There was no sign of the big white wolf, but she hadn’t expected him to be there. “Umm, did you find your brother?” she couldn’t help but ask, looking into the forest around them.
“He’s around,” Jessie said. “He’ll be there if we need him.”
Jessie assigned them all places to hide while they waited for Sebastian and his men to climb the mountain. It was one of the hardest things she’d ever done to sit there quietly and wait for her stepfather to appear at the top of the trail. The temptation to get up and find Jessie to confess the rest of her lies was so strong that Danny had to stop her twice before he took her hand and wouldn’t let go.
“Danny, I have to go tell him; it feels important that he knows now. I can’t explain why, but you have to let me go talk to him,” she said, her eyes pleading with him.
She could tell that he was close to giving in, but said, “It’s not the right time, Kara, he’ll just get distracted. It’s not going to make any difference now; Sebastian is coming whether he knows the truth or not.”
Kara shook her head again, “But, Danny, I think...”
She never finished her sentence because there was a clattering in the woods and a string of curses came floating in on the breeze. Danny grinned at her, “Bet they didn’t expect that,” he whispered, then waited.
There was another loud crash, and then a deep voice said, “Get back on the trail, you idiots.”
Danny grinned at her again. “Now we know where they all are,” he said, rising to his feet and pulling her up with him.
Kara wanted to duck down again, wasn’t sure that she was brave enough to face Sebastian like this. “Danny, I’m scared. Are you sure this is a good idea? Maybe I should just go with him. I won’t be able to live with myself if something happens to you,” she said, her voice shaking.
“That’s never going to happen unless I’m dead, Kara. Do you really think I could stand by and watch while the woman I love leaves with a man like that? He made you kill for him, Kara. I’m not letting that happen again,” Danny said, his eyes glowing in the darkness.
Kara’s heart felt like it had stopped. “You love me?” she asked, everything else fading at that moment.
Danny grinned at her. “I’ve loved you from almost the first minute I met you, Kara. We’re meant for each other, meant to be together. I was so afraid you wouldn’t see that too, but I think you do. I love you, Kara, and I always will.”
Kara sucked in a deep breath, feeling his words penetrate deeply into her soul. “I love you too, Danny. I love you so much it scares me sometimes,” she said, throwing herself into his arms.
Chapter Eighteen
***Danny***
Danny stood holding Kara for a long time, sucking Kara’s scent deep into his lungs, feeling the love he felt for her consume him. It penetrated every cell of his body, warming him from the inside and making him feel more powerful than he’d ever felt in his life.
Now he understood the power that love held, how it could change someone so completely that they became an entirely new and better person. His body alive with the new awareness of the depth of his love for Kara; his body grew stronger, his blood pumping through his veins, and he knew that before the day was over, she would be his forever.
Danny pulled back and looked down at Kara, the need to kiss her so powerful that he gave in. But their kiss was cut short. “I’m certainly glad I didn’t miss that little moment. Isn’t it romantic, two people pledging their eternal love?” a voice said from the trees.
Startled, Danny pushed Kara behind him and searched the trees for the source of the voice. A tall man finally emerged from the trees next to the trail, planted his feet, and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Who are you and what do you want?” Danny challenged.
“Oh, you know who I am, unless of course, Kara hasn’t told you about her beloved stepfather. The man who fed her and clothed her for her entire life, the man she ran away from when it was time to pay back all the sacrifices that were made for her,” he said.
“That’s not the man I heard about. I heard about an evil man who used an innocent woman for his own gain,” Danny said. “A man who made her do terrible things.”
Jessie stepped up then with Sophie standing slightly behind him. “We don’t like your kind around here; I think you should leave. Kara doesn’t belong to you: she never did, and she never will,” he said, his eyes glowing green in the darkness.
