We ran again, only this time nobody played. We all watched everything around us for movement. The next time we stopped we were at the cave’s entrance.
Luna and Joseph quietly transformed back, their hearts pounded like mad, which told me they were as nervous as I was. William’s heart never wavered. His was just as slow and steady as always. I couldn’t help but be a little bit suspicious. I was trying my hardest to trust him, but somewhere in the back of my mind I still remembered the lies. What if he was a part of Zane’s plan? What if he was using my feelings for him to lure me into Zane’s trap?
I glanced at him suspiciously as he lead the way. Joseph went in behind him, and Luna and I followed through the narrow opening. Luna said the opening was narrow to keep bears from wandering in.
Once inside, the cave opened up to a small room with an opening to a larger room. It was dark, and smelled of rotten blood and stench, a typical Lycan scent. A single torch hanging on the wall lit the first room.
“Remember … keep your eyes and ears open,” William whispered as he walked through to the next room.
The second room was much larger and smelled better, because incense burned in different areas of the room. Large rock pedestals covered the floor. Different sized pottery jars were placed on the tables.
“What are these for?” I asked, reaching to touch one of the colorful jars.
Luna slapped my hand away. “They are filled with the remains of great warriors and past leaders of the Inuit,” she said somewhat angry. “You must never touch them.” She paused for a moment, and sighed. “I’m sorry, Gen.” She smiled apologetically. “I’m just really freaked being in here. This place is sacred. No one but our leaders are permitted in here.”
I walked around the room admiring the handmade drawings on the walls. “These are really cool.” I smiled at Luna.
“All right, girls, this isn’t a sight-seeing trip. You’re supposed to be looking for an entrance to the tunnels,” Joseph said, not unkindly. He brushed up against me as he passed by, quickly shooting me a sly grin, and my heart fluttered. I immediately felt William’s eyes on me, so I pretended to be looking at a particular drawing.
While I was looking I noticed that one of the drawings portrayed a monster, a girl and a red moon. I was about to ask Luna about it when William called us.
“I found it,” he said, standing next to a tall rock he’d pulled away from the wall. Behind it was a dark hole with stone steps leading downward.
William led the way, and I was amazed at the tunnels after we reached the bottom. They weren’t at all like I had been expecting. The tunnels we were looking at were actually large walkways at least eight feet high and six feet wide, and there were six of them leading off from the bottom of the stairs.
Even though it was totally dark, William and I had no trouble seeing, but Luna and Joseph had to transform in order to see.
“We need to split up,” William said. “Joseph and I will each take a different tunnel and you two girls take one together. Remember, all were doing is looking. We’ll meet back here and search the other three tunnels if we don’t find anything in the first three.”
Before I could object, William was gone. Joseph reluctantly picked a tunnel and disappeared, leaving Luna and I to fend for ourselves.
“Come on, Luna, let’s go,” I said nervously, and she followed.
We didn’t get far and our tunnel came to an opening with even more tunnels. We were about to turn around when Luna growled from behind me. Before I had time to turn, we were surrounded by Lycans. There must have been ten or more.
She lunged and I did the same. I was able to move at lightning speed, grabbing them by the throat and ripping off their heads one-by-one. Luna used her sharp fangs, ripping out throats.
When we were done, broken Lycan bodies lay strewn about on the tunnel floor. The stench of their blood filled the air. But, it was quickly covered by a much more delectable blood scent, which made my mouth water.
I spun around to find Luna covered in blood … her own blood. She had a huge gash on her back that went from her shoulder to her hip, and when I touched it she snarled viciously.
“Luna,” I snapped, trying to get her to listen. “You’re losing a lot of blood. You need to be still or you’ll bleed to death before it has time to heal.” Even though Adlet wolves healed, they didn’t heal nearly as fast as vampires. I knew even if Luna did stay perfectly still, chances were she would still bleed to death before the wound closed.
