by Khloe Wren
"No, Darcy, I don’t stay with you. It’s not allowed for unclaimed brides to have lovers."
Darcy noticed Karl looked sad as he said that. She couldn’t work out why though. He’d enjoyed her so much while in a relationship with her that he’d sought out others. She was also curious why he’d said 'unclaimed brides' instead of 'rescued brides'.
Before she could say anything more, he stood and strode to the door." Okay, Darcy. Let’s go get you settled in with the others."
She refused his outstretched hand and walked out of the room into the hallway to wait for Karl to lead the way. They walked in silence for the entire five minute walk. Karl stopped in front of a large steel door with a scanner on the lock. Using his thumbprint on the sensor he opened it and ushered her through. She froze to the spot as soon as she entered.
She was in a sweatshop. There were rows of industrial sewing machines, all but a few had women working at them. Darcy knew how to sew, kind of. She could hem up her pants but that was about it.
"What is this, Karl?"
"Sorry, Darcy, but you have to work. We can’t afford to keep you all here in the lap of luxury without money."
"Lap of luxury? We have windowless rooms with a bed and a table, and a sweatshop. Which part of that is 'luxury'?" She spoke quietly so she didn’t draw the attention of the other women, but the fury she was feeling was clear in her voice.
Karl just shook his head at her, "You don’t have a choice, Darcy. Just deal with it."
He grabbed her arm and dragged her over to an empty machine, "Sit."
She lowered herself into the seat while trying to combust him with her glare. Macho asshole. Darcy couldn’t believe she ever thought she was in love with this beast of a man. Karl tapped the arm of the woman next to her, "What is your name, bride?"
"Fiona, Sire."
"Fiona, this is Darcy. She’s new and needs to be trained. I’ll leave her in your care."
Darcy watched as he turned and left. She glared a hole into the back of his skull until he left the room.
A hand on her forearm brought her attention back.
"Hi Darcy, I’m Fiona. Do you know how to sew?"
"Umm, only real basic stuff. I don’t know how to thread a machine or anything like that."
"You’ll be fine. Most of what we do is straight stitch. The women who know what they’re doing look after the more technical work."
Darcy watched Fiona grab two pieces of fabric from the box on her right and handed them over to her, "So, today, all we’re doing is sewing these side seams. Put these right sides together and then run them so the edge of the machine’s foot—that metal thing there—is along the edge. These machines are overlockers, so they’ll cut off any material outside the foot’s edge. You don’t want to cut off much or we’ll have to ditch it. Can you handle that? Oh, and there are pins in the pot next to you if you need to pin it together before you sew it."
"Thanks, I’ll be all right."
Darcy put her head down and got to work, trying not to think about how much the next twenty years were going to suck.
What felt like hours later, a bell chimed and Fiona spoke to her, "It’s break time, honey. Come with me and meet the others."
She took Fiona’s outstretched hand and followed her to a small side room where all the other women had gone. She was suddenly the center of attention and felt like a bug under a microscope.
"Ladies! We have a new addition. This is Darcy. It would seem Karl has risen in the ranks and been given the role of her Guardian."
"What do you mean, Guardian?"
"The Elders make a lower rank Noble the Guardian of each of us. They are the ones who lead us around this place like bloody pet horses."
"Oh, okay. Did you know your Guardian before you were taken?"
"No, I don’t think any of us knew them before. Did you know Karl?"
"Um, yeah. We were together for five years. Until I caught the bastard cheating on me, and now I find out he was only with me because I’m an Eternal Bride. The piece of shit never even liked me."
"Oh honey, that’s terrible. Do you mind if I ask if you’re claimed?"
"Angelo." Darcy shut her eyes against the sudden intense pain that ripped through her heart and soul. Why didn’t she let him claim her? She felt Fiona wrap her up in a warm hug, which helped her find the words to answer her question.
"I’m unclaimed; I’ve only known Angelo for a week. I wanted to know him better before I let him claim me. I let that cheating bastard taint my view of all men. Why did I do that? Now he’s gone!" She leaned into Fiona as she covered her face with her hands and sobbed.
"Shh, it’s okay, Darcy. It’s actually better you’re unclaimed."
It took Darcy a couple of minutes to stop sobbing and her voice to stop shaking before she could ask why. Once she was calm, she opened her mouth to ask when she was interrupted by one of the other woman.
"Wait!"
Darcy watched the woman who had spoken move through the others until she stood before her. The woman looked familiar but she couldn’t place where she’d seen her before.
"Your name is Darcy, right?"
"Um, yes."
"And your date of birth, it’s the twenty-ninth of November? Nineteen eighty-four?"
"Yes, how did you know? Have I met you before?"
"Yes, we’ve met before. Only once."
A loud bell chime cut off their conversation. Fiona took Darcy’s hand again and led her back to their machines, "C’mon honey, we’ll have meal break in a couple of hours and you can sit with Sharon and chat some more."
~ * ~
Angelo sat behind his desk totally focused on his computer screen. He’d hacked into the security footage from the freeway and followed the van’s journey to make sure they didn’t stop anywhere. They hadn't. It had gone all the way to the end of where surveillance was available, so now he was going through the Vic-Roads database to find the registration details. But of course, nothing is ever that simple.
