Page 44 of Shapeshifter's Vengeance

I smile, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Always."

I stare at the phone number on Cassandra’s school file, my fingers hovering over the dial pad. The room is quiet, the air thick with tension. Finally, I press the call button. The phone rings, each ring echoing in the silence, amplifying the weight of what I’m about to do.

“Hello?” Her voice is groggy and heavy with sleep. The popular saying about how the wicked never get rest seems to be a lie. Otherwise, a murderer wouldn’t have been sleeping soundly while the rest of us were working hard to make her pay for her crimes.

“Cassandra,” I say, my voice steady. There is no reason to beat around the bush, so I go straight to the point. “It’s Alexei. If you want to punish me, I’ll come to you. Leave the town out of this. Stop killing innocent people. You don’t have to go about this like a damn coward.”

There’s a pause, then a confused murmur. “Who is this? I’m not Cassandra. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think you must have gotten the wrong number.”

Her act is almost convincing, but I know this woman too well. She is playing her cover expertly.

“You know damn well what I’m talking about; stop the pretense. It’s just us now.” I reply, trying hard to keep my anger at bay.

“I thought we were still playing games with that stupid fiancée of yours. Good to know you are done hiding behind her, and now you are coming at me like a real man. Now things are going to be very fun don’t you think?” she adds, and I clench my fist at her words towards Evelyn. She knows just how to tick me off.

“Why are you doing this?” I demand, my patience thin. I am not going to entertain her taunts. The goal is to get her to set a meeting spot so the plan can go ahead.

She cackles, a chilling sound that sends shivers down my spine. “If you truly want to know why, meet me at the place where it all started. The lake of life. Midnight.”

The line goes dead. I lower the phone, my mind racing. That crackle sounded even deadlier than anything I could fathom. For the first time, I think that this whole plan will fail.

Evelyn, who has been listening intently, steps forward. “You did good,” she says, her voice calm and reassuring. I don’t respond; I just nod slowly before stepping away from the phone. I need a few moments to get that cackle out of my head.

Evelyn swings into action immediately, her movements quick and efficient. “We need to mobilize,” she says, her voice firm. “We’ll capture her alive and make her face the council.”

I watch her, my heart swelling with pride and worry. “Are you sure about this?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

She turns to me, her eyes fierce and determined. “We have to do this, Alexei. It’s the only way to get her.”

I nod. “Let’s get to work then.”

We gathered the vampire warriors, each one on standby but ready for confrontation at a moment’s notice.

I stand in the open, waiting patiently in the place Cassandra instructed. The moon hangs high above, casting a pale light across the clearing. The air buzzes with anticipation and resolve. There is no way she’s getting away from us alive. I will make sureof that. The recorder is hidden well within my jacket, high-tech and undetectable. I wait, feeling the seconds tick by.

I scan the surroundings, every rustle of leaves and the distant call of an owl heightening my senses. Minutes turn into what feels like hours. I think she might not show. Maybe her setting this meeting was her way of humiliating me, and now I feel foolish for going through with it.

I consider walking away and exploring other options to bring her down, but this is our best shot.

Just as I’m about to give up, her voice slices through the silence. “Leaving so soon, Alexei? That’s not very gentlemanly of you.”

I turn, spotting her emerging from the shadows. She has been here all along, watching, making sure I came alone. Her eyes gleam with a mix of malice and curiosity. I am seeing her again for the first time in decades, and memories of when we were kids flash through my head.

She was always an awkward kid who rarely interacted with anybody else, but I brought her out of that shell. I helped her make new friends up until her disappearance, and now it only makes me wonder why she thinks punishing me by killing innocent people is the best way to repay me.

“Cassandra,” I say evenly. “You’ve barely changed, even in person. I must admit you barely aged.”

“Oh, please. We both know you don’t mean a word you just said. Let’s do away with the pretense. I didn’t get out of bed to be lied to like this. I do have a mirror, and I know if I aged or not.” She hisses through clenched teeth, and I chuckle inwardly.

“Well, that’s fair. Now what do you want from me? Why are you doing all of this?” If she wants me to be direct, I will do just that.

She steps closer, a predatory grace in her movements. “What if I kill you right now?” she asks, her voice almost playful. I amnot foolish enough to think she is joking about killing me; if anything, her past actions have made it clear that it is, in fact, her intention.

“I don’t mind,” I reply, holding her gaze. “As long as you leave innocent people out of it.”

Her laughter is cold and mocking. “And why should I do that?”

“What did I ever do to you?” I ask, trying to reach the person she once was. I want to understand the need for all of this chaos and violence. The Cassandra I knew would never do this.

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