Olivia frowned at me. "So soon and with a wolf around? Certainly not. We're going to stay right here and enjoy the-"
I turned to her with unwavering eyes. "We're leaving now," I firmly repeated.
She started back at my firm voice, and dumbly nodded. I grabbed her hand and dragged her inside where I piled our coats and purses atop Olivia. The next stop was at the car where Olivia fumbled for the keys for so long that I grabbed her purse from her and gently pushed her toward the passenger side. "I'll drive," I offered.
"I-if you insist," she stuttered.
"I do," I told her.
I slid into the driver's seat and had the car in reverse before Olivia closed her door. We peeled out of the driveway in a move reminiscent of the ranchers, and then sped down the road following their tracks. I went as fast as my caution would allow considering I hardly knew the road and it was pitch-black outside. We made it back to our cabins in record time, and I saw a few of the rancher trucks parked along the road. They were probably hoping the wolf would return to the scene of the crime. I parked the car in Olivia's driveway, jumped out and was halfway across the lawn before Olivia had time to stumble out of the car.
My aim wasn't my own cabin, but the lit one beyond that. I reached the door and flew inside. My eyes flitted about the room and fell on Vuk. He calmly stood beside the mantel of the fireplace where a warm fire crackled brightly in the hearth. It was a stark contrast to his pale face and stiff demeanor.
I rushed over to stand before him. "Where is he? Where's Will?" I asked him. Vuk's eyes glanced over my shoulder, and I followed his gaze to see he looked out the window to the dark forest. I turned back to him. "Why did he go out there? Doesn't he know they're looking for him?"
Vuk nodded. "He knows. He awaited your response until sunset, and when there was no reply he chose to go into the woods to avoid hurting someone."
"But they'll kill him! The leader knows about his being a werewolf and has a silver bullet!" I told him.
Vuk's eyes softened as he looked at me. "I believe he knows that. Miss Olivia visited us this afternoon and spoke about their traps and silver bullets. I think he intends to end his suffering this night."
"Why didn't you stop him!" I yelled.
"Because this is what he wishes," Vuk replied.
The sound of shouts and gunshots rang down the hill. My heart thumped in my chest. Images of Will's smiling face and gentle touch rushed through my mind. He was out there dead or dying, and I was standing here doing nothing. I couldn't let that happen.
I turned to Vuk and grasped the front of his shirt in my hands. "How can I get this locket to work?" I asked him.
He grasped my hands, looked into my frantic eyes and shook his head. "I can not assist you in the change when you are under duress," he argued.
Tears sprang to my eyes and my throat choked up. "Don't you understand? If I don't convince him that I'm here for him then Will will die!" I protested.
"But he would not wish for you to make a choice in haste," Vuk countered.
"I love him! Okay? I love him and I couldn't bear the thought that he died before I could tell him that! Please don't let me make that mistake! Please tell me how to get this thing to work!" I pleaded with him.
Vuk sighed and nodded his head. He grasped my hands in one of his and took the locket in the other. Vuk pressed the locket into my clasped hands. "Swear aloud that you accept the responsibility of the wolf, and will keep this vow," he commanded me.
"I-I swear that I accept the responsibility of the wolf and will keep this vow," I repeated.
Light erupted from my clasped hands and wrapped around me. Vuk stepped back and shielded his eyes with one arm as it engulfed me in its blinding brilliance. I shut my eyes and trembled as I felt the light sink into my body and a strange strength fill my limbs. As quickly as it exploded the light faded inside of me, and I dared open my eyes.
The room was different. There were no longer any shadows in the corners. I glanced out the window and saw the woods as clearly as if it was noon. Everything was like it was day. I turned to Vuk with my mouth hanging open. "Is this what it's like for you?" I whispered.
"Yes, but we don't have time. We must find Master Will," he reminded me.
"Right," I agreed.
We rushed from the cabin onto the road. There was no sign of the ranchers, but plenty of noise at the top of the hill. Guns fired and men shouted. My new vision could not only see through the dark, but over twice the distance as a normal human. I noticed the faint beams of flashlights as they swung wildly through the trees. The ranchers were panicked, and that meant Will still had a chance.
