by Joey W. Hill
How on earth... With despair, Ella acknowledged her face was far too expressive. When her gaze darted toward Jacob, he confirmed it.
“Your right eye is twitching,” he said courteously.
“The child will give me honest answers, from the heart, without your interference, Wolf. You can deal with your reaction to them as you wish with her, after this questioning is complete.” Lyssa’s tone chilled considerably, sending a shiver over Ella’s skin. “But if you make me come out into that hallway where you are presently hovering, you will regret it.”
Christ, she’s a nightmare version of my mother.
Ella kept her face as blank as possible. “Yes, my lady. That was his response.”
“I’m sure.” Lyssa studied her a long moment, then glanced to her right. For the first time, Ella noticed there was a third person in the room. Daegan, so still against the wall he blended, as if he could stay there a hundred years and not have to move. He reminded her of a fallen angel statue on the corner of a towering church, in one of Tex’s Gothic-style video games. Ella had played it with him in the breakroom one slow night.
“A good servant has a value beyond measure,” Lyssa said. “A smart vampire recognizes that, at the same time he recognizes a threat that needs to be contained. Where they are not in conflict, he strives to protect the one and neutralize the other. That was the end result of this situation, with help. While that has raised concerns that need to be addressed, I am pleased to see that Wolf has finally found a servant worthy of his intelligence and courage.”
It took a few minutes for the words to sink in. Ella wasn’t entirely sure they meant what she thought until she noted the curve of Jacob’s lips. He gave her a subtle nod. Things were okay.
Ella didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath until she let it out in a surge of relief. She almost toppled from the dizziness.
“My lady, may I approach, on my knees?”
Lyssa’s brow rose. “You may.”
Ella inched forward until she was a foot away from the strappy black heels. Then she leaned in and wrapped her arms around Lyssa’s calves in a careful but extremely heartfelt hug. “Thank you,” she whispered.
She immediately withdrew and put her forehead to the floor in front of the pointed, silver-tipped toes. An apology if she’d overstepped. After a long moment, Lyssa leaned over so her long hair brushed Ella’s back. She touched her head.
"This one is a keeper. If you decide otherwise, I have obviously overestimated your intelligence.”
The queen was talking to Wolf, Ella realized. It was going to take a while for her to get used to being utilized as a communications conduit, without any preamble or cue. But she was okay with that.
She was ready to learn anything that would help her care for her Master.
If Wolf doesn’t want her, can we keep her? Kane would love her.
Lyssa waited until Ella had slipped from the room to shoot Jacob an arch look. “Our son has more than enough toys already,” she said. “And if you’re suggesting you don’t, I’d reconsider that.”
Jacob grinned, but executed a half-bow toward her. “Of course, my lady.”
“Anwyn may now join us, with her servant.”
Daegan nodded. A few seconds later, Anwyn slipped in through another door. Gideon entered behind her, closing it and moving to the wall to stand by Jacob.
“Thank you, my lady,” Anwyn said immediately, taking a seat at the conference table. She put a roll of papers in front of her. “I think it would have torn her to shreds if Wolf had been punished for this.”
“Hmm.” Lyssa sat back in her chair, her long nails tapping the arm in an asymmetric fashion. One tap. Three. Four. “Saturnia and Holliman. What is the status there?”
“Saturnia executed him yesterday,” Daegan said. “I offered, but she indicated it was her mess, and she would clean it up. She also said she would accept whatever punishment the Council meted out for her oversight, including death. She’ll stay here until you tell her otherwise.”
“Execution will certainly be on the table,” Lyssa said, her expression going flat. “I may not be able to save her from that if the Council puts it to a vote. But Saturnia is a very accomplished made vampire. It is my hope we can determine something severe enough to underscore the point to others, and yet preserve her value to us.”
