“We can’t move Lia,” Raiden’s Other flared golden in his eyes, and the denial was a growl on the edge of feral. “She is too weak.”
“Rai,” Wade’s tone held alpha command. There was a visible resistance between the two werewolves, one exhausted and injured, the other aging out of his prime. Wade changed tactic when the resistance failed to give either way. “Lucian will be coming for her.”
“F-k,” Raiden snarled, but he could not deny the truth of the statement. He released the rope that bound Lia, wrapped her into his blanket and lifted her into his arms. She muttered something under her breath about his injury and wrapped her arms around his neck in an effort to help him but did not open her eyes. “Let’s go.”
Wade considered protesting the injured werewolf carrying his mate but knew when to fight and when to cede. “We will split up,” he said to Will as they went up the stairs. “I will take Tara back to the pack, and you go with Raiden.”
“I will go too,” Alatar looked up as they passed by the kitchen. He was straining a foul smelling, thick green liquid through a sieve. “If Lia uses magic again, I am better equipped to handle it, than a bunch of wolves. No offense guys.”
“Alatar,” Wade paused, battling between the truth of what the warlock said and the potential of Alatar being injured or killed in the crossfire. “We appreciate the help, but I do not want to be accountable to your family for your loss.”
“Nor will you be,” Alatar said. “I am an adult, Wade. I can make my own decisions, and you need me.” He stuck the saltshaker into a pocket and scooped up the bowl of liquid blowing on it as he brought it over to Lia. “Down it goes,” he told her holding it to her mouth.
She fought against the liquid, gagging on the bitter taste, but he was merciless, although it dribbled around the edges of the bowl and down her face. She heaved, fighting the urge to vomit.
“Yeah,” he said with empathy even as he made sure the last dregs with tadpoles of fibres in it were consumed. “Not nice, eh?” He clapped a hand over her mouth as she continued to retch. “Nope, you vomit, you swallow it back down,” he told her sternly. “So, you better hope you don’t vomit, for all our sake, as I don’t want to be spoon feeding it back to you. Done that before to someone, and I never want to do it again. Not pleasant for either party.”
“Gross,” Tara pulled a face.
“Truth,” he replied grimly. “I still can’t eat stew. Don’t even ask me why, because I will be gagging with Lia and that won’t help anyone.” Lia moaned but kept the potion down. Alatar released her mouth. “Good.”
“I am sick of people gagging me,” Lia complained, her head heavy against Raiden’s shoulder.
“We need clothes,” Raiden realized as Wade opened the door and the night air hit them. “Lia needs more than one of my singlet tops on, and I need shoes at the very least.”
“I will grab his bag,” Tara ran back down the stairs as they moved out into the night.
Will drove a glossy silver 4WD and opened the passenger door, shoving things over the back of the seat into the boot space to make room. “Sorry,” he said over his back. “I have been short of time recently and the car has gotten out of hand.”
“We don’t mind a mess,” Raiden replied, sliding Lia onto the seat as Will stepped to the side. “As long as it has petrol and takes us the f-k away from vampires, we are fine.”
Tara ran out of the house and pushed Raiden’s bag onto his lap before running to her father’s car. Wade had the engine going, ready and began driving almost before she closed her door, spraying up gravel beneath the tyres.
Will started the car, and the door chime sounded as the werewolf began to drive, with Alatar’s door still slightly open.
The warlock slammed it shut. “Shit man,” Alatar complained as he did up his seat belt. “Surely we have a moment-”
“Vampires know where pack lands are,” Will replied. “We let them know, so they don’t cross into them. Our relationships have always been civil. They know where we run. If they don’t find us near the city, this will be their next stop.”
Raiden shoved his bag into the boot and pulled Lia to him, lying her across his lap. Her head lolled against his shoulder. “She is out cold,” he said with concern.
“That is okay,” Alatar assured him. “The potion sedates a bit. She probably needs the rest anyway.”
“F-k, f-k, f-k!” Will exclaimed as they neared the fence, he threw the car around, going off the dirt track, causing Raiden to have to grip Lia with one arm and brace against the seat. “There is someone at the gates, I can see the headlights. It wouldn’t be pack.”
“Are you sure?” Alatar asked
“Dad and Tara!” Raiden craned himself around in the seat. “They are ahead of us.”
“They are turning. Wade has seen them. Definitely not pack, Alatar. We head to our dens in times of trouble, not to the runs. We need to hit the trees for cover and shift,” Will said. “Make for the creek to disperse our scent.”
