Blood Communication

RHIANNON

We walk into the large foyer and immediately hear yelling. One of the alpha’s assistants is rushing through the open space with an anxious look on her face.

We follow her toward the Alpha’s office, the angry commotion growing louder with each step.

“Why should I, you mangy mutt?!”

“I will rip your head off, witch—I’m an Alpha, you will watch the way you speak to me!”

“I’ll curse you faster than you can take a single step, you flea-bitten mongrel!”

We step into the room just as Alpha Lucas lunges forward, with Rhodes and Alpha Warner trying to hold him back.

Rhazell raises her hands and opens her mouth to speak.

“EVERYONE STOP!” I scream into the room.

Everything goes suddenly silent and everyone looks at me, most with stunned expressions.

I clear my throat and blush.

“Rhazell is a powerful sorceress, she deserves the same respect as an alpha. We need each other. This isn’t about wolves or witches, this is about everyone.”

Isaac places his hand on the back of my neck and I feel his pride and arousal, which makes me blush further.

“Yes, Luna,” Madelyn and Rhodes say, bowing their heads down.

Alpha Lucas cracks his neck and takes a deep, angry breath but doesn’t speak again.

“I’ll speak with her,” Rhazell points to me with her heavily jeweled hand. She beckons me forward with one finger, her long, pointed nail moving through the air.

I step forward and she takes my hand in hers. She smells like smoke, ashen and woody. She closes her eyes and I feel a strange sensation, like my blood is being pulled to the surface of my skin.

It doesn’t hurt, but I don’t like it. I release my wings and take a step back. She doesn’t react at all, her eyes remain closed and her cold hands clutch mine.

When she releases my hands, I feel tired, like she siphoned my energy somehow. When she opens her eyes, they’re glowing red.

“The vampire king must be stopped,” her voice echoes, swirling around the room like fog. “If we do not succeed, everyone in this room will be dead before the next full moon.”

Alpha Warner shuffles behind his desk. “That’s in two weeks.”

Rhazell nods her head. The room is so quiet that I can hear Isaac’s heart pounding in his chest.

The door squeaks open and Valera comes in, escorted by two very large guards. She nods to me, then Rhazell.

“Valera,” Rhazell greets her, her voice is cold but her eyes soften slightly.

“Rhazell?” I ask her timidly. “Valera and I had a plan for stopping Julius, but we need a…” she raises her hand and I stop speaking.

“That won’t work,” she says, offering no further explanation. “I need blood,” she says casually like she’s asking for coffee.

“Mine?”

“Yes. I just spoke to your blood, I know your history. I will use it to create a tonic.”

I feel Isaac’s unease, but he doesn’t speak.

“You spoke to my blood?”

“Yes, I am a blood witch, I have dominion over it, I can communicate with it, manipulate it, rule it.” She snaps her finger and a single drop of blood falls from Alpha Lucas’s nose.

“What the fuck?” He jumps to his feet angrily, but Rhodes grabs him, whispering something into his ear, which seems to instantly freeze him.

He thrashes away from him before forcefully ripping the door open, angrily, expletives rumbling from his chest.

As if nothing happened, she turns her attention back to me.

“I need to rest. I will be in the forest—meet me at the tree line to the east, this evening, at dusk. Your mate may accompany you,” she looks at Isaac, “if you can control yourself.”

Isaac’s body goes rigid. He’s struggling to control himself right now.

Without another word, she leaves the room, a guard following quickly behind her.

The tension in the room breaks as everyone slumps back in their chairs. Most of them are muttering under their breath, shaking their heads, and looking generally bewildered.

“Walk with me?” Valera asks me.

I nod and turn to Isaac, who is already stepping closer behind me.

“We have an orchard. It’s too cold for fruit, but it’s a nice place to walk,” Beta Morris informs us.

***

We walk through the orchard with Isaac, and with Valera’s two large escorts a few steps behind us.

“I spoke to Ramis, the guard that let me in to see you. He doesn’t know what is happening exactly, but my brother is plotting something.”

I listen as she speaks.

“I think my brother had another fairy with him. Not a winged fairy, but he’s stronger than he should be. I…I think this fairy is there with him willingly. I suspected it but I’ve never been able to confirm it.”

She stops walking and turns, speaking to Isaac also. “I don’t know what he’s planning, but we need to be careful. Something doesn’t feel right.

“Ramis isn’t being informed of his plans, but he says Julius is preparing for something.”

“We’ll be careful. I’ll speak to Alpha Warner about asking neighboring packs to send extra guards and warriors.”

Valera nods. “I think that would be wise.”

“Thank you for speaking with me, Rhiannon,” Valera says quietly, pulling me into a hug. “He really loves you.”

I squeeze her tighter against me. I know Isaac still doesn’t trust her fully, but I do. I know we can’t do this without her.

“I’m going to go back to my room. I know I have guards with me, but walking around pack lands makes me uneasy,” she chuckles.

“It makes everyone else uneasy as well,” Isaac says.

I turn to him, shocked by his sudden rudeness, only to see a smile on his face. Valera laughs lightly before squeezing my hand and walking away, her guards close behind her.