Shadows of the Ancients

by Christine M. Butler

  Drew had other plans though. He promised me her younger sister instead. There weren’t enough females in our generation for each of us to get a mate. Some of the males opted out, saying they’d wait for another female to come of age, or go searching outside of the pack. It was down to Lucas and I for your Aunt’s hand. The day it was to be announced that she was to be paired with me, she didn’t show up for the pack meeting. I worried for her safety at first, but then when I looked around, I saw that Lucas was also missing.”

  I was listening to his story. I never knew all the details. My mom never told me that Marcus even factored into her and her sister’s lives so closely before. As much as I wanted to hear the rest of the story, I was having trouble focusing through my pain, and the dehydration wasn’t helping matters any either. I blinked, several long blinks, shaking my head to make the cobwebs inside it relinquish their hold.

  Marcus tapped on the side of the cage with his gun, brining my attention back around to him. “Listen, this is an important story for you.” He paced away from the cage again, and it hit me that I had just missed the prime opportunity I’d been hoping for, to get him close enough to grab him. “When they were found, it was too late, of course. They were a mated, bonded pair. I rallied that Lucas be put to death for the dishonor, but Drew wouldn’t hear of it. Had he lain down a death sentence for one he would have had to do it for both, and he refused. He told them that going against the pack bonding decree meant they were on their own. The entire pack, including your mother and father, were forced to shun the two. They took off on their own, and I followed.” That got my attention, and he noticed. “That’s right, I followed them. I found where they built a cozy little love shack out in the middle of nowhere wilderness, and I waited. I would check in on them once a week after that. I let them live out a little bit of their happiness. And they were happy. It ate a hole in my gut to see it. She was supposed to be mine.” He went back to pacing angry steps just out of reach of the cage. “I waited, planning my revenge for a year. Finally, the week before their one year anniversary, I went out with a hunting rifle, and I hid in the trees. As soon as Lucas was in sight of your aunt, I shot him. I wanted her to see it happen. I needed her to see how weak he was. They hadn’t been bonded long. I didn’t think there was any danger of her not making it.” His face was a tortured mess now. “I thought she’d come crawling back to the pack then, that I would have my chance, and convince Drew to allow me to have her. I didn’t even care what the others in the pack would say about how she’d betrayed me to begin with. It wouldn’t matter, you see, because I had won in the end.”

  “But she didn’t come back,” I spit at him.

  “No she didn’t. She stayed there, mourning over his body. A storm was brewing on the horizon that morning, and she sat out there, in the field, clinging to him. It was as if she thought she could bring him back with her love alone. Hours, she sat there, clinging to him. Hours. She never even bothered to look to see who had shot him. I think she knew it was me. I think she hoped I would shoot her too. I didn’t. When your aunt finally got up, she went to get the shovel from the side of their little cottage, and she started digging a damn hole in the ground. The sky had already opened up and started pouring cold rain all over her, but she never stopped until she had a grave dug for him.” Marcus wandered over to the window and stood there looking out into the field beyond. “I watched her, from my place in the trees, as she drug his body over to the hole she’d dug. Your aunt placed him in it, and took a necklace off her neck to put in there with him. Then she stood there and covered it all over with dirt again. She got some wood from the pile near the house and made a marker for his grave. She sat there, in the thunder and lighting, rain pouring down, carving out his name on that wood.” He hadn’t moved from his place by the window. “I left at that point. I went back to the pack lands, and prepared for her homecoming. I knew she’d come to see her sister, and so I watched your parents’ house until one day your mom took off in the direction of her sister’s cabin. In all the times I had gone to check on your aunt, I had never seen Eileen there visiting her, but I think it must have happened before now, because she knew exactly where to go.

  “I followed Eileen out there to see if she’d convince your aunt to come back with her.” Marcus’s breath hitched in his throat for a minute. “Eileen came running out of the cabin, screaming. She nearly ran past Lucas’s grave, but tripped over the headstone that her sister had made him. When she looked down and saw what it was, she just sat there and cried.”

