“Got it,” Raphael says, and walks away from the group, already starting the call.
“Caden, Maddox, as soon as Isaac wakes up and is through the frenzy, we need every ounce of information we can get from him about the Order. We need to know why, when, and where they were giving him Chloe’s blood,” I say.
Through the bond I can feel Chloe recoil at my words.
“Chloe, we’ll need to talk about whatever information you can give us.” I say, then look to Matthias. “What news do you have for me?”
“None that will make you happy.” Matthias sighs. “There isn’t anything out there. Although just asking the question has put a shit ton of nervous Nellies on full alert.”
“Did your questions reach the Council?” I ask.
“Not exactly. I was able to get a line to Lord Albert, and posed a hypothetical question to him,” Matthias says. “He asked to be kept informed of anything we see, hear, or find.”
“Sire, if there is a witch around,” Kian says quietly, “I can find her.”
“Witch?” Chloe asks, looking back and forth. “Aren’t those the things in fairytale books with like big, green noses and warts?”
Silence fills the room as each of us look at Chloe.
“No, love,” I say. “They’re very much real, and very much the worst horror you could imagine. The Benedictines may paint us as the big bad evil of the world, but witches were, or perhaps still are, the anti-thesis of anything good.”
“If we were to fight one now, Mother,” Ambrose says, oddly cheerful, “we’d no doubt lose at least a third of us.”
“I don’t get it.” Chloe says. “How?”
“We’d not lose that many,” Matthias says, though I can hear the slight doubt in his voice.
Ambrose stands up and begins to dance in a small circle. “Oh, to be sure, we’d kill it, dear brother. But it’s been many years since one has been known to exist. Imagine how powerful the one who’s been hidden has to be? Then imagine how much power they’ve collected over the years since the last war happened…”
Fuck.
He’s one hundred percent right. Hiding out this long without being caught… Collecting power over the centuries, plotting and enacting plans over periods of time so long the humans forget…
“How would you find it, Kian?” I ask.
“It has to have a base of power, and it has to have corruption surrounding its main location. It’s a matter of finding a pattern and then slowly circling in on the location, like we’re doing with Nikolaos,” Kian explains. “But it would be on a much larger scale. Global instead of a city.”
Nodding my head slowly, I think it couldn’t hurt. “Do it, but be discreet, and keep Matthias in the loop.”
“Got it.” Kian stands from his chair and motions to Matthias. “Let me see what you’ve been doing. Do we know if Lord Albert still has the blade?”
“Yep,” Matthias says. “He’s carried that fucking cursed shit for the last hundred and how ever many years.”
Raphael comes back into the room and says, “Dav will be here just after sunset. Perhaps we should all have dinner before he gets here and take a rest?”
“That sounds like an excellent idea,” I say.
You’ll feed off me, kitten, I push through the bond.
Chloe’s eyes slide over to me, and she gives me the faintest of nods. I can feel the uneasiness of her mind as she thinks about feeding.
If you want to keep your sanity, you must eat, I push hard.
She doesn’t have to feed off humans if she truly is hellbent on taking that stand, but I will not allow her to put herself in danger.
The sleek black Audi driving up to the house is the exact opposite of what I expected the leader of the Dalton pack to arrive in. Having seen the SUVs and trucks earlier this week, such a car is a jarring juxtaposition.
Dav pulls himself out of the driver’s seat of the car, giving me a sheepish grin. “The Pack decided this is the only thing I can drive through the city in and not get made.”
Meeting him halfway to the house, I shake his hand. “I would have to agree. How’s the city doing?”
He grunts and follows me to the house. “Feeling more and more like a powder keg.”
“Is there anything we can do to support you?”
Dav shrugs his thick shoulders. “We’ve been keeping tabs on the other pack. They may be bigger, but we’re older and more established. Some of the guys in their clan are worried about being in debt with Nikolaos.”
“Anything we need to worry about with you guys?” I ask as we step inside.
Shaking his head, Dav says. “Nah, our terms are more than favorable to us. You’ve got us in a good spot to take things in a better direction.”
“Good.” I lead Dav into the living room then motion to where Chloe is sitting on the couch. “I’d like to introduce you to Chloe, my beloved.”