Night's Promise(93)

“Don’t worry, love. I won’t let her hurt you.” His breath brushed her cheek as he folded her into his embrace.

Nodding, she snuggled against him. Derek would protect her against his mother and anyone else, with his life, if necessary. She knew that without a doubt.

But what if he wasn’t there?





“She did what?” Hands spread in a gesture of disbelief, Pearl stared at Mara. “Why would she pour it out? Does she realize how long it will take to make more?”

“It’s a matter of trust,” Logan said.

“She doesn’t trust me?” Pearl sniffed, obviously offended. “I’m only trying to help.”

Logan glanced at Mara, surprised by her silence. “We know that,” he said. “But Sheree’s experience with vampires is limited. I know Mara told her about the two of you, and what went on during the war, when you were trying to cure the supernatural community. All things considered, it’s easy to understand why Sheree isn’t in any hurry for Derek to become another of your failed experiments.”

Pearl threw up her hands in exasperation. “They didn’t all fail!”

Logan nodded. Two of their subjects had reverted to being human without any apparent side effects.

“Pearl worked extremely hard on the new serum,” Edna said, somewhat indignantly. “We both did. And to see all those hours of work wasted . . .” She shook her head, her eyes flashing red.

“Do you have any more?” Mara asked.

Pearl shook her head. “No. So, what do we do now?”

“Whatever you want,” Mara said. “I’ll be in touch if we need you again.”

“But . . .” Edna looked to Pearl for help.

“Enough!” Mara’s voice cracked like a pistol shot. “Be gone, both of you!”

Before Edna could argue, Pearl grabbed her friend by the hand. “Let’s go, dear,” she said, and whisked her out of the castle.

“I can’t help but echo the old broad’s words,” Logan drawled. “What now?”

“We do as planned. We’ll lock Derek in the dungeon and keep Sheree away from him, and hope for . . .” Mara whirled around as Sheree ran into the hall.

Sheree skidded to a halt, one hand pressed to her heart. “He’s gone!”

“Gone?” Mara sent an anxious glance at Logan, then looked back at Sheree. “Gone where?”

“I don’t know! One minute we were talking and the next I was alone.”

Logan glanced at the window. “The moon hasn’t even risen yet.”

“Where would he go?” Sheree asked, worry for her own safety swallowed up in her concern for Derek.

“I don’t know.” Mara lifted her head, scenting the air. “He’s not in the castle.”

“But you can find him, can’t you?” Sheree asked anxiously.

Logan looked at his wife askance. “Can you?”

“Of course!” Mara snapped.

“Whoa, girl,” he said, his voice harsher than Sheree had ever heard it. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing.” Mara cocked her head to the side. “He’s hunting in town.”

Sheree bit down on her lower lip. Why had he gone to town on this, of all nights? It wasn’t safe for the people there. It wasn’t safe for him.

There had been numerous stories about werewolves circulating through the towns and villages since Derek had attacked the farmer. People from one end of the country to the other were suddenly reporting sightings of werewolves. Curfews had been set. Parents hurried their children inside as soon as the sun went down. Rewards were being offered for the head of the creature. Numerous large dogs and feral wolves had been killed by spooked citizens.

Sheree sank onto the sofa, her worry for her husband increasing with every passing moment. Unable to shake off a growing sense of doom, she rose and began to pace the floor.

“What’s wrong?” Mara asked, quickly picking up on Sheree’s distress.

“I don’t know.” Sheree went to the window and stared into the darkness. Where was he? “What if there are other werewolves out there?” Older, stronger? “What if . . . ?”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Mara assured her. “Last time I was here, the vampires had chased all the werewolves out of the country.”

“What about all the stories of recent sightings?”

“Fear mongering,” Mara said, but she sounded less certain than before.

Logan moved up behind his wife and slid his arms around her waist. “Maybe we should go look for him.”

Mara leaned against him. “Not yet. For now, we wait.”