Something inside of her clicked. Anger surged deep within. She used it to work past the pain of her ankle, attacking with a ferociousness she didn’t know she possessed. Knocking into the vampire, she pushed him to the ground with surprising ease, her knife finding a resting place in his abdomen.
“You bitch!” Garot howled. He used both hands to shove her off. She sailed through the air and landed hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her for the second time that day.
Blain guarded the crypt entrance, trying to fight off three vampires. To the left of him, the smile on Sage’s face told her he was enjoying the fight he was engaged in. Redlynn caught her breath and tried to push to her feet, but Garot loomed over her and pulled her knife from his stomach.
“Forget my father. I’m going to enjoy eating you, Queen.” Garot bared his fangs and pushed her face to the side, lowering his mouth to her neck.
An ear-splitting roar came from the left. A giant black blur knocked Garot away. Howling wolves echoed all around the ruins.
Adrian. Redlynn flooded with relief.
Turning his shaggy head, she met his golden eyes with her own. Garot fell on him, and the two took off, Adrian snarling and snapping at Garot’s throat.
The wolves fought ferociously against the remaining vampires. Everyone moved so fast that it was hard for her to take it all in.
A couple of feet away, Blain bled heavily in several places.
Getting to her feet, she found her bow. Adrian had Garot by the throat, and the vampire was trying to gouge at his eyes. Angus moved up next to Redlynn and stood between her and the rest of the fighting. His warm, russet-colored body was so familiar; she must have played with him as a child. All this time…
Redlynn held the arrow against her cheek and tried to track Garot to take the shot, but Adrian was all over him. There was no way to hit Garot without hitting Adrian. She swore under her breath and looked to Blain. A vampire had him pinned on the ground and slashed at him with razor-sharp nails. Redlynn aimed and fired, but the arrow missed in his frenzied movements.
His head whipped up, and he ran at her. Blain was on his feet and leaped at the vampire from behind, but the vampire pulled Blain off and swiped at him, opening Blain’s throat.
Redlynn pulled an arrow and let it fly. The vampire turned at the exact moment, and the bolt caught him in the neck. He looked down in shock and then dissolved into mist.
Sage fought for his life, his movements so expert that he was a blur among the two vampires he battled. He kicked one in the face, forcing him toward a tree. Kicking him again in the chest, the monster flew into the trunk, a broken branch sticking out of his chest. Sage pulled a sword from where it had been tucked at the small of his back and cut off the vampire’s head.
The second vampire grabbed Sage from behind. Sage flipped him over and shoved his sharpened nails into the vampire’s chest, ripping out the blackened heart. The vampire and his dripping heart dissolved the instant Sage beheaded him.
Redlynn turned to Adrian and found he’d shifted from his wolf form and held Garot in the air by his throat. Garot squirmed and kicked out like a babe. His long nails dug deep into Adrian’s arms in an effort to get him to let go. Adrian’s hard body was marred with cuts and abrasions, blood dribbling down his skin. Deep gashes oozed on his back and side. Redlynn and Angus moved to where Adrian stood. Sage joined them.
“What do you think this will do, animal?” Garot choked. “Kill me; it won’t change anything. My father will enact his revenge.”
“Let him try,” said Adrian. “Let all of them come. The prophecy is fulfilled. We will no longer hide in the forest. We will end the reign of bloodshed.”
Garot choked, laughed, his breathing labored. His gaze drifted to Redlynn.
“He will betray you, she-Were. He will betray you the way his father betrayed his mother.”
“My father,” Adrian clenched his jaw, “was bewitched by a daemon.”
“How stupid you dogs are. All it takes is the swish of a tail–”
Adrian roared in anger. Digging his claws into Garot’s throat, he ripped open his larynx and dropped the vampire to the ground. Adrian raised his claws and prepared to administer the killing blow.
“No!” Sage grabbed Adrian’s wrist. “Wait.” Sage pushed aside his long leather traveling coat and pulled a knife out of a sheath strapped to his leg. It was a long, curved, white dagger, with a blood-red stone in the hilt.
