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Finally, a small eternity later, he releases me and sits up, flopping back against the other arm of the couch with a groan. “Malachi, you’ve been keeping secrets.”
I turn my head, wondering at the lack of pain from the motion, and see that Malachi has completely demolished the arms of the chair where he’s sitting. It looks like he exploded them; there’s little more than kindling on the floor.
Petty satisfaction buoys me. There weren’t good options in this scenario, but I chose this and I hope he fucking choked on the sight of Wolf on top of me. I ease up and lean against the other arm of the couch. My head is a little fuzzy from blood loss, but when I lift my hand to my neck, there are no wounds.
Wolf gives me a grin that’s, well, wolfish. “You look surprised, love. Doesn’t Malachi close the bite marks with his blood when he tastes you?”
“No.” He lets me drink from him, which accelerates my healing. But I’m not in the mood to talk about this. I start to climb to my feet. “You are both assholes.”
“Stay.” The amusement disappears from Wolf’s voice. “We have something to discuss and it involves you.”
Even as I curse myself, I look at Malachi. He nods the tiniest amount. Not a command, but a request. It doesn’t change the fact I’m pissed at him, but I relax back against the couch and pull my knees up. Wolf is still too close, and his spicy scent is all over me. It makes me want to simultaneously purr and scream, and I don’t understand why I can smell him so intensely. He’s not wearing any scent. There are no artificial tones in there that would signify perfume. But my nose has never been this sensitive before.
Wolf props his feet on the coffee table. I belatedly notice he’s wearing a strange outfit. Fitted pants tucked into bulky black boots I suspect are steel-toed. A graphic T-shirt and a jacket that has a gothic feel to it complete the picture. He catches me looking and winks at me before turning his attention to Malachi. “You know the reason he sent her here instead of another one of those hapless humans is because he wants your bloodline.”
Malachi doesn’t move. “I’m aware.”
“The second you knock her up, Cornelius is going to come collect his daughter, and then he’ll have your child under his control—and as leverage.”
It’s exactly what my father has planned, but I can’t help looking at Wolf more closely. He’s given the impression of a vampire who’s been around long enough to lose some of his sanity. Now he’s lost the deranged tone and sounds nearly as serious as Malachi does normally. He taps his fingers on the arm of the couch. “You need to break the ward.”
The ward?
What’s he talking about?
I look at Malachi, but he’s acting like I’m not in the room. He leans back against his chair as if the demolished remains of its arms aren’t littering the floor at his feet. “Careful there, Wolf. One might start to think you care.”
“That bastard having access to more bloodlines is bad news for all of us. His success with you has made him bold. He’s hunting some of the others.”
“You mean he’s hunting you.”
He gives a blood-tinged smile. “He’s trying. Unlike some, I haven’t let honor get in the way of power.”
I sit perfectly still, my mind racing to catch up and fill in the blanks. Some of it is easy enough. My father is responsible for Malachi being unable to leave. I’d wondered at that, but not as hard as I should have. Vampires are eccentric creatures under the best of circumstances. It seemed entirely within the realm of possibility that Malachi was more than happy to stay in this house and have his meals delivered to him. Yes, there was some starving in the intervening years, but it seems strangely logical to suffer that than try to step out into human society with all the technological upgrades they’ve made in the last generation. I suspect that’s the main reason humans have driven vampires back, knowing about their existence or not.
Humans adapt and evolve. Constantly.
Vampires don’t. Oh, they’re capable of it, but it’s harder for them because their very nature is as entrenched as their immortality. Or maybe all immortals face the same challenges of being unable to evolve. I don’t know.
What Wolf is saying, though, contradicts my assumption. It sounds like my father trapped Malachi here with more than vampire guards to ensure he could take control of his bloodline. That he plans to do the same to the other bloodlines in danger of dying out.
Which means Malachi’s as trapped as I am.
Surely not. Surely I’m misreading the situation. “If there’s a ward, why not just burn your way out.”
