Chapter 36
Damon
Now that I had Pearl back in my life—back from the dead—you would think I’d want to immediately make up for all the time we’d lost.
I did want to, more than anything, but I’d barely spoken a word to my long-lost family, despite her living with us for nearly a week now.
Well, staying with Chaz while he sleeps on the couch…
It helped that she hadn’t been invited into the main house until last night—after Star finally had enough of waiting for Max to do it—but now I had no excuse for avoiding a conversation.
Or the subsequent guilt.
Because that was the issue here. Even though Pearl had insisted I shouldn’t blame myself for what had happened, I couldn’t help feeling like I’d abandoned her.
Left her to a fate worse than death…
To Vlad.
Even without talking to Dr. Sylvie, I knew it was unhealthy to follow this line of thinking. That same fateful evening, I’d barely escaped a murder myself, Max had murdered people, and Vlad had already staked his claim on his so-called “mate.”
Before doing lord knows what to her since then.
Needless to say, I was entirely on board with Star’s enthusiasm for disposing of our immortal enemy once and for all, despite the rule that vampires weren’t allowed to kill their own kind.
The supposed rule…
Vampire “morals” were exceedingly gray, and the punishment for breaking our “laws” were historically up to whomever was slighted.
What made it even murkier was that certain rules—like, thou shall not behead your fellow bloodsuckers—were unofficial at best, and seemed to have been decreed by a very specific breed of vampires.
Ancient, old world, walking corpses who get particularly jumpy around the younger, more diverse demographic.
The good news was that, aside from local covens—which weren’t always a requirement to join—there were no governing bodies policing these laws.
This meant that if we were going to take matters into our own hands with Vlad, we simply needed to be smart with how we went about it, and how we covered our tracks.
Time to preemptively invest in a larger fire pit, perhaps?
Treading carefully would be key, since we didn’t want a flock of Vlad’s descending on us for our crimes. After existing as nomads for so many years, none of us wished to uproot our lives again, and the last thing we’d ever want would be to put the mission of Live & Lurk in Maine at risk.
My mates and I had already discussed the situation at length at this point, and despite Star volunteering to get her hands dirty “for girl-power purposes,” Max calmly announced he would be the one to handle it when the time came.
Of course.
Because he handles everything.
What I wouldn’t give to kill Vlad myself, though…
My hatred for Vlad predated Pearl’s reappearance, although what she’d shared with us certainly fanned the flames. Framing me for her murder was an attack aimed at Max, and he meant to destroy all of us by reviving Heather and sending the human to Sizzling Discourse to do his dirty work for him.
No doubt in hopes of bypassing his own arbitrary rules about vampricide.
This odious creature had managed to hurt everyone I cared about, but the thing I despised him for the most was how I was now standing on my own front porch, scared to go inside.
Because Pearl is here.
In general, but also… in my home.
Realizing how ridiculous I was behaving, I finally huffed and swung open the front door before stomping into the entryway.
My mates were in the parlor watching a movie—Blade, one of our family favorites—but only Star glanced over at my unnecessarily noisy entrance.
“Upstairs,” she mouthed, pointing to the ceiling before returning her attention to the screen.
I sighed.
Is it obvious that I’m avoiding her?
I suddenly wished I’d taken Chaz up on his invitation to go to the bar tonight, but hanging with a bunch of werewolves hidden among humans actually sounded worse than facing my past.
The lesser of two evils it is then.
I glanced at Max as I passed the parlor, curious why he would be okay with Pearl roaming our house unattended. As soon as I registered his clenched jaw—the way he was so intently watching a movie we’d seen countless times before—I realized this uncharacteristic leniency was Star’s doing.
She was probably “riding his dick” when she told him to stop being a dick.
My amusement was cut short as I suddenly wondered if Pearl was wandering my attic workshop. Before I could examine why this made me feel as if I were naked and on full display, I quickly ascended the stairs to the second level.
Pausing at the foot of the third floor stairs, I cocked my head, listening for any indication my lair had been breached. Then a deceptively sweet voice called out from further down the hall.
“I’m in here, Damey!”
Max's office…
I strode toward the sound, determined to get there before my mate realized she’d infiltrated his sacred space instead.
My panic must have been apparent as she laughed brightly as soon as I appeared. “He knows I’m in here, silly. You could tell it pained him, but he told me to make myself comfortable.”
Under duress, I’m sure.
Regardless of whether Star’s perfect cunt was to thank for Max’s sudden hospitality, the sight of Pearl curled up on my favorite chair—in one of my favorite rooms in the house—warmed a part of me that had always felt cold.
The part of me that died with her.
I cleared my throat and joined my surrogate sister on the oversized cushion. “It’s not that he doesn’t like you, Pearl. Max is just—”
“Protective of the ones he loves?” She set aside the book she’d been reading, effortlessly completing my thoughts for me, just like old times. “You forget, I was there when you met. I can still remember his face when he first laid eyes on you in the cardroom…”
I angled my body to better face her. “Really? You never told me this.”
She smiled indulgently. “I felt like I was doing enough meddling as it was—not that much was needed. If a man had ever looked at me the way Max looked at you then—how he still looks at you—well… maybe I wouldn’t have ended up in this predicament.”
I debated pointing out how Chaz was already looking at her, but decided my meddling was equally unnecessary.
“I’m so sorry for everything you’ve endured, Pearl,” I murmured, holding up my hand before she could interject.
“Yes, I’m still somewhat blaming myself, but I mostly hate thinking about that monster having access to you for so long.
I’m so thankful you found us again, but especially that you connected with Billie at Live & Lurk.
