Willow (Blood Vine Series) Read online

  I bit the inside of my lip. If this was a joke and I went down there acting all mad, it would just make Bella’s day. I had to stay calm and hear what they had to say. I’d been around Bella long enough to know when she was just joking. I was pretty sure of at least that much.

  “Willow!” Bella screamed from downstairs. That must have been my cue that they were done waiting.

  I shoved my hair behind my ears and slowly made my way to the hall. I slipped into the small bathroom and splashed water on my too red face. I took a deep, calming breath and glared at my reflection. “No tears, no matter what,” I whispered. I grimaced at the sight of my unruly hair. It was somehow worse than usual. In my defense, I had changed to a wolf and run through the forest this afternoon.

  With my breathing slightly more even and a heavy heart, I went downstairs to hear Blake out.

  They were both sitting on the same couch when I got to the living room but Bella’s frown was so pronounced it made my steps falter. Blake just looked strangely amused. “Nice shirt,” he commented.

  Confused, I looked down to see which shirt I had pulled on. It was black with a full moon and the words “Let the beast out”. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Thanks,” I mumbled. I slid into the chair across from them. Is this what it felt like to have parents? Even though Blake looked to be my age, I felt his superiority.

  “Blake is from the council,” Bella began without preamble.

  “What’s a council?”

  “The council is three wolves who live inside the ancient city,” Blake explained calmly.

  “With the vampires?”

  He hesitated at my tone. “Yes.”

  I closed my eyes. “You … you what? You’re the vamp’s lapdog?”

  Bella growled but Blake seemed unaffected by my accusation. “Andros lets us live there to make decisions for the wolves.”

  “He lets you live there? Wow, you must be so proud.”

  “If it wasn’t for us, the wolves might very well be extinct by now. We sacrifice a lot for our kind.”

  “Three males?” A female would never be so submissive to a bunch of thieving vamps. The ancient city was ours. Andros had no right to take it.

  “Yes.” The single syllable brought my eyes up to meet Blake’s.

  “What do you want from me?”

  “As I tried to tell you before, there is a pack here that needs you to lead them.”

  “No.”

  Bella growled again. “Andros wants them all killed. They have raised a few eyebrows with their careless ways.”

  “I’m not doing it.”

  “They’re young boys. Both in human terms and wolf terms. There was a female called Noreen.”

  I shifted slightly in my seat. Of course I had heard of Noreen. She was trying to raise an army to take out Andros and recapture the ancient city. It was bad news if Andros’ lapdog knew of Noreen. “Was?”

  “Noreen hand-picked this pack to be her own. She planned to train them and make them her own.”

  “But?”

  “But Noreen had made a dangerous enemy. Mikhaul.”

  The name sent shivers up my spine. Mikhaul, who had become an enemy to his kind, was a name to be hated. Most of us didn’t even say his name. “He killed her?”

  “And left her pack without a leader. They were barely months old to this life.”

  My eyes narrowed. I didn’t care about this pack, Blake just needed to leave. “That’s a very sad story. Really, I am crying on the inside.”

  His lips upturned slightly, but not out of humor. “It’s been two years since they were created. They have cut a path of destruction in their wake. Six towns. It seems they have chosen Grover to be next.”

  “We could stop them.”

  “So could the vampires.”

  “They would just kill them.”

  “They are young, but they are strong and they are still wolves. They wouldn’t belly down to just any authority.”

  I heard the wisdom of his words but why did it have to be me? “There are other females to lead them.”

  “When Noreen was at her height, she created many females to lead packs that she intended to create. Most of those females have been … taken care of.” My lips tightened. “Your group of females is unique in our world. There are no others.”

  “You could make one.”

  “Andros is loathe to make another wolf when we have a perfect candidate already.”

  “I’m … I’m not a leader. Maybe Ivy … ” My voice had lost some of its bite.

  “Ivy is months away from maturity. They need someone now.”

