Wulf's Redemption (Borne Vampires Book 3)

by W. M. Petzler

  Kai said she hadn’t sighted any lights, which didn’t make sense. If Magdeburg was thirty miles away, why couldn’t they locate the city or any humans? Perhaps he and Kai should backtrack the humans they’d drained and find their truck? That’d be dangerous. When the humans didn’t check in, their companions would come looking for them. Outnumbered and out gunned, it’d be a dangerous. No, best they keep going east. They should encounter a road leading to a burg or farm. Hopefully.

  Lightening sharp jabs radiated down his limbs with a vengeance. Alex shoved the terrible pain away, disconnected from it, and searched the area for any signs of humans. Suddenly Kai was on top of him, forcing him flat onto the ground. A sharp ‘pop’ sounded, and she was sent catapulting over the top of him. Grabbing her, he rolled her under him, searching for the sniper. Unable to find the human, he opened a grave and dragged Kai into it. She bit her lower lip from crying out. Tears glimmered in her pain-glazed eyes. He searched the cause of her pain and found a gaping hole in her shirt below her collarbone. Blood flowed unchecked, soaking her tee-shirt. She wasn’t healing!

  “Alex, get the hunter,” she gasped out. “We need the blood.”

  “What about you?”

  “I’ll be fine. Get him, we need his blood!”

  “Dammit, you’re right. Kai, shut down, and I’ll cover you up, then I’ll search for the human.”

  Anxious, she placed her hand along his cheek. “Alex, please be careful!”

  Flashing her a cocky grin, he scooted out of the grave. “Dinner will be served soon.”

  Shaking her head at his joke, Kai closed her eyes and shut down as he covered her with the loose dirt. Snarling, his fangs dropped as he leapt up into the nearest tree, quickly climbing to the top. Searching for the son-of-a-bitch who shot her, it took only a minute to find the human’s body heat. The hunter was heading straight for where Kai was buried, no doubt to finish the job. Fury rolled inside him, blinding him with the need to rip the human apart for hurting Kai. Dropping out of the tree, he ran, silent and one with the creatures of the night. The human skidded to a halt when he saw him coming and took aim with his rifle, firing. Alex easily dodged the bullets and was on the human, wrenching the rifle out of his hands.

  “You bastard!” the man shouted, reaching for his hunting knife. “You killed my brothers!”

  Circling each other, Alex snapped back, “You, hunters, are all the same. When you kill my kind, its cheers and giggles, I kill yours to protect mine, you want vengeance.”

  “You’re undead! You have no right to be breathing!”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, human. The woman you shot, she’s the best of human and vampire. Your blood’s gonna save her!” Fainting to the left, he switched and was on the screaming human, sinking his fangs deep into his throat. Before the man neared death, he released him. Taking the man’s head in his hands, he snapped his neck, ending the human’s life.

  The blood he drank was infused with adrenaline and fear, making it hard to calm down. Ignoring the drug-like effect, he focused on searching for the other hunters and found them two miles away, heading up the ridge. Wanting to suck them dry of the precious blood flowing in their veins and kill them ... Kai.

  Like a balm against the raging tide, his need to kill calmed at the sound of her name. She needed him, needed the blood coursing in his veins. The beast retreated, giving way to his need to protect the woman he loved. Alex sped back to her and waved back the dirt covering her. Gently, he lifted her out of the grave and swept the dirt from her pale features. Damn, she’d lost a lot of blood. The ground under her, where she’d laid, was saturated with it. Eyes closed, Kai lay unresponsive in his arms.

  “Kai, wake up. Please, you need to feed and heal.” When she failed to awaken, he pulled her to him as he fumbled to roll back his sleeve. Using his teeth, he ripped open his wrist and pressed it to her colorless lips.

  “Please, baby, drink. Kai, you’ve got to take my blood,” he ordered hoarsely, the fear of losing her was making him lose control of his carefully maintained façade around her.

  Relief flooded him when he felt her lips part and she started to drink his blood. After several minutes, she grimaced, pulling away from him. Kai licked her lips as she glanced down at her shoulder, flinching.

  “Crap, ripped my shirt.”

