CHAPTER 4

Benjamin stared at me the same way that he always did. Like he knew that he shouldn’t be here, but he couldn’t stay away. 

“I know. That’s why I got you to meet me out here. Did you get out easy enough?” He asked. 

“I do the patrol rosters? I know where everyone is and at what time they are going to be there. It’s always easy for me to sneak out.” I said. 

“Good.” 

“I’m guessing this has something to do with the attack on that human town?” I asked. 

“Yeah. Your pack isn’t the only ones that are going to kill me if they see me here.” He said. 

“What’s going on Benjamin? Why did they do it?” I asked. 

“That’s just the first of many. I don’t know where the next attack will be. But a war is coming. It’s inevitable now. Vampires have decided that they want to rule the world and they are going to stop at nothing. They’re starting with small towns before they hit the bigger cities.” He explained. 

“And why not? Why are they doing this now? Vampires have been around for thousands of years. Why are they just doing this now?” I asked. 

“Because there’s a new ruler. I mean, this vampire was only turned about 100 years ago. And he’s been gathering an army since then. Vampires thought he was crazy at first, but he started finding ones that would follow him. And now things have changed. The world has changed.” He said. 

“Yeah. I can see that.” I said. 

“You need to be careful.” He said. 

“Yeah. I already know that. But they aren’t coming after wolf packs, are they?” I asked.

“Not yet. They’re staying clear of werewolves. Because you are the only ones that can stand up to them. Just know, there is more coming. I’ll let you know what I can when I can.” He said. 

“Thank you for this.” I said. 

“Take this phone. It’s a burner. I’ll contact you on this phone from now on so you don’t have to risk your ass coming out here to see me.” He said, handing me a phone.

“Thanks.” I said. 

“Please Meadow. Be careful.” He said. And he looked at me with concern before he turned around and left. 

I got back to the packhouse without any trouble and with the patrols completely oblivious to the fact that I was outside the border. 

I walked into the office and I got back to work without dad asking any questions. He probably didn’t even realize that I was gone for as long as I was. 

So I sat at my desk and got back to work on the computer. 

It didn’t take too long after that when I finally found something on the dark web. 

“Dad.” I said. 

“What?” He asked, looking up. 

“Vampires are talking. I don’t think they’re involved in what is happening. But they know about what’s going on.” I explained. 

“What do they say?” He asked, walking over to my desk. 

“That it’s not an isolated incident. One says that the country will be more aware by the time they hit the second town.” I said. 

“They’re going after another town.” Dad said. 

“Not just one other town. They are talking about an impending war. I think this is just the start of it.” I said. 

But thanks to Benjamin, I knew exactly what I was looking for now. So I could find what I needed on the web. 

“I need to call the werewolf council and the vampire council.” Dad said. 

“Do you think the vampire council is going to care?” 

“We may hate each other. But the councils have an understanding. I can’t see them being behind this.” Dad said. 

So he got on the phone and started making the calls that he needed to. 

A stranger answered when he called the werewolf council and dad asked for the leader. 

He then put the phone on speaker and we could hear weird noises in the background. 

“Sorry. The council can’t come to the phone right now. They’re a little incapacitated.” He said. 

“Who is this?” Dad asked. 

“You’ll soon find out. Just let me tell you, the council tasted delicious.” He said before hanging up.

“Oh shit.” I said. So dad immediately tried to call the vampire council, but there was no answer. 

“What does that mean?” I asked. 

“I don’t know. Either the vampire council is in on it, which I doubt, or they’re dead too.” Dad said. 

“We’re on our own. Aren’t we?” I asked. 

“I’ve been getting calls from other Alpha’s. The smaller packs want to stay out of it, but the larger ones are definitely in it. They want the vampires stopped as much as we do.” Dad said. And I nodded my head. 

“What if they come after us?” I asked. 

“We have a strong army. But that doesn’t mean I am not going to train them harder. And I know that I said I would never do it, but kids start shifting at the age of 14. I think I need to start training them from the age that they shift.” He said. 

“Dad. I think it’s smart to start training everyone. Even the women who are not warriors. Everyone in this pack should know how to protect themselves.” I said. 

“That’s a good idea. And that will help if vampires get past the front line.” Dad said. 

“That’s what I was thinking. They might have a chance to protect their families.” I said. 

I started hacking into another site which belonged to the FBI and I got my hands on the crime scene photos. 

I sat there scrolling through them and I printed them out and all of the reports from the crime scene. 

“Apparently 4500 people were killed and there are 300 teens and people in their 20’s that are missing.” Dad said. 

But I sat at my desk looking through the photos and I knew that something didn’t look right. 

“Dad. A lot of these people were killed in their houses.” I said. 

“Yeah.” Dad said. 

“That doesn’t make any sense. A vampire can’t enter a human’s house without an invitation. So, how did they get into these people’s houses?” I asked. And he looked at me with a confused look on his face. 

“They have to have someone working for them that could have taken down that protection shield in human’s houses.” An elder said. 

“Who could do that?” I asked. 

“A witch.” He said.