I refused to leave the bathroom.
I heard Adam call someone to ask for the body to be disposed of and then I heard the men come and go, no questions asked.
The smell of bleach soon filled my nostrils and Adam reappeared in the threshold of the bathroom door.
"You can come out now," he said.
I shook my head, pulling my knees up to my chest and resting my chin on top.
"You need to rest."
"You think I can go back to sleep after that?" I asked incredulously.
It was the first time I had spoken in a few hours, my voice was scratchy.
Adam sighed and walked over to where I sat on the lid of the toilet. He extended his hand to me and I gingerly reached up to hold it.
"Come on," he said, pulling me out of the bathroom.
I stood up and pulled my robe together tighter as I followed him into the bedroom. Immediately my eyes glanced over to where Barret had been lying on the floor and I saw no trace of him.
I then looked down to Adam's hand, which was still holding mine, realizing that was the hand that had ripped Barret's spine from his body.
It occurred to me all over again that Adam had killed a man to protect me.
If that wasn't love, I wasn't sure what was.
I let go of his hand, causing him to turn and look at me.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I held onto him tightly. I hugged him like I was scared of letting go, like I was holding on to life itself.
Adam took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around me, his hands moving up and down my back soothingly.
"Thank you," I whispered.
He put his hands on my face and made me look up at him.
"I promised you that I would do anything to protect you, didn't I?," he asked giving me a tight-lipped smile.
"It couldn't have been easy, though," I said to him.
His eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Killing someone," I explained.
I searched his eyes for a sign of remorse and, when I couldn't find one, I was reminded of who I was mated to. This man was an Alpha Superior. He was the Lycanthrope equivalent of a king. He had conquered nations.
I was a naïve fool if I thought for one second Barret was the first man he had ever killed and I knew he wouldn't be the last.
Adam had a certain darkness in his blue eyes that made me wonder how many people he'd killed, but his smile... oh, his smile made me realize he had probably lost count.
"The only thing I regret is that you saw me do it," he said honestly.
I sighed, chills erupting across my body at the thought.
I brought my hand up to rest on his hand that was still pressed against my cheek, wondering how the soft touch I felt belonged to hands that had done unspeakable things.
- - -
Adam's P.O.V.
I was angrier at myself in that moment than I had ever been in my life.
I couldn't believe I had let her watch me do that, no matter how much the bastard deserved it.
I didn't regret it, and I knew she could see that. I would have done it all over again twenty times if it had meant protecting her. But, I saw the way she looked at me as I held her.
I was something that would make her afraid of the dark, the last thing I wanted was for her to realize that.
I had gotten carried away the night before. I had let my wolf take control instead of killing him quickly and the added theatrics were only going to hurt me now.
Wanting desperately to explain myself and to make sure that I had not scarred her for life, I got up the nerve to ask. However, before I could mutter a syllable, I heard someone open the bedroom door.
I turned quickly, pushing Evelyn behind me, both out of a protective instinct and because she was naked under a loosely tied bathrobe.
Seeing Diedrick, I felt my blood begin to boil.
"The door was shut for a reason."
He didn't look remorseful in the least and his eyes quickly found Evelyn as she peered out from behind my shoulder.
"I heard what happened," he said. "I wanted to apologize."
"Unless you sent him to do it, there's nothing to apologize for," I said, crossing my arms.
"Is everyone alright?" He asked, he was speaking to her specifically.
"I'm fine," I heard her say softly.
But she wasn't fine. I knew there were many long nights of bad dreams and sleepless hours ahead of us because I had lost all sense of humanity for a moment and decided to rip the German boy's spine from his body instead of simply snapping his neck.
"I'm glad to hear it," he said to her, sighing.
Diedrick turned to me for the first time since entering the room and I saw him transition from a caring and concerned man to a calculated and cold Beta.
"You have a call waiting for you in my office, if you would like to take it."
My jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth would shatter.
He wanted me to leave the two of them alone in the room together.
"You can tell whomever it is that I'll call them back once we have left," I said.
"It's Beta Superior Eaton," he said slowly. "There are developments that you need to be made aware of. He asked that I tell you it was important."
I narrowed my eyes at his persistence.
"And you didn't think to transfer a call of importance directly to my room?" I asked.
I saw him falter and I felt myself smirk.
"I'll have it transferred immediately. Additionally, I wanted to tell you that our car will be here to take us to the plane in two hours," he added.
I nodded as he turned to leave. It wasn't until I heard the door shut that I felt the tension in my shoulders ease.
I turned to look at Evelyn, who met my gaze.
"I think he knows you don't like him," she said.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Do you honestly think I give a damn?"
I saw an amused gleam in her eye before she shook her head and walked around me to retrieve her suitcase.
The phone rang on the other side of the room and I walked over to answer it.
"Yes?"
"It's me," I heard Jace say. "I just thought you would want to know that I found Victoria snooping around in your office early this morning."
I closed my eyes and pinched my nose in frustration.
That woman was going to be the death of me.
"Why was she in there?" I asked him.
"I'm not sure," he said. "It was just after three in the morning so I'm sure she was up to no good. I nearly gave her a heart attack when I stormed into the room to see why the light was on."
"And you don't know what she was looking for?" I asked.
"No," he said. "She shoved whatever she was reading deep into your desk drawer when I walked in. After she left, I tried to sort through it all, but I couldn't find exactly what she had been reading."
"What file was it?"
I heard him sigh.
"Jace?"
"It was the open file you had on the former Alpha Superior of Europe."
I punched the wall hearing this, causing Evelyn to jump in surprise.
"Why would she be looking at that?" I asked him.
"News traveled fast about the death of Alpha Schneider," he said. "I'm sure she probably thinks you had him killed."
The line went silent as I shook my head, trying to process it all.
