Chapter 25
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Beckett
Istood in my garage, studying the cache of weapons hidden behind a secret panel and debated which ones would be the best for vampire hunting as well as the easiest to clean up after.
A sword? I always did favor the rapier, but no.
It’s too messy. I’ll take some daggers for close combat; the question is do I take a sniper rifle or a crossbow for long distance.
Sniper rifle is more accurate and will allow for greater distances, but it would definitely alert humans given the sound, whereas a crossbow would let me operate under the radar so to speak.
My phone rang, and I was surprised to see it was Daphne.
Right about now she was supposed to be having dinner with Abi, not to mention I’d already talked to her this afternoon ad nauseam.
We’d had a long conversation in which I hinted I was considering holding a vampire hunt and perhaps if her Pack would be willing to put forth a few trackers, that might make me more affable to the idea, considering it would make the ordeal easier.
Yes, I was considering breaking my decades long hands-off policy.
Really, I was hoping I could lead the Ahnapee Pack into taking care of the situation—they were more than capable, they just lacked the belief in themselves, as childish as that sounded.
However, should they prove unwilling or unable to find this nuisance of a vampire, I would take care of the situation myself.
Swiping to accept the call, I continued to consider my wall of weapons. “Yes?”
“Mr. Kinge? Abi might be in danger.” Daphne’s voice was barely audible over a high pitched keening noise in the background.
“What are you talking about? She’s supposed to be with you right now.” I froze in alarm.
“I had to push our dinner back to hold a Pack meeting to discuss everything you told me this afternoon,” Daphne said, her voice tight and still muffled by the wailing in the background.
“I called ahead so she knew. She said she would wait in Algoma for me, but then I got a voice mail and a series of texts from her.”
“Saying what?”
“She figured out the vampire is Josephine Dupont—a wealthy woman who has been touring the Door Peninsula this summer. She’s been moving around but still comes back to the area, she’s wealthy, there’s a whole list of why the vampire we’re looking for is likely her.”
My building worry was momentarily absorbed by pride—of course Abi would figure out who the vampire was where the rest of us supernaturals had failed. She really was brilliant.
Until I remembered Daphne’s voice was scared, so there was obviously more to this than Abi’s superior intellect.
“You said a voicemail and a series of texts,” I said, zeroing in on a potential issue. “Why didn’t she tell you all of this over voicemail?”
“Because she was on the beach watching Josephine at the time. I assume she didn’t want to say it out loud in case Josphine could hear.”
“What?!” The word came out sharper than the swords mounted on wall.
“The last text message I got from her said she was watching Josephine, as it looked like she had used vampire pheromones on an Algoma local.”
“When was that?”
“Maybe ten minutes ago, max. She tried calling me and I just barely missed the call, that was about three minutes ago. I tried calling her back, but she didn’t pick up.
My dad is still trying to call her… while I’m talking to you.
” Daphne explained, a few of her words getting covered up by the odd sound.
Having a basic frame of the scenario, I plucked a few sheathed daggers off the wall and situated them on my person—up my sleeves and the like. “Something obviously happened—either she can’t risk texting you or worst case scenario the vampire found her. And what is that racket in the background?”
“Flint.”
If the situation were any less dire I would have paused in surprise, but I remained focused and grabbed a crossbow’s quiver and a crossbow. “Flint?”
“He’s been sobbing ever since we figured out what happened.”
Flint was a child, yes, but Alphas like him—born as werewolves instead of having to undergo the transformation as adults and presenting as Alphas as a child—were practically born as short adults. At least that was how other werewolves generally treated him.
For him to be so openly expressing an emotional reaction… it said a lot about his relationship with Abi, and how Abi treated him.
“We’ll muster the Pack and comb the beach for Abi’s scent,” Daphne continued.
“Hold for one moment.” I tossed my crossbow and quiver into my car then opened up the app tied to the GPS unit I’d placed in Abi’s wallet.
It took a moment for the unit to sync, but eventually it brought up a dot that sped down Highway 42 at a speed that indicated Abi had either become a supreme sprinter or she was in a car.
“Alright. Take the Pack and see if you can pick up her scent or find anyone who saw what happened. I’m going to intercept the GPS tracker I have placed on her. ”
I returned to my weapons cache to grab the backpack with emergency supplies I kept for times such as this.
“The what?!”
I got into my car and turned it on, waiting for the Bluetooth to connect the phone to the car. “Keep me updated with anything you find out. I’ll let you know what happens.”
“But—GPS? I—”
I threw my car in reverse and backed out of the garage. “Daphne, we need to move as swiftly as possible. The longer she’s with the vampire, the more dangerous it is for her.”
“Understood. Good luck, Mr. Kinge.”
“Thanks.” I grimly ended the call and shifted into drive, tires screeching as I gunned it down the driveway. But I couldn’t so easily escape my merciless thoughts.
Abi called Daphne and texted her multiple times, but she never reached out to me, and I have myself to blame for that.
How many times had I told her I wasn’t going to help with the vampire. How often had I stated that I would not intervene?
Why, why had I done that?
When her life was in danger, Abi had obviously felt like she couldn’t call me for help.
That knowledge felt more painful than anything I’d experienced in my long life, including the ravaging pain of becoming a vampire.
I had failed her.
But never again. I was going to take care of this vampire once and for all, and make it clear to Abi that I chose her.