She lay down, and her ribs rushed up and down as she panted, which made the bleeding worsen, and made me hungry. I didn’t know what to do, but as I thought I remembered how vampire’s saliva is what made the bleeding stop when we bit people.
“Luna, I’m going to help you, but you have to lay perfectly still and close your eyes.” I said, my voice was throaty like it used to get whenever I cried.
I held my breath and pinched my nose, trying my best to focus. I dropped to my knees, gently stroking her fur to keep her calm, and let the saliva drip from my mouth onto the wound.
I didn’t see a change right away, and decided I had to do what I felt was necessary. I knew because of my decision Joseph would hate me, but at least he would still have his twin sister.
Chapter 55
“I’m sorry, Luna,” I mouthed the words, then started to tear open my arm. Suddenly, I felt her breathing slow down. I turned and looked at her back. The bleeding had almost stopped and the wound was closing right in front of my eyes.
She sat up and transformed as soon as she had gathered enough strength. Her smile looked weak as she reached to hug me. “Thank you, Gen,” she whispered, tears streamed down her face. “You saved my life, even after I was so ugly to you before.”
When she pulled back, I saw the tenderness in her big brown eyes and was thankful I didn’t have to turn her. “I already forgot about it.” I smiled warmly. “You’re my best friend, Luna.”
After I stood up, I pulled her to her feet. “Let’s get back. I’m sure the guys are waiting for us.”
Joseph was waiting at the tunnel entrance. He had transformed and was squatting next to the wall, chewing his thumb nail nervously, when we got back.
“Where’s William?” I asked earnestly.
Joseph averted my eyes. “He’s uh … he’s down there,” Joseph said, and pointed at one of the tunnel’s entrances.
I didn’t like the look on his face, so I started to take off, but he reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me back.
“Wait, Gen. I need to tell you something first,” he said, then raked back his hair, and started pacing. “Look, I don’t know of an easy way to say this, so I’m just going to say it.” he stopped and faced me. “I got back first, so I decided to follow William’s tunnel. I figured you two girls together would be fine.”
Luna and I quickly glanced at each other before looking back at Joseph.
“Gen, there’s no easy way to tell you so I’m just going to be blunt.” He paused and took a deep breath. “William is with Zane. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but it didn’t look to me like they were enemies.”
I felt a huge knot form in my throat when I tried to swallow, but I quickly pushed my feelings away. “Did you see my mom or my aunt?”
“No.” Joseph shook his head. “Only William and Zane.”
“What about the Lycans? Did you run across any?” I asked Joseph.
“No … I mean, I could smell they had been there, but I didn’t actually see any.”
“That’s weird. Luna and I were jumped by a dozen or more of them. Why would they be down that tunnel if Zane is down this one?”
Joseph’s eyes got huge. “What? Why didn’t you scream or something?” he asked frantically.
“There wasn’t time. They were on us before we knew it. But, we took care of them, didn’t we Luna?” I peered at Luna and smiled secretively.
“That’s right. You should have seen Gen. She was totally awesome,” Luna said, putting her
arm around my shoulder.
“Come on, let’s go back to where Luna and I were. There’s a reason Lycans were there.”
I lead the way after Luna and Joseph transformed back to wolves. When we got to the mouth of the other tunnels, Luna spoke to me in my mind.
The Lycan scent is heaviest in the tunnel on the far right.
“Remember. No matter what happens, if we find my mom, I want you guys to take her and get out,” I said, as we started down the new tunnel.
The tunnel turned slightly toward the right and I swear I felt like we were headed in a big circle. As it turned a little more, I saw a light flickering in the distance. There also appeared to be a ladder leaned up against the wall.
We stopped just before the ladder. My heart fluttered nervously. “Something tells me I need to see what’s up there.” I paused, as they both transformed.
“Let me go,” Joseph said. He was trying to be our protector, so I decided to appease him.
He disappeared through the hatch at the top of the ladder, but came back a couple minutes later. “It looks like someone’s basement.”
