Soulstone (19 page)

Santino clenched his jaw. I sensed he had more to say but decided it wasn’t worth arguing. “Then I’ll start patrolling the area.”

  Before he could turn and walk away, two wolves appeared to our left. Both were large. One had splotches of light gray and white fur around its muzzle and at the ends of its paws. The other was solid white, the only hint of color was it’s dark eyes. Both wolves hunched down and bared their teeth at us.

I held my hands up in surrender to assure them that we were on the same side. “Thank you two for coming so quickly.”

The white wolf stood and walked toward me. He sniffed at my ankles and then looked up. I could see the recognition in his eyes and in a very dog-like manner, he wagged his tail.

Good boy
. I smiled at him.

The other wolf sat back on his hind legs and turned to face the van.

“Aiden is inside,” I said, knowing wolves would understand me even if they couldn’t speak themselves. “He’s hurt but alive.” I tried to sound reassuring.

The white wolf whimpered and trotted over to the door.

“Let him rest until it is time,” I said, putting authority into my voice. Wolves respect authority; I hoped that would be enough to prevent them from pressing the matter. I wasn’t sure how fast Aiden would heal, and with him so weak I didn’t want any struggles for power.

The wolf growled at me.

I narrowed my gaze and locked eyes with the wolf. “We need everyone working together tonight if we plan to retake the preserve, understand?”

The wolf snorted but made no attempt at further aggression. It walked back over to the other wolf and sat down.

Waiting was unbearable. Slowly, more wolves trickled in. They created their own circle around the van, leaving me alone for the most part.

Santino patrolled the area, looking for traps and roving Saints. I watch as he circled the perimeter.

Things were quiet—too quiet. It was the calm before the inevitable storm, but I took no comfort from it, only anxiety. My mind kept racing, wondering what was going on back at the preserve. I hadn’t heard any new messages from the guys. I wondered about the fate of Ian, who would have been trapped by the daylight and his own injuries. No one had heard from Zuri in days. I knew the longer we waited to move, the more damage the Saints could have done, but I didn’t want to start the attack without Nicholas or Drew, who hadn’t returned yet.

What if the Saints got the information out of Brady and killed him? What if we were wrong about Aniketos being in the box and the Saints open it again? What if…

A rustling in the bushes had me gasping for breath. I’d been so caught up in my own thoughts and worries I failed to recognize the tell-tale prickling on the back of my neck that signaled another vampire’s approach.

Seeing Drew and Nicholas was like having a giant weight yanked off my shoulders. I rushed up to them and threw my arms around them both. “I was so worried.”

“Calm down. This is no way for a Little Warrior to act.” I heard the amusement in Nicholas’s voice, but it didn’t show on his stony face.

“We need to move quickly,” Drew said. “We tried to alert as many wolves as we could and clear away any traps we could find, but the Saints still have the preserve.”

“They were moving in construction equipment last we checked,” Nicholas added.

“That must mean Brady gave up the information about the Pandora’s Box.” If he did that, he might no longer be alive. My conscience nagged at me, like a little voice saying
I told you so
. “I knew we shouldn’t have waited so long to retaliate.”

“We don’t know anything for sure,” Nicholas said, his tone warning. “Either way, we need to strike back hard and fast. Where is Santino?”

I looked over my shoulders. “He’s been patrolling.”

“And Aiden?” Nicholas asked.

“In the van with Fallon,” I said. “He’s hurt pretty bad. I won’t let any wolf in there to start a war for dominance.”

The wolves had remained in a tight circle around the van. None of them had broken ranks to come join in our conversation yet.

Nicholas’s eyebrow quirked up. He gave me an approving nod. “Good plan. Aiden’s in good hands. Now for the attack. What are our assets?”

I looked around. “We have about fifteen wolves here and four vampires, ready to fight.”

“What about weapons?” Drew asked.

I held up the rifle I’d had strapped across my shoulder. “Just this, and I was planning to give it to Fallon when we left.”

“That doesn’t leave us much to fight with.” Nicholas clenched his jaw and let out a frustrated growl. “We fight with what we’ve got, then.”

“How many Saints are we looking at?” I asked.

