This dragon was really starting to get on my nerves and by the way the other three men looked at him now, I wasn’t the only one.
“Hmm, a bit bossy today, aren’t we? Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?”
“Sweetheart, I’m your worst nightmare. Now, if you plan to eat anytime this year, you’re coming with me,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Threaten her again, and it will be the last thing you ever do,” the vampire said in a cold, emotionless tone, his eyes piercing into the dragon’s. The two men stared each other down for what seemed like forever until the demon stepped in to say, “We’ve all got an interest in this lovely little fae, don’t we? So why don’t we let her decide who she wants to go with?”
I paused, my eyes scanning all four of the men in front of me. Was he serious?
“Um, except for that wolf right there,” I said pointing at Jamie. “I don’t know any of you. So why would I choose to go with you? Least of all this arrogant thieving dragon?” I jerked my head in the dragon’s direction to leer at him.
“She’s been placed in my block which means it’s my duty to explain to her how things are going to work here. You know the rules,” the dragon said. “Now, all of you stand down or you won’t be the ones regretting it. She will.”
The vampire gave a deep exhale his tense shoulders seeming to relax in acceptance. Jamie, who up until this point seemed half ready to tackle the dragon gave a nod as if he agreed it was better not to fight him on this anymore.
And lastly the demon gave a smile that just barely masked his displeasure. All three of them had to accept that they’d lost this round to the dragon.
“Until we meet again,” the demon said, giving me a bow in farewell.
“We’ll talk later, Jess. That’s a promise,” Jamie said, a comforting smile returning to his lips. The vampire for some reason was the most reluctant to see me go, he no longer looked angry, he just seemed sad as I walked away from him with the dragon shifter.
Normally I would never follow anyone’s orders. Least of all a dragon who’d stolen something of mine. Were we on the outside, I would have broken his leg by now for the disrespect he’d shown me. But I was in a new environment, one I didn’t fully understand. Jamie seemed to think it was best I go with this dragon so I agreed. This would only be a short detour in my mission to find Michael.
I didn’t know what this psycho dragon wanted, or who the hell he thought he was ordering around like this, but as I balled my fist tight and followed him out of the cafeteria door, I knew one thing was for sure, blood was going to be spilled tonight and it wouldn’t be mine.
CHAPTER THREE
Alexandros
One hundred years ago… It felt like it was yesterday. It haunted me, followed me everywhere, like the black cloak of the Grim Reaper. I am Alexandros, first born son of the Vampire king and member of the sacred Litian race of Vampires. My speed knew none faster, my strength knew none stronger and my bite knew none deadlier. So why did I fear the ghosts that haunted me so badly?
I could still see her, smiling up at me plain as day. All the hope of the world shone in her beautiful soul deep eyes. Her long baby pink hair was breathtaking, possessing a shine so lovely no man could ever deny her. Her smile was a bright delight that brought joy to everyone who saw her.
My Ashley. My mate. She was mine and now she was no more, her body one with the soil that birthed her. And with her passing, gone went my light, my hope, and my sanity.
How could a madman of a vampire ever rule his people? How could I live with the shame of losing my one and only mate, my true love? It was my job to protect her, my soul’s greatest vow. If I could not protect her, I was not fit to rule and I never would be. I was fit for no better than this hell hole of a prison I found myself in.
I had to take myself from civilized society, had to get away from my royal duties for the good of my people.
Some thought I’d lost control when I drank Henning Grey to his death. My brother Alexid claimed I’d gotten drunk and that it was a mistake. Just as father and mother claimed. But it was no mistake! I meant to drink that scoundrel dry, and I’d do it again if I could. I reveled in every moment of his torture, sang to the beat of his weakening heart as he edged closer to death’s door. His cries brought me pure ecstasy, as did the sweetness of his blood. If my precious Ashley had to die, then why should he live?
He was a rapist, and fellow vampire or not, he deserved no better. His death served more purpose than just to pave my way to the dark side. He was my key to Pembroke Penitentiary. From inside these dusty walls I would never besmirch the Vampire king’s throne. In here I’d pay for my sins, atone for the loss of my Ashley and suffer for the monster I’d become.
I used to pity my prey, having second thoughts about going too far, even stopping as their bodies weakened. But that was the old me, the foolish me who believed the world would do anything but take, break, and destroy me from the inside out. Now all that was left of me was ruin, madness, and a despair so deep I prayed not for freedom, but for death.
My eyes opened to the darkness of my jail cell. A small beam of light trailed in through the bars of my opened cell door. But the light didn’t do so much to brighten my room. There were no windows to the outside anywhere, but the smell of food let me know that dinner time had come once again.
Wait. I sniffed at the air once more from my seat on the bed. That wasn't cafeteria food I smelt. It was maiden,...young, fresh and delicious.
I heard the gentle clatter of footsteps and then a soft feminine voice said, “Hello there, handsome.” A female guard appeared, smiling as she approached the opening to my cell. The moment her eyes caught sight of me on my bed, her lids blew up and she started gawking at me like a love-struck kitten.
A smile tugged at my lips. I just loved it when dinner came to me in bed.
