The moment he smelled Roman and Laird’s presence in the room several feet behind him, some tension eased from his shoulders. Knowing the weres would merge into the crowd to keep a general watch helped him move to an “aware and focused” mode from his “jacked-up and ready-to-battle” one.
They’d just reached the table where the man and woman sat when the man pulled off his baseball cap and ran a hand through his spiky graying hair.
“Sonofabitch!” Jachin froze and stared at the man. “I thought you were dead.”
The man, now free of the beard Caine remembered seeing on him in the club, smirked. “That was the whole point, Jachin.”
Seeing Mary’s same facial expressions on the man’s face, Emma knew she was staring at her aunt’s brother. She gripped the back of a wooden chair and glanced at Jachin. “You know Roland?”
A muscle twitched in the vampire’s jaw. “Yes, but I knew him as a surly, extortionist named Roach.”
The man’s steady gaze locked with Jachin’s. “Who kept you alive for ten years.”
“What the hell is going on?” Landon growled.
The dark-haired woman gestured to the chairs in front of the table and spoke in a calm tone. “It’s good to see you again after all these years, Landon. Why don’t you have a seat and we’ll talk.”
“We prefer to stand,” Caine snarled. He didn’t like this new surprise—the Velius’ connection to the vampires.
The woman glanced toward the crowd. “You’re drawing attention to us by standing.”
“And growling,” the man added with a snort.
“Start talking,” Jachin demanded through clenched teeth. Yanking a chair out from under the table, he sat down and pinned his gaze on Roland. “You have one minute before I rip out your throat. I don’t give a damn who’s watching.”
“And here I thought you might’ve missed me just a tiny bit these past six months,” Roland said in a light tone.
“Forty-five seconds,” Jachin shot back, curling his lip briefly to show that his fangs were fully extended.
Emma couldn’t stand the tension crackling across the table. Pulling from Caine’s tight hold, she sat down in a chair beside Jachin and put her hand on the vampire’s tight fist sitting on the table. “Let’s hear what Roland has to say before you tear him apart.”
Heaving a heavy sigh, Roland said, “Actually, despite our barbs, I’ve only had Jachin’s best interests at heart.”
“By gouging me for ten years? Making me think you were dead? Leaving me without food?” Jachin challenged.
Roland gestured toward him. “You had Ariel. She was the answer to your prophecy.”
Jachin’s gaze slitted. “You never believed in the prophecy.”
Roland pointed to him. “Ah, but you did…and that’s all that mattered. We thought we were going to have to convince you there was a better way for the vampires, but then you told me about the prophecy and you were so convinced…your survival became very important to us.”
“None of this is making any sense.” Landon’s voice was cold and hard as he moved to stand to Emma’s left.
“Start from the beginning, Roland.” Emma spoke quickly, hoping to tamp down the rage she felt emanating from the vampire and werewolf leaders on either side of her.
Roland looked at Jade and the female panther inclined her head to acknowledge Emma’s request. “It’s good to see you again, Emma. I wish the circumstances were less—” she glanced at the group of people surrounding Emma “—intense.”
“You drugged and kidnapped her! What do you expect?” Caine stood directly behind Emma, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Jade stiffened in a defensive posture. “We were trying to get her out of there quickly. Emma ran out of her pills and had called Roland’s number, trying to fill the prescription. We knew something had to have gone wrong with Mary if Emma was calling us, thinking we were a pharmacy and that it was only a matter of time before Malac or one of his team scented her. We tracked her cell phone to the club.”
“What does all this have to do with the Velius’ involvement with the vampires?” Emma asked, feeling Jachin’s fury winding tighter and tighter beside her.
“The Sanguinas have everything to do with it, Emma,” Jade said in a quiet voice, her gaze snapping nervously between Landon and Jachin as the two men exchanged a look.
Before anyone could say a word, Jade continued, speaking at a rapid pace. “After Landon freed us, we were few in number compared to the vampires and the werewolves. We barely kept it together, trying to survive while hiding from the vampires who ravaged the city each night. Then I met Roland.” Patting Roland’s shoulder, she plunged on. “With his background in chemistry, he helped us devise a plan that would make the humans’ blood unpalatable for vampires, therefore freeing the humans from the vampires’ vengeance.”
