by Kasi Blake
Silver said, “You gave up your revenge for me. You were going to kill the head werewolf and give me my life back. I wanted to do something for you. I thought if I could kill him before you got to Jersey, we would both have what we want most.”
“No. It was my fault,” Billy said. “You can’t take the blame. I wanted revenge just as much as Jack.”
“But it was my idea,” she said.
“Enough.” Jack held his hands up. “It doesn’t matter who did what. It’s done now. I’m just glad everyone is okay. You are okay, aren’t you?”
His eyes went to Silver first, then to his brother. They both nodded. Billy rubbed his sore throat. The pile of ashes began to blow away as a gentle breeze passed over the field. Jack watched it with delight. His parents had died at the hands of the psychotic werewolf, and now it was dead. Revenge really was sweet.
Silver walked over the grass, her gaze lowered. She found the stone almost immediately. With a smile, she picked it up and showed it to Jack. “Got it.”
She gave it to him, and he slid it into his pocket. He didn’t even want to think about using it on Jersey. That was going to be a tough situation. He certainly wasn’t looking forward to returning to school. What if Jersey continued to teach English class? Could they be in the same room with each other after everything and not try to kill each other?
“We did it,” Billy said. His smile widened, and he put an arm around Jack’s shoulders. “Thanks for saving my butt back there.”
“No problem, bro.”
“I guess you’re going to turn out to be a good hunter after all.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” Jack put one arm around Billy and the other around Silver. He brought them close. They were his family now, and he no longer missed his vampire clan. “Let’s go home and celebrate.”
They laughed as they walked to the car.
Chapter Twenty-Five:
A BRAND NEW DAY
Three weeks passed without a sign of Jersey anywhere. Jack was both anxious and relieved by his former teacher’s disappearance. He’d received a special surprise in the mail from the man, a deed to his property. Jersey had given him his fake house and the beautiful mansion beneath.
Jack sat at Jersey’s desk in his study, and Silver perched on the edge. It was almost like they were replaying a scene from Jersey’s past with Pagan. It was somehow comforting to Jack. He leaned back in Jersey’s chair, allowing his gaze to drift around the room. It didn’t look like Jersey had taken anything with him.
“What are you going to do with this place?” Silver asked.
Jack sighed. He’d given it a great deal of thought since finding out he owned it. With a shrug he said, “I have no idea. Maybe we should use it as a sort of headquarters for hunters.”
“Great. The werewolves and vampires won’t be able to find out what we’re up to if we have a secret hideout. I love it.”
“It’s way better than the secret room my parents had.”
“What’s that?” Silver walked to the fireplace. She pulled out an envelope from behind a book, one edge sticking out. “It has your name on it.”
Silver handed it to him. Jersey’s fluid handwriting traveled across the middle of the envelope. Jack’s breath caught in his throat. He opened the envelope with trembling fingers and pulled a folded piece of paper out, hoping it wasn’t bad news. He was disappointed to find nothing written on it. Why would Jersey give him a plain piece of paper?
Jack lifted it for Silver’s inspection. “Maybe he was in a hurry.”
“I have an idea.” Silver came around the desk. She smiled at him before placing her hand on top of his. The familiar electric current shot through him, announcing the beginning of a new journey.
Jack glanced around with a frown. They hadn’t gone anywhere. They were still in the study. For a moment he thought it hadn’t worked, but then his eyes traveled the room. Jersey Clifford stood on the opposite side of the desk, a smug smile on his face. Silver gasped, spotting him at the same time. Jack squeezed her hand, reassuring her without words.
“Welcome,” Jersey said. “I wanted a chance to say goodbye to you, Jack, but I didn’t want to tempt the fates. One of us might have felt compelled to kill the other before the appointed time.”
