Page 103 of Dark Cravings

I felt a surge of fear. What if Father Marius was…?

He couldn’t be. He wouldn't have fallen so easily. Wherever he was, he was fine and undoubtedly protecting the others. He had to be.

Arrow struck out and the rapid-fire flurry of his blades was too fast for my eyes to process even in this form. Castor joined him, and for a moment, I feared he was going to get caught in the crossfire of the other hunter’s madness.

Before I could cry out for him to stop, the alpha wolf seized up suddenly, and I watched in disbelief as Arrow’s blades pierced through its back, hoisting it a good foot off the ground. The beast let out a piercing cry of agony that became a gurgling snarl as its back split open, and I realized that Arrow had somehow quite literally torn the beast in two. I watched in shock as the wolf’s corpse fell to the floor, its torso flayed open at Arrow’s feet. The hunter stood there, soaked in blood from head to toe with his chest heaving and a frenzied look in his eyes.

"Arrow?" Castor called warily, reaching out to him. The other hunter flinched, looking at Castor as if he didn't recognize him for a second before he shook out of the blood-induced trance.

"Where is he?" Arrow cried, already turning toward the sanctuary doors and trying to force them open. When that failed, he gave a furious snarl and dug one of his blades into the wood.

"Hey, Arrow, it's okay. We’ll find him," Castor said, resting a hand on Arrow’s shoulder as he spoke in a soothing tone I knew well. It didn't seem to be working, and the fact that Castor was so unnerved by his former partner’s current state of mind made me think we might have more to fear from Arrow than we did from whatever wolves might still be prowling around the Abbey.

Castor managed to push him aside and pounded on the door. "Open up!" he cried. "It’s Father de Leon!”

"Father!" a petrified voice cried from within. A moment later, the great doors opened, and Logan was standing on the other side. She looked relieved to see us, and as far as I could tell, she and the others hunkering near the door weren’t badly injured.

Arrow tore into the sanctuary, and his focus immediately locked on the older hunter near the front of the room. Sure enough, Father Marius was sitting on the altar steps with his arm around Renata, comforting her and some of the other younger clerics.

Father Marius looked up sharply and leapt to his feet as soon as we came in. There was relief in his gaze as he saw us, and Arrow was already in front of him.

"You're all right," Father Marius breathed, taking Arrow’s face in his hands as Castor went over to his sister. "Thank Imogen." He sounded like he meant it, too.

"You're hurt," Arrow said, his hands traveling down the other priest’s frock to the blood soaking through the fabric on his left side, turning it an even darker shade of crimson.

"I'm fine," he said dismissively. “It’s nothing.”

"He got attacked protecting us from one of those huge wolves," Renata said, pulling out of Castor’s embrace. "If he hadn't made us all come in here, we’d be dead.”

"Tattletale," Marius scolded half-heartedly. "I'll be fine. It's just a little scratch."

"You're bleeding like a fucking waterfall," Arrow growled, forcing him to sit back down on the edge of the altar. He tore the older man’s robe open before he could protest. I had never seen Father Marius flustered, but Renata was right. He definitely wasn't in optimal condition.

Arrow's eyes widened, and when I saw the deep gash in Father Marius’s side, I understood why. That wasn't a “scratch,” the damn wolf had fileted him. It was the first time I had ever seen Arrow look horrified by the sight of blood rather than euphoric.

I walked behind one of the partitions surrounding the altar and shifted back. Castor was right behind me, shrugging out of his jacket to drape it over me. I wasn’t sure if he was being weirdly chivalrous or just possessive. Knowing him, probably both.

“He needs my blood,” I said urgently. “Could we do a transfusion here?”

Castor shook his head. "He’s lost a lot of blood already, and he was bitten. In this state, undistilled wolf blood could push him over the edge to turn.”

“We have to do something,” I protested.

“Yes, which is why I’m going to the infirmary,” Castor said pointedly.

“I’m going with you.”

He shot me a look. "Could you just listen to me for once in your life?" Before I could argue, he added, "You need to stay here and guard the sanctuary. Arrow has his hands full."

I looked over at the vicar, who was presently applying pressure to Father Marius’s wounds, and realized he was right. I reluctantly nodded. “Fine. Just please be careful.”

Castor touched my cheek and nuzzled my forehead, a gesture that somehow felt as intimate as any kiss. I watched as he left the sanctuary and Logan barred the doors behind him, feeling like half of me was gone already.

A few moments later, Arrow gently took the crucifix hanging around Father Marius's neck in his grasp and muttered, "It's time to use this."

"No," Father Marius said, snatching it back from him. "It's not that bad."

Arrow clenched his teeth and gave a growl that sounded less than human. "Would you stop being so stubborn, old man?"