“Vampires!” The other woman smiled broadly and bounced up from her seat and came over to greet Ash. She looked so much like Andras. Ash could clearly see the resemblance. “I want to meet them, but Andras won’t let me. I don’t know why. I can take care of myself.”
“Katalin, enough,” came Andras’ deep voice. “Don’t you have my dry cleaning to pick up?”
Katalin rolled her eyes. “Of course I have dry cleaning to pick up. And then I have your errands to run. Then groceries to buy. And while I’m at it, I might as well feed your horses.”
“Kat,” Andras said again, this time as a low warning.
Katalin turned around and saluted him. “Yes, sir. I’ll leave now, sir.”
Ash stepped to the side so that Katalin could walk by.
“It was nice meeting you,” she said on her way out.
“Nice meeting you too,” Ash said.
When Andras waved her in, Ash crossed the distance and handed him the sealed manila business envelope. She kept her focus on his ear. Why can’t I look him in the eyes? Weird.
“I’m sorry about that. Katalin can be high-strung and a pain sometimes.”
Asha nodded toward the doorway. “Is she human?”
Andras shook his head. “No, Shifter. More pointedly, my younger sister.”
Andras turned the envelope over and paused when he saw the blood seal on the back. It was stamped with Clarissa’s house emblem. He brought the envelope to his nose and sniffed. When his eyes settled knowingly on hers she instinctively pulled her sleeve over her wrist.
A number of emotions passed across Andras’ face—confusion, pity, anger and disgust.
Ash knew that whatever Clarissa felt for her wasn’t love. Not entirely.
Clarissa saw a prodigy in her and, for whatever reason, had decided not to kill her when she had come upon her that night so long ago. Clarissa hadn’t lied to her—she had told Ash exactly what she was and had given Ash the choice to join her family or stay in the junked-out hearse that she’d been living in.
It had been an obvious choice. With Clarissa, she could have power, prestige, money, a roof over her head and, most importantly, protection. All the things Ash had always dreamed about. Everyone here may have looked down on her for who she’d chosen to align herself with and they may have thought she was being used and possibly abused, but what they didn’t and couldn’t understand was that she had found something in this clan she’d been missing in her life.
A family.
And it was the closest she’d ever come to having one.
Hunter, Trudy and the man before her would never understand that.
Chapter Six
Ash watched from her peripheral vision as Hunter spoke in hushed tones into his phone. He argued with someone. That much was clear, even though she couldn’t make out the words he said. If she were a Vampire, she wouldn’t have any problem at all, but if she were a Vampire she probably wouldn’t care, either.
Despite their earlier argument, he’d positioned his chair in her line of sight again. Why, she didn’t have a clue. She knew how he felt about her—she was a Vampire wannabe. She didn’t expect those smoldering looks he’d given her the night before. Maybe without his eyes constantly on her she would be able to get some work done without having him on her mind.
Hunter stood abruptly and kicked back his chair. “Erzsebet, you’re being completely unreasonable.” He cut his gaze toward Ash, and finding that she watched him, he stalked away, leaving the other two Wolf-Shifters to watch the conference room door.
If she had a brother, would he act like Hunter did? She pondered the thought, wondering if his obvious possessiveness stemmed from being a big brother or the fact that he was part wolf. Either way, she would’ve appreciated an overprotective sibling growing up. With someone like Hunter at her back she wouldn’t have had to sleep with a steak knife under her pillow to help keep Daddy Tom from coming into her room at night. With a big brother, a lot of things would’ve been different.
She sighed.
“Asha?”
A fine tingling of heat crept up the back of her neck. The voice that called out her name was lyrical and sweet, but she’d learned to fear it just the same.
Ash steeled herself and turned to Clarissa. “Yes?”
Clarissa was easy on the eyes—beautiful and petite. She looked like a doll, but thinking her as good and cute would be the first mistake. Behind those blue contacts were blood-red eyes and behind the pink bow lips were razor-sharp fangs.