She didn’t know the predator she was messing with, having no clue that I could snap her neck as easily as I could a toothpick. I would do it too, if it helped her blood drain down my throat faster.
“Hello to you too, little kitten,” I drawled, slowly rising from my perch on the bed to trail over to her by the doorway. I glanced down at her, fixing my eyes to hers. Women never could resist me when I did this. Just looked them in the eyes long enough and they’d always be mine.
She wasn’t bad looking for a witch. Deep green eyes and a warm smile. She was nothing compared to my Ashley however. I really needed to stop comparing my every meal to Ashley. It always bittered the taste of the blood and blackened my mood.
I could drink from a thousand women and still yearn only to taste the sweetest blood I have ever had. Ashley’s.
I shook my head slightly, returning to the present and the witch in front of me.
“So, what brings you to my humble abode?” I asked, returning her smile. She began speaking, but I heard not a single word.
My eyes shot right past the blond hair that swept over her shoulders and landed on her neck.
Hmm, warm, tasty blood lying in wait right under the skin, like candy in a wrapper. I swallowed hungrily. I could hear her heartbeat from here, it kept beating faster and faster.
Poor thing looked at me with lust burning in her eyes. She was practically begging me to hold her and bed her with the way she puckered her pouty lips at me. She wasn’t the first guard to try, and some had succeeded. I enjoyed a bit of exercise before my meals. But for this one, I’d cut right to the chase.
“So, handsome, I’m Rebecca. I’ve been working here a few weeks but have never come across an inmate quite…. like you before.” She regarded me from under her lashes.
“Like me?” I said in a deep almost purring voice, my gaze never leaving hers.
“An ancient! You must be 300, maybe 400 years old?” Her eyes went bright with excitement at the thought.
“Have a thing for older men, do you? Well, I’m nine hundred years old.”
She seemed stunned by my assertion, her excitement reachin
g critical mass, and she began to bounce up and down like a cheerleader.
This would be like taking candy from a baby.
In her big shiny green eyes, I saw my reflection. I was the predator she seemed all too eager to have inside of her. The man she should fear more than darkness itself.
Tall, midnight black hair that trailed down to my thighs, and striking features typical of Litian males. Everything about my physique was designed to draw my prey in like moths to the flame and by the way this foolish girl’s knees rubbed together with need, it was obvious that this prison’s poisons haven’t damaged my allure.
A male guard announced dinner time from the cell block three gates. I stepped out of my cell, all too happy to commence my dinner time. My frame towering over the girl to her visible delight. She stood there gazing at me, mouth opened like a deer in headlights.
“What would you say to a dinner, little kitten?” The words fell from my lips like sweet honey as I gently gripped her chin, leaning in closer to her. Her eyes grew heavy as if she were caught in a lustful daze or a fantasy and she nodded.
Many women fantasized about me. They dreamt of me bedding them, kissing them, wedding them. Some even dreamt of my bite. Vampire bites gave pure ecstasy to the victim. We willingly shared this pleasure so that our prey wouldn’t run and wouldn’t fight. They would only stay in blissful ecstasy until I either stopped drinking or I had drank the final drop.
“Hold still, little kitten.”
I grabbed her by the waist and drew her into my chest, then leaned down, drawing my fangs closer to her neck. I could feel the pound of her heart beat as if it were a drum, and could almost taste the saltiness of her skin, the sweetness of her blood on my tongue.
I needed to feed. She was no Ashley and her blood would no doubt pale in comparison, but she would do.
“Stop right there, vampire!” A voice echoed off the walls and my eyes shot to the source of the sound down the hall.
“Mosby. Are you still alive?” I squinted my eyes to see who it was.
“That’s High officer Mosby to you, inmate.” An overweight old leopard shifter with a badge and baton approached. “How dare you glamour a prison security officer, you lunatic!”
“Glamour? You think I had to use mental manipulation on this girl? She was practically begging me for it,” I said, releasing the girl and giving a shrug.
Her face went full pink as she scurried away, embarrassed.
“Yeah I’m sure,” Mosby said sarcastically.
“I can’t help it if a pretty young woman or two come too close to my bars looking for a good time, or a little bite here or there. What kind of man would I be to allow an innocent damsel in distress to go wanting?” I said dawning my most angelic looking expression. It didn’t work though, there was nothing I could ever do to look angelic. A fool could look at me as see that I was sin and danger personified.
“Whatever, vampire. Just stay the hell away from my guards. Go quench your thirst on someone your own size.” He stomped his foot loudly over the floor.
“My own size, you say?” I murmured, trailing over to officer Mosby. I paused inches from him and glanced down at him curiously.
He was squat and pudgy with about five extra chins. His eyes trembled with fear and something else. Was that interesting?
My eyes went wide in a way I’m told makes me look rather unhinged.
“You look about 250 to 300 pounds is that right, officer Mosby?” I rolled my tongue on that last word, my every note a seduction.
“What do you say to dinner?” I shot him a smile.
His face went red with what could have been anger, but more likely, anger mixed with lust. The tremble of his eyes and shakiness of his heartbeat said he wanted it. He wanted my cock and my bite just as much as the girl did. Maybe he was even jealous. Is that why he chased my dinner away?
