B. Donna - Blood Pool

Laroque sat in his seat at the front of the plane and thought of the many ways he could kill Raven. The most appropriate would be for Jade to turn her. But he couldn’t do that to his daughter. It would be just, but it would be much too cruel for Jade to have her sister’s death on her conscience.

He could infect her with the Ebola Zaire virus, which was the deadlier strain. No one knew Laroque had gotten his hands on it. A Russian scientist supplied him with the virus. There would be a ninety-percent chance of fatality upon infection, and since Raven had just transformed to human, her immune system would be no match for the killer virus. Its capacity to spread was too unpredictable, though, and as much as he wanted revenge, he did not want to kill innocents.

Then, out of nowhere, the answer appeared as he gazed toward the window and over to his longtime friend, Henri.

The dam of Bo’s emotions was collapsing as he stood at the docks of Garrison Bight Marina in Key West. He knelt to the ground and caught the scent of Raven’s blood where Laroque had pushed her. His hackles rose, and he felt the calling of his wolf counterpart to go after her and bring her home, to claim her once more as his mate.

Her essence oozed with fear. Her scent burned his nasal passages. His fists clenched, and he let out a howl of pain and misery. A growl emanated from deep within his soul, and thoughts of his beloved swirled within his heart and mind. Bo’s fingers clenched at the spot where traces of her blood and skin lay. He began to shimmer, wanting desperately to morph and pursue her.

“I’ve failed her!” he cried out. “She saved my life, and I cannot even find her!”

In a flash, he was a black wolf, growling and snarling, relentlessly sniffing the small patch of blood. Laroque’s scent was in the air as well, and Bo turned his gaze upon Jade. Still snarling, he circled her. She carried an aroma similar to that of her father. Bo found it harder and harder to keep from lunging at her and tearing out her throat.

“Bo!” Tobias commanded attention, standing between Bo and Jade. “It’s not her fault. She’s trying to help us. Don’t let your anger for her father cloud your judgment. It will not get us any closer to Raven.”

Bo continued to growl.

He knew that with a flick of his arm Tobias could send him clear across the pavement and into the water or squish him like he was a tiny bug. He also realized Tobias would resort to that treatment only if he attacked. Bo was operating on pure adrenaline and raw emotion.

Jade stood behind Tobias, visibly afraid of what would happen if the large black wolf lunged at her. He was strong. And he had Raven’s blood coursing through his veins.

But then again, so did she.

“No sudden movements,” Tobias warned her. “He’s lost in his emotions and grieving. He’s acting totally on instinct now.”

Jade slowly knelt so she would be at eye level with the wolf. Her eyes flashed for a second to their preternatural state.

“I want to find her, too. After all these years, I want to get to know my sister. Really know her, not just through her blood memories. You don’t think this is tearing me apart? This is my father we’re talking about. To me, he was never a monster. I don’t want to lose the opportunity to know my sister. She’s the only other family I have. And when I think about Frank’s betrayal…I’m hurting, too.”

The wolf turned away, looked toward the water and let out a heart-wrenching cry. In an instant, he shimmered back into his human form, clothes and all. He wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I love her more than I can express in words. I feel like my heart’s been gutted out of me. If I can’t find her soon…”

Jade answered quickly. “What? You won’t give up! That love you have for her will not allow you to abandon her. You have no choice but to find her, and you will. We will.”

“How can you be so certain?” Bo asked, praying some of Jade’s optimism would rub off onto him.

“They’ve gone back to Mirabelle,” she said.

Bo turned to Tobias. “Go there. Tomorrow is the Feast of the Dead and Laroque must be planning something for then.”

“I need to get you off the island and back home, too. Let me have your cell phone so I can make arrangements for a flight out as soon as possible,” Tobias said. “I have a friend here who owns a private plane. She’ll get you back to the island.”

Jade stayed near Tobias. “Teach me to travel in the mists,” she pleaded.

“What about Bo? He has no other options. He can’t shimmer into a hawk or a falcon and fly back. Bo is part wolf. He has to travel the way of humans.”

Bo knew Tobias didn’t want to leave him behind. He also knew his sudden turn on Jade was out of character and had Tobias concerned.

Bo handed his phone to Tobias. “Don’t worry about me. Teach her. Maybe she can talk some sense into her father before I rip his neck open.” He turned to Jade. “I’m sorry, but I have anger management issues concerning your father, and you’ll have to be patient with me.”

“I’ll teach her. You have to get yourself together, son. Jade is not her father, and she’s been extremely helpful. I know you would have a better understanding if you saw the way she handled Frank. You can trust her,” Tobias said.

Bo nodded. “It’s going to take some getting used to.”

“I understand,” Jade said, then turned and wiped her own tears away.

Dusk fell on the island of Hannah ’s Vineyard like the final curtain call of a brilliant Broadway show. Mick led Raven into Laroque’s house through the back doors, and she noticed the familiar basement door where she’d originally snuck in.

On that fateful day she’d kidnapped Jade.

Flipping on the lights, Mick walked into the sunroom. He pressed a button that automatically closed the blinds which covered the three walls of windows. Raven followed him into the kitchen. He took out a beer for himself and offered one to Raven.

She accepted. “Sure, thanks.”

“You might as well get comfortable. We’ll be spending the night here. Are you hungry?”

Raven drank the icy cold beer from the dark green bottle, savoring the flavor. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten anything.

“I don’t really know,” she answered.

Mick looked into the freezer and pulled out a frozen pizza, popovers and a foil-wrapped log that had tofu loaf written on it. Not the gourmet comestible he had in mind. He turned the dial on the oven to three-hundred-seventy-five and unwrapped the loaf.

“Where did the others go?” she asked, taking another sip of beer.

Mick was rifling through the cabinets and smiled upon finding a can of mushroom gravy.

“I’m not sure. Henri and Philippe drove off somewhere. My orders were to come in, make you something to eat and make sure you don’t escape.”

“Henri was the man Laroque was traveling with?”

After placing the loaf in a pan, Mick began to open the can of gravy. “Yes, an old friend from New Orleans.”

“About that escape plan… I won’t tell if you won’t. I could knock you over the head with something heavy, like that meatloaf,” she said.

He gave Raven a playful jab. “It’s tofu loaf, and that wouldn’t make a dent on my hard skull. Nice try, though.”

“You’re not going to let him kill me, are you?” Raven asked, finishing the beer. She walked over to the refrigerator and took another. “I need to calm down and think of a way out of here. Oh, did I say that out loud?”

“Boy, one beer and you’re gabbing away. You’re an easy and cheap date,” Mick said as he smiled at Raven, who sat at the kitchen table.