Lyssa looked at everyone in the room. “The Council is going to receive a full report on what has transpired here. Unfortunately, the information is damning enough to give the Council members who oppose the new servant protocols the fuel they need to push for revocation or amendment. I can likely prevent the former, but not the latter. Depending on what amendments are proposed, I may or may not oppose them. This situation has brought to light some legitimate concerns. Holliman very nearly succeeded in exposing our kind completely. And likely would have, if not for one remarkably brave female human figuring out how to get her hands on a phone and send a one-word text.”
She sighed irritably. “This never should have happened. Every vampire is responsible for ensuring their servant’s loyalty. No one should be allowing their servant the kind of mental privacy Saturnia permitted Holliman. Lord Belizar will say that allowing vampires to cultivate more intimate, emotionally equitable relationships with their servants is leading to this kind of situation. Respecting their privacy and self-determination increases the danger to our world.”
“My lady, if I can be so bold, may I make a point for the Council’s consideration?”
Lyssa turned her gaze to Anwyn. “You may.”
Anwyn took a breath. “I love Gideon, love him and Daegan with my whole soul. Which means I accept nothing less than being in the depths of Gideon’s soul, not as an invasion, but as a natural expression of who I am, as his Mistress and the woman—and vampire—who loves him.”
She looked toward Gideon, held his gaze a moment before she returned hers to the queen. “With that kind of bond, there’s no way any servant could conceal something as complicated as what Holliman had planned. In the handful of situations where servants have betrayed their Masters, there was a distinct lack of that emotional connection, that craving to be deep inside the soul of one’s servant, for the right reasons. So an argument could be made that it’s the vampires who think of their servants as less who are creating these problems. Not those who don’t.”
Lyssa pursed her lips, but her jade eyes flickered with approval. “A compelling argument for Council. For the members receptive to anything other than doing things the way they have always been done, it might help mitigate some of the more punitive responses. Thank you, Anwyn. I will consider it.
“That said, if the choice before us becomes the extinction of our species, or stripping every hint of freedom a servant has, I will choose the latter. I am the last of the royals of my kind, and head of the Vampire Council. I can do no less to preserve our species. Gideon, I am curious as to your reaction to that.”
The line of his shoulders had grown taut as she spoke, and now Gideon lifted a surprised gaze to the queen. However, he spoke after only a short pause. “It is what it is, my lady. I get it. Billions of us, five thousand of you. I’m never good with humans being treated as less important than a vampire. But I stand with Daegan and Anwyn. That’s not ever going to change, and it’s what guides me now.”
He looked at the two of them, then came back to Lyssa. “Plus…I trust you, my lady.”
A ripple of surprise crossed Lyssa’s face, here then gone. She inclined her head. “Thank you.”
“But I’m not hugging your legs.”
A fine brow arched. “A wise decision. Ella is far more adorable than you, and therefore was spared having her arms removed.”
Lyssa’s attention went to the roll of paper in front of Anwyn. “You had another issue you wished to discuss with me, on Atlantis’s security?”
“Yes, my lady. Fort, Saturnia and Allan are tweaking the security setup, in case Holliman gave anyone still living any inside info on the
system. However, I want to take it further, and I think we’re already headed in that direction. You’re aware that, a few months ago, Lord Uthe discussed placing the Fae Lord Keldwyn’s ward here? The girl prefers to be in our world, rather than the Fae one.”
“I am aware,” Lyssa said.
Anwyn continued. “My understanding is that, in order to shelter a Fae, the club would have to become some sort of magical nexus. A portal, a nourishment or energy point, some combination of that. We’re still figuring that out. However, a few months ago, before all this went down, we had a guest member. Lady Yvette. She seemed to think you know one another?”
Lyssa blinked once. “Yes. We met some years ago.”
“Are you aware of her current circumstances?”
“That she runs a circus slash carnival of sensual delights and talents, and she mainly operates outside this dimension, using portals to show up in different towns to perform.”
“That’s the one. She and I hit it off, and she’s contracting for a couple takeover events at Atlantis annually. She mentioned if that becomes a regular thing, they’d pin down a portal foot at Atlantis, which feeds into my same idea.”
