Chapter 4

Trisha’s P.O.V:

Paradise International was one of the largest hotels in the USA, though the world has changed considerably, this hotel has been standing here for the last four hundred years. The architecture was so brilliant that it still attracted thousands of tourists every year that simply came to adore it, even though they didn’t have the money to stay here. The beautifully curved archways, the statues of angels and Greek Goddesses and the hundreds of fountains both inside and outside the Hotel made it a tourist hotspot. The manager had finally taken pity on the poor travelers and now there were three sessions a day where a hundred tourists and architects were give a tour of the entire Hotel at an affordable rate.

But I wasn’t here to admire the architecture. I was here for a far more valuable reason.

I wore black jeans with a red spaghetti strap top and a black leather jacket on top of it, paired with ankle high boots. Since I wasn’t usually spotted without my work clothes which consisted mainly of a black trousers and a crisp white shirt, I wouldn’t be that easily recognized. On top of that, I’d also let my hair down from its usual top knot and donned sunglasses.

Room 2101 was one of the cheapest rooms in the Hotel, located on the third floor, which meant the only view you’d get from that room would be of the streets and the nearby Hotels. It was a perfect cover for someone who wanted to be dismissed as one of those people who just wanted to stay in a fancy hotel and then brag about it to the entire world. It also provided a good vantage point for those who didn’t want to be found easily.

Arriving on the third floor at 1 o’ clock on the dot, I took a while to compose myself before I knocked on the door. It opened just as I placed my knuckles on the polished wood.

Pushing the door further, I used my heightened hearing to get a jist of how many people might be waiting to pounce on me, and then stepped inside when I heard only one heartbeat coming from the dark room. I shut the door behind me and all the lights in the room were suddenly turned on. It momentarily caused my eyes to sting, but I kept them open so as to avoid any surprise attacks.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Redfern. I’ve been waiting for you.” A voice so rich and throaty that it made me want to hear more of it. “And please, you can leave that silver blade and gun by the door.”

I froze. How on Earth had he sensed the blade and the gun? None of the vampires in this building had been able to and some of them had been over two hundred years old.

But then again, I wasn’t dealing with a vampire here. He was a wolf. And the last interaction I’ve ever had with a wolf was when one was tearing my entire family to shreds…digging it’s sharp claws into my abdomen as I stood in front of my baby boy, in the hopes to protect him. It had been a futile effort in the end.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Donovan. I don’t like been around unknown creatures unarmed.”I told him, keeping my voice stern as memories of that night flickered through my mind.

Those memories had began to fade slowly over time and now they were no more than simple flashes, half-shadowed images in a corner of my mind. But the scars they had left were branded on my soul forever.

“I guess you’re right. Please have a seat then.”No harshness in his voice, just clear understanding. He was trying his best to lure me in. Thankfully, I knew he wouldn’t kill me because at the moment, I needed him just as much as he needed me.

I took a few more steps inside the room until I was fully inside and that’s when I set my eyes on Lucas Donovan, sitting on one of the two chairs available in the small room, right next to the windows that were draped shut.

Oh My!

Rich, dark olive skin that spoke of long hours in the sun, charcoal black hair that fell to his forehead like liquid silk and a face just as rugged as it was handsome. Werewolves were usually huge in size so it’s natural that their human counterpart would be large too, but Lucan was built magnificently. So much that he seemed to swallow up all the space in this tiny room. He wore a casual black shirt that hugged his figure in just the right places and he had paired it with blue denims and black sneakers.

The last time when he’d arrived in New York, dragging a dead vampire halfway through town, the media had been too scared to take proper pictures of him. And those who had taken pictures on their cell phones hadn’t been able to get a clear shot of his face or get near enough to get high quality photos. So no one really knew how Lucas Donovan looked like…until now.

“You seem surprised, Ms. Redfern.” His lips tilted up in a half smile, half smirk with more than a hint of arrogance. “Were you expecting some vile, hairy creature with saliva dripping off its jaws?”

I gulped. “Maybe.” I took slow calculated steps towards the chair opposite him before I took a seat. If his human form was this big, I could only wonder how big his wolf might be. There was no way I’d be able to fight him if he decides to attack. “The only other time I had seen a werewolf in my life was when one of them decided to shred me and my family to bits.”

“Ah!” Realization lit the depths of those warm hazel eyes. “The Wipeout was a tough time for all of us. Unfortunately, I’d been only an infant back then. So you can count me out of that massacre.”

