Crimson Bayou (Things that go Bump in the Bayou Book 1)

by Alizabeth Lynn

  Eyes wide, dark with shock, he turned to his wolves and held up his hand. “Stop. Leave the vampire alone.” He turned worried eyes back to Carissa. “How the hell are you doing that? I know damn well you were just bitten. You can’t change yet.” The wolves surrounding them paced restlessly, a few edging closer to Ryker and the vampire.

  Carissa shook her head, and said carefully, hiding her own surprise, “I think you’re wrong about that part. Now, I wonder how dangerous I could be, as new as I am, with this kind of power…” She let her voice drop off, her body slowly reverting to its complete human form.

  Stephen’s eyes were wide. “Wolves, heel! We attack no one!” he snarled at the pack, and nodded at Carissa. “You have my word. Regardless of what happens, we won’t attack.”

  Carissa nodded as well. “Good.”

  There was yet another growl, and the snapping of jaws behind her, and Carissa felt something wet splash the back of her leg. She looked down, the red spots causing her to spin around in surprise. She looked at her father and Aden, just in time to see her vampire – now wolf – with his back scratched and bloody, pin Garrett to the ground.

  “If you move, I will kill you,” Aden snarled.

  Carissa looked at her father, noting that he, at least, had noticed her show of power moments before, and the fear in his gaze was a tangible thing. He nodded in agreement. “I won’t go anywhere,” he growled.

  Without questioning Garrett’s agreement, Aden rose up and leapt toward the water, shifting effortlessly as he dove in. He swam toward the raft, and Carissa thanked God for Eleanor’s spell as the alligators once again gave him a wide berth. Without climbing onto the floating structure, he gently picked up Carissa’s unconscious mother, and swam back to shore with her over his shoulder.

  Aden placed her on the ground and shifted back to wolf form before he levered his lower half from the bayou. Teresa’s eyes fluttered open, and she scrambled back at the sight of him.

  Carissa ran to her side and knelt beside her. “Mom! Calm down. That wolf isn’t like the rest.”

  Teresa looked at her daughter. “Are you sure?”

  Carissa took her mom’s arm and helped her to her feet. “Positive.”

  She looked around, noticing the pack moving closer. Ryker and Aden’s friend were nowhere to be seen.

  Her father, dressed in torn jeans and human again, laughed, claiming her attention. “You won’t be able to leave without a fight.”

  Stephen stepped forward, about to speak, but Aden moved in front of her father and growled, “I never believed otherwise, but you might be interested in what I have to say, first.” Then he addressed the pack, “If you attempt to harm any of us, I will kill your Pack Master.”

  Stephen stepped back and held up his hands. “No worries here, wolf-bro.”

  Aden acknowledged him with a nod as he turned back to Garrett, and she spotted the man Ryker had called Daniel at the edge of the trees. His clothes were torn, but he looked all right otherwise, and he carried a pair of jeans over one arm. Aden ran toward him, and in less than ten seconds, stood back in place as a man.

  He smiled at Carissa’s father, who seemed to be gaining some courage back. Garrett made to move away, but Aden showed his fangs. “Just try and get away. I dare you.”

  Her father stumbled back a step. “You’re the bloodsucker!”

  A grumble moved through the pack at the implication of his words, but Stephen’s order held them in place. Aden inclined his head. “Indeed, I am, but you already knew all about me, didn’t you? That’s why you kidnapped Carissa. You knew about my past, and you’ve been working with the Vampire Council for, what, two hundred years now?”

  Her father’s eyes flew wide. “I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

  Aden laughed. “Sure you don’t…Garrett.”

  Everyone stared, and Garrett’s face turned white. “How do you—”

  “Know your name? Well, I found a little list, and after some searching, I discovered why the Vampire Council wants you dead.”

  Carissa walked over and placed her hand on Aden’s arm. The tension was palpable. “The vampires want him dead?”

  Aden nodded. “They want the whole pack dead, actually, but only those capable of shifting at will. They want the rest to use as Enforcers and daytime bodyguards. The Vampire Council wants to rule, well, everything. They believe vampires are superior, and they know if your pack sides with the humans, and brings the other lycans and shifters into the mix, the Vampire Council won’t stand a chance.”

