Control

The Call

    Dante wore a solid black suit with a red rose pinned to the lapel, black shirt, black tie. The combination made his pale skin jump out even more. The group of Alpha’s and Beta’s surrounding him were hanging on to his every word. Was this the attraction of vampires? Truth be told, I had never encountered one myself and it made the missing numbers that much scarier. Dante was good at addressing a crowd. He rotated eye contacted with everyone in the circle. Every time his eyes met mine, my stomach did another flip and I had to be the one to break contact. I was afraid the prolonged exposure to his golden eyes would completely devour my soul.

“Ah, finally, Isabella!” Dante spoke and reached his handout past the group. A tall, slender woman approached. She had dark, chocolate skin but was paired with golden eyes and long silvery hair. She was wrapped in a navy, one-shoulder satin dress. She looked no older than 22 but the way she spoke was reminiscent of the elders we had at the pack house. Is she his mate? I couldn’t help but almost feel… jealousy?

“Dante! So sorry to have kept you waiting!” She approached and introduced herself to all of the surrounding Alphas and Betas. She reached out her hand but not to offer a handshake, she instead preferred a kiss on the top of her hand.

“Alpha Grey”, she opened her arms and stepped towards me, her hands landed on my bare shoulders and I could feel the graze of her long nails. Her skin was so cold, she leaned forward and offered a kiss to each side of my face. “I have been most excited to meet you!”

“Isabella,” I muttered, seemingly unable to find my words. What was happening to me? I saw Dante’s hand move to the small of Isabella’s back and she quickly stepped back in place. I had made eye contact again with Dante while Isabella continued introductions with the remainder of the group. His eyes were kind and soft, but somehow intense and knowing. Behind me the omegas had begun bringing out carts of food to the oversized dinner table to fit the 25 or so attendees.  

“Ah yes!” Raphael’s voice broke my concentration, “Shall we take our seats then?” The seats at the table were all assigned, I’m sure that was Raphael’s doing. He, of course, sat at the head of the table with Marco to his right, and Dante to his left. I was placed to the right of Marco with Jason by my side. Isabella was directly across from me, followed by Dominic and Trey to her left. Our first course was a New Orleans Seafood gumbo, but simple opaque black champagne flutes were given to Isabella and Dante. The semll of seafood wasn’t enough to mask the smell of blood protruding from their glasses. Raphael told anecdote after anecdote and I worked diligently to maintain focus on Raphael even though I could feel eyes on me from across the table. With a second course of steak, vegetables, and dirty rice, the pleasantries began to shift into business. Finally, I thought, the whole reason we’re here.

“Upon signing this treaty, you agree to allow The Vampire Authority access to your lands and agree that no vampire will be harmed on your property, just as we agree the no werewolf will be harmed under our watch. We will dispatch a small troop to keep watch and ensure your safety...”

Jade, are you hearing this? Jason’s mind-link interrupted my own running thoughts.

Yes. I hear him.

You’re not actually going to allow this are you?

“You want us to allow you full access to our pack lands?” I spoke up, interrupting Dante as he explained more details. All eyes at the table shifted to me.

“Yes ma’am. We believe that the dwelling pack numbers, specifically on females, is coming from attacks made within your packs. Allowing us to be in the vicinity will grant us the opportunity to bring these murderers to justice.”

“We have surveillance guards running all day. Why would they not detect these intruders?” Alpha Dominic said down to my left. With what felt like less than a second, Isabella was gone from her position at the table. The slight gust of wind was sudden and Isabella was standing behind Dominic. Her hand on his shoulder, she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.

“Unfortunately, your guards are not quick enough to catch us.” Dante regained attention. Murmurs erupted from the table, fear setting in. Had vampires really been able to infiltrate our pack unnoticed? Then it suddenly hit me, I couldn’t smell Dante or Isabella. Werewolves, humans, even some oracles have a distinct smell. These vampires had none. I looked to Jason on my left, he must’ve had the same realization I did as his eyes were huge and filled with worry.

“Isabella is sort of our… sheriff… for the New Orleans area and has actually taken residence here in the pack house. To date, she has caught 4 rogue vampires on property within the span of two weeks. Those of you who sign the treaty will also have a small group of trained vampires dispatched to your location and an appointed sheriff. All we ask for in return is measurable compensation.”

“Compensation? Is that all?” Dominic almost laughed “And what about food? How will these vampires on our premises feed themselves?”

“Our vampires are not animals,” Dante returned. Dominic was implying that the vampires would be feeding on packmates. However, Dante showed no sign of offense. “Our troops are… vegetarians… so to say. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that Isabella and I have been dining from these special glasses. Raphael has so kindly treated us to the blood of mountain lion, horse, and I do believe I tasted a hint of mallard in there as well.” He raised the glass to Raphael and took a swig as Isabella took her seat again. “No harm will come to your pack with our presence.” He said, but this time he made deliberate eye contact with me.

The rest of dinner was casual and light, with the occasional silence from Alpha and Beta as they discussed their options through mind-link. During desert, beignets of course, I was approached from behind by an omega. I turned to see Priscilia standing behind me.

“Alpha Grey, you have a phone call. They say its urgent.” She says with a flushed face and avoiding eye contact. I rushed inside behind her where she presented me with an antique land line phone.

“This is Jade”, I say upon picking up the phone.

“Jade.” I was met with the husky voice of my father, “it’s your mother. She was found near Luke’s grave. Honey, she’s gone.”

My world shrank around me. My mother… was gone? How could this have happened?

“How?” Was all I could muster.

“We’re not sure yet. But it looked like an attack of an animal or a rogue. The trackers are having a hard time with it, as they cant seem to pick up a scent.” My mouth dropped open and I turned around. Through the windows, out into the courtyard, seated next to the head of the table, golden eyes were looking back at me. My eyes began to sting as I attempted to fight against the filling water. I dropped the phone and felt my knees shake. Everything began closing in and suddenly went dark.

My dream was filled with a wooded forest, covered in snow. It looked like home in the middle of November. A trimmed red rose sat on the snow and in the distance, I could see the back of my mother running away.