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Chapter Eight
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Emily woke much earlier than usual, feeling trapped and claustrophobic. She made her way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, then noticed her reflection looked as exhausted as she felt. Her eyes were bleary with dark patches beneath them and her skin was much paler than normal, which gave her an unpleasant pause.
How sure was she that no one was feeding on her? She leaned forward, checking her throat carefully in the mirror. There didn't appear to be any bite marks, and the cross was still protectively around her neck, which made her feel better.
Somewhat.
Cautiously satisfied she was simply suffering from sleeplessness, she got dressed in last night's clothes. What she needed was some space and fresh air to settle herself. Her nerves weren't about to let her get more sleep, and she felt like a caged animal in her room. After a long moment's indecision, she
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“What have you done!?" screamed a shrill, angry voice.The blood-curdling sound woke everyone at once, followed by the loud jangle of wind chimes as the bedroom door was jerked open.Emily leapt from her bed—instantly wide awake, and rushed toward Amber's room, her heart in her throat. She hadn't made it two steps when she heard a dangerous growl. William stepped out from the doorway of his own room to block her path. Before she could open her mouth to demand he move, Paoli was lifting a kicking and fighting Amber into his arms further down the corridor.Paoli carried her back into the room and left Emily alone in the hall with William.William's feet and chest were bare again. His eyes were sparkling a predatory gold as they fixed on her, unblinking.She took a step away from him, uncertain.William noticed her unease. It did nothing to cool his mood. He'd fallen asleep with his body on fire after spending the day in a car with
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A mere two hours later, Emily found herself standing, unarmed, on an airplane runway between a vampire and a 'complicated' man who could turn into the world's biggest wolf. She was feeling slightly dazed and unreal. Everything was happening so fast.Behind them, a small white hanger stood in shadows. In front of them, a small plane taxied to a halt like a weird cab. The hatch opened to show a man she'd never seen.His hair was long; similar to Paoli's shoulder length.She wondered absently if that meant they were from the same time period. She eyed Paoli critically. She turned to look at William, wondering about his age, and found he was scowling at her for some reason. She scowled back in response and returned her attention to the pilot, who made his way quickly to them.Once he stopped and exchanged greetings with Paoli, his attention turned to her in a way that was just unnerving. His body didn't seem to move, but his head looked like it was rotating o
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Emily didn't feel remotely safe until the door to her room closed behind her and she was alone. She leaned against the door in relief and slid down to her butt right there on the floor.With nervous fingers, she touched the silver cross in her front pocket, thankful Paoli had returned it. A thousand panicked ideas flashed through her head.At the top of the list was RUN.But run where?She was now in a strange country with no passport or even identification to prove who she was. Besides, the entire world of monsters was either already aware or soon would be, that she knew about them.There wasn't a place on earth she would be safe.She silently cursed both Amber and her own stupidity. She should have refused to come here. Or even better, as soon as she learned her sister had gotten involved with actual werewolves, she should have left Amber to figure it out on her own and been done, once and for all.Eventually, she pulled herse
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"Yes," William admitted quietly. "And like Paoli said, it came with a very high price."Her brows knit together in confusion. "You were condemned as a kid? But how did you continue to age if you were immortal as a child?" she asked."It's-" he began."Don't even say it's complicated," she interrupted shortly. “This looks like a good time for explanations.” She crossed the room to sit down at the table, made an elaborate point of settling back in her chair and gestured to the one across from her.While she was waiting for him to join her, she lifted the lid on the tray and found a delightful dinner of roast beef and carrots.She didn't hesitate to start eating.The food was surprisingly delicious. A sweet glaze on the carrots made them melt in her mouth.William took the seat across from her and leaned back, watching her in a thoughtful silence. Only once she'd finished eating and pushed her plate away did he take a deep, r
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The following evening came far too soon. It seemed they had all just settled in their respective places to rest; Emily in the bed, Paoli on the couch, and William on one of the chairs, when it was time to start getting ready for their meeting.William shook Emily awake.She sat up, grumbling complaints, and looked at him bleary-eyed. Her hair that was normally bouncing in rich, dark waves around her stood out in all directions, as if she'd tossed and turned all night.“You should put this on. It's almost time,” William said, holding up the white robe.She groaned and swung her legs over the side of the bed, stifling a wide yawn.When Paoli looked up at her, he jumped back in overly dramatic horror, grabbing at his chest as though the look of her had given him a real fright.Emily made a face at him and turned her attention to the robe in William's hand. She took it and eyed it with doubt. The garment was a white robe with a
