by Anna Lewis
“Looking overseas for aid is off the table,” Wraith proclaimed.
“It should not be. Sophia, how were you able to escape the forest with your life?” Thayne asked. He waited for my answer expectantly.
“We did indeed take and use the Hunters’ own weapons against them,” I said with a small shrug. “Thayne has a point. They are relying on our old-fashioned fighting tactics to win. Numbers and firepower is how they’ve gained their advantageous position,” I said. The room quieted as the gravity of the situation became stark.
“Are the Hunters using easily attainable hunting weapons?” Arya asked.
“No, those were military weapons,” I said.
“Then whoever has organized their force is clearly involved in black market trading,” Thayne said.
“Which means, that if we become involved in black market acquisition of weapons, the Hunters will find out,” Wraith said.
“We can use proxies,” another vampire suggested.
“Proxies can be bought. They aren’t to be trusted,” Arya said.
“How about we table this suggestion for now. Any other ideas?” Wraith asked. I pressed my lips together…I was tempted to suggest working with the wolves. The Hunters wouldn’t see that coming and we’d be able to eradicate them effectively with the wolves’ help.
“Well, we need to decimate the Hunter presence in our region and cripple their ability to train more elite Hunters…” I mused. “This suggests both brute force, head-to-head battles, and battles of intelligence to strike them at the source,” I added. All eyes were on me.
I said, “There will be a short and long-term to this war. Gaining definitive knowledge of the Hunters’ inner workings will take time. But, if we strike them hard and fast now, we decimate their numbers and discourage them, then that could work for our immediate safety, not to mention the long-term fight.”
“Your logic is sound, but this brings us back to the Hunters’ current numbers. We do not want to charge into the forests they patrol and walk into a slaughter,” Paelin said, speaking up for the first time.
“We could double our numbers…” I said slowly.
“How so?” Arya asked curiously.
“The other factor in my surviving the escape of Gifford Pinchot was working with the wolves. As difficult as that may be to digest,” I said. There were two long heartbeats worth of silence before the room erupted again.
“Work with the wolves?”
“That is ludicrous.”
“Those dogs would likely stab us in the back rather than work with us.”
I took a deep breath and let them all get their grievances out. The vampires were small-minded. We were at a point where the very survival of the vampires in our region needed something as extreme as working with the wolves. I glanced at my father who was staring at the map on the table in stony silence.
“The Hunters won’t expect a coalition with the wolves. It will throw them off kilter just enough for us to strike a crippling blow to their forces,” I said. But it didn’t seem to matter. All the vampires were shaking their heads and turning up their noses. I snorted in annoyance. “If you’ll excuse me. I feel as though I should plot my escape from this doomed way of life. Close mindedness and willing ignorance is not the way forward on this planet,” I said. With that I got up and left the room in shocked silence.
I didn’t realize the gravity of what I did until I was halfway to my old room. Wraith had kept it unoccupied for me. It was the only other suite tucked away in a private hallway, across from his own suite. Slight trembling started in my hands and moved to my very bones. I’d possibly just exiled myself. No need to run away without explanation, I’d given plenty reason to be disowned from my father and the region even. I sat down on the sofa chair situated in the small reading nook and stared into the hardly used fireplace.
“Sophia…” My father’s voice snapped me out of my daze. I didn’t know how long I’d been trying to pull myself together.
“I’m sorry…father, I just—I don’t know what came over me,” I said. “I foresaw that slaughter in the woods and I truly believe the only way we can deal with the Hunters now is if we work with the wolves,” I said. I wasn’t sure where I was going or what I was doing. I had plans with Kai, we were leaving soon. I should’ve let Wraith think I lost my mind so it would be that much easier to leave.
“You’re lucky I passed your comments off as a simple opinion and suggestion and not some serious consideration you were putting forth to the council,” he said. “As for your departure…I’d like to think you aren’t truly so vehement in wanting to work with the wolves,” he added.
“I wasn’t feeling well father,” I lied. He stepped into my view and tilted my head up by my chin. “I’m pregnant,” I told him. His eyes widened briefly, then his brows furrowed.
“With whose child?” he asked.
“Damien’s…” I said in a low voice. He took my reluctance to say Damien’s name as sadness, I saw it in the way his eyes softened.
“I see now…your behavior has been strange, though I couldn’t fathom you’d be carrying a child,” he said.
“I hope my foolishness back there didn’t taint you in any way,” I said.
“It’s as I said, I made appropriate excuses for you. Though you did storm out rather dramatically,” he said. “I want you to keep out of any danger during this war Sophia,” he added.
“I don’t plan on fighting unless it’s necessary,” I said.
“Good…you should be well fed too. As the child grows your need for blood will increase,” he said.
I almost smiled. He was concerned for us, the baby and I…it was endearing. Unfortunately.
“I’ll have a glass of blood brought up for you,” he said. “Why don’t you take the night to reset?”
“Alright…but what of the conference?” I asked.
