by SM Reine
Tears trickle unchecked across my face as I carry the dead woman down the stairs. Could we have saved her if we’d moved faster? Would she have lived if I hadn’t trailed her back to the mansion last week? So many conflicting thoughts fight for dominance in my mind as one foot follows another and I painstakingly make my way to the rear of the house, where we told the other Weres to gather.
The weight of her body pulls on me mentally, but not physically. Her arms lay loose, one cradled to her body and the other dangling toward the ground. With each step, the burden of carrying her draws me into a pit of despair.
I failed this woman. I thought I could help, but in the end I was no match against an enemy who outnumbered me and had advantages of strength and experience.
If it wasn’t for the more powerful vampire I’d stumbled upon, this whole pack would be dead—if not now than surely later as the years of their torment stretched on.
You did do something. You didn’t turn your back on them like Romeo and Elsa. You found someone to help.
Yeah, and at what price? Raine is dead and I’ll be serving the deadliest creature I’ve ever met. What if she gets tired of me? What if I make a wrong move? Could she dispose of me without a backward glance, like she did those vampires in the house? The noise of hushed voices reaches me as I make my way to the backyard.
A blurry glance reveals the rest of the werewolves have gathered outside. Two dirty forms huddle near the ground, several other packmates standing close to them. My guess would be the ones on the ground are the chained and drained alphas from this unlucky pack. At my slow approach, a few Weres turn in my direction.
“Raine!” The young wolf from the house, Tara, rushes to my side. “Is she...?”
The crushing weight of my failure shoves me to my knees, clasping the body of the slight werewolf to my chest as I descend. “I tried, Tara... I really tried.”
“No!” she shouts, tears cascading down her face. She reaches to take her packmate’s limp body from my arms, the sobs wracking her shoulders don’t hinder her supernatural strength to support a woman her size. I release my hold on Raine’s remains. My back bows and my head sags.
All this, for... what?
Was it worth it? You sell your soul to the devil and your potential mate lies dead?
Dria lays a hand on my shoulder. Her touch eases some of the despair coating my thoughts. “I’m no angel, that’s true.” I turn my head and stare into her glittering green eyes. “But I’m sure as hell not a soul-collecting devil, either.”
My mouth opens to refute the betraying thoughts she read, but she pats my shoulder, stopping me. “It’s okay, Jon. You’re allowed to feel pain and grieve. If you didn’t, I’d be worried about you—and the type of alpha you’d make without compassion.” Her hand grips the fabric of my shirt and she gives a gentle tug. “Get up.” I stoically rise to my feet, wanting nothing more than the ground to open and swallow me over Raine’s loss—and my horrible failure at letting her die.
Dria’s next words whip a light of fire through me. “We’re not done yet. Wipe your tears and let’s get moving. There’s more to do, whether you’re ready for it or not.”
Chapter Fifteen
“What?” The question leaks past my shock-parched lips, quiet enough to be more of a whisper. Fear squeezes my heart as my muscles tense. “You don’t plan on...?” I trail off, afraid to voice my inner fear that she may not stop her killing spree with just the vampires.
“Worried I’ll hurt the wolves?” she asks, a twinge of annoyance on her pale as porcelain face. “Now really, Jon. What kind of help would I be if I intended to kill the wolves? Anyone with some accelerant and a lighter could’ve done that ages ago by burning this whole place to the ground.”
I turn to face her, confusion spilling out of me. “Well, then...?”
She reaches out one pale hand, cupping my cheek with a delicate touch. “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to save Raine.” Her eyes dart to the group of skinny huddled bodies outside of the building that held me hostage a week ago. “I plan on helping as many of the wolves as I can, trust me. I would’ve never accepted your offer otherwise.”
