Simone Parker's Story

Fuck. Late. Soooo… fucking late. Sapphire groaned. Her head was still hurting from Friday night, and if she had to be perfectly honest, she could probably dig herself a hole and be content just staying there all day and night. She and Simone had been out. It had ended up rather crazy like it often did with the two oldest sisters. Syd was a more quiet kind, that was for sure. She would’ve probably sunk into a couch trying to look invisible during the whole ordeal. Saph smiled, for a moment forgetting that she was in a hurry. She was late. As the words slithered through her clouded mind, Sapphire snapped her fingers, exclaiming a frustrated "Damn it!"

And soon she was running through her apartment, picking out her outfit, her long legs carrying her speedily around the place. Clothes were quickly thrown on and as such Sapphire was soon in her bathroom. There, she donned a light make up of mascara and brown eyeshadow, along with just a little splash of gloss to her lips. Her hair was brushed through loosely before she lifted it into a messy but fashionable bun, leaving a few strands of blonde hair to frame her pretty features. She then put on a long gold necklace and a pair of matching earrings before checking the time on her phone once more. She had... about minus two minutes to get to the cafe.

Well, her sisters knew her. She shrugged it off and pushed her feet into the brown boots she loved, and grabbed her bag on the way out, already on her way down the stairs when she remembered she'd completely forgotten to lock her door. Sapphire let out a string of curses under her breath and ran back up, quickly showing in the key to lock the door. Only once that was done did she run back down, speedwalking to the location. It was no more than a ten minute walk from her place, so she didn't have far, but seeing as she was late when she left, she ended up arriving fifteen minutes after the agreed time anyway. Spotting her sisters by a table she made her way over, plopping her petite form into one of the chairs on a relieved sigh. "I'm late, I know. Don't shoot me. Hangovers are a bitch. I blame Simone." She shot her older sister a grin at that. Especially since they all knew Saph was more than able to get herself drunk without any help.



The three sisters spent the evening eating, talking and joking about like they usually did, easily falling into that same, familiar pattern, and Sapphire loved it. She missed her sisters when she wasn't with them. They were exceptionally tight, all of them, and though she didn't tell them everything (she didn't do that with anyone), they were definitely her best friends. They always would be. Sapphire's gaze vigilantly searched her surroundings once in a while, subconsciously looking for someone perhaps, but she herself did not notice the actual frequency. Until she spotted... something. Her gaze seemed to brush the outlines of a figure. Of pale, long hair and a tall, lean body. She blinked a couple of times and it was gone... like a ghost almost.

Maybe she hadn't seen anything? But it seemed familiar, somehow. Like something she'd seen before. Like... like Sabine. She shook her head almost as an unwilling reaction, a chill running down her spine. There were things she did not like to admit to, there were things she did not even want to recognize herself. He was one of them. The mysterious male who she'd met just about two years ago. He wasn't... classically handsome, but there was something about the way he held himself. The power in his body, the intensity and intelligence his eyes had seemed to contain. Like he'd lived for thousands of years and seen it all. They were wise eyes, and his countenance had been that of a powerful business man. Someone secure and powerful in position.

Even his voice had gotten to her. The blonde had never tried that before. She'd never had a man affect her that way. There'd just been... something there. Strangely so, because she really didn't particularly like the guy. In fact, he pissed her off like no one else could. He was just so... arrogantly infuriating! And so stubborn. Not that Sapphire really had the right to complain about others being stubborn, all things considered, but he'd.... been a challenge. Maybe that was what had her wanting more of him. The thrill of a challenge. Sapphire was a clever girls and her words had a tendency to cut people much like a knife, but this man had thrown every little jab right back in her face.

Which was also new. She was used to dominating. There, she'd admitted it. She was a dominant. She was always the powerful one in a relationship. Not because she was physically strong or powerful, but because she was just that type. Well, that, and she simply had always cared less. She wasn't the type to fall head over heels, men didn't get to play with her emotions that way. Not as of yet. She was a strong girl and she'd always been picky about who she truly let into her heart, so she supposed it bothered her a little that even after two years... she still had Sabine's handkerchief and jacket... and she still thought about him every once in a while. Today was one of those times. And now she was even imagining things. What was happening to her?

Dragging herself out of her little reverie, she turned to look at her sisters, only catching half of a sentence, so trying to come back into the conversation she asked ”wait… what? Who?”

---

---

Alexander’s green, piercing eyes were scanning the dancefloor populated by a large variety of scantily dressed human females and males who were no more than boys. Eagerly they did that… grinding thing humans seemed to have taken to for some reason. Alexander found it tasteless. It demanded no skill, and to him it appeared clothed, public foreplay. Now, he was not the kind to discourage public affections, but there were limits and these… humpings and grindings… well, it would be a shame to call them any form of dance, but perhaps movements would suffice, made him wonder why they would ever even claim to be above animals.

He casually swirled the amber liquid in his glass, waiting for something, although he had no clue what. Really, no clue at all… except maybe he sort of did recognize that one human in particular was in his hopes. He had to find her. He could no longer accept this constant hunger, nor could he ignore the tantalizing memory that was the taste of her blood. At times he could even taste it on his tongue. Vaguely, but it was enough to rouse a furious hunger. Tonight was no exception. This place, the place in which they had met, called those memories fourth in vivid images. So the vampire king was indeed feeling the need to grab a snack, but he was not too fond of leaving this spot. Not that he couldn’t have it back from anyone who took over, because that would be easy enough, but what if she showed up and then left again while he was out?

No, it simply would not do. So he sat, quietly, eyes intense, leaned back against the cushions of the sofa he was in. It was situated a little off to the side, but not entirely in shadows. After all, he wanted her to be able to see him as soon as she entered, if she did. He had left things on good terms two years ago. Of course he’d then left never to be heard from again, but that was beside the point. He had taken her home after some idiotic subject had thought to make a meal of her. Her home naturally. A move he had reprimanded himself for many times over the last two years. He should have just taken her home to his own mansion. He would have had her blood available at all times if he’d thought to do so. But no, he had been too busy leaving

Hmm, but his plans tonight sought to fix that little issue. He was not leaving this time, and neither was she. He wasn’t going to let go of her again. Not if it meant the memory of her blood would taunt him for the rest of his days, which to him could be a very, very long time. Alexander was an exceptionally patient man, but there were limits. Even with Alanya he could snap. But then, his daughter was a handful. He was more than simply aware of that. He also knew of her current infatuation with the Captain and he didn’t particularly like it.

Not because he didn’t like Alanya with a man, because honestly he’d gotten used to that centuries ago, but Daniel Bowman was no upstanding male, and if his daughter was not careful, Alexander feared she would fall prey to the man’s games. Which would undeniably result in Alexander losing his calm, and then he would have to choose a new captain. He was snapped out of this line of thought when the scent of a much too strong (and cheap) perfume decided to flood his senses. He looked up to find a blond in a much too tight dress looking him up and down. Alexander raised an eyebrow. “Can I help you?” He asked coolly, not the least bit interested. He was here for one reason and one reason alone. He would not be strayed from this path. His tone apparently had the desired effect because she looked rather insulted, but she soon disregarded that and smiled something Alexander assumed was supposed to be seductive.

“Actually, sweetpea,” she began, a Texas drawl to her voice, “I was going to ask you the same thing.” All the king did was raise an eyebrow at her and take a sip of his drink, before his gaze made its way back in the direction of the door. After a while of her pining for his attention, she finally huffed something about him being an arrogant asshole and left. He promptly ignored her. She was beneath his notice really.

---

---

”Out?” The voice rang out, smooth, yet with so much deadly promise. The person speaking did sound pleased, nor did she sound very patient. There was no uttered threat, no outright hostility, yet the servant it was directed at, took half a step back before replying weakly “I believe so, your majesty.” Alanya raised a single eyebrow – a habit she had inherited from her father – and tapped her lower lip thoughtfully with the tip of her index finger, her cream-colour painted nail perfectly long and shaped to perfection soon resting upon that lip as her finger stilled. “Am I to assume you are unaware of the whereabouts of your king?” She inquired, the question leading, like the answer to it would decide the very fate of this servant.

Really Alanya had no actual desire to know where her father was. Or, rather, it would not matter to her. She couldn’t go anywhere just yet anyway. Her father was a lot older, so the remaining few rays of sunshine didn’t bother him at all. Her, however… oh, she was a lot more sensitive. Not even 700 years of age, Alanya had a lot of aging to do before she could walk in the evening sun like the King. So her point here might be redundant, except… it wasn’t. She was entertaining herself, you see; toying with the servant. She was a newly changed one and had only lived for a couple of decades. Easy prey, but ah, the things you did when you were bored. The servant before her seemed to almost sink a lump of fear and Alanya smiled sweetly, kindly even, but her eyes were anything but.

“I… I,” she began, but when Alanya merely look at her, she lowered her gaze to the floor and kept her head down. The princess sighed in frustration, turning her eyes upwards for a second before walking forwards, placing a slightly bent index finger under the girl’s chin. She guided the servant’s face back up, amber eyes boring into those of her current victim. “Answer me,” she then ordered, again ever so controlled, and kind. The servant drew in a deep breath, trembling slightly. “Yes, your majesty,” she then stuttered out. Alanya smiled at her, letting go instantly. “Hmm,” she only added as she turned and walked away. That servant would be walking on nails for the next very long time, wondering what that “hmm” meant for her, and that was exactly Alanya’s intentions. That alone.

It wasn’t like she expected her servants to know where her father went; he wasn’t really the type to tell. But that was the end of it. It seemed this would be a rather tedious night. She sighed theatrically, her golden heels carrying her methodically through the great mansion her father had chosen to stay in during this time on earth. She had been in it many, many times before, so she knew her way about. As such, it didn’t take her long to reach a much more interesting room… because it held a much more interesting game. A mischievous, almost mysterious smile played at her lips as she elegantly strode across the wooden floors to reach the Captain of the Vampire King’s Guard. Daniel Bowman. Or, as she knew him; Danny.

The fact that he was writing a letter, acting all the victim of lost love, didn’t bother her. Hell, she didn’t really know why he bothered putting on a show when he was alone anyway, because lord knew, he had no actual feelings for that… oh, who was it at the moment? Alanya wasn’t entirely sure, and she didn’t really care much. And so, she merely walked straight over and easily, casual, although it was nothing much, sat herself on his lap, legs crossed sophisticatedly. Her movement itself was silky and graceful, since her dress was not quite the formal gowns she wore back home, and she gently placed a hand on his chest, smiling up at him with a mischievous, playful glint in her eyes. “Poor, poor little Danny,” she then teased, the hand on his chest dancing up to rest on the side of his neck, “forget something back home, did you?”

Simone couldn’t believe that she had agreed to meet her sisters at this café of all places. It was a…hipster hangout. The redhead found herself seated at a table closer to the windows and far wall of the buzzing coffee shop, the first to arrive. Allan at the zoo had forced her to cut her day early. There was no such thing as a shift for her, though her start time was always the same: 5:00am every morning. How long she stayed varied depending on the season, the issue, the animals. She had intended to leave on time for once, before 4 o’clock so that she could get to the café on time. That said she had been forced off just after one, leaving her to mull in her bare bones apartment. She had done laundry and made her bed. Hungry she had found herself without anything to eat. So she’d left early, not really knowing why, toting a messenger bag with her with her computer and overdue paperwork and order forms for animal feed for the next month that needed to get done. The other reason Simone found herself strapped with such mundane tasks was the fact that her division’s primary secretary had run off to elope and get married in Vegas last week short notice. The only office workers were trying to pick it up but they kept running into perilous mistakes like the fact that one of their senior tigers’ arthritis medication hadn’t been ordered on time or properly. Thankfully the vet had been smart enough to correct the order himself.

So there she was. At the café ridiculously early. To avoid being accused of loitering she had ordered an early grey tea with four sugars – ridiculously sweet and yet slightly bitter and just hot enough to warm her. The table was spacious, large enough for four people to sit at. Simone wasn’t afraid to hog the space, pulling out her laptop and spreading out half a dozen file folders of order forms and paperwork across the table top. When she plugged in her headphones and began to zone out, she tried to slip into the ease of office work in a public venue. Every so often her eyes would glance up from her screen to scan the moving crowd, wondering when her sisters would arrive. She could hear Sapphire complaining that she had brought work to their first get together in the longest time while Syd would cast her some sort of quiet knowing, after all she had her own office work to do. But Sapphire could easily bring some sort of marking or progress report job. They all had paperwork to do, though Sydney probably had it the worst given that she worked in a legal office.

As she reclined in her seat and sipped at her tea, Simone clicked open her iTunes and began to sort through her playlists. There was almost everything there, a combination of movie soundtracks from the Lion King to The Dark Knight. James Powell. James Newton Howard. Hans Zimmer. Then there was the classical music. Debussy. Pachelbel. Yanni. There was hoards of it before you hit the top 40s list of Katy Perry, Lady Gaga. But at the top of it all were her true favorites, beyond her favorite instrumental pieces, a little indie rock – The Black Keys – and then the likes of The Lumineers and Florence + the Machine and Metric. She could listen to anything and a song could change her mood in a heartbeat. Music made the mundane work at the zoo pass quicker and paperwork was no exception. As she clicked onto Imagine Dragons and hit play, she tried to tune into an email to their local salmon provider for the bears. They were spoiling them this month with a new budgetary increase and donation. The Grizzlies were going to be ecstatic. To anyone else her email would have been absurdly strange, requesting five thousand pounds of fish. That would get them through the month. They would probably spread it across half a dozen species who liked fish.

When Simone turned to the actual paperwork in front of her though, she found herself rapidly unable to focus. The guy next to her was surrounded by textbooks and appeared to be cramming for some final exam. University student, she thought. I used to be one of those.

Would she go back to that though? The men were certainly easier to come by and she hadn’t been looking for anything serious at the time. Now she was twenty four and a phone call to her mom last night had her head spinning. When were they going to get grandchildren? When would she stop going out every night? Simone hadn’t exactly been the one to leave the state or go on a whirlwind tour of the world. She had settled into her own place and her own job and she was perfectly happy. But then again she was surrounded by much older married couples and co-workers. Hell, even Stephanie was able to get off to Vegas and get married! And what did she have, Simone wondered? A sour date three weeks ago that had been set up for her. She’d had such high expectations. The pictures had been so good, the discussions about him and with him on the phone had been so good. And then in person there had been absolutely nothing in terms of chemistry. Add to that the fact that he had been an absolute douche about her being a redhead, possessed a sardonic sense of humor and a terrible sense of irony and she had been out the door before an hour had passed.

