AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The next question came from Chrysantha. “You believe Jaden killed his own mother?” she asked.
“If he had a good enough motive for doing it, then yes,” Darien replied, “I do believe that.”
“And what motive would that be?” Logan asked.
“The same one Calanthe had: the Well. More power. No more risk of getting the Tricking. Not only that, but I wouldn’t put it past him to want the Head Seat at the Blood Rose, and now that he’s back and has reached the age of inheritance, it rightfully goes to him, not Emilie.”
“Shit.” Logan ran a hand through his tangled hair. “What—”
A frantic knock came at the door. Bang. Bang. Bang!
Darien looked at the front door just as Logan looked at him. When Logan didn’t move, arms vibrating harder, Darien headed for the door, his response spurring Logan to follow him.
They opened it to find none other than Emilie Croft standing on the front porch.
—
“He tried to kill me,” Emilie said, her pale hand drifting to the bruises and silver burn marks on her throat. The vampire and the two wolves were seated at the kitchen table, Emilie beside Chrysantha, Darien the only one standing. “My mother is gone, and without her there to protect me, my brother has turned into a tyrant. He wants to make sure I have no claim on his seat.”
“Asshole,” Chrysantha snarled, sunset eyes flashing. She had been nothing but attentive to Emilie since the moment she’d stepped over the threshold. The werewolf had taken one look at the wounds on Emilie’s neck and nearly gone completely berserk. Even now, minutes later, Chrysantha’s whole body was still vibrating with the threat of the shift, much like her brother’s.
“You can stay with us, Em,” Logan said. “Until all this blows over.”
Chrysantha threw her brother a grateful look.
“Emilie,” Darien began. The vampire looked up at him with blood-red eyes. “I know you’re rattled right now, but do you have any idea what’s happening with these dead vampires that keep turning up?”
The dimples in Emilie’s cheeks deepened with a frown. “Has there been another?” She glanced between the two wolves.
“This morning,” Chrysantha said. “Another one ripped to shreds near Black Mirror Pond.”
Logan added, “One of the only areas in the district that’s so secluded, it doesn’t have street cameras.”
“Convenient,” Darien muttered.
“Jaden has been very careful not to speak of anything around me,” Emilie began. “But my mother had plans involving Silverwood. She didn’t fill me in on what they were, but I figured they had something to do with her aversion for wolves.” Her small shoulders pulled up into a shrug. “It’s one of the only possible explanations for this.”
Logan glanced at Darien. “Smart cookie,” he muttered.
Darien smirked. “Maybe I should become a detective.”
Emilie continued, “I expected the murders to stop as soon as she was gone, but…”
“But they’ve continued,” Chrysantha finished for her, taking the vampire’s milk-white hand into both of hers.
“There’s something Jaden wants,” Emilie said. “I’m certain of it. Something he believes is here in the Silverwood District.”
Darien said to Logan, “Something that he can’t obtain unless he has a valid enough reason to come onto your land.”
“You were right,” Logan said to Darien. “Calanthe might’ve started this war for her own reasons, but now that she is gone, Jaden has picked up where she left off, using it for his own purpose.” He shook his head, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “Whatever that may be.”
“And doesn’t need to explain that purpose to anyone else at the Blood Rose,” Emilie chimed in. “The seat is his, and as such, everyone listens to him, especially now that my mother is gone.” Her lip curled back over her teeth, elongated canines glinting in the light streaming in through the skylight.
Darien’s phone started buzzing. He hurried to get it out of his jacket and answered with a muffled, “Hey.”
Travis didn’t bother saying hello. Instead, he got straight to the point, his words tangled up with a groan. “I’m starting to feel like a tattle-tale.”
“Are you going to actually tell me this time, or do I need to guess?”
