Authors: Natalie Shaw
Chapter 23
The more Craven saw of Rayma over the following days, the more he grew to like him. He could see why Hill had him marked out as a possible future Alpha.
“Very please to meet you, Freda,” Craven said.
“You too, sir.”
“No, no, no.” Craven smiled “I've already had that conversation with your mate. You must call me Craven.”
“Sorry.” She blushed. “Craven.”
“How was your training course?”
“Very good, thank you.”
“What do you do?”
“I'm a nurse. The course was on specialised procedures for shifter wounds.”
“Sounds a little gory.”
“It was actually fascinating.”
“Where are we going to dine?”
“I've booked a table at 'The Quarters',” Rayma said. “It's meant to be very good.”
“Meant to be? Haven't you been there before?”
“We can't afford to eat out very often,” Freda chimed in. “We generally live on takeaways.”
“Is Rayma always so quiet?” Craven asked Freda.
They'd just finished a delicious three-course meal, which although obscenely expensive, had been thoroughly enjoyed by them all. Rayma had just excused himself, and disappeared in the direction of the cloakroom.
“Not at all. I usually can't get a word in edge-ways.”
“Really? Are you sure we're talking about the same person?”
“He's never stopped talking about you ever since he knew you had moved in opposite. He was on the phone to me for hours every evening while I was on my course. He just gets tongue-tied as soon as you appear.”
“Can you see your mate as a future Alpha?”
“Everyone says he'd make a great Alpha. I know our current Alpha has a lot of faith in him.”
“You haven't answered my question,” Craven said. “Do
you
see him as Alpha?”
“I can, but I'm not sure it's what I want for him. I want him to be happy, and I'm not sure he would be.”
“Should my ears be burning?” Rayma said, as he re-joined them.
“Freda has been telling me she normally can't shut you up.”
“Craven, it's an honour to meet you.” A tall, well-built, young male shifter appeared at Rayma's shoulder. “I'm Dayton. Hill has probably mentioned me. Do you mind if I join you?”
Dayton didn't wait for a reply. Instead he took the seat next to Rayma—directly opposite Craven.
“Hello Dayton,” Freda said.
“Freda,” he said, without taking his gaze off Craven. “Do you intend staying in Terroun long, Craven?”
“I haven't made up my mind yet.”
“You really must allow me to show you around. There have been a lot of changes since you were last here.”
“That's very kind, but Rayma has already given me the tour.”
Dayton barely managed to disguise his look of disdain as he glanced at Rayma. “Oh well. At least allow me to get you another drink, Craven.”
“I'm good thanks. We were just about to leave.”
“That's a shame. I'd love an opportunity to talk with you. I've heard so much about the Alpha turned lone wolf. You have become something of a legend around these parts.”
“The stories are exaggerated. I've led a fairly mundane existence if the truth is known.”
“I don't believe that for one minute. Everyone in Terroun and the surrounding territories knows about Craven, the greatest Alpha of all time. We even had a vampire who name-dropped you, just to save her sorry skin.”
“What?”
“Didn't Hill tell you? It was hilarious. The border guards picked up the sorry specimen. As if we don't have enough problems with our own vampires. This one was from the Maja territory.”
“What was her name?”
“How would I know? Do vampires even have names?”
“You said she mentioned me.”
“The stupid fool thought if she claimed to know the great Craven that she'd be allowed in.”
“What happened to her?”
“Who cares? Dead most likely.”
*********
“Can you drop me at the Alpha's residence?” Craven said, as they left the restaurant.
“Is everything okay?” Rayma asked.
“Yes. I just need to speak with him.”
“Do you want us to wait for you?”
“No, that won't be necessary. You two can get off home after you've dropped me. I'll get a cab back.”
“Thank you for the meal,” Freda said.
“Better than take-away?”
“Much better.”
“I'm sorry to turn up unannounced at this time of night,” Craven said.
“You're welcome any time—you know that.” Hill looked as though he'd been asleep. “Come in. Is there a problem? Is the Grendier okay for you?”
“It's great, thank you. I went for a meal with Rayma and Freda this evening.”
“What do you make of him?”
“I can see why you like him. He's got a great attitude, but he doesn't have much self-belief.”
“That will come in time.”
“I met Dayton too.”
“Oh?”
“Let's just say I can see why you would favour Rayma.”
Hill smiled. Craven was still a good judge of character.
“Dayton did say something which got my attention though,” Craven said
“What's that?”
“He mentioned a female vampire from Maja who claimed to know me.”
“I remember. It was some time ago now. Must be at least four years. What about her?”
“Do you know what happened to her? Was she killed?”
“Unlikely. We will only kill a vampire if they attack either a shifter or a human. For any other offence, they go through the regular justice system.”
“She wasn't from Terroun. Would that have made a difference?”
“I'm not sure, but I can find out for you. Why do you want to know?”
“It was a female vampire who gave me the tip-off about Louise being held in the enclosure in Maja. She took a massive risk bringing that information to me. It could just be a coincidence, but—”
“It's unlikely to be the same vampire. It's decades since you were at the enclosure. It's only a few years since this vampire turned up here.”
“You're probably right, but I'd like to be sure. Can you find out if she's still alive? If she is, I'd like to speak with her.”
Chapter 24
Hesta was in a small, damp, windowless cell. She was lying on her back on a concrete shelf which was acting as a bed. He thought she was asleep, but then she turned her head to the side, and her eyes met his.
“Open this door,” Craven said. “I need to speak with this prisoner.”
“I'm not sure that's a good idea, sir,” the warder said.
