The Vampire and the Goth Ch. 18

I could see Jadwiga's eyes filling with tears.

"No..."

„Powinienem powiedzieć im prawdę o naszym związku? Myślisz, że będą cię chcieli po tym?" Janek said, with a lecherous grin.

Jadwiga stiffened her back and tightened her jaw. "I already told them, Janek. Carlos and Stosh know everything you did to me. And they still love me."

"Everything I did to you, moja mała dziwka?" He asked, referring to her as his little whore. "Did you tell them how much you loved it? How wet I made you? Hmm? How your hot little cipa squeezed my cock?"

Jadwiga looked mortified, and I saw that she was about to cry.

Carlos looked at her with deeply compassionate eyes. "I love you, Jadwiga. I'll always love you. Nothing he says could ever change that," he said defiantly.

Janek scoffed. "Oh, look at the brave little pocket cock," he said, as he dug his claws further into Carlos' neck. "Does she still make a cute little grunt when you stick your pee-pee up her asshole? Or are you too small for her to feel it?" he said, conversationally.

„Przestań!" Jadwiga shouted.

Janek laughed, and said, „Jesteś mój. Zawsze byłeś mój i zawsze będziesz mój," with a sneer on his face. Then he translated himself. "You're mine. You have always been mine and you will always be mine."

"She's not yours, Janek, and she's not going with you, either," I said. "You'll never touch her again."

"Wow. That is a disappointment, Stosh. I guess I'll have to satisfy myself with the blood of this shit stain here," And with that, he dropped his fangs and bit into Carlos' neck.

"NO!" Jadwiga screamed. "STOP IT! I'll go with you..."

Janek laughed. „Więc będziesz dobrą dziewczyną?"

Jadwiga began to cry and said quietly, "Yes, I'll be a good girl. Just please... please don't hurt him."

"Ugh, what is this bullshit?" David said, suddenly walking out of the trees with Angus. "It looks like we found the vampire that was sleazing around the pack lands."

I think Janek was as startled as the rest of us.

"Drop the lad, ya fuckin' wanker!" Angus ordered.

Janek lifted his head and laughed as he stuck his talon into Carlos' stomach and sliced all the way up to his neck while Jadwiga screamed. Then he shoved Carlos at David, grabbed Jadwiga, and ran off into the woods. Angus and Jordan immediately shifted to wolves and ran after him.

I was torn. Should I stay with Carlos and Elizabeth? Should I try to save my sister? Elizabeth chose for me.

"Go after them. I'll stay here with David."

David had already opened his wrist and held it to Carlos' mouth while putting his intestines back into his body. "I got this, do what you have to do," he yelled.

Vampires run fast, but I knew that Janek would be slowed by the fact that he was carrying Jadwiga. It was easy to follow him, as a running vampire followed by two werewolves leaves a very obvious path, but even if there was no path, all I needed to do was follow the sound of screaming.

Wait... screaming?

I sprinted faster and had to jump over Jordan's head and then her body, another five or six feet away. I almost literally ran into Angus' wolf as I neared the road. I got there just in time to see Janek jump into a waiting car while still holding Jadwiga.

Then the car sped off.

Without thinking about it, I ran after the car. Well, strictly speaking, I caught the car. I reached out and put my hands on the back of the bumper and held on. This gave Angus enough time to use his claws to slash a tire, but even with the flat tire, the driver just spun the car on the road and drove over my foot.

"God fucking damn it!" I yelled, before turning to Angus, who had shifted back into a man and was lying in the road. I limped back over to where he was, helped him stand, and carried him off the road and back into the trees.

"He got away anyway... he killed that young pup and he got away anyway... and I couldn't do anything to stop him. I couldn't save anybody..." Angus dropped his head and sobbed.

I grabbed Angus and threw my arms around him, and thought of everything I'd ever heard someone say when a werewolf died. "She was a good wolf, and she died protecting us. She will never be forgotten."

Angus sobbed onto my shoulder for a while, then he pulled back.

"I'm sorry. We almost caught him and then... And now he has your sister. And he might have killed Carlos. I'm sorry. God, I am so, so sorry."

When he mentioned Jadwiga, I felt sick to my stomach, but I tried not to let on because I could tell that Angus needed me to be strong. "David stayed behind to heal Carlos, and we'll find my sister again, don't worry about that. After tonight, Janek will have two packs of werewolves after him, and a couple of angry vampires too. It won't take us long to find him and bring my sister back."

