28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Benjamin
Hazi’s vocabulary had been upgraded to include a lot of new and colorful ways to offend me, none that actually hurt since I knew he only said those things because he cared.
I’d also been a twartweedle, and turned off my phone, making him worry about my flat ass, which was honestly the worst of his insults.
My ass was not flat, thank you very much.
I stood in the backyard and enjoyed the scenery as he continued to berate me.
“Do you have any idea how much shit we’re involved in now?
! I’ve had a coven visit me, ME, in my own damn home, in the middle of the fucking night.
They coerced me into saying where you were and I couldn’t do anything but tell them! ”
That had my attention. “Vampire coven?” Duh, of course it was if they could coerce him.
“Yes, a vampire coven you fucking moron! You better get your ass out of that town and never look back. Whoever they were, they were mad powerful, you hear me? I didn’t remember them visiting me until two days later! That’s how powerful they are. Get away. Now!”
I felt the urgency of his words and hung up to grab Zar, he would know what to do here.
I hated that Chris wasn’t with us, especially now if danger was on its way.
I was almost at the back door when a wolf came running in full speed towards me.
I knew it wasn’t Chris, this one was a light grey color, and I felt a rush of fear spread through me.
Was this one of those in the pack that didn’t like me?
Was it Stacy? I didn’t have time to react as the wolf jumped in front of me, hitting something mid air and whimpering.
A man stood there, glaring at the now bleeding wolf. Not a man, I realized, but a vampire.
“Filthy dog,” the vampire spat, then took out a white handkerchief and wiped his bloodied hand on it before dumping it on the ground.
His hair was white and styled in a wavy way, making him look put together and regal.
He was lean with pale skin and looked like a prince as he stood there, hair blowing in the wind.
Another wolf came running, this time a brown one.
It didn’t even make it over to me before a blur of movement slammed into it, making it fly against a tree.
I knew just from the sight alone that the wolf had died on impact, the sound of bone breaking had been loud enough even from a distance.
The bleeding wolf near me was whimpering at his fallen packmate, but I was now facing two vampires so I couldn’t focus on the loss, or who it had been.
I took a single step back and met a hard surface. I didn’t even have to look to know a third vampire was behind me. The first vampire smiled evilly at me and then punched me in the face. Everything went dark after that.
I’d never felt pain like I did in this moment, and I silently begged for the darkness to take over once again.
Sadly, it didn’t. I pried my eyes open, noticing my right eye wouldn’t even budge, my left eye was seeing things in a weird haze, like there was a film over it and nothing was in sharp detail.
It was horrible. My instincts begged me to get a view of my surroundings, but I simply couldn’t.
My head ached and no matter how much I blinked my vision stayed the same.
“Finally,” someone drawled and I heard the sound of approaching footsteps. I could smell my own blood and the distinct scent of damp cement. I was likely underground somewhere, I just had no idea why or where.
A hand grabbed my chin, forcefully tugging so my hazy vision landed on the man’s face. It was the vampire who’d hit me. Fear slammed into me so fast I felt nauseated.
“What does the book hold?” he demanded, his words clear and forceful, like there was some meaning behind it that I failed to comprehend.
I didn’t feel like lying. Honestly, right now I didn’t care what happened to the book. “A way to—” I coughed, feeling my stomach ache as I did so. “Remove all rogues.”
“What else does the book hold?” he asked in that same sort of voice.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, licking my swollen lip.
His eyes flashed red, then he forced my gaze to meet his. “What else does the book hold?”
I blinked, not understanding what he was trying to do. “I already said, I don’t know,” I whispered, my throat sore and aching, whispering was much easier to get out.
He sneered at me, then pushed me back against the wall behind me and I realized with the sudden pain in my wrists, that I was tied up in front of the wall, my chains attached to the ceiling.
He returned with a knife, a small one with a dark red handle. “It seems coercing doesn’t work on you, so we better do this the old-fashioned way.” My vision was still hazy, but even with my lacking vision I could still see the menace in his smile.
There was no time for me to prepare for the pain, one second, he was giving me that unsettling smile and the next I felt my arm burn with pain. I cried out, my throat aching as I did so, my arm throbbing as I felt my blood trickle down and dripping on the floor.
“Now, want to tell me what the book holds?” he asked, his tone lacking the force it held the first two times he’d asked that.
“I already told you, I don’t know!” I cried. “I only know of the rogue part!”
He’d been holding the knife threateningly against my neck as he waited for me to answer, but instead of cutting into me like I’d expected, he seemed stunned over my reaction.
“Wait… you’re actually telling the truth?
” he asked, sounding so utterly confused I almost laughed at how absurd this situation was.
I was likely getting killed once this interrogation thing was over with, and that knowledge was making me a tad hysterical.
The weirdest part was that I wasn’t scared for me, I was scared for them, my men who would die alongside me.
I hoped Zar was mistaken and that they would continue to live on without me.
They could be happy in the coven, living their best lives. I wanted that for them. Happiness.
“I am,” I finally said, trying to look him in the eye. My vision was slowly getting clearer, but it still wasn’t anywhere good enough for me to focus.
“You aren’t the human mated to the alpha of Keen?” he asked then, holding the knife to his side in a casual posture, stepping away from my body.
I licked my lips, tasting only blood on them. “I am, but not even he knows what it holds.”
The vampire tilted his head. “He stole the book without knowing its contents?”
“His father stole the book and died doing it. His mother was the one who wanted the book, but she’s dead, too. I doubt his father even knew what the book held.”
“Then why steal it?” he asked, truly stunned to hear how stupid Chris’ parents had been.
I couldn’t shrug, even if I’d wanted to, so I just said, “Don’t know.”
“What were you planning to do with the book?” he asked, taking one step closer and making my body freeze up in fear all over again.
I didn’t know what answer he was looking for, so I did the only thing I could, I spoke the truth, “I wanted to give it to those who wished to end the rogues.”
“What did your alpha want with it?”
“The same,” I replied, noticing how he hadn’t asked about Zar. Perhaps they hadn’t known about his involvement yet.
A loud banging sounded, like a metal door banging against a wall.
“Really, Barius? You couldn’t enter like a normal being?” the vampire sighed like he was disappointed in the new arrival.
“Master is tired of waiting for you to get some answers, Wisp. Now I’m taking over.
” He cracked his knuckles and I felt all color drain from my face.
This one was big. Not just muscular, but big in size as well.
His hair was short and black, his face rough with stubble.
His skin was a dark shade, making the two men look like the polar opposites.
“He was giving me the answers,” Wisp stated defensively.
“Oh, so you know if it holds the power?” Barius asked, looking pleased with himself when Wisp only scowled at him. He turned his attention back to me. “We’re doing it my way now.” And then he grabbed my arm, bent it, and laughed.
I screamed as my arm snapped, breaking into too many pieces.
Darkness began to creep in, promising me relief from the pain and this horrible existence.
I tried to fight it. I needed to in order to stay alive.
I could feel my vision getting hazier, and I slurred, “Want the rogues goneee.” And then I passed out.