Though I could see he wanted to tell me something, he shrugged. The language barrier, no doubt a cause for his silence, bothered me. I couldn’t hold it against him though. One didn’t become fluent in signing in a matter of weeks, especially when you’d had other things on your plate. Eyeing the counter, I saw a drawing of Rowen’s: a colorful rainbow with a pretty little wolf pup sitting under the rainbow, a pink bow on top of its head. Grabbing it and the nearest crayon, blue, I handed both to him, pointing vehemently for him to use it. Thank goodness he didn’t question me and started to jot down his thoughts.
After a few moments, he turned the page around for me to read. What I read was “ You’re probably the youngest alpha in history and it won’t be seen as a good thing to everyone. There will be others who will come to challenge you once word gets out. You mustn’t show any reason for someone to find you weak. Fair, yes, but never weak. Do you understand?”
I lifted my gaze to his when I finished reading and gave a firm nod. He was right and I understood exactly what he meant. I’d beaten Peter, but not everyone would believe that Peter was a good or equal opponent, and, therefore, feel they would be a good or at least equal opponent. A pack with a new alpha, a young one at that, probably invited a lot of attention.
A thought hit me then. Grabbing the crayon, I wrote quickly and turned it for him.
“What about Gearden? Can we still be together when he’s McIntire’s alpha?”
He smiled when he finished reading and patted my hand reassuringly. “Of course,” he said and I sighed in relief. I hadn’t thought of it until then and just the few seconds it took him to read had my system going into panic mode.
“Will you help me?” I said softly, almost afraid he would deny me.
Deliberately, he picked up my hand and squeezing it between both of his, nodded.
Just then, Gearden walked in, looking a little bedraggled, still in his sweats and white t-shirt. He nodded sleepily to his dad as he walked over to peck me on the cheek.
“You’re up early.”
“I know. I…” I trailed off as my conversation with Danu came back to me. Frowning I concentrated. Like any other dream, it was hard sometimes to recall every detail when I saw Danu. Finally, I had it back. “Zerena,” I said aloud.
They both gave me confused looks. Shaking my head, I pushed up from the table and raced back upstairs to get my phone. A few minutes later I jogged back down, seeing that they were still just as confused as when I’d left them.
“Danu wanted me to find this person name Zerena. Remember? Well, she asked me again last night.”
“What?” Gearden said incredulously in my mind at the same time his dad said the same thing out loud.
“I saw Danu again last night and before I woke up, she asked me if I’d found Zerena yet,” I explained. Looking down at my phone I saw that Caleb had messaged me back. “I messaged Caleb to see if he could run a search for her, to find her. He just told me that he’d check.”
Gearden pulled his gaze away from me, though it seemed difficult, to look at Liam, telling his father, I assume, what I’d just told him. The older man’s expression went from shock to speculation in a matter of the few seconds it took Gearden to tell him everything.
My phone buzzed again. Caleb.
NO LOCATION. BUT I DID FIND SOMETHING INTERESTING.
The next message was a photo. Opening the file to enlarge it, I was confused at first as to what I was looking at. It looked like one of those old vintage photographs one would find on glass or tin. It was a husband and wife in full regency garb, he on a wingback chair and her standing dutifully behind him.
THE WOMAN IS JUST NAMED ZERENA. AND THE PIC IS DATED 1842. THERE’RE A FEW PAINTINGS THAT RESEMBLE HER TOO. BUT THEIR AGE IS INDETERMINABLE.
“What the frack?” I mumbled, staring at the pic.
“What’s wrong? Is that Caleb?” Gearden asked, growing anxious. I handed him the phone, running through what Danu had said to me. She didn’t say she wanted me to find a …
“Vampire? This Zerena is a vampire?”
I looked up, at a loss for words. Liam said something and held his hand out for the phone, which Gearden passed over. He could see I was distraught. He also, hopefully, understood that I was just as surprised as he was, so he didn’t ask me for more information. I didn’t have any.
