Designs on a Warrior

Chapter Nine

Once they met up with the others, minus Garrick, Wulfric shifted to his human form, willing his clothes back on at the same time. He shot Cydney a quick look to find her watching him. He had no idea what she thought of what he’d revealed to her. She kept her face guarded. At least she wasn’t looking at him in absolute horror. It was a start, though he thought most of her not appearing so fearful of him stemmed from the worry she must feel for her friend.

Wulfric brought his attention to the matter at hand when Brand said, “Garrick picked up the scent of another werewolf. Not the one we hunted. He has him cornered behind this building in a dead end alley.”

As a group, they all rushed to where Garrick had the werewolf contained. His fellow warrior was in his werewolf form, using his sharp claws and teeth to keep the creature he’d cornered right where he wanted him.

Without taking his gaze off his prey, Garrick said, “I’ve tried to convince him to shift, so he can tell us where to find his den, but so far he isn’t cooperating.”

“Let me have a go,” Dolf said with a growl.

Dolf passed Maggie’s jacket to Cydney, then as he walked toward Garrick and Fenri’s get, he shifted into his werewolf form. Brushing Garrick aside, he snatched the creature around the throat and slammed him against the brick wall, his head hitting it with a loud thump.

“Shift,” Dolf said menacingly, “or I’ll call Tiw to force the change on you. You do know who Tiw is, right?”

Wulfric knew Tiw couldn’t do any such thing, but the creature Dolf held didn’t.

The werewolf’s response to the demand was to snarl and growl as he tried to break Dolf’s hold on his neck with his claws. Dolf just slammed his head harder against the wall until the creature gave up.

“All right, since you aren’t going to play nice, maybe it’s time you got a taste of Tiw’s god-fire. “ Dolf looked up into the night sky. “Tiw, I have a need of your fire, but just a little. Only enough to show this piece of shit what will happen to him if he doesn’t do as we ask.”

The werewolf howled in pain as a streak of Tiw’s blue god-fire licked across his upper arm. It took one more kiss of flame to have him shifting into his human form. As soon as he did, Dolf yanked him up into his face and curled his upper lip in a snarl.

“Now, asshole, tell me where we can find your den.”

“Why the hell should I tell you? I know all about Tiw’s immortal warriors who hunt my kind. You’ll kill me anyway.”

Still in werewolf form, Dolf’s sword appeared in his hand. “But there are many ways to die. It can be easy or hard. Your choice. I’ve heard silver poisoning is a slow and painful way to go.” To back up his threat, Dolf brought the tip of his sword to rest between the werewolf’s eyes. The silver in the steel flashed in the bright light of the almost full moon that hung in the sky.

He swallowed. “Okay, I’ll show you where it is. I’ll do even better and lead you right into it.”

“And why should we believe you would do that?” Raed asked.

“Because now that I think about it we can scratch each other’s backs.”

“What could we possibly do for you?”

The werewolf smiled. “Recently we’ve had a change in pack leaders. Stephen, who took Nathan’s place, thinks nothing of us who are under him. He’s making changes not all of us agree on. One of them is bringing mortal women into the den to play with. Nathan had it right when he decreed no females should be involved in the pack. They’re too distracting. You promise to do away with Stephen, and I’ll lead you right to him. And in exchange, you let me live to see another day. I’ll promise to lay low.”

Dolf withdrew his sword just before he willed it away and shifted to his human form. “Deal, but if you fuck us over, I’ll make you wish you never existed.”

Wulfric took Cydney’s hand and pulled her to his side as Dolf grabbed the werewolf by the back of the neck and force-marched him out of the alley. The look on his best friend’s face as he passed him said Dolf would do anything and everything he needed to get his mate back. The werewolves had no idea what was about to sweep down on them.

“Cydney, would you just listen to reason,” Wulfric pleaded. “The werewolf den is no place for a mortal.”

“Tough,” she said. “I’m going. Maggie will need someone she knows. Unlike me, she probably hasn’t gotten the nonviolent introduction to your world. She’ll see you guys shift and think you’re one of the ones who have taken her.”

“Cydney is right,” Raed interjected. “We don’t know,” he paused to glance in Dolf’s direction who stood in the werewolf’s face, pumping him for information, “what condition we’ll find Maggie in.”

Wulfric sighed. “All right, but you won’t leave my side for anything, Cydney.

Even if I’m in my wolf or werewolf form, you don’t go anywhere. Got it?”

“Does she have the mark yet?” Algar asked. “Because if she does, that will be one less thing you have to worry about.”

Cydney’s brow furrowed. “What mark?”

He said to Algar, “Yes, at least she had the start of it. It’s very faint.” To Cydney he added, “Tiw, who is an Anglo-Saxon god, is the one who granted us immortality and the ability to shift and to hunt what you would call the ‘bad werewolves.’ All of his warriors carry his mark on the cap of our left shoulders.”

“You mean that isn’t a tattoo?”

