The others have sat down, looking as exhausted as I feel.
"Benjamin, where's the fawn?" Caitlin asks quietly, almost a whisper. I get why she's doing that. The room is eerily quiet, with Bella's suckling the only noise. Even the other babies aren't making a sound. They must sense that something's changed.
"She ran out before the fire spread," he whispers back. "I didn't find her outside so I guess she must have run away. I hope she'll come back."
My sister puts an arm around his slumped shoulders. "I'm sure she will. That deer loves you."
Donna burps, telling me she's done. I look down at her, this little miracle with her big innocent eyes and not so innocent fangs. I already got through having four babies during a battle in the middle of nowhere. This is nothing compared to that.
I hand Donna to Lennox and take Liat next. He's asleep but latches on as soon as I offer him my breast. He keeps his eyes closed while drinking. Adorable.
"Let's make plans," I say loudly. "We didn't get the refuge we were hoping for and our only chance to get help is to find Lady Lara. I don't think there's any doubt about who's taken her: the Fangs. I don't know why they did this instead of waiting for the congress, but it doesn't matter. We have to get her back. At the same time, we need to continue going after the Fangs. M.E.O.W. team, you don't know this yet, but the target I was intending to kill today turned out to be an enemy of the Fangs. They're going to provide us with names of every single Fang in this town. I'll call them as soon as I'm done feeding the babies. Lennox, can you call Mr Moon and let him know that we need his wolves to go after some of the less powerful sirens. Bethany-"
I suddenly realise something when looking at the poisoner. "The MacFays. Did they get out of the house?"
Her eyes widen in shock. "I didn't think of them," she whispers. "I didn't-"
"None of us did," Benjamin says, reaching out to her. "We had other priorities. Shall I go back and check on them?"
I think he means to check if they've burned to a crisp. I nod. "Do that and see if there's anything to salvage from the house. I doubt it, but better safe than sorry. Lily, Sophie, Caitlin, I want you to stay here and look after the children. You're going to be our nerve centre. We'll likely split up to reach as many Fangs as possible, and we'll call you whenever we have news. You can then relay that to whoever calls next. Good?"
Caitlin shakes her head. "Not good. I'm going to fight. I won't stay here like a child. You know I can fight. I was trained for it, just like you."
"But-"
"Let her," Lennox says and puts a hand on my shoulder. "She's right. We need every fighter we have."
"I want to come too!" Sophie insists. "I can-"
"No," I growl. "You're not coming. Caitlin is an adult and can decide if she wants to put herself at risk. You're not. We need you here as our point of call. Lily needs you."
"I do," Lily confirms earnestly. "I can't do this on my own, Sophie."
Before my little sister can protest further, I continue. "Bethany, do you want to fight or stay here?"
"Neither. I'm going shopping. We need medical supplies and food. I doubt you'll all return unharmed so I better get prepared. I'll coordinate with Judy. I might stop by the pharmacy and get some poison ingredients too. It won't be anything fancy, but if the sirens return to the town hall, we'll be ready."
"Good. Gryphon, maybe give Auntie Rose a call. If this goes pear-shaped, we may have to leave Attenburgh for a while. Let's see if she knows somewhere we could stay."
"I'm sure Mr Moon would put us up in his Pride house," Lennox says.
"Yes, but I prefer to be indebted to family rather than strangers with secret agendas. I like having Mr Moon as an ally, but I don't think our goals are totally aligned."
I turn to Pumpkin. "Will you stay here with the kittens?"
He nods. "I will."
Even his voice is so much like Ryker's. He sounds a little unsure, like he's still confused at why he can suddenly speak like a human, but he's dealing with it surprisingly well."
Ryker takes Liat from my lap and hands me Shade. "I'll alert the cats. They'll know about the fire by now and I don't want them to worry. If necessary, we can ask them to create some diversions near sirens' homes to keep our targets occupied until we have the time to kill them."
"Good. Does everyone know what they're supposed to do?"
