I rolled when I hit the forest floor and I heard the tree splinter behind me. As I came back to my feet in that one fluid motion, I jumped up into the air to come down with an overhead attack. I grabbed her head and came down to flip her over me as I knelt on the forest floor.
Abigail landed flat on her back. She gasped for air and I took that moment to punch her in the face. She, somehow, managed to move out of my way by rolling to the side. She stood and I pushed myself to shove my shoulder into her stomach. We hit the ground hard. Abigail brought her knee up as we landed, driving the point into my stomach. We both cried out as she pushed me away. It took each of us a moment to recover before we got to our feet.
We stared at each other. We were even. In a physical sense, I was stronger and faster, but she had magic to back up her weaknesses. I remembered Wolfgang saying that the children were stronger than their parents were. If Abigail was stronger than Alan and Addie, how strong was she?
I growled as every muscle in my body tensed, ready for the next attack. Witchfire crackled at her fingers. We circled each other, waiting. I squeezed my hands into fists and relaxed them.
I saw her shoulder drop as she moved to throw that little ball of lightning. I tackled her again, ramming my shoulder into her sternum. This time, we didn't go to the ground. I kept running with her until we hit a tree. I felt and heard bones break in her body as she screamed. She let loose a blast of magic that threw me back almost ten feet. I managed to land on my feet and skid backwards and it was easy for me to start coming at her again. She threw Witchfire at me and forced me to dodge again. When I reached her, I hadn't seen her silver dagger, but I felt it as it pierced my side. I screamed and recoiled. I ripped it out of me and threw it at her. Since I didn't know how to throw knives, it went wild, landing somewhere in the forest.
She approached me, laughing as she walked. The edges of my vision began to get fuzzy. I realized that this dagger had the same augmentation as every other silver item they had used against me. I took in a ragged breath, gasping for air. No. This couldn't be over. She couldn't win with a lucky shot.
She reached me as I dropped to my knees. She laughed, but she left herself open. A breeze blew the scent of her at me and I noticed something odd that I couldn't quite put my finger on. I stared at her, trying to figure out what that scent was. "I'm going to enjoy watching you die," she said.
I shook my head as I felt sweat beading up on my face and neck. I could figure out the oddity in her scent when she was dead. "Not if I can help it," I said before I used every ounce of strength I had left in me and shoved my claw up her stomach to her heart. I held the muscle in my hand and met her green eyes. "I'll see you in hell first," I whispered before I ripped her heart out. I thought I watched her eyes flicker from green to blue before I watched the light leave them. She gasped a couple of times before she crumpled to the ground. That oddity in her scent followed her to the ground and I felt my knees begin to buckle. I turned toward Wolfgang and started to walk toward him. I fell after only a few steps and let the blackness take over me. My only thought was to hope that Wolfgang woke up in enough time to save my life, again.
Chapter 32 ~Wolfgang~
When I came to, it was with the sound of Abigail's voice telling Ceres that she would enjoy watching my mate die. Luckily, Ceres had other things in mind. She killed Abigail. She ripped the heart from her chest and watched her collapse. Then she followed Abigail down.
Alarm bells were instant in my mind. I rushed to her and picked her up, noticing the blood on her side. I looked and saw a stab wound with blisters from the silver blade. I didn't have much time. I pushed her shirt up, exposing the stab wound. My inner wolf answered the call in an instant and it didn't take me long to build up the power I needed. I latched my mouth over the thin piercing wound and sucked on it, much like someone would for a snake bite. I could taste the metal in her blood as I spit it out. I could even feel it burn a little. The black veins were just starting.
I shoved every ounce of magic I could into her body to close the wound. Ceres's eyes opened wide as she screamed. The healing was too intense for her. It was too painful. Her back arched before I pulled away. Once I backed off, she lowered back to the ground with a whimper. She met my eyes and I saw that hers had gone amber. "You need the antigen," I said. She nodded.
