Chapter 182

“We’re on the brink of a new war, Prince,” explained Going-gray. “And we’re still suffering from the devastating aftereffects of the century-long war caused by the second horseman. The twenty-year truce is going to end soon. When war breaks out again, it’ll mean the extinction of one race or several. It’ll be either us or them. We can’t afford to be soft right now.”

“Have you deployed a sound barrier spell, Jay?” Sideburns asked.

“Yes, Alpha Heir; no one can hear us,” Going-gray answered. “We need to purchase more spells from the mages. Maybe we should find some new spell makers. Violet raised her prices last month, saying her ingredients were getting more expensive because of the looming war. Fucking greedy witch.”

“Just pay her more and make sure she stays exclusive to us,” Sideburns ordered.

Interesting. Their spells hadn’t stopped me from listening in. Maybe they should hire a better mage, but then most spells didn’t seem to have an effect on me, except the rare and powerful ones.

“The vampires confirmed our suspicions that the site we reached had been burned down two days ago,” Sideburns said in a gravelly voice. “Whatever object we were looking for was either taken by someone else or burned to ashes. If the vampires hadn’t ambushed us, I would’ve let the matter rest.”

“You think the god-killing weapon could be a person?” Going-gray asked, almost carefully. “That vampire mentioned about looking for a young woman and not just an object. Could that Pip girl be it?” He then chuckled to himself, as if realizing how stupid he sounded, but Sideburns didn’t laugh with him.

“I doubt she just appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time like that,” said the Alpha Heir. “And she wasn’t that far from the burning site when we found her.”

Shade groaned. “C’mon, brother, will you ever stop suspecting her? Besides, a vampire saw her. If Pip is the one they’ve been looking for, the bloodsuckers wouldn’t have withdrawn right after the winged female vampire spotted her. They would’ve taken her right then.”

“But don’t you find that odd?” Going-gray countered.

 My heart pounded. They would never really accept me, especially after that strange encounter, which meant they weren’t taking me with them out of the kindness of their hearts, unlike Shade. They had an agenda, as they wanted to figure out my role in the great scheme of things, while I didn’t even have a fucking clue what that great scheme was.

One thing was certain. War was coming. But what did it have to do with me? I had my own problems and didn’t want to be caught in the crossfire between shifters and vampires.

“I understand you have a soft spot for the girl, Shade,” Sideburns said. “You’ve always had a soft spot for stray animals. So be her friend, gain her trust, and find out what she really knows.”

“Are you seriously sending me to spy on her for you?” Shade asked incredulously.