“Go clean that mess up.” I ordered the guards. They nodded, as that is their usual duties unless I assign someone to do it for them as a punishment.
“I will tell you under one condition.”
“That is?” I was starting to get really pissed off at him.
“Take me with you.”
“Excuse me?”
“Take me with you. I want to go on this… manhunt.”
I looked at Jason for his input, but he was just pitching the bridge of his nose. He was exhausted and lacked caring.
“Why the fuck would I take you?”
“I have knowledge of witches.”
“So does my mother.” Everyone knew of her story was it wasn’t really a secret.
“Yes, but I KNOW them. They own me favors.”
“Ah, so you slept with them and now they are at your beck-in call for whatever you need in exchange for your… services.” I said pointedly as I looked down at his dick and back up into his eyes.
“I don’t apologize for my methods. They got me what I needed.”
“I bet they did…” turning I left without a second look. Fuck men.
I walked back by myself to the palace and to the conference room, where people had already gathered. All noticed the blood that had splattered on my pants and the hint of burned flesh on me. “I see we got started.” What is with people and not waiting for me to give the go ahead?
Jason and Alpha Dax walked in, and I just glared at them. Jason signaled him to stand back, which really pissed me off. “We are going to be doing a massive manhunt for the man that killed my Molly.” Jason started.
“We know two things for sure. First, we are all familiar with my mother’s story…” I paused, and they all nodded at me. “She said he is the spinning image of Grant.” I watch the older ones realize this and it was like a light bulb went off in their heads. “Second, I just found out that he is working with witches in Texas. I am leading a team to head down there and see what we can find out.”
“I will be going with her as well as Alpha Dax, Samuel and Ben.” Jason spoke for me. They could feel the anger that radiated from me throughout the whole room. It took me a minute to relax myself and not yell at Jason for stepping outside of his authority. “Everyone else will be on standby for instruction as needed. We leave tonight.”
Everyone looked at me to be dismissed. Although they respected Jason, I was the person in charge and they knew it. “Dismissed.”
Everyone left but Jason and Dax as they knew they were in for an ass chewing. “Listen, princess…”
“Don’t fucking princess me. You crossed a line, Jason. You don’t make discissions like that!”
“No, you listen. Molly was my mate that fucking died! Mine! I know that Alpha Dax doesn’t want you and part of me wants to care, but damnit it I don’t right now. I need you to suck up your contempt for him and make it work for my sake. At least until we catch him, then I will personally help you with him.” Jason had slammed his fist through the wooden table. Wood went flying and the smell of fresh blood filled the room as wood was sticking out from between his knuckles.
“Go get cleaned up.” I dismissed him. Even though he was right, my feelings still mattered here.
“You should get cleaned up too.” Alpha Dax said quietly from the corner of the room.
“Don’t act like you care about me. Besides, I’ve had much worse than a little cut and besides, I’m already healed.” I waved off his concern.
“It happened like five minutes ago. You can’t be healed already over something that looked pretty deep.”
Spitting in my hand, I scrubbed away the dried blood to reveal completely healed over skin with no scar. “See? Now leave me alone.” I said as I walked out. Going straight to my office just felt right, but it wasn’t like I was in the headspace to get any work done.
A soft knock sounded on the door before the handle turned. My mom popped her head in and smiled at me before coming all the way in with a box in her hands. “How are you, dear?”
“Peachy.”
“Listen, I know what you are about to do and I wanted to give you something.”
She laid a box on my desk in front of me. Opening it, there was a necklace and ring sitting on a stand in the middle. It was her jewelry that she never took off. Looking up, I didn’t see the necklace or the ring, which shocked me to my core. “Mom?”
“You know, a witch gave these to me. It keeps silver from hurting me and makes it so no potion will take away my wolf. Or whoever wears it, I guess. I feel like you need this now that you are going on this manhunt. You need this protection more than me right now. The witch that made these, well, her daughter lives in Dallas, Texas. Maybe if she sees these, she will recognize them and help you more.”
“What about the witch that made them?”
