Hell, no. Mason turned his head toward me, narrowing his eyes. Dad has taken precautions, and the entire pack is on alert. There is nothing to be gained by going out there. And let’s be real. If you disappear, we’re all going to hunt you down, which would only cause the packs to become stretched thin, and an attack on the pack could happen.
He did have a point. No one was going to let me out of their sight. Especially, not with a vampire stalking me.
All four of them were waiting outside in the yard and waved as we pulled into the house. Both Mason and I jumped out to say a quick goodbye to his parents.
"I'm going to miss you all so much." Dehlia squeezed my waist as she hugged me. "I understand that you have to go, but having you here makes the place seem lighter and happier."
I almost laughed. Everywhere I went usually involved threats, vampires, and everything else in between. "The two of you need to come visit us soon. After we do some more traveling and get things situated, we'll be spending some time in the Hamptons. It's nice, but NYC has a lot of trouble we can get into."
"Oh dear. We'll save up to come see you." She let me go and smiled.
"Just let me know when you want to come." There was no way I was going to make them spend money when I could afford to pay for their travel now. "One of our planes will be here to bring you to us."
"We couldn't impose." James started, but I held a hand in the air.
"Mason is my mate, and you are my family. All you need to do is ask." I understood that they couldn't come for long. James had his pack to care for. But maybe they could come for a few days now and again.
"Okay." He nodded and patted his son on the shoulder. "You found a good one."
"Fate knew what it was doing." He wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned down to kiss my lips.
“Ew.” Ella frowned and shook her head. “Every time, I think it won’t be gross the next time it happens. I should be building up some kind of tolerance, but nope. It’s still gross.”
Kassie blew the horn and rolled down her window. "We're going to be late if you don't get your asses moving."
"All right. Let's go, people." Ella clapped her hands and pointed to the car. "We got places to go and people to see."
I had to blink twice when I saw Louis not only carrying his bag but Ella's too. "Did you make him carry your luggage?"
"I told him that's what gentlemen do, and if they don't, they come off as uncultured jackasses." Ella winked at me. "Who would've known it would work."
“Anything for a hussy.” Louis smiled at her like he was giving her the biggest compliment in the world.
She was something else, and I hoped she never changed. "You are incorrigible."
"And yet, you love me." She winked at me and skipped over to the Suburban.
Dehlia whispered to her husband. “Did the European prince call our daughter a hussy?”
“Umm … yeah, he did.” James’s brow furrowed, and his eyes narrowed.
“It’s a nice compliment, yeah?” Louis grinned, all proud of himself.
Her parents stared at him with blank expressions.
It took everything in my power not to burst out laughing. Aren’t you going to help him?
I already told him, and he didn’t listen. Mason closed his eyes and shook his head. He’s on his own.
We all climbed into the vehicle and, within minutes, pulled out of the driveway. My eyes flickered over to the woods. I wasn't sure what the right call was when it came to handling the vampires, but if they wanted my blood that badly, it couldn't be a good thing either way. I just hoped I figured out why they wanted it before it was too late. I had to find a way to protect my people and avoid a war.
Chapter Six
It had been two days since we returned to NYC. Teague took off to Europe the very same day we got back, which surprised me. He initially said he’d take a couple of days to visit and tour the city, but that quickly changed in the last twenty-four hours. I was surprised that he was okay doing that much travel in such a short time. Though, in all fairness, he was using my and King Adelmo's private planes, so it probably wasn't that much of a hardship.
I stepped out onto the balcony off my bedroom and sighed. Memories of my dad came crashing back into my mind. He'd always stand out here and look down on the city. I'd always thought he was keeping an eye out, to protect his people, seeing him as a superhero looking for any signs of distress. Now, the gravity of the reason behind why he did it settled on me. It was more so for when he needed air and time to reflect on the difficult decisions he needed to make.
"Hey, are you okay?" Mason joined me and placed an arm around my waist. "You haven't been yourself since we returned."
"The vampire prince threatened me, and I didn't show up in that clearing as he demanded." He already knew this, but I still struggled with whether I made the right call. "Now, I'm waiting for the shit to hit the fan. His inaction is making my stress levels worse. There’s no telling what he’s up to."
"You can't let him get into your mind like this." He shifted so he was behind me and placed both of his hands on my shoulders. "That's what he wants. We need to continue as if you didn't have a run-in with the prince. Didn’t you have plans to go visit all the packs? Let's figure out which one to visit first."
"You're right." I needed him. He kept me focused and on task. We were stronger together. "Okay, I'm guessing the first packs we need to meet are the ones here and in Chicago. Then shortly after, we’ll need to head south to Atlanta." Chicago and NYC were the two biggest paranormal hubs with Atlanta coming in at a close third. The two alphas here in the city had attended my coronation, but we didn't get a chance to chat beyond congratulations. The crowning hit me harder than I had anticipated. Not only was I gaining a ton of responsibility, but in a way, I had to finally accept that my parents weren't coming back. Granted, I’d always known, but the finality of it rocked me.
"All right. What do you need for me to do?" Mason massaged my shoulders, working out some of the knots that had formed.
"I'd love for you to schedule the meetings, but that's something I should do." It probably needed to come from me. "Can you track down anything on this vampire prince who threatened us? I grew up believing that wolf blood killed vampires, so why do they want my blood?" Every day, it grew more and more apparent that I had so much to learn and fast.
"I'm on it." Mason turned me around and brushed his lips against mine, lingering there a moment longer than necessary. "I'll be down in the library." Reluctantly, he let go and walked back into the house, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.
Taking a deep breath, I pulled my phone from my pocket. Delaying all of this would only make things worse. It was time for me to be the queen.
After making the phone calls, I headed downstairs to the den. I wasn't surprised to find Ella and Louis together. They'd been spending more and more time together. It worried me, but Louis had a certain charm. "What are you two doing?"