Dracula: Hearts of Fire (Dracula Heart's) (46 page)

    Vincent put his hand on his gun. “
I’ll make sure that you die too, and
you won’t be able to release him
from that cage.
”

   
The wolf emitted a low growl and was disappointed by the impasse
.
He couldn’t think of an easy way out.
A minute passed as
the alpha
considered what to do next.
The other wolves in the pack waited
impatiently
for the command to attack but didn’t receive it.
The sheriff found the wolves to be such beautiful creatures; he was almost tempted to pet one but didn’t want to lose his hand. He sat back down on the tree and crossed his arms defiantly.

    “
He’s a werewolf and that makes him our business.
We are battling nasty
vampires and we need this wolf to strengthen our pack. Give him to us and I can assure you that he’ll never kill another human.
We
will owe you one vampire.
What do you say?
”

   “I never killed anyone,” said the wolf from the cage.

    The fact that the pack was willing to owe Vincent a favour was surprising; it was something that they rarely did because they were honor bound to keep it. It showed V
incent how much they wanted this
wolf, and it was
probably
the best place for him.
W
hat was the proper thing to do?
Justice had many faces, some of them distorted.
Otherwise, what was he to do with it?

    The pack leader stuck its snout into the cage and sniffed. “Let me into your mind, that way I can tell i
f you’re telling the truth.”

    “I give you my permission.”

    He went into the caged wolf’s mind and saw that he was
indeed
telling th
e truth. “He’s not lying
. He’s never killed anyone or anything.”

    The sheriff looked into the cage and the wolf
inside
definitely didn’t look happy. It was a free spirit and didn’
t want to be t
he lowest rung on the ladder. He
didn’t want to be a part of that
pack and would rather take his
chances in the cage.
He stared at the pack leader.
“What’s your name?”

    “Bodolf.”

    “Well Bodolf, let me into your
mind so that I can judge if YOU are telling the truth
.
I need to see what you
are up to, good
or bad
.
”

    “Vampire, are you calling me a liar?”

    “Are you a liar?”

    “Very well, I’ll let you in but make it quick.
Let’s get this over with before I change my mind.
”

    Vincent went into the mind of the wolf and found that he was telling the truth.
The wolf had killed no one. Bodolf had commanded
a pack of nine and had lost two while defending humans.
It had been a vicious fight
where most of them had ended up with
serious
wounds
.
He now saw the pack in a different light. The red sheriff approached the cage and as soon as
he touched it the door
opened
. The werewolf exited the cage and tried to run, but Bodolf was on him quickly and forced him to submit. It was strange but in submitting to the alpha he felt for the first time
in his short werewolf life
that he was home; he was where he needed to be. The pack howled as one, with the newest of the pack being the last one to join them in song.

    Vincent watched as they disappeared into the night
, wondering what it was like to be part of a wolf pack.
He heard the sounds of the pack killing and eating a moose, and could tell that it had been a quick and efficient death. The scent of blood was making him hungry.
It was time for him to go home and have a blood smoothie.

CHAPTER FIFTY

  
A
NNIE SPENT THE NIGHT
at A
la
stair’s
home in the Hampton’s, the South Fork of Long Island.
The garden in the backyard was so lush and beautiful that she
thought
she
could live in it; t
here were so many flowers,
some that she didn’t
even
recognise.
It was a paradise as she had always loved flowers.
It was a great place to sit and meditate or to read an e-book. The place
was quite a mansion so
the vampire obviously had lots of money. The place had
expensive chandeliers; the furniture was beautiful, solid and obviously expensive
. Huge 3D televisions hung on most walls with
the longest and most elegant black leather sectional sofa that she had ever seen, large enough to accommodate
a dozen people comfortably.  Alastair
said that
the sofa had been built to his specifications.
Why he had such a thing when he rarely had company was beyond her.

    Annie left his bedroom and made her way to the kitchen and
his glass door refrigerator, and
there she consumed two bags of fresh blood that had been delivered yesterday morning. She had
sex
for the first time in a long time
; they actually destroyed the bed. The vampire was in his bedroom attempting to put the expensive thing back together but it was a useless endeavour
.
They had destroyed
it; he dropped a large section of it as he realized it was a lost cause.
Picking up his cell he called for a new bed
.
He had been quite fond of it and didn’t like seeing it like that.

    Ala
stair found Annie in the kitchen and kissed her neck
; he was happy when she didn’t pull away
. “You
destroyed my bed
.
”

    “I destroyed your bed? You’re the one that was doing all the thrusting.”

    He smiled proudly as only a man could. “Yes, well you kicked me through the wall so I guess we’re
even. How long had it been
?”

    “A person doesn’t think about sex when you can barely breathe.
Dying takes more effort than living I can tell you that.
” She sat at the kitchen
’s
island and strummed her old fingers. “Why is everything so expensive in here? Who are you trying to impress?
This place is big enough for a dozen people or more.
”

    “I don’t know
.
I have money so why not spend it?
”

   
She could smell the aroma of the garden even from the kitchen. It was so pleasant that she got lost in its
fragrance.
“Why don’t you give some of that to
charity?
”

    “I do.
I w
rote a chec
k for several million last week but I think there might be more charities than I have money, and once you get on the list you never get off.”

   
Annie thought that he was a bit of a strange bird, but she supposed that if you examined people cl
ose enough
there was usually a lot of pretending going on
, a lot of posturing in general.
“Alastair, what would you like to do today?”

    He sat down beside her and thought. “I’d prefer to do whatever you want to do. We can stroll through Central Park if you like?
We could see how many different animals we can find in the forest?
I know that might sound strange but it’s a bit of a hobby, just to see how many I can find.
”

    “I have a better idea. Why don’t we bring some toys to the hospital and see if we can’t cheer up some sick kids?”

    “That’s an excellent idea, and afterward we can talk to the administrator and see if t
hey
need some new scanners. I could donate whatever they need.”
Alastair
danced over to the fridge and drank a bag of blood.
His pupils widened at the scrumptious taste of it.

    “If we become a couple
I’ll help you get rid of some of that excessive money.”

    “Can I person have too much money?”

    “If someone has a billion dollars in the bank that’s not doing anyone any good when others are starving for lack of food and shelter
, then yes I think a person can have too much money. How did you make all your money?”

    “Real estate mostly, and then gold and silver. Stocks and bonds.
When you live for centuries you can see things evolving, and when you can get in early you can make a fortune. I bought a tonne of gold in 1930 I believe
, I think it was around $20 an ounce if I remembe
ring correctly
.
”

    The doorbell rang and
as he checked his Rolex
he smiled as if he
was up to something
, trying to look innocent but not exactly able to manage it
. “Annie, would you be so kind as to get that.”