“Special abilities?” Bianca asked skeptically.
“The abilities of both a vampire and a werewolf.” Samantha clarified her tale.
“It wouldn’t be possible. When a vampire turns a wolf, both parties die. There is no way that one can be both.” Bianca explained.
“Is there anyway either party can survive?” Samantha questioned, hiding her anxiety quite well.
“Only the wolf will survive the ordeal if they do not accept the turn and drink the vampire’s blood in order to begin the transformation. But, the vampires poison will lay doormat in the system until they eventually do drink the blood of a vampire and they will ultimately die. We believed until recently that the vampire would survive the ordeal, regardless of the wolf accepting the blood or not. We were wrong.”
“We?” Samantha rose her eyebrows, pretending not to know there were more vampires.
“My brood and I,” Bianca replied.
“I see… And you said the blood will stay in the system forever? It never leaves?”
Bianca shook her head slowly as she eyed Samantha, growing weary.
Samantha nodded, but sighed, “One last question. Was Zachary Gold the vampire that orchestrated the attack on a member of the Greenwood pack?”
Bianca nodded, not thinking before she answered. She then paused, furrowing her brow, “Why?” She took a step back and dropped her arms to the side, preparing herself for the fight that she knew was about to begin.
Samantha lunged forward, burying the holy water knife deep into Bianca’s chest, making sure the elongated dagger slipped between her fifth and sixth rib and ultimately pierced her heart. She grabbed hold of her shoulder and pulled her left side towards her as she twisted the dagger, causing the two ribs to snap loudly. The sound was retched and made Samantha sick to her stomach, “That wolf was my aunt…” Samantha snarled in Bianca’s ear.
The skin around the puncture wound began to boil and char while blood dripped from the corner of Bianca’s mouth. She began to choke on blood bubbling up in her throat. Samantha pulled the knife from her chest and wiped it on Bianca’s already blood stained shirt. Bianca clutched at her chest but she didn’t falter. She reached out to grab Samantha, the wound making her sluggish and giving Samantha enough time to duck out of the way.
A wooden stake buzzed by Samantha’s head, piercing through Bianca’s already open wound. Samantha jumped, shocked, and turned, brandishing her dagger. There stood Kedar who lowered his crossbow to his side. He smirked at Samantha who smiled back at him. Bianca’s blood curdling scream pierced the air and both Samantha and Kedar turned to watch her stumble forward. Any other vampire would have begun to burn up from the birch wood stake protruding from her bleeding chest. There was an ax strapped to Kedar’s side and he went up to Bianca, who reached out for him with her wretched hand. He swung the ax and easily lobbed off her forearm. She cried out in pain. Kedar chopped her other arm off, and stepped forward, kicking her in her legs. She fell over into the snow, her blood staining it red. He turned towards Samantha.
“I suggest you look away…” He stated before turning back to Bianca.
Samantha turned away as Kedar rose the ax above his head. The sickly thump that followed resonated in the air and the sound of blood gurgling followed. Samantha’s stomach lurched and she didn’t dare turn back around. She leaned against the tree, feeling the blood rush from her face. Her whole body trembled as the realization of Bianca’s beheading settled in her mind.
“Are you alright?” Kedar’s voice was gentle, too gentle for what had just happened.
Samantha turned back to him, and she instantly regretted her decision to do so. Her gaze immediately fell upon Bianca’s headless corpse, blood pooled around it. Her disembodied head lay a few inches away from where it once was. The eyes were lifeless, staring straight ahead, permanently marred with the panic and horror she had felt right before Kedar severed her head and body. Samantha could barely bring herself to nod, her gaze transfixed on the horrid, lifeless eyes.
Kedar’s voice turned cross, “I had told you not to go after any vampires.” He snapped.
Samantha finally tore her eyes away from the scene that lay before who to Kedar. Blood had splattered up onto his shirt and face. She forced herself to speak, “I didn’t. I happened to stumble upon her and Zachary having a little meeting. She’s Anastasia’s daughter, Kit.” She motioned towards the body that lay in the red snow.
