Bri and I both froze and frowned at her. Then, realization dawned on me. “Zerena?”
This time, we got to see her teeth, bright white, complete with abnormally long canines: not to the point that the rest of society would call her out on it, but enough that I could see what she was.
“Who else would I be, silly?”
Her long brown hair shone in the luminescent light overhead, giving her pale skin a sort of halo glow. She remained sitting, but I would bet that she didn’t weigh more than ninety pounds soaking wet.
I opened my mouth to tell her what I was thinking – that we were expecting someone a little scarier and a lot less tween, when Maeleigh beat me to it. “Danu sent me to find you,” she said, stepping up to take the seat that had been originally offered her.
Zerena tilted her head to the side in a judging way, looking Maeleigh up and down.
“Let me see it,” she said, lifting her hand to wiggle her fingers towards Maeleigh’s face.
I scowled and watched the two of them for a second, seeing Maeleigh considering the request. “What the hell is she talking about?” I asked, but I could tell she was ignoring me, which had a growl bubbling up my chest.
Then, deliberately, Maeleigh shut her eyes and took two deep breathes. As the air flowed out of her on the last, the iridescent swirls, leaves and blooms appeared on her right temple, her cheek and down her neck. The goddess Danu’s mark. I hadn’t seen it since the day Queen Selena revealed it over a week ago. Until that night, I hadn’t even known Maeleigh could control it that way. Then, it occurred to me – she may not have known she could either.
Zerena smiled and at the same time her eyes bulged in excitement. Jumping up from her seat, she raced around the desk, hurrying for a closer look. I quickly placed myself in her way and growled in warning. Rather than be scared though, she looked up at me and smiled as if calming an angry toddler and said, “I’ll not hurt her, wolf.” I wasn’t easily convinced and continued to glare down at her.
I felt Maeleigh’s hand tug on my shirt, telling me to stand down. Seeing this, Zerena leaned to the side to peer at her, brows raised in surprise. “You’re mated?”
A firm, “Yes,” was the response.
At the news, Zerena clapped her hands, her long hair bouncing behind her as she jumped up and down in excitement. “True mates! How wonderful!” Dismissively, she shot around me at vampire speed. Whipping around I saw her squeeze Maeleigh in a tight hug, rocking her back and forth to share her mirth. My eyes could have popped out of their sockets right then and there from the scene before me. I didn’t need to look to know that Bri wore a similar expression of horror. Through the ages, vamps and lycans have never really gotten along. We usually keep to ourselves and easily get on each other’s nerves, with fights and battles often being triggered. The one before me was not the type of vampire I’d grown accustomed to.
“Who are you?” I asked when she finally released Maeleigh to trace delicate fingers over the patterns on my mate’s cheek.
She didn’t look at me and she didn’t need me to clarify. “I am the first to turn vampire after defecting from the king, resisting the underground movement.
“Do you know why the goddess wanted me to find you?” Maeleigh asked the million-dollar question and, for a moment, I wondered if Zerena would answer it. She caressed the patterns one last time before finally dropping her hand, stepping back and walking back around her desk.
Reseated, she looked worriedly at Maeleigh. “To help you find the prophecy.”
The three of us all frowned at one another, confusion being at the forefront of our expressions.
Turning back, it was Bri who asked, “How does one find a prophecy? Isn’t Maeleigh …”
Amused, Zerena chuckled and said, “Anything that has power has an essence of some sort: a physical entity that it resides in.”
All those fantasy movies I’d ever watched came to mind and I could’ve argued that point but I kept my mouth shut. Who was I to argue with the first ever vampire?
“Why would we want it?” Bri asked. It was a surprisingly good question that I hadn’t thought of. Why would we need or want this prophecy?
“Whoever possesses it, controls it.”
Zerena pinned Maeleigh with a calculated stare just then and said, “You have to be prepared to hear the answer though. It’s not what you think and I can’t tell you. Not that I don’t want to. It’s just that magic keeps me from doing so.”