Quietly, he reached out again: “Dad asked if Danu gave you any hints as to her location.”
I just shook my head.
He sighed, feeling like I did, I thought. Deflated. “How do we find a vampire who’s apparently been around for a couple of hundred years and probably doesn’t want to be found by some newly turned wolf?”
His dad said something, but Gearden shook his head, bewildered. “What?” I asked.
“He suggested we ask a vampire.”
The laugh in my throat died before I could make a sound, a thought coming to mind and stopping me. I turned to look at Liam, who smiled knowingly in turn.
Knocking on the visitors’ cabin door, I waited on the small porch with Gearden and Liam at my side. We had waited for Gearden to put on some real clothes before we trekked out into the cold morning to wake up the Cearer, so maybe I banged a little too hard in my excitement.
It didn’t take long for someone to answer. They opened the door quickly and I readied myself for a tongue lashing for my exuberance. Thorn was at the door: bare chested, wearing similar sweats that Gearden had been wearing a few minutes earlier, with tousled hair that stuck up on one side. He glared at me, but I’d like to think it was from the sunlight coming up over my shoulder through the trees.
“We need to speak with James,” I said, foregoing polite pleasantries.
He glared at each one of us before he turned away, leaving the door wide open. A little confused as what to do next, I looked up at Gearden. “He’s getting him,” he told me.
I nodded and turned back to peer into the living room area. There were shoes and coats scattered around and a body lying on the couch, covered by a blanket. It was possibly Julie’s, judging from the fact that the person fitted on the couch without their feet hanging off the edge. I felt the vibrations beneath me – the beauty of a raised plank flooring – before a similarly dressed James came around the corner from where Thorn had disappeared. He didn’t look as grouchy though, which surprised me since it was morning. After sunup and he was, you know, a blood sucker. At the door he raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the jamb, keeping out of the sun’s warming rays.
“Do you know who Zerena is?”
He tried to put on a poker face, but he was a split second too late. I wondered how long he’d been a vamp if he wasn’t able to cover it up with something as simple as a non-descript expression when surprised. “Never heard of them,” he said, shaking his head with a lift of the shoulders, as if to say, “Tough luck.”
Turning my head, I looked at Liam who was watching the other man carefully. He dragged his eyes from him to look at me, and I read everything I needed to in just that short moment. He didn’t believe him either.
I faced James again. “Want to try that again? This time, with a little more truth than bullshit?”
His demeanor changed and I got to see the vampire side of him rather than just some surfer dude wannabe. He straightened, crossed his arms across his massive, pale chest and said again, slowly this time, “Never. Heard. Of. Them.”
I sighed. “Look, I don’t have time for this. People keep talking in riddles and cryptic comments and I’m tired of it. Danu – yes, that Danu – told me to find this Zerena person, so it must be important.”
The person on the couch stirred, the blanket falling away as they sat up – ah, it was Julie – and looked at me curiously, her attention piqued.
Keeping my gaze locked on James, I said to Gearden privately, “Tell them, for me, what I am.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“They need to know and I need to know who Zerena is. They won’t help me unless they kno
w why.”
He told them what I’d said. Julie scrambled off the couch to stand next to James and a disheveled Italia and Pierce came out as well. I got the feeling they were a couple, which was a whole other level of bizarre considering she was faerie and he was lycan. Following a few steps behind them was Thorn, this time with a shirt on, though it looked like it was yesterday’s.
When Gearden finished, they all stared at me for a moment, then looked to one another. Julie jerked her head to the side, motioning for them all to gather for a mini powwow. Of course, I couldn’t hear a friggin thing they said, but I wondered if Gearden and Liam did. Whatever they were discussing, it was over in a few seconds. Breaking their huddle, Julie came to the front.
“You want to know who Zerena is?” she asked Gearden.
