The Wolfborne Saga Box Set

by Cheree Alsop

  The demon was silent for a moment before it said, “That would be a feast indeed, but how can you make such a guarantee?”

  “There’s one coming to town,” I told him. “They’re a threat to the humans who live here. If I can get you a vampire, will you let these werewolves go?”

  He gave out a slow hiss that circled the room. The werewolves flinched away from the ominous sound. Their wide eyes stayed on the face within the dark mass that held their fate in its deadly hands. At any moment, we could all have our souls sucked dry.

  “Fine,” the demon said.

  Relief lifted the heavy weight from my shoulders.

  “Reason with them,” Alia urged from inside the demon’s shroud. “We can’t defeat the vampire alone.” She glanced at Aspen. “Will you ask Mr. Borig if that’s okay?”

  The demon’s face turned inward. “Do you trust this werewolf, Aspen?”

  She nodded. “He saved my life.”

  The demon turned to face me again. His voice was the barest whisper, toned for my ears only. “I agree to be your bartering chip, then.” A creepy smile of satisfaction lifted his lips. “Use your wiles, werewolf. You know you want to.”

  I wasn’t sure how much the demon understood about life in the Lair, but the enjoyment he took in lapping up the emotions of dark suffering was evident in the wafting ginger scent that flowed from him. He was definitely in his element, and I was ready to get out of it. As much as the demon invited me to use him as a bartering chip, I had the feeling I was really the pawn in his little game. My hands clenched into fists. I was sick and tired of being used.

  The demon’s eyes flickered to my hands and his dark eyebrows rose. The twinkle of delight in his gaze set my teeth on edge. I sucked in a calming breath and willed my muscles to relax. Determined that he wouldn’t get the better of me again and be able to feast on my rage, I turned to face the werewolves.

  “Your lives are your own if you help me stop the vampire,” I told them.

  One of the closest werewolves growled. I knew her to be fierce and quick-tempered from our fights together. “Why do you get to tell us what to do?”

  Several others nodded.

  I gestured behind me. “It’s either that or stay here and feed Mr. Borig.”

  My words lingered in the air. I hated using an ultimatum, but Alia was right. There was no way we could take down a vampire and his felgul companions without help. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight. Either the werewolves were ready to bleed, or the town would.

  “Stay,” Borig hissed.

  I knew it wasn’t my imagination that made the air turn colder.

  “We’ll help you defend the town,” a werewolf with a birthmark on his cheek said. His eyes traveled from me to the demon. “And then we’ll be free?”

  “What will we do without a Master?” someone asked in a low voice.

  “Where will we go?”

  “That doesn’t matter,” another werewolf said. “We need our freedom first.”

  “You’ll be free,” I reassured them. “Help me save this town and you’ll earn the right to live whatever life you choose.”

  “Is that smart?” Virgo asked in an undertone from behind me.

  I shot him a silencing look.

  He grinned in return, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Great, more werewolves in the world. What could go wrong?” he whispered sarcastically to Alia.

  “Quiet,” she shushed him.

  “There’s a forest behind Alia’s house,” I told the werewolves, making plans as I did so. “Meet us there. Those who don’t show up should expect a visit from Mr. Borig. Those of you who do will be granted your freedom after this battle is over.”

  “If we survive,” someone said in a grumpy voice.

  “I can ensure that you don’t,” Mr. Borig hissed amiably.

  “No, no, I’m good,” the werewolf replied quickly.

  Others began making their way toward the cavern exit. They had to pass uncomfortably close to the demon and the humans he protected. The demon made no effort to move away from the doorway; in fact, he inched closer. It was unsettling to see the way he basked in their discomfort and fear like others would a bubble bath.

  When the last werewolf had left, or fled, an uncomfortable silence filled the room.

  “We’re alright now, Borig,” Aspen said.

  “Are you sure?” the demon asked.

  I swore I detected a hint of true concern from the demon. I had never known demons to have compassion in the least bit.

