The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 135

BLADE

The smell of the city hit me first. It was a distinct mix of humans, blood, dirt, and sewer. It somehow smelled sweet and pungent at the same time, and it made my stomach sick.

We stood on the cliff my father stood upon with me all those years ago. It looked down at the city, and wanted to show Caulder and Harper the city in all of its glory before I showed it in all of its horrors.

They stood hand in hand, looking at the glittering lights with bright eyes.

"I have never seen a city so big before," Harper said. "It's amazing."

"Have you not been out of your hometown before?" I asked. I had only been to Pack Aphelion's territory when it concerned werewolves, so I had no idea how others lived.

"We have," Caulder said. "Before, when things were safer, we would go on business trips to see other werewolf packs to build relations. My father wanted the future alpha to get to know my future allies. But we don't have cities like this. Werewolves thrive and hide better in forests, so even the bigger cities occupied by werewolves tend to be spread out and surrounded by trees. It's easy to stretch our wolf form when needed, without as much risk of humans discovering the truth of our nature."

"I can't even imagine living in a big city like that," Harper added. "It would feel suffocating."

"It does," I agreed. "But vampires thrive in big city populations like this. People are killed by humans all of the time, so it's not as obvious when a vampire takes a human as prey." The thought sickened me. I had heard too many screams for help before the vampires around me devoured a poor young woman, man, and sometimes even a child. Their screams still filled my nightmares on occasion.

"We should get going. We don't have long before the sun rises, and it'll be more difficult to track movement during the day." I took a step back, but Caulder caught my arm.

He held me by the forearm. He looked me dead in the eye and said, "A few rules before we go in there Always stay by my side. Don't go wandering off on your own, because if something goes wrong, I need to get all of us out of there. Also, if we sense we are in danger, we don't engage. This is a stealth mission."

I nodded along, wondering if Remy set any of these rules. I didn't care either way. I was just grateful she hadn't begged me to stay behind with her, because I knew I would have caved easily. She also didn't fight me too hard when asking her to stay behind, even though I knew that was difficult for her. If she wanted me to follow a few rules to stay safe, then I was more than willing to do it.

"We won't engage," I repeated. "But if there's a chance we can kill Draven, then I want to take it." Draven was my priority on this trip, so I wanted Caulder to know that if there was a chance to kill him, I planned on taking it, so he would be prepared. I knew the chances of finding Draven in a vulnerable enough position to actually kill him were slim, but I still had to try.

Caulder didn't seem to like this response. His jaw tightened as he thought about how to respond. "I know you want to change the future, and killing Draven would definitely do that, but don't forget that Remy is waiting for you to go home to her. I need you to go back with me, because if you don't..." He cut himself off, pausing to think about what he wanted to say next. "If you don't, I don't want to know how that will break Remy. There's no point in trying to change the future if it means getting yourself killed." I couldn't find the words to respond to him, mostly because I didn't agree with him. If I died killing Draven, would stop a war and save the lives of many werewolves. One life for many seemed worth it. The last thing I wanted to do was die before I had a chance to truly live my life with Remy, but if it meant she would continue to live, I knew I wouldn't be able to promise my own safety.

"If you two are done, we should go," Harper said. "It's dangerous to be out in the open like this."

-

CAULDER

The city was even more immaculate as we walked between the towering buildings. I had only seen cities like this in TV shows and images before, but they could never convey the feeling in my chest right now. I felt so small as the establishments around us practically screamed that we were nothing but ants to them.

"This way," Blade said, turning down another street suddenly.

He knew this city like I knew the forest. He knew where to turn to avoid Draven's coven from discovering us. He knew which streets held the most darkness. He knew which alleys cut through to another street and which ones ended in dead ends.

He moved through the people walking the streets with ease, while Harper and I were constantly bumping into others. I was shocked to see so many people out, even at this early morning hour. The city never slept, according to our vampire guide. There was still at least another hour before the sun would rise, but Blade said it took longer for the bright light to infiltrate the city between all of the buildings.

No wonder vampires stuck to cities. If the sun weakened them, I was sure there were corners of this place that the sun never touched. They didn't have to restrict themselves inside during the daylight in a city with this many secrets.

Blade led us into a cafe that was packed with people fighting to get their coffee. We slipped past the long line and found a small table in the corner to sit at. Despite the place being filled with people, most people were standing, leaving a good portion of the tables open. Everyone else had somewhere to go, so sitting was a waste of their time.

Blade sat across from Harper and myself and clasped his hands.

"Something feels off about the city," he said, not bothering to look around to see who was listening.

"Should we be talking about this in such a public place?" Harper asked, her eyes wandering around.

"Public places are the best places to talk in this city," Blade indicated. "Draven has vampires filling the shadows, listening to the buzz of the streets, so he knows what's happening."

"What about all of the people in here, though?" I asked. Everyone in here smelled normal, not a vampire, werewolf, or any other unworldly being in sight.

Blade shrugged. "Humans in this city seem to have a natural sense of the unnatural. Their minds typically block out vampires who are not interacting with them. It's a way to protect their minds from the truth of our existence. No one will look in our direction, and when we are gone, it'll be like they never saw us in the first place. They won't hear a word we say."

I scanned the crowd, and sure enough, no one was even looking around. They were all glued to their phones, completely ignoring the other humans around them. If Blade said they wouldn't hear us, then I trusted him. He grew up here after all.

"So you said something felt off," I prompted, not wanting to waste any time.

"I haven't sensed any vampires since we arrived," Blade explained. "I took my normal routes, just in case I'm missing them for some reason, but it's almost like all vampires have disappeared from the city."

"Is it possible that it's because it's too close to morning?" Harper asked. She tried to stifle her yawn. We hadn't been able to sleep all night, and it would probably be a while before we could find a moment to rest.

"No." Blade was confident in his response. "Even during the day, Draven's coven doesn't rest. It's quieter while the sun is up, but not this quiet. I've watched them for years, so I would know."

"What could explain the lack of presence?" I asked. I could come up with guesses, but I knew it was pointless to ramble off random scenarios.

Blade shrugged. "I have a theory, but there is only one way to know for sure." He looked around the room before catching my gaze again. "We have to go to the headquarters to find out.