“You’re distracted, dear.” Clarissa glanced from Ash to Hunter’s empty chair.
Ash followed her line of sight and quickly shook her head. “I’m not. I was thinking of the background of one of the suspects on my list.” Ash tapped the list of names with her finger for good measure.
“Which one?”
“P-Pardon me?”
Clarissa’s face was impassive. “Which suspect’s background were you contemplating?”
Ash quickly glanced at her list. “Um, Erzsebet Arany.”
“You lie.” It was said as a simple statement.
“I assure you that I was thinking of Erzsebet.”
“And what of her brother? Were you thinking of him, too?”
Shoot. How had Clarissa known that Hunter and Erzsebet were related? “Yes, her brother, as well. I wondered how the sister was listed as fourth on the list and the brother is listed as one of the last.”
“Hm,” Clarissa said, as if giving the matter some thought, when Ash knew that she couldn’t care less if Hunter was on the list at all.
Ash wanted to turn away, to get back to work, but compulsion made her face Clarissa. It was dangerous to lie to her. She always seemed to know exactly what the truth was anyway. Ash felt her heart thump and her breathing increase. Her heart rate she couldn’t do anything about, but her breathing she’d learned to control long ago. She struggled against taking more breaths than needed in order to slow it down.
“Come here,” Clarissa said.
Ash glanced at Francisco and Angelica. They had their heads down, concentrating on their monitors with their fingers flying across the keyboards. Ricko and Rocko were busy in a staring contest with the Shifters at the door, Gergo and Daniel. No one seemed to pay any mind to her and Clarissa’s exchange. Even if someone wanted to stop what was to happen next, none of the Vampires would have dared say or do anything against Clarissa and she couldn’t count on any help from the Shifters. She wasn’t their problem.
Ash stood on wobbly legs and took tentative steps toward Clarissa. She stopped in front of her chair. “I apologize, Clarissa. I should’ve been concentrating more on my work,” she said in a low voice.
Clarissa ignored her words. “Hold out your hand.”
Without a second thought, Ash did as told, even though she knew it would only result in pain.
Clarissa brushed her dainty fingers across Ash’s palm. “You know I care for you, Asha.”
Like a spider cares for the fly. “Yes, I know.” Tears burned behind her eyes.
“But I did not bring you here to daydream. I did not bring you here to lie to me and I did not bring you here for you not to perform your duties properly.”
A little pain now is better than a lot of pain later, she convinced herself. “Yes, I know.”
Clarissa looked up at Ash with bright blue eyes. “Do you still want to become an official member of my House?”
More than anything. “I do.” Asha sniffled.
In one swift movement Clarissa pushed Ash’s baby finger down. Crack. Pain radiated through Ash’s body. She caught the cry before it escaped her mouth, but she couldn’t catch the tear that streamed down her cheek.
Ash’s first impulse was to pull her hand away—she’d done that once. Her wrist had healed, but it still gave her trouble when it rained. Ash kept her arm outstretched, locking her elbow in place. Her arm shook from the pain. She bit down on her lip.
“If you want to become a Vampire, then you must
understand the value of dedication. Now, take your seat and continue your job.” Clarissa dismissed her by turning to her computer.
Ash stepped back and smacked into Hunter’s hard chest. A low growl emitted from his throat.
“You dare abuse her on our property?” he asked.
Clarissa looked up at Hunter absently. “Your property? I was under the impression that this property belonged to the Farkas brothers, not the…cousin.”
“We’re all family, and this is ours. It belongs to the Pack.”
Clarissa lifted a shoulder. “If that’s the case, then maybe the Pack should take this matter up with the city, since they have this property registered to Farkas.”
“Hunter,” Ash whispered. “What are you doing?” Didn’t he know that Clarissa could kill him in the blink of an eye? Clarissa appeared as young as a twelve-year old, but she was stronger than any of the Vampires that Ash had met before, except for her sire, Adir, and of course the most powerful Zaid.