As Simone pushed her mind through the drudgery of her love life, she found herself spiraling back to two years ago. That night. No man had ever looked at her the same way. No man had given her the same spark. When she dreamed those dirty dreams of desperation, it wasn’t the likes of Ryan Gosling or Matt Damon with her, it was that guy. I don’t even know his name. But she knew his face and the sound of his voice. She could remember the electric touch of his hands on her skin, the aggressive way he’d gone after her. It made her shiver as she sat there. Simone grabbed her tea and held her mug in her hands, resting her chin on the edge of it as she fell back into the second time she had seen him, how he had saved her from that asshole who wouldn’t take no for an answer. She’d gone to drive home and he’d rushed after her and wrapped his arms around her and walked her from beyond to his car. And he had had a sexy car. Leather seats. Expensive. I don’t know anything about cars but his had been beyond luxury.

She was in a daze when a crash from the table next to her had her jump and her tea splashed up into her face and down her chin. Another dollop went straight onto her keyboard. Simone set her cup aside and immediately pulled her sweater to her computer, titled it sideways and let it was little had spilled on it run down the side. I do this too often. Last time her laptop had had half a glass of juice spilled on it and the keyboard replacement had been two hundred bucks. Shit.

Simone sighed, wiping the tea off her face with the back of her hand and looking over at the young man beside her who flicked his eyes at her in a once over with a subtle smirk before returning to his studies. Yeah, enjoy it. Whatever. Pursing her lips, she shifted and grabbed a fistful of napkins to dab at what papers had also been sprayed. The air smelt of sugar and earl grey tea. Normally she wouldn’t have cared but her jumpiness, her daze…everything was now a public escapade. She couldn’t help but think. If he was there he would have helped her. He would have…thrown money at her laptop. She didn’t have any conception of what he would do really, only that she would be fighting to get her way and he would never take no for an answer. Only, unlike the other asshole, with him it was sexy.

* * *

Paperwork aside, Simone found herself feeling at home. The cafeteria crowd came and went. The obnoxious student left the moment Sapphire finally arrived, voice booming, excuses spilling everywhere. Hangovers. Busy nights. Simone had learned to filter it and while she personally trusted that her sister was still clean, still on a good track, the mother in her found herself looking over her for the sights. Track marks? None. Bloodshot eyes? None. Nothing more than dark eyes hidden by makeup and the occasional yawn and her hangover food of choice.

The redhead reclined into her seat, glancing down at her bag to double check that all of her things were still in place for some reason. Simone found herself listening to Sydney talk about her latest case. She couldn’t help but sit and admire that the three of them were doing more than a group Skype session. That said, they all looked…preoccupied. Simone turned and looked at Sapphire, seeing the glazed look in her eyes.

“Saph! Who’s the guy. Seriously,” she asked suddenly, glancing over at Sydney to make sure that she hadn’t interrupted her at the wrong moment.

”Wait… what? Who?” Sapphire sputtered suddenly, turning to look at the both of them confused as to what they were talking about. “That glazed look in your eyes, the blush might be your hangover but you’re thinking about someone aren’t you? You agree with me Syd don't you?”

---

The soft, regular clicks of a metronome in motion filled the central living space of the small apartment, a gentle harbinger of what was to come. By contrast, Sydney’s thoughts moved as they always did—with a quickness that sacrificed nothing of precision, only sometimes of expression. She stood, for the moment barefoot and clad in torn jeans and what appeared to be a man’s shirt, the sleeves rolled up several times until they fell just below her elbows, in the center of the carpeting, kneading her toes unconsciously into the soft pile. One hand, raised and bent, held the body of a delicate violin to her shoulder, while the other loosely clasped the bow of it, hanging limply at her side.

Her mind, as it tended to be now and then, was for the moment elsewhere, and not even the promise of mastering the piece could yet draw it back from where it wandered so far afield, adrift in some lofty current of wind and water and dream. This place—if indeed it could be called a place—was the oft-forsaken corner of her mind where Sydney kept the things that came to her not from logic or practicality or education, but from the heart. Here, she wandered among flowerbeds, plunging her fingers into loamy earth and smelling the birth of new things and life, skirted sheer cliff-faces to peer over the edge of a roaring waterfall that misted her vision and made her feel small, walked beneath great trees with leaves edged in the most uncanny shade of silver. Here, the wind blew over her, caressing her face, at times cold and forsaken, tinged with sorrow, and at others hot and humid, like the breath of one who should not be standing so close.

Of late, the predominantly-blue tones of her hidden world were giving themselves over to argent and dove-grey, a slow claiming that she could not help but view as hostile, and so she avoided this place, avoided contemplating this part of herself, until she needed to. Where once she had been the slayer of dragons, protagonist and heroine of her own childish fancy, running with quickened steps and thrumming heartbeat to where none could follow, now she felt lost in it, adrift and distinct from it, as though estranged from herself. It was uncomfortable, but she needed it yet. There was still one thing she could not do without feeling, and it was the thing she desired to do most of all, deep in her heart of hearts.

Thin fingers tightened on the violin, as if by some inborn reflex, and the strings biting into the gently-callused tips returned her vision to somewhere much closer as she emerged from her reverie. She’d found what she needed, somewhere there, in her starlit, tilting world. A deep breath shifted her entire posture, and the young woman brought bow to string, an old, practiced motion that required no eye to see it happen. With a gentle exhale, the first note rang sweetly into the air, and for just a little while, all else was still in her soul.

---

The cafe they had chosen was a pretty nice place, though its population was largely students and people wearing lots of plaid and tight jeans. The selection, Sydney attributed entirely to her older sisters, as they only places she really knew in San Diego were libraries, courthouses, theaters, offices, and the occasional park. Anything she recalled about anywhere else was the work of Sapphire, Simone, or both. Not that she minded in the least; her sisters were wonderful people, and if their tastes were all a little different, well, so what? It never stopped them from getting along, at least not anymore. Perhaps things had been a bit different when they were children, but such troubles were behind them now.

As usual, a lifelong habit of being early to nearly everything served Sydney well, and she was the second to arrive. The waitress recognized her and smiled, ushering her to the Parkers’ usual table, where she sat demurely, hands folded in her lap, and greeted Simone, who from the looks of things, had been there for quite some time already. Saph arrived some time after, late as she often was, and her comment produced only a softening of Sydney’s facial features, indicative of her quiet amusement. Syd didn’t smile often, nor frown, and often seemed to be elsewhere during conversations, but her sisters knew her well enough to read her happiness from the smallest of signs like this.

“Don’t worry about it,” she answered quietly, and it wasn’t long before the three of them were seated, enjoying each other’s company as they were so wont to do.

---

It hadn’t been more than an hour when something changed. Syd was a perceptive woman, generally, though she tried to ignore the slight discomfort she was experiencing, all the while surreptitiously searching for its source. She’d been coaxed into talking about a case, but now she fell more or less silent, noting Sapphire’s distant look and Simone’s temporary preoccupation but commenting on neither. Reaching down to adjust one cuff of the forest-green turtleneck sweater she wore with her dark jeans, she caught something from the periphery of her vision, and glanced up, meeting the eyes of someone she’d never seen before.

She’d surely remember it if she had. The man seemed cut from daylight itself, sketching a tall, but quite lean figure, crowned by an aureate mane to rival Saph’s. And it was at Saph he was most intensely focused. Though his outward appearance suggested sunlight, Syd couldn’t help but feel a slight chill anyway, as though all the warmth had been stolen from her limbs. Dismissing the feeling as silly, she glanced back and forth a few times between them, clearly waiting for the man to direct his gaze elsewhere. When he did not, she broke into the conversation with an apologetic look towards Simone, who was currently trying to secure her agreement regarding Sapphire’s mood.

“Um, Saph… I’m not really sure how to say this, but… there’s a man behind you, and he’s… well, he’s staring. To the left a little, tall, long hair?” The last, she provided in case Saph decided to turn around and figure out who it was. Perhaps it was simply some friend of hers, or maybe Sapphire just resembled someone else from the back. Maybe he was like her and tended to lose himself in thought and wasn’t staring at her sister at all. Somehow, though, that didn’t seem too likely…

Sabine Marx

Sabine had dawdled on his course to his destination, as he was prone to do, he paused every so often in a pool of sunlight to examine something or another. The thin man couldn’t say why, but he was actually experiencing some reservations about his plan, now that it was so close to fruition. Well, the plan would be ripe just as soon as he found the impertinent little female. He didn’t know what the ends to the means were, but here he was. It was rather tiresome, dwelling on the thoughts, but his brain seemed hell bent on torturing him. These roads were all familiar; barely anything had changed significantly in the last two years to his eyes. The humans were all the same, the roads were all the same; even the air around every place was so very similar. He lingered at the park among the dappled warmth, folding his hands behind his back and letting the spotty warmth kiss his face.

Was this a good idea? He felt a twinge in his being and paused briefly. Of course. All his ideas were brilliant. Emboldened, he continued on his path, following the familiar footsteps of thousands of wanderings through the city. He held no love for the human hive, but he was rather partial to the way the air and sun felt on a warm day in this place. The weather in Dothri Regum was very temperamental, sometimes the weather was fair, but it could go to hovering darkness in a few moments. Which is why the sun was a precious creature to his kind.

As late afternoon began to bloom, bleeding across the sky, he finally traced the roads he’d been thinking of for the last two years. He passed the alleyway first, casting it a glance and pausing for a moment. People hurrying past surged around him, splitting for the regal figure like waters parting for a stone. The faint marks of a smile creased his eyes. That had been an invigorating fight. He’d never managed to get the blood off the toe of his shoe though, what a shame. He’d never really liked those boots anyway. His handkerchief and jacket, however, he’d been rather partial to.

Sabine continued on, his hands still folded stiffly behind him. He continued on to the café. He didn’t expect to find her though. Why would he? It was foolish to think….His eyes found the blonde as he passed; she was speaking to two other women who looked similar to her. Perhaps relations. From across the street his eyes flicked across her profile, sliding off the other two females, one of which he could see fully, a dark haired creature, and the other who he could see a profile of, a redhead. He stared at her as he passed, willing her to look up. She did not. No big surprise. If the last conversation they’d had before he’d returned to his people was anything to go by, she was too stubborn to respond to even the most piercing of silent commands. He’d have to be patient. Euch. He continued walking, turning the corner, casting a glance over his shoulder. His eyes caught hers for a moment, but the human didn’t notice him at all, her eyes seemed to pass right over him. He frowned slightly. Perhaps she had not recognized him?

Around the block the daemon went but this time he stopped at the corner, green eyes narrowed slightly, urging the blonde to look. Other people on the opposite street glanced at him, unsettled, but he did not care what humans thought of him. He’d returned the human world for this and he wasn’t going to give up. He wanted his handkerchief back. After all, he’d promised her he’d return for it, and Sabine was not a man to break a promise. And no one would be able to put a price on her expression when she finally did notice him. Internally, the male grinned, though his face was still set and serious. And then the most perfect thing happened. The dark haired human looked at him. He could see the creature stiffen, as he he’d frightened her, and then she quickly leaned over to the blonde. Yes, perfect. He hadn’t had to catch Miss Parker’s attention specifically; one of her companions did that. Almost as if it had been planned. He lifted a hand, anticipating the blonde looking over.

This would be perfect. No worries plagued his mind; he was completely sure of his plan now.

---

James Dylor

There was a woman in the bed. There was a naked woman in the bed. There was a naked, sleeping woman in the bed. And she was not supposed to be there. Or at least, James did not want her to be there while he was trying to clean, but he didn’t know how to wake her up without getting near her. So for the moment his face was a vivid shade of scarlet and he was on the other side of the room, making sure everything was orderly and clean. Not an easy task, especially since it was apparent that his Majesty had enjoyed quite a romp the night before, if the woman in his bed spoke any volume about the circumstances. No wonder the Lykae king had worn such a look on his face, James realized. He’d done this on purpose! The boy frowned. Well, he had to get rid of her somehow, but how?

“Boy.” The woman had a very light voice, though she was ordering him around it was still softer than a butterfly’s whisper. Or maybe that was just because she’d lost her voice.

“My Lady?” James jumped up from where he was trying to fish a mystery article from under a set of shelving, bowing and trying not to look at the woman.

“Where is your Master?” She asked as James tried to look in her direction without actually looking at her, though she was holding the coverlet to her chest.

“He’s out. He didn’t want to wake you,” James said, his face still violently red.

“Oh.” The woman said. From the sound of her voice, she was extremely disappointed by that. “Well, where is my clothing?”

After more returning words back and forth, James growing more and more uncomfortable by the moment, he managed to convince her to go back to wherever it was the leisure section of the King’s court lived, providing for her an unused bed sheet to wrap around herself, because for all his searching, James had not been able to find more than her brassiere, which had been the mysterious article of clothing under the shelves, much to his embarrassment. The woman didn’t look too pleased as she stalked off, but he hadn’t known what else to do. He knew how to deal with His Majesty, but not his consorts. It seemed to amuse his King to no end to place his servant in such situations though, it seemed to James.

He wasn’t too pleased with that, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He merely spent the rest of the morning and afternoon obsessively cleaning the King’s quarters and anything else that looked like it needed to be cleaned. It helped him take his mind off the most unpleasant ordeal of that morning. He still flushed whenever he thought of that situation. Having to move near enough to the woman to hand the lacy article of…clothing to her. That had been so very terrible. Even though she had paid virtually no attention to him, she was more interesting in trying to stand stiffly, and wrapping the sheet around herself in what she deemed an appropriate manner. She’d tried to order him to help her, but he refused. He didn’t care if she whined to his Majesty and he fell into trouble, he was not getting nearer to the woman. Not bloody likely.

Cleaning was always a good way to take his mind off of everything though. He could put himself completely into any task and ignore even his physical self; pain was lost on him, even as he built the calluses on his hands and made them even rougher. Labor always made him feel cleansed, somehow, even if he was exhausted every night (and sometimes in the morning, especially when his Majesty decided to sneak off in the middle of the night). Plain working wasn’t as tiresome as dealing with his Majesty’s tricks. His pranks, as James had come to think of them. He didn’t find them as funny as his Majesty seemed to, however, and they usually left him emotionally drained, which was much more difficult to deal with than just feeling a bit tired. He had to deal with it though, His Majesty was the law and he himself was merely a servant. It was the way things worked; he’d just have to accept it for what it was. What could he do about it anyway? Ask his Majesty to stop? Ha, that would be a very bad idea, to say the least. It was easier just to cope. And pretend like certain things had never happened.

Perhaps that was the reason he often fell for the same tricks more than once.

