JEOPARDY: Love in War

1. The manipulator

The sky was a blanket of grey and trouble as Caiden leaned casually against his car, counting the seconds until Kayla arrived.

He was innately a very patient man, who could wait years to centuries for things, but he'd never been more impatient for something.

That's why he didn't sit inside the burger joint as they had agreed. Instead, he stood outside, in a weather that hinted at trouble rather than peace, so that he caught her scent the moment she neared the joint.

He glanced at his phone and noted, with a frown, that the text he had sent her (15 minutes ago) was read, but there was no reply.

Something feathery and unpleasant churned in his stomach.

Kayla hardly ever left him on read anymore. She might take her time to reply, but she always replied. Always. Especially when he wasn't pushing her out of her comfort zone.

Is she in trouble?

He had explicitly asked her to tell him if anything stopped her from leaving the Lunarheart palace. But if he knew anything about Kayla was that she'd never tell him if such a thing was happening.

He went ahead and checked her location on his phone. Because, of course, he had placed a tracker on her phone -- no way he'd let Kayla live in the enemy's lair without some sort of assurance.

Caiden frowned at the screen. Kayla's phone was out of the palace, but it was also motionless in the middle of the forest. Was she with it, or had something -- or someone -- left it there?

That churning feeling in his stomach worsened.

He couldn't think of a single reason she'd be in the middle of the forest and not moving when they were in a hurry... Unless she was in trouble.

Calling her was out of question. If she was in danger and hiding, the sound of a ringing phone would lead her assailants straight to her --  that was, if her assailants were human. If they were not... her scent, the sound of her breathing, the sound of her heart beat, or even the smell of her fear would be enough to expose her.

He needed to get to her and find out what was happening. That very second.

He locked his car and slipped out of sight before vanishing into a blur, racing towards the forest faster than any car could manage.

He ran as fast as he could, while that unsettling twist in his gut sharpened, like a knot, tightening with every passing second

He hoped it was just a false alarm. He'd never forgive himself if she was hurt under his nose. Plus, he'd decimate whoever dared to touch a hair on her head -- there better not be anyone touching her.

He was a considerable distance from where he thought Kayla was when he heard the sound that sounded like a scream, a pained scream.

Kayla's scream.

His blood froze.

But the rest of his body went into overdrive as he literally flew to the source of that sound. In seconds, he was there.

The sharp tang of her blood hit him first, followed by the thick, suffocating fear that clung to the air.

But what sent him over the edge wasn't the scent of her blood. What pushed him into a craze was the swarm of vampires sinking their fangs into her, while some idiot had his hands around her neck, ready to snap

Over his damned dead body.

Caiden didn't let himself take in any more of that scene or try to reason it out. He just went berserker.