Chapter Fourteen
Hunter whipped around to find Andras, Kristof, all five Vampires and Asha crowding around Erzsebet’s door and spilling out into the hallway.
He stared at Ash. She refused to lift her eyes from the floor. Why did she have to tell the others what she’d found? All he’d needed was a few more minutes to get through to Erzsebet then maybe the both of them could’ve gone to Andras, explained what had happened and begged for leniency. Now, thanks to Ash, his time was officially up and Andras would find out what Erzsebet had done when Erzsebet hadn’t been fully aware of it.
It wouldn’t really matter that she hadn’t been acting of her own free will—what would matter to their Alpha is that she had endangered the Pack and, because of her stubbornness, she was still endangering them.
Andras would ban, forcing her to walk as a lone wolf. No respectable Pack would take her in after this. She would have to live out her life alone or join others who were Packless. Her life was ruined.
“Again, I’ll ask you to tell me what’s going on.” This time, Hunter felt the Alpha command in Andras’ voice.
Ash cleared her throat but kept her head down and eyes on the floor. “Erzsebet—”
No. “Erzsebet was trying to protect me,” Hunter interrupted. “I was the one stealing from the company.”
Erzsebet’s features pulled into a frown. “I don’t understa—”
“How I could do something like this?” Hunter stepped closer to Erzsebet and put a hand on her shoulder. “I needed the money. Erzsebet had nothing to do with this. With any of this.”
“Why would you steal from the business and try to convince me that it had been me?” Erzsebet mentally asked him.
“Because you would never admit to what you had done.”
“But I didn’t do anything.”
“And for that reason alone, little sister, I have to do this.”
He refused to look at Erzsebet or Ash. He didn’t want to see the confused hurt that he knew would be reflected in Erzsebet’s eyes and he didn’t want Ash to see the betrayal in his.
Ash really hadn’t owed him anything. After all, her loyalties weren’t with him. They were with the Vamps. She would do anything to stay in their favor. She’d already told him that much. So, if it meant giving his sister up, she would.
He stared deep into Andras’ eyes, hoping that his Alpha wouldn’t take it as a challenge but as an indication he was speaking the truth. Lying to an Alpha was hard, so Hunter repeated the words, “I did it,” to himself and to his wolf. If he said it, maybe he would start to believe it, or at least convince Andras.
He couldn’t let Andras find out the truth—he never could. Erzsebet had to stay safe. She had to stay with the Pack. His wolf didn’t object. He also knew that Erzsebet wouldn’t live long on her own.
Andras squinted at him. “Go home, Hunter, and don’t leave until I come for you. I’ll deal with your claim and with you later.”
Erzsebet inhaled a sharp breath. Her shoulder tensed under his grip. “Andras?” She put a hand over Hunter’s and he and his wolf welcomed the comforting touch at a time where they were both battling their instincts to tell the truth to their Alpha.
Hunter’s wolf faltered in their stance to protect Erzsebet and her wolf and whined. His wolf knew exactly what those words meant. Andras would come by later to ban him. Hunter straightened his back and nodded once. He gave Erzsebet a squeeze then released her.
Hunter walked past Andras and his wolf whined again, calling out to his Alpha. Hunter kept going, fighting against the urge to drop to his knees and tell his Alpha the truth. As he walked past Ash his wolf howled louder and it took restraint to keep moving and not to gather her into his arms. While he felt betrayed, his wolf’s only concern was that they would never see her again. He left the room without making eye contact with anyone.
Ash kept her head down but watched Hunter leave from her peripheral vision. She wanted so badly to reach out to him, to tell him that she hadn’t told his secret, but even attempting to move in his direction would get her killed on the spot.
She wanted to tell him that Clarissa had found the transactions and linked them back to Erzsebet’s account and had cracked the virus that had been used to transfer money from one account to another. When she had been sure that no more money would be able to leave Dark Wolf Enterprises accounts, Clarissa hadn’t wasted any time telling Andras.
Andras had gathered Kristof and they had all made their way to Erzsebet’s house. Even if she could’ve stolen a few moments away from Clarissa to warn Hunter that they were coming, she had been too scared. Clarissa couldn’t find out that she’d known about Erzsebet and had kept the secret for Hunter.
No one spoke as Hunter left. The only sound heard was sniffling coming from Erzsebet. Ash clenched her fists at her sides. Why was she crying? If Erzsebet loved Hunter as much as he loved her, then she would’ve spoken up and told Andras the truth, instead of letting him take the fall for her. Family wasn’t supposed to let others get hurt, no matter the cost. And for Hunter, the cost would be a lifetime of living on his own.
