Page 43 of Bane of Hate and Silver (Primordial Inheritance #1)

He paced her from across the busy night street until the opportunity to get through the speeding cars arose. One second cars were nearly missing him. The next he was standing in front of her, his hands on either side of her arms. “Come with me,” he instructed the overwhelmed and flustered vampire.

She said nothing as he took her hand and pulled her off her current path. He found a secluded alley and stopped them inside the cover of its darkness. “You can breathe,” he told her, his hands resting again on either side of her arms.

She took in a long breath.

“Now you let it out,” he instructed.

She met his eyes for the first time. Her eyes were still predominantly their original color. She was very young, but not a brand-new vampire like he’d originally assumed. She let a long stream of air out of her lungs.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded, but was still silently staring up at him. It happened with the young ones sometimes. He wasn’t a primordial vampire, but he was several centuries old.

“Yes, thank you,” she said. “There were just so many of them out there.”

“Several billion in the world I’d imagine,” he said, smiling.

“Something’s familiar about you,” she commented, looking up at him once again, her eyes narrowed in concentration. “But I know we’ve never met before.”

“Considering I was made a vampire hundreds of years before your human life began, and considering I’m not someone you just forget, I’m guessing we haven’t.” He batted his eyelashes for effect.

She raised her eyebrows at him skeptically.

“I’m Nick, Nicholas as it were,” he said, dropping his hands and stretching one out toward her.

“Eileen,” she replied.

“So, tell me Eileen,” Nick began, “how is it that you have been a vampire for what forty, fifty years and still get thrown off by large quantities of humans that are not currently bleeding?”

“My coven doesn’t feed on humans,” she said.

Nick scowled. So, she is part of one of those new era, ‘humans are friends not food’ community. He was about to respond when a loud laugh pulled Eileen’s attention back to the entrance of the alley.

She made for the human-heavy sidewalk, but he grabbed her around the shoulders, keeping her concealed in the alley.

“Let me go.” She fought against his hold.

“Can’t do that, sorry,” he said, strengthening his hold against her resistance.

“But I’m so hungry.”

He empathized with the desperation in her voice. “Don’t worry,” Nick said. “We can fix that.”

Carson glared down at the stuttering imbecile of a tracker.

“Why, exactly have you requested to meet in the yard?” He normally would not allow himself to be summoned by anyone, and yet the man had said that the information he brought was sensitive.

So here he was, standing in the front yard, waiting on this moron to spit out what he had to say.

“Th-the… there is a-another traitor, sir,” he finally said.

“Kyle Cooper?” Carson asked, almost excitedly. He would love to have proof of his fall along with that of Luca Cain.

Jed looked back toward the house as if checking to make sure no one was nearby. Carson’s impatience was growing. However, every time Carson was about to dismiss the stuttering fool the man proved smarter and more valuable than expected.

“No… it… it’s the woman’s s-son.”

Carson stilled. “What did you just say?”

Jed once again handed his phone to his Alpha. “I picked up the vam… vampire at a house n-near the school. This was taken on the way t-to a human home.”

Carson studied the picture. Jed was not mistaken. He was holding proof of the boy’s treachery. The picture showed the boy standing at ease, conversing with one very bothersome, tiny, dead girl.

Carson felt like shouting. How deep did this anarchy run? Not only was Luca a traitor to the pack, but he had dragged Demetria’s son down that path with him. He needed to eliminate these problems, and he needed to do it now. Carson’s hand tightened around the phone.

“I…” The tracker began to object.

“Have you mentioned this to anyone else?” Carson asked through a clenched jaw.

“Of… of course n-not,” Jed replied, reaching for his property.

“Good.” Carson handed the man back his broken phone. “Keep it that way,” Carson ordered and then waved his hand in dismissal.

“Ye-yes, sir.” Jed nodded and rushed away, seeming eager to be gone from this situation.

Carson’s mind was spinning. Luca was like a cancer spreading throughout the pack. It must be stopped. He had to ensure the safety of those loyal to him. This he must do, no matter the cost. The hard choices were his to make and make them he would.

As if on cue, Kip pulled into the drive and climbed out of his lifted, red, pickup truck. Carson took long strides over to him. “Is it done?” Carson asked.

“Um… no Alpha. I wasn’t able to locate Luca,” Kip said, looking downright mortified. He should be.

“Did you try?” Carson asked angrily.

“I drove around all day. I even went all the way to Fort Miles looking for him.”

“Idiot. The vampire is here. Why exactly would he be in the city?” Carson was outraged. Was this wolf just that simple or was Kip more clever than he’d ever given him credit for, finding a way to avoid his duty, while technically following orders? Was he a traitor as well?

Carson pulled forth every ounce of control he had as the Alpha of this pack and spoke after a long moment. “No more delays. Find him. I do not care who gets in your way,” Carson snarled.

Kip paled. Everything in him seemed to be fighting against this instruction. This angered Carson greatly. His orders had to be obeyed. Carson backhanded the taller man across the face. The wolf stumbled back against his vehicle. “Do it tonight or you will suffer the same fate.”