I sounded more confident than I actually felt. Inside, I was dying, knowing I'd let down my sister in the worst way possible. But I had to put that aside to help Angus pull himself together.

Angus nodded and wiped away his tears. "We need to go back. We've got to get Jordan's body and bring her home. And then we'll talk to the Alpha about how to find your sister. Is your foot going to be okay?"

I looked down and saw that my shoe had been destroyed by the car driving over it. My foot itself was mangled and bleeding, but it was already healing.

"My foot will be okay. Let's get back to our mates."

We started to walk back to Elizabeth, David, and Carlos. When we came across Jordan's body in the forest, Angus picked her up, and when we found her head, I covered it with my shirt and carried it with us. Protecting the face of the deceased is considered an act of respect for werewolves, a little like humans closing the eyes of a human corpse. Strictly speaking, it's supposed to be a member of the pack who uses their clothing to cover the face of the dead, but Angus had lost his clothing when he shifted, and I doubted Patrick would stand on formality at a time like this.

When we got back to our people, David and Elizabeth were talking and Carlos was still lying on the ground, unconscious, but he was no longer disemboweled. Carlos' scar was still fresh but healing, which was a sign that David had only recently finished giving him his blood, which would explain why he was sitting down. He likely was low on blood, and it occurred to me that he might need to drink some.

"Do you need my blood?" I asked.

David said, "I'm okay. What happened with Janek?"

"Janek killed the girl and he got away with my sister," I said flatly.

Angus had to bite down on his lip to keep from crying, and Elizabeth put her arms around him.

"It's okay, big guy. It's okay." She rubbed her arms up and down his back as he cried on her shoulder.

"It's not okay. He killed this young pup right in front of me and God only knows what he's doing to Stosh's sister."

I shuddered, thinking about what Janek was planning for Jadwiga. David noticed, and said, "We know he's not going to kill her. Let's find her and bring her back to us. Then we'll kill Janek nice and slow, just like the other wolves want."

Suddenly, we heard rustling in the bushes, and the priest from the local church stood in front of us.

"I heard yelling and screaming, and I thought I should find out what was happening," he said. Looking down at Jordan's body, he asked, "Is that the female werewolf who was at mass tonight?"

"Yes, she was," Angus said, his eyes filling up with tears again.

The priest turned to me and said, "Did you use your shirt to cover her face?"

"I did. It's a sign of respect in their community."

"I know," the Priest said, his face twisted into a frown. "But that's not something I would have expected a vampire to know. Or care about."

I shrugged at that, not knowing what to say. The priest looked at us long and hard. "I don't know what's going on here."

"We were attacked by another vampire," Elizabeth said.

The priest looked at Angus. "Is that true?"

Angus nodded back at him. "That's what happened."

David stood up. "I'm David. This is my mate, Angus."

The priest's eyes opened wide in shock. "Your mate?"

"Yes," David snapped in an annoyed voice.

The priest said, "Well, this is surprising."

"Are you surprised by David and Angus having the same gender or different races?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically.

"Well, all of that, I guess, but a werewolf having a vampire mate is... well, it's unprecedented, isn't it?"

David sighed deeply, then continued. "This is my best friend, Stosh, and his mate, Elizabeth." He waited for the priest to say something, then he snarked, "They're different species."

The priest ignored his comment. "What happened to him?" he asked, pointing to Carlos.

"The vampire that attacked us tried to gut him and I had to sire him. You know, turn him into a vampire to save his life."

"You sired him?" I asked.

David sighed again. "Yes. I didn't have enough blood to save him, so I sired him."

I groaned and put my hand to my forehead. That explained why David said he didn't need blood - he had drank Carlos' blood while siring him. "God damn it, David. Jadwiga wanted to sire him."

"Well, she's not here right now, is she? And since she's gone, and he would have died if I hadn't sired him, well... Romantic passion is really not the point right now, is it?"

The priest's eyes grew wide again at our disagreement.

"Fuck this. I need to get him someplace quiet while he changes. And you need to get back to the pack and tell the Alpha what's going on," David said to me, in an annoyed voice.

The priest continued to gape at us. "You're going to talk to the Alpha?"

"Yes," I said, as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

David ran his hand over his face and said, "Bigotry makes my ass tired. If you're not going to help, just get out of the way, Father..."

