“I think we’re close. I could feel that they’re not far from here.” He turned his eyes to her and their gaze locked. An inevitable attraction kindled.
She looked away quickly and fixed her gaze on the ground. “We need to hurry up. It’s getting darker. My sister must be starving.”
“And so are you.”
“I’m okay.”
He took a cracker from his coat’s pocket and reached it out to her. “Here, it’s not much but it should give you some energy.”
Anna looked so tempted to take it but swallowed her pride. She didn’t want to owe him anything. “It’s yours. You should eat it.”
“I’ve eaten a whole wild boar the other day and I’m still full,” he said, slightly scaring her.
She cringed at what he’d said. Her stomach made that crumbling sound and she was forced to take the cracker, which put a smile on Lucas’ face. He felt that he’d finally earned her trust. In a matter of seconds, she’d finished the cracker.
He reached out his hand for her to take. “Let’s go?”
She tapped it away. “I could go alone.”
“She’s so stubborn,” he said, smiling.
***
The night came. But they still had not found them. Vincent’s aura had finally disappeared, which gave Lucas a bad feeling that something must have happened to him. Walking into the unknown forest scared Anna, but she swallowed her fear and pulled herself together.
“Samantha,” she started calling, her voice echoed across the forest.
Lucas tried to connect with Vincent, but he couldn’t sense him. His mind was absent and he couldn’t hear his thoughts. “No, it can’t be,” he murmured anxiously. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air, focusing on Vincent’s scent. After a while, his eyes opened. He’d tracked them down.
“This way,” he said to Anna and then he took off.
She ran after him, but he was too fast for her to catch up. The leaves and vines as well the fallen trees served as obstacles that slowed her down. By the time she reached him, she was panting like a thirsty dog. Catching her breath, she looked up and saw Samantha staring at her, tears trickling down her eyes.
Over the moon, she couldn’t help but let the tears fall. “Sam.”
“Anna!” Samantha ran toward her and then embraced her so tight as to show how much she’d missed her. “I thought I was gonna die. Thank God you’re here!”
She caressed her little sister on the back, hugging her tightly. “I’m here, no one can hurt you.”
“What happened to him?” Lucas’s stern voice broke them apart, making them look at him with pity. Tears welled up in his eyes as he examined Vincent, who was lying on the ground, weak and helpless.
Samantha walked forth. “He’s been shot,” she said, her voice was gurgling with sadness, unsure of how Lucas would react. “I-I’ve tried my best to help him and even managed to pull the bullet out of his arm, but he’s lost so much blood that it’s impossible to save him unless we bring him to the hospital.”
“No,” he said abruptly. “It’s way too risky.” He wiped off his tears and took a deep breath. He examined the wound and saw the blue liquid that shook him. He took a sample of the blue liquid, smelled it and tasted it on the tip of his tongue. Without warning, she stood back up and spat it out of his mouth. It burned his tongue.
Anna rushed to his aid and held him still. “What’s the matter?”
“They’d put acid in the bullet and now it’s slowly killing him. If he was a pure lycan, he would’ve died in an instant,” he said in great indignation.
Samantha cut in. “I’ve also noticed some tiny particles in the bullet.”
“What does it look like?”
“They look like metallic–”
Lucas got it. “Silver. They’d incorporated silver into the bullet to easily burn him. Bastards!” he cussed out.
There was no way that they could save him now. The poison had already spread out and he lost so much blood. But he couldn’t just leave him here to die. He needed to do something. And he had to think quickly.
“He needs blood.” Without excuse, his fangs came out and he bit his hand and clenched it to bleed. He put it above Vincent’s mouth and let the blood run through his throat. But he remained unconscious. They waited for a little while in the hopes of any improvement. A minute had ticked by, but he didn’t wake up. His eyes stayed shut.
Tears had welled up in Lucas’ eyes, but he suppressed his emotion, reminding himself that sacrificing one’s life for many was part of their job.
Anna took notice of the sudden sadness on his face. “I’m sorry, we’ve come too late,” she said, disheartened at what happened.
But Samantha hadn’t lost hope. “He’s half-human, right?”
Lucas looked at her blankly and then nodded.
“And you’re a… werewolf, correct?” she asked with great hesitation in her voice, uncertain of how he would react.
He nodded again.
“If your blood didn’t work on him, perhaps mine would. Let’s give it a try, shall we?” She pulled up her sleeves and grabbed a rusty knife, and then walked toward Vincent. An obvious look of terror had crossed her face and though she tried her best to hide her fears, Anna could feel her nerves rattling.
She grabbed Samantha by the arm. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t be stupid,” she whispered quietly.
“If saving one’s life means stupidity and so be it,” Samantha said, her eyes were serious and determined.
“But you don’t even know him,” her voice raised an octave higher.
“That’s right, I don’t know him but he saved my life and it’s my turn to save his.” She walked passed Anna toward Vincent as she brought her knees down before him. Holding the knife in her other hand, she took a deep breath and prepared herself to cut her palm. Blood dripped down already when Anna yelled for her to stop.
