CHAPTER SEVEN

" I need to get in the air." Craig growled as he stood with his legs wide and arms crossed, facing the king.

"I'm as furious and worried as you, Craig," Vincent replied, mirroring the commander's stance except his hands were planted on his hips.

Craig's gaze dropped to the floor in front of him as he shook his head.

Vincent understood his frustration.

Craig was a man of action, but if he let him loose without a plan, he'd scour the earth looking for his prince and best friend. And god knows how many people he'd kill.

"Ari?" Vincent glanced at his uncle. "Any clues where he would have gone? Or where the princesses are being held?"

"We have a few ideas. None with much substance, if I'm honest," he admitted. "One location in Manhattan where we think the most recent vampires captured were held."

"A team on the ground is scouting the location for us now. Brayden will go there first." Craig nodded.

Vincent slid his eyes back to Ari.

"Two or three mafia production sites on the East Coast are possible, but it's unlikely they have tungsten to hold them," Ari continued, then rubbed his face. "Assuming they're not just dosing them up repeatedly on serum."

Vincent felt sick at the thought.

Despite his interesting relationship with Willow, she was a Moretti, part of his family, and his brother's mate.

His enemy had their princesses.

They could be dead.

His brother could now be dead.

Not knowing was infuriating, but there had been no other choice for Brayden. He'd had to go after them.

So yeah, he understood Craig's fury. His own was simmering just beneath the surface, and the sound of Kate's tears when he'd told her was not helping.

How dare that motherfucker take them!

This meant war.

They all knew that.

It had been twelve hours since Willow had been taken, and he'd been conversing closely with Ari.

It changed everything.

Absolutely fucking everything.

"Craig, fuck, I need you here leading this war." Vincent cursed, dropping his arms and walking behind his desk.

"We going to war?" Craig asked, sounding a little perkier.

"Yes, we are going to damn war. They've taken the two princesses." He slammed his fist down on the solid desk.

"Vincent," Ari said quietly.

He didn't agree.

Vincent knew why. It was in his DNA to keep the race hidden. A full-scale war with the mafia would expose them.

But he was ready.

And he was the damn king, so it was his decision.

"I agree with the king," Craig said.

"Really? I would never have guessed," Ari said, rolling his eyes and showing rare sarcasm.

Craig snorted.

"You're the commander of my army," Vincent said, pointing to him. "With Brayden gone, I need you here leading your men."

Craig watched him for a long moment and then dragged his eyes to Ari. "No, you don't. Ari was once the commander and then captain of the Moretti army and for far longer than I've been. I need to find Brayden. He needs me."

"Shit," Vincent cursed.

The three men stood staring at one another speechlessly for a long moment.

"I'll find him," Craig said, emotion thick in his voice. "Let me go, my lord."

Goddamn it.

The two powerful vampires were like fucking soul mates. Vincent knew Craig would find the prince and do what was necessary to bring them all home.

Sure, Brayden may be successful in doing it on his own. If anyone could, he would. But the game had changed with the serum now in play. With no backup, it was dangerous and fucking stupid of him to take off.

No one blamed him.

Every single male in the race would do the same thing if their mate had been kidnapped.

But Brayden wasn't just any male.

He was the damn prince.

Vincent might have an heir now that Lucca was born, but as third in line, Brayden was important.

Everything was just such a fucking mess.

Vincent nodded at Craig. "Go. Ari, you prepare the army."

"Thank you," Craig said, his shoulders lowering.

"Jesus, I don't think I've ever heard you say those words." Vincent let out a rough laugh.

"Me neither." Craig huffed out his own laugh. "Now excuse me. I need to go get the prince."

As he strode out the door and it shut behind him, Vincent met Ari's stare.

"Once we do this, there is no going back," the ancient vampire said.

"The time has come, uncle," Vincent said, knowing how huge this decision was. For over fifteen hundred years, Ari and Gio Moretti, their creator and first king, had kept the race hidden.

They had all followed in their footsteps.

"The time has come, and while we'll endeavor to do it discretely, my first priority is ensuring Brayden remains alive, and that means retrieving Willow and Isabella," Vincent added.

