by L M Adams
Well I guess Peter is officially a card-carrying member now. Killing Jesse must have gotten him major cool points.
Big Mike jumps from the boulder changing fluidly and beautifully before his front paws even touch the ground. I wonder, not for the first time, if the wolf is Big Mike’s true form and human is his second.
Chapter Forty-two
Betrayal of the betrayed
“You think I can get that gem, Jae?” Tabari asks, completely oblivious to anything going on around him right now.
I scoff. “You’re welcome to try if you want.” Like hell I’m getting in the mix of the carnage going on, there’s very little human thought process happening right now, and I’m not about to get between a wolf and what he may feel like is his.
I see a group of wolves peel off the gathering, something twinkles in one of the mouths of the wolf leading this smaller group. It’s the fucking gem. I watch Big Mike and Peter turn and begin following after the wolves. I don’t know what bothers me about it. But suddenly I want my weapons back and I want them now.
“Come, let’s get back to the car.” I say turning and going right into a light jog.
I didn’t realize how far we’d run while high on the magic of the wolves. It takes a solid twenty minutes to make it back to the parking lot of the Big Bad Wolf; that’s with me running as fast as possible while trying not to twist, sprain or break an ankle. I go straight to the car and begin strapping on my knives and the gun belt with a nine millimeter and spare clip Lucien ordered me to carry.
“Jae, will you tell me what’s wrong?” Tabari asks, running up behind me.
“The gem you wanted; you didn’t see some of the wolves run off with it?” I ask in shock.
Tabari’s eyes widen. Yeah, how’d you miss that, strongest Magi of our generation?
“What are you thinking? They could be just taking it somewhere safe. I don’t have any rights to it.”
“Just seems as if Peter and Big Mike were chasing them, not running with them. What’s the likelihood that Jesse was the only wolf in on the plot to take control of Big Mike’s pack?”
“Ok let’s say you’re right, you still can’t interfere; it’s still an intraspecies matter. You are the Grigori.”
“You don’t think I fucking know that, Tabari?!” I respond, agitated. “I helped the vampires.” I slam the car door.
“The not-wolves can be classified as another species, so that was in your realm of authority, but I haven’t seen one not-wolf here Jaevia, you cannot interfere.”
“You know that gem is not-wolf!”
“What because of a vision you had while you mind raped a prisoner? Do you think the Elders will even consider that as real evidence?”
“How about you just get out my fucking way and if you want to go tattle on me to the Kindred, I know how to get home just fine on foot.”
I walk off and begin a jog, feeling for the link I share with Peter. It’s not enough to give me an exact location, but it’s enough for me to get a general direction.
I can’t believe Tabari doesn’t get it, I’m more than Kindred, I’m more than a succubus, I’m more than a vampire, I’m the wolves’ friend. Sometimes that’s the most important thing in the world, the ties that bind us, the ties we choose to be bound by.
It takes far too long for me to catch up to Peter, I stumble and stomp, blinded by emotion. Unable to calm myself, I am the one that turned Peter, I am the one that didn’t protect him. He is my responsibility, and I am failing him.
The light of the moon breaks through the tress as I run. The feeling of joy and euphoria gone. How quickly the happiness I just had has passed.
I break through another thicket and finally spot Peter.
He’s lying on the ground, hurt and bleeding. There’s a lot of blood in the air I smell it sharp in my nose, wolf pelt and copper. I draw my gun looking, listening carefully for any sound, trying to filter out the usual sounds of the woods at night. It would be entirely too easy for a wolf to get the jump on me here. I am in their habitat. Reaper or not they definitely have the advantage here.
Perhaps even leaving a wounded Peter here to distract you.
I wish I could talk to Peter, but the magic of the Moon Goddess rides him and he can’t turn back human until the Moon sets, releasing him from her power.
There’s no sign of Big Mike, but I find three wolves dead. They haven’t turned back to their human form, I guess the magic holds fast to a dead wolf as well. Come morning there will be three dead human bodies here, however. I find the gem, clenched in one of the dead wolf’s jaw, I quickly pry it from its mouth and move over to Peter.
