Rumors of the Wastelands and the monsters that inhabited them were enough that the Sisterhood was forbidden to enter them. Crafty. If the vampires knew anything about the Sisterhood, they'd know that this was the perfect hiding spot for the stolen girls.
Climbing a rock, she emerged on an outcropping. It overlooked the forest below. She saw where the red and green tree line ended, and the black, scorched earth of the Wasteland began. She'd never actually seen the Wastelands before, and the very sight of them left her with a feeling of dread. Right on the edge of the wood before the beginning of the barren landscape, Redlynn spotted a group of crumbling buildings. The ruins.
Her foot slipped on the wet rock, and Redlynn pitched forward violently. Her mind grew dizzy at the thought of falling. She blew out a long, low breath, trying to quash the rising panic inside her. She'd never been fond of heights.
Throwing off her hood, she lifted her face to the heavens, letting the rain fall on her, trying to calm her shaky nerves. The reality of her situation slapped her. She was but one woman, alone in the woods, being chased by Weres, going off to rescue a group of girls, while killing a horde of untold numbers of vampires. The image of the blood-soaked vampire ripping into the flesh of the white bear flashed through her mind.
What has my stubbornness done to me this time? Most likely it's gotten me killed. She took another deep breath. A new scent hit her.
Adrian. She peered into the rain-drenched woods. Two Weres emerged from the trees onto the large rock outcropping where she stood exposed, still on the edge. The huge, black Were with golden eyes that she'd seen before, and an equally massive wolf with a shock of red fur stared at her. Redlynn's breath caught. She recognized the red Were. She'd remember him for as long as she lived. He'd been the one that chased off her father when she was young. And the black wolf was from the gate and her dream. He was the king.
Anger ripped through her at the sight of the two Weres. She drew her sword and prepared for battle. She wasn't going to let either of them get away. The king moved forward till he was only a few yards away. She steadied her breathing and stepped forward to attack. Suddenly the air around the king shook and his body twitched and convulsed. His feet shortened and his legs lengthened. Redlynn's jaw dropped and her sword hand went slack. The black hair on his body receded and his spine straightened. Redlynn's mouth dried. Within a minute he stood, a naked man before her. And when he lifted his face, her heart sank.
"No," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Redlynn." Adrian held his hand out to her.
"Not you. It can't be you," she screamed. How could it be him? This whole time. First the sisters, now Adrian. How was I so stupid as to trust any of them? "Weres are beasts." She shook her head.
"Let me explain."
Her mind was on overload. The Weres were shape-shifting men. "You knew why I was in the woods. You knew I was hunting you. You led me on."
"Redlynn, you have to believe me now, I don't know who took the girls." He took another step toward her. "I'm trying to find out. But right now, we're not safe; you need to come with me. There are—"
For the first time, she saw him for what he was. She took a deep breath. "You're the king of the Weres."
"Wolves," Adrian corrected, standing straighter. "Yes, I am the King of the Wolves."
How was this possible? How had she fallen for him? He was her enemy. The one she'd left the Sisterhood to kill. Instead, she'd fallen in love with him. Like Hanna and Clara and all the others. She'd fallen for a Were.
"You lied to me," she said through gritted teeth. Her eyes narrowed. "I trusted you."
"You feel it in your heart, Redlynn, I know you do. We were meant for each other. You are my mate. My queen."
Her mother's words flooded her. " Someday you will be a queen."
"No." Redlynn shook her head and raised her sword. "Not this, not this way."
"You know it's the truth. Last night, the fever, that wasn't an infection. It was your wolf, fighting inside you to be released."
What was he talking about? She was a Sister, a werewolf hunter. This isn't possible. It can't be true. "It was just a fever."
Her gaze swept across Adrian's naked body, and something stirred at the sight of him. Images of him in the river, and on a bed of moss, flashed into her mind. Dreams? Memories?
The memory of his skin on hers under the moonlight made her heart want nothing more than to run to him. But he betrayed her trust. He'd lied.
