Taken: The Vampire's Concubine: Part Three

by Desiree Broussard

  If it was this bad now, it would be a hundred times worse if she slept with him, Keely reminded herself, shifting to find a more comfortable position on the hard bench. She was getting a teaser of what it would be like, and it wasn't pleasant. And what about when a new concubine came along that caught his attention?

  It would be devastating to her. She'd only had sex with Zander once, and already, her heart was involved. If she gave herself to Kosmas, it wouldn't be lightly. It would come at a price, a heavy one, because it would hurt her badly when he moved on. His flirtations and pursuit had opened a doorway into her soul, and giving her body to him would only be an extension of the feelings she was already developing. One day these flirtations would stop, though, and where would that leave her? Keely already knew the answer to that.

  She didn't know if Zander was dead or alive, but regardless, hadn't he made it clear that their time together was over? Yet, her heart continued to care, although Kosmas was making it very easy to move on. Was she just rebounding, though? A ball could only bounce so many times, Kosmas wasn't offering forever, only a brief interlude into his life. If she bounced from Zander to Kosmas, who would be there for her when it was time to bounce again? Or would Kosmas quietly dispose of her, marrying her off into a union that would only benefit him?

  Moving from one man to another was hard on a woman, or so she was discovering. She needed time to heal from Zander, and time to shore up her defenses against Kosmas' powerful allure. Having her heart broken by both men would be unbearable, but how else could it end? Kosmas was determined to have her, and she worried in a weak moment she might succumb.

  Keely was still bemused by the depth of attraction she felt for both of them. Having never been attracted to a man in the past, her new found feelings left her floundering. It would be a mistake for her to ever believe that her attraction to each man was the norm, though. Both men were strong and powerful in their own rights and experienced when it came to seduction. Men like Kosmas and Zander were rare, even amongst a society of preternaturally handsome vampires. Her desire went much deeper than their looks.

  She bit back her groan of despair, wanting more than anything to bang her forehead into the wooden back of the pew before her. She didn't think the vampires seated there would appreciate it very much, though, so she forced herself to sit still as she waited for them to start. After several minutes the hall quieted as all eyes focused on Kosmas. And in a loud voice filled with the authority of his position, he started the proceedings as the first of his people stepped forward to air their complaints.

  The next hour passed quickly. Keely found herself engrossed in the cases that Kosmas ruled on and impressed by many of his decisions. He handled his responsibilities in a fair manner, but it was clear that his rulings were absolute.

  Most of the matters brought before him were small in nature. They ranged from land disputes to unpaid debts. None of them were criminal in nature, which spoke for itself when it came to the people of Golden Harbor. Overall, they were happy and content with their lives, their archaic laws effective enough to maintain control over their entire society. The neighbors and people she'd left behind had been much more violent than the vampires she'd seen here. There in a hall filled with blood drinkers, Keely felt safer than she'd felt for years.

  Up next was a tall man wearing a hooded cloak. He stopped in front of the table where Kosmas sat, but to her surprise nobody joined him. Kosmas looked up from the large book he was writing in, his face hardening into an unreadable mask. When the man pulled back his hood, Keely gasped. With his golden hair and green eyes, he looked exactly like Zander, possibly a few years older.

  “I'd like to know what steps you are taking to find my son,” he told Kosmas, his voice heard clearly by everyone in the hall. “As you're well aware, he's missing... And I want to know why.”

  Kosmas stared at him arrogantly, but he didn't immediately respond. Instead, he used the silence like a weapon, as if he hoped to unnerve the male in front of him. It wouldn't work, of that Keely was sure. Not on a man like him. Zander had to get his strength and rigid control from someone, and from the looks of it she was seeing the source.

  “My guards have been ordered to update you on a regular basis,” Kosmas told him dismissively, returning to his writing. “We don't know anymore than we knew a few hours ago. I've got men searching for him, but so far they haven't found a trace. If that changes, you'll be the first to know.”

  The man stared back at him, his eyes hard on Kosmas' face. “For his entire adult life Zander has been a loyal guard, not only to you but to the entire town of Golden Harbor. I'm sure that every single resource is being put into discovering his whereabouts. Otherwise, I would find myself very unhappy, and that wouldn't be good, would it?”

  There was a threat behind his words, one that passed over her head but not Kosmas'. His face tightened, his eyes flashing with fire. Kosmas had received the other man's message, loud and clear. If looks could kill, Zander's father would be dead.

  “I don't take lightly to threats,” Kosmas retorted, leaning back in his seat in a casual pose. It didn't bode well. Kosmas was the king when it came to wearing masks, Keely had learned that well. “And if this conversation continues, I will withdraw my order for a search. Instead of standing here taking up my time, why aren't you out looking for your son?”

  “Oh, I have been,” his father reassured him, his voice sharp with dislike. “Unlike you, I won't ever stop. Somebody out there knows something, and one day soon, so will I. You can count on that.”

  He turned away from Kosmas, his mouth compressed into one hard line. Now that he was facing her, Keely could clearly see the worry and exhaustion in his face. He looked like a tormented man. It was obvious he shared a close relationship with Zander, and he was feeling his loss deeply.

