Dark of Night

by T. F. Walsh

  “How’s Radu?”

  “He’s in the other room, badly injured, but alive.”

  Too much devastation lingered in the wake of the ceremony. I reached over to the shoulder Sandulf had ripped into, only to discover there was no lesion, no injury, nothing but smooth skin beneath the fabric. The other side was the same. “But he bit me. The blood — ”

  “It seems you heal quicker than any of us now.” Botolf glanced out the window, his expression blank. “I’ve never heard of anyone healing like this, though. Maybe you’ve been gifted?”

  Uncertain what part of my deranged life needing fixing first, I clutched the fur blanket to steady myself, imagining myself in Connell’s arms.

  Botolf’s warm touch helped. “Let your body ground itself before you get up.”

  Footsteps sounded outside the door. A beam of light defined Lutia’s hunched posture as she entered the room, and her tart berry scent wafted into the room around me.

  The sight of her affected me in a way I hadn’t anticipated. Bandages hid her cheek and neck. All life had drained from her pallid face while her expression held no trace of its usual savagery. Sweat coated her flat hair, and blood splattered her track pants. I should have been angry, should have wanted to rip her throat out, but I didn’t. Not when the misplaced look in her face revealed regret. I killed the man she loved, or so we were led to believe, and such a loss was enough heartache for anyone to tolerate.

  She knelt near me, her head bowed.

  “What are you doing? Get up.”

  “Daciana,” Botolf said. “She is showing you respect. You are our alpha now.”

  A sudden coldness knocked into me. Everything I touched messed up, and now a wulfkin pack reported to me. How long before I screwed them up even worse than they already were? “What?” I managed.

  Lutia’s gaze found mine. “Well, you did kill Sandulf.”

  Her brazen comment didn’t shock me, even if I was the new alpha. And just thinking the word to myself had me breaking out in goose bumps. The trauma of everything I’d lost was raw. I never asked for alpha status. Sandulf shouldn’t have died, and the chance that Connell might take me back was close to minus zero.

  Would he still love me? I wasn’t sure I could keep going without him. I wanted to return to a time before the dracwulf entered our lives. A time when Sandulf was a caring father, and when I cherished life more than anything. The pack’s lives were changed forever, and I doubted my ascent to leadership would put things right again. And just thinking of the dracwulf pushed my pulse to racing speed. First thing on my agenda was to kill the beast and then find Enre.

  Lutia curled a blonde strand around her finger. “I’m guessing with you in charge, I’m no longer in line for alpha partner?” Her tongue licked her lips. “Unless you want me to be?”

  I raised an eyebrow. She had to be kidding. Right?

  “Okay, just asking.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Was it worth it? Is being a leader everything you thought it would be?”

  Despite her docile façade, the fire still roared within her.

  Botolf interrupted. “Lutia, remember who you’re speaking to.”

  The smile wiped off her lips. “His death is on you.”

  “If you’re here to insult me, this conversation is over. If you have something to say, say it,” I told her.

  Lutia straightened, and at once I sensed her heat rise.

  Botolf cleared his throat. “Lutia, watch yourself.”

  She huffed. “Everything I did was an order.”

  “That doesn’t alleviate you of your mistakes.”

  “Don’t you understand? He used me to get to you.”

  Her words came as no surprise. “So? You always have a choice.”

  “No reason to hide it any longer.” A twisting smile curled on her lips. “Go deep into the woods.” The coldness of her voice chilled the room. “Go east until you reach the rock caves. Don’t waste time.”

  “Is that where the dracwulf hides?” Why the beast chose the rock caves baffled me. Exposure to the weather and vulnerability to other predators made the location a deadly one. No wolf in her right mind would hide there. Though in hindsight, I cursed myself for not checking the location earlier.

  She started to stride away, swinging her hips. I leapt forward, shoving my hand into her back so hard she smacked into the door, which clapped shut. “This is your one and only warning. Disobey me again, and I’ll rip your head off.” I couldn’t help myself and banged her head into the door for good measure, just in case she didn’t get the message. “Now. Is the dracwulf in the cave?”