Still rather confused, her mind struggling to come back into reality, Sapphire didn’t at first register Simone’s words, even as she repeated herself… or elaborated on what she had said in the first place. To be quite honest, Saph wasn’t sure. She blinked a couple of times, looking at the redheaded of the three young women. Then it hit her and she gaped at her sister for a second before shaking her head instinctively. “Glazed look? What glazed look? There is absolutely no glaze look.” She took a sip of her water to hide her slight discomfort. She hated that her eyes always gave her away. Sometimes it was simply just a ridiculously tedious drag. Especially when she did not in any way want to talk of the person on her mind.

However, Simone obviously wasn’t taking Saph’s bullshit answer because she kept looking at her, so Sapphire merely rolled her eyes, smiling wryly at her older sister. “Seriously, sis. No guy makes my eyes glaze over, so there’s that. It doesn’t happen. Now, should we-“ she was about to say more when Syd interrupted. The blonde’s Sapphire coloured eyes sought out the youngest of the three as she continued speaking. At her words, Sapphire frowned faintly, quirking her head slightly to the side. “Staring?” she repeated, biting down on her lower lip just slightly. Tall, long hair… well that could be just about anyone. But not just about anyone would stand there and creepily stare at her from behind. “That’s odd,” she noted, puzzlement in her voice. After all, if he was behind her, all he would be able to see was her back, her neck, and her puffy bun of blonde hair.

She wasn’t sure she wanted to check though. She didn’t want to check who it was. Because it might be him. Also because it might not be him. She didn’t like any of those possibilities very much, which meant she was screwed in any case. However, in the end she drew in a deep breath and glanced her only to freeze up, lips falling apart just a little as she drew in a sharp breath.

There he stood, holding a hand in the air as if in greeting. As if he hadn’t been completely MIA for the past two years. Ever since he had saved her from a group of young men aiming to rape her senseless. He would’ve been nice to him after that. Hell, she’d actually even force herself to thank him, even if the taste of it on her tongue had been horrid. The only problem with her wanting to be nice, was his own behavior. It completely prevented that from happening. Because he was an arrogant asshole. She had no idea why she even bothered wanting to see him again. Nope. No clue. He was nothing but a pain in her ass. Yes, that was what he was. But by the gods, seeing him again she found herself drawn to him once more. Found herself wanting to speak with him… to continue their little spats.

What the hell was wrong with her? He was standing there, staring at her in the most creepy way, looking at if he expected her to come to him. Would she? Should she? Yes… and no. She would, but she really shouldn’t. She just… wanted to yell at him. Yes, she wanted to yell at him. Why the hell was he back now? It made no sense to her. She cleared her throat, pretending like no time had passed as she’d stared Sabine right in the eye, and turned briefly to her sisters. “I should go check that out. We’ll talk later?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she put money on the table, grabbed her bag and gave both her sisters pecks on their cheeks, adding a hurried “love you” to them both before moving towards the blonde stalker. Her pace was steadfast and decisive, her steps controlled but with a very specific target. Her eyes were set on Sabine, and soon she was in front of him.

“It’s rude to stare,” she merely snapped at him, her voice slightly irritated already as she raised an eyebrow. “But then, I suppose manners aren’t your strong suit, are they?” The pair was far enough from her sisters to keep them from hearing the exchange, thankfully.

---

---

Captain Daniel Bowman was definitely not the only one enjoying the view presented. He was a handsome man, this one, which, in part, was the cause of her game. That and the fact that he was simply difficult. The fact that he did not fall at her feet, instantly in love with her because she was just “so beautiful”. No, if Daniel told her he loved her, it would merely be in an attempt to play her. Which was another part of it. She found it exciting that he did not simply fall in line when she played – instead, he’d play right back. It was an interesting, unspoken agreement. None of them wanted to lose. None of them did losing. To Alanya, it was simply not an option. She always came out on top. She was a princess. She was a winner. Nothing less would do.

When he spoke of having more time for work, however, her eyes sparkled and she let out a short, feminine, almost flirtatious laugh. Alanya leaned over gracefully and took his letter, waving it in the air. “Work, you say? Why, my dear captain, I feel rather certain this is not ‘work’ related.” She smiled playfully at that and leaned forwards, lips by his ear in the next instant. “Do you not have better things to do?” She quirked an eyebrow, that mischievous glint in her eyes ever so present as she let the piece of paper fall onto the cushion next to the one Daniel was seated on.

However, she soon stilled as his hand caressed the smooth, creamy skin of her face and her amber eyes moved to look straight into his, intense and thoughtful. Not a lot of people dared touch her without permission. Mostly because she’d been known to kill men for stepping over her boundaries. She always set the pace, but he didn’t particularly mind with Daniel. Because she wanted him. Because she liked his touch. But still, it was a little odd. It was not the first time he had touched her such, but she had yet to grow accustomed. His words, however, dragged her from her line of thought and she laughed softly, feigned innocence to the sound. “Me? Ravishing the town? Oh no, sweetness, I would much rather entertain our most honored captain this evening.”

She let the hand on his neck teasingly slide down his neck to his chest and just below that taut muscle, her slim and delicate fingers brushing his skin most tauntingly, all the while looking into his eyes, the amber depths of hers glittering with intensity and heated promises. Once there, her voice became alluringly promiscuous, a bedroom kind of purr to it. “Darling Daniel, if you would like me to move myself elsewhere, all you need to do is say the word.” This was a reply both to his words of Evelyn and the letter, but also to him acting the victim to her “whims”. She would not let him have that one. Mostly because she was perfectly aware of the fact that he enjoyed her current position as much as she did. He wouldn’t ask her to move. Her sweet captain was much too eager a player in this game. He was much too attached to the female sex.

And he was far too interested. So she wasn’t worried. In fact, she let her soft lips quirk into a tempting, wicked smile. Her body leaned into his slightly, but as always, Alanya was painfully close, all temptation, but no relief would come. Her touches were light and teasing, her voice holding promises she had no intention of keeping, her eyes intensely focused, as though the person she was looking at was the center of her world, the one thing she wanted above anything. Of course all of this was part of the game, but even so, even knowing this about her, if they could guess at the plans behind her mysterious eyes… men could never quite just be casual about it. Because that was what she did.

It was what she had perfected over the centuries, and she had learned from the very best: Her father. What she hadn’t learned from him… she had found by observing the ladies at court. Those in power. The women who had captured the most powerful men. Those were women Alanya enjoyed spending time with and had always let herself learn from. If a woman knew how to manipulate men, if she knew how to give them that sense of power, there was nothing she could not achieve. Men liked to feel wanted and powerful, they needed to feel loved. Really, Daniel was no different than every other man in that regard, but he went about it a little differently. That was what made him interesting to the relatively young vampire princess.

She would be queen one day, but that did not mean she could be careless and assume everyone would just fall in line. Oh no. Even her strong and capable father had fought for his place, and she would have to as well. She did not wish to deceive herself by thinking otherwise.

Simone couldn’t help but roll her eyes at her sister, leaning her elbow on the table and allowing her chin to sit in her palm while she snorted her retort and added a chuckle. Someone’s being blond today.

“Glazed look? What glazed look? There is absolutely no glaze look,” Sapphire countered. Simone looked over at Sydney for her expression but her sister looked a little struck by something beyond her and the windows. Simone bit down on her lower lip and shook her head, watching Sapphire drink her water as if that was an answer itself. Simone didn’t let her stare drop, she stayed where she was and it did it’s bit. Sapphire rolled her eyes then and it was no small wonder that their mother always was on their case for that. They all did it too often. “Seriously, sis. No guy makes my eyes glaze over, so there’s that. It doesn’t happen,” Sapphire countered. Simone shrugged and sat back in her chair, taking her third cup of tea in hand to have a drink. I should have asked for a travel mug with a lid, she thought to herself. “Now, should we-“ Sapphire began. Syd spoke up then and Simone let her eyebrows jump at the idea of her youngest sister interrupting someone.

“Um, Saph… I’m not really sure how to say this, but… there’s a man behind you, and he’s… well, he’s staring. To the left a little, tall, long hair?” Syd asked. Simone immediately turned in her chair to look behind her and through the glass but she found herself half blocked by the table next to them and a person outside walking past but low and behold she could see the lower body of a man definitely standing and looking into the shop, whether it was actually at them she wasn’t sure.

“Staring?” Sapphire repeated. “That’s odd.” Simone turned and looked back at her sister, finding her smile spread into a grin before she tapped her finger nails on the tabletop in victory. There Sapphire was, looking almost flustered and surprised and yet…excited? The twinkle in her eyes was there, like she was thinking of something dirty. Simone knew the look from her own eyes. “There it is! Houston, we have Sapphire’s glossy eyed boy look. I know it anywhere, same look you used to give to that guy in gym class on the basketball team before you hooked up behind the bleachers in the tenth grade.”

Sapphire ignored her comment, shifting to look out the window herself. Simone watched as surprise registered on her features. She continued to smile as she finished her tea, setting the empty cup on the corner of the table to be collected by the café staff.

“I should go check that out. We’ll talk later?” Sapphire suddenly asked. Simone was startled. “Wait, you’re going to talk to some stalker guy? Hold it!” she was about ready to stand in protest before her cell phone began ringing. What timing. Seriously? she cursed in thought, looking down at her iPhone which remained face up on top of her bag of paperwork and work clothes. The sharp tones of David Guetta’s “Titanium” drew the attention of several other customers. Like she needed more death stares. She hurried to grab it and silence it but not before catching sight of the number. Nathaniel? she wondered. Her bartender friend had long been employee and part owner of Blues Pub. He would only be calling her about one of two things: they had a raccoon problem again or he was there.

Simone scrunched up her nose, feeling a twitch of anticipation run through her body at the idea of seeing him again. When she looked up again, Sapphire was hurried giving her air kisses on either cheek. “Love you!” her sister told her. Simone stumbled with words as she watched Sapphire bounce off in a walk that could only be described as intentionally contained. She could see the strain in her sisters legs and how straight her back was as she fought the urge to run to whoever the guy was outside.

“Weird,” she commented, before looking at Sydney. “I’m sorry but I have to take this.”

She stood then and slid her finger across the accept button, bringing her phone to her ear as she walked off towards the girl’s washroom where it was quieter.

“Nathaniel! Please don’t tell me I have to tell you to again call animal control and not me,” Simone lamented, bringing a hand through her red curly hair and sighing into the phone. She held her breath as the noise of the bar came through on the other end of the line.

“Nah hun. I call because you told me to call if he was ever back. And from what you described, I think he’s here. Been here for awhile too all dark and brooding. Not too kind to the wait staff.”

“Sounds like him,” she replied shortly, feeling her heart jump at the idea of him actually being back and real and there. “Can you get over here? I think he just offended one of the customers,” Nathaniel pleaded before an audible scoff could be heard as a woman snapped something unpleasant to someone and the phone clicked off.

Simone pulled her phone away from her ear, staring at it like she had just dreamed up the call. She checked the time, and then looked back over at Sydney who was now sitting alone at their little table. She exhaled deeply before she went back to reclaim her seat, reaching to pull her bag of work onto her chair. “Syd, I’m sorry. Something’s come up. I hate to pull a fast one like Saph but it’s important. Trust me?” she asked then, before leaning forward to hug her and pull a coat over her shoulders. Tucking the straps of her bag over her shoulder, she said good bye a final time before stepping out of the café through it’s side entrance, not wanting to run into Sapphire and ruin something that her sister potentially cared about. That was too high school.

Climbing into her beat up Jeep Wrangler, Simone slid her bag into the passenger seat and pulled out into traffic. Blues Pub wasn’t that far away but she didn’t feel like walking. The air was brisk but warm and when she hit an intersection she found herself evaluating her attire. She had dressed in better clothes after work that morning but she did have tea spots from her earlier spill on her tank top. That made her zip up her coat and when the light turned green she found herself no more than few blocks away from Blues Pub and wouldn’t you know, parking was a cinch for the first time in ages.

Pulling her bag with her, Simone stepped into the club hesitantly. Music played over the speakers which was pleasant. Most times she was there a live band was playing and if the staff weren’t careful it could be quite deafening from the moment you stepped in the door. Things were low key though there were many tables filled with people. Her eyes scanned the room before they landed on Nathaniel at the bar towards the back. Her friend waved her over and she walked by the hostess with a smile and courteous wave. She kept her eyes forward, not wanting to see him right away. Still, her heart was pounding in her ears and when she got up to the bar and took a stool, she felt the muscles in her calves between to twitch with the tension she carried. Her stomach flipped with butterflies and she did her best to hide it all with a smile as Nate stepped away from a patron to speak with her.

“How are you love?” he asked gently, his voice carrying a slight southern drawl. She had met Nathaniel when she had gone to Berkley. He had been there for business management and he had known all of the best clubs at the time. They had become fast friends of a sibling variety. Moreover, Nate was happily gay and hoping to marry his long time boyfriend. Everyone is with someone these days, she thought to herself. Still, she didn’t hold it against him.

“I am good I guess. You have impeccable timing. Called me right away from seeing my sisters for the first time in a few weeks,” Simone smiled, teasing him slightly. “Well out of the chaos and into fun you are then! What do you want to drink?”

“Dirty martini please, emphasis on the alcohol. I’m going to need it,” she replied, leaning against the bar to run her hands through her hair and scratch the back of her neck before flicking her red curls over her shoulders again.

“Yeah you will, here he comes,” Nate smiled. All she could do was freeze and wonder why she had brought herself back here and to him if she was going to act this way. "He's got fuck me eyes," Nate added with a swish of his eyebrows before he made himself scarce to mix up her drink.

Sabine Marx


It took her a moment, but finally, finally the blonde looked around. Sabine’s lips curved into a momentary smirk. She stared at him for a moment and he patiently held her gaze. She seemed surprised when she looked over; her mouth had fallen ever so slightly open when she’d met his eyes, but he could see that expression changing until she turned around again. He dropped his hand, tucking it in his pocket, not moving an inch. She would come over; he had no question of that. That look on her face just before she’d turned back around to the other humans at the table had told him that. Indeed, she did not linger, but made her over to where he was waiting on the corner of the street. His eyes tracked her as she made her way over. Her pace reminded him of the first time they’d met, though it bothered him much less now. This situation he had control over. She was coming to him. It didn’t matter how annoyed she was, she was coming to him.

The first words out of her mouth were snappish, but Sabine took them coolly. He had missed speaking with her. No one else spoke with such…irritation towards him. It was rather amusing, and it was enjoyable to return her comments. Not only a mental challenge, but her words in themselves were so very amusing. “I believe the correct way to start a conversation is with a greeting, not an accusation, süß. I suppose I’m not the only impolite party in this conversation. Anyway, I was simply waiting for you.” He inclined his jaw slightly. “It would have been impolite to interrupt you and your companions while you were eating. It is not my fault the small dark haired one noticed me.”

