Dark Wolf(16)

Hunger beat at him with every slow second that passed. He was aware of  every living creature with blood running in its veins that came near  him. He could hear that throbbing beat deep in their veins like a drum  summoning him. Even the twisting, agonizing pain couldn't stop the need  rising like a tsunami that couldn't be denied.

His teeth were lengthened and sharp. It took every ounce of discipline  he possessed to keep from fighting the silver chains encircling his  body. Even with the hooks in him he could have called prey, but the  chains prevented him.

He smelled the Lycans approaching long before he heard them coming. In  his weakened state, he thought the tremendous gifts of a mixed blood-the  Lycan's dreaded Sange rau-would lessen, not strengthen, but his every  sense stretched and grew until he was aware even of the insects crawling  on the ground and up the tree trunks.

Sometimes he thought he could actually see and hear the plants growing  around him. A few minutes earlier, the grasses surrounding him had been a  few feet away from where he hung, but now they covered the ground  beneath him like a thick mat. Bunches of flowers seemed to be springing  up, fully formed with stalks and petals within minutes. He fastened his  gaze to the ground, surprised to see ferns pushing through the earth in a  dozen spots surrounding him.

"You don't look so tough hanging there," Gunnolf sneered as he came up on Dimitri.

Dimitri didn't deign to respond, what was the point? Gunnolf wanted to  elicit some response out of him, and he wasn't about to give him the  satisfaction. It wouldn't lessen his pain, and he couldn't get to him to  take his blood, so really, retreating into his own mind was a far  better option.

"Your friends haven't exactly come running to save you," Gunnolf  continued, idly kicking at Dimitri's leg. He laughed when Dimitri's body  swayed and the hooks dug in deeper, ripping at his flesh. "They must  have realized what a dirty, disgusting monster you are and left us to  kill you. They weren't all that good in a fight anyway."

Dimitri remained silent, his eyes on the ground. He could see dirt  pushing up in places around the ferns and the mystery of it fascinated  him. Some of the grass in spots directly beneath him had grown high  enough that the blades brushed his legs. The grass wound around his  ankle and slid beneath the tattered hem of his trousers. Slowly he could  feel it traveling up along his skin until it found that exact spot  where the Lycan hunter had kicked him. Tiny droplets of something cool  and wet fell from the leaf to find the bruise. At once that pain was  gone.                       
       
           



       

"I will say, you've lasted longer than anyone else ever sentenced to  death by silver." This time there was a hint of apprehension in  Gunnolf's voice. "No one has lasted past three days. They say it's  impossible to hold still and the silver reaches your heart faster. If  you want to end the misery, just dance around a little bit more."

He caught Dimitri's shoulders and shook his body hard, laughing again as  the fresh blood poured from each of the wounds where the hooks held him  prisoner.

"Gunnolf! What are you doing?" Zev snapped sharply.

Gunnolf sobered instantly. He leaned close to Dimitri's ear. "Die  already, you monster, so I can get out of here." He released him and  stepped away from the dangling body.

Zev shoved him away from Dimitri. "You have no right to put your hands  on him. The man is suffering. Isn't that enough for you? If you weren't  one of my pack, I would think you've gone rogue and enjoy the suffering  of others."

"He's Sange rau, a monster beyond compare." Gunnolf spit on the ground  to show his contempt. "He would kill every man, woman and child we have  and never look back."

"He is not vampire as the others were," Zev argued.

His tone had gone thoughtful. Dimitri's gaze jumped up, and he found Zev  was now looking at the ground. His rugged features were expressionless,  but his piercing eyes saw far too much. Dimitri's heart gave a jolt in  his chest as Zev glided forward, a fluid, easy move that was nearly  impossible for Gunnolf to follow, but so very easy for Dimitri.

There, on the ground beneath his swaying body, mostly buried in the  thick mat of grass and the ferns and flowers, were a few telling beads  of silver glittering, drawing the eye. The sole of Zev's boot slipped  over the silver, mashing it further into the ground. When he moved his  boot, stepping forward, grass sprang up as if he'd never taken a step.  The silver beads were completely hidden from view.