“And that idea is?” Lyssa prompted.
Anwyn met her gaze. “I want this place to become inviolate, a safe haven for anyone. For the vampires, Fae, and whoever else deserves its shelter. A fortress, if need be.”
Anwyn tapped the blueprint. “This plan increases the contact between vampires and other magical worlds. Reinforcements if ever…if something like what Holliman attempted is ever successful. If vampires ever become fugitives in their own world.”
Lyssa considered that. “How will you handle the employees unaware of our worlds?”
“It might not impact peripheral staff, if we have the right rules in place. For the more integral staff, I relocate the ones who don’t know and shouldn’t know, and keep the ones I trust, who are willing to be second marked. There will be policies at the door, telling everyone how they can and can’t behave. My place, my rules. I’ll have Yvette’s backup on that…and Daegan’s.”
“What if your wishes conflict with Council’s?” Lyssa asked.
“Then I bring it to Council to resolve, figure out the best compromise. If this is presented as something that can be beneficial to our world, I think they’ll be on board.”
Lyssa pursed her lips. “And if Council doesn’t accept this idea, thinking it is putting too much power in the hands of a fledgling, and more importantly, a vampire of near limitless power they are not entirely sure they control?”
Her gaze went directly to Daegan.
Anwyn hadn’t anticipated that direction to the conversation, and her heart speeded up, her hands closing on the blueprints. Daegan met Lyssa’s gaze squarely, however. He leaned forward, lacing his hands on the table. “Do you fear that outcome, my lady?” he asked in a mild voice.
“I do not. But there are those on the Council who might.”
“If that’s a worry, then I withdraw the idea,” Anwyn said quickly into the seemingly tense silence. “The Lady Yvette comes twice a year to do a takeover event at Club Atlantis, and that’s the end of it. Her friendship remains beneficial to those of us here only.”
“And why do you not worry about it, Lady Lyssa?” Daegan asked. He lifted a hand toward Anwyn, acknowledging her comment but counseling silence, a firm suggestion, until Lyssa responded.
“Because you have pledged your loyalty to me, Daegan Rei,” the queen said quietly, meeting his gaze. “And as your servant said to me, I trust you.”
Daegan blinked, then inclined his head, a muscle flexing in his jaw. “Thank you, my lady. Your faith is not misplaced.”
“Hmm.” Lyssa adjusted her attention back to Anwyn. “If you are this ambitious in your goals, then you will present the idea to them yourself.”
Anwyn blanched, but only for a second. She looked at Daegan, caught his hint of a smile, and recovered. “It would be my honor, my lady.”
“Is your fledgling up to the task, Lord Daegan?” Lyssa asked, though Anwyn suspected that was just a formality.
“More than, my lady. She is formidable.”
“We shall see, but I have seen nothing that makes me believe otherwise.” Lyssa rose, indicating the meeting was at an end. “I will depart tomorrow night for Savannah, where the Council will meet me. You and Anwyn will come with me.”
“Of course, my lady.”
Lyssa looked toward Jacob. Moving away from the wall, he dropped to a knee at her feet. She laid a hand on his shoulder, gazed at him a long moment. Then she brushed her fingertips along his face, and nodded, as if to herself.
“Navigating a world like ours is never easy. But it is easier when you can trust the one closest to you. No matter the dysfunctionality of their relationship, that person was Holliman for Saturnia. She may never heal from that blow. Death may be a mercy she seeks.”
A tight smile appeared on her face. “Fortunately for the preservation of her life, mercy is not a trait that vampires embrace often.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Ella went to find Wolf. She thought he might have returned to Fort and Saturnia, but he showed her he was waiting for her on the second level dance floor. Seeing him there reminded her of that night when she’d hoped against hope that he was beginning to see her as his.
He opened his arms and she went into them, holding on and making a noise of contentment as he lifted her off her feet.