Drew’s face was grim. He shrugged. “Unknown. They’ve got the main building. There is no telling how many of them are holed up inside. And there are still more patrolling the forest.”

“Are any of them vampires?” I asked, remembering that until we had destroyed Santino’s group, there had been other vampires employed in the ranks of the Acta Sanctorum.

Nicholas shook his head. “I haven’t felt any new vampires. I did sense someone in the building when I passed by. Maybe Ian or Zuri, but no new threats.”

I held on to a small hope that Ian was still alive. He may have been an arrogant pervert, but no one deserved to die at the hands of the Acta Sanctorum.

Nicholas walked over to the van and faced the wolves. “Let’s rally the troops. I’ll lead the charge,” he said. “We have a clear path back to the preserve with no traps.”

The van door slid open. “No. I will lead the charge.” Aiden stepped out, wincing slightly as he moved. The blanket was wrapped around his waist, hiding some of the scabs on his backside.

The rest of the wolves surrounding the van immediately sat at attention. Fifteen pairs of eyes zeroed in on him.

“Our leader is gone,” Aiden began. “Slain at the hands of these monsters who hide behind religion. They’ve taken our land, our homes, and our family.”

Growls and grunts rumbled through the assembled wolves. A few looked in my direction and snarled.

Aiden continued. “Some of you blame the vampires.” He turned walked a few short steps toward me. I watched him wobble a bit, probably still a little woozy from blood loss. I met him halfway, placing an arm around his shoulder as a sign of unity, while hoping to offer him some support so he would not reveal to his pack how injured he really was.

“I don’t blame them,” Aiden continued. I saw the look of thanks in his eyes. He leaned in, resting his body against mine. “These vampires are just as much a part of this pack as we are. All of us, werewolves, witches, and vampires… we’re all persecuted by the Saints. And we must work together if we hope to have a chance to fight back.”

“We’re prepared to fight,” Nicholas said. He joined us and stood next to Aiden.

“Will you join us?” Drew asked. He too took a spot next us and faced the pack of wolves.

Santino reappeared as well, walking around the back of the van. “I once believed as the Saints did, that all creatures like us were evil. Now I know the truth. You may hate me for my crimes, but I am here, and willing to help make amends.”

“Together we fight and take back what is ours!” Aiden said triumphantly.

The wolves responded with yips and barks. They jumped to their feet, excited and ready to charge into battle.

I turned and looked back at Fallon. “Hold the fort here, okay?”

“How will I know when it’s safe?” she asked.

I handed her the rifle. “We’ll get you when it’s all clear.”

Aiden bent to the ground and dropped the blanket that had been covering him. “Follow me,” he said, and quickly transformed back into his wolf form.

CHAPTER 22

We tore into the forest, racing toward a fight we had an unknown chance of winning. Aiden, though injured, loped ahead of us as if he had never been hurt. A dark gray blur, he led the pack at a pace that even I had trouble keeping up with.

The sight of him moving swiftly through the trees and bounding over rocks and brush was inspiring. He was a true leader, just like Connor had been. I had a feeling that if we survived the night, he’d make his father proud. 

As we neared the preserve, Aiden let out a few short barks and the wolves dispersed, fanning out in a wide arc.

“Alyssa—with me,” Nicholas called. “We’re going to take the back.”

I veered left toward Nicholas. To my right I spotted Santino and Drew heading in the other direction. “Good luck, you guys,” I whispered and continued on, following Nicholas to the back of the main building.

In the distance, I heard the sounds of gunfire and wolves yelping. My heart began racing, imaging what horrible things could be going on, but no matter how much I wanted to veer off and check on them, I needed to stay with Nicholas. Together we were a deadly team; individually, we’d be target practice.

We stayed within the tree line as we surveyed the area. A few soldiers stood around casually talking, rifles in hand, while another patrolled in a circle around some large construction equipment. Anger and anticipation fueled the beast inside of me. I hadn’t really fed in a long while, and the prospect of sinking my fangs into the neck of one of those Saints had me chomping at the bit to attack.

Nicholas reached out and grabbed my shoulder. “You ready, Little Warrior? You’re looking a little pale.”

I sucked in a breath and tried to calm my racing heart. “I’m ready.”

