Origins: Silver Mountain

Chapter Seventeen

Renée

I was frustrated. My mate severed our mindlink. He must have forgotten who I am. I kissed my babies, promised Sofie and Judeah that I'd be back, and shifted. It was pretty gory; a maddening sight. So much for seclusion. This would have never happened if ...

Caesar caught my eye. Adelaide acted quickly, tearing the head off of the ugliest vampire I had ever seen. The rest of them dropped like flies. I had many questions for my mate, which I wasn't going to get answers for right away. Adelaide soothed Caesar by snuggling him. He returned her affections and I calmed down a bit. That was over.

But what about next time? How would they handle a larger family? My anger began rising.

Augustus shifted back. Everyone else started to shift as well.

"We need the pack doctor. Now." Augustus's voice held a serious, but solemn tone.

One of our neighbors rushed off toward the pack clinic. We immediately began administering aid. Everyone was very much in shock. It wasn't an event we were prepared for, as training had taken some time to develop. There were a few bites and other injuries. We did our best as we awaited the arrival of the medical team.

A couple of our neighbors bought out towels and cloths and other supplies to help put pressure on wounds. The doctor and her team arrived, springing into action. There was much chatter amongst the group. Everyone seemed shaken up by the surprise attack.

"I'm going to check the packhouse." Augustus headed toward the packhouse.

"Wait!" I followed behind him.

We walked in silence.

Upon arriving at the packhouse, Augustus grabbed some shorts from a basket on the porch. I glanced inside and settled on a t-shirt and shorts, which were too big on my body, but it beat being nude.

The smell of blood was noticeable as we stepped inside. The door was wide open, so we knew it had been hit. There were the lifeless bodies of two vampires in the foyer.

"We're going to have to burn them all." I looked up at Augustus, who was quietly observing.

We continued to walk through the packhouse. Nothing else downstairs seemed out of place. The second floor was the same, until we found Lukas's guard unresponsive in Augustus's office. The third floor looked like a bloodbath. There were the bodies of vampires, but also Rita and one of Lukas's other guards.

The banging sound of a door hitting a wall startled me. Augustus moved in front of me. Brighton came charging out before realizing it was just us.

He breathed a sigh of relief and started crying.

"They just showed up and started slaughtering everyone." He was choking on his words, trying to articulate the situation as best as he could between weeping.

"Have you sustained any injuries?" Augustus was calmer.

"No. No injuries. I fought. And then they all just died." He gulped.

"They were newborns. My mate killed their Sire."

I smiled proudly.

"You saved my life." Brighton bowed.

"Is there anyone else up here?"

"No, sir."

"We need to collect all of the vampires and carry them to the town center."

"Right away."

"There are two downstairs at the entrance. Check the dungeon and then begin removing whatever vampires are here."

"Yes, sir."

Brighton rushed off. Augustus moved closer to Rita and the guard. I followed slowly. Rita was still breathing shallowly. The guard was pale and not breathing at all. He was gone. I placed a hand on Augustus's back. He inhaled and shook his head.

He knelt to pick up Rita and we descended the stairs.

***

The rescue and clean-up had taken days. People were afraid to leave their homes, so shops were still shuttered and the streets were quiet. We had burned the bodies of the vampires and buried those we lost. Others were being treated at the clinic, including Rita. Lukas was back and absolutely furious. His vampire friend received side glances and dirty looks, but he assured everyone that she wouldn't hurt anyone.

We had decided to leave Sofie and the twins with Judeah, telling our neighbors and Lukas that we sent them on an extended trip for their safety.

The town was on high alert.

There was much buzz about this attack being Lukas's fault. He didn't like that at all.

I was helping out at the packhouse while Lukas and Augustus discussed security and other issues.

With the loss of half of his guard team, Lukas was panicking. He was especially mourning the deaths of Scoop and Trojan.

I read some documents and could understand why my mate disliked coming to work with the king. From what I knew, his family was very wealthy and powerful. There was no reason anyone within our territory should beg for their basic needs to be met. He could take care of everyone here and wouldn't miss a single dollar.

There was so much to be done. The packhouse repairs were astonishing. I was surprised Lukas was sitting on all of this mess. And it wasn't just the packhouse; there were multiple requests for renovations of homes across the territory. People described living in poor conditions due to lack of funding. Between roofs caving in and plumbing failure, Lukas was a slumlord. I was appalled.

Augustus opened the door and quickly closed and locked it behind him.

"How was the meeting?"

"Ongoing. I just came to check on you and take a break." He sighed heavily.

"What's going on?" Adelaide was pushing me to soothe him.

"There are talks of recruiting from the supernatural realm. That could be devastating to our territory."

I cringed at the thought of that.

"I've convinced him as best I could not to mingle too much because it will only create more problems. Since we've been attacked, it's harder to prevent. We may be headed for demise."

I held my breath.

"So what should we do?"

"We should leave. Very soon."

"What about what the Moon Goddess said? And Judeah?"

"The prophecy may still be fulfilled. It was never specified that we must stay. It could be dangerous for us, for the twins."

I considered what he was saying for a moment. I didn't disagree. But it just didn't seem right to leave now. Obviously, Amitayus and Apple wouldn't be fighting any wars or overthrowing Lukas at this time in their lives, but the journey leading up to it was important. How could they fight so fearlessly for a land they have no connection to? If we took them away, there would be no reason to come back.

I kept my thoughts to myself. I would have to pray about this. The Moon Goddess would know what to do.