Jachin snarled and slammed his fist on the table, sending a hairline crack all the way across the wood’s surface. “You tried to wipe out my race!”
Emma glanced around the pub, thankful the patrons were so into the game that no one noticed Jachin’s outburst.
“I told you the Lupreda weren’t responsible.” Landon cut his gaze over to Jachin. His casual comment belied the tension that had vaulted within him. Emma knew he wasn’t as calm as he let on, because Kaitlyn clasped her mate’s left hand and Caine’s hold on her shoulder had tightened.
Roland shook his head, seemingly unfazed by Jachin’s anger and oblivious to Landon’s reaction. “We had to take drastic measures. Too many innocent humans were dying while the Sanguinas’ numbers were inching upward.”
“Many of us were moving toward peace.” Jachin’s low tone held a defensive edge.
“But the majority of the Sanguinas weren’t and humans were still being slaughtered. How many people had to die before the vampires realized this wasn’t the way? How long would it have gone on?” Roland countered. “Our goal was to slow down the Sanguinas, not destroy them. But your race was stubborn and many vampires succumbed to the effects of the tainted blood before the clan finally withdrew from human society. When you came along ten years ago, we realized our ultimate goal might finally be accomplished.”
“What goal was that?” Jachin bit out, his temper simmering.
Sympathy filled Roland’s gaze. “You were outcast, Jachin. You were barely hanging on, and we saw an opportunity. It was risky, yes. You could’ve killed me when I purposefully put myself in your path so you’d attack me. But it was the only way I figured that you would accept my offer to provide the blood you needed—if you thought the only reason I came up with the idea of a partnership was because I was desperate and didn’t want to die.”
“You didn’t make it easy for me.”
Roland snorted at Jachin’s surly tone. “I knew that whatever I said or did, you’d take the opposite stance. You hated humans that much. If I simply gave you the blood, you’d throw it aside out of distrust. But if you had to work hard for it…” He trailed off and his eyebrows elevated. “The same was true for your belief in the prophecy. My comments to dissuade you from believing were because I knew you’d only dig your heels in deeper, holding on to your prophecy’s promise even more.”
“Don’t try to bullshit me, Roac—Roland. You never gave a damn about the prophecy.”
Roland’s shrug was unapologetic. “Whether the prophecy was true or not didn’t matter to us in the beginning, but your belief in it did. Every time you spoke of it, I heard ‘desire for peace’ in your voice, saw it in your eyes. That’s ultimately what the Velius sought. Peace. And that’s the reason I helped them treat the water system to turn the humans’ blood poisonous to vampires all those years ago.”
“You had no way of knowing that things would unfold the way they did—that Ariel would write a fictional book about vampires, that Jachin would discover Ariel’s blood was pure or that he’d want to take her for his mate and become the new leader of the Sanguinas.” Landon sliced his hand through the air between Jachi
n and him. “And there’s no way in hell you’d know that he’d forge a truce with me.”
“That’s true,” Jade jumped in with a nod. “But Jachin followed his own heart and did what he felt was right and that included his interactions with you. As far as we were concerned, the Lupreda weren’t a threat to the human population. Only the vampires were.”
“You had to hate us.” Suspicion laced Landon’s comment.
Jade shook her head. “No, I didn’t, because you freed us, Landon.” Sighing, she continued. “But Malac never could let go of his hatred. We splintered off in our beliefs a long time ago. The only reason he stayed in check for as long as he did was the fact we manufactured the pills and he didn’t know how to replicate them. If he went after the vampires or the werewolves, we would have cut him off from his pill supply. He would’ve been exposed and very easy to hunt down.”
