Fresh Blood (Book 1)

14. And The World Went Dark

There was a screeching beep that sounded through the house. Olivia was caught in between wolf and human, still more than ten minutes away from fully turning.

“What was that?” Cain called to Kaleb from the living room doorway. Virginia had asked everyone to leave the room when Olivia needed to be cut from her clothing. Cain refused to leave the doorway, he tried to stare at the wall instead of her.

“Something just broke the gates apart,” Kaleb said. His voice was barely above a normal speaking voice. Virginia’s stark white eyes met Cain’s, he could see the fear there.

“Do you have a visual yet?” Cain asked.

“Not a real clear one. It looks like armored trucks. Lots of them. They’re heading this way fast. We’ve got less than six minutes I’d say,” Kaleb told him. Cain looked back into the kitchen over his shoulder. Michael and Samuel sat with Josh and Corvin. Dean and Kaleb were in the security room. Cain could feel the tension coming off of Corvin, he was only twenty-five, and had only been a wolf eight years. He still thought there was a chance he was going to live through tonight. Naïve. Josh, who was closer to one hundred, was silent, and calm. He was ready to die for his alpha.

“Cain, leave,” Virginia said.

“No.”

“Please leave,” there was an urgency in her tone as she looked at her daughter, caught between the forms.

“I can help,” Cain said as he took a step forward.

“Get out!” Virginia screamed, her voice breaking. Cain stepped back from the room much quicker than he would have liked. He didn’t appreciate that he felt her alpha vibes in that moment, “Shut the door.” Cain closed the door, creating a barrier between them and her. He stared at the closed door and listened.

“I am so sorry Livy, but we don’t have enough time. I need you to do this now or never,” Virginia’s voice was strained. Cain wanted to burst into the room and stop her from what she was about to do. Forcing the first change can result in issues farther down the line. Cain rested his forehead against the door and closed his eyes, this was the only way. He jumped as Olivia screamed. It sounded more pained than anything he had ever heard. Everyone became deathly silent, all of their wolves could sense the pain Olivia was in. The house fell silent after her scream died away. Cain straightened in alarm. He didn’t hear a heartbeat other than Virginia’s coming from the living room. He ripped the door open. Virginia was on her knees, in front of her was a wolf, lying on its side, it wasn’t breathing.

“Move!” Cain said as he slid to his knees next to the wolf. He shoved Virginia out of the way.

“Cain!” Kaleb’s voice sounded scared. Cain looked up and Virginia was crouched a few feet away, claws tipping her fingers and fangs exposed. She growled at him. He couldn’t ignore the horrid ache in his heart that was telling him Olivia was dead. He snarled back at Virginia, something so fierce that she was taken aback by it. She tilted her head to the side and studied him, all anger was gone from her.

Cain turned back to Olivia and bit into his own hand, drawing blood. He let drops flow from his hand onto her fur. He hadn’t noticed how pale yellow her fur was before. He noted that she looked like a giant Labrador wolf hybrid. He began mumbling to himself. He could feel his family’s magic pulling on his energy. He allowed a few droplets into her mouth and brought his hand back to himself. He clutched his fist against his chest and rocked forward and back on his knees. He stopped chanting and a crack inside his body sent pain flooding through all his limbs. He collapsed on his side next to her, his face was level with her muzzle.

“What did he do?” Dean cried as Kaleb tried to hold him. Kaleb was struggling, he was feeling Virginia’s loss as his own. Dean squirmed out of Kaleb’s hands and moved to attack Cain. Abel, out of nowhere, grabbed Dean by the neck, lifted him into the air, and slammed him into the hardwood floor.