Reminiscence {Book Two of the Vengeance Trilogy}

Chapter Nine: Temptations

"God DAMN you!" his voice echoed through the decaying warehouse in waves of rage. I sat atop the rafters, slinging a small wooden yo-yo that I snatched off of a kid on my way over here. I knew that I would need something to do while waiting for the supreme dick lord of an alpha to leave before finding Elliot. It wasn't like the stupid kid was going to miss it anyway. The only thing he could do with it is put his sloppy little mouth all over it, so it was clearly better in my hands.

I glanced down at the scene below. Tom's father, Charley, stood over Elliot and Collin who were both on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs. All I did was let out a small scoff and continued to play with the yo-yo. Charley was pacing back and forth in front of the two of them in a fit of frustration. Tom stood behind with his arms folded firmly across his chest, kind of like he does now.

I looked back up at the glass ceiling above me and gazed into the pitch black darkness. I hated this damn city. Everything about it made my skin crawl like nothing else. It reminded me of my aunt and uncle. Even though my uncle and I didn't get along the first few months of me living with them, I still missed him. Being here just reminded me that they were gone. The only reason that I came back in the first place was because I heard that Elliot was in trouble. All the gossip in Romania was about how the O'Brian boy was going bad. Unfortunately, I made a promise to take care of him, which meant that I had to come back, no matter how much I hated it.

"You stupid little shits almost blew our cover! If it weren't for Thomas, then the entire city would know about our existence. Do you have any clue what that would do to us?! Do you?!" Charley screamed, snapping me out of my own thoughts. Before I could brush off whatever he was going on about, I noticed a ray of silver moonlight shining down on Elliot's back. The light also caught his hands, which were drenched in blood and by the smell of it, human blood. A shiver ran through my entire body. I felt my eyes widen and if I didn't know better, then I would have dropped the yo-yo and let it fall right at their feet. No, I thought to myself. Elliot didn't give into the natural thirst. He couldn't have done it.

"Do you have any excuse for yourselves?" Charley asked, but neither of them spoke up. I sat on the ledge of the rafter, hoping that I was smelling the human blood on Charley or Tom. "How about you O'Brian? What's your noble excuse?"

"I...I was feeding...and..." but Elliot couldn't finish his sentence. His voice and body were shaking as if he was itching for another fix. I felt my stomach drop as Charley walked around and inhaled deeply, leaning in towards Elliot's hands. He winced at the sound of Charley breathing heavily so close to him.

"Ah, so you've finally decided to become a real vampire? You finally accept who you are?" Charley snickered as he walked back around to face the two of them, but Elliot simply looked down in shame. I felt as though I was about to fall out of the rafters.

"P-please...I need more...I-I need more!" Elliot sobbed. Chills ran through my entire body as I watched the terrifying scene unfold. I had known Elliot since he was seven years old and not once had I ever heard him cry out in such agonizing pain. Going down there now would blow my cover and Charley would have his way with me for leaving the pack without any notice. Still, with every sob that escaped Elliot's body, the urge to jump down and help him grew.

"Look at him, Dad! He's pathetic!" Tom shouted, laughter following his wicked words.

"Thomas, we should be glad that Elliot is finally complying with our rules. Maybe he can knock some sense into his little friend here." Charley turned to flash a wicked grin at his son, pride beaming from his smile.

"Tom made him do it! Elliot never wanted to hurt people!" Collin called out and Charley snapped his gaze towards him. He stood there for a while, not saying a word. Somehow his silence was more threatening than his words. Slowly, a dark chuckle emerged from Charley as he turned around and in one, swift movement, his thumb landed right in between his eyebrows, with the rest of his fingers bedding themselves into his curls. I looked away, knowing exactly what was about to happen next, but I didn't have the constitution to watch.