“She died before I even got the necklace, but I knew her daughter. She is a Luna herself or was before her mate died a few years back. Since then, she moved back to her mother’s roots and picked up witch craft since then, or last I heard.”
“I… um… mom tha-… but.”
“We have nicknamed you the warrior princess for a reason. You are my daughter and in this line of work, danger will always follow you. You need to do what you can to protect yourself. Alpha Dax going along isn’t a bad thing. He wasn’t wrong when he said he knew witches. Plus, even if he doesn’t want to accept you as his mate, he won’t let anything bad happen to you, either.”
“How do you know this stuff?” It completely threw me off my guard.
“I have my ways. Maybe I’ll tell you in due time.” she smirked at me.
She got up and walked out the door. My shaking hands almost dropped the necklace as I picked it up to put it on. I’m not sure what I expected as I put on the ring, but there weren’t any flashy lights or warm feeling. Almost a letdown, as I was expecting some show that it was working. I guess I will find out in time…
All too soon, it was time to leave. We were taking an SUV to the outskirts of Texas and then hoofing it the rest of the way. Stealth is our best defense, but either way might not matter when dealing with witches. No one really knew what to expect, so I was on edge the whole ride.
“What’s the plan, Princess?” Samuel asked.
“Dude, she is fucking Queen now!” Ben hit Samuel upside the head. Samuel was a younger kid at 19. Sand color hair matched his freckles but he was built like a fucking tank. Ben was the polar opposite of Samuel with espresso colored skin, buzzed hair and blue eyes. Both of them grew up together, bouncing between houses like brothers do.
“Fuck! Sorry! It will be hard to get used to Queen instead of Princess.” Samuel looked sheepishly at me. I had taken over the driving and just shook my head at them through the review mirror. Jason was sitting next to me and Dax was in the far back spread out, taking up the whole back seat to himself.
“Princess is fine. I haven’t fully taken over the throne, so I will still allow that.” It really didn’t bother me what they called me.
“Address her accordingly.” Dax threatened anyone and everyone in the car. My body betrayed me as it responded to his protectiveness of me.
“Alpha Dax, why don’t you let me handle my own men?” I addressed him professionally, but my tone was anything but. I wasn’t sure if Ben or Samuel knew about Alpha Dax being my mate or not.
He did not like that at all. Our bond wasn’t that strong and I could feel how angry that statement made him. His eyes darkened as I could feel his gaze try to kill me through the rear-view mirror. I had to actively avoid looking at it. Ben and Samuel were looking between me and Alpha Dax, trying to figure out what was going on.
The rest of the car ride was silent as I drove down the interstate. My fingers weaved through my hair as I plaid with it. Something I do when I’m bored, but it was comforting to do so. We had just reached Texas when I heard a stomach rumble.
“Hungry?” I asked to Samuel. His emotions were all over the place, but being hungry was taking a toll on him.
“Yes, I am.”
“It is getting pretty late. We should find a hotel and get something to eat. We can start fresh in the morning.” Jason said to me.
“Alright. I think I saw a motel up ahead.” Right on cue, a sign for America’s Best was plastered in yellow.
“Perfect. There is a McDonalds just next to it.” Ben said happily as I got off the intersate and made my way to McDonalds.
“Welcome to McDonalds, may I take your order?” the lady over the intercom spoke.
“What does everyone want?” I asked.
“#1c for me with a Dr. Pepper.” Samuel said So I relayed it to the lady.
“#5 please.” Jason said next. “Pepsi”
“I’ll take a #1c too with a Pepsi.” Ben said.
“Alpha Dax?”
“#4 please with a Dr. Pepper.”
“Anything else, dear?” the lady asked.
“No, thank you.”
“Total will be 64.33 at the first window. Please pull forward.”
“Are you not getting food?” Jason whispered low to me. I just glanced at him quickly before ignoring him.
“64.33”
I handed the lady my MasterCard Black card as it is my go to card. I get points back on gas, so I like it more than the rest.