A corporation owned the vehicle. He opened another window and began searching for Victorian addresses owned by Noble Threads Enterprises Inc. He spent hours scouring though all the company’s holdings to find any real estate they owned. He wrote down every address he could find. This could be the key the vampires needed to stage a massive search and rescue operations globally for stolen brides and their captured vampires.
He ended up with quite the list of properties worldwide. He kept going even after he found some Victorian ones. He knew he would have to wait for his father to arrive before he could storm in and rescue his Bride, so in the meantime he could find information to help others rescue their loved ones.
Once he had the list completed he sorted it into countries. There were so many. He pulled up his email and sent an encrypted email to the heads of the ruling families in each country informing them of his discovery. He’d wait to hear back before sending the list out. He realized that for this to work, they would need to strike at once at as many of the sites as possible. Or the Nobles would just move their captives. Once the emails were sent he moved back onto the local list.
Being separated from his Eternal Bride made his heart ache and left his soul feeling like it had been torn to shreds. He pushed the pain down, he needed to research so he could free his Bride without being caught. He pulled up website after website until he had every little detail he could find about each property. He had floor plans, satellite images, Council approvals for building works. He even managed to get an infrared image of some of the properties. Those helped the most. A property down at Portsea was the most likely hideout. It had extensive underground facilities and by the look of it, lots of people in the building at all times of the day and night.
His grumbling stomach reminded him he needed to eat. He looked at the bottom corner of his screen and was shocked to see he’d been sitting here working for two days. No wonder he was hungry. So he headed down to the restaurant on the ground floor. He was looking out over the
bay eating his meal when his phone rang. He looked at the screen and was relieved to see it was his father. He answered the call and was pleasantly surprised to hear he was already in the air with a team of twelve. Speaking in Italian he gave his father some brief details about what he had discovered.
After he ended the phone call he felt a little happier and he finished off his meal. He would get his bride back. With a team of fourteen and all the information he’d collected they couldn’t fail. Fourteen healthy trained Vampires were as good as an entire human army. The Nobles would be no match for them.
~ * ~
Fiona guided Darcy out of the workroom when it was meal break. She led her to a table and they both sat. It wasn’t long before Sharon, the woman who had spoken to her earlier, joined them.
"It’s Sharon, right?"
"Yes, Darcy. I’m Sharon." Sharon paused a moment before continuing, "I thought I would never get to see you again, but here you are." Her whispered words further confused Darcy.
"Do I know you? You said we’ve met once, but I don’t recall. Yet you seem familiar somehow."
Sharon chuckled, "I strongly doubt you would remember our meeting. I, however, will never forget it."
"I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve had a hell of a time lately and really don’t have the energy for cryptic games. Please, just tell me who you are and how you know me."
"You are strong willed, and are not afraid to stand up for yourself. Traits you get from your mother."
"My mother? I’ve never met her, did you know her?"
"Yes, I know her, quite well... I am your mother, my sweet Darcy."
Darcy jerked back in her seat, shaking her head, "You—you can’t be. I was abandoned—"
"I know, and I’m sorry. I did what I thought best to protect you. But they got you anyway." Sharon paused to sigh before continuing, "I didn’t know about vampires back then. You were barely three months old and I was being hunted by one. I thought he wanted to harm you, so I left you at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, with a note stating your name, Darcy, and your date of birth, twenty-ninth November nineteen eighty-four. Barret caught me not long after and I learned all about being his Eternal Bride, that he would protect me and you. I rung the hospital and they told me you’d already gone into the foster care system. Barret claimed me that morning. We then focused on finding a way to get your back, but the Nobles caught me, and trapped Barret. I am so sorry they’ve caught you too. Do you know if they have your vampire, Angelo? And Fiona is right, it is a good thing you aren’t claimed."
Darcy’s mind was spinning with all this new information. The woman in front of her, who looked no older than her, was her mother. Her mother, who didn’t abandon her, but left her for her own protection. Everything she’d ever thought about her mother was wrong... She’d never even imagined this scenario in her wildest dreams.
"Darcy, please talk to me. Are you all right? Do they have your Angelo?"
"Angelo."
Darcy said his name slowly as an image of his beautiful face formed in her mind. She shut her eyes against the burn of tears and took some deep breaths to try to fight them off.
"They took me from the airport. We were about to go to Italy to meet his family. I don’t think they even tried to take him. Karl grabbed me as I left the bathroom and snuck me out the front entrance and into a windowless van. I looked, but never saw Angelo. Damn, I miss him. I miss him so much."
Unable to stop her tears she buried her face in her hands once again.
"Shhh, my child. I know it hurts. It is good that you are unclaimed and he is free. He is at full strength and able to look for you. Maybe he’ll be the one to find us and free us all. You must have hope and faith in your vampire. He will do everything he can to get to you."
Darcy pulled herself together as she wiped her eyes. She looked at Sharon; her mother.
"Both you and Fiona have said it is a good thing I am unclaimed, how can that be? How can not having the bond be a good thing?"
