Jackson's Vengeance

Chapter 18

Tori’s POV

I can hear the fight happening around me and all I can think about is that I did this, I caused this, and I need to fix this. Jackson is busy trying to calm the wolves out, a full-out fistfight has broken out between some of the wolves and I shift and run in the direction of the third coven house. I should never have joined forces with the wolves. My people were safe until now. I know that someone sold us out but who. I have my suspicions but right now I can’t deal with that. I need to get to that coven house. When I get there, I am going to rip them apart limb from limb.

I feel the wind hitting my face and I don’t care; my heart is beating faster than usual, and I have an ache in my tummy. I woke up with this strange pain over my heart and I just brush it aside. I can’t think about that right now. I have a thirst for blood, rage is pulsating through my body and I refuse to deal with anything other than this anger right now.

As I am running, I picture the faces of the people, the young ones, and even the elders. Twice Frans has taken everything away from me, and twice I have had to watch everyone around me die in such a horrible way. I refuse to stand by and allow him to hurt anyone else. The wolves are right this is my fault.

I feel a stab of pain through my heart, thinking about never seeing Jackson again, never seeing Hilda again, and Minnie. She has been with me since this whole ordeal started a year ago. I thought that I would build a new family, have a new life and have some happiness but no! For as long as Frans’s dark shadow looms over my life, I will never have any happiness.

When I arrive at the coven house I go inside, it is almost as if they are expecting me. They knew I would come, I walk in and see one of them standing at the entrance, a stupid smile on his face. I launch for him and dig my claws into his eyes, blinding him. I drag him with me to the hall while he laughs hysterically like a mad hyena.

I shove him forward and four vampires jump up and run towards me. I kick the first one and he hits two down while the last one throws himself at me. I kick him in the groin and stab my claws into his eyes, blinding him as well. The other three come at me all at once and I run kicking the middle one while ripping the throats of the two on either side. They fall and the last one comes back this time holding an iron rod, as he aims it at me, I catch it and throw it back. It grows through his mouth and pins him to the wall. I rip off the heads of the three then take the two blinded ones with me.

The one is at my back and the other in front of me, I know they must have some boobie-traps lanced with wolfs-bane and I need them to cover me. Like I predicted the hall leading to the rest of the house had a sprinkler on the walls shooting wolfs-bane water out. I use the blinded vampires as shields and search the rest of the house. Since it is the day, most of them are asleep. I rip off their heads without much fuss.

Two female vampires attack me from the back, I grab them by the hair and swing them against the wall, the one comes back and kicks me in the leg while the other grabs my hair. They both jump on top of me and struggle to get them off me. Finally, I kick the one off and push the other one off. I dig my claws in the side of the first one’s head and she screams as I pull her head off. The second one leaps for me and I punch her in the face, she falls, and I grab her head yanking it off.

Few put up a fight after that and I am glad for it. I have run out of energy to fight them in my human form. The house is empty now, I have killed somewhere around twenty vampires, I search the dungeon and find nothing, they might have moved all the captured to the house they burnt. Before I kill the last vampire, I ask,

“Where is Frans?”

“He is gone!” He says.

“Where did he go?” I ask.

“He said to tell you that he is waiting for his bride.” The vampire says laughing.

“I will never be his bride.” I punch his mouth.

“You will have no choice.”

“Tell me where he is, and you can live,” I say.

“You know where he is.” The vampire replies.

“Where the hell is, he?” I say and punch him again.

“Where it all started.” He says.

I gather all the vampire bodies up and pile them up at the entrance. I sit down for a while and look at the pile in front of me. Some of them may have been part of the henchmen that killed my people, that wrote those messages. I feel no remorse for taking their lives, they deserve to die. They killed good people, innocent people who were trying to get their lives together. Trying to recover from their first mass murder and then they waltz right back in and do it again.

I light a match and set the pile on fire, I walk out and watch the place flame up. As the coven house burns, I feel the ache in my body come back. The fight has drained me, and I need to gather myself before I go find Frans. I find a tree and sit under its shade. I lay there and wonder what the wolves are doing. I feel the urge to throw up and suddenly everything comes out of me and I heave, repeatedly until my tummy is empty.

When I look to the ground, I see tiny white balls mixed with water, I pick one up and realize that it is mistletoe, I have been poisoned. Who would do this? Does it even matter? I need to pull myself together and finish this fight. I need to do this for the pack so that they never have to face loss again.

I find a shallow stream, drink some water and eat a fish, I lay by the stream for a short while, feeling my energy restored, I shift into my wolf form because as a human I can’t handle the poisoning. In my wolf form, I will feel the pain but sooner or later it will affect me. I may not have much time and so I need to move quickly. I search my mind to think if there is a cure for mistletoe poisoning and I know there isn’t. I know this is the end of me.

I think about what the vampire said,

“Where it all started.”

I head in the direction of the palace. The place where I grew up, where my parents and I lived a happy life and where Frans have killed them and ruined my life. I think about the days when I played hide and seek with my parents and a little child, before the vampire curse. I think about the days when we became vampires and how my parents had tried their best to protect me and now let anything or anyone hurt me. The palace held so many beautiful memories that I could never forget. Now I had to go there and face the memory I hated most about the palace. My parent’s death.

As I am running, these memories flow through my mind like I have a movie playing. I need to stop thinking about the past and focus on the present. The here and now. I need to think about how I will enter the palace because I know that there will be some guards. The sun will set soon, and the vampires will be awake and be at their full strength. I need to fight smart, my poisoned state will not help me against strong vampires. I need to use my wit against them now.

My planning is interrupted by a loud howl, I know that howl, it’s Jackson. He is calling me back, but I keep going. In fact, I start running faster. He howls again and this time my emotions kick in and I slow down.

“You can’t turn back!” I tell myself.

“You need to keep going, don’t allow your emotions to control you!” I say to myself.

Suddenly I hear his Alpha roar, loud and vibrating through the ground. I stop in my tracks and turn.

In the distance I see him, he is with Lucian, Bruce, Hilda, Caleb, and Iva.