Red the Were Hunter (Fairelle Series Book 1)

by Rebekah R. Ganiere

  “She’s masked her trail somehow. That’s why I can’t smell her anymore.” He whipped his head around in every direction. “She could be anywhere.”

  Redlynn ran through the dim light into the woods with a speed she’d never experienced, and an exhilaration that thrilled her. Completely forgetting why she was there, she let herself run for a good twenty minutes before she heard the howls of the Weres. The sound stopped her mid-sprint. They were coming for her.

  Back-tracking, she rushed to the tree where she’d left her bow and sword. Grabbing her red cloak, she lay it down in the wet leaves and dirt and stomped it into the ground, covering it in as much soil as possible before fastening it around her neck. Then she found stinkweed and rubbed it over her arms and legs. She swallowed the nausea that rose in her throat from the smell. Tossing the weeds aside, she slung her quiver and bow onto her shoulder, shoved her hunting knife into her boot, and pulled up her hood.

  Her heart squeezed at the thought of Adrian. She still wasn’t sure she was doing the right thing. Perhaps she’d been too rash. The look in his eyes as he’d pleaded with her to listen. She hadn’t even given him the chance to explain. A howl sounded through the trees, and her jaw clenched.

  The Weres were close. She swung up high onto the nearest branch and limbed into the foliage. Weres passed far below her. First two or three, and then dozens, spreading out, searching for something. One stopped at the bottom of her tree and sniffed it. She held her breath as the brown Were circled. Her fingers twitched with the desire to loose an arrow on him. But the Weres were second on her list now. First, she had to find the girls.

  The Were was joined by a second brown Were, and Redlynn’s heart thudded loudly. Lizzy had mentioned two brown Weres had taken her. The Weres raised their noses into the air and sniffed, looking up into the tree. Redlynn pressed as close to the trunk as she was able. The first wolf lifted his leg and marked the tree. Then the two trotted off.

  An urgency to find the ruins that Lizzy had mentioned became paramount. Redlynn jumped from the high branch and landed lightly below. That fever had indeed done something to her reflexes.

  She located the moon, between a break in the cloud cover. A fat droplet hit her face. The sensation of brushing it away reminded her of when Adrian had done that very thing, just hours earlier. Her heart clenched at the knowledge that he’d lied to her. She thought she loved him, but how could she love someone who would allow such unspeakable things to go on around him, without doing anything about it.

  Redlynn stifled a sob. She’d gotten so comfortable in Wolvenglen, feeling like she might actually belong there. Knowing now that she couldn’t be with him meant that her only choices were to return to Volkzene, alone. Or move somewhere else altogether. Her stomach churned at the thought of never feeling Adrian’s strong arms around her again. She’d only known him for days, but the idea of not having him in her life now made everything else seem somehow worse.

  Redlynn rechecked the sky, waiting for the clouds to part. Clearing her mind, she tried to focus. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was finding the girls and getting them to safety.

  She located north and headed in that direction. Being careful to avoid the Weres, she zigged and zagged through the brush, making her way across a clearing to a rock face Lizzy had remembered seeing. She stood in front of the rocks, memories flashing in her mind, images of her dream. She swallowed hard as a chill ran through her. She'd never remembered a dream so vividly before and some how she doubted that it had been a dream.

  She looked out across the rocks and recalled Lizzy's directions. She had come from the west. Redlynn squinted at the night sky again as raindrops pounded her body. She turned west, and an enormous white bear appeared out of the brush. She grabbed her sword and aimed it at the animal, her heart hammering. She'd never seen a white bear before. The animal shifted from foot to foot, but he didn't move toward her or show any signs of aggression. Its light hazel eyes seemed almost human as they stared at her unblinkingly.

  She’d seen bears before in the woods, but never a bear with that color eyes- or fur. She needed to get him out of her path. Redlynn charged, and the bear stepped back. She lunged at him when a tall, pale figure jumped from a rock and landed on the bear’s back. The bear roared in anger, trying to shake the man off. Redlynn watched in horror as the man opened his mouth, exposing long, deadly fangs. He plunged them deep into the bear’s neck, and the bear tumbled sideways. Vampire.

