The kitchen appears to be the meeting place for the dogs. It seems they prefer this room to the others.
I glance at Dom and Caleb before quickly averting my eyes. My chest thumps and I struggle to restrain my heart from beating faster.
Embarrassment floods through me still.
I know they saw evidence that I’m not well. If I could go back to yesterday and hide it, I would. Instead I’m trapped here, on an estate run by werewolves who are more than aware of my weakness.
Vince slips a hand down my arm, his thumb rubbing soothing circles as if he knows exactly what I’m thinking. I offer him my hand over his, all the while pretending to listen to whatever joke Caleb is making.
I laugh when appropriate and do everything I can to avoid asking Vince what they’re thinking. I already know; the sympathy is there every time Lizzie’s eyes meet mine.
Focusing on keeping my breathing even, I slowly flex my hands under the table. My breath threatens to hitch and I start to slouch at the betrayal, but I keep my spine stiff and shoulders squared.
I wish he hadn’t pinned me like that in front of them. I wish he wouldn’t push me in private, let alone in front of them. I massage my wrists in my lap as anger consumes me. He fucking chained me.
The conversation continues without me. Devin needs to tell us what happened so I can get out of here. Back to the coven and back to safety.
Vince’s large hand splays on my thigh; it’s rough with calluses. My pup, my mate. My heart weakens at his touch.
The thought of leaving him behind has drifted to the forefront of my mind.
I know he only means to help me, but it’s not working. It makes me feel weak and helpless to be anywhere near him. I refuse to be either.
I’ve worked too damn hard for nearly two centuries to be made so vulnerable. He hasn’t lived my life and he’ll never know what I’ve endured. There’s no fix or cure.
His simple mind thinks love alone will fix this. I pull away from him, but he grips me harder and turns his head to face me. His silver stare bores into me, but I refuse to look back. My fingers tingle with the itch to touch him; my body wants me to crawl into his lap, but I won’t. I shift in my seat so I’m sitting sideways. The move breaks the contact his hand had on my thigh and settles my back to him.
I look toward Devin, defying my mate and my own needs. His exhale is long and slightly shaken. My heart sinks knowing I’ve hurt him. I don’t care, though. He knows what he did. He can deal with the consequences. He knows the immense pain he caused me. What happened in the room was too fucking much for me to give him my love right now. There’s nothing but silence and damage between us now. I should have known this would happen.
The last of the wolves, Jude, filters in and the atmosphere changes instantly.
“I want to make this fast and simple.” Devin takes a long breath, both of his hands resting on the edge of the counter. His shoulders flex and Caleb stops mid-conversation. “Save your questions until the end.” He looks pointedly at his mate and she huffs, not quite in annoyance, but then gives a short nod. She’s quite brazen for a little human. I rub my wrists again and look down remembering yesterday morning. Remembering how weak I was yet again for sharing something so personal, too personal, with her. I have no idea what made me want to talk to her. I wish I hadn’t. They know too much and I don’t like it.
The name Natalia catches my attention and my eyes fly to meet Devin’s as he speaks. “It appears Natalia and several of the vampires from the Authority are on a mission to eliminate any vampires opposing them.”
A chill flows through me. I’ve suspected that for decades. I’ve felt she wished to reign over our species, to become the one true holder of authority. To have it spoken by someone else sparks a slight fear that my dreaded thoughts could become reality.
“What’s the endgame there?” Dom asks.
“From what we’ve been told, Natalia wants to destroy their immortality,” Devin replies.
A crease forms between my brow. Destroy their immortality? How is that even possible?
As if answering my unspoken question, Devin continues. “They’re poisoning the blood from the donation centers and most likely the blood being sold to the covens.” A mixture of fear and shock widens my eyes as I stare back at Devin’s serious expression. His mate glances up at him, looking very much out of place.
It takes great effort to keep my lips shut tight although I want to bombard him with questions of how these allegations came to be. My gaze falls to Grace’s laced fingers she’s struggling to keep still as Devin delivers exactly what I want to know.
Her heart races and it doesn’t escape me that she may feel what I feel in this moment.
“The shifter that attempted to take our mates told us they made a deal with a vampire. That they were going to cede control of Shadow Falls in exchange for a steady drug supply. Sarin’s pack will deal with the consequences of their actions. But for now, Alec has asked for our help in proving the dead shifter’s allegations are true.
“Veronica’s coven wanted to make a deal with us to have a blood bank built in Shadow Falls.” Devin’s gaze settles on me and everyone else follows suit. “You’ll go to your queen and let her know that we’re willing to grant that request. No one will mention anything about what we’ve learned.”
My lips part to object. I can’t allow my coven to continue drinking tainted blood. Devin speaks before I can, though.
