Destiny of Blood (Love of a Shifter Book 4)

by Bryce Evans

  Letting this man think he was better than her family wasn’t going to happen, though. Her family had more money than they knew what to do with—they didn’t flaunt it, but they were rich. The whole pack was; even she could be considered wealthy. She didn’t spend too much money on frivolous things, except maybe clothes and shoes, but she looked around and always got those at a good price. She was known for being the ‘saver’ in her family; they teased her about it sometimes, saying that she probably had the first dollar she’d ever made. If she was going to be honest, she did—it was in her treasure chest, where she kept everything that was important to her.

  “Mr. Prescott, now that everyone is here, why don’t you tell us what you know about your daughter’s disappearance,” Jonas suggested. Pelton Miller walked up to the whiteboard and waited for Prescott to start.

  Prescott cleared his throat before he began, “My daughter left last night to come here to the lodge. She had her bags in the car, and she spoke to the guard at the front gate to our home as she went out. Then the next morning, I got a call from one of the guards on the changing shift, who saw her car on the side of the road with the door wide open. The police have been called, but nothing, not even her purse, was taken. I knew this wasn’t a robbery; someone took my girl. I haven’t received any ransom note. You have to find my daughter. She’s all I’ve got.”

  Lilly could tell something was missing from his story. He was either hiding something or outright lying. She was great when it came to catching people’s lies, and she knew something was off with Mr. Kingston Prescott. She needed to find out what.

  Dammit, why did the man have to get choked up? Now she couldn’t hate him; she had to help him. Lilly shook her head, mad at herself for judging people too quickly. She didn’t even know this man, and until she had more information, she had to give him the benefit of doubt.

  “Where is her car located now?” Jonas asked.

  “It’s been towed here. I made sure nobody touched it. Mr. Wilder put it in one of the garages for safe-keeping.” Kingston answered. “Something isn’t right about this. I tried a locater spell, but I didn’t get very far. I can do another one so you can see what happened.”

  Jansen Vega got up and went to the front of the room. “Do you have some of her hair?” Kingston pulled out a plastic bag with hair in it, and Jansen turned toward his mate Star and asked her to get the kit. Star, Jansen, and Bates had been mated only a few days ago. Star was part of the Powerful Three. The name made them sound like a bunch of new superheroes straight from a comic book, but they weren’t really like that. The Three weren’t shifters or vampires, but powerful beings who were meant to bring peace to all supernaturals. They had powers already, but it was said that as they practiced, more powers would come to them.

  Unfortunately, they needed to keep who they actually were a secret, so others didn’t try to capture them and make them use their powers for evil instead of good. River, Star, and Sky were siblings, but they had been hidden from each other at an early age and then taken to different orphanages in order to keep them safe.

  Someway, somehow Star had managed to find them both, and now they were inseparable. Except that Sky and Sullivan Grayson, his mate, had gone to visit Sullivan’s grandmother. They were expected to return in a few days, and Sindrid had sent some of his guards with them, but Lilly could already see the stress that their brother being away was causing his siblings. Star slammed the bag down on the table, and Ash and her mates skittered away like a bomb was about to go off.

  “Baby please, you know what I have in there,” Jansen protested.

  “Then get your own damn bag. I’m not your slave,” Star spat back at him, then walked over and sat down at a table by herself. Banks went over and pulled her onto his lap, then bit down into her shoulder, which seemed to calm her down. He didn’t break the skin, but Lilly could see the stress leave Star’s body as she leaned back into him.

  “I’m sorry,” Star muttered to her mate, who smiled and nodded at her. Star needed her family around her at all times, or at least to know they were safe. River had told Lilly that she’d spoken to her brother already two times, asking when they were coming home. She figured that his trip would most likely be cut short, because from what his sister said, Sky was ready to come home too. Apparently he was also having separation anxiety.

  Jansen pulled out the ingredients he needed, took some of Emerson Prescott’s hair out of the plastic bag, and then started chanting. Everyone seemed to move closer as a picture started to appear in the air.

  “That’s Emerson.” Kingston Prescott pointed toward his daughter, his pain evident on his face. Emerson was beautiful woman, with long brown hair and big brown eyes, and boy was she stacked. She had a ton of curves. She watched as Nash moved in closer to the magical projection. Hmm, she’d have to ask him about that. She’d never seen her cousin act that way toward any female before.

  They watched as a woman waved her hands in front of Emerson’s car. When she stopped, the lady approached the passenger-side window and bent down as if to talk her, then brought a gun up and shot her. One man quickly jumped out of the van, rushed over and pulled Emerson out of her car, then put her inside the van. He then got into Emerson’s car and drove it over to the side of the road before getting out. She noticed he was wearing gloves and left her door open. The woman and the man got in the van, which didn’t have a tag on it, and left. She was sure the van had probably been stolen and left on the side of the road somewhere after they were done.

  The picture started fading away. “That shouldn’t have happened. It should’ve shown her current location, shouldn’t it?” Jonas asked.

  “Unless there’s strong magic concealing her.” Kingston shook his head then lowered it. She could tell that this wasn’t good, and Emerson’s father knew it.