  Redlynn froze on the spot. Using his nails, the vampire slashed and tore at the bear, opening gashes anywhere his fingers touched. An image of Lizzy lying in a dark ruin, being subject to those fangs and nails, set Redlynn aflame. She charged the vampire, unable to control her anger. She swung her sword. He leaned away, and she missed him by inches. Blood dripped from his mouth, down his chin, and onto his chest. His eyes were dead-cold as if they’d never known joy.

  “Oh, my, you smell so much better than the bear.” He ran his tongue over his lips and grinned widely. “What’s that I smell on you? It’s human, but not all the way.”

  What was he talking about? “Are the girls still alive?” Redlynn demanded.

  “Oh, the little Sweetings are not too far off. But you shall never find them. They’re ours now.”

  “Where are the Weres that helped you take the girls?” Redlynn yelled. “Are they in the caves to the north?” Her gaze traveled to the white bear, struggling to his feet.

  The vampire’s grin fell. “In the caves? Of course not, silly girl.”

  “Then where are they?” she asked.

  “That’s easy. The Weres are–”

  The bear rose from the ground and slammed into him, knocking him over. Momentarily stunned, the vampire lay sprawled on his stomach. The animal clamped down on the vampire’s throat. The vampire flailed beneath his giant maw. Redlynn stepped out of the way as the vampire struggled, trying to twist himself out of the bear’s grasp. The bear shook him like a toy doll, and then let go. He rolled onto his back and the bear bit down once more, ripping the vampire's throat out. Redlynn’s mind went numb at the sight of the vampire turning to mist and disappearing. The bear stumbled to the ground, panting.

  Redlynn stared at the spot where the vampire had disappeared. Her rapid breathing was only matched by her accelerated heart rate. Lizzy had told the truth, and Adrian had been right. Vampires were the most terrifying thing she’d ever seen. Between his cold, dead eyes and the ruthless way he’d torn into the bear, he’d been worse than any human or Were she’d ever met.

  She crept forward and knelt beside the bear. He tracked her movements and whimpered softly. She reached out her hand and pressed it on his oozing neck. The wound looked bad. Her heart went out to the creature who’d just risked his life for hers. She wanted to do more for him at that moment, but she didn’t know what to do. With guilt in her heart, Redlynn leaned in close to the bear’s ear and whispered, “Thank you, and… I’m sorry.”

  Adrian and Angus tore through the woods. They’d been going in circles for the past thirty minutes.

  “I’ve found her,” Dax said.

  “Where are you?” Adrian stopped abruptly.

  “At the cliff, near the clearing.”

  “Don’t hurt her.”

  “I’ll try, but she’s not looking too friendly.”

  “Dax, I give you permission to defend yourself if she attacks. But don’t hurt her. And don’t let her get away.” Adrian turned and ran hard toward the spot where they’d picked up Lizzy the night before.

  “She’s covered in stinkweed.” Dax’s chuckle was cut short. “Wait–”

  “Dax? Dax!”

  “Bloodsuckers!” Dax roared.

  Adrian snarled, coming to a halt. He needed to think. Everything was happening at once. Focus. “Everyone reinforce the borders until I get to her. Then we find the girls and end this.”

  “What about me?” asked Blain.

  “You stay on patrol. Angus with me. Dax? Dax?”

&
nbsp; There was no answer.

  Adrian and Angus sprinted toward the rocks. He needed to find Redlynn.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The bear had reached out with an immense paw, opening a deep cut to Redlynn’s arm, probably fearing for his life, forcing Redlynn to hit him in the head, knocking him out.

  “Sorry.” Redlynn stood over the unconscious body of the bear. She contemplated putting him out of his misery when she noticed blood trickling down her arm.

  Crap. She'd leave a trail that the vampires could find.

  Redlynn tore a strip off the ever-shortening hem of her red cloak and tied it around her arm. There’s going to be nothing left to this darn thing if I don’t stop getting injured. Blood seeped through the makeshift bandage quickly. She had to get moving.

