Werewolves Rule (The Rule Series)

by K. C. Blake

  Her head bobbed up and down. Her round eyes glistened. “If Jersey Clifford tries to hurt my mom or dad, I’m going to do worse than rip his soul out.”

  “I’m driving. Let’s go.”

  The hallway emptied as students went to class. Jack envied them. He would love to be able to sit in class, even a boring one, and be oblivious to the fact that monsters were all around them.

  Jack and Silver raced out the doors and ran to her car. They jumped inside. In seconds he had the engine started, and they were on their way to her house. His foot pressed harder and harder on the accelerator. Silver buckled herself in and said, “Tell me again what you saw and what you heard.”

  “Jersey was in the study. It took me a while to figure out I wasn’t seeing too far into the past. He picked up the picture of you that your dad put on the fireplace, the one when you were twelve.”

  “And he was talking to Isobel before that? Are you sure?”

  He shrugged, not sure of anything. “He was talking to someone, someone who’s working for him against us. He told them that they did a great job taking the rock. He was holding it in his hand.”

  Silver nodded. “This could actually be a good thing.”

  Jack took his eyes off the road for a second to look at her. She had to be kidding. “Have you lost it? The fact he’s hiding under your house is a terrible thing. Especially if we can’t find him. He might be using the tunnels to get in and out.” Jack’s stomach plummeted. “What if he has more wraiths? They could be in the mansion too. We need to check every single room in that dump.”

  “We will.”

  “So why do you think this is a good thing?” he asked again.

  “We can find the stone and kill him.”

  Jack wished he was as certain of their finale as she seemed to be. He had big doubts. There were too many obstacles in their way. By the time they were through, Jack figured he’d be in his grave for real. It was possible Silver would be buried next to him.

  If they died, maybe they’d be reincarnated again.

  Should he tell her about their past lives?

  Silver asked, “Did you send Ian to help my mom and dad?”

  “Not exactly. He sort of took charge.”

  “He does that a lot.”

  A horrible thought occurred to Jack. “What if he was the one talking to Jersey in the memory? What if he’s the one helping Jersey?” He glanced at Silver to see a look of horror on her face. Her terrified expression didn’t make him feel any better. “How well do you know Ian Carver?”

  “I don’t.”

  Jack frowned. “But you all looked like you were so close that night in your kitchen. What about your parents? How well do they know him?”

  She swallowed. “They haven’t seen him in years, but mom keeps in touch with him through the phone and the email. He used to visit when I was a baby. Mom says he changed a couple of my diapers and that I would stop crying when he rocked me, but I don’t remember him.” She blinked her eyes several times as if trying to fight fresh tears. “You’re right. How well could they possibly know him? He could be the one working with Jersey. It makes sense. He didn’t want anything to do with you all these years. Now all of a sudden he comes here and he involves himself in your personal life. He’s been staying at the house with us. He’s had opportunity.”

  “He’s staying with you?” Jack groaned. “Why didn’t you tell me that? He could let Jersey inside whenever he feels like it.”

  “Hurry! We need to get there.”

  “I’m driving as fast as I can.” Another epiphany hit him between the eyes. “Well now we know why the werewolf was hanging around outside your house. It was either there to see Jersey or Ian. Either way, it’s bad news for us.”

  ******

  Chapter Twenty:

  BAIT AND SWITCH

  When they arrived at Silver’s house everything was quiet, too quiet.

  Hesitating in the car, hands on the door handles, Jack and Silver exchanged wary glances. In silent mutual agreement they got out and headed for the house. Silver opened the front door because she lived there, but Jack insisted on leading the way. They stepped into the entry with her behind him, hands pressed against his back.

  She opened her mouth to yell for her parents, but Jack covered her mouth with his hand. He shook his head and whispered, “We can’t let them know we’re here until we’re sure everything is okay.”

