by Ginna Moran
My heart drops into my stomach. “Don’t call me that. My name is either Ms. Flamme or Fiona.”
“Careful, Fiona. It is considered an honor to carry the King name, especially around here. Some people might take offense if you deny the opportunity,” Torrance says.
“Then let them.”
I attempt to close the door in his face, but he blocks it with his arm. I sigh and turn my back on him instead, meeting Rylie’s flustered gaze. She shuffles to the corner of the room and twists her hair between her fingers. Torrance has the gall to step inside with us, though he leaves the door open.
Annoyance rushes over me, and I step into his space and jab my finger into his chest. “Back the hell up and get out. I did not invite you in.”
He narrows his eyes, puffing his chest until it feels like I poke a brick wall. My hand takes on a mind of its own, and I spread my fingers and rest my palm over his heart, feeling the beats thud on my fingers. He steps closer, forcing my hand to press harder into him to keep the space between us.
He locks his gaze on mine. Everything in me screams to look away from him. It’s been too long since I consumed vampire blood. He could easily manipulate my mind, and there would be nothing I could do about it.
Now that I think about consuming blood, I can’t stop myself from inhaling a breath of his fruity scent. Hunger burns in my stomach, and not the kind of hunger for solid food. I try to suppress my worry, because I don’t know how I’m going to survive this place without getting the nutrients I need. I can probably last up to a week without getting sick from the lack of blood, maybe two, but I’ve only had to go so long one time before. Back in the colony, I was allowed to visit the blood sources every three days, and I snuck in a couple of extra times.
I tighten my jaw. “I’m going to ask you one more time to wait outside. If you don’t, you will leave me no choice but to show you again what I’m capable of.” Flicking my gaze down to his crotch, I silently remind him of the fact that I kicked him in the balls for dropping me on my ass.
“I might like that,” he says, smirking at me. “Your bravery is quite admirable.”
I groan and shove him back. “Just get out.”
“You have five minutes to get ready. If you miss the phlebotomist, Culver will accuse you of attempting to starve him, which might lead the headmistress to allowing an exception to the no-bite clause.” His smirk disappears with his words. He sounds sincere enough that I don’t think he’s joking. I can only imagine the pain Culver will put me through if he gets his fangs in me. I doubt he’ll treat me like my favorite blood source in Mount Light Haven would, assuring I always had one helluva good time during a blood exchange.
I shudder at the thought. “Fine. Five minutes.”
Torrance lets me close the door on him, and I turn to Rylie. She throws her arms around me, tears pooling in her eyes. I stroke my hand in circles on her back for a few seconds before pulling away and forcing my mouth to smile.
I open the small closet and toss a white dress shirt to her. “Hey, Ry. It’s going to be okay. Let’s just get through tonight. We’ll figure things out come dawn.”
She huffs a breath. “Until dawn. I can do this.”
“Yes, you can.” I touch her shoulder. “And who knows. Maybe we’ll learn something we can use.”
When I step out of the dorm room, Torrance leans against the wall in the hallway, offering me a smile. Rylie trains her gaze on the ground, already adjusting to the donor rules of this place. Most humans can quickly adapt, and I usually can, but Torrance strolls so closely that his arm brushes mine, and I can’t resist looking at him.
“So, will we be escorted everywhere we go?” I ask, filling the silence as he motions us onto an elevator. He hits the button to the basement leading to the tunnel to take us to the main section of the massive estate that makes up the academy.
“Not her,” he says, motioning his chin to Rylie. “Just you. You’ve currently been flagged as a flight risk, and Culver isn’t willing to risk losing his investment if you somehow—doubtfully—manage to get past security and escape.”
Well, this complicates things. Not only will I be followed all the time, but there also might not be a way for me to try to charm some blood out of a random vampire here. I had intended to entice a security guard or maybe a guy who shows interest in me into a blood exchange, but it looks like I’m going to have to up my game and focus on one of Culver’s brothers.
It isn’t ideal, but if I don’t figure it out, I’ll starve. If I starve, my blood hunger will consume me, and my secret will get out. They’ll cage or kill me. I can’t imagine they’ll humor the idea of keeping someone who is their personal predator around.