“I'll be fine.”
“My orders were—”
“Just do it. I'll take full responsibility.”
The warder opened the cell, let Craven in, and locked the door behind him. “Shall I wait here?”
“No. I'll call you when I've finished.”
Hesta sat up.
“That looks comfortable,” Craven said.
“After five years, you start to get used to it. You took your time getting here.”
“I only found out yesterday.”
Hesta studied his face for lies.
“Where's your companion? Jarda?”
She shrugged. “I'm not sure.”
“Why did you come to Terroun?”
“To find you. I figured even if you weren't here, your pack would be able to get word to you.”
“No one contacted me. Why did you want to speak to me? Do you know where Louise is?”
“I did, but that was five years ago.”
“Where?”
Hesta shook her head.
“Tell me!”
“Or what? You'll lock me away in some godforsaken cell?”
“What do you want?”
“Release me, and grant us permission to stay in Terroun.”
“Us?”
“If Jarda is still alive, he'll make his way here sooner or later.”
“Even if I could arrange for you to stay, I couldn't guarantee your safety. I have no control over the vampires in this territory.”
“I'll take my chances with them.”
“How do I know I can trust you?”
“The information I gave you the last time was good wasn't it?”
Craven nodded. “I'll see what I can do.”
*********
The Majestic was one of the few hotels which accepted guests of all species. Hill hadn't been happy about releasing a vampire, but he could refuse his ex-Alpha nothing.
“Thanks for getting me out,” Hesta said.
“This place doesn't look much better than the cell.” Craven glanced around the room.
“Trust me, it is.”
Craven still found it difficult to be in the same room as the vampire, but he figured that opening a window might be a little too obvious. He couldn't risk upsetting her until he had the information she claimed to possess.
“So, where is Louise?”
“I can't say for sure where she is now. It's been five years thanks to those idiots who wouldn't listen to me.”
“Just tell me what you know.”
Hesta began her story...
“When Jarda and I heard that you arrived at the enclosure too late to rescue Louise, we made it our business to track her down.”
“How did you manage that? I've spent years trying to find her.”
“It wasn't easy, trust me. In fact it took us almost twenty years. We discovered that she'd been captured after she had paid a visit to Maja territory.”
“Why would she go back to Maja?”
“I've no idea. The shifter she visited while she was back in Maja was killed by Lassiter's men. Louise managed to get away, but was captured by them on the outskirts of Lawler territory.”
“Lawler? I was there about five years ago.”
“Maybe she came looking for you?”
Craven was silent for a few moments. Was it possible that Louise had been searching for him? Why else would she have travelled to Lawler? Coincidence? He didn't believe in them. She must have been on his trail.
“What happened after she was captured?”
“Lassiter would have liked to have killed her, but he needed Louise alive for the hold it still gave him over Milton. So he came up with a—” Hesta hesitated. “A compromise.”
“What kind of compromise? Where is she? Is she okay?”
“He put her into a coma.”
The blood drained from Craven's face. “What?”
“He had his medical people put Louise into an induced coma. It's similar to the procedure which humans use to protect someone with brain damage until the swelling is reduced.”
“Where is she now? Lawler?”
“Lassiter has an alliance with the Lawler vampire cove, but he didn't want to leave her there. It would have been one of the first places Milton would have looked. She was moved to a small clinic in between the Hawdin and Prentin territories. It's on a hillside—miles from any centres of population.”
“Why put her in a coma?”
“She'd already broken free from the Maja enclosure. If she was comatose, he wouldn't have to worry about her trying to escape again. By keeping her alive, he still had a hold over Milton which was all he cared about.”
“Is she still in a coma?”
“No.”
“What happened?”
“Me and Jarda happened. The clinic is barely guarded. As far as Lassiter was concerned, no one knew she was being kept there. To have guards posted around a clinic would have been counter-productive. It would have drawn unwanted attention. Once we were inside, it wasn't difficult to find Louise—there were very few 'patients' there. We
persuaded
one of the doctors to bring her out of the coma.”
“Was she okay?”
“The doctor warned us she should have been brought out slowly over a period of days, but we didn't have days. We forced him to hurry things along.”
“You could have killed her.”
“If we had left her there she was as good as dead anyway. Once Milton was no longer Alpha, she'd serve no purpose. It was only a matter of time until Lassiter finished her off.”
“So what happened?” Craven's patience was wearing thin.
“When she came around, she wasn't really with it at all. She said the odd word or two, but nothing which made any sense. We managed to carry her to the car, but we knew we'd only have a few hours start on Lassiter. We decided our best bet would be to split up. I wasn't strong enough to manage Louise by myself, so the plan was that I'd drop off her and Jarda, and then drive to Maja. While Lassiter's men were following me, Jarda would find somewhere to hide Louise. If I made it to Maja, I'd get word to you, so you could go to her.”
“And you did make it.”
“A lot of good it did me. No one would listen to a word I said. I tried to tell them I'd found Louise. I tried to tell them I'd been the one who'd found her the first time in the enclosure. They couldn't wait to kick my arse in prison.”
“You haven't heard from Jarda?”
“Not a word. For all I know he could be dead. They might both be dead. If your people had only listened to me five years ago—”
“Where did you leave them?”
“On the outskirts of a town called Camthorpe.”
“Thanks.” Craven started towards the door.
“Wait! What are you going to do?”
“Find her.”
“She could be anywhere by now.”
“I have to try.”
“Let me come with you.”
“No. You'll slow me down.”
“What about Jarda?”
“If I find Louise then maybe I'll find out what happened to him. I have to go.”