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The smart thing for me to do would be to cut my losses and allow Damon to take care of the outsiders, the way he usually did. For some reason, I wasn't able to walk away from her so easily. There was something about her that kept me drawn to her. I didn't know what it was, but I did know it was pointless to try to fight it. The need to be near her was far greater than anything I had ever felt before.
It was less than an hour after dropping Scarlett off at her motel room that I received a text informing me that once again Blaise wanted to speak to me. My last meeting with him had left me on edge and worried about my well-being as well as Scarlett's.
I checked the time and saw that I had almost an hour before I was supposed to meet Blaise, so I drove to the bar to talk to Doyle. His car was parked in front of the bar, letting me know that he would be inside.
"Drako?" He said as I entered the bar, "I wasn't expecting to see you so early. What's going on?"
"I've been summoned by our fearless leader," I replied, sitting down at the bar.
"He seems to be doing that a lot lately, doesn't he?"
"What did he want to talk to you about?"
Doyle took a deep breath and shook his head. "He wants me to assist Damon in trying to get information out of our friend. I am almost positive that man will die before he tells us anything. I'm starting to wonder if he actually knows anything about the new queen."
"What is Blaise going to do if there is no new queen?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
We stayed talking for a while about what may happen if we did find the new queen. Blaise was determined to be her mate, even though everyone knew the queen never just had one mate. His need to be attached to her had nothing to do with fate or love. It was his power play and the chance to rule over all dragons.
Since the death of the last queen, the hordes had grown more divided than ever. The mutual respect was gone and protecting their territory was all that mattered to any horde anymore. I was so wrapped up in our conversation that I hadn't noticed the time. When I finally glanced at the clock, I realized that I was going to be late for my meeting. I quickly said goodbye to Doyle and rushed out the door, hoping my tardiness might go unnoticed.
I drove up to the restaurant where Blaise spent most of his days and felt a knot in my stomach. As I got out of my car, I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself for whatever was about to happen.
The small brick building was easily missed from the road, but its presence was known by everyone in the horde. There was no sign calling attention to it and no attempt to gain customers. The restaurant was only ever used by Blaise. No one stepped foot in there unless they had been invited by Blaise.
With every step, I felt the knot tighten more, making me feel queasy and lightheaded. I stopped outside the door, trying to calm my nerves before I entered. After a few seconds, I gave up and opened the door.
The room immediately went quiet when I walked in. Blaise stood up from the chair he was sitting in at the table in the center of the room. His icy blue eyes stayed glued on me as I walked towards him, and he crossed his arms over his broad chest.
I stopped in front of the table, feeling small in comparison to him. At six-foot-three, he was taller than me by four inches. He loomed over everyone around him.
"There you are. I was starting to wonder whether you were going to show up," Blaise said as I entered the room.
"I'm sorry," I replied, looking around the room at faces I didn't recognize, "I have been running late all day today."
Blaise smirked as he gestured for me to sit down. I sat down on the chair across from him, waiting to hear why I had been summoned to see him for the second time in the same week.
"I hear your new friend is still in town," he said, studying me as he spoke.
"Damon is still working on her car. That is all she is waiting for."
"Hmm," he said, and that was it. He seemed to be thinking about something else, his eyes traveling over my face. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat and continued, "So, you don't know what happened this morning?"
"What do you mean? What am I missing?"
He sighed, shaking his head slightly before continuing. "It seems that there have been others going in and out of our town. Have you seen any other outsiders around town?"
My mind raced through everything that had happened since Scarlett had arrived. Was he talking about Grayson? He was the only other person I could think of.
"There is a guy who came looking for her. A boyfriend or something. Once her car is fixed, I am sure they will both be on their way."
"Ah," Blaise replied, but then shook his head again as if coming back to himself. "No, no, no… There have been a couple more visitors that I've heard about. You haven't seen them?"
"Not that I remember."
"Well, one of the newcomers was an older man who wears a black suit."
