by V L Peters
Sitting there, staring at him from the corner of my eye, I waited for him to tell me what was wrong. I was not the type to ask. I knew at some point he’d say to me. He’d never gotten on with Aria from the moment he’d met her, but I didn’t believe that’s what was bothering him. The hatred he’d felt for her had seemed to be carved in stone from day one, but he put up with her being around. I didn’t really think it was only that, that was bothering him, I knew it was something else that had gotten up his asshole and it wasn’t another dick. The ringing of his phone pulled me out of my thoughts, I could hear Ben over the line he sounded over excited. Panic had set in his voice rising with every word that he uttered. I could not make out what he was prattling on about so indicated to Damien to put him on loudspeaker. The attention my little witch wanted off me would just have to wait for the time being. I’d make sure that she wouldn’t be able to walk around on her own again. Alex had been given strict orders that she must always be under some sort of guard, and someone was meant to be with her the minute she left her room. If for some reason he couldn’t for fill those orders, then he had to either inform Damien or myself. For some bloody fucking reason, she’d been able to walk out of her room without a care in the world, as if she was in her own home. It was just lucky that Aria had left if she’d happen to run into her…. Fuck. It didn’t matter that she had warned me to keep Aria away from her. That she’d retaliate if Aria attacked her, I didn’t want her injured. Aria was a powerful demon in her own right. Why Alex hadn’t been there the minute, she’d walked over the threshold of her room is something I would be demanding to know once I’d sorted out what the fuck was happening with Ben.
I could just about make out what he was saying. From what I could hear he wasn’t making any fucking sense. From what we could make out they had gotten to the pickup point, and all hell had broken out. It didn’t take long to realise that Tony and Duncan had arrived back with them but not in one peace. While Damien tried to make sense on the rest of what Ben was telling us. I decided to ring the one person after Damien that I trusted and knew could help. He would be pissed off that I’d even had the audacity to also ring him. He had asked for leave, well bloody had demanded it, and I wasn’t so must of a bastard that I would have refused, he doesn’t take any shit from me he was one of the few who dared to tell me what they thought and not giving a shit if I didn’t like it. Chamuel came and went on his own accord. Having been gone for the last six months, I hadn’t even attempted to get hold of him, but that was about to change.
Who else could you trust if you could not trust your own flesh and blood?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SCARLETT
I did not know what had caused me to waken from my slumber, I had woken with a jump. As if someone had given me a hard shove. There wasn’t another soul in the room with me. No sounds in or outside my room reached my ears. I did not feel scared, I knew I should have. If something had been there, it was now gone. I lay there. For how long, I didn’t know. Looking out at the dark night sky. The moon was high and bright. Shining through the window bay, seemingly to light up the room and all that was in it. The longer I stayed lying there, trying to get back to sleep. Something was telling me to move my ass and to go downstairs. You might think I was stupid and should have told myself to ignore those feelings; instead, I got out of bed, dressed, and followed my intuition. How I got to my destination, I honestly don’t know.
Looking around me, all I saw was carnage and mayhem. Men were around me, some I recognized, and some I didn’t. They were either standing or lying down. Injured. There was a handful of people who were attending to them. Orders were being thrown left, and right; I scanned the vast area looking for Lucien. Finally, I saw him to the left of me, standing in a small group of men deep in some sort of discussion. I had thought I’d seen him angry before. This was something else. I decided then and there now wasn’t the time to approach him, to ask what the hell had happened. I looked around at the injured. So many were hurt to different degrees. I grabbed some cloth and other medical supplies that were lying on what seemed like a medical trolley. I walked over to one of the men lying on the floor. I could see two gashes, one on his left forearm the other his right thigh. Blood was pouring out of both. I could see down to the bone of his thigh. That was the one I would attempt to fix as much as I could first. I could tell as I approached him, he was wary of letting me get anywhere near him; it didn’t matter that he was in pain or that his wounds weren’t healing as they should be. I saw the flash in his brown eyes as if warning me to stay away. It wouldn’t stop me from helping him.
