by T. F. Walsh
I hadn’t sensed any wulfkin in the forest, so either they were hunting deeper in the mountains or not at all. The truth burned in my chest, and I doubted he pursued a creature that took Enre down with a weak wulfkin like Lutia by his side.
Poor Radu. He remained alone in the woods with a dangerous creature prowling the neighborhood just to appease Sandulf’s rules. And that pissed me off.
Crouching, I grabbed several books until one caught my attention, Wolves and Beyond stamped in silver on a black jacket. “So, what’d you find in the book from Sandulf’s stash?” My breath caught in my chest as I awaited his reply.
He stuck his hand into the front pocket of his jeans, pulling out a folded piece of paper marked with the distinct age spots of foxing. “It talked about the elixir all right, and in detail. This is what we’ve been looking for. But someone has torn out half the pages, so I could only get snippets of info.”
“And?” I set the books in my arms on the table.
He wiggled the page in front of my nose. I reached out for it, but he was too quick.
“I have a recipe.”
“No way.” I covered my mouth, then broke into uncontrollable laughter, and jumped into Radu’s arms, squealing. “What do we need?”
He paced to a prison booth as he unfolded the sheet, flattening it out against his thigh. “The good news is there are only four ingredients, which are not that difficult to get hold of.” His gaze fell to the crinkled sheet in his hands. “A pinch of salt. Crushed wolfsbane. Human blood. And the fresh petal of a wild petunia.”
“Okay, so what’s the bad news?”
“There are actually two bad things.”
“Radu. Tell me.”
“The wild petunia grows only on the night of a full moon, which means you can’t take the elixir until your Lunar Eutine.”
That sucked big time. I’d have to continue lying to Connell and keep Sandulf at a distance. “I guess I can wait. And as soon as the night hits, I’d have my petal.” I glanced over at him, and the way he was nodding his head told me it wasn’t going to be that easy.
“Apparently for the elixir to work, a moonwulf must drink the mixture seconds before the moon on the Lunar Eutine turns full.” He flipped the page over, staring at the spray of words. “The whole book was dedicated to the elixir, and it sounds pretty genuine, but every time I found details other than a hundred ways to obtain the ingredients, the page was ripped out. Do you think Sandulf did that, or he got the book that way?”
“Who cares? We got the recipe, and we’ll work around the timing thing.” I still couldn’t believe Radu had found a recipe. Until that moment, the elixir never felt real, and for once I allowed myself to believe things might actually turn out okay. I did a hip-wiggling dance on the spot.
“I’ll help you, but there are no guarantees this will work. I found no records of anyone ever taking this tonic, though they might be in the torn-out pages.” He shrugged. “The book was printed in 1564, and anything on side effects was missing. I have no idea even how this will affect you. What if it’s dangerous and it kills you?”
The idea of the elixir not working was not an option for me. “I want to give it a go, regardless. I have to try.”
He inhaled loudly. “I’ll get the salt and wolfsbane, but you’ll need to get me human blood,” he said.
“Okay.” I’d think of a way to do that.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing that was made pretty clear in the book. Using the elixir is prohibited under Varlac law.”
“Why would Sandulf have the book then?”
Radu stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket. “Why did he create a dracwulf?”
“Touché. Maybe he’s still pining over Alina and he’s filling his void with this beast. After all, Alina was his first chosen alpha-female.” I took a seat. “Speaking of the animal, did you find out any weaknesses on the dracwulf? Maybe an elixir that kills it?” I winked.
He spoke while continuing to clean up the mess. “No such luck. What’s interesting is that they’re not solitary creatures, and prefer companionship of their own kind, multiplying like rabbits if given the chance.” He clasped another book into his embrace. “On one brutal night almost three centuries ago, the wulfkin pack leaders from all over Europe united with the Varlac pack for the first time and held a venery. They swept in and eliminated all of the abominations. It was at this time that mating with wolves became prohibited with the intention to make the dracwulf extinct.”
“A venery?” I raised a shoulder.
“You really should read more.” The sides of Radu’s mouth lifted. “Venery is the sport of Varlac hunting wild animals, a leisure activity that is still practiced today by those born into privileged families.”
Not a huge fan of hunting innocent animals for fun, I bit my tongue and nodded.
“A dracwulf will take over the forest it lives in, striving for dominance. It is exceedingly territorial and will kill anything in its path as it expands its area. A single dracwulf has been known to leave kills at the opposite sides of a forest on the same day to create an illusion there are many of them. It’s a trickster animal.”
My throat dried as I remembered the dead humans.
Radu leaned against the wall with books heaped in his arms, his gaze drifting upward. “The creature’s irrational behavior is driven by the lust for flesh. They are born in dracwulf form and remain that way. Also, the moon has no sway over them.”
“So what you’re saying is they are an unstoppable eating machine?”
He nodded.
I carried some of the books to the half-empty bookshelf and forced them onto a ledge, sorting the disorder I created before Radu noticed. “How did the Varlac kill them?”
Radu proceeded to arrange his books on the shelves, and then straightened the ones I added. “The texts don’t give specifics. It just says they were slain.”