Jersey moved to the center of the room. He spread his hands and slowly turned. “Well, what do you think of your new home? I hope you enjoy it. The thought of it sitting empty, no one to appreciate it, sank my heart. Of course, by now you have realized I am gone for good.” He scowled. “I will hold building my army off for as long as I can because I do not wish to destroy you, but someday…someday I will have no choice. We will battle to the death. Yours, I’m afraid.”
Jersey went to the shelf and pulled a hardcover book from the stack. “In my fit of anger I trashed several of my favorites, but this one I saved. I would like for you to read it. Someday I hope to discuss it with you in depth. I’d like to hear your take on it. My fondest wish is for us to have a conversation like the ones I so enjoyed having with you before.”
Jack looked to the shelf. He saw the book Jersey wanted him to read. The vision of Jersey and the book filled the empty place in his heart. He’d had a void since Jersey and Cowboy had blown town. With neither of them around, life seemed to lose some of its spice.
Jersey lifted his hand in a slight wave. “I feel kind of stupid talking to myself, but I know you’ll see this. I am sorry beyond belief our time was cut short. We’ve lost countless opportunities to share our views. Goodbye for now, my friend, my enemy. I will greatly miss you. Perhaps even more than I miss Pagan in some ways. Allow me to leave you with one last quote.
“Sudden and swift and light as that the ties gave, and he learned of finalities besides the grave.”
And then he was gone.
“What was that?” Silver looked up at Jack as they returned to the present. “What did it mean?”
“It was a poem by Robert Frost, Jersey’s way of saying good-bye.”
“O-kay. That was kind of creepy.”
Jack crossed the room to the book shelf and picked up the volume Jersey had wanted him to read. It was one of his favorites, one of Lily’s favorites. Jack opened it. Jersey had written a little note on the inside. We all have a destiny, known or unknown. Our choice is to run from it or embrace it. Choose well.
“You really liked him, didn’t you?” Silver’s expression was one of total disbelief. “After everything he did, you still like him.”
How could he explain it to her when he didn’t understand it himself? “He reminded me of my father. Not in a bad way. My father kept his emotions in check. He gave new meaning to calm, cool, and collected. Then there was the way I felt when talking to Jersey. He had all this wisdom to share. Having him around was almost like having my father back.”
Silver walked over to him and slid into his arms. The side of her face pressed against his chest. She mumbled against his shirt. “I’m sorry you had to lose him. My parents are searching for Jersey via computer and contacts, but they probably won’t be able to find him for years. Maybe by the time they do, I’ll be able to suck his soul out, and you won’t have to kill him.”
It was a horrible thing to wish for, but Jack found himself doing just that. He wasn’t sure if he had the strength to face Jersey on a battlefield. No matter what awful things Jersey did, Jack feared he would always love the man. At least the parts that reminded him of the father he’d lost.
Would it be better for Jersey to have his soul sucked out or to be touched by the rock?
“What do you think happens to the souls you suck out? Are they lost forever?”
“No. Didn’t you read that part in the diary?”
“I guess I missed it.”
“Lovely says they travel on, heaven or hell, wherever they were meant to be.”
That didn’t sound so bad.
“I’ll be back in a second.”
Jack sprinted out to the car and retrieved the diary. Since it was still in his possession, he wanted to read the part about sucking souls again. Silver had read it enough to know what page the information could be found on. He leaned in through the open window, took the diary out of the glove compartment. As he pulled it through the window, it slipped from his fingers.
The diary opened on the ground to a brand new page. Jack hunched over it and read it again and again. He swallowed hard. Disbelief hardened his heart. No way. Someone was messing with him. He grabbed the diary, slapped it shut, but it was too late. The words were burned inside his brain.
Beware of Silver, Jack. Betrayal will lead to your death.
It had to be a trick. Somehow Jersey had planted the page, forged Lovely’s handwriting. Jack didn’t believe for a second Silver would betray him. She most certainly would not lead him to his death. The sucking-out-souls passage forgotten, he tossed the diary back through the open window.
