Something Darker (Book Three)

XXXVI. Shame

Alec wasn't speaking to me.

It was understandable, but it still hurt.

I didn't want him to find out the way he did, but I was messy.

I got caught.

It was incredibly uncomfortable, Alec, Demetri and I, returning to the village so I could put on a fresh pair of underwear and tights.

If fact, it was absolutely humiliating.

Talk about a walk of shame.

The journey to meet back up with other two was no better.

By the time we reached Jane and Felix, at the entrance of a tall, sturdy metal fence that was overgrown with weeds and untamed shrubbery, I was more than ready to lock myself in a cremator.

"What took you so long?" Jane asked Alec, who'd been walking significantly farther ahead of Demetri and me, as the we approached her.

Felix eyed Demetri and me with bright curiosity, but he didn't chime in.

"My apologies, sister," Alec said bitterly as he beelined to her. "Demetri and Violet couldn't keep their hands to themselves."

Jane's eye widened with interest. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Don't ask," I huffed.

Alec shot me a dark, nasty look. "They decided to have SEX in a in the middle of our mission, despite how critical the situation is."

Felix choked back a laugh.

I glanced over at Demetri, who simply rolled his eyes. He didn't appear even remotely interested in Alec's impending meltdown.

"That's not what happened," I said.

"You cheated?" Jane asked me, perking up.

"In a church, Jane!" Alec exclaimed. "The shameless whore!"

Felix poorly tried to pass off his laughter as coughing.

Alec glared at him vehemently; I chose to ignore him.

"We didn't have sex," I snapped. "Shut up, Alec! You're just mad that it wasn't you." I couldn't resist throwing in a jab; his slut shaming was wearing down the last tiny shard good will that I had left in my heart.

"I will not tolerate disrespect from a lower ranking officer," Alec spat.

"Oh, come on," I said wearily. "Don't do this. You're better than this." It didn't take him long to start throwing his weight around.

"You will not disrespect me, and you certainly won't disrespect Jane. Ever again."

"And what do you plan to do about it?" Demetri asked languidly.

"Sister!" Alec exclaimed.

Jane looked up at Alec with fake puzzlement.

"Do something!" he urged.

"I'm not in the mood to waste any more of my time on this. They deserve each other, brother. They're trash."

"You're not in the mood to get killed is more like it," Demetri scoffed.

Jane gave him a hard look.

"Don't you even think about it," I said to her, lowering my voice.

"Do not threaten my sister," Alec spat.

"The fuck are you gonna to do about it?" I spat back. I was trying to keep it together, but I was losing my patience.

"Uncultured filth," Alec sneered.

"Classless," Jane added.

"You know, my sympathy for you is starting to fade quickly," I said to Alec, trying to keep my voice even.

"I don't need your pity."

"I told you, brother. She's no good for you," Jane said. "She's poison."

"This is the last time I will ever ignore you," Alec said, hovering closer to her.

"I only every want the best for you," she replied innocently, grabbing his arm and looking into his eyes. "I would never lead you astray."

"I know," Alec said, his expression softening as he looked down at her.

Jane shot me a furtive look, laced with smug self-satisfaction.

'Congratulations, bitch. You won,' I thought with a grimace.

God, I wanted to slap the taste out of her mouth.

"Maybe if we're lucky, Alice's vision will come true," Alec said to Jane, giving me a malicious smirk.

"I'd rather be killed by Demetri than have to spend an eternity sandwiched in between you two sickos," I snapped, stomping over to them. "Move." I shoved past them to get a better look at whatever was on the other side of the gate. "What the hell is this place?"

From what I could see though the foliage, we were outside a large, eerily still village that sat at the foot of a massive, looming castle.

We were far into the deepest, most untamed corners of the forest that I was genuinely surprised a village was constructed there, much less a castle. The level of seclusion was unparalleled; it was a perfect place for a vampire to stockpile bodies and cultivate a massive coven underneath the nose of the Volturi.

"This village is the where all of the rouge vampires have been coming from," Jane explained, immediately shifting back into business mode. "We've cleansed all of the surrounding villages that they've contaminated with their presence, so now all we have to do is clear out this one and locate the perpetrators in order to press charges."

"To kill them," I said, filling in the blanks.

"Exactly."

"Seems easy enough," I said. From what I could see from the gate, there wasn't much left to handle.

"Easy for you to say. You slept though most of it," Felix joked.

"Sorry," I said flatly.

"What's the plan?" Demetri asked Jane.

"We're going to go in and split up," Jane instructed the group. "From the look and sound of it, there shouldn't be much left for us to do - like Violet said," she allowed.

Jane's subtle acknowledgment help me cool my jets a little. She was right; I had to focus on the task at hand.

"Once we've properly cleared out the village, we'll meet at the castle gates, on the north wall," Jane said. "From there, we will enter the castle and handle the leader, whoever they are, together."

It all sounded straight forward enough. It seemed manageable.

"Violet. Come with me," Jane said as the group seamlessly fell into their usual formation directly in front of the gate entrance.

"Why?" I asked.

"I can't trust you to be alone," she said with a ghost of a smile. "And gentlemen? Don't get yourselves killed."