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Chapter Fifteen
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2021-03-30 13:12:02Emily 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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“I don't know,” Paoli's worried voice carried loudly through the stone. “But his time is up, and he can find her anywhere.” The heavy door slid open and torchlight spilled in. “William?” Paoli's voice sounded uncertain and wary.He peered into the small cell.“Emily,” he gasped in surprise and rushed to her side. “How did you get in here?”Emily tried to open her eyes at the familiar voice. “Paoli?” she asked, too confused and weak to be sure it was him.“What happened? How did you get in here?” Paoli asked. He took her hands and pulled her to her feet but gasped when her knees gave way and she nearly collapsed. “You're so pale," he murmured, catching her around the waist to steady her. "Are you all right?”William's emaciated-looking wolf stood and growled a warning. His heavy side pressed against Emily's hip and he bared his teeth warningly at Paoli.
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For the next two days, William stayed with Paoli while Emily recovered from their ordeal in her own room. William spent more time asleep than awake to allow his body to fully heal. Every time he woke, he went directly to Emily's side, only to find her asleep and still pale.Her breathing was deep and even. He allowed it to reassure him. Still, each time he saw her like that, he was gripped with another wave of guilt.He'd done that to her.Paoli's attempts to bolster him only managed to make him feel worse."You're looking at it all wrong," Paoli informed him when he returned from Emily's bedside on the second evening.William gave him a questioning look; one brow raised quizzically."You've never left a victim alive, before," Paoli pointed out with a nod of approval. "That's a huge accomplishment for you, especially under the circumstances."Victim.William felt the word all the way to his soul.He'd made Emily
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Emily eased the heavy wooden door to her room open slowly and peered down the hall in both directions. She breathed a sigh of relief at finding it empty. With her heart in her throat, she slipped from the relative safety of her room and into the empty corridor.She'd awakened feeling almost back to normal, but one look in the mirror made her realize the gravity of her situation and spurred her into action.Her reflection showed her skin was nearly gray.Her eyes were sunken, as if she hadn't slept in days.But what really scared her wasn't any of that, or even the two puncture marks left behind by William's fangs. It was the bite mark that covered her shoulder; as if a huge dog had tried to take a chunk of her.She knew perfectly well what those marks were from, and it brought Lilith's decree to her mind, crystal clear. If she didn't escape this castle now, she wouldn't leave it at all.Not alive, anyway.No matter how connected she f
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William woke the next evening to find Emily coated in a fine film of sweat. Confusion set in momentarily, and he sat up to notice there was enough sweat to soak the sheets around them.His heart began to hammer almost violently when the realization took hold of him.She was beginning the change.Guilt seized his gut like a physical thing.He should have told her.He'd intended to explain it all last night and clear the air between them, but he'd gotten distracted.He had no regrets about sealing his claim on her, but something nagged at his conscience, just the same.By not telling her what he'd done, he hadn't properly prepared her for what was happening now. It was his job as her mate to keep her safe and protected.Another thought clenched in his gut. If he'd told her last night, would she have rejected him?He pushed the idea away.It didn't matter.She couldn't reject him now.Not with the bond
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Emily opened her eyes and immediately closed them again with a slight groan. Light seemed to be everywhere. It was far too bright, though it wasn't sunlight. The bedrooms in the castle were all blocked against sunlight, Paoli had told her.She lay there a moment, taking in her surroundings without opening her eyes again. Sounds were everywhere. She found if she focused on too many of them, they became a dull roar in her head that seemed to press against her mind. It didn't take much effort to block them out, though.Eyes still closed, she took stock of her own body. She decided everything seemed to be in working order once she wiggled her toes, legs, and arms.A smell wafted across her nose and slowly seemed to saturate her. It was vaguely familiar and comforting. Warm and slightly musky, with just a hint of something…Her eyes snapped open and she turned her head to find William sitting beside her bed. She opened her mouth to tell him to get
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The following evening went just as well. The committee was well pleased with Emily's transformation, and permission was granted for them to leave. William couldn't wait to have the island and the Coven with all its problems behind him.Mere hours before they were to depart for home, he and Paoli returned from making flight arrangements to find Emily missing. On the table was a simple note which read:Gone with Amber to meet Lycaon.Back soon,EmilyWilliam froze in place, his mind running to the meeting with Sekhmet and Empusa.Amber.Amber had taken sides.She'd come while he was gone and taken Emily right to Lycaon; into the hands of the man who was running a secret agenda.“Oh no,” Paoli whispered when he read the note.“How are we on weapons?” William's voice was low and menacing. He felt for Emily through their blood bond and found
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They went straight for the plane at full speed ahead. They needed to get the hell away from the Coven.Immediately.If Lycaon had time to gather his guards, they wouldn't get away at all.A few miles separated them from the runway, but they never slowed. They hit the front door of the castle and just kept running.Emily was worn out enough when they neared the plane, she stumbled and almost went head over tail when her body began to regain human form of its own volition.William looked behind them and saw no one in pursuit, so he motioned for Paoli to halt.A quick glance told Paoli what was happening. He stood with his back to them; clearly on the lookout for enemies while one of their party was so vulnerable in the midst of a shift.It took just a few minutes for the wolf to basically melt away. Emily was left too exhausted to stand.William pulled his shirt off and threw it around her naked form. He swung her into his
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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
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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
