The silence did not last long before the entire room seemed to explode in a flurry of sounds and violence. More than 25 Van Helsings were standing up, shouting, and slamming their hands on the table or into walls in anger while their second in commands simply looked on, not moving a muscle.
Viktor simply stayed in place and rode out the storm. Once everyone had calmed down enough to be able to hear him he said, "I have to go, we will resume this meeting later."
With those parting words, he quickly turned around and left the meeting room with Sasha on his heels.
"Is it true?" asked Sasha as he quickly sent out a bunch of text messages to the other Knights including his brother.
"Would I bother to lie?" snapped Viktor as he pulled open the door to the SUV that had barely come to a stop before he got in. There was a scramble as the other Knights got into their own vehicles before they pulled out of the circular driveway that was part of The Van Helsing's mansion.
"No, but would your source?" Sasha pushed, trying to figure out what was going on and what their next step might be. He had never heard about demons coming to Earth except in the movies so this seemed a bit too far-fetched for his liking. His head was down and he was typing on his phone when Viktor's head snapped around to look at him, his eyes flashing red. But as much as Sasha did not see it, it didn't mean that he didn't feel the pressure of a prey that was in the presence of something that wanted to kill it.
"You doubt puiul meu mic?" demanded Viktor, his voice coming out in almost a hiss as his monster gained more and more control. Viktor cracked his neck, a habit he had picked up from Natalia, trying to calm down. The logical part of his brain told him that his assistant was not challenging him or trying to find fault with his mate, but the monster part was demanding blood for this slight.
"Of course not," said Sasha completely sincere. If he had known that it was the Gypsy that had told him then of course he wouldn't have doubted the source of the information.
His quick response was enough to settle the monster down and Viktor was able to gain a bit of control back.
"If you want to live, do not doubt her," was his only piece of advice as his monster flared. Not since the first time he got his monster has he ever been this much out of control.
And for a man that prided himself on his control, that is completely unacceptable.
'Mine!' hissed a voice from inside him, causing Viktor to freeze in his seat. 'Protect what is mine!' it hissed again.
It took Viktor a few precious seconds to realize that it was his monster talking to him. In more than the century that Viktor had shared his body with the monster, not once did it talk to him. So, why now?
'Must protect what is mine,' came this hiss again, this time almost frantic as it tried to crawl up Viktor and take control.
'What is yours?' demanded Viktor inside his head so Sasha couldn't hear from where he was stilling beside him in the SUV.
'The Weaver,' came the response, and this time, it was Viktor that rose to meet that challenge.
'The Weaver is not yours,' he growled back at the monster inside him.
'Yessss, she is,' it hissed back, becoming more and more agitated. Viktor didn't know if it was because of the challenge or because the demons were on Earth. But either way, Viktor would not put up with something else claiming the little cub as its own.
'No, she is not. She is mine,' stated Viktor with a hiss of his own. There was silence for a few minutes before he felt a sense of acceptance at his statement.
'Ours,' came the final word and a feeling of acceptance.
Still not impressed with that statement, Viktor chose to set it aside as they had just pulled into the long driveway of the Gypsy mansion. Anxious to see the object of his and his monster's obsession, Viktor didn't wait for the SUV to come to a full stop before jumping out of it and rushing up the steps to the front door.
Not bothering to knock, Viktor simply put his hand on the doorknob and turned it, manipulating the lock to turn at the same time. He normally didn't bother to go to that extent on most days, but the urgency of his monster… and his own… was enough to not want to wait for her to come and let him in.
Storming through the empty hallways of the large mansion, Viktor didn't know if he should be happy or start cursing over the fact that she did not keep anyone around her. With no one around her, he could at least guarantee that there were no demons close by, but at the same time, if there were a demon in the house, then there was no one to be able to protect her.
'Must protect!' hissed the monster inside of him.
'On that, we agree,' snapped Viktor as he slammed into the office that she spent most of her time in. He thought that she was just as uncomfortable away from her condo as he was. He liked the fact that most nights she slept just down the hall from him, in easy reach.
But tonight, she had work to do and wanted to do it in the mansion so as not to 'taint' her condo. This would be the last time she ever did something like that, he would make sure of it.
Seeing her curled up on the chair that he had unofficially declared as his, Viktor cursed under his breath and quickly scooped her up into his arms. She fought for a second before she took a breath and realized that it was him. Calming down, she sunk further into his embrace.
Neither one wanted to talk, they just wanted to make sure that the other was safe first before they dealt with the curve ball that the universe had thrown at them.