"Welcome, children. My dear sired." The crowd quiets as Lucius surveys them. He's not smiling, but I can tell he wants to. There's a touch of cruelty in the corner of his mouth. "You might be wondering why I called you all here. As you know, I attended an auction a month ago. I got a little carried away." A few vampires titter nervously, and Lucius gives an indulgent smile.
"This evening we celebrate a truly joyous occasion. I have a spectacle ready, the likes of which you've never seen."
I blank my face as the vampires eye me. They expect their King to show off his new submissive, and put me through my paces in front of them.
They're in for a hell of a surprise.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce Selene." Lucius holds out a hand and I place mine in his. "Your new queen."
Lucius
I SURVEY MY SIRED. Shocked, surly, they're murmuring to each other, reaffirming alliances. One wrong word and they'll rise against me.
"Sire," Theophilus steps forward. "Surely you don't mean to marry a shifter. As lovely as she is, she's hardly an equal-"
"I disagree."
Theophilus rocks back on his heels. He spreads his hands as if to say "I tried." The dissenting murmurs grow louder.
I raise my voice. "The shifter auctions are over. Anyone participating will be killed, except, of course, the shifter victims. They will be freed and paid retribution sum. It will come out of the coffers of any vampire who purchased."
The room echoes with outright denial. Most vampires are beyond wealthy, but no matter the sum, paying a restitution payment to a shifter will hurt their pride.
Selene quivers at my side, ready to defend me. I place a hand on her back. I'll unleash my greatest weapon soon. "If you do not obey this command within the week, you won't just answer to me. You'll answer to Selene."
"You expect us to obey your shifter pet?" Someone calls from the crowd.
"Not just obey. I expect you to kneel."
The vampires recoil.
"I don't believe this," Dante pushes his way to the front. There's no sign of the fawning he usually shows. "Xavier was right--you are weak." He whirls to face the crowd. "The time has come. The King has reached the end of his rule." He signals, and two vampires blur from the crowd, leaping towards me.
They never reach the foot of my throne. A flash of light makes the crowd scream. A second later, they're blinking and groping each other, rubbing streaming eyes.
The two attacking vampires lie on the ground, stakes jutting from their bodies. Dante's mouth falls open. The vampires who were at his back edge away.
"What's that, Dante?" I steeple my fingers. I cock my head and give everyone a lazy grin. They all can see I don't have a hair out of place.
A few seconds later, they notice the blood spatter on Selene's white gown.
"I know you planned to rise up against me. Xavier was a good choice for an alliance. Too bad he was ultimately defeated."
"You lie," Dante breathes. I fish an item out of my waistcoat pocket and toss his way. Xavier's eyepatch lands by his foot.
"Your plans have failed," I tell my sired. None of them are innocent of plotting against me. Even if they didn't participate in the plans for the coup, they'd didn't warn me, but waited to see which way the wind blew. Their silence damned them. "You will remain under my rule, and bow to me and my queen. Or you will die."
Dante snarls, "You're mad-"
I flick my fingers. Selene blurs from my side. In the blink of an eye she has the traitor on his knees, a stake a few inches in his chest and his head bent back at a painful angle.
"Shall I make an example out of him?" she asks, positioning a second stake at Dante's throat.
The vampires around her stir, stumble back. They didn't see her coming. Nobody expects a vampire-shifter hybrid.
"What is this?" Dante croaks. Even from his knees he emanates fury. "What have you done, Frangelico? Turned this she wolf into an abomination--" his rant ends in a gurgle as Selene stakes him fully. Blood sprays in an arc across the well dressed guests. The dead vampire slumps to the floor. Selene slinks back to my side, her white dress speckled with red.
"That was fun," she tells me with an impish grin. "Who's next?"
I raise my brows at the crowd. No one moves.
"I'm sure we'll root out more traitors in the coming months," I tell Selene. "Good sired are so hard to find these days. You can deal with them however you please."
"Thank you, Sire," Selene murmurs and runs her teeth over her fangs.
Theophilus is the first to sink to his knees. Slowly, the whole crowd genuflects to my beautiful queen.
I clap my hands. "That's done. Let's all have a drink." Club servants stream from the corners, passing out goblets of red wine. Two club workers start to remove the bodies and I order them away. "Leave them. An example. You can put them out with the trash this morning."
AFTER THE TOAST, the BDSM scenes begin. Vampires leave the dungeon and return with their chosen submissives. The club fills with the moans and screams of the damned.
Selene stands at my side, vigilant. She takes her role as my enforcer seriously. I bend my head toward her and she leans close.
"I'll need your help shutting down the shifter auctions," I murmur.
"My pleasure," Selene licks her fangs, watching a group of my sired scuttle past. Most bow their heads, but one shoots a glare her way.
"It may take a few more examples before they fear you," I observe.
"I'm looking forward to it," she purrs and I pull her onto my lap.
"Thank you," I whisper. Because of her, most of my sired will be spared. She will rule beside me, and all will tremble before her power.
"I'm with you, Lucius." she murmurs. "You will never again be alone."
"Light of my life." I motion and a club servant approaches, bowing. He holds out a cushion bearing a shining silver crown. I set the glittering diadem on her head.
"How do I look?" She turns her head so the diamonds catch the light.
"Like a queen." I grasp her chin. "A crown in public. A collar in private. You will kneel to me, and me alone."
She bites her lip. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
***
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