The Alpha And His Mate (Silver Hills #1)

Chapter 29

It took me nearly half an hour to convince my mom and Angel to stay at home. Part of that time was wasted convincing them I wasn't going to drop dead.

In the end, Caspar said he'd go with me and make sure I was safe. I was all too willing for him to join us. I would most likely need support if what Mrs Crane said was true.

Richard... we'd had our differences but I'd never wish him dead. Just the thought of him never flirting again, never throwing a wild party and getting black out drunk, sent a strange pain shooting through my chest. 

His poor family. Poor Genevieve. I thought about what Jax had said about their complicated relationship and felt more sorry for her than I ever had. She hadn't lost the love of her life, but she had lost a fiancée and a friend.

In Mrs Crane's car on the way to the Mason's house, Desdemona Crane looked at my pale disposition and instantly knew what was happening.

"The worst has happened then," she sighed, eyes lingering on my stomach. I didn't have the strength the do anything but nod and stare straight ahead at the road. From the backseat, Caspar's eyebrows creased in confusion.

"Make sure you tell Jax," was all she had to say about the matter. I was grateful for her silence. My mind was too loud at that moment, roaring with emotions and voices all trying to get the better of me.

I'd keep my head up tonight, if only because I had to. I could play at being brave. Act at being a warrior even though deep inside I wanted to curl up and cry.

Anything that had happened tonight was my fault. I had to ensure nobody else payed the price for my idiocy.

Walking into the Mason house was like walking into a mausoleum. The room that had once been used to throw parties was now a morgue.

My heart felt heavy as I slowly made my way towards the table, a cloth covering the corpse that lay atop it. Right next to it stood the Masons, sobbing and consoling each other.

In the other corner of the room, on a sofa, the Thorpe cousins were dealing with each other's wounds. Well, more like Elisabeth was dealing with their wounds: Diana's arm lay limp and bloody at her side. Victor- who had been moved to the corner furthest away with his chains and pole- was seething with untamed anger, his crimson eyes flickering between Richard's dead body and Diana's mangled limb.

There was no sign of Genevieve or Jax.

Caspar clung to my arm as emotional support. I hardly knew what to do first. Offer condolences? Inspect the body? Ask what, exactly, the hell had happened that four witches and an alpha couldn't deal with?

Winona came towards us so quietly I hardly noticed her presence. She only nodded at me, a grim line on her face. I was pleased to see that she, at least, was unharmed.

"Genevieve has gone with Jax," she informed me. "They'll be back soon."

"What are they doing?"

She shrugged. "Something to do with the pack. We're holding a council once they get back."

It seemed that there was infinite time stretching between now and when they got back. I turned to Caspar and shook my head.

"I can't ask them how their son died- it would be cruel." My eyes darted to the sobbing family, the bulk underneath the white cloth that had been alive only a few hours ago.

"What should we do then?" He asked, looking out of place.

I knew what I wanted to do, but it wouldn't be a good idea to have Caspar with me whilst I undertook that certain task.

"Diana over there is mortal too," I told him, pointing to where she sat, tear stains still drying on her face. "I need to talk to Victor and..."

"And it wouldn't be a good idea for me to be involved," he said. "I understand."

And he really seemed like he did. With a swish of his long black coat, he was perched besides the red haired cousins, assisting Elisabeth in treating Diana's injury.

With a deep breath, I headed over to where Victor Thornwood thrashed in his chains.

"Why don't you just break out?" I asked him, thinking back to what Jax said earlier.

He stopped his thrashing and turned the full force of his lurid eyes to me. The intensity behind them made my head throb. When he have no answer I drew my own conclusions.

"Is it so you have an excuse to be near Diana?"

That made him snarl. Now I knew his weak spot, he could be easily manipulated. I didn't like the idea of blackmailing people (even if they were ancient vampire lords) but I was in dire need of help.

"I'm surprised nobody else has connected the dots yet," I admitted, feeling smart for having been one of the only ones to notice.

"They don't bother to look beyond their own noses," he growled in a deep voice, a strange burning in his tone. "That useless cousin of hers treats her as little more than a lapdog. If I were free..." he made a wild slashing gesture, "I'd tear out her throat for such disrespect."

"So your lover was Diana Thorpe," I mused. "What a strange twist of fate. Why is it that the new Diana has no magic, so you think?"

His turned his nose up indignantly and gnashed stopped me with his fangs before realising I was past intimidation. "I don't care if she has no magic. She would still be Diana to me. Why do you even care?"

I couldn't help but to see the romantic side of that, even if it was coming from such a vile, vicious creature.   

"I don't," I said plainly. "But I have something I wanted to talk to you about."

The expression that crossed his face as he slumped against the wall and considered me was nothing less than bizarre. "I also wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I wanted to say sorry."

I nearly burst out laughing; highly inappropriate for the situation. "For some reason, I think you're saying that without meaning it."

He grinned, showing his glistening white teeth. "Maybe. I feel better for saying it nevertheless."

I shook my head in disbelief. Apparently, not even centuries of life could give you morals.

"What did you want to talk about?" He asked, his voice more casual now, but no less wild and guttural.

I paused slightly before saying, "my baby."

"Why would I know anything about that?" He narrowed his eyes and I could tell he was playing with me. Well, if he wanted to be like that...

I crouched down so I was besides him, just far away enough he couldn't teach me. Even so, he learn forward so I could feel his cold breath as it came out in pants.

"If you don't tell me everything you know, Diana will find out all about you and your past," I threatened. "The Diana Thorpe you knew may've not cared about your... beastliness, but that girl over there-" I gestured behind me- "might just have a problem with it."

He contorted his face into something truly ugly. After a moment, his tight posture slackened and I could see he had relented from the mist in his eyes.

"Fine," he exhaled. "What is it you desire to know?"

I had to control my breathing as I said, "everything."