Howl And Growl Complete Collection

by Cloe Cullen

  “Remus,” Finn breathed, going into a rough coughing fit a moment later. When he finally managed to end the coughing, Finn gazed up into Remus’ eyes, a new fire lit behind those hazel orbs. “I didn’t...I didn’t think I’d see any of you again.” He glanced at the teary eyed Lenna. “I don’t mean to be dreary, but that’s just how I felt.”

  “Oh, be quiet!” Lenna said, leaning forward to plant a hot kiss on Finn’s lips. Surprised, Finn went wide-eyed, but eventually gave in and held Lenna close as they shared a loving spark. The others watched with smiles and eye rolling, the two shifters breaking and staring into each other’s eyes. “I’ve missed you, Finn.”

  The classic grin Finn always wore curled onto his face as he looked at her. “So have I...how long has it been since I’ve been down here?”

  “Just a little while,” Remus said, still crouching next to the pair. “We’ve been searching for you the better part of a week now. “You’re lucky we were thrown in these cells, or else we might never have come down here otherwise.”

  Blinking, Finn looked at everyone. “You were all thrown down here too?” he gasped. “Were you all kidnapped, like me? What about Bronwen and Nyx? I bet they’re freaking out right about now.”

  Holding up a hand, Remus tried to calm Finn’s frantic questioning, while Lenna helped him to his wobbly feet. “Woah, woah! Slow down. We were kidnapped...actually we were sent down here to await some death by combat trials. Something a lot worse that kidnapping for sure. But listen, Finn, right now we are in the midst of trying to take down Lord Cadogan, the guy who kidnapped you and sentenced us all to death. He’s trying to tear apart everything we’re building, so Bronwen formed a plan to stop him. We need to get to the surface and get to Cadogan’s manor. Okay?”

  He watched as understanding dawned on Finn’s features, seeing the young shifter’s eyes widen. “Wait! Remus, you need to hear me out -” he stopped short, beginning another set of hacks.

  Remus scowled, nodding at the others to backtrack so he could take the lead. “Just rest for now, Finn. For now, we need to find a way out of here. Don’t worry about talking. You need to rest.” He made to push past Keanu and Magnolia, starting to jog off down on the of the opposite hallways, sensing a way forward. But as he ran, Finn’s voice rang out behind him, startling them all.

  “Wait!” he said through his hacking, his voice straining to raise itself.

  Lenna tried to calm him as they walked, wrapping his arm around her neck to support him. “Easy,” she said.

  “No...Cadogan wasn't the one who kidnapped me,” Finn said, lurching forward and out of Lenna’s grasp. He fell into Keanu’s arms, who nodded as Finn pushed himself up to look at Remus. “The Changelings that brought me to this place weren’t Lord Cadogan’s. I saw the real kidnapper briefly as his Vampire servants dragged me down here.”

  “What?” Remus hissed, coming back to grasp Finn’s shoulders. “Then who was it?”

  Finn took a pause to catch his breath, and then peered hard into Remus’ eyes. “We need to warn Bronwen. The Lord who kidnapped me was…”

  Chapter Twenty-Five: Bronwen

  Lord Silvan threw his head back in jest as they walked through Lord Cadogan’s front gates. For once, the Vampire guards attending the gate moved aside like water as soon as they’d spotted her and Silvan. Despite what Silvan had asked of her just before leaving his manor, she was glad he was with her this time.

  “Certainly, Cadogan’s manor is not as pretty on the eye as mine or yours might be, Bronwen,” he said, grinning. “It just gives off this odd aura. Something ugly, too messy and complicated. Rooms here and there in no particular order. Hallways going this way and that. It’s rather absurd.”

  “Like a maze?” Bronwen cooed.

  “Exactly! I’ve never been fond of mazes. They make me dizzy,” he said, placing the back of his hand over his forehead, pretending to be stricken ill. He glanced at Bronwen awaiting her reaction. Bronwen simply smiled and nodded at his act.

  “Mazes do get rather annoying,” she mused. “But they can be useful, if used correctly. Don’t you agree, Nyx?” Glancing over her shoulder, Bronwen stared at the female bear shifter walking several paces behind them. Nyx had been so quiet during their walk over that she’d almost forgotten the bear shifter had accompanied them. Silvan’s smile faded as he too stared back at Nyx, expecting her reply.

  Nyx nodded silently. “Mazes can be tricky to navigate.”

  “Unless one has mapped a maze or gone through one so often, memory is all that’s needed to find one’s way,” Silvan cooed as they approached the front door.