And they were back at it. Sabine felt as if it had merely been the day before when he’d draped his jacket around her shoulders and disappeared back into the darkness. Her anger, it seemed, was everlasting, ready to be turned at whatever was available. It appeared it wasn’t something that came and went, but a permanent personality trait. Or perhaps he was the reason she was so angry when talking to him. Which would be fine. Actually, that would be rather amusing. She didn’t realize that if she just didn’t say anything and just went on her way, he would have never bothered her in the first place, because normal humans were just boring. But then again, if she hadn’t caught his eye then he wouldn’t have beaten up those stupid humans for her, and she’d be in a much worse state. Usually he didn’t bother with humans and their violence, he really didn’t care and he still couldn’t figure out what had possessed him to help her. Perhaps because of her fire. She was too interesting to just become another victim.

“You looked surprised when you turned around, Miss Parker, did you forget that you still have possession of my handkerchief and jacket? I told you I’d be back to retrieve my things. Did you not believe me?” Sabine paused for a moment, the very faintest of smirks still on his face as he lifted his eyebrow inquisitively.

He had told her he would be back, but even he hadn’t known that it would be two years before he would see her again. He hadn’t expected that they’d need to leave on such short notice. And she’d not been such a priority that he leave as they were preparing things to return to the kingdom, though he had wished to, since his last words to her had been a concession, and it was so horribly terrible to leave while the other had the upper foot. And because nothing seemed as entertaining as talking to the curious human, everything else was simply dull in comparison.

He was aware that he was being downright terrible. To humans two years was a terribly long time. She probably didn’t have his things anymore, and that didn’t particularly bother him, but if she’d though he wasn’t going to return, that was a different story. He was the King of the Daemons, he always kept his word, even if sometimes other things complicated his promises. Though, honestly, she had no right to be angry. It wasn’t like he’d promised himself to her or anything, far from it. She was nothing but a human on his much larger expanse of things. Two years for him was tiny as a grain of sand in his nearly four millennia, her entire life would fit comfortably and insignificantly within his own. He didn’t see it that way, but it was true. Silly self absorbed humans.

---

Daniel Bowman


The woman on his lap reached out and plucked up the letter off the table with a laugh, flourishing it in the air. Daniel smirked. As she leaned closer her lips so close that her breath danced warm against his ear as she spoke. Then she discarded the letter on a chair, where it sat, forgotten. “I’d beg to differ, Princess, tending to my women is quite a bit of work.” He hummed back, the lilt of amusement in his voice blurring the traces of mock hurt also infused in his tone. “But I suppose amusing royalty takes priority in my position?” He smiled slightly, as if he was nobly sacrificing his duty to his lover to serve his princess. She wanted his attention, and she could have it, but not without a bit of pretended grudging. All part of the game. Otherwise she’d think him all too easy. And that would be a shame wouldn’t it? And playing difficult was great fun anyway, he was usually the one taking the woman by the hand, trying to overcome her reservations, and being difficult wouldn’t help him win at all in such a situation. But Alanya reciprocated, and it made the dance much more fun.

She affected the same innocent air that he had, and Daniel couldn’t help but feel that they were dancing dangerously close to some edge, and it bit into his heart, spreading adrenaline into his system. It was almost exhilarating to play his game with the Princess, as if there was some unspoken danger, like he was blindfolded on a high wire, but still somehow managed to walk in a straight line. He watched her mouth as she spoke again, but his eyes flicked up to hers when her hand began traveling down from his neck back to his chest. “What have I done to earn such a gift?” He feigned ignorance, though his silver eyes were still bright on face. He knew very well what she wanted with him, even if her exact intentions were not clear. She was most likely merely bored, perhaps she’d broken another toy. Yes, he remembered hearing a conversation about that. She wanted to wander out to the human world and find a better one there, more like, but the sun wasn’t down yet. Ah, the limitations of being young. He didn’t mind being her plaything for a little while because he was quite confident that there was no way she could ever break him. It simply wasn’t possible, just as he could never catch her in his romantic traps. It didn’t stop him from trying, looking for the weakness in her construction, because that was the fun of the whole matter.

She was tauntingly close, but he could feel her body coiled like a panther preparing to strike. She was a dangerous but beautiful creature. Perhaps that was her allure. She was a predator, deliberate in her actions, and clever. But Daniel could play her game too. Let her hunt her prey but slip away at the last second. The most thrilling part was seeing how close to the edge he could draw his lovely princess. He could see savory seduction in her eyes as she leaned closer, but he was no stranger to such heated mistruths. He was a patron of such delicious promises himself. “Ah, but my love, who am I to displace a princess from her throne?” He returned, his voice equally silky. He blinked lazily at her. “That would be treason, and I am a most loyal subject, you know, Princess. I would never do such a thing.” He was quite sure that they both knew that it wasn’t very likely for him to actually tell her to go away, she was too much fun, and he knew that she probably wouldn’t go if he told her to. In all actuality, even if he did want her gone, he probably won’t tell her so. That was a dangerous option. And Daniel was no fool, even if he did play it sometimes, for one end or another.

Her lips were curved in a deliciously malicious grin; she seemed very pleased with herself, Daniel noted. She was doing to him what he did to so many women, the teasing, remaining just out of reach for all the gentle brushing of her fingers across his skin, and the purred words that really meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. Daniel didn’t mind though, he was a man who enjoyed the moment. Tomorrow would worry about himself, so long as he could have his fun today when it came to love. He was a better strategist than that, but that required a different type of focus that he currently utilized. For now his attentions were focused perfectly on the flawless creature before him, though he played aloofness, a certain disinterest in his eyes as he cast them lazily over her face. That was what it took for some women. Once he’d caught them a little bit, some would do most anything to try and keep his attentions. Jealousy was a beautiful creature, and she’d helped him in his exploits many a time. Such a simple trick wouldn’t work on Alanya, of course, but he knew if he seemed too interested she’d leave, because that was just no fun at all.

“I’m sure Eve will understand why it took me so long to write her, won’t she.” He mused aloud. “After all, my duties to the royal family do come first, don’t they.” Neither sentence was a question, despite the phrasing, nor did either require a response, but Daniel’s eyes wandered up the princess’s face as if he was waiting for one. He would continue mentioning his current lover until the princess did something about it, because he was rather curious to see how much it would bother her.

Alexander had been growing slightly impatient due to the hunger. He recognized that he was in no way being himself. In fact, he was as far from himself as he could possibly be. He was out of control, he was hungry, he was murderous simply because he was hungry, and by the gods, was he impatient. That wasn’t like him. Alexander was almost patient to the point of it being slightly unnerving. He was calm, collected and cold. He did not lose that control of himself. Except he had… after meeting her. That redheaded human had messed up his head, so as much as he wanted to keep her alive, to keep her blood flowing, the urge to rip her head off as revenge was also screaming at him.

He probably wouldn’t be able to do that when it came down to it, however. After all, he’d actually protected her from one of his own kin. He had killed his own kind because of a human. For a long time, Alexander had pondered this, wondering why he had done what he did that night. The memories haunted him just as much as the taste of her blood. He needed to know what it was about her that had her affecting him like no woman, let alone human woman, ever had before. He couldn’t merely accept it, because he wasn’t made like that. Alexander sought the deeper meaning, he wanted the mystery solved. What was so special about this redheaded human?

Even as his thought raged, Alexander registered the exact second Simone stepped into the bar, her scent teasing his hungry senses as his green eyes flashed up to focus on her instantly. She had not changed much in the last two years, it appeared. Not much at all. Except she appeared hesitant, nervous even, as though she knew he was there. How curious, considering she didn’t turn to look at him. He knew she could feel his gaze on her. Focusing on her, he could so clearly hear the way her heart had sped up, the delicious blood coursing through her veins at a much higher speed. He took a deep breath, taking in her tantalizing scent.

Her smile, the one she offered the bartender, appeared almost, like she was trying to hide her nerves from him. This was certainly an interesting development from the human who had fought so hard to play hard to get. He was painfully aware of the way the vein in her neck pulsed in the most appetizing way. He was so hungry, yet with her entrance the need to kill had almost vanished. It was there, beneath the surface, but the need for the red life source in her veins was not diminished. All he knew was that he did no longer feel the need to kill for this hunger. It was more… controlled.

He watched and listened only for a little while as she ordered her drink. Then he elegantly moved into a standing position and brought himself towards her, his legs carrying him effortlessly through the crowd of… erhm, moving bodies. His eyes were intensely on Simone, wanting her, craving her. No, not her. Just her blood. Her blood was all he wanted. The human was of no other importance, because she couldn’t be. She was human. She was an animal, a slave at best. And he would treat her as such… as soon as he was able. Yes, he would stop these silly thoughts of keeping her safe from others, and he would forget that he had ever saved her. Inwardly, Alexander nodded in satisfaction. This night would not end the way she intended it to.

He raised an eyebrow when he heard the bartender’s last comment, however, so when he reached Simone finally, he was smirking. Here he comes the bartender had said, as though Simone was here for him alone. As though she had brought herself here for him to approach her. The thought would’ve brought a predatory grin to his lips if he had not been busy keeping up appearances. She wanted it. She wanted him. She had feigned slight disinterest when they had met before, although he had known of her attraction towards her. That was no surprise, however. Alexander was quite used to women wanting him. A sexy, dark smirk was on his lips as he stopped beside her, taking a sip of the drink he had brought with him.

“Good evening, Simone.” He started, his voice that same masculine purr it always was. That much was not faked. Alexander simply had the most alluring way of speaking. His voice alone could turn a woman wanton, and ah, it had indeed before. “It’s been a while, has it not?” He continued.

---

---

Sabine’s reply caused Sapphire to narrow her eyes at him immediately, staring him down in spite of her being much, much shorter than he. He would not intimidate her, and he would most definitely not play her like this. Oh no, it did not work that way. “I never claimed to be a polite soul, Mr. Marx.” She countered, raising an eyebrow at him them. “You, however, seem to continuously do so,” she continued then, bringing a hand up to brush a stray bit of hair out of her face. “And then, in spite of it,” she began elaborating, “you prove yourself to be much the opposite.” With that last comment, Sapphire gave him a defiant look. Oh, that amusement in his eyes irritated her just as much as it had two years ago. Perhaps even more.

How he mustered bringing this level of irritation in her, by only just speaking with her for but a few seconds, or looking at her in one specific way, she did not know. And why the hell she was then talking to him anywhere, was absolutely, completely and utterly beyond her comprehension. This man was a pain in her ass, yet she loved it. Part of her loved it. Of course the more sensible, proud and stubborn part would never love it, and as such, Sapphire found herself wanting to be near him, yet wanting to punch him at the same time. It was a very confusing mixture of feelings, because for some reason she found herself drawn to this man.

He wasn’t particularly handsome in the more classical way, that much was true, and he definitely was a little too much on the skinny side, but by the gods, he exuded something she simply could not ignore. He commanded her attention simply by standing there, simply by being there. It was unnerving yet exciting and exhilarating at the same time. Which was definitely enough to bug her.

The blonde stood there, watching the man before her, eyes so focused and fiery on his. Oh, he had the most beautiful eyes, did he not? That emerald green seemed to draw her in like the first time they had met. Ugh, why did he have this effect on her?!

Her mouth set in a line, her jaw clenched when he spoke next. That. Smirk. She felt her palms twitching to slap him right across the face, felt her body grow tense. Really? He was going to act like he’d only been MIA for a week or two? Really? Really? And that little smirk. Again. Fucking infuriating male! ”Did you not believe me?” he then ended his little act, and Sapphire instinctively lifted her hand. Her palm hit his cheek in the next instant, the sound of the slap ringing out ever so clearly, and it felt good. He’d come back for his fucking handkerchief and jacket… after two years? He came back because of that? She brought her hand down, clenching it at her side to keep herself from doing it again.

“I. Don’t. Have them.” She told him, her words clipped as she began walking away from him. “It’s been two years. I don’t keep shit that’s not mine around for that long.” She’d had it with him and this little game. This was all it took. She was so furious, she was practically bristling and all she wanted to do was go beat something up. But of course that was out of the question, so she’d probably end up going to a club where she’d dance very closely with a lot of guys and turn down all of them, because the way they spoke was wrong, or the way they walked, or the way they looked at her. It was all wrong, because they weren’t him. Asshole. In truth, Sapphire had both handkerchief and jacket in the back of her closet. But she wasn’t telling him that, and she definitely wasn’t giving either piece to him. With his behavior, there was no way he deserved any kindness from her.

---

---

 
Alanya pursed her lips when Daniel asked what he’d done to… ah, “earn such a gift”. She was rather amused by him, to be frank. Especially because she knew he was perfectly aware, or rather, at least had a good guess, as to why she was currently in his lap, flirting with him, teasing him. Of course she figured he had no idea of her ultimate goal in his regard, but he knew very well that she enjoyed this little game they played, and every time she was bored she’d happily come to him. He always welcomed her with the same glint in his eyes, and the same sexy smirk on his lips. He was pure temptation and he knew it. The key was to not let him know she wanted him as much as she did. Because if he found out, he would lose interest. Or, rather he would play much harder, and then she’d probably end up in his bed, which would entirely ruin her endgame here.

“You have such a pretty smile,” she countered playfully in response to his question, with just a tint of sarcasm. It was a stupid one, so it deserved a silly answer. She smirked at him, “it really is quite the headturner and certain worthy of my affections. Do you not think so?” The glint in her eye was ever so mischievous.

“Suppose you wouldn’t,” she then replied to his claim of never being one to ask her to leave her “throne”, feigned thoughtfulness to her voice before she leaned closer, her breath dancing over the sensitive skin of his upper neck as she murmured into his ear, “but somehow I am having trouble seeing it as proof of your undying loyalties, my dear.” She laughed softly, the sound pearling beautifully off of her tongue, a sweet purr to its undertones. Then her lips found his skin, brushing against it just below his ear. She was tempted to take it further, but that would have to wait… a little while. Just a little. Teasing touches and light brushes of her lips were what would keep his body tense and coiled like it was now. Sweet Daniel might feign disinterest, but she knew better. She knew he wanted her as much as she did him. If for nothing else, then to win the game.

The thought of winning pushed them both in one direction alone: the end. Because no one could win f there was no end to the game, and no one could get it to the end, if both parties were not invested. It was a fine line they walked, the two of them, but ah, they knew how to manipulate it, did they not? She smiled, a secret to the curve of her lips. Like she was planning something even now, like her mind was working out her plans as she sat there, looking at the handsome captain, her fingertips pressed only lightly against his chest. The feeling of his hand on her back was telling her plenty as well. He was not holding it there to support her, because honestly he knew well enough that she sat very well balanced on his muscled thighs. The hand was there because he could excuse his touching her that way.

