Moonlight's Ambassador

by T. A. White

  "Leave!" she shouted, her breath coming in pants. "I'll be fine. This won't hold me for long."

  Lisa groaned as she came to consciousness, her head lifting as she looked around the woods with an alert gaze. Her eyes fell on Caroline. "Oh, fuck."

  She started to struggle against the chain, thrashing to get free. "Don't go. You need to help me. Her wolf will kill me."

  She had a point. There wasn't a lot of love lost between the two. I started for her, not wanting to leave her tied up and waiting for death.

  Caroline's voice brought me up short. "Aileen, forget her. Run. She's pack. I won't hurt her—probably. I will hurt you. My wolf already yearns for the hunt so it can feast on your blood."

  That was a rosy picture. It finally got me to back away on slow steps, my eyes holding hers. "Don't die."

  Her smile was a little toothier than normal. "You too."

  I turned and jetted off into the surrounding woods, not pausing even when I heard a spine-chilling howl lift to the fast darkening sky. Shadows thickened on the ground, following me like reaching hands as I raced through the twilight, cursing at the weakness pulling at my limbs. My body had been through too much recently—the werewolf bite, then getting knocked unconscious, followed by an afternoon of prolonged sunbathing. Even bathing in the blood of two of the most powerful vampires of the city wasn't enough to give any pep to my step at this point.

  Keeping upright and moving took my entire willpower, forcing me to dig deep for the unrelenting survivor I hid at the core of me—the one willing to do almost anything it took to live another day. She was the one who had gotten me through some of the most hellish experiences of my life. I let her guide my thoughts, wiping anything but the next step from my mind. Each step was like slogging through quicksand. My mind was urging me to move faster, but my body could just not answer.

  The moon was fully up by now, lighting the world and making it as easy to see as if it had been noon. Even a human would have no trouble on a night like this. I'd have no chance against a werewolf's heightened senses.

  How much longer did I have until Caroline lost her battle and shifted? That chain wouldn't hold her long before it snapped, and I'd seen her move. Fast and deadly. There was no chance I would outrun her, not unless I stumbled across a fighter jet or its equivalent. That meant I needed to be smart. Fleeing blindly in a panic was just going to get me killed faster. I needed a plan. Unfortunately, I didn't have one yet, which was why I kept moving, my mind turning over possibilities as my feet took me up another hill.

  It was a common misconception that Ohio was entirely flat. Granted, the majority of it was—especially up North—but there were areas of the state that were decidedly less so. The biggest example of this was Hocking Hills, located in the southeastern part. I've hiked there many times, exploring Old Man's cave, the waterfalls and the hollers that riddled the area. I doubted Theo had taken the time to drive us two hours south to that area. Furthermore, the ravines I navigated weren't as deep and lacked the unique rock formations that made Hocking Hills famous.

  No, if I had to guess, we were in the northeastern part of the city. Maybe near Hoover Dam or Alum Creek. Both areas were wooded and known for the modest hills and ravines I was stumbling over. Orienting myself with the moon and North Star, I pointed my feet south. If nothing else, maybe I'd stumble across a road and be able to catch a ride before Caroline caught up.

  There was a rustle of movement in the trees, and I froze, looking around me as I waited for an attack. When it didn't come, I moved carefully forward, trying to keep my movements as quiet as possible, my gaze alert. I broke into another jog. One thing being a bike messenger all these years had given me was decent stamina. Running might be a little different than riding a bike, but at least I hadn't lost all my cardio when I left the military.

  My foot caught on a dead branch, and I pitched forward down a sharp incline, my shoulder bouncing off a rock before my knee slammed into a tree as I tumbled, collecting bumps and bruises along the way. I fell into empty air then hit the ground several feet down with a thump, coming to a halt as I reached the bottom. I lay there a moment, blinking up at the dark trees standing sentinel over me.

