Page 72 of Isabel and the Werewolf Beast

The long, white teeth of the vampire didn’t scare me either. Isabel’s bite had shown me it was pleasurable. I wasn’t naïve to think they wouldn’t do damage with them if they so desired, but their threat was all for show. It would be good if I learned their names, so I didn’t have to keep calling them numbers, but they didn’t seem to want to become involved with me. To give me information I might use against them.

“I’m Dante Ormond and you are?”

“He’s got balls,” Maximus stage whispered, leaning into Isabel’s side and cupping his mouth to her ear.

I reminded myself he was her vampire brother before the beast side of me yanked him away from his mate. The brother who’d gone with me to save Isabel’s head. I understood what it was like to have a brother.

Isabel’s lips tugged up into a smirk. Was she thinking about my balls sexually? I couldn’t wait to get her alone again. But, yeah, murderous vampire professors first.

“None of your business, werewolf,” Vampire One sneered.

Like I thought. They were pompous assess who were keeping secrets. Secrets that affected us all.

“You know what is my business?”

“What?” Vampire Two asked.

It might have taken me two years, and the acceptance of a vampire and my mate, but I was finally here. Finally, I’d accepted the werewolf side of me. The beast that I’d become, and I’d be damned if I sat back and watched others of my kind die for no damn reason.

“Me finding out why you kill my kind. Tell me now or I’ll turn into an actual monster and slice you all in two with my claws.”

The vampires’ eyes darkened. More red flooded into their eyes, their fangs lengthened and grew longer, the deadly white tips spearing straight from their mouth as they opened their lips and let out a blood-curdling hiss of rage.

Lucian shoved back his chair and stood. “I wouldn’t if I were you. We all witnessed his twelve-foot werewolf monster kill Silas. It was impressive.”

Did that mean Lucian sort of liked me now? Guess becoming a monster was the only way to show these vampires. I shifted into my half-shifted shape with ease. Fur burst from my body as it contorted into the monster I’d once thought myself to be. Razor-sharp claws extended from my fingertips as I lifted my hands and prepared myself to fight for my mate, and myself, for our future. The act of shifting was so natural now, I didn’t comprehend why I’d had such a problem before as I stood taller than my human form, now towering way above them.

“Wait.” Vampire One stood. “We’ll tell you. Then you can see for yourself this match is a bad idea.”

Vampire Two stood as well. “In the beginning, we were one.”

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for them to finish their story. They glanced at each other for a split second as though concluding that telling me, all of us, was the only way they’d keep me and Isabel separate. What they didn’t realize was that there was nothing that would keep me away from her. She was mine now and forever.

“Vampires and werewolves,” he said. “We were one species. Powerful. Unstoppable. Animalistic to the point of destroying entire villages when we thirsted for blood. We hated ourselves. Saw the destructive path we were on would destroy us all. We wanted a cure. A way to be more refined yet still stay powerful.

“We found a warlock and a witch to cast a spell. A brother and sister who were extremely powerful. The spell was supposed to remove our animalistic urges, but it split us into two species. The vampire and the werewolf.”

Isabel’s gaze met mine as surprise flitted across her face. She hadn’t known her origin as a vampire. It was about time she learned who she was.

“You became enemies?” I asked.

“No. We were best friends. Family. The werewolves could control their animal side and without the animalistic urges, vampires could control our thirst for blood. The spell worked. We were happy.”

“So, what happened?”

“Humans hunted us. The werewolves had revealed our secrets of drinking blood. It took many years to hypnotize the humans into believing vampires weren’t real. We were so angry they turned on us, but as animals, it was to be expected I suppose.”

“No.” I shook my head. “That doesn’t sound right. Family don’t turn on those they love. And vampires and werewolves were family. You said yourself that youwere happy together, so why would the werewolves ruin their happiness? Whoever set the humans on you, wasn’t werewolves. Hell, Silas set humans on me. Are you sure it wasn’t the warlock and witch that cast the spell?”

A ripple of murmurs ran between the vampires as the red leeched from their eyes and their fangs returned to their mouths. Once again, they became the eerie vampires in their immaculate suits instead of the face of nightmares.

“What could they gain from outing vampires?” he asked.

“I don’t know.” I rubbed the fur on my forehead. My brain ticked over trying to solve the problem. Find a solution. I didn’t know as much as these vampires, but they’d let years of hatred fester. “Why did Silas stalk Isabel, curse her, remove her head? Some people are simply crazy and evil.”

“Silas Constantine?” Vampire Two asked, his eyes widening.

“Yes,” Isabel said.

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