"Did you hear about what happened last night?"
Mayor Sabian looked up from the desk and what he had been writing on a paper in front of him. He knew all that was happening behind the scenes concerning what Khalan was doing, trying to gather a mob or something like that. However, he was not going to say anything about it and he would not discuss it with Khalan either. Little did Khalan know that he was doing exactly what Sabian wanted.
"What happened?" Sabian asked.
"The town was attacked. One of the children of the moon stepped into Bellmare," Khalan said. He had a frown on his face and his eyes were as hard as stones.
Khalan was angry that this could have happened despite the fact that they hadn't missed out on any of the offerings to the vampires.
"What?" Sabian exclaimed. "Are you sure about that?"
"Will I come here to tell you if I am not sure?"
"Watch your tone, Khalan," Sabian warned.
He put his head in his hand and raked his fingers through his hair. "We should―"
"Why are they not doing their part of the bargain?" Khalan asked in a high tone of voice. "We have given our family! You have given your daughter! Still… this? As this has started, we should be expecting a full-blown hunt on us soon, Mayor."
With that, Khalan stormed out of the mayor's office. He bumped into one of the secretaries that worked there but in another department. She was someone that Khalan found himself attracted to even though he had a lovely wife at home.
"Where are you rushing to, Adrian?" Ms. Stone asked in a sultry voice. She batted her eyelashes severally in his direction while her cheeks reddened.
She was a 41-year-old lady who had not been so successful with relationships in the past. So, when she was noticed by Khalan, a man that seemed like he had lots of experience in life and that could take care of a woman, she was flattered.
There was nothing that Khalan needed that Stone did not give to him or provide for him. She loved him with all of her heart.
"Not now, Ms. Stone," Khalan said as he stepped away from her while looking around the area just in case anyone had seen them hit on each other or stand too close to each other. She had been standing too close to him and he had warned her about it but Sue Stone was someone that hardly listened.
Khalan did not want to risk his wife finding out about the affair that he was having. However, he sort of enjoyed the double life that he was living.
But that moment was not the best time for them to be talking. He was furious and something had happened in the town. If they did not handle it quickly, it could get worse and they would find themselves in deep trouble.
Khalan knew that much.
* * *
In a fit of anger, Sabian flung all that was on his desk to the floor. What was happening in Bellmare? They had not had an attack for years only for him to send off his daughter, and now, it seemed like it was all for nothing.
He was going to have to do something about it this time around. Sabian was not going to sit back and let this slide by.
His secretary had heard the noise and rushed into his office.
"Sir?"
"Call the sheriff for me this instant. Tell him to come here in under ten minutes," Sabian said with his nostrils flaring up and his chest rising and falling with deep breaths he dragged in to try and control the anger that warped his entire body.
"Yes, sir," the secretary half ran out of the office to go do the mayor's bidding.
* * *
In Transmere, Jaden went to the site of the incident that had happened― the attack that they had reported to the royal siblings. He thought about what was on their hands for them to deal with now.
Where were these feral vampires coming from? What was happening to make them turn rogue?
It confused and disturbed Jaden so much that he was so deep in his thoughts and did not see when his brother breezed past him.
He got there and met Kane squatting above the vampire that was killed.
"What did you say happened here?" Kane loudly asked one of the guards that were overseeing the protection of the area so as not to disturb anything that could be used as a clue to the solving of the case.
"It was―"
"Feral vampires… Vampires that have gone rogue," Jaden said to no one in particular. It was almost as if he was thinking out loud.
"Did anyone witness the killing? Or should I say 'feeding'?"
"Yes, one of the men did," the guard replied.
Kane stood up from his squatting position and stood in front of Jaden in a threatening manner. He stared into Jaden's eyes.
"I have this covered. You should return to be with Stephan or that human slave of yours."
"Somehow, I want to get to the bottom of this," Jaden said, totally ignoring Kane. This was personal to him― he had taken the case of the feral vampires to heart because one had tried to attack Zuri.
Why he was so concerned about that was beyond him but Jaden pushed that to the back of his mind as he saw the man that had seen the attack take place.
"Move, Kane," Jaden warned with his eyes fixed somewhere aside from Kane's face.
"Your Highness…" the ordinary vampire greeted.
"You saw what happened?" Jaden asked.
The man nodded.
"Tell me then."
"It was horrible, Your Highness," the man began. "We were all here feeding in the feasting room when we saw the vampire spitting green liquid from its mouth."
Jaden nodded, recalling the one that he had seen within the palace. The one that had almost bitten Zuri.
"I actually thought that it was going to grab onto one of the humans that were set for us to feed on but it pounced on one of the vampires, biting out its lungs and all of its neck. It was rough and wild. Even we do not attack that way," the man said with his face twisted as if he was about to cry. He had been shaken by the act because it told them of the threat that faced the town.
Even the vampire population wasn't spared.
"He is lying," Kane said.
Jaden looked at his half-brother in disbelief.
"What are you talking about? Then what could have done this to a vampire? Look at its body. It was destroyed by something wild and extremely dangerous."
"It could be anyone, even the humans. You can not say that a vampire would want to feed on ano―"
"It can happen, Kane. Do not be naive. If something goes wrong with a vampire, it might not be able to differentiate between humans and their kind. What is so hard for you to grasp in that?" Jaden asked with impatience.
Kane looked at everyone that was standing there with them, then back at Jaden. He squinted his eyes and turned around to walk away.
Just a few steps away, he met Jessica.
"Why are you leaving?" she asked Kane.
"I can not be in the same place with that know-it-all. I will solve this case myself. I do not agree with what he is trying to say… " Kane trailed off, "... feeling all smart."
Without another word, Kane brushed shoulders with Jessica. The princess watched as her brother disappeared down the corridors and into the shadows. Neither Jaden nor Jessica saw the scowl that was on Kane's face, nor the deep pondering that was in his eyes.