He looked like he was ready to answer, but I cut him off. I really wanted to show them that even though I couldn’t hear, it didn’t mean they could exclude or dismiss me from this. “Yes, I do,” I told her.
To her credit, she didn’t look bothered by my presentation of authority. She just kept rolling along by saying, “Fine. James will tell you what he knows but you’ll have to do the same.”
I’d already seen that coming. “Fine,” I agreed.
She ticked her chin to James, indicating that it was his turn to talk. He stepped up, “Zerena is the…. vampire.”
Confused, I turned to Gearden for help. “What did he say?”
“He said Zerena is the elder vampire,” he supplied.
“An elder? Does that—”
Gearden stopped me there. “Not an elder, the elder.”
My mouth rounded in a silent “o” and I looked back to James. “Do you know where she is?”
Even though Julie had said he’d tell us everything, it didn’t look like that meant he was comfortable about it. It actually looked like someone was pulling his teeth when he winced as he said, “New York City, last I heard.”
“Which was when?”
His nostrils flared as he blew out a breath. And that’s how I learned vamps got morning breath, too. “Last month.”
“She could still be there then,” Gearden said.
“Got an address?” I asked James.
He looked none too pleased about answering, but he said, “I’ll have to make a call.”
I nodded to him and turned to Liam. “Can we take Bri with us?” I didn’t have to tell him that Gearden was coming with me or that we would be leaving right away. He nodded and clapped Gearden on his back as we started to walk away. As soon as we made it to the bottom of the porch though, Gearden stopped me, turning me and indicating that Julie had said something. “She says they want your part of the bargain now.”
I looked at Liam, “Will you fill them in, please?” He smiled and nodded. I’m sure he would keep it as vague as possible. Turning, I grabbed Gearden’s hand and jogged back to the house. “Call Bri.”
“On it.” We headed upstairs and I dumped out my backpack and threw in a pair of clothes for myself and he tossed me some of his own. After throwing in our toothbrushes, we were back downstairs and Bri was already on her way with her own overnight bag.
“Should we fly?” I asked, stuffing a phone charger in the bag.
Since we had got inside, he hadn’t looked away from his phone except to pick out underwear from his drawer. “No. They’re all booked. Best bet is to drive down to Brunswick and catch the train. It will be faster than driving with traffic.” I nodded. It would take about an hour-and-a-half to get to Brunswick, but it was better than driving the full eight hours to New York.
Chapter Ten
Ro
It was nearly four o’clock and the man had me cutting said onions. As much as I willed them not to, my friggin eyes were tearing up faster than I could wipe them and still keep my fingers intact. He hummed and sang along with the rock music that blared from the player sitting between the dishes atop the metal rack, giving it the best acoustics possible for such an open space. Which meant it was damned loud. My ears were probably bleeding but I was so busy trying to see where the knife was cutting that I didn’t notice. I hadn’t had time to message Maeleigh and she hadn’t messaged me back either after my last contact with Gearden. Still, if something was wrong, Liam or Danny would have gotten a hold of me, mission or not.
Just as I set the last pile of diced onions in the bowl that I had been ordered to fill, her majesty breezed in. Marick dropped the ladle by the pot of soup he was stirring and all but tripped over himself to greet her. “Your majesty,” he said, bowing his head.
Pleased, she smiled at him. “Good afternoon. I hope things are working out for you two in here?” She looked over at me and my glare did nothing to hide the animosity I was feeling. It seemed to entertain her more than anything, though. Which irked me further. Just like a royal, feeling she’s better than everyone else, I thought.
“They’re working out fine, M’Lady,” Marick assured her, bobbing his head up and down.
“Good.” She turned back to give him another smile. “I’m going to borrow Robin for just a few moments and then I’ll send him back to you to help set the table.”
More with the head bobbing. “Yes, Your Grace.”
With that, she turned away and exited as she had entered, as if gliding on air, hovering just above the floor. And she didn’t wait to see if I’d follow like a dog doing her bidding.
But of course, I did.