"I'm Father Clemadean. But you can call me Clem," the priest said. He took a moment to think, then he said, "Listen, the rectory has a cellar that doesn't have any windows. Can you keep him from killing me?"

David laughed. "Sure. But you should probably plan on not being home much at night."

"No problem. Will a week be long enough?"

"A week works. By the way, where are we going?"

"The rectory is behind the church, just over that hill. It's Saint Ailbe's New Life Catholic church."

David laughed. "New Life, huh? And I thought irony was dead."

Angus looked at David. "I need to bring Jordan's body back to the pack, then I'll come find you."

David put his hand on Angus' cheek. "No, you can't," he said gently. "Newly sired vampires don't have a lot of self-control and I don't want to have to kill my progeny to keep him from killing my mate."

Angus looked hurt. "But-"

David kissed him on the mouth and said, "God, I want you to be with me, but I can't risk it, Angus. I love you and I'll be back with you soon, but I have to make sure this doesn't get any more fucked up than it already is."

Angus sighed and nodded his head. He knew David was right, but he didn't like hearing it.

David turned to me, looked into my eyes, and said, "Protect my heart, Stosh."

"With my life," I said.

David continued to stare into my eyes, then he nodded, and hugged me tightly, something he'd never done before. I was shocked.

"I guess you're right, I am getting sentimental in my old age," he winked.

Elizabeth put her hand on Angus' arm. "It's okay, we'll get some more Scotch and we'll get hammered with Skye and Laura while we wait for David to sort this shit out."

Angus chuckled. David hugged and kissed him and said, "Listen to Liza, my sweet boy." Then he picked up Carlos and followed the priest back to the church.

As we watched them walk away, Angus sighed deeply. Werewolves are fierce protectors, especially of their family and friends, and I knew that letting David walk away just didn't sit right with Angus.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked.

"Aye," David said, without lifting his head.

I looked over at Elizabeth and she gave me a half-smile. Then, I turned to Angus and asked, "Did I hear David right? You came here because you were chasing a vampire off pack lands?"

"Aye. Patrick wanted us to bring you back to the alpha house for your safety." Angus still looked like he was close to tears.

"Fuck," I said. "That must have been Janek. This whole night has been a shit show."

Angus didn't respond. Instead, he stood, glumly staring at the ground.

"I'm glad you came," Elizabeth said to Angus.

Angus sighed. "I just wish we had been faster..."

I put my arm around Angus' shoulders. "Hey, you did the best you could."

Elizabeth grabbed Angus's hand and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for coming. We needed help and you came right when we needed you. Please don't feel bad about that."

Angus gave her a half-smile. "Thank you, lassie." And we went back to the alpha house with Elizabeth between us.

It seemed like the whole pack was waiting for us when we returned to the alpha house, with Patrick and Marcia standing on the front steps. We showed up with Jordan's body and Marcia let out a deep, mournful sob. She hugged Angus and they cried together over Jordan's body. Patrick took her head out of my hands, still wrapped in my shirt.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We were walking back after mass and we ran into my brother. He demanded my sister come with him, and he nearly gutted Carlos when she refused. In the confusion, Janek grabbed Jadwiga and ran away. Angus and Jordan shifted and followed him and he killed Jordan in the forest. David had to sire Carlos to save his life and they're in a church basement until Carlos is done with the change."

I said everything flatly, in a cold, unemotional voice. Elizabeth squeezed my hand.

"Stosh... can you say it in English, please?"

"Oh. Yeah," I said, and I tried to repeat myself without crying.

Patrick nodded. "We'll get your sister back, Stosh, and we'll kill Janek. For Jordan, for your sister, and for Honoria's family."

I stood there, frozen, afraid to move because I didn't want to cry. Patrick handed the wrapped head of Jordan to his mate and he looked at me.

"You used your shirt to cover her face," he said.

"I did."

Patrick was silent for a moment, trying to hold back his own tears. "You're a good man, Stosh."

I nodded, trying to stop myself from crying and I felt a tap on my shoulder. An older female wolf and her mate were standing behind me.

"Thank you for bringing our daughter home to us," she said, tears running down her face.

Like most vampires, I'm not a hugger. But I challenge anyone, even the most cold-hearted vampire to not embrace someone who just lost their child, especially if that child was killed because she was trying to save your sister. So, I put my arms around her and hugged her, and her mate also.

