Irritated, he grabbed her arm and forced her to stop. “Lily stop, okay. I get it. You’re mad at me,” he told her. “Just want to say I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to shut you out like that, but I… I didn’t like that I freaked out back there… and I didn’t want the others to know that I’ve… I’ve got issues with vampires.” Embarrassment made him duck his head and he couldn’t help, but feel like an idiot.
“Issues with vampires? What kind of issues?” Lily asked, turning to face him.
James glanced around and pulled her a little closer to him. “When Silvano had me kidnapped, I was tied with silver to a chair in some kind of basement. Bianca and others came to feed on me several times. A lot of them got off on trying to make me enjoy it… it was… that smell back there…” He explained, running a hand over his face, trying to rub away the memory of it.
Lily’s angry expression softened. “I understand, James. Thanks to Xavier, I can’t stand hospitals or even sitting on one of those horribly hard beds they have in the rooms. Don’t get me started on needles. What I don’t understand is why you backed off then wouldn’t even look at me, like I had done something wrong!”
“It’s not fun being on the receiving end is it,” he replied with a smirk.
“I didn’t…” Lily started, but James crossed his arms over his chest and gave her a look. “I didn’t… okay, maybe I did. Congrats, life lesson learned,” she said in a flat, sour tone. “So are you going to tell me or just go with the payback’s a bitch card?”
James sighed and glanced around again. “I was ashamed,” he admitted. “I’m James Lacrosse, the most feared werewolf of the country and all that and here I was cracking at a few sleeping vamps. You already think I’m a pushover,” he complained, frowning.
His frown grew as Lily started to smile up at him. “Aww, isn’t that just adorable,” she said in a sticky sweet voice. “You’re man ego got dinged, awww”
“That’s not helping,” he grumbled. He did not like to be called adorable in any form or fashion.
Lily started to laugh then punched him in the arm. “Get over yourself,” she snapped at him. “Yes, you’re THE James Lacrosse, so what? You still human with human problems,” she told him then added with a grin, “Well humanish.” Shaking her head, Lily sighed. “I do not think you’re a pushover James,” she told him. “Yes I tease you about your rep, but it’s only because I know that you’re a much better man than a lot of people know. So as I said, get over yourself.”
Exhaling, James slumped then grinned at her. “Thanks Lily,” he told her then pulled her in for a hug. “Now let’s go find Tristen.”
It took about an hour to place everyone. There was only one person missing. Bonnie. “Her scent leads to the girl’s room and we found Bonnie’s blood in the room and just outside the door,” a tracker informed them.
“The girl has a name,” Lily snapped at her. “Her name is Tristen. How do you know the scent is even from today. Bonnie and Tristen are friends.”
The tracker gave her a look of superiority. “Because it’s stronger than the rest. Friends or not, Bonnie took… Tristen,” she replied, the superior attitude making her tone smug. James tensed with irritation and Lily flipped the woman off with a growl.
“Enough,” Nick demanded. “Evidence points to Bonnie taking Tristen, but why? Lily’s right. They’re friends and Bonnie risked so much to free her from Vincent. It doesn’t make sense that’d she turn around and just give her in.”
“Not when she knows Tristen is mine,” Zander added. His face was hard and cold with a deep frown scarring it. When Lily shot him a ugly look, he scowled at her. “What’s the difference between saying she’s my mate or saying she’s mine? Fucking relax, woman!”
“Relax? Look here punk, the first rule when dealing with women is don’t tell them to relax, unless you have a damn big death wish. Got it? Second, one sounds chauvinistic and cave man, the other doesn’t! So you fucking relax, kid,” Lily shot back.
“Anyway,” James said, trying to keep those two from blows. “Is it possible that Vincent has something on her? Could he have threatened her or maybe Zander?”
Zander shook his head. “No. No way!”
“I agree,” Nick said. “A threat wouldn’t move her to turn over Tristen. She sees the girl as her chance at redemption. Nothing, not even her life, would make her betray that.”
Before anyone could say anything else, the door opened. None other than Bonnie, herself walked into the room. Tears streamed down her face and she had a general shell shocked expression on her face. “I couldn’t stop… I tried, but I couldn’t do it,” she said, her breathing starting to race.
“Son of a…” Lily swore when she saw the blonde. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about that! Damn it all to hell!”
“What are you talking abou?,” Nick asked, looking up at her confused.
Lily looked to James. “Greg,” she told him and his stomach sank with dread.
“Do you…” he started.
“Look at her James,” Lily replied and he knew she was right. “Vincent put you under his persuasion didn’t he?” She asked Bonnie.
“While he attacked me on the full moon, just before he knocked me out… he did it. I didn’t remember until now,” she said, tearing up so more. “Oh God, I just handed her to him! She’s going to suffer so much and it’s my fault!” Her sobs grew harder until she was almost wailing like a banshee. Her arms wrapped around her middle and nearly bent over.
“So Vincent persuaded her to take Tristen?” Nick asked, looking at Bonnie with a mix of worry and sympathy.