“What?” Tristen asked, looking confused and Lily sighed.
“Nothing,” she said begrudgingly then glanced towards the bag. She hoped Tristen didn’t notice it or maybe thought it was something else than a bag full of blood.
“Vincent made a move against us tonight,” Lily said and the teen’s eyes widened.
“W-what happened,” she asked, a tremble in her voice.
“We pushed him back easily,” Lily told her, not exactly lying. “Though he did take the vampires we captured back.” Therefore, it didn’t happen exactly like that but the girl had enough to worry about the last two months.
“So… uh… what’s next?” She asked, hugging herself.
“We’ll find Vincent and make him pay for what he’s done to you and Nick’s pack,” Lily replied, glancing over at the blood.
“I see,” Tristen said, chewing on her lower lip in thought. “So, exactly how are we supposed to be related?”
Lily’s jaw dropped in shock. What the hell! “Wha… who told you,” Lily demanded, feeling anger lick at her again.
“You have a bag of blood sitting on the table and I know you’re not a vampire,” Tristen told her in a “well duh” tone. Lily glared at the bag for a moment, grabbing it. Now the cat was out of the bag there was no need for her to go hungry.
“Point noted,” Lily said, leaning back in the chair. “I know it’s hard to believe, right? I’m so Indian to your cowboy, right?”
“Well yeah but I was thinking something a little more politically correct,” Tristen replied with a shrug.
“Eh, I’m the minority when I use insulting slang or terms it’s all good. It’s like when a black person calls another nigger,” Lily said before biting into the bag. She began then scrunched her nose in disgust. Man it still really tasted like crap.
“I am not so sure about that,” Tristen said, mimicking Lily’s nose wrinkling as she watched her. “Feel better?” She asked when Lily finished.
“No, not really,” Lily said tossing the empty bag on the table. “It’s like eating a soggy TV dinner lasagna when you were expecting the Mama’s homemade stuff. I’m not starving anymore but I still have that itch for more.”
“Oh, why don’t you drink like in the movies? Well not like kill people but you know,” Tristen asked.
Lily couldn’t believe that they were having this conversation. “It’s dangerous and I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she admitted.
“Sounds to me like this is more dangerous if you’re not satisfied,” Tristen replied. Lily made a soft scoff. Everyone, it seems, had something to say about her eating habits. “Anyways how are we related really?” Oh boy, this was a conversation Lily wasn’t looking forward to having.
James stuffed his hands in his coat pockets as he waited for the others to arrive. He glanced back at the hotel, feeling a little guilty. Lily had obviously wanted to come along. She needed her answers from the woman vamp she worked with. The vampire lord had seemed pretty adamant on keeping her here and that’s what worried James the most. He had the feeling there was something the vampire lord wasn’t telling them.
Dorin and a female vampire walked up to him. Before any kind of introduction she sniffed in James’ direction. “He smells wonderful. You didn’t tell me he smelled so good, Dorin,” the vampire said, her voice heavy with an Italian accent.
Great, James thought rather bitterly. Almost every vampire he’d ever met, especially the women, seemed to want to make him their dinner. He was about to tell the woman she could forget it when Dorin spoke before he could. “Keep your nose and fangs in business only Nicoletta,” Dorin told her. “James isn’t on the menu unless you’d like to answer not only to Lord Etienne but the hybrid as well.”
Nicoletta sniffed towards James again and seemed to consider the idea for a moment. “I’m sure I could convince Etienne to forgive me. Nor am I afraid of this hybrid,” she said, giving James predatory smile.
“Then you’re stupid,” Dorin said bluntly, earning a cold glare from the vampire. “She’s hell on earth if you make her angry and feeding off her mate will make her beyond angry.”
While he agreed with Dorin. If the beast and vamp took over her human mind, Lily could be very brutal and mercy became meaningless. However, it surprised him when Dorin said so. Dorin seemed to loathe Lily more times than not but yet, he didn’t hesitate to defend her. James wondered if it was because his brother was the only other surviving hybrid until he was murdered.
“I’ve heard she’s denied being his mate,” Nicoletta said smugly, keeping her hungry gaze on James.
“It doesn’t matter if she’s my mate or not. She’s my friend and she’s got my back,” James told her in a matter of fact tone then gave her a hard glare. “Either way, I’m not a meal ticket for vamps, no matter how good you think I smell good. Which I don’t even begin to understand and it’s getting annoying!”
“It’s your strength,” Dorin replied. “We can smell the strength of your mutated state in your blood and power calls to us.”
“Then why don’t you all drool at Lily like you do me?” James asked.