“It could be the witch hunts all over again,” Vasile said.
“Only this time, it wouldn’t be just witches being burned,” Riven said, his voice filled with rage, the same rage Vasile was feeling.
Alina waited as her husband seemed to finally come to a conclusion and spoke up. “We must convince every supernatural leader that it is imperative they assist in this battle. The wolves cannot do this one alone.”
Dillon keptthe phone to his ear, listening to it ring while watching the news report. It was breaking news on every channel as the body count in Phoenix rose. The police weren’t saying it but no doubt they were thinking they were dealing with a serial killer. Little did they know, they were dealing with dozens or even hundreds of serial killers. What else could you call a vampire? They drained their victims of blood until they died, maybe not all at one time, but eventually their victims would die at the hands of the monster.
During a commercial, Dillon focused back on the ringing of the phone number he’d called. Just when he was about to hang up, the line was answered.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end sounded irritated, which made Dillon grin.
“Tyler, don’t sound so happy to hear from me,” Dillon drawled.
“Has the killing moved to Denver?” Tyler asked, getting straight to the point. He wasn’t an idiot, and Dillon knew that the Missouri Alpha would know why he was calling.
“Not that I know of. I just saw the newest number of the body count in Phoenix,” Dillon explained. “Right now, they’ve found thirty bodies scattered across the city.”
“Do you think this is related to the Order?” Tyler asked.
“I’ve no doubt of it. Vampires will align themselves with whomever will let them crawl out of the sewers and hunt openly,” Dillon said.
“No one has ever known the location of the Order’s hideout, or who was in charge. But I’m thinking Phoenix might just be the location of their headquarters,” Tyler said.
Dillon thought about it for a moment. With the body count as high as it was in Phoenix, there was no doubt a large population of vampires must be living there. Perhaps it was also the Order’s base of operations. “I’m going to head out there and have some wolves spread themselves across the city and see if we can sniff out some supernaturals.”
“I can send some of my wolves as well,” Tyler offered.
“Give me a chance to evaluate the situation first, and I’ll let you know what’s going on. I need to call Jeff Stone over in Coldspring, and I need to get in touch with Vasile.” Dillon had no doubt the Romania Alpha was keeping tabs on everything happening in the States.
“Call me when you’re ready to make a move. You have the full support of my pack,” Tyler said.
“Thank you. I’ll be in touch.” Dillon ended the call and immediately pulled up Jeff’s contact information. He pressed the call button and didn’t have to wait longer than one ring.
“Dillon,” Jeff’s voice rumbled through the phone. “Looks like all the leftover vamps that escaped the rain have migrated to Phoenix,” the Coldspring Alpha said before Dillon could even get a word out.
Dillon told Jeff everything he’d told Tyler and promised to be in touch.
He had one more phone call to make. He knew Tanya had tried to get in touch with Vasile as soon as she’d seen the news about the first dozen bodies. He’d been sound asleep and, according to her, she’d been unable to sleep and was playing a game on her phone. A news advertisement had popped up, and the bold words had grabbed her attention:Police won’t confirm, but is there a serial killer in Phoenix?
But she didn’t wake him. Not because she didn’t believe him capable of handling the situation, but because he’d been in the fae realm helping Peri with the wolves and new healers. She didn’t want him leaving again so soon. Tanya knew Vasile’s wolves had led the raids against the vampires and would, no doubt, want to know what was going on, if they didn’t already.
The line rang three times before Vasile answered. “Hello?”
“Have you seen the news in the U.S.?” Dillon asked without preamble.
“Yes,” Vasile said. “I was actually going to call you. I’ve met with a few supernaturals, and we decided to call a summit with the leaders of each race.”
“Putting together a battle plan?” Dillon asked.
“Exactly,” Vasile confirmed. “It’s going to take the cooperation of all of us if we want to take out this threat. They’re powerful and bold. Those two things together are dangerous.”
Dillon agreed wholeheartedly. “Where is the summit taking place?”
“The sprite realm,” Vasile said. “In five days. Peri will send fae for you and the other U.S. Alphas.”
“Sprites?” Dillon asked, his brow drawing down. “Since when have the sprites joined the realm of the humans?”
“Since we found out your daughter’s mother is a sprite.”
