by M. K. Dawn
Salty planted his elbows on the table. “Still? Even after the medicine?”
Darrien ran his tongue along his teeth struggling to defuse his anger. “Like I said, she gets queasy in the tub. Guess the meds weren’t strong enough.”
“You speak for her a lot. Why can’t she speak for herself?”
Evie squeezed her eyes shut and bent over, hand covering her mouth.
“Look what you’ve done.” Darrien shot him a nasty look. “She can speak for herself, and she will, if you want to see what little she ate resurface. If you would have just allowed her to lie down…”
Salty recoiled. “My apologies. One cannot be too careful—”
“Cargo ship?” Ethan interjected. “That’s what Nikko said. For the Immortal Council. What kind of cargo?”
Salty turned his head, keeping an eye on Evie. “A variety of items from all over the Caribbean and South America.”
Ethan poured Salty another glass of wine. “How fascinating. Anything interesting?”
“Hum,” Salty tapped his fork against his front gold teeth, “mostly, no. Spices, rum, and sugar. But one thing—what we will bring back from Brazil—is curious: lumber.”
“Lumber.” The word slipped from Darrien’s tongue, laced with sarcasm. “I mean, what’s so special about lumber from Brazil? We have tons of trees back home.”
Salty glared before busting out in a full belly laugh. “That’s exactly what I said with a few more fucks.”
“Naturally.” Darrien took a sip of his wine. “It’s a crazy request.”
“No, the crazy thing is we only bring back one log—a massive, fifty-foot long one at that—but only one at a time. And only every six months.”
“Only one?” Samantha cocked her head.
“I told them, why not bring back a whole cargo and they could store them someplace? Would save a shit-ton of money. Even two trips a year is costly. And to get men to go retrieve the logs is a challenge in itself.”
“Why?” Ethan asked. “The trek difficult?”
“Difficult?” Salty’s face went white. “Deadly more like it. Most who enter Crescent Moon Forest are never seen again.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Samantha followed close behind Ethan as a portly man escorted them towards their staterooms. They would each have their own quarters at the end of an unoccupied corridor but would have to share a bathroom.
The thought of living alone again made Samantha anxious in a way she couldn’t describe. For years she had her own apartment and loved every minute, but after being secluded in that house, she longed for company.
“These four are yours.”
“Four?” Ethan asked. “There are five of us.”
The portly man hitched a thumb towards Darrien and Evie. “Yes, but these two requested a room together.”
“We did?” Darrien lingered close to Evie.
“That’s what the captain said.” He hung his head and trudged down the hall before calling back, “Have a nice night.”
Ethan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Darrien. “You did what now?”
“I didn’t request a room with Evie.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Though when we boarded I said something about our room. I guess he assumed. No big deal. We’ll make it work.”
From where Samantha stood, Darrien didn’t look too heart-broken over the situation.
“No,” Ethan took Evie’s arm and opened the door behind him, “it won’t be long now before she transforms and I should be there for her.”
He ushered Evie inside and slammed the door.
“I think I will go to bed as well.” Nikko bowed his head and slipped into his own room.
Darrien reached his arms in the air and grinned at Samantha. “Not even a goodnight from lover boy. Ouch.”
“Shut up, Darrien.” She opened the door closest to her and went inside. Darrien trailed behind her.
The room wasn’t bad; Small with two double beds and clean sheets. A round window sat above the beds, which was nice now, but during the day it might be tricky.
“I’m not trying to be rude or anything, but you two had a thing.” He plopped on the bed to the right. “And it’s not like it happened years ago. It’s only been…what, a few weeks?”
Samantha stared at him as he removed his shoes. “What do you think you are doing?”
“I’m going to bed. I know we’re creatures of the night, but I’m spent.”
She waved her hands around. “Yeah, but this is my room.”
“I know,” a sad smile pulled at his lips, “but, the thing is, I really don’t want to be alone.”
Her heart clenched as she sat on the bed across from him. “You either, huh?”
“It’s not that I’m scared.” Darrien stretched out on the bed, which was a foot too short for his long frame.
Samantha followed suit, burying herself under the covers. “I would never think such a thing.”
Darrien rolled to his side to face her. “It’s just that, being in the cell alone for so long kind of makes you appreciate the time you have with others.”
“Yeah, the only visitor I had was Evie before she left. And three wolves who broke in to use me as Ethan’s bait. One whose throat I ripped out.”
Darrien shuddered. “Nasty werewolf blood. Shit burns like a bitch. Did you get blisters?”
“Yes,” Samantha swallowed, recalling the pain, “and it took days for my throat to heal.”
“The first time I drank from a werewolf, I was so hungry I didn’t even notice the pain until it was already coursing through my system. Needless to say, the next few days weren’t pleasant.”
Samantha didn’t want to imagine what that must have been like. “So, your memories are back? What’s that like? Do you remember everything or bits and pieces?”
“Everything. Like it was yesterday.” His haunted eyes told her all she needed to know. There were things in his past that were more painful than he’d ever admit. “Like the floodgates were opened. Probably why my head hurt so bad at the Immortal Institute.”
