A Wolf's Oath (49 page)

“
I know the drill Erica,” he drawled and she could practically
see him rolling his eyes in impatience.

Her grip on the phone tightened for a brief second. She
didn’t want to lie to her siblings but she didn’t see any
alternative, she didn’t know what was happening around her but
couldn’t afford for them to know that. “Good. I love you Wyatt,
tell Dylan I love her too.”

“
Love you Erica.”

“
I’ll be home soon,” she whispered, closing the phone and
ending the call.

The instant she got off the phone the people around her began
to make their demands once more. “Shut up!” she snapped. “I’m
trying to think. Just get out!” They stood surrounding her not one
of their number moving. “Get out!” she shouted, finally getting
results as the room emptied.

Why would Anna tell me that it’s Sebastian's birthday when it
quite clearly isn’t? I don’t understand. It makes no sense, none at
all.
Her feet began pacing the room in
agitation.

Just ask her yourself,
the voice
suggested.
She’s right there.
True to its word, Anna had just entered the hall,
a confused look etched on her face.

“
Eric, what’s going on?”

“
That’s what I’d like to know,” she responded
quickly.

Anna’s face and voice equally showed signs of confusion.
“What are you talking about?”

“
It’s not Sebastian's birthday Anna, his birthday is months
from now. Why did you bring me here?”

“
I thought his birthday was today,” Anna giggled. “Did I get it
wrong?

She’s lying,
the voice hissed.
She’s up to something. I can smell it.

“
You’re lying,” Erica stated calmly. “Don’t lie to me Anna, and
don’t try to act as though you’re stupid, tell me the
truth.”

The laughter died but she looked Erica in the eye hoping her
face was the picture of sincerity. “I’m telling you the truth
Eric.”

Don’t believe her. Trust me Erica. The woman is lying to
you.

Erica took a menacing step forward determined to get to the
truth. “Anna…” she growled, her voice easily travelled through the
empty hall.

Realising that her friend wasn’t buying the lie, Anna decided
to confess, the plan had been implemented, there was no way it
could be stopped now. “Look Eric, I did this for you.”

“
Did what for me Anna?”

“
You can’t be with Sebastian. Anybody but him.”

“
Why not? Anna, this dislike you have of Sebastian has to stop.
He’s a good man,” she pleaded before her mind processed the guilty
tone that had been in Anna’s previous statement. “Have you done
something to him Anna?”
Please say
no.

“
No I haven’t.” Erica breathed a sigh of relief but her calm
was shattered by Anna’s next words. “But someone else is about to.
I told him that you had gone to meet some bad people and as we
speak he’s running recklessly to stop you, Sebastian’s gone to meet
the hunters.”

What?
The voice in her head howled
angrily forcing Erica to clutch her head at the sheer volume of its
voice.
This bitch thinks to hurt our mate?
Never! I won’t allow it. Erica, I was quiet until now because it
was what he wanted but no longer. You have to remember. You can’t
continue to live like this, not when his life is in danger. Damn it
woman, remember what you are, for his sake!

The last word from Anna’s mouth caused Erica to gasp in shock
before fear and anger began to flood her system. She couldn’t
understand why that had been her instinctive response but it soon
became abundantly clear. She clutched her head in agony; it felt as
though it were about to explode. The word and the voice’s demands
had opened the floodgates and memories were filling her mind at a
rate she could barely process.

Remember Erica,
her wolf
pressed.
You’re a werewolf too and
Sebastian, wonderful, kind, loyal and loving Sebastian is our mate.
I demand that you remember right this instant. I’ve had enough of
pretending to be human. I won’t stand by while he gets killed on
our behalf.

“
Sebastian,” she gasped struggling under the weight of freshly
unearthed memories.

Yes, focus on him. That bitch has sent him to his death, she
sent him to the hunters. Remember who they are, what they did to
you, what they plan to do to Sebastian.

