Page 65 of Those That Are Lost (Hidden Vampires #2)

TY

“ H ow many?” I ask, instantly on alert once more. Panic rises in my chest. With Adicious dead, and us literally surrounded by their bodies, who the fuck is entering the property. It must be after midnight as well.

“Eight, maybe ten. It’s hard to tell as there is a shielder amongst them.”

I turn to Red and see she’s already thrown her glamour in place.

She looks fresh, clean and she doesn’t have a mark to show from the last few hours.

Her clothes are dark so don’t show the blood.

She also corrects her posture, the tiredness lifting from her body.

That’s all her, not her magic. She can pull herself together from the brink of collapse and look completely fine.

It awes me as much as it scares me. I hope she never hides her true feelings from me again.

“Which direction are they coming from?” she asks.

“The drive. They’re in cars.”

Who in the ever loving fuck? My tired brain works overtime trying to calculate who could be coming after us this soon.

Red goes to move but I grab her hand. Seeing her thoughts, I’m horrified at her plan .

“I can head them off, whoever they are. Let me go meet them on the drive and send them packing before they see all this.” She gestures to the backyard that looks more like a morgue slash crematorium currently.

“Alone? Not a chance.” My grip on her tightens as I pull her back towards me.

“I’m the only one who doesn’t look bloodied and beaten. How are we going to explain all this?” She waves with her free hand. “If I can stop them coming round the back, maybe we won't get arrested for murder tonight.”

“And if they’re here to cause trouble, it’s putting you at ten against one. Not happening.” I gaze down at her, pleading with her. Feeling her in danger once tonight is enough. In fact, I’ve had enough of that fear for a lifetime.

“It's the authorities,” Mitch calls. He’s managed to stand again and is hobbling over, using a stick as a makeshift crutch,

My heart stops beating. No…

“How would you know?” Red asks. Even through her glamour her skin pales.

I pick up the noise of the engines now, they’re racing down the long driveway.

“Yeah, how would you know?” Ash has shifted back now and repeats the question, but there’s an edge to his voice I can’t place. It’s like he’s not surprised.

“You need to go!” I snap, realising the danger the wolves are in.

They’re outside of their territory. The authorities might capture and kill individual vampires if they discover them but by breaking the shifter treaty, the four males currently outside the Northern Isles are handing the authorities permission to execute the entire pack.

The treaty was absolute. Any wolf found outside their little sanctuary means the lot of them die .

The cars come to a screeching halt on the gravel. Doors are thrown open.

“Go!” Red shoos Ash.

“Wait. It’s fine,” Ash tries to explain, his packmates joining him. “We didn’t get a chance to explain it to you, we’re allowed to be here.”

“Since when?” I hiss.

“It went through, didn’t it?” Mitch asks excitedly.

A yell comes from the other side of the house. We all fall silent. It’ll be too late. If these visitors are supernatural then they’ll have heard us, will hear the fire crackling.

I tug Red’s hand again and she comes willingly into my side, although I note she doesn’t press against me as it’s my injured side.

Ash comes up to my other side. “If it’s the authorities, it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t fucking see how,” I fire at him in a hushed yell, snapping my fangs to show how pissed I’m feeling. Pissed, and absolutely terrified. We didn’t go through hell the past few days for it to end like this.

I order most of the males into the house by the rear entrance.

We can’t do much about the bodies littering the lawn but I feel better putting some form of barrier between them and whoever is currently making their way around the property.

Only Mitch—who refused to budge—Ash, Henry, and Antares remain with Red and me.

Mitch tries to talk to me again but I wave him off, too occupied in ensuring we don’t get captured tonight after we just gained our freedom.

Two males appear round the side first, both brandishing blades. When they spot us through the darkness, standing just off the porch, they freeze.

“Hands where we can see them,” the taller one yells .

“Fuck off Paden,” Mitch half stumbles a step forward. “And put the knives away, you missed all the action.”

I want to demand how Mitch knows the male’s name but I’m too dumbstruck.

More come round the corner, more males in combat gear and a couple of females too, including one I think is the shield.

The last two are both pure Fae. Their grace and distinctively pointed ears are hard to miss. The male is in all black but jeans and a shirt instead of combat attire like the rest. And the female is wearing a crisp black suit, her blonde hair braided over one shoulder.