“What about after?” I asked; knowing full well that he hadn’t been sleeping under a rock until now. You don’t just become the Supreme Alpha by being a saint.

“What do you think? But, I do not plan on repeating the mistakes of my forefathers.” He left it at that. “Would you like something to drink, Ms. Redfern? I'm afraid I'm out of blood. Wine?” He held up a bottle of red from a side table.

“Sure.” I shrugged. Poison didn’t exactly work on vampires. There were very specific poisons in the world that could actually render a vampire useless but those poisons were very hard to come by and no one except a select few of Damien’s scientists had knowledge of how to prepare that special brand of cocktail.

As he poured us each a glass, I took the time to admire the surroundings. Even the cheapest rooms in Paradise seem to be well decorated. From curtains to furniture, everything had quality. Just like the Castle at the centre of New York. When I'd just turned, Father had taken me to the castle with him to get adjusted to this new world. Although I hadn’t met Damien in person until a lot later, he'd been the hot topic of discussion for all the staff members.

“Here you go.” Lucas handed me the drink and took a sip from his glass. “You know...I can totally understand Damien’s fascination with you. You're one Hell of a woman Trisha Redfern. Not only are you beautiful but also one of the smartest lawyers in Damien’s court. Pretty impressive for a 200 year old.”

I smiled. “For someone who knows so much about me, you sure as hell have some major flaws in your facts.”

But Lucas remained unfazed. “Trisha-Can I call you that?” He continued after my nod. “If Damien didn't favor you so much, he'd have done a lot more than give you a little sun burn.”

I sucked in a breath. “How did you know about that?”

This time, his smile was slow and cunning. “I have my sources.”

“Are those sources going to inform me of why I’m here or are you going to talk?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral. If his sources were that good, then I’d better be careful in my dealings with him from now on.

“Like I said, I want to speak to Damien Vandolff, without having to worry about an ambush attack.” He shrugged those wide shoulders. “We have many things to discuss and my next course of action will depend on how our meeting goes.”

Somehow, I felt a tiny flicker of relief that Lucas didn’t want to harm Damien, although Damien was perfectly capable of defending himself. “I need to know why you’re so intent on meeting Damien. And why contact me to get him to agree? You could have contacted him just as easily yourself.”

“I’m afraid it’s not that easy.” Lucas got up from his chair and for the first time I saw exactly how well built he was; bigger than Damien in both width and height. If Damien was a tank, Lucas was a mountain; strong, confident and earthy. He went to stand in front of the windows and removed the drapes to one side to reveal a view of the buildings in front of Paradise International. “Damien is a capable man but he’s only one man. There are a lot of things happening under his nose that no one knows about.”

“And you know this because?” I set aside my untouched glass of wine.

“Wolves are considered minority,” he turned to face me with a sarcastic smile. “Which somehow makes us buddies with other underdogs. We can blend in easily, go unnoticed by the vampires and get a lot of valuable information others can’t even begin to think about.”

“Even if I do believe you for a second, how is any of this going to help me protect that child?” I rose from my chair and walked closer to him. Lucas’s 6 feet 7 frame easily towered over my 5 feet 9. He was even taller than Damien.

“Your problem isn’t just protecting the boy, its Vandal Rudolf.” He folded his arms across his chest, making his muscles strain the thin fabric of his t-shirt. “I have enough evidence against him that Damien just might be tempted to take care of him on a more permanent basis and make an example out of him. Our purposes are intertwined, Trisha. It’s best if we work together.”

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. If there was any evidence against Vandal then I would’ve found something by now, but I haven’t found anything. Vandal’s security was airtight. Even the maid who had brought Neema to me had gone missing only a few hours after handing me the boy. No one could get in and out of his mansion without him knowing; even the wind blew only with his permission. But if Lucas could find out about what Damien had done to me, he just might have something. Even father didn’t know the entire details and even though he was Damien’s trusted healer, he had spared my father the horrors of watching me in that state.

“I’ll need time to think about it.” I told him. No way was I just going to jump at a werewolf’s offer without further investigation, no matter how tempting that offer might be.

“You have until this weekend. I’ll contact you again on Sunday. Be sure to have an answer by then, or I won’t be responsible for anything that happens after that.” It was an ultimatum, and I had only four days in hand to make such a complicated decision.

If this was my choice, I’d have made up my mind by then. But this is Damien, and he doesn’t like listening to suggestions unless they were his own.