39. Bay
Bay
“You just told Alin you had a plan? Because the look on your face right now doesn’t exactly inspire confidence,” I ask Luca, sighing when he once again doesn’t answer. He is focused on the side mirror, tracking every move of whoever’s behind us.
“Are you going to answer me, or is it just—”
“Bay, hold the call with Abert. I need to know what the Russians are doing here and how they knew where we are,” he cuts me off with an order and pass me his phone.
I know there’s no talking to him right now, so I take the already dialing phone from his hand as he tries to shake off the car behind us.
“Mariano already updated me,” Abert answers immediately, without introduction as soon as he picks up.
“Looks like Pedro was right. Mariana exploited both the Russians and the French to work with her—all the French’s locations and ours are shared with the Russians.
You need back up?” Abert keeps him in the loop and asks.
I glance at Luca questioning as he doesn’t answer right away. Does he expect me to manage this whole bizarre operation and give Abert an answer? I don’t even know what they’re talking about.
“No. I’m in control of the situation. I’m going to make them disappear.
I need you to pin their disappearance on the French, I need them distracted with something else until I finish handling Will,” Luca finally answers, lays out his plan, and I still have no clue how this well-managed crime network works, but I’m not particularly interested either.
“On it.” Abert confirms and ends the call.
“So, what’s your plan, Mr. ‘I am the big scary Capo’?” I ask impatiently. I don’t intend to be caught unprepared in a situation like this.
He turns his gaze to me, “Mr. ‘I am the big scary Capo’? I hear some disrespect in your tone?” He smirks and returns his gaze to the road ahead. “You definitely have zero sense of self-preservation.”
I roll my eyes, but he immediately continues.
“We’ll add a few more humans to your hunt. You can control a large group like Alin does, right?”
Now I understand where he’s going with this.
“The swim to the Coral of Life is very long, and the hunter’s mark drains a lot of my energy.
I don’t think I’ll be able to continue far with a big hunt alone—even three people is a lot.
” I update him, but maybe a big hunt is exactly what will silence the Guardian for a longer time. Or at least until we solve this mess.
“Hunter’s mark?” He raises an eyebrow at me in question but doesn’t take his eyes off the road.
“The huntress marks her prey. You can think of it like the affiliation marks of the pods,” I explain. “It’s what keeps them alive until the moment the Coral of Life consumes their souls.”
“And you can’t just mark them all, just this once?” He asks, seems like he tries to think of a solution.
“It will be hard for me to swim all those hours to the Coral of Life and keep them alive. If I lose my strength, the hunter’s mark will also start to fade,” I clarify that this can’t happen. But maybe there is another option...
“I have another idea, though it’s a bit crazy,” I turn to look at him. “And maybe a bit dangerous...”
His gaze bores into me, clearly impatient. “Just say it already. I don’t have time for mumbling.”
“Wow, what a gentleman,” I tease, sighing as he shoots me that icy, threatening look.
“If I can reach out to the Guardian again, maybe he’ll send more huntresses from nearby,” I explain my idea.
“But you’ll have to let me go back to the water alone—you can’t get out of the car.
It’ll be too dangerous for you, surrounded by few more hungry huntresses,” I make sure to warn him about the risks involved.
“I’m not letting you roam around on land for even a minute without protection.
Not happening. Especially not with the Russians right on our tail; they could shoot you before you even have the chance to open your mouth,” he clarifies, leaving no room for argument.
And he’s right—the Russians are sticking to us close behind.
“I’ll stay out of their line of sight the moment they show up,” he promises. “I’ve got a wife at home who’s not going to let me off easy if I don’t make sure you get safely into the water,” he admits, not hiding the concern in his voice. I can’t help but laugh. Even he’s started to fear Alin.
And rightly so.
“Let me try to reach him. I still don’t know how our connection works, or if it’s even a two-way street,” I ask for silence, closing my eyes. What am I even supposed to do?
Guardian of the Coral of Life, can you hear me? I need you.
I try calling out to him in my thoughts, but there’s no response. I can’t feel his presence at all.
I need you. It’s urgent.
I try again, and this time, I feel a faint burning on my arm. I open my eyes to see that the mark on my arm is glowing in deep purple light. What’s going on? Fucking stupid dragon.
“I don’t appreciate being called names, but I’ll let it slide since it’s the first time you’ve reached out to me,” his roar booms in my ears, followed by a short growl that sounds like… laughter? Is he enjoying this?
“You dirtydragon, what did you do to me?” I ask in fear. It’s the first time I’ve seen purple light pouring from my arm, burning my skin.
“I didn’t do anything—you did. You strengthened our bond when you tried to reach out to me. Finally, my huntress is getting closer…” His voice is raspy, satisfied. Ugh. My stomach churns.
“I’m not your huntress. But I do have a pretty big hunt for you,” I quickly change the subject before I throw up.
“That’s exactly how I like you, my precious huntress. Now, what is it you need from me?” His voice is curious now.
I bite down on my lip at his nauseating possessiveness, trying to ignore his words.
“There are too many humans to bring to the Coral of Life. I need at least two more huntresses to help. Can you send them to me?” I ask, hoping he’ll assist, since we share the same goal.
“You underestimate my abilities if that’s really come as a question. I’ll send huntresses your way,” he roars, a hint of offense in his voice, and I feel his presence starting to fade.
