Silver's Bane

Chapter Twelve Burnt Pages-2

A pair of large boots stopped in front of her and the Alpha crouched next to her, his face coming into focus. “You’re going to die tonight.” It didn’t sound like a threat, but a promise. Then one of his large hands came to rest on the back of her head. He caressed it for a moment. Instead of delivering a fatal blow, however, Carson grabbed Jules harshly. The glass in her back twisted inside her skin as he and the big wolf, who had apparently just joined them, made her stand. “Nice job Kip,” the Alpha congratulated the big wolf who had defeated her.

“The job’s not done yet,” Jules spat. The Alpha had made his first mistake. If he wanted her dead, he should have killed her while she was still on the floor. Jules lashed out, her nails creating long scratches across the Alpha’s snarl. She could have gotten away in the fleeting moments he was distracted but Kip grabbed her and held her against him, his beefy arms clamping tightly around her. Jules got a small amount of satisfaction when the wolf groaned as the glass still embedded in her back cut into the flesh of his abdomen.

As she struggled against the tight hold, the Alpha’s hand connected with her jaw. She would have fallen if she hadn’t been trapped between Kip’s arms. Jules turned back toward him and spat blood in Carson’s face. The Alpha’s fist connected with her ribcage. She felt a few ribs c***k under the impact.

“Carson,” a wolf called, and Carson walked a few paces away to meet the newcomer.

Jules struggled to free herself. If she didn’t get away now, this might actually be how her long existence would end. Before she could manage to wriggle free, the newly arrived wolf joined Kip in restraining her.

“Were you able to erase the security footage?” Carson asked the new wolf as he plugged something into the wall and approached them.

“Just like the alarms, it wasn’t a problem,” he responded calmly.

“Excellent,” Carson said as he lifted the object in his hands and turned the switch. The UVB light flicked on and the scalding rays stung her eyes.

So that was his plan. He was going to burn her alive. Without whimpering, Jules struggled against the two men who were holding her in place. She knew what came next. Jules wanted to beg for her life, but she never would. She’d live, or she would not. But she knew her immortal life would not be spared by begging for it.

“You should have left town when I told you too,” Carson growled, waving the light back and forth in front of her face.

“Do it!” Jules shouted. The taunting had gone on long enough.

With that, Carson placed the bulb on Jules’s chest and pressed down slightly. She cried out involuntarily as her flesh started to burn. The pain was like nothing Jules had experienced before. No physical pain she knew of was its equal. Just as she felt the skin directly under the light begin to melt away, Carson pulled the light back. Jules trembled. Carson looked down at the angry red burn, undoubtedly an open wound now.

“That’s disgusting,” Kip said from behind her.

“Why t*****e her?” Luca’s friend said as he approached. Apparently pouring gasoline on every inch of the library was sufficient. “Why not just kill her?” This wolf sounded different from the others, less jovial.

“Where is the fun in that?” Carson said, a dark desire in his yellowed eyes.

“Kyle’s right Carson, protecting Aboit doesn’t mean we have to t*****e people, even if they are already dead,” Kip said from behind Jules, still restraining her. “And the whole, melting her skin off thing is just gross,” he added, sounding a little like he might be trying to lighten the mood.

How absurd, Jules thought but said, “I agree with the big one.” Jules found that with this short reprieve she was regaining some of her determination, despite the pain.

“Kyle, where is Luca?” The other wolf that was holding her in place inquired.

Jules didn’t catch his reply, for Carson had touched the bulb to her skin again, in the middle of her forehead this time. She screamed as he began to drag it slowly down one side of her face. The searing pain made Jules weak on her feet. The large wolf took her weight. The smell of burnt flesh made Carson wrinkle his nose as he laughed maniacally. Jules knew that he was enjoying watching her suffer. The question was, why?

“Seriously Carson, you don’t have to do this,” Kyle said, standing tall.

Carson growled. “Kyle, that will be quite enough, get back to your post,” he ordered.

