Ember's Curse (Prime Wolf) (24 page)

Harper licked her lips. I didn't have to guess where she had gotten the blood to feed Brady. The cracked and almost blistered state of her mouth told the tale vividly. I made a mental note to get her some blood a.s.a.p.

"We found him while searching Nathan's. I wanted to try his place one more time before returning here. The house didn't seem any different except for the addition of Brady. He was tied to a kitchen chair with ropes soaked in holy water."

"That's where we need to start then," Sadie said confidently. "Who's coming with us?"

Collin was now seated in front of the computer. He signaled for me to look at what he was working on. "We have already intercepted four missing person calls from Emergency dispatch," he explained to me as he pointed out the pictures of the people that had been taken. Two of whom happened to belong to my pack. "Tyson is still in the area, and from what I can tell, he is already replacing the wolves we saved."

"Then we have no time to waste." I gestured to Sadie and then a couple of the Adelphi. I purposefully skipped over Harper. She was in no condition to join us on this mission. "You guys can come with me."

Collin shook his head, "I'm not letting you go over there without me."

I was in no mood to argue. It was probably best if he went with us at any rate. "Of course," I said, giving him a playful look, "I could use a big bad wolf protecting my back."

He flashed me a toothy grin. "Consider you're backside well-guarded."

"I have no doubt," I said. Heat blushed my cheeks and I turned to leave before he caught a glimpse of it. That man didn't need any more encouragement. I had a hell of a time keeping him off me as it was.

Chapter 21

It was like walking into a well-preserved shrine when I entered Nathan's living room. The feeling of dreariness that stemmed from his absence was an immediate smack to the face. All of his crystal dragon eggs and miniature weapons sat displayed in their designated spots undisturbed, but it was the blunt silence that saddened me the most. There were no signs of a struggle or evidence of anything else out of the ordinary going down here. That was until I entered the kitchen. Collin appeared from the back door. He had decided to check all around the back of the house for any surprises that the Gatherers might have left for us. He gave me a thumbs up and entered the room.

"Where is everybody?" he asked, walking up to inspect a chair that was turned over and lying in a pool of blood. Collin’s leg muscles bulged as he bent down to get a better look and I had to force my eyes from staring at a very tempting ass. I swallowed hard and focused my wanton eyes on the ropes on the floor instead of my new fiancé's delectable body. Oh man, I liked the way that sounded...fiancé.

"I left two of your men to guard the front and Sadie and your shaggy friend are busy checking the basement."

Collin chuckled and gave me a gentle smile. "How are you holding up? I know being here under these circumstances can't be easy for you."

My guilt reared up on me, chasing away the warmth that lingered inside of me from my thoughts of marriage, and I answered him honestly. "I'm scared for Nathan." I shoved my hands in the front pockets of my jeans and cast my glance to the floor, ashamed to look him in the eyes. "What makes this situation worse is that none of this would have happened if I just trusted my instincts and dealt with Tommy sooner."

Collin took me by the arms and pulled me to him. I sunk into his embrace even though I didn't feel as though I deserved his comfort.

"You're the only one that believes that. If blame falls on anyone’s shoulders, Tommy is the one to bear that burden."

"I appreciate your words Collin. I do," I said, straightening myself out from his hold, "but the only thing that will make anything feel better, be better, is finding Nathan."

"The place is clear," Sadie said, entering the room. "Oh, did I interrupt something?" She turned, then turned back, threw her arms in the air. "I've never been good at awkward moments." She went to leave but I reached out and stopped her.

"No need, we're good." I released her arm and studied the bloody scene in front of me. My guilty thoughts would just have to wait.

"There aren’t very many footprints," I said, following three trails of them that led to and out of the back door. One set was smeared in-between the others. I leaned over to take a better look. I ran my finger through one of the smudged tracks and lifted the blood-smeared tip to my nose. It wasn't Nathan's blood, it was just more of Brady's.

"Looks like two men forcibly took someone out the back, and judging by the blood evidence, and the fact Brady is back at the compound, my guess is that it was Nathan."

They both nodded their heads and watched me with curious eyes.

"What?" I asked. "Why are you two staring at me like that?

The two looked down at the floor then to me and finally at each other like they knew something I was yet to catch up on. "You guys are pissing me off," I said, crossing my arms, and they really were. Collin opened his mouth to speak but Sadie beat him to it.

"There's no blood in here," she said gesturing all around the kitchen. "The only thing out of place is that knocked over chair and those sliced ropes lying on the floor."

Now I was the one who looked confused. "You're telling me you can't see all of this?" I asked, waving my hand around. How could they not see it? There was blood everywhere. Smudged across the fridge, hand prints on the counter. There was a large pool of it in front of the breakfast table, the chair they mentioned and ropes were lying on the floor, coated in the stuff.

"I believe that you can see it," he said with squinted eyes. He was trying really hard to see for himself what I could. I loved him even more for that.

"For some reason, this new ability belongs to you and you alone. It's the first one we haven't developed together."

"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled throughout the kitchen. I had had just about enough of these weird things popping up on me. What was going to happen next? Was I going to be able to fly as well?

"Wait a minute," I said, taking a good look at the tracks again. "I think I know how we're going to find Nathan."

***

It was a couple hours until dawn. Our small company of wolves had to be careful not to expose ourselves to any humans that might be out for a jog or leaving for work around this time of day. The sky was lighting up, making that harder to accomplish.

