Page 73 of Guardians for the Vamp
Loch
My chest puffs out, my heart fluttering.
Brother.
I’ve been helping Locheran with the security aspects of the unveiling plan as well as the protocols for the upcoming conference. There were plenty of nights during our bondymoon where he’d come over with Xander and Evangeline and the six of us would eat and/or drink and talk about the adventures we’ve had in our long lives... well except for Evangeline since she’s only lived forty human years.
They’ve all become my family.
Now we just need Locheran to findhismate. I can tell he’s lonely. He might joke and be an asshole, but I've known him long enough now to understand that’s his way of coping. He’s even told me that he believes he’ll be alone for the rest of his life. He claims he’s fine with random hookups, but his eyes contradict his words.
I text him back a middle finger emoji, which makes him chuckle. Then I follow it up with a ‘thank you.’
The meeting lasts nearly two hours as we go over the itinerary and security details. When we leave the building, we’re exhausted and ready for cuddles and a movie. But the moment we step outside, I sense something’s wrong.
We’re being watched.
I hold out my arms to stop Vara and Layla from walking forward. Erebos walks to our SUV and finds a letter on thewindshield. I turn to the guards tasked with monitoring activity around the building.
“How did this get here?” Erebos asks, angrily. I can always count on him to take his job seriously and do it well.
Their mouths flap open and closed like a fish out of water.
“It wasn’t there a minute ago,” a vampire guard says. “I just did a sweep.”
Erebos brings the letter to me. “It could have been any supe with magical abilities. Anyone with speed or a cloaking power.”
I snarl at the thought of a supe with malicious intents getting close enough without being seen.
The paper isn’t much of a letter at all. It contains only one sentence:
Cancel the conference or many will die.
Goddamn it.
As I pass the paper to Layla and Vara to read, the SUV that we were seconds from entering explodes. The blast sends the three of us backwards. Erebos lands next to me, but he’s quick to get back on his feet. He extends his wings, taking to the air to scope out a possible suspect.
But whoever placed the letter is long gone.
I scramble to find Layla and Vara. They were thrown a few feet away from me. Aside from a few scrapes—that are already healing—and their skin covered in ash from the fire and smoke, they’re uninjured. The panic building inside me fades knowing they’re alive.
Erebos lands back next to me. “Two guards are injured, a vampire and a shifter. I hear sirens off in the distance, so someone already called human first responders.”
I nod and instruct him to call a supernatural clean up team to compel and alter memories.
We’re going to need them.
“We should cancel the conference,” I growl.
I stand in Layla’s penthouse living room, arms crossed.
It’s been a week since another attempt to kill Layla was made. At least, we assume it’s Layla being targeted. For all we know, it could be Vara.
I considered myself, then concluded that I barely have friends, let alone enemies. Everyone from my past is dead, including the hunters who took my family away from me.
The news of the explosion spread fast amongst our kind and supes are getting nervous. The hunters are getting bolder in their attacks, using bombs in a crowded city where other humans could be injured or killed.
Xander has all hands on deck, trying to find the humans before there’s another incident.
