Le Roi Du Sang

by Tiana Laveen

  “Remove the Turned Vamp from the courtroom until these proceedings are over,” Judge Couture stated dryly. Two guards approached and placed their arms on her. Alexandre slid another cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He wished he could wipe the fucking smirk off his face, but it was damn near impossible. As soon as both guards had her by the arms, Venus hissed and began to spin around, turning into a virtual volcano, erupting from her core. The glass, debris, and furniture were caught in her violent tornado, but Alexandre stood his ground, still quietly puffing on his black and white striped cigar. When she slowed, the guards went flying, their backs slamming against the walls, then slumping down into piles of ash.

  “I’m goin’ to have my say!” Judge Couture shook his head, and his lips curled in a grin… how could he not? Venus was indeed a monstrosity—the most beautiful kind of all. “You better do something about Victor and if that isn’t the law according to this place, then it should be! Look at all this time and energy that’s been wasted! I’m supposed to be preparing for my wedding. Instead I am here standing on broken glass. Look at all these queens and kings here!” She turned and pointed behind her at all of his supporters. “They have left their thrones and appointed others to take their place in their absence, all because of their loyalty towards my mate! They knew he’d do the same for them if the shoe was on the other foot. I told Alexandre when he left out this morning not to trust you all, and now I am sure he sees I was right. Now, what are you going to do about Victor? I want an answer before I leave!”

  Judge Couture cackled. He laughed so loud, it rocked the entire place, as if it wasn’t already in shambles.

  “Silly, silly Turned Vamp! Your humanity is both entertaining and disgusting! Your physical strength is incredible and a thing of beauty.” The entire Council burst out laughing and nodded. “You’re fun… Hopefully your mind will catch up with that mouth of yours!”

  “I bet my fist and foot up your ass will—”

  “Venus!” Mother warned. His mate stopped speaking.

  “There is nothing we need to do about Victor, dear,” Judge Couture explained. “He’s already done it to himself. There is zero that we could do to him that would compare to what your mate will do to his brother… and we will not intervene or punish. For in our world, that is the rightful conclusion, starry eye for a starry eye, fanged tooth for a fanged tooth… As you humans would say, ‘One reaps what they sow.’ The Council has spoken.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Fawning Over You…

  Fawn tossed her monologued cream and umber Louis Vuitton luggage onto the quilt of the Queen size bed in the hotel, then toed out of her raspberry colored heels. The flight had been incredibly long. Some pretentious teenage human girl kept going on and on about her college prep classes, as if anyone on that flight gave a final destination fuck. Another gentleman decided he could handle his alcohol. He was wrong. He projectile vomited all over his seat and a bit on the woman in front of him. Ghastly.

  Thankfully, that’s all over…

  She wrapped her hand around her neck and worked out a kink… even sitting in first class she’d grown uncomfortable, her long legs having barely enough room to stretch. She sat there on that plane sipping a glass of water the majority of the time—the only thing on offer she could drink that she could keep down. Though she rather enjoyed the flavor of a Margarita from time to time, missed them from her life before she was Turned, it simply hadn’t been worth the risk. She reached into her luggage and removed the thick black binder where she kept work related stuff, including relevant contact information, venue, catering sources, the works. She’d been using it on the flight, too.

  Flipping through it, she landed on a page that almost gave her a panic attack, she detested it so much. It was a design of the custom-made crown Venus was to wear on her wedding day. An exquisite creation in gold, black onyx, and covered in diamonds and rubies… Her fangs emerged from her soft pink gums and sliced into her lower lip as jealousy like she’d never known filled her. Most in her shoes would fuck up such a task as payback for not being the chosen one. Instead, she’d gone ahead with her job, as if the thing was intended for her… just in case Alexandre changed his mind. But he hadn’t; in fact, things had gotten worse.

  This was supposed to be MY husband! My man! The father of MY children!!! You stupid bitch! Why did he have to find you?! Why did he not reject you and see you were nothing! She kicked and hit the air, her entire being a bundle of nerves. After a few moments, she regained her composure and turned on the television to a music station.

