Chapter 319: Burning Silver
It was hard to tell whether Dahlia or I was more appalled by my mother’s words.
"Mom... why... how could you say that?" I spluttered out.
"Why not? From what I hear about Damon Valentine, he is definitely not a good match for you. Just from the conversation we had earlier, I could tell his temper is spectacularly terrible." My mom shook her head.
"No sense of humor in that man, unlike his brother. And I also heard that he had a harem of women at his beck and call, and Gus had confirmed the intelligence. Harper, my dear, you deserve better than to be one of his many women!"
"It’s hard for Damon to be polite and cheerful when he thinks I’ve been kidnapped after a few days of going missing," I said with gritted teeth, shooting Gus a death glare from the corner of my eyes.
That vampire merely shrugged apologetically, but I could sense that he wasn’t actually sorry.
"You’re asking for too much, Mom. And you don’t know him the way I do. Damon has changed a lot since I met him," I said, trying to defend him. "He’s a good man now."
My mother’s face suddenly darkened. "This was the exact same thing I said to my parents, when they questioned my decision to cut off all ties with the hunter community and live with your father in his pack. Now I can only lament my own foolishness and naivety. If I had listened to their words back then, they would still be alive."
I fell silent, as my mother’s eyes clouded over, overcome with past memories. Finally, she shook her head and turned back to glare at me.
"Nevermind. You’ll soon realize that I’m here to stop you from making my mistakes," she growled out.
I thought she might strike me in anger, but instead she turned and delivered a swift high kick to Dahlia’s face. There was a sickening crack as her heeled boot hit the soft cartilage of Dahlia’s nose, and a tell-tale stream of blood began to gush out of it.
However, my mother only sneered. Gus quickly provided her with a napkin, going on his knees to gently wipe them clean.
"Madame, you should not be dirtying your shoes like this," Gus said. "It ruins the leather!"
I felt like I was undergoing a vivid hallucination. My mother was fit enough to kick Dahlia in the face without any hesitation or difficulty. Meanwhile, Gus, an immortal vampire, was practically my mother’s butler.
What was their relationship? I was almost too afraid to delve deeper. My mother wouldn’t be crazy enough to end up with a vampire, especially not one as sleazy as Gus was... right?
"You’re right, Gus. Why should I dirty my precious belongings when I already have something on hand that could do the job much more easily?" My mother smiled as she gently caressed that silver rod in her hand.
I instinctively took a step back, wanting to run for the hills. Dahlia had a similar thought, but there was nothing she could do when she was chained up.
"Harper, it’s time for your first lesson," she said, gesturing for me to step closer. "What do you think is the most effective way of breaking a werewolf?"
I frowned. "Killing their mate?"
"That only applies for good werewolves, and I for one know that those do not exist. I would sooner believe in the existence of unicorns." My mother huffed out, seemingly irritated at my answer.
I bit my tongue to stop myself from arguing with her― the faster she was done lecturing, the faster I could go and scream into a pillow.
"The correct answer is pain. Lots and lots of it. Losing their mate breaks those who care because the pain is unbearable. But if I had killed Milo of Hornstead, Dahlia Elrod would not have blinked an eye. Isn’t that right, Gus?"
"Exactly, Madame Veronica," Gus said. "This bitch would have killed her mate with her own hands if she thought it would help her crawl into Damon’s bed."
"How terrible," My mother lamented, a wicked glint in her eye. "Don’t you think so, Harper?"
"...Yes?" I answered, wondering if this was a trick question.
"Terrible deeds should be punished, is that not the case?"
My mother didn’t wait for my reply. She immediately tugged away the gag that Dahlia had, only to all but shove the silver rod down her throat with a thoughtful hum. My mouth fell in horror as I watched Dahlia gag and choke on it, her eyes watering with unshed tears at the forceful intrusion.
This somehow felt worse than seeing her getting kicked in the face. I would rather have my mother beat her with the silver rod.
"It’s a pity the fire’s not stoked up," my mother added. "I would have really liked to do this when the silver is hot."
Dahlia stared up at my mother, fear dilating her pupils. I was similarly shocked― if this silver rod was heated, it would cause an unbearable amount of pain if it touched an ordinary human, let alone a werewolf!
"It’s not safe for Miss Harper to use heated silver so early though," Gus pointed out.
"It’s best to start slow when it comes to things like this," my mother agreed, even if she looked a tad bit wistful.
She ripped out the rod from Dahlia’s mouth, covered in spit and blood. I hastily averted my eyes from the weapon, but I could still hear the sound of teeth clattering on the floor.
"Harper, come here. It’s your turn." My mother enthusiastically handed her silver rod over to me, and I tried my best not to flinch. "Show me how you inflict pain on her."
"I... Must I do this?" I asked, wracking my brain for a possible solution out of this mess. "She barely looks alive enough as it is. Where’s the fun in that?"
"So you like them to struggle a bit I see... I’ll take note of that for the future," my mother said, patting my arm. "But for now, you’ll have to make do."
Damn. I wasn’t getting out of this. My mother continued to smile at me, nodding with encouragement.
I stepped forward and stared down at Dahlia’s hazy eyes.
Then I swung the rod straight at her knee.
