The Lion's Den Read online

  “Did you kill him?” Natasha asked, completely engrossed in the tale.

  “Yes. I didn’t want to, but I was challenged to the death. I knew we couldn’t stay there, I also knew that I would have to violate many territorial laws because I didn’t want to involve any other community in our situation. I didn’t want any others to be punished for granting us Sanctuary. I suspected and hoped that no harm would come to those who weren’t in cahoots with us, so to speak. I took my Pride through city to city, only running into the occasional Alpha or Queen who bothered to stop us to find out why we were there. When I told them, they offered to help, only to get us out of their territory as fast as possible. Although, each leader was grateful that I did tell them that there was a threat.” Adan shrugged one shoulder. “It was what I would have wanted someone to do for me. I soon realized that he would only attack us during the evening, when his entire coven could participate. I made certain that during the evening, we were either hidden, or in a public place where he seemed to be less incline to attack.”

  “Did he kill any members of your Pride when he would attack you?” Elise asked.

  “No, he only injured us, some almost to the point of death. It would have been very easy for him to kill us, even on his own. But it wouldn’t have been that much fun for him and his coven. Do you understand?” Adan looked at the others’ expressions, seeing that they were comprehending what he was saying.

  “He’s a cat and you’re the mouse,” John said. “That explains why he left your Matron alive to heal you after the attacks.”

  Adan nodded.

  “Tell them about Tyler,” Carrie-Anne spat out, her words laced with accusation, anger and sadness.

  He looked at her, slightly annoyed. She turned away from his irritated gaze.

  “Who’s Tyler?” Sergio asked.

  “He was the only other male within my Pride. I believe he’s dead now. I had wanted to keep my entire Pride together. He accused me of being a … how did he put it, “punk-ass”, and challenged me. We fought. Carrie-Anne interfered, not wanting her lover to die. He didn’t want to follow my orders, and I told him to leave. He did. Carrie-Anne went to join him and discovered that he was missing and that Marcus had killed the entire Pride he tried to seek shelter with.”

  “We suspect that Tyler was the first body the S.U.I.T. found in front of that night club,” Danielle said.

  “If so, I believe it was a message to us,” Adan added. “Unfortunately, I can’t prove it because I didn’t want to expose myself to see if it was true. But it makes perfect sense. Marcus would want to let me know that he was still tracking us.”

  “Not to mention, he wants you all together. He killed Tyler to prove there was no escape and for you to play this game by his rules,” Xander said.

  “What the fuck?” Ignacio shook his head, hands waving in front of him. “Hold up, hold up, hold the fuck up. I’m seeing a trend with this fucking coven, and I’m not liking it.”

  “Yeah, we’ve established that you’re the target. It’s real fucked up this coven kills anyone who interferes with them chasing you,” Adrian said, growing even more unnerved.

  “Except none of you are dead yet and it’s been forty-eight hours since we first arrived,” Stephanie commented.

  “That may only be because we haven’t been helping you,” Carmen said. “None of the other communities were killed when they didn’t help you.”

  “Are you suggesting we leave?” Stephanie asked, one eyebrow arched.

  “Now that you mention it …” Carmen shot back.

  “Ladies, this is counterproductive. Besides, it’s too late for a retreat at this point. This coven is now toying with us as well,” Xander pointed out.

  “It would seem that way from what I experienced this evening,” Darian added. “This, Marcus, showed himself to me, wanted me to know him. He was also at the crime scene, I noticed him there but had no idea he was a vampire. He’s probably been watching us from the very moment he arrived.”

  “I’m almost certain that was the case. I don’t think he knew where we were, which is why he started killing. He and his had to find their pleasure somehow, someway,” Adan said, sadly. “Although, it would have only been a matter of time before he found us.”

  “Jesus,” Sergio said, shaking his head. “Well, if this son of a bitch didn’t know where you were, I’m willing to bet he does now. We should stick together. There’s no sense in us being divided, making it easier for this motherfucking coven to attack us.”

