18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Roman

I closed my eyes and cursed under my breath. Just what was Maria trying to achieve with this? Did she want me to get rid of them? Or did she want to incite them to fight each other? Whatever it was, I couldn't let it get out of control.

"Send me your location. I'll be there in five minutes. Don't touch anything."

I had barely hung up when a message arrived with the coordinates. Once I checked the map to figure out just where he was, I looked back at Oscar.

"Go back to your nest and stay there. I'll take care of the rest."

He opened his mouth as if to argue but then just muttered, "Yes, Master!" and vanished among the trees. I waited until his steps entirely disappeared, then broke into a sprint. It took me less than five minutes, but I had to slow down and make myself heard or risk getting jumped by one of the many werewolves prowling the woods. Some snarled at me when I passed, while others stuck to wary looks as they recognized my face. Nobody tried to stop me.

I spotted Isaac first, his wide shoulders pulling on the fabric of his shirt as he crouched by a body sprawled in the damp grass. I couldn't see the face of the victim, but judging by the size and the scent, they were female.

Other werewolves walked around, sniffing and checking every inch of the scene, and when they saw me striding toward their Alpha, they quickly cleared my way. Isaac got up, his face grave. They had found the first body while it was still daytime, so I couldn't have come even if I wanted to. Judging by how everyone was acting, that inevitable delay wasn't helping with their nerves.

When I was close enough to see the body, I almost tripped . The woman was tall and fair-skinned, with flaming red hair and green eyes that stared unseeingly at the sky, fear and pain engraved in that eternal look. Panic dug its sharp nails into my heart while I thought I was looking at Celeste, but the more I studied her, the more differences I found.

"Her name was Jemma, and she was one of mine," Isaac explained when he caught me staring. I tore my eyes away, locking my attention on his face as relief flooded my body. "She wasn't a warrior, and she wasn't on patrol. Whoever got to her must have snatched her from camp, because I've ordered everyone to stay put."

I nodded in acknowledgment and I crouched beside her for a better look. There were no signs of a struggle on her, no torn clothes or ruffled hair. In fact, she was so carefully arranged on the grass that it was clearly staged. If it wasn't for the blue tint of her skin and her lifeless eyes, a normal person might not be able to tell she was dead straight away.

Isaac stepped to the other side of the body, nudging her chin gently until her neck was exposed. The pigmentation there was darker, almost black, around the two puncture marks that had been left behind.

"It wasn't Oscar or anyone from his nest," I said.

"I know," the wolf replied. "We have people watching them around the clock, and nobody has left their cave until you disappeared somewhere with their leader. Still…" He looked away from the girl, staring straight into my eyes. "A vampire did this. And this time, they left a message."

Uneasiness filled my stomach as I watched him motion to his Beta. Allison drew closer, fishing a piece of parchment from her pocket and offering it to me. I smoothed it before looking down at the two words there.

Tick-Tock.

"Any idea what it means?" Isaac asked, peeking at the words as if he expected to see something new appear. "Do you know who is killing my people, Roman? Because this is starting to feel personal." When I didn't answer, he snarled in frustration. "I can't hide this from my pack for much longer! I need answers! "

He continued to stare, but I kept my attention on the body. He was right, this was personal, but it had nothing to do with him. Knowing about it wouldn't make a difference because even he couldn't put up a fight against Maria and win. And he shouldn't, because she wasn't here for him. He and his people were cannon fodder at best.

"What else have you found?" I rose to my feet, handing the parchment back to Allison. Isaac let out another sigh of frustration, but when he followed me, he had the good sense to answer my question.

"Nothing!" he said through gritted teeth. "We can't lock on a scent because there are too many around and this vampire… it's like they have no scent. Is that even possible?"

"No, but it's possible to cover it with herbs or other people's scent," I explained, turning my back to the corpse. I couldn't get rid of the image of Celeste lying there instead of that woman, and I had a feeling that was the purpose of this setup. Was she telling me she was coming for Celeste next? After two hundred years, why was she going after her now? Was it because of my actions or was there something else the Elders were pushing for? And could she really be an Elder?

When I realized Isaac was staring at me like he expected me to continue, I held back a sigh.

