by Lucy Lyons
I know why he’d told me and not Ashlynn, but she was still in charge, and the conversation alone was treason to the pack, no matter how good our intentions. Bernie bent down to pick up his roller, and I took it from him.
“I’ll finish up here, Bern. You go take a load off for a minute, and we’ll figure stuff out when I’m done. The good news is, there’s no element of surprise, and no vampire that can attack until the sun goes down.” He puffed out a deep breath and nodded.
“I hope you win, Clay. I really do. You’re good for each other. She’s strong enough, God knows that, but it’s hard on our women to fight the constant battles against males who don’t deserve the throne but might be able to make those extra pounds work for them.”
“I’ve wondered on occasion why you let her win,” I confessed.
“Because I knew she wouldn’t kill me, and I promised my wife I wouldn’t die for the damned title,” he retorted. “And if you tell her I said that, I’ll rip your throat out.” I saluted him, watched him walk away, then took out my cell phone. Ashlynn hadn’t been lying. I had one bar and even that seemed to want to disappear. I prayed that Nick wouldn’t tear my head off for contacting his wife after what Malcolm had done and sat cross-legged in the grass, focusing on Caroline with all my strength.
Sweat was pouring down my face and neck after a few minutes, but I couldn’t reach her. Suddenly, I regretted not taking the time to train what she’d called my “gift.” I strained harder, my head aching like it was going to burst, then in desperation I tried something else. I focused on Maria, the little old lady at the Red Dagger Dojo. I envisioned myself like Caroline had told me, then Ashlynn, then Henny, then a bloody bear trap.
The images repeated in my mind, getting clearer each time I sent them, and finally I felt something return to me. It was a dagger, dripping with blood. The red dagger that symbolized Maria. Tears sprang to my eyes as I gratefully stopped sending and rested my fevered, aching head. It took a minute to be able to think again, but finally I sent a picture of a knife in Ashlynn’s back, and with it, thought danger as hard as I could.
I waited then fidgeted when nothing came back to me. Disheartened, I stood and brushed off the dirt before gathering the empty pails and rollers and brushes and heading back around the front, where Bernie had already set up his grill and was throwing steaks on. With bleary eyes, I measured the line and figured I had a little time to kill and opted to go find the cistern we’d dug before we started the cabins. The cold water chilled my already aching brain but cooled the fever and left me feeling weak and dizzy, leaning against the stone steps.
“What happened to you, tiger?” a feminine voice slipped under my throbbing headache, making me carefully turn my head to look up. The girl from my cabin was leaning over me, one hand reaching out as if to check my forehead. “Hm. Still a little warm. What were you up to, I wonder?” I watched her through slits in my eyelids, still in too much pain to open them all the way.
Goldie continued to run her fingers over my forehead then down my cheeks and neck to my back. She dipped her fingers into the water and trickled it over me, making me shiver from her feather-light touch. Her movements were innocuous, but something about her made every rivulet of water over my skin seem like an offer of more intimate touch.
“Really,” I hissed through chattering teeth, “I’m all right.”
“Sure you are, sugar. You’re so all right, you can’t stand up. I can make it better. Just relax,” she argued, her hand sliding over my chest and down to my stomach. I pushed her away and she sighed. “OK, don’t spaz. I’m just trying to help,” she sighed and stopped touching me. Instead, she returned to dipping her hand in the cool, clean water and pouring it over me as I tried to control my roiling stomach.
The beast was pacing now, though. Something about her was ringing alarm bells I didn’t have the energy to pay attention to, but I shifted away from her as far as the step I was sitting on would let me.
“Oh, come on, you already know I don’t bite.” The alarms clanged around in my head so loudly that I thought I might throw myself in the water at the foot of the stairs. I opened my mouth to speak, but all that came out was a guttural, threatening growl. She snatched her hand back before I could lash out at her and backed away. “I’ll just let someone know you’re down here, losing your damn mind,” she hissed, but I could taste her fear like honey on my tongue. She wasn’t afraid that I might hurt her. I could barely move. But she was terrified that I’d seen through her. She wasn’t a victim. She was a spy.
