Chapter Fifteen 

Melean's POV (the mysterious Vampire)

I thrummed my long, rounded nails upon my desk.  ‘I do hate that man sometimes.” I shook my head. ‘He said that he would give me my next assignment, and instead of an actual assignment, he had me set up the teams that were going to look for the silver-haired girl. And then, to top it off, that gangly bone bag has the nerve to make me take the reports from each group and sum up the reports to him!’

I stepped around my desk and made my way toward the punching bag that I kept in my office. I began letting out my frustration on the bag. I cracked my neck and began to dance around the bag, really getting into the workout, when something hit the wall just shy of my office door, followed by hushed whispering from the hall, caught my attention. I grabbed a towel and sat in my oversized brown leather chair closest to the door but faced away from it. 

“If you ever defy my orders again, I will kill you.” The man’s voice was so soft that had I not heard better than most vampires, I wouldn’t have been able to hear him.

“I…I’m sorry. I just d…didn’t want you t…to get into trouble with h…His Majesty, King Jullian.” Her words came out as though she was being choked as she spoke.

“That is not something you or Alec need to concern yourselves with. You two must focus on doing exactly as I tell you: nothing more and nothing less. And you are not allowed to tell anyone that the silver-haired girl is a part of the Silver Moon Pack or about her unique abilities. Do you understand?” The leader of the group said. 

“Yes sir,” Both the woman and Alec said.

When I heard Alec’s deep voice, I immediately knew which group was potting outside my door. It was a group that was made up of five vampires. Garrick was the brains of the group. Alec, the brawn. Tina was the magic support that cast spells to assist if anything was wrong, and Todd and Chad were only in a group because, for some reason, Garrick requested to work with them. I shook my head and returned my attention to their hushed conversation.

“Now we will go in there and tell Jullian’s lackey that we didn’t find the silver-haired girl. Is that understood?” They must have nodded because Garrick continued, “Good, when we enter this office, you will simply nod with everything I say unless you are directly spoken to. If you are, think very carefully about your answers.”

With that, there came a soft knock upon the door. I quickly slipped back into my desk, making it look as though I was working. “You may enter,” I said, not looking up from my work. 

The group entered my office; however, only three of the five had come and stood with their heads slightly bowed in front of my desk.

Using my pen, I pointed to the seating area, “You may take a seat.” I pretended to write a few things down before placing the pen on the desk and folding my hands before me. “I assume you returned from the Silver Moon Pack territory and are here to give me your report?”

“That is correct, Miss Secretary,” Garrick stated with a fake smile.

“Why are there only three of you to give the report?” I inquired.

Garrick’s head fell as though he was in great pain, “Unfortunately, there were complications, and Tod and Chad didn’t make it back.” He looked up at me, and a tear escaped the corner of his eye. “We weren’t even able to bring their bodies back so that their parents could have some sort of closure.”

“And what were these complications that caused the deaths of two of our elite?” I discreetly examined the reactions of both Alec and Tina. Alec stared at the wall, utterly bored with this whole thing, and Tina seemed to be sweating bullets. Making a mental note of Tina’s reaction, I refocused on the elaborate story that Garrick was concocting. 

“They must have been ready for us because they ambushed us by the time we were about 75 miles into the Silver Moon’s territory.” He bit his lip and continued in a shaky voice as I took notes of his report. “We never saw it coming. They were completely savage in their assault. They tore Tod’s head clean off his body and crushed Chad’s heart. Th…There was s…so much blood,” At this point, he had tears streaming down both of his cheeks. Tina tenderly rubbed his back to comfort him as he went on, “They were even able to break Alec’s nose.” He pointed to Alec, who had a black and blue swollen nose. “We barely made it out of their pack territory.”

“And did you see a silver-haired girl while you were in the Silver Moon territory?” I asked, knowing that they would be lying about having found her. 

