Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage)

by Corinne Balfour

  “I cannot be found with another human in my room. Diermont would lose it. I have to protect my own.”

  “Please, just for a little while. Even if it is only for the night. The rest of us don’t have chambers of our own and that makes hiding her inside our rooms impossible.”

  Cabrian sighed. He had wanted Seamus to develop an interest in humans. He hadn’t thought the straight-laced male would go out and procure one. It was a terrible idea and he felt partially responsible since he had been the one extolling the pleasures of human flesh. He couldn’t let the other human be found by Diermont. “Fine, I’ll keep her for the night. But you have to get rid of her.”

  Visant and Seamus carried the rug-enclosed female inside Cabrian’s chamber. Visant unwrapped the female. She was extremely young with pale hair and sky blue eyes. Her face was wet with tears and her body trembled. Visant took her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. He entranced her with his mind so she would remain quiet and still. “Stay in the closet and don’t make a sound.”

  The girl instantly obeyed. Visant closed the closet door. He turned to Cabrian. “We will return for the girl shortly. Keep her safe.”

  Chapter 11

  When Modez woke that morning, he felt like he had been run over by a horse drawn chariot. The outside of his neck was sore and painful, especially on the lower right side near his shoulder. He remembered having a strange dream about a woman biting him while she rubbed herself on his cock. He must have woken too soon, for surely his dream woman would not have left him so unsatisfied.

  When he tried to lift himself from the bed, he realized he didn’t have the strength. He had never been ill, but surely this must be what it felt like to be sick. It hadn’t been a dream at all. A woman had assaulted him while he lay in bed. It was unthinkable—unbelievable that a female would do such a thing. It was even more unbelievable that she would do such a thing to him. Unless she was feeble of mind, she would know he was a Halloran, a descendant of one of their most ancient and powerful bloodlines as well as kin to their king. She had not only taken his blood and sucked it from his vein with obvious relish; she had rubbed herself all over him like a cat in heat, teasing his cock unmercifully and leaving him with an erection that still wouldn’t go away. What kind of woman would do such a thing? It couldn’t be any of Snotti’s females. They were all empty headed socialites that turned their noses up at the idea of pleasure. His attacker had been aggressive and consumed with self-gratification. But if she wasn’t one of Snotti’s ladies, then who was she? It was unlikely that any additional hybrids would come to the villa, especially with the dronusfly swarms cutting off travel opportunities. And why had the woman chosen him? Had she been sent by someone else, someone who would want him weakened? Killed, even? The unknown woman had left him in a vulnerable state in a foreign land full of their enemies.

  How long would it take for his body to recover and make more blood? Much too long. He would have no choice but to use a blood donor. Pity he couldn’t use the woman who had put him in this situation.

  He grimaced when he realized he would have to report this incident. Hopefully they would keep the matter confidential. He didn’t want anyone to know he had been dominated by a female. His request for a blood donor wouldn’t be well received at the moment. He would have to use one of Snotti’s ladies and they were hardly tantalizing options for a meal.

  With effort, he pushed himself out of bed. As soon as he stood, he felt lightheaded and dizzy. Sheer force of will kept him from falling on his ass. He opened the door and called out to some of the hybrids on guard duty. “Get one of your superiors and send him in to see me.”

  He sat back on his bed and waited. At the moment, he didn’t particularly care who came to his aid.

  A few minutes later, Seamus McLeod arrived. “You don’t look well,” he said.

  “I’m not. All my energy has been drained out of me and I can hardly lift myself out of bed.”

  “It’s the stress of working under Diermont. I respect him as a leader, but he is rather dogmatic with his viewpoints.”

  “It’s not just that.” An unwanted image flashed through Modez’s head, but he just as instantly pushed the memories of carnage and death to the back of his mind. “I was assaulted last night while I slept. A woman forced herself on me…I couldn’t fight her off. I must have been drugged. She took my blood—”

  Seamus burst out laughing and said, “How much of that Roman piss did you drink?”

