"Katrina, what's wrong?" Killian asks, his voice frantic.

"I-I," I try to tell him what I Saw, but I just cry harder, burying my face into his shirt.

Killian's arms tighten around me. "Shh, it's okay, darling, everything is fine," he says soothingly, and strokes my hair.

I'm sobbing so hard, I start hiccuping.

"Just tell me what's wrong," Killian begs desperately. "I'll fix it, I'll make it better, I'll do anything so you stop crying."

Finally, when my sobs die down, and I can breathe again, I ask, "How long was I out?"

Killian looks surprised that it's the first thing I ask, but I have to know. "Seven hours."

I exhale in relief, and look at our surroundings. "We're still at Dorian's?"

At the mention of his name, a dark shadow casts over Killian's face. "Yes. I didn't know if you would be waking up soon. I figured if you Saw something, you would want to tell him." He practically spits the word: "Immediately."

I nod. "I need to talk to everyone, right away," I say urgently, struggling to get out of his arms.

They tighten even more. "Hold on. Cann you tell me what you Saw first?"

I wince.

"It'll be easier to show you."

****

We're back at the conference table. Killian told me that the circulus spent the last seven hours talking with the vampires, trying to figure out a link between the missing people.

He didn't have to tell me that he spent the entirety of the time I was unconscious with me.

Dorian makes eye contact with me, and I show him what I Saw.

He makes a strangled noise, swearing under his breath, his eyes wide.

"What did you See?" Jae asks anxiously, and I wince. Her poor mate.

"Can I have a piece of paper and two pencils?" I ask quietly, my insides frozen solid.

Dorian moves with lightening speed, and the supplies are in front of me immediately.

Taking in a deep breath, I hold the two pencils and close my eyes. I begin to draw what I Saw with both hands.

"That's incredible," Dorian says breathlessly as I begin to draw.

Killian snarls at him sharply.

A few minutes later, I'm finished. I push the paper to the middle of the paper, unable to look at it without feeling sick.

Everyone crowds around the drawing.

"They're..." Maryn chokes, grabbing her throat.

"They're being drained of blood," Dorian finishes lowly, looking at the drawing.

I drew two people chained to a wall. A tube was jammed into a vein in their throat, and they were draining the blood into a tank.

Collecting a sea of blood.

"That's Layton," Mila gasps, her eyes shining in horror as she looks at the picture.

Dorian swallows. "Layton is from our coven. Do you know the other person in the picture?"

I look at Killian. His eyes are full of despair. I quickly look away.

"That's Jason," Layla says, sobbing.

I wince again. "That's not all..." I say slowly. "There were more... at least two dozen of them like... that."

Before anyone realizes what's happening, Jae pulls out a stake, and charges at Dorian.

Killian teleports in front of her, yanking the stake out of her hand. "Jae! What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He demands.

"People are being drained of blood, Killian!" she yells. "It's fucking vampires! I fucking told you!"

"Our people are being taken, too," Adan hisses at her. "It isn't fucking us doing this."

Knox snarls at him, his eyes flashing dangerously. I don't need my Sight to see that he agrees with Jae and wouldn't hesitate to kill the vampires if Killian gave the order.

"Everyone calm down," Dorian says calmly. "Obviously, this is bad. But we need to work together to figure it out, not tear each other apart. Our people are still missing. Every second spent fighting is a second we don't spend looking for them."

Jae growls at him, flashing her canines, and lunges for him. Killian grabs her by the shoulders.

"Sit down," he says lowly, but the Alpha command he used to make sure she does as he says rings through clearly.

Jae whimpers despite her furious expression, but takes a seat. Maryn clenches her fists so tightly her knuckles turn white. Knox's eyes are completely black, and to my surprise, so are Kage's, and shadows swirl around him angrily.

"Do vampires drink each other's blood?" Killian asks calmly, taking a seat next to me.

"Not for sustenance," Gabe answers before a vampire does. "Only recreationally."

