Man in the Middle [Wolf Creek Pack 9] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) by Stormy Glenn (elon musk reading list txt) 📗

Justin stepped out from behind Danny. He wanted to say hi, but he wasn’t sure he would be welcome.

“You don’t look like Father,” Samuel said.

Justin shrugged. “Maybe I take after my mother.”

“You don’t know?”

Wow, okay. “Not exactly. I was taken from my mother by a man named the Teacher when I was a toddler. I don’t remember my parents.”

Samuel’s long, wavy curls fluttered around his face as he cocked his head to one side. “Then what makes you think you’re related to us?”

“Um.” Justin cast a quick look in Danny’s direction. He really wasn’t sure how to answer that. He didn’t know exactly what Samuel knew about his brother or Danny’s relationship to Prince Dominic, and he didn’t want to be the one to tell Samuel his brother was now mated to a vampire.

“His blood was tested, Samuel,” Danny said. “He shares the same genetic markers as we do, only slightly different because he has a different mother than we do. But we share the same father.”

Justin was impressed by the snarl that came from Samuel’s lips. It rivaled any he had seen in the vampires he had met. Maybe Samuel was more like the people he was afraid of than he knew.

“Fucker,” Samuel growled. “I hope he burns in hell.”

“So.” Justin bit his lip for a moment, not quite sure what to say. “I take it we’re not celebrating Father’s Day then?”

Samuel rolled his eyes and looked away, but not before Justin saw his lips twitch as if they were threatening to split into a smile.

“No, we are not celebrating Father’s Day,” Samuel replied. “The only celebrating I will be doing is on the day that bastard dies. I’ll dance on his grave.”

Okay, then.

“I was held captive for more than twenty years by the Teacher,” Justin said, trying to find some common ground with Samuel. He knew the man had been through hell. “He kept me and several of my friends for years, making us do things against our will. It was only recently that some friends of mine found out and rescued us, setting us free.”

“What happened to the guy that took you?”

“My mate, Taylor, killed him.”

“Good.”

Bloodthirsty little thing, wasn’t he?

“I’m rather happy about it.”

“I wish the monsters that took me were dead,” Samuel spat out. “But apparently, it’s not against their laws to buy blood slaves.”

“Samuel, you know Dominic is working to change the laws. It just takes time.”

“And in the meantime?” Samuel snapped as he glared at his brother. “How many people are being forced to be blood slaves to your precious vampires?”

“Samuel.”

“Do you know how many people I saw being used as blood slaves while I was held captive? Do you?” Samuel shouted. “They beat us, starve us, feed from us, and—” Samuel squeezed his eyes closed for a moment. There was a wealth of pain in them when he opened them again. “And if you show an ounce of weakness or compassion, they try and beat it out of you.”

“Samuel,” Danny said, “not all vampires are like that.”

“I don't believe you,” Sammy snarled, his eyes going icy cold. “I saw what they did to a blood slave named Jasper just because he tried to sneak me some food. He barely survived it. Hell, I don't even know if he is alive. They might have drained him dry by now. They certainly tried to before.”

“You know Dominic searched for you the second we discovered you were missing,” Danny said. “Dominic even bought you back and saved you, giving you your freedom the second he had you here, safe and sound. Why do you keep insisting that all vampires are at fault for what happened to you?”

“Because they are!” Samuel shouted as he jumped to his feet. His hands clenched at his sides, turning so white that Justin worried they’d stay that way. “Vampires are monsters. They take, and they keep on taking.”

“Samuel, that’s just not true. Dominic has never been anything but kind to me. He loves me. He has done everything in his power to keep me safe, to keep you safe. He’s even working to have the laws changed so that no one has to go through what you went through. Why can’t you understand that?”

“I understand that our father sold me to the vampires. I understand that our mother did nothing to stop it. I understand that I spent weeks being bitten over and over again, nearly drained of my blood. I understand that when they weren’t biting me, they were—” Samuel suddenly stopped speaking, his face draining of color.

Justin was afraid he knew exactly what Samuel was going to say even though the man didn’t say it. His heart ached for what Samuel had gone through, or what he suspected Samuel had gone through. No one should suffer that sort of pain. It was no wonder he was so angry.

He didn’t blame Samuel one bit. But the man had to start healing on the inside sooner or later, or he was going to turn into one of the monsters himself with the hatred that was eating away inside of him.

Justin stepped forward, stopping when Samuel cringed back in fear. He drew in a deep breath and tried his best to convey his thoughts without upsetting the man any more than he had to. Samuel was in enough pain.

“Being held captive by the Teacher was like living a nightmare, and it just never stopped. Since being free, though, I’ve met some amazing people, including your brother and his mate. They’ve shown me that life is worth living, and so is fighting to keep other people from experiencing what we went through.”

Samuel walked over to sit on the window seat again, sitting down and turning his back to Danny and Justin. He leaned his head against the glass, pressing his hand on the window next to his head.

“Sully comes to visit me late at night.” Samuel spoke so low that Justin almost didn’t hear him.