Lily raised an eyebrow, unconsciously pushing her chair back.
Seeing her flinch away, he waved his hands in front of him. “No, no, my dear. You haven’t been brought here in that capacity…Lord no! I’m just telling you all this as background information.”
Lily hmphed. “Yeah, well according to your newest acolyte, Jack informed me that I now belonged to him. Part of the deal and all, for getting me here to use as bait.”
Parr’s eyes narrowed, and his face reddened. “He won’t touch you, of that you can be sure. I’ll kill him first.”
She didn’t know what to think, the man was acting like either her mate or her father. What was the deal here?
He dragged in a long breath. “Anyway, let’s not dwell on how you got here. This is all about why you’re here. Nearly thirty years ago, I was elected to this hunting circle. It’s a cyclical pact, and only the males selected to breed can participate. Most of the women you read about that go missing in the mountains of northern California aren’t mauled by cougars, they’re taken—by Weres, for breeding purposes.”
He stopped, and then got up to pace. “There’s that look of revulsion I was waiting to see,” he said, pointing at her. “Please, try to listen with an open mind. Like I said, this was all in the past.”
He turned and leaned on the side rail of the hospital bed. “I was lucky enough to be sent to the city on many occasions for things we needed that couldn’t be found on the land. Over the years, I bartered not only for necessary items, but also for books. I taught myself everything, but what especially interested me was genetics. You see, Lily, I wasn’t like the others of my community. I was a genetic throw back to our ancestors— an American Lion. Unfortunately, now extinct, myself notwithstanding.
“So when it was my time to mate, I promised myself I would do everything in my power to ensure that my genetic anomaly, my line, didn’t go extinct again. I studied and theorized and hypothesized, and then it came time to put those theories to the test, and the only thing I needed was a woman. One of my own, a Were would have been best, but they were all claimed by this point. So I had to take part in the hunting circle to carry out my plan.”
He paused, pouring himself a glass of water and offering one to Lily as well. She took the glass from his hand, nodding for him to continue.
“I managed to acquire a place in the Bay area, and stocked it, over time, with my books and equipment. I experimented with genetic mutation and DNA splicing, mostly.” He stopped. “Don’t look so horrified. I only experimented on myself, no one else.”
Lily stood up, ignoring the pain that shot through her leg at the abrupt movement. “Don’t look so horrified! You stand there and tell me you’re some kind of Were version of Dr. Frankenstein, and I’m supposed to be okay with that? I’m not stupid, Edward, I can see where you’re headed with this, and it involves some poor woman you used for your own ends.”
“Lily, please. Hear me out. Yes, it’s true. I did abduct a woman, but she was homeless and on the verge of selling herself anyway. She was an illegal alien who barely spoke English when I took her. She lived with me, willingly. It’s not like I tied her up.” He glanced down at the red, puckered marks on Lily’s wrists. “The one who did that to you is dead. I wanted you brought here, but not in the way it transpired, and for that I am sorry.”
She flopped back down in her chair. “What do expect me say, Edward. Your lady friend may have chosen to stay of her own free will, but if she’d wanted to leave would you have let her? Would you let me?” Tony’s words came back to haunt her. Make it easy on yourself, baby, and cooperate.
Parr ignored her question. “Where was I…oh yes…experimenting. The time came to put my experiments to the test. As you can imagine, my lady friend, as you call her, was surprised when I insisted on artificial insemination.” He drew himself up, expanding his chest as if to prove his virility. “To my delight, it took on the first try and with twins, no less! I, of course, immediately packed us up to head back to the mountains. My children would be raised as full Weres, regardless of their maternal line.
“Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as planned,” he paused as if caught in the memory. “Teresa, that was her name, didn’t take well to life in the mountains, and being a human in a Were dominated world—well, let’s just say there were certain prejudices she had to endure. She ended up running away. I searched for her, but all I found were bloody clothes carrying her scent.”