I turned to Vuk and pointed at the right side. "You go that way and-"
"He isn't there," Vuk told me.
I frowned. "Then where is he?"
Vuk tilted his head back and sniffed the air. "He has escaped toward the entrance road," he replied.
I lifted my nose and took a big whiff. I was hit with a coughing fit after inhaling a bug, but my sniffer caught the scent of lilacs and hair on the breeze. "Will smells like lilacs?" I asked Vuk.
He smiled. "Yes, but let us after him," he insisted.
Vuk hurried down the road, ignoring Will's car in the driveway. In a few seconds I could see, or rather feel, why he did that. We pounded over the gravel road with agility a gymnast would kill to have and a speed an Olympic gold medalist would cheat to acquire. The woods passed us on our left, and the cabins and lake on our right. In a few short minutes we arrived at the gate and the empty gatehouse. Steuben was probably happier at the Dodson residence than alone in his little shack. We raced past the shack and turned left into the dense brush and trees. The scent led us back toward our cabins, but only for a mile.
Vuk and I froze when a shot rang out only a quarter of a mile off. My nose picked up the smell of gunpowder and cows. That must have been McDonald's scent, and a few of his men. There was also lilac mixed with a rusty scent. "What's the rust?" I asked Vuk.
His face was ghastly pale. "Blood," he told me.
Vuk rushed forward with me at his heels. We saw the flashlights in a clearing in front of us before they saw us, so we ducked behind a couple of trees. Vuk and I peeked around the trunks and beheld three ranchers and McDonald as they trudged through the brush with their barrels pointed at the trunks of the trees. I wrinkled my nose as I smelled the sweat from their brows, and some of the beams of the flashlights shook.
My nostrils caught the scent of lilacs, and I noticed a dark figure beneath a large clump of bushes. There was heavy, strained breathing, and the creature whined beneath its breath. It was Will, and he was hurt badly. The ranchers moved closer and closer to him. In a few seconds he'd be found and killed. I looked to where Vuk stood, but he was gone. The ranchers stepped closer to Will. I didn't care what Vuk had planned, I needed to act.
Chapter 21
I jumped out in front of the group and wildly waved my arms. "Over here! It ran over here!" I yelled at them.
In a moment a half dozen flashlights blinded me and a bullet whizzed past my cheek. I yelped and ducked beneath a bush. When I lifted my head I stared straight into the golden eyes of a very confused and worried, furry-faced Will. He was hidden beneath a nearby brush pile. He had a small, circular wound on his arm that sizzled as though acid had been spilled on the skin. I shakily smiled at him and raised the locket to try to tell him what I'd done. The pained expression in his eyes told me he understood, but I frowned and waved a scolding finger at him.
I shrieked when a hand grabbed my collar and lifted me off the forest floor. The hand belonged to one of the ranchers, and in front of me stood McDonald. His feet were only a foot from Will, and I hoped Will would be a good doggy and stay put. His men flashed their flashlights on me again and I blinked against the harsh light.
"What are you doing here?" McDonald questioned me.
"I-I just wanted to help," I replied. It wasn't a lie, just a bit of a semi-truth. I wanted to help, but not them.
/> "You'll get just in the way," McDonald argued.
I frowned. "But I know where the wolf is," I told him. A little to the left and on the ground.
McDonald's eyebrows crashed down and he moved forward so our faces were only a few inches apart. "How do you know where it is?" he asked me.
I glanced away. "Because I saw it go in here," I lied.
He scoffed. "You're lying. You looked away," he pointed out.
I turned my head and glared straight into his eyes. "That's because your breath is awful," I countered.
One of his men snickered before a glare from McDonald silenced the mirth. "All right, where is it?"
"It-um-it-" My terrible lie was interrupted by a howl. The noise came from behind the men back toward my cabin. The man holding me lost his grip and I fell hard to the ground.
"Damn it, how'd it get that far?" someone yelled.
"Doesn't matter, let's get it!" McDonald commanded his troops. They rushed through the woods after their prey.
