Wolf Dream (17 page)

“
Mmmhum, you just be careful, you realize you’re playing with fire, right?”

She giggled. “I know,
hot fire.”

It was useless to argue with her. “Fine, I’ll be back in the morning.”

She waved me off. “You don’t have to report to me. Adonia and Torres might be a bit miffed you didn’t include them though.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think of that.”

“Luna, can you tell Hela that we’re gonna be out all night hunting? I don’t want them to follow, although they can help by looking for Nicholas on the other side of the city if they want.”

“Of course, although, I guess I should tell you that they are already out looking. They left right after hearing about Davin.”

I sighed. “Okay, whatever. We’ll meet you and Dregan in the park in fifteen minutes.”

“We’re already here.”

Of course they were. Luna was always watching.

We made it to the park in record time. Actually, I was sure it was because Ian drove like he owned the road, which was normal, but with the whole death thing hovering over me, I wanted to take extra precautions.

It was the Parque Del Retiro, or Royal Park. This was the place on the map that shimmered the other day. I knew we’d find an answer to something here. One day I’d like to come back just to walk through it. It was huge. Tall trees covered most of the three-hundred-and-twenty acres, along with all kinds of flowers and shrubs. Soft music from some sort of string instrument sounded from somewhere in the park, its beautiful notes carrying on the breeze. I looked around in awe. It was much prettier, even at night, than the brochure in the hotel room said. I knew that somewhere in the middle of the park was a man-made lake, and buildings and statues were scattered around the entire park. I sighed. Maybe one day I could go somewhere just to enjoy it, but tonight wasn’t that night.

I saw Luna’s eyes before I actually saw her body. She looked like she had on the plane,
her wispy form hiding in the bushes. When I got closer she took her full wolf form and rubbed against my leg.

Dregan came out in his full black glory, looking more like a shadow than a living wolf.
He stood between Ian and me. I squatted down to pet them both, then I hugged Luna and buried my face in her soft fur. She smelled of pine and I instantly wished I was wherever she just came from, anywhere but here.

Ian placed a hand on my shoulder. “Come on, it’s getting late and we have a lot of ground to cover.”

“He’s right. I’m more than ready to end this.”

I realized Luna had a lot at stake too. If I died, she would too. I swallowed hard to keep my emotions from rising too far to the surface. I nodded and stood up. “Do you think we can find him tonight? I mean
, we’ve had months to find him and kill him. What makes you think we can do it tonight?”

Ian took my hand.
“Because we only have two weeks before the Death Keeper takes you and that makes me work a little harder. Besides, Nicholas knows you know about his deal, since he was the one who took you to Davin in the first place. I think he finally wants to be found. He thinks bringing you out will make it easier for the Death Keeper to kill you. He wants your power, and doesn’t want to wait anymore. He thinks he has the upper hand.”

That made sense, but
I wasn’t sure I wanted to believe it. “Okay, so what do we do first, oh mighty hunter?”

“You kn
ow, I can get used to all this Mighty Hunter King stuff, you should keep it up.” He gave me a smile and winked.

I wriggled my hand from his and pushed him forward. “Just keep walking before I call you something else.”

He chuckled and I could hear Luna and Dregan laughing as well. I shook my head. It was going to be a long night.

We walked through the park
, making it to a place that I recognized from the brochure. “Oh, I know where we are.” I got a little closer. I deeply wanted to be a tourist with no crossbreeds or vampires to hunt. I wanted to take Ian’s hand and stroll through the moonlit park and not have a care in the world. I wanted to be able to enjoy the historic buildings and take in the flowers. I sighed. I was too distracted. “This is the, um, the…” I snapped my fingers trying to remember the name of the monument. “Oh, I don’t remember, but I think it was named after some Alfonso dude, or something like that. The other side of it should be the lake.”

“Okay, teach, but can you save the history lesson for later?”
I frowned at Ian, but he stopped walking and lifted his finger to his lips.

“Listen, it’s a
crossbreed for sure.” Luna’s hackles rose.

I listened, but didn’t hear anything. I decided to feel out for it instead. A hollow, dark sensation made me sick to my stomach. Ugh, definitely a
vampire.

Ian stepped lightly forward.
“Ian says to stay here and cover this side of the monument. He’s gonna go around and see if he can find them.” Dregan’s voice growled in my head. I knew he was just as riled about everything as we all were.

I nodded at Ian as he glanced at me over his shoulder. I grabbed the stake I had in the holder strapped to my back, under my jacket. I needed to be prepared for whoever was around.

Ian and Dregan disappeared behind the monument toward the lake. My heartbeat pounded in my ears as my anxiety grew. I felt out for Ian, needing to know he was safe. Not that I thought otherwise, but I wasn’t sure I would get used to having a heightened sense of emotion for him. Or Dregan for that matter. I wondered if he was doing the same thing with me. If he was, I knew he’d never let on that he did.

A small scuffle sounded beside the building
, but I couldn’t see anything. I tiptoed closer, hoping to see who it was. I held my stake tighter.

“Es,
” Dregan’s voice filled my head. “Ian is coming back around to the right, I’m pushing a breed out the left side; meet us there. Luna, be ready.”

I couldn’t see Dregan or the
crossbreed he talked about. My body tensed as I waited for them to show up. Out of the corner of my left eye I saw movement. I spun carefully to investigate. Luna kept right beside me. I could feel her need to growl, but she stayed silent. The moonlight gave an eerie glow over the archaic building and the shadows from the trees moved with each sway of the branches in the breeze.

I lifted the palm of my free hand, letting my magic sizzle, small sparks of blue and red flicker
ed off my skin and disappeared into the air. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I twisted slightly to look behind me. I swallowed the lump in my throat when I saw two shadows lurking behind the trees.