  “Okay, suggestions anyone?” Jonas asked the group.

  Joseph raised his hand. “Could this be a random kidnapping, where your daughter was taken for money or for revenge?”

  “I haven’t received any calls, and I get the feeling it’s something else. I have no clue who would take Emerson; she was such a sweet young lady and everyone liked her. I just don’t know.”

  Joseph nodded. At the moment nobody knew who’d taken her or what was going on, but with all the kidnappings and the information they already had, Lilly was inclined to believe that Emerson had been taken for her blood.

  “I have a possible location where they might be taking people, which we should take a look at,” Sindrid offered.

  “How did you…” Jonas started to ask as Sindrid explained further.

  “I received information that there's a lab in Rodmire, Vermont, that’s being heavily guarded by shifters and magic. This intelligence comes from a very reliable source.”

  “How do you know this information is good?” Kingston Prescott asked.

  Sindrid just smiled.

  “We’ll send the Unit in to check it out and see what we’re dealing with. Jansen, Bates, Nash, Ash, Pelton, Larson, Powers and myself will be going to see what we can find out about this location,” Jonas ordered.

  “I’ll be going on this one too.” Sindrid framed it as a statement, leaving no doubt about his plans.

  Jonas walked up to him and muttered, “Can we speak alone?”

  She watched as Jonas and Sindrid walked out of the room. She wanted to go with him, but she knew Jonas was mad and she needed to let them deal with this.

  She could feel in her chest that something bad was going to happen. What if the bad guys were expecting them, and got ahold of Sindrid? The vampire king would be considered something special, and they’d do all kinds of tests on him. No. She couldn’t let him go.

  She didn’t want to say anything now, because it wouldn’t be right confronting him here in front of everyone. Did even she have the right to open her mouth and say, ‘Please don’t go?’

  Sindrid and Jonas walked back in the room, but Jonas looked mad. She knew right then that Si
ndrid had gotten his way. How could she tell him not to go?

  *****

  Emerson tried to get her eyes to open but they only flickered briefly and then shut again. Her body felt like a lead pipe had been used on it; pain like she’d never felt before screamed through her body. She tried to move her arm, but nothing seemed to be working, and the motion only brought on more pain. She could feel something sticking into her arm, but she didn’t know what it was.

  She inhaled, trying to figure out where she was, but the only smell in the room was a chemical one. At first she thought she was in the hospital, but she knew that smell, and this wasn’t it. The times she’d been to one, the scent had been tinged with hope, and this smelled more like someone was trying to cover up the odor of death.

  Dear God, was she in the morgue? Had she woken up in the morgue, among all the dead people? What-ifs plagued her mind as she kept trying to open her eyes. The she realized that maybe she shouldn’t open them; maybe she should play dead, and they’d think she was. Or maybe she’d been kidnapped, and they were keeping her drugged so they could call her father and ask for ransom. Little did they know that wouldn’t help them, because her father had disowned her and he didn’t want her back. Although, he might pay anyway, because it would embarrass him too much if people in their community found out he’d just left her. None of the scenarios she pictured seem to quite fit, though.

  There were lots of stories out there about people who had been in terrible accidents and died in the hospital, then woke up hours later in the morgue. Maybe that was what was going on. She didn’t remember being in an accident, but if she’d died and came back, then she was most likely in the morgue. That sounded logical to her, she just needed to open her eyes and find out.

  Gathering all the strength she had, Emerson gritted her teeth and pried her eyelids open. What she saw made her sick. Dear God. She wasn’t in the morgue, she was in some kind of freaking nightmare.

  Opening her eyes further, she looked to the side and saw about twenty beds with people lying on them, their blood being drained from them with needles and tubes. Some were awake, but like her seemed too weak to move. She could see the tears that fell from their eyes as their gazes met hers.

  She tried to speak, but she was too weak to form words. Do the protection spell, she thought. Then gather some strength and get them help. She was angry at herself for not thinking of that sooner. She was a witch, dammit, and a very good one.

  Emerson started chanting, but as soon as she did the room’s lights dimmed, and she knew she was in deep shit. The room was protected from using magic. She closed her eyes, the tears finally breaking free. The shifter girl she was looking at started crying, too. She was young—even younger then Emerson—and her life was going to be snuffed out just the same. Soon all their blood would be drained from their bodies.

  Once they drained all of their blood they’d probably put them in an incinerator and burn their bodies to get rid of the evidence. Her eyes became harder to keep open. Gradually they started to close, and she fell back to sleep.

  Chapter 13

  As soon as they entered the room, Sindrid could tell she was upset about something. He hadn’t done anything that he knew of, but he’d never been mated before or cared what a woman thought. This was different—Lilly was different. She was his mate, and what got her upset got him upset.

  “What’s wrong? I could feel that you were upset about something downstairs,” Sindrid asked.

  “Why do you have to go? Why can’t you send people in your place? Gabriel needs you here.” Sindrid watched her pace in front of him. This was new.

  Was she worried about him? She hadn’t told her sister-in-law not to go, so why him? “Lilly, why would you ask me to stay? I’ve done this type of work before, many times, in fact.”

