Chapter 5-Roach Spot

Roe pulled the car up in front of a run-down looking motel. It was two stories, with rooms down the front and back. She turned and asked Adrian, "Will you get us a room? I'd attract too much attention if I did it."

"How would you attract attention?" Shane asked snidely.

"Everyone around here knows me. I would stand out in someone's memory, as opposed to you or Adrian, who no one around here knows."

"I get that, but why'd you ask Adrian and not me?" Shane asked petulantly.

"Because he's calmer. And he won't stick out as much as you do, because he's not an unknown wolf. We do occasionally get vampires around here."

"Thank you." Adrian said smugly, only paying attention to the first part of what Roe had said.

Shane huffed and leaned back in his seat. "Fine."

Adrian got out of the car and walked into the office. Shane and Roe sat there in silence until he returned, and got back into the car.

"Okay, I've got a room, it's on the back side, second floor."

"Okay." Roe said as she pulled the car around, following his directions until they got near one of the staircases on the back side of the motel.

"All right, let's go." Roe said.

"I still don't understand why we need to do this." Shane complained, getting out of the car.

"There's a lot we need to discuss." Roe said evasively as they started walking towards their room.

"I, for one, am very interested in finding out what secrets Miss Roe here is hiding." Adrian said with a smirk.

"You're not going to find out all my secrets right now." Roe said with a smile, and Adrian raised an eyebrow at her.

"This is stupid." Shane growled.

"Give me just a minute, and I'll tell you why I was so....insistent that y'all came with me, and that we have this meeting privately." Roe said as Adrian unlocked and opened the door to their room.

Adrian gestured for Roe and Shane to enter the room, and as Roe did, Shane impatiently said "No, I'm tired of waiting. I'm leaving."

"Remember what I said about your alpha." Roe said warningly.

"I think... you need to come in and listen to her. There have been some...disappearances from a coven recently in this area, that's why I was here. I'm willing to listen to anyone who might have information about them."

"No. I don't need to get involved with whatever the vamps have going on. We don't have any problems around here." Shane said.

"Yes, you do." Roe said. "You may have been gone too long, but your alpha has contacted Joe about disappearances too."

"What?!" Shane exclaimed. "Why haven't I been told about this?"

"Well, that's part of what I wanted to talk to y'all about, please come in." Roe said.

"Whatever." Shane said petulantly, as he walked into the room. Adrian followed them, and shut the door.

"Did you lock it?" Roe asked.

"Seriously!" Shane complained, as Adrian nodded his head to Roe.

"If you'll be patient just a little longer, I will tell you everything that I know."

"Everything that you know?" Adrian asked her.

"Well, everything that pertains to this situation." Roe hedged.

"Why not everything?" Adrian asked suggestively.

"Some secrets aren't mine to tell, and I'm not comfortable enough with you yet to tell you all of my secrets." Roe said with a small smile.

"Enough! Let's get down to business." Shane "Who has disappeared from my pack, and why?"

"As I said, give me a minute, then we'll start."

"Why wait? We're already locked in a room with you, what're we waiting for?" Shane asked impatiently.

"I want to ward the room, so no one can tell that we're here, and so no one can hear us. There are way too many supernaturals around here with excellent hearing for my comfort. Now, please be quiet for a few minutes while I do this. The sooner I get this done, the sooner you can leave." After saying that, Roe turned facing the window, and gestured towards it and the door while muttering a spell under her breath.

As Roe warded the room from prying ears, Shane and Adrian took a look around the room. Roe was facing the wall that had the door and a window. There was a small table and a couple of chairs placed under the window. On the wall to the left of Roe, there was a door leading to a small bathroom. There was a queen sized bed on the wall to the right of Roe, with a nightstand on each side of it. There was a chest of drawers up against the wall behind Roe, in the corner near the bathroom door.

Roe finished her spell and turned around. They stood there looking at each other. For the first time since they met, there was enough light to really be able to see each other clearly.