Nods and quiet affirmations. While my guys leave the room, I continue feeding first Shade and then Donna while mentally making plans. I don't have proof, but I bet Delaney's behind the fire. We should have moved as soon as I got back from my kidnapping. He knew where we lived. Yes, we had installed defences, but they were clearly no good against explosives or whatever he used to set our house alight. It was arrogant to stay in our home. But I suppose we had other problems. Me being unwell, the babies needing a stable home. Stable-ish.
When Donna is finally done, I gently lay her on a blanket with the others and head upstairs to Lady Lara's office. There are still some police officers milling about, but less than earlier. Judy must have told them that I'm here to help, because this time, nobody stops me. They give me some curious stares but don't ask any stupid questions.
As soon as I enter her office, the smell of siren enters my nose. There must have been several of them for their stink to be this strong.
"Out," I snap at the two policewomen rummaging through Lady Lara's desk drawers.
"Who are you to tell-"
"Out," I hiss and bare my teeth. They make the right choice and hurry from the room. They'll probably fetch reinforcements but I don't care. I close my eyes and focus solely on my sense of smell. The more I concentrate, the more a picture emerges. The sirens came through the door, stopped at the desk, at least one touched the wooden surface. Then they left, but not all at once. One siren moved through the office, opening drawers and touching the shelves on the left. They must have been looking for something.
I open my eyes again. The leather desk chair is overturned, but I can't find any siren traces on it. Lady Lara must have pushed it over herself. That's the only sign of struggle. They must have overwhelmed her with their siren magic rather than physically. If they'd fought her, I would smell her adrenaline and sweat, but there's none of that.
I pull a chair next to the door frame and step on it to reach the anti-siren box screwed to the wall. It's hidden within a clock, but it seems that wasn't enough camouflage. It's been turned off. I give the clock a sniff. No siren touched it. A human. That means a siren must have enchanted someone to come in here and switch off the anti-siren tech. In theory, this box should counteract any influence a siren has on a human, but we never got to try if this is true for powerful sirens too. Gryphon refused to manipulate a human. Now I wish that he had. It seems it was possible after all.
I go back to the desk and righten the chair. It's just as comfortable as I remember. I pull a notepad from a drawer and get ready to call Rosalind Tailor when I spot a strange stain on the desk's polished surface. It's a wiggly line, ending in a splotch of ink. I turn on a light to take a closer look. D-e-l. Is it wishful thinking or is this the beginning of Delaney? Maybe Lady Lara tried to leave a message while she was taken. I would have gone to Delaney anyway, but this makes my conviction even stronger that he's involved.
Rosalind answers after only two rings of her phone.
"Do you have the names for me?" I ask before she can even say something. I'm in a rush, sue me.
"Yes. And Sinead has disappeared. I'm afraid that she's started going after them."
I sigh. Not another disappearance. "Are you sure she went freely?"
"Yes, her weapons are gone. She thinks I don't know about them, but of course, I do."
"Good, maybe I'll meet her on the hunt. How many addresses do you have?"
She dictates them to me. Some names are familiar. The locations are strewn all over town, although most are in the richer parts. Why can't all sirens just live in one large complex to make it easier to kill them? Can't they j
ust do that one little thing for me?
The last name she says is Lord Delaney. I suck in a sharp breath. She's got his address. I won't have to interrogate other sirens. I can simply kill them and continue on to the next.
"Are you sure this is his current address?" I ask while writing it on a separate piece of paper.
"Yes, he's got two properties in town and I know his other one was attacked. You, I assume?"
"Most certainly. I killed his wife."
Rosalind gasps. "I'd heard rumours that she's dead but Lord Delaney insisted that she's simply feeling unwell. She was a half-siren, but of course, very few people knew that. Delaney would have killed anyone who said it out loud. It went against his whole philosophy."
"Call us if any Fangs turn up at your house. We're at the town hall."
I give her the number and hang up. It's time to hunt sirens.