I pulled her up to her feet and noticed something odd about the smells in the air. I settled her on my back and started running as if we were in some sort of death-defying piggyback race. The clinic wasn't far from our location in the woods.
When I reached the main road, the run became easier, as I was no longer dealing with an obstacle course of debris. My speed kicked up and I could see the clinic coming up after the next light.
I set Ceres back down on her feet when we reached the clinic. I pulled her shirt up so that I could see how her wound was doing. The stab wound had healed, but the silver was still in her system. The black veins had slowed down because I had taken away the source, but they were still growing.
We walked in through the doors. The girl at the desk, Bree, looked up at us. "What's going on?" she asked.
"Ceres needs treatment for silver poisoning," I explained.
Bree looked at Ceres in shock. "What?" she asked.
"Can I get the shot first and you can ask the questions later?" Ceres hissed. "This hurts so much."
"Right," Bree muttered. She shook her head before she stood up and guided us to a room. She left the room, shutting the door behind her. I realized that they never kept the kit where someone other than medical personnel could access it.
Dr. Cyrus rushed into the room as Ceres dropped to the floor and began to seize. "Hold her!" she ordered, pointing to my mate. I was in such a state of shock that Dr. Cyrus had to snap at me a second time before I did my best to control my convulsing mate. She joined us on the floor and pulled the gun out of the case. She shoved the needle into Ceres's side and pulled the trigger. Ceres stopped seizing after a couple of seconds and the good doctor gave her a second dose.
I looked up at her and studied her for a moment. She was reaching her mid to late forties, but she looked like she was in her early thirties. Such was the power of our regenerative abilities. Her hair was still pulled up into that high tight bun. She looked like the last few weeks had stressed her out more than the entirety of her tenure here in Adamsville.
"What?" she asked as she checked Ceres's heart rate and blood pressure. She jotted down the numbers on her notepad and waited for my response.
"Thank you," I said. "You've saved us so many times recently.... We'd be dead without you."
She stopped and stared back at me for a few seconds before she jotted her numbers down on a clipboard. "You're welcome," she said. "Keep her out of trouble," she said. "The antigen isn't meant for as many uses as she's had to have it administered. I'm going to keep her for a bit to make sure she doesn't need a third dose. Bree will come in for the paperwork while we wait."
I nodded. "Okay," I agreed.
While we waited, Dr. Cyrus continued to monitor Ceres and I filled out the paperwork for the visit and called my father. I told him what happened and why we were at the clinic yet again. I told him that we were waiting for the green light from the doctor before coming home and we would need a car. He was far from happy but promised that my truck would be waiting when we were ready.
Ceres needed the third dose, which worried me. I didn't know how Abigail had hurt her, but I was glad the cause was finally dead, along with the last of the Ainsworth line. Maybe now the war here in Adamsville could end.
"Why did she need a third dose?" I asked.
Dr. Cyrus shook her head. "I don't know where her injury is," she said.
"I healed it," I replied.
"Then there's no reason she should have needed it unless part of what hurt her is still inside of her body. There's no reason she should have been seizing either, unless Abigail used the same silver powder on her that she used on you. You seized too." I stare
d in surprise. No one told me that I'd seized before. The doctor looked at Ceres and then at me before she sighed. "If she doesn't show improvement in the next ten minutes, I'll x-ray her to make sure she doesn't have a piece inside her body," she said.
Ceres woke a few seconds later and looked around in confusion. I watched as that confusion melted into relief.
She met my eyes and I saw that beautiful chocolate color the way I loved to see it—bright and alert. "You woke up in time," she said with a voice that was sluggish because of the medicine.
"Did you have any doubt?" I asked. She shook her head before I leaned over and kissed her. "So, she stabbed you?" I asked.
Ceres nodded. "I was charging her and didn't see her pull it," she said. "I think it had silver dust on it or something because I pulled the blade out immediately and the effect was way too fast."
"That sounds like something she would do," I agreed.