"Two reasons. First, your vampire isn’t reliant on your blood, and he won’t be weakened without it. The Nobles won’t be able to trap him as easily as he’s still stronger than they are. But most important, is that you will not be harmed like I and the others are."
Darcy sat up straighter, rage ripping through her at the thought of her mother being hurt and at the pain that was easy to read in her clear aqua-blue eyes.
"What do you mean hurt? What goes on here?"
"You are still fully human, so you come under their 'protection'. The claimed brides are not fully human. They keep our vampires locked up and starved to the point of near death, and they use us to breed more Nobles. With our 'special qualities' we produce babies with enhanced senses and powers. On the twenty-ninth of February each leap year we are all rounded up and taken away to be raped. Our babies are then taken from us and raised by the Nobles. We are nothing but breeders to them. I am so glad you will not suffer that fate."
Darcy couldn’t speak. Her stomach felt heavy and her body cold. These women were raped and their babies taken from them? Every four years? She couldn’t get her head around anyone being so cruel.
Unsure to whether she wanted the answer, she had to ask, "What—what do they do the unclaimed brides?"
Chapter Six
Angelo arranged to hire all the available vampire friendly apartments surrounding his own. He wanted his father and the team close by at all times. Once he finished, it was time to leave. He had spent all day working on research again, so with no sleep for a number of days, he was not fit for driving. He’d found a stretch Hummer which would accommodate them all, so now he waited in the foyer of his building for the driver to collect him and take him to the airport to meet the others.
He watched as the sleek black machine smoothly glided into the waiting bay outside the foyer. Hummers were beautiful cars in a very masculine way. Without waiting for the driver to come and get him, he headed out toward the vehicle. He allowed the driver to open his door, before he got in and made himself comfortable.
Lost in thought it didn’t take long before they reached the International Melbourne Airport. He instructed the driver to wait as he exited the vehicle. He wasted no time in entering the terminal. He didn’t want to hover outside where memories of Darcy’s kidnapping were too fresh for him to push down. He found the gate where his father and his team would be exiting and he stood watching the door.
It only took a few minutes before they came through. The beauty of a chartered plane was they didn’t have to deal with long lines to exit or to get their luggage. His father walked straight up to him and gripped Angelo’s face between his hands. He planted a firm kiss on either cheek before bringing him into a tight hug.
"Angelo, my son. It is good to see you, even if the circumstances are dire."
"It’s, good to see you too, father. Please, come with me. I have a vehicle waiting for us. I have arranged for accommodation for you all in the same building where I am currently staying."
His father nodded and smiled at him, "You have done well, Angelo. But you have not slept since Darcy was taken, have you? I will stay with you, until she has returned, to make sure you are looking after yourself and to make sure you are at full capacity."
Angelo bowed slightly to his father, feeling a slight sting of emotion behind his eyes. His father had always been able to read him so well. Angelo couldn’t put himself above Darcy. He would willingly allow his health to suffer, but he knew his father was right. He needed to be at full strength to get her back. Turning from his father, he led all the men out to their ride which was still waiting for them in front of the airport.
"Is it ostentatious enough, son?" His father’s voice was laced with humor.
"It was the only thing big enough for all of us available on such short notice. I could have driven a mini bus, but with my lack of sleep, didn’t think it a wise idea."
"A good point. It is a nice looking machine."
It didn’t take long to get eve
ryone and their luggage into the Hummer and they began to head back to the Docklands. On the way Angelo told them everything he’d found out so far. He instantly stopped talking when he heard the little chirp his phone made when a message came in. He pulled his phone from his pocket and frowned down at the screen. Angelo growled and gripped his phone tight enough it made a noise in protest. He released his hold so he didn’t break his phone. His father leaned into his side and asked, "What is it, son?"
"A text message. From Karl, apparently he has Darcy’s phone."
. When Angelo saw the message came from Darcy’s phone he felt excited. Perhaps she’d freed herself? Then he noticed the text came from her kidnapper—her ex—and that made him mad as hell. He didn’t believe a word of the message. It was obviously a set up. He listened as his father read the message out loud to the rest of the team.
"4give me. Had 2 take Darcy. Going 2 kill me. They plan 2 hurt her. U must come 2nite. Portsea Golf Course 12th hole. Karl"
"It has to be a trap. Do they not know she is unclaimed? I thought they just kept unclaimed brides until their vampires aged past one hundred years. What are they playing at?"
His father gripped his shoulder, "Your Bride is strong. She has obviously sparked their interest. They cannot breed her if she is unclaimed. My guess, they will hurt her. Bring her close to death, leaving you no choice but to claim her in order to save her life. As soon as you do, they will be there to capture you both."
Angelo tried to control himself but the very thought of his Darcy being close to death had him seeing red and wanting to go on a rampage.
"Angelo. Stop. This is what they want. They want you to go rushing in without a plan. Calm down and let’s get back to your apartment. We need to look at all the information and formulate a course of action. One where we all go in, and all come back out again with Darcy."
Angelo slumped back in his seat and looked out the window at the passing traffic’s lights flow past. He knew his father was right, but it still hurt like hell that his Bride was out there alone, and was going to be injured.