I sat sandwiched between Eli and Dorian as we followed Julian in Eli’s truck to his mansion. Tate was in the back. Out of the four of us, I wasn’t sure who was more eager to see what the Montevallos had planned for their brother. There was a sick sense of desire inside me to see Roman in an immense amount of pain. At least that’s how I hoped the process he would be going through would feel.

A small side of me wanted to see the version of Roman Julian and his sisters were so determined to get back. What qualities could he possibly have that they found so damn endearing? How could he right all of the wrongs he’d committed by simply being?

Eli pulled into the driveway behind Julian and cut the engine on his truck. The four of us climbed out as Julian and his sisters gathered Roman from the backseat of Julian’s car.

“I still don’t understand your need to follow us home. We can take it from here,” Octavia insisted. “Your presence is not needed.”

My guess was she was being such a bitch because she was still pissed about waking in the woods with bugs in her hair and dog piss on her dress. She could thank Roman for that, not me or Julian.

“I understand you’re more than capable of handling the situation, but we’d like to see where you plan on placing him. How secure the area is. It’s in our best interest to know there’s no chance he could escape and terrorize Mirror Lake again before this rehabilitation you’re putting him through is completed,” Eli insisted. He folded his arms over his solid chest and stared Octavia down.

“He will be kept in our basement,” Julian chimed in. “It’s more like a dungeon. Roman will be shackled to the wall, where we will bleed him until there is no human blood remaining in his system.”

It sounded horrific. Not just for a vampire but for anyone.

“Creepy,” Tate said. A smirk twisted onto his face. “I like it.”

“Afterward, he’ll be pumped full of animal blood again,” Julian continued.

“Where’s all of this animal blood you’re planning to use coming from?” Dorian asked.

The four of us followed the Montevallos to their basement as they carried a still unconscious Roman.

“We have a deal going with a local butcher,” Ivette said. “No one will be harmed. Animal. Shifter. Or human. You have our word.”

I trusted her. I trusted Julian. It was Octavia I had issues with. Something about her irked me.

Her attitude.

When we turned the corner and started down another long hall, I spotted a solid wooden door poised at the end. It looked as though it was the oldest thing in the house, which was probably saying a lot considering its inhabitants.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Julian asked. His eyes were on me. Obviously, he’d picked up on my sense of awe at the sight of the door.

“Yeah,” I said.

“It was the original front door to the house. Back when the place was built in the 1800s. Over the years, we’ve been forced to upgrade things here and there, the front door was one of them. The one currently in place gives the house a modern look, don’t you think?”

“I guess so.”

I tucked my hair behind my ear and continued down the hall with everyone. We went through the door I’d been gawking at and started down a set of creaky wooden stairs.

“Okay, this place gives me the creeps,” Tate whispered.

I noticed Octavia roll her eyes. It was an over-the-top gesture I found comical. Why the two of them were always so irritated with each other was beyond me.

I followed behind Eli down the wooden steps to the basement. A damp, musty stench made its way to my nose. Stone walls that appeared moist in places lined the stairway. The space truly did feel like a dungeon. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I was surprised to see mundane junk taking up space and not cells with inmates being housed.

My gaze drifted around my new surroundings. Old storage trunks, a few rocking chairs, and various pieces of furniture took up the bulk of the space. The Montevallos had been around for a long time. I imagined this was where they stored all of the clothes and treasures they’d each gathered over time.

Julian and Octavia cut a right while still carrying Roman. My pack and I followed. The turn took us down a narrow, dark stone hallway. One that had my wolf feeling on edge.

At the end of the hall was a room no bigger than a closet. Inside was nothing. No bed. No toilet. Just bare walls stained with blood and a pair of rusted shackles.

This clearly wasn’t the first time someone had been held here. Was that someone Roman?

Julian and Octavia placed Roman on the floor and secured the shackles to his wrist.

“How are those rusty things supposed to keep him here?” Eli asked.

“Magic,” Julian insisted. He latched the last one and flashed a smug smile our way.

“You’re kidding, right?” Tate asked. “They don’t look like they’d hold a kid in place much less a freaking vampire.”

I couldn’t agree more.

“I’m not kidding, no. The Caraway witches aren’t the only witches we’ve stumbled upon during our time on this Earth,” Julian said. He wiped rust on his jeans and then adjusted his glasses. “Don’t worry. They’re much stronger than they appear. He’s not going anywhere. Not until we’re ready.”