With slow feet and a sinking spirit he returned to the secret mansion beneath the house. He didn’t say a word to Silver about the new prophecy. When she asked why he’d left, he told her he’d wanted to check the house again because he had an idea.
“How would you like to live here?” he asked. “Your parents need to build a new home anyway. Why not build it over the mansion?”
Her eyes sparkled. “Great idea. My parents will love it. Thank you.”
She hugged him again, and his arms went around her. His hands tightened on her back, molding the soft curves. His eyes closed, and he savored the moment.
“What do we do while we wait for my parents to find Jersey?” She let him go, took a step back.
“We live a normal life.”
The words left his lips without emotion or meaning, because at this point he knew there was no such thing as a normal life for him.
Deep in his heart, he was still a vampire.
.
###
If you enjoyed this book, please leave a review on Amazon. Every review is greatly appreciated by the author and is more helpful than you will ever know. To make it easier for you, here is the link. With a simple click you can leave a review. Thank you!!!
Sneak Peek: WEREWOLVES RULE
Chapter One:
NIGHTMARE
.
Blood seeped through Jack’s tightly aligned fingers. No matter how hard he pressed on the wound, it continued to hemorrhage. He was beyond scared. During his time as a vampire Jack had become unusually attuned to the workings of his body, so he didn’t need a psychic to tell him something was wrong. The blood should have stopped by now. He should have healed several minutes ago.
Although he wasn’t a vampire anymore, Jack still had some of the powers, including instantaneous healing. Too bad it didn’t seem to be working at the moment.
He wanted to look down to measure the growing red stain on his shirt, but he couldn’t risk drawing his brother’s attention to it. He covertly stole a glance at Billy. Passing streetlights illuminated Billy’s face in short rolls of light. His profile was rigid, jaw tight. He stared straight ahead, hands tight on the steering wheel as if he was trying to strangle somebody.
Billy was pissed!
Who could blame him after the night they’d had?
Jack, still new to the art of hunting, couldn’t believe the disaster a ‘simple’ werewolf chase had turned into. A couple particularly nasty werewolves had nearly killed them. At least Billy only got kicked and punched a few times. He sported a puffy eye, maybe a couple bruised ribs, but one of the werewolves had stabbed Jack with a knife.
A knife! Whoever heard of a stupid werewolf using a blade? What happened to the good old days when they’d used their claws?
Being stabbed hurt worse than getting slashed by a hundred werewolf claws. The burning pain spread throughout his middle, growing in intensity. Perspiration dotted his upper lip and forehead. The car hit a bump. Jack gritted his teeth, holding back a cry of agony. Exhaustion battled the pain to see which could take him down first. His eyes drifted shut. Some rest might help him to heal faster, the little voice in his head reasoned.
“Are you dying?” Billy asked. His odd, toneless voice cut the silence, a bomb in a peaceful village. Jack reluctantly forced his eyes open and turned his head against the vinyl seat so he could reassure his brother. Billy added, “Seriously. Do I need to take you to the hospital or what?”
“Course not.” Jack’s voice cracked under the strain. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
“I heal fast, remember?”
“Yeah, it’s like having Superman for a brother.”
Sarcasm. Poor Billy hadn’t completely adjusted to having a freak show living under his roof. Their relationship remained strained even through the best of times. Jack’s eyelids grew heavy. They closed of their own volition. He mumbled, “Just need some sleep.”
He barely heard his brother’s warning.
“Yeah, well, if you see a bright light, stay the hell away from it.”
“Mmm hmm.”
Jack began to drift, unattached thoughts floating through his mind like confused cars heading in opposite directions. He lost his grasp on reality. Sleep claimed him on a temporary basis, and he went willingly into the comforting darkness.
###
Sign up for Kasi Blake’s Newsletter
kasiblake(dot)com
Want to find out what happens to Jack and Silver?
Werewolves Rule (book 2) and Shifters Rule (book 3) are available now.
