Chapter 5
Lock
“A couple of the outlying cities were hit last night. Nothing major, but there were a few human casualties.”
“Who were the vampires?” I asked.
Priscilla looked at her laptop. “One was from the Los Angeles coven and the other two don’t appear to be affiliated.”
“Where are they now?”
“All three are locked up on thirty-one.”
I couldn’t help but grin at the news. “It’s been too long since I’ve had someone to torture. This is exactly what we need.”
“Is there a reason we’re torturing them when we know it’s not their fault?” Venus asked.
I blatantly rolled my eyes. She wasn’t brand new, but she was barely out of her Novus stage and she’d been a pain in the ass from the moment I turned her. Every time she questioned me, I considered just staking her.
“Vampires without a coven are either stupid or untrustworthy. Oftentimes both. Since this happened in our territory, there’s always the chance they were meant to be apprehended in order to infiltrate the tower. Always think in worst case scenarios; that way you’ll never be blindsided.”
“Weren’t you blindsided when Liah kidnapped Sam?”
Priscilla pursed her lips on a smile. Folding my hands on the conference table, I leveled Venus with a look that had her shifting on her feet.
“Sorry,” she said quietly.
“You’re lucky I already have bodies to play with. Get out.”
She hurriedly left the room and Priscilla snickered. “She’s not gonna last very long.”
“They prove repeatedly that they’re ignoramuses, then question why they end up under my blade.”
“Are you going to contact the L.A. coven?”
I sighed. “Get them on the line. I’ll at least give them the courtesy of informing them their vamp is about to be hewn.”
After a few minutes, the monitor lit up, showing the L.A. leaders.
“Good evening,” I said, plastering on a smile that made them appear uneasy.
“Hemlock,” Maria greeted. “We were told something happened.”
“Something did happen. One of your own has found themself locked up in my tower. Currently, they’re awaiting a visit from me personally.”
“One of ours?” William repeated. “Who is it and what did they do?”
I looked over at Priscilla. “She said her name is Vera,” she replied.
Maria’s eyes widened. “What has she done?”
“Killed a human in my region,” I said. “Publicly. I take that very seriously.”
“I don’t understand. That’s not something she would do.”
“Does this have something to do with that substance that’s being used against us?” William asked.
“It appears that way, but it doesn’t negate the need for consequences.”
“That’s ridiculous. It wasn’t her fault.”
“On the contrary, the effects of this pill are not as strong as they once were. Some of my own have been afflicted by it and were able to resist.”
“That’s because you’ve dealt with it before. Your people are prepared.”
“And whose fault is it that your people are not?”
They glanced at each other, then dropped their gazes. My lips curled upward.
“Everyone knows about this by now. Yours is our closest major coven, which should have been reason enough for you to anticipate facing something like this. Those who are not prepared for war when it is already on their neighbor’s doorstep do not deserve my mercy.”
Maria rolled her eyes. “Are you going on a power trip simply because you have a mate now?”
“A power trip?” I laughed. “Let’s first address the fact that I never needed a mate to have power. It should also be noted that I am not the one worthiest of being feared in my coven.”
“And what is that supposed to mean?” William asked.
Leaning forward, I met their eyes, feeling a flicker of excitement at their evident fear.
“It means that I am no longer the sole leader of this coven.”
“Your mate has changed? We didn’t hear about it.”
“Perhaps that’s because formalities are of no consequence to me. I do not care what you do in your city, but as soon as it bleeds over into mine, I will act. This vampire of yours is now at my mercy, just as I’d expect one of mine to be at yours if they committed the same crime.”
“And what if we don’t accept that?”
I hummed thoughtfully as I drummed my fingers on the table. “There’s no shame in admitting that Samara is stronger than I am. If I could destroy five hundred vampires in less than two days, she could annihilate cities. I have no desire to tarnish our alliance, which is why I’m only punishing Vera, instead of holding you responsible for her actions, as many in my position would do.”
William pinched the bridge of his nose. “Alright. You have a point.”
“I’m inclined to ask why she was here in the first place.”
“She was searching for someone.”
“Who?”
“One of our members defected. They were close.”
“As an act of good faith, I’ll assign some teams to look for this person if you’d like.”
Maria inclined her head. “That would be appreciated.”
“Send their information to Priscilla. Mark is currently out of the country, so everything will be going through her for the time being.”
“Thank you.”
The screen went black and I leaned back in the chair, letting out a long breath.
“Why are so many coven leaders such bores?”
“They’re old,” Priscilla said.
“That’s no excuse. They’re incompetent.”
“You could take their coven.”
“Now’s not the time. Maybe one day.”
