Page 37 of Hitched to the Vampire King

“This isn’t Sam’s pack anymore,” Aimee said, though her words sounded sad. “He has his own people to worry about. And as the alpha, this is my problem to handle. Not his. I can’t run to my big brother whenever there’s trouble. If I did that, I wouldn’t be worthy of holding the pack alpha title.”

I understood that. Werewolf politics at its finest. “What about your father? He was the previous alpha, right?”

She nodded. “Same rules apply to him. He knows about the missing werewolves, and he’s advised me as best he can. But at the end of the day?—”

“You have to handle this yourself.”

“Mmm,” she hummed her agreement. “This is my first test as alpha. I don’t begrudge that. I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of my people.”

“Well, I hope we can help. Jaden, Josh, and I are experienced vampire hunters. So hopefully we can put this to bed quickly, before you lose any more werewolves.”

“Agreed,” Aimee said. Then she turned and looked at me—reallylooked at me—for the first time. “How are you? Yesterday was…”

“Hard,” I said, finishing her sentence. “Yesterday was hard. And emotional. And heartbreaking. And every other word you can think of.”

Aimee repositioned herself, her gaze returning to the window. “I know all too well how it feels to lose someone you love. I’m sure you know our history?”

I recalled everything Avery, Sam, and Lucy had ever told me. The New Orleans Pack had been through a lot recently. Much like the Mississippi Pack.

Aimee took another sip, her thoughts far away. “I had a human born sister named Isabelle. We called her Izzy. But she’s gone now. Dead. Thanks to Corbin and his people. You know of Corbin?”

Oh yeah, I knewallabout Corbin.

“That whole situation was the reason why I introduced the pack to an entirely new training regime. My father was an amazing alpha. He was kind but stern, caring but tough…he knew how to rule the pack. But I felt like we could do more. I didn’t want our people to ever hurt again like that. So I created a system that I thought would keep us safe. I had them train in the bayou, created safehouses, new security systems, new rules and regulations to ensure everybody was always accounted for, but it made no difference when we were finally tested. Alexander, Dana, Joseph, then Avery. And Avery, as I’m sure you might have guessed, is a strong werewolf.”

Fifth highest in rank, she’d mentioned.

“If this vampire could steal one of my top ten, then I failed them.”

I reached out and placed a hand over Aimee’s, drawing her attention back to me.

“You didn’t fail them,” I told her. “Look at me and my friends. Look at what we’re facing right now. My friend Chris was one of the top slayers in the Academy, and he’s gone. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter how we train and prepare. The fact is casualties are inevitable. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and correct them.”

“Easier said than done, I’m afraid,” Aimee said.

“Agreed. But there’s really nothing more we can do. My friends and I will stay until we’ve taken care of Nash. Once he’s gone, you’ll be able to sleep a little easier.”

“Perhaps we can help you with your problems too. I doubt Gabriel’s father expected you to seek help from the local werewolf pack. That gives us an advantage. I can ask my people to keep an eye out for him as well as Nash.”

“Thank you,” I breathed, relief crashing into me. “I would really appreciate that.”

“Of course. Now?—”

My stomach chose that moment to protestveryloudly. I winced and stared at my belly, offended.

Chuckling, Aimee rose from her seat. “How about I make us something to eat?”

“I would appreciate that as well,” I said, laughing with her.

“Trust me,” Aimee said, winking. “I know firsthand just how insistent our wolves can get when they’re hungry.”

* * *

It didn’t take longbefore the heavenly scent of pancakes, bacon, and eggs lured others into the kitchen—others with appetites as wolfish as mine. There were enough chairs for Lucy, Sam, Aimee, and me, but the poor table all but bowed beneath the weight of food. A weight soon made lighter by our never-sated tummies.

Only after I’d had my fill did I sit back with a sigh. Lucy glanced my way and chuckled at the sight of my distended stomach.

“It’s good to have you home, Sam,” Aimee said. “I’ve missed having my big brother around to annoy.”

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