A large truck outfitted with a jackhammer sat idling close to the back door of the main building. Next to it, another large excavating truck, run by a withered old man, was busy digging a hole into the frozen earth.

“Saul?” I wondered aloud. “Is he planning on digging up the entire preserve?”

Three other large holes disfigured the place where the wolves held their moonlight bonfire ceremonies. 

“Brady’s sending them on a wild goose chase,” I whispered to Nicholas. “They’ll be digging all night.”

I glanced around, hoping to see a sign of our lost werewolf friend, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“Brady can only hold them off for so long. And they will tear up every inch of this wildlife preserve to find what they are looking for,” he replied gravely. “By my count there are five men here, but there could be more.”

“Divide and conquer?” I asked, ready to attack and hoping I’d have a chance to taste fresh blood.

“Exactly.” He smirked. “You take the one on patrol. Then stop the man in the truck. I’ll get the small group on the other side.”

“Got it.” I nodded.

“Be as quiet as you can.” He held his fingers to his lips. 

I snuck away from Nicholas and prowled silently through the trees after the lone soldier on patrol. He walked in a wide circle around the two construction trucks. I attempted to gauge the course his path would take. If I was lucky, he’d come close enough to the tree line. If he did that, I could pull him away with no one seeing.

As with many of the other soldiers we’d run into in the past, this one was young, maybe just out of high school.

Probably easier to manipulate the younger they are. So sad.

Closer and closer he came toward me. The monster inside of me called out, begging me to take his neck, not just break it quickly.

Young and firm, and full of hot blood.

I could just imagine the strength of his heart, pounding, flooding my mouth with his blood. I hadn’t fed in so long that the temptation of it was a torturous thought.

My heart pounded as I watched his steps. Each crunch of his boot in the snow matched the beating of my heart.

Maybe just a sip.

The construction truck backfired, startling the soldier. He lifted his rifle and shot blindly into the trees. All thoughts of blood and a quick meal went out the window at that point. I sprang to action, leaping from my hidden spot in the trees, and dove at the soldier’s body. The force of impact as I collided with him caused him to fire one more shot, but he was dead before his body came to rest on the ground.  I’d snapped his neck, damn near tearing it off as we fell.

I looked up quickly, hoping to see Nicholas, but the construction truck blocked my path. The man inside, whom I recognized as Saul, spotted me. Our eyes met. My heart thundered. One word from him and the soldiers that Nicholas was stalking could be alerted.

Strangely, he didn’t make any effort to raise an alarm. Confusion held me frozen in place. Something was off about that man. Twice now, he simply stepped aside or ignored our actions as if he didn’t care about the outcome.

Was he just trying to save his own skin, or was he—like Santino—one of the few who had chosen to forsake the ways of the Acta Sanctorum?

The break of wind as a bullet raced over my head snapped me out of my thoughts and back into reality. Saul may not want a fight with us, but there were plenty of other soldiers out for blood.

I turned and spied out of the corner of my eye a dark figure crouching behind a pile of logs. “Oh no you don’t,” I whispered and took off before the sniper could set up his shot.

As fast as I was, the wolf that came up behind him was faster. Large jaws opened wide, revealing long slick teeth ready to strike their killing blow. With a graceful leap into the air, the wolf sailed into the sniper and bit down as he collided with the soldier’s shoulder. The large beast jerked his head sideways, using his momentum to throw the soldier to the ground in a deadly pirouette. Even though he had stolen my kill, I had to appreciate the might and power this werewolf had. The soldier never stood a chance. Even after I heard the first crack as his neck snapped, the wolf remained, jaws clamped shut into the soft flesh of his enemy. He shook the dead man in violent spasms of jerks and twists.

When satisfied he’d killed his prey, the wolf turned to me. His white muzzle had been stained with blood. If wolves could smile, I’d say this one was, clearly proud of the kill he’d just made.

“Thanks,” I said and gave a quick nod.  

The wolf took off again. I turned on my heel to do the same, but in that short amount of time the entire area had erupted into an all-out war zone. Shots were being fired from every direction; some of them flew dangerously close to me. I ducked down behind the wood pile for cover. Wolves had launched their attack, and a few were tearing apart dead bodies littering the ground while others were attacking any soldier they came across. A few, unfortunately, were lying dead or dying on the ground.