Page 30 of Wynter's Bite

But without Bethany, he wasn’t so certain he wanted to live anymore anyway.

When they reached Darkwood manor, Justus saw the Lord of Rochester pacing back and forth on his great front terrace.

Gavin turned and met his gaze. The mingled anger, sadness and pity in the vampire’s eyes struck Justus like a fist in the gut. “How could you do such a foolish thing? How could you betray us like that?”

“There has to have been some sort of mistake,” Justus said. “She wouldn’t have willingly revealed that information.”

“I do not give a tinker’s damn what drove the girl to open her mouth,” Gavin growled as he gestured for Cecil and Benson to drag him into the house. “The fact is that it was done.”

Darkwood Manor was empty and silent as a tomb. Rochester must have sent his elderly mortal servants to bed, so they wouldn’t intrude on this night’s business.

The Lord Vampire crossed the hall, and opened a concealed door within the wall. “Lock him in the dungeon until his trial. We have to do all we can to minimize the damage he’s caused.”

“Wait,” Justus shouted. “Gavin, we’ve been best friends for centuries. Please, listen to me!”

His former friend’s face was cold and implacable as he turned his back without a word.

Justus’s mind reeled with disbelief as Cecil and Benson dragged him down the stairs, past the cellar, and down to the dungeons that had been designed to hold the strongest vampire. Justus had thrown many a rogue into these cells. He never imagined that he’d be occupying one himself.

For a moment, he considered breaking free of Cecil and Benson’s hold, but even if he managed to, running with shackles would slow him down and Gavin was likely waiting at the top of the stairs with his sword in case of just that.

After shoving him into the corner of the cell, Cecil secured the shackles to a thick steel chain that would only be long enough for Justus to sink to the floor.

Benson met his gaze, eyes full of pity. “I wish things did not have to be this way. Maybe His Lordship will grant you mercy.”

Cecil nodded. “Of all the vampires I know, you were the last I expected to break this particular law.” His lips curved in a humorless smile. “I’d expected you to break our other rules, but never that one.”

Justus managed a half-hearted chuckle that came out more like a sob. “I understand. And know this. I bear neither of you ill will for doing your duty.”

Both vampires bowed their heads, whether in mourning or respect, he did not know. They then turned their backs and left the cell, locking the steel cage door behind them. And Justus was left alone in the darkness.

He slumped against the cold, damp stone wall and closed his eyes. Bethany couldn’t have betrayed him. He’d tasted the truth and purity of her love when he’d drank from her. Something must have happened, some sort of coercion.

Another thought came to him that somewhat lightened his heart despite his dire situation. He’d also seen nothing of a betrothal in her memories when he’d fed from her last night. She must not have known about it until today. Had the shock of her parents telling her that she’d be handed off to an old lecher stunned her so much that she’d declared she would marry a vampire instead?

No, that was still too illogical of a leap. There had to be something else that prompted such an outburst. Yet no matter how much he wracked his brain, Justus could not discern what had prompted her to reveal such a dangerous secret.

No matter, this was all his fault. He should have banished Bethany’s memory that night and not revealed the truth of his kind until they were wed. But in his foolish arrogance, he’d reveled in the joyous revelation that she loved him despite learning that he was a vampire.

Now he would die for that arrogance and Bethany would never be his after all.

Was she even now wondering where he was? Would she be heartbroken when he never arrived and miss him terribly? Or would she curse him for a faithless cad?

To further salt the wound, would she be married off to Lord Tench after all? With the man declaring her to be insane, he did not sound too keen, yet Bethany was a beauty, so he may well change his mind. Justus’s heart burned in agony at the thought of her with another man, yet he did not wish her to spend the rest of her life as a heartbroken spinster, pining away for him.

As he closed his eyes, imagining the possibilities for Bethany’s future, a horrifying realization made him jerk upright in his chains.

Gavin’s words to Cecil and Benson echoed in his memory. “We have to do all we can to minimize the damage.”

“Oh God,” Justus croaked through numb lips. What if he meant to harm Bethany?

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