I was stunned.

“How do you know my name?” I felt vulnerable, more so that I was in a new environment.

“I have access to a lot of information Avery. And like I said. I can help you.”

I was distrustful as I studied him. He was strikingly handsome, just like Silas but he didn’t hold that same hard cruelty that Silas did. There was a warmth in his eyes that I had never seen in Silas’ or any other vampire for that matter.

“How can you help me?” I wasn’t even sure I wanted any help he was offering.

At the moment my life wasn’t in any immediate danger and the nights I spent with Silas were the highlight of every day. Did I want to change anything? Right now, I was happy with the way things were going.

“I can get you out.”

His words were unbelievable and I didn’t know him so why would I even consider anything he said as truthful.

“Get me out of where?” I asked, softly unsure of exactly what he meant.

“I can get you away from him.”

“From who?” I wanted to find out if he knew who I belonged to.

“Silas.”

He held my attention.

“No one can help me.” The threat to my parents would ensure my compliance. There was no I would jeopardize my parents, Silas knew that.

“I can.” He was so confident.

“Who are you Jason?”

“I’m someone who belongs to a group who doesn’t agree with the treatment of Sires by the council of vampires and the royal vampire family.”

“Royal?” It was the first time I had heard that word linked to the vampires.

He studied me. “You have no idea who he is, do you?”

I shook my head.

“Silas is a descendant of the oldest family of vampires. They are considered the royal family of vampires. He is a prince.”

That wasn’t Silas. He was a soldier, not some Prince. But then I remembered how easy it had been for him to intervene and stop Thane from getting me. I had admit, there might be some truth to what this guy was saying.

“If he is a prince, why does he work as a handler to Sires?” I asked, needing something more tangible that Silas was indeed who this man was claiming.

“He likes to get involved in the process to streamline the training of Sires to ensure the survival of our kind.”

“Survival?” I asked. I didn’t want to think of something happening to Silas. To me he was strong, invincible. Anything else was unacceptable.

“Without Sires to fight the Scavs and to bear children, our kind would face eventual extinction. Training Sires to be strong and fearless warriors is the most important task at the moment.”

“If it’s so important why are you interfering?” I still didn’t get why this guy was on the opposite side to Silas and was trying to undermine him.

“There are some of us that believe the same process can be achieved without slavery.”

Was that what I was, a slave? I have never thought to use that description for myself.

“If Sires are given more rights then they will be more motivated to defend their way of life. Integrating with vampires would lead to unions of love, not necessity. There are other ways of achieving the same goals.”

That was what I had with Silas at the moment, a union of necessity. Even if it wasn’t love from Silas’ side I was hesitant to change anything. I didn’t want to lose what I had with Silas, label it whatever you want, I wanted every moment of it.

I put the note he had given me in my jacket pocket, unsure if I was on board with anything he was talking about.

“How can you help me?” I asked the question with no real intention of going through with it. It was more curiosity than anything else.

Or maybe I just needed to know there was a way out if I needed it one day. Who knew what the future held and who knew what would unfold with Silas.

“To ensure they have no leverage we would put your family into hiding. That way they would have no way of keeping you in line. There would be nothing to stop you from leaving.”

I wasn’t comfortable with that. Surely putting my parents into hiding would expose them to vampires and that was the last thing I wanted. I didn’t want them to know about any of this, it would only lead to more danger. It was probably best for them to believe I had just disappeared because for them to find out I was living this way I believed was worse.

“Why would I put my family in that kind of danger?” I asked in a whisper.

“Your chances for survival increase if you can get out Avery. I’ve been doing this for a long time. The Sires that stay, have lower survival rates.”

My survival?

“If you stay with Silas you will be dead before the end of the year.”

I frowned. “You can’t know that for sure.”

While he may know the workings of the vampires better than I did, he did not know the personal details that only I and Silas knew. I was convinced he didn’t know what he was talking about and I was about to walk away.

“You’re on fertility drugs.”

That stopped me from taking another step. I turned to face Jason.

“So what?” I was dismissive but I never made another attempt to leave. He had caught my attention, even if I wasn’t comfortable showing him that.

“Has Silas told you exactly what to expect?” He raised an eyebrow.

I refused to answer.

“He hasn’t, has he?”

I bit my lip.

“You think he cares about you?”

I couldn’t even deny it was something I hoped for.

He shook his head. “If he cared about you he would not be jeopardizing your life with a pregnancy he knows you have very little chance of surviving.”

It felt like my whole world had been shaken. “Is that true?” Somehow I found my voice.

He nodded. “It’s true. If you think I’m making any of this try asking him? See what he says.”

Jason folded his arms across his chest.

That couldn’t be true. There had to be another explanation.

“If I die, then the baby dies as well?” I asked.

“Not always. There have been times the mother has been kept on life support to increase survival of the child.”

“I can’t,” I murmured, my mind scrambled and unable to accept that Silas was going along with a plan to get me to have a baby I probably wouldn’t survive.

Jason stopped me with a hand to my wrist. “Here is my card. Call me when you’re ready to face the truth.”

I took the card even when I wasn’t ready to face any of it. A step backward, and then another. Then I hurried out of the alley way. My earlier mood gone, replaced by this heavy realization that no one valued my life. Least of all Silas.

To him I was a vessel for a child. Nothing more. How could I have been so foolish to think that it was more?

I wanted go back to knowing none of this. Memories of being with Silas were marred by this new information. I was so stupid, naive to believe I meant more than a prisoner to be used for his own gain.

The hurt was so bad, it felt like a hole in my chest, a big gapping wound. This time there was no wonderment when I made my way back across the street and back into the expensive apartment building.

This time the beautiful walls felt like a prison. For all I cared it was the same as the pristine walls within the compound that had held me prisoner before.

The apartment had lost its warmth. Everything felt cold and clinical.

Back inside the room I had spent every night for the past week was a constant reminder of how foolish I had been. It wasn’t like I could have stopped it. Like Silas had said, I had a role to perform and it was either with him or Thane.

I had been naive enough to start to really feel something for Silas. Something he clearly didn’t feel for me if he was okay with the odds of a possible pregnancy.

As I looked around the room, I knew there wasn’t anything I could do to change the situation. The only thing I could control was how I felt about Silas. He could take everything from me but my heart.