AZALEA

I sat in my office, impatiently thrumming my finger on my desk. Azeron sat in a chair by the door while I pretended to read some paperwork from the inn. I could tell I was annoying him slightly because he was scowling every time I glanced up.

“Anxious?” he asked after I peeked another glance at him.

“No,” I lied. A knock on the door saved me from any interrogation. “Come in!” I called. Austin opened the door, holding a small box in his hands. He had a skeptical look on his face.

“The thing you requested, Luna,” he said carefully.

“Thanks, Austin,” I said. He brought it to the desk and set it down in front of me. He turned to leave but paused. He looked back at me.

“Are you sure?” he asked. I nodded my head.

“I have a hunch,” I said.

“Just be careful. We didn’t find anything useful,” he said. At his words, Azeron sat up a bit straighter. Austin left the office, shutting the door quietly behind him. I wanted to grab the box and look at its contents immediately, but I needed to have patience.

Azeron watched me closely from across the room as I went back to staring at the paperwork before me. I turned to my computer and mindlessly scrolled through my emails, waiting for my moment.

Azeron’s phone rang, and he pulled it from his pocket to answer. I waited patiently for the conversation to go where I thought it would. With a sigh, he stood up and said, “Luna, I need to step into the hall to deal with a personal matter.”

“Of course,” I said. “Take your time. I won’t move an inch.” I tried not to smile too convincingly, but I was jumping up and down on the inside. I enlisted Azeron’s mate for some help to get me just a few minutes alone.

Vlad had given me a passcode that unlocked his phone and would give me all his communication with Warwick. He seemed kind of guilty when he was writing the information down, so I guessed that he had not originally given it to Liam or any of the guards when he was taken to the prison. I also knew that they hadn’t found anything useful, which may have been the only reason I could get my hands on it without Liam being told.

Azeron stepped out of the office, and I counted to ten before snatching the box. I quickly pulled out the phone and turned it on. Luckily, it was charged. I pulled out the instructions from my pocket and got to work unlocking the phone. Azeron’s mate told me he could keep Azeron busy for ten, maybe fifteen, minutes, and I didn’t have much time.

I got in and started scanning through the messages. I needed a clue. I wanted something that could help me figure out Warwick’s motives or explain his movements. There had to be something more than a race war in all of this.

My stomach sank as I combed through all the messages. Poor Vlad. He had argued with Warwick more frequently in the beginning, trying to resist by the looks of it. There were less in more recent communications but still moments when he was trying to reason his way out of what he was asked to do.

Nothing in the messages revealed anything about Warwick, and they almost seemed like they didn’t come directly from him. I looked at the time, realizing it had already been 12 minutes. I pulled out my own phone and saved the number into it before shutting Vlad’s phone off. I quickly stashed it back in the box and pretended to be working again.

Azeron came into the room only a few seconds later. I smiled at him and said, “Everything alright?”

He nodded. “Nothing important.” He scanned the room, looking for any signs of change.

I rolled my eyes. “You wolves take this safety thing to a whole new level,” I teased.

“I did lose you once,” he said in a low voice. “I would prefer it not happen again.”

“I would as well, but that was quite different, don’t you think?” I reasoned. He just nodded and sat down in his chair once again.

–

MADDOX

Our first lead has been a bust. We had been around this city and to the outskirts of the nearest pack over the last couple of days but picked up nothing. There hasn’t even been a tiny hint of vampire.

Langston and I sat in a diner waiting for our dinner. I cracked my neck and massaged my shoulders, trying to work out the soreness from all the traveling. “How are you doing?” Langston asked.

“Alright,” I said. I missed Missy terribly and still haven’t been able to call her. Langston thought it best to keep communication limited just in case we got spotted. With no evidence of vampires anywhere near here, I hoped it would be okay later.

“Missing your mate?” he asked.

I nodded slowly. “Yea,” I sighed.

“Well, I can’t say it gets better with time,” he said, stretching his arms and leaning back in his chair. “But you get a bit more accustom to the feeling.”

“Does the ache go away?” I asked. He gave me a commiserate half-smile.

“I am afraid not. It might get worse,” he said. “Depends on the strength of the bond. For instance, Liam spirals pretty quickly when he isn’t around Azalea.”

“Yea,” I agreed. “It feels like my chest is empty like Missy usually fills it up, and that is just sucked away.”

Langston pointed to the center of his abdomen. “I feel it right here. It’s like this steady, unrelenting, achy pressure when I am away from Emma. I used to cope much better with the feeling, but I think old age is catching up to me.”

“You are much older than most Alphas. Don’t Alphas usually retire in their 40s?” I asked.

“Yes, usually in the 40s or early 50s, depending on when they found their mates. But Emma can’t have children, and I have yet to find someone in my pack that I think would make a good replacement. Although, my Beta’s nephew seems to be a pretty capable kid.”

“Then train him to replace you,” I said. “If he seems the most capable, it’s an easy solution.” The waitress came over and delivered our plates. Langston started eating, chewing thoughtfully before answering.