  “I’m all for that idea,” Devin agreed, not wanting to be an easy target. At that point, he was kind of happy younger vampires were down for the count when the sun rose.

  “I agree with Sergio,” Elise said, looking at the others. “We’ve proven that we’re more powerful together. You’ve come to us for help, there’s no turning back now. We’re going to have to face them, together … it’s our only chance.”

  “I’m sure we will be able to take them out,” Tatiana agreed.

  “I hate to be the one to have to bring this up, but I’m going to anyway. This vampire has to be at least what? Five-thousand years old in order to walk around in the sunlight, right?” Natasha asked, looking at Darian.

  “Yes and no,” Darian answered.

  “Huh?” She looked at him, confused.

  “Remember what I’ve told you about vampires drinking from old vampires and gaining in strength, power and abilities? Their age levels?”

  “Yes.”

  “He has to be at least three-thousand with the blood of an ancient vampire flowing through his veins. Or he could be an ancient vampire at five-thousand years or older.” Darian hoped that gave them an idea of what they were going to have to deal with. “Not that it matters. He’s more powerful than I am and that’s the reality of it all.”

  “I think I just shit myself,” Sebastian said, looking at the others. He was trying to grasp the situation and what his role was going to be in it. His father had wanted to include him in this meeting. He’d told him that at nineteen, he was becoming a man, nearing his age of maturity, and it was time that he became a part of the Pride’s dealings. He would have to learn how to defend his Pride and their territory.

  Sergio looked at his so. “I hope that was just your way of saying you’re scared and not to be taken literally.”

  “I don’t smell anything, so I guess so,” Devin added.

  “Damn Devin, that was just gross. I’m just saying this is some scary shit!” Sebastian said.

  Devin shrugged. “Hey, you’re the one who said you ‘shitted yourself’, I was just saying ... .”

  Sebastian smirked. “Yeah, still though, gross.”

  Devin shrugged nonchalantly once again.

  “In other words, Sebastian, welcome to the big leagues,” Justin said.

  “What are we going to do?” Sebastian asked genuinely curious as to how they could defeat a juiced-up vampire who’s at least three-thousand years old and his psycho gang of bloodsuckers and a crazy, brain-damaged, flesh-eating sidekick.

  “I still say strength in numbers, we stick together. When the sun rises, we don’t leave you guys alone,” Nicole suggested, pointing to John and gesturing toward the other vampires.

  “We can’t stay holed up in Darian’s mansion, as nice as it is … we still need to track them down. Hunt them instead of the other way around,” Devin said.

  “That’s all fine and dandy, but you forget, we’ve been doing that,” Daniel said.

  “Perhaps we’ve been going about it the wrong way,” Ryan spoke up for the first time that evening.

  “Go on,” Xander encouraged, wondering what the young coyote was thinking.

  “Okay, I’ve been tracking the news and listening to everything I’ve been hearing about this coven. Bottom line is, we can’t save the people they’re killing. There aren’t enough of us to spread throughout the city and do you really want to? Teams of two or three are going to stretch us pretty thin. We’ve just found out t
hat this coven killed an entire Pride, there’s no telling how many members there were or how strong they were,” Ryan paused in case anyone had anything to say.

  They didn’t. They only waited for her to finish stating her thought.

  She continued. “I think we should stay here, like Nicole said, and they’ll come for us since who they’ve been chasing is here with us. We bring them to us instead of chasing them around, playing their game.”

  “Valid point, but who’s to say they’ll take the bait? They might continue to kill, knowing it’s a direct insult and challenge to us. If we stay here, it’ll give the impression that we’re afraid of them, that we’re weak. News will spread about our perceived cowardice, and we’ll be fighting for this land constantly, never getting a break because we’ll be presumed as easy targets,” Sergio pointed out.

  “Especially if they get bored and leave, like they did in California,” Carmen said.

