~ Galen ~
Sestiere San Polo, Venice, Italy
8.23 p.m.
The tarmac of the Via della Libertà was a blur in my mind. The lights of central Venice grew brighter in the distance as my faithful Bloodling drew closer to the island. She would be back shortly, and on her tail, Marko’s Ancestor and the Werewolf would follow.
“She is here.” A smile curved my lips as I disconnected from Sorina, allowing the veil of darkness to sweep over my mind’s eye.
I reached out and connected to Leonardo who had taken a seat behind me in the right corner of the first floor formal sitting room. As always, my Bloodling had kept his focus on the activity in the room, or rather, on the company we kept. Emilio was sprawled on the purple chaise longue, his grubby black boots propped up by one of the plush, golden, duck feather cushions. Each wall lamp cast a soft orb of yellow in its allotted place, the artificial light not disrupting the slithers of night that had crawled in through the open patio windows. Leonardo’s gaze shifted to Marie who stood on the narrow stone balcony, looking out across the Grand Canal.
“The Ancestor is in Venice once more.”
In truth, she had been in our territory for hours, but that was none of Marie’s concern, especially since there was nothing she could have done about the Infected Slayer during the day.
“Where is she?” Marie came inside, the rhythmic click of her black stilettos echoing throughout the room, her red leather skirt so tight that with each brisk movement of her legs, the material caused a low thud, almost like a drum beat.
“Mestre.” I pushed up from the chair I had spent the last hour meditating in and moved towards the cabinet on my left.
Emilio tore himself off the lounger, stood, and looked at his Mistress. “What would you have me do?”
“Find her. Bring her to me.”
“There is no need for that.” I picked up the crystal bottle of blood which sat on top of the cabinet. Through Leonardo’s eyes, I watched as her focus turned in my direction. “She is coming to find you.”
“Then we will meet her half-way.”
“Your men will die if you send them out.” I poured the crimson fluid into one of the wine glasses.
Emilio flinched as if I had just punched him in the gut. His back went rigid, and he glanced over his shoulder at me.
“With all due respect—” the brute spat, “—my men and I are quite capable—”
“She has a Werewolf with her.” I placed the bottle back on the side and put the stopper in again. “And since you are unfamiliar with going up against such creatures, not to mention that I am the one who is able to perceive the future, I will say again, if you go, you will find her, but you will die, and your death will weaken your Mistress who is already recovering from one severed connection. She so badly wants to punish this girl.”
I turned until I could see that I was at the right angle to be facing them. “Something she will not be able to do to the best of her abilities if her energy is weakened further, but if you wish to test your luck, the choice is of course yours.”
I almost hated myself for informing him of such inevitability. I so enjoyed watching all the possibilities of Emilio’s death and the sight of Marie vulnerable due to the loss of another long-term Bloodling, but it was too soon for their link to be severed. When it happened—and it would—it had to happen at exactly the right moment.
I took a sip from the glass, watching as Marie approached me. From Leonardo’s position, I could just make out that her eyes had widened at the news. Her tone clarified her shock.
“There is a Werewolf in our territory?”
“Correction—there are actually three Werewolves plus a large group of Loup-Garous in our territory, and all, excluding this one, are in the facility.”
Her jaw tensed. Hands balled into fists. “They have broken the pact by allowing—”
“Are you sure about that? Who actually broke the pact, Marie?” I tilted my head up at the same moment she looked down at me. “I shall give you a hint. The answer you seek is us.”
“If the Pack find out—”
“If the Pack find out that we have kidnapped others of their kind and are experimenting on them, then not only will all our efforts be wasted, but this pathetic half of a region we own will no longer be ours. The pact and all that was agreed upon four hundred years ago would be void.”
I moved past her and made my way back to the chair. “But the terms of the pact were that the Italian Pack would not cross into our territory, and we, the Italian Colony, would not cross into theirs. That is why we have been taking Loups from other Packs, because there is nothing the Italians can do about it, because we are not technically breaking the pact, but somehow, I do not think they will see the situation in such a way if they were to discover what we are doing to their own kind.”
Those in the facility were not Italian-born Werewolves or Loup-Garous, or individuals from other countries that had joined the Pack. A small loop-hole in a silly, old peace contract, but if that was the angle we argued from, it would be the same angle that the Ancestor’s Wolf would use to protect the Italian Wolves. He was not from the Italian Pack—therefore, they hadn’t gone against their word, either—but the male was here to look for his taken brothers and sister, as well as to help the Slayer. And that did cause a problem, because if he found the facility and all those inside, I knew beyond a doubt that the Italian Alpha would shred the pact to pieces along with my entire Colony.
I took a seat. “Luckily for us, this Werewolf is from the United Kingdom, so the pact does not apply to him.”
Her loose dark curls swished to the side as she looked after me. “Does that really matter? This Werewolf has joined her in the Pack’s territory, so surely, he has been made aware of the pact we hold with the Italian Werewolves. If he were to inform them—?”
“I would imagine he is aware of the pact, but I do not see how he is able to inform them that said pact has been broken if we lock him up in the facility with his little friends.” I took a mouthful of blood, rolling the fluid around my parched mouth.
“Will they not come looking for him?”
I gulped. “They would want to come looking, but they know they cannot cross into our territory at the risk of breaking the pact. One missing foreign Werewolf and a silly girl are not worth breaking four hundred years of peace over.”
Or at least, they shouldn’t be. If the Werewolves had kept to themselves for this long, I could only presume they were happy to keep it that way.
“Would it not be wiser to kill the Wolf?” Emilio’s focus was on his Mistress. “Send his head to the Alpha as a warning—”
“And then, we would have the United Pack coming over to investigate.” A laugh, dry and clipped, escaped me. “I forget how ill-informed your generation is of matters such as politics and well, general knowledge on other species. So let me educate you, Emilio.”
