My Fated Alpha's Cruel Game (Elena and Marcus) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71: Chapter 71 Hidden Family Secrets

Elena’s POV

The sound of footsteps on my bedroom floor made me whip around. Julian stood near my dresser like he belonged there, his pale hands casually tucked into his jacket pockets.

"Breaking into a girl’s bedroom without an invitation is generally frowned upon," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You make yourself difficult to find," he replied with that infuriating smirk vampires seemed born with.

"That was intentional. How exactly did you track me down?" The question came out sharper than I intended.

"My network runs deeper than Marcus’s." His dark eyes held mine steadily.

"You’ve had centuries to build those connections. He’s barely had decades." I moved closer to the window, putting distance between us.

"True enough. Age has its advantages."

"Cut to the chase, Julian. What do you want?" My patience was wearing thin.

"Marcus’s closing in. He knows you’re in this area."

"He suspects I’m here. There’s a difference." I turned back to face him. "If you came all this way to tell me something I already figured out, you can leave the same way you came in."

His expression grew serious. "That book you took from his pack house. Is it secure?"

"Safe and sound. Haven’t had much time to dive deeper into it yet." I studied his face for any tell.

"You need to make time. There’s information in those pages you can’t afford to ignore."

"Such as?"

"Family histories. Not just Marcus’s bloodline. Yours too." The weight in his voice made my stomach clench.

"Smoking while pregnant isn’t exactly mother-of-the-year behavior," Gage’s voice carried from the hallway.

"Mind your own business, player," I called back sweetly.

Someone’s laughter echoed through the house. Definitely not Damien’s deep chuckle.

I managed several dozen pages before exhaustion hit. The archaic language required concentration I didn’t have left. I secured the book back in its hiding place and collapsed into bed.

Trusting Julian felt wrong on every logical level. Vampires and werewolves maintained an uneasy truce at best. Our species tolerated witches when necessary, but vampires represented everything we opposed. They killed humans.

The ones who fed only to survive earned our reluctant understanding. They hadn’t chosen their fate. But the bloodthirsty ones who killed for pleasure became our responsibility to stop.

So why did every instinct tell me to believe him? My gut had never steered me wrong before. More importantly, Tara remained calm around him. My wolf’s judgment meant everything.

If only I understood what that something was.