Page 111 of Claim of Blood
“Why such loyalty?”
“He kept my secrets. And...” Felix’s voice took on a dreamlike quality. “I pretty much hate everyone else. Leo was the only one ever kind to me, even though I was a bastard.”
For a moment, Leo looked confused, as if he’d heard the insult but not the implication. Then understanding dawned across his features. “What?!”
Felix blinked, the spell broken as Lander retreated. “Oh. Did you not...?” He shrugged, the gesture almost painfully casual. “My mother, Janice, had an affair. I’m the product. Technically not a Rothenburg.” His lips quirked in what might have been meant as a smile. “Did you really not know? Everyone knows. It’s why I’m nearly a decade younger than my siblings. Father nearly beat Mother to death during the pregnancy.”
Adam felt Leo’s shock ripple through the air as his claim crossed the space between them in three strides, wrapping his arms around Felix. The hunter stood frozen, like a particularly confused tree.
Lander sighed deeply. “You’re supposed to hug him back.”
“Oh! Right.” Felix’s arms came up awkwardly, as if he was following instructions from a manual he’d only skimmed.
Adam watched the exchange with growing fascination—this gangly hunter who’d tracked his cousin out of genuine concern, who spoke of supernatural theory with more enthusiasm than fear. And the way he’d reacted to Lander... that would be worth watching.
Felix pulled back, his attention caught on Leo’s borrowed clothes. “Why are you wearing... is that a dress shirt? And sweatpants?” A pause as his gaze dropped. “And no shoes?”
Leo’s laugh, the first genuine one since Felix’s revelations about their family, carried a warmth that echoed through the room. “That’s a long story. But the short version is, I’m Adam’s claim.”
The transformation of Felix’s expression was almost comical, academic fervor igniting behind those dark eyes. “Blood compatible?” His whole body seemed to vibrate with barely contained excitement. “How compatible? Are we talking basic resonance or full harmonic alignment? The implications for supernatural bonding theory alone...” His hands patted uselessly at his tactical vest. “I wish I had my notebooks. The energetic signatures must be fascinating-”
Adam fought back a smile. The terminology was ridiculous—in all his centuries, no one had properly categorized blood compatibility, let alone developed scientific language around it. Felix was clearly inventing terms as he went along, trying to quantify something as indefinable as why certain music brought tears to your eyes or why the scent of rain could trigger memories.
“I have no idea what any of that means,” Leo cut in with fond exasperation. “But we have a strong compatibility. A perfect one.”
“Harmonic...” Felix sighed the word like a prayer, his eyes going distant and dreamy.
Adam noticed how Lander shifted uncomfortably beside them, and how Felix’s attention snapped to the movement like a compass finding true north. The hunter’s pulse quickened, Adam could hear it from across the room, and there was that telltale shift in scent, something sweet and magnetic that made Lander’s nostrils flare before he caught himself. Felix swayedalmost imperceptibly toward Lander, pupils dilating despite the bright parlor lighting.
Adam filed away the observations with clinical interest. Blood compatibility, without question. The signs were unmistakable to someone who’d witnessed it before—the involuntary physical responses, the way Felix’s body seemed to recognize something his mind hadn’t yet processed.
Emilia leaned forward, her dark eyes sharp with calculation. “These notebooks of yours, Felix. What is in them?”
Felix’s hands twitched as if physically restraining himself from reaching for something that wasn’t there. His eyes darted between Emilia and Leo before settling on Adam, something wary flickering beneath his relentless enthusiasm.
“Everything,” he admitted finally, voice quieter than before. “Every observation, every pattern, every inconsistency I’ve found in hunter records versus actual supernatural behavior. Weaknesses, strengths, outliers—anything that didn’t match conventional doctrine.” His lips quirked in a rueful half-smile. “The kind of things that get you labeled a liability.”
Carl shifted forward, the lines on his face deepening with something heavier than concern. “Centuries of supernatural documentation?” His voice carried the weight of old wounds. “You call that research. My people call it a death sentence.”
Felix blinked. “I—I was just—”
“My great-uncle Aldric tried to do the same,” Carl said, his voice hardening. “He believed in cataloging anomalies—cohabitation, sympathetic courts, peaceful crossings. Wrote it all down. Tried to prove that not all vampires were monsters.”
He looked at Adam briefly, not accusing, but not forgiving, either.
“Your daughter found those records. Victoria, Master of the New York City Night Court.” He paused. “She burned theirhouse, with them and their children locked inside, to the ground. She slaughtered nearly the entire branch family.”
The air thinned. Even the shifters stilled.
“She thought Aldric’s notes could fall into enemy hands. So she erased the source. Erased us. We lost two generations that night. The rest of the family fled to Porte du Coeur. And now I find myself here, listening to this—” he jabbed a hand toward Felix, “—bragging about collecting the same kind of data. Right under your roof.”
Adam’s jaw tightened. He remembered that purge. Victoria called it “surgical necessity,” eliminating threats before they could metastasize. He hadn’t condoned it, but he hadn’t stopped her either.
Felix’s face had gone ashen, his hands dropping to his sides. “I... I never thought...” His voice cracked. “I just wanted to understand. I never considered that someone might—that my work could—” He swallowed hard, staring at Carl with dawning horror. “Your family. Because of research like mine.”
The enthusiasm that had animated him since his arrival died completely, replaced by a stricken sort of silence.
Carl’s voice softened, but it didn’t lose its edge. “You can’t imagine what it’s like to see your family reduced to smoke because someone decided your knowledge was too dangerous to exist.”