Luca , Kyle, and Ricky had eaten their fill of pizza. He’d dropped Ricky off at the Den. Then he and Kyle made their way to Jules’s house to pick up Monica and Hayley, upon Jules’s request.

When they arrived, both girls were fast asleep on the blue, velvet, sofa, a movie continuing to play with no one watching.

Kyle stopped Luca with his arm and then he himself crept into the room, looking down at his sleeping wife for a few seconds too long.

He seemed enchanted by the delicate drape of her hair and the way her chest rose and fell slowly.

Then Monica snorted in her sleep. Luca and Kyle laughed in unison and both girls sat up, startled.

“Don’t scare me like that,” Hayley grumbled, smacking Kyle’s leg with a soft thwap.

Monica threw herself back down onto the sofa, head resting on her arm. She looked toward Luca.

“You ready to go home?” he asked, raising his eyebrows at her.

She nodded and yawned at the same time in response.

“Come on then.” Kyle reached both hands out toward Hayley, who took them and allowed herself to be pulled from the sofa.

Monica sat up and looked around. “Let me clean up before we go.” This sounded more like a question than an instruction. She started to stand and then dropped back down. Luca was by her side in an instant.

“I’ll do it. You sit.” Luca walked around the sofa and started to clean up the mess the girls had made.

“Keys Hayles?” Kyle asked.

“Kitchen counter.” Hayley pointed.

Kyle nodded. “You want help?” He motioned around them.

Luca looked around the room and then shook his head. “No, you guys go. I’ll finish up and take Monica home.” He gathered up discarded carryout boxes, paper plates, and drinking glasses.

“Are you coming back to the apartment after?” Hayley slurred a little as she spoke.

“I should probably show my face at the Den,” Luca replied.

Hayley nodded with sharp, concentrated movements.

“Good luck,” Kyle commented as he caught a swaying Hayley. “Hang on, baby.” With a small grunt he lifted her over his shoulder.

“Whoop.” Hayley waved backwards, hair hanging down Kyle’s back, butt in the air. “Bye.”

“Drive safe,” he called after them.

“You too,” Kyle called back.

It took only a few minutes to get Jules’s house back in perfect order. He walked through the house, locked the front door, and made his way back to Monica. Her tipsy state had her almost passed out on the sofa once again. He chuckled and held out a hand to help her onto her feet.

She took it but let it go once she was fully vertical. She stumbled, and Luca caught her by the shoulders. “Do not put me over your shoulder like…” She pointed to the front door. “That.”

“I promise to leave your feet on the ground.” Luca gently guided Monica through the back door and locked it. He placed the spare key back in its hiding place and the pair walked to the Jeep.

Monica was fairly quiet on the way back to her house, Luca was just hoping she didn’t end up vomiting all over his Jeep’s upholstery. To his relief, she seemed to be looking a little more stable once they reached her driveway and he dropped her off.

“Do you need me to come inside with you?”

Her hand rested on the door handle a moment and then she spoke, “I think I’m good.”

“Goodnight, Monica.”

“Night.”

He waited until the front door was open and she waved back at him before he backed out of the drive.

The night sky was dark, and the roads back to the Den were almost completely deserted.

It was a peaceful drive on a quiet road around the preserve.

That was until a large, lifted, vehicle appeared right behind him.

Headlights reflected off his rearview mirror and into his eyes.

Luca squinted, he would have sworn it hadn’t been there seconds ago.

It looked like Kip’s red, pickup truck. It was too dark outside to be sure, despite its close proximity to the Jeep’s back tire.

Luca tried speeding up. The truck paced him.

He tried slowing down, but it did not result in the truck going around him.

Instead, he felt a surprising jolt when the truck bumper checked him, hard.

Aggravated, Luca sped up again. And again, the truck driver paced him.

Luca swore, knowing he had to slow as he approached a place where the forest road curved, with a steep drop on his passenger side.

The truck sped up, filling the lane beside him.

It flanked him, squeezing the Jeep closer to the steep drop.

Luca looked to his left. Startled when he recognized the driver. Kip was looking out his passenger window at Luca with an unreadable expression on his face.

Luca was about to give him a what the hell look when Kip grimaced and swerved, big tires slammed into the side of the Jeep.

Luca countered, trying desperately to stay on the road.

He was about to stomp on the brakes when Kip smashed into him again.

This time, Luca lost control, swerving unavoidably.

The Jeep’s tires skidded off the road, hurling down the steep drop he’d been trying to avoid.

Steering was useless as the Jeep careened downward.

Luca saw the large boulder before the Jeep smashed into it and flipped.

He had no time to react. The soft top gave easily.

The weight of the Jeep came down on Luca’s body with a crunch.

Consciousness waned. All he felt was pain and pressure. Blood dripped into his eyes from somewhere. He looked at the parts of his body he could see and noted there was a long gash running along his abdomen. He thought of his Little Corpse for one moment, before everything went dark.