“You did well,” he murmured.
“I thought Lyssa was going to come out in the hall and give you a spanking.” She smiled against his chest. He harrumphed at that.
“I expect she doesn’t waste her time on those kinds of punishments. If she lives up to her reputation, she could make what we went through these past few days feel like a picnic.”
“Oh Goddess. Now you tell me. I gave her a hug. Well, her legs. She didn’t seem mad at the time.”
“You enchant everyone you meet, little girl. It’s your special gift. If she was mad, she’d just kill me, and get two for the effort of one.”
Ella blinked. She was going to have to get used to vampire humor, since they liked to joke about things that were not yet a laughing matter to her. She tightened her arms around his neck. “I have a lot to learn about all this stuff. I’ll come up to speed as fast as I can.”
“You never disappoint. But right now, you only have one job. Do you know what it is?”
She dropped her head back, gazed at him with love in her eyes. “Whatever you tell me?”
His gaze heated. “Exactly.”
Wolf took her to her home. She still had no idea where he kept his belongings, where he slept, but she liked that he seemed to enjoy her small house so much. He opened the door and window so the breeze could flirt through, and leaned in the doorway, a dark silhouette. She’d knelt on the floor at his feet, and had stayed that way awhile. It had brought her peace, and she suspected that steady thread between them, Master and servant, did the same for him.
At length, he crooked a finger at her. She rose and stood before him. For a long moment they just stood like that, her facing him, her gaze on his chest. Though they didn’t touch, there was so much density of feeling between them, it felt like they did.
He put his hands on her shoulders. He removed her shirt and unhooked her bra, bringing her in close to lean against him as he pulled the garment free. He’d taken off his shirt, so her breasts brushed his hard chest. He took care of her jeans and panties, and had her step out of her canvas sneakers.
He lifted her under the arms, so she could wrap arms and legs around him, and he carried her to the bed. Laid her down on her back, putting his knee on the bed so he was over her, looking down. He’d laid her perpendicular to the headboard, so her head rested on the mattress, not pillows, and her feet came to the opposite edge. At least until he started commanding her otherwise.
“Hands above your head,” he said quietly. “Eyes closed, no matter what.”
She obeyed, her arms draping over the edge of the coverlet, then they trembled as he spoke again. “Feet flat on the mattress, knees bent and spread open.”
As she complied, the aching pulse between her legs increased exponentially. And kept increasing, for she sensed him moving back to the doorway, leaning in it once again. It was such a small space, it wasn’t difficult to know where anyone was, even with eyes closed.
With Wolf, she could literally feel the heat of his gaze when it passed over her.
“One-word answers, Ella. How does this make you feel?”
“Aroused. Helpless. Afraid. Good afraid.”
“That’s two words,” he said, but he wasn’t disapproving. “You know how I feel?”
She shook her head.
“Savage. Content. Hungry. Aroused. I’m a lion in his den, Ella, everything here mine to enjoy, tear apart and taste as I wish. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Good. Be still and quiet unless I tell you otherwise.” Then he fell silent. Her arousal built with every ticking moment, for she knew she had his attention. Not just her. Her total submission.
He moved to where her arms were. His thighs brushed her knuckles. His legs were bare, telling her he’d removed his clothes. He put his hands beneath her, pulled her further in his direction, so her head dropped back. Her stomach leaped in anticipation. When he leaned over her, guided his cock in her mouth, her lips were already parted.
“Get me nice and slippery. Got a bigger than usual erection, probably because it goes into caveman mode the more you show me how much you’re mine.”
She sucked on him, licked, making noises in her throat to tell him how much she wanted him there. She’d suck him off completely if that was what he desired, swallowing his seed down.
“Not now. But later.” He drew his shaft from her eager mouth and moved to the other side of the bed. Her knees were still bent, feet still flat as he’d ordered.
“You keep them that way. Stay completely still. No movement at all.”
