My Most Precious Human

I read the note with my name on it at least thirty times. Chills ran down my spine. The person who had written it knew who I was and was somehow interested in me personally. Was it somebody I already knew?

I studied the rest of the messages from JD once again. The person was definitely a man, someone who had a personal relationship with Elora. He had never addressed her as "princess" or "queen" and his tone had been superior and often harsh. The way those notes sounded, I couldn't think of anyone that had the audacity to talk to Elora. I knew I had to discuss this with Kanan. I called him, and he answered right away.

"Well, what do you think?" he asked anxiously.

"It freaked me out." I cringed even saying it.

"We need to get a grasp on who this JD is. This might be the only way to take Elora down for everything she did," he stated agitatedly.

"I agree, but don't know any JDs. Those messages are so different from the ones from Beta Jax..." I wondered aloud.

"I think it's a wolf, and a very powerful one at that," Kanan deduced.

"Why do you think that?" I laughed nervously, already building a shortlist of names.

"There's no vampire more powerful than King Sariel, and no vampire would ever risk daring him. This guy stays hidden for a long time, and that requires skills and resources. Besides, he is targeting the major vampire families..." His voice cracked at the end.

Then I remembered what Patrick told me: that there had been attacks on vampire families and that Sariel tirelessly searched for the one behind them. I suddenly realized that what I heard in Kanan's voice were pain and anger...

"Who... was attacked?" I asked, swallowing my increasing anxiety.

"The Parsons are dead. The whole family had been massacred inside their fortress-like mansion." I heard him struggle to keep his composure.

"Oh, God..." I gasped, covering my mouth.

Kanan mentioned that Mr. Parson had always supported him, which had given him protection and high status among other vampire families, even though he was a half-breed. Despite the decades-long age gap, they had become friends. I couldn't even imagine how heartbroken Kanan must have felt.

"I'm so sorry... I hadn't known Mr. Parson for a long time, but he seemed like an amazing and kind person..." I muttered while rubbing my suddenly aching chest.

"He was," Kanan replied, a hint of rising anger coating his voice. "That is why I'm going to find that wolf and I'm going to make sure he suffers."

"Kanan..." I sighed, "We can't be sure that the one who wrote those notes was behind this attack. Moreover, you cannot say that it was a wolf that killed Mr. Parson and his family... You don't know that." As much as I didn't want to argue with Kanan while he was grieving, I knew we needed to follow some kind of logic.

"Vampires never kill this way!" he called out, more irate than I ever heard him. "Only savage animals would rip the whole family to pieces, flooding the whole mansion with their blood!"

I felt strangely offended by his description. I had never thought of myself as a wolves' daughter, but I was currently a member of a pack, and those wolves I lived with weren't some brainless, viciously savage animals. Yet, I bit my tongue before saying a word about it and exhaled deeply.

"Think about it, Lilith," Kanan continued, "five vampire families were attacked, and they were all against Elora being a queen. Furthermore, they were eager to support you and stated it openly. Adding the fact that this JD is after you for some reason, it all fits too well to be a coincidence."

I couldn't disagree with that. The more I thought about it, this JD might have been behind the previous attacks on blood banks in New Argent City and Calvets' Castle as well.

"I don't think that JD's actions are about me..." I said, gathering the facts in my head, "I'm almost certain that it was more about Sariel since everything JD did was undermining Sariel's position. There were more than fifteen messages from him, which means that he could be the one responsible for all the attacks on New Argent City. First, it was about proving that he couldn't keep his home and his city safe. Now, it is about proving that he isn't worthy of being a king..."

Suddenly, I realized something that froze the blood in my veins. If Sariel's position was endangered and all the significant semi-noble families were murdered, he could only count on Elora's support. Was that the true purpose of all of those attacks? With shaking Sariel's position further, the only thing that could help him keep the crown would soon be his good relationship with his queen... The mere thought of it made me sick.

"Kanan... You need to show these messages to the King," I said, my voice trembling.

"I can't just go to him and ask for an audience without Elora knowing," he reminded me of the obvious.

"Then go to Leo!" I called out, angry. "Sariel needs to know that this JD is probably up for more attacks, to hit him where it hurts!"

"You're so worried about the King while you could be living next door to the murdered!" Kanan snarled.

"Excuse me?!" I snapped. "You cannot seriously suspect Draven! He's not perfect in many ways, but he hates Elora, probably as much as I do! Besides, why would he aim for the vampire throne in the first place?!"

I could feel my blood boiling. It was one thing to suspect some spiteful werewolves, like the ones from my father's pack, but not Alpha Draven. I could easily suspect my father of planning a series of attacks on the King from the House of Calvet. We already had circumstantial evidence that his old Beta had been collaborating with Elora, probably for years. It wouldn't be surprising to find out that Randall D'Apolito had something to do with all the recent attacks as well. But Draven agreed to sign a peace treaty with the vampires. The army of four thousand vampires was about to join him on the battlefield to help him win the throne and restore the royal name of his family. I didn't think he could care less about ruling over the vampire world.

"Lilith..." I could hear Kanan sigh, restoring his composure, "It is only rational to doubt his intentions. JD is powerful, and so is Draven. JD is capable and has to have a lot of resources, while Draven is intelligent, and his pack is the size of a village. And finally, JD said that you are his... whatever that means, while Draven claims that you are his destined mate. What more proof do you need?"

"This is ridiculous, Kanan. At times, JD sounded like he and Elora were lovers or something, and I can't imagine Draven being intimate with this bitch-like ice queen. Besides, the part that JD wrote about me being his sounded more like a threat to me." I tried to state my point.

"Fine, then prove me wrong."

"What?" I laughed nervously.

"Do you know where Draven keeps his documents and private correspondence?" Kanan asked.

"Well... yes. I believe he keeps it in his bedroom. He has a massive desk with more than a few drawers, and there are a lot of paper folders on his bookshelves too," I replied, a little reluctantly.

"Perfect," Kanan chuckled wickedly, "Look for handwritten documents to compare them with the notes. Who knows, you can even find Elora's replies to JD's messages..."

I burst out into hysteric laughter, "You cannot be thinking that I will break into Alpha Draven's bedroom and search for documents!"

"Why not?" he asked calmly. "You have your super-genes. I'm sure that you will do just fine as a spy."

I could picture him cunningly grinning while he said those last words. As much as I hated his idea, he wasn't wrong. It was the fastest way to clear Draven of any suspicions... But then I started to fear what could happen if I found something that proved Kanan right. Chills ran down my spine. It couldn't be the truth. I knew I was naïve and foolish on so many occasions, but all of my instincts were telling me that Draven wasn't some bloodthirsty villain. Nonetheless, I surrendered and agreed to Kanan's stupid plan, telling myself that if I didn't do it, I would never be able to fully trust Draven.

Once I ended the call with Kanan, I already regretted my decision. I found myself using my super-hearing sense to know when Draven left his room. Thankful to Ezra that he taught me all the stuff that no parent ever should, I took out a pin from my toiletry bag and prepared to use it as a tool to break into Alpha's room.

Finally, I heard Draven leaving and going downstairs. Constantly reminding myself how insane that plan was, I walked out of my room and stood in front of Draven's door. I took a deep breath, put the pin into the locker, and swiftly turned it around until I heard a familiar click. I smirked, suddenly feeling the thrill of being an idiotic amateur burglar. Then I cautiously walked inside and quietly closed the door behind me I briefly looked around, and then my eyes landed on the tones of printed documents lying on Draven's desk. I got a headache just by looking at the pile. It could take hours before I found what I needed... I sighed painfully, "What did I get myself into?"