Kyra
She had not updated the coven in several days, which was unlike her. She had stayed with the pack, immersing herself in their life and customs.
Finally, Victor texted her. They made a habit of not revealing important information on text. According to Victor there were too many hackers that were too skilled to trust anything written down. But finally Victor insisted that she come over.
She arrived at the coven early the next morning.
Victor shot her an intense glare. "How nice of you to finally join us."
She never made a habit of talking back to the vampire who had raised her, but her patience had worn thin with his sarcasm. "I was infiltrating the pack. I was doing exactly what you wanted me to do, was I not?"
"There's a fine line between infiltration and switching to the other side. How do I know they haven't gotten in your head?"
She was tired of being questioned. "Because they fucking killed my parents. They destroyed any life I might've had. Do you think I forget that when I'm with them?" She swept her arms out, nearly knocking over one of the coven’s antique artifacts. For a second, she contemplated picking it up and smashing it over Victor’s head.
The problem was that the man who had ruined her parents’ lives as well as her life was no longer alive.
And she wasn't sure how Roman would react to one of his pack members bringing home a human mate.
What would happen if he passed the test? Would she follow through with the plan?
For years she'd believed in Victor's mission. She'd believe the vampires had the moral high ground because they didn't care about bloodlines. They didn't care how anyone was born or where they came from, or who their parents were – they only cared about strength and power and money. Those things were tangible. At least more so than a bloodline, because there was some control over how hard you worked or how devoted you were to the coven.
No one had any control over their bloodline. It was decided before a baby was even born. But the vampires had a system that she could relate to.
Not for the first time, she felt some real apprehension about what they were going to do. If she took away Eliza's right to choose to become a vampire, then how was she any better than Roman’s father had been?
Would Eliza spend her entire life plotting against Victor and Kyra? Would she one day seek to avenge her own father by killing Victor and Kyra and the rest of the coven? That would be the only logical conclusion.
Victor must have sensed that Kyra was spiraling.
He guided her into the dining room where several other members of the coven waited. They were all ancient vampires and high-ranking in the coven. "It is time to discuss the timeline,” Victor said. “We need some target dates for when we will begin the assimilation."
Her body locked up. Halfway through pulling out the chair so she could sit down, she nearly fell forward on her face. She managed to pretend that the chair had caught on the rug and straightened it. “How soon?” she asked. She wasn't ready. "What were you thinking?"
"Three weeks."
"Three weeks? That's not nearly enough time for me to completely gain their trust."
"Have they or have they not already asked you to join the pack?"
"Derek has talked about it but I have not formally asked permission. It will be up to the Alpha. And I never wanted to appear too eager because they would wonder what the rush is.”
"You've traveled internationally with this shifter. He is the second in command. You've met his Alpha. You met his Alpha’s mate and his children. What more could you possibly need?"
“It takes time to build relationships!"
Victor folded his hands together and stared at her. “Kyra, are you intentionally trying to delay this process?”
"Of course not." She worked on making sure that her blood pressure, heart rate, and pulse were all steady. Vampire hearing was even better than a shifter’s. And although they no longer had blood flowing through their veins, they were quite adept in noticing when a human was distressed. Kyra could not give away that her heart was racing. She had no idea what to do. Did she stay loyal to her coven and follow their lead? Or did she betray them and warn Derek what was to come?
There was no choice to be made.
She would stay loyal.
She owed her life to the coven and her allegiance. The vampires had saved her life when wolf shifters would not. That very same pack was the one who watched her father die and left her abandoned as a young pup, alone with nothing.
"Give me a start date,” she said, resolute. This was her mission. She would see it through. It wasn’t just about her. It was about her parents and all the other shifters who’d been treated so badly. “Then we will enact our plan."