“No one, Veronica. Not one fucking word.”
Vince stiffens beside me, but Devin doesn’t hesitate to add, “If Natalia or any of the other vampires who are in on this find out that we know what they’re up to, we’ll be in danger. They will come to kill us and attack the allies we have within the Authority, or they will run. This is the best chance we have at stopping them.”
Pressing my lips tightly together, I nod. I don’t fucking like it, but I understand and I will obey because without his help, I have no way of knowing what is true and who to trust. Most don’t adhere to the law anyway. I cling to that knowledge.
“What about Sarin’s pack? Days have passed since the offering and we haven’t heard anything,” Caleb says.
“You’d think they’d give a shit that we killed four of their members.” Jude’s response to Caleb earns a nod from Dom.
Lev huffs and snorts before saying, “Yeah, right. Like they care.”
“How are we going deal with them?” Dom’s voice comes out hard.
“I should’ve ended him rather than let him run,” Devin says, his brows pinching together as he drums his fingers along the table.
“What do we know of their pack?” I ask as I realize I don’t know a single thing about the rival pack.
“They fled to a stronghold they have in the mountains. Maybe ten men remain; a few women too, I think,” Devin tells us.
“They’re weak now. We could easily take them,” Caleb says.
Devin’s fist slams on the granite countertops, forcing his mate to take a step back. “I will not risk our pack.” He calms, softening his voice to add, “We cannot take on too much at once. Understood?”
The pack answers in unison, all but his mate, who peers up at him with uncertainty. Not weeks ago, this human had nothing to fear beyond mortal concerns. And now she’s found herself on the brink of war, her fate tied to a mate who will lead us to it. Without looking back at her, Devin’s hand reaches out for her and she takes his hand with both of hers.
“Jude, you’ll scout out his pack. We don’t know enough to go on the offensive. I want to know everything. Come back with intel and a plan of attack. We won’t give them any mercy this time.”
Jude acknowledges the command with “Yes, Alpha,” and the attention turns to us.
“Vince and Veronica will go to her coven. Tell them I want to know how the blood banks are run and go to Still Waters. Three vampires have been abducted. Find them. I want to know everything that’s going on. You have four days. No more than that. I also want you to take your fucking cell phone this time, Vince.”
“You got it, Alpha,” my mate says.
“What drug could possibly make us mortals?” I’m still reeling over this revelation. With all my thoughts running wild, I simply can’t imagine it. In centuries there’s never even been a whisper of magic or otherwise that could reverse our immortality.
“We don’t know. The drug in the shifter we captured is an amphetamine called Captagon. It’s highly addictive, plus it keeps them awake and energized.” Devin’s gaze finds Jude’s as he adds, “That could be a problem for you. I expect to hear back from both you and Vince, every hour on the hour. Call Lev. If Lev doesn’t hear from you, we’ll come immediately. Is that clear?”
They answer in unison, but my question is still left unanswered. “What about the blood, what’s the poison?” I can’t imagine this drug actually existing.
“We don’t know, Veronica. Keep her safe, Vincent.”
“That goes without saying,” Vince responds, his arm wrapping around my waist protectively. Although there’s a warmth to his words and touch, I can’t help the irritation. As if I can’t keep myself safe. I’m one of the elites of the immortals. Shaking off the disagreeable thoughts I ponder the idea of this rumored drug’s existence.
Something I could take that would rid me of this immortality; the thought lights a need deep within me I didn’t know I had.
I could be a mortal again. I could be mortal like my mate.
A chill stiffens my bones. I used to dream of what my life would have been like if that day in the rainforest almost two hundred years ago had played out differently. With the knowledge I have now, I’m certain it would’ve been fucking awful. Still, I’ve often found myself envious of humans. A small curl to my lips reveals a single fang and I graze the tip of my tongue across the sharp point. If I drank this tainted blood, would I still have my fangs? How long would I live? Long enough to grow old with my mate? A comforting warmth surges through my body at the thought.
I turn slowly in my seat in his direction. He immediately grabs my chair to pull me closer to him. My stomach churns at how cold I was to him just moments ago and so many times in the past few days. He doesn’t deserve how harsh I am toward him. I’m certain of this truth, yet I can’t help my reaction when he pushes me like he has. I know he means well, but I don’t care for it. If I were mortal, though … everything could change. This weight and burden could drift away.
I would give anything to grow old with him. Could I bear children for him? There’s no doubt in my mind that I would trade my immortality to have a child. I’ve lived long enough and experienced more than most would ever dream of. But the pull between Vince and me … this desire to carry a child, perhaps a wolf like him … I would give anything, drink anything. The temptation weighs heavy on my heart. I need to learn more of this drug. If it’s true, if I could be mortal again, I would sacrifice everything to have it.