Pure Blood (The Pure Blood Series Book 1)

by Katie Dunn

  "It was more than just a fling," the traitor insists. "I loved her!"

  Riley's grip almost cuts off the circulation in my hand, when Nikolai mentions her mom. Nikolai doesn't so much as even flinch at the traitor's words. "We are the D'yavol pack. We don't fall in love. The only thing we love is power."

  "I love my daughter," the traitor pushes.

  "You never even knew her, Grigori!" Nikolai yells.

  The traitor glances in our direction, then back to Nikolai. "It doesn't matter! She's still my daughter!"

  The fury in Nikolai's eyes makes me glad I am not on the receiving end of his gaze. "You have betrayed me. You have betrayed your pack. And you have disgraced us. Can you remember what we do to our traitors?"

  Knowing what comes next, I cover Riley's ears. She shouldn't have to hear this. Instead of trusting me, she removes my hands. I glance at the twins and notice they have already covered their ears. Lenny just sits in the corner trying to tune it out. I return to the slit between the doors.

  "We torture our traitors," Grigori guesses.

  "No," Nikolai says. "We kill our traitors."

  Part of me wishes there was something I could do for Riley's father, but I know that nothing I can do would help. At the last second, I look away. I can't watch the fiery death impending before me.

  I gaze at Lenny. I notice he seems awfully concentrated on the slit between the doors. In the dim light, I can see his lips moving. He's performing a spell, I realize. But why?

  Light from the igniting fire shines through the slit. Grigori screams from the searing pain. I imagine he probably flails and tries to put the flames out. I already know that it doesn't work. Grigori dies. And five becomes four. Looks like Riley's wish came true—my family is now hers. It falls to us to look after her now.

  I wrap an arm around Riley and pull her close, attempting to comfort her. When the screaming stops, I turn back to gaze through the doors. Nikolai turns to the rest of the pack. One of them remains in wolf form, while the other two are in human form. Nikolai barks orders. "Come on. Let's find those children. They can't be too far from here."

  The D'yavol pack disperses, but Nikolai sticks around for a minute more. Remembering he could hear my thoughts, I force my mind to stay clear and think of nothing—a trick I learned from Troy. Nikolai looks down at Grigori's burned body. "No one defies me. You should've known that." He slowly turns and walks away.

  This changes everything. This brings the game to a whole new level. Bring it on D'yavol pack. The next time we meet, I'll be ready.

  Once I am certain that the pack is gone, I look at Lenny. You did a spell.

  He nods.

  But why?

  He glances at the walls surrounding us. I then realize what he did. You were trying to keep the flames at bay. You were trying to keep the house from catching on fire.

  He smiles and nods once more.

  About ten minutes later, Troy, my parents, and Derek arrive. We have all been too scared to leave the closet. It has become quite comforting in the past twenty minutes—a little safe haven.

  From reading my thoughts, Troy knows to find us in the closet. Footsteps come our way, and a gasp from my mom tells me they've found what is left of Grigori's body.

  Troy opens the doors, and a relieved look shadows his face. "Are you all, okay?"

  I glance at my dad as he steps beside Troy. "Physically? Yes. Emotionally and mentally? No."

  Troy helps me up from the floor and I help Riley up. We run up the stairs to my bedroom, and I don't let her look back. Riley and I sit on my bed, and Troy closes the door behind him.

  Riley begins to sob. "My parents are dead. My mom, my dad, and my birth father are all dead."

  I pull her to me, and she cries into my shoulder. Troy's eyebrows furrow when Riley says, "dad and birth father." The dead guy, Grigori, was her real father, I explain. Troy nods in acknowledgement to my message.

  When Riley slowly stops crying, she pulls back. "What am I gonna do?"

  "You're gonna stay here with us," I tell her immediately.

  "Yeah," Troy agrees. "We can't let you be all by yourself."

  "Thank you," she says to both of us.

  "Tonight I'll give you something of mine to sleep in," I tell her. "Tomorrow, Troy and I will go with you to your house, so you can get some of your things."

  She gazes at me with confusion in her eyes. "Britt, why do you keep saying Troy instead of Chase?"

