Page 71 of Don't Bite the Director
The disgust on Donna’s face pained him, but he didn't let it show. He never enjoyed embracing the stereotype of the evil vampire, and seeing in her eyes how effortlessly he had pulled it off stung a little.
“You would destroy an innocent person?” she breathed out.
The cell bars groaned, and they started to bend under his grip. “I would burn this country to the ground and use the ashes to fertilize my front lawn if it got me what I wanted. And right now I want revenge for my mate. So, let’s start easy. Why?”
Donna shrugged.
The fucking human justshrugged. As if his mate’s death meant less than that of a housefly.
“When I was in town shopping,” she began, “I was approached by a young girl who asked me how I really felt about my employers. I’m not sure why I told her the truth, but I did. I told her that you’re all monsters. That I’ve spent decades at your beck and call, watching you live the high life, young and beautiful forever. You get whatever you want, but you know what I get? I get old. I get arthritis. I get my dreams ripped from my grasp. And any one of you could have changed it. Could have changed me. You hoard your power and watch us pathetic humans wither and die while you drink martinis and flit around the world to any exotic place you desire. You don’t deserve the gift you’ve been given. So yes, I told her how I felt, and she offered to help me get even. All I had to do was distract security for thirty seconds while she scaled the outer wall, and she would take care of the rest.”
A muscle feathered in Saiden’s jaw. It was nothing he hadn’t heard before. Humans begging to be turned so theydidn’t have to age and die. He was just surprised that they never suspected Donna of harboring those wishes.
“Did you know?” he asked, death riding shotgun alongside his question.
“Know what?”
“Did you know what Bianca was going to do?” His hold on the bars tightened, each of his fingers leaving elongated grooves in the metal.
“She said she wanted to get revenge for the death of her children. Beyond that…” Donna shrugged once more, and Saiden wanted to tear her arms from her body so he never had to see that casual lifting of her shoulders ever again.
“She murdered a human! She murdered my mate!” Rage exploded from him like a thunderstorm, rocking the tiny cell. “For all your scheming, the only person to die last night was a human. One of your kind!”
“But she wasn’t going to stay that way, was she?” Donna shot back. “I heard Tressa and Raven talking. You were going to turn her. You brought her into this house and waved her under my nose. The human who would get what I always wanted. Sorry if I don’t mourn for the collateral damage needed to destroy you.”
The more Donna spoke, the less he recognized her. Deep-set bitterness twisted the wrinkles of her face into something grotesque and vicious. How long had it eaten away at her? That resentment. Writhing and boiling, getting worse the longer she had to keep it hidden.
Everyone showed their true face in the end, though, and there was nothing left to be saved in Donna.
“Last question. And believe me when I say that if you lie, I will hunt and drain every single living relative that you have all the way down to Jerry Fitzsimmons, your third cousin twice removed.”
Donna gulped, and that tiny movement was all he needed to see.She believed him.
“So ask,” she replied weakly, all traces of defiance gone.
Saiden grinned. They were in the endgame now. He would have his revenge if it was the last thing he did. And it likely would be.
“Tell me where to find Bianca Holmgren.”
Chapter forty-two
Cora
They’re actually kind of cute,Cora thought, staring at her new baby fangs in the mirror. In and out they slipped like tiny mouth daggers. She barely even felt the pinch when they emerged.
She scanned her face, noting the zit on her chin was gone, and the space on her forehead where wrinkles had started to develop was now just a smooth expanse of perfect skin. Running a hand through her hair, she marveled at how much more lustrous and shiny it was. She’d thought Tressa and Raven just used exorbitantly expensive hair products, but nope. All it took was a little Essence of Undead.
To her immense relief, the myth about vampires and mirrors had turned out to be false. She could barely make herself look presentable even when she could see her reflection. Though, if the subtle glow to her cheeks and vibrancy of her eyes planned to stick around, she may never use makeup again.
It had taken at least an hour or two for her to calm down enough for Tressa and Raven to help her acclimate to her new senses. Everything was still a touch too bright, and she didn’t like hearing people moving around down the hall, but the earplugs and sunglasses they gave herdid help quite a bit. The girls said she would get used to everything relatively soon since vampires were nothing if not adaptable. You probably had to be when you lived forever.
Forever.
There was a concept she’d put on the backburner in her brain, deciding it would be best if she waited until later to dive into that can of worms.
But the worms had escaped and were now wriggling around in her mind, demanding she address them. How do you even face the concept of eternal life?
Would she need an alias when she got too old to match her driver’s license?