“We’ve had the upper hand with him all these years, until recently.” Roland curled his lip in disgust. “Malac had always had underworld dealings with the Mafia, but his connections grew stronger and he formed his own team of scientists. A few months ago, he stole my formula.” The man’s gaze locked on Jachin. “The attack in my house—on me—was real, Jachin. The only difference was that I realized it was probably in your best interest to let you think I was gone. You’d eventually discover Ariel’s generation didn’t have tainted blood. We’d stopped treating the water fairly early on, but ironically the older humans’ blood stayed poisoned, while the younger ones’ blood seemed to be able to adapt and resist the treatment, eventually eradicating its effects on their blood. I knew your goals for peace would set you on the right path from there.”
At the look of disbelief in Jachin’s eyes, Roland snorted. “It was all over the news that Ariel Swanson who’d written a book about vampires had been kidnapped. I knew how obsessed you were. I was fairly certain you were responsible.”
“Malac was aware of your belief in the prophecy, too, Jachin,” Jade said. “And when you kidnapped Ariel, the prophecy appeared to be coming true. That’s when he broke into Roland’s home. He wanted that formula and his freedom from us, so he could inflict as much damage as possible to both the Sanguinas and the Lupreda without any repercussions.”
“He wants an all-out war, not just skulking-behind-the-scenes-wrecking-havoc scenarios.” Emma finally broke her silence.
When Jade stared at her in shock, Emma quickly told her of the plans Malac had for the future of the Velius—at least how he saw it.
Jade’s forehead pinched with fury. “He was going to take your eggs?”
Emma nodded. “Malac’s insane. He has to be stopped.” Turning to Roland, she conveyed the rest of what she knew. “He has your sister, Margaret, and he’s keeping her a prisoner to blackmail me into cooperating with his plans. The only reason I agreed to come and meet you tonight was because Mary said I could trust you. Tell us where Malac’s place is so we can get my aunt out of there.”
Roland shook his head. “We don’t know where he is. He’s always kept himself well hidden.”
Emma’s brow furrowed in frustration. “I was wounded and the snow covering everything kept me from seeing landmarks the way I might’ve when Hawkeye helped me escape the facility, but…he should know. If we can contact Hawkeye, he’ll tell us how to find Malac.”
Roland’s lips thinned. “We tried a trace, but Hawkeye called us from a pay phone. He doesn’t trust us. Why do you think he brought you to the Lupreda instead of us?”
Emma’s gaze narrowed. “Why doesn’t he trust you?”
“Because we let Malac take him when he splintered off from us all those years ago. Hawkeye’s never forgiven us,” Roland said with a sigh.
“Then why did he bother to call you at all?”
“He called to let us know that the Sanguinas and the Lupreda were with you and that they had helped you. He said if we believed in the prophecy at all, now might be a good time to finally reveal ourselves,” Roland grunted, then mumbled, “Damned arrogant panther.”
“You didn’t come tonight because you wanted to be with us, Emma? To be with your pride?” Jade had been quiet through Emma and Roland’s exchange. Emma shifted her attention to the female panther. Disillusionment filled the woman’s expression. Her green eyes glistened with unshed tears, yanking on Emma’s conscience.
“I—I’m here about my aunt.” Emma straightened her shoulders and Caine’s hold tightened on her. “She’s my priority right now. How can you two sit there so casually when her life is in danger?” Her gaze jerked to Roland. “She’s your sister, for God’s sake!”
“Aw, man!” Several men in the bar began yelling at the referee on TV, who apparently had the nerve to make a bad call.
Pain and sorrow reflected in Roland’s eyes when he turned them back to her from watching the fans. “I am worried. I got a call from Malac earlier today. He assumed Hawkeye brought you back to us. Malac wants to trade my sister for you—manipulative sonofabitch! He won’t let anything happen to her or his advantage is lost.”
Emma’s chest tightened and her breathing came in pants. “Aunt Mary is not some bargaining chip to be shuffled back and forth. She’s a human being with a frail heart, arthritis and—”
“And she gave up her life so you could have one!” Roland’s harsh words cut her off, notching her guilt up considerably. “An hour ago, I got a whispered call from a female doctor who’s in Malac’s facility. Unfortunately, I couldn’t trace the call because she hung up too quickly, but she wanted me to know she’s been slipping Mary the meds she needs. I’m worried about my sister, too, Emma, but do you really think, after giving up twenty-plus years of her life for you, that she’d want you to walk right into some trap that Malac has set without careful planning? You know as well as I do that he’s not going to give my sister up—you said so yourself, she’s his only leverage with you. He’s planning something. I guarantee it. With his own group of panthers and his Mafia people, he outnumbers us at least five to one.”
