Dark Souls: Box Set: Books 1-5

by E. J. King

  “Nolan and a few of the more important pack members will have stayed in human form to complete the negotiation, but the rest will have changed in preparation for a potential battle,” she explained as we walked around the farmhouse.

  “But it’s just us. There isn’t going to be a battle.” I kept looking around for any sign of a Were about to pounce.

  “They aren’t going to take our word for it.” She nodded out toward the empty corn field. “There.”

  I could now see three men. One man standing just in front of the other two. Behind them, nearly a dozen Weres paced in animal form. Not quite wolves, but certainly not human.

  “The one in front is the Alpha,” Joy whispered.

  It was dark and my human eyes didn’t see the fourth human form crumpled on the ground until I was just a few feet away.

  “Rafe!” I started to rush forward, but Joy grabbed my arm and held me in place.

  The Weres all growled ominously at me, but Nolan just smiled. My eyes barely noticed any of this because I was focused on Rafe.

  His head lifted when he heard his name, but his eyes were glassy and disconnected. It looked like he had been drugged, in addition to the severe beating he had suffered. His shirt was covered in blood, his lip split, and his nose broken.

  “You piece of shit,” I growled at Nolan.

  “Such a dirty mouth on such a pretty girl.” He sneered. “I hope your blood tastes as delicious as you look.”

  “I hope you choke on it,” I spat. “I’m here. You can let him go now.”

  Nolan held up a hand. “Calm down, girl. We need to make sure you came alone first.”

  With a flick of his hand, several of the Weres took off in a big circle, noses sniffing. Again, I couldn’t take my eyes off Rafe. He was already starting to look more lucid and now I could tell that he recognized me.

  “Kaylie.” My name came out like a croak and he started coughing up blood.

  “It’s okay, Rafe. I’m here.” I tried not to notice the look of pleasure on Nolan’s face. “You’re going to be just fine.”

  “That’s right. You will.” Nolan looked down at him. “But your girlfriend won’t. We’re going to tie her up and slowly drain her blood, keeping her alive just long enough to get all the blood we need. Then, we’re going to kill her.”

  Rafe grunted and tried to push himself upright, but the pain was too much and he doubled over.

  The Weres were all back now, seemingly pleased to have found no one lurking in the dark. They looked at me with hungry eyes.

  “Ready to do this?” Nolan asked. “Of course, even if you wanted to back out, we wouldn’t let you. But I’m trying to be a gentleman here and let you make the first move.”

  “How kind of you.” I turned to Joy. “Just get him out of here and don’t look back.”

  She nodded to show that she understood.

  “Alright. Let’s do this, sicko.” I held my arms away from my sides. “I assume you’ll want to check for weapons?”

  “I’ll let my boys do it,” he pointed to the men on either side of him. “It’s been awhile since either of them has gotten some action.”

  My eyes rolled. “Great. You aren’t just a murderous Alpha, you’re also a pervert. How did I get so lucky?”

  “Only the best for you.” He started to smile, but something made him freeze.

  The Weres behind him all became agitated, sniffing the air and growling. Several seconds later, I heard shuffling behind us and turned. A few dozen people were walking across the field. All of them were Haven residents, and all of them were naked. All of them except Slade, Ethan, and Luke, who were leading the way.

  “Human forms to disguise the Were scent?” Nolan’s face had grown dark. “Well played.”

  Slade, at the front of everyone, held up a hand with a closed fist and all of the humans behind him began to change into the animal form. It was quite the sight to see.

  “You wanted a battle, Nolan. We’re just bringing one to you.” Slade didn’t so much as blink as he stared down the enemy Alpha.

  The transformation was complete and I realized that I was standing directly in the middle of two packs of Weres. If a battle broke out, I was either going to get trampled or torn to pieces.

  “Are you really willing to risk your pack for a pathetic Hunter?” Nolan asked scornfully.

