"Benjamin is missing." Sibella's voice on the receiver was calm.
Zach glanced at the silent Alpha across the desk and replied calmly, "He's fine, he's back."
There was no response from the receiver, so Zach added, "Thanks for helping take care of Benjamin these two days."
Benjamin across the desk twitched the corners of his mouth, as if he didn't want to speak.
"'Valmina'..." Zach asked tentatively, but was interrupted by Sibella before he finished speaking. It sounded like this old woman had just gotten up, and her mood was not high at all.
"Nothing, in our opinion it's just an ordinary hallucinogen." Sibella answered first, breathing clearly, "I'm still testing to see if there is any conflict with my spices. "
Zach raised his eyebrows, but Sibella was still responsible, "Please continue, if there is any progress or more test samples are needed, I can help."
"No need." Sibella coldly refused, "I don't have anything else to do. I'll hang up."
"Wait a minute." Zach stopped Sibera's hang-up, "I have some other things." Zach hesitated a little. Regarding 'Toledo of the Sabbat', the first person who came to mind for consultation was naturally the Secret Alliance. Gangro-Thomas, the second-ranked candidate is the hunter from the central part of the federation.
"I would like to ask your friends in the middle of the country about the Sabbat Toledo." Zach asked anyway, looking at Benjamin with some meaning, "I should also inform you that yesterday, I Just killed a newborn in the North End. I have a lot of questions that need answers."
There was silence on the other side of the receiver for a while. No, it was not silent. Zach could hear the buzzing sound, but the content could not be heard clearly. Sibella, the wizard, obviously used some special method to prevent vampires from eavesdropping!
After a while, the low buzzing stopped. Sibella's voice came clearly, with a coldness that disappointed Zach, "Your personal issues are none of our business. Goodbye."
Zach shook his head helplessly and hung up the phone.
Returning from one helpless scene to another, Zach frowned and looked at the depressed Alpha.
Curious what Benjamin thought he was going through
It's actually very simple. In Benjamin's memory, it was not Zach who fought with him in Hardy's basement, but Woody, whom he said had become a vampire.
Perhaps according to what we saw at the time, Alpha was completely out of control and attacked Zach as if he was crazy, but in his thinking, he remained sane.
Even when Benjamin recounted these events, he clearly recounted his disdain for Zach Moji's inaction.
Strange. In Benjamin's consciousness, he was fighting against the drug he had taken from too many humans for a while, and was a little dazed fighting Woody, while Zach was in shock and did nothing because of the appearance of an imperceptible vampire.
You read that right, at that time, Benjamin already had the concept of a vampire that Zach could not perceive in his consciousness. Why? I’ll explain it later.
When Benjamin failed to kill the vampire enemy with one blow, he was accidentally pinned to the basement floor by the enemy. In order to relieve the threat of the vampire's close presence, he kicked the vampire away. A hole was opened directly in Old Hardy's home.
According to the facts, Benjamin entered a complete state of 'sleep', but in his consciousness, that was not the case!
According to Benjamin's words, 'The moment I kicked him away, I knew I had made a mistake. I shouldn't have asked him to distance himself. It was daytime, and I was not familiar with the distribution of buildings in the West District. Once I escaped from Old Hardy's house, I couldn't chase him out in the form of Alpha Skin. '
It's redundant, but don't mind. This was Benjamin's consciousness at the time. So he had to give up his plan to chase and let Zach chase.
Mobility under the sun is an absolute advantage. In Benjamin's mind, Woody can only escape by relying on the shadow under the eaves. As long as Zach puts aside the shock in his heart, it only takes a few minutes to solve his problem.
As for Benjamin himself, the fun thing is that Benjamin thought he stayed at Old Hardy's house, finished dealing with the hole he kicked, and returned to Grande safely, waiting for Zach to return to tell the follow-up.
In this magical self-awareness, Alpha completely lived a very ordinary day at the Grand House.
While educating his young wolf on what mistakes he should not make when fighting vampires; while complaining with disdain that Zack takes too long; while ignoring the phone that keeps ringing, because it is the old Hardy who is urging the progress of the commission. On the phone, Louise muttered a few perfunctory words, and of course Old Hank popped up to ask questions occasionally; while asking Alice to make some snacks; while...
Until night, when he was sleepy and Zach hadn't come back, Benjamin was worried about how to explain to Zach that he had encountered a completely lifeless vampire similar to Woody, so he closed his eyes and ended Grande's life. day.
Finally, when he opened the door, he found that the familiar ceiling of the warehouse was no longer there. He was inexplicably in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Gale, lying among several Indian wizards scattered on the floor. Throwing away all the questions from the previous day, he rushed back to Grande angrily, questioned Zach, and demanded an explanation...
Now it's not Benjamin who needs to be explained, but Zach.
"Benjamin?" Zach raised his voice, trying to stir up the depressed Alpha's will, "When did it start?" Zach smiled, "You understand that the 'assassin' in the middle is Toledo from the Sabbat. ?”
Benjamin twitched his lips and glanced at Zach. He had been thinking about this issue in his dream, but the dream that was only in his consciousness seemed to be somewhat different from the real dream. Benjamin felt frustrated that all his efforts were in vain, and took a deep breath, "The same time it took you to hear 'Toledo'."
Zach thought for a while, "So, was it that time when I went to the West End to attend Amanda's birthday party?"
Benjamin nodded, put aside his entanglements, and said directly, "You two vampire alliances have been engaged in a continuous struggle, both overt and covert."
Benjamin looked into Zach's eyes, "So don't ask me what I know about them. The former wolves knew that these 'assassins' who were vampires liked to kill vampires and had no feelings for werewolves. As long as they persist in this preference, we The wolves don't care what faction they belong to, they will only be happy to see things like this."
Zach shrugged, he didn't mind, really.
Benjamin also didn’t seem to want to say more about the wolf pack. “When I heard the surname ‘Toledo’ on the radio, I thought of them. Although I have not been involved in recent decades, (Alpha was also alone on the battlefield, which means that Benjamin, like Zach, had already separated from society at that time), but I think it could only be them."
"Then in old Hardy's basement, that imitative goth, and the blood bottle." Benjamin shrugged, obviously, it was just a basic association.
But Benjamin did not continue, but looked at Zach, "I don't think you want me to take the initiative to tell you this. It is up to you to discover and unlock the secrets of those blood bottles. At least you must first know what they are." 'Toledo', and then when you ask, I'll tell you something I know." Benjamin actually clicked his tongue disdainfully, "You are the same as you were in my dream, with ink marks on your face."
Zack blinked, sure. (..)