Free Web NovelChapter 27: Vampires & Silver I
"Vampires?" I echoed, eyes wide with horror.
Fear had me frozen to the spot as a chill ran down my spine. The creatures of the night had been enemies of werewolves since time immemorial. With their brutal reputation, even the human children living in nearby towns knew to lock their doors whenever night fell.
"If my guess is accurate, then we might have a huge problem on our hands," Elijah said with a sigh.
He took one last look at Charles and Elena before walking out of the house. I followed suit, needing to tear my eyes away from the bodies.
My lips parted before closing, not sure whether I should ask what was on my mind. It wouldn’t be good to leave their bodies in the house, especially when they stayed so close to the territory’s borders. Wild animals could trespass, the scent of the deceased’s blood as a lure. It wouldn’t be an issue if it was a random beast, but if wendigos came over, or if the vampires came back...
"I’ve already requested for additional backup to come collect the bodies," Elijah said, almost as though he could read my mind. "We should head back to Sirius House first. Damon will need to know the details."
He walked forward, pulling his shirt off his body. I immediately turned around just as the cracking sounds of bones shifting rang through the air. Once shifted, I got on, and we returned within minutes. The journey back was much faster than when we left.
Damon was already waiting for us at the front doors. The moment Elijah showed up with me on his back, his face darkened even further. He stalked forward as soon as I hopped off, pulling me into his arms.
"Get dressed," he growled, chucking a set of clothes right in Elijah’s face. freewebnσvel.cøm
My line of sight followed after Damon’s actions, trailing after the clothes, turning to look back. I hadn’t realized — and had forgotten — that Elijah would be stark naked. He caught the clothes, almost missing them as he most likely hadn’t expected Damon’s actions. My eyes barely lingered on him for a couple of seconds before Damon’s cold fingers rested on my chin, tilting my face back to look at him.
"Eyes on me, little rabbit," he said. "They shouldn’t be wandering unless you want a repeat of this morning."
I swallowed audibly, memories of the hours spent together flitting through my mind. Dutifully, I kept my eyes straight ahead, waiting for Elijah to dress himself before walking over.
When he did, Damon’s eyes hadn’t left mine even as he spoke to his charlie.
"Run it down," he ordered. "What happened?"
"Suspected vampire attack," Elijah said, his voice solemn. "Two casualties. Charles most likely bled out, while Elena might’ve died on impact. The entire place was bloodied by the time we arrived."
"Bloodied?" Damon echoed. "Vampires aren’t so messy."
"They might be if they’re not planning on feeding," a new voice said.
Behind Elijah, Blaise calmly strolled over, his hands shoved into his pockets. He gave Elijah a nod before his eyes landed on mine, a smile curving his lips. It seemed like he wanted to say more but even he knew it wasn’t the time.
"Why don’t you go up to your room, Harper?" Blaise suggested. "You must be tired."
"It’s fine," Damon said. "She can stay. Harper was with Elijah when the bodies were found."
Blaise raised an eyebrow. "She wouldn’t know a thing."
Despite the morbid situation, Elijah’s lips quivered in a ghost of a smile. He gave Blaise a pointed look, his finger awfully close to his temple as their gazes connected for a moment.
He tried to complete the action subtly but only a fool wouldn’t notice the way he kept rubbing at the side of his face. It was as though someone had used a permanent marker on him and he was trying to rub it off.
Blaise’s eyebrows moved rather theatrically as well. They shot high up his forehead as he looked at Elijah with understanding. He then shrugged, nodding once with his lips pursed.
While watching all of this, Damon rolled his eyes. I bet he thought they looked like a pair of fools. After all, the pack’s alpha could always tap into the mindlink of whoever was communicating whenever he liked.
Damon must be able to hear everything they were saying via the link.
"I can hear you, you know that right?" Damon growled, scowling as he pulled me by the hand. "Idiots. Come, little bunny."
I allowed myself to be pulled into the house, looking over my shoulder just in time to see Blaise and Elijah bursting into laughter. They chuckled not-so-softly, shaking their heads with amusement before eventually following us into the house.
That bit of laughter and amusement, however, quickly died down when we entered the meeting room Damon had prepared. A man was already sitting inside, probably just as old as Damon and the others. Red hair, pale freckled skin, and dressed in a simple shirt and a pair of jeans, he seemed to have not a care in the world.
He stared silently ahead as though he was a statue, his eyes unwavering. Upon the sound of us entering, he finally turned, bright green eyes meeting ours from where he was.
"You’re back," he stated, his voice ever so monotonous.
"What of the bodies?" Elijah asked, moving over to sit next to him.
"I’ve sent people over," the man replied. He then turned to me, the skin between his eyebrows slightly creasing as he frowned. "What’s a woman doing here?"
"You don’t recognize her?" Blaise questioned. He then sat on the right-hand side of the head of the table, opposite to where Elijah sat. "She’s the alpha’s new mate, a girl from Stormclaw."
"Oh?" The man turned to look at Damon, who had walked over to sit at the head of the table. "Another?"
"He was out of town," Elijah reminded. He then cleared his throat, his eyes a little shifty as he stole wary glances at me. His voice was low as he said, "Stormclaw."
"Ah," Blaise’s lips parted as he leaned back, "right. That. Totally forgot."
"Harper, this is Kaine," Elijah said, gesturing to the red-haired man. "Delta of Fangborne. Kaine, Harper."