She drops her hand and strides to the ragged pack of Weres. I trail behind her, unsure what she’s got planned. She stops ten feet from a stooped man with matted hair and a scraggly beard, who huddles over the emaciated form of an equally dirty woman. Dria angles her head my way, her voice coming out low, for my ears only. “The night is not over, Jon. Not by a long shot. Sure, the worst of the hell is past, but we’ve got hours more ahead of us.” Her eyes flick behind us to the empty mansion. “Rafe will be here soon. We’ll be burning this place to the ground—he’ll start on getting it prepped.” She motions with her chin toward the couple. “I think those are the alphas. I need to talk with them before proceeding with the next stage of my plan.” Her serious stare drills into mine. “I need you by my side. Are you up for it?”
Resolve stiffens my spine. I may not have been able to save Raine, but I will follow through with my promise to this deadly creature.
Her eyes sharpen while she stares at me. “Well?”
“You can count on me, Dria.”
After a small nod she approaches the couple, crouching down to their level on the ground. “Are you the alphas of this pack?”
The man nods, his hand coming up to rest on his wife’s shoulder. “Yes. I’m Cliff and this is my wife, Kristin. Are you the one responsible for the end of our hell?”
A Were rushes forward with two pitchers of water and another hands a cup to each of the shrunken alphas. Dria hesitates in answering, letting the two drink their fill before continuing the conversation.
The scent drifting up from the water tells me it contains the same additives that healed me after I was drained by Cecil and his fellow addicts. I doubt one pitcher will bring these two back to anything close to resembling good health, but it’s a start in the right direction.
The sound of tires on gravel drifts to us from the side of the mansion, pulling the rag-tag group of victim’s attention toward the noise. The tension spilling off a few of them has me stepping forward to reassure them. “It’s not another vampire. The new arrival is a human here to help.” I motion toward Dria. “Just like she is.”
Cliff and Kristin manage to stand after drinking the entire pitcher, the proud bearing of their former leadership shining through the dirt and grime. Kristin steps forward first, her right hand extended in gratitude toward the vampire. “Thank you.”
Dria steps back deferring the credit to me with a wave of her arm. “I never would have come if it wasn’t for Jon. He’s the one you need to thank.”
Cliff steps up next to his wife. “From what the other Weres have reported, it’s your strength and... skill, that saved us.”
Dria looks uncomfortable at the gratitude and steers the conversation in another direction. “Cliff, we need to talk about your wolves.”
The tall, thin man looks around at his tattered pack of skinny werewolves. “Yes? What about them?”
Rafe’s approach from behind draws her focus away for a moment. The couple stares intently at one another for a moment, and then Rafe nods sharply. More of that silent communication I suspect is happening between the two, I bet. I’d like to know what the hell they were discussing.
Kristin speaks up, brushing her wildly unkempt and dirty hair from her eyes. “Is there something you wanted to say…Miss…?
Dria returns her attention to the alphas. “Please, call me Dria.” She gestures toward the building behind the group, where the couple had been imprisoned for five long years. “Can we talk inside? It will be safer.”
“Safer?” Cliff asks. “What more can happen to us?”
“My husband is here to set a fire in the mansion, to wipe out every trace of the vampire remains inside. We won’t light it until the pack is gone, but I need to work with the survivors and my task will take time—and solitude.”
Cliff glances to his wife, confusion and u
ncertainty marring both of their faces. After a brief moment they both nod. “You’ve proven your trust so far,” he says. “We’ll hear you out.”
They turn as one, the group nearby parting to allow them passage, and the four of us make our way into the low, long building. Kristin’s shoulders shudder when she crosses the threshold, but she keeps going, head held high.
There’s a grouping of old furniture just past the entryway. We stand in the middle, all of us looking to the vampire to see what she has to say.
Dria’s voice softens, the soothing tone cascading over my skin like a balm on a burn. “Your wolves’ minds have been damaged by the extreme control Cecil held over them for so long.”
Kristin’s face crumbles and tears trickle down her cheeks. She refuses to hide her pain and meets Dria’s stare head-on. “Are you suggesting their minds will never heal? That they will remain like this—shadows of themselves—for the rest of their lives?”
