Alex felt the last word like a bullet. Oh god, Dante. What have you done?
“Excellent, word-for-word perfection. I wonder how you get a law so wrong when you know it so well? Let’s see, barely a week old and you kill the newborn’s makers and then simply forget to look for her again? When you do find her, you proceed to have a very public fight with her, gaining the interest of several news channels who hammed it up as a stunt. Then when the time comes for you to execute her, to do your duty as you call it, you fail. Do you wish to even attempt to explain that to me, your king?”
“She wasn’t turned properly. She was made for an advertisement for a disgusting illegal website. She was made against her will and for financial gain, which in itself is a violation of the law.” Dante’s voice grew shriller with each second.
“I am well aware of this. It was Julian that arranged the entire thing.”
Dante stopped short, looking from father to son and back again. “Jul— He…? What? Why?”
“Yes, Julian was told of this website by one of our current residents. I went through all the entries over the years. It seemed that all the participants of the videos had died. Leaving only your blonde as the remaining human to be dealt with. The plan was brilliant if I do say so myself. By allowing a couple who wanted a child to transform the blonde, one problem was solved. She was now a member of the family, so it did not matter that she knew of us, another problem solved. The human that created the website and was gaining money at the expense of vampires, was set up as the newborn’s first kill, another problem solved. The website has since been taken down. Everything had been taken care of. Until you killed her makers, of course.”
“She was not given a fair chance. I am willing to give her that. I will take the place of those lives I took. I will be her mentor, she will be my responsibility.”
“With your particular outlook on our way of life? I don’t think so. She will be kept here until I make my judgement. As a matter of fact, you all will. You will remain here in my custody until I reach my decision of appropriate action.”
Vincent rose and then the other two followed. “To disobey me, Dante, would be most unwise.”
Vincent and the others swept from the room, leaving the three alone.
“Do we really have to stay?” Michelle asked meekly.
Dante swallowed. “If we leave, we will be killed. I’m so sorry for this.” He reached out and touched their shoulders. Alex did not shake him away. She was no longer angry with him. How could she be, after the things he had said, the risks he had taken for her? For all the women in his life. She touched his cheek briefly, hoping to silently share her feelings with him. Whether he knew, she wasn’t sure, but he gave a small smile.
“I will get a room prepared. Though no one will harm you inside this house, I believe it will be safer if you two stay together as a precaution.”
No one protested this idea, but he barely paused to let them either. He walked at a brisk pace and disappeared around the corner.
“Are you ok?” Alex asked Michelle.
“Really not. I never thought I would even have to look at this place again. Here I am, having to spend another night here.”
“Hey, don’t forget…you’re not alone anymore.”
Michelle sniffed and wrapped her arm around Alex and gave her a quick squeeze.
“Something I don’t understand,” Alex said. “Why didn’t Melina speak? Do you know?”
“Do you remember when I told you about Dante and the landlord’s daughter?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s her.”
Chapter Twenty Nine
Who We Are, Where We Come From
Alex could not believe it. Melina was the girl Dante had fallen in love with and seen attacked? The vampire responsible did more than just feed from her—he had turned her.
“It gets even more convoluted,” Michelle began as they walked towards the door Dante had just exited. “Not only is she the love of Dante’s life, but she is also the female who made him.”
“What? That makes no sense!”
“Yes it does. By the time Dante’s trial and sentencing occurred, Melina was a full-fledged vampire. Whoever the female was that made her is anyone’s guess, but the male had unfinished business with Dante, so he took his new child and they both joined the Neptune to Australia. They fed off the convicts during the nights. The resulting deaths on board were attributed to the already foul conditions. Melina and he turned Dante a few months after he arrived here. His last punishment, the one that would last forever. Dante never talks about it, I mean ever. From the snippets I can put together myself, the male vampire was hell bent on killing Dante, but Melina begged him not to. He tortured Dante for hours, until he finally used Melina to turn him and then left them here to fend for themselves.”
“He didn’t even look at her…” Alex said.
“They haven’t seen each other in a long time. But really, what’s a hundred years when you live forever?”
“A hundred years?”
“Maybe more, maybe less. From what I know of Melina, besides being beautiful she is determined and fierce. She lets nothing get in her way. There is no grey area with her. It’s either yes or no, black and white, except for her history with Dante. I think she still loves him, but who can say for sure? Did she help turn him because she was angry with him, like Lauren? Did she not talk to him because she
