Blood Rites (5 page)

“We really need to work on that whole brain,
mouth filter, Jen,” Sally said morosely.

“Hmm hmm hmming” Jen grunted around Sally’s
hand.

“Yes, yes, we know you're just saying,”
Jacque translated for her.

“Well, whatever his panties are in a twist
about, as Jen so eloquently put it, they just became the least of
his problems considering he lied to me and then left in the middle
of his shift.” Lilly pinched her forefinger and thumb on the bridge
of her nose. It was times like these that owning her own business
seemed like the least brilliant of all her bright ideas.

Jacque was looking at her mom, seeing the
tiredness seeping into her like water searching for cracks in a
foundation when she heard Jen whistle.

“Check out that tall drink of somin,
somin.”

All of a sudden Jacque heard a huge bang.
Lilly began to swerve. She jerked the steering wheel to the right
to compensate but it was too hard. The SUV began to spin and as
they hit the ditch on the side of the road, the car began to roll.
Over and over it rolled like a barrel down a hill until it finally
came to an abrupt stop, landing upside down with its wheels in the
air. Jacque was screaming, hell, they were all screaming. She could
feel the passenger side door crush into her side, the side of the
front dash slammed into her leg and she felt a bone shattering
crunch shoot up her leg and the seat belt was like a noose across
her neck. She was so confused she didn’t understand what had
happened. Finally the rolling stopped and as the car came to a
jarring halt Jacque felt her head hit the side glass window and
then it was quiet.

For a few moments it was eerily quiet except
for the rapidly growing fire crackling in the air, smoke rising
like a beacon declaring their crash site to all around. Finally
Sally groaned and began to try to move. She shifted her legs,
experimenting to make sure she was still intact.

“Everyone okay?” It was she who spoke
first.

“If by okay you mean are my ears ringing out
of my head, is my leg all scrapped to hell, did my seat belt cut a
gash in my neck, and did our stinking car just do the tango down
the side of a ditch, then yes Sally, we are okay,” Jen
answered.

When Jen didn’t hear Jacque respond with a
snarky come back she knew something was seriously wrong.

“Jacque, are you with us?” Jen asked. There
was still no answer.

Then Sally spoke up. “Ms. Pierce, are you
okay?”

“I hit my head pretty hard but otherwise I'm
good,” Lilly answered. She looked over at Jacque in the passenger
seat and saw that she was unconscious, very pale and had blood
trickling down her face. Lilly sucked in a deep breath and let it
out slow as she reached over, hand shaking, to check for a pulse
and although she could feel one she didn’t think it was as strong
as it should be.

Just then they all jumped as a loud popping
sound erupted, drawing their attention to the front of the car. The
engine was on fire and the flames seemed to be growing hotter and
getting taller.

“Ok, so I’m thinking that’s not a good
thing,” Jen said, her voice quivering despite her resolve to hold
it together.

“Jen, I must say your powers of observation
astound me,” Sally said dryly.

“Dammit girls, neither of you are helping
with the smart ass remarks,” Lilly growled, which was completely
out of character for her. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for,” she
told them.

“It’s okay Ms. P. Not many of us handle being
burned alive very well, it’s a little traumatic,” Jen said, trying
to lighten the mood, “Okay, here is what we are going to do.” Jen
started taking charge, realizing that Lilly was going into shock
and Sally was, well, being Sally. “Ms. P, I need you to get your
seat belt off and crawl to the back seat to climb out because the
fire is going to keep you from climbing out the front. Sally, you
need to get your seat belt off as well and crawl out your window.
I’m going to crawl to the front next to Jacque and help get her
turned so we can slide her out of her window. Sally I need you to
go around and pull her from the outside.”

“But what about the fire? We will get burned.
How will we slide her? What if her neck is broken? You aren’t
supposed to move someone who might have a spinal injury. What, OWWW
HOLY CRAP! What was that for, you psycho cow?” Sally screamed as
she placed a hand across the cheek Jen had just slapped.

“GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF, MAN! Do what I tell
you. We can’t worry about her spine because it won’t matter if she
burns to death, dammit!” Jen yelled, snapping Sally out of her spaz
attack.

