Page 51 of Fangs for the Memories (Budapest Bites #1)

I open my eyes, and I wish I hadn’t. Pain sears all over my body, and the scent which invades my nostrils is like nothing I’ve ever had the misfortune to smell before.

“Fuck!” I attempt to sit up.

“Ah!” Dominik pushes me back down again using the tip of a bejeweled walking cane. “You don’t want to do that, not yet.”

“Fucking silver bullet.” I groan. “I have to get to Grace.” I have another go at sitting, but I’m pinned in place by Dominik and don’t have the strength to resist.

I had to leave Viktor behind to assist with the clean-up post Max, and I’m wishing I’d allowed the gargoyle to accompany me.

At the very least, I wouldn’t be stuck with a vampire.

“You’re in a police cell, under arrest, you great hairy idiot. If you want her in the same position, go ahead, make a fuss,” Dominik snarls. “If not, then you’ll shut up and listen to what I have to say.”

“Why are you even here?” I flail my arms like a bug in a specimen jar, ignoring his threat.

“Apparently I’m a barrister in England, and it means I get to come into this stinking place and deal with you.

” Dominik releases me from under his stick.

“The humans don’t quite know what to do with a werewolf, which is why you’re in a cell rather than in a hospital, apparently. ” He wrinkles his lip.

My shoulder aches. I touch the cloth of my jacket, and it comes away red. Dominik flicks my hand from the wound with his stick.

“Damn the British. Give me Hungarian Police any day,” I grumble.

Dominik shrugs. “Could be worse. They could have shot you with a solid silver bullet. As it turns out, the one they used simply had a silver nitrate tip.”

“How did they know I was a werewolf?”

Dominik rolls his eyes, reaches down, and puts his arms under mine, heaving me into an upright position. I groan.

“Stop being so dramatic,” the vampire growls. “I always thought a silver bullet wouldn’t stop you. I think you’re indestructible, like a cockroach.”

He releases me, pulls out a folded linen handkerchief, and for a second I think he’s going to give it to me for my wound. Instead he wipes over the plastic covered mattress I’ve been lying on and sits down, leaning back with one hand resting on his stick.

Propped in the corner, I’m still as weak as a newborn pup, and it’s looking like I’m not getting away from him anytime soon.

“Shifting into your werewolf form and putting your jaws at the neck of a human generally alerts them to you being a werewolf, I find.” Dominik studies his claws.

I huff out a pained breath, attempting to gather my scattered thoughts.

“So, you dealt with your traitor?”

“I found him. He will be dealt with as I see fit. I presume you did too.”

I risk taking a peek under the cloth of my suit, in order to determine the damage the bullet has done.

“Stop that.” Dominik’s stick slaps my hand away. “Concentrate.”

“I’ve been shot. Fuck you.”

“Oh boo hoo. You’ve had worse from shaving,” Dominik growls.

I shake my head at him. I wish I hadn’t as the cell spins around me.

“You’ll need to speak to your cousin but the whole issue with the vault was a smoke screen, for both of us. They were using the fiancé of your mate in order to gain access to the British. It seems like they wanted to strike out on their own.”

“Using our networks and my goods,” I rasp, dropping my head back against the cool tiles. “I’m still not entirely convinced your rogue didn’t want the vault open. He was pretty insistent when he dropped a building on me.”

“Kept you busy though, didn’t it?”

“ Kurva anyada t,” I growl. Dominik is irritatingly right. “What are the odds their contact here was Grace’s…fiancé?” I spit out the word, the mere thought of that foul human being anywhere near her turning my stomach.

“Pretty high, given he’d even decided to use their honeymoon as cover to meet with our respective traitors. After all, who honeymoons in Budapest?” Dominik raises his eyes to the ceiling of the cell.

So, Grace would have come into my orbit, regardless…

“Bet he wasn’t happy when she came on her own.”

“Apparently not. He is also a human with some influence, which is why”—Dominik taps his stick on the wall next to us—“you are in here and he is in hospital.”

“British humans do know this cell can’t hold me, don’t they?”

“No, I think they’re banking on the fact you’re out of it with the silver-ish bullet.” He shrugs. “But you’ve made enough of a mess I believe you’re going to have to talk rather than snarl your way free. Or rather I am.”

“Why are you here, Dominik?”

“It would appear, Ferenc, where you’re concerned, I have some sort of…” He searches for the word. “Conscience. Which is highly irritating because it means I end up in places like this.” His face sours as he looks around the cell. “Even if it’s probably a step up from your usual accommodations.”

“Fuck you, vampire.”

Instantly, I have a hand around my neck and a set of fangs in my face.

“Listen, kutya , I’m here because you have a mate and that makes you the most powerful alpha in Hungary. I’m not here for the good of my health, so you will do as I say or the chances are you won’t see her again, understand?”

I bristle at his insult.

“ Nem kutya, ” I growl.

“Then behave like an alpha,” Dominik responds.

He reaches into his inside pocket and pulls out a small vial of clear liquid. He pulls out the stopper with a fang and grips my jaw, forcing it open so he can pour the contents in before clamping my mouth shut.

“Swallow, you bastard,” he growls.

I glare at him as the sickly stuff slides down my throat. Once he’s certain I’m not going to spit, he releases me.

“What the fuck?”

“It should help your healing, get rid of the silver in your blood,” he says. “You might feel a bit out of it for a while as it takes effect.”

I give myself an involuntary shake, causing me to hiss at the pain in my shoulder.

“I’m going to have to do some significant work to get you freed.

” Dominik sighs, work clearly not being something he enjoys.

“You can help by keeping your mouth shut and not attempting escape. The humans want a scalp. There hasn’t been a human-monster incident on British soil since we revealed ourselves.

They are distinctly unhappy about the recent events. ”

“He was attacking Grace,” I growl. “No one hurts my mate,” I add with another growl. “I wouldn’t let him live if he even thought about touching her, let alone what he actually did.”

“This is the sort of thing I need you to shut up about,” Dominik replies, getting to his feet. “Let me deal with the British authorities. The goons you brought with you are not going to assist.”

I huff out a hot breath at him as rainbows start to cloud my vision.

“Bring me Grace, please,” I slur. “I need to see her.”

“All in good time, old friend,” Dominik says as he dissolves into a mist. “All in good time.”