Without saying a word, all of the wolves began to walk along a well-worn path, picking up wood and sticks on their way. Elizabeth, Angus, and I followed. We were soon joined by Lauren and Skye, who reached for Angus' hand while we walked, and spoke to him in low, soothing tones as he cried.

Elizabeth quietly asked, "What's going on?"

"Werewolves cremate their dead," I said. "They're going to build a bonfire and burn her body. Her ashes will be scattered so she can go back to their goddess, Luna, and be reincarnated."

Elizabeth nodded. "Have they already cremated Michelle's body?"

"I don't think so. She betrayed the pack so she would have been buried in a shallow grave without a ceremony."

We got to the cremation site and found that a large pyre had already been created. People added the sticks and branches they'd collected to the pyre. Someone had already wrapped Jordan's body in white silk, and Patrick held a lit torch in his hand.

"Tonight, we return our sister, Jordan Thomas, to the arms of blessed Luna. Jordan died protecting our friends and her packmates, a noble and fitting end for any wolf, but in Jordan's case, it came far too soon. Tomorrow, we will avenge her death, but tonight, we mourn her loss and we celebrate her valor." And with that, he lit the bonfire and shifted into his wolf. The rest of the pack shifted as well, and they all gave a mournful howl.

We got back to the alpha house just after sunrise. I felt exhausted and with every step I took, I felt like my feet were tied to lead weights. On our way back, Honoria and William caught up to us. Honoria and Angus were speaking to each other in Scottish, with Skye and William tossing in a few words every now and then. Listening to them reminded me of how I'd failed my sister.

Elizabeth was holding my hand and stopped suddenly, yanking my arm and looking at me with fierce eyes.

"Stop it."

The others stopped in their tracks.

"I can't help it," I said.

"Can't help what?" Honoria asked.

Elizabeth said, "He's thinking about Jadwiga and he's feeling guilty about what happened last night."

She was right. I felt like shit.

"I failed her, Elizabeth."

She pulled on my arm again. "No, you didn't fail her. That fucking psychopath Janek failed her, and he killed that sweet girl. He also tried to kill Carlos. The worst part about all of this is that you and Angus are torturing yourselves for no good reason. So stop it. Let's focus on how we're going to kill that worthless motherfucker."

Elizabeth's eyes were blazing, and her jaw had a stubborn set to it. She looked absolutely ferocious, and I had never seen a more beautiful woman.

"I love you so fucking much."

She laughed. "I love you too, but we have shit we have to do before we can do anything about it!"

As I reached for her and pulled her to my chest, I heard William say, "It's a damn shame that you're going to become a vampire, because you would make one hell of a wolf."

Honoria responded, "We need all of the vampire allies we can get."

I smiled at Honoria and kissed Elizabeth as we headed back into the alpha house.

I woke up that afternoon to find Elizabeth dressed and waiting for me.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she said. "Marcia noticed that your shoes were ruined, and also that you lost your shirt, so she got some extra clothes from Patrick. He's about as tall as you are."

"Oh, that was nice of her," I said as I got dressed. Patrick's shirt was long enough, but he had a much wider chest and neck size than I do, and I felt like I was wearing a tent.

"What happened to your shoes?"

I sighed. "My foot was driven over by the car that was waiting for Janek."

Elizabeth looked at me. "Why didn't you tell me that?"

I smiled. "So much other stuff was going last night that I didn't even think about it. But I guess it's a big deal, isn't it?"

"Well, it's not that big a deal if you forgot about it. I'm just glad you're okay," she said, as she kissed me. "By the way, we have a meeting today."

"Who are we meeting with?" I asked as I got dressed.

"We're going to talk with Patrick and the Scottish wolves."

Honoria, William, Skye, and Angus were waiting for us when we got to Patrick's office. To my surprise, Alex, an ancient vampire who was head of the local coven and the sire of Elizabeth's best friend, was also there.

As we walked in, Elizabeth and I were scented by the wolves. Alex stood up and hugged Elizabeth and shook my hand.

"I heard about what happened to your sister, and I'm sorry about that," Alex said.

I was glad to see him, but I had to ask, "How did you hear about it?"

"David called Carlos' brother, Mateo, and told him he'd had to sire him. Mateo is there now helping David take care of Carlos."

I nodded. I was glad that Carlos would have two vampires helping him with the transition, but I couldn't help but wonder how the priest felt about it.