Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Rafael
It takes a lot of willpower to get myself out of the shower. A soft smile plays on Santiago’s lips when he looks down at Samantha, who in turn looks like a cat who ate the canary, the canary’s family, drank the cream, and got a belly rub in the end.
After she drank, the shadows vanished from under her eyes. Those shadows never should have been there in the first place, but at least now her skin has a healthy glow. The pleasure-drugged expression in her eyes was there before her fangs sank into me, though.
I don’t know what Santiago did to make her lose it like that, but grudgingly, I have to admit I might need a lesson or two.
He’s whispering soft praises to her even now, and they still stay under the spray.
It’s a good thing the mansion was designed to house plenty of people, since they used enough warm water for ten long showers. At least. Not that I’m jealous.
Fucking wolves.
They better be here fast and get on with business.
I dress quickly, just a dry pair of jeans and a simple black shirt, since I don’t want to risk dog hair on my slacks.
It’s usually a half an hour drive from the pack land to here, but in this weather, it could take longer.
I glance at the clock. It’s been thirty minutes since I called.
I bet I could have stayed in that shower a moment longer.
Just to make sure I don’t end up in the shower again, I force myself to head downstairs to wait.
My mind tries to sort out all the things I need to focus on, but it all circles back to Samantha’s soft expression and her hand reaching for Santiago.
After you told her to stay with him, the nagging voice reminds me.
Well, she could have put up a little bit of a fight.
Yeah, right. Like she would complain about staying with the man who screwed her brains out.
He could screw your brains out too, the nag at the back of my head suggests and I groan. Meeting the pack with a painful hard-on is not ideal. Meeting the pack after my brains have been turned to the same level of mush as Samantha’s would sadly not accomplish anything.
The broken door still hangs off its hinges in the lobby.
I still need to fix that. And restock the fridge.
Or call Marcus so he knows to bring food for himself when he returns.
I’m not fucking dusting this place. A little hitch in my plans is the fact that I don’t think I can tolerate him close to Samantha.
My steward, while fully trustworthy, is a good-looking mage. Still, he needs to fix the protective spells Samantha is so fond of breaking. Pacing in the front lobby, I push my jealousy aside and try to focus on the questions I need answers to.
How can Samantha smash past enchantment-protected doors like they are nothing? Why didn’t compulsion work on her when she was a human? She folded under my command, but I’m her sire; it’s different. Maybe we should test it out with Santiago.
Why can she only drink from me? Can she only drink from me? I’m not sure I want an answer to that one. Maybe the witch could research anomalies in the drinking patterns next.
Oh fuck! I haven’t let Thea know Samantha is awake. I need to call her—
A car door slamming jolts me out of my thoughts and I step outside. Four cars sit in the driveway, eight wolves, like we agreed, but I raise my brow at the blue sports car and its occupant. There was no mention of a witch and I don’t take kindly to surprises.
“Who the fuck is that?” I growl at the wolf standing closest to me. Thea is the exception to the rule, and I still don’t like her. We have a mutual interest and incentive to work together. That doesn’t mean I’m going to allow other witches on my lands.
“She’s under pack protection,” he responds, hackles rising.
“I don’t care if she’s under the protection of the Holy Pope. She is on my land, unannounced.”
“Easy, Jere,” the alpha steps in when the pup goes to flex his muscle. “We apologize, Mr. Moretti. She’s part of the issue we wish to discuss with you and, for safety reasons, her presence couldn’t be disclosed over the phone.”
“Safety is surely going to be an issue.” I glare, not willing to back down an inch.
“Please, Mr. Moretti. She will stay in the car, unless you give your okay for her to join us.”
Internally, I seethe. I can’t very well leave her unsupervised out here when I show the body to the pack. Santiago could babysit her, but that would leave Samantha unguarded and that’s unacceptable.
Some of my seething must have leaked, since the alpha lifts his hand in a placating gesture and takes half a step back. He’s acting suspiciously calm. Usually the wolves are volatile, full of bravado and bluff like the pup who’s still giving me the stink eye.
“Tell me what you wanted to discuss,” I say, making a snap decision. I’ll hear them out and then decide if I will show them the body. Associating with witches is one thing; dragging one onto my land is another.
“Of course, Mr. Moretti. We appreciate your willingness to listen,” the alpha says and even the pup seems to lose some of the bluster. So they want something from me. Why am I not surprised?
“Go on,” I urge when he stays silent.
“There’s trouble. Well, there always is, but not like this. Females are disappearing from the packs.”
“What?” I interrupt, chill running down my spine.
“Not just wolves, shifters of all kinds. We finally contacted the witches to see if they could help. Scrying or some shit like that, that would show us who is behind this,” he grumbles, pointing toward the witch in the car.
“What we didn’t expect to hear was that some witches have gone missing too.
For some time now, from what I could gather. She wasn’t overly forthcoming.”
“And what has this to do with me?” I narrow my eyes and the alpha lifts his hands again.
“Nothing. But we were hoping to see if you were willing to make inquiries among the bloodsuckers—ah, I mean, the vampire community, to see if any of your females have gone missing.”