“It doesn’t matter, Samantha. You should have left well enough alone.” Kedar grumbled.
“He purposefully targeted my aunt. He thought she would die and he knew it would kill the vampire that bit her, I’m sure of it. And if she ever consumes vampire blood she’ll die because their venom doesn’t leave the system and a wolf’s body will shut down as soon as the transformation begins.” Samantha began to ramble, talking frantically with her hands.
Kedar stepped over to her and grabbed her face, “You think I don’t fucking know this? My grandfather knew everything about vampires and he passed all that knowledge down to me. Just go home.” Kedar ordered.
Samantha looked him in the eye and shook her head, “I’m going after that bastard Zachary and I’m killing him for trying to kill my aunt.” She snapped.
Kedar clenched his jaw. He knew there would be no arguing with her, she was too headstrong. But there was no harm in challenging her with his dominance. He stared back at her for a moment, but she didn’t look away. He growled at her and still she did not falter. It was rare for a wolf her age and stature to keep eye contact with an alpha. It proved to him that she would not be his subordinate; in this regard at least, she would not let him be the dominant one. He grumbled and stepped back.
He handed her his crossbow, its harness and a quiver full of birch wood stakes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of holy water and then handed her a book of matches out of the many he had in his cargo pants extra-large pockets. He snarled at her, displaying his displeasure.
“I’m not happy…” He glowered.
“You don’t have to be.” Samantha responded.
“If you squirt the holy water into his eyes he will be blinded and you can finish him off whatever way you choose. I suggest you kill him with the stakes and then drag his body into the waning sun light and it’ll burn itself up. I have to finish off Bianca here. Be careful. Please…” Kedar replied, his voice becoming tender.
“I will…” Samantha said as she nodded. She started down the path that Zachary had followed. She sniffed the air every now and again to trail his scent. Finally, after following the path for what felt like a significant amount of time, Zachary came into her view. She quickly looked around and assessed her situation. There were no other vampires around, but also no other wolves in the case that something went wrong.
She stayed crouched, watching him from a distance as she kept hidden. Zachary was very careful to stay to the shadows and avoid any rays of sunlight that were peeking through the trees. She frowned and wondered if she could lure him into the light. She doubted it and she took a deep breath. She hadn’t come up with a plan yet, but she needed to do something. She stepped out from behind the ferns she had hidden herself among.
“Zach!” She exclaimed.
He turned around, a confused expression plastered across his face. He didn’t step towards Samantha and she didn’t move towards him either. His eyes flicked to the blood stains on her clothes and he narrowed his eyes. She could tell that he was suspicious.
“What?” He asked, the aggravation clear in his voice.
“You’re going to meet with Malcolm, aren’t you?” There was venom dripping from her words as she seethed.
Zachary clenched his jaw, “Yes.”
“You realize the alphas don’t believe you’re innocent. They told us they were going to kill you if you were followed, but that they were going to investigate your innocence if you were not. I think they’ve already made it up in your guilty.”
“What gives you this
feeling?” Zachary snarled.
Samantha put her hand into her pocket, gripping the bottle of holy water. Zachary’s eyes moves to the crossbow and quiver on her back. She stepped over to him and he watched her movements warily, “Well, I overheard you talking to Bianca, and I just so happened to tell Kit. I’m sure he’s going to make Malcolm well aware of what I heard, and by the time you get there it’ll be a death sentence.”
“So why are you stopping me?”
“Well, you tried to kill my aunt. I don’t think it’s fair if I don’t find out why before you’re murdered for your betrayal.” Samantha responded solemnly.
“I hate to burst your bubble sweetheart, but I’m not going to tell you a damn thing.” Zachary snapped, “Go run home to your pack. You don’t want to fight me, dearie. You’ll regret it. I promise.”
“Oh, trust me, I don’t think that I would.” Samantha sneered as she curled her upper lip.
