The Pack - Shadow Games Read Online Free PDF Page B

these armies."
    As we walked, Calder talked. "There are only
three Lords who have the power to take the throne. And of the
three, only two truly want it. Of those two, Lord Marescu is most
dangerous. The men he commands have no honor. They act like wild
beasts, refusing weapons. They attack with tooth and claw."
    I thought back to the night the vampires
first attacked us. Images of Sam on my couch, beaten and bloodied
filled my mind. I could see the claw marks on his face. And the
bite marks across his shoulders and down his arms were hard to miss
as well. I remembered how the black ichor leaked from his wounds
when McNaire cleaned Sam up.
    I looked over at Calder, noting the way his
hand never left the hilt of his sword. And as I stared at the
gleaming blade, I remembered the night he stood outside of my
apartment. I remembered the fight between my wolves and Calder's
vampires. They swung swords and threw punches, but they never made
to bite anyone. And now that I looked back on the attack, I
wondered if they ever intended to kill Sam or McNaire during the
fighting.
    I stopped walking, letting my mind run away
with itself. Since the first night back in the woods, I'd been
thinking that the same group of vampires had tracked me. But what
if they weren't the same?
    I needed answers. "Were you in the forest the
first night?"
    Calder's eyebrow rose. "Which forest? What
night?"
    "The first night of the Blood Rite. Were you
the one who attacked Sam and the other wolves?"
    His eyes narrowed. "I did not step into your
world until the night I took you. Nor did any of my men."
    "And this other Lord, the one with the troops
who don't use weapons. Could he have known about the Rite before
you did?"
    Calder's hand wrapped around the hilt of his
sword. His whole body tensed as he looked over my shoulder,
scanning for anything out of the ordinary. "He has the resources.
Why are you asking?"
    I bit my lip as I answered. "We were attacked
by vampires the night before you showed up. They hurt Sam bad. They
killed half of my father's pack. And they didn't use weapons. Sam
was covered in bites when he was brought back to my apartment."
    Calder's hand wrapped around my arm. In an
instant we were walking back to the castle as fast as my legs could
carry me. I was practically jogging as we moved.
    "What is it? What's going on?" I asked as we
moved. "I thought we wanted to be seen!"
    As soon as we were crossing the castle
bridge, Calder slowed down, relaxing before letting go of my arm.
"You weren't supposed to be in any danger today. I wanted you seen,
not harmed."
    "So? I was seen. No one attacked us."
    Calder shook his head. "We were lucky. If I'd
known about the forest... If they could track you on Earth, they
can track you here much easier." His hand ran across my arm as he
looked down at me with worry. "This changes everything. I cannot
let you leave the castle again."
    I could see the fear in his face. And as I
stood next to him, something stirred within me. I'd thought I was
nothing more than a pawn to him and his King, but now that I saw
the hesitation in his eyes, I knew I was something more. Calder
wanted to protect me, and it was clear that it went beyond his
duty.
    "What about the King?" I asked as we stood on
the steps of the castle. "I thought he wanted this."
    "I only agreed to this plan so long as you
came to no harm. I cannot guarantee your safety any longer."
    "So what? I stay locked up in the castle
until I die of old age?" Anger bubbled up inside of me. "I can't
stay here Calder! I want to go home!"
    He sighed as he led me back into the castle.
"I cannot take you back Miss Olivia. Not until the danger has
past."
    Thoughts of Sam filled my head, trying to
block out my strange feelings for Calder. If he was still alive, I
wanted to see him. And if I couldn't go home until this was over,
then there was only one thing I could do.
    "We can't stop with the plan," I said as I
stood up straighter. "We have to go out again