Nodding Agony turned to leave, halting and turning back with a thoughtful expression on his face. Inside him Kothari was whispering, one word over and over. He was going to ignore him, but changed his mind in a fraction of a second. If he didn’t concede this one thing then Kothari would whisper endlessly and that would seriously piss him off.
“One person may come… one like me, with hair of gold and eyes of warm chocolate. You may answer her and only her, but only if she gives you one word… angel. If any others track me through you apart from her… you will not see me when I take your head.” Shadowing once more, Agony left the room without a backward glance. He knew he didn’t need to threaten the vampire but it had felt satisfying to see the expression of abject terror that had crossed his face.
Humming under his breath, he made his way back down the dank alleyway, turning to the left and the main shopping area of the city. If he was to catch a plane then he had to blend in and look like one of the human holidaymakers. It shouldn’t take him long to purchase the bare essentials that security would expect to see of someone going abroad on vacation.
Dara placed her backpack beside the front door and turned towards the living room where she knew her family were waiting for her appearance. To say she was apprehensive about the upcoming trip was an understatement but she ensured her expression was confident as she braced herself to enter the room. She was deceptively calm, particularly after the fraught emotions in their Alpha’s study
She put that down to Cassia coming to sit with her for a while when she had started packing. Her sister’s presence had been a silent comfort that had soothed the racing of her heart as the enormity of what she had agreed to began to truly seep into her mind. She had to be all kinds of stupid to do this thing, and yet, she couldn’t not do it. That simply wasn’t an option.
Cassia had asked only one question, her blue eyes intent as she’d examined her sister’s face. “Are you certain, Dar?”
“Do I want to be Kothi’s only hope? Hell no, Cass, but it appears that is the case.” Throwing another t-shirt into her backpack, she had turned to look at her sister. “I can’t leave him out there alone, Cassia. I just can’t do it. I know this mission is dangerous, and I won’t have the backup of the pack like I’m accustomed to. I guess I am just going to have to be everything that you, mom and dad, and our Alphas believe me to be – a strong soldier.”
Her sister’s expression had changed then, turning thoughtful and a bit distant. Then she had risen from her seat on Dara’s bed, engulfing her in a tight hug that contained all her love and the concern she couldn’t quite hide. “Remember the vampires over there are quick to attack wolf shifters. It might be wise to avoid shifting as much as possible. Concentrate on your vampiric side and try to convince them you’re one of them. If you do come into contact with any wolves over there… tell them you know Fox, that should help gain their trust.”
“Fox?” Dara hadn’t even attempted to hide her confusion from her sister. Cassia would have sensed it down their link anyway. “Who’s Fox?”
“A European wolf I bumped into a couple of times in the city recently. He tried to protect me from Pietro of all things.”
Cassia’s rolled eyes had brought a smile to Dara’s face. “Why would he think you would need protecting from your mate?” Just the thought of that misunderstanding was funny. She wished she’d been there to see it.
Her sister had shrugged, a smile gracing her lips. “Most likely because of his distrust of vampires which is understandable considering he’s from Europe. There was just something about him that struck me as honourable… that he was possibly a Beta in his pack. He was most certainly a soldier. He carried himself as one who was used to having to be on guard all the time. He seemed like a good man to have at your back.”
It had been a strange conversation but something Dara filed to the back of her mind to remember just in case she needed it. There were likely few people over in Europe she could count on and having at least one additional ally couldn’t be a bad thing.
Now she squared her shoulders and entered the living room, walking across to her mother who immediately rose from the sofa with her arms open wide. It was hard to hide her nervousness, and not to cry as her mother held her tightly. She knew how hard this was for her, how hard it was for all of her family.
“I’ll be okay, Mom. You and Dad have trained me well, not to mention the pack and Varcolac training I’ve had. I won’t place myself in any unnecessary risk.”
“I’m sure that’s what Gard and Rayne thought too,” her father muttered, a frown darkening his handsome face as he took his opportunity to hug his youngest daughter.
“We’ve been through all this.” Dara couldn’t hold back the sigh that was threatening to escape. “Now we know there is someone out there that is strong enough to best Gard and Rayne, I will be especially vigilant.”
“That’s all well and good, Dara, but who the hell is going to protect you from Kothari if he has gone rogue?” he argued, his frown only deepening.