“That’s great.”
Radu gripped the next book’s spine so tight his knuckles turned white when he placed it onto the sill. His voice grew edgy, each word precise. “Sandulf has also taken Lutia as his mate. She is now our alpha female.”
The news didn’t surprise me, but it still stung for the simple reason that I didn’t trust her. She would no doubt remember our last encounter when we crossed paths again.
Radu’s eyelids lowered. “I can’t believe you might leave us.”
I slumped into the chair and thought about the pack’s mess. “There’s a longing in me that wants to explore my human side, find my mother and … ” I omitted the part about Connell. “If I don’t make a break for it now, after the Lunar Eutine, Sandulf will keep me like a prisoner.” I met Radu’s soft eyes. “I don’t want to lose you and Botolf, but I can’t live under his thumb my entire life.” There was no easy way out. Whatever path came to me carried a price.
“You could still visit us if you became a human.”
Like Sandulf would allow that, I thought but didn’t say out loud. “How has Sandulf managed to save us from the Varlac?” I sat back into the chair.
Radu’s mouth opened just as a scratching sound erupted from the entrance door.
I jumped to my feet. “We have company.”
The noise escalated. I rushed up the stairs, taking two at a time, and secured the leather cable through a metal hoop mounted into the cement wall for extra security, while the dracwulf’s scent poured over me.
I edged back to Radu and found him collecting the other books. “We need to get out of here.”
Radu had never been a fighter, preferring the dreamy intellectual world. I refused to let another friend fall victim. “Is there another exit?” I asked Radu as I grabbed his wrist to stop his book gathering.
“The underground tunnels are not far. That’s the closest exit, unless we head to the trekker’s car pa
rk and follow the dirt road, but there’s only one way out of this bunker.” His eyes flicked to the door.
Stories from medieval times told of villagers using the tunnels to flee from the fortress into the forest at times of siege, but the tunnels were caving in and not ideal with a monster on your back.
The room echoed with the sound of wood splintering, and a piece of timber tumbled down the stairs. The animal bellowed and continued shredding the door.
Shit. Think, Daciana. I pointed to the closest cubicle. “Trap the dracwulf in the cell. Use me as bait.”
A grim expression captured his face.
My words rushed. “No other way. Once it’s followed me, use a chair or something to knock it out.”
I knew that we stood no chance against the animal, considering even Enre and I failed, yet I couldn’t live with Radu’s death on my conscience as well.
I stared at the dracwulf’s front leg rummaging through the gaping hole.
Radu slouched in the chair, his hands resting on his knees.
“Come on, it’s now or never. Let’s do it.” What I didn’t tell him was my intention to protect him from harm above my own safety.
He climbed to his feet and gave a simple nod, though the tightness around his eyes and lips showed his trepidation.
I concentrated and reached down within myself, praying for my inner wolf’s return. A faint trace of her lingered, like rain on a breeze. My breath labored as I focused on drawing her out, but I made it worse, and she was withdrew, vanished into the abyss of my mind. Then an explosive popping sound cracked outside.
A gun. I met Radu’s panicked look. The grating sounds at the door died.
“This is our chance,” I said. “It will give you enough time to run back to the pack house. Don’t stop whatever you do.”
His lips parted, but no words formed.
“It’ll be all right, just do as I say.”
I dashed up the stairs. With the cord free, I raised the panel into the early morning light. All clear. Throwing the door wide open, I led Radu outside.
No gunman. There was movement in the corner of my eye — a large shadow zipped between the trees. I so needed my wolf right then.
The blackened dracwulf crashed past the trees about a dozen yards away, and my heart stopped. She released a guttural growl, and my gaze locked on her extra-long, sharp fangs.
“Go!” I yelled.
Radu dashed from my side. The dracwulf’s gaze darted in his direction. I burst forward in a head-on charge knowing even in human form, my strength might help Radu escape.
I geared up to crash-tackle the beast somehow, but she slid away from me and made haste after Radu. Skating sideways, I leapt after her. The force from the impact drove me into the dracwulf’s rump. I gripped fistfuls of fur and held on, bouncing on the rodeo-style ride.
Then the dracwulf stopped dead in her tracks, and I went flying over her side, landing nearby. I bound backward in one clean swoop. She looped around, sneering and slashing claws at the air between us. I recoiled, analyzing how to best avoid being sliced into pieces. I wasn’t ready to die — not yet.
In a surge of adrenaline, I made a run for it away from Radu. Throwing a glance over my shoulder confirmed the dracwulf was in pursuit. I couldn’t outrun her, but at least Radu’s safety was assured. Now I just needed a plan.
The snarls at my back grew closer, and in my head, images of Enre’s face propelled me faster. Swerving in between trees, I bought myself some time. The earth shuddered from the dracwulf’s paws, and trees creaked each time she sideswiped them.
Two gunshots broke the suspense.
The dracwulf’s thudding stopped, and I stole a glance just as the beast’s shoulder smacked a tree.
I paused, pressing my back against a trunk, breathing heavily, adrenaline keeping my dread at bay. Behind the dracwulf, in the far distance, Connell stood with his legs apart, his gun pointed at us.
