“We’ve heard that the drugs are now in the hands of vampires and being distributed, specifically by one Kadence Moore. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but with Father gone I need to step in and investigate,” I acknowledged.
“Kadence is on the council, sir. She’s not a fan of Sloane, and we’re worried it could get ugly. Having Nathaniel’s co-mates there could ease the tension when Sloane steps up,” Novak informed Papi.
“I suppose it could,” Papi agreed. “But it may also make it worse,” he contradicted himself in the next breath. “Having both of us there would be the prime time to challenge you for your position, Little Devil. Are you ready for that?” he warned me as he worried with his bottom lip, rubbing his teeth across the surface.
“Yes, sir.” I looked to Novak, and he nodded his head. He was ready too. There would be no going back when we reached the council. We would seal our bond and go through with the ritualistic traditions. A vampire wedding. Not to be confused with a human wedding; a vampire wedding was all about sharing blood and speaking an ancient oath. Since I was next in line, behind Father, we’d need his equals present to witness our ceremony. His co-mates and his second-in-command. After Novak and I sealed our bond, I’d take over as High Coven Mistress of Vampyre. We would take over. Novak would become the High Coven Master, second only to me as the true heiress.
“I’ll call Charles now, but Sloane,” he paused, making me anxious. “Be ready for a fight, My Sweet Devil, and give that bitch Hell. She’s been after Nathaniel and his position since before Amelia went missing.”
“Yes, Papi. I will,” I answered truthfully, my determination seeping into my words. If Kadence Moore was after my Father and his position, then she would not like my interference. Too bad for her. I gave zero fucks about what she liked. As soon as we stepped up, she’d be removed from the council.
“Your Mother would be so proud of you. See you soon, Devil. I love you.” With those last parting words, the flames dispersed from my palm into a heart before disappearing completely. The Devil was a showoff. I didn’t miss the fact that he called me Devil. He’d never called me just Devil before.
“You didn’t want to tell him about the letter,” Novak pointed out.
“No,” I concurred. “I’d rather show it to them in person.” That was not a “phone call” sort of conversation to be had with my parents. The thought of seeing them at the end of the week excited me. The knowledge that Novak and I would seal our bond in a couple days had filthy images running through my head. I wasn’t sure if they were mine or his.
“They are definitely yours.” His voice entered my mind with ease, but he laughed out loud. “Stop. You’re going to kill me before we make it that far.”
“I can’t just turn them off.” I shrugged my naked shoulders. “But it may help to act them out.” I bit into my lower lip and winked at him. He groaned, but before he could follow up with any sort of comment, we heard my phone ringing from inside.
“Where is it?” he asked me as he stood.
“In the pile of clothes that I left by the door,” I shouted when he zoomed away. He was back before the ringing stopped, phone in one hand and a towel in the other.
“Trying to keep me pure for our wedding night?” I jested with a flirty grin.
“Trying to keep my wits about me,” he replied, dry and fighting a grin of his own.
I turned my attention away from Novak and to my phone. “Hello?” I answered after seeing it was Simon. I put the call on speaker so I could wrap the towel around my body. Talking to Simon on the phone while I was naked felt kind of wrong.
“I’m in Baton Rouge, and I have news.” Simon sounded strained and out of breath.
“What’s happening?” I asked, seriousness taking over the last of my good mood.
“Are you sitting down?” he countered.
“Tell me, Simon,” I growled out.
“This place is a madhouse. The council is at each other’s throats. Dominic and Kadence are running everything into the ground without Nathaniel here to put his foot down.” He stopped, and I vaguely heard a crash in the background.
“And?” I pushed.
“No one can find Nathaniel, and the lower covens are outraged that they aren’t getting straight answers about where he is. I know that we know his general location, but I’m not disclosing that to these fucking idiots. You have to come down here, Lo. You’re the only one who can step in and control this shitshow,” he vowed. That wasn’t all, though. I could tell by his voice that he was leaving something out.
“What aren’t you telling me, Simon?”
He sighed loudly, clearly not liking whatever he was about to tell me. “There’s been seventeen cases of infected vampires since Thursday. Kadence is telling everyone that Nathaniel is behind it, and he ran when it backfired. He’s been gone for two weeks. It doesn’t look good, Sloane.”
“Alright, I’ll start planning a trip down today. We should arrive late Thursday or early Friday. Stay around if you're safe. Come back if you're not. I don’t want you to risk yourself. Clear?”
“Got it,” he affirmed.
“Call me if anything changes.” I hung up after that and sighed just as loudly as Simon had. It seemed that there was no rest for the wicked. All the shit that had been stacked up for me to deal with was finally starting to chip at my resolve. I knew I had help. I knew the weight of the supernatural world wasn’t on my shoulders alone, but it felt like it was.
The door beside the pool opened up, and York trudged out, looking worried. Fuck. I’d forgotten he could feel my emotions now. I tamped them down and took a deep, steadying breath before smiling slightly at him. “Sorry,” I remarked, “I didn’t mean to wake you with my rollercoaster of bullshit.”
“It’s okay.” He yawned. “I was having trouble sleeping before your emotions hit me, so I went back to the greenhouse. I saw some movement in the woods, but it didn’t look like the boys,” he fretted, never taking his scanning eyes off the wooden line at the edge of my property.
“I haven’t heard anything,” Novak disclosed, “but I wasn’t specifically listening either.”
I closed my eyes and reached out to my hounds. “Cronus is patrolling around the gate right now. I can’t reach Atlas or Helios.” I snapped my eyes open and jumped to my feet.
“What’s wrong, Trouble?” Novak questioned.
I looked from him to York. “I can’t reach Atlas or Helios,” I repeated frantically.
“I don’t understand. Are they sleeping?” He peered down at me with confused eyes.
“No, mate,” York whispered as his bare feet stepped onto the grass. “They’re down. Atlas is on the west side of the property. Helios is near the garage on the east side.”
“Do you feel anything else?” I asked, barely audible.
“Someone’s here, Sweetheart. We need to move inside.” He started to walk backwards to the door, tugging my hand in his.
Novak took two steps and stopped suddenly, eyes fiercely searching the trees across from us. “Movement,” he mouthed with no sound from beside me. I mentally called Cronus to us, keeping the connection open so he could see what I was seeing.