Zachary scoffed and turned away from her, “You’re an arrogant pup. You’d be an easy kill. You’re small, weak. I’d break you like a tooth pick.” He paused, “You want to know why I did it?” He continued. “To make your pack weak. It’s already caused a rift between members. Charlotte is isolated and I know you aren’t going to trust anyone but yourself, pup. With this division amongst you it’ll be easier for mother to wipe you out. First your pack, then the others. Uninterrupted hunting would be ours.”
“Why tell me this, leech?” Samantha spat.
He stopped circling and faced her straight on, “Because I’m going to eliminate you before you can tell anyone else. And who’s going to miss the little pack omega? No one.”
Samantha pulled the bottle of holy water out of her pocket, flipping the cap and splashing some of the water his way. It landed on him and caused his skin to smoke and bubble. He whipped around and lunged towards her, his fangs bared. She ducked out of his way easily, splashing more of the blessed water onto his exposed arms. He hissed and kept his eyes on her. He watched her most minute movement, studying her mannerisms as he attempted to calculate her next move. She smirked as they circled each other, watching his footing.
“I’d say that you’re the arrogant one, Zachary.” Samantha taunted, taking a step away from him. She could tell that he was about to jump towards him by the way that he lowered himself and steadied his footing.
Just as she had expected Zachary leapt towards her head on. She sent the last of the holy water flying into his eyes before she spun out of the way, ducking behind a tree. He cried out in agony and fell onto his knees. She peaked around the tree to see that she had hit her mark; his eyes had nearly burned out of his head. His skin had blackened and peeled, boils forming around his eye sockets. He covered what was left of his eyes with one hand and smoke bellowed out from between his fingers.
“You little bitch!” He thundered as he reached out blindly to grab a hold of her.
She jumped out from behind the tree, looking behind her. About twenty-feet away was a clearing, the sun’s rays still beating down on the bright snow. She dropped her now useless bottle and pulled the crossbow off her back. She loaded it with a thick and study stake and aimed it. She kept it as steady as she could, her hands trembling from nervousness. She back tracked, leading the blind vampire closer to her as she purposefully crunched the snow loudly beneath her feet. He continued to stagger towards her, both arms outstretched now, and both his eyes closed tightly.
Samantha lost her footing. She slipped on the icy snow and fell backwards. She landed with a thump, the bright sunlight illuminating her face. She quickly scrambled to her feet just before Zachary could grab hold of her leg. She barely moved out of his reach. The sun fell onto his outstretched arms first. Nothing happened. Samantha readied her crossbow, aiming it with shaking hands. She pulled the trigger. The stake went flying, lodging itself in Zachary’s shoulder. She had missed his chest.
Panic bubbled up inside her. She fumbled for another stake. The quiver was empty. She looked around her and saw what she had been looking for. The remaining five stakes lay in the snow where she had fallen. She took three steps back, turning her eyes back towards the vampire in front of her. She had taken her eyes off of him for no more than a second. The tips of his fingers had begun to smoke.
The rotten smell of burning flesh filled the air. Samantha staggered as the scent assaulted her nostrils. She watched wide eyed as his skin charred and cracked. His fingers began to gray and turned to putrid ash, progressively working its way up his arms. They burned away in a way that reminded Samantha of a lit cigarette that was left unattended too long to burn on its own. As the ashes fell away from his burning body haunting screams filled the clearing.
Samantha recalled the first vampire she watched burn in sunlight months ago. She didn’t remember the stench to be as bad, or the scene to be as horrid. She hadn’t been watching as closely then, and now her stomach lurched and turned. The foul odor of his burnt and rotting skin intensified her nausea. She made her way to the side of the clearing, her eyes never leaving Zachary’s burning remains.
The smell only worsened as the burning came to an end. Samantha could no longer contain her composure. She keeled over and vomited. She looked up and stared at the pile of ash that was still smoking. The smell still filled her nose and made her eyes water. Realization slowly sank in. He was dead. The vampire her friend had been very deeply in love with was dead. At her hands. In her mind he had deserved it for attacking Melody, but Charlotte would not agree with her. She was sure of it. Her hands shook and her lip quivered. She hadn’t stopped to think of Charlotte. Only of revenge. She felt a hand on her back and she screamed. She turned around and sighed. It was only Kedar.
