Chapter Twenty-seven
"Come inside, Miss Bjornberg," Rhett said. "Rocky is a police officer and an excellent shot."
Rocky had aimed his pistol at Greta. "Come in, or I'll shoot her."
Elsa and Ula entered slowly.
Rocky handed his pistol to Rhett, then he closed the door and grabbed some handcuffs from the dresser.
"Leave their hands in front," Rhett ordered. "I want Miss Bjornberg to be able to use her phone."
Rocky snapped cuffs on Ula, then Elsa. She gritted her teeth when his touch set her birthmark on fire. He was definitely a berserker. He dropped her handbag on the floor next to Rhett.
"I'm sorry, Ellie," Greta whispered.
"Quiet." Mr. Pelton jerked her back, then sneered at Elsa. "Your aunt made the mistake of thinking I cared about your safety."
Rocky snapped cuffs on Greta.
Rhett scowled at her. "She hasn't been helpful at all. We asked her to call you here an hour ago and she refused. Even after we slapped her around."
Elsa winced. Poor Greta.
"Go to hell," Greta hissed.
"See how unfriendly she is. I certainly hope you will be more cooperative." Rhett aimed the pistol at Aunt Ula. "You care about your aunts, don't you?"
Elsa lifted her chin. "Let them go, and I'll cooperate."
Rhett chuckled. "Feisty, aren't you? I hope you put up more of a fight than Howard's first girlfriend. She was such a coward."
Elsa swallowed hard. "You killed his girlfriend?"
"The stupid bitch fell off a cliff. Well, I might have pushed her a little, but she shouldn't have run up there in the first place." He snorted with disgust. "We only meant to have some fun with her. She ruined everything."
He passed the pistol back to the police officer. "Here, Rocky. Shoot the old one if Miss Bjornberg gives us any trouble."
"Right, Boss." Rocky aimed the pistol at Ula.
Ula closed her eyes and murmured a prayer.
"Pelton, call our drivers. We'll take both SUVs."
"Yes, sir." Pelton murmured into a cell phone.
Drivers? Elsa groaned inwardly. How many wolves were there? If there were two SUVs, that meant two drivers. A total of five werewolves.
Rhett grabbed Elsa's handbag off the floor and removed her phone. "I want you to call Howard and tell him to meet you at the gatehouse." He pressed the phone into her cuffed hands. "Make the call or watch your aunts die."
Elsa nodded, ignoring the burn from her birthmark. She had to protect her aunts. With trembling fingers, she pushed Howard's number. Rhett stepped closer to listen in.
"Elsa, how are you?"
She took a deep breath. "Hey, Howard. How about meeting me at the gatehouse? We could have a picnic."
"Now? It's early."
"My aunts want to meet you. They're really sorry for misjudging you."
"They - they're all right with me now?"
Elsa glanced at Greta. "Yes, they know you're the good guy now."
Greta nodded, and Rhett snorted.
"So you'll come?" Elsa asked. "Right away?"
"Give me about ten minutes. I have to pack us some food."
"Okay!" Elsa said brightly. "See you soon, Howie! Kisses!" She hung up.
Rhett ripped the phone from her hands. "Okay, guys, let's go bear hunting."
Howie? Kisses? Howard stared at his phone. Even after two days of lovemaking at the cabin, Elsa had never called him Howie. And somehow, saying "Kisses" for good-bye seemed totally out of character for her.
He checked her last text, sent ten minutes earlier.
YOU'RE IN DANGER! THE WOLVES ARE COMING FOR YOU.
He smelled a trap.
And Elsa was luring him into it. He shook his head. She wouldn't betray him. She was being coerced. The detective from Anchorage and that reporter, Mr. Pelton, must have taken her and her aunts prisoner.
And they wanted him at the gatehouse.
A final showdown. And that meant one thing. Rhett Bleddyn had come for revenge.
