A Werewolf's Saga Books 4, 5, & 6 (A Werewolf's Saga Boxed Sets Book 2)

by Michael Lampman

  “How are you going to do that?” Robert blinked. He crossed his arms again over his chest.

  “I’m going to go and see an old friend. I’m going back to Ravenswood. I’m going to find out what Richard Ross knows.” He closed his eyes, imagining how he was going to torture the man to tell him what he wanted to know. Seeing it, he smiled.

  Robert nodded. He saw him close his eyes. “We should let you rest. I’ll come in and check on you later.” He turned, motioning for Sasha and Brandon to come to him, and left the room.

  They followed him, left the room, and headed back out into the living room.

  He closed the door behind him, having to push what looked like a small pile of clothes away from the bottom of the door first before he could do it.

  With it closed, he walked out to the kitchen and joined Sasha and Brandon. They stayed quiet for the rest of the night. They kept to themselves. They kept to their own thoughts. Each of them thought about what they were going to do next.

  Sasha was going to help Jimmy with everything. She would follow him to the ends of the earth if she had to do it.

  Brandon thought the same things. He felt the same way.

  Robert planned on what he was going to tell the House. He had to make plans. He had to ponder his next move.

  For all of them, they felt the darkness moving. They felt it coming. They felt the world suddenly grow cold.

  My Journal

  I know what I have to do. I have my plans set. First, I have to get better. The wound in my chest seems like it’s taking a long time to heal. At least for what I’m used to it doing. I just know I have to try to remain patient. I have to try to stay calm. I have to give it time. But, that’s the hardest part of all of this. I don’t have the time. She doesn’t have it. I’m finding it hard to sit here watching the days go by. I’m finding it harder yet, thinking about her. I keep thinking about all that she must be going through. I keep thinking about how much pain I caused her. I feel beyond terrible. I feel almost useless. I feel so sad about what I’ve done. I miss her so much. I keep seeing her face every time I close my eyes. I can see her in my dreams. I just want to scream. I just want to shout out. I want the world to know my pain. But I have to stay strong. I know that I have to stay patient for her.

  I also keep trying to talk to Kalima. I try to search my mind, trying to find the answers to all of my questions. He’s just not there. I don’t see his eyes anymore like I used to. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to find him. I still feel like he’s hiding from me, and I still don’t know why he would do that. I just know he is. I can’t believe he would do that to me; especially after all we’ve done together. I can’t believe he would let it happen like this. But he has done it. That too makes me want to scream. Without him, I can’t find her. Without him, I’m more lost than I truly should be. I hate him for it. I’m beginning to despise him for what he’s done, and also, won’t do.

  So here I am, searching for, looking for, well anything. I need help. I need answers. I need anything I can find, and I don’t care anymore about anything else. I just don’t know anything anymore. I’m feeling more hopeless than I ever have.

  The days are turning shorter. The nights are getting long. Fall is coming in fast. I sit here every day watching the leaves as they begin to turn. I watch the world growing colder. I see the darkness gaining strength. Something is coming. Something is about to happen, and it makes me worried. I can feel it. We’re running out of time.

  Darkness Rises

  A Werewolf’s Saga

  Michael Lampman

  © 2013-2016 by Michael Lampman

  All rights reserved

  Made in the U.S.A.

  Learn more at www.AWerewolfsSaga.com

  My Journal

  I’m not sure how long I slept that night—if I did at all. I found myself drifting off only to see her face again. I can see every line of her beautiful smile. I can see every curve of her overpowering eyes, those hypnotic eyes that always seemed to burn through my soul. The very moment I see her, I wake up again. I feel the hurt all over again. I feel the pain for everything that I did to her, and more importantly, for what I didn’t do—what I couldn’t do. How could I have let her down as I did? How could I have let them take her after I promised her that I wouldn’t let them do it? All of this overpowers me and rushes into my mind like a pain of all its own. It kills me. It hurts me. It’s more than what my body could ever truly feel. It burns my heart. It rakes my very own soul.

  I know that I should understand why everything happened like it had, but it still, at the same time doesn’t make any sense to me. I know that it wasn’t my fault that she was taken. I know that it wasn’t my fault that we were all betrayed like we were, but at the same time, I know that I should have seen it coming. I should have known about it, but I didn’t. Part of me believes that I know why.

  I keep having this feeling that Kalima, the wolf living inside me, knows the truth. I think he knew that all of this was going to happen. I think he knows why they wanted her. I think he knows everything about Devish, the monster who came and took Rachel away from me. I just don’t know why he wouldn’t help me. I can’t figure out why he let it happen. I can still feel him hiding from me, almost tucked away in the back darkness of my mind. I can even feel him having shame for all of it. Why he had that shame, I don’t know, it’s just a feeling, but I can still feel it. All of this seems like it has happened before. It happened a long time ago, and I can feel that everything is now happening the same way all over again. It’s just a feeling, but with him hiding from me, that feeling makes complete sense to me. That’s why I need to have Robert look into my mind. I need to know why he’s hiding from me. I need to know why he has that shame. I need to know what he knows. I need to know the truth. I need Robert’s help to find out what it all means.

