She was staring at him as if he were insane. For some reason he didn’t find that as pleasurable as he usually did. “The vampire who struck you… I killed him. I was going to make him suffer but Dara wasn’t too impressed with that idea. I can heal your bruise with my blood if you’d like.”
Natalia stared at the man Pippa called Monster, and he truly was a monster. He appeared to only be a few years older than she was, but that was where any point of common reference ended. He thought telling her that he had killed someone was some kind of badge of honour? Then he offered to let her drink his blood as if that was normal too? What kind of lunatic was he?
“No, I don’t want to drink your blood. Seriously? You think that’s socially acceptable? Just the thought of it makes me want to throw up, and don’t think I haven’t forgotten that you were ready to put my mother out of her misery. Stay away from me, Kothari or Agony or whoever the hell you are. I don’t need your help and I don’t want to be your friend.”
She turned her back on him, afraid that if she looked him in the eyes he might do something to hurt her, but she heard him moving away and let out a sigh of relief. Hopefully he would listen and stay away. Hopefully her alpha would return too, and she could leave these weird people and just be with what remained of her pack.
“She’s annoying,” Agony said to Dara as he reached her. “First she hits me with a plank of wood and now she refuses my attempts to help her. He’d better be wrong about her. I don’t like her very much.”
“Oh for goodness sake, the poor girl’s world has just been turned upside down,” Dara hissed under her breath. “Her father’s dead, her mother doesn’t know her, and she’s just lost her pack. For someone who’s gone through all that, she’s doing the best she can. She’s certainly doing better than you did, Agony. She didn’t just get up and run off when the shit hit the fan. She’s stayed and she’s protecting those she loves. So cut her a little slack. She’s never come across anyone like you before, and the girl is still human too.”
Agony growled, displeasure crossing his face. “You know, I’m getting tired of women thinking it’s acceptable to tell me off all of the time.”
“Then stop acting like an ass and maybe we wouldn’t,” she quipped back, giving him a saccharine sweet smile. “We need to work out what to do, Agony. Clearly, I intend to come to Romania with you, but we can’t just leave Ava and Pippa alone here and I don’t think they can go with the vampires. I’m going to call Rafe and see what advice he has. I need to check in and let him know you’re okay anyway. If you could please not dismember, kill, or upset anyone while I’m doing it I’d really appreciate it.”
“Fine… we’ll do things your way for now. It is part of my agreement with Kothari to listen to you, but don’t think that means I am going to do everything you say, Dara. Make your call and then we need to start moving. The longer we delay here, the more chance there is of something happening to my parents.”
Agony’s admission was a surprise but not a bad one. So he was in dominance only because Kothari had allowed him to be. That gave Dara some comfort, and would be positive news to give to Rafe. There was still the issue of just who would be going to Romania with them, but she felt a little more in control of the situation, now that Agony was being more reasonable. Pulling out her phone, she hit the first speed dial button and waited for the call to connect.
To be continued…