  “The better question is, are you? Our pack is nearly twice the size of yours. I think we both know how this is going to end.” Slade moved his hand again and this time the Weres all moved into sitting positions. “I’m here to offer you a way out.”

  “I’m not going anywhere without the girl.” Nolan practically salivated when he looked at me.

  Slade nodded. “I figured as much. But what if you could have her blood without us giving her to you.”

  Nolan flinched. “How is that possible?”

  “I’ll show you.” Slade slowly reached into his back pocket and pulled out an empty blood bag. “I’ll draw her blood right here in front of you. Not all of it, just enough for you.”

  “What do you want in return?” Nolan was unmistakably interested.

  “You let the Hunter leave with us, and you let us take the girl.”

  I could tell that Nolan’s pack was not happy by the proposition, but he wasn’t worrying about them. All he cared about was getting my blood so that he could become virtually immortal.

  “And you will let us all leave unharmed?” he clarified.

  “Yes.” Slade answered without hesitation.

  “How do I know you can be trusted?”

  Slade challenged, “When have I ever not kept my word?”

  They exchanged a long look and eventually Nolan nodded. “Fine. Take her blood.”

  Slade stepped close to me and took my arm. He pushed the sleeve up, looking for a good vein. “This is going to pinch, Kaylie,” he said.

  I kept my eyes on Rafe as the needle was inserted and the bag began to fill. This wasn’t an ideal solution, but if it worked, we would all get to live. That was the best I could hope for under the circumstances.

  When the bag was full, Slade removed the needle. “Thank you,” he whispered in my ear before moving away to give it to Nolan.

  While the exchange took place, I rushed to Rafe. He was fully cognizant now, but was still too weak to stand on his own.

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Kaylie,” he said as I put his arm around my shoulders. Ethan rushed in from the other side and we got him on his feet.

  I didn’t stay to see what would happen with the Weres. All I cared about was getting Rafe to safety.

  Both of the Alphas kept their word and we were soon on the road, headed back to Haven. Rafe slipped into unconsciousness again and I held him gently, wishing that we weren’t so far away from Haven.

  I wasn’t allowed into the medical wing where they took Rafe when we got back. I tried waiting outside, but eventually I was ordered away. The good news was that though his injuries had been severe, they weren’t life threatening. He was going to be okay.

  Rafe was safe and Haven wasn’t at risk for the time being. It was the best possible result. But I knew that it was only a temporary safety. If my blood had really worked the way Nolan thought it would, the next time we dealt with him wouldn’t end so peacefully. I had no doubt in my mind that he would be back.

  The next day, Rafe was cleared to leave the medical wing. I found him in his room, looking better, but still wounded.

  “You look pathetic,” I said, tentatively approaching the bed. “If you did this to get sympathy, it worked.”

  “This is how I always attract the ladies,” he joked. “You know broken noses totally turn you on.”

  “Oh yeah. I can barely control myself right now.” I perched carefully on the edge of his bed. “How bad is it? Honestly.”

  He forced a smile. “I’ve been through worse. Plus, now you get to be my Florence Nightingale. I’m due for a sponge bath soon.”

  “Don’t make me regr
et saving you,” I scolded.

  “That was really stupid, Kaylie. You should never have done that.” He looked even more perturbed than he sounded.

  “Too bad.” I very carefully lay down next to him and curled my body around his. “Now shut up and get some sleep. Florence’s orders.”

  His arm went around me and he sighed contentedly. “Fine. We’ll do the sponge bath later.”

  It took a couple of days for Rafe to recover enough to make it out of his room. It was nice having that time with him for us to talk and just be together. We were usually so busy fighting monsters that we didn’t to spend a lot of time just being a couple. But I was still glad when his strength came back enough that he could move around on his own.

  “I’m thinking tonight might be the night,” he said softly as we walked slowly through the square. His arm was around my shoulders and a light snow was falling through the air.

  It seemed like everyone from Haven was out tonight, relishing the victory over Nolan and his pack. People were in a festive mood and it was contagious.

