Primal Kill (The Order of Vampires #5)

Her gaze dropped. “They would have punished me for interfering. Females are not permitted inside of council meetings unless summoned by an elder.”

Juniper’s jaw trembled as she lifted her chin. “Would they beat you? Burn you? Try to drown you? Touch you without consent? Because that’s what they were doing to me—for months—while all of you just sat there like I didn’t matter. And maybe I didn’t. I’m not one of you. You couldn’t feel?—”

“We do feel. More than you realize.”

“Really? Did you feel what I did to them last night? Could you hear their screams?”

“What are you talking about?”

“When I escaped, they were all gathered around a burning building. The fire had them preoccupied. They didn’t see me coming.”

“Juniper, what did you do?”

“I showed them what pain is.”

Adriel looked away, her brow pinched and her mouth a firm line. “My son was there.”

“I earned a right to revenge.”

“You make these blanket assumptions about my kind as if we’re all cruel when we’re not. Christian would never?—”

“Your son wanted me dead.”

“That’s enough.”

“I said that too. Begged, actually, but they didn’t care.”

She covered her ears. “I don’t know what you want from me.”

Juniper yanked her hands away from her head. “I want to believe you’re prepared to fight. I’m laying my neck on the line for you. When shit hits the fan, are you going to fight? Because the days of meekly sitting on a bench are over, Adriel. There can be no hesitation. Do you understand? I need you to unlock whatever closed-off part of yourself you’re hiding in there. Fuck propriety. Fuck the rules. This is life or death, and I didn’t come all this way to die.”

“Then why did you come with me?”

“Because we’re stronger together! But I have to truly believe we’re in this together. We’re the only two people who matter now. I protect you, and you protect me. That’s where our loyalty has to lie. Not with your son. Not with the elders. And not with other immortals. I’m the one here with you.”

She nodded her understanding. “You’re right.We were taught to be pacifists, especially the females.”

“Well, fuck that. You’re tougher than you realize, and you don’t need a man’s permission to survive. You do whatever is necessary. From here on out, we only answer to each other. Got it?” She held out a hand.

Adriel stared at it. “What do you want?”

“I want you to shake it. It means you agree.”

Their hands locked and Juniper exhaled a sigh of relief. “Good.” She released her grip. “Now, tell me about Dane.”

“Dane? What about him?”

“He’s different, but I don’t understand how.”

She bit her lower lip. “Dane’s mother was a mortal.”

“And his father?”

“Was not.”

“Like…”Me,she almost announced. “How old is he?”

“Young. Perhaps twenty. He and his sister arrived on the farm after Isaiah killed their adoptive mother.”