“Alatar,” Raiden said. The warlock could not shift, nor would he be able to keep up with the werewolves when they were in wolf form. “I am sorry, man.”
“Don’t worry about me, Rai. I can cast a shield,” Alatar said, gripping the dash as the 4WD bucked along the rough terrain, the bash plate screaming in protest. “I can hide Lia and myself for a time, maybe long enough they will give up.”
“If Lucian is with them, it won’t work,” Raiden clutched her to him. He closed his eyes. “He will find her through the blood bond or will be able to call her to him.”
“No, Rai,” Will protested, realizing that Raiden would stay to defend his mate, even if, in his current condition, it would mean his death.
“What would you do?” Raiden replied grimly. “I can’t let him have her again, Will.”
“Shit,” Will’s voice broke on his despair. Like any other wolf, he knew he would not leave his injured mate.
They hit the tree line, and Will pulled the car over and killed the lights. “Maybe we can get to the creek carrying her between us?” He said as they got out of the car.
Raiden set Lia against the trunk of a tree as Wade pulled up behind him.
“Rai,” Wade put his hand on Raiden’s shoulder. “They are only minutes behind us. The gates will not hold them long, even with the spells warding them.”
“Go dad, keep Tara safe, get home to mum.”
“Rai.”
“I can’t hide her. He can find her through the blood bond or summon her to him.”
“Rai, it is suicide.”
“I know,” Raiden stood and embraced him. “But she is mine. Go dad.”
“Oh, how touching.” The Other luminesced in all four werewolves’ eyes as they whirled. Cael leaned against the tree, picking at his nails. “I could help you I suppose.”
“How did you get here? This whole area is warded, only pack can get through!” Raiden growled.
“It was pathetically easy to get past the wards,” Cael sneered. “Is that the best you have?”
“Who are you?” Alatar wondered.
“Cael’s a warlock,” Raiden supplied.
“Not one that I know,” Alatar muttered. “But that apparently means nothing these days.”
“What I am doesn’t matter,” Cael replied. “I am here for Lia. She is dying, and she seems to have an uncanny ability to summon me to her when her light is almost extinguished, so here I am again.
“So,” Cael made as if to lift her and the werewolves growled. He paused. “Be sensible. If I leave her here with you, she dies or spends the rest of her life as a blood slave. If I take her, she lives. What would you prefer?”
“You can help her?” Raiden knelt beside Lia and stroked her hair back from her face.
“I can take her to people who can,” Cael replied.
“I don’t know if I can trust you,” Raiden’s voice was quiet but carried the full weight of alpha command.
He could smell vampires, the bitter, metallic scent of blood, and the sweetness of flesh, and knew that they had only moments until they were overrun.
“I don’t know if you can afford not to,” Cael pointed out. “What happens if I don’t take her? You die, she dies.”
“How? How will you take her?” Alatar demanded. “How did you even get there?”
“Biological advantage,” Cael replied. “I have wings.” He grimaced and flexed his shoulders as he unfurled a set of white feathered wings, stretching them out so that the feathers flared and rolling his shoulders as if having them restrained caused a muscle ache. A feather floated free during his stretch, and Alatar caught it. Raiden saw the warlock tuck it into his pocket. “Time is up,” Cael said. “Vampires are coming.”
“Take her,” Raiden made the decision. He lifted her, pressing a kiss against her forehead. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear before placing her into Cael’s arms.
“Good choice,” Cael grinned, and leapt into the air, his wings striking heavily as he rose. Their hair lifted and undergrowth blew against their ankles as they lifted their faces to the sky, tracking him as he passed through the tree canopy.
Within moments he was a spec of white in the dark sky, and then gone to sight.
“Raiden,” Wade said urgently.
Raiden stripped out of his tracksuit pants. “Will you be alright, Alatar?” He asked.
“Yeah, fine.” The warlock sprinkled salt in a circle around him, and uttered a word, disappearing from sight. “Run, Raiden,” his voice came from where he had stood.
Raiden shifted. As he ran through the trees, following the scent of his father, sister and Will, he heard a yell behind him, the sound of frustrated anger. Lucian, he thought, hopefully losing track of Lia.
He hoped Cael spoke the truth, and that he would take Lia somewhere and to someone who could save her and keep her safe from the vampire.
There was a creek just beyond the glade of trees, running knee deep on the werewolves, and they followed it to the fence line, through the arch of a drain, their breath and footfalls echoing off the metal lined interior, until it spilled them outside of the property.