  “I only had the one cup of wine,” Modez said sternly. “It was right before I went to bed. I’m telling you, I was violated. The woman came to me naked, but I couldn’t see her. At first, I thought she meant to lay with me, so I wasn’t concerned. But then she sank her fangs into my neck…she started sucking…wasn’t sure if she was going to stop.”

  Seamus continued to laugh and said, “You were visited by Suki—a water sprite who, according to legend, comes to men at night to drain their blood. She is said to play with the male equipment while she drinks. Many of her victims wake up covered in their own seed.”

  “She wasn’t a water sprite.”

  “Don’t worry, my friend. Suki’s not real. She’s only a myth. You must have been dreaming.”

  “I was awake. I’m telling you that she was real. I felt her with my hands, but I wasn’t able to touch her long enough to know her exact proportions.” He remembered clearly the way she had gripped and teased his cock. He hadn’t seen her face but he had wanted her with an unrivaled ferocity. “She was definitely female.”

  “Yeah, right,” he said with a voice thick with sarcasm. “One of our females, rare as they are, left the safety of the palace to go outside during a dronusfly swarm. Then she came here, of all places, just to violate you. That makes a lot of sense.”

  The hands that touched him had been soft, feminine. It sure as hell hadn’t been a man touching his cock. “She was female. She rubbed her pussy on me.” A soft, very wet piece she had, and he remembered a peach scent. “I know the difference between cock and pussy.”

  Seamus grinned. “It’s difficult to mistake the two.” He leaned against the wall with humor lurking in his eyes. “A wet dream. You dreamed her up.”

  He glanced at his midsection. His cock felt like petrified wood and his balls ached. “The dream wasn’t wet.” He hadn’t been able to release his seed, which was why he was so irritated with the female. “I am suffering the effects of severe blood loss. That is proof enough.”

  “You’re just getting worn down. It’s the aftereffects of battle. Too much fighting and too much death…and Diermont’s standing order to put even the females to death. It’s hard to deal with it all. Some rest and relaxation will help you rejuvenate.”

  “Those things could help, but they will not replace the blood loss. I cannot function like this. I need replacement blood.” He needed the invisible woman to finish what she had started.

  “Are you listening to yourself? Do you want Diermont to think you’ve lost your mind? Your dream is not reality.”

  “The woman needs to be found and punished.” Preferably with his cock and fangs.

  Seamus shook his head. “You can’t capture an imaginary woman.”

  “We need to be on high alert. She may thirst again.” She had been aroused when drinking from him. Her scent had driven him crazy with the need to possess her.

  “The only females here are Snotti’s females. They are here to find mates, so they wouldn’t risk angering one of our most eligible lords.” After a pause, he said, “Just think about it. There must be some explanation. We are in a foreign land. It is possible that you were exposed to something and it made you feel ill.”

  “I couldn’t be sick. Romans get sick. Hybrids do not.”

  “Still, it is possible. If it is blood loss, then you may be bleeding internally.”

  Seamus didn’t believe him. He had to admit the story sounded incredible, but it had really happened. “Several days have passed since I last received a battle w
ound. My body would have healed itself by now.”

  “It should have done so, but maybe you have a wound that refuses to heal. There are some poisons that are known to do that, but I haven’t heard of any reports of the Romans using them.”

  “Are you trying to say I’ve developed a form of hemophilia?”

  “Poison-induced. If a Roman laced his sword with poison and struck you with it, then it is possible. In humans, the poison would be deadly, but you should recover in a few days.”

  “But I remember a woman—”

  “You had to be hallucinating, my friend. Mayhap it is the effect of the blood loss, injury, or poison in your system. You should be seen by a healer. I’ll send one of the druids your way.”

  It was clear that nothing he could say would convince Seamus that a female had come into his room. Modez didn’t believe the poison theory, but he agreed to see the healer.

