Several men burst into the room, flanking my mother as though she was a delicate flower that needed protection from the incoming typhoon. My mother stood to her feet, her hands slamming against the dining table as several plates and cutleries jostled into the air for a brief second due to the impact.

"Explain," she curtly ordered, her gaze darkening as she stared down at the man who had given the report.

"It’s... it’s..." The man’s line of sight shifted from my mother across the room, finding where Blaise and I were sitting. He then pointed a finger at us, snarling with all the menace in the world. "It’s the alpha of Fangborne," he said. "He brought reinforcements and is attacking the building." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Reinforcements?" my mother echoed with a frown.

At the same time, Blaise looked at me, equally as confused as my mother was.

She observed Blaise’s expression, eyeing him like a hawk watching its prey before turning back to the hunter who had provided the report.

"Send the teams down to the lobby," she said. "We have unwanted guests visiting. It’s best to lead them out." My mother then waved to the men flanking her, gesturing to the door. "I don’t need protection. Get to the lobby."

"Yes, Madame!"

"What is going on?" I blurted out, watching as the hunters fled from the room, eager to follow my mother’s instructions. Only two stayed behind at the doors, watching us.

The alarms blared and I quickly raised my hands, shielding my ears as I winced at the insanely loud sound.

"Didn’t you hear?" my mother asked, her tone sickly sweet as she turned and smiled at me. There was no warmth in her expression, nothing but the frigid cold as she picked up the knife set down on the table, wiping the maple syrup off of the blade. "We apparently have unwanted guests."

She then turned to look at Blaise.

"I wasn’t aware that you two arrived with additional guests."

"Neither was I," Blaise muttered under his breath, his eyebrows knitted tightly together as he exchanged a look with me.

He didn’t say anything more, but I could feel something off in his bond. He was oddly uncomfortable and annoyed, most likely with the turn of events. However, he was not as confused as he pretended to be.

"We will talk about this later, sweetie," my mother said as she stashed the knife into her pocket.

Her heels clicked against the floor as she crossed the room, pointing at us while looking at the two remaining men. They quickly came over, standing so close that they were short of holding me down like a prisoner.

"Wait, what are you trying to do?" I asked, stepping away from the hunters, only to bump into Blaise, who was doing the same.

"We need to get you to safety, of course," my mother said. She turned her attention to Blaise, smiling apologetically. "I like you, Blaise, I really do. But your brother is proving to be a pest of a guest here in my city. Until he leaves, my men will ensure your safety."

"Ensure our safety?" I echoed, my voice shrill. But when I attempted to step forward, the hunter closest to me immediately tugged at my elbow, pulling me back so that I couldn’t get any closer to my mother.

"Get your hands off her," Blaise growled, easily ripping the man’s hand off of my arm before pulling me into his embrace. All pretense had gone out of the window, his eyes glowing menacingly as he held me protectively.

My mother said not a word about this, but I knew that she had noted everything down.

In fact, she had said nothing else, simply turning on her heel before stalking out of the room, leaving us alone with the two men. The moment my mother disappeared from view, they pulled out a silver cuff, clipping it over Blaise’s neck like a collar while he had his attention still on me. They moved swiftly, and before I could even react, I heard the electronic lock shifting into place.

"What the fuck―"

"This is only for your safety, as per the Madame’s instructions," one man said. "It will be removed by the Madame when she returns."

Before I could utter any additional words of protest, they started to push and shove, ushering us into a room on the same floor, tucked away in a small corner. We stood in front of the large silver doors, and it swung open right as a torrent of shouts and screams echoed down the corridor from a distance away.

"You sick bastards―!"

My knee nearly connected with the man’s groin if it hadn’t been for Blaise pulling me back. We stepped into the room — albeit a little unwillingly on my part — and the men scowled at us before locking the door shut in our faces.

"Why did you stop me?!" I yelled, exasperated. "Now we’re locked in a silver room with no way to get out!"

The very same type of room that held Dahlia Elrod down before she died. This was a prison for werewolves awaiting execution, and judging by the ruckus Damon and whoever he else he brought along with him had caused, we were about to be next if Damon wasn’t able to stop her.

"We don’t need that many eyes watching us," Blaise said as he reached his hands up to his neck. He winced, the silver searing through his skin and leaving a jarring red mark, the reddish pink flesh beneath exposed. "It will be easier to get out that way."

I paused, watching with surprise as Blaise’s hands clamped down tightly on the silver collar. A flash of bright light enveloped the room, followed by the sizzle and crackle of electricity. In just two seconds, a puff of smoke had emerged from the collar. Blaise simply pulled it off his neck once the electric lock was fried, tossing it to the ground before gingerly touching his injured skin.