Jeonghan groaned, slumping over the table. He did as the pretty vampire advised and was actually brushing up on vampire history. He really had slept through a decent amount of it. If his father knew, he’d be dead meat.

Jeonghan had the athleticism, the skills, the body to be a hunter. But he didn’t quite have the full arsenal of knowledge that he should’ve for his heir status. He’d just have to work for it.

What the vampire said held true though. The Chois were not pureblooded at all. One had the luck (?) of being turned a low-level noble of the Kim clan and over the centuries they built their little empire by taking whoever, turning whomever indiscriminately.

Other clans had watched, scorned them for their beginnings, railed at them for their barbaric ways of forcefully turning others. It caused a bloodbath at one point between clans. The others joining to put the Chois in their place as they were disturbing the fragile peace between them and the hunters.

The hunter clans were willing to let the vampires battle it out until they dragged humans into their little civil war. Vampires had used humans as ways to increase their clan size: people gone missing, dead due to blood loss, humans used as shields. The council railed against the vampire clans for dragging humans into their war, and the vampires offered no help telling them to out unless they too were willing to help them in putting the Choi clan in their place.

They did. The hunters upped patrol and took down vampires indiscriminately while the vampire clans worked to take down the power hungry Choi’s. It was the one and only time the vampires and hunters banded together, and it was enough to devastate the clan, whittling down their numbers.

But with the recent power shift happening, with the Choi clan gathering enough power to take parts of Gangam. It was odd. And it was enough to make the hunters go into a panic. If the Choi’s were getting their revenge on the vampires who was to say they wouldn’t try to get their revenge on the hunters.

Jeonghan closed the book, sliding it away from him. He needed to figure out who that pretty vampire was. His age certainly helped narrow it down a lot. But the vampire clans didn’t exactly provide pictures of who was in their clans. There would only be profiles on their clan heads and even those were hard to come by, held closely by higher ups.

Jeonghan had seen a few himself, but that was just because his father decided he earned the right. His dad didn’t let him see all of them though. He’d remember someone like the vampire who rubbed him into hardness. He’d have to find out the hard way.

Mentally, he choked on the word hard. Jeonghan did have to get himself off, more than once. His traitorous mind remembered the way that hand held his and the words that fell from the vampire’s pretty lips.

He was a weak, weak man. And the vampire was really lovely. Even thinking about it had Jeonghan junior twitching in his pants. Why was life hard?

“It’s harder than usual,” Minghao said. He grimaced. “No one is offering anything up besides bullcrap. And those who do know seem to be scared witless or in hiding.”

Joshua folded his hands together. “That’s surprising. For the famed info hunter to come up empty.” Frowning, Joshua stared him down. Some days he wished he could read minds along with his telekinesis. But no, the family blood only allowed him to move things with his mind. Which he mastered enough to cause immense damage, but still, being a telepath would help at times.

He knew Minghao wouldn’t lie. Especially not to him. Not when Joshua could make his life hell. But he wasn’t telling Joshua everything.

“What aren’t you telling me,” Joshua said, his voice cold and demanding.

He winced. Minghao usually had a good poker face but not today. “You know that the Lee’s were the ones to lose their foothold.”

“Of course,” Joshua snapped back. “What does the information you’re not telling me have to do with them?”

Softly, he said, “Lee Jihoon is in hiding in Gangnam.”

Joshua narrowed his eyes, getting up from his seat. “Where in Gangnam?” He felt a niggling in his stomach that he wouldn’t like Minghao’s answer.

“He’s hiding out in The Vortex.”

A glass crashed into the wall, shattering into pieces.

“Out,” Joshua said quietly. “You’ll get paid the rest once you find out exactly what I’m asking you to.”

Minghao walked out as quick as possible, trying not to show his fear.

Of all the ing places for Lee Jihoon to hide out. in one of Joshua’s clubs. In one of his favorite clubs even. The audacity he had to hide out in Joshua’s territory, to possibly bring the trouble to Joshua.

He snarled. Another glass joined the other one, hitting the wall, the pieces dropping to the floor.

If Lee Jihoon wasn’t dying, well Joshua could always finish off the job if need be. Heirs to clans didn’t trespass without knowing the consequences. Maybe Joshua wouldn’t kill him.

Taking furious steps out of his office, Joshua motioned at his bodyguards to follow.

But going by the heavy pounding his body, Joshua wasn’t going to be so benevolent.