  Troy opens the door. "I'll go see if your dad needs help."

  I nod. "Be careful. We don't know how far or near they are."

  Troy nods and slips out of the room. Riley wipes her eyes. "Britt, I know I always complained about my parents, but I still loved them."

  I put my arm around her. "I know, Ri. I promise I'm gonna put an end to the D'yavol pack."

  She meets my gaze. "Why are you calling them a pack?"

  I sigh. "It's a long story." Her face falls to a disappointed look. I give her a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Well, it's a good thing we have time."

  EIGHTEEN

  RILEY, TROY, and I drive to Riley's house. Since last night, we've all been wondering how the D'yavol pack was able to get in since they haven't been invited. It's terrifying knowing they can come and go as they please. I try to focus on other things as I drive down the road.

  Riley's parents' funeral is tomorrow night, and she is upset that none of her aunts, uncles, or cousins will be able to make it. I feel terrible for her. It's awful when you have no family to comfort you at a time like this. At least Riley still has her friends.

  We arrive at her house and gather some of her things together. We fold her clothes and put them in boxes along with a few of her other possessions. She sits on her bed folding a shirt. "So am I a skinwalker?" she asks Troy.

  Troy turns to her. "Have you turned?"

  She shakes her head. "No. At least not that I know of."

  Troy leans in the doorway. "Have you ever been able to read anybody's mind? Have you heard thoughts that weren't yours?" He questions her further.

  "I don't think so," she tells him.

  Troy gives her a grin. "Then no. You are not a skinwalker. Looks like you took after your mum."

  She grins as well. "Thanks, Troy."

  She stands from her bed. "I think I'm gonna go find a decent picture of my parents."

  "Do you want me to help you?" I ask.

  She turns to me and shakes her head. "No, you've done plenty, Britt." She turns and leaves the room.

  Once she's gone, Troy comes over to me. "Are you all right?"

  "I'm fine," I say as I grab a black dress—suitable for the funeral—from Riley's closet. "I just feel awful for Riley. I know she's miserable."

  "I feel pretty bad for her, too," Troy admits.

  The whole invitation thing comes to me again. "Troy, I thought you said skinwalkers couldn't enter a home without—"

  "That's what I thought," he tells me. "But I've been thinking maybe it doesn't just involve anyone who lives in the house like you and your brothers. Maybe skinwalkers can only be invited in by the person whose name is in the deed—like your parents."

  My gaze jerks to him. I scoff. "You know my parents wouldn't."

  Troy nods. "I know they wouldn't. Hear me out. Are both of your parents' names on the deed?"

  I shake my head. "No. Just my dad's. He bought the house before he and my mom got married."

  Troy leans on the wall and crosses his arms. "What if it is possible that your dad is a warlock, but he just doesn't know it? What if somehow, he's gotten through all these years without displaying any behavior that would make him, or anyone else question whether or not he is?"

  I shrug and ponder it for a moment. "I suppose. But what does that have anything to do with the D'yavol pack breaking and entering?"

  "Britt, witches and warlocks may be mortal, but technically, they are not human," Troy clarifies. "What if you have to be human for the rule of the supernatural to apply?"<
br />
  I think about it and smile. "Troy, I think you may be on to something."

  Troy also smiles. "I think so, too."

  "Britt," Riley calls. I race to her side and make sure she's okay. "What is it?"

  She holds up a letter. "I found this hidden in an old box in the hallway closet. Here, read it. It's a letter from my mom."

  I take the letter and carefully read it.

  Dear Riley,

  If you are reading this, then something horrible has probably happened. I wrote this to reveal to you the secrets I have kept for so long—if I haven't already told you these things by the time you have found this. Your dad, Andrew, is not your real father.

  When I was younger, I fell in love with a man named Grigori. He was a good man and I cared for him deeply, even after I found out that he was a thing called a skinwalker. Skinwalkers are people who have the ability to change into whichever kind of animal they choose. But after they make their choice and turn into that animal, the decision is permanent. Your father chose wolf.

  Eventually, Grigori got caught up with a group of skinwalkers called the D'yavol pack, which is Russian for devil, and he changed. The D'yavol pack is evil, Riley. They kill people for more power.