I mull that over. I have the necessary connections to send the feelers out, but is the wolf truly being sincere? That’s the question. Ironically, his slip about bloodsuckers makes me feel better. He doesn’t really like me, no matter how cordial he’s acting right now.
“How many women?”
“At least seventeen shifters and nine witches,” the alpha replies and now I can see the rage shimmering in his eyes. That relaxes me further, he’s actually pissed about this.
“The witches know the exact number?”
“Apparently, they ‘keep in touch’,” he mutters.
Ahh, so the feelings toward the witches are not too fond either. “And none of them have been found?”
“Not that I know of.”
“When and where was the latest disappearance?”
“Two weeks ago, my pack,” the alpha says and his shoulders slump for just a fraction before he pulls himself back together. “Will you make inquiries? This has to stop.”
“I agree. Come along, and bring the witch,” I say, turning on my heel.
“What? Where are we going?” the alpha asks, but I hear them following and the car door opening. Still, I don’t smell her. Naughty witch, masking her scent. From me or from someone else? Witches can be tasty. I’ll readily admit to draining one or two in my youth, but they are on my land now.
“Drop the spell,” I bark and spin to face her.
She’s pretty. Large brown eyes, wide with surprise—not fear—look back at me from an oval face.
Her hair is luscious brown and her olive skin tone complements the package.
Every detail that I notice irritates me further, and her scent is still absent.
“If I can’t smell you in two seconds, you are going to be my next snack.
Drop. The. Spell,” I growl and let my fangs show.
“Mr. Moretti,” the alpha tries to butt in.
“It’s all right, Alpha,” the witch says.
“Time’s up,” I say and take a step closer to her.
“Wa—” The witch falls silent when I snag her arm and bite down on her wrist.
It only takes the tiniest sip to push past whatever spell she has going on and I taste her smell in her blood. Lavender and other herbs, the tiniest hint of smoke, cloyingly sweet like incense.
I release her and wave a hand to indicate that they should move forward. Several of the wolves are growling, ready to pounce, and when the alpha opens his mouth, I let my own growl loose. The deep timbre and strength of it overpowers the younger wolves and reminds the alpha who he’s dealing with.
I’m old enough to walk away from this, even if they all pounce at once. Agreeing to eight wolves wasn’t arrogance, it was calculated, a move to throw them off their game. Make them overconfident so they would play their hand faster. The illusion is no longer needed.
“Shut the fuck up and follow me,” I grind out and point at the witch. She’s the only one who doesn’t seem to be on a warpath as she stares at the neat marks on her wrist. “You, stay close. No magic without my say-so.”
“Why—”
I cut her off by turning my back on her and storming toward the forest. A few of the wolves are still growling, but it’s more anxious and they all fall in line behind me. Quickly, I lead them through the garden and blur forward so that I have the tarp off by the time they catch up with me.
“She was dumped on my grounds sometime this afternoon or early evening. One of yours, I presume,” I say to the alpha who turns white and drops to his knees next to the body.
“Alyssa,” he whispers, horror clear on his face.
Growls and howls rise around me. The witch sidles next to me and whispers very, very quietly, “The alpha’s mate. I saw her this morning.”
“You didn’t know she was missing,” I say, not bothering to modulate my tone.
“Where did you find her?” the alpha is barely coherent, his body shaking like he’s trying to hold back the shift.
“Here. As far as I could see, she was killed elsewhere and dumped here.”
“Call the Wolf King,” the alpha barks to someone. “Bring her home.”
And then his wolf breaks free. A large, gray wolf stands in his place and howls out his heartbreak.
He noses the body a couple of times and sniffs around before pounding into the forest. I watch him go.
He’s on the hunt, looking for revenge. Maybe his nose will lead him in the right direction, but I doubt it.
Still, he needs to run.
The pup, Jere, lifts the body in his arms and the pack turns to go. I set my hand on the witch’s arm, holding her back. She raises an eyebrow but stays in place when the pack trudges back toward the cars.
There’s rage, pain, and defeat shimmering in the air around them. They failed to protect their alpha’s mate. He failed to protect her. Whatever interest they had toward solving this issue just increased tenfold.
When I’m sure they are out of hearing range, I turn to face the witch. “Is there anything else I should know?”
“Maybe…”
“Spit it out.”
“I need to speak to my coven leader first.”
“Witches,” I huff.
“Vampires,” she replies, but without heat.
“Fine, but no appearing on my land unannounced.”
“And how should I announce myself?”
I smirk and flash my fangs. “Bleeding profusely so I can smell you would work.”
“Jerk,” she hisses and I smile.
“Ask your coven leader. She should know the proper protocol.”
“A protocol?”
“Yes, a protocol.” I nod.
“All right.” She sounds a bit unsure now. I’m willing to bet she’s going to piss her pants when she asks her coven leader and gets the answer. Lucky, lucky witch she has been today.
“I’ll make the inquiries,” I say suddenly and move toward the house, tugging her along. “Make sure to get back to me soon. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“Who are you?” she asks and I smile. She is getting smarter, slowly putting things together.
“Not your problem. Yet.”
I lead her to her car and wait until she’s seated before dropping the last tidbit.
“The alpha’s mate was pregnant. I’ll leave it up to you if you want to mention it to him.” I close the door on her stunned face and walk inside.