Gypsy Truths (All The Pretty Monsters Book 6)

by Kristy Cunning

  She could easily get Avery and Talbot killed inside that House. All it would take is one wrong move. House of Neopry runs a much tighter ship than any other Alpha House.

  I find it suspicious when the ghost glances around, trying too hard to seem inconspicuous, and failing miserably.

  She jerks her head away when I catch her peering over at us, and she even starts whistling some tune.

  Why are we being haunted so often?

  What the bloody hell is going on in our world that usually has far more routine, structure, discipline, and very gradual changes?

  I finally get that bloody snowball metaphor, because I certainly feel like I’m rolling downhill with no control over the direction I’m headed.

  It’s maddening.

  Every ounce of energy I have is being used to actively stop myself from rushing into a rash course of action.

  Emit’s phone rings, and I glance over to see who’s calling him. ‘Private Caller’ flashes on the screen, just as we reach the steps of the Neopry House. Given the eerie timing, we stop, mostly because neither of us have had any time to prepare for what happens next.

  “Do you wanna come over?” the voice whispers.

  We exchange a confused look.

  “I don’t have time for jokes. Who the hell is this?” he growls.

  “I’m not a girl. Not yet a woman,” the whisperer answers.

  “Is this some sort of cocked up riddle? What game are you playing?”

  “I’m a slave for you,” the other voice says.

  “I’m only going to ask this one more time, and then I’m hanging up. Who the hell is this?” Emit demands.

  “It’s Diva, bitch!” the louder, and now more distinguished, voice shouts across the line, before the girl’s giddy laughter explodes.

  We both look behind us, to where a phone is floating in the air in front of the ghost. She grins, as she gently floats the phone back to the bench, next to the man, who is oblivious to all around him, as he lets his dog lick his stupid face.

  “That’s what you looked like when you used to let your wolves do that to you,” I inform the behemoth next to me.

  Emit slants his eyes toward me. “Is that really the thing to focus on at the moment?”

  “No, but a ghost just used a phone to fuck with us with far too much ease and control. Our girlfriend is either an extreme masochist or an unintentional sadist—still undecided as to which category to check off. Now we’re about to enter a room to a scene that could be playing out in a number of ways, none of which put my mind at ease, and I’ve had far too long to dread pushing through those doors, terrified of what we’ll find.”

  We hold each other’s gazes, as the tension ratchets up, my apprehension and hesitation doubling with each passing second.

  “We have to tell her the truth about her monster,” I whisper so quietly I’m worried not even he can hear it. “If we can make it through this unscathed, we won’t procrastinate. She needs to be reined in, recognize the hierarchy, and learn to live among us. Just as normal humans live under a government’s law.”

  He gives me a subtle nod, lips thinning.

  “If we don’t make it through unscathed, it’ll be because she’s learned a lesson the hard way,” he says with the same hushed tone.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  Fuck.

  Yesterday, my curse was broken. I was on a high like I’ve never had in all my life, aside from the time I had Violet in the basement for two days. And the first time I had her. That was a high too.

  Anyway, all I wanted to do was lose myself in her over and over. Today, I want to throttle her and shield her at the same time.

  “We told her we wouldn’t be in charge anymore once Idun was back. She simply refuses to listen, and she’s in the midst of launching a solo rebellion, for the sake of ‘standing up for herself,’” he tacks on, as though I don’t see the severity of our oversight already.

  She was raised human.

  Humans coexist alongside us, but they live in a far different world.

  She still doesn’t know all of the story, simply because no one wanted to share the worst of it. Or maybe she does know, since she was in my head for that curse.

  Shit, we need a day where nothing at all is going on, in order to have some very needed conversations.

  Allowing ourselves one last moment of procrastination, I finally push through the heavy doors. Emit silently trails me, and we walk down the long, eerie, freshly dusted hallways of the massive home, that looks to be preparing to start renovations.

