“Piss off, Trinity,” Jedrik interrupted.
Waleron pushed away from the wall and all eyes turned toward him. I suspected that was his intention. “Rayne was attacked last night by one of Liam’s underlings.”
“Ah, the new girl. So what.” Trinity glanced at me and shrugged. Yeah, she was a complete bitch.
Waleron ignored her and continued. “Also, the Grit from the compound has been seen asking questions about her.” My breath hitched and Kilter’s hand on my hip flinched. Waleron directed his ice-blue eyes to Trinity. “And Abigail drank Liam’s blood and is presently in detox.”
Trinity’s composure broke and her eyes widened, mouth gaped. Then just as suddenly as the shock came, it was gone. “Stupid child. Just like her mother,” Trinity said with a wave of her hand with a dramatic sigh. “Ungrateful wench. Where is she?”
“She’s at an undisclosed location and will remain there until she either dies or survives detox,” Waleron said.
“I will be responsible for my witches,” Trinity shot back.
“You haven’t been responsible for your witch for over a fuckin’ year,” Jedrik said. “Haven’t even been looking for her.”
Waleron continued, “She was pregnant with Damien’s child, which subsequently she’s lost. She cannot be moved.”
Who was Damien?
“Damien?” Trinity said. “I find that difficult to believe. He detests women.”
Waleron’s brows twitched. “Liam is behind both women’s situations and I want to know why.”
“Abigail is rebellious just like her mother,” Trinity said. “And now, she will die from her own foolishness. Like mother, like daughter.”
“You’re a coldhearted bitch,” Jedrik sneered.
Trinity smiled. “Yes. And I get what and who I desire because of it.”
“Trin,” Anstice warned.
I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it wasn’t good.
“Liam had a truce with us,” Keir said. “He’d never allow a witch to drink his blood unless she’s vital to him.”
“He’s up to something,” Hack said with his arm slung over the back of the couch. “He’s been too quiet recently.”
“Yes. And I suspect that plan has something to do with Rayne and Abigail. When Delara arrives, she may have some insight into Liam’s plans. We have another issue to address.” Waleron turned his attention to me. “Rayne, we need to know everything we can about the compound.”
I knew this was coming. They’d eventually want to know what Anton was doing, why he was interested in the Scars. And in some way, I was relieved that it had come to this. That I was strong enough to tell them.
Kilter leaned toward me. “You don’t want to do this, we walk away.”
God, that was sweet. I linked my fingers with his and gently squeezed. Then I raised my chin and looked at Waleron. “In the beginning, Anton was obsessed with discovering what I was capable of. My abilities.” I avoided the witch’s curious stare. “There were CWOs there and a woman I met a few times. Humans, too. I only saw a vampire once, but he was a prisoner. I don’t know how Anton knew about them. I don’t know how he knew about my abilities. But it was like…I don’t know, but maybe he knew long before my parents died. He never told me. Never talked about my parents. It was like when they died, they no longer existed.” I paused. “Those who worked for him were really loyal. Even the CWOs. But it wasn’t because they liked him. It was something else.”
“CWOs don’t like humans,” Keir stated.
“There was a woman who came to the compound. I think she was pretty powerful because even Roarke, the Grit who led the CWOs at the compound, was uneasy around her. I have no idea who she was, though.” Actually, she reminded me a lot of Trinity. “I saw her argue with Anton. It was obvious he was nervous around her. After the argument, that’s when the experimenting started.” My throat tightened. “The Grit, Roarke, was given my blood.”
“Like drank it? Like a vampire?” Hack asked, surprised.
I shook my head. “No, intravenously. A transfusion. Anton wanted to see if giving him my blood would do anything. He wanted to know whether my abilities would be transferred onto the Grit. They weren’t.” I took a deep breath and glanced up at Kilter. God, I didn’t want anyone to know, especially Kilter. “So we did it another way. We were bred. Anton thought a child might carry both our abilities.”
The tension on my waist intensified. “Fuck,” Kilter muttered under his breath.
Please don’t pity me.
“You are the strongest woman I know, babe.”
He’d read my thoughts. Then I realized, I no longer shielded them from him. I’d let him in.
“Roarke, he was the only one and it didn’t work. I never got pregnant.”
Kilter’s fingers tensed on my waist. I’d just given him another reason to not trust Roarke.
Balen gave me a respectful nod before he spoke. “What did the CWOs do at the compound?”
“On occasion, Roarke would leave and many of the CWOs would go with him. They seemed really loyal to him. But I don’t know where they went or what they did,” I replied.
“Grits are the most powerful,” Anstice said. “They could have feared him.”
I nodded. “They wouldn’t go against Roarke or the woman.”