16. Whatever…

SIXTEEN

whatever…

Alex knocks on our door exactly three hours later. "I know you're in there," he whispers through the lock.

Thorne and I have been wrapped in each other's arms since his admission. Neither of us is in the mood for anything more. "Come in," I think loudly.

The door opens, revealing a version of Alex I've never seen before. He's wearing a pair of blue jeans and a button-down plaid shirt. He looks modern and even more adorable than before. "Look at you," I exclaim. "You look perfect."

"Do you mean it? Fran insisted that I put it on. She said I needed to look up-to-date ."

"I agree," Thorne adds. "You look great, little man."

Alex smiles. "Fran's waiting on us." We follow him down the stairs to find her waiting in the foyer. Instead of the antiquated dress she was wearing earlier, she's sporting a pair of slim-fitting slacks and a soft knit shirt.

"Y'all ready?" she smiles as she speaks. "I called an Uber already." She pulls her phone from her pocket. "And…it's here!"

Ten minutes later, we walk into the now-familiar lycan bar, feeling the energy shift the moment we enter. We don't stop to ask questions, instead, following Fran straight into Topher's office. He's sitting behind his desk with Amelia in his lap, surrounded by the now-familiar faces of the people who have become my friends.

"Who is this modernly dressed young man?" Luna asks with a smile.

"It's me, silly," Alex answers, returning her smile.

"Fran!" Amelia is on her feet and hugging the vampire before I register movement. "It's so good to see you."

"You, too. You're looking great."

Topher stands, turning into the Alpha. "Fran, would you share your theory with everyone?"

She shrugs. "It's not so much a theory as a hunch." She pulls a photograph out of her bag. "I feel like this is a strong contender for Patrice's hiding place."

"I recognize that building." Amelia takes the photograph from her. "Isn't this place off of the docks?"

"It is."

"What makes you think that's where she is?" Micah speaks for the first time.

"Deductive reasoning."

Amelia looks around the room. "What are we waiting on?"

"We're waiting for backup," Fran quips.

Micah scoffs. "We have an Alpha, a future Alpha, a lycanthrope, a hybrid, three vampires, and an immortal child. I don't think we need backup."

"Alex isn't going," I interrupt his rally call.

"Elsie? I'm going," he argues. "They're my sisters," he tells me silently.

"What if she hurts you or, worse, takes you back to that life?"

"I'm willing to risk it. I appreciate your concern, but I have to try to save them." He looks at his feet. "It's my fault they're there in the first place."

I stare at the small vampire before giving in. "Okay," I say aloud.

"That was interesting to watch," Fran announces, sitting on the edge of Topher's desk. "You two were just communicating, weren't you?"

"Aye," I answer for both of us.

"Is that something you do regularly?"

I shrug. "Just with Alex and Thorne."

She turns toward the captain. "You can communicate with Elsie, even though you share no blood bond?"

"Aye." He looks around the room as he asks.

Fran shrugs. "Maybe both of you are special ."

"I'm not special," Thorne scoffs .

"Why else would you be able to communicate with each other telepathically?" She persists.

"I assumed it was because of the love we share." Thorne's words bring chill bumps to the surface.

"That's sweet, but no. That's not the reason, and it's not normal. You two have a gift, and I think it's obvious that Patrice was collecting children with the same gift."

I stare at the older vampire. "I'm not like Alex. I can't hear people's thoughts. I can't move things like Autumn. I'm just a regular vampire." The irony of my words isn't lost on me.

"Aye, me, neither," Thorne agrees.

"We'll discuss you two later. Our goal is to find Alex's sisters before something happens to them," Fran reprimands.

"Is that a common thing? Immortal children having abilities?" Luna asks, changing the subject.

"Not any more common than a human child having abilities," Fran answers. "From my research, it seems that human children who were gifted, their abilities become enhanced when they become a vampire."

"You think the boy always had the ability to read minds?" Micah asks, nodding toward Alex.

"Maybe, or it could be something he would have never noticed had he remained human."

"How would Patrice have known Alex had a gift?" Luna asks.

Fran shrugs. "Maybe it was the luck of the draw. She chose the perfect child. Maybe she could sense something in him but wasn't sure what. There are a million possible reasons." She turns toward Alex. "Nothing personal, little man."

"I know," he whispers.

"When Patrice realized Alex's talent, she tried to find more?" Micah puts the puzzle pieces together.

"That bitch planned the entire thing," Amelia says, moving to the middle of the room. "No wonder she welcomed you into the group so readily." She nods toward me. "She planned the whole damn thing, down to the death of the chained children."

