Page 28 of Redeemed
Puh-lease.
“We’ll turn it into a party.” Morticia grins at us from the head of the table. I smile back, my wolf simmering right along the surface of my skin.
My wolf’s been agitated ever since the restaurant’s host trapped us in a wine room with Madame Packard with no obvious way out. Trajan’s not a lot calmer than I am, his tension winding my wolf up further.
“I would be honored to assist you in this way.” Trajan speaks in measured tones at odds with the energy zinging between us. “Although I am unsure whether I’m up to the task.”
“And I’m unsure whether it’s a good idea in the first place,” I mumble, earning a sharp look from Madame Packard. Trajan nudges me with his elbow which I take to meanstfu before you make things worse.
“In my present circumstances, I’d be unable to provide the care a new scion would require.”
And if getting away from Jacques were that easy, you would have known how already.
Madame Morticia Packard waves off Trajan’s concerns. “Once the man is turned, I’ll assume responsibility for him since he’ll be bonded with Gillian.”
Trajan doesn’t respond, and while what I know about vampires would fit in a microchip, it’s all I can do not to poke hard at her plan.
“That’s very gracious of you,” Trajan says. “I’d like to be allowed to think this over.”
Madame Packard raises a quizzical eyebrow. “So you can discuss it with Jacques? I don’t think so.”
The finality in the vampire sire’s tone makes it clear that our only way out of here is if Trajan agrees to turn Gillian’s boyfriend into a vampire.
Sweet. Let’s just put ourselves into the worst possible circumstances.
Trajan inhales deeply, then nods in Gillian’s direction. “I will do it, then.”
“In blood.” Madame Packard rises, producing a stiletto from somewhere.
Without a glance at me, Trajan walks toward the table. I want to stop him. My wolfreallywants to stop him, but it seems like our only way out is through.
Trajan stops when he’s at the head of the table. He holds out his hand, and the vampire sire makes a slice across his palm. She makes a similar cut in her own palm, and they clasp hands.
Something heavy falls over us, a blanket of sand that makes it hard to breathe. Trajan and Madame Packard stare at each other, as if they’re engaged in a conversation we can’t hear.
And then it’s done. They release their grip, the sand blanket goes away, and Trajan slowly returns to my side.
If his skin was any paler, he’d be invisible.
“Prepare yourself, Mr. Gall, and notify me when you are ready.” Her voice has taken on a deeper resonance, as if the power from whatever spell she just worked still flows through her. Trajan nods, his back to her. He reaches for my hand, and together, we leave them to their dinner. Or wine. Or whatever it is they’re doing in a fancy-ass restaurant.
Or maybe the maître d’ has a trio of virgins waiting for them in the storage pantry. I don’t even know.
The ride back to our hotel doesn’t help much. In addition to being pale, Trajan goes silent, but it’s the kind of tortured silence that makes me wonder what’s really going on in his head.
“Did you know about the wholeturn someone into a vampire and break free of your makerthing?” I pose the question because I want to know but also because I want to make sure he’s still with me on some level.
He waits long enough that I decide he’s not going to answer at all when he snarls, “Not in so many words.”
Uh, okay. “You knew—”
“I knew that turning a human entailed access to power, and that successful completion of the act would give a vampire greater independence. But…” He cracks his knuckles, one hand at a time. “I did not expect to possess the level of power required.”
His voice breaks on the end, giving me a glimpse of a wound I’d never suspected. “You didn’t think you had the power, or Jacques didn’t let you know about it?”
“Shut up. Do not say his name.”
I blink, once, because I’ve seen Trajan in all sorts of moods, but never…mean. Like, I have to talk myself down from a sudden shift because my wolf feels so threatened. Thank the sweet baby Jesus we’re almost at the hotel. I gotta hope the ward helps Trajan calm down.
