I peered up at him and pouted. “He ran me out of his kitchen today. He was a maniac, shaking pans in the air, yelling something in Italian. I told him if he was gonna cuss me he’d better do it in English to give me the satisfaction of defending myself.”
He looked at me, wide-eyed. “And what did he say to that?”
“He yelled, ‘Carolo! Mi lasce in pace!’ Or something like that. It sounds like cussing to me. Do you know what he’s saying?”
He was in the process of stifling a laugh. “Yeah, I know, but I think I’ll let you figure it out on your own.”
“Oh I will, you’ll see,” I huffed.
Soon his phone buzzed and our evening was over. It was one I truly hated to see come to an end. By Levi’s expression he felt it too.
I was sitting on my sofa in the living room watching The Food Network when Levi knocked once and came in through the front door.
“Hey, what’s up?” he asked.
“Just getting some new ideas.”
“New ideas for what?”
“Cooking, silly, what else?” Then it dawned me. He didn’t greet me using my pet name. Oh boy, where did I leave my phone? Well, there was one way to find out which Levi I was dealing with.
“Um, Levi, how about a picnic in the clearing, just the two of us? It’ll be very romantic.”
“Now?”
“Sure, why not. It’ll just take me a minute to put some things together.” And find my phone.
“Okay. I’ll help you.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“I insist.” He followed me into the kitchen where he proceeded to pull sandwich makings from the fridge.
As I packed things, shoving them in no particular order into the picnic basket, I secretly looked around for my phone. Where in the freakazoid did I put that thing?
“Are we all ready?”
“Um, yeah. I just need my phone so I can call Hector and let him know, since he worries so much about me.”
“I can protect you. There’s no need to call him.”
“But—”
“Bell, there’s no need.”
Uh oh. I suddenly remembered I left my phone in my bedroom. “Okay, well just let me go upstairs and do something to my hair and then we can leave.”
“Bell, you look beautiful, now let’s go.”
I tried to protest, but he took my arm and pulled me along, grabbing the picnic basket from the counter with his free hand.
This Eli drove worse than my Levi. As a result, we reached the clearing in record time. I had no idea what I was supposed to do next. I wasn’t able to call Hector so the pack didn’t know where I was, or that I was with the imposter. My mind was racing.
I sat the picnic basket down in the grass and proceeded in pacing.
“Come sit with me, Bell. I have something I need to talk to you about.”
Oh boy, here we go. I’m just gonna jump in and see where this thing leads, hopefully not to my death. “Um, Levi, I have something I need to talk to you about too.”
“This is important. I need to go first,” he said.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Hmph. Well, mine’s important too. Why do you get to go first?”
“Because I’m older than you and therefore I take seniority.”
“Gee, you’re just like your brother,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What did you mean by that?” He jumped to his feet, looking alarmed.
Crush! My mistake. I temporarily forgot about their excellent hearing, dang it. I took a deep breath, walked over to him, and grabbed his right hand. Picking it up and looking at the symbol there, I said, “Funny, it almost looks the same.” I ran my thumb across my forehead and then rubbed it across his symbol. It smeared. “Too bad it’s all wrong,” I snapped.
His face turned anxious and I backed away in fear. “You’re not Levi! I know who you are! What I don’t know is what you want!”
I turned to run but he was instantly in front of me. “This is not what you think. I wanted to tell you. In fact I was getting ready to tell you. I’m tired of lying.”
“Well, if you want sympathy from me you’re not gonna get it. Not after you kissed me—and touched me! How could you?!”
“Hey, be fair. You kissed me first. A beautiful girl kisses me, what did you expect me to do—run away?”
I paused. “Wait—you think I’m beautiful?” I smiled, smoothing my hair, but then corrected myself. Suddenly I gasped. “Did we make love?!”
“What?!!” he shrieked. “Of course not! I’m not totally stupid. Levi would’ve known instantly if I’d marked you, and I’d be dead. Besides, I wouldn’t dare go that far. After all, he is my brother.”
