Desta made a face at me. “Yes,” she muttered.
“I think he’s handling it pretty well, all things considered,” I said.
She sighed. “I only wish I could have done more for him.”
“Yeah, it wasn’t very cool for King Viggo to turn him into a bloodhound,” I said. “I guess it was better than dying, but it was still awful.”
“Viggo did it because he was jealous,” Desta said. “Viggo doesn’t want me to care about anything except him.”
I grimaced. “You know what? You should come with me. When I get Judah, we can all leave. You don’t have to stay here with the vampire king. He sounds kind of awful.”
“How could I leave?” she said. “Viggo would find me anywhere I went.”
“You don’t know that,” I said. “Maybe we could get far, far away from him.”
“We? You, me, and Landon?” She laughed, and it was that same brittle sound. “I don’t think so, Camber.”
“Look, I don’t know why we’re talking about this,” I said. “Take me back upstairs. I need to get Judah.”
“I don’t even know who Judah is,” she said.
“Judah is my mate,” I said.
Her eyes widened. “Wait, what? You have a mate? Why didn’t Landon tell me that?”
“Well, we’re not really together,” I said. “Judah has a girlfriend.”
Her eyes widened even more. “Camber, that doesn’t make any—”
“It’s complicated,” I said. “But the pack needs him. I have to rescue him.”
The elevator lurched to a stop and the doors opened.
Desta grabbed onto me again.
“Wait,” I said. “No. Please, I came here to rescue him.”
“Too bad,” said Desta.
“Desta, I am not going anywhere without Judah!”
But she was speeding out of the elevator with me. We went through the halls fast, fast, fast. Vampires could move really quickly. In seconds, Desta and I were outside, hurrying across a well-manicured yard and heading towards the fence.
Chain-link fences surrounded every city and every road. They were there to keep the werewolves out. The vampires told humans that the werewolves were a danger. They claimed to protect the humans from the werewolves. In exchange, the humans had to provide the vampires with blood donations. But the truth was that the danger that werewolves posed to humans was greatly exaggerated.
Werewolves were only out of control when they shifted if they were under emotional stress, and even then, only when they did not have the guiding power of an alpha. Sometimes, whole packs could lose control, if their alpha was killed and they were grieving or if their alpha ordered them to attack mercilessly. But by and large, werewolves posed no true threat to humans.
To vampires, however, we were dangerous. A werewolf bite weakened a vampire, making them much easier to kill.
Finally, Desta stopped moving.
We were right at the fence.
On the other side, I could see Landon. He looked the same. Tall, burly, muscles covered in fur, light blue eyes. Haunting eyes.
“I told you this was a stupid idea, Camber,” he said. “There was no way you’d make it work.”
“I’m not leaving,” I said.
“You’re going to get yourself killed,” said Desta.
“Well, then, so is Judah,” I said. “If they find out he’s a werewolf, he’s in danger too, isn’t he?”
“Did you find him?” said Landon.
“Yes,” I said. “I had him when Desta here pulled me away from him.”
Landon raised his eyebrows at Desta. “Why don’t you just pop back in there and get the dog?”
“The dog?” said Desta.
At the same time, I said, “Stop calling him that.”
“Sorry,” said Landon. “Judah.” He put extra emphasis on the word. “It’s kind of a girly name, don’t you think?”
“No,” I said. “I don’t.”
“I can’t just pop back anywhere,” said Desta. “I took a huge risk getting Camber out. Now, it’s your job to make sure she stays out. I thought we were clear on this.”
“You said she was completely compelled,” said Landon. “That we had to get her out for her own good, because she couldn’t possibly do anything for herself.”
“She was,” said Desta. “But then when I grabbed her, she seemed different.” She turned to me. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “The compulsion just started to fade. It was after I saw Judah. I think it was because of our alpha bond. His compulsion was fading too.”
“I always thought it was harder to compel werewolves,” said Landon.
