Wolf's Soul (18 page)

Peering down, she spotted Callum"s brothers—all towered in heights, svelte, with a body like the perfume models in magazines she often perused while waiting in line at a grocery store, and devastatingly handsome. They all came to ask questions, to express their concern and disapproval, to remind Callum of his job to secure the sword.

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It was shocking to hear that Callum lied to her. But finding out that Callum had only one remaining life was a blow to his senses. Was it the reason why he came to her when in the brink of dying? Did he just use her?

She couldn"t believe what she heard. It was all she needed to leave the cabin.

She found the back stairs that led to the back door. With a heavy heart, he left in a hurry.

Marisol looked around for any sign that she was close to the main road. But all she could see was thick trunks of trees. God, she was so gullible. With a sword as powerful as hers, of course even the good clan would want to have it. Callum had befriended her dad and came to her because of the sword. Because of the damn sword! Why was she surprised? What did she expect? That Callum came for her?

Jesus! She seduced a man she barely knew. If he and his brothers were laughing at her right now, it was her damn fault.

God, she"d never been so humiliated in her life. The truth about Callum"s intention made her blood run cold.

She had just crossed the small stream she couldn"t remember seeing earlier when she felt a presence. The air became heavy and thick. A bad feeling that she wasn"t alone anymore made the hair at the back of her neck stood. Something or someone was watching her. Scanning the area, the woods suddenly looked spooky.

It was as if something was about to happen any minute. She raised her hand to 189

reach for the handle of her sword. With her heart drumming against her chest and blood pounding in her ears, she slowly pulled it out the leather scabbard. The sound of the sword gliding out of the scabbard was barely a whisper.

The trees creaked, the branches broke and made soft thudding sounds as they hit the ground. God, whatever was out there, she hoped it wasn"t Atos or any members of the Blood Robbers.

Callum"s words echoed in her head.
“What you don’t know could hurt you.”

“That"s comforting. Not.” She continued walking but didn"t let up her grip on her sword. This must be how it felt like to be in a fish bowl and being watched.

Creepy. With her eyes scanning the surroundings, she kept on going. Wet tall grass that reached her calves made her nervous, too. What if she stepped on a snake. Holy bananas, she hated those things.

Where is that damn trail?”

And then she heard a faint humming sound. The sound grew louder every second. She turned around, sword at a ready. The sound seemed to be coming from everywhere. “What the—”

Like a blur, a huge black motorcycle went past her spraying dirt and grass all over. Marisol protected her face from the debris. The motorcycle stopped abruptly in front of her, one would think it hit an invincible brick wall. The back 190

tire went up in the air. The driver remained in control and spun the motorcycle around so he was facing her.

Wow. How did he do that?

“Put your sword away, Marisol.”

Marisol had never heard a quiet voice with such a menacing quality. Seeing Callum again made her want to cry from relief, but only because she hated being in this woods. She was still mad at him for deceiving her. “It"s you. I thought you"re a devil in black. Well, you look like one. Before you came I thought someone was after me. I got this feeling that I was being followed and then you came. So my feeling was right. You were following me. If I"d know that it was just you—”

“Mari.” Callum revved his motorcycle.

“Now, that"s rude.”

Callum revved his motorcycle again.

“Stop it. How many of these devils do you own?”

“For Christ sakes, stop talking.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I should ask you that question.”

“I"m going home where I should be.”

“Did you wake up from your nap missing your pillow? Or your stuffed puppy?”

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Pointing the sword on the ground, she returned his rude stare with her own.

“Don"t talk to me like that. I am not a child.”

“No, but if you use the mature part of your brain, you"ll know the repercussions of your unthought-of move.”

“Excuse me! As far as I know it was you who made a stupid move and broke some code by taking on the sole job of protecting me and sleeping with me.”

Marisol saw the flash of anger in his eyes. “I wouldn"t consider sleeping with you stupid. Do you have any idea what you put me through?”

