Free Web NovelChapter 28: Vampires & Silver II
Kaine offered me a nod, though not a single word left his lips. He barely even looked in my direction for a second longer, immediately turning to look straight ahead at Blaise instead.
"Have a seat, Harper," Damon instructed, gesturing to the chair on the other end of the table.
I gulped, nodding as I carefully pulled out the chair and sat down. The four men barely paid me any attention after that, fully immersed in their discussion.
Elijah began to recount the events, from when he had received the suspicious reports all the way to when he had picked up the scent of blood when he was offering me a tour of Fangborne. Eventually, when he got to describing the state of Charles’s house, I had my head tilted down, my gaze fixated on the hems of my shirt.
The bloodied scene inside that quaint little cottage wasn’t something I could foresee myself erasing from my head that quickly. It was an image that would no doubt haunt my dreams for a long time― if not for the rest of my life.
Funny how I had seen so much bloodshed when I’ve only met my supposed fated mate for less than a week. Perhaps the Moon Goddess had a thing for gore. Or perhaps, this was a sign that Damon and I were a mistake. All this death should be enough of a sign to show heaven’s disapproval.
We should’ve never been mates.
"Charles suffered multiple injuries," Elijah said. "It could be a weapon or claws. I doubt it would be from another werewolf, seeing as to how he had died from blood loss rather than the injury being instantly fatal. His wound didn’t heal."
"Could it be wolfsbane?" Blaise asked, picking at his nails. He looked every bit nonchalant, as though the death of a young father and his daughter was a matter as trivial as listening to his friends recounting the death of their pet goldfish.
"Doubtful," Kaine said. "My men didn’t detect any signs of wolfsbane."
Elijah nodded. "Neither did I. It had to be something else. Funnily enough, there wasn’t even a scent I could pick up on. Even if the culprits were truly vampires, they should’ve left some damning evidence."
My head was ringing. The men’s words started to layer over one another, all while the sound of my father’s voice echoed in the back of my mind. Words from just a week over — a time that felt like a lifetime away — began to surface in my memories.
I hadn’t thought much of it back then― there wasn’t a need to. I was a nobody and it wasn’t my responsibility to care when all I needed to bother with was surviving to see the next sunrise. Now, however, that information was something that could give an edge in the case of an imminent war.
Having just been through one, I wasn’t keen on so quickly participating in another. Especially against vampires, no less.
"Silver," I murmured.
"Did you say something, Harper?" Elijah questioned, causing all four men to turn to look at me.
Damon’s gaze felt as though it was heated, searing through my skin due to its intensity. I didn’t dare to look him in the eye for some reason, and instead, found my eyes wandering to land anywhere and on anything but him.
Eventually, I licked my bottom lip and took a deep breath before raising my head to meet their gaze. Just as I thought, Damon was staring straight at me. There was something in his eyes that shaped the manner he held himself. Unspoken words — perhaps judgment — flashed through his irises, swirling in the vibrant pools of blue.
I gulped.
"I said, it could be silver they used," I repeated. "That would match the theory that it was vampires that killed them." Then, I added, "Charles’s cottage was near the forest. Vampires often smell like wood― the location of the house could’ve just masked their scent."
"It’s plausible," Damon said. "But what makes you so sure of it? Wendigos populate these forests around Fangborne as well. It might not be the vampires for sure."
"Wendigos smell like rotting flesh," I pointed out. "If it were them, it would’ve been obvious."
Damon shrugged. "Fair point."
"Besides," I continued, confessing, "I overheard my father speaking with his beta a short while before you guys... attacked. He mentioned something about certain vampire clans purchasing bulk amounts of silver in recent days. He had originally planned to investigate this plausible future threat but there was never a chance to." ƒгeewёbnovel.com
"Ah yes," Blaise mused. He kicked his legs onto the table, an action which caused Damon to roll his eyes and Kaine to scowl. "That old fart had always been slow to handle things."
"And careless," Elijah pointed out.
"His defenses were weak," Kaine added. "If the vampires were to attack Stormclaw first, they would’ve fallen much faster."
"Would’ve saved us the trouble," Blaise grumbled under his breath.
"We need them alive," Damon reminded, his voice stern. Though, I didn’t have a single clue what he was talking about. The members of my previous pack looked pretty dead to me, last I remembered. "If the vampires attacked first, that would result in a longer list of casualties."
Damon was right. Those bloodsuckers were worthy rivals― their strength wasn’t as strong as werewolves, but their intelligence far superseded other shifters. If they had indeed gotten their hands on silver and knew how to properly weaponize them, there was no way my father would have effectively protected Stormclaw from the vampires.
He failed to protect his pack from Fangborne, another werewolf pack. Damon and his warriors hadn’t even attacked with deadlier weapons like silver and wolfsbane.
Lydia.
She was one of those my father had failed to protect as her alpha, also another innocent werewolf who was killed due to Damon’s tyranny and lust for power. In the haze of my lust, I had forgotten.
"Have you not already killed everyone in Stormclaw either way?" I questioned.
Heat rose through my body. However this time, it wasn’t in the form of lust but in the form of anger. Not only was I mad at Damon and Blaise for what they had done to my best friend, but I was also furious at myself for acting so familiarly with the people who killed her. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
This mate bond was good for nothing. It had blinded me from what I needed to keep my mind on.
Damon raised an eyebrow, observing my sudden change in attitude. A thousand and one thoughts must be running through his mind right now, though he didn’t voice out a single theory.
"Aren’t you sitting here well and alive?" he retorted.