Garot laughed hoarsely. Air bubbled through the already closing hole in his throat. “And you, dear cousin,” he croaked. “Your father was so gullible. Thinking that his court was loyal to his rule, when all along traitors lay all around him, waiting for the chance to strike.”
“The only traitor was your father.”
“Oh, cousin, how wrong you are.”
Sage grabbed Garot by the hair and sliced off his head with one fluid movement. “For my father,” he whispered.
Garot’s body fell to the earth, and his head stayed in Sage’s grip. Sage mumbled a prayer that Redlynn couldn’t decipher. The white knife glowed brightly and sucked in all of the blood that stained it. Then Sage sheathed it and stood.
“Good to see you again, King Adrian.”
“And you, Prince Sage.”
The men clasped forearms. The rain had turned to a light misting. Redlynn looked from the vampire’s body lying in the mud, to his head in Sage’s hand. “What kind of knife is that?” she asked.
“It is a Royal Blooded Cris. Blessed by the fae to kill a vampire, but preserve the body.”
“What are you going to do with the body?” Adrian asked.
“Deliver it to the doorstep of my uncle.”
“But won’t he know it’s you?” asked Redlynn.
“I hope so.” Sage smiled.
Adrian turned to Redlynn. He had a cut across his chest that was healing already. He looked unsure of what to do. Angus moved out of the way, and Redlynn walked toward him. They stared at each other for several minutes, neither speaking.
“Where are the girls?” he asked finally.
“Over in the–” Redlynn broke off, glancing over her shoulder. Her gaze lit on the naked form of Blain on the ground. “Blain!” she yelled.
Dropping down on the soggy ash, she rolled Blain’s head into her lap. Sage found the discarded scraps of Redlynn’s cloak and covered him as much as possible.
“Blain.” Adrian took his hand.
Blain’s skin was slick with blood and sweat. Redlynn pressed her palm to his throat in an attempt to staunch the blood. Thick, warm liquid poured through her fingertips.
“Sorry… I didn’t… see you… wield that sword.” Blain gave her a shaky smile. His lips moved, and he sucked in a bubbly breath. “Adrian. I’m sorry… It’s been so long… I wanted to help… so you could rescue them… and take them home… show the Sisters the truth…”
Adrian nodded, but said nothing. Blain was responsible for the torture of these girls, but a part of her understood the need he had to protect his people. Wasn’t that what she did, what she’d left her home to do? Wasn’t she ready to kill the Weres, no matter the cost, to protect her village? He’d tried to save his race. But some things weren’t worth the price.
“You’ll be fine, my brother,” Adrian said. “You’ll heal, and we can talk about it then.”
Blain shook his head. “Not this time, I fear. Take her... she’s the one...” Blain sputtered, coughed and choked, and then coughed some more. Bubbles of blood dribbled down his chin. His gaze locked on Redlynn’s, and he sucked in one last, deep breath. “I’m sorry, golden sister, forgive…”
His eyes went glassy, and then blank. Redlynn chest squeezed, but no tears were shed. She reached down and kissed Blain on the forehead. Closing his eyes, she whispered, “I’ll try.”
Chapter Seventeen
Adrian looked down at his best friend. How was it possible that Blain had done those things? To have stooped so low as to trust the vampires, and allow Sisters t
o be sacrificed. And for what? So they could fake rescue and play the heroes by taking them home? Adrian stared into the face of the man he’d stood with as brothers, no longer even knowing who the man was.
Guilt wracked him, knowing that it was partly his fault. If he’d tried to go to the Sisterhood earlier, none of this would’ve happened. His men wouldn’t be forced to gain physical affection from bought human women, and Blain wouldn’t have resorted to doing the unthinkable. The betrayal at that moment went deeper than when his mother had left. Probably how Redlynn feels about me.
Sniffles and crying tore Adrian’s thoughts from his friend. The girls re-emerged from the crypt.
