13. Bistrita

Chapter 13

Bistrita

I take a long inhalation of breath beneath the old forest tree, trying to decipher what's swimming around in my mind, elusively avoiding me before my phone beeps with a message. I have half a mind not to glance at the words on the screen after seeing Chara's name, already having decided that she's planning to say no after three days of silence. Three long days, and finally, the love I never knew I wanted finally responds.

How has destiny put this woman right in my path at the most inopportune time and made me divide my attention between the task of hunting the rogues and winning her love at the very same time. Impossibly torn at the most crucial of times.

Meeting her, actually feeling her breath, her angst, and the blood coursing through her veins as I touched her skin, caressed her cheeks, and kissed her lips, told me everything that I needed to know.

Whether she says yes or no, it makes no difference, because in the end destiny and I will win. She will be mine for eternity, whether as a human she accepts it yet or not.

I take a long moment to read and fully comprehend every heartfelt word of her message, my chest expanding with pride. My love is not only new to destiny and our ways, but she is courageous in the face of that limited knowledge and willing to trust me in spite of it.

I never knew what fated mates meant, until you. The answer is yes. My heart is in pieces waiting for you to return.

I smile down at my phone, rereading the message again, realizing that my heart has started beating much more steady and solid now that my future mate has accepted me as her own. But as an innocent, or at least novice to the life, she can't not have questions even though I decided not to shock her with any deviant revelations in a note, instead teaching her to trust me and experience things as they come, whatever they may be.

Very good, and my rules?

No concerns with the exception of one.

Just as I thought. I glance up, hearing rustling and send her a quick text.

I have to go now. The rules have flexibility. They are intended as a guide. We will go slow and create ours together.

I long to see my beauty even more now that I know she has accepted our fate. Soon this hunt will be over, and our life will begin. I head toward the mountainside where we've set camp, and the group rallies by my side. Day after day, and always the same. No sign of the rogues, and day after day, I'm apart from my mate while we hunt the elusive rogue vampires. Surely destiny will step in and put a stop to their reign of terror for good.

I turn my mind from thoughts of Chara with difficulty. At least for the moment, my attention needs to be on the matter at hand. We have right on our side. The witches, two major crime families, and most other humans are on our side. And a handful of small shifter packs located throughout the underworld, who will need to come together if they are to make it through the devastation the rogues have brought to their door.

Overmaster Descallia's jaw is locked tight when I join him and the others. I'm as sick as my brothers in arms and their mates of standing around and waiting for these pricks to attack. Every single time we move, somehow, no matter how many traitors we unveil, they know.

My body stiffens with a sudden thought that sends blood pumping through the ventricles of my heart at an unprecedented rate. The elusive answer that has been scurrying away as soon as the thought even nears my mind. Teasing and taunting me with its intangibility.

Chara has freed my worry about her accepting my offer, allowing me to focus on the rogues. This time, the nagging thought returns with a vengeance, as clear as day, and refuses to let go. I send a secure message to Trentino, waiting for a reply as my mind sorts through the multiple scenarios, disregarding one after another until only the one remains.

I clear my throat, and all the side conversations abruptly cease as everyone turns to listen to what I have to say. "The rogues may want to destroy us, but that's not all they want. They've always been after the gold and all the treasures of yesteryear. How else would they finance all of their grandiose plans of taking our place in the underworld?"

The witches' eyes begin to circle, but only one of them speaks up. Raven sucks in a breath, knowing this is going to come full circle back to her, the witches, and her Aunt Devora. "We witches know exactly what you're talking about, Master Bistrita. We've always suspected the rogue vampires were after the treasure that rumors and our witch bible tell us were hidden years ago, on property that we still call our own."

The witches know more than they should, but her forthrightness about the treasure and the rumors about where it is laid alleviates some of the angst having them in the middle of our battle brings. "Thank you, Raven. It's good to know that it was no secret, and yet it still remains intact."

Overmaster Descallia's eyebrows raise slightly, yet he allows me to continue without interruption or debate about the treasure's location he's never shared with anyone at any time, unless he's flat out lied to the council members about it, which he would never do.

"The rogues have no inside help now, not with Roman's family, the Benettis, and not with the Benzinis, and no clout whatsoever in the human world without money, because money buys you power. They have not had any power over the witches since Devora and the high priestess decided to side with us. The shifters, there aren't that many who are not already dead. Those alive live in small packs that will need to combine at some time in the future. Do you think they will want to side with the rogues after what has happened?"

Overmaster Descallia nods in agreement, and pretty soon I see the consensus of the masters and their mates. "We are still in power of the underworld. Instead of hunting the rogues, we start luring the fuckers out with what they want. We say where, and we say when."

Everyone cheers, including the witches. Not one of us disagrees. I inhale deeply. The key has always been the secret. They know the one they found in Rome at the museum is a decoy, and they want the real one. They've always been two steps ahead of us; why wouldn't we know that? I just wish the thought had formulated sooner.

Overmaster Descallia nods, as Lucianna's eyes begin to glow. Our fearless leader looks from one of us to the other. "Thank you all for the work that has gone into this. I think we have a good plan to draw the fuckers out. It's no secret the witches won't give up the same land we claim as ours. Devora and the other witches will continue to claim it as their own, and we will do the same. Perhaps destiny wanted it to be a shared land for some reason unbeknownst to us yet.

