Shifters Rule (Rule Series) (26 page)
The more he got to know Vanessa, the more she continued to amaze him.
She was a special lady.
He pulled her close for a hug.
Their love for Silver united them.
He was feeling warm and fuzzy about their relationship when Vanessa put her lips near his ear and said, “Don’t even think about having a dream honeymoon with my child or I’ll break out my husband’s shotgun.”
He almost opened his mouth to tell her it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Being together in a dream would be the ideal situation, the safest sex in the world.
Silver couldn’t get pregnant.
He almost told her that, but he wisely kept his opinion to himself.
Something told him Vanessa wouldn’t appreciate hearing the facts as he saw them, even if he would be half-kidding.
Vanessa left them alone.
Jack sat across from Silver, shared a smile with her.
The food looked good and smelled even better.
His stomach rumbled.
He was hungry, but he couldn’t tear his eyes off Silver.
In silent mutual agreement they reached across the table and held hands.
Their gazes locked.
Neither wanted to be the first to look away.
“This was a cool thing for your mom to do.”
“She knows I’m afraid of losing you.
If
Jersey
kills you, I don’t think I could handle it.”
“Don’t worry.
We’ll both make it through this.”
“
Jersey
is more powerful than either of us.”
“But we can destroy him if we work together,” he said.
“Maybe if we hold hands like we’re doing now when we attack or both stare into his eyes at the same time, we’ll be able to kill him.”
“I hope you’re right.”
He hoped so, too.
He released her hand and picked his fork up to dig into the pasta.
Tubes of pasta were covered in a meaty red sauce.
“Your mom sure can cook.”
Silver ate a few bites before asking, “Have you seen Billy today?”
“Just got back a few minutes ago.”
“Is he doing better?”
If she meant to ask if Billy was any less homicidal than before, the answer was a definite negative.
He didn’t want to talk about his brother.
Billy was more volatile than ever.
He had charged the open doorway several times, hurled insults at Jack, and tried repeatedly to provoke Jack into entering the room.
“I don’t think Billy is going to change until
Jersey
is gone.”
Another reason to kill the head werewolf.
Silver said, “He’s building his army so it won’t be long now.”
“I want to get it over with.
I wish I had his phone number.
I’d call him and throw the gauntlet down now.”
“I don’t want to do this.”
Her voice rose to near hysteria.
“I don’t want to fight
Jersey
!”
“Then stay out of it.”
Hope filled his heart.
“Stay home.
Be safe.”
“I don’t want you to fight him either.
I don’t want you to die, and I don’t want to die, and I don’t want my mom or Ian to die.”
Jack pushed out of his chair.
He circled the table in a few quick strides, grabbed Silver by the arms, and pulled her from the chair in a flash.
He meant to hold her, comfort her, but his body had other ideas.
Their mouths met in a crushing kiss.
Her hands clutched his arms as they wrapped around her.
The passion intensified with every passing second.
The rational side of Jack’s brain told him to let her go before things got out of hand.
Her mom could walk in at any second and make good on her threat to kill Jack.
But he couldn’t help himself.
He wanted to kiss Silver until they both forgot how to breathe.
His hand slipped beneath her top to touch the bare skin of her back.
The sound of someone clearing their throat broke through mindless pleasure.
They jumped away from each other, turned to look at the intruder.
It was Ian.
At least Vanessa hadn’t walked in on Jack molesting her daughter.
Jack glared at Ian.
“What do you want?”
“I have a note for you.”
Ian waved a small piece of paper in the air.
“It was stuck to the front door.”
“Note?
From who?”
Without answering, Ian tossed the note on the kitchen table and walked away.
Jack unfolded it.
He read it twice before handing it to Silver.
He lifted his face and took a deep breath.
War was coming.
No stopping it now.
The note was from
Jersey
.
Time for you to die, Jack.
Field behind Miller place.
tomorrow.
Destiny cannot be restrained forever.
Read your last book tonight.
Make it a good one.
.
*****
Chapter Twenty-Three:
SAYING GOODBYE
.
.
A rock song began to play at two in the morning, waking Jack from a sound sleep.
He tried to reach for his cell phone, but something hairy was holding his arm down.
It took a few groggy seconds for him to realize it was Silver’s head.
She’d fallen asleep next to him, her long tangled mane draped over him.
He moved with care so he wouldn’t wake her.
Inch by inch, he scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed the phone.
Once he had it close to his ear, he greeted the person with a surly hello.
Jersey
’s deep voice answered him.
He could picture
Jersey
sitting behind a large desk somewhere with a pile of books and angel statues in the background.
“For hours I have been arguing with myself,”
Jersey
said.