  They performed a quick search of the house, moving from room to room as fast as possible. No one seemed to be around. The good news? There was no sign of a struggle. Not a trace of blood or an overturned piece of furniture anywhere.

  Silver said, “If they’re downstairs in the mansion, they could be screaming and we wouldn’t hear them. What do we do?”

  “I’ll go.” She started to argue with him, but he said, “I can use my vampire-speed. If Jersey’s down there, he won’t even see me. I’ll run like the wind and be back before you can blink an eye. Then I can tell you what we’re up against.”

  She nodded. Before he could tap his foot on the bottom step, open the trapdoor, she grabbed his face with both hands and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. She released him almost immediately and blushed. “For luck.”

  There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but it wasn’t the right time. It never seemed to be the right time. Between hunting werewolves, dealing with family issues, and their numerous arguments, he was afraid there would never be a good time to talk. It worried him, dying with so many things left unsaid. Problem was he didn’t know what to do about it. He had no idea how to rectify the situation.

  Silver opened the trapdoor for him.

  He flew through the mansion at the speed of light. There wasn’t a room he didn’t at least stick his head into to check. It was insane. Not only was Jersey missing. He couldn’t find a sign of Vanessa, Andrew, or Ian anywhere. Nobody seemed to be home.

  He returned to Silver.

  “The basement is empty,” he said, pulling himself up out of the hole that led into the mansion. Once he was standing next to Silver, he added, “Where could they be?”

  She twisted her hands. “You don’t think he did something to my parents, do you?”

  “No. I’m sure they’re fine. They must have gone out.”

  “Where? And why isn’t Ian here?”

  “I am here.”

  The booming voice startled them. They jumped apart as if they’d been caught by Silver’s father in a romantic tangle of arms and legs. Ian Carver descended the staircase from the second floor. A muscle throbbed near his jaw, signaling the anger deep beneath the surface. “What are you two doing here? Skipping classes? You realize I could have you both suspended, don’t you? Neither of you would be graduating then.”

  Silver glared at the new principal. “Where are my parents?” As Ian neared the bottom step, she lunged at him, prepared to do some serious damage. Jack grabbed her around the waist, holding her back. She yelled, “What did you do to them? Answer me!”

  Ian stared at her as if he was having trouble hearing. His eyes flicked to Jack. Misunderstanding the drama, he asked, “Didn’t you tell her you sent me to warn her parents about Jersey?”

  Jack looked away, embarrassed and worried that they might be wrong about the man. “Well, when I had that vision about Jersey, he was talking to someone about the great job they did for him.”

  “And you thought it was me he was talking to?” Ian threw back his head, laughed until his eyes began to water. He dabbed at the corners with his fingers. “Oh you two are priceless. If you do not figure out how to read a person and very soon, neither of you will survive long enough to be able to vote.”

  Silver stopped trying to attack Ian, but her eyes narrowed. “It could be you. You have access to the mansion. You could be helping him.”

  “But I’m not.”

  “Prove it,” she said, crossing her arms and spreading her legs in a defiant stance. “We aren’t stupid, and we’re not simply going to t
ake your word for it.”

  “Of course not.”

  Another question floated to the front of Jack’s mind. “Where were you? We looked upstairs as soon as we got here.”

  Before Ian could answer, the front door opened. Vanessa entered, juggling two bags of groceries. She nearly dropped them at the sight of the three people in her house. A startled cry burst from her lips before she realized she knew them. “What in the world are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at school?” She looked pointedly at Ian. “All of you?”

  Jack took the bags from her and carried them into the kitchen. By the time he returned, Ian was explaining about Jack’s vision. He left out the part about them accusing him of assisting the head werewolf. With a conspiratorial wink in their direction, he kept that part to himself.

  Vanessa held a hand to her mouth for a second. “He’s been here the whole time?”

  “Appears that way,” Ian said.

  “He could have hurt somebody, killed somebody.” Vanessa put an arm around her daughter. “Until he’s found we need to go somewhere else. We need to go somewhere safe. I know your father will agree with me.”

