Chapter 20
The door rattled on the SUV from the force of Dru’s slam.
She stalked toward the inn with anger still burning deep inside her.
They had been so damn close to capturing Solomon.
How the hell had he known they were on their way to his cottage?
This was one failure she didn’t want to report.
They’d still go after him, but it would be on Dru’s terms.
“General.” Talbot’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.
She swung around to him with a growl.
His steps faltered before he continued to advance to her. “Would you like the men to regroup behind the inn?”
“What I want is to know how the hell he knew we were coming,” she snarled. She stalked over and stood toe to toe with him.
He didn’t back away from her but kept his eyes forward.
The others continued on to the building.
She ignored them. Talbot had a hand in choosing the warriors who’d come to Butterbush with them.
Had someone leaked their plans? She was never one who failed at anything, and this should have been a straightforward mission. This was unacceptable.
“I’m not sure, General,” he replied. “But I’ll find out.”
“You do that. In the meanwhile, I want scouts out in the town and the woods. I want a man on the cottage.” She didn’t think Solomon would return there, but she didn’t want to chance it. She wasn’t going to let the traitor slip through her fingers again. He was going to answer for his crimes.
“Yes, General. I’ll handle this right away.”
She stepped back from him and motioned for him to leave.
He moved past her. She blew out a deep breath to try to get herself under control.
She was never one to lose her cool, but admitting failure didn’t sit well with her.
Talbot was a good warrior, and he’d better keep his promise or he’d be answering to her personally.
“General!” someone called out.
Dru glanced at the sky before turning. This day had started off so well and had quickly gone to shit. She’d better be getting some good news now.
“What?” Dru snapped.
Orenda jogged down the stairs of the inn and headed in Dru’s direction, holding a cellular phone. “You have a call. It is the postmaster.”
Dru snatched the phone from her. “This is General Moldark.” She walked along the path that led to the back of the inn. This conversation she would take outside. There was no telling whose ears would be listening inside. She sensed Orenda following behind her at a distance.
“General. It is Postmaster Alexander. I have word that there was an issue today,” he announced.
“Oh? And who shared that information with you?” Dru narrowed her eyes on the clouds. They’d already dropped a significant amount of rain since they’d finished burning the lycans. Word sure got around fast. She’d planned to call on the postmaster once she’d settled in.
“General, I’m insulted that you wouldn’t consider that I have men who patrol the town or the surrounding areas,” he scoffed.
“Then why hasn’t anyone reported lycans?” she demanded.
The line went silent. She paused and stared off at the multi-car garage that sat back away from the inn.
The doors were open, revealing it to be empty.
The landscaping of the grounds was immaculate.
Had she been in a better mood, she’d maybe appreciate it.
“Or did your men report to you the burning lycan bodies we left out in the woods?”
“Um…”
“So if that wasn’t what you were calling about, then what?” Dru didn’t like the hesitation in his voice.
“Well, yes, of course I was calling about the burning bodies. From the reports of my men, there were quiet a few bodies found,” Alexander said. “The smoke could be seen for miles. They’re working to bury the remains as we speak.”
“What you’re telling me is that you didn’t know you had lycans residing so close by?
” she demanded. She wasn’t going to go into details about the lycans working with a vampire.
Alexander didn’t need to know that. “They openly attacked me and my men today, and believe me when I say they paid with their lives.”
“I have been unaware of them. There hasn’t been a lycan sighting since—”
“The lycan attack where you failed to report that a single non-military vampire stopped them from attacking the town?” Dru stood in place and rested a hand on her waist. She didn’t like speaking over the phone to confront him about his reports and the information he held back.
“There were circumstances on why I decided to alter the report—”
“I definitely want to hear these circumstances. I don’t want to speak on the phone about this.
We’ll meet tomorrow night.” Certain conversations should be held face to face, and this was one of them.
She wanted to be able to see his face as he explained to her why he’d left something as significant as a single vampire halting a dangerous lycan pack from destroying a town.
“Yes, General. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“In the meanwhile, I want warriors posted throughout the town. Those lycans were unprovoked, and we don’t know if more are coming or if they’ll converge on the town,” Dru said.