“Hey buddy.” I speak softly. I know inside my friend is there. But right now, it’s the wolf in charge. And he’s a wounded beast. Nothing more dangerous than a wounded predator.
I stoop down slowly in front of Peter. He’s on his side with his back pressed against the thick trunk of a tree. I let him sniff my hand, not moving any closer, making sure all of my movements are slow and pronounced, I set the gun and gem down beside me.
“Ok I just need to check you out now, see how bad it is, ok?”
I can’t keep my voice from cracking with emotion. Even at night and with his black fur I can see the blood pouring from multiple wounds, his entire right hind flank has been bitten and ripped open. That’s probably the least of the injuries, he didn’t happen to fall against this tree, I see his fur stuck in the bark. He’s been thrown into the tree, and I think his back is broken.
Healing from power only works if the central nervous system is intact, it’s how the actual power reaches the Chakras. With Peter’s back broken, the link is either broken and only trickling power, or severed completely. I need help and no one is here. I need help, Goddess.
I can’t carry Peter, no way in hell. I left my tablet in the car like a fucking idiot, my only option is to backtrack to the Big Bad Wolf and get help. I’m loathe to leave Peter, even to let him out of my sight. I pet his head gingerly. I can give him the power Tabari flooded me with, but I won’t be able to move afterwards. And if it’s not enough to heal Peter, he won’t be able to move either. I can’t risk both of us being incapacitated here. I have to leave him, it’s all I can do. I can’t force myself to move although the decision has been made.
The air is cool here, or maybe it’s just me and my fear manifested. I feel it stealing the warmth from my soul. What if I leave and Peter dies, dies alone? Maybe the power I could give him would see him through for a few hours, long enough for someone to find us. I know that’s me thinking with my heart and not my head. I’m the strategist; the best move is for me to head back. It took only an hour to find Peter if I push it and Tabari hasn’t left I can be back here in an hour. Yet still, I can’t get up, I just can’t force myself to leave him.
Like you couldn’t leave that dead human girl, remember how that turned out.
Practical, that’s my succubus.
I pray for strength. I pray for someone to find us. I pray for help. I don’t know if the Moon Goddess hears my prayers tonight but Tabari comes through the trees just then. I turn looking at him from my kneeling position.
“Help me brother, please,” I beg as tears fall down my cheeks. “I think his back is broken.”
I watch Tabari’s face pale. He knows, like I know, if it is broken, this will be hard – if not impossible – to fix, at least right away.
“If we could get him to a hospital and they reset his back, repair the spinal cord, maybe, in a few months after his back has healed some, we could get a connection through. But he’s a wolf; we’d have to wait until he’s turned back human to even take him to the hospital and I’m not sure he’d survive the change back.” Tabari responds a little hoarse.
I know this too. The Kindred would not like me taking a werewolf, in werewolf form, to an emergency room. They’d cleanse, as in kill, the entire pack probably. There’d be no risk of anyone ever finding another werewolf in the Baltimore area again.
&
nbsp; “Can you tell if it’s broken?” I don’t want to think about a worst-case scenario if I don’t have to.
I watch as Tabari taps his second sight his wolf eyes glow brilliantly; he can read Peter’s aura, find the damaged areas.
“The cord is not completely severed, but Jae, he’s going to need the power of the pack.”
“He doesn’t have a pack, Tabari. All he has is me,” I move to Peter’s head sitting down beside him; it doesn’t take him long to put his head on my lap. His head is huge and the weight and warmth from it makes me feel better in some small way. Somewhere maybe even the wolf recognizes me as friend.
“You don’t have enough power to fix this, Jae.”
“He’s a wolf he can commune with the Wolf Mother, the Moon Goddess, the Earth, on his own. We just need to show him how.” I’m reaching for straws and I know it.
“He can’t draw enough for this kind of healing; he’s still a new wolf, you know the bond takes time to form and grow. Maybe with a pack’s combined power, yes.”
“Then you will feed raw power into me until I have enough.”