  At a run, she headed west again. The woods crawled with Weres, but she hadn’t seen one in quite some time. Something wasn’t right. Maybe they were meeting with the vampires. She pushed the thoughts from her mind. There was nothing she could do about it if they were meeting together.

  The ruins where the girls were being held were on the west border of the Wolvenglen Forest, next to the Daemon Wastelands. She remembered the story Adrian had told her earlier about the djinn.

  Rumors of the Wastelands and the monsters that inhabited them were enough that the Sisterhood was forbidden to enter them. Crafty. If the vampires knew anything about the Sisterhood, they’d know that this was the perfect hiding spot for the stolen girls.

  Climbing a rock, she emerged on an outcropping. It overlooked the forest below. She spotted where the red and green tree line ended, and the black, scorched earth of the Wasteland began. She’d never actually seen the Wastelands before, and the very sight of them left her with a feeling of dread. Right on the edge of the wood before the beginning of the barren landscape, Redlynn spotted a group of crumbling buildings. The Ruins.

  Her foot slipped on the wet rock, and Redlynn pitched forward violently. Her mind grew dizzy at the thought of falling. Throwing off her hood, she lifted her face to the heavens, letting the rain fall on her, trying to calm her shaky nerves. The reality of her situation slapped her. She was but one woman, being chased by Weres, going off to rescue a group of girls, while killing a horde of untold numbers of vampires. The image of the blood-soaked vampire ripping into the flesh of the white bear flashed through her mind.

  What has my stubbornness done to me this time? Most likely it’s gotten me killed. She took another deep breath. A new scent hit her.

  Adrian. She spun around and peered into the rain-drenched woods. Two Weres emerged from the trees onto the large rock outcropping where she stood exposed, still on the edge. The huge, black Were with golden eyes that she’d seen before, and an equally massive wolf with a shock of red fur stared at her. Redlynn’s breath caught. She recognized the red Were. She’d remember him for as long as she lived. He’d been the one that chased off her father when she was young. And the black wolf was from the gate and her dream. He was the king.

  Anger ripped through her at the sight of the pair. She backed up a step, but stopped short as there was nothing but a drop off below her. She was cornered. There was only one way out of this situation, to fight. Redlynn drew her sword and prepared for battle. She wasn’t going to let either of them get away.

  The king moved forward until he was only a few yards away. She steadied her breathing and stepped forward to attack. Suddenly the air around the king shook, and his body twitched and convulsed. His feet shortened and his legs lengthened. Redlynn’s jaw dropped, and her sword hand went slack. The black hair on his body receded, and his spine straightened. Redlynn’s mouth dried. Within a minute he stood, a naked man before her. And when he lifted his face, her heart sank.

  “No,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

  “Redlynn.” Adrian held his hand out to her.

  “Not you. It can’t be you." This whole time. First the sisters, now Adrian. How was I so stupid as to trust any of them? “Weres are beasts.” She shook her head.

  “Let me explain.”

  Her mind was on overload. The Weres were shape-shifting men. “You knew why I was in the woods. You knew I was hunting you. You led me on.”

  “Redlynn, you have to believe me now, I don’t know who took the girls.” He stepped toward her. “I’m trying to find out. But right now, we’re not safe; you need to come with me. There are–”

  For the first time, she saw him for what he was. She took a deep breath. “You’re the king of the Weres.”

  “Wolves,” Adrian corrected, standing straighter. “Yes. I am the King of the Wolves.”

  How was this possible? How had she fallen for him? He was her enemy. The one she’d left the Sisterhood to kill. Instead, she’d fallen in love with him. Like Hanna and Clara and all the others. She’d fallen for a Were.

  “You lied to me,” she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes narrowed. “I trusted you.”

  “You feel it in your heart, Redlynn, I know you do. We were meant for each other. You are my mate. My queen.”

  Her mother’s words flooded her. “Someday you will be a queen of the forest.”

  “No.” Redlynn shook her head and raised her sword. “Not this, not this way.”

  “You know it’s the truth. Last night, the fever, that wasn’t an infection. It was your wolf, fighting inside you to be released.”

  What was he talking about? She was a Sister, a werewolf hunter. This isn’t possible. It can’t be right. “It was just a fever.”

