Jack Templar and the Lord of the Werewolves (Book #4 of the Templar Chronicles)

Read Jack Templar and the Lord of the Werewolves (Book #4 of the Templar Chronicles) for Free Online

Book: Read Jack Templar and the Lord of the Werewolves (Book #4 of the Templar Chronicles) for Free Online
Authors: Jeff Gunhus
Tags: Fiction
reliving the horror all over again. When I described to her the decision I’d had to make as Eva lay bleeding to death on my lap, tears ran down my face. Saying it aloud, knowing Eva was listening to my every word, was one of the hardest things I ever did.
    When I finished, I couldn’t look Aquinas in the eye, choosing instead to stare at a spot on the ground in front of my feet. I wished a hole would open in the earth right there and swallow me whole. It would have been better than standing in that barn with Eva, Daniel, Bocho, and Aquinas staring at me, judging me.
    The Templar ring I wore on my right hand grew warm at the thought about the hole in the ground. I remembered the ring had caused things to happen when I’d wished hard enough for them before, so I quickly cleared my mind of the image.
    I flinched when Aquinas put her hand on my arm. I hadn’t even noticed her stand up from her chair. She whispered the only words she could have said to make me feel worse than I already did.
    “It is one of the great mysteries of life why we most harm those we most love.” She gripped my arm. “But a mistake made from love is still a mistake. You should have let her die with her honor.”
    I started to reply, but I didn’t know what to say. In fact, there was nothing to say. The act was done. Telling Aquinas I thought she was wrong and that I still didn’t regret what I’d done served no purpose. Eva was not dead. So she wasn’t quite alive, but at least she wasn’t dead. I knew that given the chance to redo it all, I would make the same decision again.
    “Can you help her?” I managed.
    “I don’t know. Leave us so I can see what can be done about it… if anything.”
    Daniel and Bocho protested this idea, saying it wasn’t safe to leave Aquinas alone with Eva. I have to admit I had the same worry. But the old master shot us a look we’d seen before. She’d made up her mind, and there was no changing it.
    Finally, we all trudged out of the barn, the three of us leaning up against the door the second it closed to listen for any signs of a struggle inside. But the minutes passed without event, and finally we walked to the main house and began our long wait.
    That was over three hours ago. The sun that had lit the countryside so brightly now drenched it in reds and oranges as it set behind the mountains to the west. Lanterns were being lit around the property, and a large campfire was being built in the rear of the house where the young hunters straggled in. T-Rex and Will were there, talking to some of the hunters they knew from the Academy. They knew I wanted to be left alone with my own thoughts for a while.
    I should have been famished, but I couldn’t do much more than push the food around my plate, only taking a bite when Bocho came over to ask how I liked his rabbit stew. The truth was, even the one bite I did take made me nauseous. I almost lost it right there at the table. It was nothing to do with the food. In fact, Bocho was a master with a rabbit, some vegetables, spices, and a pot, but my stomach just couldn’t take it.
    I carried my plate to the trash and secretly scooped the stew out in case Bocho was watching. It was getting late, and I was desperate to know what was going on inside that barn, so I headed back that direction. To my surprise, I saw Aquinas standing at one of the pasture fences near the barn. She was by herself except for Saladin who stood with his massive head over the top of the fence accepting the old master stroking his nose. I jogged out to her.
    As I approached, Saladin whinnied in greeting and stamped the ground with his right front leg. Aquinas turned, pretending to have just noticed me. I knew better than that. Even sick and injured, I was certain she’d been tracking my movements since the second I left the main house.
    “How is Eva?” I asked.
    “She’s dead,” Aquinas said matter-of-factly.
    I stopped in my tracks and felt my throat clench. I suddenly couldn’t

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