"Certain herbs can mask a vampire's scent to appear human. We can also wear human clothing or fresh skin to hide our nature."

The look on Isaac's face was pure horror. "Wear fresh skin?"

I gave him a pointed look. "If you skin a human and preserve it properly, you can wear it on yourself." The Alpha crinkled his nose like he had smelled something especially foul. "In combination with the same human's clothes, hair, or belongings, you can mask your smell."

Isaac took a step back, his expression one I hadn't seen in a long time. Disgust. Hate. Anger.

"I haven't done it." I sighed, surprised by the urge to explain myself to him and wipe that look from his face. "But it can be done."

"Why would anyone do something like that?" he shook his head in horror. "Why would they do that to my people? If it wasn't your vampires, then who would come after us? We have had no contact with other vampires recently! "

I ran my tongue over my teeth as I deliberated what to say, noting with displeasure that my fangs were pushing to come out at the smell of blood. I needed to feed, and soon. These people were already on edge; seeing my eyes flash red wouldn't help the situation.

"First, that's Oscar's nest, not mine," I corrected him, and Isaac rolled his eyes. "And second, I don't think your pack is the target. I think you are just an obstacle that needs to be removed. And that's exactly what we'll do."

His brows scrunched together, and with a single intake of breath, his whole presence changed. Suddenly, he seemed bigger and infinitely more dangerous, the look in his eyes reminding me of a cornered wolf ready to fight to the death to survive.

"Are you kicking us out? You said we could stay until we figured out how to get back to the city! This place is protected from witches and—"

"I'm not finished," I interrupted, meeting his burning gaze with a wall of ice. "I'm not kicking you out. I'm telling you how to protect your people." When he continued to stare at me expectantly, I felt the urge to smack him. Weren't Alphas supposed to be strong and clever? "My home has protection against witches, but not against vampires. And the person that did this…" I licked my lips, trying to find the right words. While knowing the truth wouldn't help him much with what he was facing, not knowing could make him and his people an even easier target. I had to tell him… something. Just enough to understand the severity of the situation, but not enough for him to accidentally let it slip in front of Celeste when we got her back. If she knew it was Maria, she'd no doubt put herself in danger trying to protect me.

"I have a reason to believe they're an Elder. And your people stand no chance against an Elder. Not even you."

Isaac gaped, several emotions passing through his face—anger, surprise, fear, and then, more anger. In the next instance, he was invading my personal space.

"Why the fuck do you have a goddamn Elder murdering people on your turf?"

Holding back a snarl, I cocked my head and smiled.

"Why do you think, wolf?" I asked, flashing him my fangs. "Because I helped you get your people at the cost of mine."

For the first time since I'd known Isaac Linwood, he looked utterly and undeniably speechless. The way he stared at me, the way he stopped breathing and his heart slowed down, made me wonder if maybe he was having a heart attack. But then I saw it, the shift in his gaze that dispersed the anger and hatred, leaving something new, something raw, staring back at me.

"Why would you do that for my people?" he whispered, his shoulders sinking and his whole presence calming. I huffed out a laugh.

"Don't flatter yourself," I said. "I did it for her . Because she wanted to save them and help you." A lash of hurt passed through his face, as if the mention of Celeste brought him pain, but in a blink of an eye, it was gone. "You may continue to hate me, it's all the same to me. I'm not a good person. She is."

"Yet here you are, warning me of the danger and telling me to protect my people," Isaac fired back while I spun on my heel. "Maybe there is hope for you yet, bloodsucker."

"I wouldn't hold my breath," I said, waving him goodbye without turning. "Get your people out, Isaac. Their safety is your priority, not mine. And stay away from Oscar and his nest. If I hear one of yours attacked them unprovoked, there will be two vampires leaving bodies around these parts."

A low warning growl came from behind me, but he didn't attack. Instead, he shouted, "And where am I supposed to take them?"

I shrugged, although I wasn't sure if he could see me anymore.

"You're the Alpha. Figure it out!"

There was no reply this time, so I continued until I was too far away for him or his people to see me. Then I went after that faint, almost indistinctive smell, hoping that I wouldn't find anything today.