LEMON

Axel had been stopping by more frequently, and I was almost constantly seeing werewolves coming through the Inn. I was beginning to worry that there was something I should know about after Mr. Greyback’s death.

Since the school year had begun, I had less help during the day around the Inn, so I was generally at the desk to check people in and attempt also to do paperwork. It was getting close to lunch when Axel came in for the day.

“Hey, Axel,” I greeted him.

“Heya, Lemon. How are you today?” he asked, stopping at the desk.

“Just busy. And you?” I said.

“Hoping you might be able to come have lunch with me?” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and tried to hide my smile. Axel was cute, but I wasn’t sure he was my type. Lea briefly explained the weird wolfy-soul mate thing, but it sounded messy.

“Aren’t there other girls for you to flirt with around here?” I asked.

“I can’t help it; beautiful women are my kryptonite,” he joked. “If you won’t join me, I guess I will order to go.”

“I can go back and order it for you; it might speed things up if you’re on a timeline,” I offered.

“Well, I wasn’t, but since you are denying my invitation once again, I might as well eat on the go,” he lamented.

I scrunched my nose at him. “You’re making me feel bad,” I admitted.

He gave me puppy dogs eyes. “Is it working?” he asked.

“Mmmm,” I hummed. “Nope!” I turned and hurried back toward the kitchen to get him some lunch to-go, listening to his exasperated sigh as I went.

I returned only ten minutes later with a bag of food for him. “I threw in some extra cookies for the disappointment,” I smiled as I handed over the bag.

“It would be a lot easier to just eat with me,” he chimed.

“In your dreams,” I said.

“For now,” he shot back. He winked and left me at the counter. I shook my head and went back to my computer, trying to put his charming face out of my mind for right now.

I managed to sift through the timesheets for payroll and balance the week’s expenses when the bell chimed again. I was only expecting one more check-in for the day and knew they would be coming late.

I looked up to see two gentlemen coming through the door. They were dressed a bit oddly in long clothes. I thought it was strange with the late summer heat, but who was I to judge?

They had strange smirks on their faces as they approached the desk. “Welcome to the Blue Moon Inn. My name is Lemon; how can I help you?”

“Do you taste like lemons?” one of them said.

“Excuse me?” I gasped, taking a step back.

“Don’t mind him,” the other one said. “He’s just a bit…. peckish.”

I looked between them and cleared my throat. Axel could have just waited a little while to come here and bug me about lunch, and he would have been around to scare them a bit. I stepped back up to the desk, discreetly pulling my cellphone out of my pocket.

“So, do you have a reservation?” I asked them.

“No,” the first one said. “But we didn’t come for a room.”

“Oh, were you interested in our lunch service?” I asked as I tried to unlock my phone without looking. Lea did say to call Axel if anyone strange ever came into the Inn giving me weird vibes, so that was what I was going to do. I tried to keep my face calm.

The first one laughed. “Something like that,” he said.

“The dining room is just through there. Seat yourselves, and a server will be with you shortly,” I said, pointing them to the dining room. Luckily it was a slow day, and no one was in there right now.

I unlocked my phone and peaked down to hit the speed dial to Axel; now, I just needed him to answer.

“I don’t think that will work for us,” the second one said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“You see, we have some particular tastes. So typical menus don’t generally do it for us,” the first one said. I swallowed nervously.

“Why don’t I grab a copy of the menu, and you two can look it over?” I suggested, nervousness slipping into my voice. I gripped my phone as I stepped away from the counter. I turned quickly, not waiting for their answer. I wanted to run to my office.

In the blink of an eye, the second man was in front of me from the other side of the desk. “Ah, ah, ah,” he said. “It would be rude to run off in the middle of a meal.” He shook his finger at me and took a menacing step forward.

“M-meal…” I whispered, stepping back. Fear trickled down my spine. I had no idea who these guys were, but they were definitely bad news. I took another step back when a hand gripped my bicep and spun me around.

“Oh, look at this,” he said, pulling my phone from my hand. “Making a call. Now that is rude!”

“You need to leave,” I tried to demand.

“But we have only begun having our fun,” the one behind me said. I was shaking now, afraid for not only myself but the staff in the kitchen as well. The one in front of me had a sinister smile on his face as he gripped my phone. I heard a crunching sound and saw the screen cracking.

The front door burst open, and the one in front of me turned. In seconds, two of Axel’s men were on top of him. Cold hands gripped my arms, yanking me backward. Then I saw Axel coming at us.

“Let her go!” he growled. It looked like his teeth were getting longer, and his eyes were pitch black.

There was a slight hissing sound behind me, and I felt something rub against my neck. Axel jumped forward, lunging straight for me at the same time as the man behind felt like he was pulled away from me. I shut my eyes tightly as Axel’s arms came protectively around me as we fell away.

“Get them to the basement! Tie them up,” Axel commanded above me. There was a lot of struggle and movement around us that soon died away. Axel shifted slightly over me, and I felt his fingers brush my bangs away from my forehead.

