I don’t wait for him to say anything else, I simply can’t. Every second we waste will put Benji’s and Maddie’s lives more into danger. Alex and I just surge forward, using our agility as vampires to cover the distance faster. The wolves are fast, too,but not like we are. Unfortunately, this whole area is impossible to travel through with cars or motorbikes, which threw us back at the beginning.
“Are we going to sneak in and attack silently?” Alex asks.
“We have no time for that,” I say. “Let’s hope they didn’t notice Nova missing, and we will find Maddie exactly where she is supposed to be.”
“What about Atticus?”
“I would like for Juniper to decide on his fate,” I say. “She was loyal, even while she was in grave danger and pregnant. As long as he doesn’t attack us, it should be her decision.“
“Yeah,” Alex mutters. “And Durant?”
I stay silent.
“I have nothing to say either,” Alex admits.
The moment we arrive on my brother’s territory, I realize it was a smart decision not to waste time sneaking around. There is a ruckus happening already, and Juniper is amidst it. There are several vampire warriors around her.
“Juni!” Alex calls out.
“I am okay,” she yells. “Go and help the others.”
Atticus dashes out of the front door at that exact moment, only stopping briefly when he spots me. Then, however, he turns towards Juniper and runs to her, kicking two of the vampires off her. “Hands off her,” he snarls.
“So much for our decision,” Alex says. “At least that problem solved itself.”
A loud noise pulls our attention back to the building ahead of us. I feel like my eyes are bulging out. It’s as if I am seeing everything in slow motion. Shards of glass are flying through the air, and then there is Benjamin, his arms around Maddie, while he throws himself out of a window of the top floor and falls to the ground, back first. Out of the broken window leans a figure I know too well.
Aloysius looks furious, to say the least.
“You go. You are stronger, and your chances to overwhelm Aloysius are higher,” Alex blurts. “I will head to Benjamin and Maddie.”
“Fuck!” I curse. “Fuck. We were too slow!”
“No, we are still in time,” Alex says, giving my back a push. “Your silly werewolf kid bought us time!”
“You are right,” I concede. “And don’t call him silly!”
I don’t hear what else Alex has to say, and make my way up to where my brother is. I don’t waste time using the staircase, instead, I climb up the wall. I haven’t done that in a while – I have become quite rusty. Time to train a little more once this is over.
“Look who is finally gracing us with his presence,” Aloysius says in his aloof manner. He can’t fool me, though, he looks angry and annoyed, and a tad anxious.
“I am not the same brother you faced five years ago,” I say calmly.
“Yes, you are a disgrace, mingling with the werewolves.”
“Disgrace,” I snort. “Funny that, coming from the man who sneaks around killing babies.”
Aloysius furrows his brows. As usual, he has trouble thinking of a comeback. That’s always been his issue. He is intelligent, but not spontaneous or flexible, which is why I was able to outsmart him all those years, and probably why Benjamin managed to snatch Maddie away.
“What do you want, Aloysius?” I ask. “What’s all this about? Have you truly lost your mind? Is this what you want? Sneaking around, killing your children?”
“We were so strong once,” he snarls. “Look what we have become now.”
“We are still strong,” I say. “Just that there are others who are strong, too.”
“The lycans should have never risen to such power. We should have killed them when we could.”
“So, that’s the reason you are going around killing your offspring?” I ask. “Help me make sense out of it, because I can’t.”