Blood Lust (38 page)

BOOK: Blood Lust

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Three pairs of shoes moved into her line of sight. Cross-trainers, hiking boots, and wedge sandals . . . Charlee?

She glanced up to see a man and woman she didn’t know and Charlee armed with a bow and a silver-tipped arrow. An arrow aimed straight at Cole.

“Get off her, wolf,” she said, the bow unwavering.

Alarmed, Jane tried to twist and rise, but Cole was having none of it. His body was tense, curled protectively around hers.

“Charlee, no! Put that away. He’s not hurting me.”

The redhead held the weapon steady. “Oh yeah, because across the way I saw him bite you. I’m sure that was just wolfy fun and games.”

Jane blushed and dropped her head back to the grass. “I’m his mate.”

There was a humming beat of silence before Charlee lowered the weapon and let the bow and arrow fall to the ground. “Well, crap. We thought you were in trouble. We did about fifty spells trying to locate you and work around the warding magic. Then finally you were outside the range of the shield. We were afraid you were dead.”

“Sorry. He wouldn’t let me use the phone,” Jane said.

“That was for your protection. I couldn’t let you go back to the vampires. You make me sound like a monster.”

“Well? You were keeping me hostage.”

Cole growled, but without menace. “Are we really going to have this argument now, Jane?”

She snorted, embarrassment over her predicament momentarily dwarfed by the humor of the moment.

Charlee sighed. “These are my friends Dayne Wickham and Greta Lawson.”

Cole snarled. “You bring Dayne Wickham near my mate, and you think I’m the threat?”

Jane wasn’t sure what the deal was with Dayne, but she really didn’t want to be naked under a werewolf while her friend and two strangers stood and looked on. “Um, Guys? Could we maybe have this discussion a little later? When I’m not all naked?”

“Sorry,” Charlee said. The others mumbled their apologies as well.

“Wait for us at the lake a few miles west of here,” Cole said with the authoritative tone only an alpha wolf could manage under the circumstances.

Charlee started toward the lake but stopped. “Oh, and I almost forgot. Anthony got a confession out of Paul about the things he was doing to you. He’s been locked up. The official charge is treason since he lied to his king. But Anthony wants to know if you want to be the one to stake him.”

Cole growled, “I’d like to be the one to torture him slowly to death.”

Charlee shook her head. “He’s not going to release him to a wolf, so give up the dream.” Then to Jane, “you can let me know.”

When Charlee and the others had disappeared into the woods, Cole scooped Jane up in his arms and ran. He moved with such speed, she was sure to an outside observer they would be a blur. He didn’t stop until he arrived at the tunnels that led to the den’s private entrance. He punched in the code.

“Jane, you might want to wait outside the den.”

A moment later clothes were handed out to her. She quickly slipped the jeans and T-shirt on, then stepped inside behind him.

“I guess I need to change the code.”

“We were worried. We came back and smelled Jane’s blood,” Blake said.

“And you didn’t follow it?”

“We were afraid we might be more harm than help because of the moon.”

Cole nodded.

Mara let out a low whistle when Jane finally stepped out from behind him. “Wow, Cole. You marked her hard enough, didn’t you?”

Jane ran her fingers over the puckered mark, a little self-conscious.

“Better to be safe,” Cole said. He watched the wolves, gauging their reaction.

Mara smiled brilliantly at Jane. “Welcome to the pack.”

***

Two days later Jane and Charlee descended the dank staircase to the cell Paul was being held in. He was stone cold and looked as if he were already a corpse, in that still, dead sleep that vampires fell into during the day. The guardians had let them pass with one imperious look from Charlee, who was taking to her role as queen like she’d been born to it.

It was hard at times to remember she was human.

A note from Anthony, sealed with a drop of his own blood, hadn’t hurt anything either. Jane had brought her hand-carved wooden stake, the stake she’d used on Sedrick and had kept with her in case she got the opportunity to use it again. She hadn’t been able to use it on Gregory; she’d gotten too attached to the idiot. But she was glad his political aspirations had driven them apart and enabled her to find Cole.

It would end with the last vampire much as it had with the first to try to pull her into the dark away from the sunlight she deserved.

When Anthony had first offered her the opportunity to be Paul’s executioner, she’d hesitated. She didn’t want to see him, to look into his eyes. She didn’t have anything lame and cliché to say like: “Payback’s a bitch, isn’t it?” She didn’t feel like torturing him for hours or making him beg, as he’d made her beg so many times.

She didn’t want to become the monster. She just wanted to end it and know he was gone for good. She knew with Cole by her side the nightmares would never return. She looked down at Paul. In sleep, while the demon rested, she could only see his human form.

So peaceful and beautiful. So deceptive.

She aimed the stake over his heart, then raised it and slammed it home. The stench of death permeated the air as his flesh started to melt off his bones, slowly rotting away until there was nothing but dust.

Jane dropped the stake, and it clattered to the ground with deafening finality. She didn’t need it anymore.

She ascended the narrow stairs to the surface, while Charlee stayed behind to speak to the guardian. When she opened the door, a warm hand was outstretched to her.

Cole’s face relaxed when he saw her, though his voice still held a growl. “I can’t believe Anthony wouldn’t even allow me to go down there with you. Just because I’m a wolf . . . ”

“I needed to do it by myself.” She placed her hand in her mate’s as he pulled her out into the sunny day.

The End

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