  Garrett cocked his head to the side. “What’s your stake in this?”

  Aden put his arm around Carissa’s waist. “I’m in love with your daughter, and I don’t want to see the world enslaved by vampires any more than you do.”

  Carissa beamed at him, letting her love for him fill her eyes. Her heart leapt as she pressed a trembling hand over the life growing in her womb. She couldn’t wait to tell him. Garrett looked back and forth between the two of them, and Carissa could see the war in his eyes. On the one hand, what he wanted most was the preservation of his species, and on the other, she knew he hated vampires with a passion. Yes, he’d worked with them, but in the short time she’d known him, Carissa already knew he did nothing if it wasn’t for his own personal gain.

  Finally, Garrett sighed and looked at her. “Do you feel the same about him?” he asked.

  Carissa turned her gaze to Aden. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “But you can’t mate with him.”

  “Actually,” Aden spoke up, “she can. You see, because I was already a supernatural being, my body never died when I became a vampire.”

  Garrett shook his head. “That’s not possible.”

  Gwen moved forward, then, and Carissa saw why her hands had been clenched. In loose fingers, she held a small purple-capped pregnancy test—the one Carissa had hidden in her jeans pocket. Her sister held the little wand out to their father, and Carissa bit her lip, her eyes flicking warily between the two men. Garrett took the object, turning it over to see the pink plus sign. Aden stiffened beside her, and she watched his mouth drop open, eyes wide with wonder. Her father’s hand shook as he leveled his gaze on Gwen’s.

  “What’s this?”

  Her sister smiled a genuine smile for the first time in days. “It’s not mine. I found it hidden in her room.”

  Garrett dropped the test and stared at Carissa in shock. “You’re pregnant? Is it Ryker’s?”

  “No.” Carissa shook her head emphatically. “This baby is Aden’s.”

  “How can you be sure?”

  Carissa rolled her eyes. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I just met Ryker a few days ago, I absolutely detest him, and Aden is the only man I’ve been with since Ryan died. There’s no possible way this child could belong to anyone else.”

  Garrett glared at Aden. “There’s no backing out now, boy.”

  Her vampire cleared his throat. “No sir,” he said quietly, his voice hushed as he gazed at Carissa with starry eyes. “I love your daughter more than anything. I’m not going anywhere—especially not now.”

  Garrett considered, smiling wolfishly. “Then the ceremony must go on. Prove your love for my daughter, and take responsibility for what you’ve done. Speak the ritual words before the pack and its Master.” It was clear he didn’t think Aden would follow through, but it was his jaw that dropped when Aden nodded, and took both of Carissa’s hands in his.

  Warmth filled her heart as she smiled at him. “I’ll go first, since you don’t know the words,” she said softly. She gripped his hands tighter and looked deep into his lightly glowing eyes. “I take you, all of you, with my heart, my blood, and my body. I take you in the light of the moon, under the witnessing stars, as my other half. I choose my mate. Aden.”

  A golden glow bloomed over the region of his heart, and he smiled as he repeated her words. “I take you, all of you, with my heart, my blood, and my body. I take you in the light of the moon, under
the witnessing stars, as my other half. I choose my mate.”

  Suddenly Ryker came barreling out of the woods. “No!” he screamed, pulling a stake from the pocket of his jeans. “You bitch!” Ryker lunged at Carissa, but Aden twisted, placing himself in front of her and the angry werewolf. He still had hold of both Carissa’s hands as the piece of wood plunged deep into his chest. Silence filled the air. Even the crickets ceased their music as Aden’s knees hit the ground. And Carissa never let go. Blood seeped from the wound around the spear of wood as he fell backwards, every movement a slow-motion capture of fear and despair. He raised their joined hands to Carissa’s tear-stained cheeks.

  “Carissa,” he whispered, and the answering bonds surrounded her heart, filling her with warmth and love, even as the other half of her soul took his last, shuddering breath.

  The ritual was complete, and Aden was dead.