  My eyes darted to Bella but she wasn’t saying anything to help me. “I’m not a leader,” I repeated lamely.

  “Yes, you are, Willow. It is in your blood. You just need a pack.”

  “What did you think would happen, Willow?” Bella asked in a flat voice. The kind of tone that sent shivers down my spine. “That we would all live happily ever after? I should have thrown you out a year ago.”

  I couldn’t say anything to that. I had always pictured myself being a lone wolf. It had always been my only option. Until now. “I could, you know, teach them and … until another … or Ivy … in a few months. Only for a few months.”

  Blake smiled. “Excellent.”

  

  Blake waited downstairs while I packed my stuff. It didn’t take long. I just shoved everything back in my trunks and snapped the lids shut. I sat down on the edge of my bed, my heart a heavy mass in my chest. We hadn’t even been here for a full week. That had to be some kind of record.

  “Hey,” Ivy called from the doorway. Her bright blue eyes were lit with excitement. “I just got back from hunting and Bella says to pack up cause we are leaving. What did you do?”

  “You’re leaving?”

  “We are leaving.” She made a point to look at my packed trunks.

  Of course they were leaving. Two packs in one town? That would never work. Bella had only brought us here so that I could be turned over to Blake. The mass in my chest clenched painfully. I should have been ecstatic to get Ivy out of my life, but instead I felt a strange hollowness. “I’m not going with you.”

  “What do you mean?” She hadn’t moved from the doorway.

  “What did you think would happen?” I asked, using Bella’s words to me. “That we could all just live happily ever after?” I couldn’t sound as flat as her, my breath was coming out too thin.

  “Are you staying here?” It surprised me that Ivy didn’t sound happy either.

  “For a little while.”

  “I could stay with you,” she said softly. Before I realized she had moved, she was sitting beside me on the bed.

  “You have to stay with Bella,” I murmured. I looked at my little sister, my eyes bright with tears.

  Her own tears spilled over, leaving a trail down her still dirty face. I would miss Ivy. She was such a pain, but I would miss her. I always knew this day would come. I guess I just didn’t realize how much my sister meant to me. I pressed my forehead to hers.

  “Girls!” Bella screamed up the stairs.

  Chapter Six

  The Second Pack

  “Where are we going?” I asked Blake for the third time. After shoving my two trunks into his back seat, he watched as I awkwardly gave Bella a one-armed hug goodbye. Ivy wasn’t there when we pulled away. “Why are you driving anyways? Isn’t it faster to run?”

  “As hard as it is to believe: the airlines frown on an oversized wolf riding coach.”

  “Andros doesn’t pay you enough to ride first class?” His fist clenched briefly on the steering wheel but he smiled. “Are you going to tell me where you are taking me?”

  “To your uncle’s.”

  “I have an uncle?” His teeth flashed.

  “As you know, it’s important that we keep up our human facades.” Actually, I didn’t know this; Bella’s boys hadn’t been human for a while and they were fine. Eventually there came a time in every
wolf’s life when they had to choose; but I understood well enough to nod. He was studying the road ahead of us so I wasn’t sure if he saw me or not.

  He stopped in the middle of the road and backed up a few feet. “Ah, here we are,” he said happily. He turned his sleek black car into an almost invisible driveway.

  I peered around anxiously. Bella had lived close to the woods but Blake was taking me into the woods. So much for a human façade. I had never lived like a wolf before and if he thought for a second that I …

  I sucked in a small breath when the trees suddenly fell away and opened up to a very small wooden cottage. Relief flooded me. Although it was better than the woods, it certainly wasn’t much. The place had obviously been abandoned for years. Weeds grew up wildly all around the wooden structure and it looked like all the windows were broken out. I could see where someone had been clearing out the taller grass. Probably Blake.

  “So I am going to live out here by myself? Is there even any electricity? I can probably survive without the Internet for a few months but running water and electricity are a must have.”