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Emily couldn't stifle her gasp of horror.William's arm tightened on her side, almost to the point of pain. His eyes glittered gold and his chest rumbled with a low growl.“It would be a waste, don't you think?” Paoli said quickly, his voice flat and matter of fact. He sounded calm, almost conversational. After her initial gasp, Emily held a blank expression and refused to show fear in the face of someone obviously accustomed to terrifying others. She wouldn't go to her death humiliating herself by screaming and begging. She would face her fate with dignity. No one needed to know it took all of her will to keep her knees from giving out."Lycaon knows; as do I; if you push this issue, Emily will not be the only life lost here today. William and I will die with her. It's doubtful we'll be the only ones,” Paoli said. It was a subtle threat, but a threat, n
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Emily was in a daze when Paoli guided her through the castle and back to her room in silence. A thousand questions swirled in her head, but the foremost on her mind was simple.Were they killing William?She held herself together until the door to her room clicked behind them. Then she turned to Paoli and grabbed his shoulders. "Okay, we're safe. Now tell me. What is a bleeding?" She could hear the desperation in her own voice, but she didn't care.Paoli met her eyes with a hooded look. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "It's an ancient form of torture," he said, his voice barely more steady than hers.Emily felt like she'd been kicked in the chest.Torture?"Are they going to kill him?" she whispered, not sure she could stand the answer."No" Paoli said. His voice was soft and flat.Almost an echo.A wave of relief washed over
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Emily was sleep walking.She had to be.One minute, she was sleeping fitfully in the bed in her room. The next thing she knew, she was padding silently on bare feet past Paoli who was sleeping on the couch. She wanted to cry out for help. But, as with many dreams, she couldn't seem to get her body to work quite right.She walked through the door and around the castle. Her mind screamed at her to stop and get back to the safety of Paoli and her room, but her feet continued on. She was convinced her certain death would step out from any corner in the castle halls, but still she kept moving, despite her fear. Her body seemed to be under someone else's control, and she was powerless to stop herself.It was daytime, and the castle was thankfully empty this time of day. Room after room she went, through the halls, past the crested doors, and into the throne room where the Coven heads held court. Eventually, she found herself in an ancient hallway. It s
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"What do you suppose is the significance of what we've just done?" Empusa asked when the group gathered in Paoli's room. Empusa was lounging casually on the bed with his legs crossed at the ankles and his hands folded behind his head, looking for all the world like a man without a care."You're the expert on blood binding around here. You tell us," Paoli returned. "My only experience with blood bonds had proven to be questionable at best. Maybe I did it wrong." He shrugged carelessly, but his face suddenly looked concerned.Empusa gave him a wide-eyed look of surprise. "I'm a wolf with understanding of pack ties. Here in the Coven, I was a spy to watch Lycaon and report to the committee. I don’t know anything about parchment agreements and blood contracts. That's more in your wheelhouse, being a vampire and all," he said.Sekhmet came into the room with a rosy glow on his cheeks.Paoli narrowed his eyes at him.Sekhmet grinned in return. "Don
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William and Emily stood side by side before the committee. Paoli stood on William's other side, and Sekhmet and Empusa flanked the group. They presented a united front of strength and power.William was proud to stand, surrounded by his people.No matter that some of them had come to him at the behest of the committee itself. They were his now, with blood bonds to unite them, and that was all that really mattered in the end.Unconsciously, he felt for the people connected to him and found some comfort in his ability to do so. He could feel the nervousness and turmoil of each person. Without giving it a thought, he sent them strength.It was amazing the satisfaction he felt as the posture of each of his people relax almost imperceptibly. It was only seen as the set of their shoulders relaxed the slightest bit.It was enough.He'd done what he co
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Empusa showed them into a room that was much smaller and less decorated than the one they'd enjoyed on their previous stay.Guard quarters, William realized.The furniture was much the same type; with a decent-sized bed in the center of the room and a small table in the corner. It was just less decorative and more utilitarian. His nose told him the room was clean, though, and that was good enough."My quarters are right across the hall. I'm going to grab some sleep, so I'll be easy to find if you need me," Empusa said."With everything going on around here, it's probably a good idea if we stick together and don't wonder the castle alone," William said."That's my thought, as well," Empusa agreed easily. "Sekhmet and Paoli will come and get us when they rise, and we can go to the committee as a united pack.""A flock," Emily corrected.Empusa gave her an exaggerated wince and a smile. "I am not part of a flock," he said with m
