The Van Wilden Chronicles Box Set Books 1-3

by Jessica Gleave

Oscar held up his hand, and they heard a deep male voice answer. “Pops?”

  “Hello, son.”

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gareth paced up and down the living room. “Why can’t we go get them? We know where the girls are? What are we standing around here for?”

  “Patience, Gareth. We can’t just go in there without a strategy. We need to plan our assault.”

  “I’ll say.” The deep voice made Gareth’s head snap around to see two tall vampires enter the living room. They must have been drenched in wolfsbane for him not to have sensed them.

  Gareth stood tall at six feet, but these two looked like giants.

  The one on the left look liked a younger version of Oscar. The Council Elder was ageless, but he still had an air radiating about him that he was indeed old. He stood a few inches taller than Gareth. He’d thought he’d seen him somewhere before.

  The one on the right was massive, at least a foot taller than the other at seven feet. Gareth had broad shoulders, but this guy was built like a professional wrestler—he had arms and legs the size of tree trunks. His dark hair was shaved close to his scalp. But what gave away they were Morgana’s brothers were their eyes.

  The Van Wilden eyes—dark, deep depths of chocolate brown.

  Their bronze skin tones were a darker shade than Morgana’s, though.

  “Sons.” Oscar stood to greet them, embracing them both.

  “Father,” the one on the left said.

  “Pops!” grinned the wrestler.

  Oscar wasn’t short either, but he was dwarfed by his two sons. They must have gotten their height from their mother.

  “Jonas, Hector.” Vivienne also stood sniffing.

  Gareth suddenly remembered where he’d seen the shorter one, at the mention of his name. Morgana had been FaceTiming her brother, Jonas, when they’d received their punishment, him for killing Randalf and Morgana for going off on her own without The Council’s permission.

  “We’re here to help rescue Morgana, Vivienne,” Jonas said quietly.

  Vivienne broke into sobs and rushed over, hugging them both at the same time.

  Jonas and Hector shared a look, patting her awkwardly on the back.

  Gareth didn’t know what the look was about, but he would ask about it later.

  Right now, he was intrigued by Morgana’s brothers.

  Were they friend or foe?

  He stood, feeling Alastor flanking him.

  “Ah, yes, sons, I’d like you to meet Morgana’s mate, Gareth, and another member of our coven, his friend, Alastor.”

  “I’ve heard great things about you both.” Jonas smiled, holding out his hand.

  Gareth took his outstretched hand, shaking it, trying not to grimace from his strength. Jonas withdrew his hand, placing his palms up. “Sorry, wasn’t trying to intimidate you. I forgot you’re human-turned.”

  “Yeah, especially after killing off old Randy.” Hector’s voice boomed as he slapped him heartily on the back, making Gareth jerk forward. Hector leaned over, grasping his arm and helping him back up. “Sorry, bro.” He turned to Alastor. “And you, Irish, taking down our sis.”

  “Aye.” Alastor watching them closely, his shoulders tensed.

  Jonas and Hector exchanged a look before bursting out laughing. “Come here, bro.” Hector engulfed Alastor into a bone-crushing hug. He placed Alastor back down on the floor. “Don’t feel so bad, Riza had it coming. Someone was bound to stake her eventually.” Oscar cleared his throat. “What, Pops? It’s true. I’m glad you ended up switching the stakes around. She can be a pain, but she’s still my sister.” He turned back to Alastor. “But you did good, Irish, you did good,” he continued, ruffling Alastor’s copper locks.

  Jonas gave him a sympathetic smile before holding his hand out to him. “I’m not as much of a hugger as my brother.”

  Alastor grinned and shook Jonas’ hand. “Aye, nice to meet ye.”

  Jonas looked toward Vivienne. “They’ve both been trained well.”

  Vivienne grinned, holding her chin high with a gleam in her eye as she pulled her two stepsons into another hug. They exchanged another look between them before relaxing into her hold.

  “How is Mariza?” Oscar asked quietly when they pulled back from her.

  “She’s settling in there now,” Jonas replied. “First week she screamed like a banshee and kept throwing herself up against the bars.”

  “I hope she’s not too bored in there.”