  A nice bath will do me some good. Let me relax for a moment first.

  H.E.R. sung, ‘Focus’ on the musical channel. Fawn took several deep breaths, trying to push her disappointments out of her mind.

  She slicked her hand into her purse, grabbed her cell, and dialed his number once more. Straight to voicemail it went…

  She hung up. “Fuck.”

  Alexandre hadn’t been answering his phone. Why? She’d called Whiskey and several others asking if they’d heard from him. No one had, or they didn’t seem particularly alarmed at his lack of a damn response. Getting anything out of Whiskey lately was like pulling teeth. Perhaps he was miffed she’d asked him to talk some sense into Alexandre, but hell, it was for their own good. He was a slave to the man, just like Venus had been. Didn’t he want his self-respect back?

  Her phone buzzed and she sighed with relief… but that was short-lived. It was a detailed text message from Victor, who described the shitstorm that had blown in like tumbleweeds in the wild West. She sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the balls of her stockinged feet. The fucker called, but she didn’t feel like talking, so another text came through, this one more pissed than the last. He made it quite clear, all bets were off. No longer was his focus on Venus; it was now on the head motherfucker in charge.

  He wanted his brother dead. End of story.

  She hissed when she slumped down onto the bed. Closing her eyes, she wished she could rewind the clock to better times. Those nights and mornings spent cuddled up next to Alexandre, his white hard flesh like steel and spikes against her curves. The way he fucked… he did it like no other… the way his thick, fat cock pumped inside her pussy, ass, and mouth tore her apart with ecstasy.

  She’d watched that time he fucked Venus in the damn dining room… it was different.

  The way he moved, the things he said, the way he look at and held the woman… it sickened her. She’d watched from the doorway, stroking her pussy, fucking herself as Venus came over and over again. Alexandre had fucked the slave woman as if he had to, as if he needed it in the worst way. He’d devoured her, his eyes rolling, his body hungry. He’d pumped hard and nasty, his form a blur as he’d given it his all. A new seed of jealousy had been planted and now, she had an entire green garden of envy that flourished in the bowels of her dark heart. No sunlight needed…

  Everything is a disaster! His plan backfired… Victor! I’m sure he’ll find some way to blame me for this. Her phone rang once again, but she ignored it. It was him… The Non-Victorious One. She wasn’t in the mood to argue. What I need is a good nap. This bed sucks.

  She hated that she wasn’t at the Parisian mansion with all of the high-class servants, surrounded by opulent décor and being waited on hand and foot. What was the point of being in the city of love and not having a delicious, hard body to curl up to and drain dry?

  She was supposed to stay at the Marseille Mansion with Alexandre per the itinerary, but when her taxi pulled up, she was denied entry due to her name not being on the guest list. What utter bullshit! She was his assistant. Surely, there was some mistake! She snatched her phone up once again and dialed the fucker’s number, ignoring the missed calls from Victor.

  COME ON! ANSWER!!! She grabbed her dark tortoiseshell sunglasses from atop her head and flung them on the nightstand next to the ‘Welcome to the Hôtel Ritz Paris’ Sign, the room service menu, and the complimentary chocolate.

  �
�You’ve reached Attorney Alexandre Marseille.” She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, drumming her black nails against the nightstand. “I am unable to take your call at this time. If this is an urgent legal matter, please contact my assistant, Fawn Nettleton, at 212-843-4321. If this is concerning an urgent non-legal matter, please contact my assistant, Whiskey, at—”

  She quickly ended the call. She’d already left three messages. A fourth wouldn’t change any damn thing.

