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Chapter Nineteen

Enzo

Dimitri drove Angelo and me to Simon’s Ravenwood Estate.

The sleek black limousine purred beneath us, its leather seats cool against my skin, but I barely registered the luxury surrounding me.

I rapped my knuckles anxiously on the door handle, the rhythmic tapping betraying my growing dread.

All I could think about was Joy and whether she was safe.

My heart clenched painfully at the thought of her alone and afraid.

A cold rage seeped through my veins, turning my vision sharp and predatory.

If anyone hurt her, then they would wish for death—I’d make certain their suffering would be legendary, even by vampire standards.

The taste of vengeance already lingered, metallic on my tongue, as we sped through the night toward uncertain confrontation.

The white mansion revealed itself between oak trees heavy with Spanish moss, though its appearance unsettled me. Broken windows gaped like missing teeth in its facade. The once-grand estate now projected an aura of neglect and foreboding, more haunted house than palatial residence.

Dimitri slowed the car as we approached, then abruptly pulled off onto a narrow dirt path, cutting the headlights. Blue and red lights pulsed in the distance, illuminating the mansion’s facade in alternating hues. Police vehicles crowded the property.

Dimitri glanced over his shoulder. “Stay low. They can’t see us here.”

Movement in the tree line caught my eye.

A figure emerged from the shadows—Trystan, waving his arms frantically as he crept toward Dimitri’s side of the car.

Stalker accompanied him in wolf form, his black fur rippling under the moonlight.

Two other wolves faced the road that led to Simon’s, their postures vigilant but not aggressive.

Obviously as lookouts. The familiar scent of Trystan’s pack reached me through the car’s cracked window—a mixture of pine and wild earth that I’d come to recognize as allies, even if our alliance was still new and occasionally uneasy.

Trystan’s face was etched with grim urgency as he crept closer, his movements controlled despite his evident alarm.

A scowl darkened his features, confirming what the police presence had already suggested—something had gone terribly wrong.

My fingers tensed against the leather seat as I leaned forward, concern rather than suspicion filling me now.

If the wolf king was reaching out to us like this, whatever disaster had befallen Simon’s estate would require both our families’ strengths to handle.

Beside me in the backseat, Angelo shifted his weight, the subtle movement drawing my attention.

Though he made no sound, I could feel the subtle pressure of his centuries-old presence intensify.

From my angle, I caught the slight narrowing of his eyes as he studied the wolf king through the tinted window—a tell I’d learned meant our king was calculating risks and advantages in this unexpected development.

My own hand instinctively moved toward my hidden blade, centuries of survival instinct kicking in despite our supposed alliance with the wolves.

My throat tightened as I considered what kind of trouble could bring the wolf king himself out as a roadside sentinel.

If Joy was hurt or dead…it would leave me dead, nothing to live for.

Angelo flicked his hand like a king, expecting his every command to be followed. “Roll down the window, Dimitri.”

I observed the slight tension that gathered in Dimitri’s shoulders as he slowed the vehicle. He rolled down the window, addressing our unexpected roadblock.

“Well, if it isn’t the local dog catcher. To what do we owe this... unexpected pleasure?” He drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, not bothering to kill the engine. “I hope you realize you’re interrupting what promises to be a satisfying bloody afternoon delight.”

From my position in the backseat, I shifted slightly, my fangs extending then retracting with a painful click as adrenaline surged through my dead veins.

The air in the car seemed to grow colder, charged with the ancient tension between our kinds.

The soft leather moaned beneath me as I leaned forward, the scent of wolf—wild, earthy, and faintly metallic—flooding through the window.

My heightened senses caught the barely perceptible sound of Angelo’s jaw clenching beside me as we waited to see how the wolf king would respond to Dimitri’s challenge.

Trystan put his hands on the driver’s door, his grasp tightening until veins stood out across his wrists, heart pounding loudly enough that even a young vampire could hear it. His usual composure was gone, replaced by something I hadn’t seen before—raw fear.

Angelo gave him a hard stare. “What the hell happened here?”

Trystan tilted his head toward the mansion. “The place is crawling with cops. Simon and his men are all dead.”

Angelo stole a side glance at me, his ancient eyes revealing nothing while the subtle shift of his body toward mine spoke volumes.

