Matefinder (20 page)

                “What’s beginning? What are they
doing?” I asked him.

Nahuel rubbed his hands together. “I’m not
supposed to show you this. But the balance has been tipped towards the dark. I
might as well try to tip it back to the light. If it’s going to go one way, I
want it to go our way.”

                “I don’t understand! Explain it.
Help me.” I felt desperate. I could feel his anxiety.

                “The vampires have poured liquid
silver into every major water supply plant in all of the big cities. They want
to weaken the wolves and then attack.”

I grabbed my neck and swallowed hard. “No!” I ran
towards the three men coming out of the building. They had huge oil drums full
of silver.

                Nahuel caught my arm. “They can’t
see us. We are in the future.”

                “So we can stop it. What day does
it happen?” I suddenly felt hope burst in my chest.

                “I can only see a few hours into
the future. It will happen today.” He looked sad.

                I grabbed his face and turned it
towards me. “Wipe that look off of your face. This hasn’t happened yet! You
don’t know me very well yet, but I don’t give up! I’ve been through a lot of
shit in my life and I didn’t make it out by giving up.”

                His lips curled into a smile. He
placed his forehead against mine. “Little sister, I have not given up. I wear
this face because I’ve seen too much.”

                “Why do you keep calling me
little sister?” I asked.

                He pulled his face back and wore
a blank expression. “That is not my story to tell.”

                All of the sudden I was spinning.
I came to my body in a series of jerks.

                Kai was in wolf form in front of
me. The council was backed up against the wall of our living room. My head lay
in Sylvia’s lap.

                “I feel sick.” I grabbed my
stomach.

                Kai shifted into his human form,
covering himself with a blanket from the couch. His eyes were yellow. The
council leaned forward peering at me.

                “Maybe everyone should wait
outside until Kai calms down,” Raj told the council.

                “No!” I stood quickly sending a
wave of dizziness through me.

                “Get on the phone, email, use
your pack bond, do whatever you have to, to warn as many wolves as you can.” I
was breathless. I wouldn’t have been shown the future if I couldn’t change it.

                The council stood eerily still.
“Warn them of what?” Kai asked me.

                “The vampires are trying to wipe
out our race. They are spilling liquid silver into the waterways. It’s going to
happen any minute!”

                Raj’s eyes widened in shock. “Do
you mean to tell us that you have seen the future?”

                “Yes! Hurry.” Why did they look
so unsure? God I was sick of being questioned. I advanced on Jane quickly and
the muscles in her arms flexed. I held out my hand.

                “Make them see. We have no time,”
I told her.

                She took my outstretched hand and
I could feel her sifting through my mind. I wanted to push her out but held
still. I could hear Sylvia gasp behind me. Jane broke away with her mouth open.
Then she closed her eyes and tipped her head down. All of the council members
wore shocked expressions. Kai stumbled backward. She had sent my vision to
them.

                ‘The vampires are trying to kill
off our kind. We need to protect the water supply. Portland wolves split up.
Half of you go to the wholesale market and buy as many water bottles as they
have. The other half, bring your weapons and protect the Portland water supply.
Mount Hood wolves, same thing. I don’t care who does what. Figure it out and
move NOW!’
My head was still ringing with Kai’s command. He whipped out his
cellphone and called Shamus telling him to spread the word.

                “We won’t reach everyone in
time!” I screamed desperately.

Sylvia approached Kai’s father. All of the
council members were warning their packs.

                “I’ve seen your bond with the
other people here. You’re all connected.” Sylvia put her hand out waving it in
the air. Raj’s eyes glowed yellow.

                “Calm down, Alpha. I think I can
help.” Sylvia nodded me over. I stumbled forward.

                “What is it? What can we do?” I
asked her.

                “It’s a very powerful spell. It’s
a communication spell between an entire species. It’s been done once before to
warn the witches of the burnings in the Salem Witch trials. It would take all
of these Alphas’ blood and your power as a witch to help me.”

                “Let’s do it,” I told her.

                “Hang on a second. I’m not giving
this witch my blood,” Raj told us.

                My eyes flashed yellow. “Then you
will be responsible for the death of our kind!” I shouted. Kai walked forward
and faced off with his father.

                “You will do this. We don’t have
time to argue. I don’t trust witches but I trust Sylvia.” Kai was barely
holding onto his wolf form, I could see it.

                Kai’s father let loose a growl.
“You don’t tell me what to do!” They locked eyes. Oh God. I could see where
this was going. I looked at Sylvia. ‘
Help
,’ I mouthed.

                She chewed her lip. She reached
into her purse and withdrew a fistful of powder. She threw it in Kai’s and
Raj’s faces and whispered. “Sleep.” They both crumpled to the ground.

                My eyes were wide. The council
seemed in shock. Kai lay at an awkward angle near his father. I straightened
his body and looked at Sylvia.