“I did too,” said Desta. “But it’s also virtually impossible to tell humans from werewolves if the wolves haven’t shifted. So, we could have other werewolf blood slaves, and we wouldn’t know it.”
“So, you call them blood slaves too?” I said, hands on my hips. “None of this ‘companion’ business?”
Desta looked away. “I’m not proud of all of it, Camber, but it is what it is.”
“Sure,” said Landon. “It’s fine to take advantage of people and force them to scrub your floors and lick your pussy and—”
“Stop,” said Desta, looking up at him fiercely. But her lower lip was trembling, like she might cry.
Landon sneered at her. “Oh, I’m sorry if bringing all that up made you feel bad. You’re the person we should be all be worried about after all.”
“Landon, you know that I never meant to hurt you,” she whispered.
“Who says I’m hurt?” He spread his hands. “Look at me. I’ve never been better. Come over on this side of the fence and I’ll show you just how strong and capable I am.” The bloods were stronger than the vampires, but the vampires controlled them, so they weren’t a threat. Landon, on the other hand, was free from vampire control. He could do as he pleased.
“You won’t hurt my sister,” I said, pointing a finger at him.
“Of course he won’t,” said Desta. “Now, you need to go with him. And never come back.”
“If I leave this city without what I came for, I’ll be destroyed by the bloodhounds who I made a deal with, and my pack will fall apart without its alpha,” I said. “So, I’m not going anywhere.”
“What do you want to do?” said Landon.
“Go back up there and get Judah,” I said.
“Well, that’s not an option,” said Desta. “I don’t have time. I’m late to see Viggo as it is. I need to get you over that fence and leave.”
“Then I’ll go back,” I said.
“They’ll compel you again,” said Desta.
“You compel me not to be compelled,” I said.
“It doesn’t work that way,” she said. But she bit down on her lip. “I could compel you not to forget, I guess. The thing is, the, um, bonding between blood slave and master? That doesn’t come from the compulsion. It’s just a side effect of blood drinking. So, even if I compel you to remember who you are and what you’re doing, your bond with Petal—”
“Petal,” I sighed softly.
“Oh, stop that,” said Desta. And then there was a sharp prick at my neck.
“You bit me!” I said to her.
“Just to break the bond to Petal.”
“Oh, I don’t feel anything toward her anymore.”
“No, if you’re bitten by another vampire, it replaces the bond.”
“I don’t feel attracted to you either, though,” I said, looking over Desta. “Which is good, because you’re my sister, and eww.”
“You already care about me. We’re already bonded.”
I nodded. “Makes sense. So, how do I break Judah’s bond with Hadrian?”
“You don’t,” said Desta. “You go.”
“Would you stop acting as though that’s remotely possible? I’m not leaving without Judah. How many more times do I have to say it?” I glared at her.
Desta folded her arms over her ches
t. “Okay, look. There’s a party on Friday at Ally’s place, which is next door.” She pointed at one of the skyscrapers. “In my building. Everyone will be there. It’s going to be the party of the season. I can sneak you out then. You have to have Judah ready by then.”
“Fine,” I said. “I can do that, but I need to be closer to Judah. Get me in as one of Hadrian’s blood slaves.”
“What if Petal doesn’t want to give you up?” said Desta.
“Can you do it or not?” I said.
“So, just so I’m clear,” said Landon. “I’m supposed to be back here on Friday? Same time?”
“I’ll work out the details with you tomorrow,” said Desta to Landon. “Come meet me in the morning, like we have been.”
“Fine,” Landon muttered.
So, they were meeting every morning? I eyed Landon. What were the chances that he decided he forgave my sister and that he developed actual feelings for her? They were slim, right?
Desta turned back to me. “I’ll do what I can with Hadrian, okay? But I can’t do anything until tomorrow morning, because I’m supposed to be meeting Viggo right freaking now.”