  Lord Cadogan opened the door seconds later, eyeing them both suspiciously. “Now this is a surprise. I saw you both wandering towards my home from the upstairs window. What could bring either of you to my home this evening?” He glared at Bronwen in particular, “Especially you, shifter lover.”

  As much as Bronwen wanted to spit in Cadogan’s face, she forced that hate to the back of her mind and curtsied gently, bowing her head. “I’ve come to apologize for my recent actions, Lord Cadogan, and to apologize for the shifters who disobeyed me and snuck into your manor.” Straightening her posture, she continued to wear her fake smile as Cadogan’s gaze bore into her. He smiled slowly, flicking his gaze to Silvan.

  “And you, Silvan? Why are you here?”

  “To share a drink with an old friend!” Silvan said, bowing himself. Coming up, he patted Cadogan on the shoulder. “Also, to make sure that my dear Bronwen here isn’t intimidated by your brashness!” Bronwen twitched at his words, but shrugged when Cadogan swung his gaze back to her. “I’m really here because I want to help smooth out the wrinkles forming between us all. We’re some of the most powerful Lords in the Blackwood...we should at least be civil with one another.”

  Cadogan grunted, eyeing Nyx before turning back inside and motioning for the three to follow. He led them through the maze-like structure of his manor with ease, drifting into corridors Bronwen would never have noticed on her own. Even Lord Silvan appeared perplexed as he drifted along, putting up a hand to cup his mouth. “It’s like he’s vanishing into walls...quite frightening if you ask me.”

  Bronwen had to agree, especially as Vampire servants would suddenly appear and disappear in their paths, walking across only to slip from sight an instant later. Eventually, Cadogan led them all into a large parlor room, one at least twice the size of the one she had back home. Except this parlor room was rather empty for how large it appeared. Like the previous room she’d been in, there were a few loveseats surrounding a low hanging table, but other than that a single fireplace remained unlit in the back, and a few paintings of individuals she’d never know hung on the walls as the room’s only decorations.

  “Now,” Cadogan said as he sat in one loveseat. “Properly apologize to me, Lady Bronwen. And speak slowly, for I want to savor this moment.”

  “Surely there’s no need for such humiliation,” Silvan said as they lowered themselves into adjacent seats. “She’s come here out of the goodness of her heart.” He turned to her, “Haven’t you, Bronwen?”

  “I have,” Bronwen said. “But if it is Lord Cadogan’s desire that I speak slowly, then I shall.” She inhaled and exhaled a curt breath, and then began her apology. “On behalf of myself and my servants, I formally and directly apologize to you, Lord Cadogan, for the disrespect my now imprisoned and soon to be executed servants have shown towards you. They wrongly trespassed in your manor, attempting to steal something from you, and now they are paying the price for it. In the future it will be wise of me to pick my servants with a more discerning eye.” Bronwen ended her speech.

  Cadogan clapped after a pause of silence, laughing as he leaned back in his seat and relaxed. “Wonderful! You couldn’t have done better.” Irritation gripped at Bronwen’s mind, but she shoved it aside, trying her best to maintain her apologetic facade. “Fine then, let us drink to a new friendship amongst us, eh?” Clapping his hands curtly, shadows moved b
ehind them, which Bronwen discerned as servants, vanishing out the door.

  “Are you bringing wine?” Silvan asked anxiously. “I do love wine.”

  “Of course!” Cadogan said, kicking his feet up onto the table. “We shall celebrate this turn of events, just as we always should have!”

  ***

  Hours later, and Bronwen couldn’t believe how long she’d been waiting to hear from Remus and the others.

  Cadogan had told stories of his life for the past few hours, filling Bronwen’s head with nothing but facts and histories long dead, each bit of information going in one ear and out the other. She found herself biting her lip more than once, even opting to bite her nails to calm her nerves, an act neither Lord appeared to notice. All this talking had been agitating her beyond measure, and more than once Bronwen glanced back at Nyx, as if the bear shifter had all the answers.

  Lowell was supposed to bring everyone back so they could confront Cadogan together; she’d wanted them to sneak in, meet her in this strange, massive parlor and together they’d end Cadogan for good. But the longer time stretched on with no word of their arrival, the more her impatience grew.

  Ha! Impatience. Normally Bronwen was the most patient creature in the room, able to withstand the wild screechings of shifters or lower Vampires, turning off her attention or putting it off onto something else.