  The scream lodged in her throat, coming out as a choking sob as Aden’s limp hands fell from her grasp. Grief clouded her eyes as she watched the pack surge forward, led by Daniel. They wrestled Ryker to the ground, pinning him down and doing their best to prevent him from shifting.

  Daniel focused his attention on Garrett. “What do you want to do with him?”

  The Pack Master was shaking. His eyes tracked the blood over the ground, his gaze locking on Carissa’s. Sympathy lit his eyes—she knew what he saw—as he took in the blood staining her dress. The blood of the man who held her heart, and the father of the baby she harbored in her womb. And for the first time since he’d ordered her kidnapping, she saw compassion on his face.

  He reached out with trembling fingers, and touched his daughter on the shoulder. “Carissa?”

  Ignoring Garrett, she turned to Daniel, her face streaked with tears, the gray glow of her wolf’s power clouding her vision. “Kill him,” she growled.

  Garrett nodded to the pack, and they drug Ryker from the clearing as he screamed and pled for mercy. They disappeared into the trees and then there was nothing but silence.

  Daniel rushed to Aden’s side and spoke hastily to Carissa. “Listen carefully, and you may be able to save him.” He placed both of his hands around the portion of the stake protruding from Aden’s body. “I’m going to pull this out and try to get him breathing. With that first breath, there is something you need to do.”

  “Anything,” Carissa whispered.

  “You are his mate, bound by heart and blood. Cut your palm – your wolf will allow you to heal, so there will be no lasting damage.” He waited until she secured a knife from her father and slit her hand open. The rest of the wolves slowly circled them while Carissa’s mother and sister wept in the background.

  “Okay,” Daniel continued, “when I pull this out, press your scored palm to the wound – quickly before it closes.” He removed the stake with a wet, sticky, squelching sound. “Cover it completely. Now link yourself to him through each bond you have. His bite, your wolves, and your hearts.”

  Daniel pressed his hands against Aden’s chest, pumping up and down, simulating life. Carissa focused her gaze on her vampire’s face, the links at the forefront of her mind.

  The bite: It didn’t burn, but was more like static ice upon her skin. One pinprick tingled and then the other. The tingle followed a glowing path through her body, through her veins, and into him. The minute the connection reached his fangs, a golden glow surrounded his body, and the crowd gasped.

  Carissa took a deep breath, her focus never wavering.

  The wolf: Her inner beast howled in pain, the sound echoing from her lips in a mournful pitch that caused even the birds to cease their tweeting. Her energy reached for her mate, the power of the wolf undulating under her skin, doing its best to connect with his. When it found that slight sign of life, the golden glow turned blue.

  Carissa trembled, the last link blooming before her inner eye.

  The heart: Her heart raced, keeping pace with the greatest racehorses that ever lived, and it took considerable concentration to calm it down. She inhaled deeply, regulating her breathing, drawing in the night air, and exhaling the tension. When her heartbeat slowed, as if it were at rest, and the glow turned red.

  Aden’s heart stuttered, stopped, and finally beat weakly. He took a gasping breath. “Carissa! Shift!” Daniel commanded.

  She didn’t even think about the fact that it was two nights from the full moon. She didn’t think of her pregnancy, or what such a change could do to her. She trusted in her wolf and the power she’d been feeling for days. Her bones burned with the glorious pain of the first shift. Her eyes glowed in the darkness, a bright gray replacing her normal vibrant green against the inky black of the night sky. Fur sprouted as she gave her wolf the freedom of the moon’s light.

  Carissa howled as she stood over Aden, a paw on his wound instead of her hand. His back arched as if lightning struck his body. She returned to human form, barely noticing her sister cover her nakedness with a sheet. Aden’s body shook, causing him to thrash about, and it took all Carissa’s concentration to hold her position.

  “True love heals,” Daniel whispered.

  Then, as he stopped moving, Carissa felt the steady rise and fall of Aden’s chest. The wound beneath her hand closed, the healing pace about as fast as molasses rolling uphill in winter. Once finished, however, healthy color returned to his pallid skin. His eyes flickered open, and he looked up at her with love and pain in his unfocused gaze.

  “Man, dying is a bitch!”

