29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Christopher
“Is that everyone?” I asked Jennifer as I regarded the half-filled room.
“These are the ones on call here. Panu and Freddy are patrolling the town until three pm today, then Abigail and I will take over until the night shift begins,” Jennifer replied following me inside the room.
This was the one I used for meetings regarding the pack.
It had glass walls so we could be seen if anyone came into the station, which was why I knew we were understaffed today and I demanded to know why.
“Where is everyone else?” I asked, not even bothering with hellos as I sat. I’d called Jennifer on the way here and she’d herded everyone into this room so I wouldn’t waste my time on them grabbing coffee and what not.
“Mitchell got hurt two nights ago protecting the treasure,” James said. “Heinz and Raven were both killed three days ago.”
Jennifer then spoke, “Dianne is sick and so is Colin.”
I swallowed as it sank it. I’d lost two of my best fighters, and I hadn’t even known. I truly was a horrible alpha. It was a good thing I wouldn’t be theirs for long.
“We’ll do a proper burial for Heinz and Raven next week,” I vowed. “Now I need—”
My bond flared with urgency, with fear. I stood, grabbing my phone and called Sal. He didn’t pick up. I called again and nothing.
Movement behind me had me turning to see Stacy running towards the meeting room, looking scared.
I ran over to open the door and she stopped and panted for breath.
“Alpha,” she took in a few more breaths and I stomped forward and shook her.
I didn’t have time for her dramatics. Something was wrong and she knew what.
“Speak,” I ordered, using my alpha voice on her. It was the same as coercing, making my packmates tell me the truth. This had been the first time I’d ever used it.
“Vampires,” she said, unable to resist my order. “They wanted to know where Benjamin lived and I told them.”
I growled. “Why did you tell them?!”
Her eyes widened in fear. “Was… was I not supposed to?”
“Why did you tell them where Benji was?!” I growled again, using my alpha voice again this time.
“So they would kill him,” she whispered, knowing she’d fucked up.
I saw red. This woman knew what she’d done, had happily given the information away, then ran here hoping she could— what?—earn my favor for telling me Benji was in danger, when she’d been the reason for it?
I looked her in the eyes and snapped her neck. She died instantly and slumped to the floor. I didn’t even bother looking behind me; they’d all seen.
I barked, “I need all of you at my house now. My mates are in danger.”
Then I ran outside, shifted, and bolted home.
The scene that greeted me had me howling with anger.
Sal stood in the backyard, phone pressed to his ear.
He was scared and paced back and forth. To my left I saw Panu’s body slumped on the ground, bleeding out.
I knew he was gone from the way his middle was bent.
No one could survive getting bent in half.
I ran over to Sal, rubbing against his middle to calm myself.
At least he was okay. His red eyes met mine and he stroked my head.
“They took Benji,” he said, ignoring his phone as he gave me all his attention.
His hands were shaking, so I licked the one that had petted me, wanting to help calm him.
“Freddy is upstairs and bleeding, I don’t know if he’s alive or not.
Anker is trying to find who took Benji and where they went. ”
I felt my pack approaching, so I ordered them to find Freddy and make sure he got healed. I was the only one who could speak to them, and they couldn’t speak back. But I knew they’d heard. Jennifer and James rushed inside and the rest joined Sal and me, eyeing Panu’s body with low whimpers.
“Okay,” Sal said into the phone. “We’ll move in that direction. I’ll wait for your next call.” He hung up and looked down at me. “Anker can’t find anything on who took him, but he tracked Benji’s phone so we have his location.”
I had no idea how Anker even managed to get Benji’s phone signal, but I trusted they knew what they were doing. “Then let’s go,” I said, running back to the car.
I ordered my pack to follow, letting Jennifer and James stay behind to help Freddy and remove Panu’s body. But before Sal could drive us away, Altaur called.
Sal picked it up, letting him talk through the car stereo so I could hear it too.
I sat in the front seat, still in wolf form and felt agitated over not moving my body.
My mate was taken and I needed to feel like I was moving.
Sal drove in the direction Anker had told him to, as Altaur’s voice rang through the car.
“It’s the Greenwren Coven,” he said, getting right into it. “They want the book.”
“Well, they can have it,” Sal snapped, picking up speed now that we were on a proper road.
“I think the book holds more than just the rogue part,” Altaur warned, but neither Sal nor I cared about that. “You need to be prepared for how our world can change if they get the book.”
“Don’t care,” Sal replied, swerving around two cars and passing them.
“I didn’t think you did, but I thought a warning was in order. I just spoke to the coven master. You need to bring them the book or Benjamin dies. You have two hours.” Then he hung up.
Sal swore and I growled, wanting to bite into the necks of those vampires who’d taken what was ours. “We have to fucking go back because of this shit!” he grumbled, turning the car and driving back towards the library.
“I don’t even know if we can remove the book,” I said, whining low. “We might die like my father did.”
“Then we’ll die together,” Sal declared and I was okay with that. We didn’t have time to waste anyway and even if we managed to get some witches to help us grab the book, we had no idea if they would destroy it or willingly hand it over to us. This way we at least had a chance of saving Benji.
We entered the library, ignoring the questions from the pack as we rushed inside to grab the damn book.
I ordered them to stand back and they did, but they were nosy so I doubted it would last long.
I led Sal deeper into the library, all the way to the back where the basement steps were, then descended them, Sal right behind me.
The inside of the library wasn’t warded, only the outside, but I could still feel magic as we reached the bottom of the stairs.
The book was in a glass case, one my mother had brought for this purpose alone, not that it would protect the book from theft, no it just made it look nice.
I growled as we neared it. This book had taken my father from me, my packmates, and now my mate.
It was time to get rid of the evil thing.
Something I should’ve done as soon as my father died.
Thinking back that would’ve been the obvious choice, but I hadn’t thought clearly back then, with Father dying and Mother being a bitch.
“We grab it at the same time,” Sal said, removing the glass and throwing it behind us, making it shatter.
I shifted and stood next to my vampire, holding his hand while the other was ready to lift the book.
It started to glow and we swallowed uneasily as we took it without issue.
I sighed with relief. Sal took the book from me and I shifted back to my wolf.
We had a feisty human to save.