Karizma

Kristopher raked a hand through his hair as he walked with Bailey toward Lukas’ property. Ryleigh had tossed the card that Lukas gave her in the chair in the motel room, so Kristopher had been able to locate the address. He loathed needing to ask the wolf for help, the very same wolf who insinuated having a child with her, but he despised himself even more right now. She was taken while I slept, he remembered. While I slept, she felt a threat, and was taken. He knew that a vampire had found her. More than likely, Master had hired another Karizma Killer to track her magic’s patterns and bring him his trophy. Kristopher had to believe that she was still alive. Kristopher himself had brought Karizmas to the brink of death but had always been told to not kill them completely; just bring them in mostly dead and walk away. He had no idea what the Master did with them after he dropped off their bodies, but he could not imagine that it was anything pleasant. Her blood was addicting alone, but each Karizma was physically attractive as well. Master had the most delicious, powerful blood on the planet, coupled with a woman that was physically appealing.

Kristopher snarled suddenly, and he noticed Bailey cock an eyebrow at him. Stop thinking about it, he scolded himself. He never cared what had happened to them before, so he never asked. He had been rewarded so handsomely that it was like a drug deal; drop off the product, collect the payment, and leave. But Ryleigh is so much more, he thought. So is Bailey. He glanced toward the younger Karizma and could only fathom the pain that she was experiencing. Kristopher loved Ryleigh more than he had ever loved anyone, but he had not known her for near as long as the sisters knew each other; they had grown up only having each other. Ryleigh had made her peace with dying, and her sister surviving without her, but Kristopher had not considered the other side of that situation; Bailey had not made the peace with that yet.

Kristopher’s red eyes brightened as he heard a low growl. He instantly grabbed Bailey’s hand and pulled her behind him. There was a wolf on guard duty. Kristopher had anticipated as much; the sky was so dark that the village was damn near invisible to the naked eye, but his enhanced vision allowed him to penetrate the cloak. He felt Bailey’s magic tense behind him, and he squeezed her hand. The wolf was doing its job and alerting his boss of intruders, there was no need to fight here. Not yet anyway, Kristopher thought.

A gray wolf leapt at Kristopher and landed directly in front of his feet. The wolf’s bright gold eyes challenged Kristopher’s red ones as it growled again. The wolf tilted its head suddenly and attempted to look around Kristopher at the person behind him, but Kristopher shifted his body to shield her. Without Bailey’s ascension, the wolves could not sense that she was a Karizma, just that she was a witch, and he would be damned if a wolf tried to fight her for trespassing.

“We are not here to fight,” Kristopher spoke slowly. “I just need to meet with your Alpha. It is important.” The gray wolf growled again and crouched low, preparing to pounce for a fight. Bailey’s magic swirled around Kristopher, and he squeezed her hand again. “Stop,” he growled to Bailey. “We are not going to fight them.”

“What if they attack first?” she hissed.

“Then you run while they attack me. You are not fighting,” he ordered as his eyes remained on the wolf before him. The wolf titled its head again as it observed the conversation. A loud howl was ripped from the wolf’s throat suddenly. Kristopher’s fangs descended instinctively, and he pulled Bailey’s chest flush against his back. His grip on her hand tightened, and he heard her grimace in pain.

“Check the south perimeter, Ryan,” Lukas’ voice called. The wolf instantly departed, and Lukas’ form took its place. Lukas crossed his arms over his bare chest as his blue eyes studied Kristopher. “What is it?”

“We need your help,” Kristopher said as his fangs retreated into his gums. He gently pulled Bailey to stand beside him. “Bailey, this is Lukas, the Alpha Lycan.”

“The Alpha…” her voice trailed off.

“Replaced your old witch, I see,” Lukas sneered. Kristopher growled, both in surprise and rage. Lukas had been so collected during their previous encounters that this new Lukas was unsettling. Let alone him thinking that I would just dump Ryleigh like trash, he thought.

“What could be so important that you disturb my pack in the middle of the night, with a replacement witch?” Lukas asked. Ah, so that is what this is, Kristopher thought. Lukas was bothered that Ryleigh was not with him, but he was understandably upset at the disrespect of intruding on his pack grounds in the middle of the night. His pack must have been terrified knowing that a vampire and a witch were entering the grounds, and their Alpha had no knowledge of it. Fuck, he must have seemed incompetent, actually, Kristopher realized.

“I meant no disrespect, Alpha,” Kristopher said. “The situation is…severe, and we needed your help sooner rather than later.”

“What happened?”

“Ryleigh has been taken,” Bailey whispered.

