Buckle up! This is a long chapter!

Enjooooy <3

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Sam's POV

Orla, Ezra,  Olin and Vanessa were unconscious but recovering. They had dozed them with that magicked blood mix, and the effects would wear off with time since no other doze was added.

Ezra was worse. They had cut him up in so many places, I didn't think it was possible he was still alive. We kept changing his bedding because of the blood, but gave up once we realized the cuts were healing too slowly. Orton tried healing him, but his magic could do nothing against the blood weapons' effects. If anyone could do it, it would be Orla. But she was still unconscious.

Zach landed a couple of hours later and came straight from the airport. He'd lost it during the flight over from France when he felt the bond break. Fortunately, he'd been on a private jet.

His blue eyes were wide and unsettling when he came into the guest room where I sat with Ashley's body. She lay on bed, Haley and Wren had changed her clothes and cleaned her up as much as they could, so if you didn't notice the sallow tint of her skin or the scar on her neck, she looked like she was simply sleeping.

Zach looked at me, looked at her and approached the bed slowly, as if afraid he would wake her up.

He put his hand on her face, shaky fingers brushing her cold cheek.

"Ash?" He asked in a rough whisper. He whined and dropped on the bed, gathered her in his arms to his chest, burying his face in her neck.

Pain rolled off of him in choking waves. A gruff, keening sound emanated off his throat. A sound full of grief and loss and pain. The drawn curtains muted the afternoon light, but a beam crept through and fell right on Ashley's hand, lying limp on the bed, palm up.

My throat closed up, tears pushing against my eyelids.

I wiped my face and stood in a corner of the room. I wanted to leave, but we couldn't leave Zach alone. Not yet. Some people went crazy when the mate bond broke.

But the pain felt like it was choking me in from the inside out.

Wren appeared in the doorway.

"Go rest, Sam," Wren linked me. "I'll take it from here."

I didn't object. I ran out of that room before grief and pain drew me back to a time when I had lost  my life and everything good in it. When I had still been human.

The pain very rarely got hold of me anymore, and when it did, it was a muted throb dulled by centuries of life. But now, fueled by Zach's grief, it felt sharper, as if it was only yesterday.

I took a moment outside to compose myself then headed straight to Zyron's office in the pack house. I didn't want to be left with my thoughts right now, and what better distraction than finding a way to deal with this giant mess.

Hale stood in a corner, speaking in furious whispers on the phone. Vlad was seated on the couch, staring at the phone on the coffee table in front of him as if it held the answers to all his prayers. Zyron paced back and forth, a deep frown etched on his face. He must be receiving links from all over the world.

A screen on the opposite wall of the desk was turned on a national TV channel. The sound was muted, but the video on it sent a chill down my spine.

It was clearly a surveillance camera video shot from one of the buildings near Freedom square. It showed the exact moment the man shifted into wolf and jumped, sailing through the air to land in front of a red-haired girl staggering forward.

On the video, I could see the car crash site where one of our witches had crashed the car into a tree to create a distraction. All we'd needed was a second to get to Ezra and Orla's parents. And it had worked, as simple as the plan was. Until someone shot Orla with a damn dart gun. It was a vampire who, according to our database when I first spotted him before the exchange, lived in the vicinity.

I'd thought it was only an accident he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it seemed I had been too hopeful.

On the screen, I saw Ashley fighting off a man. And then Whitewell and the other werewolf locked in another fight. Up until now, the majority of the crowd's attention was locked on the car crash. Up until now, everything could've been handled. A few bribes here and there, a few well-placed hacks and we would've had all footage of this incident erased from surveillance cameras.

But it hadn't stopped there. Once the werewolf realized Orla was getting away, he disengaged from Whitewell, shifted to a massive brown wolf and leaped through the air. Complete with growling and snarling. That had people's attention shifted completely.

And who could blame them? A wolf the size of a horse was much better entertainment than a car crash.

The video on the screen shifted again, this time to a shot taken by a phone, no doubt. A shaky footage of the wolf facing Orla. Orla still holding a bloody knife. And then me zipping towards them. A blur, before I stopped and threw the wolf aside like a rag doll.

