Charlotte shuddered as she raised the sheets to her chest. “I lost him…”
I grabbed her hand. “Hey, stop that.”
“I can’t stop it. You told me to protect him. You said youtrustedme to protect him, and I just—”
“Cherry, please.”
Her golden eyes hosted a defeated sheen. “Adam, this is all my fault.”
“You hadnoidea those vampires were going to attack.”
“No, you’re right.” She sniffled. “He could hear me, too.”
Confusion stole my features. “What do you mean?”
“We were talking in our minds.”
“You were doingwhat?” Donovan cut in. “Am I too exhausted? Or did I just hear you say you can telepathically communicate with his son in wolf form?”
Charlotte and Donovan exchanged a look. What rattled me wasn’t the inquisitive stare. It was the look of shock on my alpha’s face.
Did he know something that I didn’t?
My frown deepened. “Donnie?”
“Sorry, I’m here,” he said while scratching his neck. “I’m just trying to think.”
“One thing at a time,” I suggested. “Let’s focus on the vampire stuff first.”
The exhaustion in the room doubled. None of us wanted to tackle this issue, but we had no choice. Generations before us had to do the same thing. And now we were stuck carrying the torch of bloody resentments.
What the hell were those resentments, anyway?
Lucius cleared his throat and peered out the window. Hastily erected lights illuminated the ranch. Every road that could be lit was decorated with enough bulbs to cover a Christmas tree.
“I didn’t have time to sound the alarm,” Lucius admitted. “The attack happened way too fast.”
I hummed. “What tripped the alarm?”
“Movement in that east field. It drew me away from the monitors and I took my men with me, too.”
“You left no one behind to watch the screens?”
He shook his head. “That last attack left us…” He trailed off with a sigh. “We’re short a few men, you know?”
“Is that why those bikers were in town?” Charlotte asked. “I mean, I don’t remember seeing them around here, but I figured they weren’t just dropping through for no reason.”
Lucius nodded. “I had to outsource some security. They’ve been keeping an eye in town and reporting back to me.”
“Can we afford that?” I shot my alpha an apologetic frown. “Sorry, boss. I just had to ask.”
“No, it’s a fair question,” Donovan assured. “We can afford it for about a week and that’s it.”
I rolled my eyes. “So much for receiving help from other packs.”
“I’ve spoken to quite a few packs in the surrounding areas. We’re on our own here.”
Charlotte inhaled sharply. “How nice.”