“I guess I’m stronger than you thought.”
“I know that your blind knight was shot, through the chest. There would be no surviving that.”
I had to stall. Keep him from finding out the truth.
This run had been a horrible idea.
“You haven’t answered me,” he said, sounding impatient. “I half expected to find you curled up into a lifeless ball, refusing to face another morning without him. Or, perhaps you too were just not as meant to be as you thought? Is that it? When he died, did you realize that you were never soul mates in the first place? Answer me!”
Could I lie, and hope that he couldn’t smell my fear?
“Leave her alone,” Jax warned him. “She’s got nothing to do with you anymore, at least, not now that you have Ilene as your mate.”
The use of her name startled me, and I swung my head over to look at him. “Where is she?”
“Around.” He said, sounding slightly annoyed. Apparently Ilene wasn’t exactly mate material. Who would have guessed?
Roger paced around the clearing in front of us. “Something’s wrong, here. I’ve seen what losing a mate does to someone. You looked pretty happy a minute ago. Is it possible that he somehow managed to…” he trailed off. “No, it’s not possible…”
Jax looked uncertainly at me while Roger was lost in thought. “Alanna? What do we do?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure. Can we make it back home without a fight?”
“Probably not. You don’t think he’s stupid enough to take us both on at the same time, do you?”
Roger snarled suddenly. “No! I didn’t get a second chance with my mate, you won’t either!”
He lunged at Jax, knocking him to the ground. I leapt on Roger’s back, sinking my teeth into the thick fur at the back of his neck. He tried to buck me off, but I refused to let go.
Roger spun wildly, and finally threw himself backwards at a tree, slamming my body against the hard trunk. A yelp escaped my lips before I could stop it, and I slumped to the ground in a painful, stunned heap.
Jax rammed his shoulder into Roger’s, shoving him away from me. Roger circled Jax, looking for any weak point in his defense. He nipped at Jax occasionally, testing his response time. Roger was a skilled fighter, and had had almost four hundred years of practice. Jax had only been a werewolf for about five years.
He didn’t stand a chance.
Roger stopped circling, and lunged at Jax’s left side. Jax was a little too slow to react, and ended up on his back, with Roger on top of him. I struggled to get to my feet; my legs were shaky and threatened to buckle beneath me. My right side ribs ached with each breath I took.
I wobbled my way over to where Roger and Jax were fighting intensely, and I wondered what I could possibly do to help. If I stepped into the fight, I’d probably just get into the way.
But I couldn’t just stand there and watch Roger kill Jax.
I saw my chance, and took it. Lunging in, I sank my fangs into his shoulders. He yelped in pain, and slid sideways off of Jax. I landed on top of Roger, and he yanked his body away from me, tearing open his shoulder in the process.
I got to my feet and faced Roger. He was angry and stiff-legged as he moved closer. “I would have thought that you’d have learned your lesson by now.”
“And what lesson is that?”
“To not mess with me.”
He rushed forward, and I dodged to the side. He stopped abruptly, and turned his head, biting down on the flesh of my shoulder. He yanked his head down, and I landed face first into the dirt.
Jax attacked him from behind, and this time it was almost impossible for me to get to my feet. There was a loud, painful sounding yelp, and I knew that it hadn’t been from Roger. If Jax was down for the count, I didn’t stand a chance.
Roger was going to kill me. Probably very slowly, too.
He walked over, seeing no need to hurry, since I was still on the ground, struggling to stand.
“Where’s your blind knight now?”
“Right here!”
Chapter Four
Quinten was crouched down low, and his fangs were bared in a loud, terrible snarl. “If you take one more step, I will kill you,” he threatened.
Roger paused. Apparently he was as surprised as I was that Quinten could understand us in our wolf forms. Was that something that all vampires could do, or was he just special?
Roger snarled, and crouched down to the ground, preparing for his next attack. He thought that Quinten would be an easy victory. I just hoped that he was wrong.