  The healer arrived sometime later and confirmed that Modez had experienced some blood loss. Unfortunately, he couldn’t explain the cause of it. There were no signs of internal or external injuries. The healer had told him that it wasn’t an excessive amount of blood loss and he would recover without treatment. He did prescribe rest, which Modez wasn’t thrilled about. A warrior couldn’t afford to be confined to bed.

  * * *

  “There’s a girl in the closet. She must remain hidden from Diermont and the others.”

  Cassia couldn’t hide her shock. “What girl?”

  Cabrian pulled on his typical uniform, which consisted of the black tunic and trousers. “Visant and Seamus took her from one of the villas. They’re coming back for her once they find a safe locale.”

  “What do they want with her?” Cassia knew the answer, of course. There was only one reason for hybrids to take human females.

  “She’ll serve them both, but she’s no breeder. Her life is in danger.”

  Cassia waited until Cabrian had gone before opening the closet. She draped herself in a bed sheet to preserve her modesty, or at least what was left of it. She wasn’t sure what to expect once she opened that door, but this wasn’t it. She recognized that girl. She tapped her on her shoulder to wake her. The girl blinked her eyes in confusion and slowly brought herself to a sitting position. “Baby, it’s me.”

  The girl’s eyes widened. “Mistress. How did you get here?”

  “You’re at the Maximus villa. Do you remember nothing of how you came to be here?”

  The girl’s eyes widened further. “We were attacked. I was with your stepmother.”

  Cassia wasn’t surprised that she had been with Lucine. The girl had worked for the Maximus family for a number of years. Someone had left a squalling infant on Lucine’s doorstep many years ago and that child had since been called Baby. Her stepmother owned a number of properties and Baby had been employed at one of her villas in Eros. “What happened to the mistress?” Cassia was afraid to ask the question, afraid to learn the answer.

  “Your stepmother escaped. But the rest of us were trapped.”

  “How did she manage to get out?” Once the hybrids took a villa, escape was nearly impossible.

  “She had help. A friend. He waved his hands and a blue shimmery bubble opened in the air. They just walked into it and disappeared.”

  Only a hybrid could transport. Lucine owned a number of hybrid slaves who could transport, but they were all collared. She couldn’t imagine that any would assist her. No hybrid would choose to remain a slave if rescue was around the corner. “Who helped her?”

  “I don’t know his name. He was tall and he always wore a disguise. Often he was masked and wigged.”

  “And he was a hybrid.”

  “He must be one of them. Your stepmother was afraid of him. She never acted fearful of any man, but she was terrified of this one. She was always armed when she met with him. She was never without her poison darts.”

  “Why would this hybrid help Lucine escape?”

  “I don’t know.” The girl started to shake in fear. “I think it had something to do with the Hydra. Their meetings had to do with the Hydra lab.”

  “How long has this hybrid been involved with Lucine?”

  “I don’t know. He’s only been coming around the past few weeks.”

  “You know nothing else?”

  Baby trembled. “No. I’m frightened. That villa burned to the ground and I think I was the only one who came out of there alive. What will they do with me?”

  “You’re a captive now. The ones who took you will make you their slave. But they don’t seem to be bad sorts. Just obey them as you did the mistress and you’ll be okay.”

  “I’m not going to be shelving books in the library anymore, I take it.”

  “No, they’ll want to touch you. Bed you.”

  Baby nodded. “I thought so. It is what invaders do. I will not fight them.”

  “You must avoid the other hybrids.” Cassia explained the current situation. The girl deserved to know her life was in danger so she could protect herself. She hoped Seamus and Visant managed to take her from the villa before Diermont caught wind of it.

  * * *

  Cabrian’s reception was rather chilly once Diermont realized the reason for his visit. The prince had not liked the idea of taking Cassia to the breeding camps. “As I was saying, the druids there have medicines to make a human fertile. I want Cassia to have this treatment so I can begin breeding her immediately.”