Hunter grabbed Ash’s arm and, before she could object, he pulled her to stand behind him. “You have no clue about what it means to be Pack. I’m sure you can’t fathom that family concept. But here, on family property, you will not harm an innocent.”
Ash wanted to open her mouth, to tell him to shut up. But her words stuck in her throat. He defended her when no one else would. No one had ever done that before. Not in the foster homes or the group homes.
Only when he left, pulling her to follow him, did she finally find her voice. “Hunter, stop. It’s all right.”
“No, it is not,” he bit out. “We’ll have to tend to your finger.”
She struggled to get out of his grasp. “You don’t understand. This isn’t the first time that she’s broken one of my fingers. Hell, it may not even be the first time that this finger has been broken. I can set it properly later.”
He stopped and she bumped into his hard back. “Oomph.”
“So, Clarissa has made a habit of breaking your fingers?”
He sounded angry. Very angry.
“Um.” She could lie, but what was the use? She kept her mouth shut.
“Your silence tells me, yes.”
Ash glanced across the office. Clarissa still sat in the conference room, her fingers going a mile a minute on the keyboard. She may have looked as if she didn’t care, but Ash had found that when it came to someone challenging her power—Clarissa cared very much.
Ash let out a deep breath. She would surely pay for this later.
This time, when Hunter pulled her along, she didn’t struggle against him. “We’ll be back shortly,” he said to the other Shifters.
“Do you need any help?” Gergo asked.
“No, I can handle this,” Hunter replied.
Hunter led her out of the door and to another room. He sat her in a chair and pulled out a first-aid kit from a cabinet. He rummaged through the bandages and tape and found what he searched for.
She let him set her finger in a splint. “You must not deal with Vampires very much, do you?” she asked him. If he had, then he wouldn’t have ever challenged Clarissa.
“Not if I can help it. I don’t like the blood-suckers.”
She glanced at the door, half expecting Clarissa to be there, listening to their conversation.
“You shouldn’t talk that way,” Ash whispered.
“Honey, I’m not afraid of anyone in there or their kind.”
Ash bit the inside of her lip. If he knew half of what she did, he would be very afraid.
“So, why did she do it anyway?” he asked her—his voice didn’t sound as gruff as it had a minute ago.
“It was my fault.”
“That’s the typical response of someone being abused.” He began wrapping her finger and splint with a bandage.
“I’m not being abused. I’m being molded.”
Hunter cut his eyes at her. “Molded? Into what? One of them?”
Again she went silent. What would be the point in trying to explain to him the dynamics of their family? Yeah, her and Clarissa had a messed-up relationship, but in time that would change. They would become equals.
He wouldn’t understand.
Hunter released her hand. Disgust was written all over his face. “You can’t be serious. Do you honestly think that after they finish abusing you that they’ll still make you one of them?”
“Yes. Clarissa promised.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “I don’t know which is worse. That you actually think they’ll follow through on their promise or that you want to be a blood-sucking Vamp.”
Ash straightened her back. “There are worse things I could be.” Homeless, drug addict, prostitute, dead. Yes, there were worse things.
She stood. “Thank you for your help, Hunter.” She turned and walked away from him. What he didn’t know was that she would have to pay for his help later.
* * * *
Ash’s legs shook from weakness. She was exhausted. Every muscle in her body throbbed. Arms weren’t meant to stay suspended in the air for hours on end and she knew from experience that once the handcuffs were taken off, there would be burning and tingling as the circulation returned.
As soon as they’d returned to the rental house, Clarissa had motioned for Ash to go upstairs. Ash had started up the stairs, wondering what her punishment was to be.
“Grab your handcuffs,” Clarissa had called out.
Ash had paused on a step. She hated that Clarissa referred to the handcuffs as belonging to her. It made her cringe. The first thing that Ash planned to do when she became a Vampire was to ball those handcuffs into a heap of metal. They wouldn’t be used on her or anyone else ever again. “Yes, Clarissa.”
