Chapter 48

(**Sebastion’s POV**)

Using the cover from the surrounding trees, I watch the house from the natural darkness nature provides. The single-story house sits at the end of the street where the road ends in a cul-de-sac. It is the only house this far down the road, the nearest house is about half a block down from here. The house looks like the perfect suburban dream home. Two-car garage, spacious driveway, and a large privacy fenced in back yard.

From the blueprints of the house that Gabriel showed me, the house is equally spacious on the inside as well. A small entrance foyer leads into a large living room. An archway to the right of the living room leads into a kitchen, and a hallway directly across from the entrance to the living room leads deeper into the house. There are four doors in the hallway. The one at the very end of the hall is our goal, even though we will search the entire house.

That room is the study that Treadstone uses to have his meetings with Irina. She gave us the layout of each room, what was in them, and likely locations for hidden doors. With all of that sorted, we are just waiting for the vampires to arrive before I have Gabe and his brother go ahead with their end of the plan for tonight. If there are cameras inside and outside the house, we are going to cut the power to it.

Not only to this house, but the entire block. Gabe will fake an accident to the large utility box at the end of the street and a few power poles near it. The idea is to cause all the power on the street to go out, so there is no suspicion of a targeted attack on this house. Gabe plans to stage it to look like a drunk driving accident. He says humans drive drunk more often around this time of night, so that type of accident would make the best cover story. Then we will use the chaos the accident causes to go inside unseen.

There are no lights on in the house that I can see. Irina, Alexei, and Pavel are all shifting around on their feet as we wait for the vampires to arrive. I know she wants to rush in there and tear the house apart to find her daughter. The agitation coming off her makes me grab her hand and pull her to me.

She struggles at first, but then leans into me as I wrap my arms around her shoulders. After a few more seconds, she pulls away to go back to pacing in her small little circle. Her eyes darting to the house then to the ground as she paces. Looking up at Alexei, I can see his eyes are scanning the trees all around us. Pavel is staring at the house with anger in his eyes and his jaw clenched so tight it looks painful.

I asked both of them to join us tonight before we left for Bodega Bay. Having a solid plan in place for tonight was my goal when I asked them. I also wanted them both here for Irina if we didn’t find Zasha. If we find her, I wanted them here to soothe both Irina and Zasha.

A flutter of wings had me looking up to see an owl take flight from a branch nearby. When I look back down, four sets of eyes look back at me from the darkness of the trees. The darkness of the night looks like it split open as four vampires walk out of it. If they were not on our side, I think I would be afraid of what I just saw. I am in awe of what they are capable of.

Giving Beckett a nod, I mind link Gabe to tell him to go ahead with the plan. Twenty minutes later a loud crash can be heard followed by a crack of electricity and bright flashes of sparks as the power on the entire street goes out. We wait for the chaos to begin. As predicted, we didn’t have to wait long.

Doors on the houses further down open as their inhabitants peek their heads out to see what happened. So have flashlights as they shine them around the dark. The sparks coming from the accident scene cause shocked cried of alarm from others. I can hear cries for someone to call the police. I can hear complaints about the accident as well. The inconvenience of the lost power.

When I hear sirens in the distance, I turn to look at Irina, Alexei, Pavel, and the four vampires. It is time. Without saying a word, we all slip through the trees to the back of the house where the tall privacy fence is. I help Irina grip the top of the fence, then she pulls herself up and over. Once we are all in the yard, we take a moment to observe the back of the house.

Nothing moved in the shadow near the back door. A door that will lead us into the kitchen. So far, this seems too easy. Would he have someone inside with Zasha or did he leave her here with no one to make sure she was safe? A blur of motion from my left causes me to look at the back door. A yelp of pain is cut short, followed by a soft thud as a body hits the bricks of the little patio.

If there is anyone else inside, they know we are here now.

Fear spikes through Irina as she follows behind me as I walk to the patio to see the person at Ashir’s feet. The scent tells me it is a male werewolf. The gasp from Irina tells me know she recognizes who it is. A growl from Pavel makes me look back to see someone coming at him from behind us. This attacker is human.

Pavel and Alexei deal with the attacker but knocking him out then tying him up and gagging him. With a signal I recognize, they split up and search the rest of the yard for hidden threats. I turn back to Irina to see she is kneeling down to look at the man on the ground.

“Who is he?” I ask her as I stop right next to her.

“Westly. I figured Vicktor would have taken him to France with him since he is his personal guard. If Vicktor left him here, then it is for a reason.”

“That reason would be?” Beckett asks her as he looks at the door like he is listening for any sounds of movement from inside the kitchen.

“To protect his most valuable possession. My daughter. He would trust no one else but Westly to oversee her guard.”

“I took him down the second he stepped out the door. I wasn’t fast enough or he would never have made a sound.” Ashir looked away from us, then at Beckett’s nod the four vampires moved into the house.

“Leave him here for your father to tie up. When we leave later, we will take everyone we find back to Redwood with us for interrogations.” I tell Irina as I pull her up so she can follow me into the house.

I stop in the middle of the kitchen to look around the room. I can hear the vampires slowly making their way from one room to the next. Soon they all join me and Irina where we wait patiently for them. Pavel and Alexei enter from the back door a few moments later. The coppery smell of blood makes me turn to look at them both.