She laughed when he spoke of Evelyn again, pretending as though she was a priority simply because he had duties due to her position. Oh, the darling, trying to make her jealous. Smiling widely, affecting the grin of a predator smoothly capturing its prey, Alanya shifted in his lap, one leg now on each side of him as her taunting hands danced up his chest, fingers of one brushing against the back of his neck as she brought it to rest there. The other ever so softly, teasingly, brushed up the side of his neck, tapping it just below his ear; the exact same spot she had previously kissed.

“You are so delightfully cute when you try to make me jealous, my sweet,” she began, her voice a soft, teasing purr as she slowly leaned closer, only speaking next once her mouth was no more than half an inch from his, the two sets of lips only just brushing against each other, as she spoke next, her voice low and tempting. “Ah, but you forget… she is so very far below my mere consideration.” As she said this, the hand on the side of his neck moved, its index finger tracing the soft skin of his lower lip, as her own lips quirked into a playful, naughty little smile, still so very, very close to his. Amber orbs flickered up to meet his eyes where they before had gazed at his lips, almost as if silently begging him to kiss her. Another little trick. Of course she would not particularly mind – in fact she would most likely enjoy it quite a bit, but ah, the art of exaggeration was key with a man like Daniel.

---

Sapphire’s reaction to the man’s presence was at once exactly what Syd would have expected (the angry, indignant part where she stormed off to give him a piece of her mind) and also a bit surprising (the initial reaction, which seemed quite aptly described by Simone’s phrase, the “glossy-eyed boy look”). Sydney, for her part, wasn’t really sure if there was anything she could or should do, so she just gave her sister’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze as Saph pulled away, and settled back in her seat, picking up her cup and saucer and sipping at the tea therein.

“I’m… not sure if that’s normal or something to be worried about,” she admitted to Simone, eyes involuntarily flicking to the scene. Nothing much was happening, though the discussion appeared to be very… heated on Saph’s part, not so much where the man was concerned. But her oldest sister was looking down at her phone, clearly perturbed by something or other, and Syd just nodded politely when she indicated that she had to take the call.

Not really sure what to look at or do, given that staring was rude and she tried to avoid it, Syd just focused on the remainder of her tea while Simone was gone, nibbling at the bread on the table and thinking on the list of things waiting for her in the office tomorrow. That usually served to distract her quite well from anything else. The Martinson case briefs needed to be updated in light of the new witnesses; it looked like she’d be handing that one off to her boss, now. Maybe she should do more research on the statute of limitations for robbery, because she was certain the state was exploiting some kind of loophole, and there had to be something they were missing. A small sigh escaped her, fluttering the edges of her inky bangs, and Syd wondered if she’d ever be given an important case like that one. It seemed that every time something even remotely interesting crossed her desk, she’d do most of the legwork on it: witness interviews, case briefs, legal research, and then just be told to give it to her Mr. Desmond. It was a little frustrating, but she knew this was how things were supposed to start for young lawyers…

Simone reappeared just then, and Syd nodded solemnly, returning her sister’s embrace. “Of course I trust you. I know you wouldn’t leave for something that didn’t matter, either of you.” That said, she had no idea what was going on with either of her sisters at the moment, and as Simone departed, Syd realized that she’d forgotten to leave cash. It must be really urgent, then. Ah, well; the bill itself wasn’t important—she just hoped that whatever had her sister rushing out the door like that turned out okay. She’d hate to hear that one of Simone’s beloved animals had taken sick or had an accident or something.

Waving over their usual waitress, Syd asked for the check, and was reaching into her purse for the requisite money when something caught her attention, and she looked up in just enough time to see Sapphire slap the man she was standing in front of. Blue-green eyes widened, and she bit down on her lower lip. Oh, Saph, that’s assault; he could have you arrested for that… Knowing her sister, it had probably been provoked somehow, but whether the argument was one that would fly in front of a judge was an entirely different matter. On what was by now instinct, Syd’s hand hovered by her phone, ready to call in any number of favors or perhaps just the police. Of course, traffic just had to choose that time to pick up, the passing cars obscuring her view of what was going on, and Syd was left to shake her head. It’s still daylight, if only just. I have to trust her to handle this.

Hesitant for a moment of indecision, Syd gave up on trying to figure things out, and paid for the rest of the bill, standing and gathering her messenger bag to her side, slinging it over her shoulder. From the phone in her hand, she shot off two identical text messages, one to each of her sisters: Call me if you need anything. Deciding that for the moment, that was probably the best she could do, she decided to give Saph as much privacy as she could have in the middle of an open street and turned the opposite direction, striking off for the library.

With a suddenly free evening, Sydney decided that she might as well get a head start on that research, and there weren’t many better places for that than the library. She supposed she could go home and consult the internet instead, but there was something about real books that she absolutely preferred. Maybe it was the smell, or the texture. She tried not to linger too long on whatever was going on with her siblings; goodness knew they were much more adept at handling themselves in all kinds of situations than she would ever be. Taking a deep breath, the youngest Parker child nodded firmly to herself, resolving to enjoy the walk and the weather, which was cool but nowhere near unpleasant. For a while, there was only her thoughts and the rhythmic click of her knee-high heeled boots on pavement, as meditative as the metronome had been, only this time, she was keeping herself well away from her feelings. They were nothing but trouble, most of the time.

A few miles later, Sydney had reached the library, the last remaining troubled furrow in her brow smoothing out upon the sight of it. Now, here was something she could do, in a place she most certainly belonged. Librarian had once been on her list of possible future occupations, though she’d wanted to be an archivist at the Library of Congress. The thought was a little silly now, maybe, but not as much as her aspirations to be a scuba instructor or a superhero. She’d really, really wanted to be a superhero, and even after she’d concluded that she had no superpowers, she’d lived in hope for a good number of years that Batman would find her somehow and make her the next Robin or something.

Pushing open the grand doors at the entrance, Sydney lifted a hand in greeting to the elderly man working the desk (his name was Stan, and he was a perfectly lovely fellow who very much enjoyed books), and made a beeline for the legal reference and public documents section, which was on the third floor of the massive library, in a lonely, ill-used corner. Sometimes, Syd was pretty sure she was the only person that ever came here, and something about that made it special. Taking a few moments to seek out the right volumes, she carefully piled them at the corner of a desk and settled down to work, though not before pulling out her mobile and setting it gingerly down beside the books.

If one of her sisters needed her, she’d be there, no questions asked.

Simone barely had a second to register Nate’s expression. The redhead watched her friend look beyond her, taking in the man whose gaze she felt searing into the back of her skull. His comment made her snort and she leaned forward to laugh before she tensed, feeling him behind her and the intensity of all that he was.

“Good evening, Simone,” he greeted her. The subtle grating vibrations that came with his voice sent a shiver down her spine. It was a voice she had imagined for two years in dreams and thought. Simone had never thought she would hear it again. It commanded her attention and yet she leaned into the bar, not giving him the delight of having her turn around in her seat to see him. Instead Simone leaned over, collecting her bag off the floor and setting it on the chair next to her. Nate came by in that instant, dropping her martini in front of her on a coaster. The bartender was grinning like a Cheshire cat when he set her drink in front of her and Nate even had the audacity to wink at her.

“Thank you,” she told him wordlessly, allowing him to read her lips through the din of the bar. She took the martini in hand and sipped it heavily, needing the gin and almost wishing that she had ordered something stronger. God I need something stronger. Here he is. Still just as intense. Still conjuring up the same feelings somehow.

“It’s been a while, has it not?” He continued. Simone held her tongue on the roof of her mouth, straightening in her seat before she set the glass back down on the bar top. She circled the base of it with her fingers, allowing her nail to draw along the smooth surface to pre-occupy herself. She wanted to ignore him. It wasn’t quite clear in her mind why, after all Nate had called her there and she had come nearly running. But maybe that was the real point – she had come here so fast and she couldn’t quite say why. Simone had never felt this way about a guy, so excited to see them that she was willing to drop being with her sisters to see him. Maybe once in high school but that had been a cruel mistake. With this is was different. It felt like, for some reason, she was meant to be there.

“Two years is a long time,” she replied suddenly. Sitting back in her chair she tilted her head back, her hair shifting to hang entirely freely behind her. Simone rolled her chin then, so that out of the corner of her eye she could glance at him. He didn’t look at all different, from the manly shape of his chair to the cut and style of his hair. She could see the outline of his pectoral muscles through his shirt and that was enough to have her shoot back upright on the stool, nearly causing the thing to fall over. She gripped the counter to brace herself. The noise caused several people to look over at her from their seats then, including Nate who was standing offside drying glasses with one of his wait staff. He was still grinning and she shot him a dirty look then, causing him to laugh and turn his back to her.

Everything happened so fast. Her reply, her reaction, the stare, the stumble. She didn’t know if he was registering every detail like she was. Simone could still feel his eyes on her, paying attention to her in a way that was unnerving. I stare Tigers and Lions in the eye all day every day and I don’t shake in my boots then. Yet with him, I have my back turned to him and I can’t handle it. What the hell is wrong with me?

Simone didn’t like this feeling, how much it conjured up in her, how much it made her confused. For two years she had pined for this man. He was finally in front of her. And now she almost wanted him to leave. Her body was shaky, her palms clammy, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on edge. Simone felt ready to puke the more she felt him stare at her. That fact had her grab her martini again, pulling the plastic sword to her lips to bite down on the olives. She turned then and looked at him then, swallowing the fruit but keeping it between her lips momentarily before slowing pulling it away to taunt him.

“So you think that you can just show up here all of a sudden?” Simone asked him then. The more she spoke the more her confidence returned. She stepped off her stool and set the plastic sword down on the counter. She stood in her boots in front of him, forced to look up and into his eyes. Look at him the same way you do a Bengal and you’ll be fine. First person to look away is whipped.

Simone didn’t look away. Her steel blue eyes were defiant. “My friend called me here to get you to leave,” she told him matter of factly. The more she looked at him the more it felt electric. The air around them felt like it was vibrating and the tension between them had her entire body on edge, her shoulders tight and her legs taught.

Brigitte Lebelle

Brigitte stood outside the club, her back against the brick wall of the building. Cool night air blew across her face and caused stray strands of mercury colored hair to dance about her head. This was perhaps the first time she had been ordered to wait outside of where His Highness was conducting his business, if it could be called that. Normally Brigitte followed him like a shadow, ever at the ready to serve no matter how trivial the task. This separation did cause a small amount of anxiety to grow in her chest however His Highness had told her to wait outside, and so she did. It had been around an hour or so since they had arrived at this place, His Highness's expression as unreadable as ever and yet Brigitte could not help but notice the way his shoulders seemed stiffer than usual. There was only one thing...no, one person who could cause His Highness to act like he was-- the woman from two years ago.

Brigitte remembered the day that the change in him had begun. A woman with hair like like fire was being attacked by some of the lower class vampires. Brigitte had been instructed to ensure that no humans came by as the lower vampires were "taken care of". She did not know what happened after then except she was ordered to return to the mansion and wait for him there. When His Highness finally returned his face contained a mix of emotions she had not seen there before and so when she was told earlier this day that they were to return to the same place from two years ago she almost breathed a sigh of relief.

Said woman had entered the club only a few minutes ago. Brigitte had followed her every motion from the time she pulled in to the when she entered the club-- walking right by her as she did so. Despite Brigitte's current relaxed stance she was ready to spring into action. His Highness had quite the record for getting women to go wherever he asked and so she must be ready to leave or do whatever else she was told to at any moments notice. Although this woman did seem important to His Highness Brigitte still saw her as nothing more than another creature her master was taking a fancy too. If she was told to regard her as more, than she would but as this point in time just making sure His Highness got the woman was all that mattered.

Across the road an old fashioned street light flickered to life, its dull orange glow only making its surroundings seem more ominous on the moonless night. With hands stuffed into her pockets Brigitte listened to the steady beat of music that leaked through the door. Humans shuffled outside the club, shifting from side to side as they waited to enter, some of them glancing over in her direction. She had decided to stay visible as she waited, knowing that any vampires who thought of entering the club would know that His Highness was indeed already inside and that they should stay far away. One would be foolish to not recognize the small woman who radiated an ice-cold aura. That and her hair only portrayed a bigger "Do Not Enter" warning to the others for there was no other female vampire who looked like she, and she was His Highness's most loyal servant. Brigitte breathed out a tiny puff of white air and glanced up into the night sky, where the stars were obscured by the artificial city lights. Not being able to see them caused the corners of her mouth to twitch down slightly, though the frown was gone in an instant.

He wasn’t fooling her. Ah, her sweet Daniel was trying to very, very hard to pretend as though she did not affect him, but the way his lips parted, a quiet intake of breath as she leaned closer, her lips almost brushing his, was proof he was indeed very affected by her. Not that she was surprised. In fact, it was rather common to the princess. His eyes shifted between her full lips to her eyes, then back to her lips, and the flickering betrayed his indecision. Ah, he wanted to kiss her, he did. But he controlled himself which was as thrilling as it was taunting.

Then, however, as he looked into her eyes briefly, his eyes glimmering with the want she knew he hid right beneath the surface, and she watched him carefully, the playful smile still playing on her lips as he brushed his by her, avoiding her lips to kiss merely the corner of her mouth. She even caught herself parting her lips breathlessly, wanting his kiss, almost craving up. Ah, but she was after all a lady, so she instantly composed herself, sending a wry little smile in Daniel’s direction as he spoke to her, claiming he did not believe her when she was told him she did not consider his temporary little fling a threat. Which was funny.

Did he really think that she, a princess of great beauty, would ever downgrade herself to something as mundane as the concept of… jealousy of a lower classed little lovesick broad? She had nothing to be jealous about. She was both more beautiful, more intelligent, and she did not doubt that while Evelyn may hold Daniel’s attention fleetingly, Alanya would hold it for a very, very long time. She would make sure of it in ways the little dove had no way of even comprehending. The little dolls he liked to play had nothing on the princess, and they both knew it.

Plus, while Alanya wanted Daniel’s undivided attention and devotion, the princess harbored no softer emotions when it came to the captain. Of course she had come to care for him, but it was in the most curious of ways. They had played this game for a while, and they had gotten to know one another quickly, so she cared enough to not let him get hurt, and enough to make a certain level of sadness go through her if he died. But she was not in love with him. Merely attracted to him, really. Okay, she was extremely attracted to him, but that was all it was: attraction. A whole lot of heated, passionate, intense attraction. It was tantalizing.

“Do you not?” She noted, almost in a bored tone, although her amusement was obvious as she straightened slightly in his lap, watching him lean back with a mischievous glint in those amber eyes. “Perhaps you do not know me as well as you think, my sweet captain.” She then told him teasingly, the enticing purr back as her hands slipped from his neck to his stomach. He was going to play hard to get, was he? Wanted her to come get it, did he? Well, the vampire princess never played by the rules of others. She had other plans.