The burly male finally turned to face me. His posture was beautifully rigid, the tension highlighted by his tight, fitted black clothing. Anger teased his features and curled his hands into fists.
The corner of my mouth twitched as I sank back into the comfort of the cushions, the glass still cradled in my right hand as I rested my arm on that of the chairs. “Werewolves need permission to enter another Pack’s territory, but having one of their own decapitated on another Pack’s ground, or rather nearby, is a good enough reason to be given invitation or for them to just come over without one. Such a decision can lead to problems between the two Packs, but should the United Pack come, they would fight for rights over the territory. They might actually win, which means no more pact. Alternatively, with or without an invitation, the United Pack could still come over to investigate in our measly half a region. In both situations, they would find us, and they would find the facility. The pact is void. Our goal is ruined. Our miniscule territory taken and we all die.”
“It was a suggestion.” His tone was flat.
“If we wanted your suggestions, then we would have asked for them, but if all are as foolish as that, then we would be wasting our time. So, the Werewolf will go to the facility because it would be idiotic of us to throw away perfectly good DNA that could be harvested.”
He glanced at Marie. “He doesn’t have to be alive to have his DNA taken from him.”
Irritation wound round my spine. Emilio annoyed me most nights, but he was breaking a record this evening.
“Where do you find these males, Marie? Are all unable to comprehend the orders they are given? Or is it that the intimacy you share with this particular one has given him reason to believe he is an equal to us and therefore has a say in such matters?”
The bones beneath Emilio’s face began to shift. Behind me, I could sense Leonardo standing, see it in the way the angle of my own sight changed. I could sense his anticipation as he waited for Marie’s stupid pet to take one wrong move. A hiss escaped the burly male’s lips, but was cut short as Marie’s hand made impact with his cheek. The Vampire scowled at his Mistress.
“You forget your place, Emilio,” she warned. “You forget who you address.”
“Listen to your Mistress.” My tone was clipped, laced with my own warnings and promises. “I am as good as her Master, which means I am as good as yours, but blood bond or none, I have no problem with punishing those who question my authority.”
Marie turned to look at me. Fury chased a ripple across her features and I could see her need to protest in the set of her jaw, but she knew it to be the truth even though she never wished to admit it. I was older than her, stronger, despite my appearance. Most importantly, our Master had put me in charge. I was his first, and what I decided, and whatever action I took, Marko always supported me. All this she knew—I could see it in the calculating way she stared at me. She had no choice but to do as she was told.
“What do you suggest, Galen?” She moved round the chaise longue and took a seat. “That we simply wait?”
“All good things come to those who wait, Marie. The girl will be here soon. She is already on her way with the Wolf at her side. He will be able to track down our nest, but let us leave the doors open so our scent is more potent. Have your men waiting outside. When they approach, your men can detain the Ancestor, and take the Werewolf.”
She lifted her head but didn’t dare look at Emilio whose focus had stuck to her like glue from the moment she had hit him. “Do as he says.”
“As you wish.” He headed towards the door situated behind me, not bothering to give a sideways glance.
“Oh, and Emilio?” He paused, door ajar, hand wrapped around the handle. “Only one shot of monkshood, straight to the Wolf’s neck. Get him to the facility immediately and lock him with the others, and if I find out that my instructions have not been followed to the T, then be warned. Regardless of the effects it should cause to your Mistress, you will end up wishing I had sent you out so that the Werewolf had ended your retched immortal life. Do I make myself clear?”
Metal whined under his grip, but he didn’t turn round. “Yes, Master.”
Acid dripped from his tone.
“Good boy.” I lifted the glass and took another mouthful of blood, amused as he slammed the door shut behind him.
“Why such concern over the Werewolf?” Marie studied me, her perfect eyebrows arched.
I drained my glass and then rested it on the arm of the chair. “The two males that were brought in from the United Kingdom are not as strong as this one. He will be of some use in the next stage of the development. Of this, I am certain.”
“And the girl?” She smoothed her hands down her black halter neck, her gaze following the movement. “Once we have her, then what?”
“You are not to kill her.”
Hands curled into fist, she banged her knees. Her jaw set as her focus swung back to me. “I have every right—”
“The Master’s orders.” I laced my palms and placed them on my lap. “He wants her alive. He has decided that he wants her to see what we achieve, to see what she inspired, and then he wants to kill her himself.”
She pushed herself up. I had the distinct feeling she wanted to stomp her foot like a child.
“She killed my son.”
And I hadn’t heard the end of it since it had happened. Luca had been a useless Vampire at the best of times. Leading the Slayer to the allocated blood house had been the most helpful thing he had ever done for his species, let alone our cause. His death was but a small price to pay, not to mention long overdue. It was he and his stupid entourage of Bloodlings’ faults that we lost half of our region two centuries ago. He was reckless, uncontrollable, egotistical, and highly inappropriate. Turning to dust was the second most useful thing he had ever done for this Colony.
“She has killed many Vampires. So I imagine that you are not the first that wishes to be the one to end her, but the Master wants her life. It is his right.”
The ridiculous family war had been going on for quite long enough. Many of his Ancestors had been killed at the hands of lower generations, especially during the many years Marko had gone into hiding. Heather was the only one who was now actively seeking him, and the fact that she was rather unique, well, it was only right that the two should meet. After all, her conception, her survival, was our inspiration. It was only right she got to see what she helped create.
“Fine,” Marie growled and headed straight to the door. “But it is my understanding that he has made no request to the condition she is in as long as she still has a pulse?”
“Alive was all he said.”
She flung the door open. A vicious smile curled her perfectly painted lips. “I am sure I can manage that.”