“Luna, there are two more behind us. I’m not sure where Ian is, and this is just a guess, but I think we’re surrounded.”

Luna bared her teeth and let out a growl. She backed up to me so together we could watch all around. Dregan snarled as he came around the side of the building. A man who had fresh blood smeared on his face headed my way, not too far in front of Dregan.

I could feel Dregan, Luna and Ian’s overpowering desire to protect me. The
sensation was heavy, making me feel like my body was weighed down by lead. I didn’t understand why I felt so much of their emotions, and right now wasn’t the time to have them crush my own senses. Luna’s I was used to–they felt the same as mine as if we were one. Ian and Dregan were different–they made me feel two sets of emotions, confusing me. I really hoped our emotional bond wouldn’t get in the way tonight while hunting.

I shook my head, trying to clear my head.

Luna growled again then looked up at me. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, just trying to shove away Ian’s feelings so I can focus,”
I mentally whispered back.

“I hate to say it, but right now isn’t the time to worry about feelings.”

“No kidding, you think?” I shifted my weight slightly and watched the man amble slowly toward me. I wasn’t sure if he saw me or just sensed me, but either way he knew I was here.

“Well, well, what do we have here?” one of the men behind me said. His voice was nasally with a slight eastern accent.

Luna and I shifted in our small circle so I could see the one who talked. I let out a small gasp when I saw three more men emerging from the tree line. There was no way to escape them now. We had to fight. Wasn’t that what we were here to do anyway? I lowered my hand with the stake. “Looks like we got a couple dead breeds.”

The man laughed. “Big talk for someone who only has a wolf to protect her.”

“She’s enough to handle you,” I said as I silently prayed we would get out of there alive—at least, I hoped tonight wasn’t the night Davin chose to finish his deal. Despite what Ailaina said about two weeks, I knew more than anyone how plans change.

“I think you underestimate me,” he said with a grin.

The guy beside him snickered and spit what looked like blood on the walkway.

I wanted to gag, but controlled the urge.
“Is that supposed to scare me? You’re not the first person I’ve met who drinks blood.”

Both guys laughed. “Oh,
sweetheart, we know who you are and who you know. Why do you think we’re here?” the first man asked.

A twinge inside my chest caught me off
-guard and I winced. “Don’t worry, Ian’s fine. He’s around the building with three other breeds and will be here as soon as he can.” Dregan’s voice was calm but didn’t sooth my worry over the strange ache I just felt.

Luna growled louder and spotted the other two breeds moving
in closer. Five of them against me and Luna, we could do it. Something shifted behind the two men I stared at. It took me a minute to actually see Dregan; his body moved through the night like a shadow, barely visible.

“
Dregan’s coming in behind them. He says there are two more that we can’t see.”

My heart skipped a beat. Okay, make that
seven against us. At least Dregan was here. Wait. That meant Ian had no help. “Dregan, go help Ian. Luna and I got this.”

It sounded like he almost chuckled in my head.
“Ian would kill me if I let something happen to you. Besides, I would die if something happened and I wasn’t here to help.”

“You’re gonna die if something happens to Ian, now go!”

“Not going to happen.”

When did arguing with a wolf become so frustrating? He was just as stubborn as Ian.

The other two crossbreeds Dregan told us about appeared and walked in closer. Great, I was officially surrounded. “Luna, I don’t want to completely wreck the park. We don’t need immortals poking around wondering who or what ruined a royal landmark.”

“What are you planning?”

I rolled my shoulders and grinned at the breeds. “Magic, of course. That, and I might try to use your powers with mine like we trained for with my dad.”

I didn’t give the first guy time to think as I shot my hand up, palm out, and hit him square in the chest with a fireball. Fire wasn’t my favorite element to draw from, but
it was pretty impressive, and effective. The flaming ball threw the man back at least five feet onto his back. Dregan was on him instantly, ripping into his throat. Only six left. I could do it.

Luna jumped away from me. I turned just in time to see one of the breeds lunge for me, but she caught him and wrestled him to the ground. I didn’t have time to react before the man who spit blood grabbed my arm. I twisted free of his grasp and plunged the stake deep into his chest, letting him fall to the ground
as he cried out.

The other three were quick to move toward me, but hesitated at the last minute. I smiled
when I felt the cold tingling sensation flow over me as I connected with the water in the lake. Water streamed across the ground, pooling around the feet of the four breeds, encircling me. They each looked down, then back at me. One of them laughed. “You think a little water’s gonna hurt us?”

“No.” I shook my head a little and smirked. “But a lot can kill you.”
I felt the spark of light that was Luna and used her power to bring in the water.

One of them backed up, trying to get away from the puddles he stood in, but
Luna’s power was filled with spirit, making the water follow him wherever he moved. He looked up at me with wide eyes. I took that moment to draw the water up behind him, creating a tidal-like wave that consumed him in one rush. As soon as the water receded, Dregan was on him.

Luna was back by my side,
the light gray fur around her mouth stained crimson. Her hackles were still raised as she snarled at the remaining men.

I lifted my hands and clouds rolled in
one fast motion. In my head I whispered to the spirit elements around me. “Blood of blood, spirit of spirit, hearken my call, hear my words. I call to you, to come to me, and let me use your boundless energy.”

Immediately, hot pressure surged through me. The three men had slacked jaws and wide eyes. They should be scared. The
air around me sizzled and it felt like a thousand ants danced in my palms. I pushed to release the spirit energy, sending it to the breed closest to me. His body jerked and went stiff as my magic consumed him. Luna dashed after him so I let up my invisible hold on him.