“Thank you.” The lady said before she shut the window. Something just felt off. I couldn’t place it, just it just felt weird. Not dangerous, but not quite right. Pulling up, the man at the window looked at me weirdly as he handed me my food. His shaggy black hair got in his eyes, so he whipped his head to the left to get it out so he could see. It was then that I noticed the half shaped moon tattoo on his next.
He too quickly shut the window as I finished handing the food to Jason. He was passing the food out as I pulled into the motel. “I’ll be back.” Not even waiting for an answer, I headed in to see what rooms they have open.
“Good Evening, how may I help you?” The older woman behind the desk was a pudgy looking thing with wild, curly hair that stuck out in every direction. She was sweating profusely, like she just got done running a mile.
“I need a couple of rooms, please.”
“I’m sorry ma’am, but we only have one room left, and it only has two queen-size beds.”
“I guess that will do.” I said, frowning. This will be fun. She ran my card and had me sign a few spots, saying I wouldn’t smoke in the room or damage it in any way. I couldn’t promise that. As she handed me my key, I noticed a tattoo on her thumb of the same moon as the young man at McDonalds. Interesting.
“I’m sorry, but can you tell me what your tattoo means? Is it a symbol for something?” I asked, faking innocence.
“Oh, this old thing? HAHA, I just love crystals and believe in their healing powers!” Lie. “How lovely! Thank you for the room!” I said as I waved and walked out. We were in room 103, which looks like we already parked in front of it. Perfect. Walking to the trunk and pulling out the luggage, I managed to get mine to the room before the guys jumped out and got the message. “Only one room?” Ben said, annoyed.“It’s all they had. Go ask for extra blankets if you want to make a bed on the floor.” I wasn’t their mother and to wolves. This wasn’t a big deal. “Naw, I’m good. I brought my own blanket and pillow.” Ben pulled out a small pillow that was big enough for just his head and a small toddler blanket. The thing barely covered his arms, but he laid down and didn’t move again. Samuel didn’t complain, as he did the same. Jason sat down on his bed and I sat on mine. Alpha Dax looked around before he settled between Jason and I’s bed in the middle. I kept my shoes on as I waited for th
It did not prepare me for the burning feeling that scolded my lips. I closed my eyes and pinched my lips together as I turned away from their embrace. My hand acted on its own as it covered my mouth to make the burning feeling go away. I felt Jason’s hand on my shoulder as he squeezed it. Slowly, the burn went away, and I had to blink back the tears that had formed. Not because I was sad, but because of how badly it hurt. “I never expected to see you here, Daxxy!” her black hair was pixie cut with jean shorts and a black flowy tank top. I could see her tattoo down her arm. It was a crest moon shaped dream catcher with lines down that ended into shapes of birds. If my education is correct, this should be the Black Hawk Coven.“I never figured I would be down here, but I am on business.” I heard Dax say before I turned around. “This is Ben, Samuel, Duke Jason and Pr-”“Warrior Princess Sara…” she finished for him. She kept her eyes on me as she walked up to me. “Nice to finally meet y
It was like I was watching my actions from above. My body moved of its own accord. The burning was growing deep within me. It wasn’t until I put on my hand on the handrail of the stairs that I noticed red lines developing on my skin. It was like a tattoo but red on my wrist and it was like a bird. I didn’t have time to really understand what it meant because the basement door opened up. Standing twenty feet in front of me was a vampire. I looked at him and he looked at me. Walking up the stairs to him, I let my aura out. His eyes opened wide as he realized who I was before he ran off. I didn’t even care. Everyone will soon be dead here. The pain in my body was overwhelming. Walking to the livingroom, I saw five vampires and a little girl that looked like Lilith’s twin. “Rose” “My sister sent you, did she?” She had a smirk on her face as she watched my movements.“Give me the necklace and I will leave you all alive.” All the vampires laughed, and Rose looked bored. She took her knee-
