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We have to look into these laboratories. Clearly, Travis has a role in them.
I mentally nodded at my demon’s comment. With the added flashback of Lex’s that had a glimpse of a younger Travis in the background, he wasn’t just working there as a side hustle for free packs of blood.
“But… but… I swear I talked to him! There’s no doubt in my mind. He offered me protection and said Travis would assist with his connections to the lab!” Amber argued, which caused Travis to chuckle far too deeply to not make him look guilty.
“C’mon, Amber. You can’t be that naive to think that the true Alpha of Shade Moon Pack would spend a moment of his time talking to an insignificant wolf like yourself, right?”
Her eyes widened in shock while Travis got up, spun his chair around once more, pulled it further back, and walked around it to sit back down. With his hands behind his head, he lifted his legs to rest on top of the table, crossing one over the other just so he could comfortably lean back.
“I’m at the labs once a month which gives me the opportunity to get my fix of AB blood and ensure no crazy diseases are about to plague the vampire community. I can’t possibly find my Coven if they’re going to be hit by a virus, can I? Aside from that, I’m a nobody,” he offered as his lips curled upward into a sinister smile while those eyes of his shifted to a striking red. “And even if I was the commander of the entire laboratory, what possible bargain would you offer me that’s worthy of my time and attention?”
“You… you… you set me up? “
“Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!” he cheered. “I knew from your pack days that you weren’t really the smartest chick in the pack. I mean, who offers sex as a reward for becoming a vampire’s feeding pet? You did that Alpha a favor by rejecting him and then getting sacrificed. You’d be better off as a sex slave than a Luna who has to give the Alpha guidance and support. It’s a pity though. You could have learned the ropes of our world far faster if you took your role as future Alpha in your ‘little’ pack more seriously, but alas, everyone in this world can be replaced.”
He knows…
“How dare you betray me!” Amber snapped. “I brought the familiar! That cunt bitch is here which is exactly what was requested of me! Why would you let me betray my own survival in my pack where I was worshiped and comfortable?! Alpha Shade agreed that we’d be a thing!”
Travis lost it at the final part while Lauren and Nathan simply stared at the two of them like this really was the showdown of the century. I realized Momo was missing in action, and yet I didn’t want to miss a moment of this confrontation because fuck, it was like watching a damn drama at the best fucking part.
“Why?” Travis stared at her like she’d insulted him. “Why not?”
His manic laughter was next as he managed to balance himself in his chair that was leaned too far back.
“You believe I wouldn’t grasp onto a golden opportunity of entertainment? Certainly when you became a demon those qualities of yours malfunctioned in the process. I bet the creator of the valley couldn’t help but give you a bit of dysfunctional personality after all you did here on the surface. I’ve already embarrassed you enough so I won’t fully expose you, but c’mon, Amber. Do you think this world of darkness and deceit has changed since you were sacrificed?”
He put his arms up as if to gesture around the room, and everyone else seemed to freeze in place. Men in black holding rifles were placed intricately around the room—and all of their guns were aimed at the table.
“What? What is this?!” Amber demanded.
“This is a part of my diabolical plan,” Travis answered like it was such a simple equation to solve. “You see, unlike you, this Lexianne Heartwell was—what can I say—a VERY important asset to Shade Moon Pack. In fact, she was so important that her sacrifice kickstarted the plague that’s been but a fun legend to talk about during Halloween time. Only now, it's not a very fun thing to talk about when it's beginning to spread through the forests, streams and contaminate the waters. As of now, the world is simply going to make it out to be some sort of pandemic. It won’t happen now, but in only a few weeks, they will clue in on how toxins have tainted the water, which feeds the plants of our forests, which feeds the animals that rely on these plants and foods to survive, which taints one another as the circle of life carries on like it isn’t exposed and being destroyed. Soon enough, the domino effect continues until humans start eating such tainted animals and that starts affecting us shifters. As a member of a group dedicated to the prevention of shifter diseases, it's now my utmost responsibility to retrieve Lexianne and restore the balance of the Shade Moon Pack or else we’re all screwed. That’s exactly why I acted like Alpha Shade and got access to you. It's rather funny how you think your own Alpha doesn’t notice when you leave the valley whenever he’s off to be a good imposter or whatever. I’ll give him credit though. He’s running this side of the city pretty damn well. The value of everything is going up rather nicely.”
“How. How do you know—”
“You don’t know who I am, Amber? C’mon. I’m Travis Baker. I’m a famous con artist that has loyalty to absolutely no one. You think I can’t get sex from somewhere else? I can switch places with a lovely host who’s dating a really naive girl. She can’t tell that her boyfriend is my Maleficient Astra, so I get to reap the rewards of fucking her when I need it. I’m sure some would attempt to say that’s rape, but c’mon. It's not sexual abuse if she believes I’m her boyfriend, right?” He laughed at that, which made my blood boil and my stomach flip in absolute disgust. “That’s the problem with innocent girls. They don’t pick up on shit until their car suddenly gets stuck in the middle of the road and they’re sent flying off a cliff thanks to a passing truck that can’t brake. Quite a shame really. She was good to fuck when life was frustrating, but I know who will replace her.”
His eyes further darkened as the shade of red now resembled blood.
“A certain demon pup of interest can take her place.”
“You’re not referring to Lexi, are you?” Nathan snarled, which was only another source of entertainment for Travis, who laughed.
“Who else would I be talking about?” he offered back in obvious glee. “Did you think because your father marked me as his little favorite prodigy that I’d be loyal to him too? C’mon, now. That’s not how demons act. I’m sure you of all people would know that.”
“Wait. Did you say you have a Maleficient Astra form?” Lauren gasped as she rose up. That got the guns pointing her way, but she didn’t give a flying fuck about them as her narrowed eyes, locked onto the devious man. “You’re a demon? No. A hybrid. That’s not possible. You’re not a part of the valley.”
“You’re correct,” he replied like it was no big deal. “But did you know if you drink the blood of a demon, you begin to extract the traits within their blood? It takes a few years, obviously, but when you have enough, you get to reap the rewards. In my case, feeding off of Amber over there while she was enjoying the sacrificed life gave me exactly what I needed.”
Nathan was next to rise up, and I could tell from his darkened gaze that he picked up on exactly what I did.
Travis knows fucking everything.
“I thought Amber was just sacrificed, which is why she was able to catch onto Lexi and steal her familiar?” he offered as a reminder. “How could you possibly become a demon if you only recently fed on Amber in exchange for sex?”
All we needed was for him to reveal what we already knew.
Travis grinned was like he’d already won this debate.