Unable to detect blood in the air, I guessed Connell had missed. He released another bullet but missed again as the dracwulf was on the move and whizzed right past me. Way too close.
The animal glared at me for an instant. Her muzzle creased, and her head trembled as she released a short howl. She dashed into the woods away from us both.
Connell remained frozen with the pistol aimed in the direction the animal vanished.
I ran toward him, all the while listening for the dracwulf’s return. My voice came out more abrupt than I anticipated. “What are you doing here?”
“I came searching because I knew you planned to catch that thing on your own. I’m parked in the trekker’s lot and as soon as I got out, I heard the growls. I came as fast as I could.”
I inhaled his peppermint breath, and despite his stupidity, his actions revealed he still loved me. “Let’s go before we become her dinner.”
He dropped his hand and hurried toward his Audi. I tagged alongside him. No sign of the dracwulf, though I suspected not for long.
I jumped into his car and relaxed for a miniscule moment, collecting my thoughts. The digital clock on the dashboard displayed 6:55 A.M. There went Sandulf’s claim that he would stop the dracwulf, not that I believed him anyway. And that made me furious, both at him and me for believing him. My mind wandered to Radu, and I hoped he arrived in one piece at the pack house.
Connell gritted his teeth and gripped the steering wheel with one hand. His eyebrows were raised on his forehead as he puzzled, “How can that animal exist?” He rubbed his mouth, and his words grew muffled. “I saw it before and now again, but still don’t believe it.”
Uncertain whether he spoke to himself or me, I kept quiet.
“I’m going to report this, and your statement will be needed.” Pushing strands of golden hair behind his ears, he faced me. “Along with how you hunt animals. The thing out there — he pointed to the front windshield — needs to be caught today.”
I twisted in my seat. “Me hunting the animal has nothing to do with the cops.”
“How you will explain why you were in the woods without lying?”
“They don’t need to know I was here.” Nervousness swelled inside me. I touched Connell’s arm, and he jerked away. His reaction hurt. “I don’t have a license to hunt wolves. Please let me do it my way. I only need a day.”
“This is beyond madness.” His face fell dead serious. “Is this why the animal killed people you knew? It was following you because you kept hunting it?”
“No.” A dread crept into my voice. Urgency to stop the dracwulf, and not destroy my relationship with Connell in the process, bit hard. “I know I’m asking a lot, and I need you to trust me a bit longer.” Asking him to lie again scorched in my mind like pouring lava. “If I get rid of the wolf within twenty-four hours, will you leave me out of it?” Almost choking on my words, I couldn’t believe what I promised.
“Dead bodies. A monster wolf. Telling me lies. Do you know what you’re doing?” A look of exasperation crossed his face. “Let the police look after this. Why are you so adamant to catch it yourself?”
“This animal hunts early in the morning hours, so give me tonight. Then she’s yours.” I raised a shoulder and offered a smile, but my gestures were wasted. “I don’t want anyone else to die, and I can stop it.”
Connell faced the driver’s window.
If I told him about wulfkin, he might turn the police onto the pack, maybe kill them, and I had no plan on revealing them anyway. Not for any reason.
“I must be mad.” He refused to look at me. “I’ll only consider this if I go with you.”
“No!”
He started the engine. “Then the deal’s off.”
I swallowed down nausea and turned my attention to the passenger window. A gust of wind blew dried pine into the air, tossing them about. “Okay, fine.”
That was a direct lie. I had no intention of sticking to it considering the dracwulf might be targeting Connell. It would buy me time, even if it took Connell ages to forgive me. “Please take me to the institute.”
The bigger problem was saving him, and convincing Sandulf to kill his kin in just twenty-four hours before the police found out what Connell knew and started interrogating me.
Chapter Fifteen
The tension inside Connell’s Audi swelled like a blistering balloon ready to pop. Neither of us said a word for the duration of the drive. It was the longest argument we ever had, and I couldn’t bear the excruciating void settling in my chest, or the sorrow blackening my thoughts. The agonizing ache that I might lose Connell twisted my insides.
He swerved into the institute’s parking lot.
I wore my best pleading look. “It’s okay if you’re upset with me. I would be, too, but I’m not doing any of this to spite you. Please understand, the world I grew up in is a bit different from the one you know.”
Connell looked away. “Go.”
His attitude stung. I laid my hand on his thigh, and he didn’t respond, instead he inspected the building in front of us. I climbed out and banged the door shut. He drove off.
I retrieved the cell from my pocket and punched Connell’s number, staring at the digits, and then deleted them.
No. I needed to focus on capturing the dracwulf to protect Connell, finding Enre, and then turning myself into a human. There was little I could do about Connell’s mood in the meantime.
The parking lot was clear of cars this early in the morning, and I stayed where I was until I could no longer hear his engine. Then I dashed toward the pack house. The woods passed by in a blur, along with a stunned fawn and tasty looking rabbits. I wished I could transform and run free. And that reminded me of my shy wolf, and I wondered if her absence was a sign of the upcoming Lunar Eutine.