“And you’ve been chosen to be my annoying shadow?” I turn my attention to him. Torrance definitely doesn’t seem like the type to break any rules, so I hope him escorting me turns out to be temporary. Maybe if I can somehow get to Hudson, he’ll do it. He seems like the type—a rule breaker and a huge flirt, the perfect combination in a blood source for me.
“The headmistress suggested that Culver assign the job to one of us considering donor-sitting isn’t exactly on his agenda. Not to mention she’s well aware of your...dislike of him.” He breaks his hard expression to smirk at me.
“Dislike? I hate the bastard,” I mutter. “He’s lucky I don’t kill him.”
Rylie hisses at me, snatching my hand to tug me away from Torrance. I don’t know if it was her sudden movement, considering he probably forgot she was standing silently next to me, or if my words set him off, but he growls under his breath.
Flashing his fangs, he says, “Remove your hands from Ms. King immediately. You are not to touch her.”
Damn. It was Rylie.
She lets go of my hand and locks her fingers together, shooting her gaze to the floor. The gesture pokes at my nature, seeing her so frightened that I can’t stop from swinging my hand out to slap Torrance.
Big mistake.
He catches my hand before I hit him and draws it to his chest, pulling me into him, so my body is flush against his. I freeze, my heartbeat rapping out of control at his sudden closeness. Breaking his stare, I tilt my head and rest it on his chest. I inhale a breath of his fruity scent.
A strange noise escapes his throat. “Are you sniffing me?”
I groan and try to pull away, but he keeps me pinned to him. “It’s called breathing,” I lie, heat warming my face.
Fuck. Me. He knows I’m full of shit. I’ll never admit that I did sniff him or that I continue to sniff him. It should be a crime for him to smell so edible. I cannot be held responsible for my actions if he’s the one daring to risk sharing personal space.
He finally eases his hold on me but doesn’t let go of my hand. The doors to the elevator slide open. The empty tunnel greets us, and Rylie gets off first. I tug my hand, pulling Torrance with me instead of freeing my fingers. Rylie gapes at us, no longer staring at the floor. I grimace, baring my bottom teeth at her. She obviously wants me to detach this vampire from me, but I don’t know exactly how to.
Torrance swings my hand and chuckles. “What? Is this the first time you’ve ever held someone’s hand? It’s nice, right?”
“Oh, so it’s okay for you to touch me?” I snap.
“If Ms. Reynolds hadn’t rudely interrupted our conversation or handled you so roughly, she would’ve been fine.”
I glare. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m merely protecting myself from your violent tendencies,” he muses. “If it happens to be something we both enjoy, then I don’t see the problem.”
I shove him, and he grabs my other hand, shifting in front of me to walk backward. I gawk at our hands and then to him, his smirk turning into a full-blown smile. Narrowing my eyes, I drop my gaze to his crotch. I’m not checking out his package, but I fully consider giving him a swift kick to the balls. He’s taking his little game too far—at least in front of Rylie. She looks ready to have a coronary while I�
�m on the brink of teasing him.
“Don’t even consider it, Fiona,” Torrance says, squeezing my fingers. “If you do, you’ll leave me no choice but to carry you like an infant.”
I playfully lift my foot. “Not an infant. A back-world blushing bride. You know you want to. You’re enjoying every second of holding my hands. I can already imagine how you’ll react with your arms around me. Are they as hard as they look?”
His smile fades at my words, his eyes flashing silver. I purse my lips in my own cocky grin, because I got under his skin—pretty sure in a good way.
Dropping my hands, he puts space between us. Whatever crosses his mind stops him from even looking at me now. I should be relieved. I shouldn’t care about his rejection. But damn it. His playfulness had me convinced that I could turn him into my next blood source without having to seek out one of his other brothers. Now? I’m not so sure.
Rylie falls into step beside me, staring at the side of my face. I can’t bring myself to look at her just yet and keep my focus on the dim tunnel in front of us until it ends at another elevator.
“This is your stop, Ms. Reynolds. Take the elevator to the ground floor and head right. You’ll see the lab on the left. They’ll be expecting you.” Torrance hits the call button on the elevator for her.