  Whatever you do, do not go looking for your father. He would never harm you, but the other pack members would. Their leader, Ivan Eridov, would not think twice about killing you. In skinwalker packs, it is a custom that the oldest son of the leader takes place as regent when the father is too old, too sick, or dies. When Ivan's time as regent is finished, his son, Nikolai, will reign. I will alert you now, Nikolai is just as dangerous as Ivan. I warn you, sweet girl, do not go in search of Grigori.

  With all my love,

  Your Mom.

  I can't believe Riley's mom knew about the D'yavol pack this entire time. If she had told someone what she knew, many lives could have been saved. Maybe even her own. Unless she didn't tell anyone because she wanted to protect Grigori.

  I hand the letter back to Riley. "What's running around in your mind right now?"

  She takes the letter and stares down at it. "I don't know. Mom was right about one thing, the D'yavol pack is super dangerous."

  I nod in agreement. "Yeah. They are."

  ͠

  A couple of weeks pass after the funeral, and Riley seems to be better. She has good days and bad days. Some days are both. And though she and Derek continue to only be friends, she still likes him and enjoys his company. Honestly, I think he's the one helping her to keep it together.

  Riley has also been participating in our training sessions. She can't do magic, but Troy has been showing her some basic self-defense. I think she enjoys training with us, and I know she likes to watch.

  Riley sleeps in my room. Like when we had sleepovers, she sleeps in my bed, and I sleep on the floor. Every night, Troy—in dog form—sleeps by my bedroom door in case we need him. But thankfully, we haven't.

  We end up canceling our weekend vacation to Charleston. Riley doesn't really feel like it—and to be honest, neither do I. There's just too much going on to even think about it. I haven't talked to my dad about being a warlock yet. I've been waiting for the right time to bring it up, but nowadays there almost never is.

  In physics class, I sit down at a random desk. Today we will be performing an experiment, so the desks are closer together for groups of two. Tom scurries to make sure he sits beside me before Troy can. I know Tom is jealous of Troy, but I have no idea as to how to relieve his envy.

  Riley sits in the desk next to mine and invites Troy to sit with her. I'm thankful to her for not making Troy sit with someone he doesn't know. I'm actually really glad the two of them are starting to become friends. I was wondering if it was ever gonna happen.

  Just before class ends, Mr. Wilson reminds the class of the upcoming Fall Festival. "We're going to have lots of games and rides. Of course, I don't have to tell you that. After all, most of you students have been to the Fall Festival before. Now Mayor Lyle was concerned about the town coming out, what with the killings. Although, since there haven't been any in the past few weeks, he and the council have approved it. Extra security will be put in place as well." The bell rings. "I hope to see you all tomorrow night," he adds before the class disbands.

  I gaze at Riley and raise my eyebrows up and down a couple of times, silently asking if she wants to go. She smiles and nods. I smile and gather my stuff. Hopefully, we can get through one happy event without the D'yavol pack ruining it. Like Mr. Wilson said, there hasn't been any killings recently. Who knows, maybe the D'yavol pack has actually left Brighton.

  ͠

  After school, the boys watch TV, and Riley and I work on a report. Every few minutes, I look up at the TV to see what's going on then return my attention back to my boring report.

  Things get pretty interesting when Troy enters the room. "I've done it!"

  We all turn to him. "You've done what?" Derek asks.

  "I have perfected the cloaking spell," Troy says proudly.

  Riley glances at me. "Cloaking spell?"

  "It's basically an invisibility spell," I clarify.

  "Oh," she breathes. She turns back to Troy. "How does that work?"

  "Well, I'll show you," Troy says. "Follow me."

  We follow him out to the backyard. The sun is about to set, giving the sky a beautiful orange color. Now that autumn is upon us, the leaves of the trees have begun to change colors, and the inhabiting critters are beginning to migrate. I love this time of year for its beauty.

  Troy stands in the center of the yard. "Britt, do you want to do the spell with me?"

  Why would I pass this up? "Sure."

  I join him, and we take each other's hands. "Just close your eyes and pretend like no one can see you," Troy explains. "Like nobody even knows you're here."