Acid roiled in her stomach. She needed to get away. She needed to think. But this wasn't the time. The girls needed her. Like a rope wound too tight, one more thing and she'd snap.
Adrian motioned to the red wolf behind him. The wolf moved to stand directly behind him and shifted into human form. "I need for you to meet someone."
All she saw was his face over the top of Adrian's shoulders, but she recognized it immediately. He had flame hair and a red scraggly beard.
"This is Angus," Adrian said. "Your father."
Memories bombarded Redlynn of the night her father had fled from Volkzene. Redlynn had snuck from where her mother had hidden her, back to the house, to find her father drunk and in a rage. Her mother arrived a short time later with a man with red hair. Her mother hadn't seen Redlynn.
Watching through the kitchen window, Redlynn witnessed the red-haired man confront her father. He'd grabbed a knife and threatened to kill them all. There was a scuffle and a ferocious red-furred Were had appeared out of nowhere, the first she'd ever seen. It had attacked her father, but her mother had gotten in between them, stopping the Were. Wounded, her father had limped off into the night, never to be seen again.
Redlynn's breathing quickened and she blinked rapidly. The Were from that night was Angus. But that didn't make him her father. Her father had been a human, and Angus had driven him off.
"You remember me, lass? Your mother—"
"You drove off my father."
"No." Angus shook his heavy head. "I'm yer father. That human was yer step-father."
"I saw you almost kill him, through a crack in the hut wall."
"Aye. I did. But I did it for Raeleen and for you. He was a drunkard and a fiend. I did it to protect both of ya."
Redlynn hit her forehead with the flat of her sword. This couldn't be true. Memories from the night before flooded her. The pain, the breaking of the bones, rolling in the grass.
"No!" she shouted. She didn't want to be this. She was one of them. Everything she'd been taught to fear and hate. It wasn't possible. Her mother would've told her if it were true. Her heart sank. She didn't know who to believe anymore.
Adrian moved closer.
She stepped away. "Don't come near me! It isn't true. I'm not a Werewolf. I'm not!" She backed up. Her foot slipped, and she couldn't find traction. She looked up to see the terror on Adrian's face as he sprinted forward. The soil beneath her fell away.
The ground below rushed up to meet her, making her stomach lurch from the drop. Adrian and Angus yelled her name from above. Time seemed to slow as she plummeted through space. Looking to the sloping ground below, Redlynn's thoughts were of her death.
She hit the muddy ground with a thud and rolled down the hill. A rock struck her temple and she lost hold of her mud-slicked sword, continuing downward without it. Leaves and brush tangled in her cloak, scratching at her legs. Redlynn cried out as she slammed into the trunk of a large redwood, and the air rushed out of her. Her muscles clenched and every inch of her body screamed in pain. She stood, trying to breathe. Her legs wobbled, and she leaned on the wet tree for support. Bending at the waist, she gulped in air and tensed, waiting to see what hurt the most.
A cry escaped her and she raised her hand to her mouth. Nothing in her life was what it seemed. She wished she'd never left Volkzene.
Weres howled on the cliff-top above her, pulling her from her thoughts. She scanned the surrounding area for her sword. It was nowhere to be seen. All she had now was her bow and knife. They weren't much
, but at least she was a great shot.
Reality settled in again. She needed to move. She was stunned and injured, but Adrian and Angus would be close behind. Now was not the time to think. The girls needed her. She'd figure things out with Adrian and her new-found life later.
She sped down the rest of the incline till she hit level ground again.
***
Adrian watched in horror as one moment Redlynn stood before him, and the next she was gone. Running to the edge of the cliff, he peered over the unstable edge. Trees and rocks jutted from the earth. All things she could be impaled on or struck by. Angus grabbed him by the arm, and hauled him back.
"That's not the way to get her. We need to go down the side." Angus pulled on him.
"She hates me, Angus."
"No. She's confused and hurt, but she knows the truth."
"Is that enough?" Adrian's chest constricted. "My mother knew the truth. She knew that my father had been magicked into sleeping with another. It didn't make her stay."
