Lanie


    Granddaughter? What the hell?


    This guy didn’t look like he could be more than thirty years old. His wavy blond hair was perfectly coiffed, his jawline was sharp,


    and his eyes were a vivid green,


    He was handsome in a ssic romantic lead sort of way.


    So what was he doing calling me his granddaughter, and how the hell could he possibly drag two of the biggest wolves I’ve ever


    seen through the forest with his bare f ucking hands?


    Underneath my shock, a nauseating fear rose up inside me. Xander and Zane had run off because they thought | betrayed them.


    It was my fault if this man hurt them.


    Mason ran out onto the porch. When he saw the man), he threw himself in front of me


    “Don''t be afraid, Lanie, and..Lanie’s friend,” he said in a voice that sounded like warm honey. | got the feeling he’d made a lot of


    people fall to their knees with that voice. “We’re family.”


    Braden came sprinting up to the cabin, leaning over and panting when he finally stopped. He caught sight of Xander and Zane


    passed out on the ground, and his eyes bugged out.


    “What the hell are you doing, Mchi?” Braden eximed. “We talked about this!”


    The guy Braden called Mchi dropped Xander and Zane. Their heads thudded to the ground.


    “Braden, what the f uck is going on here?” Mason demanded.


    “Lanie, Mason, meet Mchi the Ancient,” Braden said, waving from us to the handsome guy. “Mchi,


    meet Lanie and Mason.”


    “Pleasure,” he said, running up to us at warp speed and extending his hand. Mason stared down at it and growled. His nostrils


    red


    “Vampire,” he said through gritted teeth. “Why did you bring more of them here, Braden?”


    But looking into Mchi’s eyes, there was something familiar there, something almostforting.


    “Mchi’s the one | take orders from,” Braden exined. “A vampire descended from the original masas


    dima bloodline. He’s the reason we know anything at all about the Council and Orion’s ns with hybrids.”


    Braden’s words triggered a memory of our conversation the day before. He’d exined that Ste’s hybrid blood was pure


    because my grandfather was descended from the original vampires.


    Could this really be him? For some reason, | was picturing him a lot wrinklier and more


    disgusting looking. This guy was almost dazzlingly fresh faced.


    Behind him, Xander and Zane started to stir


    “Why do you give a f uck about hybrids?” Mason asked.


    Mchi narrowed his eyes at Mason like he was sizing him up.


    “Because they’re targeting my bloodline, and I’d quite like for it to live on,” he said.


    Over Mchi’s shoulder, | watched Xander and Zane shift back to their human forms, using what little scraps of clothing were left


    on the ground to cover themselves.


    me


    “Then why the f uck did you knock us out?!” Xander snarled. “We''re not the enemy.”


    “| don’t trust dogs, Mchi said, his nose wrinkling. “Unless they’re family, of course.” He motioned to


    “Family?” Mason asked.


    “He’s Ste’s great-grandfather,” | said, stepping around Mason. “In order for the Council to sessfully build their army of


    hybrids, they need to use ones that were bred with his blood.”


    “She’s exactly right,” Mchi said smoothly. “I see you got my smarts. d to know someone around here has some brains. He


    casted a pointed nce back at Xander and Zane.


    When Mchi turned back toward me, Xander crept up behind him, poised to attack.


    But as soon as Xander was within a foot of him, Mchi whipped around and had him in a chokehold before | could blink.


    I


    What the hell was he thinking sneaking up on an ancient vampire?


    “You will not try anything like that again,” Mchimanded, holding Xander’s gaze.


    Xander nodded, his eyes distant and unfocused.


    Mchi dropped him onto the ground. Xander shook his head and blinked rapidly.


    “Did you just f uckingpel me?” he demanded.


    “Yes. And don’t even try doing it back.” His lip quirked up in an amused smirk. This guy was kind of growing on me. “Yours won''t


    work on me.”


    “I''m still the Alpha of this territory,” Xander bit back.Property ? of N?velDrama.Org.


    “That’s true,” Mchi said. “The Council has chosen not to elect a new Alpha and Beta for the time being. Instead, they’ve put


    the whole pack on lockdown until you two are located.”


    Xander’s and Zane’s mouths dropped.


    My heart stopped. That meant everyone and their f ucking mother was probably out looking for Xander and Zane right now. They


    were beyond stu enough, the concept of Alphas and Betas will be obsolete,” Mchi said. “If Orion and the Council have their


    way, there will be no ruler, only chaos.”


    His words hung thick in the air. There was even more riding on our safety and on ruining Orion’s hybrid n than we could’ve


    imagined


    “Nowe with me, Lanie,” Mchi said, waving me off the porch. “We need to have a little talk