Leona stood outside her father's office, the stolen books clutched against her chest. Her hands were still shaking from the attack, Edmund's final scream echoing in her mind. She'd washed the glass cuts on her arms, changed her bloodied shirt, but she couldn't wash away the guilt.
She knocked.
"Come in."
Davion sat behind his desk, glasses perched on his nose as he reviewed documents. He didn't look up when she entered.
"I need to talk to you," Leona said.
"I'm aware. Alora called me three hours ago. Said you abandoned your training for something more important." He finally looked up, his expression unreadable. "So talk."
Leona set the books on his desk and began. She told him everything. She started with what happened at the club, to the bodies, the black blood, the threatening messages, and even the scholar. When she got to Edmund's death, her voice cracked.
Davion was silent for a long moment after she finished. Then he stood, walked to the window, and stared out at the packhouse grounds.
"You're telling me," he said slowly, "that you skipped your alpha training, broke into a crime scene, consulted an outsider without my permission, and got an innocent man killed. All because you were curious."
"It wasn't curiosity," Leona said. "People are dying. I needed to know why."
"People are always dying!" Davion turned to face her, and she saw the anger burning in his eyes. "That's the world we live in. But you? You're supposed to be preparing for succession, not playing detective in human territory."
"Human territory? Dad, this affects us too. Edmund said…"
"Edmund is dead because you dragged him into something that wasn't his concern."
The words hit her like a physical blow. Leona felt tears prick her eyes but refused to let them fall.
"I thought you should know what's happening," she said quietly.
"What's happening is that four years abroad made you forget what reality really is." Davion walked back to his desk and sat down heavily. "You're not in the Netherlands anymore, Leona. You're not a college student who can chase down mysteries for fun. You're the heir to this pack. Every decision you make and every risk that you take, would affects all of us."
"I know that."
"Do you? Because your actions today suggest otherwise." He picked up one of the books she brought. "Dhampirs. Vampires. Ancient rituals. You're chasing ghost stories when you should be training."
"They are not ghost stories. You saw the photos…"
"I saw photos of dead bodies. That's a human police matter, not ours."
Leona stared at him. "You are not taking this seriously."
"I'm taking your recklessness seriously." Davion opened a drawer and pulled out a folder. "You want to know what I've been dealing with while you've been running around town? This."
He slid the folder across the desk. Leona opened it and felt her stomach drop. Reports from neighboring packs, all describing the same thing: mysterious deaths, drained bodies, missing werewolves.
"This isn't just happening in human territory," Davion said. "It's happening in pack territories across three states. I've been coordinating with other alphas for weeks."
"Then you believe me," Leona said, relief flooding through her.
"I believe something is killing our people. But I don't need my daughter playing hero to figure out what." He gestured to the reports. "I've scheduled an emergency meeting with Maximus Crisen. Tonight."
Leona's eyes widened. "What? You're meeting with Maximus?"
"We don't have a choice. His pack is experiencing the same losses. Whatever this threat is, it doesn't care about our feud."
"But they are our enemies. You taught me that Dad and you haven't spoken peacefully with him in decades."
"I'm aware." Davion removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "Which is why you're coming with me."
"Me?"
"Yes. It's time you learn the art of difficult negotiations. When we get there, I want you to observe, learn listen, and keep your mouth shut unless I tell you otherwise. Understood?"
Leona nodded, still processing what her father just said. Davion and Maximus in the same room would be a disaster due to the blood lust among them and Lucas the heir to Bloodclaw pack and the son of the enemy would be there too.
Her heart skipped a breath at the thought.
"The meeting is in four hours," Davion continued. "Go and have some rest, take a shower, and wear something appropriate. This is official pack business."
"Yes, sir."
Leona gathered the books and turned to leave.
"Leona." Her father's voice stopped her at the door. "I'm glad you're safe. And you know that I can't bare it if something happens to you. So I don't want you to ever put yourself at risk like that again. I have lost your mother, I can't lose you too."
The reference to her mother hung in the air between them. Leona felt her throat tighten.
"I understand," she managed.
Back in her room, she immediately called Thalia.
"Please tell me you made it home okay," Thalia answered.
"I'm fine, what about you?"
"Yeah. Dorian's here. We are still trying to understand everything that just happened."
"Don't bother. My father already knows." Leona said, filling them in on the conversation, the reports from other packs, the meeting with Maximus.
"Holy shit," Thalia breathed when she finished. "The two alphas meeting? That's huge."
"It means the prophecy is more serious than we thought," Leona said, sinking onto her bed. "If they're willing to work together, even if it's temporarily, things must be really bad."
"Are you going to be okay?" Dorian's voice came through, slightly muffled. Thalia must have put her on speaker. "Maximus wants either you or your father dead. Going into a meeting with him…"
"I'll have protection. My father wouldn't bring me if it wasn't safe."
"Still," Dorian said, and she could hear the worry in his voice. "Let me come. I can stay outside, keep watch."
"No," Leona said firmly. "My father is already furious with me. If you show up uninvited, it will only make things worse. Besides, I don't want you in danger because of me."
"Leona…"
"Please, Dorian. I need you safe. Both of you."
There was silence on the other end. Then Thalia spoke.
"Fine. But you will call us the second you're done. And if anything feels wrong, you will get out of there. Promise?"
"Promise."
After they hung up, Leona lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her body ached from the fight at Edmund's cottage, her mind raced with everything that had happened, and underneath it all was a nervous flutter she didn't want to examine too closely.
She would see Lucas again tonight after their electrifying meeting at the club the other day. The thought made her heart beat faster, which was ridiculous. He was the enemy. The heir to a pack that had been at war with hers for generations. The same arrogant prince who taunted her at the club, and even threatened Lily. The one who represented everything she should hate.
But she remembered the way he looked at her in that safe house, exhausted and vulnerable. The way they fought together against the Shadow Beast, moving in perfect sync. The way his hand had felt in hers in those dark tunnels.
"Stop it," she muttered to herself. "He's a Bloodclaw. That's all he is."
But her racing heart called her a liar.
Three hours later, she stood before her mirror in a formal attire. She had chosen a black pantsuit that was professional but allowed freedom of movement if things went south then pulled her hair back into a sleek ponytail and added minimal jewelry. The goal was to look like an heir, not a threat.
Her phone buzzed. A text from her father: "Five minutes."
Leona took a deep breath, studying her reflection. The girl looking back at her seemed older than the one who left for the Netherlands four years ago. More serious, more burdened and more alone despite the friends, family and people all around her.
"You can do this," she told her reflection. "You're Davion Nightshade's daughter. You're the future alpha. You can sit through one meeting with the Bloodclaws."
Even if one particular Bloodclaw made her pulse race in a way she didn't want to think about.
Her father called from downstairs. "Leona! We're leaving!"
She grabbed her phone and headed for the door. Whatever happened tonight, she needed to be ready. Ready to negotiate, ready to fight if necessary, and ready to face Lucas Crisen without letting him see how much he affected her.
She told herself that could handle this, she had to. Even if her traitorous heart had other ideas.
"Coming!" she called back, taking one last look at herself in the mirror.
Then she walked downstairs to meet her father, her heart pounding with anticipation, dread, and something she refused to name. The Bloodclaws were waiting. Lucas was waiting.
And
somehow, that thought terrified her more than any dhampir ever could.