A Wolf's Oath (51 page)
Tears had sprung up in her eyes at her angry declaration and
they affected him deeply. Reaching for her face, he gently wiped
them away before taking a final look in the direction that Vincent
was meant to be. “Let’s go home Erica. We can take care of Vincent
and his ilk another time. I don’t want to upset you.”
“
Do you mean it Sebastian? Are you really willing to just walk
away?”
“
Nothing is more important to me than your happiness, revenge
can wait.”
“
Thank you Sebastian, thank you.” Wrapping an arm around his
waist, she began to lead him away from the trap that Anna had set
and back home. His body was tense, she could feel how much not
going after Vincent was costing him but he continued to put one
foot in front of the other, following her lead. “Don’t worry
Sebastian, I have the bastard’s scent. We can track him later,
there’s nowhere in the world he can go to get away from us but we
couldn’t just walk into a trap. Trust me he’ll get what’s coming to
him.”
His body instantly relaxed. “That’s good to know. We can’t
just let him continue to pose a threat to our family. He’ll
definitely get what’s coming to him.”
Vincent had long since passed the feeling of mere irritation
at his prey’s tardy behaviour and moved straight to fury. His hands
were clenched into tight fists that were balled at his sides. The
more time that passed, the more certain he became that the wolf
wasn’t coming. He had factored into his plans the amount of time he
thought the wolf would need to arrive at the specified location and
it was now hours later. The men he had positioned around the
tranquil waters of the lake were beginning to get restless and he
couldn’t blame them, he did however envy them the ability to feel
such an emotion. As the leader he could show no weaknesses and any
and all failures were solely his responsibility. And the likelihood
of the mission that he had so carefully planned succeeding was
withering away with every second. He had planned to distract the
wolf while his two snipers, hidden amidst the rocks above them were
to shoot and incapacitate him.
When Sebastian hadn’t arrived within the specified time, his
first thought had been to blame his unknown accomplice but the
hatred in her voice had been unmistakable.
She sent him here, I’m sure of it. Something must had
happened to make him stay away.
As another
hour ticked by with no sign of the wolf Vincent concluded that the
werewolf wasn’t coming.
He might not be
coming here but that doesn’t mean we should go home unrewarded. I
don’t care if the woman has no memories, I’m sure I can coax them
out of her.
The corners of his mouth lifted
in a sadistic smile.
“
Alright men, pack everything up and get back into the cars,
we’re heading to the wolf’s cabin.” His loud voice travelled easily
around the area and his men sprung into action quickly and
efficiently disassembling the plan that had taken days to prepare
and readying themselves for their leaders new and spontaneous idea.
All the men he had commandeered for this mission piled into the two
large cars that had brought them to their current location, taking
their equipment with them. Taking a final look at his failed plan,
Vincent slid into the passenger seat of his own car, trusting that
David would drive them to the correct location quickly. The drive
to Erica and Sebastian's cabin was conducted in silence and as
darkness began to fall Vincent felt a sense of foreboding creep
into his stomach.
“
Stop here,” he commanded once they were close enough to the
cabin to be able to see with assistance but sufficiently hidden
that they wouldn’t me immediately seen should a wolf leave the
inside of the cabin. David did as ordered and the car ground to a
halt. Reaching into the glove box, Vincent pulled out a pair of
binoculars and proceeded to peer through the gaps in the window
blinds. He couldn’t see everything but he could see well enough
what was going on. The wolves were packing and judging from the
number of boxes and suitcases that were littered around the rooms
he was able to peer into they were nearly finished. His blood
churned in fury at the very idea that they were trying to escape
him.
Damn it!
he cursed.
If we’d gotten here any later they might have
left.
“
Sir?” Dominic probed.
Turning to face the man seated in the back of the car,
Vincent barked, “What?”
Dominic wished he could take a prudent step back or simply
leave the car and be free of his superior’s ire but that wasn’t
currently possible. Thanking god for small favours, he was glad
that the oncoming darkness was hiding the flush of embarrassment
that would inevitably have coloured his cheeks. “We were just
wondering what your orders were sir?”
