by Jen L. Grey
"Of course." Hopefully, the more I did this, the less uncomfortable I would feel. "This is integral for Mason and me to learn what the needs of each city and region are. That way we can help with resources and our own personal time."
"And we appreciate each and every one of you making time for us, especially with our short notice." Mason kept his arm around my shoulders as he brushed his fingertips on my arm and focused on all of the players at the table.
"To have both a king and queen as supportive as you appear to be would help with our witch and vampire population around here." Conrad picked up his glass of red wine and took a large sip.
"What do you mean?" I hadn't realized it had gotten bad here.
"Over the past ten years, more and more have moved here." Jaxon shook his head as he scanned the drink menu. "They are getting braver too. Something is going to have to give."
"Do you guys have an idea why?" Mason frowned and with his free hand, he picked up his glass of water.
"We're assuming that it's because the king wasn't visiting and keeping everything in check." Xavier frowned as he pulled out his phone and scanned a message. "Shit." He jumped to his feet and took a ragged breath. "I've got to go. A group of vampires is attacking my pack as we speak."
I'd been thinking the vampire prince was going to pop up here like he had back in NYC. I hadn't expected this.
Chapter Fourteen
"We need to hurry." I jumped to my feet and raced to the door. "I'm going to grab Kassie, and then we’ll go." We needed to get to his pack and fast.
"Wait ... you're coming with us?" Xavier paused for a moment and stared at me. "You need to stay here and be safe."
"Good luck with that," Mason grumbled as he caught up to me.
"I'll go get a car. Make sure you stay with Kassie and meet me out front." Mona ran off.
Pushing my legs as fast as they'd go in my high heels, I found Kassie with Ella and Louis heading in our direction. Louis had lipstick smeared all over his face.
"We have to go now." I tried to calm my breathing, but there was no telling what kind of massacre Xavier's pack was facing. "The vampires are attacking a pack."
"Shit. Is Mona getting the Suburban?" Kassie's body tensed.
"Yeah, let's go." We caught up to Mason and the others in the lobby.
"The car's out front." Mason nodded toward the white SUV that pulled around to the doors. He grabbed my hand, and we took off in that direction.
There was a Tahoe parked right in front of the SUV, and we watched the three alphas and their wives pile in. Within seconds, our hazards were on, and we were following them to the outskirts of Chicago.
Have you checked on Alec? This night was a complete disaster. This couldn't be a good omen.
Mason pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Hey, man. Where are you?" There was silence for a minute. "Stay there, and don't leave. We are heading to Xavier's pack. The vampires are attacking them." Another slight pause, and Mason nodded. "All right. See you soon." He hit the red END button and placed the phone back in his pocket.
"Is he okay?" Ella's voice sounded small, coming from the back.
"He's fine, and the security guard is with him." Mason leaned over and placed his hand on my thigh. "It was inevitable. I tried to prevent this from happening, but it obviously didn't work."
"Don't make her feel worse than she already does." Louis sighed and shook his head. "We should be celebrating your engagement and the fact that Ella and I found each other, not mourning over some guy who loved her."
Even though I had begun to like Louis, when he said things like that, he sounded like a spoiled royal. Having him hang out with us might have been the best thing for him. And the reality was with Ella being his mate, he would find himself brought back down to Earth faster than anything I could ever do.
"This isn't all about us, you know?" Ella turned her head toward him and punched his arm. "Alec is like a brother to me. He's a fellow pack member and my friend. So get over yourself, and mope to someone who cares."
"Right now, we need to have our heads in the game." Mona glanced back as Kassie focused on keeping up with the car in front of us. "Alec is safe, so we can stop worrying about him for the moment."
She was right. "We need to focus on saving these pack members. We kill as many vampires as possible."
"Got it." Ella nodded as she watched the trees fly past the window.
We were all on edge, and there was no telling what we were up against. All I knew was that we couldn't be distracted.
