Page 47 of Hitched to the Vampire King

“Go on, luv,” he said. “I’ll come find you after.”

With a huff, I conceded, throwing Aimee a scathing glare. Then I stomped after Lucy into the kitchen, where the others all stood around pretending not to have been eavesdropping.

Jaden interlocked our arms and pulled me toward the kitchen table where her laptop and a pile of notes awaited.

“I’d suggest we go for another walk,” Lucy said, “but I don’t think that’s a good idea now that all the vampires are awake and roaming freely.”

“Agreed,” Jaden said. “Besides, we have plenty here to keep you busy.”

“Fantastic,” I mumbled, the word dripping with sarcasm.

Just what I needed. More research.

ChapterSixteen

The moment Aimeeand Gabriel entered the kitchen, the room fell into stark silence. All chatter ceased, and everyone shifted their attention from their scattered pages and glowing screens to the two formidable figures standing in the doorway—one Vampire King and one pack alpha, both of whom seemed to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Since most of us possessed preternatural senses, it’d been hard not to eavesdrop on their conversation. So hard, in fact, that I hadn’t bothered trying. Or at least, that was the story I planned on sticking to if asked. I’d heard everything. Because of course I had. Their conversation had been surprisingly civil. Aimee had asked her questions, and Gabriel had answered truthfully. She’d tossed around a few jabs regarding Gabriel’s lack of involvement in the American vampire populace, but he’d navigated her barbs like a true politician. Afterward, they’d strolled into the kitchen and turned their attention to us.

Jaden was the first to break the charged silence. “We all good here?” she asked, eyeing Gabriel and Aimee. When Aimee gave a terse nod, Jaden clapped her hands. “Fantastic. Then, if we’re done measuring whose fangs are bigger, might we return to the more important problems at hand? Like Nash and Adrian?”

Aimee’s jaw clenched at Jaden’s blunt summary, but she held her tongue. Jaden was human, after all, and blissfully free from the web of werewolf politics. I had to stifle a laugh, though. I loved my bestie for a reason. She wasn’t always the most outspoken, but sometimes she really knew how to cut through all the nonsense and get people back on track. Maybe she should have been in charge of Gabriel’s interrogation tonight.

“Alright. Let’s get down to business,” Jaden continued, oblivious—or more likely, indifferent—to the tension her words had stirred. “Some of us are running on fumes here and are in desperate need of an all-night nap.”

Me. I was desperate for bed. I didn’t love seeing the sun both rise and fall in one day.

Gabriel moved to stand behind me, his hands settling on my shoulders with a comforting weight. I leaned back slightly, letting his presence envelop me.

“Josh and I have been digging,” Jaden announced, turning a whiteboard around to reveal a spiderweb of information I hadn’t yet seen. “Turns out our Mr. Nash is renowned amongst the local slayers. He’s a regular on their hit list, yet somehow always slips the stake. Our poking around has stirred up quite the buzz, and I’ve had some slayers I’ve never even met reach out to me. Guess we slayers really are just gossips at heart. But thanks to that, I’ve managed to build quite a comprehensive profile for our target.”

The room listened in rapt attention as Jaden painted a picture of Nash. “From what I’ve learned, he’s been around for centuries, passing through the ages effortlessly. He has connections in every dark corner you can think of—vampires, black market dealers, you name it. Someone even suggested the mob at some point. Our toothy friend isn’t too shy about what sort of nefarious acts he commits. This whole kidnapping werewolves thing seems to just be his latest entrepreneurship.”

She pointed to the map and the various pins tacked to it. “These are the many places we suspect are linked to Nash’s operations. He has his hands in a little bit of everything. And from what we can tell, he’s selling these cages to the highest bidder, doesn’t matter if they’re vampire or human.”

Aimee’s whole body jerked at Jaden’s words. “Then there are humans who know about us?”

“That appears to be the case,” Jaden said, confirming Aimee’s fear. “But they seem to be keeping your existence a secret. I suspect so they can continue their nasty profiteering business without the law interfering. Right now, werewolves have no rights, and they’re capitalizing on that.”

Lucy and I had long since believed our kind should come out to the public, but werewolves differed from vampires in that we didn’t have a single leader. We were a pack-based people, with an alpha leading each pack. And getting them to agree on anything was an impossible dream.

Aimee faced me. “You handle Nash, and we’ll handle the rest. No way in hell will I allow this business of his to continue.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. Tackling Nash’s business was quite the task.

“Absolutely,” she snarled. “I will not sit back and let this happen. You take out the vampire, and I’ll clean up the rest of his mess.”

I glanced at Lucy, who nodded. Aimee was new to this whole alpha business, so I wasn’t sure she could handle such an undertaking, but if she wanted to try, then I wouldn’t stand in her way. We had our own problems to focus on, after all.

“Do we know yet who’s buying the cages?” Gabriel inquired.

Jaden shook her head. “Not yet. But hopefully, Sam and Maddie will learn something when they return to the warehouse tomorrow.”

Gabriel’s fingers instinctively tightened around my shoulders. “What?”

Oh. Shit. Thanks to Aimee, I hadn’t had a chance to discussanyof this with him yet. So he had no idea what I had planned for tomorrow.

Jaden’s wide eyes darted between me and the incredibly tense vampire standing behind me. I couldn’t see his face, but based on what I saw in hers, I was in for quite a fight.

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