by Ella Stone
“I don’t think that’s the case. She still has no proper control over her body.”
“Well she needs to have, and soon, damn it.”
She was about as far from being in control, as anyone in transition I had ever seen. Her hands were shaking and her body was emitting a scent of sweat so strong, it was overpowering to my wolfish nose. She continued to tremble, knees and elbows lengthening and retracting, as she flickered between states. Her mind didn’t stay wolf long enough to allow us to communicate with her. My anger knew no bounds. If she had just practised like the rest of us, she wouldn’t have put us in this dangerous position.
“What can we do, Victor? What do you want us to do? If she gets caught like this, the whole plan is ruined. They’ll alert the Duchess.”
My words joined a thousand other thoughts, coming from the rest of the pack. A storm was rampaging through the Alpha’s mind as, each moment, his decision changed as to what the best course of action should be.
“We have no options. She will change back before someone arrives. I have faith.”
Like me, the other wolves did not.
“We have to do it now. We must leave.”
“We need them to unlock our cages first. There’s no way for us to get out otherwise.”
“We have to leave her. Let the vampires have her. We can’t lose this chance.”
All eyes moved from Frances to Victor, everyone wondering what decision their Alpha would make and how it would affect them. Only I was thinking beyond the moment, as I listened to a sound beyond the dungeon. Then my nose caught a scent. One that made my heart skip a beat.
“Someone’s coming!” I called to Victor above the cacophony of voices. “It’s Rhett. Please. Let me do this. Let me speak to him.”
For the first time since Frances had changed, his focus shifted—to me.
“No, Eve. We’ve talked about this. It’s not happening.”
“He thinks I’m a wolf, Victor. He thinks I’m gone, lost to him. If he sees Frances like this, he’s going to tell the other vampires. He will tell the Duchess. There is only one thing that can stop him. Me. Please, Victor. You know that I am right. Let me speak to Rhett.”
“No, we see this through as planned. Frances just needs a moment. She will get a grip.”
“No, she won’t!”
“Eve, I am ordering you to stay as you are!”
My eyes went to Frances. Crouched on all fours she was jumping between forms; a monster of a new kind. And there, in the doorway, was Rhett.
“Eve.” Victor’s voice growled through my skull. The other wolves whimpered at the harsh sound. But I wasn’t one of the other wolves. All of our lives were at stake and I wasn’t going to be overruled on this.
“I’m sorry,” I said. And I was. I truly was. I transitioned.
11
EVE
I stood, breathless, staring at his grey-clad figure. His eyes were fixed on Frances. He took a hesitant step towards her.
“Rhett!”
Faster than my mind could comprehend, he had turned and was facing me. Fear and confusion flashed across his face.
“Eve? What’s going on? I don’t understand. You’re human! And what’s happening to her?”
“She’s fine. She’s just struggling to transition.”
The confusion in his expression deepened.
“Transition? This is something you can do?”
“The others can’t know. The vampires. They can’t know that we can do this. We have a plan. To free ourselves.”
Even after all he had seen, and what he had himself become, he was struggling to comprehend the enormity of what was in front of him. I held out a hand to him through the bars of my cage, reaching for his.
“Please, Rhett. You can help us. I need you to help us.” I had thought his reaction would be instant, that he’d bound to my aid, the way he had tried before. But, rather than coming and taking my hand, he stayed motionless, as if frozen to the spot.
“How long?’ he asked. ‘How long have you been able to do this?’
“Please Rhett.”
“How long Eve?” His voice trembled.
Tears pricked my eyes. With my hand still outreached, I tried to control my emotions.
“Since the first week,” I whispered.
His expression hardened.
“And you never thought to tell me? You didn't think I needed to know? I grieved for you, Eve. I… I…”
“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, I promise I did. But I wasn’t allowed. The Alpha wouldn’t let me.”
“The Alpha?”
“Please Rhett. I was ordered to stay silent. I had to obey. I couldn’t refuse.”
“But now you can?”
My chin dipped with the most minuscule of nods. “Please, we have a chance of escape. You won’t say anything will you? Tell me you won’t say anything? Don’t tell them.”
Silence followed. The pounding in my chest had now reached my head and I looked away. It was only then that I realised my mistake. I had been so distracted, so blinded by Rhett and his voice, that I hadn’t noticed that Frances was now back in wolf form, curled up on the ground, whimpering like a pup. I had also failed to see the hackles of all the other wolves rise. And the new presence in the room. Dimitar.
“This is magnificent,” he said. “This is better than we could have dreamed of. I will take you to the Duchess myself.”
As fast as I could, I pulled my arm back through the bars, but he was too quick for me. Flashing past Rhett, he grabbed my hand and yanked me forward, slamming my naked body against the ironwork. He pressed his face against my skin and inhaled, long and deep. His nostrils flared as I reeled under his touch. Could I change while he still held me? Would his grip fix the bones in a way I couldn’t imagine? My head was swimming with thoughts.
