"Shouldn't you be asking Kayne to take over your position?"
"When will he have time? He’s pretty much moved his headquarters to Vallywood and is getting more business and recruits than when he was in Los Angeles. Alphonso’s the same. He’s going back and forth to Valleywood because his clients keep getting into trouble."
Valleywood was the movie capital for shifters and supernaturals who could use their talents and abilities without worrying about hiding their true selves from unsuspecting humans. Valleywood wasn’t a small town like Vale Valley, which could have contributed to the weakness in the magic.
Maybe I should move to Valleywood.
"So you asked him?"
"Nope."
"Then how do you know he doesn't want it?"
LaMarkus sighed. "Why do you think he moved two hours away? As much as he loves Vale Valley, he can’t stay here. He still blames himself for our father's death, and sitting in the position Trenton used to hold will claw at his guilt even more."
LaMarkus was right about Kayne; he still held himself responsible for Trenton Vale's death when it wasn't his fault. Alistaire thought that he and Kayne were the same in some ways. At five years old, he’d helplessly watched his parents die, and two years ago, he’d been seconds too late from saving his mate.
Deep down, Alistaire knew there wasn't anything he could have done, but he blamed himself that people he cared about died when he was around. Seeing his parents ruthlessly murdered, Alistaire should have forgotten the day, but the moment was forever burned in his mind.
"Can you give me some more time to think about it? I still don't know how long I'm staying in town."
LaMarkus stared at him for a long moment before he spoke. "I'll give you all the time you need." He leaned back in his chair. "Can I give you some advice, uncle to nephew?"
"Would it stop you if I said no?"
"No, it wouldn't," LaMarkus chuckled.
Alistaire motioned for him to stay what was on his mind.
"Don't let revenge eat you up."
"I can't let it go," Alistaire growled.
"I'll admit I've never been in your situation... losing your parents and mate at the hand of the same man. Hell, I've never been through the things most of the residents have been through. You can't let revenge consume you, or you might miss your chance at love."
"Chance at love." Alistaire scoffed. "It was taken away from me before I could even tell him how I felt." He stood and walked to the door, ready to open it, when LaMarkus spoke.
"Your father worries for you. Fuck, Alistaire, we're all worried. We just got you in our life, and you don't seem to care."
"Why are you all so worried?" He turned to face his uncle. "Did you forget I'm immortal?"
"Not if you go after that bastard and he kills you." LaMarkus shot up from his seat. "Unless that's what you want him to do?"
Alistaire looked away from LaMarkus, unable to face the man. He knew what Synder thought...that he wanted more than revenge. "Look, I'm not trying to get myself killed. But I also cannot let that bastard live. He took away three important people in my life, and I will never stop searching for him. My heart is broken, and it will never be mended because I was pulled into a fucking war I wanted no part of. I'm not seeking to take lives out of boredom, LaMarkus. That is Euan Gillies’s motivation. Do not stop me from seeking my vengeance."
LaMarkus stepped from behind his desk and over to him. "Who says your heart will never be mended? There's something you need to understand about Vale Valley. People come here seeking refuge thinking that love will never find them, but it does. I've seen it countless times."
"I'm not..."
"...Them," LaMarkus finished for him. "Kid, those are the words of a man who doesn't understand the town’s true magic. Do you think Synder being here is why you found this place so easily? No, Vale Valley let you in because it knows that you've been searching for a place to belong for a long time. I would never stop you from seeking revenge. Hell, no one in the family is against you putting that bastard down. We...no...Idon't want you to turn into him. A man who kills without a heart or regret."
Alistaire raised his head to look at LaMarkus. "Why would you care if I become like him? I'm only related to you by name."
LaMarkus cupped the back of Alistaire's neck. "We're a family, kid, and we always look out for our own. Depend on us a little. Trust me, we’ll take care of you and cut your enemies down at the same time."
After his parents’ murder by Euan Gillies, he’d had no one to turn to. Then like magic, Synder Dragomir had come out of nowhere and rescued him from poverty and the life he’d have been stuck in. He owed Synder a lot, but he always knew and felt as if their closeness was based on the fact that the vampire had saved him.
Years after finding out why his parents were killed, he’d come to view Synder as his father, yet he knew he could never be his true son. When he was eighteen, he’d begged the man to turn him into a vampire, but the process was incomplete. Coupled with his mother’s sacrifice making him immortal and Synder’s vampiric blood, he’d become something different altogether.