“Okay, okay. I’m good. I just needed a minute
to lose it but I’m good now,” Sally said as she began to climb out
the passenger side window. Lilly was also making her way to the
back seat to climb out the window. She didn’t say anything, she was
moving on auto pilot, numb from shock. Once Sally and Lilly had
made it out and Sally was going around the back of the SUV, Jen
began to climb to the front of the vehicle.

“Jacque babe, you with me?” Jen asked gently,
pushing Jacque’s fallen hair from her face. Jacque didn’t respond.
“Okay, chickadee, here is what’s going to happen.” Jen was talking
to Jacque as if she were conscious because it was the only way she
could keep from falling apart. She couldn’t believe this was
happening, couldn’t believe that her spunky friend was lying limp,
all spark gone out of her. “I’m going to grab you under your arms
and turn you so your legs are facing the passenger window, then
Sally is going to grab your legs and help me drag your ass out of
this royally screwed SUV. Do you hear me, Jacque? You have to be
okay, you have to be because someone has to argue with me, and tell
me when I’m being a pervert. Jacque, Fane will go crazy without you
and we both know how much damage a crazy ass werewolf can do.” Jen
continued to talk out loud to Jacque as she began to reach around
her, sliding her right hand behind her back and underneath her
right armpit. She then slid her left arm under Jacque’s left
armpit, and bracing her back against the side of the driver’s seat
to gain leverage, she lifted and began to turn Jacque’s body. “Holy
crap, your little frame is deceiving, hoss. Did you hear that,
Jacque? I basically just called you a fat ass, so wake up and chew
me out already!” There was nothing but silence to answer Jen’s
monologue. Sally was trying to get close enough to grab Jacque's
legs but the flames from the engine kept jumping out. Sally almost
felt like they were alive and determined to keep her friends
trapped in the burning tomb.

“Jen, what do I do? The flames are going to
burn all of us if we pull her out,” Sally yelled over the roaring
fire.

Jen was wracking her brain for ideas, knowing
time was running short. “Hey Sally, is there water anywhere in that
ditch?” Jen asked, remembering that it had recently rained. She
watched as Sally took off at a run. As Sally ran, Jen temporarily
let go of her burden and stripped off her shirt. Good thing she had
decided to go with a sports bra today. Then as gently as she could,
which wasn’t very, but crap the car was on fire, she pulled
Jacque’s jacket off.

Sally was back, winded. “Yes, there’s water.”
She was bent over, hands on her knees, gasping with all the smoke
swirling around.

Jen threw her shirt and Jacque’s jacket at
Sally. “Take off your shirt and take these and get them wet, then
put your shirt back on and then throw me these two back. We will
cover Jacque’s body in them to protect as much of her as possible
as we pull her out.”

“What about you?” Sally worried

“DAMMIT SALLY JUST GO!” Jen hated yelling at
her but she had to keep her focused, she was also beginning to
realize that she cursed a whole lot more when she was under
pressure. Oh well, could be worse, Jen thought.

Sally was back, dripping wet in her shirt.
She threw the jacket and shirt to Jen and did her best to cover
Jacque. She figured her face and stomach, where there were vital
organs, would be the most important which left Jacques arms
partially bear and her legs completely uncovered, but it couldn’t
be helped. Jen once again got her arms underneath Jacque’s armpits
and lifted. Sally grabbed Jacque's legs and on Jen’s count of three
Sally pulled and Jen pushed. With strength that neither could have
ever dreamed they got Jacque’s limp form moving forward out of the
window. Jen saw the flames leap forward and scorch Jacque’s legs.
She figured this would wake her friend up but Jacque never stirred.
Finally, Jacque's upper body was making it through the window which
put Jen directly in the line of fire, literally. Jen felt the
flames on her bare skin and couldn’t help the scream that forced
itself from her lungs. The flames hitting her skin acted like a
whip slashing her forward into motion. She heaved with all her
might, lunging forward, but just before she could get her and
Jacque far enough from the flaming SUV, there was a huge boom, a
flash of light, searing pain, and then Jen saw no more.

Sally screamed as the engine exploded; the
smell of gasoline permeated the air. She suddenly felt part of
Jacques body go slack and she realized the explosion had pushed Jen
forward and onto her stomach. Both of her friends were unconscious
and laying on the ground next to a burning vehicle.