The moment their flashlights disappeared behind the trees I turned to look at Will. His soft, glowing eyes smiled back at me and he tried to crawl toward me. It was pitiful to see the man I cared about on his paws and knees, so I hurried forward on my hands and knees and grasped his furry shoulders.
"Hold still!" I scolded him. He pushed through my hands to nuzzle his soft muzzle against my cheek. I giggled at the tickling sensation and pushed him away. "None of that, not until we get you back to the cabin," I told him. I looked around at the woods. Though my senses were heightened, my sense of direction hadn't improved. "Wherever that is," I murmured. Will stood and scooped me up in his arms. "Hey! You're supposed to be the damsel in distress!" I argued. I squirmed and my hand flailed into the oozing mess on his arm.
Will winced and his jaws flapped open as he spoke. "Be a little more mindful of the wound," he pleaded. His voice was a cross between a baritone and a dog with strep throat.
"If you'd let me down we wouldn't be having this discussion," I countered.
"Time is of the essence. Vuk won't be able to keep the men on his trail forever," he pointed out.
I wanted to argue further about his infirmity, but he sped through the woods. I yelped and clung onto him as we weaved around trees, sailed over fallen logs, and broke through brush. In a few minutes we were back at our cabins and Will carried me inside his cabin. He let me out of his arms and stumbled over to the couch where he collapsed. I rushed over and knelt in front of him as he changed back. In a moment he sat naked in front of me. My eyes invariably glanced downward, but I blushed and quickly looked away.
"It looks like your vital parts are still there," I commented. Will chuckled, but the sound was cut short when he shifted. I carefully glanced back at him and saw him tentatively touch his wound. The flesh still sizzled, and the wound hadn't healed. "Aren't you supposed to have super healing or something?" I asked him.
"Yes, but not against silver. One of their bullets traveled through my arm, and such a wound will take a good deal of time to heal," he told me. We whipped our heads to the door as it opened and Vuk stepped inside. He quickly shut the entrance, took in the scene in one sweep, and hurried to the bathroom. Will smiled. "It seems I'm up for another painful recuperation," he commented.
I frowned at him. "That's what you deserve for going off and trying to get yourself killed," I scolded him.
"When I didn't receive your reply I thought you had rejected me," he explained. He raised his arm and brushed a hand against my cheek. I couldn't help but lean into his warm touch. "Life was too unbearably lonely without your smiling face."
"Well, you're officially banned from trying to kill yourself, and here's my order." I held up the locket.
Will grasped the small trinket and his face fell. He forlornly shook his head. "I am sorry you had to make that choice at all. I have made all the gain from it," he mourned.
I scoffed, pulled back the locket, and raised a hand. At each point I ticked off a finger. "I can see in the dark, I have great hearing, I can run really fast, and I can save your butt," I told him.
Will chuckled. "You did that, and very well."
I glanced past him at Vuk who exited the bathroom with a familiar tray. "I couldn't have done it without Vuk. He showed me how to use those powers," I pointed out.
Will watched his manservant round the couch, and Vuk was kind enough to toss Will a blanket to cover himself. "Yes, I'm afraid I owe you an apology, Vuk. If I had died you would have been a very lonely, but wealthy, man."
"I am sure I will survive the deprivation of your wealth," Vuk replied.
"Good, more for me," I quipped.
Will turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "More for you?" he repeated.
"You are going to give your future wife an allowance, aren't you?" I teased him.
"Have I a future wife?" he returned.
"Well, only if I accept, and that's not a guarantee. You're quite the handful," I pointed out.
Will leaned down and captured my lips in a searing kiss. I felt myself float away into heaven only to be brought back to earth when he separated us. "Does that make me worth it?" he whispered.
"Only if there's more where that came from," I replied.
"Many more," he promised.
I leaned forward and pecked a teasing kiss on his lips. "Then I guess I'll keep you, but you'd better be a good doggy from now on," I told him.
"Faithfully yours, dearest Grace," he replied.
And we lived happily ever after. Well, except for the hairballs in the shower. I never quite got used to that much fur, but that didn't stop us from loving each other for the rest of our lives.
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