Chapter 93

"Circul Vampirilor Sangerosi?" I repeated, testing out the words on my tongue. "Doesn't that mean the Circus of Blood Vampires?"

"Very good!" shouted Vlad as he started clapping his hands in delight. "You are so smart. Then again, you always were smart. Weren't you?" he asked, his voice dropping lower and lower until it seemed almost like a threat.

"Why pick that name?" I asked, ignoring his tone. I almost felt like I was having a conversation with the Joker. And if that was the case, I really felt bad for Batman.

"Well," started Vlad as he brought his hand up and started to tap his chin with his index finger. "I wanted something that would set us apart from all the human wannabes. You know what I mean? It seems like anyone can walk into a dentist's office, get their teeth sharpened, and all of a sudden they call themselves vampires. That is not what we are!" he said, slamming his fist into his other hand.

Neither Lucas nor Viktor seemed off-put by his actions, but every nerve and instinct that I had was screaming for me to run, to get away from this… monster.

"So, Blood Vampires," I said completely composed. I would treat this as an interrogation and get as much information as I could, no matter how uncomfortable I was feeling.

"Of course, because that is what we are." He started laughing. "We are vampires because of our blood and because of blood, we are vampires. It all makes sense. So, are you in?" he asked as he stared at me.

"Sorry," I said scrunching my nose, "I don't do well with clowns," I continued as if that was the reason why I turned him down.

"Even if Viktor was the clown?" he asked completely serious as he tilted his head.

"Even if Viktor was the clown," I confirmed with a shudder.

"Did you hear that, Hunter?" called Vlad as if Viktor wasn't sitting right beside me. "If you want to keep your lady, you can't be a clown. Are you a clown?"

Viktor simply smiled at Vlad and took a sip of his brandy. "No one has ever accused me of being a clown before," he said in his monotone way, his face giving nothing away.

But now creepy circus music was going through my head complete with creepy clown laughter, piano music, and squeaking floorboards.

I must have stood up a bit too fast because all of the men looked at me. "Washroom," I said with a tight smile. Lucas nodded in the direction of the door. "Someone will take you," he said as he studied me for a second. "You really can't do clowns, can you?"

"Nope," I said with a shake of my head. "Not in the least."

He nodded his head and I bolted out of the room.

Truth be told, I really, REALLY, hated clowns, but that wasn't why I was pretending to freak out. I wanted to see what was going on in Vlad's head because that was not the same man that I knew even a few months ago. I found the best way with dealing with someone that considered themselves to be a predator and you the prey was to give them a weakness.

I knew Lucas and Viktor would not use clowns and circuses against me, and the only other person that knew about it was Vlad. In other words, if clowns started to haunt me, it was Vlad's fault.

"I can show you where you need to go," said the older Omega that had given me the best lasagna that I ever had as she appeared out of nowhere. I nodded with a smile and let her lead me deep into the house.

I passed several werewolves before I saw Mathew, my old partner. Swerving away from the Omega, I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him in a big hug. I knew that he must be hurting and I also knew that wolves were touchy-feely and needed to have physical contact.

He wrapped me around my waist and pulled me in closer, almost folding himself in half because I was so short. He buried his face into my hair and just breathed me in. After a few minutes, he lifted his head just enough to be able to talk.

"You know you smell like the Hunter, right?" he asked before he buried his face back into the base of my neck.

"So I've been told," I said with a chuckle.

"Are you with him?" Mathew asked as he tightened his arms around me even more.

"Honestly? I have no idea. But he does make a really good teddy bear at night," I said with a smile. And it was the truth. I had no idea what we were, but at the same time, I couldn't deny that we were something. It was like I wanted to pass Viktor a note that said: 'Will you be my boyfriend, circle yes or no'. But since I couldn't, I had to pretend to be enough of an adult to know what I was doing.

Newsflash: I had no clue.

"You know, wolves make better teddy bears," chuckled Mathew as I smacked him upside the head. "What? We are both furry!" he joked and I could feel a bit of the sadness leaving him.

"I'll keep that in mind," I joked as he slowly pulled himself away. "You going to be okay?" I asked seriously. I searched his face, but all I could see were the eyes of a mourning family member.

"I will be," he said with a sigh. "Just got to get through this part first."

I hummed in agreement. "You know, you can still call or stop on by. We might not be partners, but we can be friends."

He nodded and smiled. "I could always ask my Alpha if I could become part of the Gypsy House."

I smacked him in the arm with a chuckle. "I thought that type of stuff was only for when you find your mate. And only if they are in a different House."

"It is, but I could probably convince him," he joked. "But I have to go. We are heading out for a run right now. Put the dead to rest and all that."

I gave him one last hug before he turned around and strolled out of the room followed by the other werewolves around us. I was the last to leave, wanting to see this and also offer my own condolences. I had heard about the pack bond, but this was the first time I had seen it.