DeLeina, Maya - Veil of Seduction [Ambrose Heights Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (59 page)

I understand, Steffan.

And when our eyes met that day in the studio, don’t you think for one second that I would have left if I’d found out the truth then. I could never let you go once I laid eyes on you.

“I believe Madeline withheld this information purposely. She was the only one who could sense my mate match to Anya before we even met. She was the only one who had the ability to withhold information on Ryan. In fact, she had told Eilian that Anise died in a car accident, not by burning in a well as she disclosed to Anya. We didn’t even know Anise was a vampire.”

“A vampire? No one in this family has come forth with a turning?” the council member asked.

“None to my knowledge.”

“Madeleine, you have the ability to sense mate matches between human and vampire. Did Steffan truly have a connection to Anya?”

Madeline’s eyes widened and she was less than polished in her response. “Y–Yes, they…um h–had, rather, have…a–a true and strong match.”

“Steffan, this still doesn’t explain the matter of the photos of you at Madeline’s home. This is not the manner in which you are supposed to hold your professional dealings. Are these doctored photos?”

“No. They are not doctored. That is me. I was at Madeline’s home.” Steffan paused and cleared his throat. “I had a brief relationship with her. The box that I’m looking at contained evidence and photos of a rogue crime scene she was sharing with me.”

“Steffan, while it is not part of our laws or creeds, you know that from a professional standpoint, as the leader of this family, you needed to disclose with the council any personal relationships you had with other positions of authority in this family.”

“Yes. I realize this, and I apologize. It was a very brief relationship, and I was so caught up in trying to understand her mate-match abilities that it consumed me.”

“And what of this altering of information on Ryan? Surely the rest of her staff, most importantly Alex, would’ve never let her withhold information from you. This family has been loyal to you and would’ve alerted you in any case of treachery. And even if your theory holds true on the submission injections, from what you’re saying on the inventory logs and my knowledge on how long the serum can last in the bloodstream, we didn’t have enough serum on hand to have somehow affected Alex for this entire time, let alone, the staff.”

“I don’t know what happened there. I can’t explain that part either,” Steffan said with utter dejection. He didn’t know how to explain any of it and certainly did not have time to prepare a well-educated guess as a proposal.

“And to the matter of enthrallment, this is a very serious accusation, Steffan. It appears that Madeline could entice the truth out of Alex, but not after the timeframe that you met him privately in his office, to alter him. Do you also deny meeting Alex privately around that time frame?”

“No,” Steffan responded softly. “I was down at the station, seeing if Madeline was able to obtain anything else. I just happened to see Alex in his office, and I went. It was just the two of us. It was innocent really. I hadn’t seen him in awhile and we were just chatting…guy stuff, you know? All I know is that I do not have the ability to enthrall and would never subject another to that.”

At that moment, the two family members returned from searching Madeline’s personal areas for traces of the injection.

“Anything?” asked the council member.

“Nothing. We found nothing.”

“Steffan, this council has heard enough. Please give us the time to deliberate in private.”

The council members exited the room and the crowd started to mumble and converse softly amongst each other. Anya ran to be by Steffan’s side and wrapped her arms around him as she sat in his lap.

“What do you think?” Anya asked.

“I have no evidence, no proof of anything. Hopefully, I created enough doubt that they’ll allow more time to investigate.” Steffan paused and shook his head as he ran through the proceedings in his head. “Shit, I couldn’t justify how she was able to change and withhold information from us, or how she was able to get Alex to react this way, say those things. I really needed Alex for that part, the real Alex, not the one that was here today.”

“All right, other than that?”

“I’m not sure. Look, I know in my heart I didn’t do anything wrong and none of what she is saying is the truth. Right now, all I care about is what you think in all of this. You have never said anything to me before. Do you believe in me, Anya?”

“As if I ever had a doubt? Of course I believe you. I know the truth. And I know that you didn’t enthrall me or Ryan.”

“How do you know that for sure?”

Anya placed Steffan’s hand on her heart. “My heart knows you. It knows who you are, what you’re made of. You are my mate.” Anya reached for Steffan’s hand. She planted a loving kiss on it, and moved to caress his hand across her cheek. “And I now realize how many times you tried to enter my mind and were stopped by something powerful.”

“What? How do you know that?”

“I didn’t want to remember Ryan. I imagined him dead. My heart didn’t want to remember him. So my mind unconsciously put a mental block on anything that connected me and Ryan. I believe you may have been hit with white noise and a bright light every time you tried, right?”

“Right!”

“I put up such a strong barrier because of the hurt he had caused me, that when I turned, that transferred with me. It wasn’t until I knew the feeling of you entering my mind and having broken through the barrier that night with Ryan that I realized you were trying to enter my mind when I was human. And if you couldn’t break through a mortal’s mind barrier, you wouldn’t even have the power to enthrall a vampire.”

“Ouch! That stung!”

