AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Still, if what Callum wrote was true, the Moon Ridge Alpha was not the father of his heir. Draven was the son of the Scottish King, and yet he was also a wolf. And that was knowledge she could use to her advantage.
Flora shrieked when the plane dipped forward and started shaking loudly around her. All thoughts of the letter and its ramifications were forgotten as she clamped her eyes shut and sent a prayer to whatever god was listening that this wasn’t how she died.
When the rumbling of the plane didn’t stop, she braved a peek out the window—a mistake, really. The treetops were no longer tiny specs as the plane barreled toward the ground, and the mountains that framed the valley now towered around them.
Anxiety flooded her system. There was no turning back. The moment she hit the ground, if she didn’t die on impact, she would be a bargaining chip against the Moon Ridge Pack. With her fingers digging into the arm rests, Flora sucked in a breath and sent up another prayer, this one more desperate. “Please let me survive this.” Thethiswas collective. This flight. This mission. This pack. “I only just got my freedom.”
She breathed a sigh of relief when two solid thuds let her know that all three of the plane’s wheels had hit the ground. The sun no longer shone through the windows; it was blocked by the solid line of trees that she was pretty sure had no business being so close to the runway.
The cockpit door clicked open, and the pilot poked his head out. “Miss Valentine, I don’t mean to alarm you, but there are two very large men heading our way with guns…”
Because of course there were.
“... And they don’t look happy,” he added.
Flora inhaled sharply.I’m a badass bitch who deserves the world.
“What did they say when you approached the airfield?” Flora wasn’t sure of the protocol, but in the movies, they all talked to each other on the radio before they landed.
The pilot’s brow furrowed. “Miss, we just landed in a field in the middle of nowhere Tennessee. There was no ground control.”
Flora’s eyes widened. There was no way Callum sent them to one of most respectable and feared packs in the Americas and didn’t bother to let the pack know they were coming. But she knew the moment the thought crossed her mind that’s exactly what he’d done. It had Callum written all over it.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and stood to glance through the cockpit windshield.
Sure enough, two hulking men were approaching the plane with assault rifles.
Alright.Flora reasoned with herself.This isn’t any different than the diplomatic training you’ve received your whole life.
She straightened her spine and turned to the pilot. “Are you staying here?”
“No, Miss. I’ve been given instructions to return to Chicago.”
Of course he did. Callum wouldn’t leavehimstranded in Moon Ridge Pack territory.
“Alright. Once I’m safely off the plane, you may start your return.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded, looking relieved.
Flora gathered her things, careful to fold Draven’s letter and smoosh the seal against the paper, hoping no one would notice. As soon as the stairs met the ground and the pilot was safely back in the cockpit, she stepped out onto the top step.
“Stop right there.” The smaller of the two men yelled, though small was relative. Compared to her, he was a giant. “State your business, or get the fuck off our land.”
She put her hands up and took a step down, squinting against the setting sun. “I’m Flora Valentine. I…I… come in peace?”
The bigger guy chuckled, and Flora wanted the ground to swallow her whole. What the hell was she thinking? She had a chance to use every diplomatic skill she’d ever been taught, and that’s what she said?
She shifted her weight, hoping they couldn’t tell she was nervous. “What I mean is, I’m here on official business. Prince Callum, of the Scottish Vampire Delegation, sent me to speak with Draven, Dempsey, heir to the Moon Ridge Pack.”
“No one speaks to Draven without goin’ through the proper channels. We have no business with the vampires, which means you shouldn’t be here.” The taller one emphasized his words by flexing his gun in her direction, but Flora struggled to take him seriously. His accent was one she’d never heard before. A mix of what she could only describe as Spanish and Southern. Two dialects that didn’t mesh well.
“I have to speak with him.” Flora swallowed hard in an attempt to dampen the desperation in her voice. “I assure you, I have a formal letter of introduction from Prince Callum. Draven will want to hear what I have to say.”
The stone began to warm against her chest as if it were ready for the role it was meant to play. She wasn’t sure the stone would mean anything to Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but it might be her only hope to get herself an audience with Draven. She didn’t see them taking her anywhere without her giving them some sort of incentive.
She reached beneath her blouse to pull out the stone Callum said would pave her way, but no sooner had she grabbed it than a sharp crack ricocheted off the surrounding trees.
Pain ripped through her shoulder as Flora stumbled back, catching on the step behind her and tumbling down the remaining steps to the dirt below. The warmth of the stone against her chest rivaled that of the blood dripping from her shoulder.
