Page 85 of Fanged Embrace
I walked on wobbly legs behind River as she led me out into the hall, one hand pressed to my chest to stop the tremors that still rippled through my body. Now was not the time to break down. I couldn’t afford to fall apart, not here and not now. Not when we were so close to ending this once and for all. The organization had landed a blow on the Leyore coven and theirallies, and everyone was up in arms debating what to do about it.
The Leyore headquarters buzzed like a wasp's nest, packed with supernaturals of all shapes and sizes. I tried not to stare, and struggled to wrap my head around the fact that so many of these beings lived right here in the city, right under everyone’s noses.
A beautiful young woman whizzed by on what I first assumed was a broomstick, but on closer inspection, realized was a dented STOP sign ripped right out of the concrete. At my flabbergasted expression, River casually informed me that the witches around here were exceptionally resourceful—and also running out of traditional yew branches.
The elves were easy to spot, once you knew to look for them. They kept their pointed ears strategically concealed, but there was no hiding that ethereal beauty and the ram-rod stiff way they carried themselves. The shifters blended in a little better, normal-looking human beings for the most part, but they all carried the same wary expression, like they’d much rather be out in the open than packed like sardines in the cramped vampire headquarters.
I followed River through the crowd to a closed-off conference room, complete with a massive mahogany table in the center and a cluster of concerned-looking supernatural creatures seated around it. We joined Hunter and Addison in the back, both of them leaning against the wall and overlooking the scene with quiet discomfort.
Near the head of the table stood two very animated figures: Caden, the Leyore coven’s charming human lapdog (at least that’s how River described him) and Arlon, my eternally over-prepared ally. They were talking at the decibel level of a stadium announcer.
“So you traced the supply invoices through three dummycouriers?” Arlon was asking the other man, and his eyes were practically sparkling.
“And your street-cam scrape put the vans at the same loading dock.” Caden, too, sounded thoroughly impressed with the other guy’s detective skills, and they both high-fived with giddy enthusiasm that was at odds with the tense expressions of everyone else in the room. “Dude, we’re unstoppable.”
I aimed a raised brow at River who silently smirked back.Bromance initiated, I guess.
Jordan was situated at the head of the table, and she rapped a knuckle on the hardwood to catch everyone’s attention. The murmurs settled into tense silence and all eyes turned toward the redhead, who was looking especially tired for a creature of the night.
“Thanks to these two,” Jordan waved a cursory hand at Arlon and Caden who both stood with their arms folded and the same smug grin plastered across their faces, “we’ve isolated the organization’s head of operations. Exercitus Biomedical, a high-rise building on 34th Street. Only the first six floors have active leases. The rest is lab space off the books.”
I stiffened at this new revelation, flicking a glance at Arlon who offered a proud smile and a thumbs-up in response. It seemed working alongside a like-minded human detective was all Arlon needed to make a breakthrough in this case.
A ripple of unease circled the room. It was common knowledge by now that the organization’s reach stretched far and wide, but to so brazenly establish their main headquarters right in the heart of the city was truly daunting. It meant they were confident, thinking themselves untouchable. Maybe that was true—they had orchestrated an attack on multiple supernatural factions overnight and they always seemed to be one step ahead of us.
It wasn’t enough to simply know where their main base was—we needed a foolproof plan of attack. But it seemed that wasn’t the priority of present company.
A pompous-looking elven man raised a hand to draw attention and turned pale green eyes toward Jordan. “The location of their headquarters is not important right now. They attacked our people—multiple factions in one night.”
“Agreed,” another elven woman piped up, this one with long silky hair that trailed in silvery waves down her back. “We can’t risk orchestrating an attack until we know exactly what we’re up against. If the attack fails and the organization decides to retaliate, the results could be devastating for our people.” She leveled a stare at Jordan, tone dropping lower for emphasis. “Allof our people.”
“We can’t just sit around and do nothing!” a shifter from the far side of the table said, scowling at the elves across from him. “They struck first. We have to fight back. We’ll never be rid of them if we don’t, and no faction—elves, witches, vampires or otherwise—will be safe until this organization is dismantled from the ground up.”
“I second that,” one of the witches added, pressing palms down on the table and leaning forward to address the room. “Backing down because of a warning shot will not save us in the long run. All that does is show this organization that we can be bullied—they won’t stop there.”
“We wouldn’t even be on their radar if we hadn’t been dragged into this fight in the first place!” the eleven man retaliated, pointing an accusatory finger at Jordan directly. “This is, at the end of the day, vampire politics. If you want to go to war, you’ll have to do it on your own.”
The room erupted into chaos after that, everyone talking over each other as insults were flung and outcry followed. From the exasperated look on Jordan’s face and the way Hunter rolled her eyes with a nasally ‘here-we-go-again’ exhale, it was clearthis was one of many screaming matches to have occurred in the last hour.
Agitated and anxious by the rising volume, I fumbled for River’s hand, latching on tight when I found it at my side. She squeezed my fingers, but it did little to counter the noise in my head.
Stop arguing,I wanted to scream.We have to act now.But the bickering continued, unbidden. Elves hurled blame at vampires, witches at shifters, shifters at whoever looked least likely to bite. Hazel and Hilda’s earlier shrieks suddenly felt like lullabies compared with this diplomatic demolition derby.
My pulse pounded in my ears, matching the throb behind my eyes. Anger bubbled up to the surface. Anger because this wasn’t going to get us anywhere. Arguing would not get us–getme—closer to exacting revenge. I crushed River’s hand in my fingers, suddenly desperate to find the exit before I imploded in this room full of supernatural beings, who clearly didn’t think very highly of humans if they were ready to leave them at the mercy of the organization to save their own skins.
As if she could sense the rising tide of my emotions, River’s arm circled my waist—and suddenly I was being guided toward the door and out into the corridor before I could put up a fuss about it. Nobody noticed the swift exit, nobody batted an eye at the slim human woman turning a bright shade of vehement red on her way out.
In the quiet corridor, River planted me against the paneled wall and spun me around to face her, palms clamping down on my shoulders. “Hey. It’s okay. Council meetings always go like this—give them ten minutes to talk themselves hoarse and they’ll calm down.”
I slapped her hands away, frustration flaring hotter than embarrassment. “Calm down? They’re arguing semantics while kids are still locked in cages!”
River opened her mouth, but I barreled on, steamrollingthrough various stages of rage at their indecisiveness. “We know where the organization’s main labs are. We know where the leaders of the organization meet. Why are we still debating this? Hit them all—every facility and their headquarters—same hour, same minute.”
I was fuming, ready to rain hellfire down on everyone who had ever hurt me. But even as I ranted, my lungs tightened, straining to draw in air. My vision tunneled and I fixated on the opposite wall, trying and failing to coach myself through yet another unwarranted emotional spiral. I forced myself to breathe, squinting as the corridor tilted and warped before my eyes.
I brought this on myself, opening up to River about secrets I’d vowed never to speak of. Now there was a leak in my chest, and everything I didn’t want to deal with was spilling out all over again.
I staggered on unsteady legs and River caught me before I could slide to the floor, holding me tight against her chest. I wilted in her arms and she hauled me toward the wide window alcove, sat on the sill, and pulled me onto her lap.
