Page 87 of B Negative

I pressed onward. “Why did you enslave them?”

“Young one, I don’t believe you’re ready to hear the true answer to that query.”

“I—yes. I am—”

Titus stopped me with a hand. “I know what you’ve been doing here.”

My muscles locked in place. Fuck.

“You’ve been interviewing me, trying to discern whether I am a suitable match for your friend.”

Well, yeah, I was doing that.

“Given how similar you and Julian are, it’s only natural to wonder if your friend has the ability to do such atrocious things. Because we too must be evenly matched, am I right? You’ve been trying to find out whether, beneath it all, I am actually a good, moral vampire.”

Was I doing that?

Titus leaned forward, the ice in his gaze filtering into my veins. “Let me assure you, Eden, I am not a good or moral vampire. I’ve committed countless atrocities against every kind of supernatural creature and humans alike.”

Titus rose and crossed the room to his bar, pouring himself a portion of blood. “I am not the villain with a redemption arc in the story of your life, Eden. I enslaved those wolves because I was bored. Just like I commissioned the tallest building in the world and developed a program to humanely feed my subjects. None of those things were done out of some misguided attempt to balance my sins. I simply wanted to see if I could do them.

“But let me make one thing clear, Ms. Vaughn. Sunsiray is the center of my universe. If she wanted me to donate my fortune and run away somewhere tropical, I would. And if she wanted me to blow Laurel Cove off the map as our first step to ruling the world, I would.”

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