Adrian was slim and tall, a little over six feet, with black hair pulled back into a low ponytail.  He was extremely pale like all vampires with ice blue eyes.  He was dressed in a rather rumpled suit. The jacket was unbuttoned, as well as the top few buttons of his shirt.

Shane was muscular and tan.  He was also tall, close to six feet, but just a few inches shorter than Adrian.  He had greenish brown eyes, and shaggy light brown hair. He was wearing a pair of jeans, a tight fitting black t-shirt, and a pair of boots.

Roe was about five foot four with brown wavy hair almost down to her waist.  She wasn't as tan as Shane, but neither was she as pale as Adrian.  She was wearing a pair of tight jeans, and a loose fitting dark blue t-shirt.

Roe looked at them, as they looked at each other and her.

"Okay, I have to give y'all a little background on my line of witches." Roe said, moving more toward the center of the room. "Most of the witches in my family are women, very few males are born with powers, and if they are their powers are usually weak. When two witches get married, the kids take the father's last name, at least on paper for the humans. The children that wind up having powers also get a witch name when they come of age, which is the witch name of whichever of their parents is more powerful. Sometimes they inherit their father's witch name, but most of the time the kids inherit their mother's. The name thing also goes for when a witch marries another supernatural creature." Roe paused and took a deep breath. I hope they take this well.

"I told you in the car that my name is Roweena Cavenaugh, and that is true, but it's my human name. My witch name is why everyone knows me. I'm Roweena Wynter."

"Roweena Wynter!" Adrian exclaimed in shock. "You're Roweena Wynter?"

Roe nodded as Shane said. "I've heard that name before, but I can't remember why."

"If she's truly Roweena Wynter," Adrian started with disbelief, "she's supposed to be one of the most powerful witches that have ever lived."

When Roe reluctantly nodded, he continued, "She's the one every pack and coven has been trying to form an alliance with. Although it seems she's already decided on the Sunset Pack."

"Oh, yeah, I've heard of her. She's the reason my dad was so impatient for me to come home. She's supposed to visit our pack soon."

"Next week, in fact." Roe said.

"Yeah, that's right. It is supposed to be next week." Shane replied surprised.

"So, you're really Roweena Wynter, or at least you know where she's supposed to be next week." Adrian said skeptically.

"I am who I say I am. That's why I know so much about what's going on, and about so many people. Everyone is trying to curry favor with me, to get me to join them, so they talk to me." Roe said ruefully. "And, no I haven't made a decision yet. There's more to that than just picking one."

"What-" Adrian started.

"No," Roe interrupted him, holding up her hand. "That's too personal for a first meeting. Very few, and I mean very few, people outside my family know what all it entails."

"Fine." Adrian snapped. "Let's get down to business. What do you know about the disappearances?"

"So now you're the impatient one." Shane said with a chuckle.

Adrian scowled at him.

"For the purpose of this meeting, let's stick with the recent disappearances." I hope I can smooth his ruffled feathers. The last thing I need is him not talking to me when I'm trying to piece what's happening together. "If I get to know you better, I'll tell you how we come into our powers."

"Fine." Adrian snapped.

"Joe told me that his pack, and yours Shane, have been having people go missing. The coven you were visiting have missing people too, correct?"

"Yes, they have. That's why I was called. The vampire council was talking about looking into it, and I was already in the states visiting." He said, waving his hand, as if dismissing whoever he'd been visiting. "So they asked me to see what I could find out before they sent someone over."

"What could you do about anything? Aren't you from Russia, or something?" Shane asked argumentatively.

"Romania actually, but I'm old enough to get respect from just about any vampire." Adrian snapped.  "Plus, I'm on council business, so I can ask whatever I want. Really, the council was expecting me to find that a new coven had been started, and the new members just weren't telling their old coven leaders that they were leaving to join the new one.  In that case, I was supposed to meet with the new coven leader, and have him smooth things over with the covens his members had come from."

