William (7 page)

“I’m phoning because I’ve got some info about Katie.”

William stood up straight, waiting. “I’m listening.”

“It’s a possible location where she might be. Alive or buried—”

“She’s alive,” William interrupted him.

“How do you know?” Robert asked.

“She visited me in the other world,” he replied honestly.

He heard Robert’s hesitation.

“I know what you’re thinking,” William said.

“You saw Emma even after she died,” Robert reminded him.

“This is different. Katie isn’t dead. She’s a fighter.”

William knew Robert doubted him but he didn’t care. Katie was alive and he was going to find her. “Count me in.” He flipped the phone shut.

He stared at himself in the mirror. His sandy blond hair flowed in wet waves around his face. The stubble on his face had grown over the last few weeks. Shaving would have been a waste of time. He ran a hand over the growth on his face, not sure what to make of it. His eyes were lifeless. The sparkle that had returned for a short time while Katie had been with him had faded with each of his failed searches.

The one woman in over a century he’d promised to protect with his life and she was at the mercy of the Alpha wolf of the Beyer West pack. The fiercest pack in the world. The same man who’d searched the globe, murdering witches until no one knew if they even existed anymore. Katie had been the first one in decades.

Inexperienced, innocent and beautiful.

He wanted her for his own.

His heart ached to feel her close. He’d been with her for such a short time, her fiery attitude and crazy powers a warm welcome against this bitter loneliness.

He’d lost Emma and finally come back from the brittle edge of sanity. If he lost Katie, he would go over the line and never return.

This ended with Katie by his side as his wife and mate, or it ended with his death.

He refused to continue without her.

He jumped into the shower, preparing for the night ahead, the smell of peaches soothing his bitter beast.

Chapter Five

“They’re coming again, witch,” said the man in the other cage opposite.

Katie didn’t care. She was touching her lips, where William had kissed her. Had it been a nightmare or a salvation, going to sleep? Feeling William wrapped in her arms for even a moment had been so beautiful.

He’d asked her to fight and that was what she would do.

“Witch.” The voice echoed off the walls. The voice of the man who had taken her.

Katie refused to move, to give him any power over her.

She closed her eyes and pictured William. She wished he was here to comfort her.

“Witch.” The sound louder now and closer.

When she sensed that he was by the bed, she rolled over and glared at him. “Fuck off,” she growled, shooting her arm out to spit her magic at him.

He was faster and, already weak, she couldn’t stop him. He grabbed her wrist and knocked it aside. The magic hit the wall and died. Wasted energy, magic and power. He jerked her to her feet.

“When are you going to learn your place?” he snapped in her face.

She kneed him in the balls. “When you learn yours, dog.”

He fell to his knees and his grip on her arm loosened. Being with William had brought back her fighting spirit.

Katie lashed out and kicked him in the balls again, then ran for the door. He scrambled up and caught her around the waist, hauling her off her feet and tossing her over his shoulder. Katie pummelled his back.

“Let me go, mutt.”

Her little fists did nothing against the strong back. She knew her knuckles would be bruised. His muscles were like rock.

He smacked her ass. Outraged, she bit him. He tensed and howled in pain.

Katie waited for retaliation but nothing came. He simply straightened up and kept walking.

Katie didn’t know where he was taking her. She couldn’t see anything.

He dumped her on a huge bed. Katie scrambled off to the other end and ran for the door, but he grabbed her by the waist and threw her down. Katie knew it was hopeless. Moving to a sitting position, she sent daggers his way with her gaze, folding her arms.

“A little fire left in you,” he complimented her.

Katie turned away, not caring if it made her look childish. The man was a monster.

“Want some wine?” he asked.

She refused to take the bait, her heart pounding, her mind spinning. She refused to allow the panic to come through.

“No? What about some fruit?” He came to her side and tried to catch her eyes. Katie refused to give him any attention. But she decided against moving. He could still kill her at a moment’s notice. She’d promised William she’d stay alive.