  His eyes locked onto Keely, his eyes searching and intent as he stared in her face. For some reason, Keely felt as if he knew her. Did he somehow know about the time that she'd spent with Zander? After several seconds he nodded at her before walking away, a strange look in his eyes. Had it been approval? Keely couldn't be sure. He never looked back.

  “Our leader will now take his recess,” a guard called out from his position next to the platform. Immediately the room filled with conversations as the vampires discussed the rulings amongst themselves. The majority of them ignored her, except for the occasional odd look.

  Kosmas was surrounded by several male vampires, their attire more colorful than the guards that usually accompanied him. Their bodies blocked him from view, but Keely wasn't concerned. A few of the guards that had escorted them into the hall still remained with her, although she couldn't be certain if they were protecting her or ensuring she didn't escape. They'd stood as still as statues the entire them, their faces solemn. They watched the people within the building vigilantly. Keely doubted much ever escaped their notice.

  With so many people milling about, it took her a moment to realize that someone was watching her. A dark-haired woman stood at the opposite end of the pew, her angry dark eyes fixated on Keely's face. Her expression was set into harsh lines, but other than that she looked calm and perfectly at ease. Keely tensed, her muscles tightening automatically. She didn't know who the other woman was, but by the look in her eyes, it wasn't going to be a friendly chat.

  Her eyes raked over Keely's face and body with a dismissive look. “Whore,” she spat out, her voice low enough to avoid attention, but loud enough for Keely to hear it. “Come to your feet you ignorant piece of chattel and bow to me before I have you beaten.”

  Keely came to her feet, but not to bow. She was enraged by the other woman's words, her cheeks heated in anger. The other woman towered over her, her elaborate hairstyle adding at least another six inches to her height. She reminded Keely of someone, but she quickly dismissed it.

  “How dare you speak to me in such a manner?” Keely asked, her voice as cold as ice. “And why on earth would you ever think you're better than me? Leave,
” she told her, waving a dismissive hand in the hair. “I don't know who in the hell you think you are, but you've obviously stumbled upon the wrong pew. Go find you own, and for God's sake don't sit in front of anyone. I doubt anybody could ever see past that beehive.”

  The woman's haughty and arrogant manner had set her on edge. Keely wanted nothing more than to rip the ridiculous hairdo from the other woman's head and stomp it into the ground. Sitting back down, she dismissed her, hoping she'd leave.

  But the other woman hadn't dismissed her. Moving faster than Keely could blink, she wrapped a hand around her arm and yanked her to her feet before backhanding her across the face with her other hand. Had the woman not held her in place, it would have knocked her into the stone wall, several feet away.

  The blow had been brutally hard. Keely swayed drunkenly as the room turned to blackness. Pain exploded inside of her head immediately, her sense of balance gone. The other woman released her as she collapsed, hitting the stone floor hard.

  “Bow to me,” the other woman demanded harshly, from somewhere above her. She no longer bothered to keep her voice low, the crowd had silenced the moment she'd hit Keely. “Get on your knees and bow to me, or I will kill you.” She smiled then, her face filled with a cruel pleasure at the thought. “And who knows? I might do it anyhow, just for the fun of it.”

  Every inch of Keely's face felt crushed, the throbbing pain unbearable. Blood filled her mouth and dribbled down her slackened chin, ruining the dress she was wearing. None came to her defense, not that she would have expected them to. After all she was the outsider, why would they go against one of their own?

  Keely couldn't see from her left eye, and she wondered if she ever would again. The vampire had the strength of ten women, her mortal face was no match for it. Keely's thoughts felt fuzzy, her body weak, and she wondered if she would die.

  The vampire might have struck her with a killing blow, but Keely was determined to have the last word. Using the last of her strength, she forced her head up in the other woman's direction. “Rot in hell,” she spat out, each word painful enough to send her into the darkness. “I'd rather die than ever bow to the likes of you.”

  “Mother,” Kosmas roared, suddenly appearing behind the other woman as he pulled her out of the pew. “What in the hell do you think you're doing?” His tone was aghast, although Keely couldn't see him. Now that the threat was removed, her head sank down to the bench as she fought to stay conscious.

  “You had no rights to touch my concubine,” he told her, shoving past her to rush to Keely. His fingers brushed against her face as he examined her before picking her up in his arms. Her head lolled back against the strength of his arm, relieved that he had her. For all his faults, Keely didn't believe Kosmas would allow anyone to hurt her. Even his mother.

  “I had every right,” his mother screamed out, her voice enraged. “She refused to bow to me, and we all know that holds the punishment of death. She's a whore, a whore that needed to learn her place.” She stopped to shrug as she stared at Keely with a gloating look. “She'll learn it now, though. I'd die before I ever let an insubordinate insult me in that manner.”

  Kosmas swung around to his guards, his expression furious. “Escort my mother to her room and confine her to it,” he ordered them, his voice hard. “I'll decide her fate later.”

  “You better pray my concubine survives,” he added angrily, directing his words to the woman that stared at him haughtily. “Your life is now tied to hers. Should she die, you can expect the same. Either way, though, your attack against an innocent, a woman unaccustomed to our world and our practices will be reprimanded, you can count on that.”