"Did you find anything like that?" Roe asked.

"No, I actually found evidence that that is not what's going on. Some of the ones that disappeared were mated, and left their mate behind. I even found one that had left a child behind, so I don't think it's the formation of a new coven."

"Do you know who has disappeared from my pack?" Shane asked Roe.

"I don't off the top of my head. Joe said that it was weird who had disappeared, because they left the rest of their family, like the vampires, but I can ask Joe if he knows specifics for you, if you wish."

"Do that."

"Okay." Roe turned to Adrian. "Do you mind me telling Joe what you've discovered about the missing vampires?"

"I had just assumed you would." Adrian said a bit snidely.

"No," Roe replied. "I wouldn't share information about the vampires if you didn't want me to. Unless it was a council that was asking, in that case, I wouldn't have a choice."

"Hmmm," Adrian said thoughtfully, "maybe you really haven't decided on a pack to align yourself with."

"I haven't. Really, I'm not sure it'll even be a pack. I haven't even decided that yet." Roe said, exasperated with the situation.

"Interesting." Adrian commented, tilting his head at her.

Roe raised an eyebrow at him, before taking her phone out of her pocket and texting Joe what she had learned about the vampire disappearances, and asking for more information about Shane's pack. Then she stuck her phone back in her pocket.

"While I wait on Joe to answer, have you heard anything about the military being involved in supernatural affairs?" Roe asked, looking at Adrian. When he just looked at her, she clarified. "Those guys that were chasing us said something about "The Major". It sounded military, and Joe's supposed to be looking into it, but he doesn't have any military contacts. I was wondering if you knew anything that might relate."

"Ah," Adrian said. "I'm not really up to date on the latest gossip in the U.S. If you'd asked me about Romania, or Europe even, I could've helped you."

"So, you didn't hear anything relating to the military from anyone you visited with?"

"No, and the only military sort-of group here that I am familiar with is the PBI. The first thing I heard about military was overhearing the conversation from those wolves in the car."

"Okay." She turned to Shane and asked "How about you?"

"No, I haven't heard anything. I haven't been around here until recently."

Roe nodded to him. Her phone went off, and she took it back out of her pocket. As she looked at the phone, she said "Joe doesn't really know who went missing at your pack Shane, but he's going to contact your dad and see if he'll tell him because you're here." She paused and looked at Shane. "Wait a minute, why don't you just ask your dad yourself?"

"I don't have a phone with me." He shrugged.

"Why not? Didn't you take a phone with you when you were looking for your mate?"

"I did, but in all the running around and shifting tonight, I lost it in the woods."

"Oh, okay." Roe turned and looked at Adrian. "Do you have a phone on you?"

"I lost mine in the wreck. I had it laying on the seat, but wasn't quick enough to grab it and get out before the car crashed."

"I couldn't tell, but why exactly did your car crash?" Roe asked.

"There were wolves attacking it, and hitting the side trying to wreck it."

"Then where did they go when you did wreck?" Shane asked.

"They stopped about the time I heard your car coming, but I had already lost control of the car."

"You lost control of the car, and couldn't recover it? But...you're a vampire." Roe asked, confused.

"I could've regained control, but I would've hit your car in the process or scared you so bad that you lost control yourself. So, I just let it go. Remember, at the time I thought you were human, and was also trying not to do anything out of the ordinary." He explained.

"Ahh, that makes sense. It would've thrown me to see you do bizarre maneuvers, if I was human. And the wolves probably stopped attacking for the same reason, to not involve humans."

Adrian inclined his head at her. "Yes,-"

"Oh, crap. Incoming! I'm so sorry to do this to y'all, but-" Roe said quickly, whirling around to look at the door.

Bang! Crash! The motel room door was broken down, and men wearing black uniforms flooded into the room, guns firing as soon as they cleared the doorway.