                She pursed her lips. “Hopefully
they don’t kill me,” she commented.

                “They won’t, I’ll protect you.” I
looked at the council members. “Extend your arm and we may be able to save our
kind.”

                Something seemed to pass between
them. They extended their arms. Sylvia gave me the task of collecting the
blood. Just a prick from each person there, including myself. I pricked Kai and
Raj and winced in fear they would wake up.

                Once I had the droplets of blood
inside an ornate glass vessel I approached Sylvia.

                “We must do this outside, in
nature.” We all followed her outside.

                “This spell is powered very differently
from any other.” Sylvia looked at the council. “This spell is fueled by love.
Love for each other, love for your kind, love for your mate, your children. Any
love you can conjure in your mind you must do it now!”

                Everyone closed their eyes and
began to concentrate. I thought of my mother, of Drake, of Kai. My first kiss
with Kai flashed through my mind. My belly warmed. I felt Sylvia’s hand slip
into mine.

                “Give me all the mist you got,” she
whispered.

                I took a deep breath and opened
my eyes. I imagined the mist inside of me. Magic. I let it leak out of my pores.
It was never ending. I could feel that. It was everywhere, in the trees, the
stars, the rain. This earth was magic! A huge cloud of mist leapt out of my
body and slammed into the council members. They rocked on their heels but
stayed standing.

                Sylvia raised our hands to the
sky. “Let every member of the four-legged race hear my call! Your survival is
threatened. The vampires will attack your water supply with silver. Protect it
now!”

                Rain began to fall from the sky.
It felt miraculous. The message was received, I knew it. The RAIDOS cell phone
began ringing in my pocket. We had given it a batman ringtone.

                Sylvia let go of my hand. “So be
it,” she said and looked at me.

                “So be it,” I repeated not sure
why.

                Then I answered the phone.

                “Hello?”

                “This is Dr. Tavern, our ETA to
the Sandy water treatment facility is thirty minutes.”

                “Uh.” I didn’t know what to say.
I looked up at the sky searching for a drone.

                “Well, we are allies now, aren’t
we? We’re coming to help.”

                I smiled. Maybe this ally thing
was going to turn out okay. “Meet you there.”

                The council had received word
that the message had been heard. People were calling and asking what to do.
Some were panicked and some were prepared. Sylvia awoke Kai and Raj with more
spell powder and quickly left.

                Kai sat up quickly and grabbed
his head. Raj looked at Kai murderously. “I’m going to kill that witch.”

                I stepped forward. “No, you’re
not. She has my protection and since I found your daughter’s mate. I figure you
owe me.” I smiled a little for good measure. I was sure deep down past the Alpha
bullshit, that he was a nice guy.

                His father looked pissed for a
second and then appraised me with pride. “She is your perfect match.” Then he
met my eyes. “Welcome to the family, Aurora.”

                He stood and left with the rest
of the council.

                I ran to the door just in time to
see a few pack members driving a truck full of water bottles up the driveway. Kai
followed after me.

                “What happened?”

                I shifted.
‘I’ll tell you on
the way.’

                Kai didn’t question. He shifted
instantly and followed my fast pace down the mountain towards the small town of
Sandy. After explaining to Kai that we had sent a message to all wolves about
the water, I also explained about the call from RAIDOS.

                ‘So we are meeting the humans at
the Sandy water plant to fight vampires together?’  
he mocked.

                ‘Yep.’

                ‘Well they better not get in my
way.’
He
sped past me, dashing through the trees. We could get there faster in our wolf
form. People would mistake us for a blur of an animal. Sandy was a 20 mile run
as the crow flies. If we had taken a car it would have been a 50 mile winding
road drive. After about twenty minutes of relentless running, we made it down
the mountain and out into the heavily populated area. We slowed near a gas
station. A black helicopter could be seen landing in the distance, in the
general area of the water facility. We weaved in and out of a few cars and back
onto a side street void of people.

                There we sprinted to the water
facility gates. It was dark out but my werewolf eyes could see a commotion just
inside. The black helicopter had landed near a side entrance and the RAIDOS
team had trickled in a gate that had been blasted open. A few of RAIDOS agents
were perched on the roof and were using crossbows to shoot at the vampires.
There must have been fifty of them. They were protecting six large drums of
liquid silver. A few pack members had already arrived and were fighting
alongside the RAIDOS team. A female vampire rose into the air and flew on top
of my back. I rolled quickly hearing the satisfying crunch of her bones beneath
my big wolf body. I twisted out of her grasp and turned to face her. It was 
the vampire queen from that night in LA, Layla. Kai was preparing to pounce on
her. She looked right at him and whispered, “Freeze.” He didn’t move. He barely
breathed. It was like he was made of cement.

                ‘Compulsion,’
he said into my mind.

