“Doesn’t seem like that to me.” I take a gulp of the wine, hoping it’ll wash away the nightmares of today.
“That’s because you don’t know him like I do,” Kole says over his shoulder on his way back to the kitchen.
“Then enlighten me.” I follow him and prop myself up on the large white island while he adds the pasta to the boiling pot of water.
“Well, you saw tonight how he does things. He’s ruthless when he wants to make a point. But not when it comes to you.”
“How so?” I press, wondering how he could’ve possibly come to that conclusion.
“Let’s see. For starters, after you nearly peed on him in front of a room full of leaders, he made sure you were given vampire blood and fully healed.”
“After I had been on the brink of death because he chased me into the woods!”
“You basically peed on him!”
“He held my arm over a fire!”
“And sent you to get treated right after!”
The sizzling sound of water draws our attention to the pot that has boiled over.
“He forced me to eat dog food, electrocuted me with a shock collar, threw me from a roof, chained me to his bed, kept me in a cell—”
“And you think that’s bad?” Kole says, cutting me off. “He’s burned vampires alive, ripped heads off of bodies, starved prisoners until their bodies have begun to decay, broken bones and allowed them to heal only to break them again, forced wolves to kill members of their own pack. Thane has done things your human mind can’t even fathom, and yet he offers you clothes, warm meals, hot showers, a bedroom fit for a queen.” Kole stops in front of me, placing a hand on each side of me. He’s so tall that even with me sitting on the counter, we’re still not eye level. “I’m not saying he hasn’t hurt you, but I know my brother, and I can see him struggling. It’s why he sentmetoput you in the dungeon, and why he had Kieran take you to shower every day. He’s at war with himself, and if you just play the game, you could use that to your advantage.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because, unlike my brother, I don’t blame you for the actions of the human race.” He walks back over to the stove and stirs the pasta. “And because I think you could be good for him.”
I laugh at the ridiculousness of that statement. “Okay, now you’re just saying shit.”
Kole shakes his head. “You just don’t see it yet.”
“See what?”
“The good in him.”
I choke on the wine and start coughing. “You’re joking, right?”
“I’m not, but you’ll see it in your own time. For now, just do what he wants, and I’ll try to convince him to give you more privileges.” He holds out a wooden spoon with spaghetti sauce for me to taste. “Your life can still be yours if you want it to be.” The savory taste of the sauce makes me moan with hunger, drawing a smile across Kole’s face. “See, you could be eating beans out of a can against a tree trunk right now, instead of being fed delicious food by a roguishly attractive vampire.”
I chuckle, hopping down from the counter to look for some plates. “Maybe you have a point. Though, I’m not sure about that last part.”
“Oh, come on, Grey.” He reaches for the plates too high for me to grab. “You can’t tell me that my kind isn’t more attractive than the humans.”
“Mm, I don’t know. Have you seen Kevin Bacon?” I grab the plates from him and turn around to walk over to themodern-looking dining table. “That man looked good his whole life.”
“Really?” He scoffs. “Kevin Bacon is what does it for you?”
I look over my shoulder and shrug. “What can I say? I have good taste.”
Kole actually looks annoyed, which makes my smirk grow into a smile.
“Well, I can bet he doesn’t make a spaghetti as good as mine,” he says, setting a large bowl on the table.
“Considering he’s probably dead, there’s really no way of knowing.”
“Yeah, yeah. Once you try mine, you won’t even need to taste his to know.” Kole pulls out my chair and fills my plate with more pasta than I’ll be able to eat.