“We’ll give it another go tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll at least live another day,” he said. I smirked and watched him leave the room. I hadn’t expected him to be willing to hear me out. He let me make my excuses and readily accepted Damien as the father of my child even though the revelation came after my outburst. After I sympathized with the wolves essentially. My father did love me…and I couldn’t believe I was only realizing that as I was preparing to leave him.
I wanted to see Kai, I needed to see him.
I waited for the blood to be delivered to my room, but when it arrived, I left it untouched. Instead, I slipped out of my room and took the service halls to the garage. I used the garage exit to leave the house and ran on foot to the gate, there I used the walking entrance to get out and called for a car when far enough from the grounds. While riding back to Portland, I called Kai.
“Hey, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he answered.
“I know, I need to see you. Can you meet me at the studio?” I asked.
“Sure, how soon?” he asked. He’d quickly picked up on my urgency.
“Right now, I’m on the way from Olympia,” I said.
“Okay perfect, I’ll be there,” he said. “Is everything okay?” he asked.
“I…I’ll explain when I see you,” I said.
“Whatever it is…it’ll be alright,” he said in a reassuring tone. I smiled and forced myself to take a deep breath and relax. As long as I had Kai everything would be alright.
“I know,” I whispered.
“See you soon,” he said. We ended the call. I gazed out at the cloudy night sky as the Uber driver took his time in getting to Kai’s studio. When I finally got to the building and stepped out of the car, the back of my neck prickled; my instinct was warning me of something. I turned around, but saw nothing but a few human pedestrians. The apartment building was in the middle of the city. There wouldn’t be any supernatural being snooping around. I scanned the balconies of nearby condos nonetheless. The feeling of being watched was gone with the gust of a damp early spring breeze. I went inside to find Kai.
Kai was wai
ting for me in the living room area, pacing. He turned to greet me, but then his eyes went wide and he opened his mouth to speak.
“You look…incredible. Where are you coming from?” he asked.
“Thank you,” I said. He finally walked over to me and gave me a long hug, one I needed. “I want to go, right now,” I said.
“We have two more days…why do you want to leave now?” he asked.
“Because. The region covens have convened to talk about how to take out the Hunters before they become a problem too big for us to handle,” I sighed. “That’s where I’m coming from. Those conferences require me to dress up.”
“The covens have convened?” he asked, incredulous.
“Just the leaders, we haven’t all massed together. But I don’t want to stay. I don’t want them to assign me responsibilities I won’t fulfill because we’re leaving soon. So I say, let’s leave right now Kai,” I told him.
* * *
“Take a breath first,” said Kai. “Are you sure you want to leave now?”
“Yes, I’m sure Kai. We can stay in a hotel until the money for the house is cleared,” I said.
“I’m not worried about that,” he said. Kai walked me to the couch and sat down with me. “The wolves are just as frustrated with the Hunter situation. Though they’re less inclined to killing us on sight, they’re trying to keep us out of our running grounds,” he said.
“Has your father called a meeting of the region’s alphas?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s tomorrow,” he said slowly. I studied his face and saw it in his eyes that he wanted to go.
“You wish to attend?” I asked.
“I’m unsure about it,” he admitted.
“I can tell you, it will be a bunch of people arguing on the best way to defeat the Hunters and agreeing on nothing,” I mumbled. Kai chuckled.
“Yeah, you’re probably right. I guess I just wanted to go to see our original pack come together. Each alpha of the smaller regional packs was once under my dad. It would be the first time the North Pacific got together since we all split off,” he said. I took a small breath and nodded.
“You should go then,” I said.
“But I don’t want you to be in any hot water with the vampires,” he said.
“It’s fine, I…nothing too dramatic happened,” I told him.
“Are you okay to be here for a while longer?” he asked.
“Yes, everyone thinks I’m ‘resting’,” I said. Kai picked up my feet and rested them on his lap. He slid off my shoes and ran his hand up along my bared leg.
“I kind of don’t like that men saw you in this dress,” he murmured. I smirked.
“You’re the only man that’s touched me in this dress,” I pointed out. Kai grinned.
“Good,” he said. He rubbed my feet and a huge yawn escaped me.
“It’s been a while since you fed,” he said softly. I nodded and reached for his hand. I put his lips to my wrist and bit into his vein. The taste of him was like a drug to me. I held his gaze as I drank from him and saw in his eyes that he was aroused before his other hand squeezed my thigh. I finished drinking from his wrist and he moved quickly. One moment we were sitting, the next he was on top of me. I kissed him hard and bit his lip gently. His moan resonated through me. I gripped his waist as he ground his erection against my core. I pushed him back to unzip my dress and get it off. He stood with me and quickly got out of his jeans and t-shirt. He picked me up and we were both on the bed before I could count to ten. Kai tore through my panties and trailed impatient kisses down to my navel. When his lips brushed over the lips of my sex I couldn’t help my moan.
His tongue circled my clitoris and I slid my fingers into his hair, tugging on the thick locks. He licked and sucked until my legs started to shake, I let him go to twist my fists in the blankets. He turned his head to kiss my thigh right before I could find release. I sighed and reached for his chin. He stretched out over me and brushed his lips over mine. I slid my hand down his taut stomach to stroke his thick sex. He groaned as I slowly guided him to my entrance. Kai took his time with me. Though I wanted fast and urgent, he pushed deep and slow, building up an orgasm that left me dizzy.