Worry filled Maeleigh’s voice when she started to say, “I don’t understand …” But Zerena didn’t let her finish.
“I can tell you how to find it but you must be willing to go after it, no matter the cost.” Now a dire warning filled her voice and had us all on our toes. “Once its whereabouts are known, it won’t be long before those who possess it find out that it’s compromised and relocate it. It will take centuries to find it again if that happens.”
Without consulting us, Maeleigh answered, “I promise.”
Pleased, Zerena leaned forward, like a child divulging a secret. “Queen Selena holds its location.”
“What?” Maeleigh asked, perplexed.
Outraged, Bri stepped forward. “You just said that you knew where it was!”
With a tsk-ing sound, Zerena leaned back in her chair, looking more like the child she still embodied. “Ah. Ah. I said I knew how to find it. The queen recently came into possession of its whereabouts.”
“How do you know this?” Bri asked. Challenged, the wolf in her was coming out to play.
And just like that, the innocent looking young girl in front of us disappeared and the first vampire in existence peered up at my beta dangerously. “How I know is below your pay grade, per se.”
Maeleigh stood up suddenly, placing herself between the two, blocking either from challenging the other any further. “Thank you, Zerena,” she said gratefully, then turned to me. “Let’s go.”
Taking her lead, as this was indeed her mission – Bri and I were just along for the ride – we turned to go. Bri opened the door and held it open and took up the rear again as we filed out of the bar, which had started to fill with people. As we walked, my wolf grew more and more aware of the rising number of vampires and other-worlders in the room. Not willing to stay and discover them all, I took Maeleigh’s hand and hustled us out of there. Big dude was at the door, and I nodded to him awkwardly as he shoved the door open to let us out. He didn’t return the nod but he did gaze at me curiously, almost as if he were trying to figure me out. We were outside before I could analyze it too much. Not stopping, I pulled Maeleigh down the street, past the renovated Elite and across a small alleyway to one of the many colorful and barred buildings.
“Are we going to hail a cab?” Maeleigh asked. I could hear the worry in her voice, and I wondered if it was from our current surroundings or those we had just left.
“We will. I want to get some space between us and that place first.” Gazing across the street, I saw a particularly brightly lit convenience store. “Let’s cross.” Together, we crossed the street. The light wouldn’t keep any vampires away, but it would help to settle my nerves if we could see any potential foe coming our way without having to change. Lycan had great eyesight in the dark when we were in our wolf form. In human form, it was just like any other human’s.
Chapter Fourteen
Ro
For the tenth time that night, I adjusted my collar before Dom opened the door for the queen’s guests. In walked a man and woman dressed to the nines. Though I was wearing a monkey suit of my own, I began to feel a little underdressed from the three-piece the guy was sporting. His face showed an average looking guy – brown eyes and hair, lightly tanned skin. No scars or marks to speak of though. The woman on his arm looked like your classic lady. She was in a flowing, dark green dress with splashes of rhinestones on the bodice – forget that. Rhinestones didn’t look like their style; those were probably real crushed diamonds.
Beside me, Selena greeted the
m, extending a hand to the guy first. “Mer! So good to see you again, old friend.”
He suavely brought her hand to his lips, bowing over it as he did and pecking a kiss on it. Releasing her, he turned to his girl and said, “Your Majesty, you remember Lady Enid?”
“Of course! So nice to see you again, Lady Enid.” The queen gave her hand again, which Enid only squeezed limply, nodding with a completely fake smile on her porcelain face. It looked like it would crack if she smiled too hard. Gorgeous blue eyes sparkled, despite the cruelness in their depths that I saw there. Painted red lips gave a halfhearted smile as she dropped the queen’s hand and slipped her own back into the crook of her partner’s arm.
As Dom closed the door behind them, Selena turned her attention to me. “Allow me to introduce my new guest, Robin McIntire.” As if she were prepared for it, the second I put a hand out to shake Mer’s, she reached over and firmly pushed it back down to my side.
