Chapter 18
Dru settled back in the vehicle as Orenda drove to their location. She ran her tongue over her fangs.
Will you be needing me again? Tomesha’s words echoed in her head.
She closed her eyes briefly at the memory of her big brown eyes and how she had watched Dru.
It had taken everything Dru had to hold back from sinking her teeth back into Tomesha’s vein.
The taste of her blood was like nothing Dru had ever had, but she’d had to resist. She didn’t want to cause any more harm to the small human.
When leaving the inn, she’d ordered a cup of ifalla tea to be taken to Tomesha.
She wasn’t going to take any risk that her blood stores would be low.
Dru had been extremely careful.
She glanced out the window at the scenery flying by. Dru pushed all thoughts of the human and her delectable body from her mind. This wasn’t the time to go down memory lane. Distractions like this during a mission could prove fatal.
“Our intel suggests there are plenty of traps on the property,” Talbot announced from the passenger seat.
Dru blinked and came back to the present. She picked up her tablet and opened the device. They had been sent an updated map of Sol Winter’s property. Some of the warriors had canvassed the area from a distance last night.
Today, they’d seek out the vampire.
“Then we’ll enter quietly and swiftly. We wouldn’t want to alert our target to our presence until we’re ready.
” Dru studied the area. If she were a vampire staying off the grid, this would be the perfect place to live.
She swiped the screen and took in pictures of the cabin.
It didn’t look modern, and she doubted it had running water.
Which wouldn’t be an issue for a vampire as old as Sol.
He was from a time before all of the amenities that were taken for granted existed.
The quicker she could confirm this Sol Winters was Solomon Winterborne, the quicker she could conclude this mission. Her gut screamed that this was the same man. He was a traitor to the crown who’d murdered lycans and blamed it on the king.
But now he was possibly working with the lycans?
She narrowed her eyes on the document that had also been sent to her. It was information regarding the last lycan attack that had occurred in Butterbush. She quickly read through the file, paused at the end, and glanced back up.
“Did I just read this right? Sol confronted the lycans in the center of town and they just left?” she asked in disbelief. So one vampire faced a pack of lycans and they just turned and walked away from the vampire?
“That’s how I read it.” Orenda slowed the truck and made a turn at the corner.
The road opened to an empty highway. The landscape flew by in a blur.
The other warriors who were accompanying them followed in two other SUVs.
They’d drive to a certain point, then the rest of the trip would be done on foot.
Luckily enough for them, the sun wasn’t out.
The sky was so thick with storm-born clouds that only a thin gray light filtered down.
It painted the world in shades of steel and shadow.
Dru inhaled deeply and scented the impeding storm.
They’d need to move quickly to not get caught up in the rain.
But it’s daylight! Again, Tomesha broke through Dru’s thoughts.
Her human had been worried about her. Dru couldn’t remember when the last time someone had been concerned about her and her safety.
It warmed her heart to think that Tomesha would be concerned about her out in daylight.
The sun wouldn’t instantly kill her. Sunburn could be severe.
Vampires were deathly allergic to it, but a little sun wouldn’t send her to the afterlife.
Dru sighed and struggled to keep Tomesha from evading her thoughts. She was on a mission and needed to focus.
“And no one suspected that one vampire could turn away a pack of lycans who’d been tearing through the town?” Dru arched an eyebrow.
Lycans who were on a mission of turning an entire town of humans would not stop. Their current life’s mission was to get their numbers up by any means necessary. Why would they listen to a vampire? An enemy who’d hunted them down to the brink of extinction.
“The postmaster had proclaimed that it was the threat of more vampire warriors coming to help that scared the lycans off. There was still plenty of damage, deaths, and missing humans. The Butterbush post was overwhelmed. Postmaster Alexander had put out a stress call to the surrounding posts who’d dispatched warriors to come,” Talbot said.
Dru tapped on her screen and went through the reports the postmaster had submitted regarding the incident.
She had read through them, but it had been before she’d looked at this newer file.
