Chapter 46: 46: Claimed and Cornered

BELLE

The inside of Liam’s childhood home was even more spectacular than the outside. It was all big windows, white walls with matching furniture, and hard granite flooring.

As nice as it was, however, it somehow managed to feel both beautiful and unwelcoming at the same time. It felt cold and staged, nothing like what I was expecting from the place Liam grew up.

I was grateful that Grayson had allowed me to walk on my own as we stepped through the large double doors. He stayed close, though, his presence behind me like an unrelenting shadow.

Liam led us through the main foyer, lit by a chandelier and framed on one side by a winding staircase, and into a living room.

Three people were waiting for us—Laila and two red-eyed vampires who I could only assume were Liam and Laila’s parents. I could see aspects of both children in their facial features.

I had always thought Laila was one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen, and now I knew why. I was immediately stricken by the beauty of her mother.

She had dark, golden skin that seemed to sparkle in the light, and her hair was pinned up in intricate braids, revealing her slender neck and sharp collarbones.

She wore a long, yellow dress meant to look casual but appeared chic and elegant on her slender form.

She was the sort of woman with a presence that demanded to be noticed and admired—maybe even envied.

The man standing next to her had the same demanding presence but, unlike his wife, whose captivating beauty was what made her unique, his allure came from his extreme size and intimidating posture.

He wasn’t as big as Grayson, but he might’ve given Kyle a run for his money. His hair was dark brown, almost black, with bits of gray starting to show with his older age.

I immediately noticed how well-groomed he was, the lines of his beard and hairline above his forehead sharp and precise.

This surprised me considering the fact that Liam preferred to keep his hair messy in a way that screamed boy-next-door and just-finished-messing-around-with-some-random-girl.

He was wearing black slacks and a gray buttoned shirt and was holding a half-full glass of some kind of brown drink—probably scotch or whiskey.

Unlike their children, who looked like perfectly normal humans, neither Mrs. nor Mr. Blackwood bothered to hide their vampire features.

Both had fangs peeking out from beneath their top lips and red eyes so bright they were almost too striking to look at directly.

They even had long claws protruding from the tips of their fingers, sharp and deadly.

I took a step back as soon as we entered the room, suddenly very aware of how small I was compared to all of them and how easily they could kill me.

I wouldn’t stand a chance against any of them; I wouldn’t even last a second in a fight.

I didn’t remember Liam being nearly as intimidating as his parents the night he saved me from Adalee and I found out he was a vampire.

My back met Grayson’s front as he stepped up behind me, wrapping a thick arm around my waist, pressing me to him tightly.

Laila’s lips turned up into a bright smile as soon as she saw me. “Belle,” she breathed out, relief clear on her face as she jumped out of the large leather armchair she was sitting in and raced toward me.

She held her arms out, meaning to hug me, but Grayson stepped in front of me before she could reach me.

“Absolutely not,” Grayson said to Laila sternly. He backed me up until I was sandwiched between him and the wall behind us, his large hands squeezing my hips.

I let out an exasperated huff. Laila was the last person he needed to be protecting me from. “It’s just Laila, Grayson. She’s my friend. She won’t hurt me,” I said to him.

“You said no matter what, remember?” he replied in a low tone.

“Well, yeah, but I’m kind of smooshed back here.”

He took a small step forward so that I wasn’t completely pressed against the wall anymore, but he didn’t offer me any more room.

“A room full of vampires, Belle. ~A room full of vampires. ~You’re staying right where you are.”

My forehead fell onto his back. This was embarrassing. “At least let me look at them. Don’t you want them to respect me?”

Grayson loosened his hold on my hips, allowing me to peek my head out from behind him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, still keeping half of me behind him.

He had quite obviously staked his claim.

I looked at Laila. She was glaring at Grayson. I didn’t blame her, though. I wouldn’t like him either.

“Hi, Laila,” I said, giving her a small wave. “I’ve missed you.”

She looked back at me. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’ve been so worried,” she took another step forward. Grayson growled.

“Too close,” he snapped.

Laila’s expression soured even more, if that was possible. “I don’t like you.”

Grayson stared back at her, unblinking and completely unaffected by her words.

His lack of response only seemed to infuriate Laila more. “Let Belle go. She’s not some dog you can just order around.”

To my surprise, it wasn’t Grayson who grunted out a response. It was Liam.

“Just leave it, Laila. Belle can be a part of the conversation from back there,” he responded, stepping up a few feet from Grayson and crossing his arms over his chest.