  “Yes.” Her voice muffled.

  Her whimpers did nothing to make me feel pity.

  I pulled back.

  “Just because you’re now a super wulfkin, don’t think you can do anything you want to me,” she spat.

  I spun her to face me. “What super wulfkin?”

  “That’s what you’ve become. When a female wulfkin takes the elixir on a matriarchal moon, there’s a slight chance she’ll evolve into a super wulfkin, or whatever the term Sandulf used. You have different abilities, and lucky for you, once the Varlac find out, they’ll be wanting to meet you, since your kind is in high demand.” The side of her mouth curled up. She tucked her head into her chest and scampered out of the room.

  Sandulf had torn out the pages from the elixir book, ensuring no one knew the truth. Perhaps he feared if someone found out, they might chose to become the super wulfkin on purpose and challenge his alpha status. I shrugged. Just my luck for the matriarchal moon to fall on my turn.

  Botolf’s expression told me he had no idea about the so-called “super wulfkin.” Whatever it was, if the Varlac took interest in me, I didn’t want it. Maybe she made it up and lied. I’d find out. I grabbed my old joggers from the pile of used clothes and stepped into them.

  “I want to see Radu.”

  Botolf nodded and climbed to his feet. He gingerly touched my shoulder. “I’m not upset with you. Sandulf carved his own path. I’m saddened by the disarray he left behind.” His emotions seeped through his defeated posture. He cared for our wulfkin pack much more than Sandulf ever had. Botolf should have been alpha.

  I hugged him.

  We then made our way into the other bedroom. Within seconds, my vision adjusted to the darkness. The musty air mingled with Radu’s wolf. Botolf flipped on the lights. Radu lay on a pile of fur blankets drawn to his chest. Cuts coated his arms, upper chest and neck, and I wondered whether Sandulf used a whip. He whimpered in his unconscious state, and that single sound seized my heart and squeezed it.

  “Oh, Radu.” His helpless and injured body tore me apart. Since childhood we had done everything together, and now I regretted getting him involved with finding the elixir. I’d ask him about the super wulfkin part later.

  I moved to his side and stroked the hair behind his ear. He twitched, and his wild, silvery eyes snapped open.

  Botolf was at my side. “It’s all right, you’re safe,” he reassured Radu.

  I backed away until I hit the wall, asking, “How could Sandulf do this?” Radu twitched, and I prayed for a fast recovery.

  Botolf ushered me from the room and closed the door.

  Once in the hallway, I shook my head. Silence permeated the house. How had I allowed such chaos to rule our pack? Lutia’s words had reminded me of the dracwulf still on the loose, and I needed something to kick and punch. Plus, the pack remained prey to humans and the Varlac with that animal on the loose, regardless of what guarantee Sandulf promised us. And with him gone, any guarantees he had were now in question.

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Botolf frowned but said, “Do what you need to do.”

  I dashed outside and followed Lutia’s instructions, veering
east. With no idea whether or not I was walking into a trap, I pushed forward with purpose.

  The morning’s crisp breeze promised a cold day. Forest animals scurried out of my path. Even the sun appeared to shine extra brightly in the cloudless sky. Entering a denser part of the woods, I slowed to a walk. Tree branches creaked, leaves crunched beneath my sneakers, and all the while the dracwulf’s faint scent trickled past me.

  Worry crept forward, and I contemplated the off chance that the beast had captured Connell. Though Botolf did say he left the woods. No sign of police at the pack house meant either Connell never made it home or he was freaking out all alone. I wished for the latter, no matter how mean that sounded. Once the dracwulf was dealt with, my focus was getting Connell back, no matter what it took. Otherwise, the emptiness settling inside me might kill me.

  Distant murmurs caught me off guard. I halted. The wind shrilled, carrying a soft groaning noise. I hurried forward and soon emerged into a clearing. Farther on my left, the mountain range dropped into a wall of jagged boulders, overlooking woods rarely visited by humans.

  Large animals never occupied the area due to the utter sheerness of the stone formation. Massive boulders protruded from the ground and bunched along the mountain’s side with dozens of small caverns between the rocks. The lack of trees meant exposure to the elements as well as predators.

