Reborn

Chapter Fourty

"I think we need to be filled in on what happened here." Vince then said, speaking in behalf of everybody but Lukas and myself. Leah may have been living in the mansion along with the two of us but she hadn't been around to know what had happened lately. She was as much in the dark as the ones that hadn't been around at all.

Explaining everything that had occurred was awkward to say the least. It wasn't like I was going to keep certain things to myself but when I started speaking, it all came spilling out. It was probably better in the long run that I tell them everything now. It was like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders when I got to explaining how Benjamin had been on my side in the end, protecting me from Lukas. 

As expected, their anger was soon directed at Lukas but he took it in stride. In fact, he didn't seem bothered at all, like he was expecting it. Maybe it was all part of his plan because he could manipulate everybody in this room and nobody would know until much later. I was still wary of him, unsure on what to make of him. It was obvious I wasn't the only one.

"So it was all you?" Ric gaped. "People are dead all because you wanted Violet's help with something you already knew was a bad idea?" 

"I didn't know everything," Lukas was quick to defend himself. "I mean... I knew he wasn't a good person but I didn't know the extent until Violet talked to me. I just... I needed to know." 

"And go to all this trouble?" Leah asked sceptically. "I'm not buying this. You seriously expect us to believe you went to all this trouble just because you wanted to talk to Violet?" 

Lukas shrugged. "You don't have to believe me."

"Look," I sighed, looking at each person in the room. "I've told you everything that happened here. Benjamin may have been slowly losing his sanity but Lukas heavily manipulated his every action and he couldn't fight it. It wasn't until Benjamin agreed to let me help him that I saw he didn't want this, and that was only proved when he told me to run after we'd been hunting." 

"That was the day you kissed Lukas." Leah pointed out. She seemed to enjoy reminding everyone why Shadow and I weren't on the best of terms. 

I nodded mutely. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about that again. I'd skirted around those details on account of not wanting to make things worse but Leah was clearly all for making me feel worse about it.

"That was my fault," Lukas told her, stepping forward, expression hardening. "She had no choice. When I use my power, nobody can fight against it, even if they are aware of what I'm doing."

"Is anyone else totally weirded out that the spawn of Satan has an obvious crush on Shadow's girl?" Alec asked curiously, though his lips curled into a grin that told us all he was highly amused.

Shadow's girl... can I still call myself that? Will he ever forgive me, even though he knows the truth? I hoped so because I truly couldn't imagine a life without him.

Leah snorted at Alec's question and I noticed her watching him adoringly. I wondered whether she felt guilty for her actions, if only for the reason that it had caused her to drift from Alec. Vampires may not have a mate in the same sense as a werewolf but we do still have them and it's clear Alec is hers. 

"Violet is Shadow's mate," Lukas said, seeming to voice my thoughts. "I always knew that, but I... I couldn't help it. I'm sorry..."

Shadow glowered. "You're lucky you're still alive."

Lukas looked ashamed. "I know."

Shadow didn't know how to react to that, to seeing Lukas so helpless and ashamed of himself. Honestly, it was a little surprising to see myself because he had already shown he had no issue in controlling people if it meant he got his own way, yet he seemed genuinely upset for kissing me. Whether that was because I was with Shadow or not, I had no idea but it did make me feel sympathetic towards him. He reminded me so much of Vince at times and then others, he resembled a scared and wounded child. It was disconcerting.