The redhead nods. “Yes. That is my fear. But, I can help them.”
“How?” Cliff asks, disbelief and weariness prominent in his voice.
“I can fix the worst of his mind meddling, but it will take me time to repair so many. Perhaps almost an hour per person.” She looks out the small window near the door, her face pinching with worry. “But…”
“Yes?”
“I won’t be able to completely erase their memories for so long of a time frame. I might be able to… conceal… the worst of the atrocities done to them—but not all of it. Not without a lot more time than we have and a plausible cover story you’d want me to insert.”
A harsh bark of sound rips from the concerned man. “Cover story? There is nothing we could contrive to explain this horrendous imprisonment.” He hangs his head in frustration. “If I could go back in time and volunteer my life to save theirs, I would, without a second thought… but we’re way past wishful thinking and have been for a very long time.”
Mistrust colors the gaze of his crying wife. “Can we trust her?” she asks, turning her imploring eyes to me, obviously uncaring of voicing her concerns in front of Dria. “Why would she help us?” She looks to Dria, her moist gaze holding a fierce resolve. “We don’t know you. Vampires have never helped our kind before.”
Dria stands and moves to the window, gazing at the lost souls standing near one another for comfort. “That’s not entirely true. Vampires have stepped in to help other supernatural species in the past.” She shrugs, as if our discussing her morality doesn’t affect her. “Unfortunately, many more of us have stepped in to abuse them as well. I don’t blame you for being wary.”
The urge to do something wells inside me, and before I have a chance to think about what I’m saying, the words tumble out. “I vouch for her.” Three heads whip around to stare at me. “She won’t harm your wolves, or you. I swear it on my life.”
Silence fills the small space for the span of a few heartbeats. Dria’s expression holds one of surprise while the alpha’s holds confusion.
“And why would your word matter?” Cliff asks. “This is the first time I’ve met you.”
“Because I volunteered to be her vampire servant and I can read her mind through our bond.” The lie spills out between us, Dria’s eyes narrow at my blatant fabrication. Hell, there’s no way they would know I’m not truly bonded to her yet, or what that bond may or may not share. At the couple’s shocked expression I add, “Yeah, that’s right. I volunteered my life to her—to save your pack. If you don’t trust her, trust me. I stand by my words—she holds no ill will or plans to deceive you in her thoughts.”
Cliff nods once and stands, extending his hand to me. I rise and clasp his skeletal grip in my own. “From one alpha to another. I will put my faith in you.” He glances in Dria’s direction. “And that means in her, too.”
Dria walks to the couch and takes a seat. “Good. Glad that’s cleared up. This is going to take a while.” She looks to Kristin. “Can you bring the first Were in and I’ll get started? You’re all welcome to stay and watch, as long as you’re quiet.”
The hours tick by slowly, and the sun rises while she works. To everyone’s surprise, the sun doesn’t slow her down. Dria’s pace is relentless. One after another she sits with each wolf, holding their hand in silence while she repairs the holes Cecil’s forced compulsions created. She explained that she’s slipping into their minds, the physical contact making it easier, and re-knitting the very fabric of their consciousness to make the savaged Weres whole again.
Rafe and the healed Weres have been busy while she works, removing anything of value from the house—including the car keys of all the vampires who drove here and the numerous stacks of cash locked away in Cecil’s safe. Five years is a long time to be missing, and the group has no residences to go home to. The money will at least support them while the pack gets healthy and tries to pick up the pieces of their lives.
By the time Dria works on the tenth Were I visibly see her strength waning. None of the wolves here are strong enough to donate blood, so I step forward. Unsure how to proceed, I bare my wrist to her.
“Here, it looks like you need sustenance to continue.”
Hunger lights her gaze, drawing her need closer to the surface. She shakes her head and tears her eyes from my pulsing wrist. “No. I’m fine.”
“You’re not. I can see you’re getting tired, Dria. Why won’t you drink from me?”
