Blood Lust (COMPLETED)

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Turncoat pt. 2

"Gabriel?" Aiden repeated. "He knew, too?"

"Yeah," I whispered morosely. "He found me naked in Nero's cabin this morning."

"Oh, shit." He breathed. "Is that why he went aggro on your bathroom door?"

I nodded.

Gabriel made it a point to let me know that he hadn't hurt Nero after he found me. Could it have been a lie? Was he really capable of mutilating someone over me?

"He is more than capable." Duke growled, answering my thoughts. "Audrey, he set me on fire for performing oral sex on you. Mutilating Nero for deflowering you wouldn't be that much of a stretch."

Aiden scratched at his messy, blond hair, face uncertain. "I don't know. Cutting off his brother's hand seems a bit extreme, even for Gabriel."

I did a double take. "Wait, Nero and Dean Lachlan are brothers?"

Holy shit.

"Half brothers." Duke amended. "And does it really seem far-fetched, Aiden? You remember what he did to Gildoroy. If he had no qualms about doing that to his own father--"

"The son-of-a-bitch had it coming." Aiden cut him off, shrugging. "Gildoroy was a psychopath. Gabriel had to kill him."

"Dean Lachlan killed his father?" I felt cold all the way to my bones.

How could he? Why would he?

"He didn't just kill him," Duke sneered, lips curling in disgust. "He eviscerated him like an animal with his bare hands."

Another wave of nausea washed over me at the image Duke's words conjured, but I couldn't vomit; there was nothing left in me to expel. "Jesus."

I felt woozy, on the verge of passing out. Seeing Nero's severed hand was bad enough, but hearing about Dean Lachlan committing patricide? That was too much.

Duke must have read my thoughts, because he instantly looked remorseful. "Apologies, Audrey. That was far too morbid."

"And totally unlike you." Aiden added, his turquoise eyes narrowed.

Duke's own eyes widened, exposing his caramel irises for a split second. "I was just speaking the truth. Is that so out of character for me?"

The tension I had felt between them earlier was mounting again, but this time it was different. Before it was mild animosity, two friends having a little spat. Now it was suspicious, the air charged with the bitterness of betrayal.

"No," Aiden conceded, glancing from me to the open door behind him. "But it's odd that you would speak of Gildoroy's demise with such disdain."

Aiden approached Duke with his hands behind his back. As he passed me, he pointed at the exit, finger urgent. "Last time we spoke of that incident, you were gleeful." Aiden went on, standing between me and Duke.

Suddenly my heart was pounding, realization nearly knocking me over.

Careful not to think, I inched away from the vampires on my hands and knees.

"In fact," Aiden spoke to Duke behind me. "I distinctly remember you waxing poetic about all the ways you would torment Gildoroy before killing him if you had been given the chance."

I was on the threshold of my dorm room, and started down the hall, when Duke exhaled.

"Okay, you got me. I am the one who attacked Nero." Duke said without preamble. "I'm the turncoat."

I froze in place.

"Really?" Aiden spoke after a moment. His voice mirrored the surprise and confusion I felt as he asked, "you're just going to fess up, just like that?"