Diary of the Unbroken (BOOK #4)

Our Fearless Leader

William

I stared at Val, furthermore lost for words. Every time I opened my mouth, nothing bothered to come out. I didn't want to believe it—not something so impossible. Not this. But at the same time it was the answer I just never wanted to hear.

Then the van stopped. The vampire Val had called Clyde turned to me.

"Showtime," he said, untying me from my seat.

The backdoors of the van, opened revealing a dark street. The sight was all too familiar. Val crawled out of the van first, being escorted by a passenger vampire I recognized but couldn't name.

Gerard came over to greet me with his annoyed expression. "Welcome home."

He yanked me from the van, keeping me cuffed. My knees buckled underneath me. I landed on the ground at Gerard's feet, his scuffed boots in my eyesight.

"What the hell did you do to me?" I grumbled, attempting to stand up.

"We gave you vervain. Didn't need you causing a ruckus on our way here?"

I rolled my eyes. Vervain. It only further reminded me of my time with the Hunters. Funny how similar these Originals were. Finally I found myself on my feet.

"What are we doing here?"

Daniel stepped out of the shadows, his daughter at his side looking as bored as ever. "You know exactly why we're here."

A fire rage set itself through me, starting in my stomach and reaching to my limbs. "What do you want with Ava?" I seethed. "Why is she so important?"

"I only want what everyone else in this world wants but is too scared to admit," Daniel quipped.

I licked my lips. "Is that what this is all about? Power? You think having Ava on your side will give you that? That you could use her and her abilities as a weapon."

Daniel nodded shortly. "Yes, it is about power. Partially, I guess. But no, I was referring to something else. We all need that light. That fire in our lives. Something to make our wretched immortality worth fighting for. Your anger, William. It's what keeps you going. Your heart and passion—that is the reason you fight so hard. Your love."

I gritted my teeth. "This isn't about love. At least for you it isn't."

Daniel's mask grew harder, the face of a man capable of killing. The face of an Original vampire. He turned to Jessamine. "Jess, dear. Will you go with Valerie and Clyde? I need to have a word with the Hunter boy."

Jessamine crossed her arms. "Why can't I hear?"

"Because," he said sternly. "It doesn't concern you. Listen to your father, Jessamine."

She huffed before walking away with Valerie and the vampire from the van earlier leaving me with Daniel, Gerard, and two other lackeys.

Then Daniel turned back to me. "I would appreciate it if you watched your mouth around my daughter," he said.

"She has you as a father," I grumbled. "Isn't that enough?"

"She knows fully well the lengths I go to get what I want. But I teach her determination for a reason. Being what she is, she has to know how to fight. How to defend herself. How to take pride in her work. How to not let anyone else get in the way."