Chapter Twenty
I've torn the list of addresses into several pieces and hand them out to the guys and Caitlin. Lennox gets an extra large one since he'll pass on most of them to the Pride. Delaney's address is tucked away in my pocket. I've not told them that I know where he is. I want to deal with him myself. Yes, that goes against all the things they've tried to teach me, that they want revenge as much as I do, but I can't go against my nature. He's my prey and I don't share.
"Are you sure we shouldn't stick together?" Gryphon asks as he reads through his list. "We won't be as fast but it'll be safer. None of us is in good shape. This is dangerous, Kat."
He looks a little better, but he's still pale. I feel awful for sending him out to battle, but there's no time to rest.
"Okay, you pair up with Ryker. Lennox can join Mr Moon. By the way, do they have more anti-siren tech for us?"
Lennox shakes his head. "They need the few devices they have themselves."
"And all the tech we had here at the town hall has been destroyed," Ryker says darkly. "The door to the storeroom doesn't look like it was forced open, so someone must have had a key."
I nod. "The same someone disabled the anti-siren signal in Lady Lara's clock. They were either bribed or enchanted. Not that it matters now. We're going to have to be quick. Kill them before they even know we're there."
"I still don't think this is a good idea," Gryphon mutters. "Lennox should go with you."
"I can do this on my own," I hiss more forcefully than intended. "I'm feeling much better."
"This isn't about you being injured. It's about safety in numbers. Let's stop the lone wolf habit and work as a team."
No. Delaney is mine. "We'll discuss this later. We can do another intervention if you want. How to make Kat into a team player. Good luck with that. I don't care what you're doing or how you pair up, but I'm leaving. Call Lily whenever you're done with a target. She'll keep track."
With one last look at my babies, I storm out of the room. I need air. I need blood. And most of all, I need Delaney's head.
The house he's supposed to be in is a tall but narrow townhouse in one of the poshest parts of Attenburgh. Its façade is freshly painted and the windows are so clear that they must be polished at least once a week. I don't know when our windows were last cleaned...not that it matters anymore. Our home is gone. Because of the arsehole living here in splendour while planning to take over the world. Not while I'm still alive. I wait around a street corner, out of sight from whoever may be in the house, and extend my senses. I'm tired and I don't get as much sensory information as I'd wish, but it's enough. The house is full of people. I hear at least eight different voices, but other noises speak of more inhabitants. The air around the front door smells like sirens, mostly, but I also sense mutant wolves. Just what I needed.
Delaney has drawn his forces close. He knows I'm after him. Maybe he kidnapped the mayor just to lure me here. Not that I care. Even if it's a trap, I'm going in there to cut off his stinking dick. He's not going to harm anyone ever again. My family will be safe. That's worth the risk.
I walk around the corner and leave the main street, sneaking along the path at the back of the row of townhouses. Most have small gardens, but not Delaney's house. He's got a shed instead. Probably where he keeps his torture devices. Who knows.
A man guards the back door, burly and most definitely a mutant. Probably one of those that can't die unless their head is cut off. Usually, I like the challenge they present, but today I don't have the time, nor do I want to arouse attention. There's no way I'll walk through the front entrance, so up the roof it is.
I use a neighbour's rose trellis to get me up the first third, then cling to the wall and climb using tiny gaps in the brickwork. It's hard work, but I manage to get up the roof with only a few scratches on my fingers. Those will heal within minutes.
Delaney's roof is more modern than that of his neighbours. He's got an attic window on either side, both of them new with double glazing. Maybe I should take over his house once I've killed him. He took mine, so I'll take his. But no, I need more of a garden, more privacy. I could set it on fire instead. Revenge served burning hot.
Of course, both windows are locked. It's not my lucky day, that much is for sure. I listen to sounds beneath, but the attic is deserted. I don't have any tools with me, so I shift my right hand and use my claws to cut through the plastic window frame. Should have invested in something sturdier, idiot. It takes a while and I almost break a claw, but then I'm inside the attic, crouched low and ready to act. I only have the weapons I had with me at Rosalind Tailor's place, and I left some of my throwing knives there in the hurry to get back home. It's not what I'd like, but it'll have to do. I still have one poison dart tucked away in my collar. It might come in handy.