  Leaving his grandson and his mate with the Pack Master, Daniel cursed as he ran through the trees in search of Ryker and the rest of the pack. The werewolf was the last person he expected to find in the middle of Louisiana, and he had a bad feeling that if he didn’t step in, Garrett’s followers wouldn’t actually kill the traitor. He was right. Breaking through the trees into a clearing, the lycan rushed him, growling and spitting foul saliva through the air. The other werewolves were nowhere to be found.

  Daniel leapt back, drawing the wolf toward the trees at his back. Ryker wasn’t the biggest werewolf, or the strongest, but he knew the lycan learned plenty of tricks from Jasmine, his vampire lover. He’d be sneaky, and as Daniel withdrew a knife from his boot, he knew Ryker would be difficult to kill. Daniel backed out of the clearing as the snarling beast stalked closer. Jaws snapping, Ryker bounded to the side, leaping to propel himself off the trunk of a tree, landing against the vampire’s shoulder and knocking him to the ground. The knife flew from loosened fingers to become lost amongst the leaves and debris on the ground. Ryker growled low in his throat, attempting to mash his teeth around Daniel’s arm, but the vampire rolled across the ground, kicking out. His foot connected with Ryker’s back leg, drawing a yelp of pain.

  Lunging toward the vampire again, Ryker slammed into him, and the two beings grappled on the ground, rolling toward the bank of the bayou...and the alligators drawing closer to the sound of fighting. Daniel managed to wrap his arm around Ryker’s neck. With his muscles flexing, he cut off the lycan’s air supply. Daniel grunted as he grabbed a flailing paw and yanked. With a sound akin to the cracking of wet twigs, and a howl so pain-filled it shook the trees, Daniel ripped the werewolf’s leg from its body, tossing the limb into the churning water. Then, with a mighty heave, the vampire threw Ryker in after his leg. A gurgling splash, one last howl as he shifted back to a man, and then nothing but the thrashing of hungry alligators—Ryker was no more.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  Carissa brought her steaming cup of coffee into the living room and plopped down on the couch, rubbing her belly. She stared out the window, thinking of how things turned out. A lot had changed over the last week. Carissa smiled to herself as she wiggled her left ring finger, sending light glittering from the white gold, diamond-studded band. She and Aden planned to have a wedding ceremony to make things official, but they both knew the mating ritual was more than binding.

  A smile curved her lips as she thought about her mate, who was still prone to sleeping durin
g the day, although he could now tolerate the sun in small doses, thanks to his inner wolf. Aden still wasn’t back to one hundred percent, but he came closer every day. Dying for real took quite a toll on him, but he dealt with grace. He now survived on a fifty/fifty diet of blood and food, relying most heavily on red meat and potatoes. He’d stayed in bed for the whole week – sending Daniel to the jewelry store to pick up her ring – as his body tried to acclimate itself to its new lifestyle, and Carissa had stayed by his side the entire time.

  That was much easier now that they had the support of the Crimson Bayou Pack. Someone was always on the lookout, which wasn’t difficult since Carissa and Aden had lived in her father’s house since the incident. There was more room, and with Jasmine and Ryker dead, there was no one else in contact with the Vampire Council that knew of its existence—except Garrett, but he liked his life.

  Carissa looked up when she heard footsteps in the hallway. Gwen stood in the entrance to the living room, wringing her hands and shuffling from foot to foot. She hadn’t spoken to Carissa at all since that night, not since she dropped the bomb about her sister’s pregnancy.

  In light of the coming war, Carissa opted to forgive her sister for the things that happened before. “Good morning. I made fresh coffee if you want some.”

  Gwen nodded and walked into the kitchen, carefully avoiding the area where her sister sat. When she returned with her drink, however, she sat in the chair opposite the couch.

  “I’m sorry,” she mumbled. The sound so low, even with her enhanced senses, Carissa almost didn’t hear her.

  Carissa sat her now empty cup on the coffee table, and knelt beside her sister. “Gwenny, it’s all right. I’ve told you it’s all right. If you hadn’t brought me here, we might all still be in limbo, waiting for the storm.”