His Stoic Mask, Her Bleeding Heart

Chapter 9: Screwed

"Wow. You don't look so happy," Bethany remarked with a grimace as I stepped through the front door of Hale's mansion.

"My forehead hurts from making this face for so long," I said darkly, unable to stop glowering even when I looked at her.

She winced again and closed the door behind me. "What happened?"

"Kyrianna kicked me in the balls." I felt my ire rise just a little bit further at the memory, and somehow, my glare managed to darken even more.

I heard her stifle a laugh, but when I turned to her, she was wearing a perfect look of concern. "Why would she do that?"

"Hell if I know," I grumbled, crossing my arms over my chest. "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"

Her concern vanished, leaving behind a much more serious frown. "Are you aware that the new vampire head honcho has purchased Kyrianna's old house?" I nodded once, and she continued, "Do you have any idea why?"

"I have some theories," I said, my scowl finally smoothing, "but I don't know anything for sure."

"Walk with me," she said, and started through a door to the right of the entrance hall. I followed. "Hale thinks he's trying to win you over by buying that house." We entered a dining hall that featured one single table with enough chairs for 14 people, then continued on through a small, dimly lit sitting room. "Probably Elyria and Kyrianna, too, but mostly you." When we finally stopped, we stood in a vast kitchen, shiny steel counter tops everywhere. Everything was spotless, not a speck of dust or a scrap of leftover food in sight.

"How does he plan to win me over by buying a house?" I asked, watching as she opened the refrigerator door and began to rummage around inside.

"It's a house that you put on the market," she said, emerging from the fridge with an entire raw steak in her hands, wrapped in blood-covered plastic. "A house that you want off the market." The door slammed shut with a soft thud, and she plopped the chunk of meat onto the counter with a sickening squishing sound. "There are secrets inside of that house that should be as far from the human population as possible."

"But they're secrets that have already been hidden," I pointed out, having to raise my voice a bit to be heard over the crinkling and tearing of the plastic wrap. "The humans couldn't find out, and even if they did manage it somehow, they wouldn't understand what they've discovered."

"You don't know that for sure," she countered, eyes meeting mine as she tore a large hunk of flesh from the steak and held it in her hands. "You can't know that for sure. And that's what he's banking on."

"Does he really think that's going to work?" I asked as she ripped another chunk from the piece she held in her hand. Her teeth had grown sharper, more wolf-like, and they just looked right when they were covered in the blood oozing from the raw meat. I couldn't tear my eyes from them, though I managed to ask coolly, "Does he really think he can buy me like that?"

She shrugged her petite shoulders, her eyes flicking to mine for only a moment before returning to her food. "Who knows? We aren't even sure that that's the real reason. It's just a guess; an educated guess, but a guess nonetheless."

"Do you...want me to go?" I asked after moment, watching her chomp away at her steak, blood coating her hands.

Her eyes met mine again, her eyebrows raising. "Oh, no," she said around a mouthful of half-chewed flesh. "I'm sorry. I'm being rude. Would you like anything to eat?"

"I...er...No, thank you," I answered, though my eyes did linger on her neck for a moment. "I don't think you've got anything to offer me."

She smiled flirtatiously, and the blood along her lips made it downright sexy. "Are you sure about that?" she asked in a low purr, tilting her head to one side languidly. She ran a finger down her neck, leaving a red smear in its wake, and I licked my lips as I followed it. "You've never tasted Were before, have you?"