The vampires would not be able to track them with the water disrupting the scent trail. They paused to shake themselves dry before running through the undergrowth just out of sight of the road. After half an hour, a convoy of dark coloured 4WDs passed by, carrying with them the bittersweet scent of vampire, and another half an hour after that, Alatar’s dented sedan screeched down the road.
The werewolves continued until they entered suburbia, slinking through the tidy front gardens, freezing in the shadows to avoid being seen by humans returning home, until they reached one of the pack’s safe houses.
Wade shifted and entered the door code, the moonlight catching on his skin, showing old scars across his back and buttocks, testimony to past battles won.
In the front bedroom, Tara, Will, Wade and Raiden shifted back into human form. Wade threw them tracksuits from the walk-in-robe. Oversized and black they were a staple of all safe houses, to clothe shifters in need.
Raiden ran his hand through his hair, before gripping it and groaning. “F-k,” he said between his teeth. “F-k. I feel like shit. Like half of me is missing. What have I done?”
“You did the right thing, son,” Wade said firmly, embracing him. Raiden hugged him back tightly seeking comfort. “There wasn’t much other choice. Whatever that man was, he was better than Lucian for Lia.”
“Was he an angel?” Tara wondered. “Like from Alatar’s story?”
“I am more inclined to believe him a devil,” Raiden replied grimly. “How am I meant to get her back now?”
“A problem for tomorrow,” Wad said firmly. “Tonight, we get back to the pack, and find out what the vampire situation is.” He went to the land line and ordered a taxi before dialing Diedre’s number to apprise her of their location and safety.
Raiden sat on the bed, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion and despair. Tara dropped down beside him and leaned her shoulder against his side in silent support and empathy.
Will leaned against the door frame. “I am sorry, Rai.”
“Better than you being dead though, Rai,” Tara replied. “Whilst you are both alive, there is always hope.”
Raiden sighed heavily and leaned back into her, turning his face into her hair, breathing in, seeking comfort in the scent of pack. “Thanks T. I feel like I have failed her. What am I going to do now?”
“Lia has a grimoire.” She said suddenly.
“Yes, in a hidden room in her house.”
“Didn’t you say that there was something about angels in there. Maybe it will give us a clue where the winged man took Lia.”
“I can’t read it,” Raiden replied but he was thoughtful. “Alatar might be able to, however. It is an idea at least,” he put his arm around her and squeezed her against his side, pressing a kiss against her forehead. “Thanks, sis.”
“Your mother has Elior,” Wade said returning. “Apparently he has sought asylum with the pack.”
“That has to be a first, a vampire seeking asylum with wolves,” Raiden arched his eyebrows. “Mother granted it?”
“Conditionally. The fact remains that Elior is better than other options. Come, let’s wait out front for the taxi.” He saw them out to the front lawn and locked the door behind them. “There is something else.”
“What?” Raiden grimaced. “That wasn’t said in a good way, dad.”
“No. It is… problematic on a few levels. According to Elior, Lucian is stronger and quicker than he should be, and believes that it is because of Lia’s blood. Lucian is desperate to retrieve her.”
“Shit.” Raiden did not care what Lia’s blood did or did not do for vampires, once he retrieved her from Cael, he would make sure no vampire ever got close enough to taste it ever again, but the fact that Lucian had more reason than his desire for Lia to continue to search for her was an issue. The vampire would not give up. He was going to have to die.
Not that, Raiden added to himself, the vampire had a long life ahead of him anyway. He had seen the marks Lucian had left on Lia’s body. As soon as Raiden was fully healed, the vampire was going to die, painfully.
“Pretty much,” Wade agreed. “He could be just mad. Vampires can go a bit nuts after a few centuries but…” He hesitated. “Lia is a bit of a mystery, isn’t she? Tara tells me that Alatar couldn’t trace Lia’s lineage, and then there is that winged man. What if she isn’t just a witch, Raiden?”
“She doesn’t have wings,” Raiden replied with certainty. “I am sure I would have noticed that.”
“I don’t know, the other man had his hidden,” Wade looked down the road. “Ah, there is the taxi.”
“I need to talk to Alatar again,” Raiden decided under his breath, as Wade opened the front passenger door and spoke with the driver. “And get him to look at that grimoire.”
“Tomorrow,” Wade replied across the taxi roof. “Tonight, the pack needs us.”