Pavel has a split lip, and there is a cut above his left eyebrow. Alexei merely has a red mark forming on his jaw from what looks like a punch to the face. I can only assume they found what they were looking for and their targets didn’t go down easily.

“Now that we are all inside, Ghost and Ashir, I want you outside on guard. I have a feeling there will be more attacks to come. Nic, find a spot where you can do your thing. Hide the entire back half of the house. Let me know when it is up and we will make our move.” Beckett directs his team and they all move to do what he asks.

“Did you find anyone else in the house? I don’t smell anyone.” Irina asks him while inching closer to the archway that leads out of the kitchen.

“There is one heartbeat that I am hearing in the room at the end of the hall. There is also a faint heartbeat coming from somewhere below that room.” At her look of fear for her child he continues, “It is faint because it is so far below us, not because of what you might be thinking.”

Relief floods through our link as Beckett reassured Irina that her daughter is not in distress. “Who do you want to go in the room?”

“Whoever is in there already knows we are here, so the best thing to do is for Irina to go in first. Get the person talking and distracted, then we can go from there. Caution is the key now that we have gotten this far.”

“I don’t want her going in there alone,” I say with anger in my voice.

“I can take care of myself, Sebastion,” she hisses at me from the archway.

Beckett gives her a nod, and she walks out of the kitchen. The tension level rises to almost an overwhelming level the moment she is no longer in our sight. Pavel and Alexei walk to the archway and flank it with one of them on each side. Pavel has a view of the living room while Alexei is looking down the hallway.

Beckett is out of the kitchen and leaning against the wall where the hallway starts. I can see he is listening intensely. With no other choice left, I stand next to Alexi. I dislike the idea of my mate walking down the hall on her own to face the unknown person in the room. Aries is clawing at my mind to be let out so he can protect our mate.

The sound of the door opening has my attention instantly. I tap into my werewolf hearing to listen in on the conversation. A man’s surprised voice can be heard.

“Why are you here and how did you get past Westly and the others?”

“I am here for my daughter, Issac, I am surprised you didn’t figure that out. Did Victor send you back here to play guard dog with Westly?”

Issac is in there with her. He is the other tracker she told me about. The werewolf that helped Vicktor attack her pack five years ago.

**I want to make him bleed for what he did.** Aries growls at me as he tries to take control.

*Stop, you are not helping the situation. I want his blood too, but we have to get Zasha out first.*

(**Irina’s POV**)

Seeing Issac sitting calmly behind Victor’s desk surprised me when I entered the study. His shocked expression at seeing me makes me smile. I can tell that he underestimates me just like Vicktor did. Neither knows that the threat that is now in this house is not from me. Four vampires, my mate, and my family are all waiting for something to happen.

“Where is she?” I ask him as I walk to the desk.

“How did you figure out she was here? Victor told you he took you with him to France.”

“He left me a nice brief letter in my bedroom telling me that the joke is on me. That he never took her with him, but that she is somewhere I wouldn’t expect or think of. Thinking about it, this house is the only logical location he would keep her. I never come here unless ordered to. It is smart of him.”

“Coming alone was not smart of you.”

“Who says I am alone?”

“Did you bring that pussy whipped Alpha of yours with...” he stops talking as he flares his nose. I can tell he caught the change in my scent.

“That is right, I found my mate.”

“I killed your mate. Shot him in the chest as he jumped in front of you. Then shot him again while he was trying to shield your further. You have no mate.”

“That is where you are wrong,” Sebastion says from behind me as he joins us in the room.

Issac’s eyes go wide in surprise. “Drakos is your mate now? Oh, that is rich. The target he sent you to seduce and fuck senseless is your second chance mate. Vicktor will love this when I tell him.”

Before I could blink, there is a blur of motion and a gust of cold air from the doorway. Beckett has Issac pinned against the wall with his hand wrapped around his throat. The ripe smell of fear fills the room as Issac’s eyes widen.

“That is right, Issac, I have allies now.”

“How...” he wheezed out as Beckett squeezed his throat.

“That doesn’t matter right now. Tell me where my child is right now.”

His eyes flick to mine before he smiles, “I won’t tell you.”

“Then you are no use to us. If you are no use to us, then you will die,” Beckett tells him as he squeezes tighter.

Fear flickers through Issac’s eyes, but he shakes his head. I walk around the desk to stand in front of him, then I let my claws out. I want his blood badly for what he helped do to my family and my pack. Seeing his eyes dart to the corner of the room to his right as I reach my claws to his chest makes me smile inside.

“Unlike you, I am loyal to my master. He will know who came here the minute he comes back and finds her missing. He will come for you all.”

“Let him try,” Beckett tightens his grip until Issac’s face turns purple from no air and he passes out. Then he lets Issac’s unconscious body fall to the floor.

“He comes back with us to Redwood,” I tell Sebastion as I walk around the desk and go to the corner where Issac looked.

Bookshelves line the walls all around the study except behind Victor’s desk. The two in this corner stand out from the others. All the other shelves have small gaps on the time while these two are floor to ceiling. I press on the edges of the shelves and after a few moments I hear a soft click as one shelf moves. It opens slightly like the door to the attic in Sebastion’s house.

Hope fills my hearts as I pull it open. “I am on my way, Zasha, hold on. Mommy is coming for you.”