“Yes, General. We’ll secure the town. Have no worries.”
“I won’t.” Dru disconnected the call. She spun on her heel and headed back to Orenda. She tossed the phone to her in passing. “The men can rest and feed for now. You, I, and Talbot will convene at twenty-two hundred hours.”
“Yes, General.”
Dru glanced down at herself and took in all of the lycan blood and entrails that covered her. She grimaced and decided before anything else she needed to get the scent of the mangy lycans off her.
One thing Dru knew, she wasn’t going to allow Butterbush to come under another lycan attack. Not while she was here. The people didn’t deserve it. Vampires and humans should be able to live in peace without the threat of lycans trying to overrun their small town.
Dru entered via the back door and headed up the stairs to her suite. Thoughts of Tomesha crept into her mind. Her gums burned at the thought of her human.
Will you be needing me again?
Dru opened the door to her suite and shut it. She leaned back against it and inhaled. She could still detect a hint of Tomesha’s unique scent. Even though her human had been gone for hours, traces of her still lingered in the air.
She shouldn’t feed from her, but that didn’t mean Dru couldn’t have other liberties with the female. There were two things that always helped Dru think with a clear head after battle.
Feeding and sex.
One could potentially cause Tomesha harm, while the other could no nothing but give her extreme pleasure.
Dru pushed off the door and stripped her filthy clothes off. She’d call on her human again. Just the thought of feeling her soft body against hers was already calming her anger.
The answer is yes, miere, Dru thought. Yes, I’ll be needing you again.
* * *
Dru walked down the front stairwell to the lower level of the inn.
She paused at the foot of the stairs and took in the casual conversations commencing in the main area.
She nodded to the humans who worked the front desk, strode past them, and headed to back to a bar area where she was sure more of her men would be seated.
The human inn owners kept prepared blood in stock as well as spirits.
They had been very accommodating to her and her warriors since they’d arrived.
She’d ensure they were tipped heavily for putting up with them.
She entered the dining room where warriors were scattered around.
Conversations ceased as all gazes landed on her.
“At ease.” She folded her hands behind her and strolled over to the bar.
Talbot and a few warriors were seated. When she got there, a warrior stood and offered her his seat.
“Thank you.”
“Can I get you anything, General?” a young human female server asked. She was dressed in the inn’s standard uniform of white button-down shirt, black slacks, and an apron tied around her waist.
Dru shook her head. “I’m fine.”
The woman smiled and moved down the counter. Dru wouldn’t be staying here long. As soon as Tomesha arrived, she’d be escorting her human back to her quarters.
“Can I speak with you for a moment, General? In private?” Talbot gestured with his head toward the glass double doors that led to a patio.
“Sure.” She followed him out the doors.
He shut the door and walked over to the railings.
She eyed the strong warrior and went to stand beside him. “What is on your mind?”
“I must apologize for my failings earlier,” he began.
“We work as a unit. We all failed today,” Dru replied. That was one thing she stressed to those training under her. Not one fighter went into battle alone. They either all won or they all lost together. “We did defeat the lycans. We worked together to eliminate that threat.”
“I still feel as if this is somehow my fault.” Frustration lined his face. He glanced over at her and shrugged. “I should have done more research. Maybe sent a scout closer to the cottage—”
“Then Solomon would have been alerted even earlier than he was.” She rested a hand on his shoulder.
While she’d been in the shower, even she’d run through every scenario that could have possibly happened.
If it was anyone’s fault, it was hers. She was the leader, and the responsibility of carrying out the mission was hers.
“Things happen for a reason. We’ll learn from this.
We’ll regroup and plan. I don’t ever want to run into a situation unprepared. We’ll sniff out the bastard.”
“I put out a few feelers. I had a thought,” he said.
She turned from him and took in the garden surrounding the patio.
The soft fragrance of the flowers floated through the air.
It was a pleasing scent that reminded her of Tomesha.
She inhaled again and felt the twinge of pain from her fangs tapping on her gums. She blinked and tried to think of something else.