Chapter 30

Derek

The wild rage that was blowing within me had needed some cooling while I spoke with my secretary, Dennis. Always so sensitive, Dennis picked up something was wrong as I answered my phone with an uncontrollably irritated tone, but the matter he wanted to report to me was of pressing importance that he ignored it and went on with his delivery.

As I walked out of the company's main building, my demeanor became even more hardened than it was back there. Dennis' report needed my urgent attention. He'd just found out something of major significance concerning the task I assigned to him. It was about the vampires that attacked me at the private villa.

I knew Dennis was efficient, that was why I gave him the assignment. As much as I find faults with the operations of several elements within the werewolves in my clan, Dennis was a werewolf I respected so much when it came to matters like this. The man always got things done and he did so efficiently and quickly.

I ran quickly down the short stairwell at the entrance of the gigantic building with my focus now shifted— although temporarily— on another matter other than what I had just encountered back in there. The men that accompanied me from my own company struggled to keep up with me. I knew they were all confused about my sudden change of plans.

As I approached my car, I turned to the men, "Go on without me. We'll internally finalize the deal during tomorrow's meeting."

I took no weight to their hesitated nods as I ordered the driver out of the car and drove off.

As I drove, I couldn't help but think about the vampires that attacked me and their reasons for doing so. Dennis informed me over the phone that he found evidence that tied the vampires to a source. For the first time in a while, I was anxious about something other than Roxanne. I wondered if this had something to do with her too. Especially after the confrontation with that man back at that company. I quickly discarded the thought as soon as it came.

Since this was a matter I wanted to keep within a short circle before it gets out to anyone else in or out of the clan, I had ordered Dennis to meet me at the private villa. When I got there, I found Dennis' car parked outside. He'd unexpectedly reached the villa before me.

"Boss," He stood up and acknowledged me as soon as I walked into the house. He was seated expectantly on one of the brown sofas in the living room.

"Tell me, what have you found, Dennis?" I demanded, picking a space to seat beside him on the sofa.

"Boss, I've been able to connect the vamps that attacked you to a source. Those vamps are from a very powerful clan within the vampires. They are called Savarians, from the Savaria family."

"Savaria family? The name sounds familiar."

"Yes, it might sound familiar, since they are one of the prestigious vampire families. There's more, boss." Dennis added. His eyes remained firm with sheer concentration as he spoke, just like the warrior werewolf that he was.

"What's that?"

"Now, this is where things get more interesting. I also found out that the vampires that attacked your brother, Jason, and his men, are also from the same Savaria family."

I said nothing for a brief moment as I allowed Dennis' words to sink in. I considered what he had just told me for a while before I asked,

"Are you sure about this, Dennis?" I knew he was, otherwise he wouldn't have brought it to me.

"Yes, Boss. I'm certain." Dennis replied. He lifted a small leather bag from his side and began to pull some images out of it. He passed them to me and I took them with a little frown on my face.

"I've been following a group among the vampire clans and these ones have been hunting down werewolves. Those shots are from their last outing." Dennis pointed to the images in my hands.

I studied the photos with intent, thinking about what the new revelation meant in a much broader context. It was just as I feared. A war between the vamps and werewolves was definitely what we needed right now. I couldn't begin to think of the immense amount of damage that would come with that.

When Dennis saw that I wasn't ready to say anything, he continued.

"I also took photos of the wounds on werewolves from the new attacks and compared them to the ones on your brother's men. It confirmed my findings. They are responsible for everything, boss. There's no doubt about it."

I gave him a sharp look as he said the last part. I wondered if he saw what it meant if everything he was saying was the truth. I knew he did. Dennis was a smart lad. But just like every other werewolf that would hear about this, Dennis only cared about one thing, neutralizing the threat to the werewolf kind. Even if that meant going to war. A werewolf was never one to shy away from a fight, no matter how high the stakes were.

"Thank you, Dennis." I finally told him. 'Keep your eyes open for any developments. I'll be in touch," I added and took the evidence from him.