I struggled to my feet and dragged my sorry ass up the stairs. True to her word, the girl had sent help, and Ashlynn was there to tug on me and help me out of the hole into the bright daylight.
“Are you hurt?” she asked softly, and I leaned my head on her shoulder, sparing a thought for how nice it was that she was tall enough to lean on.
“Bernie, you, me, Henny. Now,” I managed to rasp out. I closed my eyes against the burning of the sun and let her lead me to Bernie at the grill.
“Hey, Bern. I need you to help me and Henny take care of him. I think those fumes were more dangerous than we were told.” I heard people talking, then Bernie threw my arm across his back and they walked away with me sagging between them like a drunk the next morning. I noticed the air getting cooler and shade on my face and dared to open my eyes. We were under the trees, and Henny and the professor were rushing toward us. I waited until they arrived and then turned to Bernie.
“You tell them the first part. Then I’ll go.” He closed his eyes, hung his head, then told the others what he’d told me. Ashlynn growled menacingly, but I took her hand and squeezed it until she stopped and looked at me.
“Bernie, does Roger know that girl you brought to us?” His eyes got wide then he groaned and nodded.
“Yeah. Yeah, he does. He knew the other alpha before I did.” I turned to Ashlynn and sighed.
“There’s your spy, and there’s Roger’s help. I don’t know who was in the mirror, maybe their pack witch, but I’m going to put my money on us being caught right smack dab in the middle of crap we shouldn’t have to deal with. First from Chronos going after Caroline, and then on the other side, we have Roger looking to get his own pack.”
“He never said he was going to challenge,” Bernie offered. “If he had, I might’ve suspected something.”
“Right, but he isn’t planning to challenge. He’s planning to let another pack invade us and then move into a spiffy new house we built him, leaving us to rot.” I shot Bernie a glance, and he was rubbing his hands down his arms like he was cold.
“Did he hurt you, Clay?” he asked, his voice so full of pain and sadness that I couldn’t be angry with him for not seeing.
“No, I did that. Caroline told me I was a psychic, and earlier, Dominique said some stupid thing about unlocking my potential. So, genius that I am, I tried to reach Maria when I couldn’t get Caroline to respond through our mental connection.”
“You…” Ashlynn broke off, a confused scowl on her face.
“I sent for help. I asked Maria to get us help. She’s so close to Pulse, I thought maybe she’d get the message to…” It was my turn to stop, as Ashlynn and the rest stared at me like I’d grown horns.
“You transmitted a message to someone you’ve never spoken with telepathically, and it worked?” Henny gasped. I nodded, and she lunged at me, throwing her arms around me and kissing my forehead. “You poor baby. You did something amazing, and your poor brain just doesn’t know how to process it. I have herbs for that. I’ll bring you some tea.”
Her husband went with her, but Bernie and Ashlynn stayed with me, him pacing and muttering under his breath, her stroking my hair back from my forehead and kissing my temple. I felt a chill down my spine that made me sit upright, and I saw Roger heading toward us, a steak and a couple of beers in his hands.
“Hey, Henny said you got a massive wolf migraine, and you needed something for the pain. I brought you protein and beer. Becau
se everything is better with beer.” He set the plate down next to me and looked at me with worry in his eyes. “Are you going to be OK, man?” I felt Ashlynn bristle next to me, and I quickly leaned forward to accept the beer he was holding out for me.
“I managed not to puke in our drinking water, so I think that’s a solid win,” I chuckled shakily. Rog sat cross-legged in front of me and rubbed his thumb across the stubble on his chin.
“You scared Goldie pretty good. She thought you might be having a psychotic break or something,” he scoffed. “Man, I’m sorry to see you so low. Better do whatever Henny says, I got money riding on you winning the challenges,” he confessed sheepishly. I couldn’t tell if he was a really good actor or if he was cluing us in to when the attack was, and my brain just kept screaming Danger Will Robinson over and over again, making me want to throw the plate at his face.