  “No, absolutely not.” Diermont’s lips twisted as if he had bitten into a sour lemon. “You cannot be that desperate for heirs. You’re in need of a bed servant. I can sympathize with you since you were in captivity so long.” He rubbed his jaw and stroked his goatee with his fingers. “I will match you with one of Snotti’s ladies for a mating test and that will give your cock a workout.”

  “Those ladies are ineligible. I’ve had failed mating tests with all of them except for Kiera.”

  “Kiera is to be matched with Sulian. I’ve already promised her to the druid. But I could match you to another lady. She wouldn’t be a possible mate, but she could provide relief for an aching cock.”

  “That violates protocol.”

  “I make the rules here, Lord Ross.” Diermont picked a hunting knife from the table and inspected its blade. “I would be willing to forget that you had previously failed the mating test with one of our ladies. I would do this for you.”

  “No, Your Royal Highness. I must decline.” Those mating tests were exercises in futility, and now that he had Cassia, they were completely unnecessary. It was such a relief. “I again ask that I be allowed to take Cassia to the breeding camps for treatment.”

  “I forbid it. We are in Rome on official business, not to help you get heirs off a human woman.” They were interrupted by a knock on the door and Diermont waved the servant forward before turning his attention back to Cabrian. “Your personal business can wait until you return to Asstrumnia.”

  The servant, squirrelly-nosed Patrick, carried a squealing pig into the room. He hog-tied it and left it suspended over a bucket.

  “A trip to a breeding camp would take no more than half an hour.” Diermont paid more attention to the pig than to Cabrian. He suppressed his irritation. “Surely you could spare me the time. We haven’t seen any evidence of Roman intrusion into this area in days. There is hardly anything to do here.” His down time would be so much more pleasant if he could spend himself inside his little human.

  “Your time is too precious to spend within the thighs of a Roman bitch. You need a good hybrid female, not this human.”

  Diermont handed Patrick the hunting knife. Patrick sliced into the pig’s stomach and blood poured into the bucket while the pig thrashed and squealed.

  “I lost my desire for hybrid females years ago.” Years of failed mating tests had taken their toll. “You know we are wired to respond only to compatible females. I am not compatible with any of the hybrids.”

  “You just haven’t found your true mate. She exi
sts.”

  Patrick poured brown liquid into teacups and added a ladle full of pig’s blood into each cup. He carried the beverages to the table and set one each in front of Diermont and Cabrian. “Tea is served,” Patrick said as he bowed in front of Diermont. “I will bring the biscuits.”

  Diermont thanked Patrick and took a sip of the tea, declaring it superb. “I refuse to believe any hybrid has to resort to human matings. You will understand this one day and then you will get rid of this human.”

  “I respectfully disagree.” Cabrian declined the tea. The pig continued to squeal in pain and the thought of drinking its blood as it slowly bleed to death turned his stomach. “I’ve bitten all I care to bite. I dare say I’ve bitten nearly all the females here and it’s not an experience worth repeating.”

  “You have bitten all of them except for Kiera, but that one is not for you.” Diermont sighed heavily. “I would hate to be you. Your constant failure in the mating arena is a sign that you should not reproduce. You risk passing on the flaws of your father.”

  “My father is a sick individual, but his crimes have nothing to do with me. I am not my father and I assure you that I carry none of his traits.”

  “Your interest in this human concerns me. Like your father, you have perverted tendencies.”

  Cabrian knew what Diermont did in the dungeon. If anyone had perverted tendencies, it was the prince. “There is no comparison. My father kidnapped hybrid females who were already mated and forced them to break their bonds with their true mates. He drove those males insane, and all for sport. It was a game to him. He was fucked up and all, but he never had a thing for human females.”

  “Your father ravished his own kind and you ravish the humans, so it is much the same thing.”

  The hell it was, but Cabrian couldn’t defend himself. Like the rest of the nobles, they had all learned the virtue of holding one’s tongue. Those who had not learned that lesson had their heads on spikes outside the palace gates.