“Do you think the boss man was wrong, and we were just tossing our power around for nothing?” One of the men said, sounding winded.
The younger of the two shrugged massive shoulders. “Who knows, and who cares. We had a job to do, and we did it. You saw those men just as I did. Now, we can tell Mr. Watson we scaredthe baddies off and maybe be rewarded.” Unholy glee entered both men’s eyes that even the distance couldn’t diminish.
Lucas focused on the one who’d spoken last and eased into his mind. The things both were guilty of since their turning gave them a death sentence. We wouldn’t need approval of the Council for taking the bastards’ lives. He forwarded the images to our father, knowing I was seeing them as well. The sight of Nigel Watson performing blood rituals gave him pause, which tipped the vampire off that something wasn’t right and had him spinning in circles.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Ron?” The older vampire questioned.
Ron rubbed his temple. “I think I expended too much. Let’s go before the sun rises.”
Having formed a link with the soon-to-be dusted man, Lucas allowed them to leave. “Did you go into the other’s mind?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s not pretty. He’s been tried and found guilty as well.”
After the sun was up for a good fifteen minutes, we floated down to the ground. The vampires had used Laikyn’s home as a base. Lucas and I hoped the fuckers didn’t trash the place. Of course, if it had been, we’d be sure to return it in even better condition. No way would we allow those abominations to sour the shifters’ minds to our kind.
“You do know she’s not ours, right?” Lucas smirked over his shoulder.
With a glare, I opened my senses to make sure there weren’t any more surprises waiting inside the home. My brother’s comment didn’t sting the way I’d thought it would, meaning neither of us was nearly as invested in the she-wolf. “We need to get out more, brother.”
Lucas walked up behind me once we were sure the home was secure. Inside, they’d only slightly messed up the interior. Had they been human, the fact that someone had been there would have gone completely unnoticed. Shifters would have smelled the funk long before even Lucas and me, since we’re half-breeds.
“Really? Funk?” Lucas raised his eyebrow.
“They smell like rotting cabbage. Who the hell likes that stuff?” I walked to the fireplace, staring at the pictures lining the mantel.
“Don’t touch anything,” my brother’s growl came before he could touch the family portrait. “Let’s just see if there are any clues of the vamps and then get out of here.”
The need to eliminate the threat and then leave rode us both hard. Taking to the skies again, we had a direction and a better idea of where to look. With the vampires traveling in packs, Lucas and I stayed close together even in the daylight.
“Did you pass the information we learned to the Alpha?” My eyes cut to my brother as I mentioned the other man.
“I thought you did?” Opening the link to Kellen, I waited politely—a term many didn’t equate with my brother and me—and then gave him the latest news.
“They were in my mate’s family home?” Kellen’s tone became what Lucas called deadly.
“There were only two there when we arrived, but we smelled the Master and several others. Her home luckily hadn’t been destroyed by the vamps, yet the stink was offensive to our noses. You full-bloods would have been able to smell them long before us, and vice versa. We left things as they were since they hadn’t destroyed it, and in case they returned, we didn’t want them to know we were on to them. However, if they do damage anything, we will replace and or repair.”
“Did you kill them?” Laikyn’s sweet voice interrupted my reassurance.
Shaking my head, I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Again, we couldn’t, or we would have tipped our hand. They are our lead to the Master.”
“When you find him, I want to be the one to end him, Cordell.” Kellen didn’t ask.
I looked at Lucas but let him take the lead. “Mr. Styles, I’m afraid, until he does damage to you or yours, he is ours to take care of. He’s broken the laws of our kind.”
“What the ever-loving fuck does that mean?” I could imagine the Alpha was ready to rip his throat out.
Lucas stared at me, then shrugged. “Meaning, until the time comes when the crimes against one of your pack are more heinous than that of ours, my brother and I will be taking Nigel Watson before our King. There, I can promise you he will see his end, along with those who are following him.”
The growl that came through would have had lesser men pissing in their pants. My brother and I had faced bigger beasts and lived to tell the tale. “We understand you’re upset, but these are our laws.”
“Screw your laws. If that Kinger shows his fangs near me or mine, I don’t give no fucks about you and your King. I will kill him and all who stand in my way,” Kellen said.
Lucas nodded even though Kellen wouldn’t be able to see. “I would be disappointed if you didn’t. Rest assured, we hunt him while he sleeps, so the chance of him coming at you again is slim.” A grunt was his answer before the connection was cut.
“Well, that was fun.” Lucas glared at me as I was chuckling. “Hey, I would have been the one to reach out, but he seemed to like you better.”
Kellen didn’t like anyone other than his people, and now Lucas and me. The two of us were so far down his like list that we would need to go in with full armor. Again, it wouldn’t be the first time we had to do so.
