• 𝓚𝓲𝓽𝓮 •

I tilted my head, listening as Luca and Noah went back and forth on something regarding Mae. It had come as no surprise to me when Noah told me that she wanted to kill Zero. What was a surprise was the fact that he killed the kids she was the guardian of.

Someone had lied to me. They told me the kids died, but they didn't tell me why or how.

I didn't like secrets.

Zero was supposed to leave her, and her kids, alone. I made it clear that if he didn't listen to me, there'd be consequences. Someone was backing Zero up, which meant they turned their backs on me.

Not okay. Honestly, it pissed me off royally. But I'd get to the bottom of it, in time. And hell, if Mae killed Zero, that'd be less blood on my hands. Not that I gave a shit. Just Zero's dad was friends with my dad, which meant me killing him would make things complicated.

Maybe I'd help Mae. Show her how to kill him. Maybe. I didn't want her to use what I showed her against me. She hated me enough as it was. I didn't want to show her how she could kill me and risk it.

My ears pricked up at something that was said.

"Rewind," I said. "What?"

"She was screaming in her sleep last night," Luca repeated. "Something about Zero."

Noah eyed me.

I wondered how much I should tell them. I hadn't expected either of them to become my friends, yet they were the closest thing to it that most of the time I couldn't help but believe it.

"How much do you know about Mae, really?" I watched Noah.

His eyebrows scrunched together. To him, she was his closest friend aside from Luca. Was. It seemed she didn't much care for him anymore. Though knowing him, he'd somehow worm his way back into her heart. He had an odd way of doing that.

Her and vampires didn't mix. I understood that. I didn't like it, but I understood. Hell, half the time me and vampires didn't mix and I was one.

When Noah didn't answer, I sighed. "Her and Zero used to be friends."

Noah's eyes widened like I just walked up to him and punched him in the gut for absolutely no reason. Luca, however, only shrugged like it made sense.

I let it sink in for a moment before continuing. "Zero's obsessed with Mae. She lost her virginity to some dude, and he went into a jealous rage and killed him in front of her. Now he continues to do what he can to torment her for it like he's some sort of karma god. Surprised she didn't tell you this."

To be honest, I only found out because I had eyes everywhere.

So how the hell did I not know Zero killed the kids? That shit bothered me.

I once again pushed that thought to the side. I'd figure it out in due time. For now, I was too busy dropping truth bombs. At least, they seemed like bombs because the more I spoke, the more hurt Noah looked.

Guess that's what I got for wanting to be honest.

"Obsessed?" Luca sat down on one of the leather chairs in the middle of the room. He kicked his feet up on the glass table and I frowned, but didn't comment. "Like how you're obsessed with her, you mean?"

I wasn't obsessed with Mae.

"I'm not obsessed with her," I said, coming to my own defense because those two wouldn't.

Noah puffed out something akin to a laugh.

"How else would you know practically everything about her," Luca asked. He wasn't judging me, just stating what he thought was fact. "Things not even Noah knows. Do you keep tabs on everyone in the city like you do her?"

No, I didn't. I could say that it was because she gave me her blood on a regular basis, but that wasn't it. I genuinely liked her, even if it was difficult for me to show that at times. My go-to with her was asshole and I wasn't sure how to stop that. It might have been easier if she wasn't so hard headed and stopped treating me like a leech.

I blew out a breath.

"She's never going to like you if you keep acting the way you do." Noah shrugged.

I could have said something about the fact that she didn't particularly care for him either, but I didn't. It would have been said out of spite because he was right. I knew she didn't like me. She never did. She met me after Zero killed that guy, so the little bit of trust she had in vampires was completely and utterly squashed.

Plus, Noah had a better chance in befriending her again than I did. Heck, even Luca had a better chance.

So instead of responding, I remained silent. If only I could do that with her.

I don't know what it was. With most humans, I certainly wasn't kind. And I knew I should treat Mae differently, but my brain and mouth had a disconnect somewhere and I just spouted things out before I could think through it. Apologizing would only make her more cautious.

Damned if I do, damned if I don't. Especially after this long.

"Did she go back to sleep," I asked.

"Don't know." Luca leaned back. "She kicked me out."

Of course she did. Who just waltzed right into someone's room?

Wait.

I eyed the two of them.

They both had in a matter of hours. I at least needed some points for not doing that, didn't I? Unless she liked it, but by the way they acted when they spoke about it, it definitely didn't seem like she did.

"I'm surprised you don't have some sort of camera in her room," Luca teased.

I wasn't a creep, for fuck's sake. I also wasn't a tyrant. She was allowed her personal space, and her private time. I didn't want her to hate it at the castle. It would take time for her to grow accustomed to it, but I hoped one day she'd wake up and actually be happy she was here.

Yeah, right. Who was I trying to fool? Unless things changed, she'd hate it here for the rest of her life.

Or at least until Zero was out of the picture.

I turned to my laptop and typed out a message.

First thing's first - I needed to figure out what the hell was going on in the city and why I wasn't being informed of things in a timely manner.