  “I’m sure,” Aspen replied with a smile. “Thank you.”

  Mr. Borig released his shadowy hold from around the three humans and pulled into a nearly human shape. His eyes held mine unwaveringly.

  “I have your word that the vampire will be here?” he asked.

  “If I have your word that you’ll take care of him once he is,” I replied.

  The demon gave a low chuckle that left no doubt about his intentions for the foul creature.

  “Uh, can we go?” Virgo asked, inching away.

  “Yes, let’s,” Alia said. She rubbed her arms. “I’m freezing down here.”

  “It’s not the cold that makes you shiver,” the demon said with a low chuckle.

  Alia hurried toward the door with Aspen’s hand clenched firmly in hers. Virgo followed close behind. I trailed the trio, careful to ensure that the demon remained where he said he would be.

  “Don’t worry, Zev,” his voice whispered with a breath of wind across the back of my neck. “I’ll be right here.”

  I willed my breathing to remain steady and walked up the path the others had taken instead of running up it like I wanted to. The thought of the demon at my back wasn’t a comforting one at all. I could only hope that it would be content after dealing with the vampire and leave Brickwell alone. But there was no guarantee with a demon.

  It was easy to smell the burnt wood scent of fear as I crossed the Lair to the stairs. Memories took over my thoughts while I climbed upward. I remembered running from the other pups after I beat Ninety-nine in my first brawl in the cafeteria and earned myself an actual rank.

  I thought of the time several of the older werewolves got tired of me excelling in my training and tied me and beat me until I wasn’t sure even the moonlight would heal me. I had taken it as a challenge to get good enough that they would never be able to beat me again.

  Every memory had to do with pain and learning how to avoid it, survive it, or deal it to someone else. No wonder the demon was so content to remain in the Lair.

  I hurried up the stairs and found the others waiting at the top.

  “Listen to them,” Alia was saying. “Did we make a mistake?”

  The sound of howling reached my ears. My steps slowed. The werewolves were mourning. I put a hand on the wall and listened. A strange feeling tightened in my chest as though I should have been out there howling with them. But I wasn’t one of them. My actions had taken me away and separated me from them. Where that left me, I had no idea. But I couldn’t deny the want to be a part of them despite all we had put each other through.

  But what were they mourning? The voice in my mind whispered that it was the loss of our Master. His cruel ways and lies couldn’t deny the truth that without him, none of us would be there. I heard the loss in their tones and also the uncertainty. Nobody knew what life would be like with the Master gone.

  They were where I had been a few days earlier. I was the first to understand how big the world became without the vampire’s mental or physical chains. I knew exactly how they felt, but I couldn’t tell them that. They wouldn’t listen, and I couldn’t blame them. In truth, I was the face of the change in their lives. They didn’t have to be happy with me.

  “It’s eerie,” Virgo said. “How are we going to control that many werewolves?”

  I climbed up the last few steps and replied, “Leave that to me.”

  Aspen surprised me by throwing her arms around my waist.

  �
�I knew you’d come,” she said, squeezing tight.

  I lowered awkwardly to my knees and hugged her back. I couldn’t remember ever doing so. The feeling was one of warmth and happiness. It warred with the darkness of the demon that pressed against my back.

  “Of course I came,” I told the little girl. “But I think you had things handled.”

  She laughed and stepped back to smile at me. “Silly werewolf.”

  That brought a true laugh from me. “I guess I am.”

  Her hand slipped into mine and she pulled me to my feet. I rose and found both Virgo and Alia watching me. They appeared as surprised at the friendship Aspen showed for me as I was. She held my hand while I led the way out of the castle that surrounded the Lair and into the forest beyond.

  “Vampires don’t like the daylight, do they?” Aspen asked as I guided them back toward the car.

  I caught the others’ anxious glances at the woods around us as though expecting an attack at any moment, but I knew the werewolves. If there was a vampire or felguls beneath the trees, we would have already heard about it.

