Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,48

with him, as well? We’ve taken the liberty of making up a room for her in the house.”

The brandy was liquid fire, sliding down the back of my throat. “Thank you.”

“I know this must be all quite confounding,” the Vampire continued, searching my gaze. He was trying to read me, trying to find out if I really was a bitch. I’m sure Ruth had had plenty to say about that matter…and speak of the she-devil.

She strode into the room, looking very different from before. Her long red hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and her bare feet were quiet on the cold tiles. There was a worried look on her face, one that lowered her brows and carved lines in her forehead. Something was happening, more than what hovered on the surface.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

She jerked her gaze to mine, suddenly aware of my presence, and the walls behind her eyes slammed down. “Fine,” she answered coldly.

But she was lying. It’s what she did. I shifted my focus behind her to the darkened hallway and lowered my own walls, letting that other part of my nature roam. Blood. Pain. Desperation, rose swiftly, invading my mind like an avalanche at full speed. No, don’t do this…no, don’t do this. NO. DON’T. DO. THIS!

“Carina?” Phantom called my name, snatching me from the panic.

I flinched and jerked my head toward him. Those darkened eyes shimmered with a glint of silver. He swallowed and held my stare. A flicker of something danced between us. A plea…a careful, desperate plea. Please…

“We know about the DNA,” I answered, holding my Alpha’s gaze, then I cut to the Vampire. “The blood splatter from the warehouse came back a few days ago and the lab was able to match it to the dead, and those of the living we tracked there with CCTV footage.”

He was careful, keeping his voice calm. “And the profiling obviously shows…”

“That Ruth’s DNA markers indicate she’s Immortal.”

I caught the wince, before it was smothered by the lift of his glass as he murmured, “Interesting.”

“I sure thought so,” I added, toying with him for just a…second longer. “But in my haste and incompetence, I hadn’t yet entered that into the database. I mean, I’m sure it’s still there, buried under a mountain of paperwork on my desk. Organization has never been one of my strong points.”

The Vampire whipped his gaze to mine once more, and his brows rose. He shifted his attention to Ruth as she poured herself a brandy and strode toward him.

“So, they may not know,” she said hopefully. “Not yet anyway.”

“It gives us time…and options.”

“I take it you’re worried about someone accessing that information?” I sipped the brandy again, letting that burn spread through me. Still, I found my focus wandering, slipping to that darkened hallway and the unmerciful terror that spilled out from whatever darkness lingered in the depths of this beautiful mansion.

“You could say that” Elithien commented.

I swung my gaze his way. “Then I guess it’s a good thing the focus is on us then, isn’t it?”

The Vampire didn’t answer. He didn’t have to. The silence said it all for him. This whole shitshow was to their advantage.

“So let’s get this straight.” I prodded, or more like stabbed. “So, she’s Vampire, and that’s something you don’t want released. I mean, why wouldn’t you? Only…” I swung my focus toward Ruth. “She sure doesn’t look like a Vampire to me. She looks almost…mortal.”

“I am mortal,” Ruth snarled, but she wasn’t sure about that. It was a heavy weight, shifting and closing in. She struggled under the thought of it.

“You obviously know about the attack at the warehouse,” Elithien stated, “seeing as how you were there. But what you don’t know is that the Vampire who came for us was very dangerous, very well connected…and Ruth’s father.”

I froze, the snifter halfway to my lips, as the floor seemed to open up and swallow me whole. “Fuck me.” I jerked my gaze to my enemy.

Now that weight made sense, as I saw her struggle and wrestle with the damn thing. “And she could be in danger?”

“Yes,” Elithien acknowledged, never shifting his gaze from her.

Now that made a whole lot of sense. “Jesus, you really lucked out on the paternity lotto, didn’t you? First daddy is a blackmailing, corrupt thug, and now you find out your real sperm donor is…a fucking Vampire. Makes sense, two monsters to make one.”

“Carina,” Phantom warned as the Vampire curled his lips and gave me his undivided