"You didn't have him killed, did you?" Jace asked.
"No, I just found out about it early this morning," I said. "But, whoever did was a bloody genius."
I heard Jace laugh.
"The man has had a bounty on his head for the past few hundred years by everyone who knows someone in Europe. It was bound to happen eventually," he said.
"Keep me updated," I told him. "We're leaving in a few hours, so if you need anything else, call the plane's phone."
"Will do."
I hung up the phone and sighed.
Victoria was up to something, and I needed to find out what.
- - -
Evelyn's P.O.V.
Adam was in deep thought for the rest of the day as we packed up and left Germany.
I wasn't sure what news he had received, but I knew it had frustrated him.
Diedrick had decided to stay in Germany for a few days to make funeral arrangements for both his father and his brother. Normally, I would have been sympathetic considering what loss like that usually meant for someone, but Diedrick didn't seem to care they were both dead. To him, life was a game and they had made the wrong move and lost. To him, they weren't family; they were competitors that were no longer a problem.
The lack of emotion that purebloods seemed to operate with concerned me. Adam was the only one whom I found to be even somewhat emotional—even then it was fervent and sensual, not sadness, sorrow, or even joy.
Both Jace and Diedrick were both robots that were ruthless, even towards family, in achieving power and status.
Because Diedrick had decided to stay—whether it was out of pity or duty, I wasn't sure—Adam and I had the plane to ourselves. This delighted me as I had not been looking forward to hours of nothing but awkward tension between the two of them.
I sat down in the seat next to Adam as he looked through some papers that he brought with him. We had been on the plane for a little over five hours, however I found it hard to relax or concentrate knowing something was bothering him.
"So, what did Jace need to tell you this morning?" I asked him.
Adam looked over to me and then back down at his papers.
"It was nothing. He just wanted to fill me in on some things that had happened while we were gone."
I raised an eyebrow at the fib. While I knew this was probably halfway true, I got the feeling he wasn't telling me the whole truth.
"What did he say?" I asked, prodding further.
He sighed as though the question irritated him.
"Victoria's being a pain in the ass," he said finally.
"What did she do this time?" I asked, sitting up in the chair straighter.
He shook his head.
"Just... Victoria stuff."
I waited for further details and he sighed.
"Jace caught her snooping through my desk late last night."
My eyes widened.
"That's a little shady," I said.
He nodded in agreement, returning his focus to the papers in his hand.
I sighed after sitting there for a few minutes watching him study the file in his hand.
"Don't you get tired of working all the time?" I asked him.
Adam smiled.
"Is that your way of subtly asking me to put the papers down and pay more attention to you?" He asked me.
"Yes," I answered honestly.
He laughed as he folded the file and put it on the seat in front of him.
"Come here," he said, holding his arms out.
I bit my lip and smiled as I stood up from my seat and sat down across his lap. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed as I laid my head against his chest.
"Is that better?" He asked me.
I hummed happily in response.
We sat contently like that for a few moments. Laying my head against his chest and listening to the rhythmic beat of his heart was quickly becoming one of my favorite things to do.
He spoke up after a few minutes of silence.
"Did I scare you last night?" He asked me.
I could hear the apprehensive tone in his voice and it occurred to me that he didn't want to hear my answer.
I thought about it for a few moments before I answered him honestly.
"No."
When I got no response from him, I looked up to see him staring down at me warily.
"I think you're lying," he said, sighing.
I sat up and put my hand on his chest.
"I'm not," I assured him.
When he didn't say anything else, I continued to speak.
"You saved my life," I said earnestly. "You shouldn't feel guilty-"
"-I don't," Adam said firmly. "I don't feel guilty for killing him and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. He threatened you so I killed him. It's just..."
I stared at him intently as I waited for him to finish and saw him gulp before he looked away from me.
"I never wanted you to see that side of me," he said.
"Seeing your dark side doesn't scare me nearly as much as realizing you're good at hiding it," I said earnestly.
I felt his body stiffen as he heard this.
"You bring it out in me," he said softly.
My eyebrows furrowed.
"The things I think about doing to your father when I get my hands on him scare even me," he said. "In truth, you make me feel things like I had never known they existed. I have stood for hundreds of years and have not faltered; but, the day I met you I felt my legs shake."
I gulped.
"How do I stop?" I asked him.
I saw Adam smile and shake his head.
"That's the point, love," he said. "I don't think you can."
He put a finger under my chin and lifted it so he could look deep into my eyes.
"But don't get me wrong, I'm completely under your power and happy to be here."
With these thoughts on my mind, he pulled me back down against his chest and held me tight.
I wanted desperately to tell Adam he wasn't the monster he thought he was.
In my life, I had learned that monsters weren't the ones under your bed and they weren't the ones who made you scared of the dark. Monsters were the people who claimed to love you but didn't.
It was because of this that I knew Adam wasn't the monster he thought he was.
- - -
When we arrived back at the castle, we were immediately met at the door by Jace.
"You'll want to see this," he said, gesturing for Adam to follow him.
Adam gave me an unsure look before he and I began to follow Jace inside the castle. He led us down into the hospital ward and I felt my heart drop.
Did something happen to Mr. Chandler while we were gone?
My question was answered as I walked into his room and saw him lying on the cot, asleep.
"What happened?" I asked Jace, not seeing anything visibly wrong with him.
Jace walked around me and threw back the covers off of Mr. Chandler, who remained in a deep sleep.
"The nurse noticed it yesterday as she was helping Mrs. Chandler wash him," he said, pulling up the hosipital gown to expose Mr. Chandler's thigh.
I gasped when I saw the gash that was oozing with infection.
"What happened?" I asked him.
Jace's eyes narrowed on me before Adam spoke up.
"He was bitten."
- - -