Chapter 95

There was nothing but pain for a long time. Pain and silence. My lungs were burning. I couldn’t move. Would Candido find me? Would Moon Shadow return my body to him? Would he bury me with care? Would he cry?

I didn’t know.

“Hedy!” I heard Claire cry. I tried to breath and felt the air and water gurgling in my chest. I choked and coughed, trying to expel it. I cried out in pain. My leg was thrumming with pain. I could keep my head above the water. I flailed and struggled. Metal creaked sharply then hands were on me, dragging me up and out. Pain dragged across my back and down my side as I coughed and sputtered.

“She’s still breathing.”

“Quick, get her onto the land. Can we use any of the supplies?”

“I don’t think so. It’s all soaked.”

“Fuck!”

“Just give it to me.”

I hear something rip, then something was wrapped around my shoulder and waist tightly. I opened my eyes seeing Claire and Francium looking at each other.

“I’ve got this, see if you can pull anything out of the car.” Francium said. Claire nodded and darted away.

He looked down at me. “Can you hear me?”

“Can… dido?” I asked.

His lips twitched. “Sorry, wrong blonde.”

Claire groaned and something else creaked. I heard something thumping on the ground.

Francium pulled something and I felt it tightening around my leg.

“There’s no use, you can’t stand on this.”

“Do you hear that?” Claire asked, dragging something close to me. I tried to sit up, but everything was agony. I couldn’t hear anything but the river. The SUV was banked in a pool, pinned in place by a rock. IT was pure luck that it stopped there and not somewhere deeper. It was mostly submerged, but I could see that the trunk hatch had been pried open. The case that had been in the trunk had been dragged out.

Claire was drinking from the bags of blood. She offered Francium one. He grimaced, but he opened it.

“I’ll be happy when I don’t have to do this,” he said and drank.

My stomach churned at the thought.

“How much time do you think we have?” Claire asked, discarding the bag and opening another as Francium took a deep breath, only half way through his bag of blood.

“Not enough,” Francium said. “I’m fading already… I’ll need another dose.”

“But Francium—”

“We don’t have a choice,” he said coughing as he fumbled out the pills. “I’ll give her one as well. She’ll be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“She’s already taken one,” Francium said. “And she wasn’t being poisoned with silver. Even if she was, it was a lot less time than I have been.”

He looked at me and offered the bottle. “Take one, and you should be able to at least stand on your leg. Damian’s not going to give up, and none of us should be weak when he finds us.”

I nodded stiffly, taking a pill and drinking it. Francium took his with the rest of his bag of blood before stowing the bottle in his pocket and standing.

I tried to stand, but I faltered. The pain was too much. Francium cursed.

“You’re more injured than I thought,” he said.

“She can’t take another.”

“No, she can’t,” he said and bowed before lifting me onto his back. “But I can carry her. Kill anything in the way. Take the gun.”

“Shit,” Claire hissed as she turned back. “It’s wet. It won’t fire and they’re coming.”

Francium turned briefly as I saw several bodies coming down and across the cliff towards us. Blood Pass was still too far from here. There were myths about Blood Pass, but I couldn’t recall them right now. I’m sure they were all bloody and had something to do with the war between werewolves and vampires.

“I can see why it’s called Blood Pass,” I said blearily.

“How are we supposed to get there?”

“It’s an old route to the caves. They’ll take us back to Full Moon territory.”

I frowned. “You can control them?”

“Not so much as they listen to me,” he chuckled. “They’re… It’s complicated. Just call it part of the inheritance.”

“Can… vampires control them?”

“… not anymore,” Francium said. “At least that’s what mom says.”

“My phone,” I said softly.

Claire lifted it and tucked it into her shirt. “We’ve got to get going.”

Claire headed up the back and Francium ran through the forest towards Blood Pass. We might get to Blood pass, but in what shape? It was too far away to think that we’d actually make it, but I understood that he was just trying to buy us some time.

Claire huffed behind us, not falling behind but she kept checking around us.

“Their getting closer,” she said. “I can feel it.”

Francium cursed and picked up the pace. I could tell that he was pushing himself to the limit.

Someone snarled and dropped in front of us. I recognized him as one of the vampires that had attacked Candido and me at the Estate.

He snarled. “We meet again.”

He lunged forward. Francium dodged aside and Claire surged forward, stopping him. Francium dropped me against a tree and darted back to help her. I curled up against the tree. The pain and the blood loss were making me dizzy and all I wanted to do was hear Candido’s voice.

I’d even take him scolding me.

Claire cried out as she was struck down. Francium jumped between her and the other vampire. His arm changed into something clawed and vicious, like those creatures that had lumbered out of the caves. He ripped through the man then stumbled back, towards her and began to cough.

One of the vampires laughed. “Running out of time little wolf. We’re going to enjoy watching you fall apart!”

One of them grabbed him by his hair and yanked him back. “The prince isn’t happy with you or your little—”

A roar shook the air. The ground rumbled and split, devouring two of the vampires. Clouds gathered and lightning struck another, setting him on fire. The man holding Francium stumbled away as a giant golden form leaped through the woods from behind him and ripped his head from his shoulders.

Blood splattered through the air. More of the vampires swarmed, yelling about a golden wolf. Francium dropped to the ground and crawled towards Claire. The golden wolf tore through the vampire around him. Blood flowed and wet the ground.

I swear I smell Candido’s cologne, a musky scent mixed with the bourbon he liked to drink. I blinked, smiling a bit at how familiar this was. I wished it was Candido, but it was probably Armageddon. Would Candido still find me? I didn’t know, but I let the world fade away as the pain and panic fell over me and dragged me under. I heard voices and the sound of other feet.

Then I heard nothing.

When I woke up, it felt a bit like déjà vu. The room was beautiful. The walls were a gentle, warm grey. The furniture was all made of sleek straight lines, but the quality of it all made it seem more modern than Spartan. I drew my hand across the sheets over me with wonder. They weren’t silk, but they were nice and soft.

I smiled a little and turned my head. The room was very similar to my room back at the Estate. Then I smelled Candido’s cologne, and I sat up. He was half lying on the bed; his hand was just a few inches away from mine. His hair had grown out a little like he hadn’t bee cutting it. I couldn’t see his face, but I was filled with so much warmth that he was here.

He found me, just like he promised.

But where were we?

Everything ached, but I reached out to take his hand. “Candido?”

His hand wrapped around mine and he sat up. His eyes were bleary but with and alert. They looked red from lack of sleep. The red turned to moonlight and darted up from his place on the floor onto the bed. He took my face in his hands and pressed our mouths together in a deep searing kiss that made my stomach jump and my toes curl.

He held me there, plundering mouth as if he needed to taste every inch of it and every sigh, he drew out of me, like he’d been waiting years to kiss me like this. It made me a little giddy to think he head.

He drew back and crushed me to his chest.

“Good that you’re awake and feeling so lively.” I turned my head to see the leader of New Moon, the alpha of the Blue Moon pack as well I guessed. “I can only imagine how long you’ve been waiting to do that, ‘Dido. Could I have a moment of your Hedy’s time?”

He tightened his grip and said nothing. I gave her a small smile.

She shook her head. “Congratulations on completing the mission. I assume you’ll want to see Claire and Francium?”

I nodded, “Could I have a moment with Candido first?”

She chuckled and waved her hand. “Carry on, lovebirds.”

She left and Candido pulled back to look at me.