Willow (Blood Vine Series) (6 page)

             
“I’m not doing it.”

             
“They’re young boys. Both in human terms and wolf terms. There was a female called Noreen.”

             
I shifted slightly in my seat. Of course I had heard of Noreen. She was trying to raise an army to take out Andros and recapture the ancient city. It was bad news if Andros’ lapdog knew of Noreen. “Was?”

             
“Noreen hand-picked this pack to be her own. She planned to train them and make them her own.”

             
“But?”

             
“But Noreen had made a dangerous enemy. Mikhaul.”

             
The name sent shivers up my spine. Mikhaul, who had become an enemy to his kind, was a name to be hated. Most of us didn’t even say his name. “He killed her?”

             
“And left her pack without a leader. They were barely months old to this life.”

             
My eyes narrowed. I didn’t care about this pack, Blake just needed to leave. “That’s a very sad story. Really, I am crying on the inside.”

             
His lips upturned slightly, but not out of humor. “It’s been two years since they were created. They have cut a path of destruction in their wake. Six towns. It seems they have chosen Grover to be next.”

             
“We could stop them.”

             
“So could the vampires.”

             
“They would just kill them.”

             
“They are young, but they are strong and they are still wolves. They wouldn’t belly down to just any authority.”

             
I heard the wisdom of his words but why did it have to be me? “There are other females to lead them.”

             
“When Noreen was at her height, she created many females to lead packs that she intended to create. Most of those females have been … taken care of.” My lips tightened. “Your group of females is unique in our world. There are no others.”

             
“You could make one.”

             
“Andros is loathe to make another wolf when we have a perfect candidate already.”

             
“I’m … I’m not a leader. Maybe Ivy … ” My voice had lost some of its bite.

             
“Ivy is months away from maturity. They need someone now.”

             
My eyes darted to Bella but she wasn’t saying anything to help me. “I’m not a leader,” I repeated lamely.

             
“Yes, you are, Willow. It is in your blood. You just need a pack.”

             
“What did you think would happen, Willow?” Bella asked in a flat voice. The kind of tone that sent shivers down my spine. “That we would all live happily ever after? I should have thrown you out a year ago.”

             
I couldn’t say anything to that. I had always pictured myself being a lone wolf. It had always been my only option. Until now. “I could, you know, teach them and … until another … or Ivy … in a few months. Only for a few months.”

             
Blake smiled. “Excellent.”




             
Blake waited downstairs while I packed my stuff. It didn’t take long. I just shoved everything back in my trunks and snapped the lids shut. I sat down on the edge of my bed, my heart a heavy mass in my chest. We hadn’t even been here for a full week. That had to be some kind of record.

             
“Hey,” Ivy called from the doorway. Her bright blue eyes were lit with excitement. “I just got back from hunting and Bella says to pack up cause we are leaving. What did you do?”

             
“You’re leaving?”

             
“
We
are leaving.” She made a point to look at my packed trunks.

             
Of course they were leaving. Two packs in one town? That would never work. Bella had only brought us here so that I could be turned over to Blake. The mass in my chest clenched painfully. I should have been ecstatic to get Ivy out of my life, but instead I felt a strange hollowness. “I’m not going with you.”

             
“What do you mean?” She hadn’t moved from the doorway.

             
“What did you think would happen?” I asked, using Bella’s words to me. “That we could all just live happily ever after?” I couldn’t sound as flat as her, my breath was coming out too thin.

             
“Are you staying here?” It surprised me that Ivy didn’t sound happy either.

             
“For a little while.”

             
“I could stay with you,” she said softly. Before I realized she had moved, she was sitting beside me on the bed.

             
“You have to stay with Bella,” I murmured. I looked at my little sister, my eyes bright with tears.

             
Her own tears spilled over, leaving a trail down her still dirty face. I would miss Ivy. She was such a pain, but I would miss her. I always knew this day would come. I guess I just didn’t realize how much my sister meant to me. I pressed my forehead to hers.

             
“Girls!” Bella screamed up the stairs.

Chapter Six

The Second Pack

             
“Where are we going?” I asked Blake for the third time. After shoving my two trunks into his back seat, he watched as I awkwardly gave Bella a one-armed hug goodbye. Ivy wasn’t there when we pulled away. “Why are you driving anyways? Isn’t it faster to run?”

             
“As hard as it is to believe: the airlines frown on an oversized wolf riding coach.”

             
“Andros doesn’t pay you enough to ride first class?” His fist clenched briefly on the steering wheel but he smiled. “Are you going to tell me where you are taking me?”

             
“To your uncle’s.”

             
“I have an uncle?” His teeth flashed.

             
“As you know, it’s important that we keep up our human facades.” Actually, I didn’t know this; Bella’s boys hadn’t been human for a while and they were fine. Eventually there came a time in every wolf’s life when they had to choose; but I understood well enough to nod. He was studying the road ahead of us so I wasn’t sure if he saw me or not.