  “I can’t say r certain if this played a part in them leaving California, or not. However, my gut tells me they got who they came for when they ran amok in California. I did the research. They chased a Pack of hyenas there, terrorized the city, and killed the Pack. After the Pack was annihilated, they left,” Adan informed.

  “Trust me, they got bored before they decided to kill who they came for. That’s why they killed them. As long as you’re providing them entertainment, they’re allowing you to live,” Sergio replied.

  Adan remained silent, reflecting on what Sergio had said.

  “Okay, this is really fucked up.” Carmen sunk a bit lower in her chair.

  “We’re going to have to find a way to take them out one by one, that’s just it. There’s no other way around it,” Miranda said.

  “Yeah, that sounds good in theory, but from what we now know … They’re never apart,” Ignacio pointed out. “Marcus never strays too far away from his coven, and I’m sure when he’s not there the shifter is” He paused, thinking he answered his own question.

  “We need to take out the shifter when Marcus isn’t there,” Ryan finished Ignacio’s thought, seeing where he was going with it. “That way, we’ll be able to kill the resting vampires a lot easier.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking. We need a diversion!” Ignacio smiled at his own brilliance.

  “Wait, I hate to be a bubble-buster” Devin began.

  “So don’t be,” Carmen said.

  “I’d be remiss, as Elise would say, if I didn’t bring this up. We’re going on and on about this attack plan, but we don’t know where they stay during the day.” Devin looked at the others.

  “We know that. Once we find out where they’re hiding, we’re going to need a plan. And that’s what this is all about,” Nicole said.

  “Again, I’m going to bust that bubble,” Devin began. “What if when we discover their resting place, the vampire and shape-shifter are both there. That other plan just focuses on if the shape-shifter is the only one there. All I’m saying is, maybe we should have a plan if both of them are there.”

  “We’re trying to avoid that. That’s where the diversion comes in at, Devin. Since the Master vampire tracks down Adan’s Pride, he’ll have to leave his own coven. That’s when we can strike,” Carmen answered.

  “I think I see where Devin is going with this and I’m beginning to see that the plan is heavily flawed,” Darian said.

  “How so?” Carmen asked.

  Darian went onto explain. “This plan you’re discussing is based on some fantastical notion that this ancient vampire will be unaware of our intentions. Even if by some unexplainable circumstance, we catch him off guard, finding his resting place is going to be difficult. Even if the diversion tactic works, we’ll only have one time to execute the plan and in order for that to happen, we’ll already have to know where his resting place is.”

  “Shit,” Sergio groaned, slouching dejectedly in his chair. “He’s right. This bastard can watch us twenty-four hours a day if he wants to, and we’ll never know. So the moment he sees us searching for his home and if we’re lucky enough to find it, he may attack us, or move his coven before we can form our attack.”

  There were several moans from the others in the room as they were beginning to see they were back at square one.

  “Well, we have to think of something,” Tatiana said as she held her sleeping daughter, Nyah in her arms.

  “I agree.” Xander nodded.

  They began to discuss the best way to separate a psychotic Master vampire from his resting coven.

  ***

  “What?!” Gabriel yelled into the receiver, probably shattering the eardrums of the officer on the other end. “Are you sure?”

  “Not entirely, but one of the victims found in that truck does match the description she gave us, Detective Johnson,” the officer said. “The mother reported her child missing five hours ago when she was expecting him to get off the school bus. When he didn’t come home, she got worried and called Jayden Parker Elementary school to find out what happened.” the Forrest Park Police Officer recited the report she’d written early that day. “As the law dictates, we put out a description and APB immediately. The S.U.I.T. dispatch gave us the information we have now, and we have to ask the mother to confirm if the child is her son or not.” The cop dreaded having to be the bearer of such horrible news. She decided to share her innermost thoughts with a fellow officer of the law. “There’s no solace coming either way. If it’s not, her child is still missing. If it is, her child was taken away from her forever.”

