Page 170

Her light brown eyes narrow. “Is that what you’re doing? You know you must feed before a mating. Are you refusing to eat in some type of protest?”

I grin. “No, I don’t want your offerings because I can smell the sedative in it.”

Her face falls. The two in the room with us snarl showing their fangs. Not even on a good day could these two beat me. I don’t know why they’re trying to show off now.

Mother recoups, her face going back to neutral. Enzo once said he thought I was an Empath because I could hide my emotions behind a neutral face. Sadly, that is a gift I inherited and not absorbed.

Mother looks me up and down again. “You are such a disappointment.”

Her words do not phase me.

“Your father and I did everything we could to give you a proper title in this life.” She gracefully walks over to the large standing mirror in the room. She runs a hand down her maroon dress.

“Do you know that when my mother was a young girl, mothers often drowned their useless female children when they were born?” Her narrowed gaze finds me in the mirror. She’s still looking for a response from me. She shrugs before turning back to face me.

“I was going to go that route when you were born. But your father said that we could get a good deal for you when you were old enough to bleed monthly.” She walks over to me, standing a few inches short of being eye to eye with me.

“You’ve strayed so far from who you were meant to be. Living and mating with wolves,” she spits the word wolves out. She lifts my hair from my back and places it over my shoulder, purposely covering the wolf markings down my arm.

“Honestly, if I were Markis, I wouldn’t want you back in my bed.”

The two in the room chuckle at her remarks.

“He wouldn’t take her back if he could find Toraya,” Kozani says.

He didn’t notice the smile fall from his sister’s face. But I noticed.

“Lucky for you,” mother says mockingly toward me.

I watch them all, glancing from face to face. Finally, a giggle erupts from me. It quickly turns into a full out laugh. I laugh so hard I have to hold my side.

“What’s so funny?” mother snarls.

“You,” I say, sobering flicking my hair back off my shoulder. “Why do you think I never killed you and father?”

She looks shocked at my question. Almost like she never even considered it was an option.

“What?” she asks.

Retaking my spot on the window seat, I face the three in the room.

“The only reason your head has remained attached to your body all these years is because I didn’t want to deal with the council.” I shrug. “But now, they have stripped you of your title and made you public enemy number one. They couldn’t care less what happens to you. So, by all means, keep going.” I say, waving my hand out in front of me for her to keep talking. “Fuel this animosity I have for you. It will make it so much sweeter when I stand over your dead body.”

Her face pales, which isn’t easy to do for a black vampire. She quickly spins on her heels and rushes out of the room. The twins follow, locking me back in the room when they’re gone.

I chuckle as I kick my feet back up on the window seat and turn to stare out the window.

The door below in the downstairs office slams shortly after.

“She just threatened to kill me,” mother sobs.

“Now dear,” my father says. “She has always threatened to kill us.”

I chuckle at that.

“No, but I think she meant it this time.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Markis says. “In a few hours, the moon will be high enough in the sky and we can break her bond with the wolf. Soon as we reinstate ours and I get the power of the fey, Mizani is going to ground. I won’t need her after I’ve received the power. I will use her ability to track down Toraya and my offspring, and the three of us will rule this world.”