Page 96 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

A young vampire in a well-fitted suit, his skin smooth alabaster, stared as we walked toward our private quarters. His gloved hands clenched and relaxed nervously. I didn’t know if it was my bloody clothes or notoriety. I also didn’t care. I bared my fangs at him, and he shrank away, backing toward a nearby group of vampires.

“We need to get out of Venice,” I muttered.

“And how the hell are we going to do that?” Lysander laughed at the idea. “The Third Rite is coming up, and, well...”

My mate’s duty was bound to this city. More than ever, I wished I could go back in time and stop her from ever coming here.

He didn’t offer any suggestions, and we both remained trapped by our thoughts as we walked.

“We need to get to the bottom of this monster bullshit,” I said, breaking the silence as we entered the private residence of the Queens. It would never be home to me, but at least there was no one here to stare at us.

Lysander nodded. “We do.”

“But what is this monster, and why is it targeting Switches?” I’d never heard of a monster that preyed on vampires. Usually, we were on top of the food chain.

“Whatever it is, if it’s targeting vampires, we’re screwed,” he said, his words echoing my thoughts.

“If Berit is telling the truth,” I said.

“Why would she lie about it? They could have just killed us. We were outnumbered,” he pointed out.

I groaned, throwing an arm over his shoulder. “When did you lose faith? We totally could have taken them.”

“Were you willing to risk Thea’s life to prove it?” he asked in a low voice, like the oil-painted portraits might be able to hear us.

Anger swirled inside me as I considered the question. Not for the first time, I wondered if I was following my heart or if I was merely doing the right thing. I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, my eyes narrowed and focused on the four women standing by a large stone hearth in the great room. I’d forced myself to keep my mind off Thea as we made our way home, refusing to give in to the panic I’d felt when Berit had warned me that my mate wasn’t safe. Now her warning rang in my head.

No creature is safe. Not even your beautiful mate.

But Thea was right here. Safe. Whole. I scanned her quickly, looking for anything that might warrant concern. But there wasn’t a scratch on her. Still, my pulse picked up speed as we approached. I wouldn’t be satisfied until she was in my arms—until I could touch her.

I tore my eyes from her and glanced at the others, nearly coming to a halt when I saw Camila. Blood coated her entire upper body, and nervous energy seemed to radiate from her. Jacqueline paced the length of the fireplace, her eyes flickering to Camila every few seconds and looking away as soon as my twin caught her.

“Why is my sister covered in blood?” I asked slowly.

“Why are you covered in blood?” Camila shot back.

Thea spun around, a strangled cry escaping her when she spotted me. Tears welled in her eyes, falling down her cheeks as she scanned me with a look of absolute horror. It was that look that stopped me.

“Not important,” I muttered to my twin, not tearing my eyes from Thea.

“I could say the same.” But the dark edge of Camila’s words and the obvious pain on Thea’s face told another story.

“Whose blood is this?” Thea asked, not moving a single step in my direction. Exhaustion etched lines around her eyes, and I felt a wordless plea to save us from this conversation.

I wanted to go to her—wanted to gather her in my arms and kiss her—but Lysander stepped between us.

“We ran into some Mordi-scum,” he said.

That got everyone’s attention, but I shrugged. It was the least of my worries. The fact that Thea was tired and Camila looked like she’d seen at least as much action as we had, were both much higher on my list of concerns. My mate turned, waiting for me to explain.

“Don’t worry about it.”

But Thea’s lip trembled, and she turned away. I wasn’t sure if she was waiting for an explanation or upset that I’d shown up in my bar room brawl attire.

“You?” I tipped my head at my sister.

“Don’t worry about it,” she parroted me with a mocking smile.

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