CHAPTER SIXTEEN

B en felt like a caged fucking animal. Never in his life had he felt this disempowered and furious.

He paced the room.

Fuck.

Anna.

He needed to get to her. She was in a catatonic state, they had told him. What did that even mean? Since when did vampires go into catatonic states?

Was this a side effect of the experiments done to her in the labs? Had the other recovered vampires experienced the same thing?

He had five million questions and nobody to ask.

And a damn P-Muter on his ankle rendering him powerless.

Fortunately, Oliver would have realized something was wrong by now. His absence and the fact he hadn’t responded to his last message—thank fuck—would have rung warning bells. Oliver would have already begun investigating and found his bike in the garage, assuming Ben had headed out somewhere he didn’t want to be noticed.

The sun was now up, so Ben calculated he could expect Oli in approximately twelve hours. Twelve fucking hours until he could get out of here and find Anna.

Because he had no choice.

He didn’t fully understand why he’d reacted like a goddamn caveman when Craig had told him what had happened to her, but it had taken seven—or maybe it was ten—warriors to wrestle him into this room.

Despite the fucking P-Muter.

He punched his fist into the wall and screamed.

Again.

Shaking his hand—because fuck, it hurt—Ben continued his pacing, forming a plan for the moment Oliver arrived.

A FEW HOURS LATER, his door opened, and the prince stepped in.

Ben was sitting on the sofa with his legs on the coffee table crossed at his ankles. He glared at Brayden, no longer interested in any pretense.

“She’s safe,” Brayden spoke.

Interesting.

“Is that what you think I care about right now? A female?” Ben asked, his brow twitching up. Ben had no intention of giving them shit about anything.

The prince crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. “I know it is, and it’s tearing you up inside.”

Fucker.

“If you’re here for intel in exchange for information about Anna, you can turn around and walk out of here,” Ben said, uncrossing his legs, dropping them to the floor, and leaning his forearms on his knees.

He stared sharply at Brayden. “If you weren’t a Moretti and it wasn’t illegal, I’d be dropping a nice, juicy threat I had every intention of delivering. But you are, so yeah.”

Brayden stared back at him, his expression close to sympathy, which threw Ben.

The prince was a confident alpha, and he knew he’d been observing Ben over the past few weeks. Power rolled off the vampire, and Ben knew he should shut his mouth, but a fire was brewing inside him, ready to explode.

“Don’t underestimate me,” Ben added, sitting back and smirking.

“And yet, here you sit,” Brayden said, tilting his head.

Stop talking.

“For now,” he replied.

Ah, for fuck’s sake.

“You think you’re getting out of here?”

He didn’t think; he knew he was. But it was time to stop spouting off and continue formulating his plan. For that, Ben needed the prince gone.

He sighed. “What do you want, Brayden? Shall we talk about how your commander has an enormous amount of power no vampire should have? Or how the weather is in Greece?”

Silver eyes flared to life.

Gotcha.

Brayden dropped his arms and moved around the armchair, dropping his body into it. The vampire was a giant. His legs wide, he laid his arms along the chair and nodded. “Alright. Let’s talk about that.”

What? He figured the prince didn’t mean Greece’s weather patterns. Frankly, he had no idea—hot, probably—and didn’t give a fuck.

“Why don’t we start with why you consider yourself qualified to judge the strength of a vampire,” Brayden said.

Easy. I’ve trained with the most powerful vampire alive. Next question. Except he couldn’t say any of those things.

“And then we can talk about you visiting Anna.”

Ben couldn’t stop his reaction. His eyes widened.

The prince smiled.

Asshole.

“So, you’re here to manipulate me,” Ben growled.

“Negotiate.”

Ben sighed.

Even if Oliver wasn’t coming, Ben could never share anything with the Moretti’s. The Institute and Ari were off-limits. He had pledged his loyalty to the original Moretti, but it was more than that. Ben was one of the few vampires alive that truly understood the consequences if he talked.

Ari’s existence and who he really was needed to remain unknown.

Especially to the male in front of him.

Ben admitted he had foolishly underestimated the royals and their team. They were smart and powerful. And if he was being honest, he thought they were a good bunch of males. Ben was loyal to the Moretti royal family, even though he worked for Ari. The two, in theory, were one and the same.

