Boris and the Vampire (Legends of Pinewood 2)

When You Help A Vampire

Nothing would come from talking to Etienne yet again, and I knew it. At this point I was only buying time for no reason. The kind of impractical nonsense I would laugh and shake my head at others for.

Then again, what kind of advice could I give myself? I'd always liked to tell others, like my nephew, to trust their instincts and follow them.

But in Aquila's case, it was a good choice to pursue Xavier, despite him being human, and ask him as his mate. In my case, it was an awful idea to follow my instincts, and that was confusing and unnatural.

Regardless, I had until tonight. It would all end once the vampires came to Pinewood and whisked Etienne away one way or another.

I arrived home and headed inside with a heavy heart. The drapes were all shut. I'd left them that way for Etienne so he could head downstairs without issues in my absence.

I figured he was probably awake by now, but for some reason I didn't expect to find the vampire standing in the middle of the living room waiting for me.

"Boris," Etienne greeted me with a smile, though his red eyes didn't sparkle like they usually did when he smiled. "I trust you had a good meeting?"

I marched into the living room and didn't reply until I was standing in front of Etienne. "Nathan says that he didn't attack you," I said.

Etienne didn't seem surprised by what I said. He simply nodded. "And who do you believe, Boris?"

I sighed deeply. We had to be a pack. Be one front. Ivana was right about that. And besides, I honestly didn't believe Nathan was lying when he said he was innocent. Simply because he wasn't good enough a liar.

"I believe Nathan," I replied.

Again, Etienne didn't seem fazed by my answer. He chuckled. "Loyal to your pack, huh? Good boy."

I growled. "Etienne, why did you lie to me about who hurt you? I can't help you if you're not honest."

"You can't help me at all, wolf."

Etienne averted his gaze as he walked towards me. He tried to step past me, but I didn't let him. In an impulse, I grabbed his arm. I didn't grip him tightly and he could've pulled his arm free if he'd wanted to, but he didn't. He stopped, eyes trained on the floor.

"Boris, let go." Etienne's voice was calm, but expression was strangely unreadable, while was usually an open book.

"No," I said. "Tell me why you lied to me about Nathan."

Etienne stayed quiet.

I tightened my grip slightly. "Etienne, we're on the brink of a war here. This is bad for everyone involved, werewolf and vampire. Why would you do this?"

Etienne closed his eyes for a moment, then he finally looked up at me and sneered. "I'm going to tell the other vampires Nathan did it, Boris. And there's nothing you can say or do to change my mind."

I let go of Etienne's arm. "Damn it, Etienne. Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to start a war in Pinewood? Is that what you wanted all along?"

"It's not because I want to do this, okay? I do this because I have no choice." Etienne looked away from me, defeated.

I glared at him. "Bullshit. You always have a choice."

Etienne rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure I do. I'm sure you would take care of me if the others exile me from my castle, and you'll let me stay in Pinewood among the humans. Then the werewolves will magically accept my presence here too, and everyone will clap. Is that the plan?"

"I would help you!"

The words tumbled out of my mouth, surprising me as much as Etienne. He stared at me, slack-jawed.

And if I was completely honest, this was the first entirely honest thing I'd told him. I was constantly asking Etienne to spill his secrets, but I hadn't been speaking my mind with him either.

How stupid. I kept telling people to do the exact thing I didn't do; just be honest. Even if it was probably pointless in my case.

"I can't promise the werewolves would accept your presence quickly, but..." I hesitated. "I would help you if I could."

Etienne stayed quiet. He just continued staring at me with an unreadable expression. I relied on him showing his emotions in his expression since I couldn't smell him well, nor hear his heartbeat. I couldn't tell what he was thinking now.

I sighed, shook my head, and muttered, "Never mind."

I wanted to step past Etienne, but this time it was him who stopped me by grabbing my hand. His skin was cool to the touch as his fingers curled around my fingers, and he didn't explain himself when I raised a brow in question. He just looked at me in a desperate way that I'd seen several times before now, but couldn't explain.

I met his gaze, searching for answers in his eyes.

Etienne opened his mouth, changed his mind, and closed it. His Adam's apple bobbed. "Boris, I—"

I waited for Etienne to recollect himself, but the rest of his sentence never came. No matter how much he seemed to want to speak. Instead, he did something that spoke louder to a werewolf than any words ever could.

He let go of my hand, only to reach out and tenderly placed his hand on my cheek. I couldn't stop myself from leaning into his touch.

"Look," Etienne tried again. "I know this is..." He trailed off, averting his gaze for a moment. "I just feel like this may truly be the last chance we have." 

"Yes," I replied.

Neither of us stepped away. Etienne gently brushed my jawline with his thumb.

We were on the brink of losing all diplomatic contact with the vampires at best. At worst, we'd land ourselves in a conflict that would destabilise the accords. A conflict Etienne would help cause if he testified Nathan had attacked him.

I should be furious.

I was furious, but I also wanted to forget about all the impending danger and misery, even if only for a moment. And maybe Etienne was lying about a lot of things, including Nathan, but that didn't seem to matter to my treacherous impulses.

Placing my hand on Etienne's, I brought his wrist down to my lips and gently scraped the skin with my teeth.

Etienne smirked. "I thought I was the biter out of us," he said. "Then again, I've read about this behaviour in werewolves. You caught my scent and decided you like it, didn't you?"

I bared my teeth and growled, and before I could stop myself, I had wrapped my arms around Etienne and lifted him. Etienne let out a surprised yelp. Then our eyes met, and he relaxed in my arms, lips parted.

"And what if I do like your scent, vampire?" I asked. "What then?"

Etienne's red eyes sparkled. "Then I expect you to be like the rest of your kind: rash and completely unthinking when it comes to your instincts."

I didn't need more encouragement. Or rather, I couldn't take more. My fingers sank into Etienne's soft, tousled hair, and I pulled him down into a hungry kiss.

The moment our lips touched, I was lost. Something much stronger than my will or even my anger took over as Etienne's scent filled my nose as he eagerly reciprocated my kiss. I shivered as Etienne's slipped a cool hand beneath my shirt, and once glance at his half-lidded eyes and the flush on his pale cheeks and I knew we definitely wouldn't stop here.

Was this smart? Absolutely not. We were already in a world of trouble when night fell, and I had a feeling we were about to have a lot more problems as Etienne started tugging at the buttons of my shirt, as I carried him into the hallway and up the stairs.