Werewolves Rule (The Rule Series)

by K. C. Blake

  Vanessa joined him on the sofa. She leaned close, placed a hand on top of his, and asked, “Can I get you anything? Do you want to talk? Are you hungry?”

  The thought of food almost made him gag. He slowly shook his head without meeting her worried gaze. The violent pictures of how Billy probably died continued to circulate through his head. He couldn’t stop them. His baby brother had needed him. When it came down to it, Jack had failed Billy. He should be the one dead now. Not Billy.

  Silver sat on the arm of the sofa and stroked his back while looking at her father. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”

  “Honey, werewolves don’t keep hostages,” Andrew said. “It’s too late for us to do anything.”

  Wrong! Jack could do something. He could go back to that house and wipe out every single werewolf there. He wanted to rip them apart in the most vicious way possible. By the time he finished with them, they’d be begging to die.

  From the other side of the room, Ian spoke. “Jack will need a new place to stay.”

  “No!” Jack jumped to his feet. “I am not leaving my home.”

  “You can’t stay there by yourself,” Vanessa said. “I mean, you are legally old enough to be alone, but it’s too dangerous for you out there. You need someone to watch your back.”

  Silver’s face brightened as an idea came to her. “We can move back to Jack’s house for a while.”

  Andrew grumbled.

  “Sounds like a fine idea to me,” Vanessa said. “We can’t go home until we can werewolf proof the house and the mansion anyway. That will take some doing. I don’t know about any of you, but I’m sick of staying in this motel.”

  Andrew nodded.

  “Can we stay with you?” Vanessa asked Jack. “You’d be doing us a huge favor.”

  “Whatever.” He sank back down on the sofa, returning to the awful pictures in his head. They fueled his burning anger.

  The family packed their belongings while Jack stewed in silence. It could have taken minutes or hours for them to get ready. He lost track of time. Didn’t matter. He was somewhere in the future, killing the werewolves responsible for Billy’s death.

  ******

  When they got home, Jack went straight to bed. He lay down on top of the comforter and closed his eyes. Below him the Reign family settled in. They were talking about Billy again. He pulled a pillow over his face and cried silent tears.

  Jack wished he’d never returned home to Bliss. If he hadn’t insisted on visiting his childhood every year, he’d still be a vampire. Billy would probably be alive. Lily would definitely be alive. And Summer.

  He’d forgotten about her, about her mysterious resurrection. He had wanted to go back to the old Miller place by himself and search for his former girlfriend. But now, after Billy’s death at the hands of werewolves, he couldn’t care less about Summer. Let her do whatever she wanted to do.

  The edge of the mattress sank under added weight, startling him. He hadn’t heard the door open or close. A soft hand glided down his arm. A vision of Summer sneaking into his room to bite him sprang to mind. He threw the pillow, and his eyes snapped open.

  Silver smiled down at him, but it was tinged with sadness. Her eyes glistened like jewels. Her lower lip quivered. She said, “I am so sorry about Billy. This is all my fault. I should have gone back to that house with my parents and killed all those werewolves as soon as we found out about them.”

  “Billy didn’t want us to do that. It was his find. He was in charge of it.”

  “You still feel guilty though, don’t you?”

  Of course he did. “Billy was my brother. I should have insisted on helping him deal with the werewolves.”

  “He didn’t want you to.”

  “I don’t care. I’m the older brother, and I should have insisted on helping him.” His eyes drifted closed again. “My mind was on other things. I was so twisted up in my own stuff, I barely noticed Billy anymore. It isn’t your fault he’s gone. It’s mine.”

  Silver lay down next to him and placed an arm over him. She snuggled close. “Don’t blame yourself. The werewolves are responsible, and Jersey Clifford is responsible. Not you.”

  Jack didn’t argue with her, but he couldn’t pin this on Jersey unless Jersey ordered it to be done. Doubtful. Everything Jersey did was to get Jack on his side. Killing his brother wouldn’t exactly fill that requirement.