"Patrice wanted us to kill the children?" Alex looks around our small group. "She wouldn't do that, would she?" Alex wipes tears from his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Alex. I think she would." I pull him close. "I don't think she was alone," I whisper.

"Elijah?" Thorne asks.

I shake my head slowly. "I smelled sulfur at the church."

"Shit!" Thorne slams his hand down on the desk. "You just now thought to say something?" His words are angry—a side of him I haven't witnessed before.

"What does that mean?" Fran asks, looking between the two of us.

"Kragen," Amelia answers.

"Or Marnie," I interrupt.

Fran crosses her arms across her chest. "I hear the names you're saying, but I have no clue who these people are. Who are Kragen and Marnie, and why would they be helping Patrice?"

"Kragen is the pirate who took me from Thorne's ship three hundred years ago. Marnie is his daughter." I refuse to look at Thorne as I speak.

"And?" Fran persists. "What does that have to do with all of this?"

"Kragen is a sadistic asshole, and his daughter is half goddess," Thorne answers like his words are common knowledge.

Fran stares at our group, no doubt letting Thorne's words sink in. "Is that the plot of a fantasy book, or are you being serious?"

Amelia scoffs. "I'm afraid it's real. The sulfur smell is associated with the two of them." She makes eye contact with me. "And Elsie."

"Who was at the church before me, Alex?" I turn to the small boy.

"I never saw anyone at the church, but there was someone at the house that smelled like you. She had dark hair and eyes."

"What was her name?" Thorne insists.

Alex shrugs. "I don't know. I only saw her once." He looks at his hand. "She was a vampire. That's all I know."

Fran sits on the edge of Topher's desk. "It looks like there's more at play here than we thought." Short arms cross in front of her chest. "We need to find the girls and Patrice. The rest will fall in place from there. "

"Agreed," I add. "Stopping Patrice is the first priority. We can't allow her to do this to more children. Kragen and Marnie or whoever the hell is helping her will be next."

"Elsie's right." Fran turns toward Amelia. "We could always call the council."

Topher sighs. "Do we want to involve the council? We all remember that whole fiasco."

"No," Amelia answers simply. "I say we go to the warehouse and see what we find."

"Are we just going to pull up in front like some sort of paranormal X-men?" Luna asks. "I mean, I'm okay with that, but we need costumes." She smiles, helping relax the tension in the room slightly.

Twenty minutes later, we're sitting in front of the building from Fran's picture. I send my energy through the dilapidated structure, feeling nothing human or inhuman. I have no doubt that everyone in this vehicle has already done the same.

"I feel nothing," Amelia says, confirming my suspicion.

"Aye, neither do I," Thorne agrees.

"We should still investigate. Be prepared for anything." Fran leads us to the loading dock. A rusted chain is all that's holding the double steel doors closed. It disintegrates as soon as she touches it, releasing its hold. "Well, that was easy."

The heavy doors slide open with a grunt, welcoming us into a large room that seems to be the entire building. Windows line the back wall, overlooking the Mississippi River. "This place has been empty for as long as I can remember," Topher says, moving to a closed door on the right. He pulls it open, revealing another empty room.

"I don't smell anything," Luna says, lifting her nose high in the sky. "At least nothing paranormal. There's a faint smell of humans, but even that is old."

"She's not here," Alex confirms. "I don't smell her or my sisters. Where's the next place to visit?" He moves to the other side of the building, looking through what remains of a broken window.

Fran shrugs. "I thought this was it. I'm as surprised as everyone else."

I turn, realizing Alex is no longer by the window. In fact, he's not in the building. "Alex?" My voice echoes off the brick walls. "Alex?"

"Outside," he answers. "By the river."

I find him on the banks of the Mississippi, standing with his arms out to his sides, allowing the breeze to lift his dark hair from his head. "Is everything okay?"

"I feel her." His voice is barely loud enough to hear over the wind.

I follow his line of sight, seeing nothing but brown water leading to the open sea. "Out there?"

He nods ahead. "She's that way."

Thorne moves to my side. "What's happening?"

"I feel Patrice," Alex answers.

"Are you sure? There's nothing out there but water. "

Alex turns toward Thorne, his face saying more than words could ever speak. "I know what she feels like." He nods toward the open water. "She's out there." Seconds later, Fran and Amelia are standing next to me, with the lycan running toward us.

"She's that way." Alex points once everyone is outside.

"There's nothing out there except open sea," Topher answers.

"There's nothing that says they have to be on land." Amelia's words hit me in the gut.

"Kragen," I whisper into the wind. With the insanity of the past few days, I forgot about an important detail from the church and Patrice. "Oh, my, God."

"What?" Thorne questions me.

