Call of the wolf (Dark Blood Trilogy Book 1)

by R Murray

  A growl erupted from the wolf as a large grey paw connected with her head knocking her unconscious. The last words she remembered hearing.

  “You are mine now witch”

  Chapter twenty-Three

  Thanatos returned to the palace with a feeling of disappointment overshadowing him. He had been hunting the White Witch over the last hours, but had found no trace of her anywhere. Even as he stalked the perimeter of the lodge he could not sense her there. She had clearly placed a block on herself and this only angered him all the more. It would mean that Melaina would not have had any luck either and that they now had no idea where the little bitch was. As he stepped through the gates he froze. Turning his nose to the air he sniffed, a scent he knew so well filled his senses. It was the scent of Death. Following it, he came to find the shattered body of his brother at the foot of his favourite bench. Dropping down to his side his eyes scanned over the dead vampire, it was clear by the wounds that this was the work of a wolf. As he stood to gaze down on his brother as guard came up to him.

  “Who did this?” Thanatos demanded spinning around to face him. The guard cowed from his cold glare. He was beyond furious, his only remaining family was dead. It put him in the gravest of danger but also in the most powerful position. He had to be careful now.

  “It was a wolf Sire. A great grey wolf and he took the White Witch. Please Sire, I do not know where they went,” he stuttered. Thanatos growled in anger.

  “Send for Melaina. Tell her to come to my quarters now. And have the King taken to lie in state. He should not be left outside on the grounds,” he snarled before turning and heading into the palace. No sooner had he shut the door then Melaina came barging in.

  “You called me? What has happened? Have you found my sister?” She fired question after question. Thanatos held up his hand to silence her. Turning he poured them both a drink of wine and handed her a glass.

  “No, I have not found Emilie, though I do know where she is. The alpha wolf has her. He killed my brother and he took her. I need you to go to the wolves and find out if they are still in France, and what it is he plans to do with her. They will be in on it no doubt,” Thanatos replied. Melaina downed her wine and turned back towards the door.

  “I will return my love. I am sorry for the loss of the King.” Thanatos did not reply, instead he made a gesture with his hand dismissing her. Once the door had closed behind the witch Thanatos let out a roar throwing the glass against the wall. He watched it shatter into a thousand little pieces but made no movement to clear it up. Did he grieve for his brother? He was not so sure he did, or even if he wanted to, but he knew France would mourn the King. Lorcan had been loved and it would be hard to find a replacement so soon. Sighing deeply, he reached for his black cloak and made his way to the Queen's chambers. She needed to know and he knew he would be required to play the grieving brother for at least a little while. Of one thing he was certain, as he made his way through the palace halls, that the wolves would now pay in the deadliest way. Their latest hand in this game had brought the war very much to light, and it would be a war that would rival any that had happened throughout the history of the Forsaken.

  The news was quickly passing through the streets that the King of France was dead, and much mumbling as to who would take the throne now. Melaina did not have time to dwell on the talk as she made her way quickly out the city gates and towards to hunting lodge. She had placed a spell over herself that made her look like a mortal, so she would not be recognised by the wolves. It did not take her long to reach the lodge, and she walked to the door knocking gently on it. It was Maccon that opened it and she felt his eyes bore into her suspiciously.

  “Can I help you?” he asked though his voice was far from welcoming and Melaina saw a sadness in his eyes. Did he know that Emilie had been taken by his own Alpha?

  “I am sorry to disturb you sir; I was in the woods collecting some food for my family and I saw a light in the lodge. I have news from the city that I thought you would want to hear. It is about the King. He is dead,” she replied, her words brought a shock to the young wolf, just as the other two came behind him. It was the older one that spoke.

  “Dead? Are you sure? How?” he questioned her.

  Melaina could tell that they had no idea what had happened, they were not lying she could sense it.

  “I do not know what happened, but apparently, the White Witch has been taken hostage and many think she is no longer in France,” she lied.

  Maccon paled drastically at her words and Melaina wondered if he would collapse, this pup was in love with Emilie and she knew he would do whatever was needed to save her even it meant fighting the alpha of their pack.

  “I thank you for your information kind lady. You should return to the city before it gets dark. It is not safe for a woman to be out alone in the forest at night.” The elder spoke again, nodding a goodbye to her as he shut the door in her face. Melaina expected nothing more from the wolves, they were not known for their manners. As she turned to leave she extended her hearing to listen to as much as she could through the walls. She heard enough to take back to Thanatos. Smirking darkly as she transformed herself back to her guise. This was far from over. In fact, this was just the beginning. With the Alpha taking Emilie, he had started a war that was far more personal than anything they had ever fought before.

  Melaina sighed in contentment as she dropped down beside Thanatos, looking up at him through hooded eyes as he grinned drunkenly down at her. She was enjoying these rewards for bringing him all he wanted.

  “So, you are certain that the wolves had no idea that their Alpha was planning this?” Thanatos asked lazily, pulling Melaina flush to his naked body. She rested her head on his chest, her raven hair spilled out over it as she traced patterns over his stomach.

