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Duncan paused for a second, then removed his hand and allowed her to open the door. She stepped in and Duncan flipped the light switch, bathing the room in brightness.
It was easy to spot the bloodstain on the carpet in front of his bed. She shuddered then wrapped her arms around herself to ward off the sudden chill. “How did he die?”
“He was stabbed with a silver-tipped knife. Silver will kill us,” Lester explained.
“And you have no idea who did it?” she asked.
“Not yet,” Duncan said, “but we’ll find out soon enough.”
“Had to be a lycan,” Adrian said. “No vamps have access to this place.”
“And you know as well as we do that it could have been anyone, lycan or vampire,” William said, glaring at Adrian. “We’re not assuming it was a lycan. Why would a lycan want Stefan dead? It makes no sense. He was our leader.”
“There are lots of reasons,” Adrian said. “Maybe your father did it so he could take over.”
Fury turned William’s face a bright red. He advanced on Adrian, murderous intent on his face. “How dare you accuse my father of this! He loved his brother, as we all did!”
Harlee stepped back as William’s eyes began to glow a bright yellow, his face distorting as it began to shift. Though she’d seen pictures of transformed lycans, they had never been able to force the transformation of any they had captured. She stood, mesmerized as long claws ripped from William’s fingernails.
“William, stop,” Lester said quietly, placing his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Tensions are high right now and Adrian is right. We can’t afford to assume a lycan didn’t do this. It could be anyone.”
As soon as the transformation began, it was over. William’s eyes returned to their normal brown color, though the fierce look he gave Adrian made her distinctly uncomfortable. Adrian didn’t seem the least bit bothered by William’s rage, standing there with his arms crossed and a half smile on his face.
“You are welcome to stay with us, Harlee,” Lester offered after they left Stefan’s bedroom. “There is much you need to learn about your lycan side.”
“Perhaps someday I’d like to do that,” she said, “but right now I think I’ll stay in the neutral territory of the corporate headquarters.” She didn’t want to appear to take sides, plus she knew that security was so high in this place she’d never be able to slip away. As it was, a contingent of guards had followed them from room to room. The idea of escape was impossible here.
“I do hope you’ll come visit me there, though. I just need some time to…get my bearings and get used to this whole idea.”
Lester nodded. “I understand. Plus you need to enact the changes within you and you’ll need both a vampire and a lycan for that.”
And that was something she had to make sure never happened, or else her life would end. As soon as they found out she wasn’t a lycan/vampire hybrid, they would realize she was simply a human and kill her. She couldn’t have sex with Duncan and Adrian, though she wondered if maybe the reason wasn’t due to them finding out she wasn’t one of them, but her discovering she really was, after all, Amelia and Stefan’s daughter.
“Yes, I’ll definitely need to get around to figuring all that out. Eventually. I’m in no hurry.”
“But I am,” Adrian whispered behind her as they made their way downstairs again.
Duncan made his way to her other side and added, “As am I.”
She shuddered, the sensual promise in their voices creating an instantaneous sexual ache, awakening her mind to visuals of tangled bodies writhing together. Inhaling a shaky breath, she forced her thoughts on escape instead of passionate images of being naked, aroused and deliciously sandwiched between Duncan and Adrian.