"You don't think I should have let him go." Ari crossed his arms.

"I don't think you could have stopped him." Vincent laughed and sat down in his chair. "We both know that."

Ari shook his head.

Whether that meant he disagreed or not, Vincent wasn't sure, but now wasn't the time for such conversations. Now it was time to show these gangsters who was more powerful.

As a race, they had swallowed their pride on many occasions to protect the greater good by remaining an unknown species living on earth.

At least they had many world leaders already partially educated on their species and some relationships in play.

It would help.

But it was still going to be a fucking mess if exposure happened.

"We aren't going to war with humanity. We are taking down the mafia," Vincent clarified. "The Russian mafia and anyone who is on their team."

"You forget my team has been aware of the crime world for much longer than we've been dealing with this situation with Nikolay," Ari said. "The mafias and cartels are ruthless and will die to defend their families."

"So will I," he said firmly.

" You will not fucking die, Vincent." Ari's power rose to the surface. One he kept hidden from almost everyone, but as king, Vincent felt it.

He wasn't stupid.

He knew his uncle was a powerful vampire. Just how much more powerful he wasn't sure.

Ari was a Moretti.

The only remaining original vampire.

Vincent had wondered many times what that meant.

One day, they might find out.

For now, his patience was waning.

He was king. The end.

"I have no intention of losing my head or my heart. But I need Brayden back here and I need those motherfuckers dead, Ari," Vincent boomed. "Now!"

Ari's eyes flickered in response. A wildness within them as the warrior in him came alive. He wasn't used to taking commands from others, but in war there could only be one man at the top.

Vincent.

Still, he knew Ari was the right man to do the job in Brayden's absence. Ari at heart was a soldier. He understood hierarchy.

He had served his own brother for centuries.

And, after being absent from their family for hundreds of years, they were now building a strong foundation of trust.

This was him testing that trust.

Vincent might not be a warrior like his brother and uncle, but he was a leader. His gut said Ari could be trusted.

"Then that's what we will do. While you sit on your damn throne and keep yourself alive," Ari ground out, then walked over to the door.

He's worried.

"I have no intention of picking up a sword," Vincent said. "Unless it comes to that."

"It won't," Ari said, fierce determination in his voice. "War it is, then. I'll finalize our strategy and get the troops out the door."

"Keep me informed."

Ari nodded. As the door closed behind him, Vincent leaned back in his chair.

Brayden, get the fuck back here.

Telepathy had a distance restriction, so he was unlikely to hear him. If he could, he wasn't answering anyone.

I know you need to get your girls, but you can't do this on your own. I've sent Craig. Let him in.

He turned his chair and gazed out the large window to the dark of the night.

So many times in recent history, they'd almost exposed their entire race to humans.

It truly could happen now.

In a way, Vincent was ready. Perhaps more so than any other vampire on earth.

He'd planned to prepare the announcement to take the power away from Nikolay. The gangster planned to manufacture the serum and profit from eight billion humans, who would be in a state of fear and alarm when they learned vampires existed. However, the president of the United States, James Calder, had asked him to wait.

The UN leaders were not comfortable with the shock it would create, along with the state of the world right now.

Many nations were at war.

Vincent was over six hundred years old. There had never been a time in their history where one region of the world or other wasn't trying to destroy another. But he'd agreed.

That was before Nikolay had taken Willow and Isabella.

They'd found video footage of the human confronting her in the hallway, then slipping out the side door to the waiting helicopter.

It was well executed.

Vincent was shocked the Russians would attempt to take on a household of vampire warriors. It came down to one thing: they'd hidden their power.

All because they were still trying to remain unseen by the human race.

It was becoming a hindrance.

Vampires were fast. They were strong. Their own well-executed plan could see them eliminate the Russian mafia and any of their partners.

So that's what they would do.

Nikolay Mikhailov had crossed the line.

Vincent knew he'd have to call POTUS at some point. But not now. He wasn't asking for permission.

His job as king was to protect his family and race.

His army would show the crime world just how powerful the Moretti vampire race was.

Once and for all.

If that meant all of humanity learning they existed, then so be it.