  “I am certain. I thought the youngest wolf was going to faint from the shock, he certainly lost a lot of colour when I mentioned the White Witch had been taken,” Melaina laughed softly.

  “So, England? I have not been to those shores for many centuries. I am rather looking forward to seeing how she has changed,” Thanatos said thoughtfully.

  “So, does Bardou know how valuable Emilie is?” Melaina asked changing the subject.

  “He does. He knows the truth about the child and the power she holds. That she is the only one that can give the wolves what it is they so long for. It is why Bardou took her. He must have followed her and listened to everything that was said between her and Lorcan. If the wolf had not killed my brother I would have done it myself.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my darling witch, he was a fool to talk so openly about the secret we know. Anyone could have heard, and they did. Now we have a war on our hands. A fight that could have so easily been avoided if we had gotten to Emilie first. So, we travel to England, we find this crazed wolf and we get our little witch back,” he told her, leaning in and brushing his lips over hers biting down on the bottom one drawing blood with his fangs and licking the thick liquid hungrily from it.

  “And when we do find her, you get to play the bad witch and use the darkest of magic that I know you love so much to get us what we want.” Melaina grinned darkly back at him, her voice dripping with promise as she replied.

  “And once we have what we want, I will kill my sister. For she will be of no use to us any longer and have no reason to live. We cannot have her risk us finding the girl. It will be fun. I, my darling sire, cannot wait.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Maccon stood in stunned silence for some time after Raff had closed the door on the woman. He was struggling to process all he had been told. He could not believe Bardou had taken Emilie as hostage and fled back to England. Even worse, he had killed a brother of the Lamia to get what he wanted. What did Emilie have that was so important to Bardou? He felt a glass being shoved in his hand and he looked up to see Conan watching him with concern as he held a bottle of brandy. Maccon wondered briefly how he had got such a treat. Lift
ing the glass to his lips he took a sip and let the liquid burn down his throat, finally bringing him from the trance he had been in since he heard the news.

  “We need to leave,” he finally spoke, his voice sounding so foreign to him.

  “For once Maccon I am not going to argue with you. I honestly do not understand why Bardou would go this far. I mean, I know he did not trust Emilie. He must have followed her and for some reason she had gone to the King...” Raff trailed off a look of anger crossing his features.

  “She went to the King to tell him where we were. It would be the only explanation,” Conan finished off. His words brought a low growl from Maccon as he turned on his brothers.

  “No! She would never do that to us! You know that. If she had wanted to do that she would have done it a long time ago. I do not know why she went to visit him, but I know in my heart that it would not to have been to expose us. She loves me, no matter what she says, and I knew she would never betray me,” Maccon said, the raw emotion that flooded his voice was enough for him to convince his brothers that what he said was true, and for that he was grateful.

  “If what you say is true, then Bardou has his own personal reasons to take Emilie hostage. I have no idea why, but I do know he will kill her if she does not prove useful to him,” Raff replied truthfully.

  “She must know something about the child. That would be the only reason for him to take her. He has become obsessed with the desire for immortality, he has become unstable and dangerous. We must go after them Raff. We need to stop him before he kills her. Because if does, I will not be responsible for my actions. I will kill him if he so much as bruises her,” Maccon snarled. Conan placed and hand on his shoulder squeezing it gently. “I hate to say this brother, but he may have already hurt her. Kill no, he will not do that as long as she is useful to him, so we have to hope she stays just that until we return to England,” Conan said.

  “We leave now. It will not be just us that will be hunting down Emilie. She is wanted by the Lamia, and with the death of a second brother Thanatos will be even more angry and hungry for her. He is now the only original Lamia left, and although that makes him vulnerable it also makes him so powerful. We need to be careful. This is just the start of what is to come. Whatever it may be,” Raff told them morbidly. The other two did not reply, instead they gathered their things and made sure that no scent of themselves were left in the lodge.

  As they made their way in the forms of wolves towards the passage way out of France, Maccon could only send a prayer to the spirits above that Emilie would survive just until they got to England, and he could kill Bardou for what he had done.

  Emilie was not sure what brought her to her senses, whether it was the rocking of whatever was under her, or the distinct smell of stale food and damp; whatever it had been was enough to force her to open her eyes. There was a steady pain in her head and she guessed it was the aftermath of the blow or two she had suffered from Bardou. Blinking a few times till she was finally able to focus. She realised she was stowed in the store room of a ship. The rocking she felt was the ship gliding through the waves. So, she was on her way to England; that much she guessed. Memories of the last few hours came flooding back to her, and she tried her best to rid her mind of them. She did not want to relive the death of Lorcan, and she was sure the image of Bardou standing over her, with blood dripping from his fangs would haunt her dreams for many nights to come. That was if she was ever to allow herself to sleep again.

