Page 66 of Alpha Scorned

“What doesn’t?” I asked, my brows dipping.

“That need to be by their side, to protect them; it doesn’t lessen. But you do learn to deal with it.”

“How did you know I was thinking about that?” Honestly, Connor’s ability to be so intuitive with his brothers was spooky at times.

He grinned and shrugged, letting the Hell beast side of him near the surface until his eyes were consumed by flames. “I have help.”

“Ah, I see.” I grinned and pulled up in front of the old castle doors.

It was a surprise to see Balthazar himself greet us; usually his creepy assed butler did it. It seemed Balthazar was old school with things like his household staff. I jumped out, as did Connor, our feet crunching on the gravel driveway.

“Count,” Connor greeted, shaking Balthazar’s hand.

Balthazar nodded at me, and I returned the gesture, ensuring to take stock of our surroundings.

“Do not worry, Beta, you are both safe here. You are my allies and you will not come to any harm inside my home.”

“Good to know,” I replied, wondering if he had guards stationed around his estate and home, just as Connor did.

Connor smirked at me as we followed Balthazar inside and across an entrance hall filled with old armour and weapons that hung on the ancient stone walls. The air was a bit musty, the atmosphere unsettling. My wolf grumbled. I soothed him as we continued on through the antiquated castle. Our boots clicked on the stone flagged floors as the Count led us through a maze of corridors and archaic rooms.

Soon we were walking through a more modern part of the castle. This was clearly a renovated wing. There was more natural light and it was warm and airy without that stale smell old buildings kept when dressed with original furniture and fittings. I guessed some of that stuff was worth a pretty penny, and was probably as old as the Count himself, but it really wasn’t my taste.

“He’s in here. He managed to get down the stairs by himself today.”

I took a deep breath and nodded. Shane’s progress back to physical health was slow, and it had been hard for him to accept any kind of help.

“Maybe some fresh air and a change of scenery would do him good,” Connor mused.

“You want to take him back with you?” asked Balthazar carefully.

Connor shrugged. “Only overnight. It’s Ember’s birthday and she wants him there.”

A strange expression flitted across the Count’s face. “Right. A birthday party.”

Connor grinned. “That’s right, Count. You know? The kind of get-together where you have fun.”

The Count snorted softly, and raised one dark brow. “Indeed.”

Connor smiled. “Good, that’s settled then. Owen, go and give Shane the good news. I just need to talk with Balthazar and we’ll set off back. I don’t want to be late.”

“Sure, boss,” I replied, determined not to dwell on why Connor wanted to talk to Balthazar alone. I was normally part of any discussions between them.

Shane was sitting on a window seat in what looked to be a library come sitting area. He heard me straightaway, his head snapping up to look at me. His hearing was as acute as ever, if not more so as a vampire. The sun caught his eyes as he moved and there was a glint of red there that I was still getting used to.

“How you feeling, man?” I took a seat opposite him, studying his gaunt face and thin shoulders. Balthazar had been right, the virus the vamps had given Shane was eating away at him. It was horrible to see, but I tried to keep those thoughts off my face.

“Just peachy,” he drawled. “I have my once rival, now friend, come to see if I’m still a pathetic mess. I'm a skinny runt of a male, weak as a baby, and to top that, I haven’t even attempted to shift because I’ve not had access to the outside world for nearly three weeks. That black haired prick won’t let me out of these doors. If I try, he’s there standing in front of the door like a fucking sentry. Still, at least I’m hungry today. I haven’t wanted to eat much of anything for weeks.”

I grinned, looking at the stack of empty plates beside him. “So I see.”

“Yeah, now the bitch is, I can’tstopfeeling hungry. Nothing’s hitting the spot.”

“Where’s the kitchen? Let’s go raid the fridge and see what we can find that might fill that belly of yours.”

“No need.” He picked up his phone off the table and tapped in a few words.

A few minutes later a pretty young woman with haunted grey blue eyes walked in. Blonde hair hung to her waist, completely straight and covering the cropped white top she wore. Her face lit up as she saw Shane, those shadows in her eyes becoming less pronounced. It seemed strangers weren’t her favourite thing though. She looked warily at me, staying close to the door.

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