seth’s side had already knit shut. His only hope of killing Seth was by swift decapitation. As a man, Caleb was no match for the wolf. Its claws ripped through his jeans, gouging deeply into his thighs. Hot fangs scored his shoulder, and the sharp spike of pain wrenched a cry from his throat.
Satisfied, Seth retreated. A second later, Caleb felt the pressure of his sword against his throat and looked up into his rival’s onyx-black eyes. Seth had returned to human form fully clothed, not a hair out of place. No waking up nude for Reilly. That was for weak saps who didn’t wield the power of an alpha wolf.
Caleb wedged his elbows beneath him, fighting for breath.
“Stay where you are, DeCardian.”
“Caleb!” Arianna rushed to his side and crouched beside him. Her eyes were bright with unshed tears. It wasn’t supposed to end like this, Seth pawing her while he was powerless to stop it. Rage boiled inside him.
Seth traced the scar on his neck with the tip of the blade. “I see you carry a token of Crinkeshaw. You, with your perfect family, perfect looks and all your money. Who were you to be so blessed?”
“I was your friend once,” Caleb spat. It was hard admitting the truth, staring into the eyes of a man who felt nothing but hate. He needed a distraction if he was going to wrest the sword away. If that meant resurrecting their past, he’d do what was necessary. “There was a time when you and I laughed together. You didn’t always hate me, Seth.”
“I did.” The sword dipped from his neck to his chest, pinning him in place. “Arianna. Get my bag. I have something for your husband.”
Caleb felt her tense, but she didn’t move, riveted to the spot.
“I won’t tell you again, bitch. Get it, or I’ll skewer him like a piece of meat.”
“It’s all right, sweetheart,” Caleb said softly. “Do as he says.”
God, he was an idiot, walking into a trap like a royal fuck-up. He’d thought he could take Seth with a sword, but he was flat on his back, one step shy of being gutted like a fish. As if reading his thoughts, Seth smiled thinly.
“Things not working out the way you planned, DeCardian?”
“Fuck you.”
Seth grinned and made a tsking sound. “Really, Colonel. Such a crude modern expression.”
A moment later Arianna returned, carrying the duffel bag. Her eyes were wide and frightened, her face the color of bone.
Seth eyed the sack distastefully, almost warily. “Reach inside.”
In a flash Caleb felt it–silver! Refined, unbelievably pure, so perfect he moaned as the venomous taint of poison streaked through him. Arianna pulled a heavy link chain from the bag.
Seth’s face twisted in revulsion. “Wrap it around his wrists.” He pressed the tip of the sword against Caleb’s chest. “Do it, or I’ll kill him.”
“Annie.” Even with the chain dangling out of reach, Caleb could feel the toxic burn of metal invade his blood. Breathing grew hard, his lungs expanding and contracting, squeezed by a murderous fist. Cold sweat collected in his hair and dripped into his eyes, chill as morning dew. He knew Seth had to feel the same sensations, but as an alpha wolf, was stronger.
“Do what you have to.” Caleb held Arianna’s eyes, beseeching her to understand.
If she bound him with the chain, the poison would kill him. He’d suffer a slow, agonizing death, his heart crawling to a shudder as the toxin bubbled like hot lava through his veins. He’d be powerless, forced to watch as Seth sadistically raped the woman he loved. Afterward, Seth would butcher her like a thing of no value, prolonging her pain. When he was through, he’d savage Caleb, savoring every sickening tear of blood-soaked flesh from bone. But Caleb would have died already, his heart shattered by Arianna’s brutal death.
“Annie,” he tried again, praying she realized they only had one chance. The nearness of bright metal made his head reel. His eyes met hers and, in that quicksilver flash of recognition fuele
d by love, he saw she understood. “Now!”
Arianna pivoted, lashing the chain like a whip. The end cracked across Seth’s face, and snapped his head back, ripping a bloody chunk of skin from his cheek. With a howl of rage, he staggered backward, one hand clutched to his mutilated face.
“You bitch. You fucking bitch!”
Caleb rolled clear and sprang to his feet. He wrenched the sword from Seth’s grasp, locking his hands on the hilt in a two-fisted grip. Light streamed from the blade, bright and blood-red as the setting sun when he hefted it above his head. “You killed my men, you son-of-a-bitch. You won’t get Arianna too.” In one powerful stroke, Caleb hacked the sword through Seth’s neck.
Flesh, muscle and bone tore with a wet, sucking sound. For a split second Seth looked shocked, his astonishment almost comical. Then his head rolled from his body, hewn like a sheet of paper, and his corpse crumpled rag-doll limp to the ground. A hot torrent of blood, reeking of spoiled meat, gushed from his neck. Black and thick as aged molasses, it burbled through the grass, killing every living thing in its path, leaving a trail of scorched earth behind.
Arianna screamed and plunged her face into her hands.
Caleb hurled the sword aside. He’d never be able to touch it again. “Annie.”
She flung herself into his arms.
“It’s over,” he promised, burying his face in her hair.
“Caleb!”
Wyn’s shout of alarm preceded his nephew’s presence on the crest of a hill. Together, with Rick, he raced down the rise, drawing up short at the sight of Seth’s headless corpse.
“Hell, Caleb!” Wyn held his .38 clutched in his hand. “You were thorough, I’ll give you that. You could have called for help, you pigheaded bastard.”