  “This place looks perfectly fine. The added construction is a ploy to get the Simpletons here, and the email went out two days ago. They’ll never leave again, regardless of what Idun says. Then, conveniently, Talbot’s sister’s convoy leaves today and gets attacked. Does one have anything to do with the other? What’s Violet up to?” Emit asks, his voice staying barely audible.

  I pause, my feet firmly planting to the floor, as I stare at him. For whatever reason, a chill slinks down my spine.

  “You think Violet has somehow masterminded this, baited Idun, and came here with an agenda?” I ask him, finding it entirely too believable by this point.

  Idun was the last woman to blind me so much I missed every single thing she did. I’m far blinder to Violet’s dark side, since there’s not much of one…by comparison.

  “I think I don’t want to go any farther, because I’m not looking forward to how any of this turns out. There won’t be an option but to fight, and you’ll be stuck to the sidelines. This is Idun’s House. Your curse will take its fullest effect here. She runs a tight ship.”

  “By comparison to you,” I volley, giving him a pointed look.

  Seriousness steals the moment when a door creaks, and voices carry down the next hallway.

  We’ve never spoken loud enough to be heard, but as the doors slowly shut, we catch pieces of Violet speaking.

  “…I know. I know. Though they seemed loyal, even loyalists have been known to go rogue, and you can’t be held accountable for every stray along the way…”

  The door clangs shut, and the voices are sealed away.

  My heart damn near sinks to my toes with relief to know Violet’s not in any immediate duress. My knees are barely staying locked in place, because I genuinely feared the worst.

  And there’d be nothing I could do but watch.

  My hands shake, as they lift to adjust my tie, and I clear my throat, my breath scraping my empty lungs on its way back in.

  Emit’s breath comes out coarse and heavy.

  Without another word, we both take a step at the same time, and then briskly walk the last length of the distance to where Violet’s begun raising hell.

  It all happened too quickly.

  Violet may have damn well planned this. But for what bloody, insane purpose?

  Talbot and Avery are standing just outside the doors, where Violet’s voice is muffled.

  “You two, get gone,” I tell them both, narrowing my eyes at Avery in specific. “And we’ll have a conversation later,” I assure my beta.

  Avery gives me a nod, avoiding my gaze, as he leaves. Talbot’s expression gives nothing to indicate his emotion, and his eyes never meet ours, as he walks away.

  I don’t trust that codger.

  Emit bursts through the doors a little too dramatically, and I side-step him, smoothly moving into the room. My eyes settle first on Idun, who is at the end of the table, her grin blooming across her face the second she sees me.

  Her eyes are positively sparkling with delight.

  She’s only ever crazy when she’s this excited about something.

  “I figured you’d be showing up at some point, Van Helsing. It is absolutely adorable your little girlfriend found the arrogance to show up, unannounced, and wished to personally address this matter with only two betas.”

  She quirks an eyebrow, as if to say, “How stupid have you made her?”

  I can’t even seem to
take one step closer, the weight of the curse holding me to the entryway of the room. Idun’s House rules: All Van Helsings are confined to the entryway of the meeting room.

  Her rules are her House laws.

  The strictest of the all the Houses.

  My jaw tics, and I cut my eyes to Violet, wishing I could somehow breathe just an ounce of self-preservation into her stubborn, headstrong mind.

  Violet gives me a little wave, grimacing, because she knows I’m livid.

  The fear has ebbed just enough for me to get royally pissed about the situation she’s once again put me in.

  Emit takes a step toward the table, but a row of betas quickly stack in front of us, crossing spears over each other to block his path.

  They couldn’t stop him if he wanted to get by, but they’re a reminder. I’d be forced to fight him in this House, required to uphold her law.

  He slants his gaze to me, just as my hand moves to silver melting from my pocket and sliding into my hand, forming my hilts.

  “You’ve honed that craft remarkably, Vancetto,” Idun says in a purr. “I never imagined you’d be that fine with the silver. It used to take you ages to forge one silver sword.”

  I cut my gaze back. Violet stays quiet, eyes flicking between us, until Idun turns her attention back to Violet.