“Kit…” She let out a shaky breath of relief.
“Are you alright?” He said, pushing strands of hair out of her face and running his fingers through her hair. His fierce green eyes were full of concern. It soothed her, knowing that his anger with her had passed so quickly.
She nodded slowly, her only response.
“You’ve been gone for almost an hour and a half…I thought you had been hurt…” He explained softly, holding her face in his hands. He kept eye contact with her for a long moment, “What’s the matter?” He whispered.
“H-He’s dead. I killed him…” Samantha choked out the words. It felt very odd to wrap her mouth around them. She almost couldn’t bring herself to.
“I know, I know. He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Kedar began to inspect her for any obvious injuries.
She shook her head quickly, “But he told me everything. How he planned to kill my aunt to cause a rift to form in the pack. So it would be easier for Anastasia to wipe us out… So they could hunt without interruption…” She reached her arms out to hold onto Kedar’s jacket. He pulled her close to him.
“It’s okay. As long as you aren’t hurt… That all that matters…” Kedar cooed as he tried to sooth her.
“Charlotte is going to be furious…” Samantha mumbled in response.
Kedar pressed a soft kiss into her hair, “She will see reason in time. There is no need for you to worry about it right at this moment. Of course she’ll be mad, but her senses will come to her.”
Samantha nodded and pressed her forehead to Kedar’s chest. He kissed her head again, burying his face in her hair.
“Let’s go… We need to tell Colin what you’ve discovered. Come on.” He prompted, wrapping his arm around her waist to support her.
He led her to his truck and she just followed him. Her body was completely numb. He helped her in, and held her hand all the way to the McLaughlin’s house. She stared out the window for the entire ride, squeezing his hand. She felt as though she might be in shock. She thought she heard him faintly prompting her to breathe in through her nose and out through her mouth, and she found herself subconsciously obeying. She could still smell the horrifying scent of burning vampire. It made her shiver, to which Kedar began tracing circles on her skin with his thumb.
They pull
ed up in front of the McLaughlin house after what felt like an eternity to Samantha. Riley was sitting on the front porch lighting a cigarette, his hands cupped around his lighter to block the wind. He eyed Kedar’s truck skeptically, but stood when Kedar helped Samantha out of the passenger seat. He walked down the steps and met them in the middle of the walkway, taking a long drag off of his cigarette.
“What’s the matter?” He asked as he took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled through his nose.
“We’ve got some important things to discuss with your father. Who’s here?” Kedar asked firmly.
“Just dad, Alex, Melody, Charlotte and me… Why? What’s going on?”
“Oh God…” Samantha breathed, closing her eyes. Kedar gently rubbed her back.
“What’s wrong?” Riley turned his attention to her, reaching out to brush the hair out of her face. Kedar growled and Riley pulled his hand away quickly, narrowing his eyes and turning his head back towards Kedar.
“Don’t worry. We just need to speak with Colin. It’s best that Charlotte sits well out of ear shot, though.” Kedar suggested.
The realization hit Riley, “Something’s happened with Zachary, hasn’t it?”
Samantha swallowed hard and she nodded, “He’s… I killed him…” Her voice was weak and shaky. She didn’t look up to meet Riley’s gaze.
“Then I’ll tell dad that you have something important to discuss with him in private. He can handle Char later.” He flicked his still lit cigarette into the snow and led Samantha and Kedar into the house. “Dad?” Riley called once they entered the foyer.
Colin stepped into view, a whiskey glass full to the brim with bourbon and ice in his hand, “What is it, Riley?” He responded sharply. He was clearly annoyed.
Riley motioned towards Kedar and Samantha, who were standing behind him, with his hand, “Samantha needs to speak to you privately.” He replied his words dry. He gave Kedar another vicious look, and Kedar returned it with one just as threatening.
“Very well. You two go sit in the living room while I talk to Samantha in my office.” Riley nodded begrudgingly, as did Kedar, but they walked away without saying a word. Colin watched them, and then he turned towards Samantha, “You look as though you’ve seen a ghost young one, are you alright?”
Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Page 22