“Lemon,” he said softly. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I slowly opened my eyes to look straight up into his face. He looked worried; the fangs were gone, and his eyes were the color of honey again. “I-I’m okay,” I stuttered.

“We never thought they would get that bold. I am so sorry,” he said.Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

“It’s okay,” I said. “I’m glad you came.”

He smiled gently. “I’ll always answer your call.” He pushed himself up into a sitting position and helped me up. I looked around at the mess that was made with everyone fighting. “Why don’t you go to your office and try to relax? I am going to call Liam and Lea. I’ll clean this up, then be in to check on you, okay?” he said.

I nodded absently. “Sure,” I said.

LIAM

Azalea was very reserved for a few days after we finished cleaning out the old man’s cottage. She looked a little broken when we locked it up finally and headed back to the packhouse. My heart ached for her knowing she lost someone so important to her.

With no explanation as to who attacked Mr. Greyback, we could only assume it was someone sent by Warwick. I was very well aware of Warwick’s connection with Greyback but hadn’t yet disclosed that specific detail to anyone. But now, I needed to.

When I told Azalea about what my grandfather had done to get Greyback to fight for him, she looked sick. She knew that Greyback had fought Warwick and told me the bits she could remember from her conversation with him in her cell. She did not know about what my grandfather had done prior to that.

It only got worse from there. I figured I owed it to my father to at least inform him before I told our allies what had happened. He was less than receptive to that. A heated argument ensued about passing judgment on decisions made during a war we were not involved in. I stood firm that no conflict justified kidnapping your own pack members to sacrifice.

There was going to be no calm moment, though, because right as my father stormed out of my office in a rage about my willingness to disclose family secrets, Maddox and Missy rushed in.

“What is wrong?” I asked.

“Axel just called,” Maddox said quickly.

“Is something going on in town?”

“Dad, there were vampires at the Inn.”

–

Azalea, Maddox, Missy, Azeron, and I sped to the Inn. When we arrived, Axel was waiting in the lobby for us. “Lemon sent home all the unnecessary staff and shut down dinner for the evening,” he said. “We have them in the basement, but we waited to question them.”

“Where is Lemon?” Azalea asked immediately.

“In her office,” he said. A sad look crossed his face. “She says she is okay, but she won’t talk to me, so….”

Azalea nodded and headed straight to the manager’s office off the lobby. Missy and Azeron followed her.

“Let’s go,” I told Axel. He led Maddox and me down to the basement, where the laundry was kept. The center of the room had been cleared of the work tables, and tied to two chairs sat the vampires. One looked to be knocked out with a bloody dribble coming from his l*p. The other had a smug expression on his face.

I stopped in front of them. “Maddox, this might be hard to watch, but if you ever hope to be a leader among the warriors, you must accept this as part of the job,” I linked him as I crossed my arms and stared down the scum in front of us. Maddox stood just behind me.

“Yes, sir,” he replied. “I understand.”

“This isn’t pretty or pleasant, and that’s why we leave the girls out of this. Sometimes, it’s the only way to get things done,” I told him.

I took a deep breath. “Why are you here?” I asked.

“You know why, puppy dog,” the awake one spat.

“Did he send you?” I asked.

“Who?” he said, playing dumb.

“Alright, let’s see if we can jog your memory,” I said. I instantly lashed out, striking him across the face with my fist. I shook out my knuckles as I stepped back. He slowly brought his head back to look at me with a smug smile on his face.

“Is that all? I thought you were the big bad one?” he taunted.

“Where is Warwick?” I growled, Gavin getting irritated now.

“Warwick who?” he laughed. My fist connected with his face once more.

“Bancroft Warwick, your Sire. Where is he?” I shouted, accentuating it with another strike. B***d was beginning to leak from his lips, and I was sure I cracked at least a few teeth.

The vampire continued to chuckle, not answering my question. “I don’t know who you are talking about,” he laughed.

Another strike to the face. “Are you sure?” I said, hitting him yet again.

“I would love to meet him if he riles you fleabags up so much,” the bloodsucker gurgled through his bloody mouth. I stepped away from him, his head bobbing as he tried to hold it up. I moved over to the other one. Lifting his head up by his hair, I slapped him hard, waking him up.

“Nice of you to join us,” I said, sneering down at him. “Now, where is your Sire?”

“Who?” he said before sniffing the air. “Ugh, just what I need. Ode de mutt all over me.”

My fist landed on his nose with a loud crunch, and I could tell Maddox visibly flinched this time. “Where is Warwick? Why did he send you here?”

The man laughed, just as his counterpart did. “I’m just here for a snack,” he said venomously. “But you puppies had to come in and ruin all the fun.”

I let go of his hair and sent my fist upward into his chin this time, snapping his head backward. I turned to Axel and his men standing around us. “Maddox and Axel, interrogate them. I want to know exactly what their orders were and how they got them.”

I stormed from the basement, leaving to find Azalea, Missy, and Lemon.