A Hunt Among Vampires (The Angel Series)

by M. Cheykota

  “I would prefer you drink before we arrive. I would not want your blood thirst to rise while we are negotiating.” Christien counters.

  All eyes are on me. “I would like a little privacy then.”

  Christien nods and everyone leaves. Only Christien and I remain.

  I empty several bags of blood quickly, careful not to dribble on my dress. Satisfied with my thirst sated, Christien pays the bill and escorts me to the waiting limousine outside. Pantor and Brigita are already inside waiting for us. Brigita is sitting directly across from me, Pantor across from Christien as the car lurches forward.

  “So Brigita, where are you from?” I ask to hide my nervousness.

  “I am originally from Sweden, but I have traveled all over the world.”

  “Ah, that’s where your accent comes from.” I comment. “What kind of weapons are you carrying?”

  She smiles devilishly. “I am carrying three knives and a Derringer.”

  My respect for her climbs several notches considering that she can hide that many weapons in such a tight dress and not have them noticeable.

  “I am also trained in several styles of martial arts. I heard you are also an excellent fighter. I would enjoy sparring with you sometimes. The men tend to be lenient on me even though I tell them not to be. It would be nice to have a partner that is willing to challenge me.” Brigita comments smugly.

  Not only does my respect for her climb even more but I am also beginning to like her. “It’s a date. I look forward to challenging your skills and gaining more of my own.”

  We smile at each other. “Call me Brig. Only the master calls me Brigita.”

  “Call me Jess. Only morons call me mistress.” We laugh together while the men stare at us strangely.

  Brig smiles brightly. “You know Jess… I think we will get along just fine.”

  “Me too.” I agree.

  I pull out a mirror and refresh my makeup as we are pulling into the drive. If I thought the house would be large like Christien’s, I was sorely mistaken. The house we pull up to is in a moderate neighborhood with houses on each side. It looks like a normal family home. Two stories, probably three or four bedrooms. Nothing fancy like I would believe a Master of the City would be holding up in.

  Christien and Pantor exit first, offering a hand to Brig and me to follow. An older vampire, probably turned in his forties or early fifties, greets us at the door and lets us inside. After seeing Christien’s lavish decorating, the moderate décor in the foyer does not impress me. I slide my hand under Christien’s arm and put on my game face. The vampire escorts us into a sitting room and bows out of the room. We all stand patiently waiting for someone to join us. We do not have to wait long. A vampire in his late thirties, early forties, enters the room joined by a few other vampires and takes a seat in a chair at the head of the room.

  The man motions for us to take a seat. Christien guides me to the couch nearest to the man and sits down, keeping me close to his side. I cross my legs at the slit, allowing my leg to show up to my mid thigh. The vampire’s gaze locks on my exposed thigh and glides up my body to my face. His eyes flash with desire as they return to my cleavage. His gaze lingers a moment before he directs his attention to Christien.

  “Master Christien Aleran. I understand that you have requested permission to stay in my city.”

  “Yes. Did you enjoy my gift?” Christien asks with interest.

  The master’s eyes wander over my body again before he answers. “Your gift is very interesting. I will admit that I was not impressed at first at your offering, but took your advice to taste it before holding judgment. I am curious about the substance within the wine.”

  Christien smiles pleasantly. “Unfortunately, I am unable to give you the ingredients, but I am pleased that you enjoyed it.”

  “Why do you wish to stay in my city?” He asks, changing the subject.

  My free hand wanders to my bare leg and I stroke it gently. His attention once again is on my actions while Christien answers.

  “My mate enjoys this city. I would like to stay to make her happy.”

  It takes a moment for the master to pry his eyes off my leg to meet Christien’s gaze. “What are you offering?”

  My hand rises from my leg to toy with the chocolate diamonds around my neck. His eyes track my hand and settle on my cleavage.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Christien smirk. “I will lend some of my vampires to help secure the city.”

  Dragging his gaze off my chest, he looks at Christien again. “My city is secure. That is not enough.”

  “I am also willing to offer you a financial boon for allowing us to stay.” He counters.

  I tilt my head to the side, exposing my neck and slide my hand up to my earring. The master’s eyes snap to my neck and his eyes flash silver.

  “What kind of boon?” His voice is thick with lust.

  I smile seductively and wet my lips. His mouth drops open slightly as Christien responds.

  “One percent of my profits while in your city.”

  My hand drops back to my lap as I continue to flirt with the master of the city. I adjust my crossed legs and the master’s body leans forward slightly, mouth open, eyes silver with desire.

  It takes several moments for the master to gather his composure and sit back in his seat. He crosses his legs and tries to keep his attention on Christien, but his eyes keep darting back to me. “One percent is hardly enough for me to consider.”

  “I believe ten thousand a month is quite acceptable.” Christien replies.

  I rest my head gently on Christien’s shoulder and put a fingertip in my mouth, sucking on it gently. I can hear the master’s growl of approval as my tongue circles my finger.

  “Ten thousand a month does sound reasonable if you include one night with her.” The master offers.