“You didn’t seem to care about that when your lips and hands were all over me.”
“Yeah, well we’ve already covered that. And I’m sorry.”
“Well, you knew who I was, but I didn’t know you were someone else. In my book, that’s cheating—big time. Not to mention Levi thought I betrayed him and his pack punished me by banning me from contact with Levi—which almost killed him.”
“I’m very sorry about that. I thought my scent was close enough to his that he wouldn’t notice. I hadn’t counted on him being so attentive, especially where you’re concerned, but I probably would be too. I never really wanted to hurt him, and I definitely didn’t want him to get sick or die. I’m really sorry. Actually, I need your help.”
“And why should I help you after all the trouble you’ve caused?”
“I don’t deserve it of course. And I am truly sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. I was curious about you and Levi. The only way I knew to get some answers was to get close to you. I didn’t expect to get so close, and again that was your fault.”
“Thanks for reminding me,” I said, squeezing the bridge of my nose. Then I jerked around to peer at him. “You started that fight in the cafeteria!”
“Yeah, again—sorry. I was expecting to get him in trouble, but when you told me that guy I hit liked Levi, it only added to my confusion. I was expecting Levi to be this really bad guy, but it seems I was mistaken.”
“Dang right you’re mistaken. Everyone loves Levi. This just gets better and better. What do you need my help for anyway? It looks like you’ve been doing just fine on your own.”
“Well, I’d like to meet my family. I’m not sure they want to meet me, and I don’t know how to go about it, especially if Levi suspects me of being here.”
“Oh, they more than suspect you. They flat out know you’re here, and what you’ve been doing. Levi is not happy with you at all. If you can even call it that.”
“I can’t explain it, but I have a strong need to be a part of this pack.”
“I can understand that, though you might want to reconsider—we’re a crazy bunch, but life is never boring. How did you find us anyway?”
“Wesley Windsor came looking for me. I think you guys have really pissed him off.”
“Great. I should’ve known Benji was behind this. And just when I thought we were rid of him.”
“Well, I don’t know any Benji, but Wesley found out about me and came looking for me. He proceeded in convincing me to come here and challenge Levi for alpha. He told me that Levi was a poor leader and was taking advantage of his authority, even breaking the rules and taking a human bride, and was now mistreating her. But after I met you at your Prom I became suspicious. For one thing, you didn’t strike me as the kind of girl to let a man abuse you. And two, you truly seemed to love him.”
“I do love him, with all my heart and soul. And Levi is the best alpha anywhere. He loves his pack very much and they love and respect him. That Wesley’s gonna get his!”
“Well, I was very angry at first. I thought—my parents chose him over me and look at how he’s repaying them. But once I started to doubt, I was curious. Every time I visited you I was more confused. I decided to come clean with you and thought maybe you can help me.”
“I don’t kn
ow how exactly, but I’ll think of something. Levi trusts me, maybe if I talk—”
Eli covered my mouth with his hand and pulled me against him. I started to protest but then I heard it too. Someone was coming. He grabbed my hand and was suddenly running, pulling me along with him.
I slammed into him as he stopped abruptly. I gasped in horror, grabbing his shirt in my hands, as Raven’s brother, Griffin stepped into view, two others with him. We turned to run in the opposite direction only to be intercepted by three others stepping out of the dark cover of the forest. And within seconds we were surrounded by as many as twenty vampires.
“Holy freakaziod. We’re in deep dung now,” I whispered, still grasping his shirt tightly in my hands.
“What do we do now?” he asked me, not taking his eyes off the vampires stalking toward us.
I glanced up at him in surprise. “Really? You’re asking me? You’re the big, bad werewolf.”
He shrugged. “Hey, I’m new at this.”
“Oh for Pete’s sake. Just watch and learn, little runt.” I put my fingers in my mouth and—whistled.
Chapter Nineteen
“What on earth was that?” Griffin asked, bewilderment contorting his handsome features.
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Eli said, looking at me in amazement.