  “He’s so frustrated all the time because he’s the most confined. You see, being the hero can be terribly exhausting. I’ve always tried to help him out as much as possible. Not that he’s ever appreciated such effort,” Idun says, as she props her chin up on her hands, puckering her lips in a playful pout.

  She grins at Violet, while Violet keeps a stoic expression.

  “Emit’s lazy and full of self-loathing, unless he can scar your body with his hideous mark, and then he demands for you to leave it there for the sake of his uninspiring, pointless existence. I’ll let you keep him,” she says, shrugging a shoulder.

  Violet raps her fingers on the table, her lips preparing to move.

  “Don’t,” Emit cautions, trying to stop her before she engages.

  “Emit’s not as ruthless, and he does let too much slide,” Violet says, dulling down Idun’s attack. “He’s also the only alpha who looks out for his omegas. Not just some of them—all of them. His laws reflect that. It’s the real reason his betas rebel so much. They have no respect for the ones who need protection, and they hate that their alpha helps the weak. They want a more ruthless image.”

  Idun snorts, and then she quickly covers her mouth, as her body starts shaking with suppressed laughter.

  Violet’s face returns to stoic.

  “I’m sorry,” Idun says, barely reining in her laughter. “Now I see what you see in her. She’s perfect for you soft fools. Have you honestly forgotten what we are?”

  Her expression turns more serious, and she loses all interest in Violet, as her gaze returns to mine. Contempt is in her eyes.

  She then flicks her attention to Emit for the first true time.

  “I’ll be one to have to deal with your endless bad bloodlines, because you never do exterminate them all. Eventually, it bites you in the tail, and then what? Oh, that’s right, Idun has to be the bad guy,” Idun states with a sarcastic huff at the end.

  Once again, she trains her gaze on me.

  “Van Helsing takes mercy on the wolf, allowing him to break the law, since his curse is least effective on Emit, due to all the insufficient ruling the wolf alpha does,” Idun carries on, as the cameras draw closer. “The wolf would have to work damn hard to win me back, and he’s not the type to put forth that much effort. I’m not holding my breath, and my heart’s not breaking.”

  I envy Emit.

  I hate that I envy that fucking stupid mutt.

  He damn near smirks.

  “Damien’s a lost cause. He’s as pointless as the wolf. Keep him as well,” Idun says, gesturing with her hand toward the doors that open behind us.

  Damien moves in next to my side, eyes concentrated solely on Violet.

  Air stirs to my right, and Arion slips in between Emit and I. Four useless ducks in a row.

  If we react suddenly, Idun gets her war. Violet stacked a deck without knowing all the rules first. Why the hell isn’t Avery advising her better than this?

  “I hate to butt in, but this is my meeting. Schedule one with them if you want to take a walk down memory lane and insult them with unfair blanket statements and partial truths,” Violet cuts in, drawing the first angry glare from Idun, since she’s already getting worked up.

  “Keep trying to provoke me, stupid, young monster. I’ll tire of your mouth sooner than you’d like,” Idun says, leaning toward her.

  Violet doesn’t budge, and her eyes never leave Idun’s, which is remarkably foolish and far too arrogant.

  How is it that rules of our instincts don’t apply to her?

  Is it because of all the mixed heritage?

  Is it because of the miraculous birth?

  Is it because of her human raising among a much more lenient time and country?

  Is it because too many braincells have been burned out by botched potions in poorly ventilated spaces?

  “By the time I got done with you, you’d be begging me to take Caroline in your place. You’d betray her and fall off that high horse you’re riding around on. Then your little Sanctuary would crumble, and you’d be left with none of them, because you’d be nothing more than damaged goods. You’re a few thousand heartbeats away from an eternal humbling you’ll never forget. You have no idea what it takes to be an alpha, and you have no idea what I’m capable of,” Idun assures her, no longer pretending to play nice.

  Violet lets her gaze flick to us, as we all wait with painfully held breaths, hoping she finally backs down.