                Then she looked at me. “You will
change
into your human form and offer me your blood.” I could hear strange sounds in
her voice. Were those hummingbird wings? However, I felt no desire to do as she
asked. Her compulsion didn’t work on me. I lunged for her throat with my teeth
bared. I got in one good bite before she ripped my body away with a gripping
force. I felt a few ribs crack, and I howled. A flaming arrow cut through the
sky and landed in her shoulder. She hissed and her face took on a predatory
look. Her strawberry blonde hair singed with the flame. All of a sudden Kai was
broken free of his compulsion and lunged at her abdomen. Layla yanked the
silver-tipped flaming arrow out of her shoulder and in one quick movement
rammed it into Kai’s hind leg.

                “No!” I screamed and
involuntarily shifted into my human form. Mist began to pour out of my hands. I
couldn’t stop it. I could hear fighting behind me. The mist was swirling around
my body like a funnel. It was like it was waiting for me to tell it what to do.
Kai had retreated a few steps.

                “Attack!” I screamed and put all
of my intention into the mist. Like it was a living guard dog. Like I could
command it. The mist suddenly turned into thousands of bees. They covered
Layla’s body like a coat of black fur. The buzzing was deafening. The sky shuddered
and lightning crackled. Layla began to fumble backwards but the bees moved with
her. I turned to Kai who was dragging his hind leg, the arrow still in it. I
yanked the arrow out and we both turned to the entrance. There were five
barrels of silver untouched. RAIDOS and our pack had taken care of most of the
vampires but a dozen or so remained. Seeing their queen covered in a blanket of
magic bees, they began to advance on us.

                “Shit.” I breathed and shifted
into my wolf. Kai stood in front of me and growled. His back leg was quivering
with the weight of him standing on it. The bees began to dissipate, as I
realized one of the people I mistook for a vampire, was in fact the dark witch
from LA. She raised her hands and black smoke began to leak from her palms.

                ‘Don’t breathe it in!’
I told Kai.

                Just as the wave of black smoke
came towards us, I felt a cool mist at my back. I turned to see Sylvia and her
coven. Their arms outstretched, white mist rolling on the ground making the
black mist retreat. Layla was nowhere to be seen.

                “All alone, Prudence?” Sylvia
screamed at the dark witch.

                Prudence laughed and it raised
the fur on my back.

                “I don’t need a coven. I am more
powerful alone!” She roared and sent a blast of hot air at us. Kai and I retreated
to the side parking lot, while Sylvia and her coven threw spell after spell at
Prudence. I could see Kai was hurt badly from the silver arrow. We were snaking
our way along the trees towards the front door, when Layla and two vampires
jumped out. Two of the vampires distracted Kai, while Layla grabbed my back fur
and yanked. I yelped out in pain. I couldn’t do anything. I was hanging midair
from her arm by my back skin, yapping with my teeth at nothing. I shifting
quickly to my human form and grabbed Layla’s arm and snapped it in half. She
screamed but quickly smiled.

                “Atta a girl.” Then she pounced
on me, taking a hold of my hair in her hand and exposing my neck. I tried to
wiggle out of her gasp but she was fast and strong. I felt her teeth sink into
my neck before I could even try to get free. Pleasure and disgust exploded
inside my belly. It felt like I was eating the most delicious meal in the
world. My mouth salivated. On the other hand I was being bitten by a vampire! I
shuttered. These two feelings warred inside of me. Finally, I felt myself being
torn away from her. Dr. Tavern held a long sharp samurai sword. Layla’s mouth
was dripping with my blood. Oh God.

                Dr. Tavern advanced on Layla. But
Layla smiled. It was the creepiest, blood-coated, sharp-toothed smile. Then she
ran. She fled fast into the woods and my stomach dropped.

                I looked at Dr. Tavern. “She
drank my blood! That means she is fertile for the next few days! She can have a
child.”

                I shifted into wolf form and
began to go after her. Dr. Tavern said something over an ear piece and I heard
helicopter blades above me. Two RAIDOS members hung from ropes that dangled
from the helicopter.

                I heard foot steps behind me. It
was Kai. I glanced back, happy that he was helping me pursue Layla. Together we
could take her down. Just as I glanced back, his back leg gave out with a snap
and I saw him roll. Twigs and leaves scattered in the air. I skidded to a halt.

                ‘Kai!’

                ‘I can’t run that fast with a
silver injury.’

                I crouched over him now,
assessing his leg. It was bad. The wound wasn’t healing. It was open and
leaking clearish fluid. Let RAIDOS handle Layla. My mate needed me. I shifted
to human form.

                “I want to try something,” I told
him. I held my hands over his leg. The muscle was twitching. The mist began to
pour from my hands and Kai’s nostrils flared.