“No, I will not,” Tabari says with a finality I seldom hear from him.
I stop petting Peter and look at Tabari in shock. How dare he deny me? How dare he tell me no while my friend lies in my lap dying or at best in terrible pain. How can he tell me no?
“It may not work and you would fry your synapses. It would be the end of you, Jae. Not maybe fry your synapses, it will! I’ve fed you raw power too many times in the span of three days. I will not do it again! You will die, or become a fucking vegetable.”
“I don’t care,” I plead hoarsely, and I don’t care if there is a chance I can help Peter.
“You are the Grigori, you are Kindred. You are more important than one wolf, Jaevia.”
This cannot be my brother standing here saying these things, it just can’t be. This cannot be the man I pledged my everlasting fidelity and sisterly love to.
If it is?
Then I have made a horrible mistake. I know a look of pure disgust forms on my face as I look at Tabari.
“Bring me Jack.” There are other ways to get what I need.
“He and Lucien are on their way, I called them on your tablet when you ran off chasing after a pack of wolves. But you’re not about to drink in the power of Vayrá either, Jaevia Knightley. It changed your entire fucking aura last time.” He sounds like my father commanding my obedience.
“I will do what the fuck I want.” My voice is soft and sweet on the wind. “Just hold on, Peter, help is on the way. Whatever it takes, I will fix this.”
Tabari blows out a breath. “Fine, Jaevia, fine. I will heal him.”
Then I realize the crux of the problem, Tabari could feed Peter raw power. It would hurt, of course, and this is probably a onetime deal. At least for a very long time Peter being pure wolf and all, but it would work.
Yes, Tabari could heal him. But he doesn’t want to get involved in wolf pack business. This is an intraspecies battle and the Kindred have no place in the middle of it.
“I can’t believe you,” I say plainly.
“Everyone can’t live by their own rules. Some of us have the responsibility to follow the laws of the Kindred. Do you realize how much I’ve given so that you could have this chance? If anyone ever finds out about this…”
“I’m sorry brother; I know you’re right, this isn’t my business. I just can’t…” I trail off.
“You can’t turn your back on a friend, I know, Jae. I think I’ve forgotten how sensitive you are underneath it all.”
His face relaxes, it’s then that I know he’ll help Peter. Not because he really wants to, but because I am his sister and I need this.
“Thank you, whatever I can do…”
I feel him pull on the EM field so strong it makes me suck in a breath. I don’t know if he actually needs this much power to heal Peter, or if this is a show, maybe a release or comfort for him. The smell of ozone floods the area, smelling of freshly fallen rain.
“Move away, Jaevia,” Tabari’s eyes are some mix between wolf and fucking scary; they glow with an intensity I don’t think I’ve ever seen from him. I scoot carefully away from Peter, letting his head rest softly back onto the ground. He only whines a little in his throat in response.
Before I can even move a safe distance away, Tabari begins pouring the raw power into Peter. I feel the pain of Peter’s wolf through the link, Peter howls out, his front paw jerking and twitching as he tries to find an escape from the pain, from the raw power of the Earth Tabari keeps pouring into Peter’s Chi. I feel the bridge of Peter’s cord reform, and still Tabari keeps pouring power into him.
“Enough brother!” I shout standing up, but Tabari does not stop.
There’s a look of pure rapture on Tabari’s face. He’s connected to the EM Field during a full moon, it’s probably orgasmic.
He will begin to fry Peter’s synapses any second, he’s too caught in the lull of power to notice. So I do the only thing I can. I spin kick him aiming for his jaw and knock him back, he falls to the ground.
The link between Peter and Tabari is severed. Tabari looks up at me from the ground, pure shock written on his features. Guess you never been spin kicked, huh? Hurts a bit.
“I was under control, Jaevia. Everything was fine.”
I can’t help but compare his declaration to a drug addict swearing they have it all under control.
“You always smell of high magic and a coming storm, because you’re addicted to it, aren’t you?” I ask in shock, can someone be addicted to magic for Goddess’s sake?