Angus slapped Adrian's cheek lightly. "Stop it. Redlynn isn't Irina. Ya need to let go of the past, boy. It's the only way you'll have a future."
The slap cleared Adrian's head. He heard a howl in the distance. She was out there, possibly dying. He needed to get to her. Adrian shifted and howled, muzzle to the sky. " She's at the west border. Angus and I are going after her. Paulo, go to the rocks near the clearing. Bo, go with him, find Dax and make sure he is still alive. Blain, grab a dozen men and meet me at the western border. Everyone else be on the lookout for vampires. Kill on sight."
Adrian followed Angus, and the two lumbered down the side of the mountain, too slow for Adrian's liking. What if she were hurt? Or bleeding? Or dead? With vampires in the woods, they could find her first. He shuddered at the thought. And knowing her strength of will, there was no way she wasn't already moving forward.
Half-way down, he hooked a left and found an imprint where she'd hit the ground. He continued westward. Within minutes he found her sword, discarded in the mud. Dashing past it, he continued down the hillside. He stopped at a tree smeared with blood. Sniffing at it, he whimpered. It was hers. If it were from a leg wound, he might stand a chance of catching up to her.
"Get her scent," Adrian ordered Angus.
"I already know it."
"Let's find her before she gets herself killed."
The two wolves sped off into the damp night.
***
Redlynn made her way across the valley, heading to the border. The closer she got, the more ominous the landscape became. Before long there were no more animals. No birds squawked, no squirrels hunkered in hollows. There was nothing but the sound of the rising wind as it whistled through the Wasteland. The air grew thick and heavy with the smell of acrid smoke. She stopped, taking several deep breaths to acclimate to the air. The clouds above the trees blanketed the sky, making the evening oppressive. A howl sounded far behind her, making her respite short-lived.
What the hell am I doing? Redlynn thought. I should wait. Wait for whom? Adrian? Her heart squeezed and took in a shuddered breath. She loved him. But how could she be what she'd been taught to hate? Her mother had, though. All those years when she'd found her mother crying. Her mother had said that she missed Redlynn's father. Redlynn had always assumed her mother missed the man that had raised Redlynn. And the times she'd tried to talk to her mother about what she'd seen, her mother had shushed her and told her never to speak of the Weres.
A rustle in the trees pulled Redlynn from her thoughts, and she scanned the valley forest surrounding her. She couldn't see any movement, but a chill of cold breath ran over her neck. Whipping around, she found a pair of pale, blue eyes framed by the palest face she'd ever seen, completely drained of color. Redlynn backed up quickly from shock. He was handsome, with full red lips and long, blond hair.
"Hello." His smile made a shiver run down her spine.
Redlynn pulled her bow and notched an arrow.
"I don't want to hurt you." He held up his hands. "I'm assuming you are looking for the girls of the Sisterhood."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Sage. If you follow me, I can take you to them."
Redlynn's heart thundered. "Why? You're a vampire."
"Don't judge. Not all vampires are equal, just as not all Weres are equal, as I am sure you know." Sage gave her a knowing smile.
Redlynn didn't answer. She and the vampire circled, assessing each other. He looked so different from the one that had attacked her. He was dressed nice, and spoke with a dignified air. His eyes sparkled with humor.
"You should hurry." Sage pointed in the direction of the ruins. "Both the vampires and the Weres will converge soon."
That meant the vampires weren't there yet. She still stood a chance of getting there before them, and getting the girls to safety.
The vampire's nostrils flared and he frowned. "You smell different."
"I bet," Redlynn mused.
"Try to keep up." Sage smiled and took off toward the west.
He moved with a speed so quick that Redlynn was sure he simply would've vanished from sight before her shift.
Wait… my shift? The memory of howling at the moon flooded back to her. No! I am not a Were. She put her bow away and raced after him. Keeping up proved easier than it should have. She smiled, running neck-and-neck with him. Her stride and balance compensated easily on the dead, metallic loam as they left the trees and moved into the Wastelands. Rocks jutted from the ground like black spires from hell. They slowed until Sage stopped and made his movements more deliberate.