Ceres sat up. "So, when can I leave?" she asked Dr. Cyrus.
"I've just treated you for advanced silver poisoning and you're already trying to escape?" she asked with a smile. "You seem to be doing fine, but I want you to come right back here if you start to feel any of the effects of the silver poisoning. Try not to encounter any more silver for a while. Your body shouldn't have much more of the antigen than it already has."
Ceres nodded. "Good to know," she said. "So, I can leave?"
"Yes," Dr. Cyrus replied. "Just sign on the line."
Ceres reached for the clipboard and pen. She scribbled her signature on the line and handed it back. Dr. Cyrus opened the door for us and walked out of the room. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I hope that I don't see you two anytime soon," she said. Ceres and I chuckled as we nodded. We didn't want to be here again anytime soon, so the feeling was mutual. We walked out to my truck and I helped her in so that she didn't strain herself or her healed wound. I drove us back to my parents' house and we retreated to our room.
I lay down next to her on the bed and let out a slow breath as I brushed her hair out of the way. "Something tells me that this isn't what you wanted when you wanted to go out and get some air," I said.
She let out a bitter chuckle as she shook her head. "Nope," she agreed. She sighed as she closed her eyes for a moment. "This is never going to end," she said. "Even if we hunt down and kill all the Witches here, they'll come back. No matter how many die, another will rise to fill the empty space. Someone else will rise to be coven leader and bring in more Witches. It won't end..."
"You know this?" I asked, knowing that she just knew things sometimes. So far, she hadn't been wrong.
She nodded. "I know," she said.
I sighed. "There are days when I wish we could just pack everyone up and move to a place that doesn't have a town yet and just... start over, you know?" I asked. She nodded. "We did it with Adamsville.... We settled the area and then the Witches came. That tells me that even if we settle another city, the witches will come at us again."
Ceres nodded. "I know what you mean," she said. She rolled onto her back and met my eyes. "You know what the craziest part of all of this is?" she asked. I shook my head. "Even if we had somewhere to go, we couldn't leave because we're committed to being here. You're the Volsunga. You left the position once and you hated it. You fought to get it back. If we were able to leave, you'd have to give that up again. It would be like you were turning your back on your pack for the second time and no one would be okay with that."
I nodded. "You're right," I sighed.
A knock on the door made us look up. It surprised me to see my mother standing there. "We need you in the library," she said. "The Hunters are here."
"What?" I whispered.
Ceres tensed beside me as my mother nodded with a grave look in her eyes. I swore as I got back out of bed and helped Ceres stand. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with today.
Ceres and I followed my mother into the library, where my father stood with an older man and two young women. I recognized the man. The last time I'd seen him was right before my father told me that I would be spending my recovery in Moab with my uncle's pack. I reached for Ceres’s hand and squeezed it. She returned the squeeze and I realized that we were both afraid of what would happen next.
My father looked at us as the door closed. He beckoned us forward and we knelt as we reached him. He kissed both of our necks before we stood.
"Wolfgang, Ceres, this is Clive, the head of the Hunters Clan in our area. With him are Seraphim and Chance, his daughters and council. They are here to discuss the situation."
We looked to Clive and waited for him to speak. I think both Ceres and I were afraid of what he was going to say to us.
He looked us over and noticed that Ceres was moving with an injury. "What happened?" he asked her.
Ceres cleared her throat. "Abigail attacked me with a silver dagger before I killed her," she replied. "The dagger had a silver dusting on it, which put it into my bloodstream. It took three shots of the antigen to control the poison."
Clive nodded. "The ground here has become soaked in blood since your arrival," he said. "We have been aware of your presence here from the moment the plane touched the runway. We knew that you would upset the balance in this town. We knew that you were significant. Alan had many plans for you upon your arrival. I think he was more upset to have to abandon those plans than he was to discover that you were not his after all."
"He abandoned me when he realized I wasn't his," Ceres replied. "I wouldn't know what he thought after that."
