Willow (Blood Vine Series) (25 page)

“I mean, my dad has told me these stories my whole life.” She shook her head back and forth slowly. “Knowing is different than actually
knowing
.”

“So what is the Knights of Andros?”

“It’s a … club.”

“A club?”

“Not a club really. But kind of.” Her green eyes widened slightly as she struggled to think of the right word to use.

“Ok, a club. That does what?”

“Hunts werewolves.”

All sound stuttered to a stop, including my heart. “What?”

“This Andros character started it way back in … I don’t know the 1500s or something.”

“Who’s in it?”

“Some humans, and vampires … ”

“And?”

“And some werewolves, too.”

“Are you sure? Why would a wolf join up with a group like that?”

She shrugged. “My uncle is in it. And my dad.”

“Your mom?”

“She was bitten, too. But she died.” She tried to look like it didn’t bother her, but there was an unmistakable quiver in her voice.

“Sorry,” I mumbled an apology. I should have guessed it. And yet Carlie was strangely unafraid of wolves.

“It was a long time ago.”

“What do the knights do exactly? Meet with Andros?”

“I’ve never seen him. There are meetings, though.”

“Have you ever been to one?”

“You know, I always thought all this stuff was just crazy talk, like UFO’s and the Loch Ness Monster.”

“I’ll ask Gage, he’ll know who they are.” Gage was probably around when the group first formed.

“My dad hates werewolves.”

“One killed his wife. Why aren’t you afraid?”

“I know Rueben.”

“Rueben is … young.”

“I love him.” Her voice sounded small, like an echo in a huge empty house, but not like a little girl’s declaration.

“He is charming, I guess.”

“He’s not,” she laughed. “But I do love him, Willow. I was drawn to him when I first saw him. Like I always knew he was different.”

“Yeah … different.”

“So my dad has seen a lot of things in his time,” she said abruptly.

“He has good reason to check the shadows then.”

“Yeah.” She shrugged lightly.

“Have you ever met any wolves?”

“Besides you?”

“And Gage.”

“And Rueben.” She looked away, her cheeks slightly pink.

I tried not to stare at her. She was strange for a human. A wolf had killed her own mother and turned her uncle into a monster. She belonged to a group that hunted down the creatures and the first one she meets, she falls in love with.

“And your uncle of course.”

“The others in your pack,” she began. I felt myself stiffen. Now I would know how much she knew. “I saw other wolves. They’re the boys at school, aren’t they?” I refused to answer - or maybe I just wasn’t able to speak. “Rodney and Steven?”

“Yeah,” I half-whispered.

“Who was seen this morning?”

“Steven.”

“And you’re the leader?” I nodded. “How did you become … a wolf?”

“How?” My voice cracked.

“You were bitten?” she prompted with eager expectation.

On Carlie’s nightstand was a framed picture of a little girl and a woman with long brown hair and bright green eyes. Carlie and her mom. I stared at the picture. She couldn’t have been much more than eight,

“I lost my mom when I was pretty young, too,” I said in a low voice.

She looked over at the picture I was still staring at. “I was seven.”

“I was six, so I guess I beat you.” I smiled half-heartedly.

“What happened to her?”

“Werewolf attack.”

“Oh.”

“Yep. I was six and Ivy was four. We were camping with our parents in some remote part of Alaska. They were … not good parents.”

“Did they abuse you?”

“I don’t really remember them, but what kind of people take their small children to a remote part of Alaska?” I smiled tightly, which she did not return. “It must have been a real mess cause the cops didn’t bother to count body parts, they just said we were dead, too.”

“You were taken by the wolves?” she prompted when I fell silent.

“Ivy and I were bitten, but not killed, and then taken.”

“So that’s how you become a werewolf, getting bitten by one?”

“Not just any wolf, though. It has to be the female and it’s not always successful. The bite could kill you … or change you.”

“How do you know if it’s going to work or not?”

“There’s no way to know. Look what happened to your mom and uncle. One lived and one died.”

“Maybe my mom was bitten by a male.”

I shook my head. “If a male had gotten a hold of her … ” I shuddered.

“I … ”

“It’s not like it happens a lot,” I interrupted her. Now that I had started talking I found myself wanting to tell Carlie more. “Your dad is right that a wolf doesn’t age but that doesn’t mean they just get to live forever.”

“What do you mean?”

“Eventually the person becomes more wolf than human. The wolf gene takes over. For males it doesn’t matter, they live out in the wild; but they need a female who’s still mostly human. Once the female gets too old … they kill her.”

“What?”

“Yeah, but you would know … I mean,
she
would know before it actually happened. By then she would be so connected to her pack they would own you … her. She would do anything for them; give anything to keep them safe. So when it gets too much she would choose a human child and change her. She would raise the child with the pack. When she turned seventeen, she’d be mature enough to take over. That’s how it’s done.”

“Why a child?”

“The young are more susceptible to the change. They’re less likely to die.”

“Females are never changed as adults then?”

“They can be. There was a female called Noreen who changed adults. It’s harder to make the pack trust them, though. But not impossible.”

“What if they don’t want to lead the pack?”

“Then what would be the point of changing her?”

She shrugged.

“But what I don’t understand,” I jumped out of the chair and kneeled on the floor by the bed, “is why they put me in charge of this pack.”

