Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
“Glad you asked,” Theo replies. “They are in fact, fangs from two young adult wolves who showed up uninvited to the meeting I was at. Who was at this meeting? Glad you asked. It was with members of the VC and two human correspondents,” he goes on and Xavier’s large hands slide down my waist, settling on my thighs. He lets his brother rant, definitely having been through this before. Even though I'm getting used to Theo’s theatrics, if werewolves attacked vampires during a business meeting, it’s not dramatic to be acting like this.
“What happened?” Xavier asks calmly and I know his lack of urgency makes Theo all the more enraged.
“They fucking attacked us.”
“I’ve gathered that.” Xavier takes his hands off me and turns, facing Theo. “Did they give a reason before?”
“Yes.” He widens his eyes. “A caravan of hunters has set up shop in Winston-Salem.”
“I don’t see what’s wrong with that,” I say, watching Xavier’s face. He’s not showing any emotion to clue me in.
“Of course, you don’t,” Theo huffs. “You’re fucking clueless.”
“Watch your mouth,” Xavier retorts.
“You can’t keep her ignorant and by your side like she’s an equal.”
“Hey,” I interject. “I’m not ignorant. But I’m starting to feel like I don’t know what’s going on.” I bring my hands to my face and rub my eyes, not caring if I smear my mascara. “Hunters have resided in the state for years. I mean, I did.”
“From Charlotte to the coast is vampire territory.” Xavier turns on a lamp on the desk for my sake. He and Theo can see perfectly well in the dark. “Having hunters in the Appalachia area is necessary.”
I shake my head, still not following. “I’ve been assigned to Winston-Salem to hunt a Devil Monkey which turned out to be a scrapper demon,” I say. “It’s only like an hour from here.”
“That was you?” Xavier asks, lips turning into a smile. “I remember hearing the reports about that. A group of high school students supposedly caught it on camera.”
“Yes, that was it. Six years ago, I think? You saw scrapper demons at the camp.That’s all it was. Got separated from the herd. Pack? I don’t know the correct term. The other demons. It was an easy kill.”
“ Maybe our paths were always meant to cross,” Xavier says softly before his face grows serious. “When we came to an agreement with the Order to stop killing hunters in exchange for biologically desirable females, there were terms.”
I hold up my hand. “First of all, never say that again, because ewww. And second, the Order came up with the deal?”
“Yes,” Theo and Xavier say at the same time.
I blink a few times as I push myself off the desk. “I promise we’re going to circle back to what is actually going on, but please tell me the backstory.”
“The short version,” Theo starts. “We established this city. It was always run and ruled by vampires. The Order wanted more territory for themselves and tried to claim the city. They sent hunters, we killed them.”
I just nod, knowing it’s not quite that black and white. “So, they came to you with the offer?”
“Yes,” Xavier takes over. “They were aware how we kept our bloodline going. Being selective in who becomes a member of the family has always been a priority to me, as has protecting the vampire population in my city. While we had a great advantage over the hunters, not all vampires made it out alive.”
“Okay,” I say simply. “And along with that, uh, area of the deal, you also set boundaries?”
“Yes,” Theo answers. “You think one measly human every twenty-five years is enough? The hunters can pass through, occasionally hunting something that slipped through the cracks. We are in Appalachia, after all. But they are not allowed to reside here in any way. That includes buying real estate.”
All I can do is look at both Xavier and Theo in shock. Once again, another secret is revealed making me feel like I don’t actually know my husband at all. He didn’t lie, didn’t purposely keep this from me, though. Still, it’s a very strange and uncomfortable feeling, though I don’t know what to expect.
Xavier has lived so long. Of course, there are many things about him I don’t know and I’ve accepted that. He’s done things, bad things, and it would take hundreds or even thousands of hours to go over his entire life history.
But finding out about the Malus family and the Order hits me differently. The Order was my life. It robbed me of a childhood, not to mention my real family.
“Okay,” I say. “I see how important this deal was beyond getting a baby-mama.” And I do. Keeping hunters away kept the peace for more than just the Malus family.
It united everyone—because of Xavier.
“The deal with the Order didn’t just keep peace between the hunters and vampires,” Xavier calmly states. “It kept them out of the area, which was beneficial to the werewolves.”