Page 64 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

“You want me to kill?”

Robert looks at me. “You may look human, and you may be like them, little vampire, but you’re not a human. You merely exist in their world. You are still a vampire, and you need to know how to keep yourself alive. If one comes after you, you aim to kill. Always. It doesn’t matter who they are. What matters is your survival.”

“It’s not that easy for me to take a life,” I whisper hoarsely. “Even when Droga and the other vampire attacked you—”

“What?” Robert is stunned. “You knew them?”

“I knew one of them.” I don’t meet his gaze, feeling guilty for not telling him sooner. “He was my brother Clyde’s friend. He constantly harassed me when I still lived in my clan. He and Clyde both. I didn’t tell you because—”

“—because you knew I’d figure out that you belonged to the Nelo Clan,” Robert finishes my sentence, his voice calm. “Or did you think I’d figure out that you are the oldest daughter of the leader of that clan?”

Chapter 13

Robert Montgomery

The look of shock and guilt on Charlotte’s face confirms my suspicion.

Beruth Sanguinite may have erased Charlotte from his clan’s history, but he couldn’t erase her from the memories of the people who once knew her. Harry, as my assistant, was tasked with looking up Charlotte’s past. He couldn’t find anything at first, but talking to a few vampires with whom the pack is still on somewhat decent terms revealed a lot.

Charlotte Beaumont was once Charlotte Sanguinite, the oldest daughter of one of the most notorious vampire clan leaders. When Harry brought me that information this evening, I felt a variety of emotions: shock, betrayal, hurt, and anger.

It was hard to reconcile the gentle Charlotte with the greedy, ambitious, and cold-blooded man who was responsible for so much death and destruction of wolf shifters. When I arrived at the cafe to confront her, knowing she’s usually closing up at that hour, I didn’t expect to smell her blood or hear the death rattle in her gasps.

I didn’t expect to see Beruth Sanguinite’s youngest daughter, Arabella, on top of a limp Charlotte, strangling her, clawing her face.

And Charlotte, my Charlotte, was just letting her at that point. She wasn’t fighting back, and my blood went cold.

And my wolf lost control.

I would have killed that female vampire in a heartbeat. I never expected Charlotte to ask me not to.

As I held the unconscious Charlotte in my arms, I knew she wouldn’t tell me the whole truth. She would dance around it for whatever reason. So, I did the only thing I could think of.

I checked the security footage.

Not many places have audio security as well as video, but this cafe does, and it gave me an insight into Charlotte’s relationship with her family. More than that, it showed me the desire of a sister to reconnect, only to be brutally shunned.

And as Charlotte looks at me now, humiliation in her eyes, it breaks my heart. She looks so small in this moment, so young and devastated.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” My eyes take in the three deep scratches on her cheek, and my anger ignites again.

“I knew you’d never let me stay here in Portland,” she whispers, pulling her face away from my touch.

My eyes narrow, and I grab her by her uninjured chin, forcing her to look at me. “You could have tried trusting me.”

She holds my gaze, and there is an emptiness in her eyes that I hate. “I don’t trust anyone, Robert. It takes one second for a trust to be broken. You wanted to kick me out, right? When you first met me? You wanted to take my home away from me. You wanted to rip away the life I had built for myself, simply because I was a vampire. The only reason you let me stay was because I was weak and useless, and somewhat amusing to you. I was a source of entertainment, someone to warm your bed.”

The suppressed self-loathing in her voice as she laughs bitterly makes my heart twist in my chest.

“You don’t have to pretend otherwise. I know what I am.”

Useless. Worthless. Why haven’t you killed yourself yet?

Arabella Sanguinite’s words swim into my mind.

Does Charlotte believe them? Has she let her sister convince her of her lack of worth? Is that why she believes that my desire to be with her isn’t real?

I know what I am.

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