Quinten stepped forward, angrier than I’d ever seen him. “I couldn’t protect her from you before, but I can now. I’m not the same weak, blind boy that you knew before. I can take care of myself, and I can take care of her.”
Roger hesitated again. Was he unsure of his ability to beat the three of us? Jax was still not up yet, and neither was I. Quinten wasn’t even a week old vampire yet, and he certainly couldn’t take on a centuries old werewolf. This fight was going to end badly.
So, why was Roger hesitating?
Did he suspect that Ray was nearby, ready to fight to the death if need be?
Apparently he wasn’t willing to take that chance, because he turned and ran, without another word to any of us. I stared after him, confused. What did he have up his sleeve?
Quinten ran to my side, and I shifted back. He handed me his shirt, and looked away while I buttoned it up. It was a little long, and thankfully fell to my thighs.
Quinten cupped my face in his hand, and leaned his forehead down to touch mine. “Alanna, are you alright?”
I nodded. “Will you check on Jax?”
He hesitated for a minute, but finally went over to check on Jax, who had shifted back, and was lying naked on the ground. Sometimes intense pain could force you to shift back, and I hoped that he wasn’t hurt too badly for his body to heal.
“How is he?” I asked.
Quinten sighed. “His leg looks broken in two, maybe three places, and his entire left side is one dark purple bruise. Roger probably crushed his ribs against a tree or rock. We need to get him back home, but I don’t think I can move him without hurting him. Plus, he’s kind of naked.”
Jax was in horrible pain, and Quinten was worrying about him being naked?
The thought almost made me giggle, but at that moment, Jax groaned in pain.
“I’ll run home and get Ray. He can help you move Jax without hurting him.”
Quinten nodded, and crouched down near Jax’s head as I took off through the woods. When our home came into view, I almost gave a triumphant laugh, but then I remembered Jax’s condition, and burst through the door. Ray was sitting on the couch, on the phone with what sounded like a realtor, but he stopped talking when he saw me, standing there in the hallway half naked.
“Roger found us by the pond. Jax is seriously hurt. Quinten stayed with him.”
“I’ll call you back,” he said, not waiting for a reply before hanging up. “Alright, grab some clothes, and I’ll go and find them. Stay here.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but he cut me off. “Alanna, there is nothing you can do for Jax out there. Get dressed, call this number,” he said, handing me a small card, “And ask for Dr. Miller. Tell her that Jax needs a doctor, and do whatever she tells you. Hurry.”
Ray ducked out of the house, and left me standing there, clutching the card in my hand. I grabbed the phone off the table near the couch, and dialed the number as quickly as possible.
“This is Dr. Miller speaking. How may I help you?” A soft voice asked.
“Dr. Miller? My name is Alanna Moore. My cousin Jax was injured, and he really needs a doctor.”
“Alright, I’ll be over as soon as I can. Just try and keep your cousin as calm as possible. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll be there soon.”
She hung up, and I was left wondering. Why didn’t she need to ask for our address? D
id she already know where we lived? I tried to remember her, but I couldn’t conjure any pictures in my mind of who she might be.
I ran to my room, opened the first dresser drawer I could, ignoring the ugly vines, and grabbed a pair of clothes to change into. When the door opened, and I heard Jax’s agonized cry of pain, I hurried out into the kitchen.
Ray and Quinten were carrying a naked, unconscious Jax, and they set him down on the couch. I tucked a blanket around his body, knowing he wouldn’t want everyone to see his body.
“Dr. Miller’s on her way,” I told Ray. “How did she know where we live?”
“She’s a werewolf, who happened to choose the medical field as her profession. She’s incredibly useful to our community. She knows where most of the werewolves in the state live, and she keeps their addresses in a little book, in case we need her.”
“I hope she gets here soon,” I said, looking at Jax. His entire body was drenched in sweat, and he was trembling violently. His breathing was harsh and labored. “How bad is he?”
Ray shrugged. “I don’t know, we’ll have to wait for Jenna to get here.”