  “We give her books to read and movies to watch. I visit her once a week to keep her updated on the outside world.”

  “Good, good.” Oscar looked down at the glass of whiskey in his hands. “Once this mission is over, I’d like to go see her.”

  Jonas squeezed his father’s shoulder. “I’m sure she’d like that very much.”

  Oscar nodded.

  Throughout their conversation, Gareth glanced at Alastor and Vivienne, gauging their reactions. His best friend’s eyes were focused on the wall, his jaw clenched. He was hoping his evil creator of a bitch was suffering. Vivienne had her lemon-sucking face again.

  When the conversation ended, her face brightened and flashed a smile around, but it was her campaign-trail smile.

  But you also couldn’t mistake the sadness in Oscar’s voice when he spoke of his other daughter. Now was not a time to rehash their issues and hatred toward Mariza.

  And while it was nice to meet Morgana’s brothers, and to see them resolving some sort of family issue between them and Vivienne, this was wasting time. “Look, I hate to break up this family reunion, but can’t we do this after rescuing Morgana?”

  Jonas nodded. “Yes. We scouted out the scene before we got here.”

  “Why didn’t you get her, then?” Gareth thundered.

  “Because they have a fucking army, dude.” Hector stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

  “An army?” Oscar wiped his brow. “How many?”

  “About three hundred.”

  Gareth quickly did the math. They were going to be outnumbered forty to one. “We can take them.” He stood tall, his chest out, chin lifted.

  Hector chuckled. “I like your attitude. We’re good, but we’re not that good.”

  “I looked up Ragnorok’s creator, Angelique.” Jonas was looking down at his smartphone. “She was one of Dieter Dovkosky’s first creations.”

  Oscar sighed heavily.

  Gareth tossed the name Dovkosky around in his brain. Why did it sound so familiar? Then it hit him. “Dovkosky. They were the ones who started the war?”

  All three Van Wilden men turned to him with incredulous stares.

  “How do you know that?” Oscar asked.

  Gareth shrugged. “Randalf told me. He was trying to prove I wasn’t worthy of being an agent.”

  “Good thing you offed the arrogant bastard, then,” Hector said.

  “Shit.” Oscar rubbed his face. Now everyone turned to look at him with incredulous faces. Oscar rarely swore. “They’re trying to recreate the war.”

  “That would explain why Angelique created a vampire called Ragnorok,” said Jonas.

  “They are trying to take down The Council.” Oscar grimaced. “We need the others.”

  “Yeah, but wouldn’t that be playing right into this guy’s hand bringing them all out here?”

  Hector nodded.

  “My sons, who is it that won the war the first time?”

  “We did,” they both answered.

  “And we shall win again. No one takes my daughter, one of my coven members, kills my dog, and lives to see the day end.”

  “You had a dog?” Hector asked incredulously. “How come we didn’t get to have a dog growing up?”

  “If I recall correctly, our village didn’t have the necessary means to raise pets,” Jonas said dryly.

  “We should gather up the other Primus and ask them to come to our aid.” Oscar rose from his chair.

  The doorbell rang, causing Oscar to raise an eyebrow.<
br />
  Gareth realized he missed the sounds of Brutus’ bark and seeing him scramble over his large puppy feet to get to the door. Even Vivienne’s eyes were red and scratchy as she looked at his bed in the corner.

  Jonas rubbed the back of his neck. “Well, I was hoping you’d feel that way, Father, because I’ve already invited them.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  In the early hours of the morning, Morgana’s mind was still alert but trapped in her weakened body like a painful and bullet-ridden fleshy prison.

  How long had she been like this? Hours? Days? Had it reached a week yet? She was so tired. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head, her body ached from being upright for so long. But what would they do to her if she slept? From her slumped position, her head dangled at a precarious angle, her eyes roved over her body, and the rivers of blood were still trickling down her limbs.

  Really, there wasn’t much more they could do to her.

  Physically.

  Psychologically, they had other plans.

  A strange scent lifted Morgana’s head.

  She knew that smell.

  Sweet artificial strawberries.

