I was great at slinking, moving silently without being noticed, despite being tall and broad, even for a werewolf.
It was a trait one desperately needed when living among humans. Sometimes I just didn't want to be seen, both as a wolf and as a human.
Why I didn't want to be seen as a wolf spoke for itself. But I'd also, more than once, had to sneak a naughty, curious werewolf puppy out of town. People would definitely have questions if I was seen carrying a wolf pup by the scruff while scolding them for not being more careful.
Today, I'd truly outdone myself. It seemed I was stealthy enough to sneak up on Etienne.
When I arrived home, the vampire was no longer holed up in his room upstairs. He'd probably expected me to stay away longer because I heard him talking. His hushed, anxious voice carried into my workplace as I entered silently through the backdoor.
I held still, pricking up my ears.
I needed every advantage I could get if I was supposed to make Etienne spill the beans to me—everything and anything could be an opening to get him to trust me. And since he sounded stressed, this could be very important information.
If I could be there to be the sympathetic listening ear, that might work in my favour. I'd been told I was good at it. All I needed to do was ensure it looked like I was slowly developing these feelings by getting to know him. I hoped I could. Being dishonest, even if it was to a manipulative vampire, wasn't something I enjoyed doing.
I breathed in and out deeply and closed my eyes, focusing all my attention on Etienne's voice drifting from the living room.
"Yes, he's keeping me locked up in here," Etienne said, sounding frustrated. "And if he's not here, there are other werewolves skulking about outside. What exactly do you want me do to about this? I can't go outside to—"
Etienne went quiet as, presumably, the person on the other side of the line cut him off.
"No, sir. Of course I didn't mean to—" he then stammered before going silent again for a few moments. "...Yes, I understand, sir. I'll handle it."
I raised a brow. I didn't like any part of what I'd just heard. Etienne wanted to escape me. I already knew that, of course, but now I had tangible evidence of it. He, or someone who he took orders from, was plotting against the town. In what kind of way I couldn't tell yet, but I was going to find out.
Unfortunately, it didn't seem I was going to find out today, however. I was late to the party. Whoever was on the phone with Etienne abruptly hung up and the living room went silent again, aside from the vampire sighing deeply.
The phone call must've really done a number on Etienne, because he was visibly startled when I walked into the living room. Like he hadn't heard me enter the house nor walk through the hallway at all.
I was supposed to play nice now as dictated by Ivana's orders, so I swallowed the sarcastic remark I actually wanted to make, going for a neutral question instead. "Is everything alright? You look unsettled."
Unfortunately, Etienne didn't bite. He recovered fast from his surprise. His brow smoothed over and he smiled. "Boris. You weren't just listening in on my private conversation, were you? That would be very bad of you. And of course I'm not unwell. I'm delighted that the most sparkling presence in my life is back home so early."
I snorted and walked further into the room. Etienne watched me closely, like a predator would watch a prey.
"There's no need to be suspicious," I offered with a dismissive wave of my hand. "If I'd been listening in, you would've heard me, right?"
Etienne scowled. "Right. I should have heard you coming since you're the only one present in the wide area. Why even bother living among humans if you're going this far out of your way to avoid actually living among them? Unless... living here with the humans was not a choice?"
Etienne wasn't on top of his game today. The deflection attempt by switching the topic was poor at best. He smiled innocently, like he was genuinely curious about me, but what he was doing was anything but innocent. He tried to twist the conversation and put the focus on me. To get me on the defence so I'd no longer pay attention to the conversation I'd just eavesdropped on.
For all the shenanigans, headaches, and property destruction the little werewolves put me through, I'd still rather deal with all of them at once than one manipulative adult like Etienne. Even Aquila, in all his surliness and behavioural problems, never tried to corner me or deceive me. He was always clear as day about what he was thinking and feeling. When he took a liking to Xavier, it was obvious to everyone except Xavier.
This vampire, however? I'd only just started trying to be 'friendlier' with him, but I already got the impression this wasn't going to work at all. Etienne wasn't going to betray his true intentions to me, unless I got lucky enough to listen in on another one of those mysterious phone calls.
I wore my most charming smile as I responded to Etienne's rude question about my living conditions. "Of course it was a choice to live away from the humans, out of their sight. Or do you think it would've been a good idea to let the people of Pinewood to see a werewolf shift? Or to watch you sucking the blood from my thumb?"
Etienne's expression darkened. I had touched a nerve. I wasn't supposed to; I was supposed to befriend him, but I couldn't seem to help myself.
"You should be grateful to get any part of you sucked, wolf," Etienne said. "If I can believe the townsfolk, you're sure not getting any otherwise."
"And neither will you this month," I replied without missing a beat. "You're not getting another drop of my blood."
Etienne clacked his tongue. "Please. I don't care about your blood. I know you like to think it's oh so special, but it's not, really. You're nothing compared to the dryads and fey. They are truly alluring."
I raised a brow. "Not special, huh?" I asked. "That's not what that look on your face said inside the garage as you drank my blood. Besides, if it's true what you said about only drinking animal blood at home, that means you've never tasted another person aside from me. You wouldn't know what a dryad or fey tastes like."
Etienne's eyebrows raised in genuine surprise at being caught in a lie. I caught a flicker of doubt in his eyes. It only lasted a split second. Then he scoffed and averted his gaze. "You're paying awfully close attention, wolf. I'd almost start thinking you cared."
"Oh, I care," I said. "I care very much about understanding how vampiric hunger works. If you can be around people when they bleed. Say, can you even be around people when they're on their period?"
Etienne raised his eyes again to meet mine. He stared at me with a blank, utterly unamused expression. "I cannot believe you just asked me that."
"And I cannot believe you literally never answer any of my questions."
Etienne sighed and pinched his nose. "...Yes, I can," he replied impatiently."It's a different composition of blood, and it's less tempting than straight from the bloodstream."
"But it's still tempting," I insisted.
"If 'tempting' is the criteria, then I safely say only a corpse isn't. And you are only a close second to a rotting corpse right now," Etienne replied, clear annoyance seeping into his voice. "Haven't I passed your test by now, wolf? I didn't bite you. And you reek of wet dog, so I'm not going to, either. Trust me on that."
With a roll of his eyes, Etienne sashayed out of the room and retreated upstairs. Probably to sulk some more.
Etienne could say whatever he wanted. I could hear his pulse now, meaning it had sped up, and had gotten loud enough with nerves. Much as the vampire liked to claim I smelled of wet dog, I knew better.
And then it suddenly hit me. The solution.
It was so obvious. My blood was alluring to him, and that would have to be my way in.
Now that I knew beyond a doubt that the vampires were plotting against Pinewood, simply making Etienne fail here by having him bite me wasn't enough anymore.
The meeting with the other wolves and what I heard on the phone had made me think. I'd been thinking too small. This was bigger, and I needed to know Etienne's bigger plan, too.
Maybe this was even a plan to adjust the faulty accords entirely.
If I had clear evidence of bad intentions, I might not only be able to thwart Etienne now, but to keep these vampires out of werewolf territory forever. To put a big streak through the accords for vampires, as I had proven once and for all that living together with human was not possible for them.
Instead of simply making Etienne fail by biting me or befriending him to get him to talk like Ivana suggested, I needed to appeal to his hunger and use that to make him slip in his words. I needed to goad him further. I'd also have to tell Ivana about what I'd heard, too. As soon as possible. The situation had changed considerably now.
I cast a glance up the staircase in the hallway through the door which Etienne had left wide open. What the hell kind of vampire plot had we stumbled into?