Forbidden

Never the Same

Luca

It was around eight when the snow fell, and by ten it showed no signs of stopping. It blanketed the field around the old manor, and the naked branches stretching over Luca's head where he hid just inside the tree line did little to protect him from the onslaught. At his side, his father, Price, and Kade hunkered down, their focus on the Slayers prowling around the Helsing property.

The earpiece popped and buzzed against his sensitive eardrums, and Nancy's voice was painfully loud. "Is everyone in position?"

Pressing the unmute button, he replied, "We're waiting to hear from Scott's team."

"Hold until my signal."

"Bossy little thing, isn't she?" Kade quipped with a wince as he adjusted his own earpiece.

"Seems to be a trend in the family. They look sweet until they open their mouths."

"It's not our mouths you should be worried about." Something pointy jabbed in his ribs.

Careful to turn slowly so his movements wouldn't draw attention, he fixed Hailey with a frown. "Remind me why you're with our team?"

"Probably because her mama doesn't trust a bunch of shifters without a babysitter."

"Price," Edwin said, diplomatic as always. "I think it shows more trust to send her only child with us than it would to keep her by her side."

Hailey shrugged and tugged on the white cap covering her golden hair. "That and I told her she had two choices. Let me go with you or miss out on the fight because the only way I was staying behind was if she was too. Van is my friend, and I know your first focus is going to be to save her. That's where I want to be."

Kade grunted. "You know this is the farthest I've ever been from pack lands."

Price bumped his shoulder. "You're from the Mississippi pack. That's 1200 miles away, and farther than any of us have ever been."

"Y'all know what I mean. I had an escort the entire way here, and it wasn't exactly like the airports offered a lot of scenery. My entire life has been confined to the same forty square miles. It's not right."

Luca didn't need to see Hailey to feel her discomfort. He thought it admirable that she'd professed a desire to change, but it was one thing to speak and another to experience. This was the reality of their existence. At least for now. After tonight, things would never be the same.

"I wish we had more people," Edwin said. As long as Luca could remember his papa only offered opinions if they were thoroughly considered. If he expressed worry, there was a good reason.

"We've only seen four Slayers, and Nancy's team reported six. We have twenty-five."

Luca added, "Nancy said this property wasn't common knowledge among the Slayers, and she would have heard if there was a sudden call to the Asylum for more guards."

"It is not the headcount that worries me, not entirely. Abraham Van Helsing built the Holy Asylum to carry out his vision of ridding the world of any creatures that weren't fully human. The unnatural and unholy. He handpicked the men and women who followed him, and those founding families have remained faithful over all these years."

"Clearly, not everyone," Hailey said with a sniff.

"You are right," Edwin said, "And that means that whatever is in this house, it is something the Helsings want to hide. Only the most trusted are welcomed here. That means that there may be protections around this place that we cannot see."

"Shit, you're right," Price said, his eyes flashing in the dark.

A new scent on the wind and a snapping twig had the five of them spinning around with a snarl. Those snarls turned to curses when their faces came into focus.