CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Somewhere in the midst of my continuum of pain and high fever, I heard a faint noise. My eyes fluttered open again in a moment of slight consciousness. There were men standing around me, approximately ten men, and they were all holding what appeared to be military guns. I struggled to regain my consciousness, coming in and out of the blackness. The war with the werewolf venom raged on inside of my body.

The men guarded the doorways and probably any other opening which my rescuers might attempt to use. Suddenly, I jumped. A series of gunshots fired. Blackness took me over again. The smell of blood emanated from somewhere nearby. It was my blood I smelled.

I felt as if I was drifting into a dark hole. The fire and ice clashed through my veins, and death would not come fast enough for me. A familiar scent I recognized, the scent of lilies and carnations surrounded my senses. I knew I must have died. Then the thought hit me; I couldn‟t have died! I was still in pain.

“Julie? Julie? Can you hear me?” The voice whispered as I felt his cool breath on my face. It was Richard.

The voice broke off as my eyes fluttered open. I could hear voices, but I was in too much pain to understand what they were saying. I vaguely saw the body moving away from me. The man named Paul and someone who I‟m pretty sure was Richard were fighting. I heard gunshots again. Then blurs flashed before me, and there was a loud cracking and ripping noise. The stench of werewolf blood filled the air.

My body was lifted and the earth fell from behind me. The coolness of his cold, hard chest pressed against my flesh, and the wind blew into my face as I drifted out of consciousness once again.

The next thing I knew, I could hear voices around me. And there was a familiar smell, a spicy scent, the scent of Lycans. And I could smell the scent of vampires. My body was laid on something soft. A sharp sting in my arm caused me to cry out in pain that was soon to be followed by another dull pain as I heard something snap. The pain in my arm was gone.

Voices spoke loudly around me. They were arguing.

“Daniel, it‟s not good.” I heard Jason‟s voice beside me. “Her fever. The venom, I‟m sorry.”

“Just do the damn test again!” Daniel roared.

“We‟ve done it! It doesn‟t work on her! She doesn‟t have the same DNA as Casey did!” Jason shot out.

“Tell me what to do!” Daniel‟s voice roared loudly. “I‟M NOT LOSING HER!”

“There is one other option.” Richard spoke out softly.

Richard‟s voice was the last thing I heard before my world spiraled into a black hole again. The arguing grew louder as I diminished; falling away until no more sound was heard.

Suddenly, I was scooped up again. The coolness felt good against my fevered skin.

Softly I heard three words that etched themselves in my heart. “Julie, I love you.” Soon after that, I felt a sharp sensation in my neck. My body trembled as I felt a coolness rush through my fevered body. Blackness again took me over.

The fire and ice clashed harder again as it ran through my veins. A scream erupted as my muscles tensed again. My body convulsed violently beyond my control. My eyes flickered open and I saw it was night I closed them tightly as I bore down against the pain shooting through my body again. Gritting my teeth, I growled again suffering through the agony I felt.

Brief glimpses of Jason, faded in and out, as he stood over me with what appeared to be an IV bag. I glanced down and noticed it was attached to me. He was giving me a blood transfusion. What in the world has happening?

Then the room was silent. For what felt like a few moments, I had a little rest. My breathing was back to normal, and my heart slowed down to a normal beat. The tremors slowed to match the rhythm of my heart.

Funny, I thought, I could smell him. The spicy scent, it must be Daniel. I could feel something cold against my body. The familiar fragrant floral scent…Richard. His scent was very relaxing to me as I inhaled it deeply.

I wasn‟t sure how long I rested in this newfound peace. It seemed like only a few minutes. The first thing I noticed was that my fingers were cold. I moved them trying to circulate a blood flow to them. It made it worse. As soon as I moved, I felt the ice running through my veins. I opened my eyes to see Daniel as he stood over me with a horrified look on his face.

“Julie? Can you hear me?” he asked softly.

My mouth opened, but no words came out. I wondered if I really had tried to speak or was it my imagination.

“Do it then,” I heard him speak clearly.

I felt coolness against my neck. A sharp pain followed, and my eyes flew open. I couldn‟t see anything but the darkness surrounding me. Then a second later, I felt the dull sensation of pressure in my neck. It felt as though my blood was being pulled through my veins. I could feel the fire being pulled from me.

Suddenly, as the fire yielded against the ice, I felt something change. It was the most horrible pain I ever felt. The ice burned through the fire quenching it. At least now, my body was cooling down. The tremors still continued as I could feel someone wiping my forehead again.

Here we go again, I thought as my body started trembling. The feeling of ice was far greater than the fire I had felt. Chilled to the bone was not a statement I would ever use lightly again. I felt the ice as it bore down into the depth of my bones. The ice ran through my muscles, and they constricted again feeling the coldness taking over. Not being prepared for what happened next, my body shook uncontrollably.

There it was. The pain I had expected. The ice felt like a cold blade as it cut into my flesh. I was afraid to open my eyes. My heartbeat slowed again as the ice ran into the large muscle. My leg muscles tightened into cramps as I clinched my teeth together.

Next came the muscles in my arms, my stomach and my neck. I trembled and shook violently again under the constriction of my muscles. Soon the convulsions slowed down as the ice moved back up to my heart again.

I opened my eyes again as I felt my chest constrict. It felt as though someone had reached inside my body and squeezed my heart. I gasped. Dear Fate, I‟m dying! This was my last plea as I felt the ice burst out through my body again. My heartbeat slowed as it pushed the ice through my veins. The shock was more like falling into freezing water. My lips trembled as I felt the convulsions return.

In the next few moments, I thought I had died. I heard the ghostly drums as they beat all around me, voices chanting loudly, singing a song I didn‟t recognize, but which soothed my soul.

Visions played before my eyes of an ancient past. Warriors, Indian warriors dressed in their grand headdress were camped around me, beside them stood their spirit wolves.

In the distance of my vision, I could hear my grandfather. The proud Chieftain chanted loudly his song and the warriors stood without moving, watching and joining in with their own song.

The battle raged on inside of me as the battle of the Dark Wolves played before my eyes. I saw men. I saw wolves. I saw a great battle, a legend of long ago. I could still hear the chanting voices of the ancients in my ears. Deeply I fell into another vision.

This time I was in the snow. I could feel the cold in the air as it brushed over my skin. I heard a growl behind me. Ah, my enemy again. The only difference was I was still in my human form. I turned around to face him, the demon wolf. His head lowered as he growled. The red eyes glowed as he stared at me, contemplating his move. I leaned my body forward and waited for his attack. He bolted in the air toward me. It took just one thought as I calculated his move with ease. I moved high in the air as his body went past me. Turning swiftly, I landed on my feet facing him. He turned, and with a ferocious growl he bolted toward me again, moving faster than before. I twisted to the side, grabbed him around his mid-section and with one hand around his neck I held on tightly. My muscles flexed, and I heard the snap and crack of his neck. It was over. The chanting voices stopped.