Fight for Me

With the meeting over, everyone left. But not before Nick extended his hospitality to his new guests, and had Margret show them their rooms to stay for the next few days.

Nick hasn’t had the time yet to speak to Layla, and all he can do right now is convince them to stay a while before they leave anytime soon.

Left alone in the room, Nick calls Tyler back.

“Tyler.”

“Yes Alpha?”

“What’s the feedback on what I asked you for?”

“Well.” He starts off with a sigh. “There were some reports on the number of vampire attacks increasing in the nearby cities. But,…..we can’t be sure if these are just random rogue attacks or if it could be related to these berserk attacks.”

Nick nods at him, and clenches his jaw as he realizes what he’ll have to do if he wants more information.

“Nicholas,…...What is it?” Tyler tries to urge him to be straight with him. He always struggles getting information from Nick.

“I think I have to call in a favour from Sebastian.” He says annoyed.

Tyler scoffs. “What. Him? He’s just gonna want something out of this.”

Tyler sees Nick reaching for his phone as he grunts at Tyler’s words.

“Nicholas, don’t be hasty. I can try to find out more about this.”

“There’s no time.” Nick interrupts. “Whoever is doing this, knows it’s only a matter of time before someone figures it out. They’re not going to wait to strike again.” He dials a number.

There is a brief silence in the room with only a faint echo of ringing in the background.

<Well, well, well. I never thought I’d get a call from this number. You must be desperate.>

Nick grips the phone tightly as he hears Sebastian laughing on the other end.

<So what can I do for you,…Alpha?>

<Sebastian. I need information.>

<You really expect me to help you? It wasn’t that long ago I came to your pack for information. And you had no interest of being hospitable.>

<You crossed my border without my permission. You’re lucky you and your men got away without any blood being spilled.>

<Pfft. Should I thank that pretty little maid of yours?>

Gggrrhh. Nick is annoyed that Sebastian even remembers Layla. Vampires aren’t bothered by people. But if you get their attention for them to remember you, you won’t get them off your back that easily.

<She had such a sweet scent. But such a dark aura around her. It made me wonder countless times what she would taste like.>

<Gggrrrhh! Sebastian, I don’t have time for this.>

<Well, what if I say that I’ll consider helping you, if you give me your maid in exchange.>

Nick grunts in annoyance, and Tyler clenches his jaw from overhearing the conversation. Tyler wouldn’t want them exchanging Layla for information either. But the situation is dire.

<No.> Nick says frankly.

<No? Mhm? Is that it?........You don’t really know how to bargain, do you?>

<She’s not part of this.>

<…….You’re not even going to try and make this a win-win. The only reason I even answered this all was because I thought it was going to be interesting, but you just proved this to be a waste of my time. I have my own problems that I have to deal with this side. Goodbye ‘Alpha’ Nicholas.>

<Wait.>

<…………What?> He asks expectantly.

Nick sighs deeply.

<I’ll ……give you my blood.>

<………There’s no turning back from this.> He can hear a soft snicker from Sebastian.

Nick can see the shocked look on Tyler’s face. But this is the one thing he can offer, that any vampire will even kill for.

Vampires survive on blood,….not as a food source, but as a soul source. Feeding on human blood, -the life essence, give vampires a reminding sensation of what it feels like to be ‘alive’ again. The same goes for supernatural blood. They then get to temporarily feel a primal strength different from their own. Though, there are rumours, that drinking the blood of an Alpha would let a vampire also temporarily gain the skill of the ‘alpha command’. Though it has never been proven, it hasn’t stopped vampires from trying to get their hands on Alphas.

<I know. That should be enough for insider information from you.>

<What kind of information are you so desperate to get? It must be about those wild rogue attacks.>

Of course he would already know about it. With his coven ruling towns like some underground information guild, they basically know everything just as they’re happening.

<What can you tell me about it?>

<Well……> He sighs deeply. <It’s the very issue I’m trying to deal with here as well right now.>

<So this has happened to the vampires as well?> Nick tries to confirm.

<Ggrh……Yes.>

There is a slight pause.

Sebastian continues. <The drug we found in their system is complex, but definitely manufactured by humans. They hide their tracks well though. But it’s a very pricey procedure making this drug. So we know, whatever organization this is, they’re definitely well-funded and protected. I have men currently investigating hunter-groups and large science labs in the area. We’ll have more information later on.>

<Apparently, they’ve been busy with these ‘test-trials’ for months now, if not far longer. You must have picked up on something before these attacks happened.>

Sebastian must have known about this beforehand. Why else would he have been so desperate to get onto my land for information?

<I wasn’t completely sure whether there was a definite link with everything happening. Besides, I didn’t think the humans were stupid enough to start a war with all of us.> He chuckles.

<And how did the shifter-trackers fit into all this?> Nick thinks back to the trackers Sebastian was looking for. -The very trackers Layla admitted were after her.

Is she somehow part of this?

<Ah. Well. It took a while for us to realize that these random mercenary trackers were jumping from town to town, only for those towns to have violent rogue attacks soon after. But the strange thing though, is that some of these trackers end up dead before we even pick up on their location. It was hard getting one alive to interrogate.> He sighs sarcastically.

Well that explains why he was so desperate to get to the shifter. But this means that Layla is involved.

Nick grunts. <Let me know as soon as you find out anything else.>

<Pft. This was a one-time favour.> Sebastian reminds him.

Nick reminds himself to breathe before his grip breaks the phone. <Your part in this deal is done when mine is as well.>

Sebastian grunts annoyingly, realizing his desperation for Nick’s blood.

<Fine.> He grunts out. <Oh wait. Now that you got me thinking, there is actually something weird that popped up.>

<….>

Sebastian rolls his eyes for the silent response. <Well,……we found data on drugs similar to this one by chance. Apparently it was used for treatments, which I doubt. But any further information on that is already lost or destroyed.>

<Surely with that link you could have found a clue of who is behind this.>

<That’s the other weird thing. Those docs go back almost twenty years.>

<Twenty?>

<Yip. And you won’t believe whose name was on it.>

<…..>

Sebastian rolls his eyes again and sighs deeply. <Dr. Elizabeth Michaelson.>

Nick’s eyes widen as his brows wrinkle from confusion.

Michaelson? The supposed forerunners for ‘world peace’?

<But if you think about it, if the Michaelsons were caught up in such shady business, it’s no wonder they died the way they did. But other than that, that is all the news I have for you. I have other urgent matters to get to. My lunch is waiting for me to give her attention.>

Nick growls annoyed. He could practically hear Sebastian say it smilingly, all to sink his teeth into his prey,….-his lunch. He ends the call immediately.

He looks up and sees Tyler waiting for him to speak.

“It’s worse than I thought.” Nick says more to himself, but continues. “Inform the pack-members that they are to stay within pack-lands and not enter any towns. Any form of treatments required will be done on pack-grounds, by pack-members. We trust only our own. And prep all our members for a full-on attack.”

“Everyone?” Tyler asks almost hesitantly.

“Everyone.” Nick confirms with a firm voice.

Tyler nods and exits the room.

Looking at all the basic facts, Nick already knows, this will most likely turn into a war, if not a vicious battle. His past experiences have made him an expert on the matter.

Strangely, his fingers are tingling and he can sense his wolf prancing in his head.

He’s excited.

He wants a fight. He wants bloodshed. He wants freedom, to be who he is, -what he is. A killer. A destroyer.