“I know how to apologise; I just didn’t think you deserved one.”
“Hmm,” He looked up at me suddenly, his face turning almost primal, and took a small sip of his drink. “Well, if that’s the case I take my apology back.”
Walking past me I caught a whiff of his aftershave that still lingered on his body. He hadn’t showered this morning as he was still in the same joggers, and I could feel my mouth water ever so slightly as I watched him walk away.
“You may look, Hayley, but don't you dare touch.” He laughed, and his signature coy smile appeared as he sat down in his chair looking at me.
“I’m pretty sure if I wanted to touch, you’d let me.”
“Is that so? Care to make a bet on that?”
“No point in betting on something I already know I’d win.” I returned his attention with a delightful smile and took the same seat I did last night, the warmth from my cup bringing the feeling back to my hands.
He laughed in response, and then went back to drinking his tea while we sat in silence. Quite frankly, I was unsure on how to speak to him as so far all we did was share banter, and the occasional swear word. I felt he might be feeling the same as he looked as awkward as I felt.
“Have you told your family what happened?”
His voice cut through the silence, and I was slightly grateful he was the first one as I had no idea how to make small talk.
“Yes, I have mentioned to Jackson I am hiding out here but haven’t mentioned where here is. He is going to report back once he’s sent a team to my apartment, to check out the damage.”
“Was that the first time your home has been attacked?”
“Yes, in all the years I’ve been there. I’m starting to believe all the senseless attacks on the manor, my home, and that attack in the middle of the city a few weeks ago are all connected. Angelique is obviously behind them. I just don’t know why now.”
“It all does seem rather strange. You’ve been leading the Van Helsing clan for nearly two years now? Perhaps, she was just waiting, biding her time, and growing her army.”
“Have you ever met Angelique? Or seen her?”
“No, not many have, I believe, only the higher-up vampires, and of course, the werewolf pack leader. How she managed to get all the werewolves on her side, I will never know.”
“Maybe she’s offered them something they can’t refuse, or has something of theirs?”
Bouncing off ideas with Darius got me thinking that perhaps there was more to all this than what meets the eye. Angelique had taken over Louis’s place as the alpha vampire.
She was now in charge, and clearly wanted things to change within the city, and possibly outside it too. It was my job to keep everything contained inside RavenBlack and not allow the supernatural to escape, or at least that’s what the mission of the Van Helsings were, the original mission. To protect the humans from the darkness.
However, as many new leaders were born, created, and made, that mission changed, and the mission I was brought up to believe was to keep the supernatural within RavenBlack and always keep the barrier around the city up.
Now no supernatural creature was allowed to leave, and that included me. No matter how much I longed to see what was on the outside world, I had to stay put.
“The pack leader does have a daughter, maybe Angelique has her? It would fit her M.O.”
“That doesn’t explain why she would send her goons to attack my home.”
“Well, if I were a big powerful vampire leader, and the one thing that stood in my way for ultimate power and control lived in the same city I did, I’d attempt to kill them.”
“Maybe, and she almost succeeded last night if I’m being honest, so thank you for aiding me.”
“She says thank you too! Who is this version of Hayley I am speaking to?”
He placed his hand on his chest and looked stunned as he mocked me, his mouth open in a shocked look and I attempted to throw a pillow at him as he dodged it.
“Watch it, or I will throw something sharper at you.”
He laughed which was slightly heart-warming. His smile was infectious, and I couldn’t help but smile back, feeling the walls I had built around me chip away a little. Banter and joking were something I enjoyed doing, and I’d happily do this for the next few hours or for as long as we needed to stay hidden.
* * *