She stands, her comforting touch vanishes, leaving me with a feeling of coldness in its absence.
“It won’t be pretty. It may haunt your nightmares for years. But there is no other choice.” She pats me once on the head. “I won’t think less of you if you need to go to the car.”
A low growl rumbles in my throat. I will not be hightailing it out of here because things turn difficult. I knew going in this wasn’t going to be easy. If I’m honest with myself, there was really no other way to end the evil that resides in this house. But if I’d known I was going to have to eat a heart I might have balked at joining her.
Dria’s lip turns up at one corner. “Okay, wolfman, you made your decision. If you change your mind later I won’t hold it against you. Cold-blooded killing isn’t for everyone, but I promise to make things quick.”
Her delicate nose wrinkles as she glances back at the headless corpse. “Dammit. I will have to take a sip from him to ensure the killing is done swiftly.” Showing none of the hesitation or inner turmoil I faced a few moments ago, she daintily leans over the body and dips two fingers in the pooling blood. She pops the stained digits into her mouth and licks them clean, her face twisting at the tainted taste.
“Ugh. I’ve definitely tasted better, that’s for sure.”
Dria rises and sits again on the vacant chair. She closes her eyes and in a moment her face appears relaxed and serene. After a few heart beats, she opens her eyes, catching me staring at her.
“His blood is in all the wolves here. Their blood is in all of the visiting vampires. It couldn’t have been more perfect for what I need to do. I can twist the connection to suit my plans without ever having met the addicts.” She glances at her watch. “Come, let’s get this over with. Rafe will be here soon and I’d rather have this part behind us when he arrives.”
She opens the office door, revealing a shocked Tara huddled in the hallway. “Something is different,” she says, the fear leaving her voice as she ventures to stand. “My mind is starting to clear.”
Dria nods. “Yes. The nightmare is over for your pack. Go to where Cecil imprisoned your alphas and free them. Give them the drink that restores their blood and strength.” Tara nods, her eyes as big as saucers. “How many ‘guests’ came to the house tonight?”#p#分页标题#e#
“Five.”
“Good. Gather every wolf you encounter to the large building out back. We’ll be there when we can.”
“What about the wolves upstairs already with vampires?”
Dria reaches out a hand and places it on Tara’s arm. Instantly the woman quiets. “Don’t you worry. I’ll get them out.”
Tara scurries toward the back of the house. Dria watches her leave and strides toward the front entrance. Her high heels ring out across the wood with each step. In a moment we’re in the main foyer, facing the first room Tara showed us. The lounge contains one vampire mingling with three wolves. Wolves that look like they are waking from a long sleep.
“Jon, take them outside and return to me.”
The Weres look to me, and I swing my head to the front door. Without a word they move as one to the exit. The man sitting in the room is the one Cecil called Nathaniel last week, the one who tasted Raine against her will while the others watched.
Curiously, he doesn’t move and doesn’t speak as I herd the Weres outside. I pause on the threshold, the retreating Weres safely in front of me, and glance back to see what Dria will do.
“Close your eyes, Jon.”
Before I have a chance to process the request, and decide to follow her command or ignore it, Nathaniel’s head explodes, showering the room in blood and bits of gore. Horror and shock roll through me as I stare at the redheaded vampire.
Oh my God. What is this woman I’ve pledged myself to? Is she simply a vampire or something more? What is this unleashed power Dria wields?
“I told you not to look.” She turns to face me. A calm detachment on her face. “Four more to go. Why don’t you go grab your clothes from the car and assist me as a man? It will be easier for you to help the Weres upstairs.”
Without giving her a gesture of understanding, I race out the door, feeling as if the hounds of hell were on my heels. I never imagined a vampire could do such a thing to another of its kind and wonder why no one has mentioned it. Granted, we didn’t talk about vampires a lot in Manitoba, but surely if all of them could kill like that there’d be fewer vampires in the world, right?
The heat of the night wraps around me as I crouch next to the rented car. The hushed crying and whispers of the wolves standing nearby reach me, pulling me out of my thoughts to the here and now.