Zev raised his gaze to Dimitri's. "You had better get out of here,  Gunnolf. You've challenged me one too many times and my patience has  grown thin. The next time, you had better come prepared to defeat me in  battle."

Gunnolf snarled, baring his teeth, but he turned abruptly and strode  away. Zev sighed, shaking his head. "That one and I will tangle in the  near future, and it will be a fight to the death."

"He will not fight fair," Dimitri predicted. "In fact, I doubt he will  come at you face-to-face. He will try to kill you when your back is  turned and there is no one to see his treachery."

"I am truly sorry," Zev said. "I sent word to the council to try to get  this sentence retracted, but there has been no word. I cannot go against  my people, but I would help in whatever way I can."

"You have been kind to bring me water," Dimitri said.

"No one has ever been able to remove silver from their system," Zev said, looking down at the ground beneath Dimitri.

Using the toe of his boot, Zev pushed aside the grass and ferns. No  trace of silver remained. Frowning, he dug into the soil. "It's gone."

Dimitri said nothing. He could feel the grass blades winding their way  around his ankle and slipping over his calf to the point of entry where  the hooks were embedded in his muscle. Those tiny beads of salve dropped  onto his raw wounds. The grass seemed to massage the soothing gel into  lesions and then began moving up toward the gashes on his thighs.

Skyler. His woman. His lifemate. Who would have ever thought she could  have so much power packed into that little frame of hers? She had a core  of pure steel. He had no doubt in his mind that she had made some pact  with Mother Earth and this form of healing was her doing. Healing and  hiding evidence.

Zev came closer. "I cannot free you, but I can aid you. There is no law  that says I cannot provide nutrients for you. Allow me to give you  blood."

Dimitri's heart jumped and then began to pound. He had never considered  that a Lycan would make such an offer. The temptation was overwhelming.  He could feel saliva forming in his mouth. His teeth were sharp and  terrible.

"I am weak. Far too weak to trust myself. I am uncertain if I could  stop." He forced the truth out, respecting the man, not wanting to take  any chances. He would have drained Gunnolf dry, but Zev had integrity  and the sentence of the council had clearly come as a shock to him.

"You are wrapped in chains," Zev pointed out. "I can control your intake."

Dimitri lifted his head to look around him. The forest was thick with  trees and brush, but he felt and heard the life force of other Lycans  close by. He could feel eyes on them. "The more you aid me, the more  suspect you become in the eyes of the others. The one you call Gunnolf  is poisoning the minds of the others against you. By aiding me, you help  his cause."

"What is his cause?" Zev asked. "Why is it so important for you to die  before the summit reaches its conclusion? It makes no sense. Key members  of our council are meeting right now with your prince and his people to  settle the issue of the Sange rau-the Bad Blood, and the Hän ku pesäk  kaikak, or Paznicii de toate-Guardian of all. Doesn't it make sense to  see that outcome before sentencing you to death?"

Dimitri tried a smile, exposing his lengthened canines. "I'm the one  sentenced to death, so obviously it makes perfect sense to me."

"I see you've retained your sense of humor."

"I try." The soothing grass had reached his thighs now, moving up both  legs to find those terrible, burning wounds in an effort to ease the  pain.

Hunger reached a new high. He could count each individual beat of Zev's  steady, strong pulse. A strange roaring in his head consumed his mind  with the urgency to feed. He saw red, the color banding in his vision.

"Maybe you should step back, put a safe distance between us," Dimitri  cautioned. His voice had become more of a growl than an actual  vocalization.

Unafraid, Zev stepped closer, his own teeth tearing a hole in his wrist.  He was careful to avoid the silver chains encompassing Dimitri's body  as he lifted his wrist, dripping with life-giving blood, to Dimitri's  mouth.

Blood surged to every starved cell, every withered organ, moved over the  many burned paths the silver had taken, to revitalize and rejuvenate.  Dimitri tried to be polite, tried to hold on to awareness. Zev risked  his life by giving him blood. His pack could turn on him at any moment.  Dimitri was certain Gunnolf had his own agenda. He wanted more power and  Zev was standing in his way. This act of kindness could very well be  Zev's downfall.