I crouched down, meeting his gaze with a small smile. ‘’I only want to help you…. Please,’’ I begged him holding up the supplies I was carrying, ‘’let me help you. Even if it’s just to clean and sew your wounds.’’ It seemed like forever before he gave a nod of his head. I sat next to him with a sigh of relief. Pulling on the disposable gloves and tearing open the black trouser leg, revealing just how bad the injury was. I barely stopped myself from gagging, it was worse than I had first thought. I didn’t know if I could help with the healing of the injury without giving myself away. Thoughts played through my mind as I set about cleaning out the wound. Could I do what was needed, more of these men would die if I didn’t help them, using the healing power inside me would tire me out somewhat, but I was willing to take that chance. I opened the antiseptic bottle, pouring it over the wound. A flash of pain flickered briefly across his dark face. It didn’t matter what sort of supernatural he was, I had a feeling he was vampire. Since I’d been here, I had come into a lot of contact with all types of supernatural’s or, as I know, knew they preferred to be known as Naturals. If I hadn’t been looking closely, I would have missed it the flare in his eyes, the lengthening of teeth, yep defiantly vampire. I needed to stop the blood loss, if he lost too much, he’d need more and quickly, and I didn’t want to be his next meal. I knew that vampires like any other supernatural’s heeled automatically. Depending on injures obtained. I looked down at his wound, he wasn’t healing quickly enough, and I’d have to move rapidly. Grabbing a needle and thread while with my other hand, I laid the tips of my fingers at the edge of the open wound. Praying that no one would hear me above the chaos that surrounded us. I called forth the Omega, I knew the minute she left my body, but still standing as one with me. She knew that she couldn’t use the full strength of her healing. A heat starting from my head travelled down to my shoulders then to my fingertips. It was like we were two entities in one body. Together we started whispering the healing spell. Making sure it never rose more than a slight whisper. What we were doing was reckless and stupid. I was putting not only myself in danger but my whole family and friends. I couldn’t stand there, not helping to try to heal as many as I could. Even if I couldn’t completely heal them by closing their wounds, at least I could start their own natural healing progress. I watched as his injuries began to knit together from the inside out. I wouldn’t be able to complete the progress, but if I could get it to the point of carrying on the healing on its own in a short time, he would be a lot better off. I couldn’t go on, if I did, I wouldn’t be able to help any of the others. I had done as much as I possibly could without bring attention to myself than I had done. The Omega knew that we couldn’t go on and proceed to go back into my body. As I came out of the healing process, I realised that the vampire I’d been helping was looking at me, a funny look upon his face. There was this look in his eyes, a look of recognition as if he knew what had just happened. His next words would confirm that suspicion.
‘’Your secret is safe with me, girl,’’ he told me in a low gravelly voice, his gaze meeting mine ‘’Not all of us mean your kind any harm,’’ he said, laying his big hand over my smaller one. ‘’I’m Jaden, and I thank you for your help,’’ lowering his head as if showing me a mark of respect, before bringing it back up to carry on talking to me. ‘’If you ever need anything. Ask Alex to take you to me. Now go and help the others as muc
h as you’re able,’’
‘’You need blood and soon,’’ t told him as I looked down at the hand he’d placed over my own. I didn’t know what else to say. I was in shock. How did this man, this vampire know of us? What did he actually know? Shit, how many knew we were out there existing amongst them. Question after question ran through my mind. I didn’t know if this was a good thing or not. How would my sister, the rest of my family and friends, react? The questions were endless. I couldn’t let myself panic. I knew I wouldn’t be able to bluff my way out of what he knew, and I’m sure he saw something as we were healing him that made him confirm his beliefs.
‘’I will be fine. As you will be. Except for your fate, embrace it.’’ I felt his fingers tighten for a briefest of moments before placing his hand onto the ground. ‘’Hard times are coming for all. Now go. Your work here is done. The others need you,’’ he told me, nodding to the other injured men, shooing me away with a flick of the hand he’d been using to hold mine. Part of me wanted to stay. I needed answers to the questions I had. I should wait and demand to know how he knew about my coven.
I didn’t; I did the exact opposite.
I left him to attend to the others who were injured.
◆◆◆
LUCIEN
Even though the chaos that surrounded us, I felt her the minute she stepped into the compound. I resisted the urge to turn to look at her. My demon whimpered, wanting me to turn and go over to her. I wanted to get her by her shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled, demanding to know what the hell she was doing. Didn’t she realise she was in danger? Anything could happen to her. I wouldn’t be able to get to her in time if any of my men decided to harm her. Most of my men around her were Naturals, they could easily tear her apart in minutes. How had she even found out that my men had been ambushed? I did neither.
Instead, I ordered my men to go and fetch the doctors.
The injured were coming in thick and fast. If I didn’t get things in hand, I would lose more than I already had. The Doctors arrived. They rush over to the men who seemed worst off and treating their wounds. At least my men were being attended to; with no organization, there weren’t enough people who could tend to them immediately. The voices slowly came to a murmur. I took no notice of what was happening behind me until I saw a look of what I could only describe as admiration cross Damien’s face. Whatever caused that look, I had a feeling it had something to do with Scarlett. He nodded to whatever was happening behind me. Silence fell; being unable to resist, I turned. There sat on the ground was Scarlett attending to one of my men.
Besides Nathan, Jaden was one of the oldest vampires I personally knew. He has been with me for two hundred years. He was also one of the deadliest. For him to be injured in such a way told me all I needed to know. It looked like he was rapidly losing blood that alone was a danger to not only the woman who was tending to him, but also any others who came within arm’s reach. I stepped forward, getting ready to drag her away from him when he placed his hand over hers. I didn’t hear what he said to her. I couldn’t read lips. Whatever their conversation was, it shocked her. I watched as she stood and moved onto another of my men who needed help.