Took you this long to notice?
I turn as Lucien and Jack come crashing through the woods. Jack’s eyes burning with molten blue lava, Lucien’s burning with the heat and power of the sun itself.
Both…so powerful.
They both pause taking in the scene, and turn to me with looks of complete confusion. I’m not even going to attempt to explain this shit.
Peter gingerly stands on all fours, he sniffs the air a little, limps trying to pad off and falls back down.
“No, Peter, you’re done for the night.” I say gently.
He plops his enormous head on his paws, agreeing with me wholeheartedly.
“Tabari, Jack, get Peter back to the house. Lucien, come with me. Hopefully we still can pick up Big Mike’s trail.”
I turn away not even waiting for affirmation that my orders will be followed, I am the Grigori. I’m damn sure not going to entertain anything Tabari has to say, damn junky.
I have to hand it to Lucien, he knows when not talking and asking questions is the best course of action. We pick up Big Mike’s trail. Sadly, it’s a lot of his blood we find as well. There’d been at least seven wolves that left the pack party. Three dead; that leaves four. Big Mike should’ve been able to handle four wolves on his own.
Unless he’s hurt.
I hum in my throat agreeing.
“What, Jae?” Lucien’s voice startles me. I’ve forgotten he was here.
“Nothing I was only musing. Big Mike should be able to handle four wolves unless he was hurt really badly.”
“I smell humans, fresh, and gun oil.”
I stop suddenly turning to Lucien, “CNAE.” It could only be them. I begin quickening my steps until I’m in a run. Lucien quick on my heels.
I hear voices up ahead and slow down. Stealth is preferable to speed at this point. Luckily, the humans aren’t attempting to be quiet themselves, it masks the sounds Lucien and I create. Combat boots aren’t really made to be quiet. The forest ground covered in twigs and leaves could easily give away our position. I signal for Lucien to split off and scout. We can’t walk into this blind.
We’ve reached the entire other side of the park, near the outskirts of the City. This area of Baltimore was abandoned when the plague that killed off most of the world’s population rippled through. No one ever comes out here. Humans just don’t have the numbers
to take up such space yet again. Coupled with being terrified to move away from the illusion of safety the City Proper offers; it gives the masters of the not-wolves plenty of space and privacy to experiment on wolf Bâtardi.
I count at least twenty CNAE officers, armed with MP5 sub-machine guns. If they know about the wolves, and I’ll bet a month’s supply of vodka they do, there’s silver ammo in the guns. Lucien and I can withstand silver better than a pureblood supernatural, still I don’t like the odds and bullets fucking hurt. There’re four trucks and one cargo van.
A hand lightly touches my shoulder. I turn to see Lucien, he signals for me to follow him. We move with the shadows giving the CNAE officers standing guard a wide berth. I see what he’s leading me to after a moment or two. There’s Big Mike, wrapped in silver chains, so tight I doubt he can move. I smell the slight scent of burning pelt. I can barely make out the rise and fall of his side, letting me know he’s breathing and still alive.
Three other werewolves stand around him with five more CNAE guards. There’s no way even Lucien and I can take out five humans and three wolves, without making a fucking sound. And one sound is all it will take to bring the wrath of the CNAE down on our heads. Maybe we could just kill all the guards. I turn to look at Lucien. He has his desert eagles and his sword, I’ve got one nine-millimeter and my knives.
I stare steady into Lucien’s burning eyes of Arabian sand with my question.
Will you kill them all with me?
A resounding yes, he answers with a slight nod.
I hold my finger up to my lips, we will do this as quietly as possible, and pray we have enough time before a sound is made and the rest come running to their fallen comrades aide.
I draw my gun from the small of my back disengaging the safety smoothly. Death rides with me tonight. I let the power of Abbadon, the destroyer, fill me. I promise him new souls to feast upon tonight. I tense to begin my forward approach. The passenger door of the van opens and a very feminine leg emerges.
Goddess above, it cannot be. I cannot help the pain that lances through my heart, the lightheadedness that swarms me, the weakness in my knees.