Conrad suddenly turned onto a gravel road and picked up even more speed. Within seconds, a large, sprawling neighborhood appeared, containing upper-middle-income houses.
Vampires and wolves were out in the yards and on the streets, fighting each other, and it was utter chaos. Conrad swerved and hit three vampires before he slammed on his brakes. The four doors flew open, and the group jumped into the fight immediately.
Just as I reached to open the door, Mona turned around and grabbed my hand. "No running off by yourself. Either Kassie, me, or Mason need to be with you the entire time."
"Are you being serious?" People were out here dying. "We've got to help them the best way possible."
"And that includes keeping you alive and us protecting the Queen," Kassie growled out. "If you do one stupid thing, I'll personally haul your ass back to the hotel."
Not bothering to respond, I opened the door and jumped out. Yes, all three of them loved me and had good intentions. Despite that, I was an alpha and would not be told what to do when my people’s lives were at stake.
Conrad ran and attacked a vampire who was strangling a young child.
It was one thing to attack me, but to go after young, innocent kids was an entirely different thing. I didn’t know why it should have surprised me though.
Ella climbed out of the vehicle right behind me. Her high heels were getting in her way though. "Ugh." She landed on her feet, and when Louis crawled out beside her, she leaned on him. "Stupid shoes." She took them off and hurled them at a vampire twenty feet away who was attacking an older woman.
The spiked heel pierced his back right where his heart was with a thwack, and he fell, combusting into flames.
"Hot damn." Ella laughed. "I totally meant to do that."
A loud whimper filled the air as Trina fell to the ground with a sickening crack.
"It's time," I called my wolf and began the transformation.
I'm not leaving your side, Mason growled as he called on his wolf as well.
Soon, we were running into the fight with the others chasing right behind us.
A vampire had Trina in a headlock and looked like he was about to break her neck.
I jumped in the air, aiming for his neck. My teeth sunk in, causing the overly sweet taste of vampire blood to fill my mouth. I wanted to gag but focused on jerking my head and ripping out his throat.
As his body crumbled and turned into ash, Trina slowly climbed to her feet. Her eyes met mine, and she nodded. "Thank you, My Queen."
I nodded my head and took off in search of someone else who might need help.
A familiar growl echoed in my ear, and I turned to watch Mason take down another vampire who had been attacking an older man.
This was getting out of hand. I had to find the prince and end this, once and for all. I turned slowly and sniffed the air, looking for something more than the sweet smell of a non-royal bloodsucker. The overly rich scent of the air mixed with the excessively sweet aftertaste of their blood made my stomach roil. If I’m the only one who can smell Nicholas, it has to be magic. That was the only thing that made sense.
Do not go off without me if you smell him. Concern filled Mason’s voice.
Something slammed into my side hard, pushing me to the ground. My shoulder hit the grass so hard that I made an indentation in the ground and whimpered.
"I thought you might be more of a challenge than this." Kurt, the vampire who had fought Mason in the gym over t
wo months ago, had targeted me.
Run. Mason's voice rang in my ears. I turned to find three vampires fighting him, and he was stuck.
I'm on my way. Ella's voice caught me by surprise.
Even though we were officially pack members, we'd only had a chance to speak like this once before; since we could only do so in wolf form. Mate bonds were the only exception to the rule. No, Mason needs help. He has three on him. I’ll be fine.
"Ever since I smelled you that night and realized who you were, I haven't been able to get you out of my head." Kurt’s pupils had enlarged, turning his eyes darker than the last time I’d seen him. His hair was slicked back into a man bun, and his slender frame was obviously an illusion. He was strong as hell.
He leaned over, lifting my wolf into the air. It reminded me of the way a parent lifted their child before throwing them up in the air, terrorizing them. I'd be damned if I let him know that he was affecting me in any way. I bared my teeth at him but also whimpered as if afraid. Egotistical men were the easiest to manipulate.