  My heart stutters in panic, stopping my tongue in mid stroke. Christien gently squeezes my other hand and I relax. I rub my wet finger across my bottom lip, leaving moisture in its wake before sliding my fingers down my neck and chest to return to my lap.

  The master nearly falls out of his seat following my movement.

  “You may not have my mate, but I will increase my offer to one and a half percent.” Christien counters.

  He settles back in his chair and glares at Christien. “Three percent.”

  Christien shakes his head. “One percent and I will allow you to have one kiss from her.”

  My eyes narrow in annoyance at Christien and soften as they meet the master’s eyes. It is clear from his body language that he is considering Christien’s offer. I glance at the guards on each side of him and they are both staring at me with lust in their eyes, oblivious to the negotiations going on.

  “A vampire kiss and you have a deal.” The master finally replies.

  “She may give you a vampire kiss, but you may not feed from her.” Christien responds firmly.

  I raise my head up and run my tongue over my teeth, stroking my fangs with my tongue. The vampire’s breathing catches and he nods. “Deal.”

  Christien extends his hand to the vampire and he shakes it quickly. I look at Christien uncertainly and he smiles approvingly.

  “You know what will happen if I feed from him Christien.” I send telepathically as he guides me to the master’s chair.

  “I am counting on it.” He sends back as he extends my hand towards the vampire.

  Reluctantly, I take the Master of the City’s hand. He pulls me on to his lap and strokes my leg. I look back at Christien. His face is empty of emotions but his eyes are on the leg where the master is stroking.

  I look into the eyes of the Master of the City and tilt his head to the side. He offers no resistance. Fully extending my fangs, I flick my tongue across the point on his neck and sink my fangs into his skin. The master gasps in arousal as he grips my leg. I take a long drink as I dive into his mind. I do my best not to influence him, but my blood thirst roars to the forefront and takes
over. The master shouts as I feel wetness soak into my dress. I stop feeding immediately and lick the wound closed. Jumping up from his lap, I hastily return to Christien’s side with tears in my eyes.

  “I’m so sorry Christien. I couldn’t help it.”

  “It’s okay amour. I understand you could not control your thirst. I did not mean to put you through this again. I promise we will work on your control so you can feed without taking it all. Thank you for securing our home.” He says sincerely.

  I look into Christien’s eyes and see only respect and admiration. He does not look angry or upset for what I have done or look jealous from me feeding from yet another man. I offer him a weak smile and he kisses my lips affectionately.

  The master vampire is still in a blissful state and lounging in the chair, staring at me with lust in his eyes.

  “Thank you for allowing us to stay in your city, Master Edward.” Christien calls out to the Master of the City. “We will show ourselves out.”

  Christien takes my waist possessively and escorts me towards the door. The master does not ask how Christien knows his name or tries to stop us. He is still watching me as we walk outside. The four of us get in and that is when I see Brig and Pantor staring at me curiously but with respect.

  “What?” I ask moodily, angry about the encounter inside.

  Pantor breaks the silence first. “I know how strongly you feel against feeding from live donors, especially after the master told us what happened with Ian and Logan.”

  I squirm under his scrutiny.

  “When our master offered you to the Master of the City to secure our place here, I will admit that I did not think you would do it. You have my respect and loyalty for putting aside your own needs for ours.” He bows gracefully and smiles lightly.

  “I’m glad you see how difficult that was for me. You are right. I don’t like feeding from others. It is a small sacrifice for me to pay, for you all to stay here without problems. I can’t let my squeamishness about feeding from others to affect my duty to the get.”

  Christien grins approvingly of my response and shows his appreciation by kissing me softly on the lips. I accept his kiss and deepen it for a moment before pulling away.

  We arrive back at Christien’s place. Brig and Pantor go their own way as Christien leads me upstairs to his bedroom. He carefully removes my dress. I step out of it and make my way to the bathroom, desperate to get the smell of the Master of the City off me. The shower heats up and I remove the rest of my underwear before stepping under the steaming spray. A moment later, the door to the shower opens and Christien steps in.

  Without saying a word, he takes the washcloth and soap from me and lathers it. He washes my body, scrubbing me with gentle, yet firm pressure. After washing me, he picks up the shampoo and washes my hair. The gentle massage releases the last of the tension in my body. I am limp and nimble as he rinses the last of the conditioner out of my hair.

  “Go dry off and get into bed. I will be there in a moment.” He says as he lathers the washcloth to take a shower of his own.

  I follow his instructions and climb into bed after slipping into one of the silky nightgowns Christien has bought for me. I have just pulled the covers up when Christien exits from the bathroom. He smiles at me and opens the drawer to pull on a pair of pajama bottoms. Sliding in the bed behind me, he pulls me into his arms, resting his body against my back.

  “Are you okay ma chatte petite?” He asks quietly.

  “I’m okay. I feel bad for influencing him like that, but I would do it again if it keeps you and your get safe.” I reply.

  “Thank you, chatte. I know it was not easy for you to feed from him. It was not easy for me to watch you either.” He admits.