  I hopped onto a jagged boulder, then another, making my way to a narrow sill. Once there, the path allowed only one easy way to get across without falling to my death. With my stomach pressed hard against the stone, I slid sideways. My fingers gripped the tiny ridges in the cliff for stability, despite the gale sawing at my clothes, and each step was calculated to avoid placing weight on loose or crumbled pebbles.

  Over my shoulder, I observed the steep fall and the endless forest in the reservoir. Treetops spanned out to the horizon. An eagle glided across the scenery. Braşov huddled on the other side of the mountain, unaware of what stalked its woods.

  I neared the end of the narrow passage and I leapt onto the flat, wind-worn ledge jutting out of the mountain like a colossal bench. The frosty gale pinched my skin when a familiar smell hit me with such ferocity it left a coppery taste in my mouth, and in the same moment, the freezing winds tugged the smell from my grasp.

  A wide curve of the rock formation brought me to a winding, ragged passageway. The wind occasionally stirred the metallic fragrance into the air, and I chased the trail to an upward tapered breach in the rock face. The wind’s ferocity twisted around me, and I held onto the rough edges, peering inside. My shadow blocked the best part of the light, but blood overwhelmed my senses — and the familiarity returned. My legs weakened.

  “Enre?”

  Had the beast gorged on him out here? Lutia was so dead if that was the case. I bunched my hands, inhaled a lungful of icy air and burst into the cave.

  Brown stone coated the inside, but diminished to total darkness deeper into the cavern. I stepped aside and allowed light to spill forward. A current of wind shrieked past me, and I caught sight of someone lying at the back of the cavern. The floor ascended in front of me and the roof dropped. A body was elevated at the back. My breath caught in my throat.

  He lay motionless on the stone platform, daylight spraying his body. His blue jeans hung on him, and a white T-shirt sandwiched between his back and the sandstone. Despite his frail body, he was intact. The lesion at his neck had turned black, and someone had tended to his injury — Sandulf no doubt.

  I rushed forward, forced onto all fours where the roof tapered downward. Lowering my ear to his nose, I listened for any signs of life and heard a frail, shallow breath, wheezing. God, he was still alive. I touched his pale cold cheek.

  “It’s me, Daciana. I’m here now,” I told him. His face blurred behind my tears, and a tremble seized me. Why hadn’t the dracwulf killed him?

  Sandulf had kept Enre alive, tended to his wounds, fed him. But why leave him out here with a creature on the loose? Lutia knew everything and did nothing.

  “Enre.” I shook his shoulder lightly. “Can you hear me?” My tears dripped on him, and I stroked his forehead. “I found you, that’s all that matters.”

  Emotions bubbled in my chest. They stung. Rage, sympathy, and loathing fought to gain control. I wrapped my arms around his legs, and inched them off the raised platform. I slipped my hands beneath his shoulders, looping them under his armpits, and shuffled his torso halfway down the ascending rock form.

  A foul taste slicked over my tongue, awakening me to my surroundings, and I froze. Someone else had entered the cave. I recognized the newcomer at once and a sensation of death swarmed around me, like nothing I sensed before.

  I jumped to my feet, or at least tried. My head banged into the ceiling, and I crashed onto my rump. A pulsating ache pounded across my vision, blurring the menace before me.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A guttural rumble droned in my ears. Banging my head into the ceiling was not one of my brighter moments, but the small issue of my skull killing me didn’t compare to the humungous problem, which loomed closer — the livid dracwulf. I shuffled away, and kept Enre at my back. Running away was out of the question. I wouldn’t leave him. No way.

  The dracwulf’s enormous size blocked most of the light, and I recoiled. How the beast managed to squeeze into the narrow fissure still amazed me, yet there she was. Her broad chest heaved, frothing saliva seeped from her fangs, and her fierce roar bellowed across the cave. The hair on the back of her neck puffed and if the space permitted, the dracwulf might have even risen on hind legs.