Howard set the heavy picnic basket on the front porch at the gatehouse. Under a layer of cheese and crackers, there was a loaded pistol and an assortment of knives. He had another knife strapped to his leg under his jeans, and a pistol with silver bullets in a shoulder holster under his jacket.
He'd parked his SUV in the driveway after dropping off Phil, Carlos, and his cousins on the main road. They were going to hike in and position themselves for a surprise attack. As an Alpha wolf, Phil could shift at will. Carlos could shift into a were-panther whenever he wanted, and as were-bears, his cousins could, too. The Vamps would be sorry they missed the action, but they were all dead at the moment.
Howard tensed when he saw two black SUVs approaching. Rhett always traveled with a pack. The windows were dark, so Howard wasn't sure how many men were with Rhett. He probably had Elsa and her aunts with him. Threatening Elsa was the easiest way to make Howard submit. And threatening the aunts would keep Elsa in line.
Howard stepped into the driveway, lifting a hand in greeting as the two vehicles came to a stop. It might look like a friendly gesture, but he wanted to get as close to the SUV as possible.
When the drivers opened their doors, he lunged forward, slamming the door shut on the first driver. The man stumbled as Howard reopened the door. He grabbed the driver and tossed him into the woods. His cousins dragged him off to tie him up. Meanwhile, Phil and Carlos hauled the second driver away. Two down. And none of them had even needed to shift.
"Stop!" Rhett jumped out on the passenger side, pulling Elsa with him. He held a knife to her throat. "Attack any more of my men, and we start killing the women."
Two more men exited the SUVs, dragging Elsa's aunts with them. The women were all handcuffed. One of the men snapped an additional pair of cuffs on Aunt Ula, fastening her to the rear door handle of the first SUV.
Howard made eye contact with Elsa, trying to assure her that everything would be all right. She glanced up at the sky, then back at him. A quick look up and he realized what Elsa was trying to tell him. A line of birds was forming along the roof of the gatehouse. Greta was using her powers. No doubt Elsa would use hers, too.
"Rocky," Rhett called to the guy who had cuffed Aunt Ula. "Check Howard for weapons."
Rocky approached slowly, halting momentarily when Howard glared at him.
"Cooperate," Rhett growled. "Or I'll have Pelton slit Greta's throat."
The other guy, Pelton, pressed the tip of his knife against Greta's neck till a bead of blood formed.
"Fine." Howard lifted his hands.
Rocky removed Howard's pistol and the knife strapped on his leg.
"It's me you want," Howard said. "Let the women go."
Rhett snorted. "No way. I want to watch you suffer while I torture them."
"Only a coward picks on women. You hate me, Rhett?" Howard opened his arms wide. "Come and get me. A duel. One on one."
Rhett growled.
"I'm unarmed. It's your chance to tear into me. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
"You bastard," Rhett hissed. "You've plagued me all my life! I should rip you to shreds."
"Try it." Howard motioned with his fingers. "Come on, you coward."
Rhett scoffed. "You think I'll fall for that? You're just trying to get me to release your girlfriend. You're scared to death I'll kill her, aren't you? You nearly died when I killed Carly, the pain was so bad."
Howard clenched his fists.
"I watched the car blow up, you know," Rhett sneered. "Saw your friend Harry explode into flames."
Howard gritted his teeth. The bear inside him growled, urging him to attack.
"Harry was right, you know. Your fathers were murdered. They refused to sell their land to my father, so he killed them."
The bear inside him raged, demanding to go berserk.
"Go ahead, try to attack me," Rhett goaded him. "I'll slit her throat before you can reach me."
"Let her go." Howard spotted a group of deer in the woods along the driveway. Large stags with antlers. They lowered their heads, ready to attack.
"Maybe I should bite her like I did Carly." Rhett bared his teeth and hissed in Elsa's ear. "And when she shifts into a wolf, I'll make her my bitch."
Elsa's eyes flashed with anger.