"This entire Carpathian mountain range is split right down the middle of our lands, and in the heart of that range lies the central reason for feud among the two factions for centuries. If we can agree to put this thing to rest for good, I'm sure everyone would be happy, vampires and witches alike. Then we'll only have to worry about the rogue vampires, and we will draw them out and send them to a fiery grave," he declares.

The masters nod in solidarity with our leader. I don't miss Raven slipping her tiny hand into his, and him giving her a squeeze of reassurance in exchange. The vampires and witches have come a long way. We may never agree over that central part of the range, where only we know what is hidden there, but we can agree that we will fight to the death to defend it from our joint enemies.

The key, gold, money, and jewels worth more than one person could fathom. More than one hundred kings and their royal arms could squander in a century if they tried. Those are what the rogues want. Those are what require the well documented golden key that has been with the righteous vampires for centuries. But the rogues will not get the key. We will all battle to the death to ensure that it is preserved for eternity. It will stay buried with only a few who know components of the passage that can lead one to the area deep within the mountain that holds the secret of the real key, and not the multiple decoys placed strategically across the land, if not the jewels themselves.

Lucianna's eyes glow. "Making Overmaster Descallia and the masters look guilty of abducting the women could have won the rogue vampires a place with the humans. It could have gone exactly as they planned: take the girls, and have the humans believe it was us, the masters and purebloods who would actually do anything to protect women. At the time, as a detective on the force, I honestly believed the vampires were guilty."

Destiny has sent our future queen on quite a journey, through the humans and then to us, and she does not take her place in our world lightly. Her eyes narrow as the stones of the witches begin to glow, and she steps toward Raven. "Do you mind? If I touch it?"

Raven nods, lifting it from her chest as it glows brighter. Lucianna places it in the palm of her hand as she speaks. "The witches' stones know that we're on the right path. Destiny is speaking to us through them. My mind floats back to exactly when their plan to have us branded as women stealers backfired because it wasn't just the rogues who wanted our power. The Benettis wanted to oust us just the same, using Lazareth to help with that effort with his connection to the witches."

Willow's eyes swirl purple and blue. "Devora wasn't aware she was aiding him in that way."

Lucianna nods. "I know, Willow, and I genuinely felt her regret about the situation, but it was through the witches that the rogues got their information about the vampires' plans and secrets at the time, the information that allowed for them to take Delilah, Tuscano's mate, and other humans. They used it to make it look like it was Overmaster Descallia and the masters who were guilty of the atrocities and to start this battle."

"It almost worked," I say.

Her eyes glow. "Indeed, it did. In my state as a human, even I thought the vampires were guilty at first. The rogues did many things meant to discredit the masters and the vampires they protect today. The intent of taking the women was to discredit vampires who had developed a genuine relationship with the humans and were living side by side as equals. The rogues had to give the humans a reason for needing them to come to the rescue and save the day."

Sardinia scoffs, "If we had allowed the humans to be duped like that, the rogues would have settled into power and then begun their reign of terror all over again."

Lucianna nods. "Hence, changing the allegiance of the humans from the masters to the rogues while working to get the shifters, witches, and syndicate to support them. The rogues always knew that they must not only discredit the masters and get the humans and other factions to want them to take over, but they must have the means and capital to take over. In order to get that, they need the key to our treasure. We've always known that; it's always been about that for centuries and centuries." She looks to Overmaster Descallia. "But the key will always be safe since Overmaster Descallia has safeguarded it time and time again."

We've always known they were after the treasure, how else would they get and keep the power, but they've been smart this time. They kept us busy with finding the women, then Lazareth, the rogue shifters, and then the traitors they kept throwing in our way, all in an attempt to take their seat at the table amongst the other factions, at the same time trying to goad us into leading them right to the key.

My anger with the rogues and how they've manipulated the entire underworld grows by the second, and it only fuels my resolve to put a stop to their evil. "They have been baiting us all along. With every sure-footed step we took in finding them, they were a step ahead. Because of traitors, to be assured, but that's exactly what they wanted, what they planned, and the rogues used one reason after another to bait us into grabbing our treasure and going to ground."

All eyes look to me, and I see the dawning of the same realization that came to me only hours ago. I can see the masters calculating their steps in retrospect. I clear my throat. "From one catastrophe and hunt to the next, all planned by the rogues, orchestrators as we used to call them in the day, many centuries ago. But even with differing names and changing tactics from century to century, they want what we have, what was placed so deeply buried that no one will ever find it, unless of course, we unknowingly take them to it. Our treasure would become their power, and without it, they lose time and time again."

Overmaster Descallia growls. "They may have thought it was smart to divide factions and try to start a war between us all, but it will be the demise of them all. We would have taken them down on our own eventually, but they've given us even more power. We have the backing of Devora and the blessing of the high priestess and aid of the witches amongst us to go after the rogues and end them for good!"

I observe each of our small team as all eyes flare with heat and preparation to do battle and win. I give Master Oradea and the others a nod of comradery because piece by piece we have made this century's battle together, each leading our regions and dealing with the areas our strengths and skill sets match. Overmaster Descallia is a good and insightful leader. He gives me the nod to give the order as the one he's placed in charge. My chest heaves with pride and the need to put these bastards in the ground. "We're sick of doing the chasing. Light will be upon us soon. We will hunker down, and at first night, tomorrow, now that most of the enemies are dead, we will dangle our key and let the fuckers come to us!"