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I let the sound wash over me. It was refreshing to hear it because it was genuine. It wasn’t forced or restrained. In that one brief moment, there wasn’t the weight of the world on us. I heard all of that from Gavin, and I was envious. I wanted that brief respite, and I wanted to experience it in Lucas’s arms, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Did you find Wren and Tracey?”
“I did. They aren’t far.” But I wasn’t sure. I gazed around. I couldn’t see any traces of our camp either. “I think . . . Where are we?”
“A mile from camp.” Gavin gestured to the other side of the river. “Those two are a mile farther. I’m surprised you didn’t see them, though. You were only sensing them?”
“Uh . . .” I scratched my forehead. This was the opening I needed. I could reveal the truth about The Immortal, but even as quickly as I realized I should tell them, I knew I wasn’t going to. The words died in my throat and instead, I said, “Yeah. I was using my empathic ability.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m still trying to let myself rest.”
Gavin nodded, accepting my answer and started back up the trail. “We should get back. We’re safer from a higher vantage point.”
As he took the lead, I watched him, and my gaze went past Gregory’s. I was going to keep watching Gavin, but I saw a knowing look in Gregory’s eyes. Our gazes caught and held, and for the first time in a really long time, I felt exposed. I felt like he could see through me, like Roane used to be able to.
He knew.
I don’t know how he knew, but he did.
He said, quietly so Gavin wouldn’t hear, “Just keep resting.” There was more unspoken to his statement, and I felt it. I needed to rest, but if my powers didn’t come back fully—a decision would have to be made.
He added, looking down the river, “The Mori, when they come, will be coming from there.”
A knot formed in my stomach.
He said, “They’ll come so far, sensing outward with their sonar ways. Then, when they find that they’re close to us, they’ll fan out and come at us from all angles. They’ll be on us before we’ll know. That’s how they are. They move as one being and they strike as one. No one has bested a Mori vampire. We got out because of you. I don’t know if you realize you helped us, but you did. There was a whole group of them, and we strolled right past them, like we were invisible. Only one being that could do that.” He nodded to me. “You.” His eyes narrowed, inspecting me. “And judging by the shock on your face, you had no idea, did you? You helped us, and you helped you and Tracey. It’d make sense if you were taxed.”
That knot doubled. Taxed, was that all it was? I hoped so. God, did I hope so.
“But they’ll be coming.”
I looked down. We didn’t have long. That was what he was saying. “One more day.”
“You think you can handle an entire Mori army in one day?”
I felt slapped by his disbelief, but it was because he was right. I wouldn’t . . . I’d have to go alone. I couldn’t take them with me into danger. I could cloak myself. If the Mori hadn’t realized they were there, three very powerful vampires, maybe I could do the same for myself. I could wait one more day, work on being able to cloak myself, and once that happened—I’d leave on my own. That was what I would do.
I looked back up and said, letting the Goliath-sized vampire see the truth, “One more day, then we’ll go.”
“For what it’s worth,” he said quietly. “I’m rooting we won’t have to leave.”
The knot moved up to my throat, forming into a lump. I whispered back, “Me, too.”
The meeting was set in a back corner of a restaurant. As the wolves strode past them, in their human forms, the customers were clueless to the danger so close to them. They laughed, drank, ate, and conversed. They flirted. Others fought. All were clueless, except a few. As the wolves walked by, one after another, they surrounded the most important wolf, their Mother Wolf.
She was dressed in a white dress with a blue robe covering. It wasn’t a robe that one would wear at home. It wasn’t comfortable or made with the purpose not to be seen. This robe was extravagant. It was made of silk with gold trimmings lining the edges. As it draped over her head, a jewel hung from the tip and it dangled above her forehead. The other wolves kept their eyes forward. They weren’t there to play with humans. The lesser ones, the human servants, were at the end of the line. Their heads were bent forward, and their shoulders were slumped down. One was right behind Mother Wolf, holding
the end of her robe and dress so it didn’t get dirty from the floor.
A hostess led them, but she didn’t hold any menus. Her head was held high, and she walked with purpose. She wasn’t in fear of the wolves, though she knew who they were. She had been told to stand at the front of the restaurant and wait for the other supernatural beings. And as the wolves came into the restaurant, the other human hostesses shrank back. They didn’t know what beings the wolves were, but they knew they were something other than human. The power came off them in waves. The only reason the other customers were clueless was because a spell had been cast over the customers. They
almost didn’t even see the impressive parade except a couple that came in, after the spell was cast. They felt the power immediately, and while they were seated in the back, their eyes were huge by the time the wolves went past their table. Neither moved, reacting on a primal instinct inside of them. They knew they were the prey among predators, and as the wolves went past, they shrunk down in their seats. Their hands trembled, holding onto each other in their laps.
They were ignored. And as the last servant went past them, the couple got up and ran out of the restaurant.
The Mother Wolf turned at the doorway, right before entering the back room, and watched their departure. The corners of her eyes crinkled up and her lip twitched into a faint smile, but as quick as it appeared, it disappeared. A stoic expression settled back in place, but her insides were amused. She forgot how some humans were. It’d been so long since she was around these new humans, ones that knew nothing of their existence and only were aware of their own lives. They were self-absorbed and ignorant, thinking they were safe in their daily lives. They were not. The rest of her wolves had stopped and were waiting for her. She went into the back room, but she had a brief thought in the back of her mind. Perhaps it would do to send her wolves out to this new world, maybe every now and then. It would be good to remind humans how weak and powerless they were. They could do with the reminder.
Then, she turned and faced why they had arrived in this very busy city, and to a restaurant that the world thought was trendy. She saw the sorcerer. He stood in the back, still in the shadows, but she felt his power and it was equal to hers. He came from the oldest and most powerful vampire family, and normally, he would be her enemy.
Right now, on this day, he was her friend, and she smiled. “Hello, Jacith.”