“While I believe he is capable, I am not sure he possesses enough confidence to lead. He is a fine warrior and smart as a whip, but he’s quiet and unsure of himself,” Langston explained.

“Maybe that isn’t the worst thing?” I suggested. “I mean, just because you are an Alpha doesn’t mean you are always right. Sure, you probably have plenty of information, training, and maybe even experience to base your decisions on, but that doesn’t mean they are good.”

“Do you have an example?” Langston asked with a glint in his eye.

“Um,” I tried to think about a situation that showed what I meant. I cringed when I realized what I could relate it to. “The first vampire war,” I said very quietly.

Langston nodded. “Go on,” he said.

I took a deep breath before continuing. “Liam’s Grandfather intentionally hurt members of his own pack all to win a war. One that I would like to add has resulted in another conflict for his descendants. Above all, he was tasked with protecting his pack and making decisions in their best interest, but what he did couldn’t be reasoned as that. Were they effective? Probably because we won. Did the means justify the ends? I don’t think so….”

Langston quietly chewed his food, giving me a speculative look. I took a few bites of my own sandwich and waited for him to say something. “What?” I finally asked.

“What if the ends could justify the means?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Find different means,” I replied simply. The corner of his mouth perked up into a smirk. Another waitress came over to the table, interrupting us.

“How is everything?” she said. Her voice was sweet but in an uncomfortable, forced way.

“Adequate,” Langston told her.

“Well, your waitress had to step out, so I will be helping you guys now. Can I get you anything?” she said. She was lingering at our table. “Drink refills?”

“I think we actually need to get moving. So the check would be appreciated,” Langston said.

“Are you sure I can’t tempt you with a slice of pie? We have a fresh apple made with fruit that just came from the farm this morning,” she said. Her smile was so big and fake it sent red flags through my head.

“No, no,” Langston assured her. Her eyes wandered to me, and I gave her a tight smile. “We have to be somewhere. Just the check.”

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll be back.” She walked away from us slowly, almost like she was lingering.

We both ate in silence until she was turned around at the order station. “That’s not normal,” I whispered, keeping my face calm.

“No, it isn’t. We are going to leave and split up; I want you to hide and follow after the car. See if anyone follows,” he said in a barely audible voice. His lips barely moved as he spoke. I finished up my food quickly, not sure if this was about to lead us somewhere dangerous.

“Alright,” I said. “Do you think she is a vampire? She doesn’t smell irregular.”

“Not sure. We don’t know how Warwick is spying on anyone at the moment,” he said. He shoved the last bites of food in his mouth and plastered a warm smile on his face as he looked over my shoulder.

“I guess you boys won’t be needing any boxes to go,” she set the bill down on the table. “Just let me know when you guys are ready-”

“Already gotcha,” Langston said, barely glancing at the bill. He handed her a few bills. “Keep the change.” Her smile faltered for a second, but she recovered.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

He stood, and I followed suit. “Well, I hope you guys have a good night,” she said, waving to us. We both moved around the tables and headed toward the door. The bell jingled over our heads as we stepped out of the restaurant. Langston turned and stuck out his hand.

“Play along,” he said. He moved his mouth silently like he was pretending to speak. I grabbed his hand and acted like we were good friends, shaking his back.

“I’ll be right behind you,” I told him.

“We will leave town once we know we aren’t being followed. If we are, we need to move to a residential area and blend.” I nodded, pulling my hand away to wave. I turned and headed away from Langston, who went toward our car. I pulled out the phone Liam had given me before we left and toggled the location tracker on. Langston told me we only needed to do this when we were worried about our safety.

I walked down a block, quickly turned down another road, and started to loop back toward the diner. Langston would linger in the car for only a few minutes before he pulled out, so I had to move quickly. Once I could hide amongst the shadows of the buildings, I ran back to the diner. Langston was pulling out of the parking lot.

I waited out of sight by the building next door. Then a car without pulled from the back of the building with no headlights on and followed him out. “s**t,” I whispered. How could we have been found out already? I thought we blended well.

I sent Langston a text on his new phone with our code word for a tail and started heading in the direction he went, trying to stay out of the car’s sight. They weren’t too bright for trying to tail him because they were more conspicuous driving around without headlights on than anything else.

I smiled when I realized what direction Langston was slowly headed in. It wasn’t easy to follow him on foot while staying out of sight; I couldn’t have done it if I were human. A few turns later, Langston was driving right past this little city’s 24-hour donut and coffee shop where we had noticed plenty of law enforcement in the evening hours. I ducked down another road and headed away from them.

Looking back over my shoulder, it was only a matter of 30 seconds before red and blue lights were flashing. Langston successfully got the tail pulled over by the police. I sped up to a run, putting distance between them and me. Langston caught up to me about 2 miles away.

He pulled up next to me and threw the door open. “Get in,” he said. I quickly ducked into the car, and he sped off.

“Let’s get out of here for now. We can call Liam in the morning,” Langston said. He kept checking the rearview mirror.

I sighed. So far, this hadn’t been too bad, but it had just become so much more real. I silently prayed to the Moon Goddess to let me find Warwick and get back to my mate in one piece.