The first night

**Vicky**

I narrowed my eyes at Dimitri. It was everything I needed, but nothing came free with him.

“What’s the price?”

He stepped closer, his white-blue eyes glinting with something raw. “I want you,” he said, his voice dropping to a husky whisper. “I want you with me for a whole week. For everything.”

“Sex, you mean?” I shot back, blunt and unyielding, needing clarity.

He smiled, slow and deliberate, a predator savoring the game. “Pleasure, voluptuousness, desire, taste, love if you’re capable,” he elaborated, each word dripping with intent. “I want your innocence, your soul, your warmth, your fidelity for this whole week.”

My breath hitched, and I forced myself to hold his stare. “And then? Am I free?”

“Then,” he said, tilting his head, “if you want to leave, if you remember why you came, and want to leave, yes, you can.”

“Without you showing up behind me or bothering my pack?” I pressed, needing the assurance, needing to protect what little I still had.

He chuckled, a soft, dismissive sound. “Diana, I have many more interesting things and people than your pack.”

I swallowed, weighing his words, the deal he was laying out. A week with him in exchange for the tools to reclaim my life, to unravel the mess that had swallowed me whole. James’s rejection still stung, a fresh wound, but this was my chance to take back control, to turn my hate into power.

“I accept,” I said finally, my voice firm despite the tremor in my hands. “Does today count as a day?”

“No, no,” he replied, waving a hand. “Today you will rest. I’m preparing some special things for us. It will be seven nights, and you will sleep with me during the day. It’s safer for your protection.”

I frowned, shifting my weight. “I don’t know if I’ll be sleepy.”

“Oh, you’ll be tired, I can assure you, little one,” he said with a smirk, his confidence bordering on arrogance, and I couldn’t tell if it thrilled me or unnerved me more.

“Can I go to sleep now, then?” I asked.

“Yes,” he nodded, but his expression shifted, growing serious. “Know that what my father wants is considered impossible.”

I paused, turning back to him. “Walking in daylight?”

“Yes,” he confirmed, and my stomach dropped.

“Dimitri, is that ridiculous?” I demanded, incredulous. “That’s not even possible… is it?”

“Your father said yes, little one,” he replied, his voice softening, though his words cut deep. “And now either he delivers results or you die.”

The air left my lungs in a rush, and I stared at him, disbelief warring with a rising tide of anger.

“Is that it? Once again, my death is desired? What did I do to be in the middle of all this? I was just born.” I pressed a hand to my forehead, trying to hold myself together as the room seemed to tilt.

“Shhhh,” Dimitri murmured, stepping closer, his cool hands framing my face with a gentleness that startled me. “Calm down. I know, I know, little one. It’s a lot for you, but you’re strong. And I’ll be here. I’ll always be here for you. Always”

He hugged me, a hug so familiar it stole the breath from my lungs. It was the same embrace I’d known as a child. It was the one when nightmares clawed at my sleep, when the orphanage walls pressed in with their cold silence, when I was alone and small and scared.

His scent enveloped me, that mix of frost and cedar, and as he whispered in my ear, his voice soft as a lullaby, memories flooded back. I dismissed him as the whims of an imaginary friend, a dream woven from a lonely girl’s mind.

But it was him. Ian Dimitri. Not a figment, not a shadow, but real, flesh and blood and eternity, holding me then as he held me now.

“You’re safe, little one,” he murmured, his lips brushing my ear, and the words unlocked something deep within me.

I clung to him, my hands fisting in his shirt, overwhelmed by the realization that he’d been there all along, a constant I hadn’t recognized until this moment.

Effortlessly, he lifted me, cradling me against his chest as if I weighed nothing. My head rested against his shoulder as he carried me to the bedroom, the world blurring around us. He set me down gently on the bed, his hands deft and careful as he slipped the cherry-red dress from my shoulders, easing it off with a reverence that made my chest ache. The heels followed, discarded with a soft thud, and he drew the covers over me, tucking them around my body.

I reached for him, my fingers catching his wrist, and pulled him close. My lips found his in a sudden kiss, a plea for something I couldn’t name—comfort, connection, a tether to keep me from drowning in the chaos.

He didn’t kiss me back. Instead, he smiled against my ear, his cold breath grazing my skin, a contrast to the warmth blooming inside me.

“Good night, little one,” he whispered, and I felt no fear. His arms stayed around me, a steady presence, and I let myself sink into the safety of his embrace, my eyelids growing heavy.