Suddenly, his hand was gone, as Rhett slammed a fist into him.
“Do not lay a finger on her,” he hissed.
A sneer crossed Dimitar’s face, as he turned to the other vampire.
“So, I was right. You and the bitch.”
Another punch struck Dimitar square in the stomach. He barely flinched.
“You are not serious. If you side with these animals, you know there is only one way it will end.”
“You need to leave.” Rhett growled. “Forget what you saw here.”
“You know that isn’t going to happen.”
“Please,” I begged. “You were human once.”
“Oh yes,” his eyes glinted. “Great tactic—appeal to my ‘human’ nature. Because no one has ever tried that before.”
“Dimitar…” Rhett’s voice was now so quiet, I could barely hear it. “I am giving you one chance.”
“Oh yes, and what are you going to do otherwise?”
The punch flew immediately, but Dimitar saw it coming. He ducked and wrapped his arms around Rhett’s waist, lifting him from the ground before hurling him onto the floor.
“We’re making a lot of noise here,” he sneered. “We’re going to wake a lot of people.”
“Don’t worry. This won’t last long.” And Rhett shot me a look so fast, that the other vampire failed to see it, but I understood. I knew what he meant and what I had to do.
He fired off another punch, this time throwing every ounce of his body weight behind it. He struck Dimitar side on, causing him to topple, not to the ground, but against my cage. And I was ready. Instantly, I transformed and sank my teeth into his arm, feeling the bones shatter between my powerful jaws. He howled in pain, writhing in my grip as he struggled to free himself. But it was no good. Rhett was upon him. His hands clasped his head and, with one quick twist, the snap of Dimitar’s spine reverberated around the room. His body fell limply to the ground.
Panting and trembling, I returned to my human form.
“We have to go,” Rhett ordered, this time breaking the padlock clean off without a second thought. “The others will have heard us. We need to leave now.”
“Not without them.”
“Eve, we don’t have time. They will be coming.”
I’d had more than enough time to ruminate about what my answer should have been the last time we were in this situation. Now, I had a second chance.
“I cannot leave without them. They are my pack.”
My pack. The words had more meaning than ever before. I had felt the change when I had defied Victor’s command. I was the Alpha now. I could not have left them if I had tried.
“Fine.” Rhett yanked the keys from Dimitar’s waistband. “Move.”
The moment they saw the keys in his hand, the wolves transformed. Humans now stood waiting.
“Grab your clothes,” I told them. “It will be freezing outside.”
Rhett flew around, stripping the padlocks from the doors.
“We need to move. They will be on their way.”
Soon, all the cages were empty. He took the keys from his own chain and handed them to Victor.
“The brass ones unlock the metal doors on the stairways. When you get to the wooden doors, you need the iron keys. At the top, turn left. That will take you to the courtyard. You can run as wolves but, if the gate is closed, someone will need to be in human form to open it. Eve and I will bring up the rear.”
Victor quickly nodded, before charging out of the door and up the stairs.
“Go quickly,” I yelled, grabbing blankets and throwing them over the shoulders of those who were still in human form. “We will be behind you. Remember to stay together, wolf or human. Do not divide the pack. You must be able to hear. Listen to Victor if you cannot hear me. I will be right behind you.”
One by one, they escaped up the stairs. As the last one took to the steps, I went to follow. Rhett shook his head and pushed the door closed.
“This way. There is another route. We’ll meet them in the courtyard.”
“But I should be with them.”
“And you will but, with just the two of us, this way is faster. Trust me.”
He moved to the back of the dungeon. Feeling along the wall, his hands came to rest on a large stone. He pushed and it sank into a recess. A click and a whir followed, as the lower section of wall slid downwards, revealing a narrow opening. Of course, a castle had to have secret passages.
“It will be dark,” he said, beckoning me in, before sliding in behind me and reclosing the door. “Just keep moving forwards.”
Holding my hands out in front of me, I scrabbled along, my head grazing the ceiling, my palms scraping on the gravel when I stumbled. In places, the cobwebs were so thick they coated my hands.
“Where does this bring us out?” I was straining to hear any sounds in the darkness. A sense of apprehension and foreboding that I had not felt since becoming a wolf returned. Rhett had been right; any more than the two of us in here would have slowed the pace considerably. But being separated from the pack was already causing my hands to sweat. If I needed any more confirmation that I was their Alpha, I had it.
“I should have stayed with them. I’m their leader now.”
“We couldn’t have fitted them all through here. And the vampires would have had the exit blocked and be waiting, once they realised we had gone this way.”
“How far is it? It’s taking too long.”
As much as I tried, it was impossible to go any faster. We seemed to be going on and on. And I knew that the dungeon was deep, but we barely seemed to be moving upwards at all.
