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Johannes looks away from the screen, and everyone is silent. He has turned the chat on mute, and somebody hands him a stack of papers. He speaks to the person for about a minute and then returns to us.

“Sorry. Moving to another area isn’t as easy as it sounds. The children aren’t taking it very well. It was usually my mate who handled such matters, but she’s—” He lets out a shuddering breath. “Forgive me. What was I saying?”

“The affected wolves who took the drug were being controlled by the vampires,” Adam reminds Johannes.

“Yes.” He blinks as if to clear his mind. “Five packs were wiped out. None of us were expecting this. The intent of the vampires was clear: they planned to subdue us and enslave us. In their view, we had always just been animals, and they wanted to become the apex predator. The city was thriving because of the businesses we brought to it, and the vampire clan resented that. They used our own people to kill us. We had to fight back. But the only way to kill the drugged shifters was to remove their heads. We did it with heavy hearts. We were weakened in numbers, though, and the vampire clan was getting ready to launch another attack, so we left in the middle of the night. It’s only been a few months since we came to Germany. The last decade has destroyed us at the hands of the vampires. We don’t trust them with anything anymore. We’ve kept away from the clans here.”

I clear my throat, wishing I knew what to say to this man. “I’m sorry about what you went through. We’re facing a similar issue. The drugs have been showing up here for a couple of years now.”

Johannes’s expression blanches. “Be careful. Their goal might not be your territories but to subjugate your kind. They already know they can do it.”

“The clan leader was killed recently—” Morris begins, and Johannes scoffs at him.

“The clan leader? Unless he was preparing the drugs himself, he’s not the one you have to worry about. You need to look for the chemist, the one who carries the recipe for this drug.”

“Chemist?” I stare at Johannes, a nagging feeling coming over me. “Can I ask you something? When these drugs began to be distributed, did you notice anything about the vampire clan in your city?”

Johannes studies me. “Like what?”

“A new face, perhaps. Someone you saw in their midst that you hadn’t seen before.”

“A foreigner, you mean?” The Alpha frowns. “As a matter of fact, yes. A young man had arrived, late teens. He was there to study, but he was quite close to the clan leader, Jeremiah. Last I heard, he left three months ago, returned to his home country.”

I already know the answer to the next question I’m about to ask.

“What was his name?”

“Terrence.”

I’m on my feet, phone in hand, rushing toward the front door.

“Robert!” Morris runs after me. “What’s going on?!”

“Terrence Balcom. I told you about him. He is Charlotte’s childhood friend. Charlotte went to see him at the cafe. He’s taking over the clan, the man who promised to look into this drug situation, as he called it. And he was in Europe when the drug started being produced.”

I stop in my tracks to turn and look at my friend, my voice grim. “The background check I ran on him was clean, but do you know what he went to Europe to study?”

My question has Morris stiffening.

“Chemistry.”

Chapter 28

Charlotte Sanguinite

I haven’t stepped foot in the compound since the day I left.

“Why did you bring me here, Terrence?” I ask, feeling uncertain. I already sent a quick message to Robert while Terrance was distracted. I haven’t received a frantic phone call or message in response, so I assume he’s fine with it.

“I want to show you the prophecy.” Terrence smiles at me. “I found it, and I think you’ll be really interested in seeing it. You were so curious about Jean Sanguinite, so I went looking for it, specifically.”

I haven’t told Terrence yet about what my father did and why, back when Terrence was in Europe and I still lived here on the compound. I don’t really know if I should. Perhaps it would be best to leave the past in the past.

“I really didn’t want to come here,” I murmur. “None of my memories from this place are good. You could’ve just shown me a picture of the prophecy.”

As curious as I am about my ancestor, if I had known it would mean returning to where all my nightmares began, I would have been happy not learning anything about her.

“Your abilities have returned, haven’t they? I can sense your energy.”

I glance down ruefully at my empty wrist. The day my powers exploded, which was a result of Robert’s and my mating bond, the bracelet shattered. I didn’t realize how convenient that bracelet had made my life.

“Yes.”

“You must be happy about that.”

“It’s taking some getting used to,” I reply, my hand rubbing my wrist. “Are you sure there won’t be a problem with me being here, seeing as I killed my father?”

“Not much of a father,” Terrence mutters under his breath, and I look over at him, wondering if he knows something. As he continues to drive through the large compound, he says, “Don’t worry. Nobody will say a word to you.”

We pull up in front of my former family home, and my insides tighten in abject fear. I really don’t want to go inside.

However, when Terrence opens the car door for me, there’s not much I can do.

“How is Arabella?” I ask slowly, following him up the steps of the mansion.

Terrence casts a glance my way. “Your capacity for forgiveness never fails to amaze me, Charlotte. After everything she did to you, you’re still concerned about her?”

“You mean the attack on me at the cafe?”

“That, and everything else she did.” Terrence looks around. “If you ask me, your family had it coming. They should have respected you. Instead, they became arrogant and decided to play games.”

His tone puts me on edge. I’ve never heard Terrence sound so harsh.

“I haven’t forgiven anything.” My eyes roam over the place I once called home. “But as her sister, I worry about her. She wasn’t always like this, you know. There was a time when she was sweet and loving. But my father had no room in his family for love. He needed his children to be strong and manipulative. He hated me because I was born a healer. Even with my abilities back, he still wanted me dead. More than that, he wanted me to suffer. He wanted me to pay the price for the humiliation he faced because of how I was born.” My hand curls into a fist by my side. “So, no. There is no forgiveness inside me.”