Chapter 13: A Vampire's Secrets

Trojan’s POV

Her head drops to my chest as she falls asleep from all that running and what we just did. I scoop her up in my arms and get out of the shower, drying her off before taking her to bed. The twins are still asleep in the bassinet before I head out to deal with some pack business.

Miles already has the vampire that survived strapped up in chains in the cellar. His wrists are chained above his head, forcing his arms up while his ankles are secured to chains bolted into the floor. His legs are spread far enough apart that there is no way in hell he can lift either foot, let alone get enough leverage to shift himself.

Blood is running down one side of his face, but he looks more irritated than afraid.

Miles is standing a few feet away with Maurice and Andre, both enforcers.

“Where's the woman?” I ask, wanting her more than this one because I heard her calling Billie the mother. I need to know what the fuck she meant.

“Gone,” Miles answers. “She got through the eastern side of the woods before we could close the perimeter.”

My jaw tightens. I should've pursued her myself. Instead, I was in the shower with Billie while one of the vampires that came into my territory escaped.

He’s watching me with cold, red eyes.

“You're lucky you survived,” I tell him.

His lips twitch. “Am I?”

I walk closer. “You tell me why you were in my territory, and maybe you get to leave this cellar alive.”

He laughs under his breath. “You dogs always think you can threaten your way into getting answers.”

“I don't need to threaten you.” I stop directly in front of him and look up at the chains holding his wrists. “You're already chained to my floor.”

His eyes flick toward his feet before returning to mine.

“Who are you?” I ask. “And why are you here?”

“Fuck you.” The vampire spits out blood. “And your pack.”

I stare at him for a few seconds, trying to decide whether he's stupid or simply confident enough to believe he can get out of here.

“That's your answer?” I tilt my head with a frown.

He spits again. “That's all you deserve.”

Miles moves closer, but I lift a hand to stop him. I don't need him tearing the vampire apart yet. I need answers, and judging by the way this one keeps looking at me, he's more interested in provoking me than he is in staying alive.

“You came into my territory,” I say. “You were waiting in my woods, and one of your people recognized my woman. So I'm going to ask you again. Why were you here?”

The vampire's expression changes for half a second when I mention Billie, but he recovers quickly.

“My woman?” he repeats, almost amused.

I don't like the way he says it. “What?”

His cold eyes narrow. “You really don't know.”

I step closer. “Know what?”

He looks past me at Miles and the two enforcers before bringing his eyes back to mine. “You should ask yourself why she doesn't smell like anything.”

I blink once and lick my lower lip. “It’s not unheard of for a wolf not to have scent.”

His lip lifts up as though he’s trying not to laugh. “Naturally?”

He has a point. Wolves that don’t have a scent usually mask it for some absurd reason. Billie’s case is natural. She was never born with one. It always worried her father because it meant we wouldn’t be able to locate her if something ever happened to her.

I sigh, watching the bloodsucker. “What does that have to do with you?”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “I don’t have to tell you shit. All I can say is brace yourself.”

I nod, twisting my mouth in a what-a-shame gesture. Then I glance at Maurice. “Bring me a cup and a knife.”

“Yes, alpha.” He nods before walking off.

Maurice returns a few minutes later with a metal cup and a knife. The vampire’s eyes drop to the cup, then snap back to me. He looks genuinely scared.

“Wait,” he says.

I glance at him. “What happened to all that confidence?”

His breathing gets heavier as Maurice approaches him. “You don't want to do this.”

“Trust me when I say I do,” I mutter.

He starts to panic. “You know what werewolf blood does to vampires.”

I take the knife from Maurice and turn it over in my hand. “That's why we're doing it.”

He pulls against the chains, but there’s nowhere for him to go. His limbs remain locked in place. The fear in his eyes grows when he realizes that none of his struggling is going to help him.

Maurice holds out the cup, and I take it before dragging the blade across my palm. Blood immediately wells up, but I let it drip into the cup until there is enough.

The vampire stares at it. “No,” he says quietly.

I look at him. “Are you going to talk?”

“‘Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!’ he yells.”

I shake my head and hand the cup back to Maurice. “Didn’t think so.”

I turn around and head out. It only takes a second for his agonised screams to follow me out. He’ll probably be dead by sundown, and I still won’t have answers.

I walk into my house and instantly wonder why Marlon is here. I can smell him and Marcus and food, all the way from the front door. Marcus knows I don’t like that boy being here. I prefer them confined to the pack house, not in my home, where my woman is, with my kids.

Their voices carry to me as I walk toward the kitchen.

“At this rate, you won’t lose that extra junk,” Marcus mutters as I enter.

“Your dad likes my junk,” Billie shoots back, with butter and cheese in her hands. Her eyes meet mine and her jaw drops. So does the butter.