Page 91 of A Second Chance for the Beta

“Yes, that’s what I believe. It’s on you now to find out what’s going on.” I pause. “I found a picture of my necklace with the rogues, and I don’t know why.”

“Got it,” he says.

“Dante,” I say with insistence. “You need to tellher. You need to tell her who she is. I wanted to do that, but I can’t at the moment. Now you need to step up.”

“Ella,” he sounds terrified. “Goddess, Ella, I don’t know how… I…”

“You are her uncle and her dad,” I say. “Just like I am her aunt and mom. You need to leave your trauma behind, D. She needs you now.”

“I will be there for her,” he promises. “I’m not sure if I’m going to do well, but I will try. I will protect our family.”

“So will I.”

The vampire guard shows me around the building, or rather castle, after I finish my call. “In case you try something funny with me, I’m supposed to tell you that my alpha won’t hesitate to attack,” I say shortly.

He nods. “I figured that much. And we have no intention to alert the Council or go to war with the lycans.”

“What’s your name?” I ask him.

“Julianus,” he says. “And you are?”

“You don’t know?” I ask in surprise.

“My master likes to keep things to himself,” he says, and for the first time, I can see him looking a bit upset.

“I’m Ella,” I say. “So, how does this work? You are vampires, aren’t you? Full-blooded?”

“Yes, we are proud of our bloodline,” he says. “What else do you want to know?”

“Where do you get your blood from?”

“The master and his lieutenants organize the blood. We have vessels in the human world who volunteer. Against popular belief, we don’t need to feed on blood constantly; we just need it once a month.”

“So, you only kill humans once a month?” I ask. I decided to play ignorant. I’m well aware of how the vampires get their blood reserves and that they can be outside in the sun, although their skin is sensitive to it.

“No, why would we kill our food supply?” Julianus asks simply. “If we kill every human we feed from, then we would run out of good blood fast.”

“And what’s your role here?” I ask. “Babysitter?”

“No, I’m one of the elite guards here,” he says.

So, they didn’t leave me with just anyone. Aloysius probably chose one of his most entrusted men to attend to me. The vampires aren’t idiots. Going by what Silas told me, his brother is actually a cunning mastermind. He probably sent Julianus to guard me because he is a capable and smart man himself.

“Do you want to see the master now?” Julianus asks.

No, I don’t, but there is no way around it, so I just nod. Julianus leads me to the second floor and down a long corridor. At the end of it is a huge wooden door with beautiful intricate engravings. Julianus knocks on the door. “It’s me, Master, with our guest.”

“Come on in.”

Julianus opens the door and lets me step in first before following me. He bows in front of a regal man who is sitting behind an old mahogany desk. It looks like he was in a meeting with one of his men, but once I enter he nods at the guy. “You can leave,” the regal man says. I don’t need him to tell me his name; he looks so much like Silas. It can only be his brother, Aloysius. The man he has been talking to turns to leave, and I recognize him as the douche who abducted me. I’m startled to see his cheek weirdly swollen and a bruise forming under his eye.

“Oh.” Aloysius smirks when he notices my gaze. “I told him to bring you to me without a scratch. He clearly didn’t deliver as I’ve heard.” He gazes at Julianus. “You may leave too.”

“Of course, Master,” Julianus says before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

“Please have a seat, Beta Ella,” Aloysius says.

I sit down and decide to meet him eye to eye. “Thank you, Lord Aloysius.”