"Good work Sam. Real good work," Hale drawled, pocketing his phone.

I shrugged. "The wolf and the other vampires already revealed our secret," I said, plopping down on an armchair and closing my eyes. "I couldn't leave Orla to face off a wolf in her current state even if I had to use my speed in front of humans. What's the current situation?"

"Zyron's office had already been contacted by human authorities, pretty high up," Vlad said. "My contacts in the government say some people were recognized from the footage. Zyron was at the head of that list."

Yeah. Zyron would be. He owned a few multi-million dollar corporations, the money went to provide packs all over the world with needed funds. In human databases, he had been simply one of many billionaires around the world.

Well, I guess that changed now.

"Even now," Hale pointed to the screen. "They keep trying to cling to their normalcy."

On the screen was an interview. The view shifted to a man in a suit and spectacles. A band underneath him read: Wildlife biologist. They were trying to explain the massive wolf, except no science would be able to explain how a human exploded into a wolf. That was pure magic.

"Who can blame them? No one wants to wake up one day and find out that monsters are real, that they're at the bottom of the food chain," I mumbled. "What are you waiting for?" I asked Vlad. He hadn't taken his eyes off the phone for more than a couple of seconds.

"A call from Senator Dana," Vlad replied.

I raised my brows. Senator Dana was a vampire. One of the very few who actually mingled with humans and enjoyed it. Her control on her blood lust was uncontested, which was why Vlad allowed her the leeway. Besides, it was always good to have people in high places. Like right now.

Hale's phone rang again. He cursed and answered. The supernaturals around the world must be having a collective apoplexy. 

Vlad's phone rang. He swiped his finger across the screen and put the call on speaker. Hale immediately hung up and came close.

"Vlad," Dana's voice came through. "Sorry for taking so long. It's been a bit hectic around here."

No shit.

"Look, I can't talk long. I'll have my assistant send you a report of the meeting. I've been linking her throughout- anyway, the incident this morning is now a matter of national security. They know your identities from the videos circulating online. They got a visual of you, the king, Sam and everyone who wasn't hidden by the spell. But their focus is on king Zyron. They know he's the leader of werewolves worldwide."

"How do they know?" Vlad asked.

"Apparently, they got anonymous tips," she said.

Oh, I bet I just knew who the tipper was. Zane must be having a field day.

Zyron's lips twitched in a snarl.

"Dana. You know humans the best, and you have a better picture on the current mood in the government right now. What do you think the best course of action is?"

Dana heaved a deep sigh. There was a sound, as if she was drumming her fingers on her desk, then she said, "Some of these idiots want war. They're trigger happy and their solution to everything is bullets, and if bullets don't work, then bombs. But right now, it's only a minority. The majority want to assess the situation first. They want to know how many of us are there. Where we operate. The extent of our strength. Things like that. That will help them assess our level of threat.

"Right now, they don't know much about us. And that's an advantage for us. It means we can control what they get to know if we start on the right foot with them."

"So?" Vlad said.

"I suggest the werewolf king talk with them, maybe you and Hale as well," she said. "They're going to contact you soon."

"Who are they?" Hale asked.

"I'm not sure yet. They're still discussing it. But from what I gathered, the person who's most wary of us, and who has the most influence with the president, is the CIA director. If you win him over, you'll have a better chance at evading a war."

I couldn't believe we were talking about a war with the humans so normally. After an eternity of living in secret, it was finally happening.

I always thought humans would one day find out about us. But that was something I thought about the way one thinks about the end of the world happening. It was something that would happen, but not in our time. Yet here I was, alive to witness it.

"A couple of my gifted vampires have infiltrated their meeting," Dana continued. "And if Zyron doesn't agree to the request of a chat. They'll be sending a specialized unit your way in order to get Zyron."

Zyron simply raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, and now that they have a visual of almost all the people involved in the incident this morning, they're looking into everyone and everything they're involved in. So tell your people to be careful."

"Will do."

