Chapter 10 Debrief
Debrief
My first foray into the pack house didn’t exactly go well. But I was thinking clearer now. Exhausted, anxious, but somehow better than I’d felt in a long time. For as long as I could remember.
Maybe this was my new life, slow mornings with Luca, delicious food, warm showers, and a beautiful, bright room of my own.
The second level opened up, and I took in the lake in the morning light. It shimmered like a sequined dress, and my eyes stung from the brightness.
Luca led me down the stairs. A few people milled about. Finn sat on the huge sectional with a laptop balanced on his knees. Beside him, a younger woman sat with her legs curled up under her, playing on some electronic device.
In the kitchen, two werewolves I didn’t recognize were cooking together. The towering man slid an arm around the woman’s waist, and when she turned to kiss him, I was surprised to see a rounded belly.
Cade appeared around the corner, from the hallway I thought led to his office. His voice filled the room. “Time for a debrief!”
There was such command in his tone, I jolted forward a step. His eyes narrowed on me, but he said nothing.
“You can hang out while we have our meeting,” Luca said, rubbing low on my back with his warm palm.
“Can I join you?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me. Luca’s eyes flicked to Cade. From the tightness in his jaw, the Alpha heard my question.
The two men held a silent conversation, and my gut churned. Finally, Cade huffed. “Bring the stray if you must.”
I bristled at the insult. So much for Luca’s scent-marking making people more friendly to me. There was no winning with the asshole Alpha.
Finn walked past, laptop tucked under his arm, and the couple from the kitchen followed.
“Are you sure?” Luca asked, leaning far closer than was necessary.
“Yeah, if I’m considering joining your pack, I want to see what it’s really like.”
His eyes brightened and he gave me a grin that sent heat swirling low in my belly.
Ignoring my impending sense of dread, I followed Luca into another office room, this one with a long table and seats lining the walls.
Harper sat near the front, beside the seat Cade was sliding into. Her lip curled as she looked up at me, and her friend whispered behind her hand.
The other seat beside Cade was open, and I had a feeling it belonged to Luca, but he sat in a chair along the wall and patted the seat beside him.
I sank down, and his hand went to my thigh, stroking up and down. I wasn’t sure if he meant to be comforting or if he was trying to build my desire, but I was too nervous for either.
“You remember Finn,” Luca whispered into my ear. His black curls flopped over his forehead as he leaned over, and I fought the urge to touch them.
“That’s Archer and Elowen,” he said, motioning to the couple. Even seated, the man towered over his partner. His skin was dark like Finn’s, making her pale skin and hair stand out.
“You remember Harper and her mate, Rae.” I nodded, avoiding looking at the two of them.
Another man filed in, taking the seat past Rae. He looked a little older. “That’s Holt. He does a lot of our cooking. And here’s Jem.”
The girl from the sofa slid into the seat beside Finn. She grinned up at him, and Finn fumbled the remote in his hands. Her black curls reminded me of Luca.
“Is she your sister?” I whisper. Jem twisted in her seat, looking at me with a dark brow raised.
“Cousin,” Luca answered with a chuckle. “Jem, this is Summer.”
“Hey,” Jem said, jerking her chin before turning back to the table.
Cade cleared his throat. “Everyone ready?” He leaned back in his seat, his mouth a thin line.
“Why is she here?” Harper asked, wrinkling her nose.
“She goes where Luca goes,” Cade answered without emotion. “For now.”
Harper shifted in her seat and drummed her claw-like manicure on the table. Today, she wore her red hair braided back along her scalp like a Viking.
“Let’s start with the good news. All of the humans from the raid were successfully returned to their families. Sixteen in total.”
Several people smiled and nodded proudly.
“Now here’s the bad news. After reviewing all of our data, we think there were fifteen vampires in the den total. The queen, three sons, and then miscellaneous members.”
“Five,” I muttered.
Cade’s attention homed in on me. He sat forward, folding his hands on the table. “Yes?”
Shit.
Steeling myself, I repeated, “Five sons. The queen has five sons.”
“And you know all about them?” His mouth flattened.