             
He stopped in the middle of the road and backed up a few feet. “Ah, here we are,” he said happily. He turned his sleek black car into an almost invisible driveway.

             
I peered around anxiously. Bella had lived close to the woods but Blake was taking me
into
the woods. So much for a human façade. I had never lived like a wolf before and if he thought for a second that I …

             
I sucked in a small breath when the trees suddenly fell away and opened up to a very small wooden cottage. Relief flooded me. Although it was better than the woods, it certainly wasn’t much. The place had obviously been abandoned for years. Weeds grew up wildly all around the wooden structure and it looked like all the windows were broken out. I could see where someone had been clearing out the taller grass. Probably Blake.

             
“So I am going to live out here by myself? Is there even any electricity? I can probably survive without the Internet for a few months but running water and electricity are a must have.”

             
“Of course there’s running water and electricity.” He grinned but his demeanor had changed. He seemed nervous, like he was ready to bolt. “You won’t be living out here alone, either. I told you, you’re staying with your uncle.”

             
“Are you sure he’ll fit in there with me?”

             
“Ha, ha. Very funny.”

             
“I try.”

             
“Come on, I’ll show you your room.”

             
“I have a room?” I followed him quickly.

             
Inside the cabin was different than I had imagined. It seemed much bigger inside than it had outside. There was a small kitchen with two stools pulled up to the bar that separated it from the living room. The living room was a spacious room with two couches and a large TV set.

             
“Do we have cable?”

             
“DVDs.” I smiled. “There’s the bathroom.” He knocked on a closed door as we passed it for another closed door down a short, narrow passageway. “And this is your room,” he announced dramatically. He opened the door and stepped back so I could go in first. I rolled my eyes but managed to squeeze past him. “I’ll get your bags,” he whispered.

             
My room was an addition to the original cabin, one not visible from the driveway. The walls were painted pink with overlapping hearts stenciled in a darker shade of pink. A pink comforter was tucked perfectly around a full sized bed. The bed was shoved against the far wall to allow for more room to move around. I was horrified to realize that even the carpet was a light pink color.

             
An array of gadgets that I had no clue how to use littered the top of the long dresser, which held a huge mirror on top. I opened the closet, expecting to be insulted with more pink, but it was a simple affair. A single white shelf with a metal rod for hanging clothes.

             
The best part of the entire room was the enormous window that took up most of the south wall. A large window seat beckoned me forward. I pressed my knees into the soft fabric - forgiving it for being pink - and pulled the thick curtains aside.

             
The view was breathtaking. Mostly just trees, but it delighted me. Not that Bella ever let us celebrate Christmas, but I was pretty sure my face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “Wow,” I whispered. There was a small clearing, which was probably supposed to be the yard, and then the gorgeous greens and browns. So close that it felt like I could reach through the glass and run my fingers along the softness of the leaves.

             
I watched curiously as a wolf stalked into my view. He was by far the largest I had ever seen, but magnificent. He was almost entirely black with small patches of grey showing through. He turned his massive head and met my stare through the glass. My heart stuttered to a stop but I held his gaze. I couldn’t seem to look away.

             
“How do you like your room?” Blake asked, effectively breaking the spell that the black wolf had on me. “Where do you want these?” I looked back out the window but the wolf was gone. “Willow?”

             
“Just set them anywhere.” I jumped off the window seat and joined Blake by the bed. “It looks like a starburst threw up in here.”

             
“I thought all girls liked pink.”

             
“Maybe human girls … when they are five.” I crinkled my nose.

             
“You’ll get used to it.” The front door opened. Blake looked nervous. “Ready to meet your uncle?”

             
Was he the wolf I had seen? “Sure.”

             
“He doesn’t want you to know his real name so we’re calling him Gage.”

             
I laughed but the sound got lost in my throat when I realized he was serious. “Really?”

             
“Really.”

             
He led me back out to the living room where a scruffy looking man now stood. He had too much light brown hair on his face to tell if he had once been good looking, or even how old he was. His grey eyes were the only things visible. Grey, the color of the spots on the wolf. He held himself rigidly without even a hint of a smile. Nothing about this man encouraged Blake to introduce us, but he did anyways.

             
“Gage,” he swallowed over the fake name. “This is Willow, the one I told you about. Willow - Gage.” Neither of them turned towards me at all so I didn’t feel the need to plaster a fake smile on my face.

             
“She’s young.” Gage’s voice was low and raspy, as if he didn’t use it often.

             
“Uh …”

             
“Are we meeting the pack tonight?” Gage continued, without letting Blake respond. I held my breath, waiting to hear the answer myself.

             
“Yes. I’ll be leaving tonight. After they meet her.”

             
“You’re not staying?” I couldn’t hold back the question. I had thought he’d stay for a few days, make sure the pack didn’t eat me.