He snorted. ‘That means nothing in the supernatural world. Brown certainly couldn’t have done what you did.’ He gazed into my eyes. ‘So the question remains: what on earth are you, D’Artagnan?’
His scrutiny was making me uneasy – and so was his question. ‘Lucky,’ I shrugged, making light of the situation. ‘Just lucky.’
‘You don’t believe that any more than I do. Who are your parents? What do they do?’
Discomfort tightened the muscles in my shoulders. ‘They don’t do anything. They’re dead.’
Lukas drew in a breath. ‘I’m sorry.’
I looked away. ‘They died a long time ago.’ I shook myself. Whatever I was, I couldn’t see how it had any bearing on our investigation. I was convinced what had happened was nothing more than an unnatural by-product. I knew I was too afraid to delve deeper into myself – but I also knew that right now we had more important things to do. ‘Lady Sullivan,’ I said firmly. ‘We need to talk to her.’
Lukas continued to watch me intently.
‘Lukas!’ I snapped. ‘Lady Sullivan! We need to find out what the hell happened to Becca and why Lady Sullivan didn’t tell us about it.’
He stepped away from me. ‘Yes.’ He pointed down the road. ‘Her residence is this way.’
I began striding in that direction. Lukas followed. I didn’t need to turn around to know that his eyes were burning into my back the entire way.
Chapter Twenty-One
The werewolf who opened the door to Lady Sullivan’s imposing gothic house was considerably smarter than Gregory. He was wearing a well-tailored suit; unfortunately, the impact of his expensive attire was impaired by the way his face turned blotchy and tufts of fur sprang forth from his forehead when he saw Lukas.
My eyes drifted down to the tag on his arm. Yellow. Whatever that meant.
‘Protocol dictates that I handle this,’ Lukas murmured, before stepping up and giving the jittery wolf a dazzling, fanged smile. ‘Inform Lady Sullivan that Lord Horvath is here to see her.’
More fur appeared; in fact, whiskers were now springing from the wolf’s cheeks. He didn’t utter a word, he simply bowed and turned away to pass along the message.
There was the sound of ripping fabric and I saw a long tail appear from the seat of his expensive trousers. It was very hard not to stare.
‘We’re getting closer and closer to the full moon,’ Lukas said. ‘It’s not easy for the younger, less dominant wolves to control themselves.’
‘His tag was yellow.’
‘Zeta. He’s a ranking wolf,’ Lukas explained. ‘But only just.’
Another man appeared, older with hints of grey at his temples. ‘Lord Horvath. How lovely to see you at our door on this fine day.’ He glanced at me. ‘And the latest in a long line of Supernatural Squad detectives. I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me your name?’
‘That’s incredibly rude, Robert,’ Lukas said.
A lazy smile lit the older wolf’s face. ‘DC Brown never minded.’
‘DC Brown didn’t care.’ There was an underlying tone of menace in Lukas’s response. Interesting. And scary.
Robert, who was no doubt one of the higher-ranking betas given his lack of an arm tag and Lukas’s knowledge of his name, continued smiling. ‘Indeed.’
He raised his head, scenting the air. It wasn’t the aroma of London city he was curious about, however, it was me. ‘Alas, Lady Sullivan is very busy. She will grant you the boon of an audience as soon as she can. She is always enthusiastic about meeting with the police. There is an opening in her diary next week, after the full moon. Would 2.45pm next Thursday suit?’
Lukas growled. He appeared suddenly, genuinely angry and I had the distinct sensation that all hell was about to break loose. No doubt the fact that one of Lady Sullivan’s underlings was treating me – and therefore, by extension, the Lord of all vampires – like a random passer-by was a punch in the face. And it was something that Lukas had to respond to.
If there was one thing I’d learnt in my detective training, it was that fighting fire with fire only ever led to a blazing inferno. Despite my own annoyance at Lady Sullivan’s attempts to conceal the truth from us, I knew that we had to use water to fight effectively.
‘Unfortunately,’ I broke in smoothly, ‘this is an urgent matter of the utmost importance. I’m afraid we need to see her straight away.’
‘As I’ve already said, Lady Sullivan is very busy.’ Robert paused. ‘However, if you tell me your name, I will endeavour to slide you in before her next appointment.’
Lukas bristled. ‘You will do nothing of the sort,’ he said to me. Then he glared at the wolf. ‘You may call her D’Artagnan.’
This show of machismo was rather exhausting to watch. ‘It’s a test,’ I said.