A few minutes later the door opened, and a small woman burst into the room. She was an inch shorter than me, and she looked to be in her early thirties. She had short light blonde hair and large, dark green eyes that were framed by light, feathery blonde lashes. She had a petite build, and was incredibly beautiful.
She had a large, black bag with her, and she rushed over to the couch. “Ray, hold him down, this is going to be painful.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’m gonna have to reset his leg. It’s already started to heal, and it can’t stay like this.”
“Can’t you give him something for the pain?” I asked when she grabbed his leg in her hands.
“No. Werewolves run a few degrees hotter than normal humans, but that slight difference in temperature is enough to burn off any morphine I could give him. He’ll just have to suffer through it. Hold him down,” she said again.
Ray placed his hands on Jax’s shoulders, and pressed down with all of his weight. I could do nothing except stand there and watch as Dr. Miller gripped Jax’s leg and began feeling the alignment of the bone.
Apparently being immortal made you an amazing doctor.
There was a loud snap as she twisted his leg, and Jax howled in pain. “I’m going to make a brace for the leg, to keep it still while it heals, but there’s nothing that I can do for the ribs. Those will heal on their own.”
Jax moaned, but didn’t open his eyes.
“Is he going to be alright?” I asked.
Dr. Miller turned to look at me. “With a little rest, your cousin will be just fine.”
Her gaze shifted to where Quinten and Carmen were standing in the kitchen, watching everything.
“Ray? Why are there vampires in your home?” She asked, taking a step back. Apparently she hadn’t noticed Quinten and Carmen when she first entered the house, and now she looked like she was beginning to panic.
“It’s alright. The boy is my daughter’s soul mate, and the woman is my ex-wife.”
Dr. Miller looked confused, and her body remained extremely tense. “I thought your wife was murdered years ago.”
Ray snorted. “Yeah, so did I,” he said. Then he saw the strange expression on her face, and frowned. “Jenna, I’ll explain all of this to you in a bit. But right now, I wanna move Jax into the bedroom. Can you help me?”
She hesitated, glancing at Quinten and Carmen again. She was obviously nervous about being in the same room as two unknown vampires, but after a minute, her shoulders slumped, and she moved over to Ray’s side to help him move Jax.
*****
Jenna was seated on the couch beside Ray. She was fiddling nervously with her hair, and she had the strangest look on her face. “Ray?”
He sighed. “I can explain everything. What do you want to know?”
“Why is your ex-wife a vampire? How long has your daughter’s soul mate been a vampire? How is that even possible? How was Jax injured? Were you planning on telling me any of this? What–”
“Jenna, calm down,” Ray said forcefully.
She was practically hyperventilating.
“My ex-wife chose to desert her family and run away with her vampire lover, hence her vampirism. My daughter’s soul mate gave his life for her a few days ago, and Carmen found him, barely alive, and thought it was for the best to change him. He and Alanna were able to find each other again, and their bond has since returned full force.”
“How? Werewolves and vampires are not compatible.”
“Says who?” I asked, looking at her. “Nobody’s ever dared to get to know a vampire before, have they?”
Jenna sighed. “By nature, you should be repulsed by him. Our bodies don’t turn until we’re exposed to a vampire’s venom. We shift because our bodies and that venom are not compatible. You two shouldn’t have a connection.”
“Well, we do.” Quinten said. “She and I are meant to be together. Dying hasn’t changed the fact that I love her. If that didn’t do it, nothing will.”
The corner of Ray’s lips titled up in the barest of smiles.
“Ok. Let’s change the subject. How was Jax injured so badly?”
Ray looked at me, and I shrugged. “You obviously trust her. It might not hurt to have a doctor in the know.”
“About three weeks ago, Roger Mason declared his interest in taking Alanna as his second mate. She refused, and he threatened to kill our entire family, and Quinten, if she didn’t give in.”
Three weeks? Was it really that long ago?
