Dracula Hearts of Fire Book two of Dracula Hearts

SOUNDS IN THE FOREST were either eerie or pleasant at night, depending on one’s mood, location, and circumstance. One could be warm and comfortable in a log cabin, but outside lost in the woods, it would be an entirely different story. The darkness of the forest could take on a life of its own. An overactive imagination might place monsters where there were none.

Vincent found himself in the dark forest, waiting and wondering. Loneliness was an island with a single occupant, only trees to stare at and thoughts to amuse oneself. It was peculiar how even the quiet could be disturbing. The sky was overcast, making the night darker than it should have been. A raccoon made its way through the area, ignoring him as it seemed to be pursuing something.

An owl hooted and then flew off into the darkness.

The sheriff could hear a horde of mice nearby, probably what the owl was looking to get at, but his presence had frightened it. He sat about fifty feet away from the large cage on a fallen tree and was bored. The waiting game was tedious but sometimes a necessary part of the job. Several raw sirloin steaks were inside the cage as bait for the werewolf. He had a spell that would make his scent undetectable to such a creature. Vincent was yet uncertain what to do with the werewolf if he caught it; he would decide when and if it happened. He would have to talk to it when it reverted to human form in the daylight before making his decision. It might be necessary to contact other werewolves for advice, which is not an easy task.

The sheriff could smell a moose just over a mile away and hoped it didn’t attract the werewolf. A large branch cracked somewhere, but he couldn’t orient on it. After several minutes of no sound, he again relaxed. Vincent had talked to his mother for the first time in a while earlier; she was also a vampire. Otherwise, she would have been long dead. She had been a little upset by the fact that she had to kill a female that had been feeding on an old man; she resided in Oakland, California, a long way away from New York. It had been nice to hear her voice again. In time he hoped to head out there for a visit.

It started to rain, not hard, but it did make it more challenging to listen to the sounds of the forest. The vampire could hear a long way off, but that also placed a lot of rain distortion in between, each drop producing some sound to a vampire’s sensitive ears. There was a rumble of thunder off in the distance as the wind picked up, bringing forest scents that had been out of range closer. Lightening lit up the area, and then he saw it. The werewolf was circling as it had detected the scent of the bait. It was a male, a big guy with wild reflective eyes. Newly turned werewolves were quite wild until they got accustomed to their condition. Even those willingly being turned often had a tough time dealing with the aftermath. The sheriff watched as it ever so slowly approached the cage. Its instinct told it to beware, but it was unable to resist, the scent within maddening. The animal entered the cage and tore into the meat. It turned to discover that it was trapped.

Vincent blurred and approached the werewolf. It took time for such a creature to come to its senses and avoid humans. He guessed that this werewolf was less than a month old. It did have some humanity in its current development stage, but he wasn’t sure how much. He was no expert on werewolves. “Well, well, what do we have here?”

The wolf chewed on the bars to bite Vincent, closing hard with loud audible bites, but it couldn’t reach him. Although he had previously dealt with werewolves, he remained impressed by their size and beauty. They were magnificent creatures. The werewolf threw its head up and howled at the sky, which was satisfying to the sheriff. They were creatures of the night and not often seen. He had always loved the sound of a howling wolf. It wanted to pace, but there wasn’t enough room to accomplish it. It picked up a piece of meat and threw it at Vincent, but he avoided it. It displayed its teeth and showed him images of what the wolf would do to him had he the opportunity. Again the wolf howled.

“You can howl all you want, but you’re in until daylight.”

Although the sheriff didn’t know it, the werewolf was a 17-year-old named Brad Mason. He had been an average kid until he was bitten by another newly turned werewolf. The transformation affected his personality even in human form, becoming irritable and confused. Brad would become normalized in time if he lived long enough. He was off to the worst start possible if he had killed a human.

“I didn’t kill that human.” Brad looked menacingly at the sheriff with his wolf eyes. “I was following a low-level wizard that had drained the blood of other humans. I tried to protect her, but unfortunately, I was too late.”

“Am I supposed to believe that?”

“Believe what you want, but it’s the truth.”

Vincent was astonished to hear a wolf pack approaching; they were miles away but would be on him in seconds. He never expected a group to show up, but life was like that, unpleasant and unpredictable at the most inopportune time. Not sufficient time to decide what to do; he couldn’t leave the werewolf trapped in that cage. Suddenly they were surrounding him. The alpha went over to the cell and stared at the werewolf. The wolf in the cage instinctively lowered its head as its tail went between its legs. It then sauntered over to Vincent and stared him directly in the eye.

“Release him!” The alpha werewolf made it clear that it was a demand, not a request. It tried hard to go into Vincent’s mind to control him but was disappointed to discover that it couldn’t. Only alpha wolves could mind at such a high level.

“This wolf has to be eliminated. It’s been killing humans.”

The others circled, but it was only the alpha male that spoke to his mind. “We’ve come a long way to add him to our pack. Fifteen hundred miles to secure him. Vampire, you won’t survive a fight with all of us. That head will come off.”

Vincent put his hand on his gun. “I’ll make sure that you die too, and you won’t be able to release him from that cage.”

The wolf emitted a low growl and was disappointed by the impasse. He couldn’t think of an easy way out. A minute passed as the alpha considered what to do next. The other wolves in the pack waited impatiently for the command to attack but didn’t receive it. The sheriff found the wolves to be such beautiful creatures; he was almost tempted to pet one but didn’t want to lose his hand. He sat back down on the tree and crossed his arms defiantly.

“He’s a werewolf, and that makes him our business. We are battling nasty vampires and need this wolf to strengthen our pack. Give him to us, and I assure you he’ll never kill another human. We will owe you one vampire. What do you say?”

“I never killed anyone,” said the wolf from the cage.

The fact that the pack was willing to owe Vincent a favor was surprising; it was something that they rarely did because they were honor bound to keep it. It showed Vincent how much they wanted this wolf, and it was probably the best place for him. What was the proper thing to do? Justice had many faces, some of them distorted. Otherwise, what was he to do with it?

The pack leader stuck its snout into the cage and sniffed. “Let me into your mind. That way, I can tell if you tell the truth.”

“I give you my permission.”

He went into the wolf’s mind and saw that he was telling the truth. “He’s not lying. He’s never killed anyone or anything.”

The sheriff looked into the cage, and the wolf inside didn’t look happy. It was a free spirit and didn’t want to be the lowest rung on the ladder. He didn’t want to be a part of that pack and would instead take his chances in the cage. He stared at the pack leader. “What’s your name?”

“Bodolf.”

“Well, Bodolf, let me into your mind so I can judge if YOU are telling the truth. I need to see what you are up to, good or bad.”

“Vampire, are you calling me a liar?”

“Are you a liar?”

“Very well, I’ll let you in but make it quick. Let’s get this over with before I change my mind.”

Vincent went into the wolf and found that he was telling the truth, that the wolf had killed no one. Bodolf had commanded nine packs and lost two while defending humans. It had been a vicious fight where most of them had severe wounds. He now saw the pack in a different light. The red sheriff approached the cage, and the door opened as soon as he touched it. The werewolf exited the cell and tried to run, but Bodolf was on him quickly and forced him to submit. It was strange, but in offering to the alpha, he felt for the first time in his short werewolf life that he was home; he was where he needed to be. The pack howled as one, with the newest of the bunch being the last one to join them in song.

Vincent watched as they disappeared into the night, wondering what it was like to be part of a wolf pack. He heard the sounds of the pack killing and eating a moose and could tell that it had been a quick and efficient death. The scent of blood was making him hungry. It was time for him to go home and have a blood smoothie.