Page 63 of Destined for Shadows
Cori took a seat in a high-backed chair and whispered to Bartol. “What was that guy?”
“I’m not certain,” he said, frowning in the direction of the foyer. “But I suspect he is a crossbreed of some sort. Perhaps between a sluagh and a troll? I suspect he came here for refuge because the fae do not tolerate the mixing of their races and would never allow him to live among them.”
Cori knew very little about the fae. Bambi was considered part of that group, and there used to be a fairy who ran the herb shop before her, but that was about all the experience she’d had since discovering the presence of supernaturals. Most fae chose to live in their secret cities, which no one would talk about except Melena, who was not affected by the spell that protected that knowledge. She’d only said the nearest city was in Canada, and it was a magical yet primitive place.
A young woman with curly brown hair came into the room and gave them a polite smile. “Can I offer either of you refreshments?”
Cori couldn’t decide whether she was human or something else. She looked normal. “No, thanks. But when can we—”
“How long are we supposed to wait here?” Bartol interrupted, finishing what she was going to ask.
He’d yet to take a seat and had been pacing the room since they arrived. Cori would have too, except that she was already getting tired. Healing rapidly had taken a greater toll than she expected. Bartol had warned her she wouldn’t be back to full speed yet, but it had taken a few hours of exerting herself with chores and errands to figure that out. There was no way she would tell anyone that, though. It was rather embarrassing, and everyone already saw her as weak because she was human. She wouldn’t add to that impression.
“I’m sorry.” The woman glanced worriedly toward the foyer. “The master just told me to make certain you were comfortable.”
“We don’t have time for this,” Bartol growled.
Cori stood and put a gentle hand on his arm, relieved when he didn’t pull away. “Don’t yell at her. You’re the one who insisted we couldn’t even come here until now.”
Bartol worked his jaw, then drew his gaze down to her. “You’re getting tired. I can see it in your eyes and in the way you move.”
Damn. Apparently, Cori hadn’t hidden it as well as she’d thought. “It’s fine.”
When she had first heard they might have Griff, she’d wanted nothing more than to see for herself. Now that she’d had hours to think about it, she’d become nervous. What if it was him? And what if it wasn’t? Either she would have to face her ex-husband again and the horrors the sight of him would bring, or she would have to face the disappointment of not capturing him. She didn’t know which would be worse. All she could be certain about was that she didn’t feel the same rush to find out as earlier.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Melena said, coming into the room and giving them an apologetic look. She must have been at her office at some point in the day because she was dressed in one of her agent suits. Today’s was black with a red blouse underneath.
Derrick followed closely behind her. He was a big guy who didn’t have classic good looks but rather a rugged appearance that drew women with his pure animal magnetism. It was evident in his brown eyes that he was a breath away from breaking into violence at any moment, but that he could control it as long as no one pissed him off. The alpha currently wore a suit that fit his large frame well, though he didn’t look very comfortable in it. He’d also slicked back his chestnut hair and shaved his face recently, revealing lightly tanned skin and a square jaw.
Cori frowned at Melena. If she and the alpha had taken this long to come to them, they’d been busy with something else. “Is the vampire awake? Have you already talked to him?”
“Yes.” The sensor hesitated. “He is not Griff. He says he is your ex-husband’s brother, Jacob, and that he just arrived in town the night before your attack.”
“What? But he isn’t supposed to be a vampire, and he was living in Seattle the last I heard.” Cori was at a loss to figure out how Jacob had gotten involved in this. When she’d known him before, he’d been a decent guy. It was one of the reasons he’d left town soon after he finished high school. He didn’t want anything to do with his brother or father.
“That’s what I got from my research as well,” Melena agreed. “He has a current residence and employment there. I didn’t see anything in our database to indicate he might have become a vampire, but we’re still working to identify all the sups in the country, so that’s not unusual.”
Bartol crossed his arms. “When I visited the parents, they hadn’t seen either of their sons recently.”
The sensor cleared her throat. “Apparently, Griff’s return to Fairbanks wasn’t just about Cori. He’d decided to drag his brother into this as well because he had plans for his parents, too.”
“What do you mean?” Cori asked, a chill running down her spine. Surely her ex-husband wouldn’t hurt his mother? She was sweet, and he’d loved her.
Melena took a deep breath. “Griff took his brother over to their parent’s home last night and forced Jacob to watch as he killed their father. Then he made him help bury the body elsewhere. The plan was to send Jacob and their mother back to Washington tonight.”
Cori took a moment to soak all of that in. Griff was not only attacking her, but now he’d gone after his father and killed him. Had he gone off the deep end and lost his mind? She couldn’t make sense of any of it, and why now?
“How does a vampire travel that far without getting caught by the sun?” That was another thing Cori couldn’t figure out. She knew the richer vampires had private jets with the windows blacked out so they couldn’t get burned, but Griff and Jacob wouldn’t have that kind of funds.
“They can use Anchorage as a port,” Melena informed her. “There are ships there that will transport vampires for a small sum, which Griff obviously knows about since he’s managed all of this so far. He likely uses the nighttime hours to travel by land and then hides in windowless rooms on the ship during the day. Once it’s dark again, he can disembark.”
“How long has that deal been going on?” Cori asked. Sups had just come out earlier in the year.
Derrick spoke up, “Probably since the city was founded. Vampires have been rulin’ that area for as long as I can remember, and they don’t tolerate any of the other supernatural races except a few witches they keep on retainer.”
“I got an invitation once when I was at a ball in New Orleans,” Melena said, giving the werewolf a satisfied smile. “I think she’d let me visit anytime I want.”
Derrick snorted. “With conditions.”