* * *
Around noontime the next day, which was basically the crack of dawn after a big party like the one last night, Hadrian knocked on Petal’s door. He had one of his blood slaves with him. Boredly, he informed her that Viggo wanted them to trade, and he didn’t know what it was all about, but that he was supposed to have me, and he would give her his blood slave in return. I noticed, now that I wasn’t compelled, that they didn’t bother to say companion in front of us. I wondered if they ever said companion. Maybe I was compelled to hear companion when they said slave.
Desta had compelled me to remember everything, no matter what the vampires did to me, and no one had bitten me since, so I was still myself, but I knew that wasn’t going to last. If I was being taken in as one of Hadrian’s blood slaves, the first thing he was going to do was bite me to create a bond between us.
I wondered if the bond went both ways, because Petal was particularly pouty about losing me. “But I like Camber,” she whined. “She’s so cute and sweet and she looks really adorable in all of my clothes. We’re like the same size. I don’t want to give her to you.”
“Look, Viggo sent Desta to tell me,” said Hadrian. “So, you know it’s one of his weird whims. We don’t want to piss him off.”
“I guess not,” said Petal, looking crestfallen. “I’m really going to miss her.”
“Sorry,” said Hadrian.
When Petal told me the news, tears welled up in her eyes. I was stunned by that, because I was supposed to be taking it harder than she was, and I had to fake it. But I couldn’t fake tears, so I just buried my head in my hands and made sobbing sounds. Petal wrapped her arms around me and held onto me for what felt like forever, whispering soothing noises in my ear, telling me how sad she would be when I was gone.
I hid my face when I pulled away so that she wouldn’t see that my eyes were dry.
And then I was passed off to Hadrian. He looked me over like I was a faulty piece of livestock he’d been saddled with. “I don’t get it,” he murmured, looking into my eyes. “I don’t know why Petal thinks you’re so great. You look sort of scrawny to me. I like taller women.”
I pursed my lips and did my best not to react to this. Damned vampires. How rude. I was especially not looking forward to being forced into falling in love with this bastard. Don’t forget that he said this, I urged myself. I wouldn’t, right? Desta had compelled me, so I wouldn’t.
We were out in the hallway, just outside Petal’s apartment. Hadrian put a finger under my chin and lifted my face so that he could look into my eyes. “Okay,” he intoned in a deep, serious voice. “I want you to come with me without putting up a fight. You’re going to forget about Petal. She’s nothing to you. Got it?”
I nodded. “Yes,” I whispered. I had the urge to go with him, but I hadn’t forgotten anything about Petal. However, I did feel pretty indifferent to her, all of the sudden. My emotions toward her before had been a mix of anger and disgust with a touch of confused pity thrown in. Now, I couldn’t care less about Petal. Desta’s compulsion was holding, then. I remembered. But now I was also under the compulsion of Hadrian.
And I had to admit that it was super freaky to have my emotions switch so quickly, just because I was ordered to by a vampire. Compulsion was awful.
Hadrian started down the hallway without even looking to see if I was coming along.
I felt myself start to walk after him. If I had wanted to resist, I couldn’t. I was compelled. This felt especially strange, my body obeying without my making a decision to do so. I hadn’t noticed it before with Petal, perhaps because I was so enamored with her that I had willingly done as she asked. This was all so very, very strange.
We went down the elevator to Hadrian’s place, which was trashed after the party.
All of Hadrian’s blood slaves met him at the door like excited puppies. He patted them on their heads and caressed their faces affectionately, and the master-pet analogy seemed pretty apt. I knew that I was going to be tied to him like that soon. As soon as he fed on me, I would think he was the best thing since sliced bread. It was making me ill anticipating it.
But I was glad to see Judah, and he recognized me when he saw me. He grinned at me, happy to see me.
I smiled back. I was going to get him out of here. We just had to hold on until Friday. And we would somehow have to fight our tie to Hadrian.
“Well, guys, new friend,” said Hadrian, gesturing to me. “This is Camber. Everyone say hi. Camber, say hi to everyone.”
“Hi,” I said obediently.
Hadrian picked up my wrist and sank his teeth into it without a lot of ceremony.
