He didn't want to leave her alone but the sun was climbing high in the sky and the Dark Sleep was calling to him. He would have to rest sooner or later… and he would have to rest here. He had lingered too long, and the sun was too high for him to risk going outside.
He grunted softly, wondering what she would think when he told her he was going to have to spend the rest of the day in the back of the cave, then shrugged it off. She had shared a motel room with him; this was no different.
Regan muttered, "do whatever you have to," when Santiago told her he would be taking his rest in the back of the cavern. Truth be told, she was glad that he would be nearby. She didn't want to be alone and, even though he wouldn't be much company while he slept, it would still be nice to know he was there.
He drew her into his arms. "Will you be all right?"
She made a vague gesture with her hand. "Sure." What did she have to be afraid of now? Her worst nightmare had become reality.
He regarded her for a moment, then made his way to the back of the cavern.
Regan watched him until he was out of sight and then, leaving the cave, she sat down under a tree and let the tears fall.
Just when you thought life couldn't get any worse, it did.
For the first time in her life, she had fallen head over heels in love. Was he a doctor or a pilot or a lawyer? No, he was a vampire.
And now, if that wasn't bad enough, she was a werewolf.
The cosmic Fates must be rolling on the floor laughing their collective fannies off. She just wished she could find some humor in the situation. She had heard of life-altering experiences before, but this! She shook her head. How was she supposed to adjust to something like this?
She picked up a blade of grass and twirled it between her thumb and forefinger. She would never be able to have children now, and if she did, they probably wouldn't be children at all, but puppies. Maybe a whole litter of them!
A laugh bubbled up in her throat. She could tell Santiago she loved him now. She could even marry him. She wouldn't have to worry about getting pregnant, because vampires couldn't reproduce.
Life just kept getting funnier and funnier, she thought bitterly. Yes sir, her life must be the cosmic joke of the century.
She laughed and laughed, and then she buried her face in her hands and wept for what she had become, for all that she had lost…
She woke with a start. Not knowing what had roused her so abruptly, she sat up, a shiver of unease running down her spine. She wasn't alone. She knew it without knowing how she knew. It couldn't be Santiago. The sun was still in the sky. Afraid of what she might see, she glanced warily over her shoulder.
The spirit wolf stood a foot or so away, watching her.
Regan stared back. "Hello, Pahin Sapa. You have no idea how happy I am to see you."
The wolf barked, and then smiled a wolfish smile.
"Did you come to keep me company again?" she asked, scooting around so that she could see him better.
The wolf bobbed his head up and down.
"I'm glad," she said, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I could use some company."
With a low whine, the wolf trotted forward and dropped down beside her, its hazel eyes focused on her face. Once again, she heard the wolfs voice in her mind. There is another cure, though you must be brave to obtain it.
"At this point, I'm willing to do anything."
You must find the werewolf who bit you and destroy him with your own hand. His death will free you.
Kill Vasile? How could she accomplish what Santiago, with all his supernatural powers, had been unable to achieve? "Is there no other way?"
Not now.
"Then I'll just have to find a way to do it."
It will be easiest when the moon is not full.
"Thank you, Pahin Sapa."
With a low woof, the wolf bounded to its feet and disappeared into the trees.
Regan stared after the wolf. Destroy Vasile. That's all she had to do. All, she thought with a shake of her head. She could hardly wait to tell Santiago, and then she frowned. Santiago had been hunting Vasile for hundreds of years. How would he feel when she told him she had to destroy the werewolf? Surely Santiago would understand. Regardless of who killed him, Vasile would be just as dead. After all, what was more important? That she destroy Vasile and get her life back, or that Santiago destroy the werewolf to avenge Marishka's death?
Returning to the cave, she paused inside the entrance, her eagerness to go home momentarily overcome by her curiosity. Santiago was asleep in the back of the cavern…
Moving quietly, she went deeper into the narrow passage, her blood pounding in her ears. What did he look like when he was trapped in the Dark Sleep? Did he look like he was dead, or merely sleeping? Would he be angry if she spied on him? Would he even know she was there?
She stopped at the place where the cavern veered to the left, her heart in her throat. Just one look, she thought. What could it hurt?
Holding her breath, she peered around the cave wall, her eyes straining to see through the gloom—but there was nothing to see, no sign of Santiago. Frowning, she entered the small chamber. Where was he?
Returning to the main chamber, she looked outside.
The sun was low in the sky. Wherever he had gone, he would be rising soon—and so would the moon. How had she forgotten that?
A shiver of unease ran through her at the thought of shifting again. She had purposefully refused to think of it earlier, but now she couldn't put it from her mind. She recalled all too clearly the fear and the pain as her body transformed.
Tonight, if she felt herself shifting, she would ask Santiago to leave the cave so she could undress before the transformation began. Of course, he'd already seen all there was to see.
With that thought in mind, she turned away from the cave's entrance and let out a shriek of surprise when she found herself face to face with the master of the city.
"Damn!" she exclaimed, "where did you come from?"
"Back there," he replied, gesturing behind him.
"But I looked just a few minutes ago…"
"I did not wish to be seen."
"Oh." She stared up at him, frowning. Did that mean he had been there and she just couldn't see him, or did it mean he had hidden somewhere, although she couldn't for the life of her think where he could have hidden. And then she remembered that he sometimes hid in the earth. But none of that mattered right now.
Santiago listened quietly as Regan told him about the shaman's appearance. He wondered why it hadn't occurred to him that destroying Vasile would break the curse of the werewolf. Of course, he had always thought it was just a myth similar to the one that said if you destroyed a vampire, all those he had brought across would die with him. But perhaps Pahin Sapa was right, and they had nothing to lose by trying, since destroying Vasile had long been Santiago's goal. The one drawback was that Regan had to kill the werewolf. He told himself it didn't matter who destroyed Vasile as long as it was done, but he knew he was lying to himself. He had waited centuries to kill the werewolf. How could he let another, even Regan, accomplish what he himself yearned to do?