  Did Victor tell him I was involved? She wedged her stiletto shaped nail between her teeth and nibbled. He said he didn’t, said the Council didn’t ask about who filmed the tapes and if they had, he had a name for that, too. Maybe Alexandre knows it was me? I mean, I set the camera up secretly in his office… I had to do something! There was no way I was going to sit there and testify against him! I was pretty discreet though. No, he definitely doesn’t know. If he did, I’d be dead by now. I mean, he didn’t seem to know. He was too busy with HER. Her heart beat a bit faster as a surge of hot envy flushed through her entire system. No, I doubt he knew… I covered my tracks. It could’ve been anyone. He has hundreds of people walking in and out of his penthouse in Manhattan at any given time. All those damn parties, orgies… hell, it never ends.

  She jumped when someone pounded at her hotel door.

  “Who is it?” Her paranoia kicked into high gear until she thought it may be her true desire… The king she deserved.

  Maybe it’s Alexandre. Maybe he played my voicemail where I said I was here at this hotel and needed to be brought back to his estate.

  There was another hard pound at the door.

  “I said, who is it?!”

  No one answered. She made her way to the hotel door and looked through the peephole. Two vexed violet eyes, lined with silvery white lashes, peered back at her from a face framed by thick layers of platinum hair tossed over one shoulder. The tall man wore a luxurious navy suit and silk ivory tie. His nose was just like Alexandre’s—long, pronounced, with a bit of a bulge in the bridge.

  The fucker on the other side said nothing. He simply stood there, his chest heaving. They stared at one another, or at least it felt like he was staring at her.

  “I know you’re in there… I can smell you. Open the fucking door and let me in,” he stated calmly while looking up the hall as if he were expecting someone.

  He sounds a bit like Alexandre, too.

  “Ahhh, I know who you are now. You must be Victor.” She chuckled. “You look a bit different than you did on the video chat. Why didn’t you tell me on the phone that you were stopping by?” She removed the chain and lock and he burst in, brushing past her as if he had to use the john in the worst way. She closed and locked the door and made her way towards the fellow, who stood with his back turned, hands on hips. He looked out of her 6th floor hotel window for several moments before he turned back in her direction, looking as pissed as he’d been moments prior.

  “Kill him. This is not up for discussion. If you want any chance at all at being Queen, you must kill him, Fawn.”

  She crossed her arms and paced back and forth.

  I’ll play this nutjob’s game… but I’m not going to attempt to kill Alexandre. The stakes are far too high…

  “Why don’t you kill him yourself, Victor? Why would you need a Turned Vamp that you despise, that you feel is beneath you, to do your handiwork?” She gleamed. His eyes narrowed on her as if he were surprised she was onto him. The fucking jig was up. The rose-colored glasses were off and broken under the weight of a spiky heel… Things had gotten out of hand, and she was done having him as a puppet master. Strings were cut like veins with razor blades. How beautiful it felt to be free.

  “Because everyone expects me to try ’nd kill him now!”

  “Cain and Abel, modern day…” She laughed as she walked over to the dresser and pulled out a nail file, then began the detailed, tedious work of sharpening her right fang. It had gotten chipped during her lunch. Brittle bones of an old bitch… “How do you plan to pull this off?”

  “I’ll have an alibi. If you do it, no one will suspect you. Once he is dead, all of our problems are solved!”

  “I don’t have any problems.” She shrugged. “Well, I take that back. If you’re havin’ brother problems, I feel bad for ya, son. I’ve got 99 problems but Alexandre ain’t one. Hit me!” She cackled. “Oh, not a Jay Z fan? Hmmm, your musical tastes are questionable then.”

  “Stick to what we’re discussing, Fawn. This is serious.”

  “Oh, it’s serious all right. I wanted him, he chose someone else, but I’m still eligible for fucking and sucking.” She did a little shimmy dance, shaking her assets. He curled his lips in disgust… how cute. “My paycheck is pretty fucking fat, too. Why would I give that up? Besides, I’m curious to know if Venus is interested in a sister-wife,” she teased.

  “For the final fucking time, this isn’t humorous. You have a job to do. I suggest you prepare for it.”

