Undone

Chapter XIX

Jeremy's chest was rising and falling rapidly. All he wanted to do was finish Dimitri off. "Whose idea was it to bite her?"

"Roman's. He said a slow and p-painful death would be the most fitting."

"So you waited until she came to Stonehaven to attack her, knowing Jeremy was within close proximity?" Logan burst forth. "You know what? Jeremy should kill you."

Dimitri shuddered, his eyes so swollen they looked completely shut.

"Does Roman know you followed through with his orders?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes," Dimitri said, nodding slowly. "I called him once the job was done."

"You weren't alone," Clay interjected.

"A local mutt helped. For a hefty price he was happy to be my chauffeur."

"Logan's right. Jeremy should kill you," Nick said, disgusted.

"Is there anything else you haven't told me?" Jeremy asked.

"No. No. That's everything, I swear."

"In that case..." He walked up to Dimitri and grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, lifting him clean off the ground. "Know this: The only reason you're alive right now, is because she is. If I ever find you anywhere near my family again, I will kill you. I will not stop to ask questions, I will not hesitate. I will rip your throat out and leave your body to the crows. Do you understand me?"

Dimitri's head bobbed up and down, his throat working as he attempted to breathe.

"I want to hear you!" Jeremy growled, shaking him.

"Yes!" he yelled. "I-I understand."

"Good." Jeremy dropped him, then, with barely restrained rage, punched him in the face one last time. Dimitri sputtered, coughing up blood, gasping for air as a tooth fell out of his mouth and landed on the floor.

Jeremy turned to Clay. "Leave him hanging for a couple of hours before you take him down. There's no need to make him comfortable. He just needs enough breath to repeat everything to the Council."

Without a backward glance, Jeremy stalked out.

"What happens now?" Kate asked hours later when he finally made it to bed. He'd been on long distance calls for most of the afternoon and into the early evening. Kate sat propped up against the pillows, her pale complexion and sunken eyes a reminder of what she'd recently overcome.

"We'll keep Dimitri here until the Council chair interviews him. I imagine that will happen before the week is out. I've informed them of Roman's involvement, but they'll need Dimitri's testimony before they take any action against him."

He undressed, neatly stacking his clothes on the chair beside the roaring fire. "Do you think there's any chance he'll get away with this?"

Jeremy shook his head, unhooking his wrist watch and placing it on the nightstand. "No. Dimitri's testimony was pretty damning." If it hadn't been, Jeremy would have found a way to ensure that Roman got what he deserved.

"So, what do you have planned for me?" Kate asked, looking a little nervous.

Smiling, he climbed into the bed beside her. "There's a lot you'll need to learn – how to control your new abilities, the rules of our kind, combat—"

"Combat?" she asked, alarmed.

"It's important that you know how to defend yourself, Kate. It's a skill we've all had to acquire."

She grimaced. "What if I don't have an aptitude for it?"

Jeremy laughed. He doubted there was anything she wouldn't be good at. "You'll be fine. Ask Elena, it comes naturally."