Strength in Darkness

Chapter Three

“He’s in San Francisco in some hotel,” James spoke into the phone, checking in with Darrin for the first time since he left Diamond Sky. James followed Ethan all the way into the big city from a distance. He didn’t see him use any of his powers, so he must still be weak.

“I’ll let you know when I know more. Best guess, we find out who this Max guy is and if he’s going to be a threat to what we’re trying to do.” He listened to Darrin’s instructions to keep a distance until they know who this Max was. Ethan had mentioned his name several times while he was out, and whoever this guy was, Ethan seemed to owe him his life.

Over the past several days, James appreciated Alpha Darrin’s approach to everything. He was calm, for an Alpha, and logical. He had to be a main influence on Kai, considering her father was more irrational at best and her mother was…well, she was quiet. If Darrin every allowed him to stay in their pack lands, or Cal even, James wouldn’t hesitate to move his family there. The area was beautiful, the neighboring threat was gone, and the overall feel of the pack land was safe. 

His home used to be that way, until it wasn’t. James’ father was murdered just after his mom had his youngest brother, Jeremiah. James’ mom raised all four boys alone in their family home until a certain sorcerer came to the area…the sorcerer threatened to kill his entire family, but after James distracted him well enough so they could get away, he barely got away from the man with one gaping scar on his chest.

Now, he was following that sorcerer’s son around. In another city. 

***

“Max, please,” he pleaded with her while she dressed. “Please just come with me for now. I’ll get you the blood, I just need to get it for you is all.”

“Ethan, I’ve told you. I’m a big girl, I can get my own blood. I’m in a city full of it,” she held her hands out as though they stood in the middle of a blood bank. She looked back at Ethan who held a scowl on his face. “Give it a rest, I can’t solely rely on you to get to me especially when you’re ‘busy’” she held the quotation fingers up at that last word. 

“Max it’s not even like that. You know you are my priority. I just needed to get Loraina out.”

“You’ve been saying that for months. Why is it suddenly so important you got her out right now?” She didn’t want to seem like a clingy girlfriend, but she was going to use what she could to get out from under his control. She had enough of that to last her a lifetime. 

“Hernandez was making a deal to get her that night. He came over to the head table and John overheard him talking with some councilmembers about acquiring new recruits for his business. He named Loraina as well as another person I know. He wants them for some reason and I intend to find out why.”

The name alone was enough for her. She knew Hernandez. She watched him during her time she lived with the vampires as a human. He never paid attention to her, but she knew he had nothing but vile intentions with the girls he did pay attention to in the coven. He mostly went for the girls that were already turned, but it didn’t stop his occasional use of girls that were still human. 

Max never saw what Hernandez did with the girls he took into the basement, but more often than not, they never came back. Those that did…were never the same. The girls that were underage, normally between six and fourteen, never made it back. The few who did, were older, maybe less than twenty years old.

“Where did you take her?” she asked out of curiosity.

“There’s a pack about a twelve hour drive from here. They’re keeping her.” He scoffed, “one of the guys there turned out to be her mate.”

Max rolled her eyes. “Well, maybe she isn’t your worry now, especially if she’s going ot be protected by a mate and a werewolf pack. Is he a ranked member?”

“He’s not even a wolf and I don’t think he’s technically part of their pack. He’s friends with the Beta’s daughter.” He thought about Loraina and Ace for a moment, “actually, Ace is half vampire, too, so I think I can score your next meal from them. They won’t mind.”

“Oh no. I’m not going to a werewolf pack. I’d sooner go to a hospital and risk getting caught.”

“Max, come on. Ace won’t care and he has unlimited access through their school.”

“Why would a werewolf school have access to blood?”

“No, they go to Crest Falls, it’s a mix of everything pretty much. It’s actually where I went.”

“I don’t need charity to score a meal, I’ll figure it out.”

“Max, please. Just let me do this until I can get my powers back up.”

Max stilled and held a finger up to Ethan to be quiet. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains ever so slightly. She peered around, the side of the curtain. Something was off. She could sense something different. “Did anyone follow you here?” she asked Ethan.

