“Well, I am Blake The Troublemaker and I’d like to know why you killed a vampire this morning,” the dangerous-vibe vampire smirked humorlessly as he approached the werewolf unfazed by his growls.
Holy shit! Blake The Troublemaker was in town and he wasn’t just visiting. He was the one who established The Devil’s Pact, the peace treaty that ended the era of wars between species. All supernatural beings abide by its laws to keep the harmony going, and all crimes are investigated and punished.
Vampire, black hair, green eyes, dangerous vibe, impossibly sarcastic. How could I not have figured it out sooner?
“I don’t answer to you,” the werewolf was trying to act brave, but one could hear his voice shaking ever so slightly on the last word.
“Well, I’m interrogating you,” Blake retorted calmly, unperturbed by the lack of cooperation.
I’ll take a wild guess and say he won’t be just interrogating him tonight.
“He just went and killed my brother without reason,” the female finally spoke, her voice sad but strong. She looked confidently into The Troublemaker’s eyes even as tears rolled down her pretty face.
“There were no witnesses. When my beta here arrived on the scene, your brother was already dead and you were fighting Thomas,” the alpha countered, defending his pack member, as expected of a leader.
“I’m still waiting for an answer, pup,” Blake drawled in a dangerously sweet tone, ignoring both of them.
“And I already told you I don’t answer to a fucking leech,” the werewolf, whose eyes were still flickering from black to blue and back, spat on the ground to make his point clearer, “you’re not as intimidating as the rumors say.”
“Don’t disrespect him like that, Thomas,” his alpha all but barked, looking in panic towards the infamous vampire.
“Fucking leech, huh?” Blake cracked his neck to both sides as if preparing for combat or holding himself back, nobody knew, “I’ve never killed someone just because they’ve disrespected me, but I’d still advise you to choose your words wisely.”
“That vampire brought it on himself,” I could see that Thomas had started sweating profusely and I could definitely understand his fear.
“Care to elaborate?”
“He attacked me, so I defended myself,” was the flat, shrug-accompanied response.
“That’s not true!” The chestnut-haired vampire cried out in anguish from where she stood, a few steps away from her brother’s killer, “You were the one to attack him and you killed him.” her sobbing was heart-wrenching to say the least. That said, she and Thomas both sounded very convincing, determining the liar was no easy feat.
“Well, if you won’t tell me the truth, I’ll beat it out of you and then kill you slowly,” the walking living danger that was Blake The Troublemaker could have been speaking about the weather, his tone wouldn’t have been any different, “or you can choose to speak the truth now before they unchain you and you’ll have a quick death.”
His threat is something else, that’s for sure, I inwardly whistled in half-admiration, half-terror.
“Why are you taking it out on him? Why aren’t you doubting her? Because she’s your own kind?” The third werewolf’s annoyed intervention was definitely not expected. Both Jonathan and Kyle seemed to trust Blake’s judgment, that should have been good enough for him but somehow it wasn’t... not that I could blame him, vampires weren’t exactly known for their integrity.
Blake’s gaze shifted towards the guy that had just addressed him in that awfully defiant manner and he readily explained, surprising me by his forwardness, “His heartbeat had a little bit of a pace-change when he lied and he’s obviously turning into a rogue.”
“It could be just out of fear or something,” the guy argued.
“I’ve been around for a long time; I’ve learnt to pick up the difference.”
“Just let it go,” Kyle commanded while putting a comforting hand on his fellow werewolf’s shoulder.
“So, still not gonna change your version?” Blake, both the interrogator and the executioner on such occasions, once again addressed the accused, giving him his last chance to spill the beans.
The werewolf stubbornly kept his mouth shut, head held high proudly, eyes locked defiantly with those of his interrogator, “Just release me and I’ll show you what I’m made of.”
With a nod from Blake, the guy was freed. He growled, eyes going black as he started to change.
“Are you sure you want your mate to watch? She looks impressionable.” Although he hadn’t spared a glance our way, I was sure I was the mate that was believed to be impressionable.
“I think she needs this but it’s her call,” Jonathan’s arm tightened briefly around me as he silently conveyed his support and waited for my answer.
Was I scared? Yes.
Did I wish I had just stayed home? Yes.
Did I want to run far away from here? Hell yes.
“I’m staying,” were the husky words I managed to utter after taking a deep breath. Fears needed to be faced head on and I intended to do just that... I had to start somewhere.
Chapter 29
The Execution
Although Thomas shifted just a few feet away from me, and was growling like there was no tomorrow, I wasn’t feeling as scared as I thought I would be. Having come close to a rape-slash-death experience with the rogues a few weeks ago, I had truly expected, when this whole trial came into perspective, to be more afraid – I suffered from enough nightmares to prove the incident wasn’t behind me yet... but then again, I knew no harm would befall me.
That said, I was frozen to the spot in fascination. Blake The Troublemaker was making a show of his obvious superiority. As the five-feet-something brown wolf attacked, teeth bared, seeking blood, he dodged with ease and swiftly kicked him in the gut, earning a surprised yelp. The kick sent the werewolf crashing against a
