Truce and Lies

Chapter 12: Stefa's Side

{This will be the one (and probably only) section from Stefa. But I wanted to peek behind the curtain and see what she has been thinking during this time.} 

I glanced up at Conor as he stood stoically behind me. There was a little anger in his brown eyes that had me worried, but I didn't think anyone could tell what my werewolf lover was thinking. To me, it was so impossible to think of him as human, I found this whole ruse to be an embarrassing display. Having seen his wolf form, his angular features and strong jawline were clearly lupine, not that anyone in this room saw him as anything other than a weak human. They were ridiculous to judge so on appearances.

"Special to me or special to the hunters?" I inquired with a laugh. "The hunters because he got away. They've only had two escapees, Conor and I."

"Why did they have a human in the first place?" Juan scoffed.

I started preparing the lies I could tell that would be enough truth so as not to raise suspicion. We may not have heartbeats, but I knew that the other vampires could smell fear or anger. One false statement could unravel everything I had worked towards.

"Conor's immune to vampirism," I explained to the room. "The hunters wanted to know why. They wanted to be able to use it to inoculate themselves."

Helen's eyebrows shot up with surprise. Juan and Jeremiah seemed skeptical. Reece shook her head, but of course, now eyes were on Conor. Jackson didn't seem surprised, but he and Conor had almost certainly had some sort of interaction that Conor assured me I would upset about. So either Conor had accidentally shifted and been caught, or they had slept together; I wasn't sure. I couldn't imagine Conor sleeping with my former boyfriend, mostly because in no world was I willing to share Conor with anyone else. He was mine, special or not.

"And Peter just let you walk out of his office with Conor?" Scott asked incredulously. "I don't think so, Stefa."

"I knew where his son was," I replied coolly. "Information he wanted badly."

Less true than my previous statements. I did know where Grant was and Peter did want to know, but honestly, I had been a little surprised that we were able to waltz out of that office with no more trouble than a haircut would have been. Peter didn't seem to know what to make of me, but I had noticed that I had been quietly removed from the most wanted lists. I was still wanted to be sure, but no more than the other people in the room. They all seemed to think that I was the most dangerous and the most wanted. Honestly, Peter probably wanted Conor more than he wanted me.

"You said that you didn't know where Grant was," Helen accused.

"I don't. I know where he was, but I imagine that Peter has since then picked up his golden child and whisked him away to a facility somewhere. Peter and I aren't like, texting buddies."

I knew I shouldn't have said it the moment the words crossed my lips. Being around Jackson wasn't any good for my ability to compose myself. I wanted these backward vampires to understand that the hunters weren't a battle we could win. Jackson, for as irritating as he could be in other things, had understood that. The two of us were younger than the others, even as old as we were, and we had fought for years to be treated as equals. Since being ousted, I was right back where I started.

"My god, Stefa, can you not even pretend to be respectful?" Juan questioned with an imperious tone to his voice. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The only reason he could say such things to me was because he had the council on his side. On his own, I'd tear him in half and have no remorse.

"This doesn't explain Conor," Jeremiah mused, interrupting Juan's rant. "Stefa, if you'll forgive our curiosity, I think we're all surprised that you care about any one human so much. You check on Conor more than you threaten Jackson, and you've threatened Jackson quite a bit."