"Aw, did I hurt you?" He snickered like he had told some kind of joke. "This could all be over if you just cooperated a little."
I shook my head no but still played up my fear. This asshole had no clue that for the last twelve years, my guardians drilled self-defense into my head. They had taught me to be a badass bitch just like the two of them.
"Oh, so I still need to rough-house you a little more to drive the point home?" He smirked a scary-ass smile. He lifted me in the air as if he was going to throw me, so I prepared for it. When he moved to let go and throw me away from him, my teeth snagged onto his arm, shredding the skin over his wrist. I was able to offset my momentum when he let go of me, and I landed on all four legs.
He yelled in pain as he fell to the ground with a thud. He clutched his wrist to his chest and his eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at me. "I'm mildly impressed."
I'd hate to see how he would look at me if he had been truly astounded. If I had anything to do with it, he'd be dead before he could react. I growled at him again as his fresh blood coated the auburn fur around my mouth.
"Don't get too cocky." He spun around, kicking his foot out underneath me.
Dammit, I hadn't expected that. Surprisingly, I was able to prevent him from hurting my legs, but I still stumbled back some when he caught my chest. As soon as I steadied myself, I glanced at his neck, hoping to make him believe it was my target. Instead, I launched myself at his leg.
He blocked his neck which left his leg wide open. I sunk my teeth in as deep as they'd go, hitting bone, and held my breath as blood began to pour from his wound.
Soon, he slammed his arm hard into my ribs, causing my body to jerk to the right. Despite the pain, I didn't let go of my hold.
"Get off me." He reached down, grabbed my sides, and squeezed until I felt like I might explode.
I refused to let go even though I was getting to the point where it was becoming difficult to breathe any longer. I just had to hold on as long as possible.
“Argh.” Still applying pressure, he then moved his hands so they covered my snout, attempting to pull my teeth from his leg.
Between the pressure and the pain, my vision began to darken around the corners. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold on.
All too soon, the world began to swirl, and I loosened my grip on his leg.
He yanked me away, lifted me in the air once again, and dropped me hard on the ground.
A whimper escaped me; one of true pain. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stand this abuse and knew the consequences of passing out would be detrimental.
“Aw, how the mighty have fallen.” He snorted like it was some sort of sick joke.
In all fairness, it probably was. I took deep breaths, trying to get the oxygen flowing back into my body. I needed it desperately or I’d blackout right there.
I'm on my way. Mason linked with me, and within seconds, I saw his black wolf launch into the air and his jaws closed around Kurt's neck.
Is Ella all right? I scanned the area for Ella. It wasn't long before I found her fighting a woman with Louis by her side, his auburn coat, similar to my own, making him recognizable from where I stood.
Louis is with her. Mason managed to answer as he focused on Kurt.
Right when he was about to rip Kurt’s throat out, a vampire ran to them and wrapped his arm around Mason's neck. Not able to breathe any longer, Mason's jaw slackened, allowing Kurt to move away from him.
I had to help Mason now. I ran over and stood on my hind legs, but before I could knock Kurt over, something sharp dug into my side. I yelped as I spun around to face a woman who had to be at least six feet tall.
"I was told not to kill you, but they didn't mention anything about not hurting you." She pulled some kind of dagger out of my side and stabbed me once more. "Your blood smells delicious." She leaned over and stuck her tongue out like she was about to lick me.
Oh, hell no. I growled as I jerked away from her and the dagger, causing it to be pulled from my side, and then turned to face the female vampire. This bitch was going down.
“And you’re making it so much fun too.” She lifted the dagger to her mouth and licked some of my blood.
Yeah, that couldn’t be good. It was as if she could hear my thoughts, which wasn't possible.
“Now, you’re really screwed.” Her eyes turned the same auburn color as my fur. She disappeared from my vision, and all too soon, she had her arm around my neck.
Her teeth bit into my neck, and she began sucking so hard that I was losing blood too fast.