Sebastian turned his attention to Jessie. “Well, isn’t this nice, you’ve got a regular little army on your side, don’t you?” he asked, then he grinned wickedly at Kara. “How nice it is that your brother is willing to defend you, especially since your mother chose you over him. That’s awfully generous if you ask me; if it were me, I’d hate you. I’d want to see you dead.”
There was a long silence; Kara didn’t know what to say, how to explain what Sebastian had just said. Jessie turned and looked at her, his mouth hanging open in shock. “What did he just say?” he asked her. “Did he just say that I’m your brother?”
Kara could do nothing but nod. Sebastian let out an evil cackle. “Oh, this is just too much fun,” he said, then pointed at Jessie. “You didn’t know; you didn’t know that Kara was your sister. Your little bitch of a mother popped out more than just two of you. At least with Kara, it was only her; no other little monsters came out.”
Danny was suddenly worried. Jessie was staring at Kara as if she had two heads. “She wanted to tell you as soon as we got back, but we got interrupted,” he said, trying to defend Kara.
“I’m sorry, Jessie, I should never have lied to you. I was scared you’d turn your back on me, blame me for the choices our mother made. Please understand, I never meant to hurt you or upset you,” she pleaded.
Jessie narrowed his eyes at Kara, then turned back to Sebastian. “If what you say is true, that means Kara is my family, and around here we don’t turn our backs on our family, no matter how many times they lie to us,” he said.
Danny heard Kara suck in a deep breath and felt her knees begin to shake. He put his arm around her and whispered, “I told you it would be okay.”
She nodded at him, then looked back over at Sebastian. “It’s not over yet, Danny. He’s not going to give up without a fight.”
Sebastian took a few steps toward them. “Isn’t that sweet, brother and sister becoming a family. I’m so glad I didn’t miss this, but I’m quickly losing my patience with this whole thing. It’s time I got what I came here for; you haven’t made this very easy on me, Kara, but I suppose it’s going to end well so I’ll forgive you for that.”
“It’s not going to end well for you, Sebastian. Jessie and I won’t let you take her with you,” Danny said, pushing Kara farther behind him.
“I don’t think you two can stop me unless you know a little magic,” Sebastian said, pulling something out of his pocket and holding it up in the air.
It was dark in the clearing, but the moonlight glinted off a metal chain and at the bottom hung a glass heart. Inside there was a single strand of hair, it was strangely illuminated, glowing like a hot ember, and he heard Kara gasp.
“I threw that in the lake,” she said, her voice scratchy from fright.
Sebastian laughed. “Did you really think I wouldn’t protect it, that I wouldn’t put a homing spell on it? As soon as it hit the water, it appeared back with me, but now I want you to have it again,” he said, then started toward Kara.
“Leave me alone, Sebastian. I’m not going to wear that thing,” Kara screamed, clearly panicked.
Danny turned to her. “Calm down; we’re not going to let him get to you,” he said.
She looked at him, her eyes big. “You don’t understand; I can feel it pulling me. I want to go to him, Danny; I can’t help it,” she said, taking a few steps toward Sebastian.
Danny watched helplessly as Kara took a few more steps toward her stepfather, the look of triumph on his face making it nearly impossible for Danny to resist
shifting. But he knew that wouldn’t help, so he grabbed Kara and tried to turn her around, tried to stop her forward progress.
***Kara***
Kara felt the pull of the locket, couldn’t take her eyes off the glowing heart. Her vision began to blur; then she felt Danny’s hands on her arms. “Don’t look at it, Kara, look at me,” he ordered, putting his face right in hers and grabbing her head between his hands.
Her vision began to clear, and she saw Danny in front of her. “I can’t help it, Danny, I want to look at it,” she said, trying desperately not to turn her head.
“Come on, Kara; I know you want to look, just think how nice it will be just to relax and let go. I’ll take care of you; haven’t I always?” Sebastian’s voice was melodic, and he began to mumble a spell under his breath.
“It’s getting stronger,” she whispered, her eyes locked on Danny’s. “I don’t know how much longer I can resist.”
