Page 66 of Visions in Blood
“A small pack of shifters outside of Los Angeles were slaughtered last night.”
Devon’s stomach dropped, and the pounding in his chest turned into a tight band that constricted his breathing.“Slaughtered how?”
“From what Elijah was able to share, it sounded eerily like your dream minus the crossbow bolt.This was a group of rogue shifters, committed to no one, but they got along and had banded together for protection.”
“For as little good it did them.”Lucas kicked the desk, his face mottled with color.
Devon pushed up from his chair and ran his hands through his hair as he paced in front of the fireplace.If his friends were saying anything, he couldn’t hear over the roaring in his head.Unsolicited visions from the dream filled his head with blood, destruction, and unnecessary brutality.Was it a message or the start of something viler?
It wasn’t a stretch to connect the dots between the rumors of Magic Poppy, the wolves asking questions, and a massacre at a shifter house.And as obvious as it might seem, seen from that perspective, the answer could be as simple as one of the wolf packs cleaning house.If the local alpha thought the rogues were causing trouble, it was the best way to take care of them before something unfortunate happened.Another group of rogues would also be suspect.
These possibilities alone made this the perfect crime—the perfect kill.
He paced until his blind rage settled, and though the beast inside roared for vengeance—for answers—he couldn’t do anything until his more rational side returned.So, he continued to wear a path on the Persian rug until his sight returned to normal and the glow in his eyes receded.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but Sergi and Lucas sat in front of his desk, quiet and expectant.
“Do they have any clues?Anything left behind like a message?”He was grabbing at the proverbial straw, but any little detail might spell the difference between shifter-on-shifter attack or, heaven help them, a vampire attack.If vampires had done this, it wouldn’t be enough to start a war, not with it being a pack of rogues.But it would send the wrong type of message, stressing a fragile peace between the two species.It wasn’t a far-fetched idea to believe that outcome might have been the ulterior motive.
“It wasn’t mentioned.The local alpha was at the scene, but I’m not sure how much he’ll be willing to share.”Sergi shrugged.“The only thing Elijah could confirm was that these weren’t the shifters he’d asked to help with.”He glanced at Lucas, and Devon understood his reticence at not mentioning the Magic Poppy with Lucas in the room.
“What if these wolves were minding their own business, staying off the grid,” Lucas said.“Even so, someone in the vampire community would be aware of them.They have no protection from an alpha or The Wolf.Maybe one of the shifters got wind of something they shouldn’t.Or it might be as simple as someone testing how far they can push a vampire.”
That brought an eerie silence of something larger and uglier if Magic Poppy was involved.He glanced at Sergi, whose hand trembled as he focused on his tablet.It was the first time in a long time that Devon sensed his friend’s beast rising to the surface.
“Did you check in with Decker?”he asked.
Sergi nodded, and his gaze had turned to a soft red glow, confirming Devon’s suspicions that they all needed some space.
“I’ll ask Remus for a meeting.”He might not be able to help his friends through the emotional hit, but he could remove some of the burden.“Decker will go with me.”
Sergi raised a brow, then simply nodded, releasing an almost imperceptible sigh.
Devon understood.No one wanted to relive old memories, and if anyone was going to face this new threat that appeared to bridge his sordid past with his shared dreams, it had to be him.
“You should have someone else with you.”Lucas edged to his seat, and his tone hardened, ignoring Devon’s slow shake of his head.“I don’t have to go in, but you’ll need a driver.And Bella should be back soon.We can both wait outside.It would be expected.”
Devon trudged back to his desk.The weight of everything—his censure, Lyra, the dreams, Decker—it seemed insurmountable.And while Sergi struggled with his beast, Lucas remained focused, ready to help.He sat and turned to stare out the window.It would be another warmer-than-usual day, though clouds currently dimmed the sun.He needed a trip to Oasis, if nothing more than to ground him.If he only had the time.
Images from his dream continued to bombard him, and as horrific as the actual massacre was, the unnecessary waste of life, it might have provided an opening.A tragedy that might help set everything right.But it had to be quiet with no one the wiser.
Devon spun around to find his guards staring out the windows themselves.“I’ll contact Remus and Decker.The women should be home in the next hour or two.I doubt Remus will be able to meet any sooner than tomorrow, assuming he’s in town.That should give Bella time to rest and join Lucas as my guards for the meeting.”When Sergi began to protest, he held up his hand.“I’ll need you to retrieve Ginger this afternoon.Ask Greta to make up the room across from Cressa.I want everyone close until we know more.”
Sergi, satisfied for now, moved to another topic.“How did the job go?”
He frowned.One more problem to deal with.“Not as expected and a continuing mystery.I’m calling a meeting for this evening.Simone will want to check in at Oasis, and Cressa will need rest.Then we’ll have the women debrief us.”
He’d been disappointed to hear the book wasn’t where it should be.But if Cressa had lifted a file she considered worth taking, even on a hunch, the book might not be completely out of reach.
“That’s all for now.”
After the men left, he glanced down at the linen business card with the delicate and precise handwriting.What to do about this and Cressa’s rage when she learned how he got the information?For a brief moment, the issue with the shifters and the Magic Poppy seemed the lesser of his troubles.
ChapterTwenty-Five
The gentle caressof the warm water left my body lazy and boneless.The tension from the last few days seeped away, dripping off me and melting into the beads of water tickling my skin.The muffled chiming of a clock the only sound to interrupt my daydreaming.
This was something I should do more often.