Dorian nods in confirmation.

Killian asks just as calmly, "Do they drink werewolf blood?"

The vampires shift in their seats uncomfortably.

"Gabe, do they drink werewolf blood?" Killian repeats, his tone darkening.

"I-I don't know, Alpha," Gabe admits quietly, and I can See that it pains him to say it. "I didn't read anything about that."

"Answer the question," Jae snarls at Dorian.

"Yes," he responds simply.

"It's better than human blood to them," I suddenly See. "It's addictive."

Everything is silent as everyone looks to Killian for an order, or any reaction at all.

"Killian, I know how this looks," Dorian says, raising his hands up. "But none of my coven members are responsible. I can read their minds, I would have known if one of them was doing this. They can't keep secrets from me."

Killian's face is expressionless. He drums his fingers on the table, and it's the only sound in the room.

Everyone fidgets in their seats, including me. I can't See what's going to happen next.

"Everyone get out," Killian commands suddenly.

"What?" Knox asks in disbelief.

"I need to talk to Katrina alone. All of you. Out." His tone leaves no room for discussion.

Adan and Mila look pissed that they're being kicked out of their own conference room, but Dorian looks calm. Probably because he knows whatever Killian is going to say.

Once the room is cleared, Killian stares at me, and I nervously clear my throat.

"Well?" he asks, his face unreadable for once.

"Well, what?"

"Is Dorian to be trusted still? Even after finding out about their desire for werewolf blood?" Killian looks at me expectantly.

I squirm in my seat. "You're putting a lot of faith in my Sight, Killian."

"No. I'm putting my faith in you."

"That's the same thing."

"It is not. You are not your Sight. I'm asking you not as my Seer, but as Katrina." His expression doesn't change, and it makes me uncomfortable. I don't know how to talk to him when he's being so... serious.

I gulp nervously, fiddling with my gloves. "I don't think they're responsible, Killian," I say quietly. "I really don't."

"Why?" No signs of judgement in the question, just looking for my reasoning.

"It doesn't make sense," I answer honestly. "If they were stealing your wolves, they never would have invited us here. All of their shock and pain by seeing the picture is genuine. And Dorian is right. If someone from his coven was responsible, he would have known." I pause. "I would know."

Killian continues to stare at me, and I don't know what he's looking to see.

"Anything else?" he finally asks.

I hesitate. "I don't think any vampire is responsible."

"Why?"

"Because if this was just about a vampire getting their fix of werewolf blood, why would they take vampires too? And I read in one of the books from the Archives that vampires prefer to drink blood directly from the vein. Since they're keeping the werewolves alive to continue to drain their blood, why not just bite them instead of having an elaborate system? It doesn't make sense," I finally finish.

His neutral expression doesn't change. "Is that all?"

"Do you need more?"

"Do you have more?"

I pause. "No."

"Alright."

Killian's eyes glaze over slightly, so he must be mindlinking the circulus. A few minutes later, everyone returns, and the members of the circulus are significantly calmer. I wonder what Killian told them to make them relax so much.

"We have decided that it is unlikely that you are responsible," Killian says smoothly. "And I'd like to apologize on behalf of Crimson Shadow for coming to this meeting with so much aggression."

Dorian looks stunned by the apology. "I-um... Okay, good. So we're all on the same page, then. We should begin talking about alternative scenarios for who could be doing this."

"Tomorrow," Killian replies. "Gabe has informed me that vampires do not sleep, but unfortunately, we require it. We will resume tomorrow at noon again."

"Can you do earlier?" Dorian asks anxiously.

"No."

I smile slightly. Killian and his obsession with sleep.

Realization flickers through Dorian's eyes. "Very well, tomorrow at noon it is. Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for your patience," Killian responds, for once, not having a cold tone with Dorian.

Killian flicks his hand and opens a portal to Crimson Shadow.

"Let's go home, dear," Killian says, holding my hand.

And he pulls me into the in between.

I, too, am in between.

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