“Wait, what about me? I thought I had to give blood too,” I say, shifting on my feet.
“Culver has a personal phlebotomist at his disposal. He will not risk any mix-ups,” he says, keeping his voice even.
“Oh.” I don’t know what else to say.
Rylie frowns at the opening elevator door. “He can’t draw my blood too? I don’t understand why I’m not a personal donor as well.”
Torrance sighs. “You’ve already aged out. To become a personal donor, you must be between eighteen and twenty-two. It allows a vampire to get the maximum adult lifespan as possible. But don’t worry, Ms. Reynolds. Your donation to the rest of us lowly vampires is appreciated. You’ll provide to our coven once we complete training.” He motions to the elevator. “You should get going. You also have time restrictions and shouldn’t miss your donation on your first official day. After, check-in in the donor education wing. They’ll give you your schedule.”
I throw my arms around Rylie, hugging her quickly since I know she won’t risk hugging me. She frowns at me until the elevator door slides closed, leaving me alone with Torrance. He peers around the dim tunnel, letting silence fall between us.
“Was that all a lie?” I ask, nudging his bulging bicep with my knuckles.
He meets my gaze. “Huh?”
“You just wanted to get me alone, didn’t you?” My. Damn. Mouth. Why can’t I control it? It’s like it wants me to test my luck to see how dangerous this guy truly is.
Torrance’s eyes widen, and he shakes his head. “No, I—”
“Admit it. You want to run away with me. Keep me all to yourself.” I offer him a teasing smile, loving his reaction.
Torrance reacts by covering my mouth and pushing me into the wall next to the elevator door. “You can’t say shit like that, Fiona. The last thing we both need is for Culver to think I’m trying to steal you from him. I have a position to maintain in my coven, and I’m not willing to risk breaking the rules or disrespecting my brother’s authority.”
I blink in surprise, something strange, almost fearful lining his voice. He drops his formal tone, sounding more like me. From my blood sources, I know it’s something vampires unintentionally do. It’s part of their charm to get humans to trust them more. I wonder if he realizes he’s doing it with me.
I raise my eyebrows. “Lighten up. I was just teasing. You don’t seem like the rule-breaker type anyway. If I was going to ask someone to run away with me, it wouldn’t be you.” It wasn’t him. It was Berkeley, and that was before I realized he was one of the King brothers. It explains why my attempt didn’t work.
He tightens his jaw like I offended him. Sheesh. I can’t win. He’s far too hot and cold that I know I’ll never get a drop of blood from him.
The elevator door slides open, and Torrance steps away from me, putting more space than he has since he picked me up. I straighten my dress shirt and comb my fingers through my hair. He silently motions me on, and I enter first.
He doesn’t follow me but slaps his hand on a palm pad, turning it green. “One of my brothers will meet you on our floor.”
I furrow my brows. “Wait, what? You’re not coming?”
He tightens his jaw. “Something’s come up. I have to go.”
Like that, he disappears, leaving me alone to ride the elevator to a place deeper underground. From the fear coursing through me, I’m nearly certain it might be taking me to my own personal hell.
Chapter 7
Donor Division
“ALL DONE, MS. KING.” THE phlebotomist paints a weird gel over the small hole, stopping my blood from dripping. “Make sure you drink a big glass of orange juice at breakfast. I would hate for you to faint.”
Rolling down my sleeve, I stand up and glance around the lavish living area of the King Coven’s suite. It’s larger than any of the houses back home, and from what I can tell, even the coat closet is bigger than the dorm room I share with Rylie.
Aspen puts his com device away and materializes next to me. He hasn’t said more than two words since waiting for me outside the elevator after his brother abandoned me. The only other person in this grand suite was the phlebotomist. At least he was nice.
I thank the phlebotomist for his time and stride to the door that leads to the elevator. I glare at the thing because I have to wait for Aspen to call for it, my handprint turning the damn palm pad red.
From his lack of attention and nicety, I’ve already crossed Aspen off my mental list of who I’ll convince to be my blood source behind Culver’s back.
