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“Bel, you’re babbling,” Marcus grumbled.
Ethan snickered and poked his mate in the ribs. “Hush. He’s excited, and he’s cute when he’s excited.”
The bow-tie vampire barely even paused as his gaze shifted to Yichen. “And you must be Wu Yichen. Your family must be so excited to have you home. We were so happy to help in your rescue. We didn’t expect to help rescue you and an elf!”
“This is the real danger of vampires,” Ethan said in a loud whisper. “We don’t need to breathe, which means we can go on and on without stopping for a breath.”
Bel was undeterred. “I hope you won’t think this is too forward of me, but—”
“Oh shit, here it comes.” Marcus sighed, already dropping his face into his hand.
“I was wondering if I could have a tiny bit of your blood. A test tube or two, for scientific purposes. I’d love to study it.”
“My blood?” Rei repeated, seeming capable of only blinking at the vampire.
“From both of you,” Bel corrected, pointing at Rei and Yichen. “For science.”
The room fell into an awkward silence for a heartbeat. Luckily, Moon chose that moment to step into the room, throwing things further into chaos.
“Ethan! River! When did you get here?” Moon exclaimed.
Ethan and River jumped to their feet, taking turns to embrace Moon as their chatter filled the room. Yichen leaned forward to stare at a grinning Chen as he watched his mate with a look that overflowed with love.
“Is this the new normal?” Yichen teased.
Chen shrugged. “It’s an American thing. Moon knew Wyatt and River prior to our meeting. He’s also been chatting with Ethan about what it’s like to be a new vampire.” Chen lifted an eyebrow at him. “Is that an experience you recall?”
Yichen choked on a laugh. Two thousand years had passed since he’d been turned. Too much of those early centuries was a blur now, and he was happy for that.
“Maybe we should get to the business that brings us together tonight,” Xiao Dan interrupted gently.
“Ethan! River!” Marcus snapped, and every one of the Varik members rolled their eyes at the elder Varik before resuming their seats. Marcus saw it and huffed as if there were nothing new about any of this behavior. Yichen didn’t mind, and one glance over at Rei showed the elf found it all amusing. Was the Zhang clan too boring for him?
“To bring you up-to-date on what’s happening,” Marcus began as he pulled his smartphone out of the breast pocket of his dark suit jacket. “I’m sending you a copy of the map we’ve been working on that marks the known movements of the fae army. From what Winter has discovered, they’ve started venturing away from the castle grounds and into other parts of the state forest. Naturally, this isn’t everyone. Winter can only cover so much ground in an evening and remain hidden.”
“And it doesn’t help that it’s the middle of summer, when the nights are the shortest,” Ethan added.
River shifted closer to Bel, wrapping both arms around the vampire’s slender waist while resting his chin on his shoulder. “The local wolf pack was helping where they could during the daylight hours, but now that the fae are sending more forces into the woods, Jake—that’s the alpha of the pack—has pulled all the wolves back to the pack lands.”
“Smart,” Rei murmured. “If the fae—particularly an elf—encounters a werewolf out alone, they will be captured and used as an instrument of war until they’re dead. There will be no returning to the pack.”
“We need to move in twos and threes, then?” River asked.
“It helps, but it’s no guarantee of safety. Tell your fellow wolves to stay home if they can.”
“I have the map,” Xiao Dan announced, staring at his own phone. Chen leaned close to peer over his shoulder.
“We’ve concentrated to the south and southeast since those are the areas with the highest human populations. It’s been easier to track the fae movements. We’ve made fewer inroads into the north and east,” Marcus admitted.
“Because the woods are much thicker there, and likely getting thicker by the day. You have no hope of tracking the fae in our own territory.” Rei shook his head. “I should be out there. At least during the daylight hours when this Winter can’t be out.”
Yichen’s heart jumped into his throat at Rei’s words. “Absolutely not! While you might get closer, the area will be more dangerous. You’ll be one person facing a countless horde.”
“I agree with Yichen,” Xiao Dan interjected, keeping Yichen from suffering a heart attack. “The risk is far too great for what little information we’d receive from it.”
“Yes, the pockets of fae are constantly changing,” Marcus stated. “I would have brought you a printed map, but there was no point. In a day or two, the information would be obsolete.”
The conversation shifted to the changes in movements of the fae forces. They could speculate some, thanks to insights from Rei, but that was all it could be—speculation. They needed more information if they were to make a significant and successful move to counter the king and queen.