After Dennis had gone, I pondered on the matter for a while. It all seemed too easy. Vampires and werewolves have existed for so long and even though there'd been clashes between us in history, there was none like this. It was almost as though someone wanted to deliberately start a war out of nowhere. It didn't make any sense. We were both aware of our territories, and we'd kept to them for years without any clashes. Why now? I asked myself.

Though my instincts told me that something was amiss, I didn't have enough information to back it up. However, with the new evidence that had just reached me through Dennis, I couldn't keep this to myself anymore. I knew that I needed to bring the clan into this. As much as I felt there was more to the situation than we could see, the clan deserved to know exactly what I know right now.

With the evidence with me, I left for my father's residence at the clan estate. It was important that the information got to him as soon as possible. The trip to the estate was shorter than usual. That was only because I couldn't take my mind off everything concerning the situation as I drove. I kept trying to connect invisible dots.

Unexpectedly, there was a small clan meeting when I got to the estate. A few werewolves were gathered in the meeting hall. At first, I was surprised that a meeting was held and I wasn't informed about it. Then I quickly realized that it was an estate meeting concerning homeowners. I couldn't have come at a better time.

I walked into the hall and went straight to my father. The meeting seemed to have just been concluded. My father seemed a little taken aback by my presence.

"Father," I said as I greeted him with a short bow.

"Come," he ordered with a wave of his hand. The hall grew silent, and everybody turned their attention toward us. Everyone was getting a hint that I had come up with something important. Jason casually walked in just at that moment, before I showed father what I have with me.

"I have found something about the vampire-situation," I said. If I didn't previously have the attention of everyone in the hall, I got it with that statement.

"Talk to me, son." father said quickly.

I brought out the photos Dennis gave to me and passed them to him, "One of my men took these photos. He's been following a group of vampires that has been attacking werewolves for a while now. And we've been able to link the vampires to a family within their clan, the Savaria family."

Father rose up from his seat as he examined the images. His face had squeezed into a furious frown. He repeated the name, "Savaria?"

"The vampires that attacked Jason and his crew are seemed to have also come from the same family," I added. That revelation unsettled Jason because he shifted restlessly as I spoke.

I hesitated for a minute before I spoke again, "I was also attacked in my private villa, by vampires from the same group, though I killed almost all of them."

"You were attacked?" father asked, as though he didn't hear me clearly the first time I spoke. "Why am I just hearing about this?"

"I didn't want to make any fuss until I had more information, father."

He nodded and sat back in his seat.

"We should launch a massive attack on these people, father," Jason suggested loudly. He raised his chin after he spoke. I had expected this. "If we neutralize every vampire in the city, we won't have any problems in our hands anymore. Let's get rid of them all!"

"We can't do that, Jason,” I said, trying to cool down the tension I knew was flaming up in the hall. I turned to look at my father, then at the faces of everyone else present in the hall, including Jason. “If we do that now, we’re risking a huge war. What if there’s more to this than the evidence suggests? I suggest we look more into the matter, father.”

“No!” Jason yelled. And with the murmurings in the hall, I figured a lot of people agreed with him. “We can’t just sit back and watch while those bloodsucking creatures kill our kind. We’ve lost enough bodies to this!”

“You don’t understand what you’re suggesting, Jason.” I tried to explain to him. “A war between us could…”

“I think I do,” he cut in. “You’re the one who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Maybe you’re working for the vamps. I wouldn’t put it past you.” Jason accused.

“Silence!” Father ordered. The whole place went quiet. He stood up and paused for a moment before he finally spoke, “We need to take action, and we need to do so quickly. You all should get prepared.”

He turned towards my direction, “Derek, it starts with you. Eliminate every vampire you and your men are keeping tabs on and report to me. Let’s get to work, men.”

I left the estate brimming with anger and frustration. When I got back to the company, I called Dennis and told him about my father’s order. He should get started.

I rested my body against the desk in my office and began to think about Roxanne and the incident back at that company. I knew there was no denying it any further, I cared so much about this girl and I had fallen in love with her. It was fruitless to tell myself otherwise.

A strong sense of possessiveness overcame me suddenly. I picked up my phone, called her, and told her to meet me. She needed to know that she belonged to me, and only me!