A loud bang rang through the air and she stumbled back, allowing the dagger to fall to the ground as she began to disintegrate. Before she turned to ash, I noticed that a bullet had hit the woman right between her eyes.
"Are you okay?" Kassie raced to me with a gun in her hand. "I found a stash of bullets dipped in wolf's blood. Figured those might do the trick." She raised the gun again, pointing it at another vampire.
I nodded my head, and that’s when my eyes landed on Xavier. Luckily, she hadn’t hit a main artery.
The alpha was flat on the ground, and a vampire was standing over him with a huge dagger in his hands.
“Elena, no,” Kassie yelled, but I’d already begun heading toward him.
He couldn't die.
I snarled as I stumbled over and launched myself toward his attacker’s body. She was pushed away from Xavier, but somehow, she managed to stay on her feet, and her angry eyes flickered to mine. "You're going to pay for that." The vampire ran toward me with the dagger high in the air.
As she extended her arm, her eyes landed on my back. Even if she was faking me out, I had to roll away. The blade buzzed in my direction, and I rolled over to my side to get out of the way. I got back on my feet as a loud whistle filled the air.
Every vampire who had been fighting, except for her, stopped and moved so fast they vanished from the area.
A smirk spread across her face, and she leaned toward me. “You’d better hurry back home. Things are about to go to shit.” Then she giggled before disappearing right in front of my eyes.
What the hell is going on? Ella's voice startled me.
I have no clue. It made me nervous that they had stopped mid-fight. That wasn't like them. They had most likely planned to bring us out here. Then, my heart seemed to stop in its tracks. We need to call Alec.
Could this have been a diversion to capture someone close to us? I hoped we hadn't walked into a trap.
Chapter Fifteen
As was Kassie’s habit, she had packed bags in the SUV for just such a situation as this. So once I shifted back to my human form and put on some clothes, I walked out of the bathroom and into Xavier's living room.
Mason and the others were all standing together. Trina sat on the couch, favoring her right side. The only two missing were Andie and Sienna. However, I'd seen them helping the injured outside the hall window as I passed by earlier.
When I walked into the room, everyone turned my direction. "Were you able to get ahold of Alec?"
Ella shook her head with glassy eyes. “No, they even had one of the workers check our suite. The security guard was knocked out, and the room was trashed. His cell phone was found in the middle of the floor.”
She and Mason were hurting. I could feel their anguish, and it tore me up. "Fine, we need to get back to the hotel and head straight to Columbia." My gut told me that the vampire prince was luring me back there though I had no fucking clue why.
“Why? Wouldn't he stay here?" Louis shook his head, but there was actual concern etched into his features, which proved he wasn't a complete spoiled-ass.
"Because Nicholas wants us there." Kassie’s forehead lined, and she huffed. "It makes no sense though."
I'd been treading lightly with Tommy since Kassie had such a huge rivalry with him, but that changed today. I stared straight into Kassie's eyes. "Call Tommy. Tell him to get our plane to Columbia as soon as possible. He's now going to be the official guard over Mason." The two women who were my guardians are amazing, but now Mason was a target too. I was naïve, hoping that it would never happen, but it was only a matter of time. If they hurt him, they hurt me. Of course taking his closest friend made sense, especially since he was easily accessible. I hope you're okay with that.
Yes, you're right. Hell, we probably need to have a guard for Ella and Louis as well. Mason's whole body was tense. He wants to declare war on my family.
I hadn't put that together yet, but it made sense. Columbia is where all of our closest friends and family were. The next battle would be at our home.
"I'll call Tommy now, tell him and the other guards to load up and meet us there." Kassie shook her head and snorted without humor. "This entire time, we've been worried about keeping the NYC house secure. We hadn't even realized they would attack in Columbia, of all places."
"Mona, call the pilot and the airport. We'll be there within an hour." I walked over to Trina and grimaced. "Are you feeling any better?"