“Not anymore, he doesn’t,” Caine said.
Emma glanced up at Caine, to see his sharp and ruthless gaze locked on Roland.
Were the Lupreda offering their help? She jerked her attention to the Alpha, who placed his hand on the table and leaned forward. “You’ve got our support. When and where does Malac want to make the exchange?”
“Tomorrow night on the west side of town. He said he’d call with the specifics tomorrow morning,” Jade said.
“He would pick tomorrow,” Caine snarled.
“What’s wrong with tomorrow?” Emma asked. The sooner the better as far as she was concerned.
“It’s the first night of the full moon, Emma,” Kaitlyn supplied with a concerned look at Landon.
“The moon’s pull will force the Lupreda to their wolf forms tomorrow night. We won’t be able to shift to our Musk forms to use to our advantage at all,” Caine gritted out, his face turning dark.
“But Malac doesn’t know I’m with the Lupreda. He thinks I’m with Jade,” Emma argued.
“He knows I won’t give up looking for you. It’s the perfect time to make an exchange. He expects me to stay close to home while I’m bound to my wolf form,” Caine said.
“The bastard definitely has something planned,” Jachin cut in. “The Sanguinas will offer their support, as well. There’s enough distrust between our races as it is. This prowling menace needs to be eliminated.”
“We don’t want to go to war with our own kind,” Jade argued, sadness making her voice quaver. “There are so few of us as it is. Many of the Velius are just confused, unsure who to follow.”
Emma’s heart wrenched for the panthers. They seemed so divided and torn by Malac’s vengeful aspirations. “Malac won’t stop until he’s destroyed everyone involved, including you.”
When Jade’s eyes widened and she began to shake her head in denial, Emma nodded. “It’s true. He told me he planned to rule the Velius. All Velius. No matter what it took.” Nibbling her bottom
lip, she thought about how things might unfold tomorrow evening. “There might be a way. During our meeting with Malac—”
“He doesn’t intend for it to be a sit-down discussion, Emma,” Caine warned.
She nodded to acknowledge Caine’s comment, then returned her focus on Jade. “If, during the battle with Malac, we can get to him and take him down, the others may then follow your lead instead.”
“My lead?” Jade laughed, her green eyes glinting in the dim light, full of amusement.
The bar crowd suddenly uproared. The game was almost over. Some yelled at the referee, while others cheered him on.
“Emma, you’re our leader,” the Velius woman continued. “You and Hawkeye can shift at will. That gives you the highest rank, the most respect and the most responsibility for our panther pride. You two are our leaders. We’ve waited a long time for you. Now that you’re back with us, you can convince Hawkeye to rally the panthers under Malac to his lead. He can help bring our divided pride back together by taking his rightful place at your side.”
“But you’ve led the panthers just fine all these years,” Emma insisted, while twinges of panic began to swell in her chest. This is wrong. I’m no leader.
Jade shook her head. “I’m not as respected as you might think or I wouldn’t have lost some panthers to Malac. Don’t you understand? Your ‘pure-blood’ leadership is needed. You and Hawkeye are the key to not only merging our groups, but also to helping us build a ‘pure’ pride of panthers.”
With each word that slipped from Jade’s lips, Caine’s fingers cinched tighter and tighter on Emma’s shoulder. He wasn’t hurting her, but the tense pressure was there. Emma glanced at him. He’d lost some of the natural color in his face and his eyes held a stormy, tortured expression.
“It all comes down to the prophecy,” Jachin murmured, drawing Emma’s attention. The vampire’s deep blue gaze was locked on Roland and Jade. “Before I left, Ariel reminded me that it involved others.”
Scions: Revelation Page 17