Page 18 of Alaric's Hidden Gem

“Not me, I'm the youngest,” Christian said.

“We can only go so far back in recalling our memories. They are—distorted.”

She glanced at me cautiously before returning her gaze towards Damien.

“Why haven't vampires taken over or spread more rapidly?”

“For a long time, it was only us three. We weren't aware that we could create other vampires. When we did, it caused chaos and a threat to our existence. We prefer to keep our existence a secret, or we would end up being experimented on. Christian was taken from us for a short while.”

Our little brother was never quite the same when he returned, but he did kill every last one of his jailers when he escaped.

She looked at Christian with compassion on her face.

“I hope you're okay,” she said.

Christian stared at her, and I thought he would ignore her. He nodded his head but didn't say anything.

“We have Covens in every country. We oversee them and have a hierarchy in each coven that reports back to the Coven in Greece. If there are any threats to us by vampires or humans, we are consulted before they are eliminated,” I said since she was taking the information without freaking out.

“So you three are the original vampires? Like royalty,” she asked with a frown.

“We don't know if we are the originals or not,” Christian said. “You can call me King Christian if you want.”

Gemma grinned and checked on her omelette.

“No, thanks. I have a feeling you guys have enough of an ego as it is.”

“I have a sense there were others before us. I have been investigating this,” Damien said before a slow smile crept onto his face. “The news of there being select humans who are capable of living longer and being able to produce our offspring puts a different spin on my original outlook.”

“How so?” Gemma asked as she put her omelette under the grill.

“I’ve been searching through history looking for mass Vampire attacks on humans, but if the vampires before us found their blood mates, there may not have been as much carnage. They would want to remain hidden to protect their families.”

“Did you find anything?” I asked because he hadn't mentioned this to me.

“I've found a lead but I need to borrow a few of your paintings.”

“Tartarus?” I asked because I had a feeling those ones were special. The longer you looked at them, the more you would uncover.

He grinned and nodded. “That one and a few others from different periods,” he said.

Damien was the book collector, and Christian was the weapon collector. I preferred art, but we had similar interests in houses and cars—those items we shared.

“Are we any further on who tried to kill Christian this time?” I asked, and Christian grunted.

“Nicholas was our only lead, and you let Samuel kill him. I’m waiting to hear back from a few of our people.”

“Be prepared. They will probably try to kill you again,” I said with a shrug. “You took a good belting outside. Perhaps you need to focus more on training.”

His eyes moved towards Gemma, but she bent down to check on her food.

“The only reason I didn't fuck you up is because of her,” he whispered as he made a wanker gesture with his hand. He picked up that bad habit from Samuel and Derrick.

“Will you two stop it? She is going to think we are a bunch of savages,” Damien said under his breath.

Gemma was oblivious to our conversation and was busy preparing a salad to go with her omelette. My brothers hadn't reacted to the scent of her blood. It confirmed everything I needed to know. She was my personal yet addictive blood bank. I couldn't wait to get rid of my brothers. The taste of her pussy and blood was still on my tongue.

Christian elbowed Damien and pointed at me. They both smirked at me, but Christian stared at Gemma.

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