Taken: The Vampire's Concubine: Part Four

by Desiree Broussard

  “Why, Mother?” he asked her, his voice cold. One of her maids moaned in fear. Why his mother insisted upon the pious, virginal maids, Kosmas had no idea. She expected a lot from those that attended her, maybe too much.

  “You need to get rid of the red-haired concubine,” she spat out, her attractive face twisting into harsh lines. “She's evil, and she cares nothing for you. Why do you waste your time with her, when you could have any female that you want?”

  “That's none of your concern.” Kosmas turned to glare at her, his eyes narrowed in rage. “She is none of your concern. I'm the leader of Golden Harbor, and I won't tolerate this, do you understand me? I'll have your word that you won't touch her, or so so help me I'll leave you in this tower to rot.”

  Eve wouldn't back down. “You're my son! I only want the best for you, and she's not it. I've even heard it whispered that she secretly mourns for Zander. Why not give her to him and be done with it?”

  She turned to glide back over to the window, her back to him. “I'll not have my future grandchildren spawned within a human's weak body. I refuse it. If you care about her at all, you will set her free, Kosmas, for I can promise you one thing. I'll kill her before I ever allow you to mate her.”

  Kosmas saw red. He'd never been so infuriated in his life. “Like Nora?” he asked softly, his voice low and lethal. It was enough to send her maids scurrying to the corner, where they shivered with fear. “I should have killed you for your interference. This is my life, not yours. Do you have to be imprisoned for the rest of your days to get that through your thick skull? You have no say.”

  Eve laughed, the sound loud and bitter in the silence of her chamber. Was she touched in the head? At times Kosmas wondered. “You're a fool, Kosmas, something I thought I'd never have to say about my own child. You lead with your pecker, not your brains. Tell me, how long did it take you to find a whore's bed after Nora's loss? Not very long, I remember it well. Do you call that love? You didn't love that slut anymore than you love this one. I saved you from making a mistake, but clearly you still haven't learned. Somebody has to step in before you do something you'll regret for the rest of your life.”

  His hands clenched into fists so tight that his nails pierced his skin. Her words brought the memories back, but not in the way he might have expected. She was right about one thing, he'd never loved Nora, but he had cared about her enough to mate her. And secretly, he was relieved that he hadn't. He'd never wanted the other vampire in the way that he did Keely, and he was horrified at the thought of losing her by his mother's hand. Kosmas would do whatever it took to make sure that history didn't repeat itself.

  “How would you ever know what was in my heart, Mother? And who could fault me for taking other women? You left me no choice.” It was true, she hadn't. She'd kept him prisoner for weeks after bringing him back to Golden Harbor, refusing him blood until he'd agreed to never go after Nora. Even then, Kosmas hadn't faltered. It wasn't until news of her death reached the town that he'd given up hopes of ever being reunited with her.

  “And you couldn't wait to tell me she'd died, could you? What kind of woman are you? Nora was an innocent, but you turned her over to the Seiyadians to be raped, tortured, and murdered. And then you took pleasure in her death.” Kosmas stopped to sneer at her, repulsed by her cruel nature. “But that wasn't enough for you, was it? Even then, you weren't done. No, you forced me to take blood whores just for nourishment, knowing I'd have to fuck them in the process. You thought of everything, even making sure I had no chance to grieve over her. If it weren't for the archaic laws of our people, I would have killed you myself. Just know this, Mother. You won't get the chance to do it again. Keely will be protected from you at all times.”

  Eve smiled, the sight chilling enough to make the blood freeze in Kosmas' veins. He would never let her see it, though. Eve preyed on weakness, his mother could sense it from a mile away. How could she be so warm to him, but so cold and cruel in her thoughts and actions? His mother represented everything that most mortals believed the vampires to be.

  He lingered for another moment, just hoping she would see reason and let it go. Finally, Kosmas sighed as he turned to leave. Her fate was set. She would remain a prisoner for as long as it took, even if it took forever. The guard opened the door to let him out.

  “Kosmas?”

  He turned to face her, his mood somber. All of his anger was gone, replaced by the realization of how far gone Eve really was. She was depraved, there was no other word for it. And if she ever got her hands on Keely, she'd kill her.

  “What is it, Mother?” Kosmas asked tiredly, his voice grave. Her face was harsh in the light, her eyes wild and filled with hate and rage. Eve was beautiful, but her beauty was horrific for those that realized what it covered up.

  Her red lips spread into a satisfied smile, revealing pearly white fangs. It was the smile of a predator, and Eve was on the hunt. “Don't make the mistake of believing that holding me prisoner will guarantee the human's safety. Your time with her is coming to a close, so make sure to use her well. Her nights here are short.”

  “Damn you,” he growled, stepping out of the room. He had to, or he might have killed her himself. “The only fool I see here is you,” he rasped, disgusted by her words. “You better worry about your own nights, and how many you have left. At the rate you're going, your own death is imminent.”

  Eve shrieked in rage, the sound shrill enough to break glass. The guard slammed the door shut as Kosmas walked away. He wouldn't be back.