Andras sniffed at the air. “The Vampire hasn’t been gone long,” he stated. “Erzsebet?”
“Y-yes, my…um…lover.”
Erzsebet is involved with a Vampire?
Now Ash understood what had happened and why Hunter had taken the blame for her. Erzsebet had been enthralled and didn’t know what she’d done.
Andras let out a low growl. “Were you able to figure out who this Vampire is?” he asked Clarissa.
“No, but if he’s here, we can catch him.”
“Who is this person, Erzsebet?” Andras asked.
“Alexandar. He’s from Hungary, too. That’s how we bonded.”
“Alexandar?” Kristof paled. He turned to Andras. “That’s the name of the Vampire who attacked Trudy.”
“It can’t be,” Erzsebet added quickly. “He’s a good person. He wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Andras ignored her and turned to Kristof. “And if he’s from Hungary, then I can guess why he has it out for us.”
Kristof closed his eyes and let his head fall back. “He’s one of the Vampires from the rogue clan that killed Uncle and Auntie. He’s one of the two that got away.”
“Erzsebet,” Andras said, dropping his voice low. “What have you done?”
She glanced from Andras to Kristof with wide eyes. “He…he can’t be the same Vampire.” Then she let out a crazy-sounding chuckle. “Don’t you think that I would know one of the Vampires who killed my parents?”
“Erzsebet…” Kristof said.
She shook her head. “You have it all wrong. Alexandar is not bad. I knew how you would feel about him so we decided to keep it a secret until…until after we married.”
“Married?” Kristof spit out. “You can’t be serious.”
“Sickening,” Clarissa said under her breath.
Erzsebet glared at Kristof defiantly. “That’s why we wanted to wait. We knew you’d have this reaction.”
“Have you mated with him?” Kristof asked.
“No, she hasn’t,” Andras said, answering for her. “Otherwise, I would’ve felt it.”
“Good,” Kristof said. “Then we can kill him.”
“With your permission, we will find this Alexandar.” Clarissa snapped her fingers. “Ricko, Rocko, go find our visitor and take him back to our rental so I can question him.”
The Vampire twins left on a breeze, jumping out of the open window.
“I’d like to question the Vampire myself. I want to find out where the second Vampire is,” Andras said.
Clarissa smiled her fake smile, the one that had initially made Ash fall at her feet. “I’ll make sure the twins are aware that you wish to interrogate the Vampire as well.”
“Thank you for your help,” Andras said.
“No! You have everything all wrong. Alexandar loves me,” Erzsebet said through cries.
“Unfortunately, Erzsebet, I can’t trust your judgment right now.”
“While Ricko and Rocko find Alexandar, I’ll need to take Erzsebet’s computer, since that is the IP address used to make the transactions. We’ll work on it tonight and will have the job completed tomorrow. If there are any funds to recover they will be returned to your account.”
Clarissa looked at Andras. “So, does Hunter have his hand in this, too?”
Andras glanced at Erzsebet, who still cried. “Hunter will do anything to protect his sister. Even if that means covering up for her and taking the blame.”
“Hunter would never steal from the family,” Erzsebet said, her voice shaking. “This family means everything to him—to us both. It’s all we have since our parents died.”
Andras glared at Erzsebet. If he would’ve looked at Ash the way he was watching Erzsebet, Ash thought she would’ve confessed everything to him. “Then tell me why he admitted to a crime that you perpetrated?”
Erzsebet shrank away from him. “I didn’t do anything. I don’t understand anything that’s going on. Can I please talk to Hunter?”
“No. As a matter of fact, I don’t want you talking to anyone. Not even your lover.”
“Andras, please,” Erzsebet cried. “Let me convince Alexandar to speak with you and Hunter so that you both can get to know him like I do. I’m sure he’s not the one who’s doing this. It has to be a different Alexandar.”
“No.”
Erzsebet let out a small cry.
“Is there anything else that you need from me?” Clarissa asked.
“Not right now,” Andras said.
Clarissa turned to leave. Francisco broke off from the group and went into another room to gather Erzsebet’s computer. Ash followed Clarissa as they made their way back to the limousine.
Once they’d settled inside and Erzsebet’s computer was in the trunk, the car pulled away slowly. Clarissa leveled her dark eyes on Ash.
“Tell me everything that you know. And if you attempt a lie I will take off your head and let Francisco and Angelica drink the blood that spills.”
Francisco sucked in a breath through his teeth and Angelica slid closer to Ash.
