by Marian Tee
You’re thinking too loudly, pet. Of course you have a choice. I will never be the kind of Master who’d take that kind of freedom from you.
I bit back a sigh. He didn’t understand. How he was a Master wasn’t the problem here. It was me – what I wanted – that was leaving me without a choice. With each passing day I spent in his company, the urge, the drive, the need to please him grew and grew until I had to keep my hands behind my back – the only way to prevent myself from embracing him and never letting go.
“Zari?”
I bowed my head. “Whatever you want, Master.” And God help me, but I meant that.
****
I was accepted, of course. I had a feeling I would be, seeing how Madame Lavinia treated my Master like royalty. After all forms had been signed, we had been immediately escorted to the dormitory. My room was at the corner of the third floor. It was spacious and elegantly furnished, with velvet drapes, a four-poster bed, and an en-suite bathroom.
My Master waited for the older woman to bid us good night and retreat before asking, “What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful,” I answered simply.
“You think you will be happy here?”
“Of course.”
He sighed. “Honesty, pet. Is it too much to ask?”
“Acceptance, Master. You need to accept that I’ll always be like this. Is it too much to ask?”
He strode towards me and made me gasp when he flicked my forehead. “Stubborn pet.” I gasped once more when he lifted me in his arms. “Brave pet.” He carried me to the bed and as he laid me down, he said softly, “Cute pet.”
“Cute?” I pretended to be offended, but my voice just came out shaky and breathless.
“Yes, cute.” He flicked the first button of my blouse open. “In an arousing way.”
I clutched his hands in shock when I felt his fingers working on the second and third buttons. “What are you doing?” My voice came out strangled.
“What do you think?” By the time he finished speaking, my blouse was completely undone.
“But---”
Again, my words disappeared into his mouth.
The kiss shocked me. He hadn’t kissed me like this since the night he found me.
The kiss slayed me. I couldn’t say it, would probably never be able to say it, but I was addicted to his kisses. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of it.
Dimly, I felt him discarding my blouse, and soon the rest of my clothes followed until I was entirely naked. When he pulled back to study me from head to toe, I writhed under his gaze in embarrassment.
“You’re turning pink all over,” my Master purred in obvious pleasure.
“Shut up,” I muttered, even more embarrassed by his words.
My Master only laughed. His fingers cupping my breasts, he murmured, “I missed this. You do not know how much I missed this.” His head bent down, and I felt him nuzzling the valley between my breasts.
I half-struggled, half-writhed under his powerful form. “Master.” The word came out as a plea, but I had no idea what I was begging him for.
“You smell so unbelievably sweet.” His words were a tantalizing whisper, a delicious caress against my skin as his lips trailed down my neck. “It makes me mad with jealousy, wondering if someone other than me would notice your scent.”
His lips moved further down, and another gasp escaped me when his mouth closed over one nipple. My body arched under him as he started to suck. He had never kissed me this way – never!
My hands found its way to his body, moving against his back restlessly as he sucked and sucked. When he moved to my other breast, worshipping it the same way, my hands moved up in its own volition, clutching his shoulders as my body curved in helpless desire against him.
“Please.” I still didn’t know what I wanted. All I knew was that what I needed, only my Master could provide. When he bit my nipple, I cried out. “Please!”
His head lifted, and a sinful kind of promise glittered in his eyes. “Soon,” he rasped.
I felt his hands moving over my body, shaping my curves slowly and thoroughly, as if he wanted to memorize every inch of my skin. Down, down, down his hands went until I felt him prying my thighs open.
Trembling, I allowed my legs to fall apart, and then his hand was there. Right where I was most sensitive. It was the hottest part of me, the part that throbbed and ached so much the sensations filled my every thought.
“Master!” My head tossed from side to side as his hand traced my wet folds. I was so wet it was embarrassing, and I would probably have blushed again if I wasn’t so caught up in the sensual magic of his touch.
“Look at me. I want to see your face as I please you.” His gaze held me captive as our eyes met. “Does this make you feel good, pet?” Slowly, he slid one finger inside me.
I cried out, my body shaking harder even as my flesh contracted and expanded, my inner muscles tightening around the part of him that marked his first possession of my body.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.” I sobbed the word out as he started to move his finger, sliding it in and out at a slow, steady pace.
“Do you want more?”
“Please.” I squeezed my eyes shut, my body tightening with every thrust of his finger.
I felt him moving down, his hands pushing my legs up to form a wide W. I looked down just in time to see his head disappear between my legs. And then there it was, his warm hot tongue flicking against the sensitive bud.
I screamed.
His tongue started to play with my clit, and I screamed once more. Again and again until I saw stars and it was so hard to breathe. When he started to suck on my clit, the same time his finger moved in and out of my pussy, my body began to shake. Something inside me was unfurling, something so strong and powerful, wracking my body---
My Master slid a second finger inside me, thrusting hard and deep just as he caught my clit between his teeth.
That unfurling force inside me burst, releasing a wave of pleasure so intense I was drowning in it. My body jerked with every gush of wetness flowing out of me. I clutched at him helplessly as I came, never imagining that an orgasm could feel this strong. This consuming. This beautiful.