  I nod. "Got it."

  We both shut our eyes and focus on the spell. I can feel Troy's magic and energy flowing into me, and mine into him as we work together to perform the spell. I like that I don't have to chant incantations for most spells. Most of the complicated ones require some kind of incantation. I thought this one would, but am overjoyed that it doesn't.

  Troy and I open our eyes and turn to Riley and the boys. "So did it work?"

  "Well if it did, then they shouldn't be able to hear us either," Troy explains.

  "Oh," I say. "Cool."

  Riley and Derek squint. "Whoa," Derek breathes.

  Casey slowly spins around. "Where'd they go?"

  Kendall cups his hands around his mouth. "Britt! Troy! Are y'all still here?"

  I turn to Troy. "Could they feel us if we touched them?"

  Troy smirks. "You want to have some fun with them, don't you?"

  I grin. "Sure do."

  I gently brush my fingers against the back of Derek's neck. He jumps away screaming. "What was that?"

  Lenny glances in my direction. "What?"

  Derek points to where he was standing. "Dude, there's something over there!"

  "Something?" Riley asks. "What if it's Britt and—"

  Troy comes up from behind Lenny and gives him noogies. "Ah! Let go, Troy," Lenny groans.

  "Aw. Come on, Sport," Troy says. "Take it like a man." After a minute, Troy lets go of Lenny. He looks at me. "Are you ready to drop the spell?"

  I nod. "Yep."

  Troy and I drop it, and it dissolves around us, giving off a tingling sensation.

  Once we are visible to our brothers and Riley, they give us what for. "You guys are jerks," Derek says.

  I try to hold back my smile, but fail. "Sorry."

  Troy rests a hand on Lenny's shoulder. "Sorry, Lenny. I just wanted to have some fun."

  Lenny and Derek learn the spell, and Troy and I practice cloaking other people. Riley proves to be a very enthusiastic test subject. We also practice cloaking ourselves, while cloaking others. After several tries, I become successful in cloaking myself and the twins.

  Looks like I was right. I will be
ready and waiting for you, D'yavol pack.

  NINETEEN

  THIS YEAR'S Fall Festival is by far the best yet. There are better rides and bigger games than there were in the previous years. I'm actually a little amazed.

  Troy, Derek, Lenny, and my dad play the milk bottle game. Derek and Lenny miss almost every time, while my dad and Troy manage to knock all the bottles down. My dad wins a stuffed teddy bear for my mom, and Troy also gets a stuffed teddy bear too. His first intention is to give it to me, but then he glances at Riley. She's had a rough few weeks. She deserves the bear more than I do. I'm okay, Troy. Go ahead and give it to Ri. She'll like it.

  Troy gives a slight nod to say thank you and hands the bear to Riley. "Aw. No one's won a stuffed animal for me before," Riley says. She hugs Troy. "Thank you."

  He hugs her back. "You're welcome."

  After they pull away from each other, Troy turns to the game operator. "Let me have another go at it." Troy succeeds in knocking all the bottles down once again and this time wins a blue stuffed dog. He presents it to me.

  "Aw, you're such a sweetheart."

  He smirks. "You didn't really think I had forgotten all about you, did you?"

  I smile and pull him into an embrace. "Thank you."

  He returns my embrace. "Don't thank me. I'd do anything for you."

  My smile grows wider, and I blush. I love how Troy constantly makes me feel on top of the world. Like he is my world. If anything ever happened to him, that world would come crashing down. And then what would I have to keep me smiling?

  "Hey, y'all want to get on the Scrambler?" Derek asks.

  "What's a Scrambler?" Lenny asks.

  "Why don't you go try it out, son?" My dad suggests.

  We all get in line for the ride, except for my mom. She decides she'd rather try to take pictures of the rest of us.

  My dad, Riley, and Lenny pile in one cart, Troy and Derek climb into another, and the twins and I end up together in a third. The ride gets going and the twins giggle like they've never been on the ride before. Somehow, I end up giggling with them.

  The ride doesn't last very long, and I hope that my mom was able to get some decent shots with her phone.