Lily looked at her hands. “So, as far as you know, she died while trying to escape?” Her words were a question mark, but her eyes were accusing. With the way the man clenched his jaw, she knew she’d hit a nerve, but his face was otherwise a mask. “Look, Edward. I’m sorry for your loss, truly, but what has this got to do with me?”
He studied her for a moment, his gaze so intense, he seemed to be examining her every feature. He stepped to her chair and stood over her, his fingers brushing beneath her chin as he lifted it. “It has everything to do with you. You are my daughter.”
Lily stood up, knocking Parr’s hand away. With the back of her legs she pushed her chair to the wall and scooted behind Edward to stand in the middle of the room. “I was right. You are delusional! My mother and father were my biological parents, I was not adopted.”
Edward shook his head. “Perhaps they never told you, but there’s no other explanation as to why you are immune to the virus I created. I made it using my own blood, so therefore the only people who would have any natural immunity to it would have to be of my bloodline! I have no idea what happened to Teresa or the other fetus she carried, but I know, YOU ARE MY DAUGHTER, and you will take your place by my side. My coup is almost complete, not just at the Compound, but I intend to be the Alpha of the Brethren for the entire country. My rule will be all encompassing.”
“You did this? You caused all this death and pain? You’re the one responsible for ruining all those lives, all those families?” Lily’s fists balled in her palms.
He sniffed. “There is always collateral damage. I know you are my child because it’s the only explanation why you survived, why your blood was a key to the serum Volkmann distilled. Every human I infected died within days, if not hours. And the vampires, well, tantalizing as they were, they degenerated to a base nature.”
He waved his hands in the air. “It’s immaterial now, anyway. I had the antivirus for the Weres, you just came along to speed things up. It’s karma, my darling child, can’t you see that? You were brought here by something bigger than both of us. It was meant to be.”
Lily paced back and forth. “Certifiable,” she mumbled, her thoughts racing.
He chuckled. “It’s a lot to digest at once, I know. It’s taken me all week to come to terms with it myself. You see, I wanted you dead along with Leighton, but once I connected the dots, there was no way I could bring myself to murder my own child. Take a moment and think about it. I’m going to get us some champagne!”
Lily’s eyes bugged out of her head. She had called him delusional before, but that was just rhetoric. Now she wasn’t so sure. Champagne? Christ almighty, he’s got me as some kind of heiress to the empire he’s building in his mind! She chewed on her bottom lip. Nah. This had to be part of some elaborate ploy.
Her mind sorted through everything Parr had said. Genetic experimentation? On both humans and vampires? Parr had created some horrific Were version of Nazi Germany and the sick human experimentations performed by Josef Mengele—and for him to dismiss the fallout as collateral damage—perhaps this wasn’t just a ploy, and he truly was insane.
A thought registered and Lily slid down in the chair by the window. Stephanie’s nightmare claimed the woman in her dream smelled like the people Volkmann was trying to help. She had to have meant the people infected with the virus, as that’s the part of the hospital where Rissa had been staying while going through the antiviral testing.
Her mouth fell open as another puzzle piece fell into place. The redhead! She recognized Jack’s sc
ent as her mother’s tormentor! That meant Parr had experimented on Améile! Jesus. It was him. He was indirectly responsible for all those deaths in the city.
The man’s web and all the blood associated with it just seemed to widen, and Lily’s skin crawled thinking about what else it might encompass.
Her nerves were on overdrive. She shot to her feet, pacing again. Is it true? Am I his child? She mulled his words over in her head. She shook her head, pressing her eyes shut at the prospect. No. She had her birth certificate, and her parents would never have knowingly lied to her, not when their best friends in the whole world had gone through it themselves. Beverly and Carl. They may have never gotten around to telling Terry, but Lily knew in her gut that Bev had told her mother. It was the kind of things best friends shared.
Lily looked at her left palm and the faint white line that traversed the center. Best friends. Sisters in everything but blood.
Her eyes flew open. Holy Christ! Terry was born in California and she was a twin. Lily licked her lips, mashing them together. Yeah, but so were hundreds of other unfortunate kids.
