Chapter 7 : The Decision

*Darick’s POV*

I carried her still body up the stairs and gently placed her on the guest room bed. Even in her state of unconsciousness, her stunning golden curls caught my eye, resembling the vibrant rays of a breathtaking sunrise. As someone who must shy away from bright light, for it can be the death of me, I felt strangely alive at that moment.

I ran my hands through my hair and shook my head in confusion. What was I thinking? I couldn’t develop feelings for her. After all, she snuck into my home and, for all I know, could be a spy.

'I should kill her now,' I thought as a wave of rage rushed through my veins.

No!

I'll call a meeting with the gang and take a vote. Normally, I didn't care about someone else's blood being on my hands, literally, for that matter. But there was something different about this girl. I knew I had to bring this matter to a vote. Besides, it was in our oath that such decisions would be addressed in our council meeting.

I ran down the stairs and met Viktor in the storage room.

"Is this how she came in?" Viktor asked, examining the broken lock.

"Yeah, she admitted to coming in the house through this room," I nodded in agreement. "I need to call a council meeting tonight, and I need everyone here. Can you reach out to all the members?"

"Everyone?" Viktor looked at me, surprised.

"Yes, everyone."

Typically, I handled all matters related to our business, and if I needed advice or feedback, I would address the core four: Amber, Martin, Viktor, and Wendall. Tonight, I needed a vote on the matter of what to do with this mystery woman—Gwen. Though I was sure she was working for Amon, she wasn't considered a suspect yet, and I didn't want to take an innocent life.

Viktor sighed. "All right, boss. I'll make the arrangements."

He replaced the lock on the door and closed it behind us.

***

Before I knew it, the council had responded and appeared. It was now nearing midnight, meaning they were able to heed my call quickly. I greeted the council members as they entered the Great Hall.

Amber closed the blinds and lit the candles in the chandelier above us. She then poured blood from the wine bottles into each golden glass placed in front of the seat.

The gang took their place at the black marble table. After everyone had entered, I took my seat, cleared my throat, and prepared to address the members.

"I called this meeting because I need to share some important news with you. Some of you aren't aware of the events that took place a few hours ago, but I wanted you all to hear it from me first."

The gang looked at me perplexed.

"There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to come out with it. We had an intruder break into the house today."

Leon, one of the members, gasped while the rest leaned in with suspicion.

"Are they one of us?" Godfrey, an elder member, asked.

I shook my head. "No. Vampire blood does not run through her veins," I responded.

"Ah, so it's a female?" Vladimir, a vampire around my age, asked as he rubbed his hands together and cracked a sly smile. I could already tell what his intentions were.

"Yes, she's a female, and whatever you're thinking, Vladimir, don't,” I warned.

"What? Who said I was thinking anything?"

I'd known Vladimir since we were boys. He used to have a dark side to him and would seduce women. During sex with women, he would bite their necks softly at first, causing them to think he was being erotically romantic. However, as they closed their eyes, he would then sink his teeth into them and suck their blood until they died.

Unfortunately, one night, he crossed the wrong woman. She was a wife of a ruthless drug lord. The drug lord had his men find Vladimir and set his house on fire while he slept. They barricaded the doors so he couldn't get out. It was Martin, who has the gift of sensing when one of our own is in danger, who rescued him. He brought Vladimir to our home, and we nursed him back to health. Since then, Vladimir had grown tremendously, but old habits still plague him.

"How did she get in here?" another member asked.

"She said she climbed through an open window in the storage room," I answered honestly.

"Who is she, and what does she want?" Godfrey intejected.

"She claims to be a journalist, but I suspect she may be working for Amon." The council erupted into shouts and I waited patiently for it to die down before speaking again. "Don't worry. I'm investigating her background as we speak. Amber has been helping me."

I motioned for Amber to inform the group of what she had found thus far.

"I think she's telling the truth,” Amber began, addressing each member. “I researched her, and based on her social media profiles, she works for the Brooklyn Enquirer and has a fairly low-profile lifestyle. She mainly posts pictures of food and news stories. She's actually pretty boring, if you ask me."

"Just because she has a low profile doesn't mean she's telling the truth,” Leo noted, rightfully so. “And if she is a journalist, as she claims, she's been in our home, has seen what's in our storage room, and can report us."

Godfrey looked around, then back at me. "Where is she now?"

"She's asleep in the guest chambers."

"Ah, how pleasant. Not only are we letting humans into our homes, but we are also providing them a nice bed and breakfast experience," Godfrey scoffed as he rolled his eyes.

The gang grew silent, realizing that I have a low tolerance for being disrespected and the ramifications of such. Wendall lowered his gaze and looked away.