“MS. PIERCE!” Sally yelled. When she didn’t
get a response she turned, looking for Jacque’s mom. Finally she
saw her through the haze of smoke billowing from the burning
vehicle, sitting and staring into the flames, her face as blank as
a freshly painted white wall. “LILLY! GET UP AND GET YOUR BUTT OVER
HERE AND HELP ME!” The urgency and desperation in Sally’s voice
snapped Lilly out of her shock and she ran over, realizing what was
happening.

“Grab Jen’s arms, flip her on her back, and
start pulling as fast as you can. Don’t worry about her skin, it
will heal. We have to get them as far away from that vehicle in
case it blows again.” Lilly jumped into action, finally realizing
that the stuff had hit the fan and she had to pull it together.

“Okay, okay, let's do this,” Sally said as
she grabbed Jen and flipped her on her back and began to pull and
walk backwards as fast as she could.

Lilly grabbed Jacque by the arms and began to
drag her back away from the flames as well. When they had finally
gotten a good distance away, they fell down next to the two
unconscious forms. Sally immediately checked to see if Jen was
breathing. She was, but it sounded labored. Both girls were
severely burned, but they were alive, and at that moment that was
all that mattered. Sally could hear sirens blaring and figured
somebody who had seen the smoke must have called 911. The sirens
seemed really close but that wasn't what she saw first. Suddenly
through the smoke Sally saw a form racing towards them, moving
faster than she thought possible. Fane came to an abrupt stop in
front of Jacque’s prone, still form. He knelt down next to her and,
taking a deep breath, he let out a mournful howl of sadness and
fury.

Chapter 5

Fane
was sitting quietly next to Jacquelyn as the ambulance, fire
trucks, and police came blaring onto the scene. He didn’t dare
touch her for all her burned skin. The ache in his chest felt as if
a sharp wire had been wrapped around his heart and was being pulled
tighter and tighter. He hadn’t even heard his father walk up, nor
did he realize when the rest of the pack had arrived. Not until he
heard Decebel’s deep growl did he finally snap out of his grief.
Fane’s eyes jerked up as he saw the huge wolf kneel down next to
Jen’s unconscious body. She was only in a sports bra and every inch
of her exposed skin was burned, red, angry, and blistering. Fane
didn’t know what to make of Decebel's behavior but that could be
dealt with later, after Jacquelyn and Jen were taken care of.

Fane walked beside the gurney the EMTs had
loaded Jacquelyn's damaged body on. He wasn’t letting her out of
his sight. He didn’t care that he wasn’t a family member as the
EMTs kept telling him, he was riding with her, and once he let them
see the wolf in his eyes they quit arguing with him. Fane heard his
father tell Decebel to ride with Jen. Fane could only assume that
he had picked up on Decebel’s earlier show of emotion and decided
to use it to his advantage for now. After all, a good Alpha always
utilized his wolves to the best of their ability. Fane could only
hope that his Alpha was utilizing the other wolves to figure out
exactly what had happened. Sally and Lilly were being taken in
another ambulance and Fane saw his mother climbing in to ride with
them.

Fane’s father walked up to him just before
they closed the ambulance doors. “I will follow you to the
hospital. Sorin, Skender and Boian are going to stay here and see
if they can get some idea of what happened and if it was truly an
accident or not.” Fane simply nodded. His wolf was on the surface
and Fane did not trust himself to speak for fear that he might let
lose the barely contained rage that boiled close to the surface. In
truth, at this moment anyone near him was in potential danger.
That’s what you get when an Alpha’s mate is injured. The EMTs shut
the ambulance door and a few moments later Fane felt the vehicle
begin to move.

The ride to the hospital was tense, the air
thick with Fane's fear and anger. Being in the small enclosed area
without much room to move if he needed to defend his mate was
making the wolf restless. The EMT who was riding in the back with
Jacquelyn and Fane kept shooting Fane nervous glances. Humans often
knew they were in the presence of predators when around werewolves,
even though they didn’t know werewolves existed. When they finally
arrived at the hospital, Fane was more than ready to get his mate
out of the enclosed box and into a more defendable place.