“
Hunters?” Although she didn’t want to remember the pain and
humiliation she had experienced at the hands of those madmen the
memories began to fill her mind.
Anna sent
him to them?
she hissed.

The wolf howled in triumph.
That’s my
girl! We have to help him, make that whore tell you where he
is.
Do whatever is necessary.

As the memories had filled her mind, Erica had fallen to her
knees and Anna had approached undetected. She reached forward
hesitantly for Erica's shoulder, calling to her. “Eric, what’s
wrong?”

Erica slapped the hand away before it could touch her, as she
opened her eyes, amber filled her irises and she stared at Anna
with intense hatred. “Why?” she hissed, maintaining a good distance
between them.

“
What?” Anna stuttered.

“
Why the hell would you do that to Sebastian? He’s my mate
Anna, my mate. The only one I will ever have and you want to take
him from me?”

“
No Eric, not him, never him. He can’t be your mate,” she
mumbled, shaking her head in disbelief. She took a few steps back,
mumbling under her breath and shaking her head the entire
time.

“
What has he ever done to you Anna? What could he possibly have
done to deserve this?”

Her head shot up suddenly, her previous erratic behaviour now
gone, consumed by her anger. “How can you even ask such a question?
I hate him and his entire family for what they did.”

“
And what exactly did they do?”

“
They survived,” she spat, her voice venomous. “They survived
Erica. Andrew and Aaron are gone, my father has never been the same
and they,… they survived and continued to live as though nothing
had happened. It’s not fair. No, it isn’t right!”

Erica felt a pang of sympathy towards Anna. This was her
friend and there was something very wrong with her. She never
behaved like this. “What are you talking about Anna? You’re not
making any sense.”

“
When we were very young, my father and Sebastian's father
decided to take a trip, with their sons. Because I was a girl, I
wasn’t allowed to go, my brothers didn’t try to make fun of me,
things were different in those days, they just said they would
bring me back a souvenir. That was the last time I ever saw them.
There are days that I wish I had snuck out and gone with them.
Maybe I could have done something, anything. If I had been there
then maybe they would still be alive. I’ve had to live with that
knowledge everyday of my life. They were attacked, ambushed by the
hunters. My father managed to escape, as did Sebastian, his brother
and his father, but not my brothers. Both of them were taken from
me. They were killed and he and his family lived. It isn’t fair! It
never has been. How did his entire family manage to escape
unscathed while mine was practically destroyed?”

Another memory escaped the confines of Erica's amnesia,
floating to the front of her mind. She and Anna hadn’t been much
older than Dylan and Wyatt and Anna had been inconsolable. Her
tears seemed never ending. She refused to eat, to try and interact
normally with anyone, all she did was cry. She had just been told
that her brothers were never coming home; the tears were justified.
Erica had sat with her for days. She too had been saddened greatly
by the loss of Aaron and Andrew but not to the same extent as Anna.
They were her triplets after all; they had come into the world
together, lived together and thought that they would die together.
She had cried for days and Erica had stayed by her side trying to
reassure her that the pain would eventually fade. But when Anna had
discovered that the other boys who had gone on the trip had
survived, her sadness had turned to anger. She hadn’t cried again
since discovering the information but she never mentioned the
survivors either. Erica had thought that she had come to terms with
her loss but apparently she had been wrong. Instead of grieving
properly she had simply turned her intense feelings into anger and
directed it as the innocent survivors and now her Sebastian was
going to suffer.

Anna’s lips were still moving but the words were no longer
processing in Erica's mind. Anger filled her and a haze of red
covered her vision. She strode calmly towards Anna, raised her hand
and slapped her hard across the cheek, the claws that had sprung
from her nails, carving into Anna’s flesh. Anna staggered, turning
confused eyes on her, her skin healing before Erica's gaze though
the blood that had sprung forth remained, staining her skin. Amber
eyes narrowed as she growled, “What a stupid, selfish reason for
endangering the life of my mate! Sebastian had nothing to do with
what happened to your brothers. He was lucky that’s all. He didn’t
go out of his way to kill them unlike what you’re trying to do.
What the hell is wrong with you!”