 Even in this form, I could still see the fresh trail of blood that I'd been following since we left the house. Fortunately, and for the sake of my sanity, everyone else could now see the remnants of Brady's blood too. Whoever cleaned up the kitchen forgot one simple thing. Werewolves are excellent trackers and they should have masked their trail leading away from the house better. The fact that the trail was so obvious, nagged at me a little.

It's leading us towards Haven,
I sent to Collin.

Harper and my men said they went over every inch of that place,
his smooth voice entered my mind and I relished in the intimate bond we shared. He ran up next to me, filling a hollow space between us that I didn't even realize was there, making it more evident that we were born to be next to each other. He slowed his steps to match mine, our casual pace made it easier to follow the vampires we were tracking. Haven was just around the block from where we were being led. I picked up my pace, running full out, but when I reached the front of the bar there was nothing left of the blood trail.

They're not here.
I turned to look at Collin, but he wasn't behind me. He was sniffing around the front door of the Venus Café.

The trail leads here,
he said. He turned and growled orders to the other wolves. Three of them yipped back at him and took off around the side of the building. Considering how difficult it was to communicate with another wolf without the use of human vocal cords, the display was an impressive one.

They are going to check the perimeter. It's up to us to secure the front,
he relayed to me.

Three of my wolves are in there, I can smell them,
I said. My body trembled and I flashed back into my human form. I ran my hands over my hips and down my legs to make sure that all my weapons were in place. I flipped the snap off the holster of my Ruger snub nose revolver and rested my hand on the grip. The gun was loaded with special made bullets. Pure silver casings with holy water inserted in the tip. One shot to the heart would kill a vampire instantly. They were much more effective than a wooden stake, and a lot less messy. The artillery I wore was part of the array of weapons I'd found earlier on the bed, an engagement present from Collin. He knew me so well.

Collin shifted and did a similar weapons check. We were both ready to enter the café.

The double doors pushed open with ease. Every light in the restaurant was turned off and blackness consumed the place. It only took a second for my eyes to adjust. I pulled my gun free and with slow, careful steps, I walked inside. I took the far left path inbetween the tables and Collin took off down the right. I hunched down, careful to keep a distance, and scanned floor level in search for any hidden monsters. There weren’t any vampires hiding in the booths or under the tables. I caught a glimpse of Collin from my peripheral. He was signaling for me to come over to where he was. Before I could reach him, he disappeared behind the front counter. I could smell the heavy call of fresh blood before I came up behind him. My stomach cramped and griped at me for a taste of it. The all-consuming need disgusted me and I pushed myself to ignore it. I would never allow myself to become a mindless blood addict like some vampires.
I can control myself and my urges,
I reassured myself.

"Her heart still beats, but it beats very slowly," he whispered to me when I knelt down behind him. What I saw when I glanced over his shoulder made my chest ache. Roxanne was sprawled out on the floor in front of us. Her soft curls fanned out all around her head like a glowing halo. I winced when I saw the nasty bruise forming, blue and puckered, underneath her left eye. The hit was recent. Her neck was oozing blood from the deep slice that ran halfway across it. From what I could gather, it looked as though we had interrupted someone in the process of slicing her throat. But regardless of the timing, it was still a mortal wound.

"She can't survive the blood loss, let alone the severity of the wound," I told Collin.

I scooted myself closer to her. I lifted her cold hand in mine and rubbed it back and forth, over and over again. I hoped that the friction would give her some warmth, a little bit of comfort. She and I had never been close. Hell, we were barely acquaintances, but she had always been pleasant to me. If circumstances had been different and she was born something other than human, then I was certain we could have been friends. But as it stood, I was the bartender that left her a decent tip after my night shifts, and she was the waitress who always managed a smile and furnished me, and whomever I was with, with great service.

"Nathan is going be devastated," I sighed.

"Why would her fate have that kind of effect on him? Did he know her?"

I nodded my head. "He has a thing for her...a huge crush, has for a couple years now."

Collin’s face froze and his eyes shifted back on her. The corners of his lips fell into a frown. "Is her name Roxanne?" he asked me with a soft, sad breath.

"Yes," I answered.

"He talks about her all the time...I always tease him about it." My eyes fell down to Collin’s hands. He was fumbling with the strap of his holster. It reminded me of something important; it reminded me that we had let our guard down. I set Roxanne's hand down on her chest and pushed my back up against the wall. I rearmed myself and stood. "There's nothing we can do for her."

We shared a remorseful look and then his eyes shied away from mine and fell to the floor. "We can try and turn her."

"Sorry…What did you just say?" I asked shocked. "You want us to try and turn her? Turn her into what?" I said shaking my head. "We don't even know exactly what we are."

Collin lifted his finger to his lips and shushed me. "Keep it down."

I threw up my hand and gestured around. "They already know we're here."

"Look, we can waste time arguing or we can save her life. Her breathing is too shallow; it's now or never...think of Nathan."

Three words. That's all it took to change my mind. "Think of Nathan." I owed him that much. I looked down at the object of his affections.
I have to at least try, don't I?
I thought.

I swallowed hard and whispered the words that I knew would change so many things. My shoulders fell and I slunk to the floor next to her. "Fine, I'll do it, but only because I know Nathan would want this."

Collin’s hand found the back of my neck. He caressed my tense muscles for a moment and then it dropped away.

"I can do it, if it's too hard for you, Ember."

I glared over my shoulder at him when I felt my wolf crawl out of her hidden place inside of me. My eyes flashed red and she growled low in warning. "I don't think that's a good idea. At all."