JEOPARDY: The Cursed Soldier.

20. Million Dollar Question.

Meera unconsciously tapped her right booted leg which was crossed over her left one, as he peeked at her phone for the tenth time in that minute alone. And yet... nothing. 

No calls, no texts, or any other notification.

"Have you called him?" Amara asked from her position atop the kitchen counter. She sounded bored, and Meera could already picture her facial expression.

"Yes. He didn't pick up." Meera responded, rechecking her phone.

No notifications.

"Maybe he is indisposed. Tried texting?"

This time, Meera rolled her eyes. "Of course I did. 15 minutes ago. I wrote, 'Emergency. Call. ASAP'. That way, if someone else sees the text, it won't betray the real situation."

She glanced at the phone again and almost crushed it with her bare hands.

Where the hell is he? What the fuck is he doing?

It wasn't like Caiden to completely ignore her calls or text. She wasn't worried about him. Caiden could never be in danger. Whoever got in his way was the one in danger. Which is why the situation they were in both excited and enraged her.

She had missed the sheer joy of killing stupid vampires, and then some idiotic vampires had the guts to call her and say, 'Tell La Tueur to meet us at the Cabana by 1200hrs today. Or else, the 92 civilians we have in our hands will be dead and the werewolves will know you're here.'

The mere memory of that gravel-like voice, as it tried to blackmail her, sent a fresh surge of rage over her. Nobody Blackmailed them. Nobody summoned them. She couldn't wait to show the stupid amateurs the error of their ways.

Meera knew her rage would be shared by Caiden, who would surely stomp the Cabana (with her) and they'd slaughter the idiots.

She had missed it—the art of killing together and relishing in every organ they tore apart as they bathed in the blood of their enemies.

It had been two decades of keeping a low profile and not killing a single creature. It had made her blood-thirsty and killing-hungry. She loved hunting her prey, feeding on it lavishly, and at last, eliminating it. Most of all, she loved butchering vampires dumb enough to get in her way.

"I really don't get your relationship. You'd never do this to him. But he's doing this to you. As angry as you are at him right now, the moment he gets here, you'll not utter a single complaint and just follow his instructions."

Meera sighed with an eye roll. "I will give him a piece of my mind after we deal with this. We have 30 minutes to noon. What on earth's name could he be doing?"

"He could be six inches deep in a bitch for all we know. But here we are: jeopardizing the entire mission so that he can come and feel like a man."

"He would never ignore my calls to fuck anyone." Meera glared at Amara. The vampire was getting on her nerves.

Feeling suffocated on the couch, Meera stood up, threw her phone at the couch, and started pacing. "I never just call him... He didn't pick up because he's in a dire situation."

"Whatever you say, Queen. But I suggest we go to the Cabana on our own and kill the motherfuckers. We don't need Caiden. We are two savage and deadly vampires. We can do this without him and tell him about it later."

Meera shook her head, still pacing and stealing subtle glances at the phone. "That's not how we do things. We do all things together. I'll wait for him to get here and we'll decide together."