Her eyes were focused on his, grinning in the most taunting, sexy of ways as her hips moved just a little. The movements were subtle, hardly noticeable with the eyes of an outsider, and it did not even appear as much, or to be sexual in any way, but the two vampires currently interacting felt it very clearly. Ah, it had been a while since she had worked this little trick. It had never faltered, not even with Daniel. She leaned back against him, the hands on his stomach tracing and massaging the toned muscles of his body. Then her gaze whipped up, going from his stomach to his eyes and she cast him a little smirk. “I can feel how much you want it, Danny. We both know you’re not going to keep this up much longer,” she teased him, a glint in her amber eyes.

---

---

Alexander remained quiet as he watched the redhead, gauging her reaction to him. Ah, but she was indeed attracted to him. He had not imagined that, but the human in her recognized that there was something about him, some predatory air that she could not ignore, however hard she tried to. He did not doubt she would talk in her own time, so in spite of her having place her bag – very defiantly – on the chair next to her, Alexander merely leaned his imposing body against the smooth bar counter, his elbow on the surface and while his green eyes never strayed from her face, he still took a sip of his drink. It wasn’t bad.

Then she spoke and he smiled, inclining his head slightly in a half nod, silently informing her he agreed, and though he would usually consider two years the same as he did the fraction of a sand corn in the sands of time that made up his life, Alexander did not entirely disagree with her. Mostly because these past two years had been so excruciatingly frustrating, they had felt like centuries. So many centuries. She drove his will up the wall, his once so impressive patience reduced to nothing, and it was a bother. So while two years was really nothing, they had felt very, very long.

He knew she could see her, because she had turned her head just enough to carefully peak at him, perhaps afraid to look. He could not quite understand why, however. Sure, humans were either intrigued or terrified of him, yet this creature seemed to have a much different take on him. She was nervous, but not for fear of him, it seemed. So what made her so nervous? His looks? No. She was much too defiant, much too confident. This intrigued him, which in itself was an abnormality.

Oh, wait, was that her gauging his body? His lips quirked into a smirk as he caught her gaze on him and the way she straightened. Oh yes, she was ripe for the plucking, she just didn’t want to admit to herself. “I suppose it is,” he then finally said as he watched her eat her olive. It always amused him quite a bit to see humans playing their little games, trying to tempt him. He was used to the vampire ladies at home, and by the gods did they know how to seduce a man. This was… nothing. She was attractive for a human, but she was still a human. She would be among the ones he would be taking to his bed if he did not wish for her to stay alive. Alas, he did, and so he had to contend himself on her blood. Not a problem.

He chuckled in amusement at her next words: “So you think that you can just show up here all of a sudden?” He couldn’t help it. She was simply being so odd. “I apologize, my dear. I was not aware you owned the place,” he countered playfully, telling her he was up for whatever she slung at him, and that he wasn’t giving up. “I did not particularly expect you to be here tonight,” he added on an afterthought, changing the subject even as he watched her with an almost pensive glint to his green eyes. Ah, and she was staring him in the eyes now, was she? He smirked, a playful glint to his eyes as he reciprocated in kind.

Another slight laugh escaped his lips when she explained her presence by a friend having called her to make him leave, and jumping at the opportunity, the king smiled alluringly, setting his glass easily on the table before moving towards her, a single step bringing them toe to toe as he gazed down at her, his hands moving to grasp the bar counter behind her, capturing her between his heated gaze, his muscular arms, and the bar behind her as his smile turned playful, yet the passionate, heated look in his eyes made the whole thing more than a little erotic, especially as his voice joined in and he leaned close to her, his lips by hers as he murmured, never taking his eyes off of her, “well, then I suppose we had better do as this friend of yours requests of us, hm?”

---

---

Sapphire didn’t miss the way Sabine looked at her. The surprise in his eyes, and in his gesture as he’d brought his hand up to his slapped cheek. The stony expression on his face, and the threatening narrowing of his eyes would normally have paused her, and she would have apologized. But ah, she’d tried to be polite with this male once before, and he had merely kept taunting her, his slightly sarcastic voice biting when he spoke. So she’d given up on that, and she wasn’t making the same mistake twice. She would not be taken for a fool in spite of what he might be thinking of her. The fact was, however, that no matter how angry he got, or how eerie his eyes became, she did not give a shit. He had hurt her pride, and Sapphire was very fond of her pride. Lord knew why she was even this hung up on him.

She ignored his first remark, and the fact that he was following her again, because it had certainly made him go away last time, had it not? Yes. It had. So if it worked once, it would probably work again. This was not entirely unlike dealing with a stubborn child. Huh. Charming comparison, was it not? Ah, but she was sick of his little ‘endearments’. They meant nothing to him, so they meant nothing to her, which made them ever so redundant. Prick. She had much better things she could do than stand around arguing with this man.

However, when the male blonde’s next words cut into her, she paused, stopping in her tracks immediately. Well… that was… unusual. Perhaps he’d hit a nerve simply because she knew he was right; she did overreact, and she was more than a little angry with him leaving for two years for some reason she probably didn’t want to recognize. Perhaps she just didn’t like being played like that, but really it went deeper. Sabine was the only man who’d ever commanded her attention, the only man whose voice could both cut and caress her. It was so unusual and unnerving, it was, and she knew that her odd attraction was the real reason she was angry.

And then the fact that part of her had been waiting for him, comparing every other guy to him. She hated this odd teenage infatuation and she found it just as ridiculous as he probably did. However, not wanting him to see that he was right and that she had realized as much in reality, she turned around, raising an eyebrow, feigning slightly bored indifference. Her gaze rivaled his as she stared right back at him. Why did he insist on being so obnoxious? If only he had been easier to deal with, Saph would not have minded her odd emotions as such, but no, he simply had to be some asshole.

“I sincerely hope you do not treat all women this way, Sabine. But it would explain why you look like you haven’t gotten laid in the past millennium or so, I suppose,” told him, biting right back. She did have a point though. He was stiff and tense in his posture, like there was something beneath the surface that wanted out, but he wouldn’t let it. She wondered what would happen if that damn burst. Part of her was eager to see it. But that didn’t stop her from keeping her act up, pretending that his words had not touched her one bit. Now, that was something she had perfected over the years.

“Why are you even still talking to me?” She then added, a slight sneer to her voice. “I don’t have your stuff. Isn’t it what you came for?” She pursed her lips thoughtfully, watching him, trying to keep up the indifference, but the fire wasn’t far beneath the attempted mask. It was there. Ever present in her eyes. “You can leave me alone now,” she then concluded, turning to walk again. She wanted to go home and wallow in ice cream. She had wanted to see him again, but it seemed he was set on making it hell on her.

Jesus, it’s like he’s not even blinking, Simone thought to herself. He didn’t expect you to be here either…meaning he probably thinks you're convenient. He wasn’t looking for you. You're nothing to him. Despite the fact that she was quite tall, he towered over her. She regretted standing and thinking that her height would help her. She had actually been level with him when she had been sitting and now that she was standing she was beginning to feel smaller than him.

On her first day working at the zoo she had been taught an important lesson, one that she undoubtedly used every day when she was working in the wildcat exhibits as she did. When it came to cats of any variety – tigers, lions, domesticated house pets – staring them down and winning asserted dominance. Staring them down and holding your ground did something that somehow proved you weren’t willing to be trampled. For some reason Simone felt that staring down Alexander would be no different than a Bengal tiger. She tilted her chin back and tried to appear firm but it became obvious that it wasn’t working quite quickly. In fact, the distance she had felt comfortable keeping between them was quickly closed by him. As he leaned in, she tried to step back, only to find herself pinned between his muscular arms against the bar. Still, she didn’t break her gaze, feeling the intensity of their chemistry explode as he pressed himself inches away from her. Simone felt the hairs of her arms begin to stand. She felt like he was sending an electric current through her body and she was locked into her gaze with him, unable to move. He wasted no time replying to her smart remark, trying to be authoritative but quickly finding herself fumbling. It was painfully obvious that this man was no tiger.

“Well, then I suppose we had better do as this friend of yours requests of us, hm?” he suggested. Simone arched her back with his words, extending her hands behind her onto the bar to brace herself, her fingers half an inch away from him as she tried to push herself forward, allowing her entire body to curve toward him.

Simone hummed, blinking twice, living in the intensity of his stare before she managed to utter something. “No,” she replied sharply. Elaborate words were not something she was even able to muster at that point. Everything he said and how easily he seemed to pull on her desires told her that he was trouble. I need to leave, she thought to herself, only she couldn’t move to follow through on it.

Behind her she heard the wait staff return and suddenly a wet towel cracked, whipped at the bar and snapping as loud as a gun. Nate whistled and walked by, winking at the pair before throwing the towel over his shoulder and sauntering into the back kitchen. It was just enough for her to suddenly close her eyes, tuck her chin into her chest, and duck under Alexander’s right arm. Simone moved quickly, swiping her bag off of the bar stool beside her and moving rapidly for the door, her pace a light jog. The redhead gripped the strap of her bag tightly as she tossed it over her shoulder. Tossing her hair behind her, she forced herself to walk away. He’s trouble. He’s trouble. Dear lord. You’re not having a one night stand tonight. You need more than that. You are better than that. No more trouble. Grow up. Who cares about chemistry. Who cares. Keep moving. One foot in front of the other. Ignore the people staring at you like you're crazy. Don’t listen for his voice.

Simone didn’t hesitate to push her way rudely through people crowded at the door waiting for tables. Simone knew that she couldn’t look behind her. If she did she would stop, she would let her mind fall prey to her bodily desires. The red head felt herself rushing, pushing her way through the doors as fast as she could. Without even trying she sent it flying back loudly into the wall. That caused her to look back at her, grabbing it lightly as it flung back into a person trying to get by her and inside. “Sorry,” she murmured. In the split second that she had looked behind her, Simone had seen him following her. That only added gasoline to the fire under her feet. Oh my God he’s actually chasing you. Keep moving. Keep moving. Don’t look back. If you do you’re in for a world of trouble. I’m growing up. This is good for me. No matter the internal monologue Simone recited to herself, she didn't believe it. Moreover she could feel her heart pounding incredibly hard and fast in her throat. It was so loud that she couldn’t even focus on the people and the music that was playing. It dominated even the sound of her own inner voice as she hurried to get outside.

When she finally hit the sidewalk outside of the bar she set off right away for her jeep, the red wrangler parked across the street. The air was cool and it whipped at her cheeks, just enough to catch her breath. Simone stepped off the curb of the sidewalk onto the road, ready to jaywalk to her vehicle, when a semi truck suddenly blew by her, honking it’s horn audibly, forcing her to flinch and step back onto the sidewalk. That step back was all it took. "Fuck," she cussed under her breath, gasping and holding a hand to her chest.

Ah, yes, she was definitely playing to his tune. Alexander enjoyed the way she gazed up at him, her eyes shining with the attraction she was feeling, especially as she grew flustered at his nearness. When he spoke she even arched her back, her delicate lips parted just a little as she stared back into his eyes, seemingly lost in them. But then, Alexander didn’t blame her. He was a practiced man in the art of seduction. Although, quite honestly he didn’t try all that hard; he usually didn’t have to with humans… or vampires, really, since they didn’t often dare defy their king. She, like most women, was a puppet in his hands, and…

Wait, ”no”? Alexander blinked only once before the surprise was wiped from his face once more. Well, that was rather surprising. When she didn’t move from him, however, the vampire king merely chuckled lightheartedly. “No?” he repeated, almost playfully, although his patience was waning. He wanted her home and he wanted his teeth in her. Now. And if she was going to be difficult about it, that was that, but really he was aiming not to terrorize her too much. After all, she was human, and her mind was fragile. And he certainly did not wish to rid her of that fire she seemed so fond of. No, that would indeed be a shame. After all, maybe that was what made her blood so delicious.

He knew the slightest disturbance would help her pull away from him, and ah, he could see the wish to. He could see the inner battle in her eyes, her mind fighting her body. Part of her, being a human, knew he was not good for her, yet her body was drawn to him. It was curious, was it not? So he continued, “well, Simone, I’m not leaving you again, so what we do is entirely up to you.” Then, however, before he could move to bring her closer, to manipulate her body just a little more, the human male returned, towel whipping onto the bar counter, and Alexander, feeling Simone starting to flee, let her, and instead looked after the male, his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

The human would regret that disturbance. Alexander would make sure of it. No one, human or vampire, interrupted the vampire king. He would not accept it, in spite of this person not knowing who he was. It mattered not to the king. His pride demanded that he take the life of the insolent human, and he would. Soon. But right now, though he’d allowed the human woman a head start, he had to handle her and this situation with the utmost care. Of course the bartender would be dealt with accordingly in Alexander’s own time.

So he left, soon spotting Simone almost being run down by a semi truck, and he shook his head at her, smirking. Well, that slowed her at least. Not that she was fast by his standards, but if he started running he’d freak her out and make her literally run from him, and he couldn’t use his vampire speed here in the open. That was the only downside to earth really, safe for the lack of luxury compared to home. But that was to be expected.

He glances at Brigitte who had apparently decided to stay very in sight. He tucked a curved middle finger under her chin and looked down at her. “I do not require your presence, my sweet. Do transport yourself home.” He said no more to her, didn’t offer a smile or a glint in his eye. He was too busy with finding Simone and taking her home, and as such, as she grabbled to handle her shock, a curse emitting from her, Alexander was by her, taking one hand to gracefully swing her around before letting go of her, quickly settling his strong arm around her waist. He smiled wryly down at her, a primal intensity, yet still rather playful look in his eyes. “I very rarely take no for an answer, Simone.” He informed her quietly, as his eyes captured her knowingly, his allure locking her in her own body, and this time it was dirty play, considering he was using his abilities.

The human was stunned on the outside, unable to move herself, yet she could see, hear and feel everything. Then he brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and raised an eyebrow looking down at her. “And I didn’t want to play dirty,” he then added, lifting her into his arms bridal style and began carrying her towards his car. He continued murmuring in her ear, trying to ignore the pulse in her neck, and the fact that he could hear and feel every little beat of her heart. “But you just had to run,” he explained, shaking his head almost as if he felt sorry for doing this to her, when really… who was he kidding? Alexander was quite satisfied.

Not waiting for a reply, since she could give none, he placed her in the passenger’s side in his care, adding a seat belt, just in case. He adjusted her body into a balanced position and then moved to get in himself. As he sat, starting up the car and pulling out of the lot casually, he glanced at her. Hm, perhaps he should start explaining some things already, since she would soon find out for herself exactly what he was anyway. So as he drove, having made a decision, the king began speaking.