Vlad and Dana exchanged a few more words before ending the call. I looked at Zyron. He didn't look too worried. Now that I thought about it, Vlad hadn't looked that shocked either this morning.

"Were you guys expecting this?" I asked them.

Zyron shrugged. "It's always been a possibility when we agreed to meet Zane in the middle of the city. But my priority is to keep the kids alive. I could've let them take Orla to their car and then attack the car once it left the city bounds. But what if they teleported them out? What if we lost track of the car? We couldn't risk losing them even if the cost is this high."

"We talked to the wolf who shifted," Hale said. He rubbed his eyes, looking older than I ever saw him. "Apparently, Zane had given orders that if there was trouble and Orla and Ezra looked like they would escape, he was to shift into his wolf and make sure the humans saw him."

"His last 'fuck you' to Zyron after losing," I mumbled.

"I wouldn't call it losing," Zyron growled. "He's still alive, isn't he?"

Zyron said that, but I wondered if he could actually kill Zane. Even after everything he'd done, he was still his only brother.

Zyron's phone blared. He took the call, and after a few seconds, smiled. "Tell them I'll meet them."

"The humans?" Vlad asked once he cut the line. Zyron nodded.

I slapped my thighs and stood up.

"Alright, ladies. Let's put on our Sunday best and get going. We have a date with the humans."

*** **** ***

The meeting took place in the closest town to the pack. It was a statement made by the humans: we know where you live and we can come get you anytime we want.

The location was an inconspicuous ranch on the outskirts of town. The land was surrounded by a broken fence that had once been white. A couple of old buildings rose here and there on the property, but I drove us straight to the house standing in the middle of overgrown weeds where the humans waited, made clear by the black SUVs nearby and the men in black surrounding the building. The worn-out wood of the house looked almost ablaze under the orange sunset.

We'd been watched ever since we drove out of pack land through the highway. Magic prevented humans and their technology from seeing into pack lands, so I wonder how they reacted when our car popped out of nowhere.

Vlad had wanted me to stay behind, but there was no way I would miss the action.

The four of us stepped out of our vehicle under the watchful eyes of the humans parked outside. And several who peeked through the windows.

I glanced up and around. A few snipers were stationed on the roof of the house, on the nearby ranch buildings and more faraway buildings of the neighboring ranches. They really went all out.

I wonder what Zane told them? Would he have divulged the extent of our vulnerabilities to humans? I took a deeper breath. The smell of . Someone smelled strongly of garlic. I bit back a laugh by sheer power of will.

"Careful, Vlad. Someone has garlic," I said into our collective link.

"I guess superstitions are going to get popular again," Hale said.

One of the men stepped forward. He was big, by human standards. But next to Zyron, he looked like an average man. It wasn't simply Zyron's size, it was the air of authority and wilderness he exuded. One look at him and your subconscious knew he was a top predator even if your conscious mind refused to admit it.

"This way, gentlemen," he said, gesturing to the front door. The steps creaked under our weight. Accompanied by the whisper of the wind as it rustled through the undergrowth, it made for an eerie symphony.

The door opened to what must've been a spacious living room when the house had been in use.

The couches and a table were pushed against the wall, covered in dirty white sheets. The wallpaper was an abstract pattern of yellow and brown, peeling at spots, faded at spots and molding at others. The floor, which must've been swept clean very recently, was dark hardwood bearing the scars of the years.

Under the smell of the humans currently waiting through one of the doorways, was the smell of must and dirt and old cat urine. A draft swept through the house as we got in. The light bulb swung, making our shadows dance on the walls.

A lone long table was set up in the center of the room with plain wooden chairs surroundings it. Our escort indicated the table with a sweep of his hand.

"Please take a seat. The director will be with you shortly," he said, his eyes bravely meeting those of Zyron. Zyron stood still and held the other man's gaze.

Sweat broke on the human's forehead, making his dark skin glimmer under the light. His eyeballs quivered, and he broke eye contact. His jaw clenched. Bravely, he met Zyron's gaze one last time before leaving the house.

