4
Antoine
My fingers tapped on the invitation from the vampire council sitting on my desk and sighed. I rubbed my forehead with my free hand, closing my eyes to block out the sight of the paper before me. Things just kept getting more complicated every day. How was I supposed to protect everyone when I didn't know what was going to happen next?
"You can't."
Not opening my eyes, I answered Rayne's voice, "Just because you can read my mind doesn't give you permission to answer it."
The sound of Rayne flopping down on one of the chairs made me lift my head. I locked my gaze on the red head and scowled. "Do you mind?"
Rayne didn't smirk like I expected him to. He laced his fingers across his stomach and stared me down. "This isn't like with the hunters, Antoine."
"You think I don't know that?" I dropped my hands down to the desk and picked up the invitation, jerking it in the air. "This is the council. They won't be easily persuaded to let us work for them."
"You mean let Piper work for them."
I ignored the snap of his tone. "It kills me as much as you that Piper is putting everything on the line for us. We should be the ones protecting her, not the other way around."
Rayne shoved up out of the chair and approached my desk, slamming his hands down on the top of it. "Then why aren't we?"
Not wavering from Rayne's glare, I tossed the invitation on the desk. "I'm trying. What do you expect me to do?"
"Don't let her go."
"What?" I stared at him with a frown. "What do you mean don't let her go?"
"Don't let her go to see the council," Rayne explained with conviction.
I shook my head. "I can't do that. They'll expect our whole household. If we don't bring Piper, then they will think we are hiding something."
"We are," Rayne shouted, pounding his fist on the desk. "Do you think the reason they are doing all this to us is because they just want attention? Don't fucking pretend this isn't because of her."
"You need to calm down." I shifted back into my seat giving us some space. "Nothing is going to get solved by letting our emotions get the best of us."
"Emotions?" Rayne scoffed, shoving away from my desk and turning his back on me. He dragged a hand over his face and chuckled, a bitter sound that didn't make this any easier. He spun around and gave me the same look he did when I turned him into a vampire. Unbridled anger and sadness. "What emotions would those be? Do you even have any left after all this time?"
I let out a long breath, my fingers tightening around each other to calm myself. "Just because I choose not to let those emotions get the better of me does not mean that I lack them. I'm just as worried for Piper as you are."
"Are you?"
Before I could answer, the office door opened and Wynn walked in. He took one look at the two of us and sighed. "It seems that I am not the only one who has concerns about this meeting with the council?"
"No," I turned my eyes back to Rayne. "You're not."
Rayne stalked over to Wynn. "Tell him. Tell him that Piper shouldn't come. That we should send her away. Somewhere no one will find her."
Wynn snorted. "What? The moon?" Rayne began to protest. Wynn cut him off. "While I agree with your sentiments Rayne. The likelihood that we could hide Piper or even keep her out of this is quite low."
"Then what do we do? Nothing?" Rayne yelled at Wynn before turning on me. "You know they will blame this all on her. They'll think that the whole hunter thing is betrayal. They won't care that it's a deal to keep us safe."
“I am aware of the council’s mind set.” I pushed out of my chair and rounded the desk, leaning against the opposite side to face Rayne and Wynn head on. “Unfortunately, we cannot hide Piper and we cannot leave her out of this. We must face them and plead our case. Perhaps, we will find an option we did not see before.”
Rayne smirked. "Or the hunters do us a favor and take them out before they can take us out."
"It's more likely we'll get caught in the crossfires of that little interaction," Wynn mused, collapsing into the chair in front of me. "I won't let them hurt her, Antoine."
Wynn wasn't lounging in the chair with his usual nonchalance. He leaned forward his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped before him under his chin. His gaze stared hard at nothing.