Protected By Vampires

Chapter 26

     I sighed with relief. "Okay, so what do we do? How can I help?" I asked.

     "There's not much you can do to help. First, stay away from the weres, stay here, and stay inside." Mark answered. 

     I nodded, then asked "And second?"

     "Second you'll have to call Travis." 

     "Why?" I asked, not liking this part of the plan. 

     "Because Sam hurt the alpha pretty bad. I tried calling him before I got here, but there was no answer. If he's injured like I suspect then the beta is in charge, and that's Travis." Mark explained to me. 

     "Okay, I can do that. What do I say? What kind of information do we need?" 

     "Dylan, Javier, and I will talk about that and write down the information we hope to get from them. While we're doing that I need you to download an app on your phone that records phone calls, and then call someone and make sure it works. We'll meet you in the kitchen in ten minutes and let you know the plan." 

     I nodded and waddled my way back to the kitchen, happy to have something to do to help even if it didn't seem like much. I downloaded two call recording apps just to be sure and called Amee to test them out. Both of them worked, which made me happy. Mark and the twins walked into the kitchen just a few minutes after I finished. 

     "Okay, our main goal is to know where they're keeping Sam and what they plan on doing with him. I'm guessing that they aren't going to tell us where he is, and that they'll be willing to trade Sam for you. So, no shock there, however we need to know if they're planning on killing him if we refuse the trade. Doing so will start a war per supernatural laws, which would mean that vampires would be justified in destroying their entire pack." Mark slid a piece of paper toward me with the short list of information I was supposed to try to get from them, followed by some questions I was supposed to ask.

     "It would take less than 24 hours to get enough vamps here to decimate them, so chances are they will probably keep him alive. If they're going to kill him then we'll have you pretend to set up a time for the exchange as far out as possible to give us enough time to get an army here to try to save him. If they aren't going to kill him, that gives us a little more time to grow our numbers. 

     "Sam is a well respected and very loved member of the vampire community, I've already called all available vampires in the northwest to come help us. Several dozen will be here within the hour, and several hundred will be here by noon tomorrow."

     I nodded and looked at the list of questions that Mark had written down. I read over them several times before I readied myself to call Trav. My hands were shaking as I pulled up his name in my contacts and pushed the call button. 

     It rang so long I thought it was going to go to voicemail. Finally Trav answered. 

      "I've been expecting your call."

     "Hi Trav. Is Sam okay?"

     "For now."

     "Where is he?"

      "Somewhere safe. For now. You know what we want."

     "Yes, I know."

     "Good, listen close because I'm not repeating myself. We're willing to exchange Sam for you within the next two hours only. No further harm will come to Sam if you agree to our terms. If you are not at the designated meeting place within two hours I can't guarantee his safety. We don't want to harm you, we just want what's ours. As soon as you give birth you will be free to leave our territory and get on with your life."

     "I'll be able to leave but I'll have to leave the baby."

"Yes, I didn't think I'd have to explain that to you."

     "If I can't get there in two hours are you going to kill Sam?" 

     "Again, I thought that didn't need to be explained."

     Well fuck. Two hours didn't seem like enough time. I looked at Mark to confirm he still wanted me to pretend to agree. Frowning, he nodded at me.

     "Okay. Where should I meet you?"

     "I knew you'd see reason. I will call you back in an hour with further instructions."

     Before I could say anything else Trav hung up. 

     "That doesn't give us much time." Mark pointed out the obvious and looked at his watch. "We'll start having back up arriving in about 10 minutes. I'm going to go make some phone calls and come up with a few plans. Sit tight and wait for Travis to call back." 

     When Amee and I were left alone again she took my hand and started whispering.

     "I don't have a very good feeling about this. Mark wants me to stay here with you, but I think I'd be more help using my shadow trick. I could hitch a ride without them knowing, then find Sam and help him get free. No one can smell or hear me when I'm a shadow and the element of surprise is always best. The wolves aren't dumb, they'll know something is up. I doubt they'll even bring Sam, if they don't I can follow them back to him and once I know the location I'll come back for help. I won't leave you if you don't want me to though. There will be other vamps here to protect you."

     I didn't want to put Amee in any danger, but her plan might be the only way we'll get Sam back. She's right, the wolves aren't stupid, that's how they got Sam in the first place.

     "Is there a limit on how long you can stay a shadow?" I asked. 

     She shook her head. "Okay, as long as you promise me that you won't solidify until you're absolutely sure you can help Sam, or until you're back on the doorstep with his location."

     She nodded. "I promise. I won't do anything unless it's a sure bet."

     I nodded in agreement. " Let's do this then."