I glanced at the corner lamp, where a camera lens was concealed in one of the buttons. It was very well done. A human wouldn't have caught it. But we weren't humans.

"Should I wave to the camera?" I asked as I took my place next to Vlad.

"No. Let's try to make ourselves as little of a threat as possible at this stage," Vlad said. "This is the beginning of our dealings with them. If we scare them too much, they'll consider us a serious threat and go on the offensive."

"So we should just lay down and take it?"

"Of course not," Zyron said. "Negotiating from a position of weakness will do us no good. But Vlad is right. Right now, the humans are still spooked. Let's not ruffle their feathers too much."

"Any silver?" Hale asked.

"I didn't smell any. There was just gunpowder," Zyron said.

"And garlic. Don't forget the garlic."

His lips twitched. "And garlic."

They left us waiting for almost ten minutes. But I could hear faint sounds coming from the second floor. The sunset's golden light outside darkened to twilight colors, and ten minutes later, footsteps padded down the stairs.

"Finally," I sighed. 

"A little power play from their end," Hale mused.

"If it makes them feel safe..." Zyron shrugged.

The footsteps paused at the end of the stairs before their owners appeared in the doorway. Two men and one woman dressed in matching black suits.

"Gentlemen," the man in the middle said, nodding his greeting, his eyes scanning us. He was bald, his features hard and jaw so sharp, his face looked almost square. Wrinkled etched between his eyebrows and forehead. He must frown often.

They sat down, and soon after a few other men entered the room, four stationing themselves behind the humans, and the rest behind us. My neck pricked in awareness.

Silence lasted a few seconds as everyone sized each other up.

"Mr. Regali," Baldy started, linking his hands on top of the table. "Thank you for accepting our invitation."

"Thank you for extending it," Zyron responded. "And I apologize for the mess we left this morning. I assure you, it wasn't in our plan."

"Thank you. I'm Harry Jones, and these are my associates, Megan Singh and Evan Roberts."

Evan Roberts was a younger man with a leaner build and an impressive set of pale gray eyes. According to Dana's files, he was the FBI director.

Megan Singh was the oldest of the three and the one who looked most at ease. The smell of her fear wasn't as overpowering as the others.

"Hale, Vlad and Sam," Zyron said.

I gave the badass humans a wave and a grin. They blinked.

"As for this morning," Harry Jones, the CIA director, said, "I'm led to believe you are more sorry it brought your existence to light. From what I understand, the werewolves have so far lived in hiding from humans and you intended for it to remain that way."

Zyron nodded. "That's true enough. Your source is right in that regard. However, I'd advise you to be more careful in who you're dealing with on our end."

"And why is that?"

Zyron leaned back in his seat. "Because one of your sources is Zane Regali."

The director's eyes narrowed for a fraction of a second. "Your brother?"

"Indeed," Zyron said. "If he betrayed his own family, I don't think he'll have many scruples about betraying you."

"I see," Harry said. "And you are warning us because..."

Zyron's smile didn't show his teeth. "I don't want there to be any bad blood between humans and supernaturals. Like you pointed out, we had no intention of coming out until our hand was forced this morning. We would like to continue living as we had in peace."

"Peace," Harry mumbled. "Can you promise that no supernatural will harm a human? That something like this morning's incident won't happen again?"

"Mr. Jones, don't humans have criminals? Murderers? Rapists? Violent individuals?" Vlad said. "We're just like you. There are bad apples in every society, and we're no different. However, we police our own. We have been most careful to keep humans out of our struggles and have succeeded greatly so far."

That wasn't entirely true. There were countless incidents where humans have been harmed, but we swept it all under the rug and blamed wild animals or took care of it using magic. Also, human criminals couldn't be compared to supernatural criminals, because the latter have superior abilities that made evil so much easier and so much worse.

But telling humans that would be like shooting ourselves in the foot.

"We could promise you that no supernatural will ever harm a human, but you don't want us to bullshit you, do you?" Hale asked. I hid my grin. I liked Hale.

"No, I'd rather not," Jones mumbled. He sighed. "I