Isabel and the Werewolf Beast (Vampire Tales #1)

10. Dante

Chapter ten

Dante

M y vision had a red ring around it, but Isabel’s form was my target. Her scent too. Sweet. Floral. Feminine. The part of me that was a beast now wanted her with a mind-controlling authority of lust. Hunt. Claim. Mine. I let out another howl. Her running incited my need to pin her to the ground and rut into her until I’d left my scent all over and inside her.

The maze changed once again. Every time I caught a whiff of her scent, I’d lose my path. This was a game. One I intended to win. The vampire woman wouldn’t get away from me. My feet dug up clumps of dirt as I raced around the next corner before it shifted on me. I skidded to a stop. Lifted my nose in the air, then dropped to the ground on my hands and knees.

Blood.

The metallic scent triggered another hunting instinct, but hunger didn’t factor into what I longed for today.

Female.

I’d take her any way I’d have her.

My body twisted. Pain exploded in my limbs as though they were trying to morph into another animal. I fought back the pressure and launched off the ground, leaping over the hedge to get to my prize.

I landed in a crouch ready to spring again, but before me lay the woman I so desperately desired.

Her eyelids were closed. Blood pooled around her body. I lowered my head and sniffed at her wounds. An inherent need to tend to her wounds overrode the lust for a split second and I wrestled a fraction of control back from the animal. I licked her bloody arm. A thorn shot out and poked me in the lip. Pain exploded so brutally that I scooted backward away from the menace, but Isabel had multiple thorns in her limbs. How dare something hurt the female I wanted?

I growled and advanced on the plants holding her hostage. My claws grew, lengthened, and sharpened. I didn’t realize I could do that. I sliced at the leaves like Edward Scissorhands. Leaves and twigs flew all around me and littered Isabel’s immobile body. I kept slashing until the hedges retreated in surrender. Satisfied they wouldn’t test me again so soon, I bent and scooped Isabel into my arms. Her head lolled to the side. A blueish tinge to her eyelids and around her lips. I was no expert on vampires, but she didn’t look good.

To go left or right through the maze? I turned left. Each step bounced her in my arms and rubbed her soft skin against my fur. This wasn’t how I wanted the night to end. I jogged through the labyrinth until many twists and turns later, I burst through the outer ring and glimpsed the castle ahead. I sprinted across the open space, cradling her head against my chest. Right now, she was a fragile creature, and I was her protector.

That filled me with a sense of purpose.

I hadn’t had one of those for a long time. Asher had grown into a man. Into a werewolf. He no longer needed me to protect him.

Little by little, the raging hormonal needs of the beast fell to the back of my mind as concern for the supine form Isabel took precedence. The castle door opened on my approach and I raced up the stairs. The second I crossed the threshold, Isabel’s body shimmered into a translucent form and fell through my arms.

What in the ever-living hell?

I stared, appalled I’d dropped a helpless woman. What was wrong with me? No that wasn’t right. What was wrong with her? I squatted and tried to scoop her up in my arms, but my hands swept through her body like she didn’t exist. She damn well did. I’d just held her in my arms. Again and again, I tried to lift her, but nothing I did would make my hands touch her body. I sat back on my haunches and tried to think.

If I couldn’t touch her inside the castle but I could outside, then I needed to get her outside so I could tend to her wounds, which were still oozing blood onto the floor. I swiped a finger in the blood and lifted it away wet. How was that possible? How can I touch her blood but not her?

Why hadn’t she told me more about this curse?

My gaze lifted to the stairs. Would the library hold the answers to what I sought? Did she have enough time for me to read hundreds of books looking for a cure to her curse and whatever the plants did to her in the labyrinth?

One problem at a time .

She’d been in the curse for a long time. A little longer wouldn’t hurt her, but these wounds looked nasty. Why wouldn’t the blood stop? I examined the slight wound on my arm from the thorns. It still seeped blood, but it was barely a scratch. Not like the way the thorns had anchored themselves into Isabel’s arms like hooks.

I had to stop the bleeding. To do that, I had to take her outside where I could touch her. Think. I stood and paced the entryway, but no solution arose to me. I picked up the nearest object, a vase of white porcelain and blue flowers, and threw it against the wall. It shattered into hundreds of pieces. The rage dissipated as I stared in horror at the broken vase, which I was sure was a Ming. Damn, how much was it worth? Millions? Would Isabel forgive me?

Shit. She needed to survive to do that.

My gaze shot to her ghostly form lying on the rug. Was it another priceless collector’s item? Wait. If I yanked the rug outside, would Isabel stay on it? Only one way to find out. She’d been able to sit on the furniture, so maybe, just maybe it might work. I hurried to the edge of the rug and grasped the corners. Quick or slow? If it didn’t work, then it wouldn’t matter. Quick then. Drawing in a breath of her scent, how could I still smell her but not touch her? I wrenched the carpet outside, running backward on my haunches. The rug and Isabel followed me outside. I let out a sigh of relief and triumph before racing to her side.

Her wounds still oozed blood. I slapped my hands over the wounds on one arm, to slow the bleeding but that left the other arm gushing like a tap. This was useless. I pushed up from the bloody rug and ran inside the castle. Bandages. Rags. Anything I could tear into strips. The first thing I saw was a thick curtain. That would do. Trying not to think about how much they probably cost, I yanked the curtain. The rod tumbled to the floor and tore down the entire set of curtains. I only needed one, so I bundled a length into my arms and ran back outside.

As I kneeled beside Isabel, the rug squelched. I quickly ripped the thick fabric into strips using my claws, the first time they came in handy for anything, and bandaged her arms. When I’d finished, I sat back on the ground and watched the material for signs the blood was seeping through.

Time passed. Not that I had any way of knowing. The moon and stars didn’t reposition. I didn’t have a watch or clock to tell me the time, but I sensed time was moving while we were stuck here. Isabel’s wounds didn’t bleed through the makeshift bandages so I assumed the bleeding had stopped. She lay motionless though. Her eyes were still closed. Her face was still pale with a blueish tint.

How long could I wait to see if she woke? Should I change the bandages and risk her bleeding again? Should I leave her alone outside so I can search the castle for first aid supplies? What would heal a vampire, anyway? I’d only read the books about werewolves and the laws. My gaze lifted to the castle. Books. There were books on vampires inside the library. Perhaps if I read them, then I’d find a way to heal her.

I touched a dried blood-covered hand to her cool cheek. She didn’t flinch from my touch. I suspected if she was conscious that would be another matter. Turning from the heartbreaking sight of the beautiful woman covered in blood. I strode into the castle. The door hadn’t closed once while we sat outside. It stood open as though begging me to enter. I glanced back at Isabel. She’d be all right there for a few moments. I’d hear if anything approached her.

Like you did in the labyrinth? My inner critic asked .

True, I hadn’t heard the plants attacking her, but I’d heard them moving. I’d heard her tiny gasp of pain. The drip of her blood. Werewolf hearing was phenomenal, but I’d been too overcome with a beastly lust to acknowledge what happened. I paused at the bottom of the stairs. Where would I find real bandages? A bathroom.

I walked along the hallway, avoiding the ballroom, I turned the doorknobs to the other doors until I found a bathroom. I rummaged through the drawers of the cabinet but came up empty-handed. My blood-covered hands slammed the drawers shut. Turning on the taps I scrubbed the blood from my hands and puffed out a breath. It was worth a try. I gave up the search and ran up the stairs to the library, collected the books on vampires, and hurried back outside. Isabel lay where I’d left her. As I settled beside her, I opened the book. What secrets would I find about vampires?