Ah, I’m not exactly up to par with this guy, am I? I thought, and then nodded to them both. “Nice to meet you both,” I said, trying to put on my most welcoming smile, hoping it didn’t come off as something scary instead.
“Let us go into the dining room. They are about to serve the wine and the chef has been working all day in the kitchen to prepare tonight’s meal.” The queen turned to lead the way. As I moved to follow her, Mer gracefully moved himself and his lady in front of me. I bristled but remembered I still had to play the game. And this was a game, I could feel it. Tugging on my collar again, I stepped in behind them.
Once we were all seated, me on the queen’s left and Mer on her right, his woman beside him, I listened as they talked and the wine was poured. I almost expected to be skipped when the server walked around with the bottle, filling everyone’s glasses, but she didn’t blink an eye when she filled mine as well. Taking my part seriously in this evening’s show, I took a swig. Setting down my glass, I reminded myself not to lean back in my seat. Whatever my backstory was with the queen, I needed be sure I made it look real.
“How is business, Mer? Anything new in developments?” Selena asked, taking a gentle sip, though she kept her glass in her hand as she waited.
Smiling over the rim of his, he swallowed before answering. “Going well. We have a few new things here and there, most of which are still in the planning stage. However, there is one in particular that I’m excited about.”
“Oh?” The queen raised a brow, took another taste of her wine, then said, “Anything I’d be interested investing in?”
A mischievous look came over his face. “Perhaps. It’s a way to cure the feral.”
With a zing of worry, I sat forward to listen in.
“Is that right?” Selena commented, looking interested.
Nodding, Mer reached over to clasp Enid’s hand on the table. “Yes. I’ve been working on this project myself, in fact. You know how I feel about all that.”
My gaze bounced back and forth between the two. “Yes, I do.” She placed her hands on the table in front of her, giving a display of welcoming interest. “Tell me more. This cure?”
“Well,” he started, but was interrupted by the salad being served. Once everyone had a small plate of greens, he went on. “Well, at first we thought we would need to change someone on the molecular side of things, but it turns out we need to combine that with magic.”
At the mention of magic, my hackles rose.
“Fascinating,” Selena said.
“Yes. Well, we had a minor setback in security recently.” He gazed at the queen, as if he were searching for something.
When she tilted her head to the side, saying, “Oh dear. That’s unfortunate”, he slowly smiled and took a long sip.
For the rest of the evening, the conversation went on like that – vague business talk, weather change and human leadership. All the while, I wished they would return to this cure he’d mentioned.
At the end of the night, after dessert and tea, which I didn’t touch, we escorted them to the door and bade them farewell like old friends. The moment the door was shut, though, Selena turned away and swiftly walked up the stairs. I followed her, not letting her evade the questions I had built up over the nearly two hours.
Passing the room with the suits, she pushed into a library of some sort. It reminded me of Dad’s office except with more books, but the cozy chair she sat in beside a small fireplace with a fire already burning, made it look far more inviting and casual than Dad’s stuffy, business-like space. She waved at a matching chair on the opposite side of the fire and said, “Sit. I’m sure you have questions.”
Eagerly, I sat down, but didn’t allow my ass to sink too deeply into the cushions. It was my turn to be all business.
“Fire when ready,” she told me, settling into her seat.
“Who was that guy?” I asked her.
“Mer is a businessman of sorts. He has his hands in many different types of projects. Technology, pharmaceutical and political.” She didn’t beat around the bush, but I still got the feeling she wasn’t telling me everything.
I rubbed my chin, working up my next question. Dropping my hands between my knees, I asked her my next question. “Is Lady Enid anyone I should know about?”
Selena shook her head. “They are husband and wife but she has no ties to his dealings other than when he entertains colleagues, like tonight.”
“Are you colleagues?” I asked her seriously.
She pursed her lips and thought on her words before saying, “Not in the way you mean. I stay in contact with him and invest in the things that seem worthwhile but it’s only to keep in the loop of his other, more concerning, projects.”