“I’m afraid we didn’t come across her in their pack. However, we are willing to go back in service of our majesty King Jullian. That way, we can be sure she is not truly there.” Garrick said as he bowed to the creepy oil painting of Jullian that hung on the wall. I usually would drape a towel over it but had pulled it down, unthinking to wipe my sweat. 

“That won’t be necessary. I know how meticulous you are about your work, so you shouldn’t need to make a second trip.” I gave them a tight smile and spoke again, wanting to wrap up this lie, “Then, is there anything else that you might want to report before I take it to his majesty?’

Garrick fidgeted, turning his body to face me, “Well, there is one last thing.” I nodded for him to continue, “I believe there is a spy among us working for the werewolves.”

“And what makes you think that? Was it because you were ambushed? Cause that could simply be because they knew you were there the moment you entered their territory. They are one of the most powerful packs in the area.” I said as he shook his head.

“I don’t believe that that is the case since they were so well coordinated,” His lies slipped quickly through his lips as he spoke.

I must keep an eye on this underhanded, lying man. 

“You may have a point. I will quietly conduct an investigation. Is there anything else you need to report?” 

“No, that is everything,” He confidently stated.

“Alright then, you are dismissed. Get some much-deserved rest, and I will see you around.” With my last words, they left my office.

After they left, I stared at the door, wondering what to report to King Jullian.

I was not too fond of the thought of being alone with King Jullian. His stoic, unemotional approach to everything was unnerving. He was supposed to be strong and unmoving because he was the ruler, but it would be nice if he showed at least some emotion. I can’t help myself from wishing King Alexander was still with us. I knew that would never happen since werewolves had kidnapped and tortured him to death all those years ago. 

A thoughtful tear escaped the corner of my eye, and that is when I decided what to do. I quickly made my way to his office.

***

Jullian sat draped sluggishly across his colossal, thrown-like chair. I let out a huff and began my report.

“The Crimson Night Pack reported no signs of the silver-haired young woman in the territory. The Alabaster Moon Pack’s investigation came up empty as well.” Jullian stared unblinking as I read the first two reports and seemed to lose even more interest in the reports with each dead end I informed him of. 

I continued to read the report I wrote, only looking up at his response occasionally. I took a deep breath when I came to the report about the Silver Moon Pack to prepare myself for the report to come.

“When investigating the Silver Moon Pack, there were complications causing the death of two of the members of Garrick’s five-man team.” At this, Jullian straightened up as if to show his interest as I continued, “Everything seemed fine as they entered their territory, but away into their investigation, the team was attacked. Which led to the death of Todd Haddington and Chad Boyle.” I paused momentarily to give him a chance to respond, but his expression remained unchanged. “According to Garrick and his remaining team members, they barely escaped with their lives. Garrick did inform me in his report that there was no sign of the silver-haired girl in the Silver Moon territory.” I looked up from my papers, “That is the end of my report for now, and there are still about twenty-five more territories we have yet to give their reports.”

Jullian leaned forward, tapping his long index finger on his desk, “And what is your opinion of these reports?”

I cleared my throat, “I believe they are all accurate about the girl not being in the reported-on areas. However, I think there is cause for concern in the Silver Moon Pack.”

“And why is that?” He asked as he poured himself a glass of blood.

I felt my eyes flash red at the scent of blood. Shaking it off, I continued, “I noticed that Alec had a broken nose that hadn’t healed in the least bit.”

“Why would that matter,” He questioned with an irritated look as he sipped his crimson drink.

“I believe it matters because it is at least a three-day journey from the Silver Moon territory to our own, and yet even with our advanced healing, he was unable to recover from just a broken nose completely? Something about it is bothering me, and I must investigate it further. It may be nothing, but my instincts tell me something is off. All I can think about is, what if they invented a weapon that takes away our advanced healing abilities?” I finished my report and am awaiting King Jullian’s response.

Upon getting the all-clear for my investigation, I began making my preparations.