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After a long night of flying, the five of them landed outside of the castle on the same runway they'd used to escape only a few weeks before.The irony of that fact was not lost on Emily. A part of her was expecting to see Lycaon and a whole army waiting for them in a twisted trap. But all that awaited them were two ornate crates that looked as though they belonged in a museum of ancient artifacts.Emily gave William a questioning look when she noticed the men loading them into the back of the plane."It's daytime," William said in answer to her silent question. "They'll get Paoli and Sekhmet to the castle safely."She eyed the strangers speculatively, uncertain if they could be trusted with the two vampires while they slept. Or while they were dead for the day, which she didn't like to even consider. As far as she was concerned, they were asleep; no matter what Sekhmet said. She had not just been in a little airplane with two dead guys.I
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Emily sat on one of the bench seats on the bus, feeling fully satiated. After they'd arrived at the small campground, the three wolves had taken to the wooded area that hugged the little clearing and gone hunting. It was Emily's first hunt as a wolf, and it had been absolutely thrilling. Together, they brought down a buck that seemed huge to her, but she was later informed it was at best medium-sized.She would never have guessed how satisfying it would be to use her new big teeth –the better to eat you with, my deer, she thought with a chuckle to herself at her own play on words—to tear apart a carcass, still flanked protectively by the two males.After the hunt, both William and Empusa showered in the RV that she would not go back into for any reason and joined her on the bus to wait for their vampire compatriots to rise for the long evening ahead.Now she sat between William and Paoli, across from Empusa and Sekhmet, and even wit
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty One
Emily sat in the cage in her wolf form and glared at the wolves around her. All seven of them were in human form, but there was no mistaking their scent. Thanks to Williams' training, she'd learned to discern many scents.Werewolf was an easy one.Interestingly enough, most of them looked at her with wariness and kept a good distance between themselves and her, especially after she'd nearly torn out the throat of the wolf who stuck her in this damned cage in the first place.It gave her some satisfaction to see the fear in their eyes. Part of it was fear of her; of her sheer size since most wolves were about twice the size of an ordinary timber wolf, while she was nearly three times that and winged; a condition unique to her if Paoli was to be believed; but most of it was their fear of William, she thought.They knew he'd be enraged and hunting them. Everyone was afraid of William, even under the best of circumstances. If he caught them before they got wh
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William flew through the hotel door like a possessed thing and found exactly what he feared.Nothing.For a long moment, icy rage seemed to blot out his vision and his wolf very nearly took control. The wolf wanted to rend and howl and tear the entire hotel to the ground.He fought back the beast, determined to remain in control. He needed to think, to come up with a plan. His wolf wasn't helping. If ever he needed a clear head, this was the time.His teeth snapped together in frustrated fury and he tried to calm himself. With his eyes closed, he took a deep breath and let it out slowly to center his thoughts. Once he had some semblance of control, he began to smell the room, trying to catch the scent, some clue of what had happened.It was difficult since it was a hotel and there were so many different smells to sift through. Amber and Emily's scents were easy to find, but he couldn't locate Lycaon's. Maybe he hadn't come here at all. Or maybe he'
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With Emily safely settled away from the house, the men prepared for battle. They packed the blood mobile and made plans. Then they each took up a post to wait. Dawn was only a couple of hours away. If the attack came tonight, it needed to come before then. As Paoli said, it was possible they planned to wait until tomorrow during the day. If so, they'd be long gone because William wasn't waiting around after dawn. He was good in battle, but not take-on-twenty-werewolves-single-handed good.While it hurt Paoli to leave his little bookstore again, he'd reopen in a new location when things got a little more back to normal.For William, the situation was much more dangerous. His wolf was a natural hunter. Even though he made sure to run at least once during the week of the full moon to chase rabbits and deer, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as tearing apart a humanoid creature. He had a long history of losing control and going on what Paoli referred to as 'benders', though h
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A cool numbness spread over Emily at his words. She braced herself for the pain of her sister's hatred, but it never came. After so many years of dealing with the pain, it was almost alarming that it was simply gone.She looked around the room carefully; taking in William's carefully controlled expression, and to Paoli; who had a very animated face beneath his long, dark blond hair that was almost always tied at the back of his neck, and even to Sekhmet.It dawned on her at last. As dark and just plain weird as her life may have become, this was where she belonged. She was loved and protected and accepted, just as she was. Flawed and weak though she may be at times; these men would stand with her eternally. It was a humbling certainty.Amber had long ago walked away from her; despising her ability to move on after their mother's death, she thought. Over the years, it had slowly become something stronger and more destructive. Hate. It wasn't until the day in Lyca