"Let her go!" Howard removed his jacket and tossed it to the ground. "It's me you hate. Fight me."
"I will. After you suffer." Rhett's head shifted into a wolf's head, and he opened his jaw to bite Elsa.
Behind him, the deer lunged.
Rhett cried out as antlers pierced his back. His knife plummeted to the driveway, and Elsa pulled away, running toward Aunt Ula.
A flock of birds flew straight at Pelton, and he screamed, releasing Greta.
The deer reared up, slashing at Rhett with their hooves. With a growl, he shifted and the wounds in his back healed. He charged after Elsa, but before he could reach her, Howard shifted and pounced on him.
They rolled on the driveway, bear and wolf, Rhett twisting and snapping his jaws. He landed a few bites, causing Howard pain but not any concern. As a were-bear, he was immune to the Lycan virus. He slashed his claws across Rhett's torso, then another slash across his neck. Rhett tried to wriggle away, but Howard pinned him down.
"Stop!" Pelton yelled.
Howard glanced to the side and froze. Pelton, his face covered with blood, had managed to knock Greta out, thus putting an end to the bird attack. He and Rocky held Elsa and Ula with knives pressed to their throats.
A sharp pain pierced Howard's arm as Rhett clamped his jaws onto him, ripping into his flesh with his teeth. Howard lunged back and Rhett scrambled away, retaking his human form.
Phil and Carlos attacked Pelton and Rocky from behind, and Howard, still in bear form, dashed toward the women.
"Watch out!" Elsa cried.
Howard stumbled to his knees as Rhett leaped onto his back and plunged a knife into his ribs. With a roar of pain and anger, he flung Rhett onto the ground. Rhett waved his knife about wildly, cutting Howard wherever he could.
With a swipe of his claw, Howard disarmed Rhett, then slashed him across the chest. The bastard had to die. He slashed again. Die for killing Harry. Another slash. Die for killing Carly.
Howard kept swiping and clawing till he succumbed to dizziness and fell onto his side. He was losing too much blood from the knife wound and all the cuts and bites. If he didn't shift before losing consciousness, he could bleed to death.
He changed back to human form and slowly sat up. Rhett was dead. He looked around to make sure Elsa was all right. She was standing next to her aunts. Carlos was in panther form and sitting next to Rocky's dead body. Phil had shifted and taken care of Pelton. The birds had flown away, but the deer remained gathered on the side of the road, watching Elsa.
The twins, still in human form, rummaged through the shredded remains of Rocky's clothes till they found the keys to the handcuffs.
"You're free." Jimmy unlocked the cuffs on the women. "Go in peace."
Jesse retrieved some extra sets of clothing from Howard's SUV.
Howard dressed, noting his wounds had healed, though he still felt a little sore. The blood would remain till he could wash up.
Elsa stepped toward him. "Are you all right?"
"Don't." Greta pulled her back. "He's still a berserker. You saw how vicious he was."
"He was protecting us," Elsa insisted. "He would never hurt us."
Howard's heart swelled. She still trusted him. Even though he'd been forced to kill in front of her.
She ran toward him. "Thank you, Howard."
He took her hand in his. "Guardian of the Forest. I will protect you for as long as I live."
She smiled, her eyes glimmering with tears. "Berserker, I will love you for as long as I live." She touched his face. "With no regret."
Epilogue
Five days later on Friday night, Elsa drove Greta and Ula to Dragon Nest Academy for the small party Shanna had planned.
"Oh my!" Greta peered out the window as they parked in front. "What a huge mansion!"
"It's a school for special children," Elsa explained.
"You mean berserkers?" Ula asked as she gawked at the impressive building.
"There are all kinds of children and adults here," Elsa said. "As far as I can tell, they're like one big happy family."
Howard exited the front door and came down the stairs to welcome them. He looked dashing in a suit and tie. Ula kissed his cheek, and he grinned.
Greta shook his hand. "So you're the head of security here?"
