A Werewolf Fantasy
Chapter 53

The shot rang out before Erin could even speak. She fell to the ground and waited for the pain to come but it didn't.

"Get up!" Darren barked at her. "That was a warning shot. The next one will go into your skull."

Jade came running into the office with wide eyes. "Erin, what's going on? Are you ok?"

Darren sent her flying backwards with a shot from his gun. Jade landed outside the door and blood immediately began to flow from under her.

"What are you doing?" Erin screamed at him. "Stop this madness, right now!"

"Give me the damned dream stone!" he yelled. "Do it now!"

Erin was shivering with fear and anger in equal measure. He shouldn't have shot Jade. He didn't need to but he did it anyway because he was an evil bastard. "Let's check the storage room downstairs," she said.

"Lead the way," he said, still pointing the gun at her.

As they passed Jade outside, Erin saw that he had shot her in the chest, just below her left collarbone. The receptionist was unconscious but she was gasping for breath. "Let me get her help," said Erin.

"Don't make me lose my patience," he threatened her. "You know I don't need this gun to kill you, don't you?"

She knew. Still...

"Jade is going to die if we don't get her help," she insisted.

He just stared at her but his facial expression said everything. Erin left Jade and hurried downstairs. Maybe if she found the dream stone quickly and gave it to this monster, she could get help on time and save Jade.

Today was Farida's day off from work, so there was nobody else in the gallery with them. Erin hurried to the spot where Farida had taken the dream stone from on that first day. Sure enough, the small pouch was there with the pebble inside. "Here it is," she said, giving it to Darren without hesitation.

"Empty the pouch," he ordered her.

Erin obeyed and the dream stone fell out onto her palm. "This is the dream stone."

Darren snatched it from her hand and studied it. "So, this is Olna Raven's stone, eh?" "Yes."

He looked at her. "So, you knew it was here all along and you wasted my time first?"

"I didn't know it was here. I gave it to Devon in his office after he loaned it to me."

"Well, thank you, Erin," he said with an evil grin. "Your work here is done."

He pointed the gun at her again and fired a shot. Everything went black.

***

"My love, are you awake?"

Erin blinked and gingerly opened her eyes. She had been hearing Devon's voice from somewhere deep inside her subconscious.

It reminded her of that time in the past when she was depressed after Nikjin killed Danshak. Her eyes widened.

"Devon!"

"I'm here," he said tenderly, looking down at her with concern.

They were in a hospital room and she was lying on the bed. The heart monitor machine was beeping nearby. When she tried to sit up, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. "Careful, darling," said Devon soothingly. He adjusted the pillow behind her to make her comfortable.

"What happened?" she asked.

Devon sighed. "Someone broke into the gallery and shot you and Jade. Thankfully, the bastard missed your heart by a few inches."

"Jade," she gasped. "Is she ok?"

"Yes. She's in the ICU but the doctor said she'll pull through. It was a good thing that Darren called 911 when he did."

"Darren called 911?"

"Yeah. He was in the bathroom downstairs when the robber broke in. Luckily, he came out just in time to fight the guy off before he too got shot. It was quite heroic of him, I must say." "That's a lie!" Erin shouted and regretted it immediately. It was as if her chest was on fire.

"Easy, baby," Devon crooned softly. "You don't have to say anything. Just rest, ok? We'll talk when you are feeling better."

"You don't understand," she said impatiently. "It was Darren."

"What do you mean?"

"Darren was the robber. He dragged me to the gallery at gunpoint and made me give him the dream stone."

Devon was speechless.

"He was the one that shot me and Jade. He meant to kill me but he missed."

"Wait a damn minute!" Devon said, rising to his feet. "Darren did this to you?"

"It wasn't just him, my love. He was Nikjin too."

"What?"

"I don't know how to explain it, but he was Nikjin and Darren at the same time. He called me Edvana when he showed up at our place."

Devon felt his temper rising with every breath he took. "That bastard," he muttered angrily.

"I think our speculation was correct, Devon," said Erin fearfully. "He's going to return to the past with the dream stone and kill Vak Smallchief."

"But how would that affect the present? That's the part I don't understand."

"What if the past becomes the true reality and this present becomes our dreams? What if this time stops existing?"

"That's not possible," said Devon, scratching his jaw thoughtfully. "That doesn't even make sense."

"Maybe," she agreed. "But what if?"

He thought about her question for a moment. It was an insane possibility. The past was a memory to them, but what if the present truly becomes a dream? What if Nikjin could indeed change the course of history by rewriting the past?

"I have to replace him," said Devon. "We mustn't let him use that thing and corrupt the past with it."

"Don't search for him alone," Erin said fearfully. "He is dangerous. Rally up the rest of the packs and hunt him down."

"That will take time. Besides, I would have to explain the back story to them about the stone. I don't think there's time for that now."

"Devon, I insist. Don't go after Darren alone," she said sternly.

"Fine," he replied. "But I have to leave right away. Your mom is outside. I'll tell her to come inside and stay here with you while I'm gone." "Do you think he would come here?"

He frowned. "Why would he? He wanted the dream stone and now he has it. What would he come here for?"

"What if he came back to make sure that I am dead? That was what he wanted to do initially but he missed."

Devon leaned over her, smiling. "Don't trouble your pretty head about that, my love. If he replaces out that you survived, then he would know that you must have told me what truly happened.

"I don't think he's stupid enough to come here, knowing that you would be surrounded by your family."

"I hope so," she said. She couldn't shake the nagging feeling that Darren might try to harm her again if he discovered that she was still alive.

She had betrayed him in the past which led to his defeat at the hands of Vak, the Prime Alpha. That was enough reason for him to want her dead now.

Devon kissed her forehead softly. "Go back to sleep, my love," he whispered. "Everything is going to be all right."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Please, be careful," she begged him.

"I will," he assured her. "Have no fear. This madness will be over soon."

She felt reassured and sank back on the pillow with relief. After he left, her mother came into the room and Erin narrated her ordeal tearfully.

As expected, Darren was nowhere to be found. Nobody else had seen him since he stormed out of the town hall meeting with the other Alphas.

He quickly rounded up the clan stakeholders and told them what was going on. They could hardly believe his tale, but they knew that it must be true if Darren was willing to kill Erin because of the mythical stone.

By nightfall, it was agreed unanimously that every adult in the clan would shift into their wolf forms and sniff him out from wherever he was hiding. They were all sure he was still in Fairbanks and was probably searching for a safe place to fall asleep with the dream stone underneath his pillow.

***

Meanwhile, in the hospital, Erin was drifting in and out of consciousness. She wanted so badly to sleep but her mind was not at rest and she felt jittery.

At some point, she woke up from her troubled sleep to see that the lights in her room were switched off. Her mother was no longer beside her bed and the only sound in the room was the heart monitor.

She could barely see but she knew she was not alone. She could smell someone else in the room and it wasn't her mother.

"I knew you would come here," she said shakily.

"That means you're wiser than the rest of them," Darren replied. "I came here to take you with me."

"Why?"

"Because you witnessed my defeat once. Now, you will witness my victory." He wrapped his hands around her throat and began to choke her.