“Yeah, I don’t think I had near the pain you did. Just enough I had a hard time keeping my eyes open. It’s weird, isn’t?”
Darrien yawned. “Which part?”
“All these years we had no idea we were vampires. Then the Council dies, and it's like we just know. Like the truth was there all along—which is strange because I wasn’t even alive before the Great Reveal.”
“Why do humans know they’re humans?”
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the white ceiling. “It’s not the same. We weren’t born vampires, they made us that way.”
“Do you really want to go down this philosophical rabbit hole?” Darrien tossed a pillow at her head.
“Hey!” She threw it back. “That wasn’t nice.”
He caught it mid-air and tucked it under his head. “Maybe I’m not a nice guy.”
Samantha’s head fell to her left. “You’re different now. Not such a wise-cracking smart-ass. More serious.”
“Give me time.” he rubbed his hands across his face. “I’ll be back to my jolly old self.”
“Your past? Are the memories that bad?”
He yawned and closed his eyes.
“Fine. You don’t have to talk about it. We can talk about something else.” Samantha needed a distraction from what was happening across the hall and all the other crap going on the past few weeks—months. “What about Evie?”
“Evie’s going to be fine.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Darrien opened his eyes. “What are you asking?”
“There something between the two of you. I noticed it before. At the Forsaken’s when you were sharing a room.”
He cracked his neck. “You’re imagining things.”
“Am I?” Samantha pressed. “Because your face tells a different story. And I think there might even be a little twinkle in your eye.”
“You know what?” He thr
ew his legs off the bed and stormed over to turn off the light. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
Anger was not the emotion she was expecting. “Darrien, wait. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m not upset,” he huffed. “Do I look upset?”
“Yeah, kind of. Did something happen?”
“No.” He flipped off the light, turning the sparsely lit room pitch black. “Nothing happened—nothing will ever happen. I’ve been down that road too many times and not once did it end well. Not one damn time.”
“Darrien,” Samantha reached out for him as he climbed into his bed, “I’m so sorry. I knew about your wife, but I didn’t realize there were others.”
“Shh. It’s beddy-bye time.”
Samantha threw herself back on the bed and forced her eyes closed. She had slept a little at the house, but it was restless. Still, with it being the middle of the night, she found it hard to turn off her mind.
Her thoughts raced with everything they’d have to do when they got to Brazil and all that could go wrong. She had no idea how they would find the descendant of the witch her father had whispered on his deathbed. Was Brazil the type of place you could just walk up to a random person and ask about witches, or would the people think they were crazy?
There were too many questions and not a single answer. Considering their track record, there was a good possibility they would run into trouble.
A piercing scream penetrated her eardrums. Samantha’s eyes flew open, met by darkness but no sound. She rubbed her eyes; even with her enhanced vision it took a second from them to adjust to the dark.
Maybe it had been a dream, though she didn’t think she had fallen asleep.
“Did you hear that?” Darrien whispered.
“The scream?” Samantha’s shoulders tensed. Guess dream was out of the question. “Yeah. Do you think it’s Evie?”
“Unless Nikko and Ethan kidnapped a woman and are holding her hostage.”
Samantha tossed the blanket aside and hurried to turn on the light. “Should we go check on them?”
Darrien stood and stretched. “How long have we been sleeping?”
“I don’t know.” She hadn’t checked the clock. “Why?”
He yawned. “No reason, just tired.”
“You’re not worried? That scream…God, it sounded like someone stabbed her with a knife.”
“No knife, just every bone in her body breaking and fussing back together repeatedly.”
“It’s so awful what they have to go through.”
Darrien slipped on his boots. “Yeah. They kind of got the raw end of the immortal life deal.”
Samantha leaned closer to the door. “I think someone’s in the hall.”
“All right, Miss Nosey Rosey, let’s go check it out.”
“Looks like someone is feeling like themselves again.”
Darrien shooed her out the door. “Go.”
“Oh my gosh.” Samantha froze.
“Wow,” Darrien grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her behind him. “She completed the transformation.”
Relief washed over Samantha at the sight of the small, black wolf. Well, small compared to the others she’d seen at Tito’s compound.
Ethan rotated to face them. “It was touch and go for a while there, but she made it through.”
The wolf—Evie—bared her teeth. Fear penetrated Samantha’s core unlike she’d ever felt before. “What’s wrong with her?”
“What do you mean?” Nikko asked. “Her size? Female wolves are considerably smaller than males.”
“No.” Samantha took a step back. “The way she’s glaring at me, it’s—”
A low growl echoed off the walls and Evie charged, her murderous eyes locked on Samantha.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
“Evie!” Ethan hurled his body between his sister and the vampires at his back. “No! Back off!”
She skidded to a halt, barking and growling.
“What the hell is wrong with her?” Darrien kept Samantha behind him. “I know we’re her enemy and all, but this is taking it a little too far.”
“How do we get her to change back?” Ethan asked Nikko. He agreed with Darrien; Evie was out of control and even though he’d given her a direct order as pack leader, he could see her fighting the restraints.
