Free Wolves in the Shadows (The Wolf Clan Chronicles) by Sharon McLaughlin Page A

veins.” 
    Elizabeth’s breath caught in her throat.  She looked wildly from Lord Reginald to Sir Marcus and back again, her eyes wide with astonishment. 
    Romulus lifted his head from between his paws and whined. 
    Sir Marcus quailed at the expression on Lord Reginald’s face. 
    “I’ll just go wait outside,” he said sheepishly as he stood and hurried to the door. 
    “Stay!” Lord Reginald said in a voice sharper than Elizabeth would have thought possible. 
    “Is it true?” Elizabeth whispered.  She looked down at Romulus, unable to meet Lord Reginald’s fearsome gaze. 
    “Yes,” Lord Reginald said softly.  “You are descended from my daughter Mallory .  I did not wish for you to know until you had heard the full extent of my deeds.  For as the last mortal alive who bears the blood of my Anya, you are the one who must judge me, and I cannot have you blinded by filial loyalty.” 
    “With all due respect,” Elizabeth said, still looking at Romulus.  “It seems impossible that I could be even remotely related to you and Sir Marcus.  And how can I judge you for anything ?” 
    Had she been brave enough to look up, she would have seen Lord Reginal d and Sir Marcus exchange meaningful glances. 
    “You r insistence on your unworthiness and guilt grows tiresome, father,” Sir Marcus said.  “You cannot bear the blame for my mother’s death.  She foresaw her fate long before we left to fight the Lady Laila and Demetrius.  You cannot expect Elizabeth to become your Lorican confessor.  She is more blinded by your sheer power than by the ties of blood that until this moment she was completely ignorant.  And beyond that, her mortality alone should be just cause of why she has no reason to condescend to name your penance for something of which she can have no understanding.” 
    Elizabeth got the distinct impression that Sir Marcus had wanted to say all this for quite awhile.  She massaged her temples and lifted her eyes to look at Lord Reginald. 
    “I didn’t really understand anything that Sir Marcus just said, but he sounds like he’s right.” 
    Lord Reginald smiled as he looked at her. 
    “Of course I’m right,” Sir Marcus said impatiently. 
    “Once again, my own damnable pride has made me a fool,” Lord Reginald said. 
    “I would say it’s more you r damnable devotion to those foolish Loricans,” Sir Marcus said under his breath.   
    If Lord Reginald heard, he did not reply. 
    Elizabeth looked back down at Romulus and saw that his eyes were blazing blue. 
     
     
    Chapter 10
    Elizabeth gasped as a sharp pain shot through her temples.  She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.  A strange new vision filled her mind’s eye. 
    She saw Lord Reginald in battered armor with a deadly fire burning in his eyes.  A huge bloodstained sword was gripped in his fist.  He stood atop a hill as blood flowed from under his feet.  Elizabeth realized with a pang of shock and terror that it was not actually a hill but rather a huge mound of corpses.  She could see the mangled bodies of vampires and wolves and men in a chaotic jumble of flesh and fur and bone.  She could taste the hot metallic blood that dripped from the vampire lord’s fangs and smell the horrible stench of death on this ancient battlefield. 
    Lord Reginald threw back his head and howled in a voice so filled with fury and grief that the heavens above seemed to quiver with fear.  Elizabeth found that she could somehow understand his words even though she could not recognize what language he was speaking. 
    “I am Lord Reginald Wolfrick, Master of the Wolf Clan.  Come forth you demon of the abyss and face the one who you sought to destroy.  The one who has spilled the blood of those he held the most dear.  Come and face justice!” 
    As if to answer, the earth rumbled and shook and cracked opened up at the foot of the mound.  With a mighty roar, Lord Reginald leapt down into the abyss and vanished from