                ‘Magic,’
he commented. I nodded.
HEAL. I told the mist. I closed my eyes and I imagined all of the skin
stitching together and becoming pink and then pale. I imagined his fur, fluffy
and thick. I heard him panting. If I had this magic inside of me then maybe I
could do something good with it. I opened my eyes. Kai was standing and staring
at me in fear. I looked at my hands and shook them, stopping the mist. His
leg…. It was healed. No gash, no blood, no pain. I could hear his heart beating
fast.

                ‘I’m a witch,’
I said half to myself. I
could hear the whine of helicopter blades off in the distance.

                ‘You’re a witch,’
he agreed. His yellow
eyes appraised me. ‘
A pretty sexy, amazing witch.’

                I smiled. “Let’s follow that
helicopter.” I grabbed my neck. The two pinprick bite marks were pulsing. I
shook off the thought of what it felt like when she bit me, the pleasure and
disgust. I shifted to my wolf form and took off after Kai. He ran easily now
with no sign of a limp. The multiple shifts were starting to drain my energy. I
was getting hungry.

                ‘Max is at the water treatment
plant. He said the rest of the vampires have fled. One drum of silver made it
into the water supply,’
Kai told her.

                We were approaching the sound of
the helicopter now. It hovered above us. The two ropes dangled from above and
snaked across the ground. One of the RAIDOS agents was knelt over another agent.

                “He’s dead, and the vampires got
away,” the agent told us without looking up. I inhaled deeply. I couldn’t pick
up Layla’s scent. I felt bad that one of their people had died for our cause. I
heard footsteps behind me and Dr. Tavern and another agent stopped when they
saw the body.

                “Brent,” Dr. Tavern whispered, a
tear fell from her cheek. It was then that I realized, the RAIDOS humans were a
pack. This was their family, united with one cause, to protect their kind. We
weren’t so different. I tipped my head back and howled in grief. Kai joined me.
Dr. Tavern composed herself and spoke over her ear piece. Two men repelled from
the helicopter with a rescue basket and a bundle of clothes. They loaded Brent
into the basket and Dr. Tavern nodded at Kai and me. “Can you become human? We
need to talk.” They turned their backs as we shifted to our human forms. I
shrugged on the black sweatpants and t-shirt. Kai put the pants on but left the
shirt crumpled on the ground.

                ‘They smell like someone else,’
he told me. Typical
Alpha. Didn’t want to smell like anyone else.

                ‘I’m not complaining.’
 I winked.

                Dr. Tavern extended her hand to Kai
and looked at his forehead, not quite meeting his eyes. Smart girl.

                “I’m Dr. Tavern. I have been
authorized to be the communications expert between our two parties.”

                Kai shook her hand. “Do you do
everything you are authorized to do?”

                She smiled devilishly. “Not
always. You don’t exactly get chosen to join RAIDOS because you followed the
rules all your life.”

                Kai’s deep laughter cut the
tension that had been mounting and her two partners relaxed.

                ‘I like her
,’ he told me.

                ‘Me too
,’ I agreed.

                “I am Kai, the Alpha of the Mount
Hood and Portland, Oregon territories. I have been authorized by the werewolf
council to tell you what I deem necessary.” There was no mistaking his subtle
threat. Kai was in control of this conversation. Dr. Tavern nodded.

                “The deputy director of the
intelligence division has briefed the President on this situation tonight. I
have received word that it is now our mission to gather intelligence on Queen
Layla and any vampire spawn she may birth after having fed on Aurora.”

                My hand went to the bite marks on
my neck. Kai glared at Dr. Tavern. “Do as you please in regards to the
vampires.”

                Dr. Tavern leaned in and produced
a small silver disc from her pocket. She clicked a button and it glowed red.
Her two agents began to walk away. Kai grabbed my hand and creased his
eyebrows. Then she lowered her voice. “It has also been brought to my attention
that if the vampire does in fact prove to have a successful birth, Aurora is
too much of a threat to be allowed to roam freely. We are to take her into
custody to run tests at that point.”

                Kai opened his mouth to shout
something but she placed a finger over her lips, then she clicked the disc and
the red light went away.

                “We will be in contact with you.
If the vampires move to harm any humans, we may ask that you return the favor
we gave you today.”

                Kai was grinding his teeth. I
stared into Dr. Tavern’s eyes, there was something there…. kindness and
fascination. She was intrigued with our species. If Layla gave birth, they
would capture me. Run tests?

                ‘You’re mine. No one is taking
you anywhere.’

                “Any final words Mr. Krishna?”

                I saw Kai’s face fall at the
knowledge that they knew his last name.

                “Yeah, tell your boss to keep his
drones off my mountain.” He shifted tearing the sweatpants in two and Dr.
Tavern’s eyes widened. She didn’t look away. I was right, she was fascinated.
She looked at me.

                “I’m a person, I have a family.
I’m sure you know about my non-profit that helps hundreds of women and children
every year?” I questioned her.