My blood froze, fear crystalizing in every cell. The world tilted dangerously as a roaring filled my ears. Every muscle in my body coiled tight, ready to spring.

“What about Joy and the other girls?” I rasped.

“Gone.” Trystan’s eyes met mine directly, carrying a weight of pity that made my stomach churn. “Stalker and one of his men were out on patrols when they noticed the stench coming from the place. Blood and gore splattered the walls. It looked like Simon and his men had gone through a meatgrinder.”

The coppery scent of Trystan’s fear mingled with the phantom smell of carnage he described. I could almost taste it on my tongue—the horror, the brutality. My surroundings became unnaturally vivid, each detail stamped with merciless clarity as my instincts screamed for action.

Angelo frowned, his centuries of control betrayed only by the slight tremor in his voice that only those who knew him well would catch. “Were there any survivors?”

Trystan shook his head, his expression grim. “No.”

The single syllable echoed in the confined space like a death knell. The stillness that followed was absolute—no heartbeats, no breathing from the vampires, only the pounding pulse of the wolf king marking time as my world collapsed around me.

“Dimitri, turn the car around,” Angelo said, his voice carrying that quiet command that had ended wars and toppled kingdoms. The upholstery whispered beneath him as he shifted, his ancient power filling the confined space like an apex predator.

I wanted more answers—needed them like I needed blood to survive. My hand trembled slightly as I grabbed the door handle, the metal warm from the afternoon sun. Without thinking, I flung the car door open, the bright daylight momentarily stinging my eyes as it flooded the tinted interior.

“Enzo.” Angelo reached for me, his fingers grazing my sleeve, but I was already out, gravel crunching beneath my boots as I stepped onto the sunbaked road.

If this was Serenity, he’d be out of his mind with worry and rage.

It was no different for me. My chest felt hollow, as though someone had carved out everything inside.

“Stalker,” I called as I headed over to him. The heat of the day pressed against my skin, making the world around me seem too bright, too harsh.

Angelo swore behind me, the rare profanity revealing more about his concern than any shouted command.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw him straightening his immaculate suit jacket as he headed over to Trystan, his movements gracefully predatory despite the tension evident in his shoulders, sunglasses now shielding his ancient eyes.

Stalker shifted back to his human form, muscles and bones cracking with sickening pops.

Naked and unashamed, his skin glistening with sweat under the harsh sun, he gave me a cool look, nostrils flaring slightly as he caught my scent.

“Enzo. Did your protégé come back and finish the job after we left?”

I shook my head, a cold dread slithering down my spine despite the warmth of the day. “No. He’s been with us. What has happened?”

“It was a bloodbath in there—looked like a Freddy Krueger party.” His eyes, still more wolf than human, held mine with unflinching intensity, squinting slightly in the daylight.

“Freddy Krueger?” The pop culture reference seemed absurdly incongruous with the horror building inside me.

“The bodies were shredded.” Stalker growled, his wolf barely contained beneath the surface of his human form. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” His throat worked as he swallowed, and from a creature who hunted even in broad daylight, the subtle tell sent ice through my veins.

“When did the cops get here? How did they even know this happened?” The sunlight suddenly seemed too bright, too revealing—a spotlight on a nightmare unfolding in real time.

Stalker’s shrug was almost insolent, but the tightness around his eyes betrayed his own unease.

“I don’t know. My team and I barely got out before they surrounded the place.

The air was thick with their human stench.

” He ran a hand through his sweat-dampened hair.

“Someone had to have called them. Maybe Simon did before he died.”

“That doesn’t smell right.” I shook my head, a wave of nausea rolling through my stomach as pieces refused to fit together.

The scent of deception permeated the air like dark smoke, acrid and wrong.

My fangs itched beneath my gums, instinctively responding to the threat.

“No, this is different. We have to find out what happened.” My fingers flexed, muscles coiling with the need to act, to hunt, to find Joy before the hollow ache in my chest consumed me entirely.

I thought about creeping over to Simon’s and observing what the police were doing. Maybe I could figure out what was happening with my vampire hearing. I was an expert in blending into the shadows.

But then I heard another sound that turned my blood cold. I detected the crunch of gravel beneath a car. Someone was heading in our direction.