Page 77 of The Hunt of Night

Fuck.

Glancing down at Adrianna, my heart aches, but I know what I need to do. Her eyebrows pinch as she meets my stare, and I hope she can see the smallest flicker in my eyes before I lock my emotions down.

“Go home. I’ll meet you there.”

“But—” I wave Brody’s protest off as I turn for Vallie and my father’s men.

“I have somewhere to be.”

32

RAIDEN

Crimson stains splatter my clothes and skin, but it does nothing to halt my swagger as I swing the door to my father’s manor open. The gaudy finish to the entire space only serves to piss me off even more.

I don’t want to be here. I shouldn’t fucking be here, but against my better judgment, I wanted to make sure I kept Adrianna as far away as possible from the fucked up mess that is the vampire origin.

Mahogany wood covers the floors, the bottom half of the walls, and the grand staircase, which I bypass in search of my father’s office. It’s where he’ll be. It’s where healwaysis.

The fleur de lis pattern on the wallpaper shimmers in gold under the glowing yellow lights fixed to the walls. It’s like a damn mausoleum in this place, not a house. I don’t know how I’ve never really considered that comparison until now. But it seems every interaction I have with Adrianna is one step into the truth that is my life. She helps me remove the rose-tinted glasses that were firmly lodged in place, and now I have the unfortunate reality of seeing everything for what it truly is.

Dead.

The desire to swipe a hand down my face itches at my fingertips, but I refuse to offer even a glimpse of uncertainty. Not when Vallie is a step behind me, my father’s men one further, and fuck knows how many more cameras the old man has installed since I was last here.

He’s obsessive, possessive, and slightly deranged. Yet, it’s still my mother who is the one you should be careful of.

As much as I despise being here, I’m eager for answers as to why the fuck his men showed up tonight, with Vallie no less. We were already dealing with enough bullshit, and then he had to come and interrupt the most perfect fucking moment with my woman.

The door to the kitchen is open, the slightest trickle of sunlight threatening to break the dawn over the darkened hills in the distance. My mind is drawn from the present and I wonder if Adrianna is seeing it too.

Tonight she was…fuck, she was everything and more.

Fearless. Resilient.

She was a goddamn heir.

I meant every word I said to her, and I was ready to give her more until we were rudely interrupted.

“I can stop all of this from happening, you know.” Vallie’s shrill voice cuts through my thoughts and irritation coils through my tired limbs.

Sneering, I don’t even bother to turn in her direction as I bite out my retort. “You can’t stop the bullshit that comes from your mouth, so I don’t have high hopes for anything else, and that’s a particularly low bar. Besides, the last thing I would ever want or need is your help.”

She clears her throat, disdain evident in the move. “She’s changed you.”

I don’t need to glance her way to know she will have tilted her head back and looked down her nose as she spoke those words. It’s a given. “Hmm.”

“Aren’t you going to ask who?” she pushes, far too eager to cause a scene as we turn down the hallway, my father’s office coming into view.

“I’m not a fool. You are referring to Princess Adrianna Reagan.” I bite back the smile on my lips as I use Adrianna’s true, full title, earning a scoff from Vallie, just as I expect.

“You mean Addi Reed,” she snaps with a huff, and I finally tilt my stare to the left to meet her gaze.

“I didn’t stutter, and you know it.”

Her lips purse, anger swirling in her eyes as she subtly shakes her head. “When will you realize that she is no good for you?”

It’s my turn to huff. “Oh, I already know she is. In my family’s eyes, at least. But the reality is,I’mno good forher. It’s an easy thing to admit when you look at a situation through selfless eyes. You wouldn’t know the meaning of it, so I know it’s a stretch asking you to even consider that as an option.”

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