  Alex pulled her onto his lap and offered her his wrist again. “Feed. Worry about the shirt later.”

  “Alex, I can’t. You need all the blood you can get, to keep strong.”

  “You need blood to heal or you’ll die,” he countered, pushing his wrist at her.

  Scowling, she muttered as she took his hand in hers, “We are so screwed in our little adventure, aren’t we?”

  He had to agree. “We aren’t off to the best of starts, that’s for certain. Drink up. We need to make some tracks before the hunters circle back on us.”

  “Shouldn’t we drain them?”

  “I’d love to, except we’re two injured vamps. The odds are not in our favor.”

  ✝✝✝

  Reluctant to take from Alex what he needed for his own survival, Kai knew she had no choice. She fought the nauseating sickness as her aching, pain-riddled body weakened, the life trickling from her as she bled out. The vamp hunter had used a bullet designed to tumble, breaking apart as it ripped through flesh. Although she wasn’t allergic to silver, like the Damned were, the bullet had caused her maximum damage and she was unable to heal herself. She knew it was only a matter of time before she died from the loss of blood.

  Shaking badly and cold, terribly cold, she had to have more blood. She rolled his wrist upward to expose the soft tissue underneath. The wound had already healed, so she sank her fangs into his skin. Alex curled closer to her as she fed, and she felt safer, protected. As the warm, nourishing liquid coursed down her throat, she felt him tremble. Fearing she had drained him, she drew back and saw his eyes were closed. She licked the wounds she’d made, smiling at the sigh he failed to suppress.

  Ha! The stoic vampire wasn’t so immune to her after all!

  Alex drew down the collar of her shirt and examined the wound. Only a puckered mark was left. Another scar, she sighed in dismay. Another thing legends and myths got wrong about vampires. Yes, a vampire could heal fast and yes, most wounds didn’t leave a mark. However, bullet wounds always left scars and this was her ninth one.

  The risks of hunting human killers and demon vamps, she sighed. At least she was still alive. Her prey was never as lucky.

  “Alex, how’re you doing?” she asked, climbing unsteadily to her feet. “Alex?” She touched his shoulder and was relieved to see him offer her a small smile.

  “I’m fine. Just thinking that at last you accept my help without arguing about it.”

  Disgruntled at his reminding her of her lack of gratitude in London, she replied, “Let’s not make it habit, shall we. I do have my pride, remember?” She reached for her backpack with her left hand. Still, the stretch of torn muscle and flesh inside her right shoulder protested, forcing her to move slower. Lightheaded and queasy, she had to admit she was in way over her head. Last couple of days had been hell already with being injected with dead blood, then a plane crash and now a damn bullet wound, it just made her night so much more enjoyable now.

  “Ah, yes, pride.” Alex wearily climbed to his feet. Cocking his head, he ‘listened’ to the forest. “The hunters are a ways off. Follow me.” He took off down the path at a brisk pace.

  Worried, she glanced around her. With Harklee back on the scene, the Borne had two serious adversaries to fight. The human vampire hunters were beyond ruthless and enjoyed making the innocent suffer, just as much as the demon vamps did. If they joined forces, it would be a freakin nightmare!

  Silent, she and Alex blended into the woods, keeping their presence soothing to the wildlife, to prevent giving their position away. Throughout the night they walked. Alex was weakening. The toll of giving her his blood had been too much for him, and he was suf
fering because of it.

  They were depleted and exhausted, and she grew scared. If they didn’t get out of the woods, they could die out here, where only the human hunters knew they were there. Her mother would never know the truth. It pained her to think of her mother searching, hoping against hope to find her lost daughter.

  Forcing back the panic, she kept walking.

  ✝✝✝

  Nothing appeared familiar to him.

  Since changing course because of the hunters, he realized they were now completely lost. Stretching out his senses farther than he’d ever done before, he felt the presence of a teenage girl. Or had he imagined it? He decided to follow the link and changed course. He reached out to the girl, disappointed to find her gone.

  Keeping an eye on Kai, who plodded after him, her silence worrying him. He knew she was in a bad way, but she never complained, only kept following him. They had to get out of the woods soon!