“Do I call him or do I wait until we meet on the battlefield?
In the end I decided I had to contact you one last time.
We’ve been friends, we’ve been brothers, and we’ve been enemies.”
Jack sighed.
“Get to the point.
I’m tired.”
“There was a poem I recited to Pagan some time after meeting you.
He is sweetest friend or hardest foe, worse angel or best devil.
I either hate or love him so.
I can’t merely be civil.”
“Nice.”
“She didn’t understand it.
Do you?”
“My brain is close to shutting down completely.
No more riddles please.
I am begging you.
Kill me if you must, but don’t bore me to death.”
Silver stirred next to him.
He looked at her, waited for her to settle down before speaking again.
She deserved to have a good rest.
They both needed as much sleep as they could get before the big battle.
Was it
Jersey
’s plan to keep them awake so they wouldn’t be able to focus?
“Can I hang up now?” Jack asked.
“I don’t think you fully appreciate what I am trying to do here.
I’m giving you a chance to say whatever is on your mind.
This is our final conversation.
You can say anything to me.
Talk to me, Alexander.
What is going through your brain at this moment?
Are you afraid?
Or are you anxious to get it over with?”
Seriously?
The only thing Jack could think about at the moment was sleep.
His eyes hurt from keeping them open too long.
He rested his head against the pillow and dug into his brain for something, anything that would humor
Jersey
.
Jack knew
Jersey
well enough to realize the head werewolf wouldn’t let him sleep until he told him what he wanted to hear.
“I have a list of books I wanted to read before I die.
It’s a shame I won’t have the chance.”
“Do I hear defeat in your voice, Jack?
Truly, I’m disappointed.
I thought you would hold onto your arrogance forever.”
“Whatever.”
Jersey
yelled, “Do not patronize me!”
Jack’s eyes opened wide.
Fully awake now, he climbed out of bed with a frustrated groan and left the room.
If he was going to raise his voice, he didn’t want to wake Silver.
He went downstairs and stepped out the front door onto the porch.
“Look!
I have had just about enough of you.
You’re going to try to kill me, fine.
I get it.
You have this destiny thing going on.
But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to your crap.”
Jack waited for a response.
His ears strained to hear something from the other side of the connection.
There was nothing.
He couldn’t even hear
Jersey
breathing.
Jack lowered the phone to his side.
He walked along the porch to the end.
Not even the sweet scent of night air could lure him out of his dark mood.
He returned the phone to his ear and said, “I don’t understand what you want from me.
Why call me now?”
“It’s a courtesy call, nothing more.
The quiet time just before going to war is the hardest part.
Since we’re both going through the same thing, I thought I should contact you.
We can see each other through this.
It’s too quiet the night before a big battle.”
“Blanca behaving?”
Anger returned to
Jersey
’s voice in a flash.
“You shouldn’t have sucked her soul out in a dream.
I might have had mercy on you.
Now I can’t wait to bury you.”
“It’s been great talking to you, really, but I have to go.
Night-night.”
Jack slapped his phone shut without giving
Jersey
a chance to respond.
He sat on the porch steps, too wound up to sleep.
Perhaps that had been the whole point of the call.
Jack stared into the night, thinking, remembering.
Had it really been less than a year since he’d been a vampire?
Like an answer to a silent wish, Cowboy appeared on the scene.
He sat beside Jack without waiting for an invitation and chuckled.
“Didn’t think you’d be awake.”
Jack told Cowboy about
Jersey
’s call and about the earlier note.
The time and place had been set.
They were going to battle to the death.
Jack also admitted he didn’t think he was ready.
“Never stopped you before,” Cowboy said with a grin.
“Hold your head high and stomp that puppy’s butt.
You can do it.”
“Are you really going to fight beside us?”
“Try to stop me.”
Cowboy chuckled again.
“Sure is funny how life turns out, isn’t it?
Who would have thought we’d be fighting the head werewolf together?”
“Can I trust you?
Look me in the eye and tell me I can trust you.
Convince me you want
Jersey
dead as much as I do.”
Cowboy stared at Jack, a somber expression, and swore, “I will help you kill that dirty werewolf even if I die in the process.”
“Do me a favor then.”
“What?”
“If I get myself killed tomorrow night, get Silver out of there.
I want you to take her and her mother somewhere safe.
Promise me.”
Cowboy took a solemn vow to save Silver at all costs.
Jack knew Ian would save them if he could.
If he couldn’t manage, if he died, Cowboy would take care of them.
It was always better to have a backup plan for your backup plan.
Cowboy stood and walked backwards down the steps and away from the porch.
Putting up two fingers in a backward peace sign, he said, “Vampires rule, buddy.”