“How will you know when that is?” I asked. More details in a situation such as this couldn’t hurt. “How long does this usually take?”

I was sure they had a timeframe. They seemed to know what they were doing, and they’d acted as though this wasn’t the first time they’d been through something like this with their older brother.

“It depends on the situation,” Julian answered without meeting my gaze. “On how severe things were and how long Roman was on the rampage for.”

“Based off what you know, how long do you think it will take to drain him?” Eli asked. His eyes were trained on Roman as though he wanted nothing more than for the process to take an eternity.

“I’d say weeks to be on the safe side,” Ivette said before Julian could say a word.

Octavia stepped forward. She held a dagger in her hand. It didn’t take long for me to realize what she was about to do. I watched as she reached for her brother’s wrist and sliced it open without hesitation before moving on to his next one.

Blood trickled to the stone floor beneath him. Roman showed no indication of having felt the blade. He was still out of it. My blow to the head had been a good one. I was proud.

“Won’t he heal his cuts?” Dorian asked. “He still does have the whole vampire healing thing going on, doesn’t he?”

Octavia wiggled the dagger she’d used. “Again, magic. No vampire can heal from this dagger’s cuts.”

“Another purchase from a witch, I presume,” Tate said. “What other useful tools have you bought from witches over the years?”

Octavia shifted to glare at him. Her red painted lips quirked into a grin. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”

Tate smirked at her.

“Now we wait until his blood runs dry,” Ivette said, drawing my attention away from whatever was happening between Octavia and Tate.

I glanced at Roman. There was already so much blood surrounding him.

“How will this not kill him?” I asked.

“There are signs to look for. Ones that let us know he’s on the verge of being bloodless,” Julian said. He leaned against the stone wall of the room and looked down at his older brother with sadness reflected in his features.

Family meant everything to the Montevallos. It was something I understood. At the end of the day, family was all any of us had. That didn’t always mean family by blood.

“I’d like to be updated of his progress,” Eli said. His voice was cold. I knew it was because he was still on the fence about us having handed Roman over instead of killing him.

It was the same internal battle I’d dealt with in the woods.

Now that I was here, and able to see the look on both Julian and Ivette’s faces, I was glad I hadn’t plunged a stick through Roman’s heart. Looking at them, I knew I would have regretted it.

“Understandable,” Julian said. His attention shifted to me. “I’m glad you were able to find the bracelet and that it worked. Thank you, Mina, for your cooperation in this.”

“It wasn’t just me,” I insisted. “This was a team effort.”

“Still,” Julian said. He stepped out of the tiny room and back into the narrow hall. Everyone followed, except for Ivette. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

When walked back upstairs, Benji was coming out of the kitchen sucking on a blood bag. It was not something I had expected to see.

“Thought someone else was here,” he said. “What’s up?”

I diverted my eyes from him. Seeing him drink blood was turning my stomach. Tate made a noise from beside me, and I knew I wasn’t the only one having an issue with it.

“They managed to catch Roman. He’s in the basement.” Julian crammed his hands into the front pockets of his slacks.

“Oh.” Benji blinked. “Guess that means things in this house are ‘bout to get interestin’, right?”

“Possibly.” Octavia headed into the kitchen. I imagined she was going for a bag of blood too. Yuck.

“More like loud,” Tate said. “I can’t imagine someone being drained of blood is going to let it happen silently.”

“Good point,” Benji said. “Well, I’ll see y’all later.”

He started upstairs, taking his snack with him.

“Bye.” I muttered after him.

“We should get going,” Eli said. “Don’t forget to keep me updated.”

Julian nodded as he walked us to the door. “I won’t.”

“See you,” I said.

“Bye.”

I reached for Eli’s hand and gave it a squeeze. We’d done the right thing in turning Roman over to them. He knew it and so did I, even if our wolves might think otherwise.

“I call shotgun this time!” Tate shouted. He bolted to the truck.

A smirk formed on my face when I caught sight of Dorian’s eye roll.

“What’s the matter,” I asked. “Mad he got a head start?”

“Not in the least. I’m fine sitting in back,” Dorian grumbled, making it clear he wasn’t.

When the four of us piled into Eli’s truck, all I could think about was how good it felt to know Mirror Lake was safe again. At least for the time being.