"Yes, ma'am. I'll be happy to take you on a tour later. But for now, we need to go to the party. It's already started." He took an aunt on each arm and led them along the front of the building.
Elsa walked alongside them, amused at how much he was buttering up her aunts.
He glanced at her and winked. "The party's in the gymnasium. That's the biggest room we have around here."
"I thought it was going to be a small affair," Elsa said.
He snorted. "When these guys party, everybody shows up."
"And some of them are vampires?" Greta asked.
"Yes, ma'am. But they're very friendly."
Elsa bit her lip to keep from grinning. She and Howard had decided it was best to let her aunts know what kind of world she was marrying into. The women had taken it in stride, probably because they weren't exactly normal themselves.
She gasped when they entered the gym. A crowd of people bustled about, talking and laughing. Colorful balloons floated along the high ceiling. She did a double take. Yes, that was Tino, floating in the air, laughing and batting the balloons around.
A buffet table ran the length of one wall. Round tables were set up, leaving an open area in the middle for dancing, and a stage had been erected at the end of the room. A band was warming up.
"We're going to have live music?" Elsa raised her voice to be heard over the noise.
Howard nodded. "Those are the High Voltage Vamps. They play at all the parties."
A wave of exclamations swept across the gym as everyone realized the guests of honor had arrived. They lined up to meet Elsa and her aunts.
Howard introduced one couple after another. Phil and Vanda. Austin and Darcy. Emma and Angus. The line went on and on.
"I'll never remember all these people," Elsa whispered to Howard.
"You will in time."
"Welcome!" Shanna's mother, Darlene, ran toward them and hugged Elsa. "I'm so excited for you. A wedding!" She turned to Greta and Ula. "Aren't you excited?"
Ula nodded. "Ja. Howard is a good catch."
Greta smiled. "I'm just relieved Elsa is safe now."
Darlene nodded. "And you don't have to guard her every day. Why, we could go shopping!"
"For yarn?" Greta's eyes lit up.
"Of course." Darlene grabbed Greta, and the two walked off to discuss knitting patterns.
"Hi!" Tino bounced up to them, a cookie in his hand.
Elsa hugged him. "I saw you on the ceiling."
He laughed and looked at Aunt Ula. "You want to know where the cookies are?" He took her hand and led her toward the buffet.
More couples came to meet Elsa. Toni and Ian. Robby and Olivia. Phineas and Brynley. Connor and Marielle.
Elsa leaned close to Howard. "All those women are expecting?"
"Yes." He gave her a sly look. "Just let me know when you're ready."
She snorted. As if she needed a pair of bear cubs. But if they turned out as cute as Jimmy and Jesse, that wouldn't be bad. Not bad at all. She glanced at Howard, who was watching her with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "I could be persuaded."
He grinned. "I can be very persuasive."
She swatted his shoulder.
More people came by. She was shocked to meet the president's daughter, and even more shocked that Abigail was married to a vampire.
Finally, Elsa was able to sit at a table with her aunts. Darlene joined them with her grandchildren, Tino and Sofia. Howard brought them all plates loaded with food.
"This food is so good!" Greta exclaimed as she bit into a crab cake. "We're really getting tired of that diner in town."
"You should live here!" Darlene exclaimed. "I'm sure we can find a room for you."
Greta pressed a hand to her chest. "You don't mind?"
"Of course not." Darlene waved a dismissive hand. "Elsa, you should live here, too."
"Yeah," Howard agreed. "I've got a room for her."
Elsa snorted, and the ladies laughed.
"We'd better get her married fast," Ula said.
"You could have the wedding here," Darlene suggested.
Greta smiled. "That sounds wonderful."
"I will stay until the wedding," Ula said. "But then I must get back to my island." She turned to Elsa and Howard. "You must come see me often."
"We'd love to." Elsa squeezed her great-aunt's hand.
