But, I love you more (Vampire Series - Book 3)

Prologue

February 2, 2020

Vic woke up to the sound of a door being slammed open.

"Rise and shine, hunter," it was a man's voice. "We need you alive while we find out what you know. Luckily, the coven's human lie detectors are up, so they'll interrogate you after you eat," Vic blinked up at him blearily, adjusting to the light.

"Question: is it a requirement or a side effect of being a vampire that you're all off-the-chain hot?" She asked. He didn't seem amused, instead coming over and holding a protein bar to her mouth. She sniffed it but couldn't smell anything past the smell of vampire: blood and grave dirt. She took a bite, wincing. "That's cardboard," she said, disgusted.

"Then eat the cardboard," he responded with a shrug. "You need to eat to take your pills," Vic took another bite, swallowing it down. Once she was finished, Stefan dropped the tablet on her tongue and gave her some water. Dillion, Alex, Devin, and Tara came in, all of them looking worse for wear.

"Hey," she said quietly, clearing her throat. "How's Persephone?" The coven exchanged some looks.

"They're still in a mini coma. They're responsive but not conscious yet," Dillion said. "Stefan wasn't super thrilled about finding they'd attempted to heal themselves."

"They're very..."

"Reckless by way of the idiotic," Dillion said with a frown.

"I was going to say tenacious," Vic sighed. "Interrogation part two?"

"Not quite-" Dillion and Devin exchanged another look. "We don't know why they were there in the first place. What led to your clan turning on you?"

"I was supposed to tap Matt's phone so they could listen in on his calls to you guys. We hacked his phone records, and he and Kit talked a lot. Like, all the time. But I intentionally fucked up and spooked Matt so he'd be able to stop them. I thought I covered it up, next thing I knew, I was being dragged out back and beaten. They were just gonna kill me, but Emily stopped them by saying they should use me to get to Persephone. That's when they tossed me in the cell."

"Now we just need to wait for them to wake up. Last time, they were out for three weeks," Dillion said.

"It's a ferrofluid. " Vic looked up at Stefan, who gave her a strange look. "Regular iron isn't as reliable. It's supposed to be there so witches have a natural immunity. The iron we use is a ferrofluid. Use a magnet and make a small incision. It'll hurt, but you can get it out."

"Why did you say anything?" Alex stepped forward. "We let you hang out- you brought us coffee! You marked Dillion."

"I did," Vic admitted. "And I'm sorry. I just- I didn't want to lose them over what I was. I was trying to figure out how to get us away from my family. I'm sorry, Dillion."

"Bitch," Dillion responded. Vic shrugged. That was fair.

"We have to go back and help Eloisa with protecting the house," Alex said, touching Dillion's arm. "We'll come get you when Persephone is awake."

"Thanks," Vic said softly.

She watched them as they all stepped out, and the older witch stepped in. Vic took her in. She was around 5'10" with thick, curly black hair and tan skin. She was wearing a black cardigan that came down to her calves, the sleeves rolled up, with a gray tank top and black jeans tucked into her boots. She tapped her chipped, black nails against her arm.

"You're a problem," she said, sounding curious. Vic gave her an exasperated look.

"Thanks."

"Nobody trusts you except for Persephone. Everyone wants you on a leash. Tell me about your sister."

"What?"

"Emily," Eloisa snapped her fingers. "Blonde, green-eyed, short, but stands like she's the biggest thing on the battlefield."

"Why do you want to know? What does this have to do with anything?" Vic asked, baffled.

"I'm offering you an out, Vic. A guarantee that everyone will trust you and a way to start making up for the shit you did as a hunter," The woman said quietly.

"And what would that be?" Vic asked cautiously.

"Swear a blood oath to me," she replied. "I choose the terms."

"Why the fuck would I do that?" Vic scoffed incredulously. "No. No way."

"Two reasons. One, because I can remove that nasty little blood curse, and two, because you've got a little secret you don't want coming out and I will expose it faster than you can say 'iron'."

Fuck.

"Yeah, I thought so. So unless you want anyone else to find out and it wasn't from you-" she clicked her tongue "-you'll do the blood oath."

"Okay," Vic sighed. Eloisa stood up, turning to leave.

"I'll come get you later tonight when everything's ready," she said.

"Can I at least know your name?" Vic asked. "If I'm gonna be swearing a blood oath to you, I'd like to know who I'm swearing it to," the woman gave her a small smile, face warm but eyes calculating.

"The name's Eloisa Alvarez, little hunter. I'll see you tonight." She closed the door behind her, and Vic felt a flash of fear, wary of what was about to come her way. She really hoped she didn't regret this.

Vic was left alone until they came to get her, leading her outside in chains, where Eloisa was waiting in the middle of a casting circle. This many magical creatures in one place had her hair standing on end, fists clenching uselessly in front of her. Eloisa reached out and dragged her into the circle, wasting no time in pulling out a knife.

"Cut your palm. It has to be voluntary," she said, face neutral. Vic took it, hand shaking slightly, before dragging it across her palm. The star lit up, and Vic's danger senses went off. "Repeat after me: I, state your name."

"I, Victoria Hayes-Svelbard, swear that I will cut all allegiances to the monster hunters and devote myself to protecting magical creatures. I will not harm any magical creatures again, and I will do whatever I can to keep them alive, even at the risk of myself," Vic repeated as firmly as she could.

"Last part: I swear that I will never lie again and accept that if I do, this mark will sear me with pain," Eloisa said firmly. Eloisa didn't look away from Vic, staring into her with an angry gaze. Vic stared right back.

"I swear I will never lie again and accept the searing pain as a consequence." Eloisa cut her own hand, pressing them together.

"Blood flows and blood binds. Your word is mine," Eloisa stated firmly. Vic felt a tingling sensation that turned into a burn strong enough to bring her to her knees, a scream tearing out as their blood mingled and seared markings into her skin to bind it. Her vision went white around the edges, and Vic dropped to the ground.

"Fuck," she groaned weakly. She looked down at her palm, a blackened series of sigils covering her palm, wrist, and the back of her hand.

"Let's put her back in the cell. She needs rest," the tall vampire woman said. Vic was pretty sure that was Daniella. Vic felt two sets of hands hoist her up and drag her back, setting her on the bed relatively gently.

"Get some rest," Tara said softly. The light was turned off, and the door closed, and Vic fell into a dreamless slumber.