William (The Valentines) - By Sam Crescent Page 0,5

father’s death a few months back?” Don asked William.

“Part of it,” replied Adam, who could see how much William was struggling to keep himself together. The natural instinct to hunt and kill was close to the surface, ready to erupt.

Don didn’t look at Adam. He kept his eyes firmly on the other Valentine brother. The one whom he considered a threat, Adam supposed.

“What is all this about?” Don folded his arms.

Adam stared at William. After all, this was William’s deal and he had nothing to do with it. He refused to talk about something he had no hand in.

“A witch was found a couple of weeks back.” William raised his voice so that everyone in the room could hear.

Murmurs and gasps filled the room.

“Bullshit. Witches have all been killed off,” one of the customers yelled.

Pretty much his first thought when he’d been told. Every vampire with a few years on them would remember the slaughter of the witches.

“Yeah, this is some shit you Valentines are selling. No witches. It’s why the world has gone to shit,” another agreed.

Growls and curses rang through the bar, all in agreement. There were no more witches.

Don cut them off by raising his hand. Silence came instantly. All of them were happy to shout and curse at the Valentines, but for Don, they shut up.

“This shit real?” Don asked.

“More real than you could ever imagine. I had her in my arms. I saw the power she’s got. What she’s capable of,” William confirmed, his sincerity and adoration obvious to everyone.

Adam saw Don nod and look at each customer in turn, assessing the room.

“Who took her?” Don finally asked after a pause. A simple question, but all the immortals in the room looked at each other for the answer.

“The Alpha wolf, James. The same night he murdered my father,” William replied.

“Shit,” Don cursed.

Adam didn’t have a clue what the older man was swearing at.

“What has the witch got to do with you?” the older man asked.

“I promised to take care of her,” William answered.

“I swear we don’t know anything here. This is a place for us all to come, relax and drink,” Don told the Valentine men.

Adam looked around at the clientele again. They were all nodding. He wondered what the hell William was going to do. The man was on the edge. There was no predicting him anymore.

William glared around the room. Tonight had turned into another dead end, more useless information that led him nowhere. Not only had it led him nowhere, but straight into a fight with Don Hargreaves, the warrior who had supported his father back in the day, helping to support the alliance between the species. Back when they hadn’t fought each other but had worked to protect each other and to build peace.

It seemed that Don had succeeded where their father had failed. His bar offered a place of safety for any immortal, with the promise that they would be protected by the warrior himself.

Wiping his brow, he felt the blood dripping down his face. He welcomed the rush of pain, the first real feeling he’d had since Katie had been taken from him.

“Any information you get, let me know?” William asked.

Don hesitated for a split second, then nodded. Satisfied with his answer, William turned to the room at large.

“I don’t believe all of you are as innocent as you claim. Let the word on the street spread. Tell James, Alpha of the Beyer West Pack, that William Valentine is looking for him and he wants blood. I’m bringing this war to his door. That witch dies and his pack is forfeit.”

William made sure his message was clear to all. They looked like a combination of scared and pissed off civilians. Quite frankly, he didn’t give a fuck—he was on a mission and anyone who stepped in his way was about to have their life turned upside down.

“See you around,” he said to Don, moving towards the door.

“How’s your mother?”

The question took him by surprise. Turning around, he saw Don had shut down, a neutral expression firmly in place.

“She’s coping as best she can.” At least, that was what Adam had told him earlier.

“Send my regards.”

William acknowledged Don, nodding one last time before leaving the bar.

Flicking open his phone, William placed a call. The phone rang and rang and, finally, on the last ring, someone picked up.

“You gave me wrong information. I’m coming for you.” He flipped the phone closed and started walking away. Humans moved out of his way.