Free Web NovelChapter 113: Enemy Territory
A vampire. What was he doing here in Ironclaw?!
Vampires and werewolves were like water and oil― the two species had been enemies since the dawn of time. It was rare enough for individual werewolves to work with vampires, much less an entire pack! Petral definitely had to be a guest of Ironclaw to be able to walk around freely like that.
"Harper?" Elijah called out, pulling me out of my stupor. I turned at his voice, my breath still clogged in my throat as he came over, looking at me worriedly. "What’s wrong?"
"A... A..." I cast a glance at our guide, who had stopped in her tracks to wait for me. I couldn’t discern the look on her face but I knew this wasn’t something she needed to hear. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Thus, I turned to look back at where I last saw Petral. Alas, the corridor was empty. He was gone.
"I thought I saw someone I knew," I eventually said, swallowing the bile in my throat. My mouth felt dry and I felt faint. We needed to get somewhere where we could safely talk. "Could we hurry back to the lounge?" I asked. "Please?"
"Of course," the woman said. "We’re not too far off."
We made our way quickly back to the lounge. I didn’t find it difficult to pretend that I was having difficulty walking; after seeing Petral appear like a figment from my worst imagination, all I wanted to do was to sink down on a plush chair and scream into my hands.
Elijah discreetly shot me worried looks. Meanwhile, our guide seemed torn between delight and disdain. She probably never saw someone as weak as me before. Well. Good. If she spreads tales of my apparent fragility among Ironclaw, that would allow others to underestimate me.
And we needed all the advantages we could get.
The moment the door slammed shut, I immediately turned to Elijah and mouthed the word ’bugs’. He nodded, understanding my point, and together we worked in silence to sweep the lounge for any bugs and hidden cameras. We couldn’t find any, but it was better safe than sorry.
Elijah whispered into my ear. "What’s happening?"
"One of the vampires that attacked us at the borders is here," I murmured grimly. "I saw him just now, he was following a guard dressed in Ironclaw’s warrior uniform."
Elijah’s mouth fell open in shock, and he nearly forgot to be quiet. "That’s impossible. How could Ironclaw let a vampire stroll around their territory so blatantly? Are you sure you weren’t mistaken?"
"I swear on my life, and on my fated bonds with Blaise and Damon, I definitely spotted Petral," I said, holding a hand to my heart, "I would never forget his face."
Elijah nodded in solemn acceptance. Gone was the usual sunny countenance, Elijah was all business now. He touched his temples, presumably to contact Damon and let him know what I said.
Then he frowned.
"Elijah?" I prompted.
"I can’t reach Damon at all," Elijah said, beginning to pace around the room. "This is bad; Damon is in great trouble. If Ironclaw has indeed decided to ally with the vampires to wipe out fellow werewolves, we are all in grave danger. Their silver mines would offer a devastating advantage against any pack."
"And Damon is now in a private meeting alone with their Alpha," My face paled; Damon had walked straight into an ambush. "Do you think they’ll kill him? What should we do?"
Even as I asked my question, I realized the futility of it all. What could we even do? I was a human, and while Elijah was a skilled warrior, we were surrounded by an entire pack of hostile, highly trained werewolves who could probably shoot silver bullets at us for fun. Not to mention Petral would definitely recognize me on sight and would love nothing more than to drain me dry.
Could Damon sense something was amiss? I hoped so. It would be rotten luck for me to get a mate only to lose him to a traitorous pack led by a lecherous Alpha. If Alpha Natan hurt Damon, I would tear his head off from his neck with my lousy human teeth. Maybe I should have let Damon sleep with me when we marked each other. At least the both of us would be stronger.
If only the mate bond could allow us to send exact messages, rather than vague emotions. If only I had a goddamn wolf!
"They can try, but they won’t succeed," Elijah said. I had no idea how he could feel this confident about Damon’s chances if things went sour. Then again, he wasn’t there when we faced off against the vampires in the silver mines. Perhaps this was Elijah’s natural optimism rearing its bright head.
"Even if Damon is unable to transform, he is far from powerless. Harper, you simply need to have faith in him. Now, let us rest so that when Damon needs us to take care of him, we will be able to."
With that final word, Elijah made his way to one of the couches, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. I gawked.
How could he remain so calm about this?! ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Fine. I closed my eyes. Damon better be alright, or I’ll wring his neck after I’m done with Alpha Natan!
***
[Third POV]
"My answer is regrettably no, Alpha Damon," Alpha Natan said simply, with his feet on the table as he peered up to look at Damon, who was getting increasingly pissed by the second.
"That was not what you mentioned in your earlier message," Damon growled out, slamming his hands against the very same table. "Alpha Natan, would you mind explaining what changed your mind so quickly?"
"An alliance with equal parties is still up for discussion, but that’s not what Fangborne wants, is it not?" Alpha Natan asked with a raised eyebrow. "You want to absorb Ironclaw into Fangborne, and that is something I cannot accept. Fangborne is a powerful pack, but you’ll find that Ironclaw has its merits. We will not be subservient to your rule, not when we have been doing very well for ourselves so far."
"Tell me, what can Fangborne offer Ironclaw that we cannot get ourselves?"
Damon smiled, revealing all his teeth in a ghoulish grin. "Your lives."