But in real life, it didn’t play out that simple.

Being this close to them was damn stupid.

He admitted Ari had been right to tell him to stay away. It was rare that a powerful and highly trained assassin like him had anyone to challenge him. That Craig had been able to creep up on him early this morning was still a shock.

No one should have been able to do that.

Even Ari wasn’t always able to.

“I think we both know I’m not getting my job back, so why don’t you let me go, and I’ll be on my way.”

Brayden laughed.

“Wow, you must think we’re a bunch of fucking idiots.”

“No. I actually respect you.” Ben shrugged. It didn’t mean he was going to divulge the race’s greatest secret, but he wasn’t going to dishonour the royal family by being a total asshole.

“That’s good to hear. So why don’t you start by telling me who you work for.”

“I’m a freelancer.”

“Who trained you?”

“Fred.”

The prince glared at him.

“For fuck’s sake, Brayden. You know what I am, and you know I’m not going to talk,” Ben spat out. “I’m no threat to any of you. That I can promise you.”

Brayden leaned forward on his knees. “Yes, I can see exactly what you are. So why are you here?”

Ben shook his head.

“Give me one answer, one piece of information, and I will let you see Anna.” Brayden said, sitting back.

Ben stared at the prince, contemplating the offer. It was damn tempting. He should tell him to leave, but as he considered it, he thought of all the things he could tell them that wouldn’t get them anywhere near Ari or The Institute.

And here he was again, skating on dodgy ground.

Seeing Anna was an offer he couldn’t refuse. They both knew that. It would also save him a ton of time when Oliver came if he knew where she was and how to quickly get to her.

He nodded.

“Why are you in Rome?” Brayden asked.

Ben’s brain whirled as he considered the consequences of his answer. Brayden would want more than a one-word answer, so he had to be careful with his words.

“We have a common enemy,” he answered.

Brayden tilted his head, processing that information. Those silver eyes bored into him as if trying to read his mind. If they had shared blood, the two of them could have telepathed, but they hadn’t.

Hell, they hadn’t even shared a meal.

“Keep talking,” Brayden replied finally.

Ben shrugged. “I’m here to eliminate that enemy, and I will before I leave Rome. That’s all I can say. I’ve already said too much.”

He fucking had. Way too fucking much.

But he needed to get to Anna.

The longer they sat here, the itchier his fists got.

“If you’re referring to the Russo’s, then you needn’t concern yourself. They are being executed in a few days,” the prince said.

Ben simply nodded.

“But you aren’t, are you?”

Fucking hell. The prince was like a dog with a goddamn bone.

“No.”

Brayden sighed.

“You are a powerful warrior, Ben. You must know I recognize that. My very existence is about protecting the vampire race and ensuring it continues to thrive.”

Yeah, he knew that.

Both the Moretti brothers had made sure every vampire alive knew. They were a royal family beloved by ninety-nine percent of the race. Which was a pretty good popularity rating by any stretch.

“I do,” Ben replied, warmth hitting his eyes. “We all do, my lord.”

“What I don’t know for sure is if you pose a risk.”

“I don’t.”

“Yet without more information, I can’t be sure. So you see the problem,” Brayden said. “That decision is for me and the king to make. The buck stops with us. The more you can tell us, the easier and faster you can be released.”

Ben rubbed his face.

He didn’t want to be an asshole. Brayden Moretti was a good guy. He also didn’t need his help getting out of here, though he wasn’t going to forewarn him.

“I’m sorry, that’s all I can share. When I leave, you will never see me again,” he told him. “I have no intentions of hurting anyone.”

“Who are you protecting, Ben?” Brayden growled.

Your uncle. But you don’t know he’s still alive or that the guy is your blood relative. And the only living original Moretti vampire on the planet.

And they never would.

He shook his head. “All of you.”

They sat staring at each other for long minutes. The alpha energy rolling off the prince would have crushed a different male, and even Ben was beginning to sweat.

In the end, he looked away and shook his head. “I held up my end of the bargain. Take me to Anna.”

The prince would either do it or he wouldn’t. Ben was over the games.

Brayden stood and walked to the door. “Let’s go.”