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“I’ve been in Chicago for five years now.” I said, beginning the conversation I’d rehearsed in my mind. “Building businesses, gathering allies, creating a network that spans from the city to the suburbs.”

“Why?” she inquired, and I was elated. She was interested in my dealings.

“Selfish reasons, I guess. I wanted to run things. Start some sort of hierarchy of vampires with rules and regulations.”

“Okay. What does that mean?” Chanel asked.

“I’ve allowed others to believe I’m simply a successful entrepreneur who happens to be a vampire. A club owner, content to exist within the established order.” I moved toward Chanel, taking both her hands in mine. “But that’s not all I want to be.”

Her eyes searched mine, patient and curious. “Tell me what you want.”

“I want to be the head vampire of Chicago.” I said, watching her reaction carefully. “The king. Not just of a club or a business empire, but of every vampire in this city.”

“Why?”

“At first lied to myself and said things like it was for the protection of humans. Really, I just want the power. I want to build something greater than my maker. I thought it would take decades, but with this recent war waged against me, I wanted to speed the timeline up. We have weapons and numbers. And with Natasha, creating even more ways to make us unstoppable. I think the time is now. I can start here in Chicago and push my efforts out across the Midwest.”

“I don’t understand.”

“We don’t have any structure here. There is no vampire government. No checks and balances. I want to make that world exist again.”

“Again?”

“There was some structure before the 1900s, but then everything disappeared if we believe the old vampire history books. There was this ethnic cleansing of vampires that only left a few of us, and I heard most of the remaining vampireswere too afraid to make more of us. They feared the more of us that existed, the easier it would be to kill us all over again. We remained in the shadows, and now I want to change that.”

“This is a lot to take in. I mean. I don’t even know what to say.”

“I want you to know everything. I want you to know my intentions because I want you to willingly be a part of my future.”

“Your future?”

“Yes, as King.” I released her hands and walked a slow circle around Marisol. “To take that position requires eliminating certain threats. Making examples. Establishing dominance in ways that leave no question about who holds all the power.”

“Like Teresa.” Chanel said.

“Like Teresa.” I confirmed. “And like Marisol. They challenged my authority, threatened you, Morgan, and what’s mine.” I paused beside Marisol’s head, looking down into her wide, hate-filled eyes. “In the vampire world, such challenges can only be answered in one way.”

“With death,” Chanel stated flatly.

“Yes, with the final death.” I corrected. “To rule, I will have to kill and be more ruthless than I’ve been. There are other vampires in Chicago who believe their age gives them superiority. They’ll need to be convinced otherwise.”

I had given Chanel an intimate confession of calculated future violence. I had revealed to her my true nature and my intentions that very possibly could involve danger and war with my people. I watched Chanel absorb my words, weighing them against what she already knew of me.

“This isn’t a side of you that you’ve shown me before.” She muttered.

“No,” I admitted. “I’ve tried to shield you from this aspect of my existence. Perhaps to protect you, perhaps because I feared your reaction.”

I moved back to her side, reaching up to touch her face. The contrast isn’t lost on me—the tenderness I feel for this woman and the cold calculation with which I approached my enemies.

“You’ve killed before Lonzo.” She said, and it wasn’t a question. She already knew the answer.

“Yes. To survive. To protect. To advance.” I stroked her cheek gently. “It’s part of what I am, what I’ve been for a long time. My maker had me do things for him. Things that helped him build his empire in LA. I want the same thing for myself here in Chicago.”

She didn’t flinch at my touch or my words. Instead, she leaned slightly into my hand, accepting both.

“And now you’re showing me this because...?”

“Because I want you to know all of me.” I said, the truth flowing more freely in this basement of death than it had anywhere else. “The club owner, the lover, the protector, the businessman, but also the killer and the would-be king.”