We make light work of moving fast in unison and tracking back down the corridor towards the main entrance to the grand staircase. Sierra takes the lead, and Carmen runs behind the witch and I, both in wolf form, as we start our search for the infamous Juan.
My heart’s pounding through my chest because I know radar will be hot on our heels, and Colton will be so mad about this. His fury will know zero bounds when he finds out I disobeyed him and ran from Radar and the Luna’s guard, but my gut tells me to trust Sierra and do this. Sierra has a point, and finding Juan first, pushing him out for easy access, may be the cure to this war and the end of this night’s battle. If we shackle him and hand him over to Varro, then there’s less chance of Juan being killed in the process, and maybe I can beg Varro to protect Sierra’s life by keeping him alive for the rest of his.
We barely make it to the open entrance and foot of the stair when a thudding troupe of huge, fierce wolves moving stealthily come at us from behind, and Carmen growls as a warning. The impending doom of an angry pack. I shiver at the arrival because despite being his Luna, I know Radar will scold me into next week.
Luna, stop! Wait… Don’t do this!
Radar’s voice comes through like a bullet to the brain, harsh and direct, not concealing his anger and anxiety that we’re taking matters into our own hands. Leyanne doesn’t hesitate and turns to them with a blinding poof of something she throws in the air. A slight hand movement with devastating results, and I can’t fault that witch for her reflexes. A spark, a flash, a thick cloying smog that chokes the space up behind us and brings them all to a dead halt as we venture on and quicken to escape them. Whatever it is, it serves well to startle them, and we leave them in our tracks. It smells like burned rubber and old ash.
“Sorry, pets, but needs must. Be good little pups and guard the door. We have company coming.” She sing songs back at them, brazen as always, concealed by the haze of grey smoke in the darkness and I gawp with a glance back before following Sierra up the staircase. Clinging to her rump like a helpless child to help move me faster while still in human form. My powers are pointless, and being unable to transform feels like I’m a dead weight who can only follow their lead.
“Why are we shaking them off when they could be helping by following?” I retort, out of breath from exertion, and she lights up the hall for us with her palms once more. That gentle glow has a surprising ability to shine the way clear. Perplexed at my uselessness and leaving our capable guards behind.
“Because he’s too obedient, and he won’t let any of us step a foot further in this pursuit. The fates want us girls to handle things for now. Else we wouldn’t have ended up here like this.” Leyanne is always so self-assured, and I wonder if she can read the future. If maybe she’s a walking seer, someone who can see beyond time while going about her daily business. It’s rare, but it would explain her ability to know things.
“But still….” I start and trail off when Sierra turns and throws me a dark amber glare, hushing me, and I get the message loud and clear. She doesn’t want Radar up there with us when she faces down Juan because she knows he would shield and intervene, and Sierra wouldn’t get within ten feet of that monster. Radar would put himself in the firing line always, and I can feel Sierra’s desire to be the one to bring Juan down. It’s like a thick aura around us, and I worry she may be blinded by her hatred of the man and not thinking straight.
We get up the spiral incline and into the long corridor, which splits into sleeping quarters and a second stairway. Blinking momentarily and trying to decide on direction when Carmen sticks her nose in the air and heads for the passage up ahead of us to another level. She seems to know where to go, and her sense of smell has always been top-notch. Without a word, we all follow, swift and silent, without second-guessing her ability. My nerves are eating me raw and making me shiver with anticipation, but all I can do is keep moving forward and pushing down the nauseating worry. It’s dark, and Leyanne’s glow is the only thing taking the edge off the eerie creepiness of being in the manor while it feels abandoned.
We move this way up three flights to the fourth floor, where Sierra’s wing with Juan all these years is located, and I wonder if he’s hiding in his own bedroom. A coward like him, it seems fitting somehow. To be hiding in the dark corner by his bed, hopefully trembling at the impending doom of his long reign.
I can sense Radar behind us, and it throws me a little. Not far, keeping his distance so Leyanne doesn’t startle bomb them again, and it gives me reassurance knowing he won’t flake on his duty to protect. He’s given up swaying us and has decided obedience and caution are better. He knows how stubborn I can be and that Sierra isn’t afraid of him in the slightest. Keeping close enough to watch.
Sierra and Carmen seem oblivious to them, but the witch glances back and fixes a smug smile on her lips as though telling me she feels them too and somehow knew they would back us up. I just cannot work her out sometimes.
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, so our night vision 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 with 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 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 will go crazy when I tell him I have zero authority over you anymore.” He rasps, letting me know he isn’t pleased, 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 that she shoves Radar out of her way, 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, yet nothing happens.
I blink open my lashes, look around, and adjust to my night vision before I notice the sitting figures dotted around the room, seemingly poised yet doing 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.”