  “And what if I refuse?” She smirked. “I think you better sweeten the fucking pot, you male version of Storm from X-Men. I’d fuck Halle Berry in a heartbeat. You? Hmmm, I dunno.” She shrugged. “I’ve been catfished… you look nothing like I thought you would, boy, you must’ve used a filter on the phone. I mean, you’re attractive and all but hey, it must be tough brakes being the younger brother of a practical sex God while you stand in the background looking more like Einstein after a Brazilian blowout. E = mc2.”

  Victor kept silent, his face unreadable. He leaned against the wall and crossed his ankles and arms, as if waiting for a date to finish getting ready for their night on the town.

  “What a son of a bitch you are! Wow!” She threw up her hands. “Did you honestly think I was going to keep doing your bidding with no payback? Keep putting myself on the line? I’m not Whiskey and I’m not Venus! I am a slave to no one!”

  “You have not properly done what you’ve been instructed to do by me. NOT EVEN ONE DAMN TIME! If you had not sent Bottom Feeders after Venus, he would have been more amenable to engage in negotiations, you fool! I know my brother! He and I still had a decent enough relationship at that point where I could have gotten through… I just needed someone to open the door for me and you blew it!”

  “There is nothing less sexy than a grown ass vampire blaming a woman for his own errors. If you truly knew your brother, then you would have known that since that bitch came into his life, he has changed! He is still uncouth, conceited, dreadful… but there’s something different about him now, something I can’t put my finger on. I didn’t blow it, you did. In fact, I did you a favor by even orchestrating that attack! You should have taken that opportunity to come and try to console your brother, and offer to help! That’s how you get in close, little brother! You throw a bomb, then slide in and offer protective gear. You let everyone know that attacks against your family won’t be tolerated, while all along you were the mastermind. It’s an airtight plan! But it’s too late now… You’re clueless.” She rolled her eyes in disgust.

  “If you had testified instead of using that damn tape, he’d be convicted right now! It would not have been overturned! Your bumbling and fumbling caused him to be able to gather others and take over the entire basilica. If you—”

  “It’s everyone’s fault but yours, right, Vic? The idea of being Queen to the likes of you no longer seems so lovely to me, Victor… I am annoyed by how you always fail. Gross.” She laughed dismally and rolled her eyes. “My precious pussy is only for winners… or at least those that can pretend to be. I mean, really… being fucked by you on a daily basis would have to be terribly disappointing, boring, and ho hum to the 5th power.” She grimaced.

  “I like strong men, okay? Alpha husbands, men who can handle whatever life throws their way and then some. I like nasty men. Men that take what they want and don’t accept no for an answer. I like big-dicked men.” She glanced at his pants, wondering if he was as blessed below the waist as his brother. She doubted it. “You’re smelli
ng more and more like an imposter, a Beta Pure Blood pathetic piece of shit. Give me more… because right now, just looking at you makes me want to vomit.”

  In a second flat she was off the ground; the fucker had his hand wrapped tight around her neck. Her pussy cried, her heart pounded, her lives flashed before her eyes… both of them. He raised her high in the air like a lantern, squeezing her life away. Her legs kicked back and forth in all directions and she struggled to breathe. Heat rushed to her cheeks and her vision became blurry. She came as she almost lost consciousness…

  “Do you like to be choked while you’re fucked?!” he roared.

  She heard what sounded like him slipping his belt through loops and the distinct sound of a zipper being yanked down. Hard. He threw her across the room, tossing her on the bed like some plaything. When she looked over her shoulder, his long, snake-like, pale cock was out… throbbing with need. The bastard’s chest rose and fell as he stood before her.

  “I don’t know what type of game you think you’re playing, Fawn, but you just lost. Now, I am going to tell you exactly what to do, and you follow my orders to a T.” He sneered, showcasing sharp, glistening fangs as his eyes glowed like car lights in the dead of the night. She hated herself for being so aroused, loathed that the maniac made her pussy hot and wet as he stood there exposing himself and making perverse demands… Perhaps he was better than she’d initially thought…

  Slipping her hand against her nature, she stroked her slippery cunt over her black pants, the moisture soaking through, then got on her knees and took his dick into her hands.