Page 65 of Reclaiming Quinn
In answer, Zach’s lips curled and Deke saw them. Razor-sharp incisors gleaming in the low light.
“We Vampyri were created by the Mother to be the bodyguards for the Omegas. To protect them against all outside threats. It was more than a duty for us. It was our whole reason for being. As focused as we were on danger from others, we never realized the danger came from their own people.”
“You mean the wars.”
Zach gave a terse nod. “We were called away by a ruse from several of the Alphas. While we were gone on the fool’s errand, they made a surgical strike and slaughtered the Omegas. We felt it and rushed back. We found the Alphas burning their bodies.” He peered at Deke. “You need to understand. Our abilities were linked with the Omegas. When they died, most of our powers were stripped from us. As weakened as we were, we were no match for the Alphas when they moved against us.”
None of this made any kind of sense. “I don’t understand.”
“No,” Zach said with a dry chuckle. “I would imagine you don’t. There were rumblings about a plot against the Omegas. Mother created the Vampyri to stand against any enemy who would threaten her perfect creation. We were meant to protect them with our lives. One Alpha came to us and said they’d discovered the nature of the plot and sent us to stop it. By the time we got to where he said the attack would happen, it was too late. They moved like a well-oiled machine and systematically slaughtered the Omegas. As soon as it happened, our strength waned, and our enemies—the Alphas—waded in and slaughtered my people. We did our best to fight back, but we were a shell of ourselves.”
“When you say Vampyri, do you mean vampires?”
Zach shrugged. “That’s one word for it.”
“But they’re myths.”
“You mean like shifters?” He sat down in the other chair and took the sling from around his neck. “Goddess, I’m glad to be rid of that thing.”
“So you’re not hurt?”
“Oh, I was. Like you, though, I heal pretty fast. Not like we used to, of course. We were supposed to be the perfect killing machines, with a single goal in mind.”
Deke cocked his head. “Okay, pretend I’m an idiot—”
Zach quirked an eyebrow. “Pretend?”
“Asshole. I thought vampires were bloodsucking monsters.”
“And I thought werewolves were mangy mutts who had to deal with fleas.” He leaned in. “I may have left a few things out, but I’ve been honest with you. I am a police officer, and I’d heard rumblings of an alleged Omega who’d been in town, so I came to investigate. When these assholes jumped me, I fought back. I killed one and probably would have gotten the other, but then figured I wouldn’t learn anything about the human trafficking, so I let them take me. Maybe I could figure out the truth about the Omega sightings and the human slavery ring. I never expected to find you, though. You’re the first lycan I’ve had an actual conversation with in decades.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you kept talking about your Alpha, and the few of us who were left learned to hate them. I wanted to get this done and slip away without having to meet him.” He sighed. “I have to admit, though…. You’ve shown me that not all wolves are bad.”
“Things are… changing. Mother made Gareth the Supreme Alpha. She sent him and Sean out to get the wolves back under control.”
Zach snorted. “Good luck with that. This one? Klein? I busted one of his meat processing plants. Got six kids out alive. Don’t ask about the people I couldn’t save.” Even in the darkness, the pain was etched on Zach’s face. “He has to go.”
“And he will. Gareth will do whatever is necessary, I’m sure.” It was quiet for a moment. “So…. Vampire, huh?”
“Vampyri. We’re not like the movies make us out to be. We are stronger at night, but we’re not going to melt in the sun. In fact, I quite enjoy laying out at the beach. I don’t tan, but it still feels nice to be warm. Oh, and don’t even get me started on sparkling, because that’s a big no.” He smiled. “When Mother created us, we were to be faster than most wolves, single-minded in our duty to protect the Omegas, and deadly enough to take down anyone who would be a threat.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “To this day, we don’t know why we didn’t see it coming.”
This was coming from a place Deke had never heard of, but Zach’s explanation made sense, at least in a weird way. Mother knew the Omegas were in danger, and she set out to protect them. The more Deke learned about the death of the Omegas, the more he understood the depths of her grief. In fact, now that he was paying attention, it was plain to see that Zach still harbored it himself.
“Because you never expected treachery from Mother’s other creations. I get it.” Deke cocked his head. “What I don’t understand is why I’ve never heard of this before.”
A wave of sadness spread over Zach’s normally placid features. “The Alphas took great pains to erase us from history. They didn’t want any reminders of what they’d done, because it was easier to claim they knew nothing of it that way. To protect ourselves, we hunted down the little bits and pieces of information that floated around, and we did what we could to suppress them.” He winced. “There used to be hundreds of us. Now there are ten of us left. I’m a cop. It was my choice to stay in the world. The others want to be left in peace, but with the arrival of the Omega, that’s not going to happen.”
“What do you mean?”
Zach sighed. “We’re soul-bound to serve as their guardians. Our duty is to keep them safe, and seeing as how we failed before, we’re going to be sure this one is kept from harm.”
The laugh that bubbled up felt good. “I don’t think you have to worry about it. Gareth is more than enough to protect Sean.”
A quick shake of the head. “No, you don’t understand. We don’t have a choice. When Mother created us, she hard-coded our service for the Omega in our DNA. Now that I know for sure there is a living Omega and that there are children involved, my people will band together to protect them all.”
“Easy solution: don’t tell them. Let them carry on as they’ve been doing.”
