We finally get to the long narrow corridor which leads to the west wing: the master bedroom in the top corner of this manor. The lord’s boudoir, so to speak. And Leyanne lets her glow fade to nothing at all so our night vision all kicks in perfectly and prepares us for what we assume is a darker space. The air around us is thick with dust and tension. All poised and quiet for a moment while Carmen and Sierra turn back to human, and Carmen reaches forward for the handle of the double doors.
“Wait.” I whisper, a hushed cautious tone and that rearing up of fear and doubt swirling in my belly now I can feel the presence of wolves on the other side. We know he won’t be alone, but we have no idea how many of his minions are left. There could be a dozen of them and maybe an equal match to our group. “We might be outnumbered.” I add in haste.
“There’s only a half dozen. He seems to have lost many along the way.” Radar’s voice comes at me softly from behind, reminding me of what he said downstairs, and I jump when I realize he has moved to my rear and close enough to whisper it directly to me. “You four are going to be the death of me. Cole is going to go crazy when I tell him I have zero authority over you anymore.” He rasps, letting me know he isn’t pleased in any way, and I wave him away with a complacent gesture. I know it’s not fair that he will get hell from my mate, but Colton will eventually calm down when this is all over. This is for the good of the whole pack.
“Why is it so quiet and still?” Carmen’s craning at the door to listen through the thick wood and pauses before reaching to touch the handle with caution. I notice her sniffing the air first to check for wolfsbane and then she grips the cold metal firmly. Leaning her shoulder against the smooth surface and tilting her head to have one good listen once more.
“They’re in there, just not doing anything. Waiting maybe.” Radar moves me aside and slides up next to her, looking at the door and he too evaluates it. “I have no idea if they are sleeping, or just poised for a fight.” He frowns, narrowing his glowing eyes and fully shifts Carmen out of the way.
“Who can sleep with a full-blown vampire war going on out there?” Sierra snorts, the hatred evident for Juan and she gets so impatient with the stalling she shoves Radar out of her way and grabs the handle herself, yanking it down and heaves the door forward with intent. The clicking noise is loud and prominent in this noiseless air and startles me.
I close my eyes tight and take a hurried breath as the swoosh of air at my guards leaping forward to surround us gives me a new sense of safety. Into immediate guard mode as they flank us and await instruction from Radar rather than their Luna. There’s a creak, a groan, and then the heavy scuffing noise of the doors being pushed fully open, and yet nothing happens.
I blink open my lashes and look around and adjust to my night vision before I notice the sitting figures dotted around the room, all seemingly poised yet do absolutely nothing at our appearance. My heart drops and my insides flutter at this weird anticlimax. I do not trust these men and I feel like this is way weirder than I could have imagined and gawp at the fact they remain as they are and don’t even blink at our arrival.
“Welcome…. You finally showed up.” Juan’s blood curdling, husky voice comes at us from the far corner of the room. By the huge four poster bed and my eyes are drawn to the figure sprawled out like a lording king in his domain. He doesn’t seem fazed at all by us, in fact he’s sprawled out, one arm propped under his chin, so he’s semi sat up. His glowing amber eyes coming at us out from the darkness of this room, and I wonder why they have no lights or power in the manor at all. If this is to cloak them and give advantage or if there’s something wrong with the electrics up here.
“You were expecting us?” Radar bites back with a sardonic laugh, moving to the front of our party and putting himself directly in front of Sierra in a protective manner. That cocky confidence on show of a seasoned warrior who is ready to go at it in a blink.
“I was expecting my son, but his bitch, and his mother are fine by me. Guess I have to deal with you first.” Juan laughs and the sound is manic, blood curling, and so not like the man I remember. He seems to have changed so drastically since the last time I laid eyes on him, and I wonder if he really has lost all sense of sanity in recent months. His eyes are wild and burn with something terrifying in the depths. I shudder and break contact with him, looking across at Sierra instead who is locked on in a death glare and has no intention of relinquishing.
“All these years haven’t been kind to you, Juan. You look old and haggard and have lost any kind of alpha energy you once possessed. You’re a sad old wolf with hopes of grandeur and zero ability. Give it up before you hurt yourself!” Sierra’s words cut through the air like a knife, dripping venom but Juan laughs at her with a throaty cackle.
The air in here is stale and sparks with heightened tension. A feeling in this place of unease and I shift closer to Carmen who is now beside me. She grabs my hand and yanks me to her side before clawing up and fully encompassing my fingers like a shield. She is making it clear she isn’t going to let me go and that Sierra is trying to stoke the embers of a fiery fight.
“Maybe like you I should have slept a decade away and left my son to fend for himself, huh?” he sniggers at his own words, and I catch a glimpse of Sierra shifting forward before Radar steps in front of her and pushes her behind him once more. Her anger flaring and losing her own sense as despisal fuels her.
“We’re here to take you outside. The Vampire lord wants to see you. You can either come easily, or we can do this the hard way. I have no doubt you won’t be the victorious one in this.” Radar moves closer to him to shorten the space between them and leave Sierra where she stands. I flinch, eyeing up the other wolves in this room, all eyes homed in on us but yet they don’t move at all, in fact seemed uncaring about trying to. I nudge Carmen to eye them up too and as she scans the rest of the space, she too furrows her brow at the lack of motion from his so called loyal. I knew he would have some here, but I expected some sort of attempt to shield their alpha.
“Try. You think I didn’t expect this?” Juan laughs again, that mighty and snarly sound as though he’s in possession of some great superior secret. His cackle curdles my blood and I start to perspire with this invading nervous energy that tells me to be on full alert. The inner powers inside of me swirling because I’m afraid.
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