Jack’s hand itched to return the familiar sign, but he closed his hand into a tight fist instead.
If he survived the fight with
Jersey
, he promised himself he would put the vampire thing to rest.
He would go with Silver to whatever college she chose to attend, and he would live as a normal person.
No more hunting for either of them.
He watched his old friend leave with mixed feelings tugging on his heart.
A small part of him longed for the past.
It hadn’t been completely bad being a vampire.
He’d had three good friends.
By the time the mess with
Jersey
ended he might lose everything.
Once the smoke cleared, he wondered, would he have anyone left?
.
*****
.
It was mid-afternoon, just ten hours from the appointed time.
Everyone was getting ready for the final confrontation with
Jersey
.
They checked weapons, went over the game plan again, and talked about everything except for the obvious.
What if one or more of them died?
No one voiced their insecurities.
No one wanted to say goodbye.
Jack felt he had to say something.
He found Ian in the living room after a half-hearted search through the house.
There were things on his mind, things he had to say.
He stood rooted to the spot in the opening to the foyer, and he watched Ian pack a few guns into the worn duffel bag.
Jack replayed the scene he’d eavesdropped on between Ian and Vanessa.
Ian was his father, and the man loved him.
“Can I do something for you?” Ian asked without looking up.
Somehow he always knew when Jack was nearby.
Probably had something to do with the warlock in his blood.
“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Jack confessed.
“For what?”
Ian walked away from the duffel bag, and Jack entered the room as if he’d gained silent permission.
They met in the middle, close to the coffee table.
Ian stared into Jack’s eyes, probing as if he was looking for something in particular.
There was no hiding from those eyes.
Could Ian see into his soul?
Could he read Jack’s mind?
If anyone could, it would be Ian.
Jack tore his gaze away, focused on the carpet while scratching the back of his head.
“When you told me you were my father, I didn’t exactly embrace the idea.”
“That’s an understatement.”
“If you, me, and Billy survive tonight, I’m willing to give the whole family thing a shot.”
The ends of Ian’s lips lifted slightly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.
I am.”
Ian patted Jack on the shoulder.
“I also should apologize.
Many times I have compared you with my psychotic father.
When we first met, I despised you because I thought I saw a piece of him in your eyes.
I was wrong.
Since then I’ve seen the compassion and the mercy in you, two things my father does not possess.
You are nothing like him.”
Jack nodded, grateful for the praise.
“I am proud to call you my son,” Ian added.
The softly spoken words sank into Jack’s mind, welcomed like hearty seeds by good soil.
They blossomed in seconds.
He didn’t know if he could handle the emotions rising inside of him.
For years he’d yearned for a father’s love and approval.
Of course, his father at the time had been John Creed.
With the mess his life was currently in Jack still hadn’t had time to process his feelings over losing John.
Even now all he could think about was the fact John was dead and Ian wasn’t.
A wave of guilt descended on him.
He owed John his loyalty.
Didn’t he?
.
*****
.
There was one other person Jack wanted to say a few last words to—just in case he died tonight.
The sun was on its way down when Jack went to see his brother.
He stood outside the room just like last time and knocked on the door frame.
Billy was laying across the bed sideways, his head hanging off the edge.
When he heard the knock, he jumped to his feet.
“Well, well, well,” Billy said with a wry grin.
“I was wondering when you’d return for round three.
Something on your mind, sport?”
“I’m going to kill Jersey Clifford tonight.”
Jack shrugged.
“Or he’s going to kill me.”
“And you’re telling me because you… want to know if I’ll miss you when you’re gone?”
Billy laughed and shook his head.
“I won’t.”
“I came here to tell you your time as a werewolf is coming to an end.
Once I kill
Jersey
you will be free, human.”
Billy snarled at him.
“I’d rather be dead.”
The words were familiar to Jack.
Not too long ago another werewolf had told him the exact same thing before attacking him.
Maybe it was something in their hairy blood that drove them insane.
It would explain
Jersey
.
Jack stared at his brother, or rather at the stranger Billy had become, and he wondered if there was an ounce of the old Billy left in there.
If there was, he had to reach him somehow.
This could be his last chance.
Billy sat on the bed, crossing his legs at the ankles and humming a tuneless melody.
He closed his eyes, dismissing Jack.
Jack wasn’t ready to leave.
“
Jersey
is the strongest enemy I’ve ever had to face.
I wouldn’t dare say this to anyone else.
The fact is I don’t think I’m going to make it out alive.
Do you understand what I’m saying?
Can you hear me in there, Billy?
I’m probably going to die tonight.
You’ll never see me again.
This is it for us.”