I followed her down the hall and up the stairs to a long hallway of doors, some open, some shut. At the end she stood to the side of an open one, gesturing for me to precede her. Inside was a non-distinct bedroom with no knickknacks or personal items, which led me to think it was a guest room of sorts. There was a large poster bed on the right wall, a large dresser opposite it and a chair in the corner by a square window that overlooked the street. Between the chair and the dresser was the closet, which was open wide, advertising many different suits and a few ballgowns. Standing in the middle of the room, I looked over my shoulder at her, wondering what I was doing there.
She’d come just a step or two into the room. “I’m having important guests over for dinner tonight. You’ll need to dress accordingly.”
I raised an eyebrow and said skeptically. “To serve the soup and pour the wine?”
A whimsical sound came from her, a laugh, and she shook her head. “No, of course not. After you’ve helped Marick set the table, you’ll be joining us in the dining room.”
So as not to give away my surprise, I turned back to peruse the suits. They all looked the same: black and white with a perfectly pressed bowtie slung around the collar waiting for my sausage fingers to wrinkle it as I attempted to tie it. There were various sizes shown on little tags pinned to the cuffs. Finding my size, I pulled it off the rod to present it to her. She nodded in approval.
“Leave it here on the bed and tell me your shoe size, I will see if one of the boys has a pair you can borrow. When you’re finished with Marick, you can change up here.”
A few minutes later I was stirring a particularly smelly batch of seasoning and herbs while the queen was inquiring about a pair of dress shoes for the lycan in her kitchen.
Chapter Eleven
Gearden
We had another hour-and-a-half left to go before we arrived at the New York City station and we were all ready to get off. Squeezed in our cabin, Bri had fallen asleep, probably because she’d stayed up late with Freya and Kennedy at a sleepover. Maeleigh wasn’t really far off passing out on my shoulder, too. I looked out at the scenery. We had passed through small towns now and then and had already stopped a couple times to let off and pick up passengers, but still, I was glad we hadn’t driven it. Bri’s car sickness made long road trips rather daunting!
We started to slow down for another stop, probably one of the last before ours, and I felt Maeleigh’s temple sink into my shoulder and her breathing slow. After a couple minutes, I felt the doors shut and the train start to move again. Just as we started to r
egain some momentum, Maeleigh shot straight up in her seat beside me.
“We have to get off!” she announced urgently. My wolf went on full alert as I felt hers doing the same. Bri woke up as well, automatically looking around for a threat.
“What is it?” I asked Maeleigh.
She waited a second, as if she were thinking – no, listening for something. Then, “They’re on the train.”
“Who? Who’s on the train?” I started to get up to slide open the door and look out.
She stretched her hand out and grabbed my wrist in a vice-like grip. “Hunters,” she said out loud.
Bri stilled and we locked eyes, instantly in defense mode.
“We have to get off,” Maeleigh repeated. “There’re too many of them and too many people on board. Someone could get hurt.” She spoke to Bri, “Do we have another stop between here and New York?” Quickly, she unlocked her phone, checking the train’s map, I assumed.
Turning back to Maeleigh, I said, “How do you know there’re hunters here?” I didn’t exactly doubt her; lord knows, there were a lot of things about her that we hadn’t discovered or understood. Still, if we were going to jump ship, I wanted to be sure we were stranding ourselves for good reason.
“I don’t know. It’s like I was watching them get on board just now, like I was dreaming but I wasn’t. I can’t explain it. But they’re here. They’re on this train, Gearden.” The panic rising in her voice had me taking hand and squeezing it.
“I believe you,” I told her.
“There’s one more stop coming up in about five minutes,” Bri announced.
I gathered our sweaters, handing one to each of them. “How long do we have before it leaves again?”
Bri frowned up at me, speculating. “About ten. It’s a conductor switch.” She squinted at me. “Why? What are you planning?”
The Kill: Book 3 in The Hunt Series Page 9