Page 32 of Bonded By Blood
Trista propped an elbow on the armrest of her pseudo-modern throne. “What threat? That Wilson boy ran away, didn’t he? He didn’t come at me. He didn’t have the balls.” She paused for barely a moment. “Or are you referring to whomever betrayed us? Because that fool is no threat, not to me.” Her dark eyes narrowed and, though she wasn’t looking at him, a chill shot down Joe’s spine. “I’m the threat in this house right now. I’m just waiting on the proper target to begin venting my frustrations.”
Her words hung in the air.
Joe was pretty sure he heard the other man gulp as he sat back in his chair.
Trista took a breath and the promise of pain faded from her face. Her dark stare snapped to Joe’s and she asked, “So, what’s so fascinating about those puppies you like so much?”
It took all of his strength of will not to respond with huh? Still, it was his turn to swallow a flicker of nerves. And irritation. Those so-called puppies were his friends. “I guess that depends what you want to know,” he finally replied.
Trista arched a single brow high on her forehead.
Not seeing any signs from Brianna that he should abort mission, Joe continued. “Adam and his pack are my friends.” It was probably best, for better or worse, to make that clear. He may have changed species, but his feelings were the same. “I consider myself lucky.” He offered a small, not-as-nonchalant-as-he-wanted-it-to-be shrug. “Since I was little, I’ve been kind of obsessed with the supernatural side of the world. I wanted to learn about everything.”
“Yes, Brianna’s mentioned your weird fascination,” Trista said.
Brianna sighed. “Mother. You started the conversation, you don’t have to be rude.”
Trista angled enough to glance at her daughter. “I’m not being rude. This is how I converse.” She looked forward again. “Why them? Why Jefferies Junior, why here?”
Brianna’s shoulders tightened, as if she planned to interrupt again.
Joe spoke first. “I didn’t go seeking Adam out.” He would not be referring to his closest friend as Jefferies Junior. Ever. “We met by accident, or happenstance, if you prefer. But the ‘here’ is partly my fault. I had some old family property nestled in the mountains and when I heard he was looking for a place out of his father’s influence to den down and make his own, I offered it up.” Which had spawned a rather interesting conversation about the wisdom of even considering moving to California, but, well, obviously Adam had made his choice. A choice Joe knew the young Alpha didn’t regret.
“Hmm.” Trista re-crossed her legs and sat back in her chair. “So what you’re saying is, the wolves in my backyard are, essentially, your fault?”
Well. When she phrased it like that, there was only one answer. “I guess you could look at it that way, yeah.”
Trista stared at him.
Suddenly Joe felt like a boy in school being reprimanded by a teacher. He fought not to squirm. It wasn’t as if he’d done anything wrong. He took a breath and managed to turn his lips up, if only slightly. “I hear you’re making the best out of it, though. The witches finally lost their footing in the outlying communities, and I hardly hear about rogues sneaking in from the North anymore.”
A slow, predatory smirk lifted the corners of Trista’s lips. “That’s very true. You’re a strange human, aren’t you, Joseph?”
A knot twisted in his stomach. “Heh. I was.”
“Yes,” Trista said, leaning back in her chair. “Precisely. But you’re one of my people now, Joseph.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’ll be clear. My daughter is fond of you—”
“Mother!”
Trista ignored her. “And you’ve transitioned with a surprisingly level head, considering your Turn. I have no inclination to ostracize you at this point, but given your associations—”
The double-door entrance to the room swung open, interrupting her, and Joe found himself grateful. No matter how temporary a delay it proved to be, he wasn’t ready to have the “us-versus-them” conversation he’d been dreading since he’d first been conscious enough to realize the bad position his Turn had landed him in.
He twisted around on the sofa enough to watch as Trista, and Brianna, straightened to face the newcomers. The doors were already being pulled closed behind them again, by whoever was apparently standing guard outside. The newcomers were vampires, one male and one female. The female Joe didn’t recognize in the slightest, but he’d seen the male before. This was Seth. He’d met Seth alongside Jasen, two years prior.
“We came as fast as we could,” Seth said as he and the blonde woman came to a stop facing Trista and Brianna. They stood almost parallel with the sofa. “I heard about Troy on the road. Is there an update?”
“You’ll have to check with Jasen,” Trista said. “I imagine he intends to leave me as out of the hunt as possible. Per usual.”
A couple of seconds passed. “He wants to keep you safe,” Seth said.
Trista’s mouth twitched as if she were fighting a sneer. “Now that you’re finally home, make yourself useful. We have some guards in custody for interrogation.”
“Guards?” the female repeated, speaking up for the first time. When she shifted her weight, Joe’s gaze caught on the reflection of light off a diamond ring on her left hand. “Troy didn’t kill them in his escape?”
“The guards who were on duty are dead,” Trista said, barely glancing at the woman. “But the escape was shortly after the shift change, so I want you to talk to the guards who were on duty previously. As well as anyone else close to the guards who failed to do their job.” Her eyes slid sideways, toward Brianna, for a heartbeat. “Check in on Garvin, too. If he’s conscious, start with him.”
“Garvin?” Seth asked.
“Mother, Garvin was a victim.” Brianna narrowed her eyes stubbornly. “Please don’t treat him like the enemy just because he had the audacity to be wounded.”
Trista rolled her wrist, twisting her hand in a lazy wave of dismissal. “I’m aware he was a victim. We still need to know what he knows. It’s likely he was the last who saw our prisoner. He may have been a victim of circumstance, or perhaps because he got a glimpse of the traitor. I need to know.”
So she wasn’t just automatically blaming the man. Or she was being deliberately misleading. Either way, though Brianna’s expression made it obvious she was less than thrilled, Joe found he didn’t disagree with the words Trista had spoken. On the surface, at least. They needed information, and Garvin seemed to have the most to offer.
Seth inclined his head. “I’ll get started.”