  “I almost went to her, to console her. But I stayed where I was, hidden in the trees.”

  “In other words, you’ve always been a coward,” I muttered under my breath, knowing he could hear me.

  Marcus moved away from the window now, and started pacing the room again. “Your mom did the same damn thing her sister had done a week before. She grabbed that shovel, and started digging a grave. The only difference was this time the sun was shining down on the field, painfully bright. I watched in horrifying detail as your mother went back into the cabin, and drug her sister’s body out.”

  A strangled gasp freed itself from my mouth as he confirmed something my mother never would. She had been the one to find my Aunt Anna dead. It occurred to me then that Marcus hadn’t said Anna’s name, not even once through his terrible story. I wonder if guilt caused him to swallow her name each time, if that were the case, I wish he’d choke on it. Considering I was sitting in a cage, God knows where, with a bullet hole in me, I didn’t think guilt was a thing he was familiar with.

  “I watched as she pulled the body from the cottage, and placed her in that hole in the ground, right next to Lucas’s grave. She had just as much determination as her sister did, as she filled it back in with dirt. Then I watched as she sat to carve a headstone out for her sister too.” He stopped pacing right in front of the cage, just out of reach, and looked down at me. He wasn’t seeing me there, though, he was lost in the memory. “I waited until she left, and then I went to the graveside. Your mom hadn’t just carved her sister’s name on that piece of wood. She carved, ‘Loved forever in life and death.’”

  Marcus’s eyes were clouded over with unshed tears as it became clear that he was aware of me again. Then he raised the gun up and shot me in my right thigh without so much as a warning. “The clock starts again now.” He said calmly as he walked away.

  I definitely passed out that time. When I came to, he was staring at me. “Are you ready to change into your wolf and heal yet?” I ignored him, and the flaming hot pain that seared through my right thigh. I grabbed the rest of my cardigan, and knew I wouldn’t have the strength to pull another piece off, so I took the rest of it and tied it around my leg, as tight as I could get it, since my left arm was damn near useless.

  “So, what?” I gritted out through my teeth as I pulled a little tighter on the sweater material. “This is all about get-backsies? You’re still gunning for revenge because my mother was spoken for, and Anna followed her heart instead of going off with you? Hell, maybe she knew.”

  “Knew what?” he spewed out in mixture of venomous words and a spray of spittle.

  “She knew you were rotten and wrong deep down inside, and she chose to be shunned with Lucas because that really was the better option. She knew you were nothing. Anna was smart. It’s kind of like how I refused Zach isn’t it? This is like history on repeat for you. You see Anna running off with Lucas. Guess what, I know exactly what she was thinking! I knew from the beginning that Zach was a horrible excuse for a wolf. I knew he’d never be able to have power even equal to my own. Weakness runs in your blood. You’re a pathetic, impotent murderer, your sister’s a whore, and your nephew is a worthless, would be date rapist. Anna should have been commended for seeing through you.”

  “You. Vile. Little. Bitch!”

  “You are fucking insane! Look at you! You killed the woman you were pining for. You didn’t have to pull the trigger and put the bullet in her, but by putting on
e in her mate, you sealed her fate just the same. And now, you’re too much of a coward to even face a young wolf girl down by yourself. You’ve drugged me, trapped me, and shot me twice, and you still can’t impose your will on me. You’re pathetic!”

  He held the gun up to me again, fully prepared to shoot when the door opened. I hadn’t even realized there was a door off to the side there. It was Zach. I decided I wouldn’t stop taunting him, and now I had a two for one special. I knew in my heart, that I’d rather be dead than to be a pawn for either of them to use in their sick and twisted games.

  “So, you couldn’t have my mom. Then my aunt rejected you by running off with Lucas. I’m sure it must have felt like Deja vu when you came to my house that day and learned I’d done the same damn thing Aunt Anna did. I went against pack rule. I came home claimed by a male who was actually strong enough to be with me. Not some pathetic prick of a nephew of yours whose only hope in hell of getting with me was if he had been strong enough to force my will.” I spit at them, “You’re just a like. Neither of you deserves a woman. Neither of you deserves to breathe the same air as the rest of us. I will make it my mission to see you buried in an unmarked grave, far from my Aunt’s so your memory will never mar her good name again.”

