“We will not be denied,” he warned. “Yield. Or you will fall.”
After that, he bared his teeth, extended his fangs on a snap, and the screen went back to the newscaster, who wore a troubled look.
“I can imagine our viewers believe this is another hoax. It distresses me to report that it is not. The thousands of victims of this senseless slaughter have been reported to be torn apart and drained of blood. Not a one has been found to sustain an injury by any weapon. The witnesses, all of them, thousands of miles apart, report that men and women with extreme speed and strength, as well as a number of wolves and what they describe as ‘hairless giants,’ invaded their towns, their homes, and wrought their butchery, leaving nothing but death in their wake and thousands of losses.” He leaned slightly toward the camera and lowered his voice as he finished, “And these attacks lasted moments.”
“This can’t be happening,” Sonia whispered.
Lucien, holding the remote, lifted it and clicked.
The next channel was news of the slaughter.
He hit another button.
More news of the attacks.
And another.
Every channel had been taken over by the news.
He left it on one with a female newscaster who was stating, “The videos seen several days ago all over social media sites were apparently exactly what they seemed to be. There are vampires amongst us. With the most recent heinous attacks perpetrated by these creatures, we have yet to receive explanations as to why the media received false information to relay to our viewers.”
“Get off the fucking phone,” Abel growled in a way my eyes went directly to him.
He was looking at Gregor.
“Off the fucking phone!” he roared.
“Honey,” I whispered.
“Yes, good. I’ll phone you back,” Gregor said and dropped his phone from his ear.
“Thousands dead. Us sitting on our hands and thousands dead,” Abel snarled.
“Avery is on his way. He’ll be here—” Gregor began.
Abel was in Gregor’s face in the flash of an eye.
“I do not give one fuck where fuckin’ Avery is.” He kept his face in Gregor’s but threw an arm toward the TV. “Thousands. Slaughtered!”
“Brother, stand down,” Callum called quietly.
Abel turned swiftly away from Gregor and narrowed his eyes at Callum.
“You down with that?” he bit out.
“You know I am not,” Callum retorted curtly. “Do not turn on me, Abel. Do not turn on your own. Get a fucking lock on it.”
Abel drew in a deep breath and stepped away from Gregor.
But the fury still burned in his eyes.
“Do we have any idea, whatsoever, where they plan to strike next?” Lucien asked Gregor.
“We don’t,” Gregor answered. “The President of the United States is about to make a statement, one he’s worked on with The Council and we approve.”
“And what’s that going to say?” Leah asked sharply. “Yes, there are immortals, and yes, some of them are evil, but, rest assured, most of them aren’t. We have no idea what the bad ones are up to and only a few more million of you are going to die…we hope…before we sort this. But hang tight.”
It was kinda funny.
It was also totally not.
“We must move,” Abel declared.
“To where?” Gregor asked.
“I don’t know,” Abel clipped. “Somewhere.”
“I know you’re frustrated, Abel—” Gregor started, but Abel cut him off.
“Yeah? You know that?” he asked sarcastically.
“As am I!” Gregor thundered, and the room went completely still at his uncharacteristic loss of control.
But he wasn’t done.
“I have eaten and slept and breathed these fucking Prophesies for decades, knowing one of the few beings I love on this earth was vulnerable to them.” He swung his arm to Sonia. “Knowing that though we could prevail, we could also not and all would be lost. All. All would be lost. And I’ve been working every moment to see that this does not happen. Yes, Abel, I know you’re frustrated. As…am…I.”
Abel drew breath in through his nose and his voice was a lot calmer when he said, “I hear you. I was out of line. I’m pissed. And you got my apologies.”
“I’m grateful for that,” Gregor returned, also sounding calmer, but his voice was still terse. “And I hope you understand that since we became aware that The Prophesies were about to come true, I have lived nothing but being certain The Three were safe. I hope you understand my caution. You are our only hope. And it has been my duty to my people, to the immortals, to all who inhabit this planet, to do just that. So I did.”
“I get you,” Abel said quietly, perhaps not calm, but now wanting to calm Gregor.
“Now,” Gregor kept going. “I’ve ordered all the teams that were preparing to take the hanger training camps to move as soon as they’re ready. They’ve been ordered to capture as many immortals as they can. Once that’s done, my suggestion is that we move from here to the nearest camp in order that Abel can work his way through the captives. We’ll be certain to have a very tight security detail on you as you travel. The phantoms and wraiths have already been contacted and are at the ready for our command. Although The True will be on alert that we may use them and their invisibility to attempt to get close and gather intelligence, we have no choice but to send them in. This will make these missions extremely dangerous, but we must do all we can. And last, The Council is currently speaking with leaders across the globe to procure their allegiance in military matters and in attempting to calm the fears of their people. That’s all I have. Now tell me, are you ready to move?”