“Sorry.”

“Anya, will you think about what I said earlier, just in case?”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”

Steffan turned his head as the doors opened to let the council back in the room. “That was quick. I guess that’s a good sign. Maybe they want more time to investigate,” Steffan said with a hint of optimism.

Anya gave Steffan a brief kiss before heading back to her seat next to Rhys and Brynne.

“Steffan Matthews,” the council member addressed Steffan.

“Yes?”

“The vampires who lived here in Manitou before you never had a formal family unit that included structure, responsibilities, and a governing body. We were left to fend for ourselves and were never truly able to trust in one another. When you came to town with your immediate family and realized you were living among a lair of vampires, instead of retreating, you accepted all of us and came to know our strengths to incorporate us in the family and harness our abilities to the fullest capacity. You were chosen leader of this family because of strength, intellect, purity, and resolve. This governing council is not ten members chosen by the family. It is a reflection of
you
. Our way of life is all because of your desire to promote civility and equality in our kind, creatures that were never meant to exist in nature and never meant to hold on to any of their human origins. It was your desire to never allow a vampire to exceed or exert his power on another.” The council member paused and rubbed his eyes as if in pain. “And it is because of these values that we have come to our decision.”

He paused yet again and looked at all of the members for reassurance and strength to continue.

They all nodded in agreement for him to proceed.

“Steffan, we have no doubt about your mate connection with Anya, and we believe she was free to be claimed. It appears to have been a strong bond forged between the two of you. You are found not guilty of mate abduction,” he disclosed as cheers roared through the hall. “However,” he interjected, “because of this strong connection you felt to Anya, we believe this was also your downfall.”

“No,” whispered Steffan.

“There is undeniable evidence that you were aware of the situation between Ryan and Anya. The photographs, marriage certificates, letters…you can’t tell us that a man of your intellect would not demand to see this type of information from Madeleine. We don’t believe she withheld anything from you. I mean, there are pictures of you at her house, looking through this very box.”

“But—”

“And”—the council member held his hand up to Steffan as a quieting gesture—“If what you claim is true, that you were at her house for a different reason, that in itself is another piece of evidence that shows your mental state, what you are capable of. You were not upholding the best interests of the family by secretly being involved with another member of authority in this family. Your gut should’ve told you that it was wrong, or at least, you should have chosen to disclose everything to the council on the relationship. But you didn’t. You said it yourself. You were
too consumed
by her abilities
. This, in reality, means you were too consumed with your needs rather than the family’s.”

He paused and cleared his throat. “What we believe is that you may have been so caught up in your connection to Anya, that it consumed you. We believe that once you knew about Ryan and Anya, even though their union was irrevocably broken, that you were afraid this council would not allow your claim on her, so you did the unspeakable.”

“No. I never knew!” Steffan cried out in his defense.

“Steffan, we have evidence. We have proof. You taught us to rely on evidence. Believe me, it pains me. It pains all of us to see you on the other side of the council today. But we are continuing what you started. And, with that, we have to forget who you are in this family. It has no bearing on us.”

Steffan looked at Anya, her face laced in fear.

I love you, Anya, think about what I said. Do it, for me.

Anya shook her head, too stunned, too distraught to answer Steffan.

“It appears that you have misused your position in this family for your own gain. This goes against every principle you’ve ingrained in us. Not only this, you treated your family as expendable objects. This poor woman and man who sit before you, they have been dealt immeasurable mental and physical anguish. You employed manipulation, coercion and, worst of all, your abilities that extend past normal vampiric traits to pursue your claim.”

“No,” Steffan said as he shook his head and started to cry. “It’s not true.”

Anya started to cry. “What does that mean?” Brynne and Rhys hurried to console her. Eilian, Catrin, and Rhys looked at each other in shock and horror.

“Anya, this is bad.” Rhys’s voice cracked as he whispered in her ear.

“Steffan, it is our laws that protect the family from incidents that you have committed and have been found guilty of. You broke one of the most discriminating of our laws, one that you crafted yourself. As you know, no suitable outcome other than what we have chosen will suffice. We have no choice to uphold the law. You are sentenced to the Nemesis to ensure our family’s continuity, well-being, and security. Sacrifice one for the greater good of the family.”

“No!” Anya cried and ran to embrace Steffan.

“I’m sorry, Anya. I’m so sorry!” Steffan cried in her arms.

“You can’t do this! I lost everyone in my family as a human. They were all taken from me. I was alone. In this existence, I have a family in Steffan once again. You can’t do this to me. I can’t go through this again. I’ve suffered enough!” Anya yelled at the council members.

They bowed their heads, with heavy hearts. They carried their grief in their expressions.

“Please, spare him. Please, I can’t live an eternity without him.”

“Anya, they made their decision, love. It’s over.” Steffan embraced Anya tightly. “It’s over. We have to accept it.” Steffan could barely get his words out as his emotions overtook him.