Twenty seven

DEVIN

"Why does that matter?" I retorted, not minding that it was a foolish move on my part. "He is here now, isn't he? Shouldn't that be comforting?"

Lilith's eyebrows went up in seconds. She was beyond surprised. She studied me in silence for a minute or less before speaking again. "That wasn't the answer to my question."

"So?"

"So, it means my compulsion failed. I was stupid to think it would be that easy. You are after all one of the feared member of the supernatural society." She continued, pouring the last drop of the liquid in her glass into her throat. She then sauteed over to the couch I was seated on and stalked behind me. My bold front was unshakable but something about this vampire gave me the chills. I felt her breath heavy against my helix and she sang like a canary. "But you should be very aware that you are not the only feared member of this society. I don't know what secrets you are trying to hide but I will find out what it is and if it has anything to do with my courageous little pet here that you happen to know, I will come for you, and trust me, no one wants Lilith Harker as an enemy."

That was the last straw. My wolf absolutely hated it when people tried to make him look small. I felt my grip on the beast loosen and it burst out. In seconds, I was facing Lilith, my left hand on her throat, her back against the wall and my free hand riddled with talons prepared to rip her heart out of she tried something funny. It wouldn't kill her but it would hurt like hell and my wolf knew very well the countess of blood had an ego bigger than the moon. Its goal was to prove to her that she was still vulnerable even as an immortal.

A croaky laugh erupted from Lilith's restricted windpipe. Her eyes were oily black and her fangs had protruded. She didn't look so vulnerable now. I momentarily regained control and my grip on her throat loosened. The dumb creature I shared my body and soul with had hidden away right after putting me in this situation. I was not so sure what to do. Apologize like a freaking Omega or get on with ripping her heart out and pride myself with the fact that I had blessed the Crow with a very dangerous enemy.

"Your grip is loosened and you seem to be engulfed in your thoughts. I'm certain that means your bratty wolf has cowered into the corner." Lilith spoke, breaking the banter in my head. She pushed my hands off her throat and I let her surprised at how calculating she seemed to be. I had grossly underestimated her. It was foolish of me to believe that a vampire of her echelon would survive all these years with luck and brute. I watched her stride towards the couch Deji was placed upon. She sat beside him, indenting the cushion with her weight. Her hands combed through the unconscious man's afro hair and her gaze finally flew my way. "Since things didn't go south and I can't exactly kill you right now, I guess this is goodbye."

This was weird even for me. She was a creature I could not wrap my head around. I didn't wait for her words to settle before I turned to take my leave. Jason was surely going to pay for having me deal with a manic thousand years old long-teeth. But as I made my way to the exit, Lilith spoke again.

"Wait."

I cursed under my breath as I turned to face her. "Yes?" I managed.

"Thank you, Mr. Crow."

I sent her a cheerful grin before turning to leave. The air outside was cold, almost freezing. The watching eyes were still lingering. Some lights in the many apartments could be flicked off now but their irises betrayed their stealth. I needed to get the hell out of here.

***

DAVID

"And who are you?" The receptionist of De' Crescent hotel demanded, his irises burning a bright honey gold that both fascinated and worried me. I took a step backward and let Elder Quentin who had chosen to tag along do the talking. I had to admit, the convergence of packs was a worrying dilemma. The supernatural society knew how ruthless and stuck in his ways Alpha Milo De'Crescent could be. The fact that he was now affiliated with the Crows was blasphemous to witness. I felt the depth of my pocket tingle. It started as a buzz that made my leg jerk against its will. As Elder Quentin talked things out with the overprotective beta receptionist, I proceeded to take the rune out of my pocket. It was warm. I could sense its primordial magic coursing at me like it was trying to tell me something. Perhaps, warn me of something. The heat seemed to increase and despite the rune being made of wood, the rune turned bright red as of it were metal. It locked into my skin making me shriek and throw it to the floor.

"What happened?" Elder Quentin inquired. He was puzzled. So was the Beta he was conversing with. The Primrose Elder's eyes scanned the floor while I did the same. His eyes caught the rune and his gaze immediately jumped back at me. "Did it..." He asked, a bit vague to make sure the De'Crescent Beta behind him did not catch what he might to say. But I knew. I looked at the burn inflicted on my palms then back at the rune on the floor. It was back to its original state; a worthless piece of wood, if one did not know of its uses. I wanted to inform Elder Quentin but the man was ambitious not to mention that the Beta behind him seemed to be wary of our kind. A secret it had to be.

"It slipped from my hand." I lied.

I watched the Primrose Elder's eyebrows peak up in disbelief. He attempted to pursue the conversation further but he was immediately cut short by the Beta tapping him on the shoulder.

"Room 66 you say?"

"Yes. Beta Satake Crow requested our presence." Elder Quentin answered.

The receptionist then proceeded to fondle with the landline on his desk. I was guessing he was going to give a call to Satake to alert him of our presence and figure out if we were really guests or just ballsy threats. I retracted my attention back to the rune on the floor. I walked over and picked it up before dumping it back in my pocket. I re-examined the burn on my palm. The burn was caused by the rune alright. The branding looked like a spider. While it stung madly, I wondered why the rune had reacted that way. It had been months since I had found it and it has never reacted that way. Why would it anyway? Its only use was to... My stomach sunk as realization dawned on me. Relics! No...it could not be. A creature as ancient and endangered as a relic would not be prowling these walls. Right? I did not quite get an answer to my question. In the snap of seconds, Elder Quentin had grabbed my hand and before I realized it, we were in the elevator going up to floor six.

"What are you so stuck up about?" The warlock inquired as we went up.

"Nothing." I lied, making sure I kept my burned palm hidden.

His eyes lingered on me. He didn't believe me but he didn't continue to press on the question. My bet was because we had more pressing issues to deal with. A loud beep followed and the elevator shaft doors opened. We stepped out and strode past the doors. 61...62... Our stride continued until we reached door 66. Elder Quentin gave me a knowing look before he proceeded to knock.

"Who's there?" A voice resonated from within.

"It's Quentin from the church of Primrose."

There was a brief silence. The harrowing kind that came before the storm. Then footsteps followed. An alien pain suddenly surged through me.

What the heck, I muttered under my breath, taking a minute to look at the strange burn on my palm. It was tingling. Again. The tingling continued to grow the closer whoever was inside approached the door. The spider burn began to itch. I curled my fingers into a fist in hopes that my nails piercing into the scald would shield me from the alien pain. It didn't work but when the door leading to room sixty-six opened, the burn on my hand glowed bright red driving me to a state of almost insanity. A shriek clogged my throat and as I looked up to see the man the pain surging through me seemed to be attuned to, a gasp escaped my throat instead. The Beta of Alpha Jason had nine tails sticking out of him. They had a blue glow to them and looked almost incorporeal before they vanished but I knew what I saw.

Satake Crow was a relic.