“What do you think?”
I whirled around to face Eros, who was leaning against one of the tables, his thick arms crossed over his chest.
“I don’t know what to think…I don’t know where I am.”
He made a sound that was half-scoff, half growl. It sunk into my skin, leaching into my veins and joining the concoction of anxiety, curiosity, and adrenaline slamming through me. “You’re a smart thing. I think you know exactly where we are. You just don’t want to face the reality of it since it’s a place no monster wants to end up.”
“This is where you do your work, isn’t it?”
He rubbed his beard, eyes flashing through the dim murk of the warehouse. “That’s right.”
My brows wrinkled in thought. I’d been under the impression that he conducted all of the work—torture—at the Knight Mansion. I guess it made sense. Even if there was space for these monsters back home, it didn’t make sense to keep them on coven property. But what did the coven want with all these monsters? And where were all the vampires?
“The vampires I bring back to the Cape to torture and kill are by order of the Elders, usually to keep our own coven safe. Rogue vampires and enemy coven members are my usual victims. This place isn’t for coven business. The council doesn’t know about this.”
“So this place really exists?”
He chewed on his lip as he swept his gaze over the large space. “Yeah. Wish it didn’t.”
I blinked. “Why?”
He suddenly veered his attention back on me, glaring. “You think I like hunting down monsters and murdering them?”
“You murder them?”
He took a step toward me, his arms unfolding and knuckles cracking as he balled his fists. “Why do you think they’re here? I don’t keep them as pets, Doll. These are all creatures I pluck from the streets of Boston to keep these parts safe. I release a few of them into less populated areas. The vicious ones I give to Zeke Stone to use in cage fights at the warehouse. It’s an exchange for lending me this space. The really vicious ones…” Something dark flared behind his eyes. “I put them down… Right where you’re standing.”
My eyes dropped to my toes. My heart slammed against my chest when I realized I was standing directly over the drain.
“You’re still working for the Helsing Guild,” I said breathlessly. “That’s why the Elders don’t know.”
Eros stopped in his tracks, and for a second, I thought he might be pissed that I broke character. But a bit later, his lips twitched into the smallest of smiles. “In a way, I guess. I don’t have any connection with them. Now that I’m a vampire, I am considered an abomination. It’s against the rules for something like me to be a member. But years ago, I cut a deal with them. All I have to do is help keep the streets of Boston safe, and they leave the Cape Cod Coven alone.”
My chest swelled, filling with warmth. Sure, we were in a dream, but this represented a real place. A place next to Zeke’s Stone’s warehouse, where the supernatural gathered to bet on monsters ripping one another to shit. This was the operation that supplied them. Eros’ secret slaughterhouse was evil, the air was heavy with death. But it was a necessary evil. I believed with my whole heart that the creatures that died here deserved it. And more than that, he was keeping humans safe as if he were still a member of the Guild. Much of the Cape Cod coven still treated Eros like a dog, a monster among monsters. I wonder if they knew the lengths he went to keep them safe.
He was more than our grim reaper. He was our guardian fucking angel.
I brought my eyes back up to lock with my mates'. “Does Sterling know?”
A laugh as dark as sin and as smooth as honey slipped past Eros’ smirking lips. “Sterling always knows. Corry is aware of this place too, but not the full extent of the situation.”
“And Vin?”
Eros’ smirk evaporated in an instant. “He knows nothing, and we're going to keep it that way.”
“But if you told him, maybe he would—” I didn’t get a chance to finish.
My mate surged forward. His long-legged steps eating up the distance between us in an instant. He gripped my chin and wrenched my face up, forcing my gaze to his. “Listen to me and listen with both your fucking ears, Ruby Renada. Vincent Feral is not to know about this place.”
“W–why?”
The pain in Eros’ eyes caught me off guard. “I’m not particularly interested in giving him one more reason to hate my guts.”
“I don’t get it. It’s not like you have dark fae in here. You’re doing this to protect the coven.”
“He won’t see it like that. He’ll just see it as more proof of what he’s already convinced himself.”
“And what’s that?” I whispered.