The wolf strained under the order in defiance, but after all to brief a moment, did as he was told.

Weak, but not weak enough to give up the fight, Jules used this distraction to elbow the big wolf in the ribcage. She kicked the other in the back of the knee and he went down hard. This would have been her best chance to escape if the first wolf she’d knocked out hadn’t regained consciousness. As the others’ hold faltered, he grabbed her around the neck and slammed her into the wall. The glass in her back penetrated farther. The pressure on her neck was harsh, but he couldn’t exactly choke her, she didn’t have to breathe. Her hands came to his wrists. She squeezed hard, probably breaking at least one of them.

“You i***t,” Carson shouted. He shoved the energetic wolf out of the way and kicked Jules hard in the leg. She dropped to both knees, pain shooting up and down the left side of her body. He was about to kick her again when someone shouted.

“Everybody get out!”

The shout made Jules look toward the door of the library. A wolf stood in the entrance holding up a lighter, flame blazing.

“Luca,” Jules said, astonished.

He didn’t meet her gaze. He refused to look at her at all. He did know about this. He was a part of this pack and this attack. Her heart broke. Even if he had been using her, she loved him. She’d opened her heart again, that was her choice, this pain was on her.

“Luca don’t…” Carson began to shout but it was too late. Luca tossed the lighter down onto the gasoline-soaked floor. The room around them erupted into flames. The pages of the books blackened and curled, feeding the fire. As the smoke built, the wolves released her and rushed from the library. Luca slammed the door behind them, locking her inside the inferno.

When the wolves had let her go and ran for safety, Jules was left kneeling on the floor. The pain of Luca’s betrayal felt equal to the cuts and burnt flesh.

Sitting there, next to her office, Jules could hear the Alpha snicker as he watched the blaze close in on her. Everything was burning. The flames were rising higher by the second. If she stayed much longer, she would most certainly die. All at once, the snickering stopped and a great howl ripped through the air. More howls followed.

She wouldn’t let this be her end. Not while she still had a minute chance. With every last ounce of strength she could muster, she pulled herself to her feet. Her hand gripped the broken window frame, glass cutting into it as she stood. She glanced back toward the werewolves, all still congregated around the doorway. She took one step toward the far wall and then another. She stood a moment, calculating the distance.

“Wait!” Carson shouted. “This can’t happen!” Luca and Kyle grabbed onto Carson, keeping him from entering the fire-filled room.

Jules didn’t wait for the Alpha to over-rule them. This was her only chance. Jules ran through the fire and launched herself through the wall of glass opposite them. Cuts from this glass were added to her chest and face. Oxygen wafting into the burning room caused an explosion. Jules escaped in the chaos. Smoke from the library followed her path.

She was completely exposed as she ran down the hall, but she had to try. She knew they’d follow her. She knew she had little hope of escaping them, but she wasn’t ready to give up.

Jules could hear several four-legged beings pursuing her now. They were much faster in this form and she was running much slower than she normally could. Jules pulled one of the trophy cases away from the wall. It shattered, obscuring their path. A wolf yelped.

Jules didn’t slow her pace. She ran down two more hallways and burst through the doors at the top of the auditorium. She hit the lights, blackening the room, and slid the lock in place on the door. She skipped several of the steps as she ran down toward the stage but froze halfway down. A set of yellow, wolf eyes glowed from the right side of the stage. She took one step backward, intent on leaving the auditorium until she heard several sets of pattering paws on the other side of the double doors.

She turned back to the stage but the wolf that had been there was gone. Facing one was better than facing them all together. Jules sprinted the rest of the way to the stage and jumped up onto it with a grunt. She fumbled on her most injured leg but, kept the cry of pain silent. With more effort than she truly had the strength for, she ran for the left of the stage where there was a back door to the school.

Before she could reach it, large hands grabbed her. A muscled arm wrapped around her waist pulling her off her feet, while his other hand clamped over her mouth.