“Girls,” Redlynn called. “These are the wolves of Wolvenglen. You were taken by wolves, but you need to listen to me when I tell you, these wolves will not harm you. We’re going to take you with us, to Wolvenglen, and then in a couple of days, when you’re well, I’ll return you home.”
Adrian’s soul hit a pit of despair at her words. She was taking the girls back to Volkzene.
Trepidation showed all over the girls’ faces.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Redlynn promised. The confidence and gentleness in Redlynn’s voice tore at his heart. This was who she was meant to become. This was her destiny. To lead the Sisterhood.
The men shifted into wolf form, hiding their nakedness, and lumbered into the trees. Sage removed his coat and offered it to Adrian.
“Thank you.” He rose and pulled it around his naked body.
“We’ll see each other again soon, Adrian, King of the Wolves.”
“You can count on it.” Adrian extended his hand. “What will you do now?”
Sage shrugged. “Continue on. Watch and wait for the signs for the next prophecy. I want to regain my kingdom, but not at the cost of the lives of my friends. So I’ll be patient.”
“You are welcome to safe passage in my woods, whenever you find yourself in need.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll keep my promise, the wolves will stand with you.”
Sage nodded. “With your new queen at your side, I hope the Sisters will return to you, and your people will once again be fruitful.”
Adrian’s gaze moved uncertainly to where Redlynn spoke to the girls. “I’m not so sure she is my queen.”
“She is,” Sage assured him.
He wanted to believe Sage’s words. But Adrian had known a woman as stubborn as Redlynn before, and she’d never changed her mind.
“What did you mean when you said the next prophecy?” he asked.
Sage’s brow furrowed. “Surely you didn’t think there was just one prophecy pertaining to the whole of Fairelle?” Sage said. “The prophecy of the Sisterhood was the first to be recorded in the mage books. With that prophecy fulfilled, it opens the way for the others, beginning the reuniting of the lands. The bloodshed won’t end until all have been fulfilled. When they are, then will we all finally find peace.”
“I have a feeling that peace will be fought for, more than it will be found,” said Adrian.
“You are most likely right.” Sage stretched out his hand again. “May the blood of the vampires never soil your ground.”
Adrian was surprised. Words of peace hadn’t been spoken between vampires and wolves in hundreds of years. “And may the claws of the wolf never draw that blood,” Adrian replied, grasping Sage’s arm in a clasp of brotherhood.
The two men shook profoundly, then parted. Sage disappeared with Garot’s corpse into the trees.
The group of Redlynn, Adrian, the wolves, and girls reached the castle by sundown. The girls were as shocked to see it as she’d been the first time. There were whispers about how it had gotten there, and how long it had taken to build.
Word spread quickly that they’d returned, and the women rushed out to meet them. Females hugged their husbands, children rushed up to their fathers, still in wolf form, and clung to them. The sight stirred Redlynn’s heart. Such tenderness between the werewolves and their families broke down the walls of her heart. The girls watched the scene, wide-eyed and confused.
The women and children ushered the beleaguered group of girls inside, where everyone had injuries tended to, was bathed, fed, and put to bed for the night. Lizzy had made peace with the fact that her sister was alive, and she clung to her, to the great happiness of Clara. When the girls were in bed, Adrian and the men left to bury Blain in an ancient wolf burial ground. He hadn’t spoken a word to her on the return journey, leaving her more confused than ever. For an hour, she stayed up and sat silently in the dining hall, alone in her thoughts. Finally, with nowhere else to go, she retired to Adrian’s room to await his return.
Adrian didn’t come back that night. In his absence, Redlynn spent hours in his bed, breathing in his scent and replaying all that had transpired between them. He’d never, technically lied to her. He’d just not been forthcoming with the truth of who he was. His words about the wolves had been weighted, neutral. He’d tried to protect her and keep her safe, even from herself. Though she didn’t agree with how he’d gone about it, she understood.
The hours dragged on, and the bed grew colder. Alone, her heart ached for his comforting touch. And she wished to comfort him in return. To soothe him in his pain, and ease his burden.