"I knew you were different." His smile broadened.
When they reached a large clump of tightly clustered rocks, Sage stopped and pointed. Redlynn followed his finger, spotting the large stone ruins. He gently took her chin and turned her face to the right. He pointed to a stone doorway with a broken gate and a fallen stone angel lying nearby. It looked like a crypt, with stone steps descending underground.
"There," he whispered, stepping closer to her. "You might find that structure of interest."
Redlynn peered at the area and breathed deeply. A foul stench reached her nose over the scents of the rain. Sage's cool fingers slid down her throat and rested on her pulse. The sensation gave Redlynn the chills. Slowly she turned to face him, and noticed his eyes locked on her throat. Lifting her leg, she pulled her hunting knife from her boot and pressed it to his stomach. His nostrils flared and his smile tightened. His gaze flicked to the wound on her arm, from where the white bear had gashed her. Redlynn yanked the bloodied strip from her arm and tossed it to the ground. The flesh underneath was already closed.
"Don't worry, Love. I don't drink Were."
Her eyes narrowed and adrenaline coursed through her. "Back. Up."
Quick as light, he grasped her wrist and lifted it to his heart, making her gasp. "If you're going to stick a vampire, you need to aim higher than that. The heart will stun, the throat is a kill. Anything else will just piss us off."
"I'll remember that." She tried to keep her voice from shaking.
"You go. I'll keep watch."
This had to be a trap. Her gaze travelled to the crypt entrance again and back to Sage. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because…" Sage's voice faltered. "Because I have done terrible things in the name of being a vampire, and I want to try and make amends."
Redlynn wondered why she trusted this unknown man when she wouldn't even trust Adrian. It was something about his eyes; behind the bravado, he looked completely lost. And desperately hungry. He was starving. Redlynn had seen the signs of starvation all too well.
"You better hurry, She-Were," he said.
Redlynn nodded, removed her knife from where the tip pressed against his heart, and tucked the blade into her boot. She readied her bow, her heart pounding. She stepped into the open, trained her bow, and slowly made her way around fallen ruins toward the crypt entrance. The rain slowed and she sniffed the air; the heady smell
of ash permeated the area. Creeping closer to the stairs, she kept herself alert to her surroundings.
Redlynn arrived at the metal doors, bent and broken. The foul stench that wafted up from the crypt overpowered her senses: a mix of stale air, blood and feces. The sound of moving chain reverberated from somewhere in the dark down below. She moved with trepidation; water rolled down the stairs under her feet. She tried to keep her breathing quiet and even to minimize the tremors that ran through her body. Dread filled her at the thought of what she might find.
The lower she descended, the darker it became. Even with her improved eyesight, it was difficult for her to see beyond the stairwell. A moan floated up, along with a light cough. Redlynn reached the last step, and slipped on a piece of damp moss. Her ankle twisted and she hit the floor with a clatter. Sharp pain shot up her leg as it twisted at an odd angle, and she landed sideways and dropped her bow in an effort to stop the fall. So much for the element of surprise.
Sitting on the floor in the dark, she heard whimpers. It took several seconds for her vision to adjust. She wrinkled her nose at the smell that lingered in the small chamber. Blinking rapidly, her vision adjusted. All along one wall, girls of the Sisterhood were chained to the stone. Some were limp, their heads lolled to the side, possibly dead already. Others sat staring blankly into the darkness. She was too late.
A girl turned, her dirty gown caked in dried blood smears, blinking several times as if she couldn't comprehend what she saw.
"Red?" she whispered. The girl couldn't focus fully. "Red? Is that Red?"
It was Sasha, the Cantrel's daughter. She hadn't been gone more than a week, but she looked as pale and dirty as the rest.
"Red," another whispered. "You came."
One by one the girls roused, their glassy eyes trying to focus on her. Redlynn moved toward the first girl. Her chest squeezed as she reached her. It was Yanti. Redlynn's ankle twinged as she put her weight on it.
Beyond The Veil: A Paranormal & Magical Romance Boxed Set Page 328
