like my grandfather. He’s an asshole, but to believe he’s some murdering evil bastard is kind of difficult for me to do.”
“He’s killed plenty of people. He’s greedy and power-hungry. We get the news here about your world. How many times have you seen stories where some warlord killed innocents to gain more land or money? Decker wants more people under his control. He murdered his own mate, who he’d sworn to protect, and tried to use his own child, your mother , as a bargaining chip to gain an alliance with the GarLycans in order to slaughter his own kind. Now he’s attempting to use his granddaughter to do it yet again. What kind of monster does that make him?”
“If he’s got a dick, well…you’ve heard of high divorce rates, right? Men can be heartless pigs to their wives. Maybe my grandfather thought it would be easier to kill her than go through a messy divorce. I see stories about it in the news all the time. And I have no clue what happened between my grandfather and my mother. As for my sister, he doesn’t know us.”
“Humans divorce. Lycans mate forever. It’s a bonding that is so strong, some die without the other. Filmore has to be defective in mind and heart to have been able to kill Marvilella. She was bound to him, tried to change him for the better by giving him her love, but she suffered greatly for it. She always looked sad when she visited her family in our clan.”
Dusti rolled her eyes. “Now you’re telling me you’re old enough to have known my grandmother? She died before I was even born. You aren’t much older than I am. You would have been a baby.”
A chilly smile curved his lips. “You’d be surprised at how old I truly am.”
“Right. Because you’re half Vampire and they don’t age. Sure. Okay, Grandpa. You look damn fine for a geezer.”
“Your smart mouth is going to be your undoing. Fine, don’t believe what you’re told, but eventually you’ll see the truth.”
It was too much for her. It was too foreign a concept. “Whatever. If I bought into this crap, what makes my sister such a hot commodity to this Aveoth anyway? Can’t he find a woman on his own? If I’m buying this chunk of swampland you’re trying to sell, a lot would depend on whether or not he even wanted her. You’ve met my sister. Most guys spend two minutes with her and run for cover if they have a brain.”
“It’s the bloodline. Aveoth has a craving for it.”
“Come again?” Dusti frowned.
“He was set to take Margola as his lover but she died before reaching maturity. After she was promised to him, Margola’s parents gave Aveoth a bit of her blood to drink, every month for a few years. GarLycans have stronger Gargoyle genes. They don’t form emotional attachments to lovers, only their mates. Margola’s parents feared he’d be so callous toward her that her life would be utter misery. They’d hoped he’d become addicted to her blood enough that he’d take good care of her, and not kill her soul during the years she’d spend with him until he finally found his mate and set her free.”
“Where are her parents?”
He hesitated. “That’s unknown. They fled shortly after Margola’s death. I think they were afraid Aveoth’s father would kill them for allowing her to die.”
“It sounds like they were responsible for her death or something? Were they?”
“No. Aveoth’s father was a full-blooded Gargoyle and cold as ice. He did blame them; felt they should have watched her better since she was promised to his son. She loved to take walks in the woods, and they allowed it. She ran into a group of hunters who must have thought she was an animal, since she was in her shifted form. They opened fire on her. She escaped them but died before the clan found her. They’d gone searching when she didn’t make it home. Lord Abotorus was enraged, since he’d allowed Aveoth to feed off her. He hadn’t wanted to but Margola’s parents had insisted. Afterward, Aveoth
“He’s killed plenty of people. He’s greedy and power-hungry. We get the news here about your world. How many times have you seen stories where some warlord killed innocents to gain more land or money? Decker wants more people under his control. He murdered his own mate, who he’d sworn to protect, and tried to use his own child, your mother , as a bargaining chip to gain an alliance with the GarLycans in order to slaughter his own kind. Now he’s attempting to use his granddaughter to do it yet again. What kind of monster does that make him?”
“If he’s got a dick, well…you’ve heard of high divorce rates, right? Men can be heartless pigs to their wives. Maybe my grandfather thought it would be easier to kill her than go through a messy divorce. I see stories about it in the news all the time. And I have no clue what happened between my grandfather and my mother. As for my sister, he doesn’t know us.”
“Humans divorce. Lycans mate forever. It’s a bonding that is so strong, some die without the other. Filmore has to be defective in mind and heart to have been able to kill Marvilella. She was bound to him, tried to change him for the better by giving him her love, but she suffered greatly for it. She always looked sad when she visited her family in our clan.”
Dusti rolled her eyes. “Now you’re telling me you’re old enough to have known my grandmother? She died before I was even born. You aren’t much older than I am. You would have been a baby.”
A chilly smile curved his lips. “You’d be surprised at how old I truly am.”
“Right. Because you’re half Vampire and they don’t age. Sure. Okay, Grandpa. You look damn fine for a geezer.”
“Your smart mouth is going to be your undoing. Fine, don’t believe what you’re told, but eventually you’ll see the truth.”
It was too much for her. It was too foreign a concept. “Whatever. If I bought into this crap, what makes my sister such a hot commodity to this Aveoth anyway? Can’t he find a woman on his own? If I’m buying this chunk of swampland you’re trying to sell, a lot would depend on whether or not he even wanted her. You’ve met my sister. Most guys spend two minutes with her and run for cover if they have a brain.”
“It’s the bloodline. Aveoth has a craving for it.”
“Come again?” Dusti frowned.
“He was set to take Margola as his lover but she died before reaching maturity. After she was promised to him, Margola’s parents gave Aveoth a bit of her blood to drink, every month for a few years. GarLycans have stronger Gargoyle genes. They don’t form emotional attachments to lovers, only their mates. Margola’s parents feared he’d be so callous toward her that her life would be utter misery. They’d hoped he’d become addicted to her blood enough that he’d take good care of her, and not kill her soul during the years she’d spend with him until he finally found his mate and set her free.”
“Where are her parents?”
He hesitated. “That’s unknown. They fled shortly after Margola’s death. I think they were afraid Aveoth’s father would kill them for allowing her to die.”
“It sounds like they were responsible for her death or something? Were they?”
“No. Aveoth’s father was a full-blooded Gargoyle and cold as ice. He did blame them; felt they should have watched her better since she was promised to his son. She loved to take walks in the woods, and they allowed it. She ran into a group of hunters who must have thought she was an animal, since she was in her shifted form. They opened fire on her. She escaped them but died before the clan found her. They’d gone searching when she didn’t make it home. Lord Abotorus was enraged, since he’d allowed Aveoth to feed off her. He hadn’t wanted to but Margola’s parents had insisted. Afterward, Aveoth
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