“Thanks, Roger. I appreciate your confidence in me.” I was proud that I didn’t grind my teeth when I lied to him, and he beamed at me in response.
“You saved my bacon twice last night, Clay. I wouldn’t want to go into a fight without you at my back.” Hidden under my thigh, Ashlynn squeezed my hand, and I got a flash of her thoughts.
So this is what it’s like for Caroline, I mused, then another flash came to me.
He wants Clay on his side. He wants to take everything and offer Clay something to gain his loyalty. Her thoughts were clearer than my own in my head, and they were flavored with her attitude, her worries, and underneath it all, her feelings for me and the fear that I’d take his offer.
“Thanks, Rog,” I said, smiling more easily than before. Roger was a liar. Well, I was a Venatores, trained to be the perfect spy. I’d just lie back at him.
Chapter Eleven
“Hey, I have your tea, Clay, but I really need to get you to lie down somewhere dark to help it work faster.” Henny was babbling as she rushed up with a mug in her hand, but the professor smiled and held out a hand.
“Can you stand, Clay?” I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet. The pain was already subsiding, but it started to return when I let go of Ashlynn’s hand, so I groped around behind me until I felt it again. She let me provide leverage so she could clamber to her feet and together we followed Henny toward the longhouse.
“Bernie, have you eaten yet, because I haven’t.” The professor clapped him on the shoulder, and Bernie laughed and shook his head.
“No, and I don’t let other people cook my steak. C’mon, I’ll put a couple on for us. You in, Roger?” he turned to his brother, who jumped up and agreed enthusiastically.
“Heck, yeah, I’m in, and I did already eat.” The three men sauntered off toward the grill, and Henny led the way in the back door and down to the root cellar, the rough, dirt-walled room where we planned to store our food in the winter.
“I put in a… call? We’ll just call it that, um, to Dominique,” Henny said. “She said Caroline started having labor pains, and since it’s so early, they put her on a drug that knocked her on her butt.” I felt the blood rush out of my head and sat down hard, nearly bringing Ashlynn with me. “Hey, it’s OK. Really. This sort of thing happens to women all over the world every day, and Caroline is so tiny, she was always at greater risk for trouble.”
“Trouble is supposed to be gas pains and stretch marks and heartburn that makes you think you can breathe fire, Henny. Not vampires who hurt you and stress you out so badly you go into labor eight weeks early.” I cradled my head in my hands and moaned in pain and regret, guilt tearing me apart.
“And yet, not your fault and also not helping in our situation, which we desperately need help with, Clay.” I peered up at the witch, who pushed the steaming mug at me. “It doesn’t even taste that bad.”
I took the medicine from her and gulped it down, the pain from my scalded tongue and throat barely registering at first. Then the pain started to subside in my head, and I opened my mouth and sucked air in to cool my scorched tongue.
A bottle of water was pressed into my hands, and I guzzled it down then another after it. Finally, I was able to sit up straight, see, and even think without pain. Henny handed me a third bottle of water and instructed me to sip it, and she glanced up at the wooden planks that of the floor above. Ashlynn stretched up on her toes, sniffed the air, then shook her head and sat down, glancing up every few seconds.
“I got word to the people who need to know, including Lord D’Elbrecht, who is in contact with the lady di Borgia and her master,” Henny told me, patting me on the hand as she tried to reassure me. “Needless to say, the queen was most upset that something might have happened to harm the first natural-born vampire in over five centuries, and she’s determined to give us whatever aid we need. She said to trust in you, and she’ll step in if she needs.”
I felt Ashlynn’s relief, and she sank into my side. Without thinking, my arm went around her, and she tucked her head into my shoulder, as perfect a fit as it had been when our roles were reversed. I didn’t mention that utilizing the queen to achieve our goals terrified me. I knew if we accepted her help, we’d owe her, and I wasn’t ready to give up my freedom to her any more than I was willing to hand it over to Roger or any other wolf.