“Well, I- um.” He fumbled over his own words as if trying to come up with a retort that wouldn’t make his desires any more obvious than they already were.
He looked away, his eyes exploring the cells around just to make sure no one was watching. Then in a mouse like voice he whispered, “Okay, maybe just a little one. But go easy, I’m new at this.”
I smiled at that, ready to pull the rug right out from under the old fool.
I swung my head back, folding my arms and glanced down at him proudly.
“Sorry, officer, you’ve got one dick too many for my taste.” And with that I was off, brushing past him and heading down the hallway.
At first, he looked stunned, then he looked like a volcano about to erupt as he sent a string of curses my way. I just kept walking. It served him right for chasing away my dinner.
It must have been pasta night, if that disgusting mush could even be called that, because there were more loiterers than normal in the halls tonight. A pack of bear shifters lay ahead, mousing about and chatting among themselves on the staircase that led to the hospital wing.
“Hey! Hey, vampire. I’ve got something you can wrap your fangs around! Something real long and thick,” one of the bears goaded before his friends joined in for the laugh.
If Ashley were here, she’d tell me to turn the other cheek. They were beneath me and were not worth the effort it would take to cut their throats open. However, I did not like being provoked and my every cell twitched to send them all to the netherworld.
Not stopping my stroll I called out over my shoulder, “And it would be a pleasure to deprive you of that long hard something. Just so you would never bring another woman to orgasm with your pathetic size again.”
“What did you just say, vampire?” the alpha of the bear shifters said, raising himself, readying to charge in my direction.
“Wait, that’s that Ancient, Alexandros,” his friend to his right said in his ear, nudging the alpha in his side.
His expression turned from one for rage to one of pure awe as realization struck.
Alpha of the bear shifters or not, he’d just insulted the leader of the largest vampire pack in this entire god forsaken shit hole. Lucky for him I didn’t drink anything with a dick on it, or right now these halls would be filled with the screech of his agonizing cries.
Ashley’s memory or not, I would not stand by and allow him to attack me. Even Ashley would understand that’s not in my nature.
Were any of my underlings here, these pathetic shifters would have been sucked dry just from looking in my direction. They don’t take kindly to insults to their master.
I passed the shifters, not sparing a backward glance. I then slammed the door of the cafeteria open, my eyes scanning the room.
The scent of tomatoes and cheese was high in the air and I immediately knew it was pasta night. That didn’t matter though, even if I were non-vampire, I wouldn’t eat that slop. I was here for that goop this prison calls synthetic blood.
On my way to the buffet stand, I spotted something strange right away. Why was it so quiet in here and why was everyone gathering around the buffet? What could be so fascinating to take several hundred prisoners from their trays at dinner time? And more importantly, what was so damn important that it was blocking the line to the prison’s shitty phony blood storage?
The stuff they provided here tasted like cat piss, but if I was going to feed tonight, it would have to do. And now someone dared to stand in the way of me receiving it?
I marched forward, my fist balled tight as I began picking off shifters, warlocks and gargoyles alike from my path to get to the source of the excitement and the cursed blockage.
I reached the front of the mob and the very air stalled in my lungs at what I was seeing. I swallowed hard, my eyes blinking wildly.
I could not believe it. This- this couldn’t be real…
Standing there right before my eyes, with beauty that could rival a full moon, with baby pink hair and a face so flawlessly beautiful it could bring an army of men to their knees… was Ashley.
My mate had come back to me! She had been reborn, r
eincarnated just as she was before.
My heart exploded in my chest. The entire world seemed to shake around me. I felt moments from collapse, but I didn’t have time to break apart.
She seemed in distress. Glancing around, and judging by the size of the collective mob, she was in grave danger. The mob was progressing on her, seemingly intent on killing her. I inhaled deep and a loud booming screech escaped my lips alerting all to my presence.
Silence reigned for a moment, then I stormed forward, marching toward her. Without a word I shielded her body with my own and stared down her would be attackers.
My Ashley had finally returned, and I would not lose her. As my threatening glare shot all about the room Drake stepped in brandishing his pathetic block five authority.
He threatened her safety right in front of me and my every instinct just then was to rip his head clean off his shoulders. I wanted to see his blood rain and wash the floor for all around to see what happened when someone threatened my mate.
I restrained myself and allowed him to take her for now. But only because I knew he wouldn’t harm her.
Soon I would make my move and speak with her. I needed to learn all I could about my reincarnated mate. Though she looked like Ashley her personality was bound to have key differences. Not that it mattered. She was still my mate and I would still follow her to the end of days. All I needed to do now was reawaken her love for me. Then our love will be just as strong as it was always meant to be.
Our names were written side by side in the stars. She was meant to be mine and I was meant to be hers. Nothing, and no man could ever get in the way of that.
CHAPTER FOUR
Drake
The darkness was a very cold place to be, but what do you do when it’s the only place you’d ever called home? I lost my parents at ten years old and I still hear their screams. Every night when I close my eyes, I hear them talk to me and when I open them, I see the flames that claimed their lives, snuffing them out like kindling.
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