Vampire King’s Little Killer

Den: the lair of a wild usually predatory animal.

Nero

Tessa should be finished with her job by now, maybe she was already on her way back to my apartment. I was not worried, because I have eyes on her. When Aldrich came to see me at the den, I was supposed to go back to the penthouse in less than an hour so I could spend time with Tessa before she ends her day and goes to sleep.

“Tell me, what did you find?”

“Writings on her wall,” Aldrich said, giving me his tablet with a picture of her wall. “It was spray painted red the writing read, forty-five days. Her room was ruined, all spray-painted red in random chaos. Someone really hated her.”

My anger flared seconds after seeing her personal belongings trashed, and her personal space violated. I need more from my best guard, and when he told me that the wolf scent was not familiar I almost lost it. “I thought you brought in your wolf friend, what did he say?”

“Exactly that,” Aldrich said, “the scent was not familiar, he said the wolf was a he, and he was not from our area. He could also be a lone wolf, he might just have shifted, basically, my guy is saying anything is possible. But in conclusion, the wolf was not with any pack within the area.” Aldrich and his wolf guy had helped us out in the past, but I know from experience that a wolf would always be loyal to his kind, and sometimes we need to put that into consideration.

“Could your wolf lie?”

“Not possible, he owed us his life and this behavior of our mystery guy was too rogue and reckless. He even considered that the wolf was young, giving an indication that he was using spray paint instead of blood or paint for a more destructive effect.” Aldrich said with such confidence that it made me frustrated even more.

This was not the thing that I want to be dealing with. The issue was not what I need right now, not when the human officials had been seeking my attention and I have been postponing their meeting for far too long already.

“Young and reckless, this should be an easy one to solve. I want you to handle the situation closely. Have your wolf guy in on this, hell, I want you to call Vesper. Lately, he’s been on a wolf bender.” I had been informed by his guards that Vesper had been visiting with his neighbors. His wolf neighbors. The thought of our kind socializing with those dogs made me shiver, but I know time was changing. It might seem appalling centuries ago, but not so much right now. We are immortal being and adapting has always been our forte.

“Actually, sire, that is not a bad idea.” Aldrich was surprising me by agreeing to my idea, the man would sometimes do this. And it was also why he had been my best for as long since I sired him. I needed Aldrich, I needed someone to challenge me.

“Explain,” I demanded.

“Vesper has instinct, he’s cruel and may know just how to lure a wolf out to spill any truth they might be hiding. I’m not saying I won’t be able to find the guy. I’m just saying that I know you’d want this to be done sooner than later and I am confident with Vesper’s aid, we will do just that.”

Aldrich had me nodding to his suggestion, he had always in his best judgment and I know he was right. By bringing in Vesper we can finish this bullshit faster. It’s not like my dearest son had anything better to do with his time, and he still gets his ways and plays with the wolf. Well, in this case, he needs to hunt the young wolf first before playing with his prey. Though, I might have to reconsider the possibility that Tessa might want to join in on finding her wolf stalker. Well, more like a sure thing knowing my little killer will be pushing for answers.

She had told me before that she was sure that she hadn’t dealt with any supernatural beings in her previous jobs. Tessa was clueless about us, about any being aside from humans. I know she was in the dark and I know that it irritated her the most. So, it was a bit of a shock when I smelled wolf in her freshly trashed apartment.

I instructed Aldrich to call Vesper and told him that his attendance was needed. I ended our discussion just in time for me to go back to the penthouse.

But then…

“Sire, the human liaison requested to see you,” Aldrich informed me when he pulled out his phone seconds before I left the room. I groaned when I looked at the time.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Fine, send him to the receiving area and get Marius to wait on them.” I didn’t even ask for names since I’ve been dealing with humans for far too long.

As expected, their issues were always the same, decades and centuries later. They fear us, they need control, and they always act as if they have power over us. I would laugh in their face if I wasn’t extremely bored with their whining. Marius, another of my guards, second in command after Aldrich looked at the humans with the same boredom, though he appeared as if he was deeply concerned with their problems.

But when another vampire clan was mentioned, Marius was alert immediately and the vampire glanced my way and nodded silently telling me that he would look into it. We haven’t had a clash between vampires in centuries and I was not looking forward to another series of meetings with the mentioned clan.

Politically, vampires are harder to deal with than humans, and since my clan is one of the oldest, they all seemed to want to test my patience. Some had tried to take us down, but many had failed.

“I want you to call Ammar, and get him involved in this. Aldrich is tending another matter with Vesper.” I instructed Marius after he had escorted the humans from the receiving area. It was a bald move for the humans to ask for a meet at the den and Marius had to make sure that they leave the premises unharmed. The humans had no idea that there were vampires in our den, though some were out hunting. But the younglings never care when they’re hungry or when they smelled warm blood and hear the beat of a strong human heart.

“Yes, sire.”

“I want you to let both Ammar and Vesper know that I want to speak to them before anything happens.”

I know Ammar, my oldest will be more subtle in handling sensitive matters. Marius nodded and the three hundred years old vampire told me that he’ll inform Aldrich of my order.

I didn’t get to leave the den after another meet Marius decided to throw at me. Small bickering issues among mated vampires. The trouble should be an easy fix, but when it turned out that my daughter Layla was the cause of their bickering, I know that I’ll be late in meeting Tessa at the apartment.

“Both of you sit, explain.” I practically growled at them. I was not in a good mood and I was perfectly fine in letting them know that their bickering was not welcome.

“Sire, like I have said to Marius…”

The two younglings were back to bickering and I was losing my patience when I told both of them to shut up.

“Both of you, why are you fighting? You know Layla chose both of you for a reason. You need to get along and deal with this issue like the powerful vampire that you both are. My daughter always has a high appetite, and honestly, what do you think she’d say when she found out about this?” I paused for dramatic effect and the two vampires seemed to understand what was at stake. And if they both still wanted to be with Layla, the two of them need to be wiser with their feelings.

Damn, I was not expecting to handle Layla’s newest conquests. That daughter of mine knows how to test my patience even with her not being at the den. With their issues almost solved I decided to leave them to their thoughts and hurried to leave the den before any more issues arrises.

Tessa, I need to get back to her.