“Do we still think we have a day to prepare or is this happening tonight?” In my head, I was trying to think like a kind of enemy I’d never known, and I couldn’t dredge up any confidence in my process.
“Nothing will happen tonight because tomorrow is the lunar eclipse, and we’ll be at the height of our power. So will they. Let’s keep Goldie and Roger busy tonight. Don’t want them doing too much recruiting.” Henny nodded in agreement, and Ashlynn paused before continuing. “Let’s invite the Beaver Lake pack to the party tomorrow night.”
“Ah, if we do that, doesn’t it make any male eligible to challenge for your hand?” I asked. “What if the pedo-alpha decides he’ll just go for it and Roger be damned?”
“I’m counting on it,” she replied. “I can’t imagine anyone resisting the opportunity for that much power, can you?”
“Not an alpha. But how do I keep you safe?” I asked, then we all shut up as footsteps drew near. It was Goldie, and a low growl trickled out of me before I could stop myself.
“Now, Clay, stop fighting us. You have to get better. I can’t have you unable to fight tomorrow. I’m going to invite Goldie’s pack to join us for the lunar feast, and I need you to put on a good show for them,” Ashlynn scolded me loudly. The footsteps receded again in double time, and I raised my eyebrows at the alpha.
“That was damn well done, Ashlynn,” I chuckled.
“Yes, Alpha, quick thinking. Good job,” Henny agreed. She giggled nervously and pressed a hand to her heart. “I hope you know how much faith a witch has to have in her pack. My life, and now the life of my husband, is squarely in your hands. In case you were wondering, I sleep like a baby.” Ashlynn took her hand and held it for a moment, and I watched something pass between the women I hadn’t thought of before. Ash might’ve had her issues with control and power, but her people believed that they were safe with her, even the weakest of them.
“I feel much better. We should get back to the others before even Ashlynn’s acting doesn’t convince them that we’re not up to anything.”
They both agreed, and Henny helped me to my feet. The tea had done its job, and my head felt practically normal again, aside from the buzzing white noise that sounded faintly in my ears. I chalked it up to migraine hangover and followed the women up the stairs to the main hall, where people were starting to trickle in from outside. Everyone took turns exploring the rooms that lined the south side of the upper floor and the north side of the lower, and a few who didn’t want cabins claimed private spaces for themselves.
Ashlynn was every bit the proud momma as she magnanimously bequeathed rooms to wolves as they came to her, beaming down like a true queen of her people. I gratefully watched her live in the moment and enjoy what was hers. I could hardly keep still worrying abou
t Roger and the prospect of fighting a strange alpha, but it made things easier when I saw Goldie pull Rog aside and speak to him animatedly. She nodded vigorously and gestured as she talked until he grabbed her arm and drag her outside.
“Go ahead, Clay. I’ll be OK in here. make sure he doesn’t hurt her.” I bowed at the neck and did as Ashlynn directed, slinking outside as quietly as I could and coming around to them from downwind so they wouldn’t smell me. Goldie was reassuring Roger of what she’d heard and where she’d heard it.
“Why the hell would she do that?” he asked. “She must be an idiot to think Clay can still fight with how bad he was hurting earlier. I know what I saw, Goldie. Someone attacked his brain, and they sucked him dry. The only other time I saw that was when Petra did it to your brother.” Goldie’s shoulders hunched, and suddenly she didn’t look like a spy. She looked like a kid who was being forced to do things she hated out of fear.
“We’re all afraid of Petra. I don’t know what to do. We have to obey. You know that,” she defended herself quietly.
I snuck back inside and motioned for Ashlynn to join me in the alpha’s quarters, the room she’d offered me if I wanted to fight for it. I told her what I’d heard, and she grinned.
“Luck seems to be on our side, Clay. I’ll make the announcement, and Roger will believe that we’re in the dark.” She touched my cheek, and I pressed my face into her palm. “We need to make sure Petra is powerless on our land. I won’t let her torture our people. She’s worse than her husband, a real sadist.”