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“Alright ladies, let's focus.” Craig’s voice bounced off the walls.

Everyone shuffled into a comfortable position. Boots scuffed and chairs scraped. Tom, Lance, and Marcus leaned against the far wall. Ben, Logan, and Oliver were sitting nearby while Elijah, Jason, and Alex sat on the rear table.

“Not that long ago, there were five of you.” Brayden began glancing around the room as Callan slipped in the side door.

“Recently, I tasked Craig with building the senior team to ensure we could protect the royal family and the race against growing threats. Now there are fourteen skilled warriors standing before me.”

Some of the males worked for Ari at The Institute as assassins, but they all worked as one team now.

“I’m an overachiever.” Craig smirked.

“It took an interspecies war, but nice work.” Kurt laughed.

“Semantics.”

The two vampires grinned at one another.

“Speaking of,” Brayden continued. The prince was all business when he got focused. After all, he was the captain. “Let’s get down to business.”

Ari pointed the clicker, and a global map appeared on the screen in front of them. Red dots were scattered. There were a lot of them.

“These are the hotspots right now,” the ancient vampire said.

The king stood to his right, with his hands in his pockets, glaring at the image. There was nothing casual about Vincent Moretti. He’d proven to be a smart and strategic king since he’d taken the throne.

“Meaning?” Lance asked.

“Meaning the most dangerous areas for our race.” Brayden sat his ass on the edge of a table near the wall and pointed. “All the big cities: Rome, London, LA, New York, Sydney, Paris...and a few other outliers. But this one is interesting. St. Petersburg.”

“Difficult to get hard data because it’s Russia, but it’s not hard to guess why.” Craig’s lips curled.

No, it wasn’t.

That’s where Nikolay Mikhailov, head of the Russian Bratva and their nemesis, lived. Assuming that’s where he fled after leaving the United States.

He was also the reason they were all in this mess. Although he didn’t start it, Nikolay did escalate it.

“I’ve been invited to Washington to meet with POTUS and other world leaders,” Vincent said. “We are waiting to hear details. Obviously, we still aren’t sharing information about the serum, which, if leaked, could be catastrophic for our race.”

“Washington. It’s too fucking dangerous,” Craig muttered.

“And one of the most secure locations on earth,” the king replied.

“Bullshit. It’s the most visible .” The huge vampire shook his head and glared at the prince, waiting for him to say something. Clearly, there had been a big debate about this.

Rarely did anyone speak to the king like that, and Mack knew the commander wouldn’t have done so in public.

Occasionally lines were crossed in their tight inner circle—which as Brayden had shared was much bigger than it had been in centuries—and while under this kind of pressure, soldiers were bound to shit talk.

Still, Mack noticed the king’s mouth tighten.

“He’ll be protected if and when he goes. Your job is here with the SLCs.” Brayden told him.

Then Mack was sure he heard the prince add stop sulking.

Craig let out a growl.

It was the right call, as far as he was concerned. The commander needed to remain leading the team. A stark reminder they were in the middle of a war. One that might not look like WWI or WWII as their ancestors had fought, but a different kind.

One with protests, social media, podcasts, and secret meetings. It was a war of thoughts, beliefs, and...potentially violence.

If that happened, no one was sure what it would look like. There was nothing in history to compare to.

Given there were eight billion humans and ten million vampires—despite their strength—there was much debate about how it would end.

“What are the odds of Nikolay getting the serum off the ground and this turning out really badly for us?” Ben asked.

Brayden and Ari exchanged a look.

“Medium to high risk. He’s a selfish and arrogant motherfucker, so likely thinks he can still produce and distribute the serum from Russia.” Ari crossed his arms. “He’ll need help, and from the intel we’ve gained, it looks like he’s destroyed relationships with the other crime families.”

“There are many more on that side of the world.” Mack reminded him.

“Correct.” Craig nodded at the map. “He’ll be looking for other partners. Possibly the Triad.”

They all stared at the image and began listing off the different gangs around the world. The Irish. Cosa Nostra in Sicily. Ndrangheta in Calabria—considered the most powerful mafia on the planet.

There were many more.

“What do we think?” Brayden asked after a moment.

Marcus rubbed his jaw. “The Triad will want an enormous cut, and he won’t like that.”

“The Greeks or Serbians would take a smaller cut, but their distribution capabilities will be limited,” Tom added. “One thing for sure, it won’t be the Ukrainians.”

“Small mercy, I guess.” Mack shook his head.

There were dozens of crime families around the world, so it was a guessing game. He had a conversation recently with Ben and Callan about how the rules could change for humans now a second species had appeared.

It was amazing how a group of foes could put their differences aside and partner for a common goal.

In this case they could see it as survival.