“We put a spell on the house. If we do not invite you, you basically get confused and turn around. If you want up on the house, it looks abandoned and if we invite you, you get to see the actual house.”“Well, a witch put the spell up for us. Don’t ask what we had to pay for that…” Gabrial laughed as Vincent shook his head. “That is unnerving…” Samuel said. “It takes some getting used to.” Vincent agreed. We walked in silence to the front of the house. The porch was massive, with five white columns fifty feet high. There was a seating area on the right that Vincent led us to. “I suppose I owe you a thank you.” Vincent started after we all took a seat. I was sitting in a single chair. Vincent and Gabrial took the love seat, Ben and Claudia took the porch swing, and Samuel and Dax took the couch. “Why’s that?” I asked. “You eliminated Rose. Well, you eliminated both sisters, so you really did us two favors.” “Continue…” I hated repeating myself.“Rose and Lilith have been trying
“I tried not to! She put a spell on me that made me forget myself! It wasn’t until we were done that I realized what I did. I would have killed her myself if Sarah didn’t do it!” “Do you realize the physical pain you just put her through? She has a fucking permanent branding of infidelity on her arm. Do you realize how many people will see that when she officially takes over? Every alpha will see that and know you cheated on her. Every alpha will now wonder if she isn’t worthy. If her mate didn’t want her, then she must be broken.”That thought honestly hadn’t crossed my mind until now. “I know a witch that might help with that. She could possibly remove it and she owes me a favor.” I heard Vincent add.“Why would you help us?” Jason asked.“Like I said, you did a favor for killing Rose and Lilith. Consider this as my repayment.”“Any tonight?” Jason asked.“This is for fun. We haven’t been clubbing in a long time!” Gabrial laughed. “I am warning you, Dax. Consider this a threat. If
I felt my jaw drop. Well shit. I guess my face is more familiar than I expected. “Nice to finally meet you. Is there somewhere more private we can talk?” “Follow me.” He said as he offered his arm to me. I took it and together we walked up the four flights of stairs. As soon as we walked into his office, the blasting music was completely gone. The room was very professional but pricey. Stark white carpet with dark brown leather furniture. His mahogany desk filled the whole one side of the office. Behind that, there were floor to ceiling windows overlooking the dance floor and pretty much the whole building. You could see that bars, the entryway and even the restrooms. Von caught me looking down at the dance floor. He had a perfect view of where I was. “It’s a two-way mirror.” “Perfect for watching.” I noted. I didn’t feel threatened, but I didn’t feel at ease either. Von was honestly very curious right now. “What do I owe this… untimely visit?” “I believe we have a mutual p
The birds were chirping as I groggily starting coming around. I slept like crap as I had a dream that the witch put a spell on me that caused me to stab myself in the heart. The sounds of a chair squeaking caught me off guard as I looked up to see Dax was sitting down, fully dressed in a new, all black jeans and shirt, sipping on coffee. Fucking morning people kill me. “Morning, sleeping beauty. Time to rise and shine. We have a long day ahead of us.” Dax said way too cheerfully. “I will throat punch you.” I said, as I yawned. “So violent.” He whispered as he walked away and poured me a cup of coffee. As he did that, I scooted back against the headboard and tried to force myself to wake up. Handing me the coffee, he sat down on the edge of the bed. “What time is it?” I asked. “Almost 9:30. You didn’t sleep good so I tried not to wake you.” “I see.” “Jason is up and around, Ben is… well, he had an argument with Claudia about what happened, so he never really went to bed. Sam
My whole body stiffened as I looked over at the door. An older version of Von walked in, but he had crimson red eyes. They seemed to look straight into my soul as I watched him sit down beside his son. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Acting Queen Sarah.” Von rolled his eyes at his father’s politeness. “My name is Silas and I am the Vampire King.” “Nice to meet you as well. This is Alpha Daxon, Duke Jason, Ben is next to Claudia and Samuel.” They each nodded as I called out their names. The plane started moving. I hated flying. My heart instantly started racing, so I felt myself being forced deeper and deeper into my seat. “I understand you are here about the witch’s son.” Silas acted like he wasn’t aware of my sudden anxiety. “Yes, sir.” I said through gritted teeth.“Not a fan of flying?” He laughed as the plane took flight and I was suddenly vertical.“I’m a wolf. We don’t fly.” I made the mistake of looking out the window and I saw the clouds under me.“Touche.” He snapped his f