  Before long he was drifting on a lazy cloud. Not even the thought of losing Billy could pull him back to reality. He went to sleep with Silver in his arms and found a moment of peace. Too bad it didn’t last for long.

  ******

  Jack walked through a familiar clump of trees. Bright rays of sunlight warmed his skin. He looked for Silver, but he couldn’t find her. Enjoying the silence, he stopped walking and closed his eyes.

  “Looking for me?” A voice asked from over his shoulder.

  Jack turned slowly to find Isobel smiling at him. “No I wasn’t, but you’ll do. There are a few things I want to talk to you about.”

  She stopped smiling. “Awesome. Here we go. The Great Inquisition part two.”

  Jack wasn’t in the mood for her special brand of sarcasm. He grabbed her arm above the elbow in a fierce grip. “Don’t mess with me right now. My brother was killed tonight. If you don’t want to join him, you’d better start giving me the information that I want.”

  “Fine. What is it that you want to know?”

  “Who is Jersey’s right-hand man? Or woman? If it’s not you, who is it?”

  “So you don’t think it’s me anymore?”

  “No.”

  “I swear I didn’t take Silver’s necklace or your rock, but I can tell you who did. I saw her with Jersey once. She’s a tiny thing, blond and pretty. He called her Summer if that helps you.”

  It did indeed.

  Isobel added, “I can find the rock if you want. Maybe I can even return it to you, and I’ll search for the necklace too while I’m at it.”

  Jack’s heart lifted. He couldn’t believe his ears. He looked Isobel straight in the eye and asked, “Would you really do that for me? Would you take the risk?”

  “I would do anything for you.” She closed the distance between them. Licking her lips, she leaned in until her mouth was a mere inch from his. “I love you. I loved you when your name was Tobias, and I love you now.”

  He considered pretending he loved her back. She might not help him if he rejected her, but Jack couldn’t bring himself to use her that way. At one time he had had feelings for her. In another life he had loved her. He’s loved her until he met Katie anyway. For old time’s sake he was going to be totally honest with her.

  “I’m sorry,” he said. Shifting nervously from foot to foot, he told her, “Maybe Tobias loved you, and maybe he didn’t, but I love Silver. That isn’t going to change.”

  Her expression fell. “Oh… I know. I wasn’t expecting anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel. I would do anything for you. Truly, Tobias… Jack, sorry. I would die for you.”

  “Then die,” Jersey said from the other side of Jack.

  Jack whirled around in time to see Jersey lock eyes with Isobel. It took half a second for Isobel to crumple. There wasn’t time for Jack to figure out what Jersey was doing or how to react to it. Jersey had sucked Isobel’s soul out. Her lifeless body hit the ground. Her eyes stared up at the sky, blank.

  “You killed her.” Jack trembled with rage. “What is the matter with you? Silver was right. You are a monster.”

  “Monster?” Jersey’s lips twisted. “I think not. Isobel was the only evil creature here. You have no idea how many innocent men and women she’s killed over the years. Are you a hypocrite, Jack? On one hand you slaughter werewolves, assigning yourself as judge and jury over them. But on the other hand, you make friends with one of the worst of our kind, and you get angry when she’s put to death.”

  Jersey’s eyes narrowed as he added, “Make up your mind, Jack. Are you a hero or a villain?�
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  Good question.

  Jersey lifted his chin high, an amused smile on his smug face. “Do you honestly think you can destroy me?”

  “I’m willing to give it a try.”

  “You are a fool.”

  The two of them circled each other, both looking for the opportunity to strike. Jack pushed his anger to the side. If he was going to have a chance of winning, he had to be smart about it. He couldn’t allow anger to cloud his judgment.

  Jersey made the first move. Like a pro basketball player, he feinted to the left. Jack jumped in the other direction and turned right into Jersey’s fist. It hammered him in the face, three quick blows. Before he could recover, Jersey went down on one hand and swung his legs in a graceful half-circle. They knocked Jack’s feet out from under him.

  Jack hit the ground. Robbed of breath, his lungs cried out for air. Pain radiated from his middle to the outer edges of his body.