  Jack offered, “You can move back into the house with Billy and me. I know he wouldn’t mind.”

  Silver smiled. “Good idea.”

  “No,” Vanessa shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I think we’d be better off staying in a motel this time.”

  “Why?” Silver pouted. “We’d be safe at the Creed house.”

  “We’ll wait and see what your father says.”

  There was no way that Andrew Reign would choose to stay in Jack’s house over a motel. He didn’t trust Jack around his daughter. To be fair, Silver’s father had loosened up a little bit on the matter. At least he seemed to accept that they wanted to be together. He wasn’t constantly trying to break them up, and he hadn’t threatened to shoot Jack in at least a few weeks.

  Ian rubbed Vanessa’s upper arm. “You will need to pack a suitcase. Pack one for Andrew as well. We need to vacate the premises as soon as possible in case Jersey figures out we know he’s nearby. Nothing worse than a cornered werewolf.”

  Vanessa shivered. “Oh dear. I can’t believe this is happening.” She took Silver by the hand. “Come upstairs with me. I want you to throw some stuff in a bag as fast as you can.”

  The two women hurried up the staircase. Ian looked at Jack as if he expected Jack to follow them to keep an eye on them. First, there was something he wanted to say. “I still don’t trust you, you know. I’d be a fool to believe a total stranger, even if he is my uncle.”

  “Your father would be proud of you.”

  The statement caught Jack off guard—briefly. He wasn’t sure if it was meant to be a compliment or an insult. It was possible Ian Carver was trying to wiggle his way into Jack’s good graces using his connection to Jack’s father. It wasn’t going to work.

  ******

  Jack and Silver returned to school after both adults insisted. The rest of the day was long and dull. Jack hardly heard anything the teachers said. He tried to focus on the lessons, but his mind was cluttered with doubts, worry, and insecurities. He wished he had a power that would tell him what Jersey was going to do next.

  The last bell rang, and Jack went in search of Silver. He waited at her locker for about fifteen minutes, but she didn’t show. Disturbing images flitted through his mind. The last time she had gone missing at school, the werewolf janitor had been trying to kill her.

  Jack had the same bad feeling now.

  The drama club let out. He hurried through the crowd and grabbed Trina just above the wrist. Jerking her around to face him, he asked, “Do you know where Silver is at?”

  “Hello to you too.”

  “I’m serious.” His hands moved to her shoulders, but he stopped short of shaking her. “I have to find Silver now.”

  “Okay. Settle down.” Trina brushed his hands off her. “I have two friends waiting for me, so I have to go and don’t have time to ask you a lot of questions.”

  “Just answer mine then.”

  She started walking backwards in the direction of the two girls hanging out at the doors. “Silver told me she got a note from someone saying they wanted to meet her after school.”

  “Where?”

  “The old Miller place.”

  Trina turned with a giggle for her friends, and they all ran out the door, leaving Jack to stare after them in stunned silence. Her last four words took a return trip through his brain. Someone wanted to meet Silver at the Miller place, the abandoned house his vampire friends and he used to use when in town. Why would anyone want to meet her there? And why would she go without talking to him about it first?

  It smelled like a trap.

  Jack ran to his car and drove it to the edge of town. It made him crazy to be locked in the metal box because he knew he could run faster than the speed limit. As soon as traffic thinned to a car every five to ten minutes, he pulled over. Using vampire-speed, Jack raced through several fields.

  The old Miller place hadn’t changed in the last few months. Peeling paint, cracked porch steps, hanging screen door, it was a mess. Silver’s car was parked out front. The driver side door was wide open. No sign of her. He didn’t like the way it looked, like she’d been ambushed or was in too big of a hurry to close the car door because something bad was on the horizon.

  He cupped his hands around his mouth and called her name.

  She screamed in answer.