  “The night for what?” I looked up at him in confusion.

  “I think I’m feeling well enough to reward you for your heroics in saving my life,” he said with a seductive smile.

  I laughed and squeezed him tighter, but not enough to hurt him. “Deal.”

  The speakers above us blared again, but this time the alarm was different. Everyone froze where they were and looked anxiously toward the center of the square at the area just in front of the fountain. We were only a few feet from that spot.

  “What’s going on?” I asked Joy.

  She was standing nearby, next to Ethan. “We have a visitor.”

  “A visitor?” Rafe repeated.

  “Someone important,” she looked toward the main entrance into the square. “It must be her.”

  “Her?” I followed Joy’s gaze.

  “The woman that saved Slade’s life and is responsible for Haven’s existence,” Joy explained. “Violet.”

  My heart pounded so violently that I could feel it echoing in my head. It felt like time stood still as the doors opened and Slade stepped into the square, followed closely by a beautiful woman with flowing, dark hair.

  Everything else faded away as I looked at her. She walked with supreme confidence, head pulled up and shoulders back. As she passed through the crowd, she smiled at each person, stopping short just in front of me.

  I felt Rafe’s hand drop on my shoulder, but that was it. Nothing else registered.

  Slade started to address the crowd, but his words were lost on me until I he said, “I’m so pleased to announce that we have been joined by my good friend, Violet.”

  While the crowd clapped and cheered, I noticed movement next to me. I turned just in time to see Ethan’s face pull pack in a snarl. His eyes changed into something I had only seen once, before we had broken his compulsion. But now his eyes had that vacant, unfeeling look again.

  Just as soon as I realized that our attempt hadn’t worked and he was still under compulsion, he rushed forward. The knife appeared in his hand from nowhere and he barreled toward Violet. I tried to stop him, but he was faster than me.

  Slade was still facing the crowd and didn’t see him coming. Ethan was going to kill Violet and I couldn’t stop him.

  But then I noticed that Luke had seen the whole thing from the other side of the crowd and he was rushing forward, too. He was closer to Violet than us and he was able to dive in front of her just as Ethan threw his hand forward.

  As the knife sank into Luke’s chest, I screamed. Slade and Violet both turned, shock on their faces.

  Then men appeared around her in a protective circle and hurried her away while Trevor and two others tackled Ethan.

  I ran to Luke, catching him as he sank to the ground. His eyes were still open and his mouth moved silently as I cradled his head in my lap.

  “Stay with me, Luke,” I said, pressing my hand over the hemorrhaging wound. Blood gushed between my fingers. I knew there was nothing I could do.

  “Don’t cry,” he whispered.

  I hadn’t even realized that tears were streaming down my face. “Don’t do this to me, Luke,” I begged.

  “Be strong, Kaylie,” he said through a raspy breath. He hissed in one more breath and then went still in my arms.

  Luke was gone, and Ethan had killed him.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Turn off the alarm!”

  I pulled the pillow around my head, futilely attempting to drown out the blaring noise. Though muffled, it was still audible. I groaned loudly and tried again.

  “Off. Now, please.”

  When the shrieking continued, I removed the pillow and opened my eyes.

  The bed next to mine was empty and neatly made. My roommate was probably spending the night elsewhere.

  I smacked a hand on the alarm and the noise finally stopped. Peace at last.

  Then the dorm room door flew open with a loud bang.

  “Wakey, wakey!”

  “Shut up!” I yelled, throwing the pillow at the figure in the doorway. “You are my least favorite roommate, Hope.”

  “Kaylie. You don’t mean that.” The pretty girl bounded across the room and threw herself onto her bed. “It’s a beautiful morning.”

  I lay back down, wishing I hadn’t thrown my pillow across the room. “You are way too chipper this morning. What happened to you last night?”

  “I met a boy,” she said with a delighted sigh. “He’s handsome and smart, and a perfect gentleman.”

