Mila swallowed to fight back the tears she knew would come. She had to tell the whole tale so they could know what they were up against, but it was so hard to re-live the worst moment of her life. “He got too close, sweetheart,” she said, her voice shaking. Dante wrapped his arms around her from behind, lending his support to give her strength to continue.
“He didn’t tell me he had found the person we were looking for. He knew I would want to go with him. Instead, he brought Dante to me, having already told him all about me, and the evil ahead. Abraham said he was just going to speak to a source about another rumour he’d heard. When he didn’t return after a day, we went looking for him.”
Mila’s voice broke and Dante’s arms tightened further, but she swallowed hard and continued. “We found his body in an abandoned hut in the forest. Abraham still lived but his mind was an empty shell. It was as if someone had entered his head and destroyed every single part of him. He was nothing but a living corpse, all that he had been was just gone. Dante did the kindest thing for him. He took his head and we gave him a funeral pyre. Whoever, or whatever, had done this thing to Abraham was powerful beyond all measure.”
She knew tears slipped down her cheeks, but she was not ashamed. Abraham deserved to be mourned and remembered. These people had to understand what they were up against. “Somehow, my beautiful friend managed to hold out against this power. He was able to hide Dante’s existence and mine. If he hadn’t… we would have suffered a similar fate. Abraham was the oldest vampire in Europe and he was taken down by something much more powerful than he was, and now the two oldest beings to walk this world are missing too. Do not underestimate our enemy. It will only lead to yours and probably all of our destruction. ”
Silence fell over the campground, and then Dara spoke, her expression pensive. “Something similar has occurred stateside,” she announced, and everyone turned to look at her. “I’ve just spoken to my Alpha. Freya and Nors Eriksson managed to track down the vampire Michael who orchestrated the attack on our pack. They found him in a similar state, his mind completely wiped.”
“Saves me killing him myself,” Louis commented, though he was clearly shaken by the news. “Michael has been with my coven for the last ten years. If he was under the influence of this enemy then there is no telling what information he passed on about my coven.”
“All the more reason for you to get involved then,” Dante said. “Though, you shouldn’t trust anyone who hasn’t been with you for a least a couple of centuries. I wish there were a way to somehow test people to see if they are part of this unknown enemy’s team.”
Dara swallowed but held her peace. There was a good chance she could delve the vampire minds but she would need to go deep and that would leave her vulnerable. She couldn’t afford to be vulnerable right now, and she wasn’t keen on so many others knowing about her ability. Thankfully, Louis had sent the members of his coven away before Mila had told her story, but her gaze went to the treeline anyway. Had some of them stayed to overhear?
“I’ll go,” Agony said, his thoughts in tune with hers. He took off at supernatural speed, and they stood in silence while they waited for his return. It didn’t take him long and his expression was unconcerned. “No one remained to listen in, which could be viewed as an indication that those who were here can be trusted. Personally, I feel we have too many people in the know as it is, but you will likely disagree with me.”
“The people I brought with me I have known most of my life,” Louis announced, a frown marring his brow. “I wouldn’t have trusted anyone else to come here with me. They are not a threat.”
Agony didn’t argue with him, instead he kept his gaze on Dara. “What else did Rafe have to say?”
The change in subject was unexpected and it took her a moment to focus on what he’d asked. Then she smiled an evil smile, devilment in her eyes. “You mean apart from the long rant about what he was going to do to you when you came home?” Their Alpha had been very vocal on that topic, once he was assured that his errant pack member was safe and well.
“Dara…”
“Oh, very well.” She turned to Natalia, giving the younger woman a brief smile. “Do you have any other pack members around, Tali? Where is your Alpha?”
Natalia blinked in surprise, and then blushed when everyone looked at her, unaccustomed to being the only one who could answer for her pack. “She’s off on some secret mission somewhere, and she sent Fox, our head beta off on some mission before she left. Terra took the children onto the next rendezvous point, but I don’t know where that is. Mama does but I don’t think she can tell us at the moment.”
Fox? Cassia had mentioned a wolf called Fox before she’d left. They had to be one of the same as it was quite an unusual name for a wolf shifter. “I don’t know where your Alpha went but I am fairly certain Fox went stateside. My sister Cassia met him and mentioned that he appeared to be a decent guy. He may be on his way back from what she said, though I would have expected him to be here by now as he left before I did.” It was just another anomaly to add to the growing list… like a female alpha. Dara couldn’t recall hearing of a female alpha stateside though she supposed given how fragile Were life was here in Europe it only made sense that alphas were conceived in all shapes and sizes.
She was also concerned that there were children out there alone with no protection, only this Terra person. Judging from the small size of the pack, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume that Terra was likely barely into adulthood.
“Would it be too much trouble for you to see if you can find this rendezvous point?” she asked Agony, knowing he wouldn’t want to do it. His expression said it all, and she prepared for the inevitable tirade that didn’t come.
“Fine, I will look but only after you tell me what Rafe said.” Agony folded his arms and gave her a level stare, his posture letting her know in no terms that he wouldn’t move from the spot until he’d heard everything.
“If we can find other pack members then we can give the care of Ava, Pippa and Tali over to them and continue on our way. If not, we will have to send them stateside to the pack and they will care for them until such times as we can find their alpha or other pack members.”
“No!” Mila and Agony spoke at the same time, their gazes colliding in surprise that they’d done so.
“Oh, for goodness sake! What now?” Dara exclaimed, frustration riding her hard. For every step they should be taking forward, it appeared that they were taking ten backwards.