“She what?” Lukas responded, his expression softening. “What happened?”

“We don’t know,” Kristopher sighed as he raked a hand through his hand in frustration. “Just that she left the room while I was asleep, and her magic sent out a panic beacon to us.”

“To ‘us’?” Lukas asked curiously. His eyes shifted between Bailey and Kristopher, studying them.

“Ryleigh and I have been friends for years. Our magic has been connected for a long time, so I know when something is wrong. I teleported to where the signal was coming from but found Kristopher.”

“How so, exactly?” Lukas asked.

“She left some magic in me, just enough to connect us so she knew if I was in trouble.”

“Or for you to know if she was,” Lukas murmured. “She really is yours.”

“Will you help us?” Bailey asked.

“How do you think that I can, exactly?” Lukas asked. “I cannot intervene in vampire affairs without endangering my entire pack.”

“You wanted to turn her—”

“For her to join my pack, yes,” Lukas cut off Kristopher. “Before the vampires could get to her. If I could turn her first, she would be mine, not theirs, and she would be safe. But now? Now she is theirs.”

“We need your nose,” Bailey said bluntly. She crossed her arms over her chest, her brows creased in irritation. Kristopher noticed the family resemblance instantly, and it made him miss his witch even more. Bailey did not want to dance around the formalities; she wanted to get down to business. Just like her sister.

“My nose for what?”

“Knowing from experience, wherever she has been taken, it has been warded against magic,” Kristopher said. “Considering her scent is protected by her own magic, so I cannot track her—”

“And since my magic cannot penetrate whatever warding is holding her, we need some outside help,” Bailey finished.

“The warding would not be preventive for Lycans,” Kristopher nodded. “You had told me that your senses were more advanced than mine. Do you think that you could find her?”

Lukas sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. Kristopher was not entirely sure that Lukas would help them locate her, but the knowledge that Lukas wanted to turn Ryleigh had to be enough. “Do you have anything that smells like her?” Lukas asked.

“She smells like me,” Kristopher nodded.

“How recently?”

“Right before her abduction,” Kristopher said through gritted teeth. He despised that he lost her, that someone took her from him while he slept. Lukas looked at him, but Kristopher could not determine the emotion in the wolf’s eyes. He felt Bailey’s magic strengthen and his eyes shifted to her. Her eyes were trained on the wolf before her, ready to defend Kristopher if necessary. She can sense something about the wolf that I can’t, Kristopher thought. His eyes shifted back to Lukas. The undetermined emotion was still resonating in his eyes, but his face remained neutral.

“I have two conditions about helping you find her,” Lukas spoke. “First, this witch does not go with you.”

“To hell with that—”

“My dear, if that warding is as strong as Kristopher is saying that it is, you will be useless there,” Lukas snapped. “Just another human in the middle of a war with the vampires. You will be of better service stashed away somewhere to tend to Ryleigh when Kristopher brings her back.”

“What is the other condition?” Kristopher asked.

“You need to go alone,” Lukas said slowly. “I want to help you, believe me. I want Ryleigh back, but I cannot be a part of this war. I have an entire pack of Lycans to think about. If I try to fight in this for her, it could risk my people. I appreciate Ryleigh and want her to live, but I cannot fight vampires for her. When she becomes one of my own, that is a different story.”

“Fucking coward,” Bailey murmured.

“Bailey, stop,” Kristopher said softly as he turned to face her. “I know you’re worried about her, but we can’t bring a pack of wolves to the slaughter for her. You know how she is. She would rather us let her die than risk an entire pack.” Kristopher’s eyes shifted back to Lukas and he nodded in agreement. “You have everything to lose. The only thing that I’m afraid of losing is what I’m trying to get back. I have no problem going alone.”

“She can stay here,” Lukas nodded to Bailey. “She will be safe; you have my word. My kind does not hurt witches, especially witches that are friends to the Karizmas. Ryleigh will be safest here when you save her as well. Bring her right back to me, and I will turn her. She is being hunted at this point; if she is not already dead, we cannot waste any more time.”

Kristopher clenched his jaw but nodded. He had felt fear of her death creeping on him as more time passed, as he talked with this Lycan rather than killing her captors. Lukas was right; Ryleigh was being hunted. She must have sensed it while I slept, and led the fight away from me, Kristopher thought. We are out of time, and out of options. If she is still alive when I find her, Lukas must turn her. I love her too much to deny her life due to jealousy, he thought. Kristopher simply nodded. “We cannot waste more time,” Kristopher repeated. “Help me find her.”