Pendulum (Kingdom of Night Book 1)

by L. C. Davis

  Ulric was already waiting at his desk when we arrived. My mind had settled enough for humiliation to set in. I didn't know what had come over me in the garden, but the fact that I was now alone with both men who had witnessed it was horrible on its own.

  “Put him on the couch,” said Ulric, searching for something in his desk.

  Victor complied. He laid me down but I shook my head in protest. “Are you strong enough to sit up?” he asked doubtfully.

  “Yes,” I gasped. My voice had hung in there after all the screaming in the forest, but the garden had done it in.

  He sat beside me and wrapped a steadying arm around my waist. I leaned into him, grateful. I knew he was somehow responsible for whatever had happened, but his presence was too crucial for me to care.

  The Alpha sat across from us, holding something he was careful to keep hidden.

  “How are you feeling, my boy?”

  “B-better.”

  “I doubt that.” He reached out and tilted my chin this way and that with his huge hand, examining my eyes. “Does your head hurt?”

  “Yes,” I admitted on the off chance that he had some relief to offer. Then again, I doubted even the strongest narcotic would do any good against the nails it felt like someone was driving into my temples.

  “I'm sure. Dizzy?”

  I nodded weakly.

  “Does the light hurt?”

  This time I nodded so hard it worsened the pain.

  He sighed, taking out a vial and a syringe. Then I realized why he had been hiding it.

  I whimpered, clutching Victor's shirt in hopes that he would do something.

  “Sh, it's alright,” he coaxed, stroking my hair.

  I didn't miss the doubtful look he gave the Alpha, in spite of his reassurance.

  “This will help,” said Ulric. He gave me what I assumed was his attempt at a benign smile. “I promise.”

  I would have put up more of a fight, but the pain was so intense that even the worst case scenario would be a kind of relief. Best case, maybe the red tinted serum in the vial really would help.

  I reluctantly held out my left arm. I was used to it hurting anyway.

  Ulric's eyes were unexpectedly apologetic. “I'm sorry, but this has to go directly into your jugular vein.”

  Of course it did.

  “At least let me hold him,” Victor muttered.

  “Fine.”

  He pulled me onto his lap and I snuggled against him gratefully. I let Ulric turn my head, too hurt and exhausted to care if he saw my scars.

  His growl made me jolt.

  “I'm sorry,” he said quickly. “I just wasn't expecting- never mind. Try to relax.”

  I wanted to tell him that was impossible now, but remained silent. I just wanted it to be over with. I turned my head into Victor, burying my face in the crook of his neck. His scent lulled me into the closest thing to relaxation I could get to, and his strong arms wrapped around me, making me feel safe and secure. The only way I could have felt safer was if it was Sebastian holding me instead.

  Fortunately, Ulric worked quickly. I made a small sound at the pinch of the needle going into my neck, but it was more due to the strange sensation than the pain. The serum burned, but the second it hit my veins, the pressure behind my eyes and the splitting pain in my head began to ease.

  I must have relaxed noticeably because Victor stroked my arm. “Good. You're doing so good,” he whispered in my ear. “Almost done.”

  He was telling the truth. Seconds later, Ulric pulled the syringe from my neck, which was the worst part of all.

  I went limp in Victor's arms. Relief washed over me like a drug high, but I didn't feel altered.

  In fact, I felt... good. Better than I had in a long time.

  “Thank you,” I said to Ulric. I felt guilty now for thinking he'd try to poison me.

  He smiled. “Don't thank me, child. I'm half the reason you're in this mess.”

  His words were too cryptic for me to even begin to decipher. I just wanted to enjoy not being in pain for however long it lasted.

  “Will he be alright now?” asked Victor.

  “For now. It's just a temporary fix. I'll give you the other three vials I have, and I trust you'll be discrete until I can find more.”

  “If it works this well, I offer myself.”

  Great. More werewolf talk I didn't understand. If I somehow made it through this alive, I was demanding a translation guide.