  She closed her eyes and forced herself to picture Maccon. Those adoring grey eyes gazing lovingly into her own as they lay in bed together. His strong arms wrapped protectively around her as she curled into that gorgeous muscled, tanned body of his. That was an image she needed to keep in her mind, though the image alone brought forth a rush of tears she let out a sob. Did Maccon even know that she was missing? Would he even care? No, of course he would care; he loved her, of that she was certain. But would they find out in time that Bardou had her? Would they get to England before he could kill her? Would Bardou kill her? She was important to him, and while she was she was safe. Yet how soon would it be till he got bored? When he realised that she could not help him find her daughter? She leaned her head back against the chest she was propped against. She was in such a hopeless situation and her future did not look bright. All she could do was pray and fight. Fight to survive.

  Epilogue

  Samantha pulled her thick fur cloak tighter round herself as she made her away across the grounds of the grand house that belonged to her Lady. Moving into the shadows of the forest that surrounded it; her long fire bright curls whipped around her face, her cheeks tinged a light pink as the bitter Scottish wind bit hungrily at her forcing her to pull the hood up and tightening the clasp on her cloak. Winter had hit the Scottish Highlands; the first snow had fallen that day and Samantha found herself drawn to it like she was every year. That was the reason why she had reinvented herself in the country over the last century; she could not bear to leave it. Samantha had been many things in her life; her most recent was as a housemaid to Lady Balfour of the Balfour clan and she loved every day she was there. Lady Balfour was a fairly young, kind woman and Samantha saw her more like a mother figure then her mistress. Though in her lifetime she had felt that way towards many women, never knowing her real parents, but she did know what she was. Half witch and half vampire an amalgam of both. Her mother a witch and her father a vampire, but that was all she knew, and over the years she had learned how to control her powers and her craving for blood by feeding on animals only. It meant she could live amongst the mortals and not be a threat.

  A movement to her left brought her from her thoughts and Samantha stopped, smirking as she called out to the forest, “You know you really need to learn some new tricks Randi, these old ones are getting so boring.” She only had to wait a few moments when a large white wolf stepped into her path. Her sky-blue eyes crinkled as she flashed him a genuine smile watching as he transformed into the mortal being he hid behind. Samantha let her eyes wonder over Randi, no matter how many times she had watched him transform into his human form she still could not help but admire him. Watching as he darted behind a tree his perfect bum vanishing from view. In no time at all Randi reappeared, much to Samantha's disappointment, fully clothed in black breeches, white shirt and a long green cloak.

  Running a hand through his short blonde locks and his powder blue eyes held the playful glint in them they always did. “I actually was not trying to trick you this time round Sammy, I was doing my job as your unofficial protector,” he replied as they both continued along the path.

  Samantha frowned turning her gaze on him, “Am I in danger?”

  “No, I do not think so, well not directly but I have been scouting the towns and I am certain I can smell blood suckers...” he trailed off as Samantha shot him a look.

  “I am half blood sucker Randi,” she bristled.

  “I know. I am sorry Sammy that came out wrong, but anyway I cannot be sure I have not actually seen any other proof, and my instincts have not always been right, but I do not really want to risk letting you out of my sight.”

  Sammy stayed silent for a few moments processing what Randi had told her.

  “Your instincts have always been right Randi; you have never let me down and I could not imagine my life without you by my side being my eyes.” Samantha assured him, his boyish grin infectious causing her to smile back.

  Randi was a werewolf and from what they both knew of other wolves in England and Scotland he was the only immortal one, thanks to Samantha. He had been defending her against a rouge band of vampires and in the process, had been fatally injured. Randi was her only friend, the only person who knew her for what she was and still cared for her. He had always protected her and they had grown up with each other; she had remembered the first time he had transformed to the majestic white wolf that had come to be her protector, and how he had been there as she learned how to control her powers and choose to feed
on the blood of animals. He had helped her through that transition and acceptance, and she had not been able to let him go. What little she knew of her parents had been that they were immortal thanks to the blood within them; the same dark blood that ran through her and so as her friend lay dying she had transferred her blood to him, chanting a spell she did not even realise she had known as she did so. It had worked and in return Randi had vowed to be her protector.

  “You know I do prefer to be a wolf during this time of year, the thick coat really helps against this shit cold weather.” Randi's low voice brought her from her thoughts. Samantha laughed nudging him playfully.

  “But I love the snow and the winter, and this country is beautiful in the summer also, but I understand what you mean. We have been here for near on a century, maybe it is time to move on.”

  “Hey, I will follow you wherever you wish to go, you know that,” he vowed.

  “I know Randi, let us stay for just a little longer. You can watch over me from the forest as a wolf and I will feel safe knowing you are there. You can walk with me every night till we get home,” Samantha suggested.

  “That sounds like a fair enough plan, but enough of this boring talk, you have a night off and we have made no plans so do you fancy heading to the tavern and having a bit of fun with the towns people?” Randi asked her, his eyes dancing with the flame of mischief.

  Samantha grinned darkly back, knowing that whatever they did a simple mind erasing spell would undo any memories of their fun, “Lead the way

  partner.”