  Dampness seeped into my pants, and I sat up with a silent groan. My legs had landed in water, while the rest of me was still on dry ground. I rotated my shoulder, grimacing at the stab of pain. My knee wasn't much better. My healing abilities had already been maxed out because of the sun, so both hurts lingered when normally my body would have started healing them by now.

  I looked up at the hill I'd fallen down. It looked every bit as high as it had felt during my trip down, making me glad I hadn't broken my neck in my headfirst tumble. There was a cliff of rock above me, which explained the fall through empty air. I was at the bottom of a ravine that had a small creek running through it.

  Near the top of the hill, my othersight picked up on a flicker of inky darkness broken by streaks of burnt umber. Caroline. I pressed myself to the ground, ignoring the mud that seeped through my clothes as I kept my eyes focused on where I'd seen the umber and dark. Suddenly my tumble seemed less like an inconvenience and more like a timely save.

  Her light moved back and forth before she disappeared up and over the hill. I let out a tiny sigh of relief.

  She wouldn't be gone long. When she realized she lost my scent, she'd have to circle back. Eventually, she would find her way down here. I needed to be gone before that happened.

  First, though, I needed to do what I could to disguise my scent. It was already half done with all this mud clinging to my front and back. I dug my hands deep in the bank, pulling up mud and smearing it over my arms and legs, covering myself as best I could given the time constraints.

  Finished, I climbed to my feet and hobbled along the creek, being careful to move quietly and quickly. My othersight flickered wildly, giving me odd glimpses of light trails. Some in colors I didn't have words for. Some showing shadows like wraiths across the ground. It was like trying to watch two movies at the same time. One normal and the other technicolor.

  I blinked rapidly as my left eye showed me a yawning chasm while my normal eye just showed more of the same hill covered in years of dead leaves. Not having time to humor this new oddity of my eye, I stepped forward, reasonably sure that the yawning chasm wasn't really there, or at least not in the sense of the real world. Black ink blots detached like seaweed waving in some unseen ocean as they drifted toward me, only to shy away from touching me at the last moment.

  A harsh growl came from my right, and I jerked back, forgetting this new world my eye was showing me. A wolf's eyes gleamed at me from the dark, its head lowered. Caroline. I backed up a step. She advanced before skirting to the side. I turned with her as she circled me, not coming closer. Every time she veered too close to the chasm she would hop back before continuing her slinking walk.

  I watched for several seconds, amazed that she hadn't already killed me, even as she snarled and whined in confusion. She wouldn't pass the chasm. How was this possible? How was she seeing the same thing I was? Could it be the wolf? It was the only thing I could think of, the only thing different.

  Another growl came from my right, and a much smaller wolf crept into view, its head lowered, and teeth bared, as it eyed me like I was juicy steak it wanted to eat. Lisa. It passed the chasm like it wasn't even there, taking no notice of the thing that kept Caroline at bay.

  "Oh crap," I whispered. What worked on one didn't work on the other.

  The wolf crouched, the slight bunching of its muscles all the warning I had before it sprang—its leap carrying it through the air. I dropped, rolling under it in a burst of speed fueled by adrenaline and fear. It landed across the clearing, close to Caroline, spinning as it darted back toward me.

  Caroline's wolf swiped out a paw, knocking it several feet to the side. A yelp escaped Lisa, and she scrambled to her feet even as Caroline leapt, landing on her, teeth buried in the smaller wolf's throat.

  While
they were ripping and tearing at each other, I darted away, taking advantage of their distraction in the hopes they'd keep each other occupied.

  There were twin howls as I disappeared over the hill and then the snapping of branches as they chased after me. I flew across the ground, reaching for more speed with each stride. Behind me came the sound of pursuit as they gave up on stealth in favor of running me to ground.

  Lisa's wolf appeared next to me. I veered sharply to avoid the snapping teeth. Caroline bounded up on my other side, leaping at my throat as I ducked and rolled, hitting the ground on my bad shoulder, then popping to my feet and taking off again. I darted around a tree, weaving through them as the two snarled and snapped at my heels.

