Chapter 55 The Offer

Chapter 55 The Offer
I need a minute alone.
The examination room feels too small after everything Dr. Voss revealed. Thad is watching me with that worried crease between his brows, and I can’t think with him hovering. I appreciate that he’s looking out for me, but right now, I need space to process.
“I’m going to find a restroom,” I tell him. “Splash some water on my face.”
“I’ll come with you.”
I place my hand on his chest. “I’ll be fine, Thad. We’re surrounded by scholars. I just need five minutes to breathe.”
He doesn’t like it. I can see the argument forming behind his eyes. But he nods once and steps back.
“Five minutes. Then I’m coming to find you.”
“Deal.”
I slip out of the examination room and into the corridor. The hallway is quiet save the squeak of my sneakers on marble. I spot a restroom sign at the far end and head toward it, grateful for the silence.
I don’t make it there.
“Miss Wright.” Viktor’s voice comes from behind me. “What a pleasant surprise.”
I whip around to find him reclined against a doorway I just passed, like he’s been waiting there the whole time. Probably has been. 
I clear my throat and reply, “I was just looking for the restroom.”
“Of course you were.” He pushes off from the doorframe and strolls toward me. “Though I confess, I was hoping for a moment alone with you. There are things I’d like to discuss. Privately.”
“Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of Thad.”
He cocks his head to one side. “Even if it concerns his best interests?”
I don’t want to engage with this. Everything inside says me to walk away, find Thad, and forget this conversation ever started. But curiosity wins out over common sense.
“What are you talking about?”
“Not here.” He gestures toward the open doorway behind him. “Please. Just a few minutes of your time. I promise to be on my best behavior.”
Against my better judgment, I follow him into what appears to be a small office. He closes the door behind us, and I position myself near the exit, ready to bolt if necessary.
“The Obsidian Court has been watching you closely since your arrival,” Viktor begins. “Dr. Voss’s findings have confirmed what many of us suspected. You are, quite simply, the most valuable vampire in existence.”
“I was human a few weeks ago. I haven’t even come into my full powers yet.”
He waves a dismissive hand. “The point is, you possess power that hasn’t been seen in millennia, whether you know how to wield it or not. Power that everyone wants. The Primigenii. Thad. Even the Court, though we’re more civilized about our desires.”
“Get to the point, Viktor.”
“The point is that you have options. More options than Thad has led you to believe. The Obsidian Court is prepared to offer you sanctuary. Permanent sanctuary. You would be worshipped here. We could give everything you could ever want.”
“I already have everything I want.”
“You live in a crumbling mansion in Charleston with a mate who keeps secrets from you at every turn.” Viktor shakes his head as he clicks his tongue. “You deserve better, Thelma. You deserve to be treated like the goddess you are.”
“And I suppose the Court would treat me that way out of the goodness of their hearts.”
“We would treat you that way because we understand your worth. Thad is a relic. A holdover from a time when vampires stayed in the shadows and cowered from humans. The Court represents the future. A future where someone like you could thrive.”
“And what would staying here cost me?”
“Nothing you’d miss. You’d simply have to leave your old life behind. Including Thad.”
There it is. The real offer beneath all the flattery and promises. Leave the man I’ve begun falling for and pledge myself to the Court instead.
“No,” I state without a second thought.
“Think about what you’re refusing.”
“I don’t need to think about it. The answer is no.”
Viktor’s smile melts away, and something dark creeps into his pale eyes, something that reminds me of the vampire who cornered me in Thad’s mansion and threatened everything I cared about.
“You’re making a mistake,” he warns. “Thad can’t protect you forever. Sooner or later, the Primigenii will come for you again. And when they do, his little clan won’t be enough to stop them.”
“That’s my problem, not yours.”
“It could be our problem. “ He takes a long step toward me, and my back hits the wall as I retreat. I’m trapped. “I’ve wanted you since the moment I saw you, Thelma. That fire in your eyes. That defiance. Thad doesn’t deserve someone like you.”
“Back off, Viktor.”
“Just give me a chance to show you what the Court can offer. What I can offer.” He reaches up to touch my face. “One kiss. That’s all I ask. Let me prove that there’s more to life than Thad Samford.”
His mouth descends toward mine.
I don’t think. I just react.
My fist connects with his nose, and the cartilage crunches beneath my knuckles. Viktor staggers backward with blood pouring down his face, and the look of shock in his eyes is worth the throbbing in my hand.
“You bitch,” he snarls through the blood. “Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”
“I gave you my answer.” I shake out my hand and move toward the door. “Touch me again and I’ll do worse than break your nose.”
I yank open the door and storm into the hallway. My heart is pounding, and my knuckles are screaming, and I want nothing more than to find Thad and tell him exactly what just happened.
But something stops me.
If I tell Thad, he’ll kill Viktor. He won’t hesitate, and he won’t care about the consequences. He’ll start a war with the Obsidian Court right here in their own compound, and we’ll never make it out alive.
I don’t like keeping things from him, but just this once, I’ll have to handle this on my own.