25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Martina

I t had been two days since Josh went missing. We were supposed to be planning our attack on the emperor. But while I knew Robin still schemed, it had become a background task for all of us. The air in The Fox was tense, and everyone was on edge. The fact that Acacia knew we had tried to kill the emperor meant that the entire syndicate might be about to come knocking at our door. And of course, we were all pissed off that she had somehow overcome Sanka's magic and stolen one of our people out from under our noses. What else was she capable of?

I had been over the weapons and tools inventory at least a dozen times, but here I stood in the middle of the training room staring at the array of tools at our disposal. When we finally did move—either against the vampires or the emperor—everything would be in perfect working order. Robin had long since put me in charge of these things, and given me free range to buy, trade, or steal whatever I thought we might need. I grinned at the idea of finally eliminating the vampire coven. Whenever we finally went to war with the vampires, we would go in with enough firepower—mundane and magical—to level their precious cathedral, the home of all my darkest memories.

The problem was, all had been silent. There were no demands from Acacia. Robin's few scattered unaligned spies had nothing to report. It seemed it was business as usual at the vampire nest, as far as they could tell from the outside, with no word of any new additions to the queen's menagerie or the cells. If the intel could be trusted, which was always a gamble.

It was maddening to sit here and wait. I wanted to hunt. To kill. To bleed the fucking vampires dry. But the longer we went without any confirmation of Josh's whereabouts, the more I got the sinking feeling that I wasn't going to get to take Acacia's head just yet. And if I was disappointed, then snake-boy was downright stir-crazy. He and Robin were keeping to opposite sides of the building for the safety and sanity of everyone around them. I was an alpha myself, and the two powerful shifter auras were giving me a headache. I couldn't imagine how the rest of the non-alpha members of the court must be feeling, buffeted constantly by alpha rage.

I picked up a knife and started sharpening and shining, even though the damned thing was already in perfect condition. Thankfully, we had Ruya around to soften the edges of everyone's frustration. If it hadn't already been apparent that omegas served an important purpose in the hierarchy of things, it certainly was now. She could calm an entire room with just her presence. And her aura called out to us all without her making much effort, grounding and anchoring the alphas, gammas, and betas around her.

The trouble was, she had to split her time between Robin and Sadavir, and yes, even me, since we couldn't all be in the same room for long without the two most dominant alphas wanting to kill each other and me itching to join in the fun. Since there was only one of Ruya and three of us, that meant when one was calm, the others were at loose ends and ready to blow a gasket.

And, speaking of… I sensed another strong alpha aura approaching moments before Sadavir entered the room. He was a tall, broad guy, well-muscled but not bulky, probably trained in basic fighting skills back when he was a prince among his own people. If you knew what to look for, you could see it in the way he moved. But since Josh's disappearance, it became even more obvious. He paced into the room with a powerful grace that said he was poised to tear someone a new hole at a moment's notice.

We all knew the human was more to the naga than a friend or an attendant. It was natural that losing him would trigger the alpha rage, but it had to be a hundred times worse than usual for Sadavir, since he wasn't part of the court. He and his boy-toy were surrounded by strangers. Relying on the rebel court for shelter and protection had to be hard for his alpha pride to accept in the first place, and now he had to rely on us to help get Josh back.

It was a wonder he was still in human form, even if his eyes were a little snake-like and his movements a bit too quick now and then. The man was exhibiting an amazing amount of control.

"Did you need something?" I asked, making sure to face him as I continued polishing the knife in my hand. "Or… is there news?"

He waved a hand in an impatient, dismissive gesture and went to prowl around the perimeter of the room, inspecting all the weapons, tools, and fun little toys I had laid out. He paused at the table of explosives and gave a satisfied nod.

I shook my head and put the knife away, going to look over the guns for the millionth time.

I tensed when, a moment later, I felt the big alpha move closer. I reminded myself that his simmering rage wasn't directed at me, and banked my own alpha instincts as I turned to face him. Thankfully, because of my history, my alpha urges were a bit less dominant. It made it easier to actually think before I reacted. Something other alphas seemed to struggle with. He signed for me, one dark eyebrow raised. "You are in charge of all of this?"

I nodded. "I am. And if the others put their dirty paws on my inventory, they know I'll murder them."

He huffed a laugh. "I've never seen a more competent weapons master."

I smirked at him. "If you're buttering me up for something, you're doing a good job. But if you're hitting on me, you're barking up the wrong tree."

He shook his head, and made a pained face. "I sensed you prefer women. But even if I was looking to have my genitals removed by propositioning you, today would not be the day."

I huffed at his joke, but the levity faded fast. "We'll get your guy back," I told him firmly. "Believe me, no one has more reason to see the vampire faction snuffed out than our court."

He heaved an impatient sigh, and his big hands flew, motions forceful with his frustration. "And yet, we do nothing. I do not think anyone here fully understands the torment that bitch could be inflicting on Josh as we speak."