‘I don’t care what it is,’ Lukas replied. He didn’t raise his voice, but there was no denying his mounting fury. ‘It’s disrespectful, discourteous and,’ he bared his sharp teeth, ‘downright dangerous.’
‘Please be aware, Lord Horvath, that this is not intended as a slight to you in any way.’ Robert bowed to add weight to his words. ‘I don’t wish to incur your displeasure. It is not you who concerns me. The young lady here is an unknown quantity. She has already met twice with Lady Sullivan without my knowledge. As head of Sullivan Security, I am merely performing the role I’ve been given and ensuring the absolute safety of my alpha.’
I couldn’t be arsed with this. ‘My name,’ my voice rang out clearly, ‘is Emma Bellamy.’
Lukas stiffened. Robert, however, smiled in triumph. ‘In that case, Ms Bellamy, Lord Horvath, please follow me.’ He turned on his heel and walked away.
‘What the hell?’ Lukas bit out. ‘Why did you do that?’
‘Because,’ I answered simply, ‘we need to speak to Lady Sullivan, and we need do it now.’
‘You can’t ever take back your real name! We’re dealing with dominant werewolves here who will happily use your name against you.’
I shrugged. ‘First of all, you’ve already suggested that I’m more powerful than anyone thinks.’
‘You calmed down a delta werewolf. That’s an entirely different matter to allowing betas and alphas know your real name! They could hold it over you for the rest of your tenure in Supe Squad. Look at what happened with Brown!’
‘Second of all,’ I continued as if he hadn’t spoken, ‘Lady Sullivan obviously wants to test the limits of whatever power I have. She already knows that I broke up the fight between Gregory and Becca. The fact that I’m trotting around with you while trying to investigate Tony’s murder has probably piqued her interest even more.’ I ticked off my fingers. ‘Thirdly, I’m only in Supe Squad temporarily, so what anyone does or does not know about my name doesn’t matter.’
Lukas glowered at me. ‘Anything else?’
‘Yeah.’ I took a deep breath. This last part was a calculated gamble. ‘You already knew my real name is Emma. You’ve already found it out.’
‘Whether I have or not is beside the point,’ he said, his face darkening further. ‘I have done you the courtesy of not saying it aloud.’
I knew it. ‘If the vampires know my name,’ I said softly, ‘then the werewolves can know it too.’
‘I’m the only vampire who knows your name, I promise you that.’ He gritted his teeth. ‘Not that it will make any difference now. Do you realise how long it’s been since I encountered a human as frustrating as you?’
I smiled. ‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
Robert called from inside the Sullivan residence. ‘I thought this was an urgent matter. Are the two of you coming in or not?’
I smiled more widely. ‘Coming!’ And then I stepped inside.
***
Lady Sullivan didn’t quite have a throne like Lukas’s, but she was seated on a grand chair on a raised dais. Various werewolves lolled around the room in front of her, some in full wolf form. I reminded myself that I wanted to be here and that I wasn’t afraid. Not much, anyway. Even though I was in the wolves’ lair, it was still daylight and that went a long way towards keeping my terrors at bay.
‘Leave us,’ Lady Sullivan said, barely raising her voice above a whisper. Every single warm body in the place rose up and left silently, until there was only Lukas, Robert and me. ‘I do apologise for Robert’s behaviour just now,’ Lady Sullivan continued. ‘His demands were made without my knowledge.’
Lukas rolled his eyes. ‘As if.’
‘I beg your pardon, Lord Horvath?’
‘If you genuinely expect us to believe that he was acting on his own cognisance, then your opinion of us is even lower than I thought.’
‘I can assure you that I hold a very high opinion of all vampires.’ Her eyes narrowed slightly. ‘I am not seeking any sort of argument with you, and I fully accept your recriminations.’
I realised suddenly that she was nervous. Regardless of what machinations she’d tried to employ to put me at a disadvantage, she genuinely didn’t want to antagonise Lukas.
I filed away that information and spoke up. ‘Let’s move on,’ I said. ‘I have serious questions that I need you to answer, Lady Sullivan.’
‘You are not a vampire, Emma Bellamy,’ she responded, making a deliberate point of using my real name. ‘You are merely a human.’
‘Lady Sullivan,’ Lukas began. ‘This is completely—’
I held up a hand. Her test wasn’t over, but that was fine by me. As long as I got the answers I needed, I didn’t care.
Robert stepped forward. ‘Lord Horvath is on par with Lady Sullivan,’ he said. ‘As such, he is exempt from the usual guest formalities. Ms Bellamy, whether you have met with Lady Sullivan before or not, you are now in her home. We ask that you show her the courtesy required and bow.’