  Gabriel felt the sting of those words more than he wanted to. Being a father himself, the loss of a child was something he didn’t think he could bear, especially having one of his children murdered. He needed to call his wife immediately and looked for a way to end his phone call in a polite manner. “I want to thank you for your help,” he said.

  “Anytime, Detective,” the officer replied. “Catch those bastards.”

  “We will, take care.” Gabriel ended the call. He immediately contacted his wife. When she answered, he wanted to make sure his children were still at home, safe, and not playing outside.

  “Yes, Gabe, they’re here … What’s wrong?” Melinda asked, suddenly frightened. This was the second time in a matter of hours that her husband had called, worrying about their children.

  Gabriel released a long breath. “Do me a favor, baby, I might not be home tonight. Let’s keep the kids out of school for the time being, all right?”

  nt size="3">Is this because of the four children they found murdered in that ice cream truck?”

  “Yes. I’ve just found out that one of them was abducted from Wesley’s and Rhiana’s school. It could have been one of our own as easily as it was that other poor child. I don’t want to see my kids on the ten o’ clock news. Keep them home where they’ll be safe.” Gabriel couldn’t have been more serious.

  “Oh my God!” Melinda’s hand covered her mouth, shocked to discover how close her own children had come to such a fate. “Gabe, please be careful.”

  “I will, baby. We have to catch these fuckers, and we will. I love you, kiss the kids for me, okay?”

  “I will.” Melinda paused. “Gabriel?”

  “Yes?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, just try to make it home soon, the children miss you.”

  “Be safe and I’ll be home as soon as I can.” Gabriel hung up the phone. He looked at the receiver on its base for several seconds, stunned. His wife didn’t respond in a way that he’d hoped. He had wanted to hear her say the words “I love you, too”, but never did. He hadn’t heard her say those words to him in months and was beginning to wonder if she did still love him. He shook his head, clearing his mind, trying to keep his focus on the job.

  Barry came up behind him, slapping a hand on his shoulder. “Are the kids okay?”

  Gabriel nodded. “Yeah, they’re fine.”

  “Okay, since we didn’t find out anyth
ing more from our investigation with the ice cream truck, what was that all about?” Barry asked. He and Gabriel had just returned from the last crime scene and neither wasted time before working their leads, hence the telephone call.

  Gabriel told him what the police officer said about the missing child.

  “Sounds just like the same report we all got. The kids were all last seen running to get ice cream. The truck was gone before anyone realized the kids were missing. Also, no one had suspected the ice cream truck right away, if they did, they didn’t report it.” Barry sat at his desk, rubbing a finger over his brow, displaying his frustration. “My fucking head is killing me.”

  “Pop a pain killer,” Gabriel suggested.

  “I did, about an hour ago, hasn’t done shit yet.”

  Gabriel smiled slightly. He leaned back into his chair, running his fingers through his dark brown hair. “I’ve got to be honest with you, Barry. I really don’t know what to do next. We can’t track this coven and now we have a shifter involved. The pattern that looks like it may be developing leaves us unable to pinpoint their next targets … I just don’t know what else to do. Got any fresh ideas?” His blue eyes studied his partner.

  “I’m in the same boat you’re in and it’s sinking. We’re both fucked.” Barry tossed his notepad on his desk, followed by his ink pen. The other four detectives joined them. “I take it you two got the same story we did?” Warren asked.

  Both Gabriel and Barry nodded. “What’s next?” Gabriel asked.

  “In California, the second victim was another shape-shifter,” Brian stated.

  “Another? So, they are following some sort of pattern? In both of our cases, at least one shape-shifter was killed. Was your shifter skinned?” Matthew asked him.

  Colin and Brian both nodded. “He was a hyena, they killed him in full animal form, taking his pelt.”

  “Don’t they have to wait until the full moon do to something like that?” Gabriel asked, wanting a confirmation.