"Move along," I order. That's all I need, the killer rabbit of Caerbannog witnessing my humiliating state. "I mean it. Don't make me come down th-there--" I stutter as the Sybian comes to life. This time vibrations increase rapidly and I moan. My legs clench, my sore pussy convulsing. My labia are numb. If I make it to dawn, I'll be lucky if I can walk.
When I look back up again, the rabbit is gone, disappeared into the desert. The mountain peaks are limned in soft blue, glowing with the approaching light.
Watch the sunrise.
Does Lucius miss it so much? How would I feel if I could never see another sunrise? Never witness sunset? The beauty of the light. I watch as day breaks, pretending it's the last time I'll see one. Memorizing it.
The first touch of sunlight is soft on the mountain face. The birds sing. A few flutter from their perches, safe from predators in the morning light. The earth warms, the red desert coming to life. The shadows shrink into pools of rich darkness stretching from the saguaros. In the heat of the day, those shadows will be welcome, cool places to rest, but right now the darkness flees, the night shrinking, the dawn washing the world clean with light and birdsong. This miracle happens every day, but is anything but mundane. Being forced to witness it almost makes me grateful to the damn vampire.
Almost. As the sun crests the mountain peaks, I gasp through another climax.
Suddenly the Sybian goes silent.
The birds keep chirping. My friend the hare hops between two barrel cactus, sniffing at their fruit.
Behind me the house is empty, its master safely locked in his lair. Lucius has never seen the Tucson dawn, this glorious spectacle. Two thousand years of endless night. A lonely existence in the dark.
The locks on my cuffs click open. I'm free.
Thank fates. Lucius is a merciful king.
At least to me.
I move off the Sybian, the scream of my muscles fading in comparison to the weight in my heart.
And that's when I know.
I don't hate Lucius Frangelico.
MY MUSCLES SCREAM as I take a quick shower. It'd be nice to fill the bath and soak, but I'm wasting time as it is.
I've got to get out of here. Lucius knows I'm here to kill him. He says he won't kill me, but who knows what kind of games he plays.
Everything's twisted, jumbled. My enemy isn't who he thought he'd be. Or have I lost all perspective?
I dress in jeans and a t-shirt and grab a bag to pack some things when I see it. On the nightstand that was empty before: a cell phone. It's black and basic looking, not a fancy smartphone, but I bet it's untraceable. Lucius fufilling his promise. I keep my promises, pet.
There's one number saved. Declan's.
I press the cell against my mouth. To call or not to call? I could leave, run to Xavier, tell him I failed. I can't kill Lucius.
I mean... I won't.
Even if I could, which I'm not sure is possible, I couldn't bring myself to.
Xavier will destroy me for my failure.
I could run far away, and hope my path never crosses a vampire's again.
Or… I could stay.
Stay with the Vampire King, the supposedly cruel, definitely dominant ruler who's shown me more care and kindness than I've had in years.
My body craves him. Even after what he's done to me. Especially after what he's done to me.
I hit "Call" and put the phone down before I can change my mind. What's the point of calling Declan? Why would I have him investigate my pack? If he somehow figures out it wasn't Lucius... what will I do?
Stupid. I should hang up. I grab the phone just as Declan picks up.
"Hello?" the Irishman's voice is tense.
"It's Selene."
"Jay-sus, I thought ya were Frangelico, calling me in the day. Nearly stopped me heart."
I can't stop my smile. "No, it's just me. I'm Lucius'..." Sub? Lover? Pet? Slave? I make a face.
"I know who ya are, lass," Declan saves me. "Frangelico called me earlier, said he was turnin' the investigation over tae ya. I can tell ya what we got so far, if ya like."
"I--" The camera in the corner catches my eye. "Yes. Um, first I need to do something. Can I call you back in ten minutes?"
Ten minutes later, I've snuck out of the mansion. The desert doesn't give me much cover, but I get out of the house and away from the guards without being seen, and head down the mountain. When I redial Declan, he asks me where I am, and if I'm hungry. And that's how I end up at In-N-Out Burger with Declan, Parker and Laurie. The trio is as weird as I remember. Possibly weirder.
They fight over fries and sauce packets for a full ten minutes before I clear my throat.
"Right, lass." Declan leans forward. The three stuffed into seats across from me. The better to steal each other's food, I guess. "Your pack."
"Shhh," Laurie cautions.
"Sorry," Declan says in an exaggerated whisper. "We got your file from the auction. Traced the address, but it was a fake."
I knew that. Xavier would cover my tracks better than that.
"So we asked the shifter slavers. Real nasty fellows, them. They didn't want to tell us anything, but we did some digging, and found your birth certificate. Selene Black of the Black Pine pack." He slaps down a document. I zero in on my parent's names.
I can't believe it. Lucius was right, these guys are good.
"From there it was easy," Parker continues. "The human news caught the massacre. A nearby pack had to come in and clean up--buy off the coroner and take possession of the bodies. Passed it off as a serial killer. Luckily there weren't too many fang marks to pass off as needle tracks or whatever. The leech who did in your pack was in a hurry, and sloppy. Did feed, left 'em where they lay."