  An hour before dawn, Kai collapsed onto her knees. He rushed to her side. “I can’t keep on, Alex. I need to go to ground.”

  “Up on your feet. We need to get off the trail.” With his help, Kai wearily got her feet under her. Finding a suitable area to make a grave, he waved his hand, parting the rich black soil. “Kai, sleep with me.”

  She smiled wearily. “Told ya you’d succumb to my feminine wiles someday.”

  “How could I resist your charm?” he replied, smiling at her.

  A derisive snort escaped her. “You’ve done pretty well in the past.”

  Wincing at her accusing tone, he sighed and took her into his arms. She gasped, biting her lower lip as he gently pulled her close to him as they floated down into the grave. Her soft curves fitted to him, as if she were always meant to be there, in his embrace. The feel of her full breasts pressed into him jolted him into a semi-erect state. The coppery scent of her blood mingled with the flowery fragrance of her perfume wafted upward, around him, drew him into her. God, he wanted to sink inside Kai. More than physically, he wanted to be part of her goodness, to be the man she saw in him and not the shadow of a Borne he had become.

  Considering the deadly situation they were in, Alex found he was happier than he had been in years. Kai was in his arms. That was all that mattered to him at the moment. He laid his cheek against her soft hair and ‘willed’ the dirt to cover them.

  Chapter Four

  January 22, 1819, Magdeburg

  Town Hall was crammed past capacity. More people waited outside in hopes of participating in the emergency meeting called by Magistrate John Breber and the Lord Mayor Heinrich von Blumenthal.

  In a mere span of nine days, eight infants and toddlers had been brazenly stolen from the safety of their homes and there was no trace of their whereabouts. Fear stretched taunt in the humans, it slithered and tormented them. It struck the strong hearts of the stoutest of men and created an undercurrent of reckless need to kill. The anxious and terrified women gathered in small groups, consoling the brokenhearted mothers who held their remaining children or blankets and toys of the missing. Alex felt sympathy for the mortals and was equally lost on how to aid them in their time of need. What was taking the children was no mere man and his suspicions led him to think it were something of supernatural nature, leaving him dreadful something worse than a vampire hunted the innocent of Magdeburg.

  Shouts erupted and Alex watched Breber enter the hall. He stepped aside and Lisle walked past him, her head held high. Blumenthal joined them and led the way through the crowd, working their way to the stage, where they could conduct tonight’s meeting. He almost smiled as Breber cast a long-suffering eye at his wife, who shook off his hand and left him to join the women.

  Poor Breber.

  Lisle was rumored to have refused to speak to him, condemning him as did the townsfolk for his inability to capture the fiend taking the children. Best known for her tantrums than a soothing disposition, he was surprised to witness her administering to the mothers of the lost children. They encircled her as she spoke quietly to them. Studying his former lover, Alex swore she appeared even lovelier than the first day they met. Her silvery-blonde hair shimmered, her skin creamy and flawless. Despite dressed in a black taffeta gown, adorned with same-hued lace, Lisle radiated youth and beauty.

  Glancing at Aldric, he grew concerned. His brother’s gaze never once left Lisle, seeming as entranced as the women around her. Lisle looked in his and his brother’s direction and gave them a wicked little smile, a secretive one that gave him the willies.

  What the devil was the woman up to?

  A banging of a mallet against wood rose above the chatter. Breber had taken the pulpit, while a nervous Blumenthal stood to his right. Banging the mallet several times, the Magistrate tried to gain the silence he needed to be heard over.

  “Good people … please …. SILENCE,” he roared.

  One could hear a pin drop the immediate result his command produced. Not even a whimper escaped the children who were brought to the meeting, their parents not trusting anyone to watch them while they were absent.

  Grimmer than he had ever seen the Magistrate, the man held the edges of the podium with his big hands, his brown eyes intent upon the expectant faces staring at him. “Good people of Magdeburg, I and the Lord Mayor have assembled you to address the slew of rumors and misconceptions concerning who may be responsible for kidnapping our children. Gossip has spread the gypsies are involved. A witch, perhaps, is taking the children. I have personally examined each crime scene, including the recent kidnapping and I am confident in informing you that the monster we hunt is not a man.”