  “We'll talk later. After he's asleep.”

  “Did you find Sebastian yet?” I asked hopefully. It felt too assertive just to ask the Alpha something, but I was emboldened by my concern for him. And a little from my fear of him.

  He smiled warmly at me and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Not yet, but I'm sure you'll be the first person he finds when he comes back.”

  The thought made me shiver. Hopefully I could pass it off as a product of my ordeal. “Thank you. And... thank you for trying to find him.”

  “That's what an Alpha does,” he replied. “Well, If you two will excuse me, I've been away for a while and I have some things to do. Victor, he needs a full two milliliters of the serum every eight hours. Come find me after dark and see that he stays in bed,” he said pointedly.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  We left the study and Victor took me back to his room. His bed was starting to feel like home. I made no complaints as he pulled the plush covers over me and tucked me in.

  “How do you feel?” he asked, sitting beside me.

  “Good,” I said. “Still tired, but better than I have in a long time.”

  He looked at me strangely for a moment before dismissing whatever question was on his mind.

  “I'm sorry about earlier.”

  “You used mind control, didn't you?” I asked warily.

  “Yes,” he admitted. “Unfortunately, it backfired.”

  “Is that something all werewolves can do?”

  “No.” His smile didn't meet his eyes. They looked as tired as I felt. “We all have certain talents, though. The Alpha shares mine, but he's older and more skilled.”

  I paused for a moment to process. “What's Sebastian's?”

  He chuckled. “Isn't it obvious?”

  I shook my head.

  “He's strong, even for a werewolf. And I suppose the berserker state would be considered a gift by most, but I you ask him, it's a curse.”

  “Oh.” I yawned.

  “You need to rest. Enough information overload for one day and I'm gonna have to give you the other doses throughout the night. Can I get you anything?”

  I hesitated. “There is one thing.”

  “Hm?”

  “Would you hold me?”

  He looked surprised, but wasted no time in humoring me. He turned off the lamp and climbed into bed on the other side of me, gathering me in his arms. It felt just as warm and secure as before.

  “This what you had in mind?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Thanks.”

  His chuckle was low and silky in my ear. “Anytime, Remus. Anytime.”

  16

  I woke from the most restful night of sleep I'd had in weeks to the sound of birds chirping out in Clara's garden. I snuggled closer to the warm body that had been next to me the entire night only to find his side of the bed empty.

  I rubbed my eyes and sat up with ease. Victor wasn't just awake, he was completely gone. His clothes from the day before were at the bottom of a laundry basket on the other end of the wall and his shoes were gone, but that was the only sign he'd been there at all.

  Before long, I realized the strangest thing. I wasn't in pain.

  My body didn't ache. My head wasn't throbbing. My mind was still clear. The two additional doses Victor had given me in the night must have worked. I was afraid to ask what the strange serum was, and I wasn't crazy about the way it had to be administered, but its potency was unbelievable.

  I sat up and looked down to realize that I had fallen asleep in my cloth
es. While he was gone, I took the opportunity to change into some jeans and a cute gray-and-white print hoodie. It covered everything I needed it to, and it was warm.

  Now that I was feeling better, I figured I may as well make an effort to look slightly less frumpy. I checked my appearance in Victor's mirror and noticed that I looked a bit pale in spite of my improved health. I shrugged it off as bad lighting and headed out of the room in search of Victor.

  At least I was aware that I was being clingy. After Sebastian's abandonment, I didn't think I could handle losing my current protector. Maybe he was becoming a friend, too.

  As I wandered down the empty hallway, I couldn't help but feel that I was trespassing. No one was around, but this was still the home of at least five other people.

  I heard someone running up the stairs and had to struggle not to hide. Realizing that would only make it seem like I was trespassing, I continued down the hall at a casual pace.

  Then there were two sets of footsteps.

  “Oh, hi Remus!”

  It was Foster, the cute little wolf I had met earlier. By “little,” I meant in comparison to the others. He was still 5'10” or so even if he did have a much leaner build.