"True," Clive agreed. "We did not expect for you to be Lycan either. We had prepared to have this conversation with the Witches, not the wolves. Still," he sighed, "we need to say it. The blood needs to dry."
"So, what does that mean for us?" I asked.
"It means that we are giving you one warning," Clive replied. "If there is more fighting before the next full moon, those responsible will be cast out... regardless of whom that person is."
"What if it's them?" I asked.
"They have suffered enough loss and will need time to regroup," he said. "They will not attack."
"So, you're here to deliver a personal warning to us for a double standard that they are exempt from?" I demanded. "You're supposed to be impartial to all of us. You're supposed to do what it takes to keep the war from the humans—nothing else."
"The population of Adamsville has had a rather serious increase in animal-related deaths in the last few weeks. If many more of these reports come through the system, human authorities will come around with their tests. They will discover that the wolf population is not as large as the attacks would suggest. It is therefore imperative that these attacks stop in order for things to settle back down to the bottom of the pond. Yes, the double standard is unfair, but it is necessary. The blood that has soaked the ground needs time to dry."
"Then are we finished?" I snapped. I was angry that we were the ones they punished for something the Witches had begun.
"Yes," Clive replied. I grabbed Ceres's hand and led her out of the room with me. I couldn't stand to be in there another minute. I needed to get out. I needed a break. I needed a vacation.
When the rock smashed through the window as Ceres and I passed, I knew that I wouldn't be getting my wish any time soon.
I let go of Ceres so I could pick up the rock. Attached to it was a piece of paper. I unfolded it and felt the blood drain from my face. I turned and stormed back into the library. They stared at me in shock as I walked up to the Hunter and shoved the note into his chest. "They won't attack?" I yelled in his face. "They're exempt? What the fuck is this then?" Shocked, he took the note from me and read. I saw him pale as the shock hit him. He looked up at me, stunned, before he handed the note to my father. "Do you still believe they are so innocent?"
Clive shook his head. "I didn't know," he whispered.
"Of course you didn't," I said. "And now they have a new leader. Now they have a new coven at their disposal. In two weeks. They are
coming," I spat. "What are you going to do?"
Clive looked at my stunned father. "This will expose us," he whispered.
My father sighed and crumpled the note in his hand. "Perhaps not," he said. "We've hidden for centuries. Why should it change now?"
"Because now they have better record keeping," Clive said. "We have only so many government offices infiltrated. We can only do so much control before too much damage creates exposure."
"Why not worry about that when it happens?" I suggested. "Right now, we have another coven to focus our attention on. Who is Brenda Caulfield?"
"What?" Ceres demanded in shock. I looked at her.
"You know that name?" I asked.
Ceres nodded. "Yeah," she said. "She's from New York. She was one of the instructors at Walton."
Dad looked at her and shook his head. "Then we need your expertise," he said.
Ceres nodded. "The twins and I will tell you everything that we know about her," she replied.
Dad nodded. "Very well," he said. He looked at Clive. "Our meeting is now over," he said. Clive bowed his head before he and his daughters showed themselves out. Dad turned to Mom. "Tell Hunter to find out who has come into town in the last thirty-six hours. I want a list of names and addresses as soon as possible. Wolfgang, tell Selena and Sophia that I want them in here."
I nodded. "Yes, Enkidu," I said before my mother and I left the room. I sighed as the doors of the library shut behind me and took a moment to collect myself before I went looking for the twins. I started off toward their rooms, knowing that they were likely in there.
Since Selena's door was closer to the library, hers was the first door I knocked on. I could hear two voices coming from inside, so I knew that Riley was in there with her.
"Kinda busy!" she called out.
"Doesn't matter," I replied. "This isn't a social visit."
The door opened a few seconds later and Selena appeared, looking disheveled. "Brenda Caulfield," I said. "Ceres says that she was your teacher. You're needed in the library with my father. Take Sophia with you."
Vanilla Moon: Awakening Page 30