Page 112 of Your Coffin or Mine
“All of this is irrelevant to why we’re here,” Frank bites out, before shooting a glare at Jekyll. “How do you always derail the point of everything?!”
“Well, does it matter if Vlad is in love with a human?” Jekyll asks him as he picks up a bible, only to curl his lip in disgust. “I mean, as long as he doesn’t bite her, it’s all null and void, right?”
“You cannot be serious,” Frank says, anger lining his face. “I told you no humans. It’s why I went to all the fucking trouble to make the sunscreen. Can you imaginehimheartbroken? You thought the fire of London was bad.”
Jekyll clears his throat. “Ahem, last I checked, I made the sunscreen.” All eyes immediately go to him, and he shrugs. “Well, I did.”
“I was willing to make sure you could live among us,” Frank retorts, his ears turning a faint green color. “I know the allure of humans. I understand how tempting they are, but it is futile to even suggest it.”
“Pretending to be a human to fit in among the sheep is hardly living,” I tell him.
“This will never work. I know it, and more importantly, you know it. Love does not exist, not for people like us,” Frank continues his blustering. “Humans die too easily.”
My claws and fangs return. “She is mine, and you will not touch her, so it is irrelevant.”
He grins evilly. “I don’t really have to, do I? Even if she could love and accept who and what you are, where does that leave you? Seventy years with her if you’re lucky. Just enough to bring you down when she does pass,” he bites out. “I won’t have it. Turning her is impossible. She’ll die.”
“This conversation will quickly become a confrontation if you continue, Frank,” I growl out.
Frankenstein laughs. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you would be so easily influenced by a human. Mark my words, this won’t end well.”
“No one is controlling me. If you truly think I would ever put any of us in jeopardy, then you are sorely mistaken.”
“How exactly did you influence her, then?” Jekyll retorts.
“I didn’t,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Aubrey is not like that. She isn’t like Angelique,” Doyle states to no one in particular. “I’ve tried to keep her away from him and vice versa, but it’s not working.”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth? In this lies the conundrum, lads,” Jekyll speaks up, fumbling in his pocket for a cigar. He clamps it with his teeth as he lights it.
“Bring that into the castle and I will make you eat it,” I say, pointing at it.
He arches a brow. “Charming as ever, Tepesh. You have a wonderful new pussy—I mean gentlewoman—to play with, and yet you’re still angsty.”
Within the blink of an eye, I fly across the cathedral, snatch him by the throat, and lift him into the air. I willnothave anyone speak of her this way.
He grins above me. “Down, killer. For fuck’s sake, I was only kidding.”
Snarling, I throw him, watching as he lands in a heap with anoomph, his body slapping the ground. He pops up like a fucking dandelion, fixing his suit and dusting it off before looking for his cigar. I stamp it out, and he gives me a pout.
“You have to either wipe her memory or we kill her,” Frank says, his blonde hair lifting slightly with the wind.
“No one is killing anyone,” Doyle interjects, his voice obviously annoyed.
Red clouds my vision. “You want me to wipe her memory?”
“Yes,” Frank insists. “If you haven’t bitten her, then?—”
Doyle steps between us, holding his arms out, knowing I am seconds from ripping Frank’s face off. “No one is wiping anyone’s memory.”
“You don’t have a say in it, pup,” Frank sneers.
“Why can’t we all just get along?” Jekyll calls out.
“I have,” I finally state. They all turn to me, wearing various expressions of disbelief. “I’ve bitten her. I’ve made my side of the bond.”
“You’re fucking joking!” Frank yells, as Doyle slaps his hand over his face. “Do you know what this means?!”