“Maybe these tunnels were built as an escape route,” I said incredulously. “Let’s go back to where you saw William and Zane. I’ll make them tell me where mom and Aunt Bev are. Then I’ll kill them both.”
I bolted without even waiting for them to transform. I was tired of playing Zane’s stupid games. If he wanted a fight then he would get his wish. And when I finished with him, I would deal with William. If he was lying to me again, I would kill him with my bare hands.
Luna and Joseph hadn’t yet caught up when I entered the same tunnel William had gone in. I stopped for a second and closed my eyes to calm my heart so William couldn’t warn Zane I was coming.
I smelled him long before I saw him, but something wasn’t right. William’s heart was racing, and his heart never raced. Well … except for when he turned me. Even though we hadn’t had sex, he said blood drinking was just as intimate especially if it was with someone you truly loved.
A nervous pit deep in my stomach told me he was in trouble. It would serve him right for trusting a monster like Zane and lying to me.
I stopped just before the tunnel’s end and peeked around the corner, spotting a small waterfall coming from a pipe up by the ceiling. Waterfall? Maybe this is what my mom was trying to show me all along. It flowed into a pool that ran under the wall. I scanned the room and gasped when I saw William hanging upside down next to a fire pit in the center of the room. He was chained by his ankles to a tall iron A-frame. It appeared to be some kind of system for skinning large animals, like bear or moose.
“William,” I called out quietly. He didn’t move. “William,” I called out a little louder. I was afraid he couldn’t hear me over the noise of the waterfall, but then his fingers on his right hand twitched. “I’m here.”
One side of the room had been fixed up with make-shift bedding, chairs, book-lined shelves, and other home-like comforts. Across from that area I spotted a doorway. I quickly got the feeling that behind there was where he was hiding my mom and aunt, which meant I would have to deal with him before I could get to them. Although, dealing with Zane might prove to be kinda hard considering he was nowhere in sight.
I was about to go back and look for Luna and Joseph when I heard a noise in the room and moved back to the edge of the tunnel. I caught a glimpse of Bev escorted by Lycans. I wonder where my mom is.
I threw a small pebble at her feet and she glanced my way. We locked eyes briefly just before they went back out the door. She had a weird look on her face and I wasn’t exactly sure why, unless maybe she was shocked that I was able to find the tunnels. Hopefully, they were keeping her and my mom together, and she’d tell her I was coming.
Zane suddenly pushed through the same door Bev and the two Lycans had just gone out. He started pacing the floor and saying something I couldn’t quite hear over the water noise. I leaned a little closer and part of the tunnel wall gave way under my hand, sending rocks sliding out onto the floor.
Chapter 56
I scrambled to my feet, but it was too late. Lycans were all over the tunnel behind me. It had been a trap. Zane knew I was there the whole time. He just pretended to be angry about something to keep my attention while the Lycans moved in behind me.
I could have easily fought my way through the stench-covered beasts, but Zane would have probably killed William to get me to come back.
I stepped out into the room. Lycans from the tunnel circled around me.
“Well, well, Genevieve. What a pleasant surprise,” Zane said, grinning madly as he crossed the room to where I stood.
I narrowed my eyes. “Go to hell you bastard.” I spat in his face, and one of his beasts lunged at my back. I quickly moved to the side, grabbed it by the head, and snapped its neck while taking it to the floor with my knee planted in its chest. I glowered up at Zane briefly, then ripped off its head, and sent it rolling like a bowling bowl toward Zane’s feet.
The other Lycans snarled and growled, gnashing their teeth in the air, but I didn’t cower.
“Enough,” Zane shouted. “Stand back,” he ordered, and of course they obeyed.
What I didn’t get was there were enough Lycan slaves to easily kill Zane, so why didn’t they? He must have done something really terrible to make them fear him.
I nodded toward William, then glared back at Zane. “Let him down.”