“How are things with Sam? The vamps miss her. They’re concerned.”
“Things are fine. She’s doing better, I think.”
“She hides herself well.”
“I know. It was easier when her heart gave her away.”
“Hopefully someone finds some helpful information. I want to have a celebration. It’s not often that someone finds their true mate.”
“A celebration,” I mused. “She would love that, I’m sure.”
“Just imagine. Bottles of champagne, guests from around the world. A sparkling ballroom and the best food you’ve ever tasted. Then the two of you would dance while everyone stood around, watching jealously.”
I breathed a laugh. “That sounds far too whimsical. I’d rather us sit on a throne while they all bow at our feet.”
“Of course you would. That’s why you won’t be in charge of planning it.”
“You’re nearly as bad as Venus.”
“I’d rather be staked than compared to her.”
“That can be arranged.”
“Nah. You love me too much.”
I narrowed my eyes just before she smirked and darted out of the room. If she wasn’t one of my most trusted and skilled vamps, I might’ve been annoyed by her attitude. She was my second progeny- well, third if you counted Seraphim, which I didn’t. It had been my blood that made him, but it wasn’t me. Liah had stolen from me in order to change him, which I’d consider a death sentence if I hadn’t already killed her.
He was supposed to be a way to protect her from me if I ever turned on her. Clearly, she hadn’t considered that he would want nothing to do with her. In the end, she’d gone down unloved and alone, just as she deserved.
I was just glad that the blood curse seemed to be over. It might’ve had something to do with Sam changing and strengthening our bond. Now she just needed to gain enough confidence in herself to complete the tether, ensuring that nobody could touch us.
It was an effort not to call Mark, but he’d just landed in Rome a few hours ago. When he had something to report, he’d let me know. Until then, I felt useless. Sam didn’t want me worrying over her constantly and I already had someone keeping an eye on Seraphim. He hadn’t really done anything in the four days we’d been watching, so he must’ve had others stirring up trouble with the pills.
What was he waiting for? Clearly, he was working with somebody that wanted him to deal with Sam, but he hadn’t done anything except sit around and watch her from afar. I’d considered using our advantage to take him out, but since there seemed to be a larger player in this, I found it more prudent to hope our surveillance would give us something useful.
We were back to this waiting and watching game. It infuriated me. I knew he was trying to engineer the pills for a specific purpose and I worried that once he did that, the game would change. He was looking for others like him and Sam, but it was unclear why he wanted them. Was it to build an army? If so, why had he tried so hard to keep her out of it and why did he want her dead now?
She was important. That was all I knew and it meant I had to protect her. Not only that, but she needed to learn to protect herself.
I shifted until I was in the bedroom, laying eyes on her sleeping form. It was nearly all she’d been doing lately. Sometimes she spent hours in the training room. At first, it was alone, but now Ryan had started to join her, which must’ve been a good sign, since she’d been avoiding everyone prior to that.
Crawling into bed beside her, I pressed my lips to her neck, making her stir. When my fangs sunk into her skin, she moaned and gripped my hair. It was the first time I’d tasted her blood since she became a vampire and it was far more stimulating than I could’ve imagined. I was hungry for her, every bit of her, down to her very cells.
As I pulled away, I noticed the slow healing of the bite marks. Turning her face to me, I brushed my thumbs over her cheekbones, just under the dark circles below her eyes. That wasn’t normal and I suddenly regretted taking any of her blood.
“You need to feed.”
She smiled, catching my hands and pulling them away. “I’ll grab a bottle soon.”
“You don’t need one. I’m here.”
“It’s okay. I’m gonna head down to the training room anyway.”
“I’ll come with you today.”
Pulling her lip between her teeth, she glanced down. “Why?”
“I want to work with you. Is that alright?”
“Yeah, of course. What are we gonna be doing?”
“Maybe you can start flexing those magical muscles since you’re getting better with it.”
She hummed her agreement, but it sounded very forced. I cocked my head as I studied her. Her fingers were gripping her thighs tightly and she was clearly having a hard time sitting still. I smelled something burning and looked down at her legs where the skin was being singed.
“Sam, what’s going on?” I asked, grabbing her hands. It stung to hold onto them, but I continued anyway.
“Nothing. I just need to shower. Can you meet me down there?”
Before I could respond, she was in the bathroom. The lock turned, making me clench my jaw. Whatever was going on with her, she was committed to hiding it from me. All this time building trust with each other and now she was holding back, trying to deal with everything alone. That wasn’t how this worked.
It may be a long, arduous process, but I’d get to the bottom of it, even if I had to push her far past her comfort zone.