Chapter 24
Chapter
Twenty-Four
My thoughts jumbled. I was still catching my breath, trying to process Torin’s actions. He stole my magic book. Torin took away my only ticket out of being a werewolf Queen, the source of answers I needed.
“No. No. No,” I repeated until Hayden stood in front of me, grasping my shoulders gently.
“Sweetheart.” He leaned in. “It’s not safe here.”
I shook my head until little dots appeared in my vision. “He took my book because he thinks I can’t handle the bad guys on my own. As a human.”
“No, sweetheart. The Alpha did it to protect you. If he is in possession of it, then no one will come after you,” Hayden said in a melodic voice that twisted my insides uncomfortably.
Torin must have realized I wouldn’t go back to the kingdom where I’d be safe. So, his next best trick was to steal the book from me. To take on the risk of supernaturals attacking him rather than me?
How honorable of him.
But his betrayal spoke volumes—Torin thought I was too weak to stand up to the supernaturals.
He was the same jerk as he was five years ago, the same as I remembered him from my entire life in the kingdom. Was I so fragile in his eyes?
I stared at Hayden, frowning. “The attackers don’t know Torin has the book. They’ll still come after me.”
“For a short while, yes. That’s why we must find a safe place to spend the night. A hotel.”
A quick glance out the window told me we didn’t have much time to decide. The night had fallen, and with it, thickening shadows. The vampires would still come after me until they found out I no longer had the book.
Was this Torin’s brilliant plan?
I massaged my temples. Something felt off. I shook my head slightly. No way would hot-tempered Torin leave me alone with my bodyguard. I couldn’t believe that the Alpha trusted Hayden with my life. Torin almost lost control of his vampire when he’d learned I was intimate with Hayden.
There was more to Torin’s plan, but I didn’t have time to think about it at the moment. Hayden and I had to find shelter somewhere.
Then I would get my book back. I would find the truth about its power and secrets even if it cost me. But what was I willing to give up to get my book back?
My heart pounded as I realized that this moment was a fateful crossroads.
I couldn’t stay in London, live among the humans, work in the library, and catch the bus daily. That life was taken away from me when I found the access point to my dream realm. I wasn’t safe here, and neither was Tammy.
No way was I heading to the kingdom to endure more bullying and fail to meet the high expectations for the next Queen. If I were to return, my dad and the Alphas wouldn’t let me go again. They couldn’t wait to dump the responsibility of leading the next war against the vampire Queen into my lap.
There was only one option—follow Torin wherever he went to retrieve my book. Despite the consequences, I couldn’t ignore the urge to uncover the book’s truth.
“And then what? What will we do tomorrow?” I asked.
Hayden released me and sighed. “I want us to go back home”—he looked me straight in the eye—“and be a couple. Mates.”
I swallowed the dryness in my throat. The air around me thickened. No, I couldn’t have this conversation now. I needed to figure out a way to get the book back from that jerk Alpha.
“I’m not sure about that, Hayden. I have to figure out my feelings first.”
My body wanted him, the pull of the mate bond undeniable, and I was drawn to my bodyguard, but what did my heart want? Was there more between us beyond the physical attraction we shared?
My bodyguard had always been in my corner. But I didn’t know if Hayden would join me now.
“We need a plan.” I took a few deep breaths while I studied Hayden’s reactions.
“Sweetheart, I’ll help you retrieve your book, but we must involve your father first. I don’t think blindly following Alpha Torin’s a good idea.” My bodyguard sighed. “He must be going back to his pack since he’s the safest there. You and I can’t just infiltrate his territory. Don’t you agree?”
“I can do this on my own. If the King gets involved in this, things will get very complicated. Dad will take the book away from me because he'll most likely deem it dangerous.”
I hadn’t given it another thought before, but it seemed suspicious that the only witchcraft books available were the ones I’d read in college or purchased at bookstores.
Dad had mentioned the existence of witches, but there weren’t any other stories he told me or books I could have read in the kingdom. Strange.
Something else strange was Torin’s paranoid reaction to my witch book. Witches could be malevolent, and so could the book, but Torin confiscating it unsettled me.
Hayden released a hot breath that tickled the skin of my cheeks.
“Let’s sleep on it,” he said in a low voice, signaling he was dead set on taking me back home.
He only deflected my questions and concerns when he knew I wouldn’t like his answers.