Zane’s smile faded. “Are you quite sure that is your wish?” He asked, staring hard into my eyes as he played with his goatee using the long fingernail of his index finger. I glared right back at him, never wavering. “Very well,” he said flatly, waving his hand.
A Lycan raked his claws over the lever holding up the chain, and William fell to the ground landing head first. I rushed to help him up, but there was a lock holding the chain around his ankles. After taking a deep breath, I pried on the lock until it popped loose, freeing William.
William looked at me strangely, flitting his eyes around like crazy, almost like he was trying to warn me. He whispered something breathlessly before rolling onto his back, but I couldn’t hear what he said.
“Come on,” I uttered, and tried to help him stand, but he jerked away. “What are you doing?” I asked, incredulously. He wouldn’t even look at me. It wasn’t out of fear, but like I disgusted him or was beneath him.
William stood, brushing off his clothes, then acted like I wasn’t even there. He kept his focus only on Zane. “I was beginning to wonder how long you were going to leave me hanging,” William said, smiling at Zane.
I peered at William. “Why are you acting like this? What did you do?” I was stunned. I couldn’t understand how he could betray my love for him. Joseph tried to tell me, but I had refused to listen. I was just too naïve to think he could ever hurt me after the intimacy we shared and him saying he was in love with me. My eyes burned hot, but the tears didn’t come. I just stood in the center of the room glaring at him. “I trusted you.”
William laughed. “That was your first mistake.”
“I hate you,” I screamed as loud as I could.
Zane slowly approached me. He grabbed my wrist, and led me to a chair and made me sit as William headed toward the door. Two Lycans started to follow him, but he objected.
“You need them more than I do. I can handle myself,” William said sternly. “But she can be a handful.”
Zane simply waved his hand and the Lycans returned to their places. He pulled a chair close to mine and sat down, quietly staring at me, his eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth curved up into an evil grin.
He was trying to get under my skin and I wasn’t about to let him, so I leaned in even closer to him and whispered, “You better kill me, because if you don’t, you’re a dead man.”
His smile disappeared and he pulled his hand up over his shoulder. I knew what was coming, but I didn’t flinch. His hand came down fast and hard, backhanding me across the face. My head
spun to one side. I slowly turned back to face him, my hair covered one eye, but I didn’t push it back. Instead, I glowered at him with my uncovered eye, daring him to do it again. He cleared his throat, and turned away.
“Zane,” William shouted as he pushed through the door, hurrying back into the room. “The twins are gone!”
Zane jumped up from his seat. “What do you mean, gone?” he asked in a low growl.
“They’ve escaped,” William said, and I felt his heartbeat rising. The Lycans seemed to feel whatever Zane felt, and he was irate. They slowly started across the room toward William, growling and snarling. His eyes turned dark, and he held his ground, hissing at them. He stood ready to attack if they got any closer.
When Zane turned his attention to the Lycans, William quickly shot me a wink, making my heart stop, and confusing the hell out of me. I wished I could read his mind, but I couldn’t.
Zane stomped over to me, snatching my arm and yanking me out of the chair by grabbing a fistful of my hair. “Where are they, you little bitch?” he asked through a clenched jaw.
I looked at his eyes, but not into his eyes. They were completely black and his face had contorted into something evil. “I don’t know,” I shot back.
“We’ll see about that,” he snapped, slinging me to the floor. “If she moves, kill her,” he ordered one of the Lycans before turning his attention to William. “Come with me,” he told William.
Zane shoved the door open so hard it slammed back, hitting him in the shoulder. I snickered, and the Lycan moved a bit closer to me.
“Stop,” I shouted, holding up my hand. “Why do you let him make you his slaves?” I asked, and they all looked at me skeptically. “Your numbers are great. You could defeat him, and be free. Is that not what you want?” I thought I had their attention until one of the bigger ones, a scraggly one-eyed alpha male, let out a ferocious howl, and the rest cowered, lowering the heads.
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