Page 15 of Broken Souls

I can only hope they come to understand that.

“What the fuck are you thinking?” Talon seethes as we discuss this in his room after lunch, just the two of us. I knew he would be the worst one to get on board, especially given how much he loves to fuck with the Blood Fangs’ operations. He sabotages their wares, steals their clients, and has even killed a few vamps – those of lower rank only though, whose deaths won’t break the terms of the treaty.

“We should just let Antonio kill all the Blood Fangs,” he spits.

“And live harmoniously with the Death Hunt after?” I ask flatly.

“We can kill them after they deal with the vamps.”

My eyes drift over the pink slashes across his shoulders. “You think we can handle them after what he did to you?” It took Antonio less than thirty seconds to rip Talon apart. His arms and legs were nearly hanging off him, cut so deep only slivers of skin remained. I could see his heart beating under the crushed cavity of his ribcage.

“He only managed this because he caught me alone,” he says. “If we hit him all together –”

“He’s too fast for even Enoch and Ezriel to grab.” Given they are both strong telekinetics, having inherited Father’s innate magic, they don’t have to be close to something to grab it. But by the time they spotted Antonio, he was gone.

“If we trap him with magic –” Talon starts.

“Which barely works on him.” Werewolves are naturally resistant to magic, and Antonio is more immune than most. At his current power, I’m not even sure if Khalid’s soul magic would work on him. My brother can usually kill a person from anywhere in the world as long as he has their DNA, but what no one else knows is it’s always a battle of power between the strength of their souls. If Khalid isn’t strong enough to kill them, then he’ll be the one to die.

Talon clenches his jaw but has no retort, so I press the issue. “Think about how many vampires they’ve kidnapped, T. Antonio can’t have overseen every grab himself, so there has to be other members of his pack who are just as fast as he is.” Born vampires have the ability to phase. In less than a second, they can vanish. With their keen sense of smell, they’ll spot a werewolf a mile away; no wolf is sneaking up on them without magic.

“They could be setting traps,” he counters, and the hairs on my neck rise. He is being too defensive of the Death Hunt, having excuses ready for why we should leave them be.

My voice deadly calm, I say, “Is that what they’re doing, T?”

“They could be. I don’t –” His eyes widen as he gets what I’m actually asking.Did you buy into their bullshit when you were undercover at their brothels?

“I’dneverbetray this family,” he growls, his spine rigid.

He holds my gaze strongly, and I am reminded of the ‘brother’ he recently lost. He was his best friend, as close as solid blood, but when he turned traitor, Talon walked away from him, leaving him to be tortured. His loyalty to this family has never been in question – only his loyalty to me. Though even that was unfounded.

Still, someone is blackmailing my fiancee into finding and stealing our Family ledger. And though I do not think it is any of my brothers due to them all knowing where the ledger is, Talon has the ability to fuck with technology. He could have easily hacked her phone to send her the threats.

“Fucking hel, Varius,” he spits. “You know my stance on hybrids. I ain’t backing Antonio if he’s messing with that shit.”

If there’s one thing Talon hates more than vampires, it’s hybrids. They are the scum of the earth according to him. Abominations that need to be put down. It is a view shared by most people; those pregnant with halfbreeds are hunted down and their fetuses ripped from their bellies and burned.

“So we are in agreement then. Siding with the vampires is better than dealing with hybrids.”

My brother’s lips flatten as he runs a hand through his dark hair. “Fuck. Fine,” he snaps. “I’ll honor the treaty.”

“Good,” I say, “because you’re coming with us to the meeting.”

“The fuck I am!”

I don’t repeat myself, and he curses.

“Why?” he demands.

“To show your support of this alliance. I know it’s you who’s been killing the lower vamps.”

I can hear his teeth grinding, but he doesn’t protest.

“You have fifteen minutes,” I say as I turn. “Then wake Khalid.”

Our brother has been up all night, first killing wolves, then killing the people who hurt his girl. He needs his rest before we walk into the belly of the beast. Opening the door, I leave Talon seething in anger. Pulling out my phone, I text Micha to come to my office.

Micha:Yes, sir.