Chapter 3

Alan

       At night, Ryder, Orchid, and I headed out to the vampires' hangout to talk to them about the three recent murders. I honestly wasn't that up to going, but it was better than not doing anything at all.

       I had never been to the vampire hangout. It was usually other Protectors who went there when the vampires needed help or if we needed the vampires help, but the mission on finding out what was going on with the killings was for me and my siblings.

       Ryder had been here once, so he at least had a small idea on how we should handle the vampires.

       Ryder pulled up to the vampire hangout, and I chuckled at the irony. "An abandoned hospital," I said. "How fitting."

       "This seems very creepy," Orchid said. "Let's just do this fast."

       "I kind of wished Nolan came with us," I said as we got out of the car. "I mean, I get why he went with Jerome to talk to the sorcerers, but his invisibility could have come in handy."

       "Not really," Ryder said. "The vampires would have been able to sense his presence anyway. But who knows? Maybe they wouldn't because he seemed to be immune to a siren's charm."

       "Are you still on about that?" Orchid asked. "Trust me, I'm just as confused as you are, but let it go. It's your fault you wanted to head to Jerome and Mae's apartment immediately when I wanted to ask Grandpa exactly why we had to be careful of Mae. Now, like I said, let's just do this fast."

       Ryder led us to the entrance of the abandoned hospital, and I now agreed with Orchid about getting this done fast. Everything here was very old and rundown, and the lights were occasionally flickering on and off. 

       The paint on the walls was peeling off, and I swore it was also stained in blood.

       "New plan," I said. "I wait outside while you two do the talking."

       "It's not that bad," Ryder said.

       Two of the vampires were suddenly standing in front of us having using their speed to get there. I recognized the both of them, and I knew I was going to get really annoyed.

       "Ryder Prince," the head of the clan, April, said. "To what do I owe this magnificent pleasure?"

       "Forget him," April's niece, Janelle, who was three years younger than her, said as she looked at me. "Hello, Alan. It's very nice to see you again."

       Go away. Please, just go away.

       "Nice to see you too," I said, before muttering under my breath, "Not."

       "I'm a bit disappointed the cute Prince isn't here," Janelle said. "I was looking forward to seeing him again."

       "Uh, hello, I am the cute Prince," I said.

       "You are, but not as cute as Nolan," Janelle said. "There's something innocent about him that attracts me to him."

       "Okay, can we forget all of that right now?" Orchid asked. "We need to get straight to the point. Have you heard about the werewolf attacks?"

       "Yes," April said. "And let me just say I knew the werewolves would snap eventually and kill humans."

       "Before you keep talking, let me just say that it wasn't a werewolf attack," Orchid said. "It was a vampire, and a sorcerer used magic to disguise it as a werewolf attack. We need to know if anyone in your clan was involved."

       "Why are you asking us vampires?" April asked. "Why not ask a sorcerer if they had something to do with it too?"

       "We have more than just three Protectors," Ryder said. "There are others doing that job. We need to know if you or your clan had any part of it."

       "Are you accusing us of killing innocent humans?" April asked, taking a step closer to Ryder.

       "No, we're not," Ryder said. "I just asked a simple question if you had any part of it. That's it. Simple yes or no question."

       "And would believe me if I said no?" April asked.

       "As long as you're telling the truth," Ryder said.

       "Well, we didn't have any part of it," April said.

       I looked over at Orchid and she gave me a small nod to indicate April was telling the truth. That was only if she had any part of it, though.

       "What about other vampires in your clan?" I asked. "Did they have any part of it? Have you heard anything about anyone having a part in it?"

       April's attention turned from Ryder to me. "I don't know what kind of games you're playing accusing my clan of an attack so vicious. We've always made sure we were careful not to hurt anyone."

       "Avoiding the answer," I said. "Interesting."

       "Let me make this clear for you," April said. "Nobody in my clan killed those people. At least not that I know of, and I tend to know everything that goes on with my clan members."

       "One more question," Ryder asked. "Do you know of any other vampires in or around Miami that aren't part of your clan?"

       "No, I don't," April said. "All the vampires in Miami are part of this clan. We had to make sure we all stuck together."

       "Alright, we're sorry to waste your time," Orchid said. "We'll get out of your way now."

       Orchid was the first to turn around to leave, but April used her speed and blocked her path. "Why the hurry?" she asked.

       "Because we got what we needed," Orchid said. "We just needed to find out if your clan had anything to do with it, and you said they didn't, so that's all the information needed."

       "You're hiding something," April said. "I can sense it. If you don't tell me what you're hiding, I'll make sure the put an enchanting spell on one of your brothers."

       Oh, great. I had enough of being charmed today. I didn't want it to happen again, so they better leave me alone and go for Ryder.

       However, it apparently happened again because the next thing I knew, I was standing by the car. "What just happened?" I asked.

       "I just saved your butts," Mae said, and I looked over to see her standing nearby. "I haven't heard the best things about this clan, so I decided to show up just in case. I was bored at home anyway with Jerome out talking to other sorcerers."

       "She got there just in time to hear April say she was going to put an enchanting spell on either you or Ryder," Orchid said. "She beat April to it and used her own charm on the two of you since vampires and sirens can't enchant nor charm people already under a spell."

       "You know, I really didn't want to get charmed twice in one day," I said.

       "I didn't either," Ryder said before looking at Mae. "But with you, I don't mind."

       "Can we just get in the car and head to the HQ?" Orchid asked, so we did just that with Mae getting in the car as well.

       Once we were on the road heading back, Orchid said, "April lied. While her clan didn't have anything do do with it, there is at least one either vampire not in her clan."

       "Grandpa was smart putting you with the vampire questioning instead of the sorcerer questioning," I said. "I just hope things are going well with Jerome and Nolan. Speaking of, I still would like to know why Nolan wasn't charmed."

       "You don't know either?" Mae asked. "Wow. Is nobody able to find out?"

       "You know?" I asked.

       "Of course I do," Mae said. "I'm a siren. I always know why I can't charm a specific person."

       "Don't say anything," Orchid said.

       "Oh, come on, you know too?" I asked.

       "I do, and it's not my place to tell," Orchid said. "If Nolan wants to tell you why he was able to, he will."

       "I'd still like to know so I'm not charmed again," I said.

       "Don't worry, I won't do it again," Mae said. "The necklace I wear blocks me from charming people, and I don't wear it around my house which was why I charmed you and Ryder in the first place. If I knew people were coming, I would have put it on. And tonight was just so the vampires couldn't do it."

       "Thank you, by the way," Ryder said. "April and Janelle really get under my skin, so I try to limit the time I spend talking to vampires."

       "No problem," Mae said. "If you ever need help with anything, I'll be here."

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Wow, two updates in one day. :O

I'm loving this book too much. :) I'M JUST SO HAPPY GETTING BACK INTO FANTASY. It was my main genre before I got on Wattpad, and me being back into it just brings me peace.

And I'm really happy that Alan gets POVs since he doesn't really have a storyline for any other books. Now, the four older Prince children all get a storyline here. :D

Aaaaand I have less than a minute before the internet will shut off so I shall publish this.