"We'll try to," Eliza said. "We don't want to be kicked out of our home here."
"Are you seeing hunters?"
"Not right now. Brittany and I moved in together. We just felt more comfortable doing that after all the changes we've been facing."
"I know what you mean."
Rosa touched Selena's shoulder, to bring her back to the current discussion. She said to her, "I'm sorry for not telling you where I was going to be. And I'm sorry for not being there for you when you had to kill the hunter."
"I know. That's why you're here with me now, helping me." And Selena was grateful that her sister was aware enough of what was going on that Rosa helped her to hide the fact she was having a private conversation with fellow huntresses who had been turned.
"We can't broadcast what we're doing," King finally said. "If the hunters are hiding among my people, we don't want them to know we're looking for them. Brittany and Eliza will be my eyes and ears and report anything to me that they learn. Everyone respects them and they haven't been members of the community long enough to be part of the problem. And since they're also vampiresses, they have a stake in this should these rogues decide to kill huntresses turned."
Selena wondered if the women, or one of them, had compelled King to capitulate. She hadn't thought he would.
"Thank you and we'll continue to look for the hunters in League territory," her brother said. "We'll let you know if we find them."
"Same here," Brittany said.
Selena was glad they were working together on this, probably the first time the fringe hunters had worked with League hunters.
"Keep in touch with us," Eliza said.
"Yes, do," Brittany agreed.
Selena was glad she had two new friends that were like her to visit with. "I will. We'll have to get together and visit."
The ladies agreed and Selena realized she had been feeling a little on the outs. Not all vampire, not all hunter. These ladies, and Tezra, would be the same. All of them would have to visit with each other socially.
Jacque brought the van around to the border town to take them to Atreides's house, and Selena telepathically communicated to Atreides, "I've made a couple of new friends in the fringes." Then she explained about the women being bitten, probably by the same vampire who had bitten her, and she told Atreides about what her brother had come up with concerning the wolf.
"That would make more sense," Atreides told Selena.
“So why not just tell you—forget it. You wouldn't have listened to him, figuring he was a rogue or something. But if the wolf did kill the vampire, I want to know this and thank him."
"Then a vampiress he was close to was murdered. Why wouldn't he come out and just tell you? Doesn't he believe you would want to know about it? Everyone knows you've been to the League about the ones you know of," Atreides asked.
"Unless he's in trouble with us for something he's done and doesn't believe we would do anything for him. Maybe he's on a vampire's hit list."
"So he could still be a rogue."
"Yes."
"Okay." That wasn't good. If he was, then he couldn't really get help from the vampires or hunters, unless— "What if he's on a hunter's hit list because he killed a hunter involved in the killings?"
"Then we would have to clear him of the crime. Why not come to me then with the problem?"
"Because the League wouldn't believe him. That's why a hunter needs to deal with these hunters. Vampires who kill them will just be seen as rogues. We still have the issue of the other vampire’s voice you heard."
“Right.”
Basil telepathically communicated to Atreides, "We found Selena's car. It was at a mall. Tara Green came through for us. She saw it and immediately knew it was Selena's. Selena had a little stuffed baby Yoda hanging from the rearview mirror, and of course it's a red Firebird."
Atreides shared the information with Selena.
"I'm going to get it," Selena said.
"We've got some of our hosts watching it now. If someone comes out for it, the hosts will stop him," Basil said.
"Don't show your fangs," Atreides warned Selena.
"I'll try not to. I'm suddenly really tired."
"You need blood."
"I want my car back and my brother and sister and his friends are going with us. I'll let someone else drive it home for me, I mean to your house—"
"Our home, you're right."
"I love you," she said. "Unequivocally. I should have said so before I had to meet with King."
"The fringe hunter calls himself a king?"
"No, that's his last name. Don't worry. He's not about to try to take over the League and usurp the princes’ powers with the vampires." She was glad she'd told Atreides she loved him back, despite having said it to him before. She'd meant to, but so much had been going on she couldn't say it at the time. She hadn't wanted to leave him hanging.
"I know."
She chuckled. "I just hope this doesn't get you into trouble with your brother."
"It better not. I'm serious about us leaving the area if he doesn't want me in the clan for what I've done."
But she didn't want to leave her family behind. She dreaded telling her parents she'd fallen in love with a vampire though. She wasn't sure if they would be okay with it or not. She was sure Tezra would back them though.
"You have me to work with the women who are living in the border towns though. Maybe I can help us with fringe hunters in the future if we have trouble with them since the League won't help." And maybe she would have more influence with the League since she wasn't just a vampire explaining what was going on with the hunters who were rogues. She had been and still was one of them, in part. She, or someone like her, needed to represent her kind on the League Council.
Chapter 16
When they reached the mall, the hosts directed them to her car, and Selena saw it. She was thrilled. It looked just like she had left it the night the wolf stalked her, and she’d been attacked, except that the people who had used it had smoked joints in the car, which irritated her to the max. Because of her hunter's heightened sense of smell, smoke irritated her. And they'd left hamburger wrappers, french fries, and empty beer cans all over the floor.
Even so, she was thrilled to have her car back, no dents or broken windows or anything.
"We wait for whoever stole it to return, right?" her brother asked.
"Yes, they have my car keys." She had the spare keys at home, she realized, but she didn’t want them to have the other set of keys any further. And she wanted them arrested for stealing her car.
Daniel shook his head. "I can't believe you left your key in the ignition."
"Tell me about it." But at least by doing that, they hadn't broken a window to get into it and hotwired it to steal it anyway.
They hung around the parking area for about an hour, the sun out, clearing away the clouds and she was glad only hosts and hunters were here, waiting for the car thieves. The vampires would have had to leave, like Jacque had to do.