Page 43 of Her Eternal Mate

“These were once men. Plain old men. Of course, the Clandestine Order made it clear during the hearing that they don’t meddle in the affairs of men. But here’s where things get interesting,” Will said, talking ardently. “Blair Beckett infused them with a serum that turns them into werewolves. These werewolves attacked us out of the blue on two fronts. Nine of them attacked me and Alexis. The others that you see right now, they attacked the commune. Now does this problem fall under the jurisdiction of the Clandestine Order?”

Rogelio went to the bodies and bent down, inspecting them in great detail. No one spoke at that time. Then, he cleaned his hands with a handkerchief and came back out of the stables.

“Well?” Will asked.

“I am afraid that this matter does not concern the Clandestine Order,” Rogelio said.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Will practically roared, and he was right in doing so. Even I was feeling angry.

“These men who have died might have been werewolves, but there’s no proof of that. Besides, it’s Blair you have qualms with. Blair is still a human, and as we said before, we do not meddle in the affairs of humans,” Rogelio said.

Then he looked at me, scowling, and said, “If this was why you called me, then I am afraid your mission was moot. I am not going to bother the Clandestine Order with this trivial business. And next time you decide to call me, don’t.”

With that, Rogelio got into his Rolls Royce and drove out of the commune.

“That son of a bitch!” Will growled, curling his fingers into fists.

“Where are you going?” I asked, running behind him.

“There are bound to be other feral werewolves in the area. If the Clandestine Order has decided not to help us, we’re the only hope this town has. I’m taking the men, and we’re going to scour the area for any werewolves. We’re going to kill them. It’s time to take this matter into our hands,” Will said. It felt as if he was about to say something more to me, but the look of rage on his face prevented him from saying so.

“I love you,” I said. “Take care of yourself,” I spoke those unsaid words for him.

“I love you too. And for all it's worth, I am sorry that I’ve been so short with everyone lately. This entire thing is fucking with my head,” Will said, giving me a short hug and kissing my forehead.

“It’s okay. This entire situation is quite fucked up,” I said. “I don’t blame you for losing your cool.”

His eyes lingered for a second as if he was trying to get me to say something. I was not going to tell him Blair’s location right now. Will would do something rash.

“Goodbye, Alexis,” Will said, heading out of the commune with the men. As they walked away, I could not help but notice that they looked like an army regiment walking across a battlefield. Brothers in arms, earned in blood.

***

It had been eight hours since Will and the rest of the men had left the commune. It was nighttime now. Everyone around the commune had gone to sleep. All the lights were out in the houses. I was the only one awake, with my head spiraling. Fifteen times I’d called Will’s number, but he had not picked up once. When I’d dialed Vince’s number, I’d gotten a line busy response.

The sixteenth time when I dialed Will’s number, I decided to leave a message.

“Hey, Will, I’ve been waiting eight hours for you and the guys to show up. The not knowing part is killing me. I’m wondering what you guys are doing out there. I’m worried about your safety. And it’s because I’m worried for you that I’ve decided to go and confront Blair. Maybe I can talk it out with him. Don’t worry about me. Just get back to the commune safely. Hopefully, by then, I’ll be back. Please don’t be mad at me. Love, Alexis.”

With that done, I headed out of the commune under cover of darkness, looking up Blair’s location that Maliha had sent me on my phone.

At this point, I was desperate. Desperate to put an end to things. Blair might not be expecting to see me walk through the doors of his secret hideout. He’d give me a chance to talk to him. Maybe there was some way that I’d diplomatically sort things out with him, have him call off his werewolves and soldiers.

What surprised me about Blair’s hideout’s location was how ridiculously close it was to Fiddler’s Green. It was fifteen miles south of the town beyond the forest. None of us had suspected that his base of operations would be there because that area was just one big research facility that the government had abandoned sometime in the 1980s.

When I came to think of it, it was the perfect hideout. He had been here all along, tucked away in plain sight.

As I headed down there on foot, I could not help but feel afraid of all the possibilities that could occur. Blair might not be tempted to talk to me. He could send his soldiers to kill me before I’d even get a chance to confront him. Or worse—he’d kidnap me and torture me just like his father had done with Will.

If Will had picked up any of my sixteen calls, I’d have asked him to come with me. Together, we would have held talks with Blair and discussed how this madness was spiraling out of control. I’d even waited for him all those hours.

It looked like I had to do it by myself.

The best-case scenario that could come out of this bizarre plan of mine was if Blair listened to me and called off his werewolves and soldiers. But there was less than one percent possibility of that happening.

As I treaded past the forest, the abandoned research facility came into view. From the outside, it was just as abandoned and unlit as ever. But using my wolf vision, I could see that there was movement going on in the furtive darkness behind those boarded-up windows.

There was no doubt in my mind that Blair was in there.

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