  “They don’t like light at all,” I replied. “Honestly, if a vampire could get rid of the sun, I think it would.”

  That brought a short laugh from the little girl. “Without the sun, everything would be dead!”

  “I think the vampires would prefer it that way,” I said quietly.

  She nodded with a look in her eyes far older than her eight years. I wondered how the bond with the demon Borig had impacted her. To see the lack of fear on her face when he appeared said there was more to the demon’s connection than even Aspen’s father had guessed. The fact that it would actually help to protect her was something I never would have guessed, either. Who would have thought I would someday owe my life to a demon?

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mom, you don’t have to feed them,” Alia insisted for the third time.

  Mrs. Willard merely shook her head with a click of her tongue and replied, “They’re our guests and we’ll treat them as such.”

  “You’re kind to do so,” Mitch said from where he chopped up mushrooms near the sink.

  Mixed emotions filled me at the sight of the werewolf doing something so domestic. He wielded the knife like an expert, twirling it between his fingers as we had so often done in the Lair to pass time. The fact that it was covered in mushroom juice instead of blood felt both right and wrong. His comment a while back that he wanted to fit into normal human society rang true with how comfortable he appeared there amid the linoleum and yellow paint.

  I had offered to help with the food, but Mrs. Willard had pointed both James and me toward the box of Mr. Willard’s weapons. I didn’t know if that was because she rightfully doubted my skills as a cook, or if she felt that one werewolf at the counter was enough.

  Alia glanced out the kitchen window. Mrs. Willard had hired someone to come out while we were at the Lair to replace the glass I had smashed through on my first night at their home. I felt a pang of guilt at the sight of the new clear pane where the blanket had hung.

  Through it, I could see the nearly two dozen werewolves who had left the Lair and now waited at the edge of the forest for my orders. I had brought danger once more to the Willards’ doorstep, and instead of being angry or sending me away, Mrs. Willard was in the process of cooking up enough spaghetti to at least take the edge off of their hunger.

  Virgo entered the kitchen. “Mom says she’s on her way,” the warlock told us. “Leave it to her to be excited when there are hungry stomachs to fill.”

  “We can hunt,” I said for probably the fifth time. “They’re used to fending for themselves when there wasn’t enough food at the Lair.”

  “Yeah,” Mitch agreed.

  Mrs. Willard made her tsking sound again. “You could still use fattening up, Zev. And don’t tell me they can hunt. I don’t want that many werewolves eating the helpless animals that roam our neck of the woods.”

  If she knew about the wrath of the cougars and wolverines I had faced before, she might change her mind, but I didn’t think pointing that out would help the situation any. Food was cooking and it smelled good enough to make my stomach growl. I could only imagine how the werewolves would respond to true home cooking. My first experience with it had been in the same kitchen. Perhaps that was the first step toward domesticating werewolves. The thought made me chuckle.

  “What’s so funny?” James asked.

  I slid the knife I had been cleaning into its sheath and put it back in Mr. Willard’s box.

  “Just thinking of how much my life has changed since leaving the Lair,” I replied.

  “And that makes you laugh?” the human asked.

  I nodded without explaining. Mitch shot me a glance. He gestured toward the pile of mushrooms he had cut. The half-smile that touched his lips said he understood.

  “At least you can laugh,” Alia pointed out from where she stirred Mrs. Willard’s thick homemade spaghetti sauce. “After seeing where you both used to live, it’s a wonder you have a sense of humor at all, or a soul, for that matter. I’ll probably have nightmares for weeks.”

  I cringed inwardly at the comment and said, “The latter is debatable, while the former you could say is a result of the conditions.” At her questioning look, I explained, “Better to have a sense of ironic humor about it than go rage mode and try to destroy everything.”

  “Did that happen a lot?” James asked.

  “It did,” I replied. I shied away from the memories of werewolves who had gone full beast and torn apart several of our members before being slain. It was one of the darker parts of a very dark job.

  “It definitely did,” Mitch echoed.

