Of the seven continents of earth, six had a ruling vampire. They were called the Lords and Ladies of Night. Though each had their own continent, heirs and laws, they'd all come from the same place; they were siblings. The first true-born vampires.
The death of Europe's Lady of Night, Celeste, and her chosen heir, Thomas, had caused Hell. It wasn't long before the remaining siblings began to seek vengeance, wiping out entire villages as the passed through, their heirs in tow, watching their predecessor's every move and analysing every choice.
The oldest, Nicolae, was a revered warrior, a monster who feared nothing and no one. He had taken claim to the Australian continent, and then 50 years ago, he had finally chosen his heir.
On the other end of the scale, in every sense, was Damion.
Damion was the youngest true-born, and the softest. As strange as it seemed, he had grown up being a pacifist, and now only killed when the situation called for it. His nearest and dearest were only Turned because they would have died otherwise.
His heir, Alice, had been on the brink of death when he' found her. She had lost all hope and had attempted to take her own life; he had found her, fully clothed, bleeding out into a bath of cold water. The second her saw her, he knew that, not only was she his heir, but she was also his Mate, and without doubt or hesitation, had Turned her.
The three remaining sisters, Tatiana, Anastasia and Elouise, and their heirs, were much like their older brother.
Needless to say, Damion and Alice were the only ones to leave alive. They had come to mourn the loss of Celeste and Thomas, and so left with a peace treaty; they continued only Turning people to save lives, and teach their clan to do the same, and the Huntress would leave them be.
The whole pandemonium had taken months, meaning mine and Rogan's plan to be a 'normal couple' had gone up in smoke. Arabella had promised us another concoction, though only the one, and it was going to take at least six weeks to brew. Nadia and Mathias had announced that they were six months pregnant, leaving us all in different states of shock, and then they'd gone on a three-week cruise of Europe.
"Nina, we really need to talk." I turned from the kitchen counter, where I'd been making myself a sandwich, to find Arabella, Rogan and Damion, all stood with grave expressions on their faces. It was Damion who had spoken.
"I thought you and Alice had returned to the States?" My tone was blank, I wasn't surprised or angry, but then I hadn't expected it either.
"Not yet. We decided to go on a travel of your lovely island." He smiled slightly, if a little falsely, though it quickly faded to sombreness.
"We've got bad news, Nina." This time it was Arabella who spoke, though quieter and more reluctant than I'd ever heard her.
"What? Are the vampires rebelling again?"
"No, nothing of the sort." Damion took the insult without flinching, or retaliating.
"Nina, sweetheart, vampires, wolves and witches are going missing." Rogan spoke, his voice quiet and somewhat scared. "They took the youngest member of my pack. She's eight, Nina, she's just a child." Something in me snapped at that.
"What else do you know about the people behind this?"
Nothing. No one knew anything, except that 6 witches, 8 vampires and 3 wolves, were gone.
"So, they left nothing behind? No calling card? Or ransom note? And no one saw anything?" I paused. Each of them shook their heads. "Great. So, technically, I have nothing to go on." I threw my arms up in despair. How was I supposed to help if I didn't know what I was up against?