Anger replaces her obvious want and she lashes out, her voice sharp as a whip. “I am the master here. You don’t tell me what I need.” Her green gaze locks on mine as she issues a command I’m compelled to follow. “Leave us, wolfman. Check on Rafe.”
Chapter Sixteen
Unable to resist her command, I walk slowly to the door. On the threshold I turn to her, biting out my words, “I will come back to check on you. Make no doubt about that.”
She ignores me, her attention solely focused on the Were seated next to her.
I stride toward the mansion, shaking my head in frustration. Damn, that woman is stubborn. How good is her control that she can continue what she’s doing and not attack the weres in hunger?
Rafe’s deep voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Did she finally kick you out?” He smiles. “You lasted in there a lot longer than I would have guessed.”
“Why? It’s not like she needed me. She just ignored me most of the time.”
He rubs a dusty hand over his hair, resting it on the back of his neck in exhaustion. “She doesn’t normally let people watch what she does.” He nods toward the building. “I wouldn’t doubt she’ll alter the alphas perception of exactly what they witnessed when she’s done. Not the kind of thing she likes to get out.”
“What kind of thing do you mean? That she helped people? Why would she want that to be a secret?”
He heads toward a nearby tree on the lawn and lowers himself to the ground, resting against the trunk. I follow, but remain standing, the energy coiling inside me from the vampire heart still fueling me, pushing me to act, urging me to do something.
“Vampire society is complicated, Jon. Her compassion could be viewed as a weakness and used against her by an enemy.”
“Man, that’s fucked up.”
He nods, his head drifting to the bark in exhaustion. “You have no idea.”
I look across the grass at the freed Weres wondering what will happen to them. “What’s next? What will we do after Dria finishes?”
“We see the wolves off safely. I called ahead and booked five more rooms at our hotel. They can drive the liberated vampire cars and any valuables they find to the hotel. After that, it’s up to them. Their alphas need to be the ones to direct their future, not us.”
His words make sense, but I still have this feeling of foreboding inside me. “What about the fire you plan to light? We don’t want it spreading to the woods.”
He raises his head, bright blue eyes locking on me. “I soaked the surrounding trees with water from a hose, and the lawn. The fire will be contr
olled and called in. We just want everyone out of here first.”
I pace, the uneasiness in me spreading. “Yeah, yeah, that all sounds good. But what about us? What happens with the three of us? Where do you two live? Do I move there with you?”
“Things will unfold as intended.” His gaze loses focus for a moment, like his mind is elsewhere, then sharpens when he glances toward me. “We’ll talk more. When she’s sleeping.”
“So she does sleep, eh? I wondered. What with the sun being out and she’s still wandering around.”
“I told you before. She’s very old. Doesn’t need much blood or much sleep. But the sun of high noon could still kill her if she sat in it long enough.” He pushes himself up, tiredness drawing down his large frame. “I know my wife. She’s going to need blood very soon, and her body will force a restorative sleep on her whether she wants it or not.”
“I offered her my blood. She refused.”
His spine straightens at my words. “Dammit. She refused you? I worried she’d get a pang of consciousness.”
“What does that mean?”
He shakes his head, refusing to elaborate more. “We’ll talk later—like I said, when she’s sleeping. Let’s get the wolves into the cars and out of here.”
By nine a.m. Dria is done. All the pack-owned vehicles, like Raine’s, and the visiting vampire’s luxury cars leave the property. The wolves will travel to the hotel where food and warm beds await them. One of them gathered as much of the special herbs as they could find, with plans of having everyone drink their fill of the healing concoction later.
Dria’s exhaustion is apparent to anyone paying attention. She walks a little slower and doesn’t glance our way as she staggers to the rented Benz. Without a word, she opens the back door and crawls inside, lying in the shadowed interior. Rafe and I check the accelerant placements carefully, making sure the headless vampire remains are well-covered for maximum temperature and destruction.