Alarms were going off in her head. Was the postmaster that dense in the head to think a threat of more warriors coming would sway lycans on a rampage?
Why hadn’t he included that a vampire civilian had confronted the lycans?
She made a mental note to address this with him.
He was going to answer to her on why he’d left out such a vital piece of information.
Dru scowled. This was the doing of Solomon Winterborne. But if he’d orchestrated the death of the lycan king’s family, who was he working for? If not King Niall’s orders, then whose? What did he have to gain?
Or had that been his way to start the war?
Eliminate the Riskel family then take over the throne?
Lethia and her sisters would have been young children when this occurred.
It was no wonder none of them had known about the traitorous events of the right hand of the king.
Eliminating King Niall, then Queen Mira, wouldn’t have been easy. The royal couple were deadly warriors.
But starting a lycan-vampire war would have increased the odds.
And if he didn’t have an issue murdering lycan children, he certainly wouldn’t have had an issue killing Lethia and her sisters.
Dru bit back a snarl. She’d get to the bottom of this. The more she discovered about this vampire, the more the chances of his head being severed from his shoulders increased.
“We’re coming up to the designated location where we’ll need to leave the vehicles,” Orenda said.
Dru turned off the device and slid it into the back pocket of the driver’s seat. A deadly calmness came over her at the thought of this mission. She’d find this vampire and take him to the queen, and if he resisted, then she’d take his head.
Either way, he was going to be presented to the queen.
It mattered not to her if he wasn’t the Solomon Winterborne. Whoever this vampire was had a hand in the attacks in Butterbush. She was certain of it.
The vehicle pulled off the highway onto rocky terrain.
Orenda drove a few more minutes deeper into the woods.
She tucked the vehicle off into a thick area of trees.
The drivers in the other vehicles followed her lead.
They didn’t want to leave the vehicles out in the open where anyone would be able to see them and suspect anything.
She killed the engine.
“Let’s hunt,” Dru growled.
She opened the door and stepped out of the SUV.
She slammed the door shut. They still had a few miles to cover, but with their vampire speed, they could reach their destination in minutes.
The warriors stalked toward her. Each of them wore the same fierce expression.
This wasn’t a battle she was leading them into, but it was an important mission for the queen.
Dru stood tall while her warriors gathered around her.
She met each of their eyes before she began speaking.
“This is hostile territory we’re entering. The enemy doesn’t know we’re coming, but once we arrive, he’ll know for certain who’s at his damn door.”
Chuckles went around. The air was tense as they listened to her. It was a simple mission. They’d capture the vampire and interrogate him. Simple, but as she’d said, dangerous. If he took the time to ensure the forest around him was riddled with traps, then this was no simple vampire.
“For the crown!” Dru thumped a fist on her chest.
Her warriors returned the same action. They turned and began their trek.
They moved swiftly and silently. The forest pressed in on them, heavy with a thick mist and silence.
The animals sensed the predators on the loose.
Every step closer toward the cottage seemed to awaken the area.
Dru’s sharp senses detected everything from the distant crackle of leaves to the snap of a twig beneath a warrior’s boot.
They slowed as they made half the distance.
Dru led the charge and came to a halt. She raised her fist and ceased breathing. She drew her blade from her waist, having felt eyes on them. Someone knew they were there. She bit back a curse and glanced around. Talbot stood to her right, while Orenda was to her left.
Words were not needed.
They sensed it, too.
Dru used hand motions to signal for the warriors to spread out. They moved again, this time at a slower pace. The first trap soon revealed itself—a wire strung low to the ground, almost invisible to the untrained eye. Talbot pointed to it with the tip of his sword.
Dru’s lips curled back in disgust. It was a simple trap, but there was no telling what was attached to the other end of the wire. They each carefully stepped over it.
“Keep your eyes open. There will be more,” Dru cautioned in a low voice.
The nodding of heads confirmed they’d heard her. They continued on and soon came upon a crude pit disguised by a blanket of moss and large branches. They quickly bypassed it. There were more on their way to the cottage which gave away they were drawing closer to their destination.