  Uproar issued at his words. One of the men shouted, “If not a man responsible, what then?”

  Breber said firmly, “A wolf. An extremely large one and is far more intelligent than the average beast we have ever encountered.”

  A collective gasp responded to his words. Some of the women fainted, their fears their children were dead had been confirmed.

  Another man asked, “How came you your conclusion that a wolf is responsible?”

  “Upon the freshest scene, I found a single set of tracks leading into the house of the latest victim and out of it. They were of a wolf, and the largest set of prints I’ve witnessed in my life. To counter this threat, I have assembled men to patrol the boundary of the River Elbe and our beloved city, bade them keep the pyres burning high throughout the night, to hold back the wolf packs.”

  Breber shifted his feet. “Furthermore, I implore you to keep foodstuff locked in your houses, do not allow your pets or children to be left unattended.” He searched the faces of the people as he spoke, finally settling on Alex, as if he were addressing him directly, making him uneasy. “Keep your weapons handy at all times. Do not allow the beast to penetrate your homes nor your minds. It thrives on fear, basks in making us tremble at its stealth and ease to steal our children. I bid you return to your houses post haste, do not delay. Keep fires burning in every fireplace, lock windows and doors, ensure the beast has no possible way to enter your homes. Do not open your home to anyone until full light has touched the sky. I will find and kill this beast and see its head piked in town square. I swear this!”

  There were no cheers, only sadness as those who had lost their children nodded their acceptance at his oath. Subdued by the news a wolf was to blame for their woes, the townspeople filed out of the hall. Alex watched as the humans left, the idea a wolf could enter homes without rousing the patrons and grab the children without causing them to scream in terror seemed impossible, except if the one entering the house was a vampyre. To his knowledge the only ones in Magdeburg were him and his family.

  Had another taken residence? How could a stranger arrive and not be subject of interrogation? No, whoever was the villain he was one amongst the folk, hidden in plain sight. But who?

  Nudging his arm, Aldric whispered, “Alex, I need to feed. Let us walk on to White’s and find us a girl or two.”

  Hunger clenched his gut, reminding him that he had n
ot fed in several days. Although Ulrich had commanded him and Aldric to feed on the servants and not those in town for fear of arousing suspicion, he could not, would not, feed on them for he considered them family, not cattle.

  “White’s it is.” They were almost to the doors when a soft, lily-white hand pressed to his chest, halting him. Recognizing it, he bit back the groan he nearly issued.

  Lisle Breber stepped before him and smiled tightly at him and his brother. “My lords, you honor us with your presence. Will you aid my husband in his patrols assigned?”

  “Actually, we were on our way to White’s,” he replied as he attempted to sidestep her. She refused to let him leave.

  Her eyes hardened. “You leave to play cards while children are stolen right from under their parents’ noses? How typical of the aristocrat. Are you so intent on your own pleasures, you cannot help your fellow man search for their missing children?”

  “We have business to conduct. Not that it is any of your business,” he reminded her in a firm tone.

  Furious, she made to retort back when Breber placed his large hands on her narrow shoulders. Her demeanor quickly became polite and meek, not fooling him or Breber, who warily watched Lisle.

  “My lords, forgive my wife. She is passionate about finding the children. We will not detain you further.”

  Executing a short bow, Alex offered, “My brother and I extend our service to you in searching for the villain, Magistrate Breber, once our business is concluded.”

  “Your offer is much appreciated, my lord. Be safe.” Breber inclined his head and gently pushed his wife to walk on.

  Aldric commented dryly, “It appears we are on patrol tonight.”

  “We feed first.”

  They exited the building and strode down the snow-covered sidewalk. Lit gas lampposts cast a warm, golden blanket along the white street. The night illuminated by hundreds of pyres ablaze around the city perimeter, holding the threatening shadows at bay. Breber was transforming Magdeburg into an impenetrable fortress. Taking shape was a barricade extending from the bridge to his right and to the left, beyond city square. It was a sound idea to keep the wolves out, even if he was beginning to suspect it was not a normal wolf hunting the children.