  My thighs burned as I sprinted uphill. I came to a crashing stop as a cliff appeared, my arms pinwheeling before I grabbed a tree. I stared at the sharp drop, panting.

  There was a snap of branches behind me as the two wolves slunk into view. They'd been herding me. That was clear now. With the cliff at my back, I had nowhere to go.

  I stepped away from the tree and the cliff's edge, holding my hands out in front of me. "Caroline, I know you're in there. You don't want to do this."

  I had little hope that talking to her would help, but I was desperate, and this was the only option left.

  My plea had no effect on her as she circled one way and Lisa circled the other. I kept my eyes on Caroline. She was the bigger threat.

  "Do you remember how we met?" I asked, my voice high. "We were in elementary school, and I liked Jimmy Grey. You told me I was an idiot for trying to get his attention, and then you dyed his hair green when you caught him talking trash about me to his friends."

  The wolf didn't pause as it crept closer, its eyes focused on me with single-minded intensity. It was a massive animal. Majestic and beautiful. At another time, when my life wasn't in danger, I would have been tempted to capture its beauty on camera. Now, I just wanted her as far from me as possible.

  "Caroline, don't. You need to control your instincts," I warned, backing up. One foot slipped over the edge; I caught myself from pitching backward and stumbled forward, falling to my knees in the process.

  Caroline was there, her fangs snapping at my throat. I jerked back as she towered over me. Her eyes had intelligence in them, but it was hard to tell if it was the kind of intelligence that was slightly crazy or if my friend was in the driving seat.

  I held very still as her growl faded, and she dipped her head to snuffle at me. She whined before growling again.

  Lisa darted forward, catching my arm and sinking her teeth in before jerking her head and almost wrenching my arm off. I cried out, claws tipping my fingers as I raked them down her face, catching one eye under them. She yelped and let go. Caroline body checked her, forcing the smaller wolf away from me.

  With my othersight, I could see the umber streaks were snarled and tangled at the base of her chest. They called to me, whispering of their wrongness—like a song where one note was off-key, throwing everything else off balance. I had no other time to consider them before Caroline was on me, her teeth in my shoulder as she shook her head fiercely.

  I screamed, punching and raking at her with my claws to no effect. Her blood dripped down, mixing with my own. Somehow, my hand landed on that snarled knot, and I did something in my panic and terror—that something born of desperation and a will to survive. I wasn't sure how, or if I could do the same something again. The tangle unknotted, just a little bit—the inky blackness and burnt umber separating just slightly and seeming to work together instead of apart.

  I punched her in the head one last time before my arm fell to my side, blood coated my neck and chest. "Caroline, I love you," I managed to whisper.

  Her teeth gentled on my shoulder, and I slipped to the ground as she took a step back. She nudged me where I lay unmoving, a whimper in her throat. She nudged me harder.

  Before she could do more, a smaller wolf barreled into her, snapping and snarling. Caroline snapped back, drawing blood and using her larger mass to hold her own. Lisa was no slouch, using speed to attack. Caroline snarled, her head darting down, her teeth closing around the smaller wolf's leg and jerking. There was a yelp, and then Lisa limped off, disappearing into the forest.

  Caroline padded back, nudging me with her head before licking at my shoulder a couple of times then moving to my other wounds. The cold that had been spreading, a product of her demon taint, began retreating under her ministration. Having given each wound her attention, she lay down next to me, setting her head on the unwounded part of my stomach. Her ears tilted forward, and she laid her tail over my feet as if she was trying to keep them warm.

  I didn't know what had happened to cause her to change from ruthless slayer of vampires to something close to man's best companion, but I was too tired and wounded to try to fight my way free. Instead, I held still and hoped that she remained Caroline.

  We stayed like that for a long time as my body fought to heal itself. I remained conscious as pain throbbed in the individual wounds, the skin just beginning to knit together, the blood slowing and stopping.

  There was a pop of air, and then Liam appeared at the edge of the forest. Caroline's ears twitched, and she lifted her head, her lips peeling back from her teeth. Her chest vibrated with a nearly silent growl. Liam moved closer, his feet whispering over the ground—his face a dark, murderous mask as he took in my blood coated body.