  She turns back around, slides some papers across the table to Idun, and gives her a smile.

  “Sounds terribly scary. I’ll need your signatures here, here, here, and…” Violet’s voice trails off, and she flips the page, pointing to a new spot. “Here,” she adds, glancing back up from the paper, keeping that smile fixed to her face.

  Idun gives her an irritated look.

  “Why would I sign anything, little girl?” she asks in a barely calm tone, her patience noticeably fraying.

  “Because some of your betas, who’ve been loyalist even while you were underground for a thousand years, suddenly went rogue. Clearly it sounds too suspicious, and since you’re advocating that you’re not here for war, it’d be a show of good faith,” Violet tells her in a practiced-speech sort of way.

  Idun glances down at the paper and rolls her eyes.

  “This states I can’t use my own flock of carpenters for the next round of renovations. Bobo is a visionary when it comes to woodwork. It’s his only purpose in life, Violet. You dare try to take that from them just because you’re a little too possessive? Stop thinking you’re an alpha, before I’m forced to once again remind you that you’re not.”

  Violet glances to the camera and back to Idun.

  “I think a lot of things,” Violet states, her serious expression darkening, as something damn near malicious crosses her gaze. “I think you have too much power and abuse it too freely, simply because you can. I think you enjoy toying with the lives of others to remain relevant in a world that doesn’t really hear the ribbon girl story very often. They certainly don’t fear her.”

  Idun’s nostrils flare, but she gives no other reaction than that.

  “I think you love trying to make a mockery out of me and Sanctuary. I think you scheme, plot, and spend entirely too much of your eternity being overly diabolical for petty agendas, because you’re so powerful that it’s made you bored. There’s no sport or fun in much of anything anymore, because there’s no challenge left for you.”

  “My, my. You certainly spend a lot of time thinking about me, don’t you, Violet?” Idun muses, sitting back in her chair.

  “You’re just one of a few distractions I have running, at current. One thing
I certainly don’t think is that I’m an alpha,” Violet tells her.

  I want to run my head through a wall.

  “But I don’t need to be an alpha to run Sanctuary. You want to find a way to beat me some more, be my guest. You’ll never find power over me. If you want to extort the law for your gain, I’ll call you out for the sake of protecting Sanctuary. The Simpletons won’t be in your House. They’re the first charge of protection I have, and you’ll manipulate them if they’re under your care.”

  Violet’s tone is too assertive, not an ounce of humbleness to even humor such a delicate situation.

  Idun’s excitement doubles, and she leans forward.

  “You can’t do anything to me. Legally,” Violet suddenly tells her. “Not until you find a way to extort the law in some way, or attack with some rogues. I’m an undetermined species with no rules or regulations, regardless of what you think. You want to challenge that, then be my guest. I’m not scared of you, Idun,” Violet says as she stands, and Idun practically glows with anticipation.

  “You really are rather tenacious, and obscenely obnoxious, for such a small kitten with her fresh claws. This is more fun than I could have possibly imagined.” Idun stands, and the two of them stare each other down.

  Idun’s smiling too merrily.

  Violet has a very unimpressed expression on her face, one reminiscent of a sullen adolescent, who is unaware of how dangerous it is to be a belligerent nuisance to the law.

  Anger runs in my veins, as Violet walks by me, deliberately avoiding meeting any of our stares.

  “If they were kings of their respective countries, and I the queen of mine, would it make you understand how out of line you are, little monster?” Idun asks, causing Violet to pause, while keeping her back turned.

  “It does give me some perspective, actually,” Violet states with too much of a carefree tone. “However, Sanctuary gets a fair playing field, even with kings and queens,” she adds, walking through the doors without a backward glance.

  Idun turns her excited eyes toward ours.

  “She’s feisty. She’s also reckless, childish, and far too arrogant. I now know exactly what you all see in her. Despite her insolence, her overconfidence, and ridiculousness, she’s quite challenging,” Idun says, her legs crossing over each other with each deliberate, sultry step she takes in our direction.