“You’re a female - raised since you were young.”

“Yeah, but I’m still young and the boys are young. There is so much room for mistakes. Of course we’re going to mess up. It’s like they’re waiting for something big enough.”

“Then they’ll come kill you?” Her eyes widened almost comically.

“Maybe but … ”

“But what?” She inched closer to me.

“They want something from us. Why wouldn’t Andros just order them to be killed? Why would he let us meet?” I chewed nervously on my fingernail. “He’s just letting them get stronger. Why? What does he want?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Meeting Jed

Carlie sat watching me while I tried to work things out. Ivy and I had been changed to lead one of Noreen’s packs. The council had just made that plan a reality. Why would Andros want that? It didn’t make any sense. Maybe it was time for me to talk to Gage about my worries. Surely he understood the council better than I did.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you all that,” I said, with a guilty flush, to Carlie. My nail had started to bleed along the side.

“So,” she pursed her lips thoughtfully, “Ivy’s a wolf too?”

I closed my eyes in defeat. “Yeah.”

“And Bella?”

“She changed us.”

“Was she training you to be the next leader for her pack? Why did she need two?”

“Bella’s too young to need a replacement yet,” I told her with a scowl. “It takes a long time.” I wasn’t sure if I was convincing her or myself.

“So what were you for?”

“Noreen was trying to make an army of wolves to take the ancient city back from Andros.”

She smiled, but not in an amused sort of way. “My dad told me that, too.”

“He was right. Ivy and I were going to take over one of her packs but before we could be placed … ” I hesitated to tell Carlie about Mikhaul.

“Noreen was killed?”

“Yes. Along with all the packs she created.”

“Except the boys here,” her voice went quiet.

“Yeah.”

“Did Andros kill them?”

“No.” My eyes narrowed sharply. Without meaning to, Carlie had a point. Andros didn’t kill Noreen and her wolves. “Mikhaul killed them.”

“Who’s that? A vampire?”

“Another wolf. An old enemy of Noreen’s.”

“Well,” she swallowed thickly, “if this Mikhaul guy is strong enough to kill all those wolves he must be pretty strong, right?”

That was a huge understatement. “Yeah.” What was she getting at?

“Maybe the council wants you to get rid of Mikhaul for them.”

I looked up quickly. “Noreen did create the boys.”

“So they would have reason not to like Mikhaul.”

My breathing hitched up dangerously. “Could they possibly think we could take on Mikhaul?”

“Are the boys any good?”

“They’re the best,” I whispered.

“And there’s four of them and only one of Mikhaul.”

“Six,” I corrected automatically.

“Six what?”

“There’s six boys - plus me - so we’re seven.”

“Who … who are the others?”

“But we can’t kill him,” I denied without answering her.

“I don’t know if you can or not, but Andros might want you to.”

My breath was still coming too quickly, followed closely by my heart rate. Was Carlie right? It made sense, but there was no way …

“I have to go.” I jumped up and almost fell over my own feet in my haste to get to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to talk to Gage.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Um … ” Was it safe to take her back to the cabin? Would the boys be there?

“The boys will be at school,” she said, as if she could read my mind as well as the boys.

“Yeah. Ok, let’s go.” Gage would want to hear what she had to say. How had Carlie seen this so easily when I hadn’t?

With a small squeal she rushed to join me by the door. There was a moment of hesitation but I pushed it aside and followed Carlie back out to the car. She was still smiling wide when we pulled out of her driveway and traveled the short distance to the cabin.




Gage was standing outside the cabin when we pulled up. He stood entirely too still with his face pulled into a deep frown. I couldn’t tell if he was worried because he sensed my anxiety or angry because Carlie was with me.

“He looks really mad,” Carlie voiced my thoughts nervously.

“He … he always looks like that.”

“Is it ok that I’m here?”

Neither of us had made a move for our doors. “Yeah. I’m sure he’ll be … ok with it.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from Gage long enough to give her a reassuring smile. A small muscle was working rapidly next to his right eye.

“Maybe you should go first,” she suggested.

“Coward.” I heard her small chuckle but she still didn’t touch her door handle. And Gage wasn’t moving. Clearly I was going to have to make the first move.

“Come on, let’s just go up there. It’s not like he’s going to bite you or anything.”

“I hope not,” she murmured.

With a determined sharp breath, I opened my door and approached Gage. “Hey,” I called with a half smile.

“What are you doing?”

“Nothing.”

“Why aren’t you in school?”

“Skipped.”

“Why?”

“Steven was seen.”

His grey eyes shifted to a spot just behind me where I was sure Carlie was standing. I moved my shoulders uncomfortably. “By who?”

“Everyone.”

“The whole school is talking about it,” Carlie added.

If it was even possible, his scowl deepened and grew darker. “Where is he?”

“School.”

He jerked back a little, like he was expecting him to be in jail or something. “Then what are you two doing here?” He crossed his arms across his tight chest.

“We were at Carlie’s.”

“And?”

“Just talking, Gage.” I crossed my own arms to mimic his.

“About Steven?”

“About Andros.”

His arms dropped to his sides, his grey eyes finally widening a bit. He took a hold of my arm and pulled me towards the side of the cabin. “We need to talk,” he hissed.