A waiter came by and gave all the adults at their table a glass of champagne. Sofia and Tino were given grape juice.
Elsa noticed that even the Undead were receiving champagne flutes. "What are the vampires drinking?"
"It's called Bubbly Blood," Howard explained. "Half blood, half champagne, for those special vampire occasions." He grinned. "And this is one of them."
"May I have your attention?" Roman spoke into the microphone on the dais, and the room grew quiet. "Thank you for coming. Tonight we welcome some new members to our family - Elsa, Greta, and Ula." He lifted his glass. "Welcome."
Everyone cheered and drank.
Elsa looked around with tears in her eyes. All her life, she'd hardly had any family, and now she would have a huge one.
"Congratulations to Howard and his lovely fiancee, Elsa," Roman continued, and everyone drank.
"I have a toast." A young male vampire stood. "Here's to Howard and Elsa for defeating that rotten SOB, Rhett!"
Everyone cheered and drank some more.
"That's Phineas," Howard explained. "Rhett bit him, and now he's part werewolf."
"Oh, how sad," Elsa murmured.
Howard smiled. "Not really. He's married to a werewolf girl, so it all worked out."
Shanna joined her husband on the dais, and he handed her the microphone. "I wanted to say a few words. As some of you know, I had a little trouble adjusting to being Undead. But after seeing Howard and Elsa struggle to be together, it reconfirmed in my heart how blessed we all are to have found each other. I couldn't be happier."
The crowd cheered for her, and Shanna's face glistened with pink-tinted tears. Her husband kissed her cheek.
"I have some good news, too," Shanna continued. "It nearly broke my heart to put our house for sale, but guess what? We're selling it to Austin and Darcy!"
Everyone clapped. Austin and Darcy grinned and waved at Shanna.
"Austin will be the new head of security at Romatech," Shanna explained. "And Darcy is working at the Digital Vampire Network in Brooklyn. They're moving into the house next week with their little boy and another baby on the way. And yes, Tino, they have invited you over to play."
"Yay!" Tino levitated in the air, and everyone laughed.
Shanna smiled at Howard and Elsa. "You have to admit, I made a great matchmaker."
Elsa leaned close to Howard and whispered, "Did you really have DVDs of me hidden under your bed?"
He nodded.
"And were you intending to admire me in secret forever?"
He smiled and took her hand. "I had already contacted your station to see where you would be working next. I just didn't realize it would be down the road."
She squeezed his hand. "I'm so glad you were going to hunt me down."
"And finally, let me congratulate the happy couple." Shanna lifted her glass to Howard and Elsa. "May you have a long and happy life together."
Everyone drank one last toast. Elsa joined them, although her heart sank. This was the only problem she could see in their future. Howard would live for hundreds of years, and she wouldn't.
"Ja, a long and happy life." Ula looked at her and smiled.
"That's true," Greta said. "Now that you're no longer in danger, you can live as long as the other guardians."
Elsa blinked. "What do you mean?"
Greta sipped some champagne. "Your mother was my younger sister, but I never told you that she was thirty years younger than me."
Ula waved a hand. "You are still very young, Greta."
Elsa turned to her great-aunt. "How old are you?"
"Four hundred and eighty-two. Or three?" Ula shrugged. "I lose count."
Elsa's mouth fell open.
Howard leaned toward her aunts. "Are you telling me Elsa could live for hundreds of years?"
Greta nodded. "It's part of being a guardian."
"Oh my gosh." Elsa pressed a hand to her chest. "You never told me that."
Ula shrugged. "We weren't sure you would live very long. Not with the curse."
"But the curse is gone now," Greta added. "You can have a long and happy life."
Elsa looked at Howard. "We can be together for centuries."
His mouth twitched. "I guess I'd better treat you right."
"I guess so."
He leaned close. "How about a tour? I could show you my room."
She snorted. "You're an animal."
"I'm wild about you."
She glanced around the gym. Everyone was busy partying. "Let's go."