"I'm guessing you didn't expect that." I faced Eztli Von Stein. "I know I didn't."

Eztli turned around and walked until she could take a seat in the cushioned chair here. A nonchalant look appeared on her face."That girl was able to control the bloodlust upon awakening. Asphodel, what exactly are you planning?" 

"You have another woman here — Colette Stone." 

"I don't owe you any more favors, Alpha Knight. Your mate has already exhausted my goodwill."

"You did that for sport." I never dealt with a vampire as old as this one, but from my knowledge they did enjoy provoking werewolves. Sometimes to the point of battling and even after death. "If you don't want a fool werewolf storming this place, I do suggest you hand the girl over to me."

"She must be an important human if you're willing to travel here to retrieve her. Who is she to you?" 

"I don't know her, but the guy that will come tearing through here will stir up a fight I'm frankly isn't interested in participating in. You don't look like you're quite ready to die yet."

"I suppose you are right. Unfortunately for you, I have no idea who the girl is or where she's being kept. You'll have to ask my successor."

"I figured I'll have to talk with Asphodel."

"You Knights are always sticking your noses where they don't belong. That's the one thing about your clan that always annoyed me."

"Don't pretend to be noble. After your stunt today, I can guess you were a handful in the past."

A smirk obviously intended to charm formed on her lips. "I've done my share of devious acts." She rose to her feet in a grace that wasn't natural for a human. Turning, she headed toward the door, not sparing me another look. "You can meet up with your mate by taking a right at the door and following the hall until it leads you to the staircase. The ballroom entry will be on that floor." 

She didn't want me to jump down there I'm guessing. 

I turned back to see that Amalia was being led by Clara away from the ballroom. I could easily meet up with them. I didn't trust any of the vampires here, but I trusted Clara to keep her safe and in check. 

Turning, I headed from the room. I'm sure my scent had been caught by the others by now or that old vampire told them, but I did need to complete my mission. As I left the room, I listened and took in different scents. Finding a human's scent is easy when among a bunch of vampires. Finding the human scent, I moved in the direction of the ballroom. 

To give me free reins to look around this place is a little out of character for any vampire. Eztli doesn't trust me, yet she didn't escort me down to the ballroom either. I can only conclude she's using me for whatever motive she has. It's fine by me though. I do need to find Colette Stone. 

I used my nose for the most part. Avoiding vampires was easy. A little too easy. While it occurred to me that they were aware of my movements, I also couldn't reject the idea that the new blood was stirring up a lot of excitement for the many vampires here. This house most likely held one fourth of the vampire. Their size in numbers is an annoying factor when dealing with them in a fight, but not all vampires were the same in power. 

"Keeping her in the area with the most light, huh." I found myself in a room that looked like it received the most sunlight. It had nice furniture, but the floor to ceiling window was one of the three noticeable features of the room. "Moonlight probably is the strongest here too." 

Walking further into the room, I noticed the wall to my left. There was a large circle there. The symbol for the tree of life was engraved into the circle perfectly as if it was a precious tribute. The multiple colors that painted the tree gave it a realistic look. 

Looking to my right, a bookcase in the form of a huge triangle was builded into the wall. At the center of the triangle of books was a double side glass door. From the looks of it, an extended outside area was installed. The thing about the outside area was that it was closed in. One could probably feel the outside wind and sun, but it was more of an enclosed porch sitting area.

Her scent was everywhere in this room. The strongest spot, in theory, should be where she is. However, I don't think she'll be inside a wall. "Behind it maybe." Staring at the tree of life symbol, had me remembering it was of celtic origins. Why the vampires seem to adopt it's principle is obvious, but unnecessary in my opinion. 

We werewolves, particularly the first bloodlines, had their own symbols they represented. I always felt they were unnecessary things with no real meaning. They were just a way for certain groups to stand out. Part of our humanity left inside us to seek individuality. 

"A wall could be behind here." 

As I was about to touch the wall, a voice behind me had me pausing. "I thought that newbie wasn't alone. Now I find one snooping. How troublesome."

"It's not snooping if you already know I'm here, Asphodel." Turning around, the vampire woman was standing in the room with a hand on her hip and a smile on her face. 

"Ah, one of the younger brothers of Edward Knight. Tell me, is Edward still available?" Her eyes flashed silver. 

"I'll be sure to tell Edward you're still interested in his blood." I never quite understood their relationship, my brother and this woman. They seemed to flirt back and forward, but I always got the feeling it was never friendly. 

"Do, do that. It's been way too long since our last encounter. I do miss his delightful presence." Her gaze went off to the side as if she was bored. 

"Edward wants Colette Stone. Will you hand her over or do I have to take her by force?"