“I am not some insane creep who wants to kidnap you,” he started, thinking that was probably where her mind was at. “In fact, only the kidnapping part is correct, though you may think my insane once I tell you this.” He paused briefly, as if waiting for her to say something, well knowing that she could not. “My full name is Alexander II Gabriel Kaiseren Chartés, my title is that of King. I am a vampire, and contrary to popular belief, I cannot survive on animal blood.” He glanced at her, smiling wryly. “So once in a while I will procure food for myself in this world. Although, I have to admit my food is usually brought to me. Not the other way around.”

His eyes fell briefly on her neck then before going back to the road. “You certainly gave me a run for my money, dear Simone. I applaud that, but do not deceive yourself to think you will ever get to leave me in such a way ever again. You are now my property, and you are to do as I command.” With those last words, Alexander pulled into the driveway in front of the grand mansion. He really didn’t live far from the club. The car doors locked with only him able to unlock them in his side before he turned her head gently, letting go of the mesmerizing effect, freeing her to control her body… somewhat, since she was not technically free. For now she was merely prisoner in his car.

And he was curious to witness her reaction. A couple of servants came running out, ready to serve him, but he merely shook his head once and they all scurried back inside.

---

---

"What gave you that impression?" was promptly ignored, except there was something to his voice… something different. Sapphire couldn’t figure it out, and honestly, right now she was too upset to care. If she wasn’t careful, this Sabine might even become more than a fleeting interest. She got this odd feeling in her gut when she was around him. That disturbed her quite a bit. Except it was so… ugh, intriguing. He was different from all other men she had ever met, and not only for the effect he had on her, but the way he would retort and throw her snide remarks back at her, sometimes even biting harder. It was an alluring game of ping-pong and it made her so attracted to him.

She had always liked intelligent, powerful men, and by the gods, Sabine was a symbol of both these traits. Couldn’t he at least have been a little easier to deal with though? No? Well, that was just her luck, was it not? And he was following her again. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t only come for his handkerchief and jacket. If he had, he wouldn’t still be following her, would he? Hm, maybe she had slapped him unjustly. That didn’t make the memory any less sweet, however.

"What if I wanted to make sure you were alright? The last time I saw you you weren't exactly in top shape, liebchen, standing at your doorstep alone in the middle of the night, fumbling for your keys with my coat draped over you." It then came, and Sapphire’s lips fell apart as her pace slowly decreased in speed and she finally turned around to face him, her heels bringing her just about tall enough to properly look him in the eyes. Had he seriously just said what she thought he had? He’d been there? He’d followed her in spite of her wish for him not to? In spite of his promise not to? He had… followed her quietly. Not because he wanted to taunt her, not because he’d wanted to irk her, but simply because he had cared enough to. Her features softened only slightly as she looked up at him, the thoughts passing through her mind.

She didn’t know what to do here. Suddenly a new side to him had been shown, and Sapphire found herself liking it. She couldn’t believe he’d actually followed her home. She knew she should probably be offended that he had not respected her wishes, and that her pride should be wounded. Syd would be so disappointed with her if she knew this, because instead Sapphire was warmed by it. A little. Only slightly. After all, she was not the easiest of women to warm, safe for when she was with her sisters, but it was there. Just… a touch of something that wasn’t pure and utter irritation or anger with him.

“You actually followed me home?” She asked him, her voice still hard, but somehow softer with the worst of her irritation more or less gone. She tilted her head a little to the side and slightly back to be able to look at him much easier, her eyes fiery as always, passion shining in them, but it was slightly different, considering her stopping and turning had brought the pair rather close. Her attraction towards this male had her wanting to reach out, but no, she stood her ground. Not that Sapphire was ever afraid of taking the first step, or tread on people’s boundaries, but ah, not with him… not just yet.

His last sentence made her pause as she pursed her lips slightly, curious as to what he meant, and what he thought he could have, but still a little weary of his cryptic way of phrasing everything. “What do you want from me, Sabine?” She asked on the slightest of sighs. Some inner part of her was hoping for something specific. She did not know what it was, nor could she make herself search deeper to find out, so instead she merely waited for his reply.

---

---

Daniel’s response to her words of him not being able to keep up his act for much longer, made her raise an eyebrow ever so slightly, the rest of her face remaining in the same mien as before. “’Pretty’?” She repeated the word he’d used to categorize her. “Is that what I am, Danny? Hm? ‘Pretty’?” Her lips seemed to move into a slightly disapproving mien as she let him know that was in no way a good way to speak of her. Alanya had never thought of herself as merely ‘pretty’. ‘Pretty’ were the humans they bred for her father, ‘pretty’ was the servant who seemed to stare lovingly every time Daniel passed her, and ‘pretty’ was a little girl. Alanya was not a human, she was not a little girl, and she was most certainly not a plain, lovesick servant. She was a princess, and she was most gorgeous. She knew that, he knew that. Everyone knew that. So why would he insult her so?

His tone may have been teasing, but that was no excuse. Hmpfh, ‘pretty’. How dare he. Her attention was drawn from that, however, as Daniel shifted to move closer to her. Oh, that was right, she’d teased his limit, hadn’t she? She hadn’t missed the way he’d stiffened once she’d flexed her hips, and she’d felt that sense of accomplishment, although she knew he would have given in much sooner if he had not been so set on playing hard to get, on making her work for it, and on keeping her interested. They were playing the same game, that much was obvious, but still they differed just a little. She knew that, but she wasn’t quite sure how much just yet. She would figure it out eventually, however.

Then he spoke, and she smiled wryly, letting her amber eyes scrutinize his face. She had won as it was; he was giving up. Slowly, granted, but it was there, and it would not take much more work on her side of things, which was good for him, because she really was quite offended at his previous words, and ah, Alanya was not a creature you wanted upset with you in any way. In fact, she was the last vampire you would ever want on your list of enemies. She was only still there because she did want him. Because he looked like a god of a vampire, and because the game was interesting. Otherwise she would have left by now.

She couldn’t quite stop herself from giving in to his kiss when his lips claimed hers, however. The urgency, and the passion he let out only briefly almost made her dizzy, but that was what she had wanted. Even if Daniel had not played back, she would not have let him have it until he was in this state. She liked her men desperate and hungry, and gods did he not give her what she wanted? Why did he do that when she was this upset with him?

She said nothing as he drew back. Instead, the dark princess moved her lower body closer to him, her arms dancing up and around his neck as she leaned back in for more, letting him know he was allowed to keep going. It was a thing he always did. Drew back before breaching any boundaries, clever man, making sure he did not displease her. After all, as much as Alanya behaved nothing like it with him, she was a princess, and she was not the most forgiving of types, just like his previous insult would not be forgotten. Never. It would remain with her for a very long time, until she decided what exactly to do with it. For now, however, she was a little more interested in his lips and his body. He felt good and she intended to enjoy it for a while… before she’d draw back.

---

---

Lena was tired, she was hurting, and she was slightly scared. Sabine could be home any moment now, and in her current state, he would notice. Could they not at least beat her up earlier in the day? They’d save themselves a lot of trouble too. She sighed softly, trying to ignore the pain as she made her way slowly to the kitchen where she knew she’d stored enough remedies for herself. Salves, herbs, bandages and the like were things she had acquired and intended to use. For now, however, she needed to sort of get there first. Her brown eyes flickered back and forth from behind to in front of her as she walked, paranoid to the point of obsession.

The girl wasn’t stupid you see. Merely very weak, being only a half demon, and a soft one at that. And ah, she never wanted to tell. He beatings only got worse every time his majesty got involved, and as much as she appreciated his own odd form of caring for her, it was simply not effective. Demons were not the types to be easily swayed. Her king should know that. He probably did too, but that did not keep him from reprimanding his guards whenever they harmed her and he heard of it. Much like that guard two years ago. He had been a very uncomfortable fellow, eager to cause her as much pain as possible. She had been torn. Down there. She did not know who would ever make a condom especially with spikes on the outside. Demons were indeed a twisted, sadistic race.

Sabine meant everything to her, and she would never lie, but she often hid things she did not find it necessary for him to know. That category was restricted to her abuse. Nothing more. She did not assume herself to have the expertise to otherwise know what Sabine would and would not need to know, in spite of her being by his side most of the time when he was home. When he was out, which he was most of the time, Lena was left to her own devices. She had her duties to do, but that was about it. Oh, god, she had not finished entirely yet today. She needed to wipe off the surfaces of his majesty’s tables. That would not please him.

She flinched at the thought as she made it into the kitchen. The lack of duties done would tell him everything she was trying so very hard to hide. She bit her lower lip as she began her search for the remedies she had stored. In that cupboard. She stretched, being the small individual that she was, and she finally managed to open it, and her wide eyes scanned the shelves. Wait… where was it? Hadn’t she put it on that second shelf? She blinked several times. Lena did not often forget, much to her regret, so this was highly unusual. She shook her head, searching to clear it at least a little. Then she sighed suddenly, closing the door of the cupboard once more. Now, where could they have put it?

The servant girl, blue on her skin in every place covered by her knee-length dress and cardigan, moved slowly, irritatingly so, considering she did not have the time to be slow. She really needed to finish up in Sabine’s quarters. She was worried she would not make it, never knowing when her king would return. But then, she had a feeling his walk today had had a purpose. There had just been something in his stride, so perhaps there was no need to fret and panic. She would make it. Yes, she would. Or not. She groaned quietly in frustration, thinking herself alone when the voice of a certain Balthazar Cross danced by her ears.

Oh no. No more people today. Only the king. She could not handle more people today. Lena took a deep breath turning carefully, facing him only as a sign of respect, although she kept her eyes on the ground, ever the perfect servant girl. She would only ever look Sabine in the eyes if he forced her to as well. It just felt wrong to her. Like she was claiming equal position, which she would never even dare to. Never. For once, Lena did not give the shape or form of Balthazar’s words or tone much thought. Whether he was genuine or taunting mattered not, because she could not have him here. She could not have the king’s adviser searching for ointment for her bruised skin.

No. Because that required a longer conversation during which she would have to explain to him what had happened, and he would probably tell Sabine, and then she’d be beat up once more tomorrow. So instead, Lena curtsied gracefully and respectfully, trying to keep the pain out of face and movement, but she did not quite succeed, as her body seemed bent on trying to kill her. Her face, however, remained inexpressive. “Although your lordship’s offer is much appreciated, I must decline, sir. I am in no need of such noble assistance.” Her voice and toe remained respectful, but quiet, and almost a little fearful. She never felt quite right around Balthazar.

“How could he say something like that?” Simone thought to herself. The redhead tried to usher herself off the sidewalk a second time only to find traffic cutting across the road. Not one vehicle was willing to slow and let her cross to her jeep. She found herself stuck, teetering between being on and off the road, her knees weak from the shock of nearly being run over by the truck. How could I have not seen that coming? Is this guy driving me mental? And how could he say that, that he’s not leaving me again?” Simone heard his voice then, the vibrato of his tone carrying her. While she didn’t catch his words, knowing he was there was all the incentive she needed to step onto the road. Screw traffic. Too late.

His hands gripped her, his left talking hold of her shoulder while his right puled at her left hand. She immediately turned towards him with the force of his grip, her eyes landing on his hands vehemently. Her fingers laced through his and tried to push him off, the motion violent as she tried to throw everything she had into getting him off her. Still, she turned to face him, wanting to make eye contact with him, wanting to give him the Parker stare that sent all men running. Simone looked up into his eyes then, frustrated, angry and slightly terrified. “Get off!” she ordered. The force of her words became drained and as she tried to utter the latter part of her threat her lips fluttered before freezing, slightly parted. Her eyes looked down at her hands then as she tried to move her fingers, to pull away from him. Her thoughts and desires were not reciprocated by her body. Simone couldn’t move at all. She looked back up at him, her eyes panicked while he merely looked down at her amused. “What the fuck did he do to me?” she wanted to scream. She tried to look behind her and at anyone who was walking by. Simone wanted to scream, to plead with them. She looked up at the security cameras she knew were mounted on top of the door and then back at him again.

“I very rarely take no for an answer, Simone,” He told her. Simone breathed rapidly through her nose, her heart racing beyond anything she had ever experienced. Panic would have had her shaking violently in front of him were it not for whatever he had done to her. Instead, she was forced to stay where she was, in his arms, half on the road and half off of it, looking up at him with a stoned expression that could easily be mistaken for adoration – wide eyed, flushed, breathing rapidly. Simone closed her eyes, feeling like she was suddenly at war with her own body, screaming at herself to move away from him, to punch him, to kick him, to do anything to get him away from her. As his hand brushed her cheek, tucking a stray lock of her hair behind her ear she felt revulsion boil up in her stomach…paired with a sudden flare of desire between her thighs. It was the strangest combination of feelings she had ever experienced and it made her suck in all the more air. Breathing and blinking appeared to be the only thing she could do.

”Stop. Don’t touch me. Don’t hurt me. Please just let me go. Please,” Simone pleaded with him in her mind.

“And I didn’t want to play dirty,” he added then and Simone held her breath as he suddenly bent and took her in his arms like a bride, shifting her arms around his neck to look perfectly natural while she had absolutely no control of herself. Put me down! Put me down right now! Drop me in the road to be hit by a car, whatever you want, but don’t do this. Don’t.

“But you just had to run,” he murmured in her ear and Simone felt another rush of goose flesh erupt down her neck, a strong twist of her stomach telling her that the breath of his words tickled her but her muscles couldn’t flinch or twitch the way they normally would. Simone continued to nearly hyperventilate, feeling him move so elegantly across the road – and oh yes, fucking traffic stopped for him now! – to his car, the same luxury vehicle he had driven her home in two years ago. Where is he taking me? Is he going to kill me? Sell me? Rape me?

Simone’s desire to scream at him did not fade as he opened the passenger door to his vehicle, holding her at one point with one hand – how the hell could he manage that? – before sliding her onto the seat, bending her knees and planting her feet on the floor. His touch always seemed to linger longer than she would have wandered. If she could cry she would have at that point. Instead she closed her eyes, refusing to watch him move to pull a seat belt over her. Put me in your trunk next time bastard.

For the few moments that she was by herself, she could barely think. He closed the door and Simone watched him walk around the car. It felt like slow motion and she had no freedom to move even as he had his eyes off her. Sapphire. Sydney. Oh my God. Mum and Dad. I’m going to be one of those statistics, those people who just disappear for years and then gets found at the bottom of a river in parts, a foot washing up on a beach, my head eaten by wolves…no. I can’t let that happen. No. No.