Godfrey hadn't been with us long and he had a knack for testing my patience. I liked Godfrey—his bloodline was known for having substantial wealth, and his ancestors helped fund the Blood Brothers' efforts.

The difference between Godfrey and the rest of his family, however, was that they were humble, and he was not. Godfrey was older, and liked to strut and flaunt his wealth. He always wore designer clothes, drove expensive cars, kept his nails manicured, and his eyebrows were arched better than a woman's. He was six foot five and was obsessed with working out.

He also thought that he knew everything about every subject matter and was often defiant of the younger generations, despite us all being well into our hundreds. I tolerated Godfrey because his family supported my predecessor through hard times, but my patience was growing thin.

"This is my home, and I will let whomever I want to stay here," I snarled.

"Clearly," Godfrey whispered under his breath.

"What did you say?" I rose from my seat and clenched my fist.

"You're slipping, Darick,” he noted, his gaze locked on mine, challenging me.

"Oh, am I?" I kicked my chair back and walked toward Godfrey when Amber jumped out of her chair and stood in my way.

"You're better than this," she whispered, resting her hands on my chest to calm me.

It worked, but only a little.

"Don't fuck with me, Godfrey,” I growled. “Forget your place again, and I'll make you disappear so quickly that not all the money in the world would be enough to trace your whereabouts."

I walked to my seat at the head of the table and straightened my shirt collar.

"May I ask what you did with the girl after you found out she snuck in the house?” Leon stuttered, still shaken from my provoked outburst.

"I questioned her, but she didn't budge. She's sticking to her story about not working for Amon and his gang."

"Do you think Amon has put her under mind control?" Vladimir asked.

Amon, leader of the Blood Kings and my arch nemesis had supernatural mind control abilities. He has tried to find out about our plans on numerous occasions, and he often used his mind control abilities to influence humans to do his dirty work.

"I don't know, it's possible,” I began. “But she didn't seem to be under any trance."

"Who left the window open? I thought the storage room was locked, so how was she able to get out and sneak into the house?" Leon pressed further.

Wendall lowered his head and shrugged.

Viktor and I both tried not to look at Wendall; we knew he was most likely the one who left the window open as he had been the only person in the room cleaning as part of his work duties. Viktor and I understood that if the gang found out it was Wendall, he would be attacked, and we were trying our best to protect him.

Unfortunately, attacks were part of the Blood Brother bylaws and any gang bylaws, for that matter. It was part of teaching the younger guys a lesson, but Wendall was still learning, and I knew he meant no harm.

"Okay! That's enough questions for now. I called everyone here so that we could vote on what to do. All who think we should keep Gwen alive as our hostage, raise your glasses, and all who oppose, push your glasses forward.”

"And will we feast on her blood if we oppose?" Wendall asked, that glint appearing again.

I sighed. "Just focus on the vote for now, Wendall."

I watched as everyone placed their vote. Viktor, Amber, William, Vladimir, and three other men, raised their glasses, while Godfrey, Wendall, Blade, Leon, and the last three men pushed their glasses forward.

"It looks like you have to break the tie," Viktor replied, resting his hands on the table.

"Is everyone sure of their vote?" I asked, hoping someone would change their mind. I'd broken many ties for votes before, but I felt uneasy about this situation for some reason and didn't know why.

"We're sure," Viktor noted.

'Dammit,' I thought, resting my hands on my forehead. I had never felt this conflicted before. Why was it so hard for me to break the tie?

I took a deep breath and stared at the gang one last time. "Well, I say we keep her alive."

"Yes!" Vladimir smacked his hand against the table while Amber smiled with delight.

After the meeting adjourned and the members left, I sunk back in my seat. I rubbed my temples and closed my eyes ever so slightly, until someone cleared their throat.

"So what are we going to do with Gwen?" Viktor asked.

I sat up and swirled the remaining bit of blood in my cup around. "Don't worry, she isn't going anywhere. I put her under a blood oath."

"You did what?" Viktor exclaimed as he crossed his arms."Why would you do that? Why would you tie yourself to her forever? Darick, the blood oath is sacred. You don't bond yourself with a stranger." He mumbled a few words under his breath, as if like a curse.

I snarled. “I know that, Viktor, but it was all I could think of at the time. If she is with Amon and we somehow missed it, this will give us the upper hand.”

Viktor stared at me. I knew he didn’t agree with my choice, but it was mine, and he knew that it would be suicide to go against it. He sighed and let his arms fall to the wayside.

“Okay, boss. Just be careful.”

And then, he left.

If I was being honest, I had no real answer for Viktor as to why I put a blood oath on the human, and I had even found myself baffled as to why I did it. I could only say that I was enraged that she broke into my home and got close to exposing us, but deep inside, I feared there was something deeper.

What was happening with me?