  * * * * *

  Zander awoke in the high bed, immediately sitting up despite the tremors of weakness that shot through his body. He stared around the room in confusion, completely disoriented, but slowly the memories started to come back. He was safe, at least for the moment.

  “It's good to see you awake,” his dad told him, walking around the bed to face him. “You've been out of it for days.”

  “Days?” Zander didn't protest when Kyle leaned him back against the pillows, although he hated the weakness that ravaged his body.

  “Days,” Kyle confirmed, crossing his arms as he stared down at him. “Care to explain what the hell is going on? You've been ranting in your sleep, but I can't be sure how much of it was real.”

  Zander quickly filled him in on his abduction. “I imagine there will be a war,” he continued, his voice raspy and hoarse. “But I don't care. I refuse to mate Arania.”

  Kyle's eyebrows shot up in the air as he chuckled. “Can't blame you there.” His expression turned grim. “I don't see how we can let this slide, though. Arania needs to learn she can't go around abducting men. We'll have to take the matter in front of Kosmas.” He sounded as reluctant as Zander felt.

  “Soon, maybe,” Zander replied, his thoughts heavy. “Kosmas arranged for my abduction. Once he realizes I'm alive, he'll come after me. I can't imagine him letting it go. In his eyes, I'm competition. He'll do whatever it takes to eliminate me.”

  “The coward,” Kyle raged, his expression menacing. “I guess he's not man enough to win her by his own merit.” He stood up and started to pace Zander's bedroom, his long legs quickly eating up the distance. “I won't see my son sacrificed, simply for his pride.”

  Zander agreed with that. “Have you head any news about the concubine?”

  Kyle shook his head. “If you're asking me if Kosmas has mated her, then no, not as far as I know. I did hear that Eve attacked her, though, but she's recuperating from it.”

  “I need to get back to her, but I can't go until I'm strong enough to hold my own.” Facing Kosmas in his weakened state would be suicide.

  Kyle reached over to the table to hold a cup out to him. It was blood. He drank it as quickly as possible before leaning his head back to rest. He hated being weak.

  “If you returned, I really don't see a lot that Kosmas could do about it,” Kyle mused out loud, with a frown. “At least publicly. After all, you're a high-ranking member of the guard. The residents of Golden Harb
or wouldn't stand for it. I wouldn't put it past him to arrange for another abduction, though, or even outright kill you. All in secret, of course.”

  “What should I do?” Zander mused out loud, his eyes searching Kyle's face for the answer. “If I had to, I could sneak into the palace and take her, but I really don't want to do that. Not because she'd be resistant to the idea, because I know she wouldn't. But abducting her would be dooming us both to a life on the run, and I can't live like that.”

  Kyle sighed, his face so much like Zander's that it was startling. “I agree with you, that's not the answer. You're going to have to go back and petition for her, if she survives long enough. As soon as you're able to, you need to return. Eve has her sights on her, and she'll kill her before she lets Kosmas get too attached. She has done it once, and I'm sure she'll do it again.”

  Zander paled as he nearly dropped the cup he was holding. Kyle took it from him before placing it on the bedside table. “What do you mean?” he quickly asked his father.

  “You didn't know about that?” Kyle settled back into his seat, a frown on his face. “No, I don't suppose you do. It was before you were born, back in the days when I was in the guard myself. There was a woman in Golden Harbor, a woman that Kosmas had grown quite attached to. She was a vampire, and a beautiful one at that. There were a lot of men that were interested in her, she just had something extra about her that heated a man's blood, you know what I mean? So of course Kosmas pursued her, he's always been the type of man that had to possess the most beautiful of things, be it women or goods. But Eve didn't like it, so she did something about it.”

  What blood that was left in Zander chilled to solid ice. “What did she do?” he asked hoarsely, dreading the answer.

  “She waited for her chance,” Kyle replied. “And when the opportunity arose, she snatched it. Kosmas got captured in a battle outside of Golden Harbor, and Eve offered up a trade. You see, the Seiyadians have always despised him, even before he became ruler. She knew they wouldn't accept just any female, but they would take the one that Kosmas was determined to mate. So Eve traded the female for him, and she bribed them to lead her to Kosmas while the residents of Diabolos were otherwise engaged.”

  “Wait,” Zander cut him off, holding his hand up with a bemused expression on his face. “How do you know all of this.”

  “Because I was there,” Kyle said emphatically. “Only a few of us actually went into Diabolos, and I was one of them.”

  “What did they do to her?”

  Kyle stared at him with deadened eyes, the memory still troubling his father despite the years that had went by. “What do you think? I can tell you this. She didn't survive the night.”

  Zander felt so nauseated he feared he'd lose his small meal. Kyle didn't need to draw him a picture, he already knew what her fate had been. For an immortal to die in that manner just spoke of the sheer abuse she'd experienced. It took a lot to kill beings that were never meant to die.

  “A petition would take too long,” Zander finally said, when he felt as if he could speak again. “I'm going to sneak into her room and mate her. Once I have, there's really nothing that Kosmas can do. If he wants a fight he'll get one, but even then he can't undo the mating.”