  “Why did you want me to influence him?” I look over my shoulder into his eyes.

  “He was younger than I thought. The master of the city is closer to 400 than 500. Did you have any difficulty influencing him? Did he offer any resistance?”

  “No, it was just as easy to influence him as it was a human. He must not be a very powerful master or he wasn’t shielding against me at all. I know I can’t take control of a vampire’s mind, but isn’t making them lust after me uncontrollably just as bad?”

  “He is actually not a master vampire at all. A vampire does not turn into a master until he is around 500 or so years old. I am surprised to see such a young vampire in control of the city. The vampire we ran into the other night is not a master vampire either. It seems that I am the oldest vampire in our city. I wanted you to influence the vampire so we would require no issue with him in the future. I must say, you were quite mesmerizing tonight. He could not keep his attention on our negotiations.”

  I frown. “I thought that was what you wanted.”

  “It was. I had no idea that you would be that successful in gaining their attention. His guards neglected their duties as they watched you flirt.”

  “I noticed that too.” I giggle. “I was nervous when you offered him a kiss.”

  “I would not have allowed him to kiss you ma chatte. You are mine. I knew he would try to press the advantage and try to feed from you. With his fascination with you and your body, I knew he would accept my terms to allow you to feed on him. I admit I did not like you feeding on him, but since you would be sacrificing your own ideals for us, I realized the least I could do for you is reign in my jealousy for a short time.”

  “I heard your negotiations. Contrary to what you might think, I was paying attention. You have to pay him ten thousand dollars a month in addition to loaning him vampires. That’s a lot of money.”

  Christien laughs. “I could have paid him less with as much as he was in thrall with you. I should be paying him ten times that. I make more than a million dollars every month. He should be making one hundred thousand dollars or more a month from me. This is another testament of his inexperience. If I wanted, I could take the city from him with no problem.”

  “Are you going to?” I ask curiously.

  “I will not take over the city unless it becomes dangerous or another vampire disrupts our peace. For now, I would rather focus my attention on finding Hassan than worry about the position of Master of the City.”

  “Good point. Have you heard anything new from Roman or Kayle?” I roll over to my other side to face him.

  He rubs my back and nuzzles my neck. “I do not have any news yet. It has not been very long. It will take them time to gather information and report back. We can use this time to train and prepare for our arrival in Europe.”

  “Do you think they’ll find Hassan?”

  “Hassan will not hide for long. I imagine he is still smarting from the blow we delivered. Now that we know he has gone to the Vampire Council, I am sure he will try to hide until the Council makes a ruling.”

  “Say the council rules in Hassan’s favor. Also, let’s assume that they manage to kill you. Why would they give Hassan your vampires? Why wouldn’t they keep them for themselves?”

  “That is a lot of assuming, ma chatte.” He grumbles. “They would not allow Hassan to take over my get. Most of my vampires are masters. The Council will either take my get or allow the older vampires to leave, creating their own gets. The young vampires would likely be given to Hassan since they are from his ligne de sang.”

  “Oh, I see. The only way he could take them all is if he challenges you directly and defeats you.”

  Christien nods. “That would be correct.”

  We snuggle closer to each other, kissing and exploring each other’s body until we fall asleep.

  Chapter 12

  The next afternoon, I walk downstairs after getting dressed in a pair of shorts and form fitting shirt. Hidden are my daggers along with the stakes in my hair. I grab a bagel for breakfast and a mug of blood. Searching through the house, I hear familiar sounds of fighting coming from down the hall. Cautiously, I walk down the hall pulling out my daggers the closer I get to the noise. My eyes narrow in the darker hallway. I use my
ears to pick up any additional signs of distress. No one has sounded the alarm so I keep the tension in my body and move closer. The scent of sweat and blood penetrates my nostrils. I creep forward and take a quick glance inside the room. I chuckle inwardly at my paranoia and walk into the room.

  Several vampires are sparring in the spacious room. The back wall is a mirror so I am able to see everything in the room while standing at the door. The ceiling is at least two stories high to allow plenty of room for leaping. I step into the corner to keep my back against the wall around all the vampires and watch the action with a look of longing on my face. It has been a while since I’ve had some training and I’m itching to get some action, but not enough to take on a group of vampires with weapons.

  “Hey Jess!” A familiar feminine voice calls out to me.

  On the other side of the room, I see Brig moving in my direction.

  “Hey Brig, what’s going on here?” I ask as she stops in front of me.

  “The master demands that we train on the days that we are not on duty. The oldest among us spar earlier in the day so the youngest have the facility at night. You are just in time. Are you interested in going a round with me?”

  “Christien still has not had a chance to practice with me yet to assess my skill. Have you seen him?” I tell her disappointedly.

  “He was in his office earlier. Come on, we can just do some warm up exercises. We have training tools of all types.” She points to the bokens hanging on the walls around the room. “We do not need to use actual weapons. There is a space right over there.”

  She guides me to a corner of the room unoccupied by anyone fighting. I look around the room in caution.