I went to the back porch and closed the door behind me. “Luis? I’m here.”
“Nico, you and Maddy have to get out of the cabin. As soon as possible.”
“What did you find?” Dread seeped into my bones. Dread and fear.
“I got into the cemetery without anyone noticing me. I snuck behind one of the tombs and a few of the guys guarding it had grouped up on the other side. They were on a phone call. I heard him, bro. It was Kenneth. He was telling them they needed to come for Maddy. He said her blood was viable now. It’s Kenneth! He’s fucked us. He’s the mole, dude. Get the fuck out now.”
Breath hissed in and out of my nose, and I gripped phone hard enough to make the glass and plastic creak. My rage was almost too much to hold in. I turned and looked back over my shoulder through the window. Maddy and Kenneth were talking. Maddy was laughing. Kenneth was also laughing, but I caught him sending a nervous glance up to the window. Our eyes met through the glass and the smile on his face slipped away. That fucking motherfucker.
“I’m on it,” I said to Luis. “I’ll call you when we’re safely out.”
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and slammed the door open as I stepped back inside. “Maddy, grab your stuff. We’re leaving.”
She jumped, startled by the anger in my voice. “What’s going on?”
“Just got off the phone with Luis. We’re making our move. Gotta hit the road. Come on.” It was easier than trying to explain in front of Kenneth. I’d break the news to her once we were driving away from this place.
Kenneth held his hands up and gave me a brittle smile. “Hey, now. I think it might be safer to wait until morning, right? Go in fully rested?”
I glared at him. I didn’t say a word, but the look in my eyes broadcasted everything that needed to be said. Kenneth swallowed hard and clamped his lips together. Maddy glanced back and forth between the two of us. Her brow furrowed, and I could see horror dawning on her face. She was starting to put it together.
I pointed at the bedroom. “Maddy, grab your stuff. Come on.”
Before she could even make a move for the bedroom, Kenneth jumped out of his chair and backed up against the front door. He pulled a gun from inside his jacket and aimed it at us. “You can’t go,” he said. The barrel of the gun wobbled in the air as he pointed it.
Maddy let out a sigh that was closer to a sob. “Kenneth? You?”
“Hush, Maddy, just hush. Okay? I can’t let you go. Not until the royals get here.”
“Why?” Maddy cried out. The word was both a question and an accusation.
He winced like he was in pain and grunted in anger. “You don’t know what it was like. I was the older brother, but I was always second in my father’s eyes. I was the offspring of some drunken fuck-fest. Something to be ashamed of. David was the golden boy. I was less than a half-breed in my father’s eyes. Neither of us could shift, but at least he knew David was a full-blooded shifter. That was all that mattered to him-a secret that
I was never privy to. Even all those years ago, my father couldn’t be bothered to give the poor bastard son all the information.
“I’ve been searching for the vault for my entire life. All I want is to open it and take a drop of that blood. Then I can finally be what I was always supposed to be.” Anger laced every word as his voice rose in volume. The gun weaved dangerously in the air as he lost himself in a fury that had been building up inside him over the last few decades.
Maddy took a step toward him, heedless of the weapon. “Did you get David killed?” Her lip curled in disgust as she asked the question.
“That’s not the point??”
“The hell it’s not!” Maddy shouted. “Did you get him killed?”
Kenneth sucked on his teeth for a moment, then gave a humorless chuckle. “I hated my brother. It’s true. I loved your mother, Maddy. I loved her from the moment David introduced us. I loved her in a way a man shouldn’t love his brother’s fianc?e. I didn’t call the royals. I can swear that to you. They found him on their own. I took the chance to save your mother. I got her out, and I made sure I got her baby to a safe place.”
My disgust with the man grew with each passing second. I couldn’t help but think that there might have been a moment all those years ago that he could have helped Maddy’s father get away. He said he didn’t call the royals, but did he truly do everything he could to save his brother? I had a sneaking suspicion that he hadn’t.
“If you loved her and wanted her baby safe, why are you betraying me now?” Maddy asked, tears streaming down her face.
“I only helped them once I found out what you were. Once I knew that David had been a full-blooded wolf, I knew how valuable you would be to them. I want the power that is owed to me. I’m the firstborn son. I should be what I was meant to be.”
“You son of a bitch! You’ve killed me! I’m going to die and it’s all because of you,” Maddy wailed.
I growled and stepped beside her, putting an arm around her. She was vibrating with fury. I couldn’t imagine the betrayal she felt. This man, who had slowly become a member of her family, a connection to her past, a man who she thought was growing to love her, had slammed a knife into her back for his own greed.
“No!” Kenneth said, shaking his head. “I don’t want you dead, Maddy. I lied to the royals. I gave them false information. They won’t be here for at least another day. I just need your blood. Now that Luis found the vault, I can use your blood to get in and take the vial of Edemas’s blood. I can finally become a shifter. My blood isn’t pure enough to become a werewolf, but that’s not what I care about. I just want to be what I was born to be. You and Nico will be able to get away safely. I’d never break my promise to your mother. I loved her too much to help them kill her child.”
“You’re a traitor,” I said, stabbing a finger in his direction. “How can you expect us to believe you? You’re only telling us what we want to hear.”
Kenneth shook his head vehemently. He tossed his gun across the room where it bounced safely on the sofa. He held his hands up and shrugged. “I promise, I don’t want you dead. You just can’t leave until I have her blood.” Tears dripped from his eyes. “Please, Maddy. I loved your mother. I love you because you are your mother’s daughter. Please believe me.”
“He’s telling the truth,” Maddy said. She sounded confused, dejected, and sad. “I can feel it.”
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