She pauses as she takes in Mitch’s battered state.

“You’re alive. Would’ve been nice of you to answer your damn phone,” she quips, but I see the tension in her shoulder relax a little.

“Been rather busy,” Mitch bites back. “As you can see, it kinda went to hell tonight.”

“Was the outcome as planned?” she asks, scanning each of us and the bodies stacked by the growing fire.

I stay rooted to the spot, Red similarly tense beside me. Her curiosity at the conversation unfolding in front of us is more trusting than the betrayal brewing in my chest. It’s clear Mitch knows whoever this squad is.

And it’s clear as a summer’s day that they are a team.

They’ve slipped into easy formation without communicating verbally.

They’re all watching each other's backs, and whilst weapons have been sheathed for now, I note how they all keep their hands poised to draw them once more.

A few are even strapped with guns which has me hesitating in engaging in any way.

I feel Henry and Antares move towards us, slinking silently into a protective range. They sense the danger and are reacting to their need to protect us. I catch Antares’s gaze and he cocks his head the tiniest amount in question.

“ Not yet” I mouth to him as subtly as I can. I have no idea how many he can pull under his power’s control at once but the look of determination on his features tells me he really wants to try it on each and every one of the new threats standing against us.

“I’d say so, although I’m sure they’re about to attack you, so can I fill you in after introductions are made?” Mitch says casually, opening his stance so his back isn’t to us any longer.

“Can someone please explain what is going on?” Henry is the one to step forward and demand answers.

It’s the female in a suit that answers. “I’m Detective Chief Superintendent Morris, I am in charge of the protection unit for Froan.

We have been gathering intelligence that vampires still remain on the island and that a pack is being established.

Detective Sergeant Mitchell called this evening requesting assistance. ”

She gestures at Mitch and my blood drains. Clutching Red tighter to my side, I stare that the male whom I shared a room with, shared this whole plan with, and was trusting with my mate in a flat across the continent a week ago. Has he been playing us the entire time?

“You’re with them?” Antares accuses. “How?”

Mitch catches my gaze and must see the anger behind my blank expression because his eyes fall away before he speaks in a submissive gesture.

“Ty, I am so sorry I lied. I had to keep my cover.”

“How long?” How long has he been planning to rat us out.

“I was part of the force before I came here. It’s the reason I came here.”

“But you’re a…” Red speaks beside me, almost saying the word that will hand Mitch, and probably the rest of us, a death sentence .

“I’m a vampire, yes,” Mitch responds calmly.

My eyes shoot to the line of detectives who now have every right to arrest and kill him for that admission.

However, none of them move. None of them look even remotely surprised.

“I manipulated Adicious into turning me so I could join the pack undercover.”

“I know this will be hard to trust,” the Fae female, the one in charge says.

“But we are not here to arrest you. My squad was formed about six years ago to investigate the likelihood that any vampires still remained here on Froan Island. There had been a few instances that had flagged warnings in the system. We’ve also been canvassing the public, trying to gauge the feeling towards vampires now that there are a few decades between the war and the hate campaign has died down. ”

My heart is beating out of rhythm in my chest. For a second, I worry I’d assessed my earlier injury wrong, but as each unbelievable word comes out of their mouth sinks in, I feel more terrified.

Despite the words, I fear I’ve led Red home and walked her into a bigger trap than the one we were here to fight.

I’ve led Henry and Antares to their slaughter.

‘Do we run?’ Red’s voice cuts through the million different thoughts racing around my head. Her voice sounds scared and I want to lash out. We’ve been through enough these last few days.

‘I don’t think we can,’ I tell her honestly. ‘They have guns, and several have powers. The shield is making it hard to tell how strong their magic is but I’d bet several are powerful. That’s without talking about the two Fae in the middle.’

“Ty…” It’s Ash that speaks up. “I know this is hard to comprehend, but they speak the truth. They’re not here to arrest you. We’ve been working with them too.”

I nearly stagger backwards with the information.

“How? They’ve worked to kill us for nearly sixty years.” I snap, addressing Ash .

“I know you’re going to take some time to trust this, all of you are, but my parents have been working with the authorities here on Froan Island for a while. It’s why we were able to travel here to help you.”