“Please, don’t. I can’t let you risk your life.” She pulled Samantha up and wrapped her hand with a handkerchief. “I’ve promised Papa that I would look after you and I’ll keep that promise.” Without warning, she snatched the knife from Samantha’s hand and cut herself. A volt of pain slashed through her.
Lucas took a step forward with a stunned look on his face. He couldn’t believe it. He wished to stop her, but seeing Vincent in this pitiful situation left him with no choice. He had to swallow his pride and accept the fact that he couldn’t always protect his pack.
As she clenched her fist tight and the blood dripped into Vincent’s mouth, the agonizing pain afflicted her to the extent she felt as though she was going to pass out. She bit her lips and closed her eyes, taking in the pain as much as she could, but when it became unbearable, she screamed at the top of her voice.
Lucas pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her. “That’s enough. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he said, whispering in her ears.
Anna said nothing. Instead of struggling out of his embrace, she let him hold her tight as to alleviate the pain. His warmth comforted her, making her feel she was in a safe fortress. The fast beating of his heart reminded her that she was still alive and though they’d only known each other for a short while, the attraction between them couldn’t be denied.
Her countenance brightened when she saw Samantha’s face beamed with gladness.
“He’s awake!”
Samantha fell on her knees and took Vincent’s hands. Not a word slipped out of her lips, but the sparkle in her eyes was enough to speak of her delight to see him back to health. Anna’s blood must have matched his blood type. Though he’d recovered well enough for him to stand up, he still needed to rest for his body to fight off the poison.
Lucas smiled and looked at Anna in the eyes. “I owe you his life…”
Her cheeks reddened. “It’s nothing, really. I just did what is right. It’s part of my job.” The way he gazed at her with those lustful eyes made her so uncomfortable, but she liked the attention.
But how far could
she go when he could offer was trouble?
Chapter Ten
Valentine’s Indignation
Maverick couldn’t look into Valentine’s eyes. With his knees trembling, he couldn’t stand still and avoid showing his anxiety. His heart stopped as he heard Valentine’s voice.
“Haven’t I been good to you?” The dark lord asked with a remark in his tone.
He couldn’t open his mouth but forced himself to say something. “Your goodness has extended beyond measure, my lord to which I am so grateful for.”
“So then what the hell are you doing?” Valentine yelled, spitting at Maverick’s face. “I have given you enough time to develop a weapon to kill the lycans, but it seems you take no regard to my words.”
“Edward and I have been working tirelessly on getting the formula right, but the lycan’s DNA structure is so complex that none of the initial experiments have worked so far.”
He didn’t speak a word and instead stared at him deliberately.
“I assure you that we’ll come up with the right formula.”
“How soon?”
Maverick’s mouth completely froze. His lips tingled and his tongue seemed to have been twisted with his lies.
Valentine walked around him, sensing whether he was telling the truth. His eyes and sharp fangs were enough to send him to the underworld. Maverick stood still and shut his mind from any thoughts, disallowing the dark lord to read his mind.
The rest of the dark shadows stood around the room; they were the leaders hired to spread their population and train the assassins to eliminate the lycans. They stood in horror for Maverick. His ultimatum was running out. If Edward failed to develop a formula, death was certain to come upon them. The chemical substance to be developed would be incorporated into the bullets like the blue liquid with silver particles Lucas had found in Vincent’s wound.
In spite of Maverick’s effort to hide his thoughts, Valentine could read his mind through the window of his eyes. He grabbed Maverick by the jaw and pulled him closer as he looked into his eyes and traveled into his memory. Visiting his past gave him all the necessary information to decide whether to sentence his death and get someone else to develop the formula. But as he looked deeper into his past, he’d seen something he didn’t expect.
“Lucas,” he whispered under his breath. He pulled out and pushed him away. Seeing Lucas’ face brought so many memories – memories that he’d long buried. He was shaking and he looked so troubled that it shook his disciples.
Maverick frowned and swallowed, sweat dripping down his forehead.
“Where did you find him?”
Maverick looked puzzled. “Who, my lord?”
He turned around and glared at him. “Lucas, where is he?” he said with great indignation.
Everyone looked at each other with horror. Lucas was no stranger to them; he was just the one who killed Lucius, Valentine’s brother, decades ago. No one could ever forget that day when the whole clan of dark shadows mourned for him. But Valentine had a different view on the story. To tell the truth, he actually let his brother die by hiding in the lake while Lucas beheaded Lucius. He knew that without his brother he could now rule the dark shadow kingdom and put his dark plan into action – and that was to overrule the world and enslave humans, sucking their blood to sustain his kind.
“I don’t who’s talking about, my–”
Valentine cut him off sharply. “The lycan you’ve seen on the street, stupid cunt,” he yelled, the veins on his neck were popping up as his eyes flamed with anger.
“He wasn’t born at that time, my lord,” Levi said. He was Valentine’s right hand, the one performing all the critical tasks, the most trusted person whom the dark lord used as a weapon to plot out his plans and put them into action.
“Useless!” He struck Maverick on the face, throwing him into the far corner of the room. “I should’ve never turned you into a dark shadow and let you die as a human. Had I known you are weak and useless!” he said, his saliva was spitting out into the air.