  But trying to stay patient now, forced to listen to the ramblings of her enemy while Lord Silvan drank and drank and drank? Every second without Remus next to her heightened her fear that something had happened. Had they found Finn, but fallen into a trap? Had they accidentally run into a group of feral Changelings, and gotten into a brawl? What was the problem? It was all too odd, and frustrating not to be able to know how things had gone with Remus and the others.

  Suddenly Bronwen became very aware of both pairs of the other Lord’s eyes upon her.

  “I’m sorry,” Bronwen said. “I missed what you said. Can you repeat it?”

  “I asked,” Cadogan said, slowly, “If you had screwed that pet wolf of yours yet?”

  Bronwen blinked. “Excuse me?”

  Cadogan chortled. “You know, the one that’s going to be put down tomorrow in the Commune, fighting my Changelings. Have you had a chance to lay with him? If you haven’t, then I guess you’d have to find another to be your toy, so you can find out what’s like to sleep with a beast.”

  Tightening her grip on her wine glass, Bronwen glared at Cadogan. “That is none of your business.”

  “Oh, it is, seeing as I’m the one about to take his pitiful life,” Cadogan said coldly.

  Bronwen could feel her impatience turning into unbridled rage. She’d had enough of this farce, waiting for the rest of her pack to show up. Cadogan caught the glint of fury in her eyes and smiled. “Oh, did I strike a nerve? I didn’t realize our newest Lord was so fragile inside.”

  Bronwen shot to her feet. “What’s fragile is your life, Cadogan! I’ve had enough of your games.”

  Startled by her outburst, Cadogan leaned back, then rose to his feet. Behind her, Nyx bristled and strode forward to stand at Bronwen’s side, sweat beating on her forehead. Silvan rose as well, though more to calm the sudden tension. “Now, now, we can all play nice. Bronwen’s simply tired is all, right, Bronwen?”

  “She’s daft, Silvan, unfit to be called a Lord,” Cadogan said. But Bronwen saw the strings snap behind his eyes as well. It appeared as if Cadogan had been holding back too. “I think it’s time to teach her a lesson.”

  “You won’t be teaching me anything, Cadogan,” Bronwen snarled. “We’ll settle this now. I can’t wait any longer!” She turned to Lord Silvan, “Will you fight with me, Lord Silvan? Help me take down this oversized brute? Cadogan is too dangerous to let live.”

  There was a twist in Silvan’s eye, but he waited to answer until Cadogan turned his ugly mug on him. “If that’s what you wish. No hard feelings, Lord Cadogan, but it seems as if your demise is wished by the Lady Bronwen.”

  “FOOL!” Cadogan shouted. “You’d let yourself be swayed by this lot? You’re no better than those other good for nothing Lords.”

  In one smooth motion, her anger peaking, Bronwen sent a fist smacking into Cadogan’s temple, sending him flying backwards, crashing into the ground. Both Silvan and Nyx jerked at her sudden attack, and Bronwen growled as Cadogan rose to his feet, his eyes glowing bright as embers and his war-cry echoing in the chamber. “I’ll end you all for that!” he screamed.

  All at once, the parlor became a battleground, with Bronwen darting forward to intercept Cadogan as he shot into the air, breaking the wooden floorboards beneath him. He collided with her, spinning her and grabbing her leg as he threw her into the lone bookshelf in the room. He ran at her again, but Silvan flitted in front of him, gracefully clapping Cadogan’s ears and brutally kneeing him in the stomach, causing Cadogan to vomit up spittle. As he stumbled back, Nyx’s bear form roared behind him, swatting him with one arm and sending him crashing into the fireplace. Bronwen rose to her feet, panting, and stumbling over to Silvan as the bookshelf caved inwards, Nyx padding to Silvan’s other side.

  “This won’t be easy,” Silvan said, flashing her a grim look. “I don’t care for Cadogan, but even I know this isn’t enough to kill him.”

  Bronwen didn’t get a chance to respond, as the fireplace exploded in a torrent of splintered wood and stone, pebbles shooting out as Cadogan landed beside Nyx. Roaring after being startled, Nyx whirled to engage the Lord but found that he already had a pointed hand shooting forward to stab her in the chest. Crying out in pain, Nyx stumbled backwards, blood gushing from her chest, and collapsed. Silvan intercepted Cadogan next, the two exchanging blows, but eventually Cadogan caught Silvan’s arm, pulling awkwardly, a sickening crack coming seconds later. Silvan didn’t cry out, but instead continued to batter Cadogan, clasping onto his right arm. Bronwen leaped into the fray to help, dodging and ducking Cadogan’s free fist, jabbing and kicking at his legs until they gave out and he fell to his knees. Arching back his free arm, Cadogan cried out once again, swinging towards Bronwen, but she darted around his swing, locking her arms around the Lord’s neck and squeezing. Cadogan continued to elbow her sharply in the ribs while he struggled to breathe, but Bronwen held on tight., unwilling to let go.

