"Not all your pack died in the massacre. The alpha did some digging some of your pack were taken to a private compound. This facility contained a lab and there's evidence that the they didn't die right away." he stops as if what he's about to say is too horrible to blurt out.
"Torture?" I ask.
"Not quite. The vampires had a purpose for stealing the youngest and strongest of your pack. We think the vampires were trying to turn them."
"Shifters can't be turned," I say on autopilot, even as Lucius' words echo in my memory. They got the idea that they could turn shifters, he said. Form an army to overthrow my rule.
"Xavier was searching for a way. Had a theory that if a shifter could become a vampire, they'd be more powerful than any other creature on earth. Able to overthrow anyone."
"Like the Vampire King."
"Exactly."
"Did it work? Did any of the experiments work?
"Apparently not. All the test subjects he stole eventually died. I'm sorry, lass."
"It's all right." I thought they were dead long ago. This doesn't change anything.
"Did he ever try to change you?"
"No." I look like Lucius' first love. I was too precious to waste on an a risky experiment. Unlike the rest of my pack.
Fucking, fucking vampires. The SUV stinks of them. I hit the down buttons on the windows and relax as fresh air blows through the cabin.
I don't know if I can take on Xavier and all his sired, but I'm gonna try.
I slow as I approach the gate to Lucius' home. It's open, but someone's manning the guardhouse. "Quiet," I order Declan and roll the windows back up before I stop beside the guardhouse. A vampire exits.
"Did you get her? Xavier wants you to go on through--"
I slam open the door with enough force to drive him backwards. He stumbles and falls. With my enhanced vision, these vampires aren't so graceful. I fly out of the car and leap on top of him, snapping his neck before he can say a word. I stake him and leave him where he falls.
Behind the guardhouse, in a ditch, lie Lucius' guards. Not a good sign.
I hop back into the Escalade and tell this to Declan and he relays it to whoever's driving him.
"I'm going in," I say and toss the phone down.
"Wait for us, lass--" Declan cries and I shout back, "There's no time!"
A dark obstacle appears ahead. Two more black Escalades are parked to block the road. I almost slow--until I see the two shadows standing to the side. Vampire guards. One waves at me to stop. The other has a walkie talkie to his head. I see the moment they realize I'm not one of their colleagues. Their eyes widen.
"Oh no, you don't," I mutter, and mash the gas pedal down. My SUV hits the road block, metal on metal screeching in an earsplitting sound. The momentum blasts me past the two SUVs. I look back as the Escalade hurtles onward, but there's no sign of the vampires. It's too much to hope I got them in the crash.
A thump on the roof above my head, and I know exactly where one of the vampires went. I wrench the steering wheel back and forth, weaving up the steep incline, trying to shake the intruder off. The vampire sticks like a leech. I take a deep breath and jerk the wheel hard. The vehicle shudders, dancing out of control. The tires leave the road. My whole body is suspended in air for a horrible second as the SUV tips onto its right side, rolling several times before settling in a ditch.
Lucius
XAVIER ENTERS MY CRYPT, his footsteps heavy. Like me, he can move soundlessly. It's a display of power when he chooses not to.
He regards my austere lair with a sneer and says, "I was never your friend."
I spread my hands. "Brother, then."
"You killed our sired."
"I've killed a lot of people. Most of them deserved it."
"A vampire with a conscience." Xavier shakes his head. "So superior."
"There's enough evil in the world without corrupting innocents. Although, I've corrupted my fair share."
The edges of his mouth curl. "I remember. There was a sweet little blonde you hunted, once."
"Georgianna. Yes. You turned her before I could."
"She was mine." Xavier's voice echoes through the crypt. He seems to realize he's lost his temper because he heaves a breath and straightens. "Just as Selene was mine."
"Was?" I tilt my head.
"I assume you killed her. Betrayal cannot go unpunished."
I incline my head, pretending to agree. "Forget the she wolf. She means nothing to me." The lie is ash in my mouth, but it's safer this way.
Xavier chuckles. "She played her part. You always were a soft touch. Why else would you have left your crypt open?"
"Maybe I'm ready for the end game." I set my hands on my sarcophagus and lean forward. "So you decided to kill me. Tell me, Xavier, what makes you think you're strong enough to best me?"
"Interesting accusation coming from someone grieving for a lost pet. You can't even keep your sired in line."
"I like giving them a long leash."
"You coddle them. If they were mine--"
"Ahh but they are not. As I recall, you have trouble siring vampires. It requires too much... coddling."
"I sired Georgianna." Xavier's empty smile turns smug.
My hands clench to fists. "Only because I prepared her. You knew she'd consented to be turned. We'd completed blood exchanges. All that left was the final exchange."
"It was so easy to seduce her away." His laugh fills the cavernous room.
"You mind wiped her."
"Of course I did," Xavier spreads his hands. "We are gods. To have that power and not use it?"
"It's not real. They do not consent."
"Consent," Xavier scoffs. "You want them to love you of their own free will."
"Yes."