“How much further?” Panic was growing with every step I took.
“It’s still a little way yet.”
“But the others must be there already. I thought this route was going to mean we got there first.”
“They’ll be fine.”
My mouth had dried. Each second away from the others felt like an eternity. I needed to hear them. Needed to know that they were okay.
“How much longer?”
“We’re almost there. You’ll find a hatch above your head. Try reaching up…”
Still unable to see, after a small amount of groping around, my hand met stone and more stone and then metal. A latch. I pushed at the cover with all my might.
For a moment, the darkness was so intense, I thought I was still in the tunnel or in another one. That was until I saw the mass of stars above me, their light shimmering through the trees.
“Dear God.” The words left my lips on a gasp. “I never thought I’d see that again.”
Rhett appeared behind me. The pressure of his hand on my skin brought me back to the moment.
“Where are we? The courtyard?”
I twisted around … and saw a castle wall behind me, a closed gate in its centre. Realisation struck me in the gut, more bitterly than all the serums in the world.
“What? We are outside! We’re outside the castle! I need to get to them!”
As I turned back to Rhett, he grabbed hold of me, his arms tight around my shaking body.
“It’s no good Eve. I’m so sorry. You can’t help them. The vampires were already coming. It was already too late. There was no escape.”
“No! You said we would meet them. That we would protect them.”
“I couldn’t save them all. It was impossible. Eve please—”
“Let go of me!” I sobbed. “We should have stayed. They could have fought them off as wolves.”
“They stood no chance, Eve. They were hopelessly outnumbered. Please, I—”
“Let go of me!”
Unable to free myself from his grip, my instincts took over. I didn’t care how many bones I broke. The wolf released itself from within me. Rhett jumped back from the growling beast now rearing in front of him. The cold of the night air, crisp and clean, ran like adrenalin through my senses. And then came the realisation.
“Victor!” I shouted his name in my head. “Victor, where are you? Martha? David? Please! Are you there? Are you there? Someone answer me!”
Every call was met with silence, as my instincts took over and I raced towards the walls. Rhett was sprinting behind me, but I dared not stop or glance around even to growl. The pack, that was all that mattered. I would be able to hear them again when I got closer, I told myself.
“Please. Please hold on. I’m coming.”
As my feet sped across the ground, a sour smell, like burning flesh and hair, met my nostrils. Slowing, I glanced up and saw the faintest tendrils of smoke twisting into the air, as if from a newly lit fire. One that was burning meat and fur.
“No. No. It cannot be. It cannot.”
I don’t know how I managed to keep going. How I didn’t crumple on the spot. But I somehow reached the castle. Shouting met my ears, although what they were saying I could not tell. Changing back into human form, I inched towards the gateway. A mixture of shouting and cheers came from within the walls. The vampires.
“Eve.” Rhett gripped my arm. “There was nothing you could have done. You know that. And you would have died trying. This was the only way. It was the only way I could save you.”
Tears blurred my vision. Nausea was overwhelming me.
“You… you… you killed them.”
“Please, Eve, give it time. You’ll come to understand. I only did what I did for you. For us.”
“For us?” I spat the word with all the venom I could muster. “There is no us! There will never be any us!’
“Please—”
“You are… a monster!”
Those were the last words I spoke to him. Transforming in that instant, I sprinted into the forest. Raced away from all of it. From Rhett. From my dead pack, my friends, and the smell of their burning flesh. I needed to get as far away as I could. Over valleys and rivers, I ran. Miles and miles, long after Rhett stopped chasing me, until the castle was as distant as the homeland I had lost.
When I stopped, the sun was splintering over the horizon. The stars had almost gone from the sky. Lifting my head, I offered a single howl to the pale moon.
The End...
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Dark Creatures
He took everything from her. Now she’s determined to make him pay…
London. Narissa Knight is obsessed with revenge. For ten years, the twenty-five-year-old has hunted for the vampire that murdered her father. Desperate to put an end to her futile search, she resorts to offering herself up as a meal to the bloodsucker elite.
Garnering the attention of a handsome century-old Calin, she attempts to have him unwittingly aid her quest for vengeance. But as the lies and secrets begin piling up her quarry turns the tables, and Narissa finds herself confronting the most devastating secret of all…
Is the cost of retribution too high even for her?
Dark Creatures is the first book in the chilling Dark Creatures episodic urban fantasy saga. If you like brooding vampires, shocking reveals, and fast-paced action, then you’ll adore Ella Stone’s supernatural tale.
Buy Dark Creatures to drive a stake into the underworld today!
Pre-Order Dark Creatures today.
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About the Author
Ella Stone is a long term reader of urban fantasy and paranormal romance novels. The Dark Creatures Saga is her highly anticipated step into that world as a writer.