  “Hi, Foster.” I waved timidly.

  Close behind him was the James Dean type who had taken me backstage. He didn't seem as enthusiastic about my presence.

  “Thought you were supposed to be in a coma,” he muttered.

  “Your Alpha gave me some kind of medicine that helped. Sorry.”

  The tall blond arched an eyebrow at me. “For not being in a coma?”

  “N-no, for still being here. I'm sure you guys want your privacy.”

  He shrugged. “Wouldn't be the first time someone brought a sub up here.”

  “I'm not a-” I stopped myself short. “Well, uh, I'm feeling a lot better so hopefully I'll be out of your hair soon.”

  He snorted. “I doubt that.”

  Without another word, he strode down the hall and disappeared into the showers.

  “Don't mind him, he's just mad about having to go out to look for Sebastian,” said Foster.

  I sighed. “From what I understand, that's at least partially my fault.”

  He smiled. “I don't see how. Victor is always disappearing. It's about time Sebastian took a turn. I don't think we've officially met. I'm Foster,” he said, offering a hand that seemed too big in comparison to his frame.

  I shook it, happy to finally meet someone who seemed normal. Well, aside from Clara.

  “It's nice to meet you, Foster. I guess my name is already kind of infamous around here.”

  “Yeah,” he admitted, still smiling.

  I sighed. “No wonder your friend doesn't like me. I probably look like such a flake.”

  “Nah. Accident prone, maybe. And that's just Clarence being Clarence. He'll come around. So, is it true?”

  “Is what true?” I asked warily.

  “That you're Sebastian's mate. I heard he marked you.”

  He seemed so eager.

  “That's what everyone says,” I admitted. “Is it that rare?”

  “I've never seen it and I'm nineteen,” he said, as if that was an impressive number.

  I tried not to smile. “Wow. Well, so far it seems to have caused both of us more trouble than it's worth. I'm sorry you've all been drawn into this mess.”

  His eyes widened. “You should never apologize for finding your soulmate. It's disrespectful to Her.”

  “Her?” I asked, confused.

  He pointed towards the ceiling. When he could tell I was still confused, he clarified, “The moon. You really don't know much about werewolves, do you?”

  “Not enough,” I admitted. “You uh, worship the moon?”

  He nodded proudly.

  Well, people worshiped crazier things.

  “Is it like a werewolf religion you all follow?” I couldn't imagine Victor worshiping anything at all.

  “No,” he sighed as if it was a source of deep concern for him. “Not all of us. Just the ones who get called.”

  “What does it mean to be called?” I asked, partly out of curiosity and partly because he seemed so eager to talk about it. He was a sweet little wolf, if a strange one. More like a cub, really.

  He brightened at the question. “Everyone hears her call eventually. Some just choose not to respond for a while. It's hard to explain, but when you feel it, you just know. If you ever look up at the moon and it feels like the moon is going back, that's her. She usually comes to you in a time of need. For me, it was right after my first shift. I was terrified and I didn't know what had happened, but she told me everything was alright.”

  “She spoke to you?” I asked hopefully. Aside from that strange detail, his story sounded eerily similar to my experience in the woods.

  “Well, no,” he said hesitantly. “Not in words. It was just like Her light was soaking through me. I could feel her taking me as her own, comforting me. She told me all my sins were forgiven and I was whole just as she had made me, werewolf and all. She promised that if I followed her, she'd take me to a new family and after a couple of weeks, I ended up here.”

  “Wow.” It was all I could think to say. As crazy as it all sounded, what really concerned me was how well it matched my own experience. I reminded myself that I had been on the brink of death and probably delusional.

  “I know it sounds weird. I'm sorry, most of the others hate when I talk about it.”

  “Don't be sorry,” I said with a smile. “I wanted to know. Thank you for sharing that with me. I can't say I believe in much of anything, but I admire your faith.”

  “Thanks.” He seemed as if he had something more to say, but wasn't sure if it would be welcomed.