◆◆◆
LUCIEN’S OFFICE
The next day
Fuck I was tired. I hadn’t slept at all. Being up all night would do that. Whether you were a Natural or Human, it would take it out of you. Chamuel still hadn’t responded to my phone call, to say that I was now worried was an understatement. Even if he didn’t pick up, he would typically respond to my voice messages within a few hours or send a message. He hadn’t done either. There was no other way of contacting him. I would just have to wait for him to reply. How long that would be, I couldn’t even guess. He was a very private person, he worked beside me at my request. Not many knew he was my brother. We didn’t keep it a secret. If someone on the off chance latched onto the fact, neither of us acknowledged it. We didn’t resemble each other in any way. We just thought it wasn’t anyone else’s business. Plus, it would raise a lot of questions.
Last night had been catastrophic. I had lost a lot of good men, the lucky ones had been injured, some worse than others. Duncan, being human, hadn’t survived the attack.
He’d been one of my most loyal and trusted of my men. He left behind a young wife and son. I would make sure they were well taken care of. According to Ben, they had been on their way to the rendezvous when they had been struck unawares. The description of the attackers Ben had told us didn’t make sense. We had destroyed those bastards long ago! What the hell was happening!
Ben and Tony not being human, had survived the attack …. barely. Tony was still unconscious. So he couldn’t even get his account of what had happened. The others who had been hurt had a similar story. Jaden filled me in as much as he could. He has been able to control the blood lust up to a certain point to do so.
Then there was Scarlett. Somehow, she had witnessed the whole event of them arriving. How she had known to be there was still baffling. Things just didn’t add up. All I needed now was for Aria to turn up unannounced. Damien and the rest of the men who had been there weren't happy upon seeing Scarlett. Mistrust written across their faces, I didn’t give a shit. Enough was going on around us than to worry about a bloody human stroke witch being in our presence, and even though she must have felt their displeasure, it hadn’t stopped her in getting her fingers dirty. She had followed any orders thrown her way, even to the point in helping to get the injured into the medical room. Blood had been everywhere you looked. Limbs missing, skin torn. The sight would turn even the hardest of stomachs. I had thought she would have run out, hand over mouth. She did the exact opposite. She hadn’t batted an eye in helping. By the end of the evening, she had gained a lot of hard-earned respect and had made a few new friends.
In the last report, fifteen were dead, twenty-five injured, eight badly. They were lucky they were still alive. Any patrols that were sent out would be doubled. I wasn’t going to put any more of my men in danger than they usually would be. What concerned me more than the fact my men had been attacked was the description that had been given out, and every single one basically matched the other. No one had seen or heard about them in many years. Fuck they were all dead as far as we were aware. It didn’t sit well. It seemed every fucking thing was coming out of the woodwork. Witches, who were meant to have been wiped out. Coming out of the fucking shadows and living on my bloody doorstep. Aria snooping and nearly killing Alison, Nathan having more than the usual patrols, the list was endless. Jacob was hiding something; I had no doubt it would come out at some point. The Fae, they were secretive fuckers anyway.
Jacob had replied but had requested that more of his men come with him than usual. I’d allowed it. Same with Reid and Archer. There was defiantly something in the air. Yet, I was still waiting on Nathan's reply, I’d expect his message to arrive by morning. The same as Gil-Galad, I’d be surprised if he’d even acknowledge it. Jasper and Rowan hadn’t checked in again. They had radioed in just before entering the Fae’s territory which Gil-Galad ruled over. They were now MIA, and until I heard otherwise…… the outlook wasn’t great. After sending messages to Jacob, Nathan, Reid, Archer and Gal-Galad. I’d reached out to the other leaders who ran their own smaller regions within each of our own terrorises. Some were human some weren’t. I had had three replies telling me that they were accepting the invitation. Specific rules had to be met. You just didn’t go into another’s territory without being cautious. Having so many leaders together at one time was not unheard of it was just rare. The councils had somehow gotten wind of our little gathering and had requested … if you could call it that …. An invitation. I had reluctantly agreed to it. They thought I had no other choice. Stupid falls, they seemed to forget who once sat on one of those very chairs! The meeting was in five days. It would give me time to make sure extra security was in place before they arrived. All weapons would be left in the room nearest were they would enter for t
he meeting they had no other choice. After leaving their weapons, they would then have to go through the digital image screening before entering the main room. You never knew who would try to double-cross you. You could never be too cautious.
A rapid bang, bang, bang, brought me out of my thoughts. If I thought differently, I would think they were trying to break in the way they were hitting the bloody thing. Calling out to whoever was behind the door to come in. I sipped on the scotch that I had been savouring. I knew it wouldn’t be Damien; he was making sure everything was in place for the meeting, and it wasn’t often he’d knock, he had the tendency just to walk in.
‘’Boss?’’ came the questioning voice as the wooden door swung inwards. Revealing Alex. ‘’sorry.’’ He apologized as he walked in ‘’she wanted to talk to you,’’ he told me, indicating to Scarlett who was standing behind him.
She moved from behind his back to stand to one side. She boldly stood there as if she had every right. Meeting my gaze, not flinching as she would have done but a few days ago. This wasn’t the human standing here in front of me. No, I expected it was the witch. I took in her dark auburn hair which she’d piled high up onto her head making her look taller than she was, a few curls hanging down where they had escaped from the bun Tight black jeans clung to her legs with low heeled black boots her top was jade in coloured completed her appearance.
