Four guards march up and surround me. They don't touch me, so I don't make a fuss. Beyond them, the thugs who manhandled me lurk in the murky shadows. One has an ice pack to his face. The one who's crotch I hit is gone. The one left glowers at me, but doesn't get close. They won't dare touch me now. I belong to the Vampire King. The thought hits me like a blow and makes me sway on my feet.
A young, slender man appears at my elbow. I turn and avert my eyes when I catch his scent. Not human. Vampire.
"His Majesty would like you to put this on." The young man holds up a suit jacket for me to slip into. I hand off my ripped dress to a guard and let the oversized jacket envelop me. The sleeves hang over my wrists and cover my legs to mid thigh. I've worn dresses that are less modest. I wore one tonight.
"His Majesty will collect you soon. Do you need anything? Food, some water?"
Shoes would be nice, but I shake my head. I tuck my face into the collar of the jacket and inhale the subtle, expensive cologne clinging to the fabric. The cologne doesn't hide the familiar cold stone scent. This jacket was recently worn by a vampire.
"This way." The auctioneer leads us into the green room.
The youthful vampire wrinkles his nose. "Do you expect the king to come back here? It's a dump." When the auctioneer grovels and denies that he would ever wish the great Frangelico to sully his shoes by stepping into this room, the young vampire growls, "Then find us a better place to wait. This is the king's property." He waves a hand at me. "The respect you show her is the respect you show the king."
That's how we end up in another room, smelling of fresh paint and filled with new furniture. It's upstairs. The young vampire fusses over me, finding me a bottle of water, and bemoaning my lack of shoes.
I tune everything out. Nothing matters until I meet Frangelico.
My new master.
No. He will never own me. He will think I belong to him. By the time he learns the truth, it will be too late.
I face the door and wait for the target to enter. Lucius Frangelico, the face that haunts me. The source of all my nightmares. The vampire who killed my pack, made me an orphan. If it wasn't for Xavier, I'd be dead. I owe him everything. And the debt will never be repaid. Xavier gave me life, but he also gave me a reason to live. Years of training and planning, culminating in a single mission: revenge.
And now I've been sold to the Vampire King. I will infiltrate his private home, let him bring me to his sleeping lair. Earn his trust. Wait until the moment is right.
All my life I've been waiting for this. All my training, all my hard work for one goal.
I'm going to kill Lucius Frangelico.
Lucius
THE CURTAIN FALLS and the house lights come up. I turn, but the aisle across from me is empty. Xavier is gone.
Pity. I would've liked to speak to him. We have a score to settle, going back hundreds of years. I doubt he's forgotten. A vampire never forgets.
Xavier will come to me again. I can feel it. We've only made our first moves in our little game.
Theophilus surges to his feet.
"Amazing, Sire," he gushes. "I have never seen anything like it."
I hand him my paddle and murmur instructions to him on how to complete my purchase. I give him my financier's card and send him off before signalling to my guards both seen and unseen. Four head to the stage to protect my recent purchase.
Vampires surround me, eager to congratulate me.
Dante appears at my elbow. "That was magnificent," he breathes.
"Your selection is exemplary," I say loud enough for all to hear. "You're to be commended."
Dante beams and I drop a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Get my purchase somewhere safe. See to her needs. When I come to collect her, there'd better not be a scratch on her, or whatever damage she sustains, I'll inflict ten times that on everyone in this place." I haven't forgotten the little ploy with the three thugs. Three thugs on one woman. She protected herself, but from now on she shouldn't have to. Keeping her safe is my responsibility and privilege.
Dante goes white. "Consider it done, Sire," he bobs his head. I grip his arm before he can dash off. "Wait." I shrug out of my suit jacket and hand it to him. "Put this on her." My scent will be enough of a deterrent to anyone who wants to harm her. A temporary mark of ownership until I give her one more permanent.
The one bright spot in this murky mess: I own the she-wolf now. I can do whatever I want with her.
I can hardly wait.
Selene
THE GUARDS around me straighten a second before Frangelico walks in. He's tall, much taller than I am. His dark hair brushes the top of the door jamb. He's built like Xavier, but where my mentor's features are harsh and brutal, the Vampire King's are perfectly sculpted. I've seen sketches of him before from Xavier's surveillance, but nothing takes the edge off meeting him in person. Such a beautiful package to hold so much evil.
His eyes are dark, the color of coffee. He's swarthier than the drawings showed, his profile sharp and aquiline. His face belongs on a Roman coin, but more than that, his entire mein, look and build is that of an ancient king. For all we know, he was a king in his human days. An emperor. A conqueror.
My knees tremble, ready to kneel. I'm staring straight at him. He meets my gaze with a mocking quirk to his mouth.
Don't look him in the eyes. A tiny voice in my head screams. Don't ever look vampires in the eyes. With eye contact a vampire can control you. Of course, the older the vampire, the more powers they have. I bet Frangelico can control me with just a word.