I huffed. “Don’t you vampires ever learn? That was the call that’s gonna bring the werewolves here to kick your—”
“That is the one we want!” Griffin said, ignoring me and pointing at Eli. “He is their leader—seize him!”
At once they were on him, pinning him to the ground as they ripped his shirt off and wrapped silver chains tightly around his torso. They must’ve been coated in Wolfsbane because Eli instantly weakened and cried out in pain, steam rising from his skin. He fought as hard as any werewolf I’ve ever seen, getting in a few licks, but to no avail, until the last of his strength was finally extinguished.
“It is no use, Levi—this time we have you—and this time you will not escape. As for you my little trouble maker,” he said, grabbing my face in his hand, “I am glad that this time you will die and Raven cannot stop it.” His mouth opened, exposing his long, ivory fangs as he leaned down to me, his eyes glowing red with eager anticipation.
His fangs were just grazing my neck when we heard a voice cry out, “Maybe Raven can’t stop it—but I can!!” We all turned in time to see Levi racing toward us in lightning speed, ripping his shirt off as he blurred and became werewolf. The sight was nothing short of marvelous. I enjoyed the second Griffin realized his error. He had the wrong Levi. His expression was priceless. Once the second was up, Levi pounced on Griffin, slamming him to the ground.
A roaring came from the forest that sounded like a herd of wild buffalo as my werewolves charged onto the scene. Within seconds the onslaught had begun. I had to think quickly, so I ran to Eli and worked at getting his chains off.
“What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I change?”
“It’s the Wolfsbane. It weakens you and prevents the change. I’ve almost got them, but if I do this you have to help us.”
“You couldn’t stop me if you tried. Look out!”
A huge vampire grabbed me from behind. I screamed and kicked, clawing at his face as he lifted me up over his head with no effort at all, and then I was sailing through the air. I cringed, anticipating my contact with the ginormous tree in front of me, but it didn’t come. Instead, to my astonishment, I landed in the arms of Eli. He smiled down at me and then set me on my feet. Levi was there. He looked at Eli for a moment, and then nodded in appreciation. “I’ll talk to you later,” he warned.
Eli lowered his head in shame.
I sighed in relief.
“Charity,” Levi said, taking my face gently in his hands. “Please find a safe place to hide and stay there. I can’t fight this battle if I’m worried about you. Do you hear me?”
“Levi—maybe I can help.”
“A whistle isn’t going to stop this war.”
That hurt—but he was right. The vampires wanted to see every werewolf annihilated, with me among them and no amount of whistling, groveling, crying, or pleading would change that.
He gave me a quick kiss and shifted again, running toward that big ugly vampire who threw me. All of a sudden I recognized that vampire. He was responsible for beating Levi while he was wrapped in chains the night Raven kidnapped me. Levi promised to kill that vampire if he ever saw him again, and it looked like he planned to keep that promise.
“Charity, come this way,” Eli said, ushering me to safety, then spotting some thick bushes, began shoving me under them. I squealed as something scraped across my arm, ripping my shirt and causing me to bleed. Eli didn’t notice. “You stay here, out of sight.” He took off running and blurred as he shifted into werewolf. He looked almost exactly like Levi, except for a small, white patch of fur, which was hard to make out, under his neck.
I glanced around in amazement at the scene before me. My werewolves were not only holding their own, they were seriously kicking some vampire butt.
Hector was fighting two vampires at once and having fun doing it. Eli was fighting Griffin and struggling—while my Levi was fighting the biggest, baddest vampire I’ve ever seen—and doing it beautifully. It was a proud moment for me. I watched, wide-eyed, as Hector knocked one vampire to the ground, pressing his large foot over his head and crushing it like a melon.