As I drifted into a deep, heavy slumber, I thought I heard my Master whisper in my ears, “This is what I want you to remember when you feel alone, sweet pet. I will come back to you, I promise.”
Such tender words, too tender for a man as private as my Master to speak of.
When I woke up, my Master was gone.
When I woke up, I knew that the words weren’t a dream. My Master was worried about me. My Master cared. The thought had me swallowing. Even though he was as contrary as ever, I knew it was just a front, a way to keep himself apart.
He was a good man, my Master.
But then I saw what he had saved on my phone – a photo of him, naked and holding a piece of paper. A message was written on it---
My pet told me that if I gave her a hundred photos like this, she would be the happiest pet in the world.
I gritted my teeth. I take it back. He was not a good man, my Master.
Definitely not.
But somehow, I couldn’t make myself delete the photo in my phone.
A bad man, my Master, but he definitely knew how to not make his pet feel lonely.
A knock sounded on the door. “Lady Zari? I’ve been asked to remind you that classes are to start at seven in the morning. Do you need me to help you with anything?”
The words had me reaching for my robe. Today, a brand new chapter in my life would start. Alexandru and even my parents had risked many things to keep me alive, and it was a gift I was determined not to waste.
I glanced at the mirror mounted on the wall next to the bed and practiced smiling. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was so childish and unprofessional, pining away for my Master, even if it was true.
“Lady Zari?”
Tightening the robe’s sash arou
nd my waist, I called out, “Coming!”
A voice slipped inside my head, familiar and sly. Coming? Are you really coming, pet? Does that mean you’re touching yourself?
I tripped on my way to the door.
~ END OF PREQUEL ~
Part One
Chapter One
“The best way for a Master to show his or her pet respect is to take the time to know him or her.” Zari read the words from her draft as she paced the length of their bedroom.
“You just want the whole kingdom to know about the time I forgot our anniversary,” Alexandru drawled.
“I do not---” She stopped talking mid-sentence when she glanced at her Master. He was on his side of the bed, one leg propped up, a copy of her proposal in his hand. He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of loose cotton pants…and glasses. Glasses?
She shook her head in confusion. “Why are you wearing glasses? You’re a vampire. You’ve got perfect eyesight.”
“You asked me to review your proposal, didn’t you?” He flashed her a devastating smile. “I thought I should look the part as your editor.” His eyes took on a knowing look. “I also thought you’d like seeing me with glasses. You do, don’t you, pet?”
Zari’s red face was his answer.
“Stop laughing, Master. It’s not that funny!”
Walking along the empty school corridors, Alexandru enjoyed the brief respite from the obsessive attention of La Scala Legaturia’s giggling students. A hundred years back, this school had been akin to hallowed grounds, a place where young ladies took their studies seriously and were intent on perfecting the art of pleasing their Masters. But now?
He shook his head, remembering the girls he had passed by at the entrance hall and the way they had simpered at him. Did they not know that vampires as old as he had no time for idiots?
Alexandru paused when he reached the back door of the last classroom. Inside, he heard the teacher, Madame Lavinia, asking for a moment of silence. “Ms. Ellen? Would you be so kind as to start today’s reporting?”
As Alexandru listened to the students report one by one, he realized that their homework was all about explaining the bond between Master and pet. His lips curved. This should be good, Alexandru thought.
Inside his mind, he tapped into the blood bond he shared with his own pet. As usual, she remained oblivious to his presence, her full concentration directed at her nonexistent essay.
My name is Zari Baltimore. She was mentally reciting the words as she scribbled them, thus allowing him a glimpse of her thoughts.
I’m eighteen years old. My dad…
There was a pause in her thoughts, marked by a silence that was both grave and personal, and Alexandru knew his pet was wondering at that moment about her parents’ whereabouts. The last time she had seen them was right before the boating accident, one that resulted in her parents missing and Zari being abducted by trolls. That was over a month ago, and even now, with his men searching for them tirelessly, Alexandru still had no news to share.
My dad is a wildlife photographer and my mother is a wildlife journalist.
The use of present tense told him that she had decided to believe her parents were still alive. She had a tenacious will, his pet, and one he strongly approved of even if it also frustrated him at times.
My Master is Alexandru---
The pause that followed made Alexandru lift a brow.
What was his last name anyway? Was he orphaned? Or maybe he dropped it, sort of like Prince? Maybe his real name went something like The Vampire Formerly Known as Alexandru?
Come to think of it, did vampires have any surname? Maybe they were like rockstars and popstars? Eminem, Rihanna, Pink? Maybe he even used special characters like Ke$ha? This had Zari mentally laughing her ass off. Maybe he wrote his name as @lexandru?
The thoughts wiped the smile off Alexandru’s lips completely. He was going to kill his human pet very slowly, that was for sure.
****
“…lastly, I believe the special bond I share with Master Anton is because of our love for travel.”
“…I can’t think of being a pet to anyone but Master Doru. Our family has served his family for generations, and so it shall be forever and ever.”