I crossed my arms over my chest and parked my ass against the table behind me. "You're wrong."

When he gave me a doubtful look, I glared right back. "I was a slave in the vampire coven before Acacia even became queen. They saw me as a joke because I'm a chupacabra shifter. An ugly animal who happened to share the same taste for blood. They beat me, starved me, fed from me, and passed me around like a mindless sex toy. Kept me so starved and weak that I didn't even know I was an alpha." I arched a brow at the snake. "So don't fucking tell me no one knows what your precious human might be going through." I hated revealing my weaknesses. But I also hated his attitude, the way he assumed we were all just sitting around on our asses because we were too stupid to know the consequences of inaction.

His eyes flared with magic, and his aura sang with a new burst of rage. It took me a second to realize that it wasn't directed at me, but seemed to be for me. How… noble. I supposed. "They should all die," he signed adamantly.

I nodded. "I couldn't agree more. And when they do, it will be me who slices The Bitch Queen's head from her scrawny shoulders. But there is more at stake here." There was always more at stake. While I loved Robin, and I was devoted to our ultimate mission—less because of her need for revenge and more because the syndicate was a fucking cancer that needed to be eliminated—I sometimes got tired of all the more that we had to think about.

Pure revenge would be nice. Real freedom would be nice. But nothing was ever so simple.

"There are so many threads here," I told him. "We can't take on the vampire nest without setting off a whole chain of bullshit that will end in us dead. And, I know you don't want to hear it, but we have bigger things to worry about than the life of one human."

He sneered at me, but I held up a hand. "No, listen. Robin's life mission isn't just to kill the emperor and get revenge. She's trying to end the entire damned syndicate. To save a whole lot of unaligned paranorms who can't fight for themselves. If you were her, would you give that up for one person—no matter how important they were to you?"

His bright eyes locked onto mine and we stared at each other for a long time. Then he replied. "I might."

I let out a long sigh. "Honestly? I might too. If it were the right person. Ruya. The rest of my family here. But that's why I'm not in charge and Robin is. She might seem downright fucking heartless, but… that ruthlessness is the only reason she has any chance of succeeding. Otherwise, she would have given up long ago."

He took a deep breath and let it out, some of the tension flowing from his broad shoulders. "I was royalty once," he said slowly. "I've seen the sacrifices strong rulers make in the name of the greater good."

I nodded. "I bet you have. And yet, you don't seem too keen on the idea."

He let out a scoffing laugh. "I was trained to be a king from the day I was born. But no one ever said I'd be a good king. Too impulsive. Too guided by my heart, rather than logic."

I gave him a wry look. "Some people would say that was a good thing."

"And you?" he signed back.

I shook my head. "I think it depends on the situation. But trust me, if Robin can find a way to do both, she will. She schemes. It's what she does best. She doesn't always win. But she always comes closer than most. If anyone can manage to get Josh back and still reach her goals, it will be her."

He nodded. "You are a wise woman. Your princess is lucky to have an alpha such as you protecting her back."

Then he reached out to place a hand on my shoulder and give it a squeeze, those strange citrine eyes not leaving my face.

I grinned. "Damn straight she is. And she knows it."

He withdrew his hand and ran it through his dark hair instead, showing a bit more vulnerability than usual. "I don't wish to be at odds with everyone in Ruya's harem," he signed. I frowned as I interpreted. Was harem right? Sign language wasn't so precise as spoken word. And I was still learning. There was a lot of… interpretation involved. But that gesture could only mean harem….

"Ruya's harem?" I asked, trying to suppress my laughter. "Not Robin's court?"

He grinned at me, showing off long, thin fangs. "Ruya's," he voiced slowly and awkwardly.

I shook my head. I had a feeling he was right. Somehow this whole court belonged more and more to Ruya, rather than our dragon princess. "Don't let Robin hear you call us that," I warned. "I really don't feel like putting out any fires today."

He shrugged. "Truth," he signed.

I heaved a sigh. "Probably." Then, dismissing that to address his actual point, I added, "I can't speak for the rest. But there's no reason for you and me to be at odds, snake. Not unless you do something to betray or harm the rest of my family."

He pressed his lips together, nodded. Then he held out a hand.

I took it, returning his firm handshake. When he released my hand, I stood straighter. "Great. Now, what's your weapon of choice? Guns and grenades are nice, but sometimes a good old-fashioned blade is handier. You've got a good reach on you. Daggers? Or the short sword?"

He followed my lead, probably desperate to find something to distract him from his pacing and impotent rage. When he indicated a long dagger, I grabbed up some practice knives and nodded toward the sparring mat. He wasn't the only one who needed to let off some steam in a violent, physical way.

I was surprised to find myself liking the naga. Or at least respecting his openness. For his sake, I hoped I was right about Robin's motives and abilities in this situation. I thought she would do what she could. But I knew if it came right down to it, the kind, soft-spoken human might just be one more casualty in our mission to undermine the syndicate.