  “Her good name?” Marcus roared in a furious sound. He stepped closer to the cage.

  “That’s right, because she did the right thing. She saw how vile YOU were, and she chose another mate.”

  “She chose wrong. That’s why she’s dead.” Zach’s eyes were wide, apparently he didn’t know everything his uncle had been up to over the years.

  “She chose right! She chose sanity and love over your pathetic, weak display. I bet she knew you were just as impotent as a wolf as you were pathetic as a man.” That did it, he charged the cage, and pulled the trigger of the gun that he had been clutching angrily in his hand, but I was faster. I slipped to the side, spraying him with the bottle of tainted water as another bullet tore through my right shoulder. I tried to shift, but my wolf was too worn out to come. I managed teeth and claws, and proceeded to rip and tear at the man who lay dangling over the cage. I had gone for the throat out of instinct, and felt the hot flow of coppery blood between my teeth and into my mouth. Strings of muscle, and other parts erupted from my mouth as I spit them free into the cage. Marcus tried, at first, to back off the cage, by my hand had him pinned. My claw was wrist deep in his guts, and I had no intention of letting go without pulling pieces of him out on the way.

  I watched as a milky stillness slid into his gaze, the adrenaline that had me moving moments ago began to sap as I became aware of the pain once more, and I dropped. It was a wonder I had been able to use my right hand, because he’d shot me in the other shoulder as he had come close enough for me to grab him. I had three bullet holes in me now, and I was fading fast as Marcus’s body dripped blood and other parts out onto me.

  The gun had fallen through the cage, and was lying beside me, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t get out of the way of the ick as it flowed down over me. I wanted to pick that gun up, and aim it at Zach, to pull the trigger, and at least make him hurt before I faded out completely. As much as I wanted that, my body wouldn’t cooperate any longer. What little bit of light there was had begun to diminish in the room, and the small amount of movement I had managed towards the gun was lost as the darkness started swallowing me hole. In the distance, I heard voices shouting, but there was no more holding on for me, I was lost to oblivion.

  BLOOD RAIN

  The world came back to me in a haze of red, everything was fuzzy. Images were blurred and distorted around the edges as I tried to make out what was going on. The world spun around me, dipping, and twisting, turning and rolling like a horrible amusement ride I never wanted to get on. My skin felt wet and sticky, and I wasn’t sure why.

  “Where is the damn key?” Someone was yelling angrily. The sound hurt my ears, that were ringing wildly.

  I hurt all over. I tried to move, and bile rose up, coating my throat in burning acid. Every piece of me was on fire. Woozy blackness overtook me again. I’m not sure how long I succumbed to the darkness that time, but the sound of my name brought me back from the edge.

  “Jess,” the strangled sound came again. I knew I needed to answer it, but I couldn’t get my mouth to form the words. I think I may have moaned, but that was questionable. Everything I was hearing sounded like it was in a tunnel with bells. Not bells. Ringing. Whooshing. Things felt upside down, and inside out, and still on fire. I was burning, everywhere. I had to be on fire. Surely the sticky liquid raining down on me was poison, because it burned, everywhere.

  “Jess, I’m here. You’re going to be okay. You have to be okay.” The voice came through loud and clear, but I still couldn’t see, and I knew deep down inside that I wasn’t okay. Okay didn’t feel like you were burning alive. There was a clanking sound and more bells were ringing. I whimpered as I was suddenly lifted into the air, floating. No, I was being carried, and… I moaned again. Sick, I was going to be sick. Someone was leaning me over, and more burning acid was coming out of my throat, out of my mouth. Pain wreaked havoc on my entire body. I couldn’t swallow it down. I couldn’t get it under control. I was done. Blackness took me again, and I welcomed its embrace.