“Correct, it isn’t. When each of us finds our mates, Tiw also places his mark on the woman, high up on her back near her right shoulder. It’s the same but only smaller.

When a mate is found, the mark first shows as a dark bruise. Once she’s grown to accept the warrior who is the one for her, it fully appears.”

Cydney shook her head. “Slow down a bit. I feel as if I’m drowning in information overload. This mark, besides being from an Anglo-Saxon god, does it mean something else? The way Algar asked about it, I’m assuming it does.”

“Correct again. Once you carry Tiw’s mark, you are no longer susceptible to a bite from a werewolf sired by Fenris the wolf. One bite from their kind turns a mortal into a werewolf who thirsts for flesh and blood.”

Wulfric heard Cydney audibly swallow. “What about Maggie? She’s Dolf’s mate? Would she have the start of the mark?”

“More than likely not. She and Dolf haven’t met yet. The mark doesn’t begin to appear until after two mates have done so.”

“Oh god. What if she ends up being bitten?”

His voice grim, Wulfric said, “She’ll have to be put down like others of Fenris’ get.”

Cydney’s face went white. “Then what the fuck are we waiting for? We need to get her out of that den before that can happen.”

Raed turned toward Dolf and asked loudly, “Are you ready to go, Dolf?”

The warrior eased away from the werewolf. “Yes. Let’s do this.”

Their leader nodded. “We’re ready as well. Dolf, you, Garrick and our captive over there will go with Brand in his car. The rest of us will follow in mine.”

Once they all piled into the cars, Wulfric shifted closer to Cydney in the backseat.

He smelled her fear. He didn’t think it was because of what he and his fellow warriors were, but he had to make sure. “Cyd, talk to me. Please tell me you’re able to handle the truth of what I am.”

She turned her head to look at him. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m thrilled to hear you’re a werewolf.”

“We don’t think of ourselves as that. We’re immortal warriors.”

“Whatever. To be honest, I don’t know how I feel about all of it, and me being your mate. Right now, all I can think about is Maggie and what she must be going through.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “But once this is all over, promise me you’ll give me a chance to better explain everything.” He cupped the side of her face with his hand and ran his thumb along her plump bottom lip. “Like Dolf, I’ve waited over a thousand years to find you. You fill a space inside me that has been long empty. I don’t want to lose you.”

Cydney pulled away from his touch. “I promise I’ll give you a chance to explain, but I’m not going to give you anything beyond that.”

He dropped his hand into his lap. “That’s all I can ask.”

Cydney got out of the car as the others with her did. Theirs, along with Brand’s, was parked on the shoulder of a long stretch of road surrounded by fields and farmhouses. She looked up at the sky and saw it had just barely started to lighten.

Dawn was almost upon them. For being up all night, she didn’t feel tired, her nerves were just strung too tight.

She followed the men as they met up with the others from the car in front. Once they drew even with them, Dolf said, “The den is beneath an old farmhouse on the other side of this field. There’s an entrance to the underground den inside the house.”

Raed pointed to the werewolf. “You lead, but don’t even think of pulling any shit.”

The werewolf shook his head. “I won’t. You’ll do me a big favor by putting Stephen down. I would do it myself if I stood a chance, but I don’t. I’m not going to do anything to mess this up. Follow me.”

They all jumped the fence into the field. Seeing how fast the men ran—faster than she’d ever seen a person move before—she knew there was no way she’d ever be able to keep up. But she soon realized that wouldn’t be a problem when Wulfric scooped her up in his arms and took off running with her just as fast. She put her arms around his neck and held on for dear life.

As the farmhouse came into view, their group slowed. Wulfric put her down on her feet and held onto her hand as they stealthily made their way to the front door of the house with the werewolf still leading them.

Inside, the dwelling smelled of neglect. Wallpaper peeled off the walls and all kinds of debris littered the floors. The werewolf led them to what at one time would have been a homey kitchen. He walked down into the root cellar, then led them through a door that connected to a long tunnel.

Cydney held tighter to Wulfric’s hand as the dark earth walls and ceiling closed around them the deeper they went underground. Just before they reached the end, the werewolf brought them to a stop.

“The central cavern of the den opens up at the end of this tunnel,” he whispered.

“Stephen, as pack leader, has a smaller one that offshoots from it. Since it’s almost dawn, most of the pack, if not all, will be inside the larger cavern. I suggest you shift now and come in fighting.”

Cydney’s heart galloped inside her chest as all the men around her shifted into their werewolf forms. They were all huge, standing at least seven feet tall, even the bad one. If it weren’t for Maggie, Cydney would have run out of the tunnel.

As if he sensed the fear that had crept back on her, Wulfric brushed her cheek with the back of his furred fingers. Low and soft, he said, “Nothing is going to happen to you. Just stay with me.”

She nodded, unable to speak past the whimper that threatened to break free. She could do this. She had to for Maggie’s sake. The thought of what her best friend could be suffering through had her taking a deep, cleansing breath.