With handcuffs in hand, Ash had gone straight to the bathroom and waited out her punishment. Clarissa had come in a short time later and Ash had assumed the position. She had given the cuffs to Clarissa and stilled as Clarissa had slapped one cold link around her wrist. Then Ash had moved to hold on to the shower rod. Clarissa secured the other cuff, using the shower rod to separate her wrists.
Ash closed her eyes and held her breath as she felt the familiar prick on her groin from where Clarissa’s sharp teeth had punctured her skin to get at the large artery that was there. There was nothing sexual about where Clarissa chose to feed. She preferred the areas where the oxygen-rich blood flowed freely, and while Ash was suspended, the blood oozed from her wound. What Clarissa couldn’t drink fast enough spilled down Ash’s leg.
Clarissa used this particular punishment to teach Ash discipline, or so Clarissa had said.
After Clarissa had finished, she applied her saliva to seal the wound. Clarissa didn’t bother cleaning off the blood—Ash would take care of that once Clarissa had released her from the handcuffs. Instead, Clarissa had wiped her mouth and, before leaving, had placed the handcuff key in Ash’s hand.
At three o’clock, Ash would free herself. She would then clean up the mess, shower, dress, eat then go to Dark Wolf Enterprises to work. She wouldn’t release herself at two fifty-nine, but three o’clock sharp. That was the time Clarissa had given her.
Ash accepted the punishment that was given. If Ash had been concentrating on her work, and not thinking about Hunter, she wouldn’t have been in this position in the first place. She had to learn how to stop her mind from wandering and to do her job. Tomorrow night she wouldn’t look at him at all. She wouldn’t even acknowledge his presence.
“Asha?” Clarissa had said before leaving the bathroom.
“Yes, Clarissa?”
“Don’t disappoint me again.”
Ash had lowered her eyes. “I won’t.”
Clarissa demanded complete compliance. Everyone knew their place, but the others were more adept at it than her. While she’d only had eleven years under Clarissa’s tutelage, the others had decades. No one slipped up like she did and no one was punished as she was.
But in all fairness, she was still human. If she were a Vampire, she doubted that she w
ould’ve been remotely interested in the Wolf-Shifter. She wouldn’t have been side-tracked by anything. She would’ve been fast enough to complete the background checks on everyone on the list by now.
Ash had seven more hours until she could free herself. It was long enough to think about all the things she’d done wrong this evening and how she could spend the next night making it up to Clarissa.
* * * *
Hunter’s wolf sniffed at the air. He could smell Ash’s sweat and fear. He prowled around the yard and jumped to his hind legs, resting his front paws on the window frame. He peered through the glass but met blackness.
His wolf whined. Ash was in the house and he wanted her.
Chapter Seven
By the time the driver pulled up to Dark Wolf Enterprises, Ash was good and angry. She was already going to tell Hunter to keep his distance from her. She didn’t need any more of his help. But when she’d left the house this afternoon she’d seen distinct wolf tracks in the mud in the yard. It could’ve been a stray dog, but seeing how any other occupied houses were at least five miles off, she doubted the tracks were from a stray and she doubted a dog had paws as big as the ones left around the house.
He was going to get her killed.
Ash had spent a half hour going around the property, using a shovel that she’d found in the garage, smoothing out all the tracks she’d found. She was so dirty that she’d had to take another shower. Now, she was an hour late for work. Clarissa may be asleep but somehow, she would find out about her lateness. And Ash would be punished, yet again.
When the driver opened the car door, Ash got out, refusing the hand he offered to her. Clarissa was used to being catered to. Ash was not. At the front door, Gergo came to greet her.
“Good afternoon, do you need to see Andras first or go to the conference room?”
She had other pressing matters at hand. “I need to see Hunter.”
Gergo raised an eyebrow. “Hunter is indisposed at this moment.”
“I need to talk to him, now. Can you let him know that I require his presence and to meet me in the conference room?”
Hunter Claimed (Dark Wolf Enterprises Book 3) Page 6