Wizards Rule (book 4) and Mortals Rule (book 5) will be available 2015.
Excerpt from Bait
-1-
MONSTERS IN THE CLOSET
At some point during the night a stranger crawled into Bay-Lee’s bed while she snored softly, unaware. The mattress springs squeaked in complaint beneath the additional weight as he reclined on his side and stared down at her face. It bothered him that she continued to sleep. After all the stories he’d heard about this girl, exploited rumors verging on myth, he’d expected more from her. Shouldn’t she be able to sense danger?
This was Van Helsing’s daughter? She looked insignificant, vulnerable beneath the bright orange sheet. He could snap her neck so easily—and maybe he should. The world would continue on, undisturbed, but the dark cloud hanging over his head would finally dissipate.
A fraction of moonlight filtered through partially open curtains, not enough to see clearly, but it didn’t matter because he’d seen pictures of this girl on Van Helsing’s desk. Her features were burned into his retinas. Every time he went into the office he tried not to look at the photographs, purposely pointing his gaze elsewhere.
There was something about her, something unsettling which inevitably pulled him back to stare at her reproduced image. She looked like an average girl at first glance. A pretty face framed by long dark hair parted in the middle and layered stared back at him. Of Brazilian descent, her eyes were the darkest of browns, nearly black. They hid a mountain of secrets. She had attitude to spare and the camera caught it, recording it for future historians—if the rumors were correct, they would want to study her.
She possessed a ‘bite me’ expression that must drive vampires crazy.
Fortunately, he was not a vampire.
Her mouth bothered him the most. Full lips haunted his dreams with a secretive smile curving the ends and a bottom lip that begged to be nibbled on. Sometimes, when he wasn’t carefully controlling his thoughts, he wondered what she would taste like. In his dreams when he wasn’t fully in control of his mind he kissed her without ceasing. Now he wondered what would happen if he kissed her in real life. Would it stir something deep in his soul? Would the prophecy come true?
Something hard lodged in his throa
t and he swallowed. It was a near miss so he swallowed again. Kissing her shouldn’t even be a blip on the radar. This girl was the reason he didn’t have a home or a family. It was her fault he’d grown up on the outside looking in, her fault people whispered behind his back, and her fault he was destined to die young.
Bay-Lee stirred in her sleep. Mumbling, she pushed against his chest with two fingers. “Go ‘way.”
Cute like a box of kittens, for a second he forgot to hate her. His heart momentarily softened, but only for a moment. The unfamiliar sensation was enough to wipe the half-smile from his face. Delivering a mental kick to his brain, he reminded himself this girl was the last person in the world he could let his guard down around. She was worse than trouble. If he wasn’t careful, this seemingly harmless meeting would lead to his total destruction.
Ready to wake her, he leaned in close and whispered her (fake) name. Like him, she was forced to live under an alias. Michelle.
The knowledge she was no longer alone in bed should have scared the crap out of Bay-Lee and normally it would have, but she was still floating on the fragments of a blissful dream. The soft whisper of a lover’s hands surfaced with her consciousness. She’d been dreaming about being in love, the kind that inspired people to die for each other, the Romeo and Juliet sort of love. Beyond that nothing seemed real to her.
An odd smell pierced the veil of sleep, and she wrinkled her nose. Jack Daniels?
The next thing to grab her attention was the feel of a hard body crowding her on the narrow mattress.
Warm breath lightly blew a trail down her face from forehead to mouth like the soft wings of a butterfly brushing against her skin. Fingers slid up one arm to curve around her shoulder. Her eyelids fluttered, and she smiled up at the gorgeous stranger. Fantasy wove a complicated tapestry with reality, and she decided she was still dreaming.
The dark-haired boy’s gaze settled on her lips. She could practically read his mind. He wanted to kiss her until neither of them could breathe. Still living on the leftover residue of an imagined love, she was going to allow it. A tingling sense of anticipation had her nearly breathless already.