It hurt. I cringed.
And then… then it felt good. Very good. And I looked at Hadrian, and I could feel a tug of something beginning when I looked at him, like a well of love was opening inside me. I gasped at the sensation of it all. Everything was wonderful.
* * *
Later, I was sitting on the floor at Hadrian’s feet, leaning up against his calf. Occasionally, absently, he would reach down and pat my head or brush my hair away from my neck. I loved those moments, when he was touching me. Hadrian was great.
I remembered that I wasn’t supposed to think so. I remembered that it was all just a thing that my body was doing because I was bonded to him, but it felt so real that it was hard not to respond to it. I thought that maybe what I might do was to get Judah free and then come back here to live with Hadrian, if he’d let me. Or maybe somehow I could convince Hadrian to come live with us in the woods. He could feed on Judah and me. I wouldn’t mind, and I could tell that Judah wouldn’t either.
Judah was lying on the floor next to me. He was only wearing a pair of tiny silk black underwear. I wasn’t even sure if they were actually men’s underwear. I didn’t know where Judah had gotten them. Almost all of Hadrian’s blood slaves were nearly naked, though. There were two other women, one who was wearing a one-piece lacy bustier over a thong and another who was in a pair of tiny boy short underwear and nothing else. It was just the four of us, and I was wearing the most clothes, still in my outfit from the party the night before—a little skirt and the shirt I’d put on.
Hadrian stretched. “We have to clean up in here, guys. It’s really a mess.”
“Sure,” said Judah, sitting up. “We can do that.”
“Yeah, anything for you, Hadrian,” said the woman who was topless. Her breasts were small and high and her nipples were shaped like cones.
“We should all say hi to Camber first,” said Hadrian.
“Hi,” chorused the other blood slaves.
“I mean a proper hello,” said Hadrian. “Stand up, Camber.”
I stood up. Anything for Hadrian indeed. I beamed at him, feeling overwhelmed by how strongly I was falling for him.
He stood up too, and to my extreme delight, he kissed me,
thoroughly claiming my mouth with his.
I moaned, clinging to him.
He chuckled, pulling away. “Well,” he whispered, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Maybe Petal was right. You are a little sweetheart, aren’t you?”
I beamed at him. He liked me too.
“Angie, you give Camber a kiss,” said Hadrian.
And then I was kissing the topless girl. The kiss was quick and perfunctory, but strange, because I had never kissed a girl, except Petal, and only on the cheek or on the neck or the face, never on the lips, never with tongue. Of course, I would do whatever made Hadrian happy, but it was strange to be doing this, and—
“Now Misty,” said Hadrian. “Your turn.”
And then the woman in the bustier was kissing me too. Her kiss was a little more forceful than the other woman’s had been and she tasted like whatever gum she was chewing.
“And Judah,” said Hadrian.
Judah pulled me against him eagerly and his mouth was on mine, and I thought it was strange, because of all the times we’d kissed, he’d never actually seemed to want to kiss me as much as he wanted to kiss me now, and it was because of this vampire, but we were mated, bonded together, co-alphas of a pack, and my life was incredibly complicated and incredibly strange, and the truth was, whatever Hadrian was making me do, it was kind of awful. It was a violation of my body and my mind, and while I still loved him, I wanted to hate him.
Judah suddenly pulled away from me as if he’d been burned, his eyes wide.
“Judah,” said Hadrian in a lightly scolding tone. “Camber’s mine, you know.”
We both looked at him.
“But if you ask nice, I’ll let you guys bone. Would you like that?”
My stomach turned over. No, no, I would not like that.
“I would like that,” said Hadrian, his lips turning into a smile.
And just like that, I wanted it too. Except I also felt like throwing up.
Judah looked a little ill too. He squared his shoulders, swallowing hard. “Didn’t you want us to clean?”
“Yes,” said Hadrian. “That is just want I want, actually. You guys, make this place sparkle. It would make me really happy if you’d take care of that for me.”
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