“…my Master kicks ass, and it’s my dream to follow in his footsteps and serve the ruling family of Sangre when I finish my training.”
“Zari?”
She pretended not to hear it, hoping Madame Lavinia would take pity on her and move on the next student.
“Zari? It’s your turn now.” Madame Lavinia actually came to stand right next to her desk.
Drat. There went her escape plan.
“Sorry, Madame Lavinia.”
“That’s okay.” Madame Lavinia started walking back to her desk. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s eager to learn about what you have to say as a human pet to Master Alexandru.”
At her words, half of the girls in Zari’s class looked disgruntled while the other half looked envious. Either way, she knew that all of them would kill to swap places with her.
Grabbing her notebook from her desk, Zari reluctantly followed behind her teacher. Since she always sat at the back and classrooms in La Scala Legaturia were all vast and luxurious, she had a lot of distance to cover.
Just as she was about to reach the platform in front, someone suddenly stuck a foot in front of Zari.
“Aaaah!” Zari flailed like a fish out of water to keep herself from falling, balancing herself on her toes before pulling back. The whole class burst into laughter throughout her antics, and when the girl to her right snickered, saying, “Loser,” another round of laughter followed.
Zari was red-faced with embarrassment, but she didn’t bother saying a word despite knowing exactly who had tried to trip her.
A petite brunette with exotic features, Ellen Carne was one of the school’s most popular girls, an unclaimed pet born to a family who had served vampires for centuries. Unclaimed meant she still didn’t have a Master, and if rumors were to be believed, she was dying to steal Alexandru from Zari.
When Zari’s eyes clashed with Ellen’s, the other girl demanded, “What are you looking at?”
Zari bit back a sigh. She had been so silly to think the supernatural world of vampires, trolls, and what-have-yous would be different from the world she came from. Apparently, bullies were bullies, regardless of their form or species.
Ignoring Ellen, Zari proceeded to the front, not wanting to get into an argument. She hated arguing. She wasn’t used to it at all since she had spent most of her life in the jungles, and the company she had kept then was only made up of her parents and wild animals.
Madame Lavinia beamed from her seat behind the teacher’s desk. “You can start anytime.”
How about never, Zari thought glumly even as she answered, “Thank you, Madame Lavinia.” She remembered just in time to curtsy after the greeting and was rewarded with an approving nod.
Zari welcomed the teacher’s positive reaction. These days, Madame Lavinia appeared the only one to believe she shouldn’t be kicked out of LSL. Who knew? Maybe this week, she could finally enjoy a higher grade than C for the first time.
Turning to the class, she opened her notebook and began to read. “My name is Zari Baltimore. I’m 18 years old. My dad is a wildlife photographer, my mom a wildlife journalist. My Master’s name is Alexandru.” She waited for the class to laugh, but they didn’t.
Mm…maybe her Master really didn’t have a surname? Maybe he was like the vampire version of…Usher? She thought about it. Nah. Usher was too good a dancer to be like Master Alexandru. Maybe…Bono? Yeah, that sounded about right, age-wise.
She flipped to the next page, coughing, buying herself time because after that little paragraph, she had nothing. Taking a deep breath, Zari decided to fake it. From scratch.
“The bond between Master Alexandru and I is, umm, kinda new.” Like, one-month-new since that was exactly how long she had known her Master. It was
the exact opposite of most of the other pets in school, whose relationships with their Masters had either started or had been predestined since the day they were born.
From the first row, Ellen rolled her eyes. “New is such a vague word. Tell it as it is, First Made trash.”
Control, control, Zari reminded herself. If she got into a fight with any of the girls here, that would definitely reach her Master, and she didn’t want to cause him any trouble.
As if sensing a possible argument, Madame Lavinia asked brightly, “What’s Master Alexandru like as a master?”
What was Alexandru as a Master? The word ‘pervert’ immediately came to mind. The first day they had met, he had kept touching and kissing her. The word ‘bully’ also flashed before her eyes. He was definitely a bully, the way he liked doing and saying stuff that would make her blush.
Zari inhaled, preparing herself to reveal to the world the truth about her Master.
Yes, go on, pet. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
Her head jerked, her eyes landing on the silent figure that had come into the classroom in patent disbelief. The class, picking up on her shock, followed her gaze, and everyone squealed when they saw Alexandru at the back.
It had been one month. One month since she had last seen him, and somehow it felt like one month had wrought such a huge change in him. He was taller than she remembered, his powerful aura more authoritative. Even his sheer gorgeousness came as a shock to her, with his wavy black hair and green eyes. Had he really been this beautiful from the very start?
All in all, Alexandru made a larger than life figure, and the way he took everyone’s dumbstruck attention as nothing out of ordinary just made him more intimidatingly attractive. Zari’s head reeled at the thought that the vampire everyone was staring dreamily at was her Master. And she – a person as ordinary as her – was his human pet.
Zari watched her Master’s lips curve in a familiar sly smile. “Go on, pet. I’m eager to hear what you have to say. What do you think of me as a Master?” Before she could answer, he continued in his mind, Because earlier I heard exactly what you thought. Pervert, wasn’t it? And bully, too?