10. It Was Real

~Grayson's POV~

"It's been three fucking days since you all were out, looking for my daughter! Where the heck is she? How the fuck you let her cross the borders in the first place!" I growled as loud as I could.

The collar of the head warrior of the pack was between my palms. He was in charge of the borders of the pack that night. He told me that I had nothing to worry about and he had everything under control, then where the heck was my daughter?

"Maybe she went to one of her friends?" Another idiot said from the back.

I turned my glare on him.

"You think I’m a damn fool?!" I snapped. "I can feel every fucking hit she’s been taking!"

Her pain wasn’t just in my head; it was real. Each wave of it tore right through my chest. Every blow she took dragged me further into the dark.

She wasn’t just gone. She was suffering. And I couldn’t do a thing about it.

I’ve never felt this helpless. Not once in twenty years. I kept her safe. I raised her with my own hands. She was my light in a world full of chaos. But now? Now she’s out there with some unknown bastard hurting her, and I don’t even know where the hell to look.

"Dad, every clan is looking for her, but I don't think that will be enough. We need an urgent meeting with King Talon," Damien said.

The vampire king?

"We have a treaty with vampires..." Hailey said.

Her eyes were red. Not because she was a vampire, but because she had been crying ever since she lost her that night. She was the one chasing Aliyah with her unbeatable speed, but Aliyah, being a hybrid and having the speed of two creatures in her, left her vampire mother behind and disappeared into thin air. She blames herself for the pain that our daughter has been experiencing over the past three days. Hell, I blamed her too, for a second. But this wasn’t on her. It was on me. It was on all of us.

"I don't think they give any fucks about the treaty. They attacked Stella and Aliyah when they were in the city," Carter said.

We brushed it off, thinking that they must be rogue vampires, but now, I don't think they were.

I clenched my jaw, "Call Asher and tell him to bring that leech king's ass in front of us."

I dashed out of the packhouse and shifted into my wolf mid-run. My muscles stretched, bones snapped. My paws hit the ground hard as I charged through the forest.

If those bloodsuckers had anything to do with my daughter’s pain, I’ll slaughter every last one of them.

******************

~Louis's POV~

"So when are you planning to return?" I asked my father over a video call.

"Why? You can't handle the responsibilities for a year or two?" He chuckled.

"I don't think we want to be there anytime soon," My mother smiled at me.

That's exactly what I wanted to hear.

Sometimes, it feels good to see two vampires in such a deep love that I feel cringe. However, I always feel happy that my father loves MY mother more than any of his past lovers.

'Why won't he? She is his mate...' The inner voice in my head said.

Mate... Why wasn't I mated to Michelle?

She checked all the boxes. She was cunning, smart, deadly, and most importantly, a vampire like me.

My mother's giggles reached my ear, and my attention went back to my phone. She was smiling ear to ear while standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. She was the only sweet and kind vampire between all the bitchy vampires of this kingdom that I used to feel she wasn't born to be a vampire. Well, she wasn't. She was a human. And I am sure that was setting her apart from this cruel vampire world where she stepped in after meeting my father and turning into a vampire.

But Aliyah... My mother was my father's dream, but she was my worst nightmare.

I still haven't figured out what I will do with her. I can't keep her here any longer. Neither can I kill her.

"Where are you lost, Louis?" My mother asked.

"Nothing... I gotta go. Michelle is waiting for me," I answered.

The disappointing sigh of my parents made me chuckle, but my mother beat me before I could brush it off, "You need to find the right girl for you. She might be with you for years, but she isn't the one for you."

I chuckled, "Dad found you after a millennium. What makes you think I would find my mate in just one century?"

"My human born heart," She smiled at me.

Well, she wasn't wrong, though.

"And when you find her, make sure we are the ones to talk to her first, and if she is a human, then you know how to take care of her. With love. With patience," Father said.

As if that was possible.

I disconnected the call after a while and sat back on my chair, I needed to find a way to let Aliyah go back to her family and avenge Abel's death differently. Maybe Damien’s mate will be the best one to target. But that ass hasn't found his mate yet.

A loud scream filled pierced my ears. So loud, so raw, I felt it in my bones. It wasn’t just a yell. It was pain, fury, fear... All packed into one soul-piercing cry.

It was Aliyah.

Who the fuck touched her?