"Patrice. She knew my name. When we were at the church, she called me Elsbeth Abernathy. Kragen is the only way she would've known."

"Shit."

"What would Patrice gain by working with Kragen?" Amelia asks. "It doesn't make sense."

"It makes perfect sense." Fran moves in front of us. "The two of them share an acquired taste." She looks me in the eyes. "It seems your pirate enjoys collecting people with abilities, too."

I scoff. "That's ridiculous. In my years on that ship, I never met anyone with any abilities other than cruelty. The only ability I have is survival." Anger fills me for no apparent reason.

"Whether you choose to believe it or not, you have an ability." Amelia moves next to Fran. "I sensed it the first moment we met. You are strong, both mentally and physically, along with something else I can't quite put my finger on."

I scoff at the hybrid. "That's nothing more than what my father called stubbornness. It doesn't mean I'm special or have an ability."

Amelia shakes her head and shifts into the six-foot bright-red wolf I've seen several times. Without giving me time to think, she's on top of me, pinning me to the ground. "What the hell are you doing?" I ask the woman who I thought was my friend.

Thorne moves to my aide as the lycan jump between us. "No," Topher warns my lover. Thorne bares his teeth, as all three lycan work to hold him in place.

"Let me go," he warns. "I will kill you all."

"Stay back, Thorne. Amelia's not going to hurt her."

Amelia begins to growl. The sound starts low in her chest as she slices a claw across my chest, bringing blood to the surface. What the hell? "Amelia? What are you doing? I…I thought we were friends. I don't want to hurt you."

"Elsie!" Alex yells from behind me. I turn, seeing Fran wrap her arms protectively around him, pulling him away from whatever this is.

"Stay back!"

"You have to fight!" Thorne's voice echoes through my mind. "Fight her, dammit!"

I pull my dominant arm free of her hold, hitting her square in the chest. She barely budges but moves enough for me to free my other arm. Using both, I push her chest, knocking her to the side and freeing my body. Amelia turns and stands on her hind feet. Holy shit, she's double my height and terrifying.

"What are you doing?" I repeat.

The wolf claws at me again, this time making contact with my cheek, slicing my skin, and leaving a trail of blood behind.

"Stop!" Thorne yells. "Let me go, dammit!"

Something inside me takes over. I stare at the giant wolf in front of me and allow the anger that's filled me my entire life to surface. The power is nearly overwhelming. Without warning, I leap through the air, wrapping my arm around her throat, and hold her in place.

To my surprise, I'm easily holding the giant wolf in place with nothing more than my body. I bare my teeth ready to rip her head from her body when she shifts back into human form in an instant. The change in size throws off my balance and knocks me to the ground next to her.

She stands, ready to continue the fight if needed. Both of us stare at each other, breathing harder than if we'd run a race.

"What the hell was that?" I scream.

"Amelia killed the oldest vampire in the world while in wolf form," Topher's words are no louder than a whisper.

"And?" I spew while still panting.

"You could've killed her just now."

The lycan release their hold on Thorne who rushes to my side. "Are you okay?"

I nod, turning back to the redheaded woman. "I'm not that strong."

"Yes, you are," she argues.

I scoff. "I just got the upper hand. It was nothing more than luck."

"And you could've easily killed me."

Every member of our group is standing in awe of the fight that just happened, even me. I'm not stronger than Amelia. That was a fluke. Wasn't it?

"That was fun," Luna claps her hands, breaking the silence.

"Fran's right. You have abilities." Micah speaks for the first time. "You're special."

"While you were with Kragen, did anything happen?" Fran asks.

"There's not enough time in the day to tell you everything that happened while I was with that bastard. You're going to have to be more specific." My words sound angry.

"Did you ever feel strong? Maybe break something you shouldn't have been able to, or overpower someone stronger than you?" she continues, seemingly unfazed by my temper tantrum .

I think back to the day I escaped and the young boy, Elliot, who helped me. "Yes," I whisper. "I killed two vampires at once when I was escaping."

"Were they older?"

"Yes." I make eye contact with each one in our group. "It doesn't mean anything."

"It means everything. You're stronger than you should be." Fran shrugs with her words.

Thorne turns toward the group. "I think that's why he took her in the first place. Why he took her from my ship."

"Maybe he and Patrice met somehow, and the two of them discussed their discoveries," Fran adds.

"That's why Elsie smelled sulfur at the church," Luna joins the conversation.

I look around the group, mindlessly talking about me like I'm nowhere to be found. Alex makes eye contact with me. "I'm sorry, Elsie."

"Aye, me, too."

I move to the center of the newly formed circle. "I can't do this." I turn, leaving the group standing on the banks of the Mississippi.