“
Eric, I did this for you. You never wanted a mate; you never
wanted him. If I take him out of the picture, you’ll be so much
happier.”

“
I am happy Anna. I’ve never been so happy in all my life and
that’s all thanks to him. And if it were up to you I wouldn’t even
be with him.”

“
What are you talking about Eric?”

“
You were the one that told me to run from him in the first
place. You didn’t do it for me, you did it for yourself. Everything
bad thing that has happened to me since then has been because of
what you convinced me to do and you call yourself my friend?” She
shook her head in confusion. “Never mind, it isn’t important, where
is he Anna? Tell me where you told him to go.”

“
No Eric, I won’t. You only think you’re happy because you
don’t remember what you actually want. I’m doing this precisely
because I call myself your friend.”

“
My memory is just fine,” she scoffed. “Now tell me where he
is.”

“
I’m doing this for your own good Eric. Once it’s done, you’ll
thank me. I know you will.”

If she doesn’t want to tell you willingly then force it out
of her!
her wolf snarled.

Erica’s hands clenched into fists and she swung them
connecting with Anna’s jaw. A loud crack echoed through the hall as
Anna was thrown backwards. She landed on the floor with a
satisfying thud. “Tell me where he is Anna.”

“
No,” she coughed, spitting out blood onto the
floor.

“
I don’t want to hurt you Anna, just tell me.”

“
No.”

Erica's eyes narrowed and she walked towards Anna, picking up
a nearby chair with both hands and waving it threateningly as Anna
staggered to her feet. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell
me?”

“
This is for your own good.”

“
Cut the crap Anna. This is just you being selfish. Tell me
where he is or I
will
hurt you.” Anna’s lips closed and she pursed them to emphasise
her point, she wouldn’t talk. “If that’s the way you want it, then
fine.” Erica lifted the chair and swung hard. The wooden seat
shattered moments after it connected with Anna’s head but it had
achieved it’s objective. There were now a series of rapidly healing
cuts on Anna’s face. Anna staggered, falling to the floor once more
and Erica leapt forwards landing hard against her stomach causing
Anna to grunt in pain. Erica gripped the collar of her shirt with
one hand and waved her fist at Anna. “Tell me where he is,” she
hissed, enunciating each word. Anna turned her head to the side,
still refusing to speak. “You brought this beating on
yourself.”

Erica's fists worked rhythmically, pounding against Anna’s
flesh. She didn’t want her dead, she wanted answers. Blood was
beginning to coat the floor beneath Anna’s head but Erica wasn’t
worried, Anna was still healing. Her next punch didn’t connect as
thickly muscled arms hooked themselves under her arms and lifted
her bodily away from Anna.

“
What’s going on?!” Michael demanded, his voice booming
throughout the room.

Anna began to stand and Erica instinctively began to struggle
against Michael's grip desperate to reach her target. “Let go of
me.”

“
No, you were hurting my mate, I should have you imprisoned. If
it were up to me I would inflict equal damage on you! In fact if it
were up to me, you’d be dead, friendship or no.”

“
Let me go,” she repeated, continuing to thrash
wildly.

“
Anna, what’s going on here?” he asked, ignoring Erica's
demands.

Get her,
the wolf hissed.
It doesn’t matter how you do it, but get
her.

An idea occurred to her and Erica went limp within Michael’s
arms. The abrupt cessation of her struggles caught him off guard
and his grip went lax. Taking advantage of the opportunity, she
jerked her elbow straight up. It connected, creating the intensely
satisfying sound of bone breaking and she leapt out of his arms and
landed once more on Anna. She raised her fist, but upon seeing the
defiant look on Anna’s face she stopped, shaking her head as she
stood.