  “Why…” Cadogan said through clenched teeth. “Why are you doing this?”

  “To save those shifters you unjustly judged to die,” she said. Her words made Silvan stiffen, though she didn’t have time to see his full reaction as the parlor door burst open, Vampire guards flooding in and shouting wild orders, unsheathing their blades. “Silvan!” Bronwen said, eyeing the now unconscious Nyx.

  Nodding, the Lord shot off, piercing one Vampire and spinning him around while he grabbed hold of the sword the Vampire dropped. Pointing his new blade at the rest of the guards, Silvan smiled. “Put down your weapons and leave, find my manor, I will give you all a new home...so long as you don’t interfere with this delicate matter.” The guards hesitated, but after glancing at the wounded guard, sobbing in another’s arms, they all dropped their blades and fled. “Good,” Silvan said, straightening.

  Bronwen struggled to keep her hold on Cadogan, but thankfully he crumbled into unconsciousness before her hold failed. Letting go of the Lord, Bronwen stepped back as Cadogan flopped to the ground, eyeing him suspiciously, in case he had only pretended to lose consciousness. After a while of him remaining still, Bronwen motioned for Silvan to throw her a blade, which he did. “This is for everything you’ve done to my people,” Bronwen said angrily, raising the blade over her head and bringing it down to stick into his cold heart. Cadogan jerked awkwardly and then went limp. Stepping back, Bronwen breathed a sigh of relief, throwing Silvan a smile.

  He returned the smile, gazing down at his fallen Lord. Blood began to pool on the ground underneath his torso. “My my, so you were planning on betraying him all along...for those shifters.”

  “Yes,” she said, trying to
think of an excuse to calm him. Silvan would not be happy to learn that she’d partially lied to him, and struggled to come up with an explanation in the moment. “I’m sorry, Silvan, but it had to be done. I couldn’t let Remus and the others die. I’ll explain later if you’re willing to listen, but for right now I need to attend to Nyx…”

  Bronwen stumbled forward, only to feel something sharp stick through her body. Blinking, she looked down to see the glint of a steel sword poking through her belly. The pain didn’t come until the sword was ripped from her back. She turned just once as she fell, seeing a deadly cold glare in Silvan’s eyes as the bloody sword hung in his hand. “At least you won’t get the chance to betray me too,” he said.

  Chapter Twenty-Six: Remus

  It didn’t take long to find the nearest exit in the prison. Maybe half an hour later the group had ascended the last slope, finally feeling the cold night as the narrow corridor widened to allow two at a time to walk side by side. The corridor eventually turned into a straight stairwell that shot up in a dead forest. Tree trunks were set across the exit, forcing Remus and Lowell to lift and roll them off to at least make enough room for each of them to slip through and step up onto the earth.

  Remus gasped and sucked in the fresh air, turning to help Lenna as she carried Finn up the stairs. Throwing down a hand, Finn gratefully grabbed hold, though his grip weakened as Remus heaved him up onto the earth. Keanu sent one of the withered tree trunks flying backward as he emerged, stepping to the side as Magnolia gracefully walked up.

  Shrill screams pierced the air seconds later, eerily filling the silence as Remus’ ears pricked with discomfort. His heart pounded as he realized the screams were accompanied by the howls of Changelings, the two sets of sounds mixing to create a deadly melody. Whatever chaotic brawls were going on, they sounded closer to the group than Remus felt comfortable with. Before he could turn back to talk with Lowell, though, one Changeling burst out from behind a set of withered, ash covered trees, carrying a shouting Vampire in its mouth. The Vampire battered the Changeling on the snout, causing the wolf to chomp down deeper until the Vampire screamed his dying breath and went limp. The Changeling’s gaze brushed Remus moments later, and the Changeling charged without warning, spitting out the other Vampire and roaring in their faces. Both Remus and Lowell made to intercept the beast, shifting quickly and dodging to either side as the Changeling barreled towards them. Clamping down on the beasts’ thigh and back, Remus and Lowell held it down while Magnolia rushed forward and snapped its neck.