{VAL}
Valerius sighed theatrically, dragging one pale hand through his hair as though the entire situation bored him.
"Relax," he said with a lazy grin. "We weren't really going to do anything to her."
A lie.
I heard it immediately.
It lingered beneath his voice—too smooth, too amused. Valerius only sounded that way when he was moments away from cruelty. His crimson eyes gleamed with vicious curiosity, and I knew exactly what he had intended.
They would have broken Iris slowly.
Played with her.
Tested her limits merely to satisfy their endless hunger for entertainment.
That was the nature of vampires.
Sadistic to the core.
Especially toward creatures they deemed beneath them.
And werewolves—shifted or otherwise—had always been considered our natural enemies.
"So," Valerius continued, spreading his arms slightly, "you can hand over that little she-wolf now, Vladimir." His grin widened. "She's nothing important, right?"
