Page 34 of Taming His Vampire Mate

When I didn’t elaborate, his scowl deepened. “You’re sorry for what?”

“All of it,” I said simply. Because it was true.

“Very well. I still don’t like you,” Thierry said after a long moment had elapsed between us. Though he sounded more grudging than anything else. “And yet, I can be gracious. Therefore, I’ll do my best to keep the hostilities between us to a minimum. That is, if you’ll agree to do the same.” He swept me with a disdainful look. “And for the record, I have no interest in getting to know you better.”

“Likewise,” I shot back immediately.

Thierry paused, no doubt listening to my heart again.

Then he scowled and turned away from me. He immediately began walking, leading us through the desolate, abandoned town. And I was pretty sure we both knew it was the first time I had ever lied to him.

* * *

I didn’t see a single car on the road. No one on the sidewalks,either. A handful of businesses lined each side of the street, all dark and locked. Most had signs in their windows saying some variation ofClosed until further notice, sorry.Others looked like they’d been shut in a hurry, the owners never returning.

I wasn’t sure what Thierry was looking for until he stopped in front of Rookwood Pharmacy. A large patch of red stained the pavement—dried to a deep rust, but the metallic scent still lingered. Blood. And no accompanying body.

Exactly like the dream we’d shared.

An abandoned town. This town, down to every last detail. All of it drowned in a sea of blood that swept over everything. And in the middle of it all, a black-haired man with cold eyes.

“We should split up,” Thierry said, frowning down at the stain.

I glared at the back of his head. “No way in hell.”

He turned, annoyed. “We’ll cover more ground. You can go traipsing off into the woods and determine if this is the work of bleeds—”

“It’s not.”

His mouth snapped shut, his expression startled.

“This wasn’t a mindless monster. Even an intelligent one would’ve left the bodies.”

“Yes,” Thierry said reluctantly.

“A vampire did this,” I said flatly. “Didn’t it?”

He sighed. “Perhaps you aren’t as slow as you look.”

“That only gets funnier every time you say it.”

His electric-blue eyes narrowed. “Would you like to see me when I’m not a barrel of laughs? It could get quite messy.”

I cocked my head, considering him. “Maybe I don’t mind messy.”

It was meant as a challenge, but instead it came out as a genuine statement of truth. His eyes widened slightly, the colordraining from his face. As if I’d startled him. I had startled myself, too.

“So,” I said, changing tack. “This is the work of a vampire.”

“Vampires,” he corrected. “If I had to guess, a brazen newborn working with an older one.”

“And they’re killing the townsfolk.”

“It’s safe to use the past tense,” Thierry said, his gaze sweeping the street. “And yes, something like that.”

“Don’t you folks have rules against this sort of thing?”

He arched a brow. “Us folks?”