  Some of the vampires gasped, but all remained quiet. In that moment, Keely hated them. None of them had stepped forward in her defense, not even the guards that had been there to supposedly protect her. She'd been forced into their world, a world she didn't belong in, and now she would die in it all because of a mother's irrational anger.

  Using the last of her strength, she swallowed hard. Her face felt extremely large, her bones shattered. “Take me out of here,” Keely struggled to say, her words garbled and low. Had Kosmas even heard them? She hoped so. The vampires had taken her, and they had broken her, but she didn't want them to have the satisfaction of watching her die from the insane woman's actions.

  Kosmas nodded. “Send every doctor you can find to the concubine's room,” he ordered his guards, his feet already moving. His mother screamed out in outrage, but Kosmas ignored it. “And make it fast.”

  Chapter 5

  Zander awoke in a storeroom, his body in agony. His arms were extended over his head, his wrists bound and chained to a beam in the ceiling. His toes barely brushed the concrete surface of the floor. The need for blood slammed into him, overpowering everything, even the pain of his injuries. How many nights had passed since the last time he'd fed? He couldn't be sure.

  After finding him in the desert Arania had brought him back to her home, but she hadn't taken him in the house she shared with her father. Instead, her servants had brought him here, stringing him up like a dead animal despite his struggles. To his shame, it had only taken two of them to subdue him. And there he had remained, spending the majority of his time unconscious, his battered body unable to sustain or heal without the nourishment he needed so desperately.

  Zander couldn't be sure if Arania had visited him or not. If she had, he'd been unconscious. How could she be so cold and so cruel? He felt sick at how close he'd come to tying his life with hers. She wouldn't have been able to control her true nature for long, eventually it would have come out. What would he have done, then?

  It was clear that she was determined to keep him, but he didn't know why. Was it for revenge? It certainly seemed like it. He'd been stripped naked and starved, his many wounds unattended to. Arania was determined to make him pay, but at what price? His lips tightened painfully. If he didn't feed soon, the price would be very high indeed.

  The heavy wooden doors creaked as they were opened. She didn't speak, but she didn't need to. Zander could scent her immediately. Arania had finally come calling.

  The doors were pulled shut behind her, but still she didn't talk. Zander hung there silently, waiting for her to make her move. In the position he was in, turning his head was impossible. He resented every moment, but she'd forced him to play her game.

  Something thin but solid traced along the curve of his right butt cheek. A riding crop. Although Zander knew little about her, he had learned she liked to ride. Did she plan on using it on him? The thought soured his stomach.

  In his mind, he damned the vampires that had thought to cut his tongue out. He couldn't even order her to free him. He was powerless, a feeling he'd never experienced before, and he hated every moment of it. Uselessly, he yanked on the chains, much to her delight. Arania laughed behind him, her voice shrill to his sensitive ears.

  Slowly she walked around his body until she faced him, letting the crop trail along his hip and then his stomach as she intently watched his reaction. To Zander's surprise she was naked, except for a pair of black boots that reached her thighs.

  So it's to be this, then, Zander thought, his body repulsed by the sight of hers. Vampire bodies were usually perfect, but not in Arania's case. The skin on her stomach and thighs was loose rather than toned, the artificial lighting making her skin appear even more sallow than it usually was. And if that weren't enough, the bushy area between her legs was a turn-off. Over the years he'd grown used to the bare lips of the women to be found at Golden Harbor, and he liked it. Never in his long life had he seen more hair on a woman's nether lips than hers. He couldn't even see the skin behind it.

  Zander took it all in with one disinterested glance. If Arania had been counting on tormenting him with lust, she'd played the wrong card. He saw nothing that he wanted from the woman in front of him, except his freedom. Her unattractiveness was exacerbated by her actions, he'd never despised any woman more than he did he
r.

  Arania continued to watch him closely as she gauged his reaction to the sight of her nudity. After a moment, she pulled the handle of the crop close to her chest before running the tip of it around her hardened nipples. Zander was unaffected.

  And Arania knew it. Her eyes slid down to his shaft, her expression tightening when she saw how soft it was. Determined to succeed, she ran the crop down between her long legs. Zander looked away, unable to stomach any more.

  He wanted to think of Keely, and the time they'd spent together, but even that escape was cut off for him. Thoughts of her might have made his body react, something he had no intentions of allowing to happen. Arania would believe he'd grown hard for her, which would only encourage her more. If he were hard, he wouldn't put anything past her. She was desperate, the air thick with the scent of her lust.

  “Damn you,” she hissed out, angered and humiliated. She slashed out with her crop across his shaft, the pain crippling him. It took everything he had to remain stoic, but his years of training served him well. He stared at her with a bored look, his eyes filled with his disdain.

  She stepped forward, pressing her face to his. With her six-inch heels, she didn't have to try very hard. In a low, dangerous voice, she said, “I've heard all about the bitch you were sniffing around, back at Golden Harbor. You fucked her, didn't you, Zander? Tell me, was her mortal pussy sweet and tender? Are you counting the days until you can get back to it?”