At first light, she awoke and went in search of him. The other men returned, but he was nowhere to be found. She came across Angus, eating in the dining hall. She hesitated momentarily. She’d come to terms with the fact that her dream was in truth, reality, but still had a hard time with him being her real father. Pulling up a chair, she sat with him.
“Have you seen Adrian?” She poured a mug of ale and downed it quickly, not meeting his eye.
Angus smiled warmly, put down his fork, and wiped his mouth. “He should be back soon, lass. He’s grieving the loss of his friend.”
Redlynn nodded. When Anya died, what had she done? She’d run out into the woods to kill the pain. But with Blain, there was no one to kill, no one to blame but the dead.
“You loved my mother.”
“Very much.” After a thoughtful pause, Angus added, “She was my mate.”
“Why didn’t she stay here?” She blurted it out and then sucked in a deep breath.
Angus was quiet for a very long time, staring at his stew. “Your mother believed in tradition, in the Sisterhood. She believed that if she stayed with them, she’d change their minds about what they’d been taught. She believed she could fulfill the prophecy so we could be together.”
“But she never did.”
“No,” Angus smiled sadly. “But you will.” He stared at her. “You look so much like her. She’d be so proud of you.”
Redlynn’s throat tightened. “I don’t know about that.” Redlynn fixed her gaze on her intertwined hands. She filled her mug again. “I don’t even understand what to tell them.”
“Adrian’s mother, Irina, was the High Sister of the Sisterhood of Red. When his father broke their mating vows and laid with another, she took all the females and left our woods. She vowed that never again would a Sister of Red be mated to a wolf, that wolves could not be trusted. From that day forward, all wolves were to be hunted and killed."
“But he was magicked into sleeping with someone else.”
“Aye. But the queen didn’t care. The king, overcome with grief, vowed that for his penance, we wolves would be bound to protect the Sisterhood from the vampires. Your mother betrayed the Sisterhood when she mated with me. Your grandmother forced her to marry a human, your step-father, to hide the shame.”
“Did my grandmother know the truth?”
“I don’t know. But she did know about your step-father’s hobby of hitting women.”
Redlynn’s thoughts turned to Lillith. The way she’d always treated Redlynn and her mother, and the fact that she’d insisted Redlynn stay out of the woods. Something wasn’t right. “Do wolves only mate with members of the Sisterhood?”
“The Sisters are
the only ones able to bear wolf young. It goes back to the beginning. When Prince Garth made his wish with the djinn, Garth’s wife, Princess Redlynn, was the first in the Sisterhood of Red, which is why it was so named. She was a priestess of the Order of Mages at the time. She and the mages cast a spell on all of the mates of wolves so that they’d be able to live longer and bear our young.”
“So there were she-wolves, then?”
“No. The magick of the mages has been carried through the Sisterhood bloodlines, passing from mother to daughter. But in all this time, our daughters have never turned, just our sons. You’re the first female Were. The first ever.”
Redlynn studied the wooden table’s surface for a long time without speaking. Angus sat silently, waiting, letting her think. Her thoughts were lost in the history of her people. How could they have been led so astray?
“There haven’t been Sisters in Wolvenglen for a very long time.”
“No, there haven’t. Not until recent years. Your mother was the first to come into the woods.”
“And Hanna, Clara, and the others? I’d been told that they’d moved south.”
“Each of them came into the woods, just as you did. They ventured too far from the path and were led here.”
Her mind tried to understand what Angus told her. “So, how is it possible that the wolves have survived? With no females and no young?” Angus stayed quiet till Redlynn worked it out. “How old are you?”
“Too old. We wolves can live to be two hundred if the conditions are right.”
Two hundred? Redlynn remembered the stories of Sisters in times past that would live to be a hundred and beyond. “The Sisters don’t live past seventy.”
Angus shook his head. “They don’t anymore, but they used to. The magick that allows Sisters to carry our young, also connects our life forces, strengthening them to live longer.”
Red the Were Hunter (Fairelle Series Book 1) Page 17