  No. No. No. It felt like someone had taken hold of her heart and crushed it in their hands as she watched two vampires drag Ava’s lifeless body between them and strap her to the pole adjacent to hers.

  Morgana struggled against the chains, the silver digging into her burned flesh further, trying to get to her.

  She could handle the pain, the poisoning, the torture, and the taunts. Sure, she outwardly put on a tough bravado. But on the inside, seeing her friend in the same position as her, helpless to do anything about it, that nearly broke her.

  ***

  “Morgana,” Ava whispered.

  Morgana’s head remained slumped forward.

  “Listen to me, Morgana.”

  Morgana could barely lift her head. They had won.

  “Stay strong. They’re coming for us.”

  Morgana’s eyes shifted to look at her friend. “No. No one is coming for me.”

  “Yes, they are,” Ava hissed. “Listen…”

  Ava’s cry brought her out of her stupor.

  Ragnorok had her friend by the hair, forcing her chin up to face him.

  “You know, you really should listen to your friend here. Of course, they’re coming to rescue you. This whole ruse is designed for them to come here. And die.” He leaned closer to Ava. “You know you have quite the pretty mouth.” His lips hovered over hers as Ava squirmed.

  “Don’t you dare touch her,” Morgana gritted.

  Ragnorok sighed, leaning back. “But I’ve had enough of blonde lovers. You know the last blonde I fucked was your sister, Mariza.” He turned to Morgana.

  Her face contorted, and the taste of bile coated her tongue.

  “And look where that got me? Her stealing my plans on how I was going to kill you and using them for herself. Never mind. Didn’t she use to be lovers with Gareth? So, in reality, we have had each other’s sexual partners. What do they call it…” he tapped his chin, “… Oh yes, sloppy seconds?”

  Morgana gritted her teeth and strained against the silver chains, trying to ignore the searing burn in her skin. She pushed forward, gathering up the little strength she had left. They would not hurt her friend.

  The groaning of wood echoed all around them as she shifted forward a mere inch or less, but it was enough to garner Ragnorok’s attention.

  “How the fuck are you still able to move?” he cried, exasperated. “Gun!”

  Cedric ran up, aiming the gun at Morgana’s heart. His finger moved to the trigger, but Ragnorok slapped his hand out of the way, and the bullet flew past her into one of the humans behind her. A low groan was heard.

  “Idiot! I want her alive.”

  “But, boss—”

  “She has to die in front of her parents. They have to watch the life leave her eyes as I had to endure watching Angelique die,” Ragnorok cried in frustration, stomping up to Morgana’s pool. At least Ava wasn’t being harmed now. Ragnorok placed the gun up near her temple. “This is all your fault.”

  “Me?”

  “Shut it for once, will you?!” Ragnorok waved the gun in her face. “If you hadn’t killed Svetlana, this place wouldn’t be going to the shit. She ran this place with an iron fist.”

  Morgana glanced to her side. Her eyes locked with Ava’s widening eyes. They exchanged small smiles before looking away. Ragnorok’s snarl drew her attention back to him.

  “What’s this?” he pointed back and forth between them. “Why are you looking at each other like that?”

  Morgana’s smile stretched further. Maybe it was time to inflict a little psychological torture back on the Forest Clan leader.

  “As much as I’d like to take the credit for blondie’s demise… no offense, Ava.”

  “None taken,” said Ava.

  “It wasn’t me who killed her. Father did.”

  “The Primus killed her?” Ragnorok whispered, looking back and forth between them. Ava nodded.

  “No!” Ragnorok howled, falling to his knees, grasping his head in his hands. “She was the one who was supposed to kill the Primus.” Ragnorok’s chest heaved before he stood back up, his pained face was turning into a scowl. “This changes nothing. I’m going to enjoy watching you die. Even more so now. And to watch Oscar and Vivienne fall to their knees at your death. And when the Primus is weakened by his grief, then I’ll end him. The Daywalker’s grief will be a delicious bonus.”

  “And when I kill you, I’m going to dance in your ashes,” Morgana hissed.

  “Not likely.” Ragnorok aimed the gun at her stomach and fired once more.

  “Morgana!” Ava cried.