A further glance through his binoculars made his decision for
him. He stepped out of the car, signalling for those in the car
behind his own to do the same. Once they were all gathered he
answered Dominic’s question. “We attack. We can’t let them escape.
We need a survivor, remember that when taking aim.”
“
Sir, are you sure this is the wisest decision? Couldn’t we
just wait until they leave? They would presumably return to their
people.” Dominic pressed confused, there were much simpler ways to
do this that would decrease the number of casualties they were
likely to have.
“
We can’t be certain of that, they might simply have gotten
wind of our plan and decided to move to another location. And if
you ever question my authority again I’ll rip your intestines out
and strangle you with them am I clear?” Vincent's grey eyes were
hard as stone silently promising that he would do his best to
fulfil the threat.
“
Yes sir,” Dominic responded immediately.
“
David?” he barked, turning to the man that never left his
side.
“
Yes sir.”
“
Organise the men. Send our two long range shooters into the
forest, they will fire at the first available target on my signal.
Another two will go around the back of the house and the rest of us
will stay here. Make sure that they are aware that I want at least
one of those monsters alive, I don’t care who.”
“
Yes sir,” David agreed before turning around to begin issuing
the orders. He, like Dominic, wasn’t sure that this plan was the
best course of action but he had learned long ago that it was in
the best interests of his health to follow through with Vincent's
orders regardless of what they might have been.
*****
Inside the cabin, Erica and Sebastian continued packing,
unaware of the danger that was lurking just outside their door.
They had decided earlier that now that Erica's memories had
returned it would be safe to return to the clans and leave the
small town that had given them shelter during Erica's recuperation.
The boxes were piling up thick and fast and Erica turned to
Sebastian confused.
“
I didn’t think we had this much stuff. Are you sure that all
of this is ours?”
He smiled, his hands never ceasing their movements. “Of
course it is, no one would just put extra things into another
person’s home, it doesn’t make any sense. I honestly think that
most of this extra baggage can be blamed on those two.” He jerked
his head in the direction of the window where Dylan and Wyatt were
attempting to help with the packing and proving to be more of a
hindrance than a help. “They brought so much with them and then
kept asking for more while they were here. All of this extra
packing we’re having to do is your fault isn’t it?” he
laughed.
Dylan moved away from the window, placing her hands on her
hips as she prepared to give him a stern telling off. “It’s your
fault for agreeing to buy it. Nobody forced you.”
“
You tell him Dylan,” Wyatt chuckled.
Sebastian bent down preparing to tell her exactly what he
thought of her statement when he heard the sound of breaking glass
and the distinct whoosh through the air made only by bullets. Time
seemed to slow as his eyes landed on Wyatt, the bullet seemed to be
moving in slow motion but he couldn’t move fast enough to stop it.
The projectile collided with his small body and he fell. His
screams seemed to signal that time should once again speed up and
it did. The threat to his family had his senses flaring and he
realised that they weren’t alone. Pressing Dylan close to the
floor, he watched as Erica ran to her brother pulling him out of
the line of fire.
“
Erica, it hurts,” Wyatt moaned clutching his arm in
agony.
“
I know it does sweetie.” Her voice was soothing though calm
was the furthest thing from her mind. She pressed her hands to the
wound hoping to stem the flow of blood until his body healed
itself. Her head lifted as she scented the air and as an unwanted
scent reached her nostrils her grip on Wyatt tightened as the wolf
within her struggled to be free. “Vincent,” she snarled.
“
He’s here?” Sebastian demanded, slowly shuffling across the
floor with Dylan at his side. Her face was streaked with tears but
she followed his firm guidance towards her sister and bleeding
twin.
“
Yes, the bastard shot my brother. I’m going to kill
him.”
“
Erica, I need you to get out of here. Take the children and
get as far away as you can.”
“
And what? Leave you here?”
“
Yes. I’m going to attract their attention. The shot came from
the front of the house so I want you to go out back. There may be
people there but hopefully I can make them come towards
me.”
“
I can’t leave you Sebastian.”
