Vail sank down in his chair as his father left the room, letting out his breath in a long exhale. Although it wouldn’t change his determination to defend Victoria, he disliked how much tension his involvement with her was causing for his family. Until he had met her, he and Peter had gotten along quite well. The clan leader would set rules, and he would obey them just like the rest of the Hygraces. Sometimes he pressed his father for more personal freedoms, such as his fondness for attending human events to get out of the manor, but arguments like the ones they’d been having recently had been few and far between. He could tell that Peter despised the conflict between them too. In fact, the fights had probably been even worse on the elder Hygrace since his son was supposed to be the next clan head. Now that he was starting to stray from the long kept traditions of their family, he was sure his father was starting to question his ability to lead the others. His hazel eyes found the window, which wasn’t quite as dark now that the night was slowly coming to an end, and he yawned again. Normally he would be settling down to sleep right now, but he had given his word to Peter that he’d keep his distance from Victoria, who still laid on his bed. A small part of him was tempted to disregard the order and rest next to her anyway, but his respect for his father hadn’t degraded that much. Even though they disagreed about his feelings for a human woman, he believed the clan leader had been given his authority for a reason. If he wasn’t worthy of it, Reginald would have passed the title to his oldest son. That Peter’s name was the one outlined in the will was proof enough that he was a capable head of the estate. The heir didn’t want to cause any more unnecessary friction between them than he already had. He was just pondering if he could find a comfortable enough position in the armchair to sleep when Victoria asked about the Wynters. Her question caught him off guard, and he stiffened. The incident she was inquiring about had happened long ago, but it was still a bit of a sore spot for him and the rest of the Hygraces. They prided themselves on being the most powerful vampire clan in England, so it was shameful to admit that the Wynters had nearly managed to best them once before. However, there was no good reason to avoid giving the curious Lady an answer. He looked up at her, pausing thoughtfully before he decided on a reply. “They’ve tried to attack us a number of times,” he admitted, idly toying with a frayed string in the fabric of his armrest. “Mostly myself and my father, since either of our deaths would carve the deepest wound in our family’s chain of succession. They think we’re ‘cowards’ because we don’t go out of our way to kill humans or use our strength to help our kind rise up as the new apex species.” He shrugged. “But we believe dominating humans would cause more harm than good. Your people are stubborn and innovative, so trying to force you under our rule wouldn’t last forever. I’m sure one of you would come up with a plan or a new weapon to turn the tide in your favor, and we’d be back to square one. It’s just not worth the wasted bloodshed.” Languidly, Vail stretched his legs and folded his arms over his midriff before going on: “The Wynters don’t agree with our rationale. That’s why—about… one hundred and thirty years ago?—they attacked us with the intent to kill all of the most powerful members of our clan, so they could take our place as the strongest vampires in England.” He lifted a hand to his throat. “You already know about our weakness to silver, but there’s one other way to kill a vampire: We can’t recover severed body parts. The former leader of the Wynters was a man named Elias, and he murdered all of my father’s siblings by cutting off their heads.” He dragged his index finger across his neck for emphasis and dropped his hand back into his lap. “My father stopped him before he killed anyone else, but my uncle, the former head of our family, was among the slain,” he grimaced. The memory of the slaughter was still vivid in his mind whenever it came up. “It was fortunate that my father survived. If he hadn’t, the rest of us might have been forced to flee the country—and that’s only if the Wynters didn’t pick us off first. That’s why we detest them. They’re willing to put their lust for power above their own kind if it means they can get what they want. It’s vile.” He leaned his head tiredly against the backrest of his chair. The subject of his family’s massacre was painful to dwell on. Even though he tried to be clinical in his description of it, it was impossible to completely separate out the abject horror of witnessing the brutality that had happened within the walls of his own home. His eyes wandered back to Victoria. “Based on everything you’ve told me, I’m certain they’re planning to try again. If I can get my father to understand that, he might be more accommodating to you.”