The notion ran circles through her mind. What the hell was Terry’s birth mother’s name… Lily shook out her wrists, pacing even harder. She knew it, she heard it in the vision she had in the attic that day with Beverly. Oh God, it was Teresa! Terry’s birth mother’s name was Teresa.
Parr had just mentioned the woman who conceived his children was named Teresa. The timeline fit, and if Terry was half Were, then that stupid blood sister ritual they did when they were twelve years old was what gave Lily her immunity.
Parr said the woman was pregnant with twins. What about Terry’s twin? Lily’s vision couldn’t verify if the child survived or not. Think, Lily think…
She stopped pacing and sunk down on the edge of the bed. Ryan. It was the only piece that fit. He looked like Terry and he was a half-Were…a Werecougar! Holy Christ! Ryan was Terry’s twin brother and Parr’s son!
Parr walked back in and Lily scrambled to wipe any sign of what she had just pieced together from her face.
The man’s manner was not only celebratory, it was downright triumphant. He had two champagne flutes in one hand and a bottle of Dom in the other.
“A toast to my beautiful daughter, and my heir apparent,” he said, raising the bottle high. He practically pranced to the side of the bed, sliding his arm around Lily’s shoulder and resting his head on hers. “Just think of it. Together we will bring the American Lion back to its former glory.” He sniffed, almost overcome with emotion. “My darling girl, I am overwhelmed with my good fortune. I’ve even given the staff the night off!”
Lily sat there speechless, afraid to make any sudden movements.
“Don’t you have anything you want to say to me? His demeanor flip-flopped, his eyes narrowing as if challenging her to disagree.
She ducked out from under his arm, moving toward the center of the room and a clear shot at the door. “Shall we open the champagne?” She cocked her hand on her hip.
“Ha! I so enjoy your nerve, my dear. Oh, Lily, we have so much to learn about each other, but I’m a firm believer in nature over nurture. My blood runs through your veins, so it’s only a matter of time before you come around completely. That you sought revenge for your friend’s death and taught yourself to hunt supes with no formal training, only proves my point.” He let the silver paper from the top of the bottle flutter to the floor, and then untied the wire around the cork.
He walked to the door once more and returned with a white cloth. Draping it over the top of the bottle, he wiggled the cork until they both heard the loud pop. “May this be the first of many celebrations,” he offered with a tender look.
Skepticism ricocheted straight into full blown alarm, and Lily pasted a smile on her face. This was no ploy. Parr had slipped a cog. He truly believed everything he said.
The flutes were on a small round table between the two chairs he’d placed by the window, and he filled the glasses, reaching into his pocket for sugar cubes. At Lily’s raised eyebrow, he dropped one each into the glasses. “Sweets to mask the bitter bubbles.” He smiled, handing her one of the flutes. Raising one high, he winked. “To us.”
***
Sean slammed the car door behind him. He was tired of using a four year old as his intermediary. He wanted to hear Lily’s voice himself, even if it was just in his head.
The police had been all over Bradford Farms Dairy. They found the rope and the razor, and the broken window, but still wouldn’t offer the evidence as anything but suspicious, possibly coincidental. The only evidence they considered to be hard, were the accounts given by eyewitnesses, and those pointed toward an animal attack in the road, or at least that’s what the police were leaning toward.
His hunters had her scent, but they lost it not far up the road, finding it impossible to track the scent of a single vehicle for more than a mile. There were just too many on the road.
Lily was okay at least that’s what her last communiqué through Stephanie had said. Parr was acting crazy, and she was playing along until they found her. If he could only find Jack, then he’d have what he wanted in spades. Sean’s hands itched to rip his former hunter’s throat out. He was a dead man, regardless of the story he spun.
Sean’s phone buzzed. “Leighton.” He was in no mood, and his clipped tone spoke volumes.