  Her gaze swept across Adrian’s naked body, and something stirred at the sight of him. Images of him in the river, and on a bed of moss, flashed into her mind. Dreams? Memories?

  The memory of his skin on hers under the moonlight made her heart want nothing more than to run to him. But he betrayed her trust. He’d lied.

  Acid roiled in her stomach. She needed to get away. She needed to think. But this wasn’t the time. The girls needed her. Like a rope wound too tight, one more thing and she’d snap.

  Adrian motioned to the red wolf behind him. The wolf moved to stand directly behind him and shifted into human form. “I need for you to meet someone.”

  All she saw was his face over the top of Adrian’s shoulders, but she recognized it immediately. Flame red hair like hers and a scraggly red beard tinged with gray.

  “This is Angus,” Adrian said. “Your father.”

  Memories bombarded Redlynn of the night her father had fled from Volkzene. Redlynn snuck from where her mother had hidden her, back to the house, to find her father drunk and in a rage. Her mother arrived a short time later with a man with red hair. That man. Angus.

  Watching through the kitchen window, Redlynn witnessed Angus confront her father. Her father had grabbed a knife and threatened to kill them all. There was a scuffle, and a ferocious red-furred Were had appeared out of nowhere, the first she’d ever seen. It had attacked her father, but her mother had gotten in between them, stopping the Were. Wounded, her father had limped off into the night, never to be seen again.

  Redlynn’s breathing quickened, and she blinked rapidly. The Were from that night was Angus. But that didn’t make him her father. Her father had been a human, and Angus had driven him off.

  “You remember me, lass? Your mother–”

  “You drove off my father.”

  “No.” Angus shook his heavy head. “I’m yer father. That human was yer step-father.”

  “I saw you almost kill him, through a crack in the hut wall.”

  “Aye. I did. But I did it for Raeleen and for you. He was a drunkard and a fiend. I did it to protect both of ya.”

  Redlynn hit her forehead with the flat of her sword. This couldn’t be true. Memories from the night before flooded her. The pain, the breaking of the bones, rolling in the grass.

  “No!” she shouted. She didn’t want to be this. She was one of them. Everything she’d been taught to fear and hate. It wasn’t possible. Her mother would’ve told her if it were true
. Her heart sank. She didn’t know who to believe anymore.

  Adrian moved closer.

  She stepped away. “Don’t come near me! It isn’t true. I’m not a Werewolf. I’m not!” She backed up. Her foot slipped, and she couldn’t find traction. She looked up to see the terror on Adrian’s face as he sprinted forward. The soil beneath her fell away.

  The ground below rushed up to meet her, making her stomach lurch from the drop. Adrian and Angus yelled her name from above. Time seemed to slow as she plummeted through space. Looking to the sloping ground below, Redlynn’s thoughts were of her death.

  She hit the muddy ground with a thud and rolled down the hill. A rock struck her temple, and she lost hold of her mud-slicked sword, continuing downward without it. Leaves and brush tangled in her cloak, scratching at her legs. Redlynn cried out as she slammed into the trunk of a giant braeburn tree, and the air rushed out of her. Her muscles clenched and every inch of her body screamed in pain. She flipped over, trying to breathe. Her legs wobbled, and she leaned on the wet tree for support, forcing herself to her feet. She gulped in air and tensed, waiting to see what hurt the most.

  A cry escaped her, and she raised her hand to her mouth. Nothing in her life was what it seemed. She wished she’d never left Volkzene.

  Weres howled on the cliff-top above her, pulling her from her thoughts. She scanned the surrounding area for her sword. It was nowhere to be seen. All she had now was her bow and knife. They weren’t much, but at least she was a great shot.

  Reality settled in again. She needed to move. She was stunned and injured, but Adrian and Angus would be close behind. She’d figure things out with Adrian and her new-found life later. The girls needed her.

  She sped down the rest of the incline until she hit level ground again.

  Adrian watched in horror as one moment Redlynn stood before him, and the next she was gone. Running to the edge of the cliff, he peered over the unstable edge. Trees and rocks jutted from the earth. All things she could be impaled on or struck by. Angus grabbed him by the arm and hauled him back.