“Kai…” I sighed his name after we’d both climaxed.
“Hmm,” he murmured. I laid against his chest, wrapped in his arms.
“It’s getting harder and harder to leave you,” I said.
“One day…Just one more day and we’re gone,” he said. “Then we won’t have to worry about leaving,” he said.
“Good,” I said.
We stayed like that for a little while longer. Then I forced myself to get out of bed and freshen up.
“Your belly got a little bit bigger,” Kai said. He watched me get dressed from the bed, still naked and lounging.
“It did…” I said while checking. The small bloated-looking bump had increased just a fraction. It wouldn’t be notable to a human’s eyes, but for a vampire’s, and a wolf’s, it was obvious. “The time will fly by and before we know it we’ll have a little monster on our hands,” I said. Kai laughed.
“At what age does your kind mature into normal vampire characteristics?”
“Any time between fifteen and seventeen,” I said. “Which is the same for a wolf’s first instance of shifting?” I asked.
“More like seventeen to twenty, but pretty much, yeah,” he said.
“But with a hybrid…who knows,” I said.
“Maybe we can find one…and ask him or her questions,” he mused. I zipped up my dress and went about sliding on my heels. “Wait,” he said. I did. Kai got up, then bent down at my feet to put them on for me.
“I doubt we’d be able to simply find a hybrid, if any do exist,” I said. “No doubt they’d be deep in hiding,” I murmured.
“Do you have to be back right away?” he asked. I glanced at the clock on the wall. There were still four hours left until dawn.
“I should go back. I didn’t tell anyone that I was leaving…someone could be looking for me,” I sighed.
“They would’ve called you right?” he asked. I glanced at my phone. It was face down on the floor in front of the couch.
“I wouldn’t have noticed if they had,” I chuckled. While Kai pulled on his clothes, I checked the phone. There were no missed calls, and only one text from Alexis. She asked about my outburst during the meeting, but that was all. Kai walked me outside. It was strange and exciting to have him next to me out in the open. For a moment, I got a taste of what our life in Montreal would be like, and how free we’d be together. It was exhilarating. I could barely wait for it.
“I wish I could hold your hand,” he murmured. We stood just in front of his building, waiting for my car to arrive.
“I wish that too,” I said with a small smile. He glanced around for a second. His hand shyly inched towards mine, but then he froze. Kai’s gaze was riveted to the street corner on our left. There was a dark alley between his apartment building and the neighboring one. I searched the shadows until I saw what he was fixed on.
“Vampires,” I breathed.
“They’re watching us,” he murmured. By then, we were like deer in headlights. The two male vampires watching us knew we had seen them, yet they weren’t moving. I noticed how finely they were dressed. Not for hunting, nor for a general outing among humans.
“I think they followed me from Prime Coven,” I whispered.
“We can’t let them go back. It’ll mean your death!” Kai said, quietly but urgently. But before I could stop him to think things through, he was quickly striding towards the alley. The vampires disappeared deeper into the shadows. I had no choice but to follow.
“So, you run off to meet with a wolf after all that talk at conference?” one of the vampires asked.
“Who sent you to follow me?” I asked.
“Arya. She had her suspicions when she saw you leaving the house using the secret exit. You aren’t the only vampire to know of its inner workings,” he s
aid.
“The dog’s scent is all over her, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s her lover,” the other vampire said. Kai growled. He stood like a wall between me and the two. The street was several yards behind me. We were deep enough into the alley that if a fight broke out, no passing human would be the wiser.
“Either way she should meet justice by Wraith,” the other said. “Will you truly betray your own kind by defending this mongrel?”
“It seems only two of us will be emerging from this ally tonight,” I said in an even tone. They both hissed and launched at us. I caught one by the arms and he had mine in a vice grip; we were locked in an odd wrestle while Kai shoved the other vampire back with brute force. He had more strength and speed than a human, but he wasn’t at his peak unless he shifted into wolf form. I kicked the vampire I was wrestling in the chest and he slid back, hitting the concrete wall hard. I used my brief advantage to grab him by the throat and throw him down to the ground. I stepped on his windpipe, then bent down to snap his neck. Apparently, Arya sent spies with inferior fighting ability.
I quickly turned to find Kai in hand-to-hand combat with the other vampire. He had a bloody lip and bruised cheek already. He was mostly blocking and dodging the vampire’s blows, as he was the weaker in his human form. As I dashed over, Kai took a blow to his temple that dazed him. Before the vampire could hurt him further, I shouldered Kai’s assailant into the opposite wall. He recovered quickly and slapped me across the face wildly. I barely felt the hit, but Kai did. He let out an enraged growl and tackled the vampire to the ground. Kai crushed his windpipe and broke his neck easily with the added strength that came from his anger. It took Kai several deep breaths to calm down after his attacker was dead.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his tone gruff.