“
Yes you can sweetheart. I’m not going to die trust me. I have
too much to live for. I have you and our family but look at Wyatt.”
Though the wound was now healing and the blood flow lessening, the
little boy was very pale. “You need to get him and Dylan out of
here.”
“
We can fight Sebastian,” Dylan informed him though her voice
quivered in fear.
“
I never doubted that you could little one but I need you to
look after your brother, he’s hurt. Promise me that you’ll stay
with him.” She nodded her head solemnly though her lips
trembled.
“
Erica…”
“
You had better not let anything happen to you Sebastian. I
mean it. You gave me your word, made me an oath that you had better
not break.”
“
I love you Erica.” He moved forward and pressed a desperate
kiss against her mouth, hoping it conveyed the wealth of emotions
he felt for her. “Be safe.” He stood up defiantly, daring anyone to
shoot him. “Vincent!” he bellowed, striding to the front of the
house and throwing open the door. “Vincent, I know you’re out
there, come and talk to me.”
“
Wyatt, can you manage to change for me sweetie?” He nodded his
head and began the transformation. “You too Dylan,” she instructed
before beginning the change herself. Once there were two small wolf
cubs in the place of her siblings, she gently grabbed the scruff of
her brother’s neck between her teeth urging her sister onwards. The
wolves burst through the back door and ran frantically towards the
woods. Erica immediately sensed they weren’t alone and urged her
sister to run faster. Once she was certain that they were out of
harms reach she placed Wyatt against a tree. “Stay here,” she
barked before springing away from them.
If Sebastian thinks that I’m going to let him fight alone
then he has another thing coming.
I
smelled two males when I left the house, I’ll take care of them
first.
The thought brought a feral smile to
her lips.
Vincent stepped forward at Sebastian's summons, his swagger
confident. The wolf was surrounded and outnumbered. He had won.
Sebastian's lips drew back in a snarl, this was the man that had
harmed his mate. There was no need to disguise his true nature nor
what he wanted to do to him. The man in front of him was more
physically built than he was but Sebastian knew that didn’t matter,
if he could get the man alone, he could kill him. “So, you’re the
one who hurt my Erica.” It wasn’t a question; they both knew the
truth.
“
I didn’t know her name at the time.”
“
Well you know it now. I plan to kill you, you do realise that
yes?”
“
I know that you would like to kill me. I also know that the
likelihood of that happening is nil.”
Sebastian laughed at the man’s claim, he could already
picture his fangs sinking into Vincent's flesh as he ended his
life.
Our mate and the pups are safe,
his
wolf began.
Kill him. That’s all that
matters. This man can’t be allowed to live Sebastian, I forbid
it.
I told Erica that I’d try to get out of this alive,
Sebastian reminded it.
I would rather die than allow this threat to her life to
continue breathing. Give me control for five minutes, that’s all
I’ll need. I’ll end his life quickly, it’s better than what he
wanted to do to Erica.
He ran his tongue over the pointed edge of an elongated fang,
a wild smile appearing on his face.
There’s no need for you to do that. I’ll take care of
him.
The change washed over him almost
instantly and he leapt forth, missing Vincent and attacking the man
at his side. The smell of silver had flowed heavily from him and he
couldn’t afford to have such a potentially dangerous enemy at his
back. Vincent lifted his arms and begun firing rounds of bullets in
Sebastian's direction but he’d already moved, attacking the man on
his other side. Sebastian moved like the wind, there one moment and
gone the next, his touch fleeting but devastating as the men that
had surrounded him were quickly and easily dispatched. Their bodies
littered the ground and Vincent gulped convulsively in fear, he and
the wolf were alone. David, his right hand man, his protector had
been the first to succumb to the animal’s claws and fangs and the
rest of his men had swiftly followed suit. He waved his hands
frantically trying to catch the attention of the men who were
positioned further away from the cabin but there were no shots
fired to help him. Erica stepped out from the trees ensuring that
Vincent could see her body shift from that of a wolf to her human
form. She wanted him to know that despite all he had done to her
she was very much alive while he wouldn’t survive the next few
minutes.