“Yes. I heard everything. Your brothers grilled and castigated you for being with me, for putting your life in danger of becoming a Cancer because you have only one remaining life, which by the way you forgot to explain to me. And I gather that your brothers are ready to kick your butt out of the Midnight Howl clan because you didn"t do a very good job of taking the sword away from me. I would never have thought—”

“I don"t give a shit if they kick me to the moon as long as you"re with me.”

“And the sword.”

“Yes. Baby, you need help protecting that sword. It is too powerful to land on the wrong hands.”

“Fine. Here, take it. It"ll save you from sticking with me. If you get killed fighting for me, your brothers would surely hate mankind when that happens. You 192

shouldn"t be fighting anyway. I"m sure there are other jobs for Shape-shifters with one last life. You should just ride a desk or do some accounting jobs. Safer that way. Those of you with one life—”

“Shush, Mari.”

“Shush? Fine.”She removed the straps off her shoulders and dropped the scabbard and sword on the ground. “I"m going home.” She started to walk away from him.

“Don"t be such a brat.”

“A brat? You"re being a bully. And I don"t like bullies.”

“I"ll do more than bully you if you insist that you go home.”

“Excuse me. I should be the one angry here. Not you. You"re not the one referred to as a liability. Right now, Callum Dyrdek, you are not my favorite person in the world. I don"t hate you, but I surely don"t like you this very minute. You lied to me.”

“Get on the bike, Marisol.”

He wasn"t asking. He was commanding her. After what she"d heard, no way on earth that she"d listen to him again. “No. But I"ll appreciate it if you show me to the right direction so I can get out of here.”

“Don"t push me. I am not in the mood to listen to your—”

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“Then don"t. I"m the one not in the mood here, Callum Dyrdek. I heard everything that you and your brother said about me. So I don"t understand why you"re in a tizzy?”

“Tizzy?”

“It"s better if you just forget about your promise and go to your brothers.”

“Tizzy?”

“And forget that we had sex.”

“Tizzy?”

“And I"ll also try to forget the memories. I"m so stupid for seducing you.”

“Tizzy?”

“Tizzy. Yes. God, is that all you"re going to say?”

“Marisol. I am too fucking upset right now to even describe how I feel. You were supposed to rest in my bedroom not race back home. Atos and his ugly cronies are after you. You know that.”

“Ah, so that"s why,” she enunciated each word. “You"re mad because without you by my side the Blood Robbers have greater chances of taking the sword away from me. Because I, being a weak human, am not capable of protecting it. And if I lose the sword, the Midnight Howl clan would be mad at you for failing to do your job of bringing it to wherever your Bluff den is.”

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“Fuck the sword. That is not what I am worried about, Marisol. You really don"t know what I went through when I found out you were gone?”

“No. Why don"t you just tell me then leave me be.”

The look Callum gave her was enough for any woman to faint. He looked deadly, menacing, and angry. However, she wasn"t just another woman, was she?

She had guts and was capable of killing bad Shape-shifters.

Callum got off his bike. She stood and waited until he was toe to toe with her. She had to tip her head up a bit to see his eyes.

“Baby, you are seriously pissing me off.”

“It seems I always piss you off. I"m not afraid of you, of your guns strapped on your thighs and… What kind of guns are those,” she pointed at his thighs.

“Beretta 92FS”

“And the two on your back?”

“Brügger & Thomet MP-9 9x19mm”

“And you have a sword, too. Good god! You"re a walking arsenal.”

“Mari, you
shouldn’t
be afraid of me.” He bent down to pick up the sword and sheathed it in the scabbard. To Marisol"s surprise helped her strap it on her back again. When he was done, his large hand took her face and caressed it gently. “I will never hurt you, but Atos would.”

“I"m not afraid of him either.”

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“You should. Fear is not a sign of cowardice or weakness. When you feel threatened, of losing your life or someone special, that"s when courage, energy, and will to live surfaces. Fear is good sometimes. It was fear that made me push my bike to the limit to find you and bring you back to The Honey Moon Cabin.”