  “How did you deal with it?” James asked curiously.

  “Swiftly,” Mitch replied with a glance at me.

  James’ face paled at the implications.

  “Do we need to worry about that with them?” Alia asked with a nod toward the backyard.

  “Now that they’re out of the Lair, I don’t think so.” I could see the worry on her face, so continued with, “But we’ll keep a close eye on them. I’ll handle it if any of them act up.”

  “After you heal up,” Mrs. Willard said in a chiding, motherly tone.

  “Yes, and until then, I’ve got it covered,” Mitch said. He twirled his knife through his fingers. “Just let them see how I deal with vagrant mushrooms. They’ll fall in line.”

  Alia laughed and set a hand on his arm. The look she gave him made my stomach tighten.

  I lowered my gaze and put a hand to the bandages at the side of my neck. Alia had definitely overdone it considering the fact that I would heal with the moonlight, but when I mentioned it, she pointed out that I needed to keep the blood loss between now and then to a minimum if I wanted to survive until the moon rose.

  “Don’t werewolves target weaknesses?” James asked. “I read about that on the internet.” At his mother’s disapproving look, he quickly said, “That I haven’t been on since you told me to stop researching.” He gave her a supplicating look. “But what if it helps Zev and Mitch against this vampire?”

  Mrs. Willard looked from her son to me. “Could his research help?”

  I could see James’ pleading expression out of the corner of my eye. I nodded. “The more information we have on what we’re up against, the better. It might give us an edge.”

  Mrs. Willard thought about it for a moment, then gave a sigh of long-suffering. “Fine, but once you find what you need, no more looking up the paranormal.”

  “At least until we talk again,” James hedged.

  His mother speared him with a glare and pointed her wooden spoon at him. “Don’t push me.”

  He raised his hands and said with a laugh, “I won’t, I won’t!”

  “This is done,” Mrs. Willard finally proclaimed. “Rosalinda isn’t here yet, but I don’t want the noodles to start sticking together. James, why don’t you and Zev take this pot out there along with tho
se paper bowls. We have enough plastic forks to feed them.” She shot me a look. “Be sure to insist they use the forks. I don’t need them acting like wild animals.” She picked up a patchwork blanket from the table that looked homemade. “Virgo, you can take this quilt. They might like having somewhere that isn’t dirt to eat on.”

  Virgo accepted the quilt with a reluctant expression.

  “I’m going to go check on Isley,” Mrs. Willard said as she dried her hands.

  “What about me?” Mitch asked. “I can help.”

  The reluctance in his tone was understandable. The werewolf’s expression had said enough when I told him about what happened at the Lair.

  “Let me get this straight,” he had said, his face pale. “The Masters turned out to be a single Master who has been deceiving us since we were pups, he tried to suck you dry, and you killed him with an amulet?”

  “I shot him,” Alia put in helpfully from her seat in the easy chair across the living room.”

  Mitch nodded, his gaze troubled. “Alia shot him, and then the other werewolves tried to kill you. You all would have died if it wasn’t for Aspen’s demon.”

  “We’re not telling Mom that part,” Alia whispered.

  “Right,” the werewolf replied. He looked back at me. “And now you’ve made a deal with the demon to bring him another vampire?”

  I rolled my shoulders to ease the tightness. “It was the only way we could leave.”

  Mitch glanced in the direction of the backyard. Though we couldn’t see the forest from where we sat, the fact that the trees were now filled with our brethren and sisters set me on edge. I saw the same thing in the way the muscle of his jaw twitched.

  “I have a lot of enemies out there,” he said quietly.

  “Me, too,” I told him.

  He shook his head. “You don’t understand.”

  He looked at his hands. It was the first time I had ever seen the werewolf appear entirely out of his element.

  I was careful to keep my voice level and quiet when I asked, “Mitch, what are you talking about?”

  He ran a finger down a long scar that lined the side of his wrist. A memory of him knife-fighting in the ring at the Lair with two other werewolves came to mind.