An Inconvenient Truth

The elder of the pack simply looked at me after my declaration. Opening the door to the house and leading me to the same living room that we had used before, he waited until I sat down before picking his own seat.

My men spread out around the room while Nicholas chose to stand behind my shoulder, studying the men around the room. 

"You killed Vlad?" repeated the Alpha, letting the older man collect his thoughts.

"I did," I answered with a nod.

"May I ask how you managed that?" asked the Alpha, his eyebrow raised in skepticism. 

"There are some things that you don't get to know," interjected the elder before I could even open my mouth. I was grateful to the elder as I had no idea how to answer that question.

The Alpha narrowed his eyes at the elder, clearly not impressed with his answer, but whatever he saw on the face of the other man caused him to close his mouth with a snap.

"And what are you looking for from us?" asked the old man, an oddly formal note to his voice. I straightened, not sure why the formalness had hurt me like it had. Maybe because I had felt such a... kinship with the elder.

Nicholas placed his hand on my shoulder briefly, and I could see Mathew and Dem stiffen from the corner of my eyes. I shook my head, letting them know that I was fine. 

I was a big girl; I could handle getting my feelings hurt once in a while.

"Vlad's actions have caused a taint," I said, trying to find the words to describe what I had felt on the vampire's thread. "But I don't want to kill every vampire simply for being a vampire. I was wondering if there was a vampire from the local House that you would find acceptable to take over as head."

"You are talking like it is easy to get rid of the tainted vampires," sneered the Alpha, clearly uncomfortable with my words. "No one can take on such a huge House and expect to live. I don't care who you have backing you up."

The elder held up his hand, but it was too little too late. I smiled tightly, my heart breaking just a little bit more. Maybe this was a mistake; maybe I should have just done what I needed to do and moved on.

Now, the joy of my first visit here has been marred by my second.

"What she can or cannot do is none of your concern, pup," said Nicholas, adjusting the cuffs of his black dress shirt. "She came here to give this House a chance to pick a vampire that you could work with in order for there to be less strife between the two Houses. But if you don't appreciate her thoughtfulness, then we will be leaving."

"Forgive him," said the elder, looking between me and Nicholas. It was almost like he was trying to find out just how tight of a hold I had on the man at my back.

Joke's on him. I didn't have a hold at all. 

I smiled tightly. "There is nothing to forgive. Clearly, you want the same answer, or else you would have stopped him from asking it."

I closed my eyes, taking in a deep breath. "This city has 10,832 wolves, including the five that are standing right behind the door," I said and waited as Greyson quickly flung open the doors to the living room, and everyone saw the five men standing at attention just outside. 

"A little over 100 of those wolves have some type of relationship with the city's vampires, but what that relationship is, and who those wolves are, I won't be telling you. I will let you know that you do have a few bad apples in your pack. But once again, good luck finding out just who the tainted ones are."

Both the elder and the Alpha stiffened at my words, but at this moment, I didn't give a fuck.

"Should I keep going?" I asked, raising my own eyebrow to look at the two wolves sitting across the coffee table from me. 

The Alpha opened his mouth, but this time, the elder was wise enough to stop him before he dug an even bigger grave.

"Thank you," said the elder, bowing his head. I could see his hand tightening on the armrest of the couch, but he didn't do anything more. 

"It's an inconvenient truth," I said with a shrug. "You can recognize a person's face, but most will never know their hearts."

"But you can," said the Alpha, his face turning pale.

"I can," I assured him, the smile on my face never leaving. 

I rose to my feet, ignoring the protest of the two wolves inside the room. I had wanted to help create a bridge between the vampire and the werewolf Houses, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen. 

Turning around, I walked toward the door, only to be stopped by the five wolves before I could cross the threshold. 

"Betas?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Nicholas and Mathew let out a low growl, not happy that I had been stopped. Lifting my hand, the two quickly stopped. 

"They are just doing their jobs," I said, understanding that it sucked to be the grunt sometimes. None of them were tainted, the purity of their threads shining brightly on the webs. 

The fact that I could so easily see the threads now was more than a little stressful, but I would deal with that when I was out of the lion's den...

Well, wolf's den.

"There is one vampire that I wouldn't mind working with," said the Alpha. I saw the exact moment when he realized that he and the elder were vastly outnumbered. 

"That's nice," I replied with a shrug. "You had your chance. I am not in the habit of giving more than one."

"Please," sighed the elder, getting up from his seat and walking over to me. "Forgive us. We are so busy trying to wrap our brains over the fact that the boogeyman is dead that we were being rude."

"I can handle rude," I said, the smile slipping. "I am quite used to rude. What I do not like is the formal tone from someone I had considered a friend."