Mack had been thinking about that a lot.

If aliens appeared in the sky and tried to enslave humans, they’d all be on the same side. This was the same thing. Except vampires had over fifteen hundred fucking years of evidence they were a peaceful species.

Didn’t seem to matter.

“The time for diplomacy is over. We will react as required while I continue working with world leaders to educate the public around the world on who we are. Right now, there’s panic, but this stage will pass,” Vincent said.

“Or it won’t,” Ari said.

The male didn’t speak often, but when he did, it was with power and wisdom.

The king nodded solemnly. “Or it won’t.”

Fuck, it was terrible to hear him say that.

“We can’t predict anything. Right now, we stay strong and continue to protect the race,” Brayden said. “That is the message you give to your teams with strength and confidence.”

While the males in this room were the king's senior-most team, there were tens of thousands of Moretti soldiers based around the world.

Mack had seen the program led by Brianna in consultation with the king. As a former human, the communications expert had put together a digital campaign which shared information about vampires.

From how they lived as families, just like humans, with a mom, dad, and two-and-a-half kids. A mortgage, SUV, and playdates.

It showed them at work, playing sports, and even walking on the beach. All at nighttime, of course.

He particularly liked the part where they shared vampires having challenges, such as career progression, relationship problems, and money struggles.

It was humanizing them... for the want of a better word. Or perhaps it was perfect.

Relatable was the word Brianna used.

“If people can relate, they drop their defensive barriers.” She explained when presenting to the SLC team weeks ago. “And they’ll step into a compassionate mindset. Aka, they won’t kill people.”

“I have my reservations.” Craig had frowned.

“You’re a warrior. It’s your job to think that way. The same could be said for lawyers. They’re trained to think of the worst-case scenario. Most of the world doesn’t think that way,” Brianna replied.

“Fair.”

“Our Vampire Education Program is currently being translated into a dozen different languages and rolled out globally.” The king shared now. “And supported by the UN and other leaders.”

Mack was impressed, if he was being honest.

The Moretti family might be royalty and have its own army, but they were hardly a global corporation with skills in communicating to the entire human population. It was a huge undertaking.

Not that he knew.

He owned a gym in Seattle. Reaching his target audience in that city was a big enough job.

“What does POTUS say about all this?” Kurt asked.

Mack watched the king choose his words carefully. He looked each of them in the eye and there was truth lining his regal face.

“President Calder will protect his people. Some of you are Americans, but first and foremost you are vampires.” He then glanced at Callan and Mack. “And hybrids.”

Shit.

“If things shift, as they can do quickly, we will need to fight,” Vincent announced. “Remember, we are the stronger race. If it’s a choice between humans or our race surviving, then I choose us.”

Fuck.

The urge to have Ella close to him and safe increased, making his heart rate increase.

She’d asked him if his family was coming to Maine.

He had asked, but they’d declined. Knowing his brother, Michael, was there to protect his mom and dad gave him some confidence, but the truth was, if the entire world ended up in a two-species conflict, it would be bloody and fast.

They all knew that.

“It’s just fucking insane,” Tristan said. “We’re being called everything from a disease to a science experiment gone wrong.”

Ari’s brows lifted just an inch, almost in humor.

Interesting.

“On a bright note, there’s a whole fanbase on TikTok looking to fall in love with a vampire. Check out #vampiretok and #suckme.” Logan laughed.

“Fall in love? Or fuck?” Darnell snorted, and they all laughed.

Oliver, Kurt, and Lance pulled out their phones and began to read out examples.

“Look at this one. Henry Cavill must be a vampire. He’s too perfect.” Oliver roared, throwing back his head.

“Oh my God.” Lance shook his head. “Listen to this; will donate blood for a hot vampire with an eight pack. Must eat pussy.”

Jesus Christ.

“What account name is that please?” Tristan asked and Kurt shoved him. “What? I’m researching !”

Craig chuckled.

It didn’t take long for the room to turn somber once more as their minds turned back to enemy number one.

Mack wasn’t with the team in Seattle when they’d had to let Nikolay walk freely to save Isabella’s life, but he imagined it was one of the most frustrating moments in Brayden’s life.

“Mikhailov holds the wild card here. There is a chance of containing a global fight if this program reaches enough humans quickly,” Ari says. “However, if he finds a partner to produce and sell the serum...we’re fucked.”

The temperature in the room dropped a dozen degrees.

Arming millions of humans with a weapon that rendered vampires powerless—and was harmless to people—would see them all enslaved.

Humans had done it before to themselves, and still did it to animals. Most ignored the cruel practices right in front of their faces. There was no hope for vamps if they saw them as scary predators.

“We need to kill that fucker,” Craig growled. “Now.”