The elevator jerks as it ascends to the ground level. I grasp onto the metal bar to steady myself and catch Aspen staring at me in the mirrored wall. He immediately averts his gaze, turning it toward the ceiling instead of the floor.
“I’m sorry if I inconvenienced the start of your day,” I say, finally breaking the silence. “I hope you know it was not my decision.”
His hard expression softens, and he finally gives me his attention. “I’m well aware of that, and it’s not an inconvenience.”
“Okay...” I shift on my feet, uncomfortable by how brisk he is. I guess I shouldn’t expect more. I’m only a donor to him—claimed by his brother at that.
“And I apologize if I come off as being short, Ms. King. It is in our best interest if we engage in as little conversation as possible,” he says, peering at me in the reflective wall again like he won’t risk looking at me directly.
“Why?” I can’t help my curiosity. I want to know what makes him different than his other brothers.
He tightens his jaw with the words. “Because I find you perplexingly stunning.”
His response throws me off guard, and my jaw drops. That was not what I was expecting him to say. I mean, wow. No one’s ever complimented me in such a way.
“And your current reaction is exactly what I was afraid of. My apologies, Ms. King. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”
The elevator door slides open, and he bolts away, disappearing and reappearing a dozen feet from me. I run to catch up to him, but every time I attempt to close the space, he uses his vampire speed to keep his distance.
“Hey, come on. I can’t keep up with you,” I say, stopping to clutch the wall to catch my breath. I plant my ass on a bench just inside the wide lobby.
He rushes back to me. “You can’t sit there. This is not a donor commons area.”
I sigh and get to my feet. “Then take me to one. I’m not feeling so good.”
Aspen combs his fingers through his blond hair, never taking his eyes off mine. I consider planting my ass on the ground to catch my breath, but the last thing I need is for someone else to come and yell at me. My knees shake, my legs no
t giving me a choice in the matter. My head spins with a dizzy spell.
“Oh, shit,” Aspen says, catching me in his arms before I collapse. “Shit.”
The world blurs with his speed, and I think I black out for a couple of seconds. A cool hand touches my cheek before a burst of citrusy goodness coats my tongue. I blink the haze from my eyes and catch sight of Berkeley kneeling in front of me. Aspen hugs his arms around me, his body more comfortable than I imagined. His muscles might be hard as bone, but his embrace is nothing short of snuggly.
“Drink some more, Fiona,” Berkeley says, holding a glass of orange liquid to my lips. “Your blood sugar is low. It seems the phlebotomist took more blood than he should have.”
“Culver demanded he draw more than the daily max,” Aspen says, his voice low and husky in my ear. “He signed the waiver to take on responsibility in case of donor death.”
Berkeley’s fangs peek out from beneath his top lip. “I’ll talk to him.”
“You know he doesn’t actually want her to be his personal blood source, right?” Aspen talks about me like I’m not sitting on his lap, letting Berkeley continue to offer me sips of orange juice.
“He’s just in a mood. I’m sure he’ll get over his juvenile behavior in a few days. He’s never been bested before. She hurt his ego.” Berkeley’s eyes smile at me, though his mouth doesn’t.
“You should’ve seen her,” Aspen whispers, shifting me on his lap a bit. “It was wild.”
This time Berkeley does smile at me. “I don’t doubt it. Neither do the rest of these pricks. They’re too scared to even turn their backs on her.”
I flick my gaze up and tense as he purposely and passively addresses the room. A dozen circular tables with red, floor-length table cloths decorate the dining hall. Two crystal chandeliers sparkle light over everything. Brown and burgundy swirl-design wallpaper warms the room, keeping the lighting dim, the atmosphere intimate.
At each table sits a group of vampires drinking blood from crystal goblets like the one the headmistress had in her office. The only thing that would scream more elite than this would be if there was a donor on each table. A few soft voices trickle to me, and I unintentionally lock eyes with the guy who approached me earlier—from the Knightly Coven, I think. He sits with who I assume are his coven brothers, and while they remain expressionless, from the King brothers’ various expressions, they are cocky looking enough for me to assume the room isn’t scared but jealous.