  “I must confess to being disappointed,” Jersey said. “I expected you to at least put up a glimmer of a challenge. Come on. Get up.”

  Jersey bent over Jack’s prone body and offered a hand.

  It was the moment Jack had been waiting for. He wasn’t as hurt as he’d pretended to be. The pain was reasonable, and he’d been able to breathe for several seconds. He grabbed Jersey by the front of his black shirt. Surprise registered on the werewolf’s face as Jack rolled with him, throwing Jersey to the ground.

  Jack straddled Jersey and hit him with both fists again and again. Blood spurted from Jersey’s nose. His cracked lip began to swell. Jack shouted, “Who’s a disappointment now?”

  A thick piece of wood appeared in Jersey’s hand. He used it to shield his face. Jack, unable to stop in mid-hit, slammed his fist against the board. Howling in pain, he rolled off Jersey, got to his feet and staggered away, cursing a blue streak.

  Jack had forgotten they were in a dream.

  The board in Jersey’s hands transformed in to a sword. He ran at his opponent, long blade aimed at Jack’s heart. There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation. A loud warrior cry split the air, coming from Jersey’s wide open mouth. He was going to plunge the sword into Jack’s chest in the hope of killing him.

  Jack conjured his own sword. He darted to the side and clanged his blade against Jersey’s blade. Jersey turned and swung the blade, but Jack used his sword to block it again. Back and forth, they parried and thrust, using every fencing maneuver ever invented. Jack shouldn’t have been able to defend himself so easily with the sword. Somehow it came naturally to him.

  Maybe he’d learned it in a past life.

  “Enough of this,” Jersey said. The sword became a rifle. He pulled the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.

  The bullet ripped through Jack’s upper abdomen. He stumbled backwards. Both hands went to the injured area. It hurt almost as bad as when he’d been stabbed by that other demented werewolf. Breathing became a painful chore. Concentrating, he reminded himself it was only a dream.

  Jersey smiled. “Shall we wait and see if you wake up?”

  “Let’s see if you do.” Jack put his hands together and stood up straight. Remembering how he’d conjured the flowers for Silver, he pictured the item he wanted most. He smiled and opened his hands. A grenade instantly appeared. Before Jersey had time to realize what he had, he pulled out the pin and tossed it to the werewolf.

  Jersey caught it.

  It exploded.

  Jack fell backwards. Debris landed on him and around him. He struggled into a sitting position. He lifted his shirt and checked the bullet proof vest beneath. A half-smile came to his mouth. Good thing for him that he had thought fast enough to conjure the vest beneath his clothes. He looked to the place where Jersey had been. Nothing there. Of course he wasn’t an idiot. Jersey Clifford wasn’t gone. It couldn’t possibly be that easy.

  A slow smile touched Jack’s lips, because he was closer than ever to getting rid of the head werewolf. Even if it wasn’t real, he had killed Jersey without hesitating. It would come easier the second time.

  After all, practice makes perfect.

  ******

  Chapter Twenty-Three:

  TRAITOR REVEALED

  Jack opened his eyes and found Silver hovering over him. She hadn’t even been asleep. She smiled. He lifted a hand and caressed her cheek. This was real. What he had with Silver was real. Nothing else mattered. Jersey couldn’t touch that.

  “Where were you?” he asked. “I was in the woods, and you didn’t show.”

  “I was there. I tried to get to you, but Jersey locked me in a cage. Can you believe it? Now I know what a canary feels like. He told me he was going to finish you, and I couldn’t stop him. I was so scared.”

  She placed her head on his chest, and his arms encircled her. He kissed the top of her head before saying, “I’m glad he didn’t hurt you.”

  “Me? He wasn’t after me. He wanted to hurt you. Are you okay?”

  “I’m good.” He grinned. “Actually I’m better than good. I blew the monster up.”

  Her head lifted, and she marveled at him. “What? Do you think he’s gone for good?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “What about my necklace? Did you find out who stole it?”

  He shook his head, not wanting to scare her and reveal what Isobel had told him about Summer being alive. He wanted proof before repeating such a crazy rumor. “Isobel was there. She wanted to help us find the rock. She wanted to save me, and he killed her.”

