While Cross was too agitated to relax, he did show Ransom and Hawk to spare rooms in the GI dormitories where they could have some privacy and get cleaned up. Cross was tempted to go back to Zhobghadi to check on Sabrina, but he knew that would be a bad idea. Instead, he decided to go with his father as they did some checks of the spells and defenses around The Enclave and their loft. Later, after dinner in the cafeteria, everyone gathered in the conference room again.
“Welcome back,” Mika greeted. “Since this afternoon, we’ve managed to contact more—”
The door to the conference room flew open, and Lizzie burst in, Snake right behind her. “I found them!” she exclaimed.
“You mean we found ’em,” Snake said.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever, Worm,” she snorted.
“It’s Snake,” he reminded her.
Lizzie ignored him and waved the tablet PC in her hand triumphantly “I—we have a location on the mages.”
“Where are they?” Lucas asked.
“You won’t believe this, but”—she flipped the tablet toward them—“they’re right here. In New York. Headquartered in a building on Fifth Avenue, a couple blocks down the road from The Plaza Hotel. They’re hiding under a company called Sur Elian Corporation.”
“What?” Lucas roared, his eyes glowing with his wolf. The dominant vibes emanating from him made almost everyone visibly uncomfortable. “Those bastards! Right here in my city? How dare they.” His voice was edgy as a well-honed blade. “We need to get them, right now. Get our forces together—”
“Alpha,” Mika began. “We can’t possibly attack them right this moment.”
“I don’t care!” Lucas growled. “I want them exterminated from my city.”
“Please, Alpha.” Daric’s said. “Use reason. Fifth Avenue is teeming with tourists right now. There would be too many casualties and witnesses.”
“I—” Lucas raked his fingers though his hair in frustration. “I know you’re right. I just want those bastards out of here.” He blew out a breath. “Let’s sit and prepare a game plan.”
“We’ll need all the help we can get,” Mika said, massaging her temple. “I guess we always thought we’d meet the mages somewhere remote, like in the battle of Norway. A fight right here in New York wasn’t something we prepared for, but I’m sure if we all put our heads together, we can think of a way to contain it.”
“My people can help,” Gabrielle said. “The shadows can help conceal many things.”
“And we have our guys ready,” Cliff added. “We’ve all trained for this.”
“You know you have our help,” Elise said.
“Aye, as you do ours,” Duncan said.
“Thank you.” Lucas looked around him. “Today might be the day we end this war. So.” He clasped his hands together. “Let’s get to work. Now—”
A knife-like pain suddenly sliced into Cross head. “Argh!” The world began to spin and he had to brace himself against the wall to keep from falling over.
“Cross?” Ransom asked. “What the hell is the matter?”
“Son!” Daric rushed over to him. “What’s happening?”
“I don’t—” Air rushed out of his lungs as his vision went black.
Central Park. The Obelisk. Midnight. The voice in his head said.
Not again.
Bring the girl and the dagger.
“No!” he screamed. “You’ll never have her.”
Bring them or her father dies.
Jonathan. But the thing was, what he was hearing in his head was Jonathan’s voice.
Everyone dies.
When the pain receded, Cross took in gasps of air and sat up. He didn’t even realize that he had fallen down.
“What happened, son?” Daric looked visibly pale as he knelt down beside him.
“Dad,” he gasped. “The mages … where’s Jonathan?”
“He went home,” Lucas said, his brows knitting together. “He gave us all of the information he had and then asked to be brought home. I sent two Lycan guards with him, though.”
“The mages have him,” Cross said. “And they’re going to kill him, possibly others.” He blinked. “The rest of the clan … where are they? Are they safe?”
Lucas’s face suddenly became a mask of rage, then he turned to everyone. “I need an accounting of all clan members,” he ordered. “Make sure your family and loved ones are secured. If they’re not at The Enclave, make sure they get there ASAP!” He ran his hands through his hair.
“The Lupa?” Cross asked.
“She’s at home with Alessandro. I just got off the phone with her after dinner, thank God,” he said. “What happened? Did you get a vision?”
He shook his head. “No. But the mages, they found a way to send me messages. Just like Stefan did with you, Dad,” he said to Daric.
“What did they want?” his father asked.
“They want me to go to Central Park at midnight. And … to bring the dagger and Sabrina.”
Lucas’s mismatched eyes glowed with anger. “Over my dead body. I’m not handing over anything or anyone to them!”
Cross breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s safe and far away from here. I had to make sure to keep her away.” He paused and realized he hadn’t had time to tell the Alpha what Gunnar had discovered. “Alpha, there’s something you should know. Something Gunnar found out.”
“What?”
“Remember how your blood could make the power of the dagger stronger? Well, I think … I mean, Gunnar had a vision, and he saw that dipping the ring in double Alpha blood could kill a pregnant True Mate.”
His normally unflappable father seemed to falter. “That’s disturbing news.”
“Well, then,” Lucas cracked his knuckles. “I want this to end tonight. Mika,” he called. “Let’s put all this preparation to good use. We need a plan.”
Chapter Fifteen
As the jet touched down on the private airstrip in New Jersey, Sabrina felt her anxiety—real this time, not a magical side effect—shoot up. Her palms were sweaty, her mouth was as dry as a desert, and her hands couldn’t stop fidgeting. Despite the luxuriousness of King Karim’s private plane, she still couldn’t
