Shadow Lake Vampire Society - Wendi Wilson Page 0,59

eccentric. It seemed Warren Thornberry was no exception.

“Piper, do you know how my family became vampires?” He studied me carefully.

I shook my head.

“You see, my father amassed so much money in the eighteen hundreds, he ran out of things to buy. He had multiple homes. Dozens of ships. Women.” Warren waved his hand around the room as if in demonstration. My gaze flitted to the old photos and trophies, unable to imagine what the Thornberrys must have amassed.

“But he began to age and soon realized the only thing he couldn’t buy was eternal life.”

“Ah,” I said.

Warren pointed at me. “Exactly. You get it. He went out searching for the key to everlasting life and came home a vampire. Somehow he stumbled upon a vampire in Turkey who agreed to turn him, rather than kill him. You can get anything for the right price. Anyway, he returned home and transformed the rest of us.”

Warren went silent, and I imagined what it might be like to have a hungry vampire for a father. Did he insist they change? Did he give them any say in the matter? Did he bite them in their sleep?

The horror.

“Now you can see how all this came to be.” He gestured to himself before continuing. “I’ve been a vampire for one hundred and sixty years. I’ve only been a decent vampire for about fifty of those. The things I’ve done...” He dropped his eyes to the desk as he fingered a round paperweight thoughtfully.

Levi spoke up. “From what I understand, you were instrumental in the formation of The Society. Without you, so-called “good vampires” wouldn’t exist. You stood up to your father and founded the movement. We’re all here today because of you.”

Warren smiled at the compliment, but didn’t respond.

I managed to find my voice again. “However long it took you to see the error of your ways, the important thing is that you did. That’s why we came to you. We think you might be the only one who can help us solve the mystery of what happened to my father.”

My heart was pounding as I sensed how close I was to learning the truth. Leaning forward, I put my hand on his desk and dropped my head until he was forced to meet my gaze.

“I was there the night it happened. I heard…” I swallowed hard, forcing myself to continue. “For so long I’ve been told I was crazy for what I believed happened to him. I’ve gone over that night a thousand times in my head. Please. I need to know.”

An understanding smile warmed his face. “Piper, we investigated the event thoroughly. I put my best team on it to try to find out who attacked your father.”

I held my breath, waiting.

“We tracked the vampire all the way to Siskiyou Mountains, but once they entered the caves, we knew that was as far as we could go.”

Levi leaned back in his chair, blowing out a disappointed breath.

“What?” I asked, glancing between them. “What’s in the Siskiyou Mountains?”

Levi’s deep frown didn’t lift. “You know how we are the “good vampires”?” He made air quotes around the words.

I nodded.

“Well, there’s also a group of bad vampires. Wild savages who hunt humans for sport.”

“Let me guess,” I said, my stomach sinking. “They live in the Siskiyou Mountains.”

Levi gave me a sad nod. “They’re the reason the woods around Camp Shadow Lake are off-limits. They’ve been known to come down from the hills to hunt, and unsuspecting children are easy prey.”

“So we just let them get away with it?” I asked, glancing from face to face.

“Maybe not,” Warren said, shrugging. “Maybe it’s time someone put them in their place.”

Levi’s dark gaze shot to the billionaire. “Taking them on is suicide. That’s why you didn’t do it when you had the chance.”

Warren leaned back, steepling his fingers before lasering in on Levi. “True, but then, you have to ask yourself, young vampire… What are you willing to risk for justice? Or for love?”

Chapter Twenty-One

Love? What the hell was he talking about?

I tried to focus on what Warren had told us about the human-killing vamps hiding in the mountains, but my stupid brain kept coming back to his final words as Levi drove us back to camp. Why would the old vampire even mention the word? And why did Levi clam up like an oyster after Warren said it?

In an effort to make things less awkward for the rest of the ride, I started jabbering—awkwardly—about the other things Warren said.

“So,