Blooded Mate

Chapter 25 - Revelation

When Ethan walked back inside, his family had all moved to one side of the dining table. Even dinner was left to cool while Mrs. Bane sat firmly behind his mom, though she held on to the pasta ladle.

Silently, their guests followed Ethan and took the vacant seats. Ethan was left to choose either end of the table. He opted for the head. It was closer to Jan.

Once settled, no one said a word, but both sides glared enough to fill in the void.

A vein in Zyga's neck twitched, and arms were folded as if he could not trust himself not to touch the vampires. Jeb looked relatively relaxed with a hand on the table, but one leg was tucked under the chair, balancing on the balls of his foot, ready to spring forward in a split second. Standing behind her mate, Rook did not hide her scowl.

The three vampire guests could have been replica statues of each other, with backs straight against the chair and hands on their laps. Nothing but their eyes moved, taking in every wolf in the room, apart from Ethan.

The tension in the room crawled along Ethan's spine.

He shifted, drawing three gazes on him. "Hi.... uh... I'm Ethan."

Lame, Reyn. Just lame. But regardless of his self-recrimination, his introduction had the intended effect of transferring their focus to him.

"I'm Louie," the petite vampire responded, cocking his head to one side. Long lashes framed his large eyes, and the layered cut of wavy dark hair around his round face gave him a boyish charm. "I've heard a lot about you."

Ethan glanced at Jan, wondering what he had said about him.

Louie continued with a mild French accent. "You are bigger than most werewolves I've seen, and I have seen quite a few. But none as intriguing as you. I want to know how you managed to drag Jan out of- Ow!"

The movement was so fast Ethan would have missed it had he not been staring at him. Louie rubbed his ear, where the stocky vampire had flicked it.

"The brute here is Ivan," he added, pouting.

Jeb shifted. "Jan and Ivan? As in, Jan Andrea Skyver and Ivan Petrovsky?" At Jeb's question, Naomi's gaze turned sharper.

Those names sounded familiar. Going by his mother's sharp look, she must have recognized them too.

"Yes," Jan said, his lips barely moving to let the word out. Jeb released a long breath, and Rook whistled. Ethan's mother, sitting on his side, reached for his hand.

I should have asked him more about himself when we were upstairs, Ethan admonished himself.

"Why are you here?" Zyga's tone was not friendly, but Ethan's own curiosity and the tense atmosphere held back any form of complaint.

Jan tipped his head toward him but kept his eyes on the other wolves. "He called to me. I was compelled to come, like a summoning."

Now that the blond vampire gave more than monosyllabic answers, Ethan heard the lilting accent of Northern Europe in his words.

Fascinating, he thought, studying his features for traits that might narrow down his origins. Meanwhile, the implication of Jan's words failed to filter through to his brain.

"And why didn't you knock on the door like regular people?" Rook demanded.

"Pfft! Would you go knocking on doors in vampire territory?" Louie countered.

The room grew quiet again. Moments passed as Rook, and the French man glared at each other.

Zyga's finger tapped against his bicep. His eyes were still fixed on Jan. "Now that you're here, what do you intend to do. Going by yesterday, I would say you weren't planning for a friendly visit."