Sadly, that didn’t appease her at all. “Who are you, vampire?”
“Antoine Dufresne.”
That took a degree of anger from her amber eyes. “I’ve heard of you. You’re a friend of my son’s.”
“Your son?”
“Luke.”
Antoine wasn’t sure how to take that. In all the centuries he’d known Luke, they’d never spoken of mothers. For some reason, he’d assumed Luke’s was either dead or another angel.
But a hellhound…
Interesting.
“Luke’s why I came here. I was hoping to speak with him.”
“Why?” She wasn’t very chatty, which only added to the sinister quality of the beast.
“I have a missing daughter. I would like to say she was kidnapped, but more likely I think she’s fallen in love with a human, and I need to get her back before anyone finds out.”
That seemed to confuse the hellhound. “Why would you not want her happy?” Such a simple question. If only it were that easy.
“Vampires and humans don’t mix. I mean, it’s fine to feed on them, but not to live with one. She’s broken one of our most sacred rules.”
The hellhound nodded. “Understood. It’s fine to feed on humans, but never to keep one.”
There was a lot more to it than that. It wasn’t just that Amandine had broken their rules. Being with any human put all of them at risk. As a rule, the human race was never to know they existed.
Ever.
And it wasn’t bad enough that she’d flaunted a rule that had kept them safe for centuries. Oh no. His daughter had taken up with the son of the Phoenix Society leader—the very group they had made their truce with.
For hundreds of years, their groups had been at war. It’d been bloody and costly on both sides.
Until the vampires had made a truce with the Phoenix leader that strictly forbade vampires from breeding with humans and letting the mundane humans know they existed.
In return, the Phoenixes kept humans from hunting vampires, including their own members. More than that, they helped conceal his species and should a group of humans find them, the Phoenixes took care of it so that the vampires could live in peace.
For over two hundred years, his people had known a tranquility they’d never dreamed of. Even after that bastard Stoker had shined a light on them, they had still managed to stay hidden. Granted the truce kept them from breeding their own children, but it’d been worth it for the peace of mind that came with living without being hunted by roving mobs of imbeciles.
Of having their homes burned during the daylight when they were most vulnerable.
And idiots staking them because they stupidly believed it would kill them.
No vampire wanted this truce to end.
If any member of his Order learned of this, they’d demand he kill his own daughter for her violation. The same daughter he’d become a vampire eight hundred years ago to save.
She was his life. He refused to be her death.
“Please help me find my daughter.”
The hellhound inclined her head to him. “I understand the need to protect a child. I’ll make sure you find her.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any idea where to start?”