How far would Hayden go to drag me back to the kingdom? Did he really want to protect and help me get my book back, or did he have more selfish motivations? Was he set on completing the mating ritual as soon as we got back home?
After all, Hayden had a claim on me since he was my mate.
I drew in a sharp breath when the idea of letting Dad know about my mate hit me hard. I would be pushed to inherit the throne and crowned the next Queen as soon as the King found out Hayden was my mate. Or would it become a huge mess in the kingdom if Dad found out I had two mates?
Another reason to stay away. But then I would need to find a way to escape Hayden. His duty was to remain attached to me, so it might be harder than I thought. I was doing this with Hayden or without him.
I averted my gaze from my bodyguard, sidestepped him, picked up my phone, and dropped it in my back pocket.
We left the apartment building from the back door that led to a dim back alley between two residential structures. I scrunched my nose at the stink coming from the large garbage bin.
A cold shiver zipped across my shoulders as the breeze picked up. The night sky was starless, a thick layer of clouds covering the moonlight.
We turned to the main street and halted. Two cars blocked the exit, and five men in black uniforms stood in front of the vehicles. As soon as they spotted us, they sprang our way like silent ninjas.
“Human assassins,” Hayden whispered and grabbed my hand.
The way they moved their bodies with efficiency and power told me these men were trained to kill even if they were human. They would be much more dangerous than the three guys who’d invaded my library office.
Hayden sounded sure about who these men were, raising my curiosity.
“Have you met them before?” I asked.
“These assassins work for the vampires and do their dirty work for money. They’re not even compelled. They just kill as part of their job,” he said.
“The vampires upgraded from the amateur thugs who attacked me in my office to these professional killers,” I said, but I still didn’t know who sent them—the vampire Queen or the vampire master from the club. Did it matter? “So they’re after my book?”
Hayden glanced over his shoulder, nodding. “Run, sweetheart.”
They were after the book I didn’t have. I cursed Torin again while I kept close to Hayden.
We turned left and sprinted away from the men.
Breathless, I said, “Maybe we can tell them we don’t have the book.”
A low whistle echoed closely, and something lodged in the wall of the nearest building.
Bullets.
“Scratch that. They won’t talk to us,” I said.
Hayden turned into a narrow street and pulled me to the doorway of another apartment building. Our backs pressed against the dark wood and metal parts of a door, but the doorframe was too small for us to hide.
Three ninjas ran right past us. Their faces were hidden by black ski masks, and they wore tight-fitting, long-sleeved black shirts and black pants with military boots.
The next set of thumping footsteps slowed down, and I held my breath.
Hayden released his grasp on me and jumped out of our hiding spot, grabbing the gun hand of one of the men. My bodyguard twisted his arm, and the crack of bones sounded. But the man didn’t let out a grunt of pain.
His body went limp and unmoving while Hayden supported him. The human man must have passed out from the unbearable pain.
A second man materialized behind Hayden and shot two times, but my bodyguard was faster. As he turned, Hayden positioned the ninja’s unmoving body in front of his chest.
My stomach churned as I watched the two bullets enter that man's flesh, but no blood spurted out. The ninjas must have worn bulletproof vests.
I’d guess these professional assassins came prepared for war. Was my book really that valuable?
Now was my chance to disarm the second ninja before he aimed at Hayden’s head. I leaped out of the doorway and kicked the guy in the stomach.
As he stumbled back, he dropped his gun to the ground.
Hayden tossed the body to the side and picked up the gun with his supernatural speed before I could blink.
My bodyguard lifted the weapon and pulled the trigger in one fluid motion that made me believe he was born to be a warrior.
Everything happened so fast. I turned to look at where the assassin was shot, hoping it’d be a leg wound. His forehead had a hole with blood seeping out of it.
This moment reminded me of the incident when Hayden saved me from the four vampires in the forest when I was fifteen. He’d ripped them apart, limbs and gore covering the moss.
Hayden was just as destructive and deadly as Torin.
The body lay on the ground, the puddle of blood spreading out like tidewaters. Bile rose to my throat. I placed my hand over my mouth.
I’d never get used to the violence of supernaturals.
Hayden walked up to me and handed me the gun.
“Don’t overthink it, sweetheart,” he said, and his sky-blue eyes softened at the edges. “The other three are coming back. Step into the darker spots.”