Then it all seemed to happen so fast. The men rushed into the central cavern, attacking the first werewolf they reached. Their growls and howls that bounced off the rock walls sounded loud in her ears, making Cydney want to cringe.

During the fights that broke out, she stuck to Wulfric like glue. She gave him enough room to slash out with his sharp claws and not much else. She stared wide-eyed all around her, unable to tell which werewolves were which. Who was the good and who the bad.

A loud snarl came from behind her. Cydney turned and let out a shriek as she narrowly escaped the jaws of the werewolf who lunged toward her. Wulfric spun around, and roughly shoving her to stand at his back, he slashed out at the creature.

Needing to hold onto something, Cydney grabbed Wulfric’s tail, clinging to it for dear life. A sword appeared in his hand, and with one thrust to the chest, he put an end to the werewolf he fought.

The sound of a howl accompanied by Dolf’s shout of denial had Cydney’s gaze focusing on the center of the cavern. He stalked a man who held Maggie in front of him as a shield. Cydney bit back a cry at seeing how traumatized her friend looked. Her eyes were round with fear. Dirt streaked her face and her lip bled from where it had split.

The man who held Maggie said, “I’m walking out of here, mate.”

Dolf stalked closer, his sword held menacingly. “Give me the woman.”

“It seems I got lucky and picked the right one,” the man said with a sneer. “You want her, that sword of yours disappears, or I sink my teeth into her. Then she’ll be mine, not yours.”

The man shifted to his werewolf form and dragged Maggie in front of him as he continued to back toward the tunnel that led to the farmhouse above. All the warriors closed in on the three in the center, Wulfric pulling Cydney along with him, since she’d yet to let go of his tail.

One of the warriors, she couldn’t tell which one, tried to sneak up behind the werewolf. Dolf yelled at him to stop when a sharp-clawed hand yanked Maggie’s head to the side, and equally sharp teeth hovered mere inches over the vulnerable side of her neck. Once the warrior shifted out of the way, the werewolf continued his backward steps, never moving his teeth away from his human shield.

At the entrance to the cavern, the werewolf shoved Maggie into Dolf who caught her against him. As Maggie’s screams filled the chamber, her captor swung around and took off in a run, almost too fast for Cyndey to track, into the tunnel.

Letting go of Wulfric’s tail, Cydney rushed over to Dolf and Maggie as her friend continued to scream and fight his hold. “Maggie! Maggie, it’s all right. You’re safe now.”

Her friend stopped her struggles, and when she turned her gaze toward her, she asked warily, “Cydney? Is that really you?”

“It’s me.”

“How?”

“I came with the good guys to rescue you.”

As Wulfric came to stand at Cydney’s side and put his arm around her shoulders, her friend’s eyes widened even more. “You know about these…things?”

Maggie sucked in a sharp breath as if she would scream once more.

“It’s all right, Maggie.” She stepped out from under the heavy arm around her.

When Wulfric tried to pull her back, she turned and snapped, “Wulfric, back off.”

“That’s Wulfric?” Maggie asked, a tremor in her voice.

Cydney nodded. “Remember how I mentioned his best friend to you, Dolf? Well, he’s the one holding you.”

Maggie turned to look up at Dolf as if she just remembered who held her in his arms. She whimpered and violently shoved at Dolf’s chest. “Let me go! Let me go!”

Dolf only seemed to hold onto Maggie tighter, which upset her friend even more.

Before Cydney could do something, Wulfric shifted to his human form and smacked Dolf on his muzzle. “Shift, you wanker. You’re scaring Maggie. Let her go to Cydney.”

Dolf shifted, but still hadn’t released Maggie. “She’s mine. I have to protect her.”

Wulfric nodded. “I know, but she’s terrified. Look at her.”

Cydney watched Dolf try to calm himself down as he looked at Maggie. He reluctantly dropped his arms, and Cydney clutched a trembling Maggie to her.

“I’m sorry,” Dolf said in a gruff voice. “I didn’t mean to scare her.”

“It’s all right,” Cydney reassured him. “Let’s get out of here.”

As she slowly walked Maggie, who clung to her, toward the entrance to the tunnel, Cydney tried not to look at the werewolf bodies that littered the cavern’s floor.

Once they were out of the farmhouse and out in the early morning light, Cydney breathed a sigh of relief. Wulfric and Dolf hovered nearby.

She had no idea what the other warriors did in the den, but it was a few minutes before they joined them outside. Once they did, their group backtracked across the field to where the cars were parked.

Settled into the backseat of Raed’s car with Maggie clinging to her still, Cydney stared out the window, feeling the last of her energy drain away. Seeing the manor house come into view, she didn’t complain as Wulfric ushered her and Maggie inside once they pulled out front. Shown to the spare room, Cydney urged Maggie into the bed and climbed in next to her. Too exhausted to keep her eyes open any longer, she fell into a dreamless sleep.