Maverick stooped down and stared at the floor, ashamed of himself for letting Valentine down.
“Find him.”
“Yes, my lord.” Levi bowed his head and gave his men the look to follow him. He was the head assassin, the one responsible for the death of most lycans on both the mainland and forests. They headed straight to the security lounge where their weapons were kept in the walls, floors, and furniture. Levi took his precious bow and arrows from under the cushion of the couch while his men grabbed guns, bombs and of course, bullets for a refill.
Levi let his men take off first. None of them used the door. They shifted into shadows and let the wind drift them like a tornado.
“Bring him to me alive. I want to feel the pleasure of crushing him under my foot and beheading him like what he’s done to Lucius,” Valentine said as he gazed out the window, imagining Lucas begging him to death.
“I’ll do as you say, my lord.”
Just as when Levi was about to take off, the door swung open. An assassin he’d sent to hunt down lycans had returned with a troublesome news. “My lord, forgive me, I have failed to stop them.”
Quickly, Valentine turned around with a grimaced expression on his face.
“They’ve killed most of the assassins and there are only a few of us left. They were beyond our capacity…” the assassin reported as he tried to catch his breath.
Levi stepped back so did everyone in the room as they sensed Valentine’s temper reached the boiling point; his eyes turned red and his glare was enough to burn them alive. Without warning, he turned into a shadow and disappeared. Before they knew it, he was already standing in front of the assassin. They held their breath as he grabbed the poor guy on the jaw and blew his breath into his mouth.
“Such a useless piece of shit,” he said slowly as he let go of him and turned back around.
The assassin’s eyes were wide open, feeling himself burning from inside out. A drop of tear fell from his eyes before he was completely consumed by the flame and turned into ashes. Everyone watched in awe, realizing how powerful Valentine really was.
Maverick kept shaking his head, unable to accept the fact that he almost turned into a dust of ashes.
“Who wants to follow?”
No one answered. They were all tamed shut. Silence took over as the ambiance had grown even more frightening…
“The lycans have come out of their nests and trespassed our territory. Go and kill them. Sucks their blood and show them who we really are. The war has to end and we will stand victorious.”
In a great hurry, each of them turned into shadows and headed to all corners of the city to find and kill the lycans.
Chapter Eleven
Passion Unleashed
Anna had found a temporary place for them to stay, two hours away from Louisville. Lucas had managed to steal a vehicle from an unsuspecting old man at a dairy shop’s parking lot. The place Anna had found wasn’t that bad. It was a flat in a single unit with two bedrooms, one for the girls and the other was for the boys.
It had been three days since they’d found Samantha and Vincent on the forest, but Anna still couldn’t move on. She missed home and always wondered whether her mom had come back home. Was she looking for them? she often wondered. Sitting by chimney as the flame danced in her eyes, Lucas came to her memory, dismantling her train of thoughts. She tried to brush him off her mind, but he was too stubborn to leave – because deep inside her, she did not want him to leave. She fancied the idea that perhaps he liked her, that they might stand a chance to develop a feeling for each other… but she suppressed it, knowing he was not a typical guy like she’d hoped he would be. Only if becoming a human was possible.
She finished her tea and placed the cup on the coffee table. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and tucked herself up. Winter was coming and the snow would soon cover the road. Christmas was three months away from now and she hoped the season should have never been invented.
She sighed and grinned, remembering David, her precious son. She had him when she was still a teenager. He was her baby, her inspiration, her motivator – but everything changed on the night before Christmas. David was hit by a car and the criminal left as though nothing happened. It was just recently when the culprit was arrested. Upon his arrest, she thought she could finally be at rest and let David go, but it got even worse. She held herself accountable for his loss and until now the pain and horror kept haunting her down.
Tears slowly trickled down her eyes without her knowing.
“What’s the matter?”
Anna startled awake and quickly wiped off her tears with her sleeves. “Oh, it’s nothing. It’s just a little dusty and it got in my eye,” she said.
“Okay.”
“Aren’t you sleepy yet?”
Lucas sat on the armrest of the couch opposite her. “I can’t sleep.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know,” he sighed and then gazed into her eyes. “I just can’t stop thinking about this person.”
Her eyes shimmered with unexplainable delight. “Is she someone you left back home?”
“No. I’ve just met her a few days ago and since then she keeps popping in my head, and no matter how hard I try to brush her off my mind it’s of no use.
Against her will, she blushed as her heart pumped wildly. She forced a suppressed laugh to hide her feelings. “Right. Perhaps then you might want to go and see a psychologist to help you out.”
Lucas let a sarcastic laugh. “No wolf would dare to do such thing. We’re not humans, Anna, we’re animals.”
“But that doesn’t mean you can’t live as a human and do what humans do. I mean, look at you, you look human. You have limbs, arms, feet, and head. You speak like a normal person so I don’t see the point why you can’t consider yourself as a human,” she said, carried away with her emotion.
Single Dad’s Plaything: A Single Dad First Time Billionaire Romance Page 16
