Three weeks, Richard thought as he stormed around in his office. His anger poured from him and everyone in the house steered clear of that side. All the leads that they had found turned out to be nothing but dead ends, but he hadn't given up.
At the thought of Laretta, Richard's shoulders fell as he slumped into his seat. It had been a week ago that he has last felt anything from her through the bond. And that had been nothing but pain. His mind and soul were in torment. He knew nothing about what she was going through. And if it wasn't for the fact that he could barely feel the connection, he would have surely lost it; fearing that she was dead.
A sharp knock brought his head up as the door opened. Jon slowly stuck his head in, almost as if he feared to have it ripped off. Richard felt shame wash over him as he motioned for his friend to enter. He shouldn't have been pushing his fears and anger onto his pack, making them fear that he'd harm them.
"We think that we've found a fresh lead … One that will actually pan out this time Richard," Jon spoke as he quickly sat down. "One of the mountain alphas reported that a tracker of his spotted a vampire leaving an abandoned cabin several miles north of his pack. There was no scent until the tracker was just a few feet from him, but something was off about the vampire."
Jon fell silent as his thoughts turned in his mind. "There was something else … But the alpha thinks that his tracker was wrong."
"What was that?"
"He said that his tracker reported a hint of a fae about the leech; as well as werewolf." Both men feel silent as they tried to process the information. Finally, Richard stood up. "Call and tell him that we're coming up to investigate. We won't necessarily cross through his territory."
Jon nodded and made his way towards the door. "Tell the men that we move out within the next hour." Richard's words followed him through the door. If Jon had looked back at his friend and alpha, he would have seen the first smile that graced his face in nearly a month since this nightmare began. For Richard finally had a glimmer of hope that he would get the love of his life back.
Exactly forty-five minutes from Jon leaving his alpha's office, he was running behind Richard as they took off from the grounds. Sounds of several hundred warriors behind him filled his heart with pride at the amount of wolves that had volunteered to help find and return their alpha's mate back to safety. And Jon could only guess at the pride that was running through Richard at the moment.
For two days, they ran. Richard made sure to stop often for a bite and rest. As much as he longed to have Laretta back, he wasn't going to push his men beyond what they could endure. And who knew what was waiting for them when they arrived.
Finally, the cabin was in sight. Most of the warriors were sent to secure the perimeter around the cabin as Richard and Jon slowly made their way towards the front door. The smell of death, such a sickly sweet scent, hung heavily in the air.
It caused Richard's heart to twist in his chest, his fear that he hadn't made it in time to save Laretta caused fear to wash through him.
The two men quickly entered the cabin, only to have their hopes shattered. The cabin just had three small rooms, and none of them held who they were looking for. Thinking that they had found yet another dead end, Richard turned to leave. Jon had started to look around, searching, hoping for a clue.
"Richard … " Jon barely spoke but Richard spun around as if he had yelled. He found Jon squatting next to a medium trap door that had been hidden under a rug. "Maybe … " He didn't finish the sentence as the two men quickly disappeared down the hole. Several of the warriors were quick to follow them. What they found shocked them both.
Laretta groaned as her eyes fluttered open. She slowly sat up, glancing around the room. When she didn't see Rhett, a sigh of relief fell from her lips. "You're awake."
A soft voice spoke from her left and she jumped, startled. Quickly, her eyes landed on a young woman who resembled her somewhat. "Who are you?" Laretta asked softly, her throat feeling dry. "I'm Elizabetta Thane. Who are you?"
"I'm Laretta O'Neil." They shared weak smiles as Laretta eased herself back onto the small cot. "Why has Rhett taken you?" Elizabetta asked softly, though she already had an idea. She had seen several of the girls that had been here before her. And even she couldn't deny the fact that the both of them looked somewhat alike. From a distance, she was sure that they could be mistaken as sisters, maybe twins.
"He took me because of what I am." The truth rolled from Laretta's lips. At the puzzled look on the girl's face, she explained from what she had been able to gather from the memories that crowded her mind now. "When I was six, Rhett discovered my mother and I. She was a royal fae … "
"But they haven't been allowed to enter this realm for many years!" Elizabetta cried out, interrupting. "Yes. However, my mother was sent here as punishment. The council expected that she would have been killed just shortly after, but that wasn't the case.
"My father stumbled upon her while on a run. She was lying unconscious on the forest floor. He took her back to his home, captivated by her beauty. By the time that she came too, he was already in love with her. After she came to and found that he meant her no harm, she stayed with him. After a time, she came to love him as well.
"She had no idea that she was expecting her father showed up to take her home. Her punishment, he had declared, had been deemed too severe for the only daughter of the fae king. She was taken back to the fae world, where I was discovered. Once a month after was born, my mother was allowed to bring me back to see my father once a month for a day."
Laretta fell silent as she tried to sort the memories in her mind. They had been hidden for so long, she felt as if they belonged to someone else. "Rhett took me, because, for a purebred vampire, a fae's blood is like a drug. It enhances their natural abilities. And it's addictive to them. Once they've had it, they will do anything to get more. Look at what Rhett's done to find me."
Her voice faded just as a dark chuckle filled the room. The girl's gasped as their eyes snapped towards the door. Rhett stepped towards them, his eyes hard as he watched them. "Well, looks like we're all introduced to one another now ... How about we have some fun?" There was a glint in his eyes that told them that what was about to happen would not be fun at all.