  “Of course there’s running water and electricity.” He grinned but his demeanor had changed. He seemed nervous, like he was ready to bolt. “You won’t be living out here alone, either. I told you, you’re staying with your uncle.”

  “Are you sure he’ll fit in there with me?”

  “Ha, ha. Very funny.”

  “I try.”

  “Come on, I’ll show you your room.”

  “I have a room?” I followed him quickly.

  Inside the cabin was different than I had imagined. It seemed much bigger inside than it had outside. There was a small kitchen with two stools pulled up to the bar that separated it from the living room. The living room was a spacious room with two couches and a large TV set.

  “Do we have cable?”

  “DVDs.” I smiled. “There’s the bathroom.” He knocked on a closed door as we passed it for another closed door down a short, narrow passageway. “And this is your room,” he announced dramatically. He opened the door and stepped back so I could go in first. I rolled my eyes but managed to squeeze past him. “I’ll get your bags,” he whispered.

  My room was an addition to the original cabin, one not visible from the driveway. The walls were painted pink with overlapping hearts stenciled in a darker shade of pink. A pink comforter was tucked perfectly around a full sized bed. The bed was shoved against the far wall to allow for more room to move around. I was horrified to realize that even the carpet was a light pink color.

  An array of gadgets that I had no clue how to use littered the top of the long dresser, which held a huge mirror on top. I opened the closet, expecting to be insulted with more pink, but it was a simple affair. A single white shelf with a metal rod for hanging clothes.

  The best part of the entire room was the enormous window that took up most of the south wall. A large window seat beckoned me forward. I pressed my knees into the soft fabric - forgiving it for being pink - and pulled the thick curtains aside.

  The view was breathtaking. Mostly just trees, but it delighted me. Not that Bella ever let us celebrate Christmas, but I was pretty sure my face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. “Wow,” I whispered. There was a small clearing, which was probably supposed to be the yard, and then the gorgeous greens and browns. So close that it felt like I could reach through the glass and run my fingers along the softness of the leaves.

  I watched curiously as a wolf stalked into my view. He was by far the largest I had ever seen, but magnificent. He was almost entirely black with small patches of grey showing through. He turned his massive head and met my stare through the glass. My heart stuttered to a stop but I held his gaze. I couldn’t seem to look away.

  “How do you like your room?” Blake asked, effectively breaking the spell that the black wolf had on me. “Where do you want these?” I looked back out the window but the wolf was gone. “Willow?”

  “Just set them anywhere.” I jumped off the window seat and joined Blake by the bed. “It looks like a starburst threw up in here.”

  “I thought all girls liked pink.”

  “Maybe human girls … when they are five.” I crinkled my nose.

  “You’ll get used to it.” The front door opened. Blake looked nervous. “Ready to meet your uncle?”

  Was he the wolf I had seen? “Sure.”

  “He doesn’t want you to know his real name so we’re calling him Gage.”

  I laughed but the sound got lost in my throat when I realized he was serious. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  He led me back out to the living room where a scruffy looking man now stood. He had too much light brown hair on his face to tell if he had once been good looking, or even how old he was. His grey eyes were the only things visible. Grey, the color of the spots on the wolf. He held himself rigidly without even a hint of a smile. Nothing about this man encouraged Blake to introduce us, but he did anyways.

  “Gage,” he swallowed over the fake name. “This is Willow, the one I told you about. Willow - Gage.” Neither of them turned towards me at all so I didn’t feel the need to plaster a fake smile on my face.

  “She’s young.” Gage’s voice was low and raspy, as if he didn’t use it often.

  “Uh …”

  “Are we meeting the pack tonight?” Gage continued, without letting Blake respond. I held my breath, waiting to hear the answer myself.

  “Yes. I’ll be leaving tonight. After they meet her.”

  “You’re not staying?” I couldn’t hold back the question. I had thought he’d stay for a few days, make sure the pack didn’t eat me.

  “Gage will stay with you and protect you until you are ready to be on your own.”