“He pretended to kidnap Ilene, and offered to give her back in exchange for Alanna. When she showed up, she found out that Ilene and Roger were mated, and she and Quinten were abducted and forced to compete in the Arena Wars.”
Jenna gasped.
She knew about the Arena Wars?
“How do you know about the Arena Wars? Both of you?” Quinten asked.
Jenna frowned. “I used to be a very sought after doctor. When I was younger, Eli forced me to keep the participants in the best possible health. That was about ten years ago.”
“How did you escape?”
Her gaze flicked over to Ray, something that Carmen didn’t miss.
“Your father rescued me, along with the remaining participants.”
“You saved a bunch of humans from an evil, half-crazy vampire? Well, I guess that’s something else I didn’t know about,” Carmen said, glaring at them.
“It was a long time ago,” Ray said tightly. “And I wasn’t exactly looking for people to rescue; I was looking for the monster that I assumed had killed my wife and the mother of my children.”
That shut her up.
“You went hunting for Eli?” I asked, horrified. The thought Ray might have actually found him was a terrible one. “If you’d fought, you would have lost! You’d be dead right now.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly. I remembered how he looked at you when you were young, and his threats to get revenge, and I assumed he’d been the one behind your mother’s attack. I wasn’t thinking about the two little girls I had waiting at home. I just wanted someone to pay for my pain.”
Carmen looked away, but I thought I saw a look of indifference on her face, which angered me. I turned my attention back to Ray.
“Dad, how does nobody notice that giant Arena? Not to mention what actually goes on there? How do they get rid of the bodies and stuff?”
He sighed. “Kiddo, you were pretty out of it during our escape. There are high electric fences surrounding the entire perimeter. Of course people know that it’s there. Humans just don’t know what it is, and werewolves know to stay away.”
“How did you get inside?” I asked.
“It wasn’t easy. I used a lot of bribes.”
“What kind of bribes?”
He sighed. “I made a deal with a vampire. One that I caught feeding on a young
woman. I offered not to turn him in, in exchange for his help. He entered the Arena, as per our agreement, under the pretense of enjoying the fights. He left a way for all of us to get inside.”
Ray made a deal with a vampire? He let a killer go to save me?
“Kiddo, I know what you’re thinking. He wasn’t a killer. But, even if he had been, I wouldn’t have thought twice about using him. He was my ticket to getting you out of there alive and well.”
“Where is the Arena exactly?”
“Its a few hours over the state border.”
I thought of something else. “Dad, what happens if Eli decides to come after us too?”
He flinched. “I’ve tried not to think about that. Roger’s hard enough to deal with, but if he and Eli were to join forces against us, we wouldn’t stand a chance. But, for now, we’ll worry about Roger. He’s the more imminent threat.”
“How do you figure? Eli could be here in like, an hour, and he’d rip out all of our throats,” Quinten argued.
“Eli is a very patient, meticulous man. He won’t do anything until he’s thought of every possible outcome. We’ve got time, if he does indeed decide to come after us.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, remembering something. “Aren’t they already working together? Someone had to call the Seekers on us, right?”
“I’ve thought about that. As much as I’m sure Roger wants you dead, I think he plans to do it himself. I think you to were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“So you don’t think the Seekers arriving were part of Roger’s plan for us?” Quinten asked incredulously.
“No, I don’t.”
Ok, if that was true, we only had one enemy to deal with right now. But that one enemy had the information to possibly destroy us. What would people do when they found out that my soul mate was a vampire? Would they let us be? Or would they try and force us apart?
Was Quinten's life in danger?
“Ok,” Jenna said. “Roger knows that Quinten is a vampire. Do you think he’ll go to the Council?”
“What’s the Council?” I asked. “I’ve never heard of it.”
Ray sighed. “The Council is made up of five of the oldest, fussiest, werewolves alive today. They enforce the rules of our race. If you break those rules, you’ll be brought up in front of the Council, and they’ll decide your punishment.”
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