  “How?”

  Jack reluctantly pushed Silver away. He got up and walked around the room. His nervous energy hit an all time high. Isobel’s death replayed in his head as he gave Silver the details. “He sucked her soul out. It was unbelievable. I wish you’d seen how fast, how easy it was for him. It took him less time than it takes me to blink. Bam!” Jack slammed a fist into his palm. “It was over. It was that quick.”

  The color drained from Silver’s face. “We can’t win. If I live to be a hundred, I won’t be that powerful.”

  “Then I will be. He took the gloves off tonight, showed me what he’s capable of. I will defeat him this time no matter what the cost.”

  Silver stepped into his arms. They held each other tight and close. They were screwed, and they both knew it. Jack wished he could get his hands on the stupid faerie’s neck for starting this whole mess. If it wasn’t for her and her stupid inability to make a decision, he and Silver would be a couple of normal kids.

  “I don’t want you to die,” Silver said in a small voice, sounding so unlike the strong girl he’d come to love. It was up to him to put things into perspective. He had to convince her it was going to be okay—even if he didn’t believe it.

  Jack held her at arm’s length. He pasted on a bright smile for her benefit and said, “Lovely created Jersey, right?” Silver nodded. He added, “Then she must have known what could and would defeat him. We have to believe she’s given us enough power to do the job. Maybe she hasn’t revealed the whole story yet. Pages pop up from time to time. Maybe we’ll get a blueprint on how to do it when we need it most.”

  “You think so?”

  “I know so.” His eyes went to the window. “We need to find Isobel, make sure she’s really dead and doesn’t need help.”

  Silver frowned. “But we have no idea where her body could be.”

  “I think I might know.” He crossed over to the door and opened it before gesturing for Silver to follow him. “Are you coming?”

  She nodded and pasted on a wane smile.

  ******

  Two days later they laid Isobel in a tomb.

  Gray stone walls and black bars over the doorway, the crypt belonged to the Reign family. Because they weren’t sure Isobel was actually dead, they wanted to put her somewhere where they could keep an eye on her. The girl didn’t have a pulse, but no one understood what happened to a werewolf when their soul was ripped from their body. According to the diary the soul moved on, but Lovely wasn’t always ri
ght. No one had severed Isobel’s head from her shoulders, so it was possible she could come back to life. Andrew and Ian had wanted to cut her head off, but Jack and Silver had the feeling she might still have a part to play in the whole werewolf battle—for better or for worse.

  They placed her on a marble platform instead of inside of a coffin. When they’d found her, her eyes had been staring up at the sky, just like in the dream. They had found her in the field where she had first taught Jack how to suck out souls. Apparently she had lain down in the grass and gone to sleep. Somehow he had known she would be there.

  Jack stood on one side with Silver on the other and said, “I feel like I should say something. I mean, we shouldn’t just leave her here without at least a prayer.”

  “Go ahead.”

  His gaze returned to Isobel’s pale face. He chose his words carefully. He wanted to be respectful of the dead, but he didn’t want to feed Silver’s jealousy. Speaking directly to Isobel he said, “I haven’t known you for very long. I don’t know what your favorite color is or what you like to do on a Saturday night, but I do know you tried to save my life. In the past you made bad choices. When it counted, you turned on Jersey. I thank you for that.”

  “I want to say something too.” Silver looked down at Isobel. “Even though you lied to me and you weren’t the person you pretended to be, you tried to save Jack’s life, and I’ll never forget that. I want you to know I’ll miss you in a weird sort of way, and I’m going to try to remember you as the girl I used to hang out with. Rest in peace.”

  “Do you really think she can be at peace after everything she’s done?”

  Silver nodded. “Deep inside I think she was a good person. Unlike Jersey.”

  Jack didn’t argue the point. His days of defending Jersey were over. Although he would always feel sorry for the man Jersey had been before meeting Lovely, Jack had come to hate him. They had had some interesting conversations, but those days were gone forever. From now on Jack planned to get ready for his battle with Jersey.