  Jack sprinted in the direction of the scream. It came from the barn, not the house. He yanked one of the red doors open. Silver stood in the midst of eight or nine werewolves. They were in human form, but their eyes glowed molten gold. Six of them attacked her at the same time. She spun around, took out two werewolves with a single kick. Her fist punched another in the face.

  With a fierce growl, Jack joined the fight. His invisible metallic claws sliced through the air. He ripped a werewolf’s neck open. It staggered backwards and fell to its knees. They didn’t have to worry about that one anymore. In seconds it would be dead.

  Silver ducked, just missed being cut by some claws. She jumped in the air, did the splits. Each foot hit a werewolf hard. Two of them charged Jack. Worried about Silver, he tried to keep an eye on her, but it was nearly impossible. He had to focus on what he was doing. He had to kill them fast and save her.

  The fight continued for several minutes, exhausting him. A fist smashed into the side of his face. A couple of werewolves grabbed him from behind while he was trying to kill a third. They held him between them. The other werewolf came at him, ready to strike with its claws. If he got slashed, he’d die this time for sure.

  And then Isobel was there.

  Jack got to see Isobel in action for the first time. She took on three at once in a frenzied dance of kicks, hits, and wild spins. Her claws ripped into one werewolf after another. The two holding Jack released him. They rushed at her. Isobel didn’t appear worried. She took them on too. Although she wasn’t a vampire, speed didn’t seem to be an issue. He’d never seen a werewolf move so fast.

  Jack tore his gaze off of her.

  Silver was trapped, caught between two werewolves. They refused to morph, so she couldn’t suck their souls out. She did a good job fighting them off, but she was getting tired. It was apparent in every half-hearted movement. Another second and she’d be dead.

  Jack hurried to her. They stood back to back. She continued to fight for her life, using hands and feet. Jack stared into the eyes of his werewolf. Fortunately he didn’t have to wait for it to morph into an animal. Because he was the exception, his natural ability was stronger than Silver’s. Remembering Silver’s teaching technique, he relaxed and felt around for the thing’s soul. Vaguely, as he sank into another world, he prepared himself for the fiery inferno.

  It turned out to be a different place entirely.

  Jack found himself in a dark tunnel. The sound of trickling water reached his ears. The thing’s soul was prett
y much what he’d expected. It was dark and twisted like Isobel’s, but there was an added layer of self-loathing. This werewolf hated the monster it had become. The knowledge brought a wave of optimism with it. Maybe the thing wouldn’t fight very hard. Maybe it wanted to die.

  Jack latched onto the soul and pulled. It refused to give an inch for a moment. Then the soul slipped out nice and clean. There was an audible pop. Strange. He released it, and the soul went on to wherever it truly belonged.

  Like a bolt of lightning, Jack returned to his body. The werewolf lay on the ground, lifeless. Its eyes stared straight up. They were blank. No emotion left. He hoped the thing found peace.

  Somehow Silver had managed to kill her opponents without his help. She crossed over to him and stood close. Her arms wrapped around his waist. “You did it. Wow. I really didn’t think you would catch on so fast. How did it feel?”

  “Not too bad.” His eyes traveled her body, checking her out from head to toe. “You okay?”

  “I’m good. You?”

  “Never better.”

  Isobel mumbled in the background. “I’m fine, too. Thanks for asking.”

  Silver glared at her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was saving your butt actually.”

  “How did you even know we were here?”

  It was a good question. Jack waited for a satisfactory answer. But before Isobel could come up with one, another question came to mind. He couldn’t wait. He had to know what had brought Silver to this place.

  “Trina told me someone gave you a note to meet them here. Who?”

  She squinted at him. “I thought it was from you. It had your name on it, and looked like your handwriting. The note said you had found something and you needed to show it to me. The note ordered me not to tell anyone and to trust you. Of course I did.”

  “What about your necklace? Isn’t it supposed to warn you when werewolves are nearby? Didn’t you know it was a trap before they jumped you?”