“Not going to talk to me at all?” He caressed her cheek.

Katie flinched away from the contact. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

He chuckled, grabbing her chin.

“The little witch has claws, does she? I suggest you be careful how you use them.”

Katie pulled away from his grip.

“What do you want with me?” she asked him. She hated the wobble that erupted as she spoke.

“To get to know you.”

Katie snorted. “You kidnap me from the Valentines, test me, then pass me around your dogs like some sort of prize, and now you expect me to talk to you?” she mused.

“What about it? You’re beautiful. And, all right, you haven’t done what I wanted, but there is nothing to stop you enjoying my company.” He took a sip of wine.

Katie knew he was up to something. “I have no desire to get to know you. You might as well take me back.”

“This because of William Valentine?”

Katie stopped and glanced at him, her body tight. She didn’t say anything, just stopped and waited for him to continue.

“Ah, William Valentine. The second in line and the one who is closer to the devil than any of them,” he said.

“You don’t know him,” she replied defensively.

“I don’t know him? Little witch, I was there when I took his first mate from him. Emma. She was the woman he really loved. A beautiful, powerful witch who sacrificed herself in order to save him.” He reached out to touch her again.

Katie slapped his hand away.

“You know you’re powerful, too. Killing a werewolf with your own hands without chanting some sort of spell makes you powerful. You would make the perfect queen for my pack.”

Katie burst out laughing at the absurd suggestion. “Me, be your queen? You think I’ve got some sort of Stockholm syndrome? I want nothing to do with you.” She yelled the last part at him.

“Are you sure about that?” he asked, crawling onto the bed.

She backed away until she was against the headboard. He moved in closer. Katie tensed, not knowing what to do.

“I wouldn’t touch you.”

“No?”

“Never.”

He was perched a breath away from her. “Maybe this will change your mind.”

He kissed her. Katie fought him, but before she could stop it her mind opened up and connected with his.

A cave somewhere secluded in the Beyer West forest. She saw inside the bolted metal door. The dead human bodies.

She pulled away, scared, mortified and disgusted. “What the hell have you done?”

He tapped her on the nose, the touch somewhat affectionate. “That, my little witch, you will have to wait and see.” He got up from the bed. “Oh, and I wonder if you’ll change your mind then.”

* * * *

When William returned to his family home, Rose was waiting for him. She ran to embrace her brother. William hugged and kissed her, showing his youngest sister the affection she craved.

“Where are they?” he asked. He felt the trembling in her body.

“In the living room, waiting for you.”

He nodded and kissed her cheek again. “Take care, okay?”

Rose nodded, her eyes shining with unshed tears.

He smiled, trying to reassure her as best as he could. This wasn’t his place.

A room full of twenty men waited for him. Robert was among them, Sophie hugging him tight.

“Better get this show on the road,” William said. Rose went to kneel at her mother’s side.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked Don, the man who’d beaten him the night before.

“Helping,” the older vampire said.

“Enough, William.” Robert kissed his wife and moved forward to embrace his brother. William hadn’t seen Robert since their father’s death. He could see that his brother had aged in the role of Beyer West leader.

William tightened his arms around his brother.

“You’re both fools.” Their mother’s voice.

Both brothers turned to her. She stood, ignoring Rose.

“Mother. We’ve talked about this.”

“Your father died facing this man—this wolf—and now all my sons are going to get this girl back. This witch,” she growled.

“Mum, she’s going to be my wife,” William said, surprising the whole room.

“Wife? Do you remember what happened to the last witch you tried to mate with?” Her cruelty was not lost on anyone.

Don was the first to speak up. “Mary, that was uncalled for. You love your sons. Go and lie down.”

Mary glanced at the old soldier. She looked close to tears. She started to say something else but stormed out of the room instead, Dawn trailing in her wake.

