“I’m not sure, but they’re well-informed,” he said with a soft sigh. “They seemed to know who I was and my connections to the Savannah pack almost immediately.”
“What happened?” Barrett asked, looking up in the mirror again as he tried to see his friend.
Daniel licked his lips and took another couple deep breaths, his face twisting as if the pain of the memory made it difficult to speak. “They attacked shortly after I checked in with you the first night. They sent nearly a dozen men. They gagged and tied me up before bringing me back to their headquarters. I was locked in that room almost constantly. They took me out to show off their weapons and brag about how they are going to destroy both the vampires and werewolves. I guess they never imagined I would survive long enough to escape.”
“What about the two lycans being held next to you? Do you have any sense of how long they were there?” Barrett pressed.
Daniel shook his head and then flinched at the motion. “None. Longer than me. I could hear them through the walls. The spoke mostly about the pack in Charleston, but they gave up information about Savannah. They mentioned Mira by name. Even went so far as to tell them to stay out of Savannah because of her.”
“Did they give a physical description of her?” I asked.
“No. Just a name and that she was a nightwalker that protected the city.” Daniel opened his eyes, looking at me for the first time. “We need to warn her. They’ll be coming after her next.”
Oddly, I found myself taking the man’s left hand in both of mine and squeezing it reassuringly. “We will.”
Daniel had risked his life for both the nightwalkers and the lycanthropes, and he was just a human. He could have easily been killed for a cause that was not his own, and I could not help but respect him more for his bravery and selflessness. I’d spent little time around humans in my life and even less time actually speaking to them. This one in particular surprised me.
I looked up at the back of Barrett’s head, turning my attention away from the human. “What I don’t understand is how members of the Charleston pack knew anything about the Savannah pack. Wouldn’t that kind of information be private to each pack?”
Barrett shook his head and made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat. “Because of the geographical closeness of the two packs, we have always tried to maintain a somewhat open relationship so that neither side became too territorial. We’ve even used the same hunting grounds in the past during a full moon. However, all shifters swear to the same code of silence when it comes to outsiders. The penalty is death to anyone that betrays our secret.”
“Barrett, if they know about me, then they’ll be able to find Annie and my girls!” Daniel said with sudden urgency. He tried to twist around to look at Barrett in the front, but his face contorted in pain and he slumped back onto the floor of the van.
“I’ve had people watching them very closely at all times since you left. We will continue to do so,” Barrett firmly said.
“We’re going to have to leave Savannah,” Daniel said softly, closing his eyes again. His hand slipped out of mine and he lay limp as his breathing grew more ragged. “It won’t be safe for us any longer if they know about me.”
“I understand,” Barrett replied in a low voice, sounding saddened by the loss of his friend. “I will contact the local pack wherever you go and have them extend the same protection that I am offering you now.”
“Barrett, you can’t ask—”
The lycanthrope quickly cut him off. “I can and I will. Any pack will be happy to help your family after what you have sacrificed for our people. You will be protected. In the meantime, you will call Annie when we reach Savannah so she knows you’re safe. You will then stay with my family until you’re properly healed.”
“I can’t,” Daniel argued. “I need to get home.”
“You are a mess, my friend. You haven’t the strength to protect anyone. You need time to heal or you will only terrify Annie.”
A lengthy silence settled into the car again, with everyone lost in their own thoughts. I stared down at the human, looking to see signs his wounds healing, but nothing changed as I expected. I was not accustomed to such a slow healing process. Again, I found it astounding that humans had survived for so long.
“Who is Annie?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“She’s my wife,” Daniel murmured.
“And you have girls? Are there other wives?”
“No.” Daniel gave a small chuckle and looked up at me, cocking his head to one side. “You’re not human, are you?”
“No, I’m naturi.”
“And I thought you were everyone’s enemy,” Daniel said with a slight smirk.
“Apparently not any longer.”
Daniel fell silent again, and his breathing seemed to even out for the first time as he relaxed. When he spoke again, he sounded somewhat distant, as if falling asleep again. “I have daughters. Five daughters.”
“How?” I found myself whispering in awe.
A blush stole to Daniel’s cheeks and he cracked one eye open at me. Even Barrett chuckled at me from the front seat. “The old-fashioned way,” he uttered before closing his eye again.
“Most of our females will never hold their own child,” I said in a low voice. “Five is . . . unheard of among my people.”
Daniel blindly reached out with his left hand and squeezed one of my hands. “I’m sorry.”
“So am I,” I whispered in a voice so low I wasn’t sure that even Barrett with his keen hearing picked up my words.
Yet, even as the sad thought passed through my brain, I had to question the wisdom of ever reproducing. Despite my constant training and work as protector of my people, even I felt the occasional stirrings inside me, the longing to hold my own flesh and blood. But as I sat in the back of the dirty car with a lycanthrope and human, covered in blood of my enemies, I didn’t think it was wise to attempt to bear my own children. What kind of an influence would I be?
What’s wrong? Rowe demanded suddenly in my brain, his voice like a gentle caress across my brow.
I fought back a surprised smile, as I had not thought he would pick up on my change in emotions. Drawing in a slow breath, I released it through my nose, pushing away the temporary melancholy I felt for both myself and my slowly dying race.
Nothing now, I replied, making sure to wipe the voice in his head clean of any traces of sadness. His concern for me was enough. There would be time enough later to worry about myself and my people. For now, it was enough to know I was not alone in this world.
Twenty-three
Danaus had not arrived at my home yet when I felt a shift of power in the air. The feeling built slowly, like a spider crawling up my flesh until it was squatting at the back of my neck. I knew what it was. Or rather who it was. Frowning, I left my sanctuary in the basement and climbed up the stairs before crossing through the underused kitchen to exit out the back door. My nearest neighbors were several acres away, with trees surrounding my property in all directions, obscuring the view. It was the safest place for facing Nick, and it protected my house in some small way. I had just finished rebuilding my study following his destruction of it and was in no mood to rebuild any more of the house. I had spent too many years moving around, and I liked it and its contents as they were.
Standing unarmed in the middle of the yard, I raised my arms out to my sides and stretched out my powers so I could feel the various energies swirling around me. Nick had opened up my senses. Before, I could only sense the soul energy that emanated from humans and lycanthropes, as well as the thin, wispy presence of nightwalkers. Now, it was as if a great door had been opened before my eyes. I could sense the energy of the earth along with the beating pulse of the naturi. I could sense other strange powers I couldn’t identify and seemed indeterminate, as if trying to cloak themselves yet unable to completely hide from me.