  “I know but, but Gabriel is under your protection and he needs for you to stay. You know word has gotten out about him being here and you’re the strongest of us, so you need to stay here. Just in case.”

  Smiling, he crossed the room and stopped in front of her. “Are you afraid for me?” Sindrid gently touched the side of her face.

  “Yes. Yes I am. Something is telling me to keep you here; that you of all people shouldn’t go. If they got ahold of your blood, it would be terrible, don’t you see that? You’re the king of vampires.”

  “Lilly, my love.” He bent down, kissing the side of her cheek. “Nothing will get me. I’ve got things up my sleeve that nobody has ever seen. Plus, if you think that I can’t take care of myself, then we have a problem, baby.”

  “I know you can, but what if they have something we don’t know about, and they get to you somehow? I can’t lose you now.” Lilly drew back from him and started pacing again. He could tell the mating pull was making her antsy and out of control, but this mission was very important. If he could take care of this, then maybe they could all relax and not be constantly looking over their shoulders for someone trying to take her or Gabriel.

  He would kill anyone who tried to take her. She belonged to him, just like Gabriel did. They were his family now, and nobody, including his own people, would hurt them. She didn’t need to see what he could do; he knew when he faced the ones who’d killed his best friend and his friend’s mate he would kill them, but he first needed to calm Lilly down. If she was worried, Gabriel would pick up on it.

  “No, baby, you have no clue what I can do, but I’m going. They’ll need my help, and I don’t plan on going alone, sweetheart. Before I’m finished they’ll know I’ve been there. A message will be sent to the ones who’ve done this. You can’t expect me not to go, Lilly. They killed my best friend and his mate, and now they’re after his son. I won’t stand by while my family are being hunted. It’s not who I am.”

  Lilly nodded reluctantly. She did understand, but her heart was breaking. She wanted him, and he acted like he wanted her, but now he would be going away, and then what? Yes, she knew she was being selfish, but nothing ever seemed to work out for her.

  “I’ll need for you to watch over Gabriel and help him, because he’ll want to know why I’ve left. If he’s anything like his father he’ll try and figure it out, but if you’re calm, then he will be too. Please understand why I have to go.”

  “I do, but I’m scared. There, I said it. I’m scared of losing you.” He watched as her insecurities came forward and she admitted them to him. This was an improvement, and he planned on keeping it going.

  “Oh, my sweet girl. I think I love you even more now. Nobody has ever cared about me like you. If this wasn’t so important I’d definitely agree with you, but this is personal and I can’t let it go. I promise you that I will return to you.”

  He could see the surprise on her face at his mention of love, but she quickly recovered. “I’m going to hold you to that,” she said.

  “How long before you leave?”

  “A few hours. We still have some time. I want to talk to Gabriel and tell him that he isn’t to go anywhere without Joseph, but first I need to tend to my mate, and reassure her that I’ll be home soon.” Sindrid picked her up and carried her into his bedroom.

  Laughing, Lilly wrapped her legs around Sindrid’s waist and kissed him while he carried her off.

  *****

  Lilly was too tired to do anything but lay there in Sindrid’s bed. The man did have moves up his sleeve that hopefully nobody else had ever seen. Dear God, that man was great at everything. “Why are you so good at that?” Lilly asked Sindrid as he licked the inside of her thighs. “Is it because you’ve had so much practice at it?” She watched as he started crawling up her body.

  “Woman, you need to stop asking questions you don’t want the answers to,” Sindrid responded, then pushed her back and made her forget the question she was going to ask.

  “You kiss so good,” Lilly sighed when she pulled away to catch her breath.

  “You do too, and I love kissing you, so shush, woman. I don’t have a lot of time here.” Sindrid went back
to kissing her then pulled a condom from the drawer and put it on. She could tell he was ready for her and she was sure ready for him.

  Chapter 14

  Lilly waved good-bye as Sindrid and the others left in the huge tour bus. He’d kissed her like there was no tomorrow before he got on it, in front of everyone, letting them know that she was his. Everyone had cheered and egged them on, including her brothers—up until their own mate, Ashland Wilder, stepped on their feet. Then she looked at them and asked why they didn’t kiss her like that.

  “Oh baby, we don’t want to start the woods on fire.” Larken answered, then picked Ash up and kissed her. His arms wrapped around her waist, and then he grabbed her butt and pulled her closer to him, making her moan.

  “Please, people. There are kids standing on the porch watching you,” Nash grunted out, then turned around and got on the bus. Lilly could tell something was bothering her cousin, but she didn’t have time to find out what it was. It would have to wait until he got back. She watched as Sindrid winked at her and then got on the bus too. Gazing up at the giant tour bus made her want to laugh. It wasn’t the first one she’d seen, but it just made her smile, thinking that they’d probably all be on there playing cards to pass the time.

  They didn’t really want the attention the bus would probably attract, but sadly it was the best option they had available. However, there were three vehicles following them. They were going to split up into them at the hotel and then search out the facility. Jonas said people would think they were only tourists, which made sense. They were all in blue jeans and t-shirts, so even if someone took a good look at them they’d think they were just passing through.

  She walked back into the lodge and found her Alpha, her brother Larken, waiting for her.