“Sean, we’ve got Jack. He’s been spotted in wolf form in the woods outside Bradford. He’s been covering his tracks well. We must have been through that area three times. It appears he’s been following the stream to camouflage his scent. Do you want us to move in?
Sean smiled. “No, Mitch, have one of the men send him a message along the Hunter’s path. Tell him that Lily is still missing, and we have no leads other than the plates on the car that took her were from Maine. Say that I’m rallying the Weres for a full out search, and that I need my best officers by my side. Play it up, tell him that I’m distraught and that you’re worried about my state of mind. That’ll bring the cocky bastard in. If I know him, he’ll think I’m easy pickings and lead me right where I want to go. Have one of guys do it now. We’ll hold a fake strategy meeting in the library tonight. Tell him I want him there. No questions.”
Mitch nodded. “You got it, boss. What if he says no?”
Sean’s anger boiled just below the surface. “No refusals. Tell him it’s mandatory or he faces abnegation.”
***
Jack snickered as he walked up the main path leading to the front door of the manor. “Like taking candy from a baby” he muttered to himself, pushing the heavy oak door aside and walking straight into the library.
“Hey,” he said giving an offhand salute to the men standing around the room as he entered. He walked straight toward the table where Mitch and Sean were huddled over a map. Near the alpha’s hand was a yellow legal pad with the names of hunter’s listed alongside different regions from the State of Maine. “Am I late?”
Sean looked up and shook his head. “Right on time, as usual. Look, I’ve divided the map among the best hunter’s we have, from there I’ve made teams of the lower personal, plus Ross Stanton has graciously offered to give us aerial coverage through his Avians.”
“Great. What can I do to help?” Jack asked, the picture of compassion and friendship. He had to make this look believable, and overstated opinions or excessive enthusiasm were the quickest way to raise suspicion. This was the moment he’d been waiting for.
Sean looked at Mitch. My second-in-command here doesn’t agree, but I want you both with me. He thinks I should have you managing the hunters and their regions, but this has shaken me up pretty bad, and I’ll need you both to stop me from doing something I’ll regret later.”
Mitch gave Jack a knowing look. “He means he’s afraid he’ll go crazy and kill Parr before we have a chance to bring him before a tribunal. We want to handle this in a civilized manner. No bloodshed, just diplomacy.”
“Of course. You can count on
me. What’s our plan of attack? Do we have a region of our own?”
Mitch shook his head. “No. We’re heading back to Bradford. The police just got in the way when we were there, and we didn’t really find anything. It looked on the surface as though the place had been sanitized, but if the three of us head out, we should be able to find something the others missed.”
“Great idea. When do we leave? Jack asked, not wanting to sound too eager.
Sean just looked at him. “We leave now.”
“Okay. Do I have time to grab a change of clothes? I’m feeling a little grubby.”
Sean nodded. “Yeah. We’ll meet down by the car in fifteen minutes.”
Mitch and the others walked out, leaving just Sean and Jack in the library. Jack stood at the door, his hand on the oiled bronze handle. “Sean, I’m so sorry about this. I had no idea that Parr was working with the vamps. It’s the only thing that makes sense, or else he wouldn’t have gotten through me. I can’t help but feel responsible.”
Sean sighed. “I know, Jack. I know exactly on whose shoulders this lies, and believe me, they’re going to pay dearly.”
Jack closed the door behind him, Sean’s expression at his last statement giving him chills. He’d never seen the alpha so focused, not even when they were hunting Jerard. Could he suspect it was him who was truly responsible? Nah. He had all bases covered. The common Were path was bugged, as was the Hunter’s path, plus he had wiretaps on all the phones. He’d know the minute they doubted him.
He turned the corner and took the stairs up to his room two at a time. He’d grab a five minute shower and put on his camo. Really look the part. On the landing he ran into Clotilde, one of the old housekeepers, and they shared a look. She was one of Parr’s moles. Why he felt it necessary to blackmail women was beyond him, but who was he to questions Parr’s methods, when they seemed to get the job done?
The Cursed by Blood Saga Page 45