Kara wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to last, but then Jessie stepped forward. “That’s enough, Sebastian,” he said, his voice booming through the clearing and breaking the spell.
Sebastian turned to Jessie, “So, you’re finally going to speak up. I was waiting for that. I have something for you too, son.”
Jessie glared at him. “You don’t know who you’re messing with; it’s time you got off my mountain and left my sister alone,” he said, and then not only did his eyes begin to glow, but his body began to shimmer.
Kara finally released from the spell Sebastian was trying to cast, looked over at her brother, sure that he was about to shift. But then Sebastian grinned at Jessie and pulled another locket from his pocket and began chanting the spell again.
“Did you really think I’d come up here unprepared? Many years ago, your mother was kind enough to share your story with me; she didn’t mean to, but a little alcohol can go a long way to loosening up someone’s tongue,” he said, dangling the locket in the air.
“She showed me your baby book, all three pages she’d filled out, but that was enough for me to know that someday I’d figure out a way to control you. You see, I knew it was possible since she’d snipped a lock of your hair before abandoning you to fate; that little lock of hair turned out to be the key,” he finished.
When no one spoke, he went on. “You see, it’s all in the DNA: you’re both what the world calls a mutation, and thanks to that little lock of hair I was able to isolate that mutation and find a way to control it. A little science and a little magic and I’ve got you under my control.”
Kara looked over at Jessie, who was still glaring at Sebastian. “Jessie, get out of here before he uses that thing. Once he does, there’s no escaping it,” she said, feeling the pull of the locket even as she spoke.
Sebastian laughed. “Oh there’s no escaping it, not now that the process has been started,” he said, then raised both lockets in the air. “But if you come quietly, I promise I’ll go easy on these two; their deaths will be quick and painless.”
As he chanted, Kara felt the pull of the locket beginning to take over. Her vision began to get cloudy, and the world began to fade to darkness. She took one step toward Sebastian, then another, shrugging off Danny with a strength she didn’t know she possessed.
“That’s right, Kara, come along with me; it will be much easier if you just give in. I’ll take good care of you, just like I always have,” Sebastian coaxed. “That’s a good girl.”
Kara was only vaguely aware of what was happening around her, unaware that Jessie was growling deep in his throat, or that Sophie had already shifted into the gigantic red wolf. But then she heard Danny’s voice through the fog in her brain; it was just a murmur at first, so quiet she couldn’t make out what he was saying.
But slowly the words began to make sense to her brain. “Don’t leave me, Kara, I love you. Fight him; you can do it for us. Do it for the life we’ll have together,” he said, repeating the same words over and over until the fog began to clear and she could see clearly.
Freed of the spell once again, she ran back to Danny’s side and buried her face in his chest, promising herself that she wouldn’t leave his side again. She couldn’t see him, but she heard Sebastian make a sound of frustration.
“I’m getting tired of this game. I think it’s time my friends showed you what I’m capable of,” he said, then called out to his men. “Finish these two and be quick about it.”
When there was no response after several long moments, he repeated his order, but nothing happened. Then they heard the howl of a wolf off in the trees, and Sebastian grinned wickedly at them. “If I were you, I’d start running now,” he said, glaring at Sophie, who was advancing on him one step at a time.
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Jessie said, pointing to the trees where a huge white wolf sat, blood dripping from its muzzle. “I think my brother has taken care of your men; they won’t be helping you, Sebastian.”
For the first time since he’d showed his face on Jessie’s mountain, Sebastian looked worried, but he squared his shoulders and said, “I’m going to give you one more chance to come along with me on your own. If you do, I’ll leave these two alone, if not, well, I can’t be responsible for what might happen.”
Then to Kara’s horror, Sebastian lifted his hand in the air, began to chant another spell, and a bolt of lightning split the air, hitting the ground right in front of Danny. “Do as I ask, or the next one won’t miss,” he said, holding out the locket. “Come and put this on like a good girl.”
