Page 46 of Voyage of Death and Desire

“Maybe that’s where he took you,” Luna adds.

“Maybe,” I whisper. “Why would Blackbeard have one of Kragen’s men?”

I shrug. “Payment? A partnership? Anything’s possible with Kragen. I don’t believe there is a limit to what he would do to gain wealth.”

“What do we do now?” I ask the crowd standing around me.

“We gather an army and go kick some ass.” Luna raises her hands high in the air.

“Slow down, William Wallace. This journal was written three hundred years ago. Kragen’s not dumb enough to still be hiding in the same location,” Thorne adds.

“Why wouldn’t he be?” Francis asks. “If no one has found him before now, why would he move? I wouldn’t.”

“Blackbeard found him.”

“And he’s dead,” she adds.

“We can’t do this alone,” I answer finally.

“We don’t have to.” Luna pulls her phone from her pocket. “Micah texted a few minutes ago. His Alpha agreed to meet us tonight.”

“How’d he get your number?” Francis asks.

Luna winks without answering. “He’s asked us to meet in a bar on Broad Street atseven o’clock.”

“That’s in just a few hours,” Francis says. “What does one wear to a meeting with the lycan Alpha?”

“Francis, I think it’s safer for you to stay here. None of us know what to expect when we get there,” Thorne says.

“No offense, buthellno. I’ve lived seventy-four years being careful. This is the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me. I’m going.”

I smile at her words. “I’ll keep her safe,” I reassure her grandfather.

We spend the next hour researching possible locations for Kragen to be hiding in the Outer Banks. We’ve narrowed it down to four different locations when Francis enters the room wearing a pair of blue jeans, cowboy boots, and a plaid shirt.

“Does this work?” she asks, doing a full turn in the middle of the sitting room.

Thorne whistles, bringing pink to her cheeks. “Looking good, Francis.”

She smiles at his words. “Thanks, Grandpa.”

“It’s time to go,” Luna announces. “We don’t need to be late. It’s a sign of disrespect in the lycan world.”

“We can be there in ten minutes,” Francis says. “It’s an easy walk from here. I’ve been there many times. However, I never realized there were lycan there. Now it’s much more interesting.”

Right on time, the four of us approach the bar. To the unsuspecting eye, it’s a normal bar. To the lycan ofCharleston, it’s the home of their Alpha. “Ready?” I ask the group.

Luna opens the door, and we enter a nearly empty room. “Where is everyone?” Francis asks.

“It’s early for the bar scene,” Luna answers.

Micah appears out of nowhere. “This way.” He turns, and we follow him to a door in the back of the room.

The man behind the desk is larger than anyone I’ve met before. He stands, towering over the rest of us. “Dad, these are the ones I told you about.” Dad?

Luna bows her head toward the Alpha. “Luna Jamison. My Alpha, Christopher St. James, spoke highly of you and your pack.”

“Christopher is a good man,” the Alpha answers. He looks at the rest of us. “I’m Connor McFadden, and this is my son Micah, whom you’ve already met.” He motions to several chairs in front of his desk. “Please.” Thorne and I take the lead and sit down. “Tell me, what do two vampires, a lone lycanthrope, and a human need from my pack?”

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