As Victoria pondered over what she wanted from him, Vail crossed his arms in wait. As much as he wanted her blood, he hoped she wouldn’t make any absurd demands of him. He did have some boundaries that he wouldn’t cross, after all. If she asked him to get involved in whatever she was doing with the Order, he simply couldn’t agree. It was far too dangerous for him to get closer to the Saints, and he wanted to live to see another few centuries if he was still able to. Although, considering how reckless he was being lately, he wasn’t sure if he would make it that long anymore. He obsession with the Lady was inhibiting him from being as cautious as he used to.

When Victoria finally announced her proposal, Vail nearly winced. It wasn’t much better than the one he had been worried she would offer. The last thing he wanted was to get more deeply involved with the Wynters, and the thought of going after one of his own kind was off-putting to him. Even though the rival clan had been a scourge to the Hygraces for over a century, he didn’t [i]want[/i] to kill them. Vampires as a whole were scarce enough as it was. It would have been far better to find a way to come to a truce with them, but, then again, the Wynters had never been a reasonable group.

And there was the matter of what he would get in return for accepting the deal.

If he accepted the offer, he would get to have her [i]whenever he wanted[/i]. As much as he disliked the terms, he couldn’t help that he was tempted by the reward. It was even better than the compromise he would have proposed, which would have been that she would let him feed on her once a week. Instead, he could come to her [i]whenever[/i] he had a craving for her blood, and she couldn’t resist him. He lightly bit the tip of his tongue. Perhaps getting rid of Spencer was worth the trade. He was just [i]one[/i] Wynter, after all. As long as he kept the rest of the rival family from finding out what he’d done, it wouldn’t do that much harm, right? Plus, with the other vampire out of the way, he could have his way with the Lady as much as he wanted without fearing the consequences. The deal was starting to sound better and better.

As Victoria went on to tell him her conditions, Vail wavered. She was already asking quite a lot of him by getting him involved with Spencer, and he didn’t want to agree to anything else that went against his morality. However, he relaxed again when she explained that she was just setting boundaries to keep herself safe if they went through with the bargain. The rules were easy enough to comply with. There was nothing she said that would deter him from agreeing. She wouldn’t have to worry about him betraying her either. As long as she held up her end, he would help her get rid of her fiancé.

At her final question, he grinned, his fangs reflecting sinisterly in the moonlight. “My Lady, I think you are,” he purred, taking a few steps toward her. “If these are your terms, then I gladly accept. I’ll help you get rid of Spencer in return for… you.” His wild eyes swept over her once more, and he licked his lips. “Let’s make this a blood pact… We’re close enough to your family’s manor. There must be somewhere in the courtyard we could go where we won’t be… [i]interrupted[/i].”