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“What did you just say?” Jules wanted to make sure he had heard correctly.
“Nadya is dead. Some other vampire killed her and took the title of vampire queen. And our new king shifted at the United Nations, exposing the hidden world to humans.”
Jules growled as his anger built. “Any other good news you’d like to share?”
Gaspard was grateful that he wasn’t within striking distance. He still remembered Louis’ unexpected death. Their leader often shot first and never bothered to ask questions, and he liked to shoot the messenger. “Just one more big thing. That guy Nadya had hanging around for the past few weeks? The one she was pretending to be in love with?”
“Maksim. I know who you mean.”
“He got in touch with Donna and requested a meeting. Said Nadya named him her successor, and he’s now the vampire king. He wants to connect with her allies and make plans to take the Therians down for good,” Gaspard reported.
Jules grinned. Nadya’s death had left a leadership vacuum in the vampire hierarchy, and he planned to take advantage of it, so he took the number Gaspard recited. Hyenas were opportunistic hunters, and it would be foolish to forego this excellent chance to shake things up for his enemies. He rattled off the coordinates for his new safe house and ordered Gaspard to come as quickly as possible without being followed, even if he had to ditch the other survivors.
As he returned to waiting for his crew, Jules pondered how Maksim might be able to help him through the current shitstorm. Nadya had kept them apart, ordering Jules to maintain the façade around her pet until they were in the safety of her office. He chuckled at how thoroughly Nadya had fooled the idiot. Her efforts had succeeded, and Maksim had risen to become the hybrid vampire she’d wanted. Too bad she wasn’t around to see it, but all the better for Jules. That halfbreed Therian was the kind of ally Jules could use and manipulate.
Jules hadn’t given up proving how empty King Lucaindrion’s promises were. Of course, he’d sent someone after Jules took a royal dragon captive, but if he took one of the former slaves of another Therian species or one of the humans rumored to be in the palace, it wouldn’t be worth the effort, and the whole illusion would fall apart. With the truth revealed, Jules would have a foundation upon which he could build a full-scale rebellion. Things looked grim, but he was confident they could turn it around.
Jules picked up the phone again and dialed the number Gaspard gave him. “Maksim…eh, sorry. Your Highness. This is Jules. I understand you want to speak to me.”
“Yes. My beloved considered you a valued ally. Since I have taken her place as the head of the vampire race, I would like to establish a similar working relationship.”
Jules grinned. Maybe everything wasn’t lost. Maksim was the perfect rube, too inexperienced to understand that he was being manipulated. Nadya had laughed at how naïve he was after she’d retreated to her soundproof office.
“I couldn’t agree more, Your Majesty,” Jules drawled, adding a simpering note to his voice. He could see right through Maksim. The man needed to be worshipped, his power acknowledged and respected.
“I’m pleased to hear you say that. I have encountered some obstacles since taking the throne, so I must secure my power base and gather my allies to plan an effective attack strategy. The longer we give them to establish themselves, the more difficult it will be to rip them out, roots and all.” Maksim’s voice was self-assured.
“That sounds like a brilliant plan, Your Highness. I am in a remote safe house, and you can join me here. The remnants of my forces are coming as well, but I lost everything in the disastrous battle that took Nadya. I still have my contacts, but we need time to make plans and get things moving.” Jules was thrilled with how things were going. He might pull off the rebellion if he had the vampires in his pocket.
“It would be useful to reconvene safely away from our enemies. Yes, I will join you shortly,” Maksim agreed.
Jules gave him directions to find his safe house and ended the call.
“I knew all that catch-and-release bullshit would pay off in the end,” he announced to the empty room.
His crew had captured vampires, only to have Nadya waltz into his compound time and time again to free them. The ultraviolet collars, or V-Collars as the crew called them, could control the lesser vampires, but they’d been no match for the queen. With the head leech out of the picture, there was nothing to stop Jules from building a compliant vampire army.
Nadya had proven how easily he could manipulate Maksim since the man was astonishingly unobservant. Jules had no reason to believe Maksim would be aware of the vampire army he built until it was too late.
His crew had always been good at catching vampires. They were good at catching any damned thing he told them to. Jules was in the slavery business, and even with the new king’s ban on the trade, business was booming, or it would be soon. With the human world aware of the supernatural, specific organizations and individuals would pay top dollar to own a Therian, witch, or vampire. Jules didn’t care what happened to them after he got paid.
He waited for most of the day before Gaspard, Mathis, and Leon showed up with two more rebels. They were battered, bloody, exhausted, and low on hope, but Jules had little patience for their needs. “It’s about fucking time you useless pricks got here. Maksim is on his way here to secure our continued alliance.
“Nadya’s puppet still hasn’t realized that she had her hand so far up his ass she could tickle his tonsils. We’re about to pull the world’s most profitable double-cross, boys. Gaspard said that humans know about us, so the slavery market will boom again. With Maksim and the vampires and without Nadya’s insane blood rage, we can build a strong force to take on the Therians and install a puppet of our own. I can picture it now. Julian Sournois, the power behind both thrones.”
“Boss, how will we do that with all our people dead?” Gaspard asked.
Jules glared at the man, but he had a point. “Call in the reserve pack.”
He was a hard alpha, taking what he wanted and giving little in return. He ruled an enormous pack but only took one soldier from each family for active service, so he had an army at his beck and call if the situation grew dire. When he called his remaining pack members, he would have a formidable, if not willing, force at his disposal. He’d made those families rich from the slave trade, and he wouldn’t let them slack off when it was time to pay their dues.
“We have sixty V-Collars, which should get us started. Round up leeches to fill them and stash them far enough away from here that Maksim won’t sense them. There were a few lightproof buildings in the town we took over. That should be a good place to keep the bloodsuckers until we’re ready to move.” Jules’ confidence in his malicious plans grew by the moment. Nothing could keep him down for long. He was meant to rise.
“What we need most right now is information. Get me everything you can on this new vampire queen. Someone has to know what happened in that palace and what’s been happening since Nadya’s death. I don’t know when Maksim will arrive, but I expect to be fully briefed before that happens, so I suggest you work quickly. Get me intel on the palace, the people, and whatever they’re planning. Focus on identifying likely targets for kidnapping.”
“Yes, Boss,” they all chorused, pushing past their weariness by sheer willpower.
An hour had passed, and their contacts had produced a fruitful yield. They’d learned a great deal. For instance, how chaotic things were in the palace and how easily one might sneak in and out. Ash and her human sister were frequent subjects of gossip, and it didn’t take Jules long to decide who they should take to show the would-be vampire queen and the pathetic new Therian king that Jules was a force to be reckoned with.