“I don’t think so, why?”

“There’s an unfamiliar…presence? I’m not sure but I can sense it. Wait here, okay? I’ll be right back.”

“Max wait you’re not even fully-“

Before he even finished, she opened the window and went out the fire escape. She took in the light scent of something she didn’t catch before. It was close, whatever it was. She quietly climbed up the fire escape toward the roof. 

Peeking above the brick wall, she spotted him across the other side of the building, on the phone. She never sensed a presence like this before, so she didn’t know if it would be better to approach and fight or keep hiding.

***

She sat on the bed next to Katelyn for the third day in a row. She had yet to open her mouth to speak to Kai, but at least she wasn’t throwing stuff or screaming like she did if Kel was in the room. The silence would be awkward to Kai if she hadn’t been best friends with the girl since they thought Justin Bieber was a heartthrob. Instead, it somehow felt more cleansing than anything. 

Her father kept asking her about what she was going to do with her mate situation. For whatever reason, Brady was angered, but easily ready to give Cal a chance, despite his love for Alex. Kellan, oblivious to anyone but himself as usual, was surprised to find out the news and tried to fight Cal over the story of the girl from the party. 

If anything, suddenly the rejection made sense. In no way was she even remotely prepared to tackle that animal, she just stayed away from him. Alex was distant, but still there. Brady didn’t flinch when Alex went upstairs to Kai’s room with her at night, but there was a thick layer of everything left unsaid. 

Tension was rising throughout the house. It was Kai’s job now to work on some of it, starting with her best friend.

She watched Katelyn out of the corner of her eye. Katelyn didn’t talk these days, she didn’t even leave the room hardly at all. Her meals were brought to her, dishes were cleared when she was finished. She sat in a room all day…on her phone. Surprisingly, Kellan hadn’t removed it from her possession unless he didn’t know she had it. 

She watched Katelyn on her phone, texting someone. Every so often, Kai heard a message come through from whoever she was talking to. 

“So…” Kai started. 

Nothing.

“That your new friend Ari?”

Nothing.

Kai blew out a deep breath. “Katelyn, I always wanted to tell you, but at first part of me thought it was my brother who should break the news. I told him his entire life you’d be mates but he didn’t believe me.” Katelyn continued to stare at her phone. Alright, heavyweight it is. “When Roman…did what he did…he threatened to kill you.” Katelyn’s eyes snapped right up. “I’ve never told anyone about that part.”

“Why would your psycho ex-boyfriend want to kill me?”

Finally, she speaks! “He was using it to get to me to submit to him, but regardless, I just was afraid that telling you would just freak you out or scare you. Then I’d have to explain the whole mate thing, and truly I wanted to leave that for my brother.”

Katelyn scoffed and turned to look out the window. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Kai, truly I am.” She turned back, “and I guess I can understand why you wouldn’t want to tell me, but I will never forgive your brother after everything he’s put me through, including k********g me.”

“I understand.”

“So this mate thing. Is Alex your mate or whatever? Are all werewolves pretty like Kel and Alex?”

“Oh, actually,” she started biting her thumbnail, a nervous habit she picked up in the last few days. “Alex is an angel.”

“A WHAT?!” her jaw dropped, “are you freaking serious right now? Like with wings and halos and whatever?! They exist??”

“Sorta? I mean, he gave up his wings to come down to Earth, but yeah I mean he’s an actual angel.”

“So your mate is an angel.” It was more a statement than a question.

“No.” She sighed and laid back on the bed. “I’ve been wanting to talk to someone about this for so long, there’s absolutely no one I can talk to about it.”

“Talk about what?”

“On my birthday I found out Cal was my mate,” she looked over at her friend who was moving to sit beside her. Kai told her everything she had been through with Cal’s rejection and Alex helping her through it all. She had kept it all in, especially her doubts and questions, and it felt good to tell her friend. Her father or brother would simply overreact or not understand. Her mother…well, she hasn’t really been the same since Brady pulled her out of that cabin. So it’s been hard talking about everything. It felt relieving to just vent.

“Wait. What’s a rejection?”