“Rener offered to go hunt the Vampires down and take them out. He was always so proud. He refused to take another enforcer with him, felt he could handle it alone. We lost contact with him so two more enforcers were sent to find him.” She paused. “The nest was larger than expected. There were over fifty of them and they’d boasted about killing a VampLycan to other nests that weren’t rogue.”
“I really am sorry, Peva.”
“Drantos and his cousin Redson were the ones who went after my brother. They annihilated that nest and avenged him. I consider them family and I became their little sister. Kraven’s too. I’m just closer to Drantos and Redson than him.” She paused. “Nests aren’t usually that large. They keep their numbers lower to avoid detection, but they were all crazy Vamps who apparently didn’t care if humans discovered what they were.”
“I admit I’m a little freaked-out now that I know Vampires really exist. I wonder if I’ve ever met one but didn’t know it.”
She shrugged. “It’s possible. You’re lucky a Vamp didn’t decide to make a meal out of you. They probably would have tasted your blood and known you weren’t fully human. You wouldn’t have woken up in your bed the next day with your memory wiped. They would have killed you. They fear VampLycans. We’re their enemies. It would have been a great bragging right for a Vamp to kill one of ours.”
Dusti shuddered.
“That’s why we live in clans. It’s safer in numbers.”
She thought of her hairy neighbor. “What about Werewolves? Would they have killed me if they knew what my mother was?”
Peva looked thoughtful. “It depends on the pack. We’re friendly with some. They’ve actually called us to request an enforcer help them if they have human or Vampire trouble. Some just fear us and want to avoid our kind at all costs. They worry we’ll take over their packs. It would be easy for one of our men to kill their alphas in a fight. They admire strength but they want full-blooded Lycans to lead them, not mixed breeds. They know our history.”
“What about it? I don’t understand.”
“The one time Vampires and Lycans aligned together, they created VampLycans. Most of those Lycan women who gave birth to our kind were mentally controlled and tricked into conceiving by Vampires. We inherited that ability. Some are afraid history would be repeated. It’s why Lycans hate Vampires and they don’t get along. They fight sometimes over territories and we step in when we’re asked to try to keep the peace.”
“How do you do that?”
“One of our enforcers will order that nest to leave the area. If they refuse, it’s the last thing they do. We can’t compel them to leave by messing with their minds. That’s an ability we get from them. They’re immune.”
“What kind of human problems do packs have? I’m curious,” Dusti admitted.#p#分页标题#e#
Peva’s smile returned. “They’re shifters. It gets annoying when poachers invade their territory and start shooting at them in wolf form. Some have died that way. An enforcer can hunt the humans down and have a little mind chat with them.”
“Mind chat?”
“You know; tell them they no longer want to hunt in that area and suggest there’s nothing to shoot. They go into their minds and place commands.”
“Can one VampLycan mind-control another?”
She hesitated. “They’d have to be pretty weak for it to work. You’ve got a lot of human blood. Are you worried someone might mess with you? It’s possible but Drantos would hand them their asses big time if they did. He’s feeding you his blood. That will make you stronger.”
“He froze me.”
Peva arched her eyebrows.
“You know, his eyes got all glowy and I couldn’t move.”
“Were you able to think?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “That’s good. It’s very rare for a human to be immune but you aren’t a full-blood. If you had been, you wouldn’t be aware of anything he’d done unless he ordered you to remember. You wouldn’t have been able to think unless he allowed it. You would have effectively gone to sleep and woken up with whatever suggestions or commands he’d put there, believing them one hundred percent.”
“I’m back.” Drantos took a seat next to Dusti and leaned in, kissing her cheek.
“How goes it with everyone? Are they accepting your mate?” Peva lowered her voice. “Or do I have to take a stroll around to do a little public relations?”