The Secrets of the Panther
Chapter 55

DRAKE

Helga moves her head. I lean forward and take the gag out of her mouth. She spits in my face. “You have no idea what you have done,” she says with a hiss.

I smirk but chuckle slightly. “You were never clever,” I say in between chuckles. “I followed you as I knew you never liked Michael, but the way you looked when he devoured that girl earlier made me realize you had something up your sleeve.”

I lean back and wipe my face.

“Why take her now?” She asks, glaring at me.

I look at her. “Why not?” I ask. “She has a mate who hasn’t marked or even mated her.”

“After what your broth...” she says, but I growl. “He is not my brother,” I say through gritted teeth. Michael was my brother before, but I never wanted him near me once he turned into a vampire. Elder Johnson had other ideas.

Helga looked at me with some realization, and she smirked. “You don’t like who he has become,” she says. “Why are you working for him, then?”

I stare at her as the car passes the men we killed to get in here. “I don’t like the vampire he is, but I’m following him as that pathetic elder is making me. I have no ties to my brother, and as for the panther,” I say as I stare back at the beauty next to her. “I want to get back at my uncle for what he did to my father. Blake doesn’t deserve her. I DO,” I say with a snarl.

Helga looks to the side and shrugs. “You think Michael will let you have your way with her,” she says. “He wanted her the first time he tortured her. He craved her like he craves blood.”

I look at her; that’s true. My brother was always on about a human girl he had fallen in love with, but she never gave him her virginity. It resulted in him taking it by force, which was terrible on all accounts, but he never told me it was Izzy.

I met Izzy when I was trying to capture every different shifter known to man because of the command of the elder and my father. They wanted werewolves to rule the world. Nothing else mattered, including vampires. I knew the elder wished for the panther more than anything, but I never understood why until I found Izzy.

Elder Johnson wanted me to kill my mate, as she was a cat shifter, but I didn’t. I pretended I did. I had to pretend through it all, as I knew he would kill me if he ever found out. I only recently found out that he killed his mate to get power and influence in packs around here. Everyone hated and feared him, as they never knew what he was capable of. Everyone wanted to make it easy for themselves and give in to him.

“You think he will let you have her?” she whispers as she leans back into the seat. “Michael will kill her as soon as she is in his grasp, but there is one thing, though,” she says as she looks at me. “Drake, Blake was never the problem; you were brothers until your father went mad.”

I knew that was true. Blake and I were like brothers. We did everything together. I became jealous of how my aunt and uncle were with him, as I never had that from any of the people in my life, including my parents.

“You know nothing,” I say through gritted teeth, but her face speaks a thousand words as she stares back at me. “I don’t need to know because I can tell you one thing now. Once we head into the compound, vampires and wolves are going to be ready to take the pack and everyone in it,” she says. “Izzy is not what anyone thinks she is, and trust me. I won’t be fighting against her.”

I look back at her. “Why would you tell me that?” I ask, but her face changes slightly. “I bet that panther that you hit told you she is not what she looks like either, and she was right,” she says. “Her kind has this prophecy that one of their own will be more powerful.”

I look back at her, confused. “Why are you telling me this? Why not tell the others?” I ask her, but I already know the answer to the questions.

She glares at me but says nothing. She looks out the window.

I look at Izzy, who was stirring. I knew there was something I could give her that would knock her out for longer. I took the injection in my pocket, pulled its cap off, and pressed it slightly into her arm. I could feel Helga’s eyes on me. “Why would you give her that for?” She asks, looking at me questioningly.

I throw the needle out the window and close it. I look back at her. “I didn’t want my brother to have too much fun with her. He wants to bring that little brat here and her mate, kill them in front of her, then he would take her once again but also torture her,” I say, but sigh while I look at her. “I never told you I found my mate, did I? She looks at me and shakes her head.

“I found her after Michael came back to us. His vampire side was not as bad as now, but I introduced her to him. He was in awe of her. He would follow her around like a brother would like a sister,” I say as I gaze at the window, thinking about my mate Ana. “I left them alone for a few days as I had to do some work for the Elder. When I came back, there was no sign of Ana anywhere.”

“I don’t know what happened to her,” I say, as I can feel her eyes on me. I still don’t look at her. “Michael told me that Blake came and took her. I believed him as there were photos of the two of them together,” I say and turn to her. Anger fills my veins. “Michael followed Ana; she was with Blake in the garden. Ana never wanted to return with Michael as she was in love with Blake.”

Helga looks at me. I know she was feeling the rage that was inside me.

“I want Blake to know what it is like to have your mate taken away from you,” I said as my wolf touched the surface.

Helga looks at me. “Was there ever a body?” She asks me.

I shake my head. “No, I trust my brother, even though I don’t like who he is. I would ensure he gets what he wants, as he has always been by my side like Elder Johnson.”

Helga says nothing else as we pull into the compound. Every wolf and vampire is ready. They want the pack gone, and so do I.

As the car comes to a stop, I open the door and notice my brother whispering to another vampire.

He looks back at me and uses his vampire speed to get to me. “What did you get me?” He asks as he opens the door. Izzy, who has been knocked out, was lying in the back seat with Helga.

Michael hisses but stares at Izzy, but I can see the smirk forming on his face. “LET’S KILL THEM WOLVES,” he says as he turns around.

He looks at the vampire behind him. “GET READY. WE HIT THE PACK SOON,” he says and points to the man on his other side. “Put her in the compound. I’m staying with her”.

I knew what he wanted to do. That’s why I injected her. He wanted to kill her and then drag her body to the pack, but he wanted her at his mercy, begging for her life till the end.

He will have to wait; I’m not going anywhere just yet. I move out of the car and walk over to the side Helga was.

I grabbed Helga by the arm and dragged her from the car, but Michael had other ideas as he slammed her against the vehicle. She grunts out in pain.

Michael leans close to her. “I will deal with you later,” he says, moving away from her slightly but turning to me. “We should prepare for war,” he says with a smirk.

Every rogue and vampire was getting ready to attack.