Chapter 320: A Formidable Woman
[Third POV]
"You had one fucking job!"
Darach Elrod’s back slammed painfully against the wood of the mansion’s handrails, collapsing against the marble staircases. There was no greeting, no warning, not even a declaration of war. Fangborne’s alpha and beta had stormed up the doorsteps of Thunderstrike’s main packhouse soon enough, and Milo barely even had the chance to warn Darach of their arrival before the uninvited guests appeared.
Yet, what did Darach expect? How could Damon Valentine do anything less than an impactful act of violence upon their meeting?
This time, however, Darach felt as though he deserved it. For all the times he was wrongfully abused in Fangborne back in his teenage years, it was made up for on this day. He couldn’t blame Damon’s anger― hell, he could even see Blaise Valentine, ever the calm and composed younger twin brother of this mad alpha, ticking like a time bomb ready to go off.
To be frank, Darach himself wasn’t too far off.
He raised a hand and wiped the dribble of blood that had been knocked from his split lips, grimacing in pain. None of what he physically felt could even come to compare with the guilt that broiled in his heart.
"Damon," Blaise said, a tone of warning in his voice. "This isn’t Fangborne."
"Of course I know that!" Damon growled out, throwing his hands in the air in frustration. "If it was, Harper would still be here! I should have never sent her away! She was always safest by our side."
"It was only a matter of time," Blaise said, coming forward. He, however, did not choose to stand between Damon and Darach.
Perhaps if Damon acted out again, Blaise might not be entirely keen on stopping his older brother. After all, a part of him did blame Thunderstrike for Harper’s kidnapping― as much as he blamed himself for choosing to send her here.
"The vampires have breached Fangborne’s borders. If we didn’t send her here, she would’ve been captured even sooner, bringing half of Fangborne down in flames," Blaise reminded.
A muscle in Damon’s clenched jaw ticked, fury slashed across his face as he finally tore his eyes away from Darach’s languid form. He couldn’t even muster up words of blame, because frankly, why should Thunderstrike protect Harper? What was she to them?
A part of Damon already understood that they had done well above and beyond their duty as a friend to allow Harper a place to stay despite the dangers that would come. It was only that they hadn’t thought Dahlia Elrod, ever the prideful werewolf she was, would stoop so low as to work in cahoots with a vampire just to get her revenge.
"We have already sent out search parties," Darach said, pushing himself back onto his feet. "Milo is leading the team personally. We should have information soon―"
"There’s no need," Blaise said, cutting Darach off mid-sentence. "Damon and I have received a call on Harper’s location."
"She’s been found?" Darach spluttered, his eyes widening as he stood up a little straighter. "Is she..."
"She’s fine," Blaise said. "For now."
"She was taken by a crazy woman claiming to be her mother," Damon said with a scoff. "A mother who has been supposedly dead for over a decade."
Darach frowned, confused. "But preliminary investigations have shown that she was attacked by a vampire on her way back to Fangborne," he said. "The vehicles were torn apart and there were remnants of blood. Unfortunately, that included..."
He paused. Kyle’s blood was also found at the scene of the crime, but his body was never located. Milo had searched the immediate area, but the scent was lost quickly. No one knew if he was dead or alive.
Finally, Darach took a deep breath, clearing his thoughts. "Is her mother actually a vampire?" he asked.
"No," Blaise replied. "As far as we know, she’s human. Harper’s father was the alpha of Stormclaw, but her mother was never made the luna, most likely because of the fact that she doesn’t have a wolf."
"But that just means that she is working with a vampire," Damon snarled. "And no ordinary human will be capable of such a thing."
Damon could still recall the run-ins they had in Everhaven, and what drove them to seek help from Thunderstrike in the first place. The hunters have filled the town, and with how everything seemed to line up perfectly, Damon had a guess that made him wish he was wrong.
Harper’s mother was a hunter― and a very powerful one at that, if she had the power to negotiate help from the vampires.
In the olden days, vampires and werewolves were supernatural beasts, natural predators that were placed above humans in the evolutionary food chain. The hunters merely came into existence to combat the deaths they faced. Over time, even while werewolves stopped hunting humans down, the hunters have never ceased with their lifelong mission to rid the world of werewolves.
It was hilarious, truly, that they hadn’t bothered to get rid of the vampires even though those bloodsuckers were still hunting down and killing humans as their prey even till this day and age. But then again, they had always been great at hiding themselves in plain sight.
"She invited us over to her hideout to meet her," Blaise said, sighing. "We will need your help to get there, unfortunately. It’s not a place we can get to by car."
"Where did they bring her?" Darach asked, clenching his fists. "If it’s within my power, consider it done. I owe Harper this much, at least."
"Upper Lumen," Damon said through gritted teeth. "They took her all the way to fucking Lumiose. We need a plane to get there, and Thunderstrike is the only pack in the area with such capabilities."
That was but one of the many wonders money brought about, something Thunderstrike had an overabundance of. Thorton Elrod — as well as all the other Thunderstrike alphas before him — had connections to the rich and powerful in the human world.
"You’ll need a passport," Darach concluded. He nodded, quickly turning on his heel as he gestured for Damon and Blaise to follow. "I can get you some. But sources tell me that Upper Lumen is a city full of hunters, even more so than Everhaven. Are you sure?"
A murderous glint shone in Damon’s eye. "They have our mate," he growled out. "I’m getting her back no matter what it takes."