A narrow spiral staircase leads down from the attic. The room beneath is empty too. Most of the noise comes from the lower part of the house, although there are three heartbeats on the floor under me. I don't think any of them are shifters; their heartbeats are slower than sirens'.
I sneak down the staircase to find myself in an empty room. Not even a shelf. Maybe this house isn't used very often. Delaney and his family had their home in Parseldon plus the other Attenburgh mansion, so who knows why he needed a third. Probably to make himself look even richer. Someone's standing outside the door, breathing heavily. I pluck a knife from the sheath attached to my belt and ready myself. Once I kill whoever's waiting here, I won't get another moment to breathe. Am I ready to do this?
I do a quick scan of my body. There are still patches of pain, especially in my shoulder where a mutant bit me, but I'm healed enough to fight. I won't be as fast as I usually am, so I have to take that into consideration. And I better not shift. Who knows what state I'm in should I try that. Maybe my tail is still missing and the wound bleeding. That's a problem for another time. Tailless or not, I'll assassinate Delaney today.
With a deep breath, I fling open the door and grab the person standing there, pulling them backwards. It's a woman, small and stocky yet muscular. A fighter. I run my knife over her throat. She does a weird squeak that echoes through the empty hallway. That's my moment of surprise gone. I drag her into the room, out of sight, but I can't do anything about the blood splatters on the white door frame.
"Help!" a shout suddenly sounds from my left.
Lady Lara.
I sprint down the corridor, my senses telling me that two people are waiting for me, and barge into the room at the end of it.
It's my lucky day. Delaney and Lady Lara in the same room. The siren is lounging on a red sofa, his legs dangling over the armrest. Lady Lara on the other hand stands in the centre of the room, stiff as a board, a sword in her hand. An actual medieval-looking sword that probably belongs to the knight's armour in the corner. Again, the room is almost empty except for that sofa, the armour and a coat of arms on the wall. Delaney should have a word with his interior designer.
"Lady Lara," I say. "Glad you kept Delaney here for me. I've got some unfinished business with him."
Even though I've only seen him twic
e - once when he forced me to kidnap myself and once when he fought me while I was about to give birth - his sharp features have been burned into my mind. His eyes shimmer with malice. He's not even trying to hide his hatred for me. Well, two can play this game. I stare him down and flash my teeth, letting my fangs grow just for a moment.
The siren chuckles, a sound so cold it reminds me of sharp icicles. "So do I, little kitty, so do I. I see you survived the fire. Such a pity."
"Lara, step behind me," I tell her. "We'll get out of here as soon as I'm done with him."
"She won't do that, you silly girl." His eyes start to glow and the mayor turns her head to look straight at me. Her expression is vacant, her eyes glazed. She's under his spell. Not a surprise but also not what I'd hoped for.
"Stop the games and fight me like a man," I challenge Delaney. "Or is that all you can do, controlling puppets?"
He stays in his relaxed position on the sofa, not seeming to care at all about the weapons I hold.
"I can do a lot more than you can even imagine. Now fight. I want to see you kill your beloved mayor. I've not had proper entertainment in a long time - and sadly I never got to see you murder my wife."
"You don't care that she's dead?" I ask, mostly to distract him. I don't want to have to fight Lady Lara. How do I get her out of his control without harming her?
"Oh, I care. It's going to be hard to explain it to my associates. For now, they think she's ill, so hopefully, they won't be too surprised when she suddenly dies from her illness. I should thank you for disposing of her, though. It saved me the effort of doing it myself. She's been a thorn in my side for years. Without her, you wouldn't have had to get pregnant. It was her idea, after all."
"Are you the father?" I blurt out. "Are they your children?"
He stares at me, then laughs. "Oh, you're so sweet, little kitty cat. Why on Earth would I waste my precious seed on someone like you? My wife and I had a child and she turned out to be crazy. We didn't need more of that. No, we gave you an experimental treatment, way too complicated for you to understand."
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