“Wait!” I shout. “Do you know where to send them?” I ask quickly before his voice vanishes completely from my mind.
“You keep underestimating me, I see. We’ll work on that. They’re on their way to you,” he adds before his presence vanishes from my mind. What the hell just happened?
I quickly glance at my arm, and the purple glow has disappeared along with the burning sensation. I let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll never get used to that freaky look on your face when you’re gone. What did he say?” Luca’s voice pulls me back to reality as my heart rate slowly returns to normal.
“He’s sending huntresses,” I inform him. “I have no idea how he even knows where to send them, and I don’t want to ask.” I wrinkle my nose in disgust, wondering how much he really knows about me and just how powerful he is.
He nods, clearly sensing that I don’t want to discuss what just happened.
“We’re close to the shore, and the Russians still haven’t made a move.
It seems like they’re just tracking us, or maybe they’re waiting for us to leave the car before they pounce.
Stay close to me when we get out,” he says, but it sounds more like a command.
I nod in agreement, all the while wondering if the Guardian will actually send the huntresses in time.
I don’t know the Huntres’ pod of this ocean, and I have no idea how I’d protect Luca if they tried to hunt him.
Alin will kill me if anything happens to him.
I wouldn’t be able to save him if a huntress marks him.
I shoot a quick look at Luca and decide to call Alin. Maybe she can convince him to let me go alone—or at least come up with a better idea.
“Bay? Are you okay?” Alin’s voice is tense.
“Mariano, don’t go easy on Pedro!” she yells, pulling the phone away from her mouth, and I chuckle, remembering my training sessions with Alin in our childhood. Aunt Lora never went easy on us.
“I’m fine,” I update her with a laugh. “I’m just wondering if you know how I could keep Luca safe in case a huntress tries to capture him.”
She takes a sharp breath on the other end. “Bay, what are you talking about? Why would a huntress go after him?”
“Are they okay?” I can hear Pedro’s voice shout in the background.
“Focus on the training, Pedro,” her voice is ice-cold as she answers him, and then she turns back to me, pressing me for more information.
“We’re planning to hunt the Russians tailing us—” I begin explaining the plan.
“They’re Russians? How did the Russians find you there?” she asks in shock.
“Alin, that’s not important right now,” I cut off her barrage of questions.
“I won’t be able to control them all the way to the Coral of Life, so the Guardian is sending more huntresses to help.
How can I stop Luca from becoming a target?
” I ask again, leaving her no room for more questions. I’ll update her later.
I hear her take a deep breath, loud enough that I swear even Luca could hear it, and the phone isn’t even on speaker.
“The only thing I ever learned from my mom’s stories is something called ‘The Huntress’s Kiss.
’ A huntress who fell in love with a human tried to protect him from her pod by marking him before she left him,” she shares, and I’m glad I called her.
Alin was obsessed with those strange tales as a kid and would spend hours with Aunt Lora learning about them.
“How am I supposed to do that?” I ask desperately. We don’t have time for a history lesson.
“If I knew, none of the Spallo family would ever be in danger around you. But if anything happens to my husb—” she threatens, but I cut her off, ending the call immediately. This conversation won’t lead anywhere useful now.
I sigh and try to think of what I can do.
“Even Alin can’t help with this; you’ll need to stay out of sight when we leave the car. No matter what happens, make sure you don’t come into their line of sight. I’ll keep them busy with the hunt we already have,” I inform Luca, scratching my mark anxiously.
“You know, you could just ask, right?” The familiar roar rings painfully in my ears again. Oh, come on.
“Ask you to save a human? I’m not desperate enough to count on that,” I roll my eyes, and the glow in my arm flares up once more.
“If you haven’t figured it out by now—you’re a part of me, my dear huntress. What’s important to you is important to me. If you want to save such a weak little creature, I’ll help. All you have to do is ask,” his growl in my ear is softer now, calculated.
There’s that familiar queasiness again. Did he just say I’m a part of him?
“And how exactly are you supposed to help?” I swallow back the disgust, trying my last resort. Maybe I am that desperate.
“Ask nicely,” he demands.
Of course. “Please, oh mighty Guardian Dragon, help me,” I mock, exaggerating my plea.
“We’ll have to work on your attitude, but it’s my pleasure, my dear hunt ress,” I could swear that growl is a chuckle—the most unsettling laugh I’ve ever heard.
“Bite your lip and make it bleed. Let him drink the blood from your mouth. He’ll need to swallow it,” he says, and I let out a frustrated laugh.
Of course, ‘The Huntress’s Kiss’ would actually be a kiss.
Alin’s going to kill me, and Pedro... well, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, just like Cora taught me.
“Don’t forget, my huntress, ‘The Huntress’s Kiss’ doesn’t last long, and you won’t be able to use it again,” he notes before vanishing from my thoughts.
I turn immediately to Luca, who’s eyeing me cautiously, trying to figure out if I’m still locked in conversation with the Guardian, earplugs already in hand.
I chuckle, “I don’t think you need to worry about me right now.”
He exhales with relief, “He really enjoys talking to you, huh?” he taunts.
“You have no idea just how much,” I respond with exasperation. “But at least this time he was helpful.”
Luca gives me a questioning look, but I wave it off.
“You don’t want to know. I’ll fill you in when we get there.”