Page 97 of Hunted

15

River

THE FOYER LEADING INTO THE AUDIENCE ROOM OF THE TRACER COMPOUND in Dallas was tiled in a mosaic of dark gray slate, cold obsidian, and white granite, an intricate celestial design of moons and stars that had to have taken months if not years for the craftsmen who laid it to complete. The expensive leather furnishings and custom woodwork were all Guillermo. My uncle never did anything halfway. Heavy oak doors opened to a spacious room that easily held hundreds of people. In happier times, it served as a banquet hall. On full moons, challenges were held in the center of the hall with the pack looking on, which was why there were three training rings built into the floor where moonlight streamed in from the high atrium ceiling overhead.

My uncle waited for me on the raised dais at the end of the room, his face cast in shadow.

“I’m glad you came,” he said as I approached. “I wondered if you would. There’s been dissention in the past forty-eight hours since the attack on the lab. When you didn’t call—”

“I was with Ellie.”

“Of course.” He rose, stepping off the dais and coming across the room to stand beside me in the moonlight. “How is she?”

“Recovering.” I closed my eyes, remembering back to the day when I’d held my mate’s face cupped in my hands mere feet from where I now stood, when Guillermo had ordered me to take her memories. How fitting was it that he and I would now stand here, confronting truths we could no longer ignore?

“I saw Ellie’s announcement at the press conference a little while ago. I think she’s doing the right thing by calling a halt to the research.”

“She doesn’t want to give up her research. But the risk isn’t worth it. Not with so many attacks against the lab.”

I stared out at the vast opulent space. Decades of war, and what did werewolves have to show for it? I thought of Rowan and Vlad, and lastly of Cris, who always occupied a gray area in my mind. Maybe I would never entirely forgive him for having held my father captive for two years, for trying to get information out of him that he didn’t even have about Guillermo’s involvement in the black ops group out in the New Mexico desert. Cris and his mother were ruthless in using innocents in their quest to get blood products for the vampire elite. But he’d also nearly died pulling me from the flood waters. Perhaps it was possible for the most irredeemable of monsters, and I counted myself amongst those ranks, to earn some form of redemption and forgiveness.

Was there any chance that if Ellie’s drug hadn’t been destroyed before it could reach testing, the Vampire Nation might no longer have to resort to ugly means in order to survive? How many former lower caste vampires like Jori would have better lives if their ALDD could be treated? For centuries, the vampire elite had treated werewolves and humans like walking blood bags, useful only as food sources. Werewolves had seen vampires as a scourge to exterminate, as a lower lifeform, when of course, they had families and children, brothers they texted and had over for barbecue weekends just like my family, sisters they were fiercely protective of. And the only way we would ever end the violence that had plagued our nations for almost two centuries would be with a grand gesture. Something that required true sacrifice. I had no idea even if Ellie had been able to get her therapy to work, if I would have been able to get shifters to come on board with something that big. But I sure as hell wish I could’ve had the chance to try.

Guillermo cleared his throat. “I heard your mother and Calgary were able to use the hostile snipers to disarm the bombs.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “They had to work fast. Mom was controlling three minds at once. Cal had control of two. He said after it was all over that he was sweating through his clothes from the effort of doing something that intricate, afraid that if his concentration slipped even for a second, they would cut the wrong wire and he would have to live with the deaths of thousands of people on his hands.”

“Calgary doubts himself. He’s always believed he doesn’t have the capacity to use his gift without becoming a monster.”

“Like Rossi.”

My uncle’s face shadowed, hurt briefly flashing in his eyes. Ignoring the barb, he continued, “He has Sofia’s strength. As do you. I’m proud of you, River, and I’m sorry for the mess I’ve caused.” A beat passed. “Are the vampires you contracted for Ellie’s protection detail expected to survive? I know several of them were seriously injured.”

“Cris just got out of the hospital today, but they expect him to fully recover. If Vlad hadn’t pulled us out of the water when he did, things could have turned out very differently. Rowan caught Jori as she fell. They’re both fine. Zara is awarding them all the Blood Star, one of the Vampire Nation’s highest medals for bravery in service.”

“If I’m not mistaken, all except Cris are part of the vampire rebellion. That’s a major concession for her.”

“Not only that, giving the award to Jori marks the first time a former member of the lower caste has been given such an honor. It’s a big goddamn deal in the vampire world. According to Rowan, the fang-heads are going crazy on social media.”

The hint of a smile graced Guillermo’s lips. “Well. That’s something.”

“It’s a smart political move. Vlad and Rowan were vampire royalty long before they became leaders of an underground rebellion. Honoring them gives them legitimacy but it also says, whatever else, we’re all vampires and we’re all united in this fight together.”

“Never underestimate Zara.”

I looked down. “So are we going to talk about Rossi?”

The smile faded. “Yes, of course.”

“Why keep Matteo and Lorenzo a secret? Why lie to all of us?” I lowered my voice. “Does Rafe know?”

“Of course. The time I spent with Nicoletta Rossi occurred long before Rafe. I informed my mate as soon as I learned of Matteo and Lorenzo’s existence nearly a decade ago.”

“Just not the rest of us.”

Guillermo sighed. “I didn’t find out about the existence of Matteo and his brother until Lorenzo was perhaps six or seven. By then, Matteo was twelve and had manifested as a powerful projectionist and neural manipulator.”

“She targeted you as a sire hoping your bloodline combined with hers would produce strong magical heirs.” Not uncommon in the shifter world.