Page 88 of The Way You Bite
“Is that Blaylock wolf still alive?” Dominic’s eyes widened. His face blanched.
Hsu-Li cut TC’s face in a slice down his cheek.
Anger hazed her mind. Without thought, she ripped the bindings around her arms and legs. In a superspeed move, she wrenched the knife out of Hsu-Li’s hand and rammed the blade deep into the center of his chest before throwing him into the wall. He lay there, glazed, but not dead. “I said don’t touch him.”
She met TC’s gaze, which transmitted awe, maybe thanks.
A small clap resounded in the room. “Very impressive.” Dominic’s smirk fell. “Now tell me why you care so much about this wolf, or all the wolves.”
“You’re not my father.” She shrugged. “Sorry,Dad.”
“The little whore,” Dominic muttered. “I always knew there was something wrong with you. How do you know you’re a…mix?” His mouth twisted on the last word.
“I’ve been told this mark on my iris is a familial trait.”
Dominic’s lip curled with disgust.
Her shoulders lifted and dropped. “So,Father,who killed my mother?”
Dominic glanced around as if insecure. He pressed the red button on the wall, the one to summon all of the Squad vamps in the vicinity. No one appeared. She released a pent-up breath. The wolves must’ve secured the Scarpa estate.
She asked again, this time infusing what she hoped was a bit of persuasion into her request. “Who killed my mother?”
“Blaylock.” He glanced out the door. Fear passed through his eyes momentarily before he threw his shoulders back and squinted at her, confident and threatening.
She shook her head. “He loved my mother. He mated her. No mated wolf would ever kill his mate.”
I know,thought Dominic.The thought vibrated in her mind.
She wanted to scream,You know?
Trace moaned as he sat up, massaging his head.
“Did you kill my mother?” she asked.
No.Dominic shook his head.
She asked, “Who else was there the night she died? Who was at my mother’s apartment?”
He said he’d kill Trace if I told anyone. He told me to blame the werewolf.An image of a familiar vamp standing with a knife above her dead mother flashed through his mind. “I killed the wolf who killed your mother.”
Her anger came in waves, cresting and receding. This bastard hurt her mother for years. Then he hurt her as a surrogate for his disappointment and inadequacies. The wolf in her pressed hard for control. She measured the distance to Dominic’s throat.
“Vee, calm down,”Lexan said in her mind.
“Get out of my head. I’m not going to calm down.”
“I’ll be there in a minute. Don’t shift.”
She snarled, not a sound a civilized vampire would ever make.“I can take care of myself.”
Dominic pulled a serrated knife from his belt and held it up in defense.
Trace groaned and rolled to a sit, massaging his head. He met her gaze and stilled.
“It was never your responsibility to do this, Trace. It was mine.” She let the wolf take over. There was the pain of muscles stretching and the odd feel of quick-growing fur. The shift to her animal form took no more than a few seconds this time. She experienced simultaneous exaltation at the freedom allowed her in this form and primal fury. With a leap, she hit Dominic mid-chest with her front paws. His knife sliced at her, scoring her left shoulder. She barely felt the blade’s damage as she dodged another swipe of the blade, this time headed for her neck. With single-minded focus, she sprung forward to latch onto Dominic’s throat. Her aim was true. She felt the life leave Dominic.
Moments later, she shifted back. Gloriously naked, she yelled at the now-deceased Dominic, “That is what it looks like when a wolf kills a vampire, you motherfucker.”