She fought against his hold on her. She didn’t want it to end like this.

“Jules stop,” Luca whispered in her ear. “It’s me.”

She considered biting the hand clamped over her mouth, but it didn’t matter how betrayed and used she felt. It didn’t matter if he handed her over to his Alpha now. She didn’t want to kill him. She did, however, kick him in the shin. Forcing him to release her. She spun and shoved him hard in the stomach, making him stumble backward. She needed to run, she needed to keep running, and yet, she had so little strength left.

Jules stumbled backward. Luca reached out as if to steady her. “Don’t touch me.” She spat the words. She’d had enough of werewolves tonight.

“Jules?” Luca looked down at her questioningly.

“You tried to burn me alive.” Her tone was harsh but not loud. There was no sense in helping the rest of the wolves find them sooner.

“I had to...” Luca’s explanation was cut short at the sound of the doors to the auditorium being broken open. Luca’s eyes began to glow the soft yellow of a werewolf about to transform.

Before she could protest, Luca had grabbed her again and pulled both of them behind a long curtain. His grip was looser this time. It was gentle. He didn’t release her. His arm came to rest around the front of her neck, on top of her shoulders. Footsteps and sniffing confirmed that at least three wolves had entered the auditorium.

Jules leaned forward, peaking around their velvet hiding place. One wolf had stopped as he reached the stage. Nose in the air, he was sniffing around him. Luca pulled her back and his grip tightened a little. If they ran, they’d be heard. If they stayed, they’d be found.

A wolf on four paws stepped around the curtain. He zeroed in on Jules, lowered his head, and growled quietly.

“Kyle!” Luca’s whisper was nearly silent, pleading.

The wolf’s gaze shifted from Jules to his Beta. In one swift movement, Luca swung Jules behind him, putting himself between her and his friend. Jules grabbed his waist to steady herself and keep from hitting the wall next to them. “Please, don’t.”

Kyle looked at them a moment longer and then lifted his snout and howled. Another howl answered it and Kyle bolted away.

For the next several moments, neither of them moved. Then, before she knew what was happening Jules was enveloped in Luca’s arms, shoulders, and chest. She hurt everywhere but didn’t resist the affection. Jules felt her consciousness slipping. She could still die from her injuries. She clung to Luca, trying to anchor herself to the living. She focused on the sound of his pounding heartbeat, the tickle of his hot breath in her ear, the feel of his body covering hers. “They’ll stop looking,” he whispered. “Give them a minute.”

After several more long moments, Luca moved first, looking over his shoulder as the sounds of the aggravated wolf pack began to be more distant. Luca let out a quiet sigh. Releasing her, he walked to the edge of their hiding place. “They’re gone,” he said in a hushed tone.

Jules let out a breath and began panting quietly. She was out of breath, she hadn’t been out of breath in four hundred years. Jules knew it was her mind playing tricks on her; telling her that her adrenaline was dropping. She tried to speak but she couldn’t make her voice audible.

Luca walked back over to her and placed one finger under her chin. Jules lifted her head, her hair dropping away from her face. She heard him suck air in through his teeth, cringing. “I’m sorry,” he said.

His pack had done this to her. As their eyes met, she saw guilt in his. Jules did not respond verbally but pulled closer to him, hugging him around the waist. His hand rested on her hair softly, the other touched her back and she cried out accidentally.

“I’m so sorry,” he said again. “Can you walk?” Luca asked. “We should get you out of here.” Luca stepped back, offering her his hand. She took it and attempted to take a few steps forward. Pain ripped through every part of her. What little awareness she had left in her fled and she fell. Luca’s strong arms caught her, lifting her back off her feet. Glass dug into her back and his arm where he held her, but she couldn’t cry out and he didn’t. Her consciousness waned.

“Jules!” Luca said quietly, shaking her a little.

“Luc…” she mumbled and then her head fell against him.