  He wants to see who I was, the person that I used to be, back when my life first began. The wolf inside me is one part of me, but there has to be more to it than that. I, myself, was there by the fire. I saw the flames. Robert told me that all Wanderers go to that place by the fire when we die. If I was there, and I know that I was, then it means only one thing. I am one too. I’m also a Wanderer, I know that now, but without seeing who I was, I’ll never know the truth of who I am. I’ll never know what I can do. Without knowing, I’ll never truly know me. I’ll never have the answers that I truly need to have about all of this. Knowing this, feeling it, is this why Kalima is hiding from me. Is that why he doesn’t want to show me what he knows? Is he afraid of what he did? Is he afraid of me? Now, all I have to do is heal from the wound that I suffered in the attack that took my Rachel away from me—a wound that doesn’t seem to want to heal. Something, in itself, that seems odd to me. I’ve always been able to heal from my wounds. I’ve always done it fast, faster than even Sasha has, but now, something feels different. The wound is not closing. The hole in my chest, the one that I have for losing Rachel, seems more real to me than it ever has before.

  But unfortunately, Robert can’t read me—if that’s a good word to use for what he wants to do—until I’m healed and stronger. With the wound still not healed he has an idea of what might be wrong. His idea scares me because of what he might have to do to make me right again. An idea, which I’m afraid that he might be right about. If everything that he wants to do works, I can only hope that I can get back to what matters to me the most. I can think of nothing else but helping her. I want nothing more than to set everything right again, for her, but also for me. And now, it’s time to do it.

  1

  “How are you feeling?” Robert walked into the bedroom but stayed at the doorway of the room. He took a deep breath and exhaled so casually that it made him sound almost defeated. In all actuality, he felt more than just that. He also felt exhausted. He also felt like they were wasting time. Time he knew that they didn’t have.

  Jimmy sat up some while still lying on the bed. Doing so made him wince some. The burning feeli
ng in his chest coursed through him like fire. It came from inside the wound. He could feel that it was even getting worse. It made it hard to breathe. It made it hard to think straight. “Not bad.” He tried to smile but couldn’t. “Not good.” Felt better saying so he added it.

  “No difference?” Robert put both of his hands into the side pockets of his trousers. He focused his thoughts, trying to force himself to come to some form of strength. He truly felt for his friend. He truly worried for him too. He should be healing. He should be strong again. I don’t like this at all.

  Jimmy just shook his head. “It should be getting better but it’s not.” He looked down at his chest. The three-inch long cut in the center of it, from the sword that was plunged through him a few nights ago, looked the same. From this angle he could even see inside his chest. He could almost see the hint of white from his own sternum glistening like a soft pearl. Seeing it, the memory of that night came back again. Rachel’s face crossed his mind. “Have you been able to see her at all? Can you see Rachel? Can you see where she is?” He wished that he could do what Robert could. He wished that he could see where she was. Being that he was what he thought he was, he wished that he had that gift. He wanted nothing more than to see her, feel her, and to be with her again.

  “I did some this morning, but now…” Robert closed his eyes. He saw nothing so he opened them again. “They must have moved her far away from us. She feels distant to me now. I just can’t see her anymore.” Being a Wanderer gave him many things. His one major gift was his ability to see people through their own eyes. He could see everything they saw. He could feel everything they felt. Not seeing her, not feeling her close to them anymore meant only one thing. She was too far away to see her clearly.

  Jimmy bowed his head. “I wish things had turned out differently. I wish I could have done something.” With Robert being a Wanderer, and a strong one at that, he could only accept him for what he said. He didn’t understand it but he didn’t need to. All that mattered now was that she was gone. He hated that the most. He hated being defeated like this. I should have been stronger. I should have fought them to the death to keep her safe. I should have not given up.

  “I’m sorry Jimmy.” Robert looked deeply at his face. He knew how he felt. After all, he lost his sister too. He too felt defeated. He too lost the fight. He would do anything for her, but now, he had only one thing left to do. He had to get back to the plan. He had to get Jimmy back on his feet. The black wolf had to rise again. “I think we’re going to have to go down the next turn in the road Jimmy. We’re going to have to go to plan B.”

  Jimmy took a minute to think after hearing him. Do I really want to do this? Do I have to? Can I survive it? The burning in his chest gave him the answer that he already knew. He didn’t have the choice. “I guess so.” He ended everything with a simple nod. He knew what that plan B meant. “When do you think we should do this?” He bowed his head. He felt just as defeated as Robert ever would.

  Robert lowered his eyes to the floor. “We have to do it as soon as possible. Time is starting to grow short for us Jimmy. The elders will be coming tomorrow to New York and if I’m going to go down there and meet with them, I’m going to have to do this tonight. I might have to do it even as soon as now.”

  Jimmy looked at him and nodded slightly again. “Are you sure that you can’t give me anything for the pain?” The very thought of feeling this, experiencing it, made him cringe. It caused a chill to shudder through his entire body with a flare. It made his heart ache. It made his mind mad with terror. He feared it. He feared the pain. He feared what feeling that kind of pain might do. He feared death.