I scowled back at him, and Luca’s grip on my thigh tightened. “No, but I know a little. Evrin is the youngest.”
Cade’s jaw ticked at the name Evrin.
“The next youngest is Leon. I didn’t know the middle two, but the oldest is named Lucian. He is second-in-command, I think.”
Luca’s chin tipped up a fraction, silently communicating, See, I told you she’s worth keeping around.
Waves of suspicion and doubt rolled off Cade, and I fought the urge to sink down in my seat.
“We’ve heard of Lucian,” Cade said shortly. “And one named Elias.”
“That sounds right for one of the middle brothers,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
The Alpha sat back in his chair, his eyes sweeping away from me finally. “Well, the two vamps we got in the raid were low ranking. Seemed to be recently turned. That’s not going to do it.”
I went rigid in my seat, but Cade continued. “We need extra hands going through the security footage and tracking data we have. We need to find where they’re hiding and finish this.”
His gaze landed on me again, daring me to argue. If he wanted me to, I’d oblige. He was talking about slaughtering people just because they were vampires. He didn’t even know them.
Images of bloody necks flashed in my mind, but they weren’t all like that. I couldn’t believe it.
Heart racing, I opened my mouth. “Why? Why not just live and let live?”
Luca’s eyes widened. He sat forward, his hand squeezing my leg. “Summer is having trouble processing what she experienced in the den. We need to be patient.”
Harper leaned over and hissed to her companion.
Cade’s jaw ticked. “No, she’s had time. I will not tolerate willful ignorance. Finn, pull up the pictures from the raid.”
I froze, gripping the arms of my chair with white knuckles. All eyes were on me.
Finn grimaced, his brows rising sympathetically before he ducked his head and focused on his laptop. A moment later, images appeared on the screen behind Cade.
The first picture was of three girls. They were vaguely familiar to me, but not from my dorm. One hung off the other two, her eyes glazed. Their gaunt faces were pale and gray, and dark dried blood crusted their collars.
Did I look like that when Luca carried me from the den?
The next photo was a human lying sprawled over one of the narrow beds in the dorms. Someone had shone a flashlight on the scene, illuminating the rusted bedframe and grimy floor.
The boy’s matted hair was soaked with the same bright blood that coated his neck and face. A chunk of his throat was torn away.
My stomach rebelled, and I curled inward. I didn’t have a clue how a vampire could cause such carnage. Evrin was usually so careful with me. He had only hurt me a few times.
The image changed again, showing a female vampire pinned to the wall with a thin knife stuck through her shoulder. Her fangs were bared, and blood dripped down her chin.
Cade glanced over his shoulder. “We pulled her off a kid who was ten years old.”
Unable to look any longer, my head dropped to my hands. Water dripped across my palm, and I realized I was crying.
“That’s enough,” Luca said.
“She’s been brainwashed by the worst of these leeches,” Cade said, poison in every word. “We can’t help her if she refuses to listen.”
My throat was too thick to protest, and I didn’t know what was true anymore. I couldn’t go back to the vampires, couldn’t make Cade accept me. The only option was to run, but Luca wouldn’t make that easy. The room blurred with my tears as I stood up and walked out.
Luca’s voice murmured in the room behind me, and I ignored him. My feet carried me to the base of the stairs, but it seemed like so much work to climb back up, and I was sick of being in that room.
“Summer,” a soft voice called. I jerked around to see the petite woman, Elowen. She had one hand on her belly, while the other tucked a curtain of pale hair behind her ear.
“Sorry, I don’t…” I bit my lip, caught off guard by her soft expression and owlish green eyes.
“It’s okay. You seemed upset, so I thought we could talk.” She offered a small smile, which calmed my nerves.
“That’s okay,” I said, crossing my arms over my stomach and hugging myself.
“Look, I’m not going to make you feel worse. I figure you could use a break from the boys.”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I tried to give her a smile, though it might have come out as a grimace.
She turned to the kitchen. “Give me a moment. There’s one thing that always makes me feel better when I’m upset.”
A moment later, she returned with a tub of ice cream and two big spoons. “Let’s go outside, it’s really lovely today.”