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Chapter Thirty
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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Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty One
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
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty Two
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
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty Three
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
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty Four
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
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty Five
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
Shadow Pact Chapter Thirty Six
"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
Shadow Pact Chapter One
Emily sat in her car outside of the warehouse and clasped her hands together to steady them. She was terrified but determined. It was a chilly autumn day, and the small trees that lined the road had lost most of their leaves as they prepared for winter, giving them a somewhat skeletal aura. Above, gray skies stretched out, blotting the sun in a heavy weight of dreariness. It mirrored her mood nicely.At another time, what seemed like a lifetime ago, she’d loved the fall. Colors, crunchy leaves, and the hint of warm apple cider in the air had always filled her with a sense of happiness. Of contentment.Now, in this place so far from home, it was just a cold reminder of hard months ahead.Any minute the warehouse employees would be leaving the building, and she was going to confront him. She'd never seen him in person, but the passenger seat of her car was littered with pictures and documents from a private investigator she'd hired six months ago when
Shadow Pact Chapter Two
William sat at the butcher-block table in the small kitchen of the house he shared with Paoli. He stared at the paper before him—scripted in Paoli’s neat handwriting—with open surprise. On the page was a single name and species along with location.“Are you sure this is right?” William frowned at the paper.“It’s right,” Paoli confirmed without even glancing at him on his way past.“When was the last time we had a female werewolf?” William raised a skeptical brow and his gaze followed Paoli around the table.“It’s rare they’re marked," Paoli agreed. "But it happens.”He took the chair across from William and propped his bare feet on the edge of the table for no reason other than it bugged William.Paoli was one of the oldest vampires William had ever met, and by far the least conspicuous. He stood only about an inch shorter than William was himself, whi
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