  Kyle grimaced, as if the idea didn't suit him very well. “What good will mating her do, if you're not alive to enjoy her? Son, I know you're a good fighter, but so is Kosmas. Is the concubine really worth losing your life over?” He watched him carefully, warily, as he waited for his answer.

  Zander didn't hesitate. “She's worth it. Kosmas would be a fool to challenge me after we're mated, so I don't believe he will. He'll be angry, though, angry that someone else possessed his possession, but she is mine to start with. As soon as I return to Golden Harbor, I'm placing notice of my intent to leave the guard. With her out here, Kosmas will move on, and we'll be free to live out our lives.”

  “All right, then,” Kyle said, grinning for the first time that evening. “Sounds like a plan. And you won't be by yourself,” he warned Zander. “I plan on going with you when you return to Golden Harbor. I might be old, but I haven't forgotten my days in the guard. There's no way in hell I'm letting you go back without me.”

  Zander nodded, secretly relieved. It wasn't going to be easy to take Kosmas' concubine, but it had to be done. He felt confident that he could take her without Kyle's help, but together, they were a force to be reckoned with.

  Chapter 4

  “Zander is at his father's home and recuperating, from all accounts. Several of the guards hired to transport him to Diabolos are dead, but it doesn't stop there. Somehow Arania took him hostage, but he managed to escape. She's demanding retribution now that their mating contract has been broken. Her father has assured me that the Eeiyadians will attack, if we don't meet their demands.” Bran inhaled to continue his bland monologue, but Kosmas' hiss of displeasure stopped him.

  Kosmas slapped a hand against his forehead as he looked down at his desk in rage and disbelief. “Idiots,” he muttered harshly. “All of you are idiots.”

  He came to his feet as he sent the chair flying into the stone wall behind them. “I asked you to organize one little abduction, and it has turned into a complete disaster.” His men gaped at him before exchanging uneasy glances with one another.

  Kosmas ignored them, continuing his tirade as he started to pace in front of his desk. “Am I to believe that you're standing here telling me that not only did Zander manage to escape an entourage of seasoned Seiyadians, but somehow in the desert he comes upon Arania?”

  “I-It's true,” Bran stammered out, his face pale although he retained his proud bearing. He was a member of the guard, and a damned fine fighter. He wasn't as high-ranking as Zander, but he was reliable and sneaky. Bran was one of the few that Kosmas could trust to do the tasks that needed to be kept secret. “Arania took him hostage, but he attacked her and escaped... from a barn.”

  At that, Kosmas stopped his pacing, staring at Bran with his eyebrow arched in bemusement. Some of the other men chuckled, but the sounds that filled the room sounded more like strangulation than laughter. They were quickly covered up by coughs.

  “You've got to be fucking kidding me,” Kosmas enunciated each word slowly, his temper rising by the second. “You know what? I don't even want to know. I should have had my mother to arrange his abduction. She would have done a hell of a lot better than any of you could have.” He didn't tell them that Eve would have never agreed to it. No, had she known she would have likely foiled his attempts and probably have arranged for Zander to have his concubine. Now that Kosmas knew how desperate she was to force Keely out of his life, he wouldn't put anything past her.

  Bran and the other members of his council looked stunned, but they knew better than to reply. Kosmas stormed back to his desk before retrieving his chair. Somehow it had stood up to the force of his anger. He sat back down in it as he considered the situation from every angle. After a moment he laughed, which made the other men cringe in fear.

  “Zander's escape is nowhere near as dour as you fools make it out to be,” Kosmas informed them, settling back in his chair as he crossed his ankle over his leg. “Even if he suspects that I was behind his abduction, what can he do about it?” He stopped to shrug before answering his own question. “Not a damned thing, that's what. Let him recuperate and return. Soon it will be time for the next shipment of concubines. I'll send him to Earth to retrieve them, and life will return back to normal.”

  “But, Kosmas,” John interceded, his expression pulled into a frown. “What about the concubine? Isn't she the reason why you arranged for Zander to disappear in the first place? As far as I can tell, nothing has changed. What's to stop Zander from pursuing her once he has returned?”

  “Everything has changed,” Kosmas roared, bringing his fist down on his desk with a resounding thud. At the last moment he drew back, but it was still loud enough to make the other men jump. “Keely is mine. I have every intention of mating her. In
fact, I've all but done it already.”

  John looked uneasy. He was old, even by vampire standards, and he looked older than the other men in the room. He'd been on the council for years, long before Kosmas was leader. John was one of the few vampires with gray hair, although his face remained unlined. “She's now agreeable to the mating?”

  Kosmas glared at him, but John didn't back down. He was used to the vampire's temperamental nature, especially those in positions of authority. “You need to be sure of this, Kosmas,” he warned him. “Because if you're not, allowing Zander to return could prove disastrous.

  With a sharp bark of laughter, Kosmas waved away his concerns. “I've yet to meet the woman that could resist me,” he said, in a droll tone of voice, “and the concubine is no exception. From your accounts, Zander's injuries are severe. He'll need time to heal before he returns. I'll have her mated by then. Now enough about the concubine. I have no more to say on it.”