  “Sounds dreamy,” I said, stretching and groaning. “You’re sure he’s real? This isn’t like that time you thought you had a secret admirer, is it?”

  “That was an honest mistake. That guys was in all of my classes. And he’s always in the cafeteria at the same time as us.”

  “He’s a freshman. He lives in this dorm.” I rolled my eyes. “Maybe I’m stalking you, too.”

  “You just refuse to believe that someone else can nab a guy as great as your boyfriend.” Hope stuck her tongue out at me.

  Sometimes, it was hard for me to believe that Hope and I had only been friends for a month, since our first day of freshman year at Jackson College. It was hard to imagine a better roommate, even if she did annoy the crap out of me on occasion.

  “Will the new boy be joining us at the Lucky Lady tonight?” It was a safe bet that Hope would’ve invited him within minutes of their meeting. She wasn’t exactly known for playing hard-to-get.

  “He will if he knows what’s good for him.” Hope yawned loudly. “I should probably catch up on my beauty sleep.”

  “You didn’t have any problem ruining mine,” I grumbled. The reality was that it was good she had forgotten to unset her alarm. I had a big test coming up and I needed to hit the library for some intense studying.

  It took a few more seconds of convincing, but I finally got out of bed. After a long shower, I dressed in my now typical college attire- jeans and a Panthers t-shirt. As I walked across campus, I looked just like all of the other co-eds. No one would’ve looked at me and guessed that I was also a vampire hunter. Sometimes, I managed to forget that myself.

  A year ago, when I’d defiantly told my parents that I was enrolling in college and planned to pursue a “normal” life, I’d never actually thought that it would happen. I was raised in the Hunter world, a world from which no one ever escaped. Once a Hunter, always a Hunter. But after a few months of arguing, they’d finally agreed to let me go. Probably because I told them I was doing it with our without their approval.

  Now I’d been on campus a month and hadn’t hunted a single Soul. I had been spending my time in class and in the library, and occasionally at a party or a bar whenever Hope refused to take no for an answer.

  The library had only been open for ten minutes when I arrived, so I had no problem claiming my favorite table on the second floor. Over the course of the next hour, the tables around me slowly filled with fellow nerds. I re
cognized all of them, but knew none of their names. I wasn’t in the library for small talk and friendship. I was there to spend some quality time with my books.

  When I had left for college, I had made a decision that I would commit myself completely to my education. Nothing less than As would be acceptable. Now, I was determined to keep that promise.

  I was so intent in my studying that I didn’t even notice another person had taken a seat at the other end of my table. It wasn’t until my eyes trailed away from my laptop while I was lost in thought that I noticed him, just three feet away. Even then, I only noticed him because he was staring right at me. Or at least, I thought he was staring at me. It was hard to say for certain since he was wearing dark sunglasses.

  Normally, I just ignored people like him- strangers that liked to stare and be creepy. But with this guy, it was different. I couldn’t look away.

  I could’ve sworn that we had never met, that I had never even seen him prior to that moment. But somehow it felt like we knew each other. And while the way he was looking at me was unnerving, it also wasn’t completely unwelcome.

  “Kaylie!” Hope’s hissing voice pulled me away from the mysterious stranger.

  I gave her a warning look as she skipped across the room toward me. Heads swiveled all around as people wearily wondered if their quiet study time was about to be ruined.

  I had a feeling the answer to that question was yes.

  “Have you really been sitting here all morning looking at those books?” she asked, loudly.

  “This is the library, Hope,” I whispered. “People come here to sit quietly and look at books.”

  “Boring.” She sighed and flopped into the chair across from me. “What happened to the hot guy that was sitting here?”

  The mystery stranger was gone. Just like his arrival, his departure had gone unnoticed. I wondered if he was that stealthy or if I was just that oblivious.

  “I have no idea,” I said with a glance at his empty chair.

  “Dang. I was hoping to get to know him better.” She waggled her eyebrows at me and I laughed, causing a few more disgruntled looks to fly our way.