Nikko brushed a snarling Evie along her mane. “You need to shed your wolf form.”
Evie tossed his hand aside and planted her front feet.
“It’s like she wants to kill us. Or maybe…” Darrien took a few steps closer, his hand extended.
“Darrien, I wouldn’t do that,” Ethan warned. She wasn’t as strong as an older wolf, but if she got her claws in his heart, he’d be dead in a matter of minutes.
Evie sniffed Darrien’s palm. “She’s not after me.”
All eyes fell on Samantha. That didn’t make any sense. She and Evie were friends. “You think Evie wants to hurt Samantha?”
Darrien stepped out of Evie’s line of sight and her large, yellow eyes fixated on Samantha. “Yeah, I would say so.”
Ethan turned to Nikko. “Does this happen?”
“A werewolf who wants nothing more than to kill a vampire?” Nikko’s jaw clenched. “That is ingrained in all of us. But an obsession with one vampire in particular? I have never seen it before.”
“We need to get her back into human form.” Ethan opened the door to his room. “Evie, go inside.”
Evie snarled.
Her insubordination sent ripples of anger through his body. He’d never felt anything like it. “Evie! Inside. Now!”
Her muscles tensed but it was impossible for a member of his pack to refuse a direct order. With a final glance at Samantha, she trotted inside.
Nikko followed. “I will see what I can do.”
“Thanks.” Ethan closed the door behind him with more force than intended. “Sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with her or why she’s being so aggressive towards Samantha. It’s weird. We’ll get her out of wolf form and I’ll talk with her, see what she felt while transformed.”
“It’s fine.” Though she spoke the word, Samantha’s tone said the opposite. “This is how it’s supposed to be, right? Vampires and werewolves are not meant to co-exist.” Her eyes fell on Ethan, heavy with tears.
He didn’t know what to say, but he understood what her words implied. They hadn’t talked about their relationship, about where they stood. Everything had changed.
“Whatever.” She threw open the door of her room and stormed inside, slamming it closed.
“Well, that was uncomfortable.” The corner of Darrien’s mouth twitched. “You know she wasn’t just talking about Evie?”
“Yes, Darrien. I know.”
“Still, you stood there like a dumbass and said nothing.”
Ethan rubbed the scruff on his chin. “I…”
“I get it, I get it. Things are complicated. The whole wolf-vampire-want-to-kill-each-other thing throws a wrench in the relationship.” Darrien patted his back. “Let me tell you a little secret I learned a long time ago: you want it badly enough, there’s not a damn thing that will keep you apart.”
With that, he left Ethan alone in the hall, unsure what to do next. He needed to talk to Samantha, but there was also Evie.
The door of his room swung open and Nikko poked out his head. “She will not transform.”
Just like that, the decision had been made for him.
Evie sat between the two beds, baring her teeth. “You need to shed the wolf form now, Evie. It’s not safe. If someone sees you like this, we’ll all be screwed.”
Nikko stood beside Ethan, arms crossed. “I tried to explain that to her, but she is stubborn. Still focused on Samantha.”
Ethan tilted his head. “Really? Do you think something’s wrong?”
“We need her to transform back to her human self. I would not put it past Salty to either come check on her or send someone on his behalf. His suspicions will not be p
ut to rest until he sees she is better.”
Ethan hated pushing his sister around, but it seemed he had little choice in the matter. Evie. Back to your human form now. That’s an order.
Her body twitched and the distinct sound of bones breaking echoed in his ears. It lasted only a minute and Evie returned to her true self. Fully clothed, she laid unconscious on the floor.
“Evie?” Her limp body sent his heart racing.
Nikko held out his arm in front of him. “Give her a moment.”
Ethan stood over his sister, tapping his foot and trying to hold on to what little patience he had left. “It’s odd we still have clothes on when we return to our human forms.”
“That is because our transformation is not physiological, but magical.”
“Sure doesn’t feel that way when every bone in your body breaks.”
Nikko propped himself against the wall. “I guess I should have said ‘not entirely physiological’. The magic that runs through our veins cloaks our clothing to keep our alternative form a secret. It would be difficult to hide what we truly are when after every transformation we wake up naked. Someone would ask questions.”
Evie stirred and rolled to her back. Her eyes fluttered opened. “Where am I?”
“In a stateroom on a cargo ship headed to Brazil.” Ethan kneeled beside her. “How are you feeling?”
She brushed him off. “Like a plane hit me. There’s not an inch of my body that doesn’t hurt.”
“That will pass.” Nikko moved closer and took a seat on the opposite bed. “Do you remember what happened after your transformation? Why you refused to change back into your human form?”
Evie stood and stretched. “Yes. I became a wolf, and we went out into the hall. There I came face to face with two vampires.”
A weird way to put it. “You mean your friends. Darrien and Samantha.”
She paced around the room. “I know their names. Darrien, he’s not so bad, but Samantha…”
Her agitation caught Ethan by surprise. “What’s wrong with her?”
“She’s a vampire,” Evie hissed.
“So is Darrien,” Nikko said with a hint of caution.