His eyes were narrowed on his father, who was sipping his drink and watching our interaction with dimmed interest.

How I ended up with two overly-protective, supernatural men was beyond me.

Jeffery Blackwood’s eyes fell to mine as if he could sense my gaze. He regarded me for several long seconds, looking me up and down and then licking his whiskey-covered lips.

“I’m fine, Laila,” I cut in, forcing my gaze back on her. I gave her what I hoped looked like a genuine smile, even though I was terrified of the way her father was looking at me from across the room.

“I don’t mind. He can’t help it.”

Before she could respond, someone else spoke.

“So the little werewolf lover running around my town ended up being the queen of the supernatural, huh? You would never have been able to tell from the looks of her.”

I veered back. ~Ouch.~

“Alpha Grayson Stoll,” Jeffery Blackwood continued, his voice deeper and more dangerous than I had been expecting.

He approached my mate and offered him his hand once he was a few feet away, careful not to get too close. “Or is it King Grayson Stoll now? Do you have a preference?”

“I ~prefer~ you don’t insult my mate or refer to her as the ‘little werewolf lover,’” Grayson growled, ignoring the man’s outstretched hand. “You will call her Luna or nothing at all.”

Liam’s father’s brows rose. He waited a few more moments before finally letting his hand fall back to his side. He cleared his throat as he eyed Grayson’s large form.

“I must admit, I’m used to being the biggest man in the room. This is quite the change for me. I’m Jeffery Blackwood, leader of the clan of Evergreen for the last forty years. And this is my wife, Elizabeth.”

His wife stepped beside him, smiling, showing off her sharp fangs. She bowed her head slightly in greeting. It didn’t escape my attention that she didn’t say a single word.

Grayson didn’t respond, only staring back at them with a stone face. I had to hold myself back from throwing my head back and groaning. This was already a mess.

Jeffery was good at hiding it, but I could still tell that Grayson’s indifference toward him was off-putting for him. He continued talking.

“Your mate has caused quite the uproar in our town. I was happy to give her a place to stay and keep her safe for the last few months, despite not knowing who she really was.

“You can imagine what a shock it was to discover her history with you—and now the former king of vampires.” He looked at me. “You’ve been very busy, Luna.”

My head tilted in question. Did he really just say he ~took care of me~ for the last few months?

“Actually, the way I remember it,” I began bitterly, “it was Liam who took me in when I had nowhere else to go.

“If it were up to you, I would have been unemployed, homeless, and on the next bus out of here less than twenty-four hours after arriving in Evergreen. You never wanted me here.”

I was surprised by my own boldness. But there was something about this man that made me immediately dislike him. And I wasn’t about to let him lie to my mate just because he wanted to be on his good side.

The air in the room dried up. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as they waited for a response.

“That true?” Grayson asked, his voice deeper.

“I was wary of your mate’s presence in Evergreen,” Jeffery answered, never losing the casualness in his tone. “And no one can deny that I was right in my worries.

“She has single-handedly brought the current and former king to my doorstep. However, I can say now that I am glad to have had her stay here, knowing who she is. I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”

Liam scoffed. “You beat me up when you found out she was living with me.”

I gasped. “What?” I remembered coming home to him sporting a black eye the first month I was staying with him, but he had just told me he had been in a bar fight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Liam shrugged, keeping eye contact with his dad. “Wasn’t the first time my father lost his temper and took it out on me. And I’m sure it won’t be the last.”

Grayson was incredibly stiff in front of me, tension beginning to coil his muscles. I knew it was time to change the subject before he did something stupid like shift.

“Do we know where Azazel is now?” I asked.

“Still in Evergreen, unfortunately,” Liam answered before his father could.

“He’s evaded our attempts to try and contact him—or he’s used the power of the Mortars to talk his way out of any interaction we’ve managed to have.”

“He will not be able to get to you here. We have the best security money can buy and clan members stationed outside, ready to defend the house if need be,” Jeffery said.

The sky outside was pitch black. It was getting late, and all I wanted to do was curl up in bed next to Grayson and sleep for the next few days.

Grayson looked down at me with concern in his dark eyes. “Liam,” he said. “Is there a room we can stay in for the night?”

I leaned into Grayson a bit more. The bond between us that I had hated so much just mere days ago now made me feel safe and loved. He could feel my exhaustion and knew what I needed.

Liam nodded. “Yeah. Follow me.”