  She slinked closer, and my anger flared. Sandulf had known about her killing spree and did nothing to stop innocent people from dying or save Enre from his imprisonment. The dracwulf ate five humans in an uncontrollable frenzy, yet Enre remained untouched. I considered the possibility she sensed his wolf side, but her sudden conscience made no sense.

  Standing in the cave with a monster left me with two choices — fight or die. Still unclear what changes my super wulfkin form might bring to the party, I curled my hands and started to lift myself up, even if every part of me screamed run.

  The notion that my blood might kill the dracwulf crossed my mind, along with the risk of allowing her to chomp into me. Then another idea spun in my mind.

  “He’s mine, back off!” I shouted.

  The dracwulf sprang forward, her talons extended and lips curled, exposing pointy teeth. I tripped backward over Enre’s body. The beast gave a high-strung whimper and withdrew her arsenal midflight, landing so close her hot, pungent breath gushed over my face. She sniffed Enre’s body like a caring mother and licked his cheek.

  Her sneer grew with menace. Her squinted eyes fixed on me.

  The notion of Lutia setting me up, hoping the animal finished me off in the cave, seemed credible.

  The dracwulf shoved her snout into my chest with such force I smacked into the wall behind me. She continued to smell Enre’s body, checking for injuries perhaps. Her close proximity nixed my escape plans.

  Then it hit me, and I couldn’t believe I’d been such a fool. The dracwulf had chosen Enre as her mate, and it hadn’t occurred to me until now. Idiot. Why else would she protect him and shove me away? Kind of sweet if it didn’t involve a blood-frenzied animal. The downside meant the beast would kill anything in her way to keep him.

  My mind fled to Sandulf’s casual take on Enre’s capture. I cursed myself for not picking up the clue earlier. Perhaps Sandulf wanted Enre out of the pack, which left him in charge of only the wulfkin who would not dare challenge him, no matter how many rules he broke.

  Jaws snapped in my direction, yet never close enough to bite. If Enre were conscious, he might even radiate in pride, knowing two females were fighting over him.

  Change of plans. “I don’t think you’re his type.” I landed a hard blow to the
bridge of her nose. She reared back and shook herself. In that split second, I rocked forward, and took hold of Enre’s head. The hairy monster exploded in a growl, her mouth gaped open and her wicked fangs exposed.

  To transform might leave me vulnerable for a few seconds, so I slipped my hands further beneath Enre’s shoulders, to his armpits. The dracwulf lunged for me, and I jerked away, heaving Enre’s body upright in one movement between us. His weight fell against me, and we stumbled into the wall. I locked my arms around his chest.

  The next time the dracwulf went for me, I threw my forearm out in defense. Her teeth grazed my skin, tearing flesh and drawing blood. Quick to pull my arm back, I waited for a reaction. She tasted my blood after all, and it had killed Sandulf the other night.

  The beast surged closer, now lashing higher, and with Enre’s head slumped forward, she nicked my ear. Shit, nothing. Why had it burned Sandulf, then?

  Short of breath, I edged toward the exit, sliding my back against the cold stone wall. Just my luck to pick the longer route but at least it was progress. I resisted the urge to wipe the warm trickle running down my neck from my ear and ducked behind Enre, while I staggered closer to the light, despite my trembling legs.

  The animal screeched and paced, each time swatting me with her claws.

  I whispered into Enre’s ears, “Hold on, we’re almost there.”

  The dracwulf nipped my arms. She thrashed herself about the cave, bumping the walls, charging at us, and then stopping at the last second. Her nostrils flared, heavy with whines.

  Exhaustion started to claim my strength as I stumbled across another bumpy surface. But when sunlight warmed the back of my shoulder, I straightened up and found a new surge of adrenaline. Armed with a deep breath, I braced Enre tight and forced us backward through the gap. My arms scraped the rough edges, and I squealed in pain.

  The dracwulf half-howled, half-barked in acceptance of a challenge I didn’t mean to instigate. Crap.

  Outside, the sun gleamed, and the wind thrashed my body. A line of blood snaked down my shoulder. Enre’s weight tested my balance, yet I dragged him along the platform and hurried to put distance between the dracwulf and us, knowing I couldn’t hold him for much longer.