* * * *
Bright and early the next morning, Erzsebet sat in the bank manager’s office. She shook her head, not wanting to believe what was in black and white and right in front of her eyes. “This can’t be right.”
Erzsebet clutched the papers that the bank manager had given her tightly in her hands. They showed her account transactions for the past year.
“I assure you this is correct, Ms. Arany,” the bank manager said. “Is there a particular transaction you are disputing?”
How could she explain to the sixtyish woman that every night her Vampire lover had spent with her, money had been withdrawn from Dark Wolf Enterprises and deposited into her account, then taken from hers and transferred into an off-shore bank?
How could I have been so stupid?
“I-I just don’t remember some of these transactions.” Erzsebet closed her eyes. Of course, she wouldn’t. Vampires enthralled their victims and that was exactly what she was—a victim.
“Do I need to get our loss prevention department involved? You came in and set up the second account yourself and often came into the bank to sign wire transfer paperwork.”
Erzsebet’s heart seemed to drop into her stomach. There had been plenty of times that she’d left work in the middle of the day and couldn’t remember why she’d left or where she’d been. She’d thought to tell Hunter about it because she thought she’d been losing her mind, but Hunter had been treating her like a half-wit pup and she hadn’t wanted to give him any more reason to follow her around.
Erzsebet shook her head again. She’d wanted to prove herself as independent, but all she’d done was risk her life and her Packs’ safety. She should’ve been grateful that Alexandar hadn’t wanted Andras’ head on a platter, because he probably would’ve been able to convince Erzsebet to get it for him.
“No. That’s not necessary.” She opened her eyes and stared down at the papers again. “Can I please keep these?”
“Sure. They’re yours.”
Erzsebet stood on legs that shook beneath her. “Thank you for your help.”
“Thank you for banking with us. Please let me know if you need any more assistance.”
Erzsebet nodded and gathered her purse and stuffed her printouts inside. Now she had something harder to do. She had to admit that she’d been a fool and save her brother.
Erzsebet pulled up to Andras’ house. His car was parked in the driveway. She sighed. At least he hadn’t gone to Hunter’s house to ban him yet. If he’d banned him, Erzsebet would’ve felt her brother leaving the Pack collective.
All she had to do now was knock on the door and tell her Alpha that she’d betrayed his trust by letting a Vampire into her life—their lives—and in doing so she had left the Pack vulnerable. Because of her, the company had lost millions of dollars and had almost gone bankrupt.
She would be banned. Andras wouldn’t have any other choice. He would have to make an example out of her. And Hunter… He would never want anything to do with her again. She had betrayed the memory of their parents by sleeping with one of the very Vampires who had killed them. Hunter would never be able to forgive her, and most of all, she would never be able to forgive herself.
Erzsebet leaned over and opened the glove compartment and fished out a pen. When she found one she pulled the papers out of her purse. She wrote down everything that she wanted to tell Andras—everything. Once she’d finished, she opened the door and, taking a deep breath, got out of the car. She made a slow walk up to his house. She dragged herself up the stairs. When she got to the front door her hand was too heavy to reach up and knock.
Erzsebet dropped the papers on the steps and ran back to her car. She was a coward. She couldn’t face Andras or Hunter. She had betrayed them both. She didn’t want to ever face him again. She would do what she knew was coming anyway.
“I no longer belong to the Pack.” She mentally worked at severing the Pack ties and, lastly, her tie to Hunter.
Her wolf cried out in pain.
Erzsebet peeled out of the driveway and didn’t look back. She was on her own now. She didn’t deserve anyone’s trust anymore.
* * * *
Andras ran a brush down his steed’s side. He’d slept in and, instead of going to Hunter’s house and confronting him about the lie he’d told, he’d decided to take care of his horses and let Hunter stew. The moment Hunter had known Erzsebet had been compromised he should’ve come to Andras. He would punish Hunter—not the way Hunter expected—but punish just the same.
He heard the sounds of wheels on his gravel road and paused.
Erzsebet.
Maybe now she realized that she’d been had, and had come to ask for his forgiveness.
He continued to brush his horse. When Erzsebet didn’t find him in the house, she would know to search for him in the barn.
He expected to see her coming down the path, not to feel her connection to the Pack snap. It was as if she’d suddenly fallen off the face of the earth. He inhaled a sharp breath. There were only two reasons for that. Erzsebet had suddenly died or she’d renounced her place in the Pack.
What has she done now?
He dropped the brush and ran to the front of the house. Erzsebet had already left.
* * * *
Hunter woke with a start. He was empty. All the Pack connections were present except for one. “Erzsebet!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.