We need to meet for coffee.
I’d gotten the text after I’d left the fair this morning, just after I’d spoken with Chris.
There was a new man in town, and all I knew was that he knew something about vampires. So I’d told Chris to keep an eye out and gather information if he could before anyone panicked.
Most people who really thought vampires existed were just groupies trying to make some sort of magic in their own lives. They believed in anything that brought them closer to answers about a world they didn’t truly want to be involved in.
But looking in Silver Creek was cause for suspicion.
Not only that, it was Maya who had sent the text, not Chris. What did that mean? I could feel her unease all the way over here and I’d known right away something was wrong.
I strolled into the study and found Mr. Dupont preparing the space, making sure there were enough chairs for everyone who was coming. Hopefully as many of our clan as could make it.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked.
He turned. “No, sir.”
I smiled at his use of the word “sir.” He refused to call me anything else and had since I’d met him. Mr. Dupont was the only human I had in my life now, and one of the men I respected most in my life as well. He knew exactly who I was because I’d saved his daughter when she’d been sick. That was years ago and she was grown now, but Mr. Dupont had come to work for me directly after that and stayed with me after his children moved away.
I’d subtly offered to change him more than once when he’d been younger, but he always refused. Eventually I stopped asking. Mr. Dupont was content with his life and it wasn’t my place to interfere with that.
The doorbell rang. I shook my head at him before he could move. “I’ll get it.”
He let me go. I strolled to the door and found both Will and Maya on the step.
“Ainsley is teaching,” Will said as he walked in. “I don’t think she’ll be able to make it until later. Maddox is trying to get here as well.”
“It’s fine,” I assured him. Many of us had jobs we couldn’t break from at the drop of a hat.
I heard a car approaching on the long drive and waited as Chris pulled around the corner, followed by David and Jonathan.
Relief settled over me when I saw the second car. I needed Jonathan here. We might not have the same relationship we used to now that David was in the picture, but I still trusted him. I knew he would provide a level head.
Once everyone was inside, I joined them in the study. They all sat, but I couldn’t relax.
“Are you okay?” I asked Maya.
“I’m fine. I didn’t know what to do though.”
“It’s the newcomer,” I said.
She gave a surprised nod. “Yes, how did you know?”
“I heard him when I was at the fair. He’s here for some kind of research or mission. He was speaking into a recording device and made it clear he was here looking for vampires.”
“Vampire hunter?” Will asked, straightening in his seat.
Jonathan leaned forward. “Doubtful. He wouldn’t come alone, would he? Has anyone seen others?”
They all shook their heads.
“I spent all morning at the fair and didn’t see anyone else,” Chris said. His hand went automatically to his belt when his radio crackled and a voice came over. He turned it down. “I’ll check all the hotels—Maddox will let us know if he has more than one unscheduled visitor at the B&B. I’ll check him out, run his name.”
“It’s Hawk,” Maya said. “At least, that’s what he told me. If he’s staying at Maddox’s place, he’ll have a last name and hopefully a credit card number.”
Chris nodded.
I paced back and forth, still feeling uneasy. “What else?” I asked Maya. “I know there’s more.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I don’t understand it, but I saw something. I…” Her gaze flickered to David and Jonathan. “Sort of like what I saw with them.”
Jonathan narrowed his eyes at her. David reached out took his hand. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I had a dream—or at least, I thought it was a dream. But now I believe it was a vision. Just after you and Jonathan met. I saw you together, and I knew right then you were Fated.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Jonathan asked.
“Like I said, I wasn’t sure. But then you came to me and told me how you felt, and I figured it was enough to just confirm it. Since then, I’ve had another dream. And then, with that man today—Hawk. I saw other things.”
“What other things?” I demanded. I could see she was still shaken.
“Him as a child. He saw a vampire—I couldn’t see a face. But someone saved his mom after a car accident.”
Something twisted in my gut. A vampire savior? It hit too close to home. I’d saved countless lives. Accidents, fires, muggings. I’d only changed a few, though, and the man I saw today wasn’t one of them. I’d remember.
“That makes sense,” I murmured. “He said he was here looking for vampires.”
“But…there’s more,” Maya said. “I saw something else.”
“What?”
“I saw him with you.”
I froze, my eyes locked on hers. Jonathan murmured something and I glanced at him, at a loss for a moment.
“What do mean you saw him with Jacob?” he asked.
She lifted her hands. “I saw him the same way I saw you two.”
Her words sunk in while the rest of the clan stared at me.
“You mean…” Will began.
Maya nodded, her eyes locked on mine. “I mean, I think Jacob and this newcomer are Fated.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. It was my place to soothe the clan. To make things make sense for them, but I couldn’t make sense of any of this. I hadn’t even met this man—I’d only seen him from afar.
More than that, he was here to find vampires—something we absolutely could not let him do. We kept our secret from humans for a reason, and if this man—Hawk—found out, we had no idea what he would do. He could expose us all.
Jonathan stood, taking charge in my moment of confusion. “Let’s gather any information on him that we can. Most importantly, we want to know why he’s here and how he found out about us.”
Chris stood as well. “On it,” he said. “I need to get back anyway.”
The rest of the clan dispersed, talking to each other as they walked from the study. Jonathan stayed behind until it was just the two of us.
I finally met his eyes. “We have to get him out of here.”
Jonathan’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean? Of course, we’ll make sure he doesn’t say anything. We’ll take care of it. But aren’t you…curious?”
“No,” I lied. “I’m not. He needs to go.”
“Jacob,” Jonathan started but stopped when he saw the look on my face. “Okay, then, what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to stay as far away from him as possible.”