FULL NOVELXO Chapter 73
Chapter Seventy-Three
Philipe points to Mia.
"I know all about your fucked up ties to that bitch. And I want you to know, not only will I take her. But I will make her suffer-over and over again."
"I'll kill you first."
As I say it, a group of vampires move toward Mia where she walks with Alex. "You're outnumbered and outgunned," Philipe says confidently. "And our 'new friends'..." he tsks. "If you think wolves are savage, you can't imagine what vampires can do."
He starts to walk away. "Change is coming. You Alphas...your time has passed. A new Order is rising." He smiles. "And there will be blood..."
I make my way toward Mia.
It's midday and this park is overrun with humans.
It defies every instinct in my body to let Philipe walk out.
My wolf is furious. I feel the ripples of the beast rolling beneath my skin. But I can't shift now. And we know it.
But the things Philipe said...
What he did to my sister.
What he wants to do to Mia.
I draw even with her. "Hey," I say, "I don't want to rush this reunion, but we should get back to your dad."
My men are closing ranks and moving into position, they're armed and ready to fight and the handful of vampires strolling about twenty feet to the right and left of us... they smile, itching for blood. "I don't understand," Alex says. "Where are you going, Mia?"
"I have to go home. Back to Montana. You know I was estranged from my family, but my mom just died-"
Alex gasps and squeezes her hands. "I'm so sorry."
"Yeah. It's been tough."
"I'm trying to track down my sister," Mia says. "That's why I'm here. She's...not well."
Mia's eyes widen as she sees my team moving into an attack formation. She draws Alex in for a quick, hard hug.
"I promise I'll call," she says.
"W-will you come back?" Alex whispers.
She hugs him once more. "I hope so."
He watches us draw away and I feel sorry for the guy.
A brilliant engineer and tech genius, I genuinely wanted to enlist his company's services. But that was before...
Right now, we have way more pressing things to deal with.
Watch our backs, I tell my men.
"I can't believe we're just letting him go," Mia says. Then she pauses. "Will he hurt Alex?"
"I don't think so."
But she isn't wrong to be concerned. Her reunion with Alex showed that he means something to her. And as such, he could be leverage.
Keep the tech CEO in your sights. I want a full security detail on him, door to door.
The vampires have drawn back. They stand beneath the shade of a group of trees.
The mist is gathering and I lengthen my stride, urging Mia to walk faster too.
"We don't know who Philipe's aligned with. Vampires and wraiths for sure. Ashley's made deals with witches..."
It pains me to admit it, but we don't have the advantage right now.
"Why would they do that?" she asks. "It goes against everything packs stand for."
I grimace. I've played a part. Not directly. But my tactical strategy to control the West Coast, when I took control of the McNally's packlands...it set these events into motion. Fuck. Cam was right.
Hell, I knew it too - I wasn't much different than Philipe. It was what was done to my family that prompted me to create one unified pack so we could stop all the in-fighting and war. I drag my free hand over my face. "Let's process what we know."
Mia's expression is incredulous. "We know he's ruthless. He's not remotely afraid of us. And he and his sister won't stop until they've crushed both me, you and Cameron."
"We need to anticipate his next play... coming here, that was just to taunt me."
She shivers.
Then she squares her shoulders and tightens her grip on my hand. "Take me to Blakely Island, Eric."
"I think it would be better if I brought you to my pack or even back to Montana."
"No. We need to see ahead. And that's what I came here for..."
There are wolves patrolling the harbor when we return to the docks. On the off-chance the dinghy has been compromised, we jump into the boats manned by my team members. These are wolves that are pure MacPhearson, not wolves acquired through pledging or assimilating another pack.
When we get back on the boat, the crew has prepared a lavish meal. I can't say that I'm hungry but for Mia's sake, I want her to eat, so I guide us onto the deck and we sit at the intimate table they've set. "Get us back out to sea," I tell the steward while I hold out Mia's chair.
She sits.
We eat the fresh crab and shrimp, then move to an entree of roast lamb. Dessert is chocolate souffle and the little sounds Mia's making as she eats it makes me want to do things to her-dark things, forbidden things-so I can hear those little noises again.
It's a very welcome distraction.
When we finish eating we move to the lounge area at the bow. One section of the plush seating is covered, and we curl up on the giant sunbed.
"Eric," she whispers, "I can't believe all this is happening. Like two weeks ago I was living a normal life, with playdates for my kids and a full-time job. My biggest worry was if I'd sleep through the alarm in the morning or if I'd make a project deadline."
I smooth my hand over her hair.
"This is surreal."
"Close your eyes and rest, Mia." She leans back against me, her head on my shoulder and we watch the sun set.
The waters are dark and calm and as the yacht maneuvers into the Salish Sea, I'm communicating with my pack.
Corinne was one of our security leads. I miss my sister so much, it's like a void I'll never be able to fill and a wound that won't ever heal. Everytime I think of her, I just... bleed.
And forget about the impact of losing her expertise.
I close my eyes and continue shooting off instructions.
We have solid tech connections -unfortunately Philipe compromised one of them by intercepting Alex, but we would utilize others, or pay whatever was needed to bring in a new lead.
After a while, I drift off to sleep, the steady sound of Mia's breathing coupled with the soft lull of the waves, brings me my first bit of peace.
It's short lived though. And as a helicopter circles the yacht and prepares to land on the upper deck, I'm jumping to my feet and preparing to fight to the death....