  His eyes turned to Caroline, death on his face and his fangs down. His blue eyes burned with fire, the skin on his face thinning and letting some of the monster within peer out. I realized with a start that he thought I was dead, and she was feasting on my body.

  "Liam, I'm fine," I croaked. "She's protecting me from Lisa."

  I chanced laying a hand on her back and sitting up. She swung her head, forcing me back down, the movement sending shards of pain through my shoulder. I gritted my teeth against the groan of pain, knowing it wouldn't help matters.

  When the haze faded and I could focus again, I realized Caroline was standing on all fours, straddling my body as she faced Liam, the fur on her back standing upright and her ears pinned back against her head.

  I turned my head, noting that Liam wasn't the only vampire standing there. Several of the enforcers were at his back, including Eric and Anton. A wolf I recognized as Brax appeared out of the woods like a ghost. I blinked and realized there were several wolves at his back, like silent sentries as they ringed the two of us in a half circle, the cliff at our back, cutting off any possibility of retreat.

  "Stay down, Aileen," Liam ordered when he saw me try to sit up again, his focus entirely on the wolf over me.

  "She's not a threat," I said. Not entirely true. She'd always be a threat, that was the nature of the wolf, but I didn't get the sense that she was an immediate danger to my survival.

  "The blood coating your body would say otherwise," he returned in a cool voice.

  Fair enough, and normally I would agree.

  "That happened earlier tonight. I'm practically healed now," I said.

  He didn't answer, advancing on her with steady steps, Brax mirroring him from a few feet away. Caroline's head swung between the two, unsure which one presented the bigger threat.

  "Ready?" Liam asked.

  Brax chuffed.

  Liam sprang at us, his body a blur of speed. Caroline whirled toward him with a snarl. Brax hit her from the side, his body weight knocking her off me, the two of them going over the cliff.

  "Caroline!" I screamed, rolling over on my stomach to crawl to the edge.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  LIAM WAS BESIDE me in the next moment, his arms scooping me up and quelling my struggles.

  "She isn't dead," he said in a low voice in my ear. "That fall wouldn't be enough to hurt either one of them."

  "How do you know?"

  He chuckled. "I've thrown the alpha off much higher objects during the course of our acquaintance."

  "Caroline's barely been
a wolf for a few months. She won't have his healing," I returned as I tried to wriggle out of his arms. His grip tightened, and he dropped his head to run his nose along the side of my face, breathing deeply at the same time. He dipped his head further until he could reach the wound in my shoulder, his tongue darted out in a move much like the wolf's as he licked it once before straightening.

  "No, hers is better. A consequence of her taint," he said, sounding unworried as he resumed walking at a pace that had the trees blurring around me. "They'll fight it out until the moon sets, at which point she'll be taken into custody. You can see her then."

  I let my head fall back, looking up at his face. "What will happen to her?"

  His eyes met mine. "That has still not been decided."

  I set my forehead on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I'd survived, but it didn't feel like I'd won anything since Caroline's fate was still up in the air.

  We reached a road that had several cars parked along it, including several black Escalades I assumed belonged to the vampires. Liam carried me to one car, barely pausing as Eric appeared to open the door for us. Setting me inside, Liam climbed up beside me as Eric shut the door, sealing us alone in the car.

  Liam wasted no time, divesting me of my shirt so he could get a better look at my wounds. His hands were clinical as they pushed and prodded the tears in my skin, which still sluggishly seeped blood.

  “I never did thank you for saving my life after the werewolf bite,” I said. “Even if I could have done without the coffin full of blood.”

  His lips firmed. “I wasn’t going to let you die so easily. The blood bath was the best way to keep you alive. The wolf’s bite had spread and almost killed you by the time Brax returned and was able to pull some of its poison from you.” He gave me a meaningful glance when I opened my mouth to argue. Brax might have returned, but I suspected it was my trick with the tree that saved my life.