  When I thought he had abandoned the idea, he reached out suddenly and grabbed my hands. “I promised Victor I wouldn't do this, but I have to. She asked me to give you a message.”

  I blinked at him, taken aback by his sudden closeness. “Y-yeah?”

  “She has a special plan for you, Remus. You're going to play an important role in bringing peace between her creatures. Don't push her away. She can give you the answers you're looking for, if you let her. She can be the mother you never had.”

  He spoke so earnestly, I didn't have the heart to pull away. At least it was the nicest impromptu sermon I'd been the recipient of. No one was calling me names or telling me to repent.

  Foster glanced at something behind me and immediately released my hands. “Gotta go. It was nice to officially meet you.”

  “Y-yeah,” I said, still in a state of shock.

  Everything else I could chalk up to the ramblings of a well-intentioned boy who was absolutely out of his mind, but how did he know I didn't have a mother?

  “Hi, Victor! Bye!” He darted back down the stairs.

  I was so relieved to see Victor that I ran into his arms without a second thought.

  “Whoa,” he said, surprised. “Looks like someone's feeling better.”

  “Much,” I said, smiling up at him. “Sorry. I'm just glad you're still here.”

  “Don't apologize,” he chuckled, returning the hug. “But of course I'm still here. Why wouldn't I be?”

  “I um, thought maybe you left, too,” I admitted sheepishly. I sounded like a puppy with separation anxiety.

  Maybe I was.

  He stroked my hair consolingly. “Never. I was just getting the other doses from the Alpha. We ran out this morning.”

  “Really? He was able to get more that fast?” I asked, surprised. “I didn't think most pharmacies were open on Sundays.”

  “This doesn't come from a pharmacy.” His tone was tense, and I waited for him to expand on that, but he didn't. “I see you've met our resident evangelist.”

  I decided not to question the change in subject. He had done so much for me over the past few days, it was the least I could do not to pry.

  “He's sweet, but...”

  “Zealous,” he said, finishing t
he sentence for me.

  “A bit,” I admitted. “But really, really sweet. I like him.”

  “Yeah, we all do. He's like an annoying little brother who ruins things with inopportune philosophical commentary.”

  I laughed, taking his arm as we walked. He winced visibly and I let it go.

  “What's wrong with your arm?”

  “Nothing,” he said. It was an obvious lie.

  I gave him a look and he sighed. “I was coming around the corner and I hit the wall.” He moved past me and offered his other arm.

  I took it, but I didn't believe him for a second. I had told similar lies far too many times. A door, a wall, a fist. Only in Victor's case, I knew the only explanation was that he had gotten into a fight. What else could it be?

  This time it was a bit more of a challenge to drop it, but I managed. “Still no news on Sebastian, huh?” I felt almost guilty for asking, but I felt like I had little choice.

  “No. You'll know as soon as I do, but I know you have to ask.”

  I gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

  “Don't be. You're his mate. I'd be worried if you weren't concerned for him.”

  “You said we're soulmates, too,” I pointed out.

  He winced again. “I was hoping you'd forgotten I said that.”

  “Sorry. I still don't understand what either of you see in me, but if it makes you feel any better, I'm not even sure I believe in soulmates.”

  “Can't say that it does.” He sighed. “But Sebastian is the one who marked you, so that's that. Right now I'm just focused on making sure you survive your first moon. I'll deal with what happens after that when it comes.”

  “At least I don't feel sick anymore,” I said, unsure of what to say to the rest. “Maybe I'll be okay.”

  “You're only feeling alright now because Ulric has you on a highly controversial drug to counteract the vampire energy holding your psychic blocks in place.”

  I blinked. “They make drugs for that?”

  “Sparingly.”

  “What if they run out?” I asked, starting to panic. I was feeling like I hadn't since I had left Texas. I wasn't sure I could cope with going back.”

  “They won't.”

  He spoke with unwavering certainty that invited no questions.