  “It’s fine, Ava.” Morgana slurred, the familiar blackness descending. There was some satisfaction in the knowledge they had to keep shooting her again and again to keep her down.

  ***

  The shrilling noise brought Morgana back to consciousness, and she lifted her head to find the source—Ava squirmed in her ropes, looking uncomfortable.

  “What’s that infernal racket?” Ragnorok snarled glancing between the two of them.

  He walked over to Ava. “It’s coming from you. What’s that?” He reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

  “Ah, you little minx. You tried to call for help, did you?”

  Ava raised an eyebrow. “How can I do that when my arms are tied?”

  Ragnorok huffed, looking at the screen, which stopped but started to ring again. “It says Dad. Well now, this is interesting.”

  “You should answer it. Otherwise, he’ll likely ping my phone for my whereabouts. Then he’ll come looking for me. I haven’t turned up to work today, which isn’t like me, and I won’t be at my apartment or Alastor’s. He might even send the police.”

  “Let them come.” Cedric piped up, “That’ll bring fresh blood. The others are starting to get old.”

  Ragnorok looked at his new second-in-command. “Are you from this town? No?” Cedric shook his head. “I forget where I got you from. No, the local human authorities in this place are on the unhealthy-looking side. So that means their blood is unlikely to be tasty. What we want is fresh, vibrant young humans, like these two delicious morsels we have here.” Ragnorok tapped the phone onto his open palm. “Though bringing the human authorities here, would likely bring The Council to me faster.”

  “Please,” Ava begged, “Just let me answer it.”

  “No, it seems more fun to let you sweat and suffer. Though human sweat does taint the taste of blood, especially with the wolfsbane on your skin.” Ragnorok stared at Ava. “Very well, I’ll allow it… just to prove to the vampire killer over here that I’m not the blood-thirsty monster she thinks I am.”

  Morgana scowled.

  Ragnorok held the phone up to Ava’s ear while it was still ringing.

  “You have to press the green phone on the scre
en,” Ava told him.

  Morgana burst into laughter, only stopping abruptly because the wounds in her torso hurt from the movement. Ragnorok glared at her before turning his attention back to the phone and pressing answer. “Like this?”

  Ava nodded.

  “Ava, honey, is that you?” a male voice on the other end said.

  “Hi, Dad.”

  “Where have you been all day? I’ve been calling you nonstop.”

  “Sorry, didn’t you get my email? I’m feeling under the weather. I think it might be the flu.”

  Ragnorok nodded in approval.

  Morgana wanted to shout to Ava to tell him they’d been kidnapped, but she didn’t want to put Ava’s father in jeopardy or risk revealing vampires.

  “No, I never received your email.”

  “Oh, I must have thought I sent it. My brain is a little fuzzy now.”

  “Do you need me to bring anything around for you?”

  “No, I don’t want you to catch it. I’m fine, anyway. Alastor is looking after me.”

  “Good to hear. Well, I hope you get better. I’m going to look into that old estate for any clues.”

  “No need,” Ava spoke quickly. “I already looked there. If you go out there, it will be a dead end.”

  Clever girl, warning her father away from there.

  “Are you sure? Sheriff Webster was so adamant there was something out there.”

  “No, just some teenagers using it as a party house on the weekends.”

  “Well, definitely no news story there, then. I’ll keep digging. We’ll find out who’s taking these kids.”

  “Sure,” Ava said weakly, her eyes darting to Ragnorok who had a wide, cruel grin on his face.

  “Well, Dad, I better go. I need to rest now.”

  “Sure, honey. Rest up, and I’ll see you in the office when you’re all well again.”

  “Yep, sounds great.”

  Morgana closed her good eye. The phone call may have stopped Ava’s father from going out to the old town lair, but that wouldn’t stop Sheriff Webster from looking into it. She thought they’d been doing a terrific job keeping the police from knowing what was going on. Clearly, the façade was failing. Not only had she been caught, but she was also failing this mission. Her head hung low. Hopefully, the others were picking up the slack and were aware of the situation. If they were draining humans here, surely, they were doing it at the town lair. Maybe that’s why they hadn’t come for her yet. They were tying up loose ends.