“You can"t keep everyone safe, Callum. Do whatever it is you think you should to keep me safe but stay away from me. I won"t be responsible if you become a Cancer.”

“I already told you I don"t care if—”

“Yes you do. I watched you talk to your brothers. They love you Callum. And with me, you"ll be facing far more danger.”

“If they love me, they"ll have to accept you. I can have both you and my family.”

“I didn"t give you leave to have me.”

“Yes you did. We mated. You"re mine.”

“We had sex. It was great but that"s it. Let"s face it. You"re here because of my sword. I am giving it to you freely. Take it.”

“I don"t want your sword. I want you. And we didn"t have sex. We made love, baby.”

“Whatever. Leave me alone, Callum.”

“Can"t”

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“Why?”

“Who knows? You talk to yourself, you can"t carry one a conversation without getting distracted, you don"t finish your sentences, you"re a brat, you punch people when you wake up, can"t cook, tried to feed me with raw meat, and you hog the blanket. I"m beginning to think that my brother is right.”

“About what?”

“What I feel about you,” he said the words forcefully, but amusement showed in his eyes.

He was laughing at her. “Well, you made your feelings obvious to him, to all of them, didn"t you? I"m such a goof to like a Shape-shifter.” She meant to keep the last remark to herself but the words flew out of her mouth.

“You"re not a goof.”

“Whatever.”

Callum lifted her chin and licked her lips. “Open your mouth.” He put pressure on her lower lip until she was forced to open for him. His tongue swept inside.

His kiss melted Marisol"s anger. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kisses with fervor.

“Marisol,” he whispered in her mouth. “I don"t know what it is you do to me.

All I know is—”

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The air suddenly turned stale. Snarling sounds he knew so well surrounded them.

“Fuck.”

“The Blood Robbers are here?

“Worse, love. Cancers are here.”

“What in the world are they?”

“Soulless Shape-shifters.”

“What?”

“Not now.” He drew his Beretta strapped on his thigh. Converted to fully automatic pistols, his handguns could create damage on one of these Cancers. But there were so many closing in on them. Fuckin" eh. How could he be so stupid to lower his guards?

The tallest, ugliest, and scariest wolf with its eyes the color of white marble was coming toward them. Its movements calculated, looking for an opening to attack, to break their necks. He felt Marisol"s back touch his.

“Callum, they"re multiplying. We"re surrounded.”

“Baby, do you know how to use a gun?”

“Better than Dad.”

“Good. Take both Brüggers.”

“Oh yeah, baby.”

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Despite the situation they were in, Callum smiled. Later, he"d show her how much he appreciated her courage. If they survived.

“Now what?”

“We fly. I drive, you fire. Aim for their heads. Got that?”

“Clearly.”

Through his peripheral view, Callum saw movement from his left and right.

With speed he was known for, he drew the other Beretta, spread his arms and fired repeatedly. “Two down. Fucking more to go.”

It was all the Cancer were waiting for. They attacked. He heard the sound of his Brügger.
Oh, yeah
“Let"s go!” With the number of Cancer"s coming toward them, he didn"t have to aim. He kept shooting until he was on his bike.

Marisol was right behind him firing like a pro. Damn beasts kept appearing left and right. They must get out of the woods. Ugly son"s of Satan would not follow them out in the open road. As dumb as they were, they knew better than to expose themselves to humans. Once the mortals learned about their existence, hunting would be more difficult. As it was, they"d have to pass the Midnight Howl to feed.

One hand on the handlebar, he shot a wolf in midair.

“They keep coming, Callum!”

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“Keep firing. That"ll slow them down. Shoot the one closer to us. Don"t let them come near you.”

“Got it!”

His motorcycle kicked dirt. Roots and branches made it difficult to go as fast as he wanted to. He used his foot to keep their balance. Marisol kept the firing steady. Good girl.

“We"re almost out of the woods.”

As soon as they got closer to the main road, Cancers gave up on their chase.