The Venatrix

Chapter Sixteen- Malkai

"What happened?" I ask, looking at the royal wolves. They appear to be frozen. Their arms are still crossed on their chest. Their chins are jutted out, looking towards the sky. Their eyes are vacant.

"Maddox!" I hiss, grabbing his shoulders and shaking them.

"Huh?" He asked, shaking his head back and forth. Then he screws the palm of his hands against his eyes. He looks at his two men standing on each side of him, clearly bewildered at what he saw.

"What are we doing out here?" I ask.

"There was an apartment complex, but it's gone." He said pointing to where his men were looking.

"A complex? I don't remember looking at an apartment complex." I said, searching through my brain just to come up empty.

"Wolves can't climb. So, I talked the Venatrix into climbing the building." He explains scratching his head.

"The Venatrix." The two words slipped out of my mouth. I'm missing something. I run my fingers through my blonde hair hoping it will give me the answers I seek. Still coming up empty after a few minutes I rub my hands down my face. I feel raised skin around my eyes.

"Maddox, what is on my face?" I ask, gesturing towards my eye.

"It's a mark showing that you are mated." He says simply looking back to his frozen men.

The image of a pale woman appeared in my head. Her hair is wildly curly and is a brilliant shade of red. Her eyes are the color of a candy apple. She has thick inky lashes and plump lips, with the body of a goddess.

"I have someone that won't give up on me. I have someone that will leave a light on for me if I get lost. In a roundabout way, I am trying to tell you that I love you." I repeat the phrase that came to mind. The voice is so beautiful and warm. Maddox looks confused. Then it hits me.

"Holy Vladimir! Nora! Where is Nora?" I ask looking around. A shiny object catches my attention. I walk towards it, just to pick up an engraved firearm.

"You're right! This gun is the equivalent of a child to me. It never lied to me. It never decided that I wasn't good enough. It was my family." I repeat the words she said to me just hours ago.

"This was just a trap. It was just a trap to get Nora." I tell Maddox showing him the weapon.

"Let me make sure, I am understanding you correctly. Nora is your mate who is also The Venatrix. The vampires that have been attacking this pack created this building. So, we would get The Venatrix to climb this building. Then they kidnap her. We don't know where she is but essentially, they have the weapon of all weapons." He said as he tilted his head from side to side.

"Yes. We need to find her soon before they steal her humanity." I urg as I started pacing.

"You think they can convince her to give up her humanity?" Maddox asked with wide eyes.

"Wouldn't you try? They would have a mindless bloodthirsty killer at their beck and call." I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"I've heard the only way that someone can convince a vampire to give up their humanity is if they are shown something terrible? You know to make them lose their faith in humanity." Maddox asked furrowing his brows.

"Nora has had a rough life no doubt but she has always pushed through." I say.

"I mean there was obviously something." Maddox said.

"The only thing that I can think of is I didn't tell her I was." I say letting the sentence fall short.

"You didn't tell her you were the Vampire King?" Maddox asked.

"Damn it!" I yell, fisting my fingers in my hair.

"Calm down! Let's go back to Lights office and see what we can find." Maddox said

"We already looked through his office and couldn't find anything." I said.

"Just calm down. Let's go down to the jail and see what he knows." Maddox calmly said

"Alright." I said letting Maddox lead the way.

The pack jail is exactly what you would expect it to be. Cages made of silver line the halls. All that is in each cell is a cot and a toilet. I don't hear inmates yelling. I don't hear inmates banging on the bars. It's like no one is here.

"He is down here." Maddox said as we continued walking down the corridor.

Light Hardy looks terrible. His dark hair is disheveled. He now has the start of a beard due to no access to a razor. His eyes are dark and have deep bruises around them. I must admit that he does look great in prison orange. He should suffer for what he has done to his pack due to his obsession with my mate.

"Your majesty, what can I do for you?" he asked, not getting up from his cot.

"I want all of the information that you have on The Venatrix." Maddox said, crossing his arms across his chest. His voice is cold. Not a trace of kindness to be found.

"Honestly, I don't have much. I know that her father treated her like scum. He abused her and her mother. I tried to intervene but, in the end, there was nothing I could do. She told me she was moving, and I had no choice but to accept it. I sent her off with my class ring and that was the last time I saw her. I never expected to see her again. I sure as hell never expected her to be a vampire. Mated to the Vampire King. " Light explained pointing at me.

"You are holding something back." Maddox said.

"Her parents never left town." He said, sighing.

"What do you mean?" I asked pressing for more.

"Nora disappeared but they didn't. School officials suspected she had either been murdered or committed suicide. The police got involved but never found anything." He explained.

"Do you have a file on her? Any of her items?" Maddox asked.

"Wait, she told me she used to play the piano and sing. Do you have any videos or tracks of her performances?" I asked.

"No, I don't. Nora had a friend in the music department. Her name is Mizu. She kept all of Nora's music on a password protected flash drive. I tried to steal the flash drive one time just to be caught and suspended. When I asked Mizu for the files, she told me she wouldn't give them to me. She would only turn them over to someone who could prove that Nora was alive." He explained.

"Where can we find Mizu?" I asked.

"I haven't been home in a long time but as far as I know she still lives in Montana. If Mizu won't help you, maybe you can try your luck with her mother." He shrugged.

"Let's go." Maddox said, turning on his heels and then starting walking down the corridor.

"What's our next move?" I asked once we were back on the surface.

"Normally, I would send one of my men to deal with this. However, if they are living in werewolf territory I will need to go. You are technically the enemy. They are going to respond to a royal present. They can't deny me." He explained.

"It's going to be hard for me to move during the daytime." I sigh.

"I will leave Baity and Adam to handle things here. It may take us longer to get there but this is of utmost importance. If she has lost her humanity all of the werewolves safety is in jeopardy. You are her mate. Only you can decipher any information we receive that may benefit our situation. " He explains.

"Great, when do you want to leave?" I asked.

"Let's go pack a bag and meet back here in an hour." He said.

I rush back towards the Lights house. I pull out my duffle bag, then shove a change of clothes and the thermoses of blood into the bag. I leave the house. I can't help but worry about Nora. I know she isn't okay. I know this will be hard, but I won't give up on her. I need her. This pack needs her. The fate of the vampire's rest in her hands. A king can't rule without his queen.

"Are you ready?" Maddox asked.

"Let's go to Montana." I said, jerking my head towards the road.