She reached up to tap on the glass with her fingernails and then gave a small sarcastic wave.
Though vampires did not need to breathe, Wentworth maintained the habit to keep up appearances. He evaluated the newcomers and the overall situation in the time it took to inhale and let the air out again with a disgusted grumble. Then he stepped forward to unlock and slide open the glass door.
“I trust you have not slain or unduly harmed my sentries?” he asked irritably.
“Not at all,” the woman replied in a mildly defensive tone. “We came to talk.”
“Yes, I know.” He noted the quizzical rise of her eyebrow and gestured for her to enter. “Even if you had overwhelming force, your instincts would still compel you to attack with stealth and surprise. This assembly is meant to impress me with the strength you have chosen not to use,” he explained, gesturing to the others.
The woman stepped inside and offered her hand with a smile. “I am Diana.”
“Wentworth, Lord Mayor of New York,” nodded the vampire. He took her hand, then dropped it to eye her companions. “I presume you will want someone to accompany you inside?”
“I wouldn’t want to fall prey to your hypnotic stare,” she said, her lips pursed with amusement. “Billy. Come in, please,” Diana gestured to the scruffiest of the bunch. To his credit, he removed his ball cap and held it in both hands.
Wentworth didn’t look at him long enough to allow for introductions. He gestured to the table and chairs at the breakfast nook, not waiting for his guests to take a seat before he claimed one for himself with a clear path to the exit. Diana pointed to a chair for Billy before she took her own.
“I take it you’re the alpha wolf?” Wentworth asked, doing his best to smother his unpleasant mood.
“That’s not a term we use, actually,” said Diana. “The concept of alpha wolves came from studies done solely on wolves in captivity. They don’t act like that in the wild.” She fixed him with a steady gaze. “And whatever our animal natures, we are not mere animals. We are still people with human brains.”
“Indeed,” Wentworth said. He gave a curt nod of acknowledgement. “Then I would ask if you lead this group, or if instead you speak for the leader? I had thought the packs of this area answered to one called Caleb?”
“Caleb is dead. I have succeeded him. The packs answer to me.”
“Excellent. You are already far more poised and pleasant than any other of your kind I have met.” For a brief moment, Wentworth considered his further questions and the value of small talk. He promptly decided to forego all of that. “What do you want?”
She tilted her head to acknowledge his forthright manner. “Apparently I want something I cannot have.” She waited to see if he understood the implication and then explained, “You and yours meant to kill him the other night.”
“Carlisle,” Wentworth said darkly.
“Yes. I only arrived as things got out of hand there. A packmate observed you and the rest for a short bit before that, but he didn’t quite understand what was going on. You blame him for what happened to the vampires of Seattle?”
“We do,” confirmed Wentworth, “though likely not Carlisle alone.” He considered his next words carefully. “We are aware that the Lady Anastacia held you prisoner at the time.”
“Yes,” Diana nodded. “I escaped as a result of all that happened, though I don’t claim to understand all that went on or why. I first met Carlisle while we were both prisoners. We helped one another escape, though his associates came to his rescue at about that same time. You met one the other night-the angel.”
“Do you know if he killed the Lady Anastacia?”
Diana shook her head. “I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think so. I don’t know who specifically killed her. Alex had other matters on his mind at the time. Anastacia and her court were a complication for him, not a focus. You are aware of the demon?”
“I am aware of a demon, yes,” Wentworth emphasized deliberately. “We have not met. Cornelius recognized her name and perhaps knew her, but he did not elaborate. Now he is gone, at Carlisle’s hands and in front of many witnesses. Even if he did not murder the Lady, there is blood on his hands that cannot be ignored. Your kind may be our enemy, but none would question the practicality of calling a truce, or at least talking like this. Carlisle is mortal. He is livestock.”
She smiled faintly. “I see. If you let that slide, what’s next? They’ll let women vote and allow blacks to use public restrooms?”
“Precisely so,” Wentworth agreed, “and then-!” He stopped himself, his mind only then catching up to his mouth. He frowned. “Cute.” He paused to consider his next words. “You intervened before he was killed in the bus tunnel, but you also fought the angel. You say Carlisle is something you cannot have?”
“He would have made an excellent mate,” nodded Diana, “but I see now that those two whores have ruined him. The angel and the demon,” she elaborated when his eyebrow rose. “I won’t bore you with the details.”
“You’re too kind,” Wentworth deadpanned. “So if that’s the case, then why haven’t you and your pack moved on? Oh, no, wait. Don’t tell me,” he said, holding up one hand. “If you can’t have him, no one will?”
“That is one way of putting it, yes. Mr. Wentworth, does this amuse you?”
“Somewhat,” he mused, tapping idly on the table. “You have such poise and diction. You’re clearly educated. This blend of post-graduate sophistication and trailer park murder motives is quite striking.”
Silent until now, Billy all but choked. Diana’s eyes narrowed. Neither reaction seemed to bother the vampire in the slightest. “Mr. Wentworth,” she asked, “why is it that your kind and mine don’t get along?”
The vampire snorted. “We like to see ourselves as unchallenged masters of our territories. We’re predators and we don’t like threats or competition. The same goes for your kind. Naturally, we don’t like anything that unsettles those perceptions.”
“Is there no deeper reason than that?” Diana pressed thoughtfully. “You come from a society of people who live for centuries. Surely there are stories of how all this conflict originated? Where your kind and mine came from?”
Taken aback by her question and her earnest expression, Wentworth found himself at a loss. “This not a turn I expected in our conversation,” he said, “though I didn’t exactly expect to talk to you tonight at all. We might do best to stick with one subject at a time.”
She sat back in her chair, looking disappointed. “Fine. You lost many of your fighters the other night-some to my pack, a couple to Alex and his friends, but mostly to the angel, correct?”
“Correct,” confirmed Wentworth.
“And you plan to pursue your vendetta?”
“We must.”
“Then you will face the angel again. Your forces are not up to that task.” She waited for him to object, but he did not. “We hurt her.”
“Did you now?” Wentworth asked mildly.
“Yes,” said Diana. He couldn’t help but note a glint of bloodlust in her eye. “We were distracted by your fighters. We were unprepared to face her. But given a second chance, without such complications? We would end her. I am sure of it.”
“You’ve come to offer an alliance?”
“I came to offer a deal, anyway. We help you against the angel-and the demon, who will undoubtedly get involved before this is all over-and you cede Seattle to me. It’s rather shy on resident vampires these nights, anyway.” Again, she offered a friendly smile. “You’ll be a hero among your kind. Peace with a werewolf pack, vengeance for your lost associates, and the statement that not even Heaven itself can strike at you without being paid back in kind. And you’ll have the chance to see Alex dead-by your hands or by our claws, what does it matter?”
Wentworth considered her words. She offered a better deal than she knew. “I have to wonder why you don’t simply go after all this on your own if you’re so sure of your power?”