"As his brother, you sure lack his charm." Asphodel slid her gaze back on me. Her gaze switched to an icy glare, one I was familiar with. "So then, this is our next encounter even if it's indirect. She came on her own free will, you know. There's no reason for you to be storming here."

"If she did come on her own, why hide her? It's obvious you're keeping her locked away. Besides, you don't keep humans around unless you are planning to recruit them. Why keep that one?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but I would have missed it had I not been looking. "Valid points. Your pack doesn't interfere in my affairs without reason, so why did Edward send you to get her? She's a weak human. I don't believe she's mated to any of your wolves either."

An image of Jace appeared in my mind. He wasn't one to take a mate, yet he did prefer to keep his infatuations safe from his world. He would do everything in his power to not give away the greatest secret: our existence. It's the only reason he was allowed to pursue human women who weren't his mates. 

"Ah, one of your wolves has an interest in Colette. A hot-headed one too, I'm guessing." 

"We want to prevent a fight outbreak between us. Getting her back before he notices is ideal, but that guy is smarter than Edward gives him credit for. He could be here at any moment." 

"It is tempting to wait and use my awoken pets to take your wolf out." Asphodel glances at the wall. "However, I'm guessing he's that annoying, foul mouth younger brother of yours. As much as I hate to admit it, he could kill my newest members. That in itself would put a dent in my plans." 

"Plans? For what?" 

She moved forward. A smile had returned to her face. "Revitalization, rebirth." She looked at me from the corner of her eyes when she came to a stop next to me. "Renewed life." 

Taking a step away, I watched her in case she attempted any striking moves. She was pretty fast when attacking and could be ruthless. "What's the point in creating more vampires when there's no war?"

A small chuckle left her. "There will always be use for us vampires." 

The clicking of a lock had me looking down at her extended hand. Her fingertips was hidden behind the protruding circle. I haven't noticed the freaking image wasn't an image before she walked in. Looking back up at her, I could tell she had been watching me right from the start. Her intervention earlier was a little too perfect. "You have gone through a lot to keep an ordinary human locked away."

She chuckled again and pulled the door open with a flick. We both moved out of the way as the door swayed open. A girl who looked to be around Jace's age was sitting on the edge of a bed, staring up at the ceiling. 

The inside of the hidden room was made like a small bedroom. It looked cozy enough and not like the prison I had imagined. There was a lamp that lite the room, so she wasn't kept in the dark. She seemed to have plenty to read. I could see comic books scattered around. There was the fade hint of magic in the air too. I wonder why. 

"Who's the old man, Grandma?" The girl asked in a bored tone. She had her ombre gray hair up in two buns with a few stands left out on the sides of her face. She was pretty as a girl and not the type of girls Jace usually went for. 

"Colette Stone?" I asked her while taking a step forward.

She turned her green eyes on me. "You know me?" 

"Colette, how many times am I going to tell you to stop calling me grandma. I'm in my prime and nowhere near old." Asphodel narrowed her eyes on the youth, but a smile stayed on her face.

Colette looked back at Asphodel. "You're a vampire right? In my book, you're way too old. Accept your age already."

Asphodel turned to look at me. "You're free to go, Colette. This man has come to retrieve you. I didn't expect for a child your age to have werewolf friends."

"Werewolf." She looked back at me. As her gaze wandered up and down, I felt like she was trying to find something wrong with me. 

I extended a hand to her. It was a polite thing to do when showing a human you were harmless. "Let's go."

"What? And leave this place where I'm treated like royalty?" She leaped off the bed in a way that allowed her to jump into the air a little. She gave Asphodel an amused look. "Grandma, you know how to run a tight shift." 

"Oh please, don't be too eager to return." Asphodel rolled her eyes and looked off in the opposite direction. 

Collette walked past Asphodel in a nonchalant manner. With her arms locked behind her head, she hummed a happy tone. 

Just what was going on between this girl and Asphodel. Whatever it was, I didn't have time to ponder it. Getting her out was key. Even if this seemed a little too easy. As I started following behind her, Asphodel speaking had me pausing at the entry. 

"I'll tie her down, Knight. She's more of a nuisance than a human." 

I looked back at her. It's uncommon for her to give out warnings. "That's strange coming from a vampire who doesn't let many, if any, get away from her."

"I'm passing along a tip on dealing with a nuisance. It's one of my secrets to keeping my prey in line."

I didn't reply to that. She nor any of her followers haven't made a move on me as I moved down the hall with the girl a few steps ahead of me. With Asphodel letting us walk out, I couldn't help feeling there was a trap waiting in the shadows. The sooner I get Amelia and Colette out, the better.