Page 102 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“Was he cruel when you returned?”

“He was furious. He sought to punish me by freezing me out. He ignored me and wouldn’t come to my bed. It was when he withheld his love that I saw him for who he truly was. How he tried to rule us through fear and never gave anyone the affection they were clearly starved for. I knew I had to leave, but first I had to make some things right.”

“What did you have to make right?”

“Did you hear Edgar before I got to him?”

“Yes,” she said with a shaky swallow. “Was he referring to The Count as Master?”

Valeria nodded. “Since he is a Born vampire, he has other powers. Sometimes he will keep humans under his control, making them do his bidding indefinitely. I don’t know how he does it, but he controls them through blood, and they are perfectly loyal to him. The only way to break the thrall is death.”

Her breath caught. “That’s what happened with Edgar?”

“I’m sorry. Originally, he was going to kill him in London, but when I went off the plan, he decided to keep him alive. I didn’t know his plan until Sveta told me.”

Caroline closed her eyes. Edgar hadn’t been right since he returned because he wasn’t truly him. Her Edgar died weeks ago, and what Valeria did tonight was a kindness. No one could control him anymore.

“What was his plan for me?”

Valeria paused, and Caroline knew she was considering not telling her, and she held her breath. This was an important test on whether they could actually be together. Caroline had no interest in being coddled. She may be physically weaker, but that didn’t make her weak.

Valeria sighed. “He wanted you to marry Edgar, and then when the time came, he was going to have Edgar kill your family and then deliver you to him. I don’t know what his plans were after that, but there was a chance he didn’t have one and would decide in the moment.”

Caroline shivered. The threat was real; she had known as much when she had met The Count.

“You’re safe now, cara. I promise.”

“How can you be sure? If he was that upset with me, I don’t imagine he’ll stop just because you killed one of his lackeys.”

It hurt to think of Edgar in such a way, but she thought of all of his peculiarities after his return. His sudden interest in helping her wedding plan. The way his eyes tracked her. He probably released The Count from his cage in the hospital.

“That was where I had help from Svetlana, his first wife. Really, all the girls, but Sveta helped the most. She drugged him, and now they’re all on the ship to America. She’ll keep him drugged until the end of their journey. Once they arrive, I think he’ll have other problems to deal with. Or…,” she trailed off sheepishly.

“Or?”

“Or he’ll forget about it for a while and get upset again in a dozen years or so. He’s petty, but I’ve only been with him for three years. I think Svetlana is planning to leave him too, and that will take most of his focus since they’ve been together for hundreds of years. No matter what, I won’t let him hurt you or your family. I promise.”

Caroline stroked the back of Valeria’s hand with her thumb. It was warm to the touch, but not too warm to suggest she had overindulged. She felt alive.

“I trust you. You’ve had so many opportunities to hurt me, and you haven’t. I trust you. Even though you killed my husband.”

“I don’t regret it. Even if he hadn’t been a danger to you and your family, I still would have wanted to snap his neck.”

“What is it with vampires and neck snapping?”

“It’s the greatest disrespect. Saying that someone isn’t even worth draining. Blood is life, so a death without taking blood is very purposeful,” Valeria said, her eyes flicking down, and Caroline knew if she could, she would be blushing.

“Then why did you drain him?”

“Because he had The Count’s blood in him. If a human dies with vampire blood inside them, they can turn into a vampire. Chances are he didn’t have nearly enough to turn, but I didn’t want to take that chance. Sometimes even the barest hint of vampire blood is enough for the human to attempt to turn, but it isn’t successful without enough blood, so instead they are stuck in that agony for days until they die naturally or someone takes pity and kills them. I didn’t think he deserved that.”

Caroline smiled. “Thank you for sparing him that nightmare.”

Valeria rolled her eyes. “I’m not happy to have his blood in me. I can taste his arousal for you. How giddy he was to fuck you. Giddy,” she scoffed.

“You know you’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. I was going to lie with him because it was my duty, but my heart wasn’t in it. Not like it is with you.”

Valeria’s eyes flashed. “He better not have been trying to force you.”