Sleep claimed me swiftly, and with it came the dreams. I was running, my bare feet pounding against the damp earth of a forest, the air thick with the scent of pine and moss. Above me, the moon hung full and radiant, casting silver light through the canopy, illuminating my path. A howl pierced the night, calling to me. I saw her then, my wolf Veny, her fur shimmering like starlight, her amber eyes locked on mine. She wanted me to follow, to shed the weight of my human skin and run with her, free and fierce under the moon’s gaze.

But I wasn’t ready. My steps faltered, my heart torn between the pull of her wildness and the tether of the life I’d left behind, and now Dimitri, anchoring me to this strange, shadowed place.

I slept through the night, a deep, dream-haunted slumber that left me both rested and restless. The weight of Dimitri’s presence lingered, and there was a phantom sensation of his arms around me, his cold breath against my ear. Even as I stirred awake, I could almost feel him there, watching over me like he had when I was a child lost in nightmares.

Goddess, what was it about me that held his interest? Dimitri was a prince among vampires, a creature of timeless allure who could have anyone. He’d likely had countless brides, lovers draped in silk and shadow, each more enchanting than the last. Vampires weren’t exactly known for monogamy, their desires as fluid and endless as the centuries they roamed. So why me?

But I had a deal. Seven nights for the truth, and now I held it in my hands. I couldn’t just sit on it; I had to get the information across to my pack and the Devils. I had to pass the information on to Dário. The thought of reaching out knotted my stomach, though. If the vampire king tracked this call back to me, to Dimitri’s hidden sanctuary, it could unravel everything. I needed a way to stay invisible, to keep the wolves and the vampires off my scent.

A plan took shape as I lay there, staring at the ornate ceiling. I needed a cell phone, a disposable one with a fresh SIM card. And once I’d used it, it’d be best if it ended up at the bottom of the ocean, lost to the depths where no one could dig it up. When I finally rose, the scent of coffee and warm bread drifted in, and I found a human woman setting a breakfast table for me—croissants, fruit, a steaming pot of tea.

“Do you speak English?” I asked, testing the waters.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice clipped but clear, her eyes meeting mine briefly.

“Can you sell me your cell phone?” I pressed, keeping my tone casual. “I’d need a new chip, though—something unused.”

She hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll bring you some in an hour.” I reached for my bag, pulling out a wad of cash, but she shook her head, refusing it with a small, tight smile before slipping out of the room. True to her word, she returned an hour later, handing me a simple phone and a handful of SIM cards still in their packaging. I thanked her, retreating to the bedroom where I could think without eyes on me.

Fingers steady but heart racing, I popped a new SIM into the phone and dialed Dário’s number from memory. It rang once, twice, then his voice crackled through, rough with relief.

"Dario, it's me, Vicky."

“V! Thank the goddess! Are you okay? I can send someone to pick you up—”

“Dário, listen carefully,” I cut in, my voice low and urgent, glancing at the door as if it might burst open. “What the vampire king wants is something that’s kind of impossible. He’s obsessed with walking in the sun. And apparently, Jean, the wizard king, offered him that possibility—a spell, something like that.”

There was a pause, the line humming with static. “V, do you think that’s true?”

“The source who gave it to me is very close to the vampire king,” I said, thinking of Dimitri’s whispered confession, his hands on my face. “I trust it.”

“It’s kind of pathetic, isn’t it?”

“I thought so too,” I admitted, a bitter laugh escaping me. “But it’s either that or I die.”

“What do you mean?” His tone sharpened, all traces of humor gone. “Where are you?”

“I am with Dimitri, that was the deal. If Jean doesn’t do what he promised, Nosferatu will kill me. That’s why he wants me here.”

“Vicky, are you in Romania?” Dário’s voice sharpened.

“I’m going to hang up,” I said quickly, cutting off his next question. “Dário, I’ll be incommunicado for a few days. Don’t worry about me. I’m doing what I want, and I know the risks.”

“V, please…” he started, but I couldn’t let him finish. I ended the call, my finger hovering over the button for a split second before pressing it down.

I pried the SIM card from the phone and snapped it into pieces, the plastic biting into my fingers. I couldn’t risk it being traced. I found the human girl in the hall and handed her the broken phone.

“Buy another device,” I said, my voice low. “Throw this one away—somewhere safe—so you’re not in danger.” She met my gaze, understanding flickering in her eyes, and nodded without a word.