  ~*~

  I woke on a cloud of fluff. Everything beneath me was soft and wonderful. The smell was of home, fresh sheets on laundry day, mom, dad, and Evan. All their scents mingled with my own, and wrapped me in a feeling of comfort and tranquility. I tried rolling over, and ended up regretting that decision. Pain shot through my shoulder, and my eyes shot open.

  “Jess, are you okay?”

  My response came out as a series of grunts and groans. “Shoulder hurts,” I finally managed.

  “Now that you’re somewhat awake, you could always try to shift. It will help with the healing. We couldn’t force it on you while you were knocked out.” His face looked sad, “you’ll probably have some scarring as a result.”

  Scarring meant I had done a considerable amount of healing as a human. “How long?”

  “It’s been three days since we got you back. You were gone for a full day before that. We didn’t have a scent to follow. I don’t know how, but he covered your tracks well. Jess, I am so sorry. We had to wait for Zach to make his escape. It took that little coward forever to attempt it.” Evan was speaking through gritted teeth.

  “Marcus?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  I almost shrugged, but the pull on my shoulders from the slight movement I did attempt stopped me short. “After Zach got there, I pissed Marcus off enough to come close to the cage. I remember…” It came back to me as I thought about it. “Oh, I ripped his throat out.”

  “Yes, you did.” He smiled at me. “The bars to the cage were treated with wolfsbane, but was also dripping off of both you and Marcus.”

  “He tried to make me drink it, thought it would weaken me. I kept it, so that I could use it as a weapon.”

  “Good thinking, although it backfired a little when it rolled off of him and onto you.” He winced.

  “Ahh, that explains all the burning. I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly at that point. He shot me, a lot.” I tried sitting forward again, and I’m not sure that I even made any forward progress because Evan hadn’t seemed to notice.

  “I know, Jess.” He leaned in closer to me and nuzzled my neck. “I’m so sorry we didn’t get there sooner.”

  “What about Zach?” I had to say. I wish I could have told him it was okay, and that I know they all did their best, but honestly, I couldn’t. I wish they had done better too, then maybe I wouldn’t still be in pain. Hell, if Mikael hadn’t fallen for Marcus’s set up to begin with Evan and Asriel would never have left. I can’t imagine with both of them there, that Marcus would have stood a chance.

  Evan growled. “He slipped away in the chaos, but don’t worry we’ll get him.”

  “I am not worried about him…” I whispered.
In a way I wasn’t, but then I thought about Marcus, and how long he waited, and watched my Aunt Anna before he came back and shot Lucas. Maybe, I should be worried about Zach. Especially since he’d watched me kill his uncle. “Evan, I need my mom, and…” I tried clearing my throat, “some water.”

  “I’ll go get her.” He winced when I tried to move, and stopped because of the pain. “Jess, stay still. I’ll get you into a more comfortable position when I bring your mom back, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” I tried again while he was gone, but I couldn’t move without shooting pain causing more nausea to rise up. I stopped making the attempts after that because I needed my strength for a shift when I was done telling my mom about Aunt Anna.

  Evan came back with my mom, water, and a whole entourage of people. “Sorry, they all insisted on making sure you were okay.”

  I managed a small smile. “I need to talk to my mom first,” I said looking at all the faces around me. “Please, it’s important.” Everyone turned to leave, including Evan. “Not you.” He turned to face me again. “You promised to help me sit up, that means you get to be my pillow.”

  “Anything you need,” he said as he carefully climbed on the bed, and helped move me to a sitting position, sliding in behind me. The moving part hurt like hell, but I was excited to be sitting up.

  “Ew, I really stink. You guys never heard of sponge baths?” Both Evan and my mom laughed.

  “When you’re good enough to shift, we’ll go for a swim in the lake, and bring you home for a shower.”

  “Deal.” I said, then I took a sip of the water my mom held out in front of me. I’d never been so thankful for bendy straws. “Mom, I needed to tell you what Marcus said.”