My wolf scratched at my subconscious, not liking what she was getting at. “Is he dangerous?”
A proud smile cracked her beautiful lips. “You really are a bright and insightful young man.” Turning her head, she stared at the flames that appeared to reach out to her. Despite her pleasure at my cleverness, I could tell the topic unnerved her, so I waited her out. Finally, she broke the silence. “He is the most dangerous creature to all other kinds.”
I started to ask her to explain how that was, but my phone rang, stopping me. I had it set to only ring if it were someone from the pack, for emergency purposes.
“Sorry,” I mumbled and pulled the phone out as I stood to walk towards the inviting window seat. Answering, I gazed out at the cold night that was fogging up the street below.
“Yeah?”
“Hey. We’re in New York.” Gearden said, foregoing pleasantries.
Brows rising an inch higher, I said, “You’re where?”
“New York,” Gearden repeated impatiently. “We found that Zerena person. She’s a vampire.”
My wolf growled at the idea of Maeleigh going to meet a vampire without me, her protector, but I tamped it down. She went with her mate, I reminded myself. “Okay. Did she tell you why the goddess wanted them to meet?”
“She speculated that it was because she knows how to find this prophecy that Maeleigh is a part of.” I could hear a car door slam shut as he spoke.
Turning, I checked that the queen was still in her seat. I still had questions and I wasn’t ready to give up on our conversation. “And?” Relieved to find her still there, staring at the now low flames in the fireplace, I twisted to gaze back at the mist out the window.
“She said the queen has information on its location,” he informed me.
I froze, then carefully asked, “Do you believe her?”
There was some interference but I could still make out, “No reason not to.”
“What do you want me to do?” I asked carefully.
There was a pause, probably more interference, before his voice came through again. “See what you can find out. We’re on our way back now, but we won’t get into town until morning.”
“On it.”
A horn blared in the background. “Good. We’ll see you as soon as we get back.”
“Stay safe.” Disconne
cting the call, I tucked the phone back into my pocket as I turned back to the queen, crossing my arms across my chest.
“Care to tell me what you know about the prophecy’s location?” I asked, the contempt clear in my tone. I could not have cared less about offending her. It was obvious she’d been keeping something from us and I didn’t appreciate it one damn bit.
Chapter Fifteen
Maeleigh
I’m pretty sure the three of us only got a total of two hours of sleep during the whole trip home. Since it was late, there wasn’t a direct train back to the jeep. We had to get off at a couple of places to board other trains and we stopped at a few smaller locations. Every time we stopped, our anxiety got the better of us and we worried that more hunters would board, looking to finish the job the others had started. None did, but we seemed to sleep with one eye open and snapped awake at the smallest sound or movement. Before we had made it a mile from the train station, we stopped in at the nearest gas station to load up on snacks and caffeine to get us through the hour-and-a-half drive back home. It was nearly seven in the morning and we watched the sun rise on the road. As tired as I was, I still managed to replay all that Zerena had told us. Then I revisited the conversations, though brief, the queen and I had. There wasn’t much to go on there, unfortunately. She had been deliberately secretive and unforthcoming with information that was pertinent to what was happening around all of us.
Then I thought of Danu. She had to have known the queen had what we were looking for, so why did she have me go on a wild goose chase all the way to New York? It was frustrating to say the least. I actually felt really pissed off and I tried hard not to be negative towards Bri and Gearden. I knew they were just as confused as I was and certainly didn’t need an added kick while they were feeling down.
Though it wasn’t all that long trip, we still all took a turn behind the wheel to allow us all a nap. Of course, with all the caffeine we’d chugged, that was pretty hard to achieve for any of us. Still, we called Ro when we were getting close to where he was. Gearden, who was now back behind the wheel, and Bri spoke to him over the jeep’s speakers. When they were done, though, Gearden looked perplexed.
The Kill: Book 3 in The Hunt Series Page 11