  Robert looked back up and their eyes met. “It might not work, giving you something. The wolf can overcome most drugs. It might wear off before we finish it.” In his many years he has done this kind of thing before. One time the woman died. Another time the man lived but suffered greatly from the pain. Back then, he had very few options to help them, and even now, nothing seemed to change this small fact. All Walkers were different. What they shared was one thing. They resisted drugs. Their bodies always overcame them and that meant that he would have no other choice but to have the pain. It just wouldn’t matter either way.

  “I have been drugged before.” Jimmy spoke with a slight wince. The idea of being sliced open with nothing to ease the pain didn’t sit too well with the human side of him at all. Hell, it didn’t sit well with the wolf side of him either. Besides, he was right. Richard Ross, when he was back at Ravenswood Labs, used a tranquilizer on him to capture him. If he could use something to knock him out like that than Robert could too. It made sense to ask.

  Robert shook his head. “There’s a big difference her Jimmy.” He paused before continuing. He had to make sure that he explained this correctly. He wanted him to understand everything before he did it. When he was sure that he was ready, he began again. “We don’t have anything to give you like that.” He looked up to the ceiling and then back down again. “I wish that we did but we just don’t.” His eyes again met Jimmy’s obviously frightened stare. Seeing his fear heightened his own. “Besides, I need you awake Jimmy. If I can cut you down to where the silver is I can then use my abilities to remove it. I need your help to do it.”

  Jimmy nodded half-heartedly again. “Are you sure that it’s in the bone?” He remembered everything that he ever told him. He told him where he thought the silver chard was. He believed that it was lodged in the sternum. He hoped that it wasn’t too close to the heart. Either way, he knew it was there. He felt it but couldn’t move it. He knew what he had to do to get it out.

  Robert nodded. “Like I said, I think it’s right near the heart. I can feel it but I can’t move it without breaking your sternum. If I make the slightest mistake and the piece gets too close to your heart it can still kill you Jimmy. Black wolf or not, Kalima or not, alive or not, it can still kill you. I think that’s the only reason that you survived the sword in the first place. It didn’t hit your heart. The sternum must have deflected it.”

  Jimmy nodded again. He understood everything but also knew that he didn’t have to like it. He also knew what Robert already did. We’re running out of time. If we don’t do this now, it may already be too late. Concluded, he gave him a smile. “Let’s do this then.” He looked at his chest but only briefly and then looked back up to Robert again. “Let’s do this now before it gets too late.” He turned and lay back down on the bed. His eyes went right back up to the ceiling above him. Again, Rachel’s face crossed his mind. If we can get through this, if I can get through this, then I can get back to finding her again. It all made sense and that made everything else feel worse. It meant that what he had to do was the right way after all. It meant that he was going to have to live with the pain. He, again, had no other choice.

  Robert nodded. He turned from Jimmy and headed back out to the small living room of the apartment, found Sasha and Brandon there waiting for him, and told them what he had to do. He was going to need their help to do it.

  They both nodded. They were both unsure if they really wanted to help. Collectively they hated what they were about to do. They felt for their friend, but they also knew that they were running out of time. They had to do it, like it or not.

  2

  James walked for hours after leaving the black wolf. He kept to a strong and steady stride, moving as fast as he could go. Being a vampire meant that he could run extremely fast. He ran as nothing more than just a blur of movement. He also ran without losing his breath. It helped him by being hard to see. This was good. He wasn’t sure if anyone was watching him or not.

  When he reached an area just east of the small city of Binghamton New York, he only then began to feel comfortable again. He was now only halfway home, but it felt longer than that. Until he was, he knew that he would not feel completely safe. After all this was the first time that he had ever been out on his own. Because of that, it made him feel somewhat naked. He felt alone beyond words. All
of this made him miss his family even more than he already did. It made everything else feel that much worse. Now being at this small building, just off the highway of the interstate, he began to feel right again. This was the place that he was supposed to meet with his friends. To be honest with himself, he couldn’t wait to see them. His family was his life. They were his love. They were his strength.

  “You’re late.” Wayne, one of the strongest of the Sharlia Clan and by far the very strength that James needed to feel, stepped out from the men’s restroom and walked onto the sidewalk in front of his young friend. The woman behind him, Falara another of the strongest of the family and the head of the wolves of the clan, was already there, standing in the darkness of the overhang of the building. She stayed there watching the area and guarding it intensely. After all this was her purpose. She had to stay attentive. She had to be ready for anything. She had to protect the boy.

  James finally relaxed seeing them, smelling them, now standing with them again. He felt stronger already. “I was told by our lady to stay cautious. She told me to stay in the shadows. She needed for me to keep quiet.” He smiled. “I did my best. It took time to make sure that I wasn’t followed.”

  Wayne, much taller than the boy was, and by far much broader at the shoulders than he was, blocked out all of the light behind him. The shadowed look made the boy look even smaller than what he really was. It also made him look younger too. “Have you spoken to the Black Wolf? Did you give him the message from out lady?”

  James swallowed shallowly before answering his much larger friend. “I have done it as asked.”