It’s a wonderful organization dedicated to finding sanctuary for creatures like us. ”
Not that I like the idea of you being placed elsewhere eventually.
Pearl hummed thoughtfully, attention fixed on her hands, demurely folded in her lap. “Yes… and it was an absolute miracle I heard about the organization at all.”
Wait…
Star had demanded we keep Pearl’s interrogation to a minimum, even if Max had incessantly pestered her about Vlad’s whereabouts the first night she arrived.
She’d insisted she hadn’t been in contact with him since leaving California, but now I realized we hadn’t covered the specifics of her journey from the West Coast to here.
Something still isn’t adding up.
I caught her gaze, guiding her to look at me. “How did you find out about Live & Lurk?”
And how did you know Max would receive those photos?
She huffed a quiet laugh. “It was actually at a regional meeting of covens and packs and the like—a few months ago. I was standing off to the side as Vlad conversed with some important vampires when an absolute giant of a man came over to ask if I was all right.”
“A werewolf?” I guessed, knowing how their kind were naturally protective, especially of the most vulnerable.
“I believe so…” she replied, gaze growing distant. “He seemed to know I was with Vlad as he kept glancing his way. To be honest, he looked like he wanted to murder him.”
Sounds like a werewolf.
Vlad’s feelings for the local wolves hadn’t been a secret, but it was my understanding the hatred went both ways.
Max had implied once that the work-for-hire he’d done for the úlfr pack might be vampire-related, but he refused to elaborate, claiming he didn't want me to be liable if it ever came to light.
I wonder if he truly listened to my words the other day…
“Their pain is your pain, their joy is your joy.”
Max was so attuned to our needs, and certainly treated our pain and joy as if it were his own, yet, there’d always been a wall between us.
I didn’t believe he kept parts of himself from us to be cruel—more that he didn’t seem to understand the generosity he showed us could go both ways, if only he’d let us reciprocate.
Their secrets should also be your secrets—especially if it’s the source of their pain.
Pearl took my hand in hers, somehow still knowing when I needed to be grounded.
“So this werewolf told you about Live & Lurk?” I asked, returning to the present conversation.
The present conversation about the past.
“Yes.” She nodded slowly as a secretive smile appeared on her lips. “Then he gave me his number on a crumpled up napkin. Told me his pack would get me to Maine if I wanted—that I had a friend waiting for me there…”
What?!
Now I was on high alert. “What was his name?”
“Cassius something…” she replied, eyeing me curiously. “I never saw him again, although I did covertly call the number he provided and arrange to be absconded away during Vlad’s next coven meeting.”
An odd feeling began building in my gut, as if I were being shown an unfinished puzzle by the light of a single match. Max had attempted to call Cash over the past week—to discuss Pearl’s arrival—but the werewolf had been impossible to get a hold of, even for Chaz.
Is he… avoiding talking to us for some reason?
“That was actually Chaz’s eldest brother you met,” I slowly replied as my mind went a mile a minute. “Cash became pack leader after their father was murdered…”
Which was right about the time Max was called upon for his mysterious dirty work.
“Pearl…” I carefully asked, my intuition buzzing in my ears. “Did Cash tell you we were here?”
How on earth would he have known we knew each other?!
She shrugged, not seeming to pick up on my anxiety in the slightest. “In a way… First he told me all about Chaz, and only after that did he mention how he lived with vampires—one of whom worked for the organization. As soon as he mentioned the names Damon and Max together, I just knew it had to be you! Isn’t it wonderful how fate stepped in to bring us back into each other’s lives? ”
“Yeah…” I mumbled absently, struggling to process what she was sharing while also understanding I was missing key information.
Information Max has most likely been keeping close to his chest…
At this point, my mate’s secrecy could be putting all of us at risk, because Cash casually spilling our secrets to strangers was dangerous.
We need the truth about Max’s connection to pack úlfr.
Luckily, the very vampire I needed to back me up chose that moment to magically appear in the doorway.
“Hey!” Star exclaimed, smiling wide. “The movie’s over and Chaz just showed up to walk you home, Pearl.” She snickered and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “He even called it that—home.”
Pearl rolled her eyes at my mate the same way she did with me. “Oh, hush. That young man is simply being polite.”
“Whatever you say, girlfriend…” Star teased before her blue eyes fell on me—her expression instantly growing concerned.
I shook my head imperceptibly, waiting until Pearl had left the room and headed downstairs to speak.
“Apparently, Cash is the one who got Pearl away from Vlad,” I whispered, counting on Chaz’s booming voice in the entryway to hide our conversation from supernatural ears.
“Well, his pack did. He’s also the one who told her about Live & Lurk, that Max worked there… that we were living here in Maine.”
Star furrowed her brow. “How did he know she was a safe person to tell—that she wouldn’t just run to Vlad with the tea?”
“Dumb luck?” I grimaced. “Gorgeous, I think Max knows more than he’s telling us… Not that Pearl was alive, necessarily, but why Cassius úlfr would be so invested in this entire situation after all this time.”
My mate growled in a way that only made her even more gorgeous. “It must have something to do with Max’s debt. The debt they owe him, I mean…”
I nodded, hearing Chaz and Pearl saying their goodbyes to Max and lowering my voice to a whisper. “We need to get Max talking, Star. Really talking to us.”
Trusting us.
She nodded in return, understanding completely. “So we get him in his element, then tag team him with unconditional love until he cracks.”
I barked a laugh as she grinned, but then my focus drifted toward the window—the one facing the acres of thick, pine forest surrounding the house.
She followed my gaze and her grin turned conspiratorial. “Let’s see if our handler is up for a little game of chase.”