  I chanced a quick look at Gage, who stared at me with narrowed grey eyes. I doubted very seriously if Gage would protect me against anything, but any protest I had stuck in my throat.

  “Let’s go,” Gage led the way outside.

  I was surprised to see my familiar red car in the driveway. Somehow, seeing it there made the cabin feel more like home. “How did my car get here?”

  No one answered me. “I’m driving,” Blake said instead.

  “Driving?” At least Gage was as shocked as I was.

  “I don’t know if they would react well to two males on their territory.” Gage’s eyes narrowed again. Bella would have had a fit over him. I could just hear her telling me never to squint or I’d get wrinkles.

  “You want shotgun?” I asked Gage. He huffed an unintelligible response but slid into the front seat.

  It was a short drive to the abandoned farmhouse where the boys were staying. The silence in the car was tense. “So will they have to start going to school once they can control themselves?” I asked as we stepped out of the car.

  “They’re already in school,” Blake responded.

  “They are?”

  Blake nudged me forward just slightly and I came face to face with six very familiar boys.

  “We knew you’d come,” Rueben Massie called from his place in front.

  My mouth dropped open. “It was our irresistible charm, huh?” Jed Flannigan grinned.

  Colby and Tyson Thacker stood in the half circle that had formed in the yard, almost shaking with excitement. Rodney, the would-be rock star, and the boy from the shadows in the dungeon completed the six.

  I felt my blood pulsing in my ears and I still hadn’t been able to close my mouth. I should have known. All those muscles? I really should have known. But they had known, I realized abruptly. They knew I was a wolf.

  “Do you know each other already?” Blake asked.

  “No, no, not really,” I stammered. Tyson, unable to contain himself any longer, broke free from the group and gathered me up in a suffocating hug. He spun me twice.

  “Let me down,” I shrieked.

  So suddenly that I couldn’t tell what happened, Tyson was thrown backwards and I landed on my backs
ide. In a blur of grey fur, Tyson was suddenly circling with a huge, black wolf. Gage was almost twice his size. Huh, I thought stupidly, maybe I was wrong about Gage. I guess he would protect me.

  Tyson bared his teeth and tensed to attack, too young to realize that Gage would rip his throat out. Gage stood still, dead calm.

  “Wait.” I jumped up and put myself between the two wolves. “Wait, wait, wait.” Tyson rocked back on his hind legs and threw his head back and forth. The other boys grinned stupidly at us. “Tyson, get back,” I demanded sternly. I turned to Gage then. “He wasn’t going to hurt me. He’s just young and excited,” I said, my voice pleading for Tyson. Gage was still locked on Tyson though, teeth bared. Without much thought I put both my hands on Gage’s shoulders and began pushing him back. He didn’t move much so I put my knee into his broad chest and tried again. This time he seemed to notice that I was trying to get him to move and he relaxed his stance. “He’s fine,” I grunted.

  “Sorry, Willow,” Tyson called nervously. I was glad that he had morphed back. Maybe now Gage would relax.

  “Gage.” I held his eye contact until he finally sighed and bellied down. “Alright.” I turned back to the boys. “How did you know I was … here?”

  “When Rueben ran into you at the store,” Rodney answered before anyone else could.

  It was strange to see them all together like this. I realized now that they each must have tried to fit into a different group in school on purpose. There might be some hope for them yet. They just needed some guidance. Gage came closer to me, still on his belly.

  “They told us to come here and wait for a leader,” Rodney continued.

  “We knew you’d come,” Rueben repeated.

  “We’ve been waiting.”

  “Being good.”

  “And now here you are.”

  I reached down to put my hand against Gage’s head. It was more comforting than I would have imagined having him there. “Now I’m not … it’s just … ” The boys began to close in on me, making me nervous. Without meaning to I took a step back. Gage was on his feet instantly, putting himself in front of me. He growled a low warning. Only the nerdy boy from the shadows didn’t flinch back.