Cutthroat Carmine (Book 1)(COMPLETE) (Wattpad Featured Novel)

41: [stawrm]

"Well, this day just keeps getting better and better," Nyla purrs, caressing the garnet pendant dangling from her necklace. "If I had known that we were family, I wouldn't have been so harsh on you." Nyla tosses her head back and lets out a musical laugh.

The sound chills Carmine down to the bone.

"You're my great-aunt? How is that possible?" Carmine asks, reaching for a napkin and dabbing the sweat off her forehead.

This can't be. She can't possibly be related to a murderous vamp like Nyla.

"And why not?" Nyla muses, taking a large stride towards Carmine. "I'm sure you've noticed how closely we resemble one another."

It's true. Carmine has noticed. She shares Nyla's jet black hair, pale skin, high cheekbones, large eyes and full red lips. In fact, now that she thinks about it, her and Nyla almost look like sisters.

The only difference is, Nyla is a few hundred years older and far more deadly and callous than Carmine.

"So I gather you two have met," Mason says quietly, offering Nyla a seat.

"We work together," Nyla explains, sitting down. "At the hotel."

As soon as these words leave Nyla's mouth, the whole room is enshrouded by an uncomfortable silence. It doesn't take long for the rest of the family to figure out that Nyla is the vampire killer terrorizing Richmont.

Nyla shakes loose a cloth napkin and lays it across her lap. "I'm starving. Shall we eat?"

Red nods nervously and offers Nyla something to drink. "A blood cocktail perhaps?" She reaches for a plastic pitcher filled with crimson liquid.

"That would be lovely, Kardinal," Nyla says, holding out her glass.

Red sloshes some of the thick blood into Nyla's glass. "Please, call me Red," she says, her voice cracking a little.

"Alright," Nyla brings the glass to her mouth and takes a tiny sip, savouring the taste on her tongue. "Red, are you feeling okay? You seem a little pale."

Red brushes back her hair and shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. I think I'm just overtired, that's all. Lots of overtime shifts at work."

"So, Nyla, what brings you here today?" Carmine asks between mouthfuls of raw sausage. She chews each bite carefully, keeping her eyes focused down on her plate.

"Why don't you ask your father sweetie? He invited me," Nyla replies, looking to Mason. "And don't you think referring to me by my first name is a tad disrespectful, considering the fact that I'm your elder?"

Carmine ignores the comment and turns to her father. "Father, why did you invite her?" Her voice carries an unmistakable edge.

Mason runs a hand through his golden brown hair. "I invited her here because she's family and she's never seen you or Blake before. Since she was in town I thought-"

"-Why don't you tell them the REAL reason I'm here, Mason," Nyla says, downing the rest of her blood cocktail in one gulp. Once the glass is drained, she licks her lips and holds out the glass for a refill. Red quickly replenishes the cup.

Mason looks hesitant but resigns to a quick nod. He weaves his fingers together and sighs, "Okay. The other reason I invited your great-aunt here is because...we need her help."

"Why do we need her help?" Carmine snaps, growing more uneasy by the minute. Something tells her she won't like Mason's answer.

"A couple days ago, I heard through the grapevine that a new coven is coming to Richmont. They've decided to establish themselves here and start breeding. They also want to convert all the human here into vampires," Mason explains, taking a gulp of his blood cocktail. "Rumour has it they won't stop until every last person in Richmont is either dead, converted or has run away. The problem with their plan is, they don't know about the vampire hunters gathering in Larksdale. New hunters are being trained daily by the one they worship called the Hunter Queen. She's making it her mission to stop the new coven from infiltrating Richmont. They're calling it 'The Great Culling'. They won't stop until all the vampires in Richmont are dead or they are. Bloodbaths and massacres are imminent. We need your great-aunt's protection in order to successfully flee the state. We might even be leaving the country."