Rose stayed, glancing up at Don. “I’m sorry. She hasn’t been herself.” Turning to her brothers, she went each of the four in turn. “Please, come back to us.” She kissed each man on the cheek, wishing them all strength.

William watched as she left the room.

“Let’s get this party started.”

Two hours later they were at the edge of Beyer West forest. The night was cold and bitter. William glanced around, constantly on the lookout.

No one spoke, all the men waiting, tense.

They investigated every sound before moving on. William noted that Adam stayed close to the female. Her eyes glowed red as they walked. The scars stood out in the light of the full moon showing their path.

William wondered at the connection between the two. Adam showed all the signs of a man protecting his woman. Tonight he would have Katie and everything would be okay.

“This is it,” Robert whispered. A small opening covered by green moss, the metal double doors locked and bolted.

“Are you sure?” Jason asked.

Robert nodded, touching the door. “It makes sense. Abandoned in a place we wouldn’t think to look.”

William had his doubts. This wasn’t a place of recent death. He hoped to God Robert was right, but his gut was telling him to run. To get away.

This could be his one chance at getting Katie back.

Don moved forwards and under his brute strength the lock gave way easily enough. The doors creaked as they were pushed open. Darkness greeted them, the smell of blood permeating the air. William began to sniff, to see if there was any trace of Katie. Nothing. He pushed past Robert, charging forwards, his impatience growing with every passing second. She might be in this room, even if he couldn’t smell her.

The others followed, with Don and Robert close at his back, weapons poised and ready.

Where are you, Katie?

Adam brought up the rear behind Poppy. Some men kept watch outside as the others moved down the corridor, their vision tolerable even in the dark as they were creatures of the night. The silence was abnormal, the smell of death and decay strong.

William looked around and saw that Poppy was shaking. The smell was stronger with every passing step.

They entered a large room and William jumped as the large door slammed shut. He didn’t have time to process the noise before he noticed bodies littering the floor. Dead, dried blood covered the walls, the floor and the bodies.

“This is not normal…” Poppy spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. William could even hear the chattering of her teeth. “They’re not dead.”

Frowning, he looked at the bodies.

“What do you mean?” Robert demanded.

William looked amongst the sea of dead bodies. And he knew.

He backed away slowly.

“Robert, who gave you this information?” he said, desperate to keep his voice low and calm.

“A minion working for the council,” he answered straight away.

“Whoever it was doesn’t work for the council anymore.”

“What?” Robert growled.

“Holy shit!” Adam yelled.

The bodies, the supposedly dead bodies, twisted and convulsed. William stared at them. They couldn’t be werewolves. Natural werewolves shifted in a flash. These were twisting, the bones snapping, howls and screams escaping.

“It’s a motherfucking trap!” William yelled.

Hundreds of bodies mutated into giant, ferocious wolves. Half-breeds. Humans turned by the bite of a natural born werewolf. Vicious, unpredictable beasts. Their heads turned towards the new smell in the room—the smell of vampire. The smell of the enemy.

William knew they were outnumbered. He tensed, aiming his gun. All of the Valentine men were in this room. Don, the next most powerful, many of the council members. This was not only a trap—this was an annihilation.

“Fire back!”

Gun shots and fighting ensued. William took down three wolves before he had to start using his fists.

His last thoughts were of Katie.

“I love you Katie,” he whispered, hoping in his heart that she would somehow get his message.

Chapter Six

“Wait and see about what?” Katie climbed off the bed.

James spun around and looked at the clock beside the bed. He chuckled. He looked crazy.

“Well, you see, I sent William a little message about your whereabouts,” he said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

“The dead bodies I saw?” Katie panicked.

“My way of telling the Valentine men to go and fuck themselves.”

“You’re going to kill William?” she screamed.

“My dear girl, he’s probably already dead.”

Katie moved away from him, her heart racing, her head hurting.

Think, Katie think. William can’t be dead. You promised him.