I was fighting down the bile that rose in my throat when a tall, thin vampire with red, spiked hair appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me, pulling me from under the bushes and holding me in the air by my throat. I really hate redheaded vampires. I struggled and kicked, trying to pry his long, hard fingers loose, which had death grips around my neck. Without warning, a hand came through his chest in front of me. I gaped down, wide-eyed at the bloody hand holding something in its grip. Eeew! Was that his heart? The vampire too followed my gaze, looking down at the bloody hand in surprise. The response would’ve been funny had I not been so repulsed. Then the spiky-haired vampire dropped me and crumbled to the ground, disintegrating into a cloud of ash. There, standing over me, bloody hand and all, was Raven. I stared up at him, my mouth agape. He killed one of his own to save my life. It was on now. He would never again be accepted among his kind.
He smiled as he reached down for me.
“Don’t touch me with that!” I squealed, moving just out of his reach.
He laughed and opened his hand to reveal it empty. Hmm, I was sure there was something, of which I didn’t want to think about, there a moment ago. Before I could protest any further he grabbed me, shoving me back under the bushes from which I’d came, and out of sight. He ripped a piece of my shirt and handed it to me. “Wrap your injury.”
“Hey! I happen to like this shirt! You can’t just go around ripping people’s shirts!”
“Your blood’s drawing attention.” Then he was gone in a flash, back into the battle, where he shocked me still as he fought one vampire after another.
“In that case, thank you,” I whispered to save my pride, but he probably heard me anyway.
I glanced around, desperate to locate Levi—and then my eyes finally settled on him. He seemed to be getting tired and the big vampire was relentless, attacking him from all angles. Vampires are strong, but most of all, fast. Werewolves, however, are more massive in size and strength; their powerful jaws can crush and rip with alarming accuracy and speed. As I stared at the fierce scene before me, I had an undeniable urge to help him, but how? It was then that I had a crazy thought. Crisis seems to bring that out in me. I crawled out from under my shield of protection and ran into the fighting frenzy, making my way to Levi, but then I thought, what if it doesn’t work? I better try it out, so I ran over to where Hector was fighting and got as close as I dare and yelled, “Hey!” at the energetic vampire he was fighting. When the bloodsucker glanced at me in bewilderment, Hector sank his fangs into the vampire’s neck and yanked his head clean off. Ick,
but awesome at the same time. And I thought that only happened in the movies. Hector gave me a big drooly snarl, which I assumed was a thank you, and turned to find someone new to fight.
Hey! I can be useful after all. With renewed excitement, I made my way through the bloody battle scene, stopping at every werewolf I came to and repeating the action—yep—off came the head—then another—and another, until I finally reached Levi.
I had to plan this strategically; this was no normal size vampire. I waited until he was in just the right position, jumping out of the way a few times to avoid being crushed—then yelled, “Hey!” behind his back. When the giant spun to face me, ready to attack, Levi sank his fangs into his thick neck and took off that big, ugly head of his. It rolled to the ground in front of me, and I instantly found myself doubled over and losing my lunch.
After a minute, I stood, wiping my mouth and discovered that Griffin, along with a handful of others, had fled the scene. It was over. With only a few exceptions, most of my werewolves had survived, bloody and beaten, but alive nonetheless.
Levi and Eli both stood before me, shirtless and bloody. One stretched his arms out to me, but I was confused as to which was beckoning me.
“Charity, it’s me,” the one said, hands outstretched.
“How do I know it’s you?”
The two of them exchanged looks, and the other smirked at him.
“Okay, if you are Levi, call to me in my pet name.”
He smiled at the other, wiping blood from his chest just above his heart, the action revealing a small heart tattoo. “Come to me, kitten.”
I smiled and ran to him, jumping into his arms. He held me tight and kissed the top of my head. “By the way, I could’ve taken that big, ugly vampire on my own.”
“Oh, you’re welcome.”
He laughed. “O-kay, thanks, Garfield.”
I glared up at him. “Garfield? Really? Levi, you clearly suck at this game.”
“What? Garfield’s the name of a cat.”
“Yeah, a male cat! You don’t hear me calling you Lassie, now do ya?”
“Okay, so I gave it a try and I rot at it. From now on I’ll leave the name calling to you.”
Charity Rising (Charity Series Book 2) Page 11