Kara looked at Danny, then back at Sebastian. “I love you Danny, and I can’t bear it if you get hurt. I’ll be okay; maybe someday I’ll find you again,” she said, and then walked over to Sebastian.
Chapter Nineteen
***Danny***
Danny couldn’t believe that Kara was giving up so easily, that she wasn’t willing to fight for what they shared. But when she got right next to Sebastian, she reached up and grabbed the locket from his hand and threw it into the woods. He screamed in rage and turned on her, backhanding her so hard she flew across the clearing and landed with a thud on the ground.
She lay there unmoving, and he wanted to rush to her side, but Sebastian was standing over her, laughing. “I never really wanted her anyway; it’s Jessie I want,” he said, putting his booted foot on her back and shoving her down the hill.
That was the moment when Danny lost control, shifting into a wolf, he charged at Sebastian, who was caught off guard and didn’t move fast enough. They collided and fell to the ground, Sebastian trying to chant a spell, Danny’s powerful jaws snapping closed as he went for the man’s neck.
Sebastian threw him off, and jumped to his feet, then shot a fire ball at him. It hit him in the chest and propelled him across the clearing where he hit the ground, unable to move his body. The paralysis lasted for only a moment, but that was long enough for Sebastian to walk over and stand over him.
“Now, I’m going to do what I should have done from the very beginning,” he said, raising his arm into the air and chanting another spell.
But before he could finish the spell, there was a growl from where Kara lay on the ground. Momentarily distracted, Sebastian looked over at Kara, who was slowly getting to her feet. Her eyes were glowing in the dark of the night, her body shimmering in the darkness, and then suddenly she shifted into a wolf so huge, Sebastian stumbled back a few steps.
His eyes filled with panic when he saw the raw anger and hatred in her eyes. He turned to run but found his path blocked by Jessie. “Now you see what you’re up against?” he asked, “It looks like I’m not the only black werewolf who can control their shifts; looks like my sister had inherited that ability too. Still think you can control us?”
Sebastian was still holding the other locket, had it clenched tightly in his fist. He tried to begin chanting the spell, holding the locket up, but it was too late. Jessie shifted, and together he and Kara began circling the wizard, the locket’s power no match for their comb
ined strength.
“This isn’t possible,” Sebastian said, his voice full of panic. “You can’t shift except on the full moon.”
Danny got to his feet and went to stand next to Sophie. “What you didn’t know, Sebastian, is that love is a very powerful thing; it can change people, make them stronger than if they were alone. Something you will never understand because you’re not capable of love.”
Then Sophie spoke up. “Love as pure as what I feel for Jessie and what Danny feels for Kara will always triumph over evil. You’ll never be able to control them as long as our love for them is alive. You lose, Sebastian; leave this mountain and never come back.”
Sebastian stared at them, fear making him indecisive for once. But then he rallied. “This isn’t over. I’ve got the key to controlling werewolves, and I intend to use it to destroy all of you, one by one,” he said, then raised his arms in the air, and he was gone.
They all stood stunned, staring at the space where he’d been standing. Danny started over to where Kara was still snarling and snapping her teeth, her eyes a pulsing green in the darkness. When he got close to her, she turned and snarled at him, and he backed off.
He turned to Sophie. “What’s wrong with her?”
Sophie pulled him away from Kara. “She’s locked in the shift; give her a few minutes to calm down,” she said, patting him on the back.
But Kara couldn’t seem to calm herself. Danny could see that from the look in her eyes, the anger and hate so clear it hurt him to see it. Then the white wolf came out of the trees and approached her; he looked into her eyes, and she seemed to calm down.
When he turned and started back into the woods, Kara followed him. Danny wanted to go after her, but Sophie held him back. “I think the three of them need some time together. Let’s go back to the cabin and wait there.”
Triumph (Wolves 0f Gypsum Creek Book 2) Page 11