Chapter 21

I stayed silent for a moment, trying to process the information, what it would mean for me. I had no idea about vampires having mates. Why didn't we learn about this at the academy? Unless the higher ups really didn't know about this, or Crowley was bluffing."How do I know you are not just making all of this up?" I ask him suspiciously, secretly hoping this was some kind of mental game vampires liked to play on their food.Crowley scratched the back of his head, seeming to be thinking hard on how to formulate his words. "Well it's hard for me to explain it to a human, you wouldn't understand." I crossed my arms, "try me." I challenged.Crowley narrows his eyes slightly, seeming to like the challenge."You humans know our senses are stronger than yours, right? Mates have a distinct smell to them, indicating that they are their mate." He explains, pointing at his nose in emphasis. "The moment I smelled you I just knew it, I guess. But you wouldn't really be able to tell with your weak human senses. However-" he stood up from his seat, and pulled off one of his gloves. He put it down on his desk and reached out his hand to me.I stared at it in confusion."It is said mates can feel each other in a different way when having skin to skin contact. Would you mind trying it out?" He asks, a soft smile on his lips. I looked at his hand again, reluctantly I put my hand in his. His hand swallowed mine whole but it was surprisingly warm. A soft tingling sensation started to spread from where our skin connected. My eyes widened in surprise and I looked up at Crowley again to see him watching me."So you feel it too than, interesting." He murmurs. I pull my hand back, not interested in ever feeling that tingling sensation again.He looked somewhat disappointed when I pulled back my hand from his but he soon recovered, putting back on his glove and sitting back down in his chair."Is that proof enough?" He smiles at me.I don't reply. Either this was some kind of trick or... or it was real. But even if it really was the case, I had no interest in being by this bloodsuckers side. He's cruel, dangerous and has killed more of my fellow soldiers than I can count.I only have two options really, kill Crowley or find a way to escape this place together with the lieutenant colonel. Neither of those plans sounded very promising."Well?" Crowley asks again, not impatiently, he sounded more curious as to what my reaction would be."I-I need some time." I mutter, not yet sure how I am supposed to handle this situation. I was trained to kill vampires, not converse with them. The room started feeling way too small for the two of us, and Crowley's intense gaze was unavoidable in this room."I understand. I'll give you some time to think about it. Come with me." He says as he stands up and moves to exit the room. I follow silently behind him.He stops at a door a few paces down the hall from the office. He opens it and I peek inside. The room wasn't big and was obviously not meant to be a bedroom. Bookcases full of documents lined on of the walls while a queen sized bed was pushed into the other corner. The room had probably been some kind of storage room because there were no windows to my dismay. "If you need to freshen up you can do it over there" Crowley points towards the door opposite mine. "I won't be far so don't try to escape little mouse" he says before turning to walk back the way we came from. Presumably back to his office. I grit my teeth at his pet name for me but I decided to ignore it. The thought of escape was my priority now since Crowley seemed intent on keeping me alive, for now at least.As soon as he is out of sight I wait another minute before opening the door opposite mine. It was a relatively simple bathroom. A toilet, shower, basin and... a window! I quickly locked the door behind me, it wouldn't stop a vampire from entering if they wanted to but it might give me a extra second. The window was frosted over, to give the room some sense of privacy. It wasn't a very big window but big enough for me to squeeze through. I opened it and looked out. I was on the fourth story still, I might break my ankles but I would survive the jump. Only problem was Guren would not fit through here.I could not leave this place without him. The others, although probably happy to see me, would not be pleased that I just fled and left our commander with the vampires. I sighed in disappointment and closed the window again. I left the restroom and looked around the corridor. On one side the hallway ended into a dead end, no windows. And to the other side there was a couple of doors, eventually it would lead to Crowley's office which I wouldn't be able to pass whiteout his notice.I tried opening one of the other doors, it was locked. Then the next, also locked. I soon realized all the doors were locked. I could probably break the door but the sound it would cause would definitely be heard by the vampires."Bastards" I hiss out. I returned to my designated room, maybe there was something here I could use for a weapon. But after closer inspection I came to the conclusion that unless I could smash Crowley's head in with a book about the city's infrastructure there wasn't anything useful here. I lay down on the bed, exhausted and frustrated by everything that had happened today. The bed was surprisingly soft and I soon dozed off into a dreamless sleep.