Simone couldn’t turn to watch him as he got in. The redhead was relegated to staring forward, a prisoner in her own skin, hearing him slide his keys into the ignition of his vehicle to start it. The vibrations of the engine moved through the floor of the car and up her legs. A seat warmer turned on underneath her. The air began to circulate through the vents. Low music began to play and it was unlike what she had been listening to to the past few days. No detail was lost on her. When he locked the doors, her eyes shot to begin to analyze the details of her passenger door. She tried desperately to look out of the corner of her eye at him, at the center console, at the model of the vehicle. When they pulled away from the curb, Simone found herself taking in everything she could and she didn’t know why. He’s stronger than me. He’s fucking huge. And he’s drugged me. He has to have… But the more she thought, the more her resolve kicked in.

“I am not some insane creep who wants to kidnap you,” he started. Dear lord. This isn’t CSI or Law and Order. Don’t tell me you’re not psycho. I know you’re freaking insane. You have to be to be doing this, to be taking me and you will never live it down you fucking bastard. I will not be chopped up and murdered without a fight. Of course, her monologue continued and Simone was still silent, still unable to speak no matter how much she thought about screaming, trying to yell at him, trying to move her hand to where she knew her phone was in her pocket. If she could just connect a phone call with someone it could be traced.

“In fact, only the kidnapping part is correct, though you may think my insane once I tell you this,” he continued. Quit telling me you’re not crazy you fucking sociopath,” Simone retorted in her mind. “My full name is Alexander II Gabriel Kaiseren Chartés, my title is that of King. I am a vampire, and contrary to popular belief, I cannot survive on animal blood.”

What the fuck? A vampire? Is he for real?

She was stunned and Simone saw him shift, establishing eye contact briefly. As he smiled she wanted to throw up. She closed her eyes then, beginning to try and think back to her self defense class in university…only they had never told you what to do if the guy actually got you in his car.

“So once in a while I will procure food for myself in this world. Although, I have to admit my food is usually brought to me. Not the other way around,” he mused. He’s actually serious about this? He believes he’s a vampire? Jesus Christ.

“You certainly gave me a run for my money, dear Simone. I applaud that, but do not deceive yourself to think you will ever get to leave me in such a way ever again. You are now my property, and you are to do as I command,” Alexander concluded. Simone hated how proud of himself he sounded. You have no idea how much of a run for your money I’m going to give you, you sick fuck.

Normally she didn’t curse this much. Perhaps he brought this out of her. Still, Simone flared her nostrils at his comments. She looked forward out of the car, counting the streets, remembering their names, watching as he turned into an affluent neighborhood. Within a turn and a short drive off of the main road he pulled into the driveway of a large modern mansion. She continued to look forward, her eyes tracing the lines of the consul in front of her, where the airbags were. Simone watched him park his car across the drive on an angle and when he stopped, he suddenly sat back and looked at her. She heaved a breath and suddenly she could move her shoulders.

Simone could move again.

What the?

Simone shifted then, to turn and look at him, her face like stone for all the tears and screaming she had wanted to do along the drive. However short it had proved to be, the time was enough for her to push away the panic, to think through a thought process. If you fight what will he do? If you go along with him, what will he do? Alexander had always been witty with her, biting her remarks two years ago with his own jabbing retorts. He had always been aggressive. Now she was face to face with the same man who had now taken her to some mansion against her will and declared himself a vampire. Not to mention that he had somehow drugged her long enough to get her there with something strong enough to paralyze her while leaving her free to feel and hear everything he said and did to her.

Simone knew that her iPhone was in her pocket and she had butt dialed her sister Sydney so many times in her life that it seemed like some sort of option. The redhead knew exactly how to turn and face him and nudge the thing against the seat, hitting speed dial 1. Sydney had always been her emergency contact – she tended to be the more reliable sister when it came to answering the phone, and her legal office had never been far from the zoo. Swallowing, she shifted again, feeling her phone vibrate in her back pocket with an incoming text. Before she knocked it, she knew she had to say something - he seemed like the type to be preoccupied by the sound of his own voice now didn't he?

“You think I can be owned? That I will listen to whatever you tell me to do just because you ask me to?”Simone demanded lowly. Her hands shifting to his thighs then as she moved toward him. As she began to move towards him, allowing herself to give into her body’s desire to touch him, Simone thought through the alternatives. She could see it in her head so clearly.

* * *

Her hand would dive out to rip at the car handle only for her fingers to fly back. She would shove her shoulder into it, finding it locked. She would pry at it with her fingers to try and force it up but it seemed like it was glued down. He didn’t seem like the type to dumbly leave the doors unlocked. That was idiotic. Trying the door wasn’t worth it. It was stupid and he would likely be amused by that.

Then she recalled that her the dial tone would suddenly resonate throughout the car. How could she distract him from that? She would have screamed something, but then she could be paralyzed again or he might jab her with some hypodermic needle she couldn’t feel a second time. She would swing her nails poised for his face. Thumb his eyes. Scratch him. Anything to get at the control panel on his side of the car. But he was strong and so muscled and it was that fake steroid muscle. He was probably strong enough to catch her hands and stop her. So attacking him wouldn’t do anything either. He’d probably laugh too, pin her hands, do something she didn’t want him to do against her will right there in his car.

Then Simone could see herself trying to attack him in another way, to distract him. She wanted it to sound like a scuffle was going on for the phone call. She would swing her hands at him, not sure that she would get anywhere near him. Then she would shift her legs before throwing herself over the center console. But knowing her luck her knee would connect with his gear shift painfully – that always happened even when she had make out sessions in some guy’s car. Still, if she could get over it, she would throw herself over his knees and someone turn the car back on, throw it into drive and jam his foot on the gas and send the car into the front of the house to deploy the air bags. Then, she might not be low enough to avoid them – in fact they would hit her first and knock her out for him.

None of her violent ideas seemed viable. So she didn’t choose any of them. Right away at least. Violence was always how she had dealt with things. Hell hath no fury like a woman with fire for hair.

* * *

Simone let her hands grip his shoulders tightly, not caring if her nails dug in through the fabric of his collared shirt. Slowly she lifted her legs, elegantly sweeping them over the console until she was straddling him, folding her knees on either side of his.

“All you had to do was ask nicely,” she scoffed, forcing herself to believe what she was trying to sell him. Her body’s reaction to his proximity certainly made that easy. Internally she cringed as she moved, re-adjusting herself. Her hip shifted and her phone pressed against her side and the steering wheel. It suddenly dialed and she knew it was quick to connect, it always was. I don’t have an eighty dollar a month plan for nothing.

She moved fast then, or at least she tried to, bringing her fingers to his face in a violent swing of her nails across his eyes. “You think I can be owned you sick bastard?!” she screamed then, feeling her lusty façade fade away as she did everything she could to lay a hand on him, to let the phone call get through. Dear God, Sydney pick up, go through, just long enough. I don’t care if he breaks my wrists it has to connect. Simone threw her shoulder away from him and into the window as hard as she could, hearing the glass crack, wanting nothing but to get away from him, to hurt him and to above all let someone know where he intended to take her.

Brigitte Lebelle

She had watched as the red haired woman had burst out of the club and almost get run over by an oncoming vehicle however Brigitte had not moved. His Highness would surely catch up to her and obtain the woman in quite an easy manner. Still, she had made sure to make herself a tad more visible encase things got out of hand, though of that she was quite doubtful. Her head was tilted slightly to the side as she saw His Highness emerge from the club.

“I do not require your presence, my sweet. Do transport yourself home.” His orders rang through her like a church bell in the dead of night. As His Highness moved away Brigitte stepped back, cloaking herself in the shadows of the building. She would be walking back to the mansion however this did not bother her in the slightest. Before Brigitte could actually leave the club property she got a whiff of a mixture of obnoxious chemicals, a scent that was unique to one person and one person alone.

Now when it came to His Highness orders Brigitte never disobeyed. There was one exception, only one thing that could stop her from doing what she was told. If ever Brigitte were to catch Nebellia in public without permission, she was to be found and brought back immediately. No matter what she had to do Brigitte must catch the crazed scientist at all costs. So as a car whizzed by with two woman in it, one who reeked of chemicals, Brigitte could only spin on her heel and follow the scent which trailed right back into the club and- ah, there she went. Nebellia practically leaped out of the car, dragging two mutilated bodies with her. On the other side of the vehicle stood a quiver servant, no doubt forced by fear into driving to the club. Brigitte strode forward and grabbed the servants wrist.

"Permission?" She inquired of the frightened vampire, her grip like iron and tone like a lullaby. This odd combination only caused the servant to tremble more to which Brigitte clenched her wrist tighter. "Permission?" She repeated, her voice dropping one octave. The servant shook her head from side to side rapidly, only wanting to return to the mansion and rid herself of The Kings odd and frightful underlings. Brigitte released the woman's wrist then pointed at the people who had been waiting in line when Nebellia had entered. "Thrall them." Without even waiting to see if the servant understood Brigitte had slid across the car hood and was making her way into the club. There were people in line who ranged from sobbing hysterically to shouting. They had not missed the sight of a blood stained woman carrying two gruesome corpses. Brigitte grabbed a nearby woman who seemed to be frozen in shock and dragged her along into the club, biting at her neck and drinking a large amount of blood as she did so. One had to be fully charged to take on Nebellia. Finding herself sated Brigitte tossed the now unconscious woman away from her, not caring in the least bit where she landed. Everyone would be thralled once Nebellia was secured and she had not taken enough to kill the woman.

There, two feet ahead lay the guards. Brigitte barely paid them any attention and neither did the people dancing. It seemed that the alcohol and drugs in their system made them only think the two unconscious men were a dream. As she stopped beside them Brigitte's eyes scanned the crowded club for Nebellia and an unease grew in her gut. For the oddest of reasons she could not remember she did not like these tight, dark areas. Brigitte saw a flash of short violet hair near the bar and quickly maneuvered herself among the withering, sweat covered bodies. The mass of bodies parted and Brigitte found Nebellia, leaning over the bar counter drinking from the throat of who seemed to be the bartender.
"Nebellia." Brigitte called as she approached the feeding vampire. Her hand shot out and grabbed Nebellia's shoulder, spinning her around so that they were face to chest. "Leave."

It didn’t take long for the fiery redhead next to him to start speaking up, ah, but her words were accompanied by a faint buzzing sound. It struck him a little odd, but he son figured it had to be a text message. Well, that meant he’d have to rid himself of such a device, did it not? He made a mental note to not leave her alone until he had done so. He said nothing, except he let out a lighthearted chuckle when she moved towards him, her hands placed on his thighs. He wondered briefly what she was playing at, as he finally said, “ah, no, dear. I won’t be asking.” She was an entertaining human, he’d give her that, and he liked her spark, but she was rather delusional when it came to her choice in this situation. Of course, he thought to himself, she did not yet believe him to be a vampire. Not that he had expected her to.

As he spoke, the redhead straddled him and Alexander merely quirked an eyebrow, aware that she was playing at something. He just didn’t yet know exactly what. His green eyes watched her silently then, no buying this little act she was trying to sell. It was a faint attempt in his eyes and he saw through it so easily. Oh, he was attracted to him alright; her body craved him well enough, but that was not the reason she was suddenly so close. Ah, no, this had to do with a little plan. One he was sure to find out soon enough.

He chuckled when she noted he’d only had to ask, and he was about to reply when she flexed her hips. He paused, not because of the movement or any particular reaction on his part… but because her phone seemed to dial. The tone rang out in the car, and even slightly distracted by this, Alexander’s one hand automatically flew up to grasp her wrist when she tried to take a swipe at his face, effectively stopping the strike before it hit home, his vampire speed easily overpowering her human one. Simultaneously, Alexander’s other held her phone after a brief retrieval from her pocket. Immediately he clenched his hand, effectively crushing the device, cutting it off.

And she had the nerve to break the window of his car! Every other strike she’d made at him had been shrugged off. Honestly he’d hardly felt it, but he did very much notice the noise of the glass breaking and he raised both eyebrows as he suddenly, without warning, let the pieces of technology fall to the bottom of the car, both of his hands now moving to hold her wrists. He forced her arms behind her, gathering them with only one of his. He held onto her firmly but gently, surprisingly. He did not particularly wish to break her wrist… well, not right now.

Finally, completely calm, although most would have been surprised or a little riled up, the vampire king forced the redheaded human back against the steering wheel of the car, a slight smirk on his lips as he calmly said “You broke my car.” His eyes were intense, however, as he looked at her, a hunger burning deep within him. She had cut her shoulder by trying to break the glass, which really wasn’t the best thing to do around a hungry vampire. The scent of her blood out in the open was his undoing. He had to have her now. Besides, he played the consequences out in his mind, and if how she had reacted during his first time of feeding on her, was anything to go by, she would be more than a little dazed, and most likely much easier to deal with once he had taken her blood, and now only for the tiring effects of it.

Oh no, the reason was first and foremost that she would be rather riled up. For some reason the curious human had quite enjoyed his bite last time. He could see it in her eyes during, and he was certain that had she been able to, she would have rubbed herself against him, moaning in bliss. Afterwards she’d seemed, well… pleasured. As if he had just made her climax several times in a row. He couldn’t help but like the idea of trying it again, while she was actually able to respond properly. That, for some reason, excited him just as much as the taste of her blood right now. This was rather odd. Blood had always come way before sexual urges.

He liked to combine them, but it made him all the more ruthless, and he’d found that the mixture of sex and blood made him rather prone to more carnal behavior and this always resulted in the death of the human woman. Of course they always died with smiles on their faces, pleasure in their eyes, but alas… they were not meant to keep living, it seemed. He did not wish to take Simone to bed for this simple reason; if she died, he would never be able to drink from her again, and he wasn’t entirely sure Nebbs could properly replicate the human’s taste.

The king had paid the human woman no mind, even as she fought against him and cursed him. He paid no attention, but merely looked into her furious eyes. Then suddenly, a taunting smile began playing at his lips and his eyes became all the more heated. “I assure you I am quite healthy,” he finally said, teasing her. He knew exactly what she’d meant, but that didn’t mean he’d reply to her as such. “And yes, Simone, all humans can be owned.” As he spoke those words, Alexander leaned in closer; his eyes closing as his lips gently traced the soft, sensitive skin of her smooth, wildly pulsating neck. As he did, his free hand moved to cup the other side of her face, seeking to steady her and keep her in place; he couldn’t have her thrashing wildly. Yes, she did indeed smell heavenly. She was a drug, she was.

His long, thin and deadly sharp fangs slid out as he opened his eyes, leaning back to let her see exactly what he was. Then he grinned, only improving her view before he with incredible speed dug those porcelain fangs into the neck he had so desired for so long. He groaned in bliss against her neck, lids sliding over green, heaventurned eyes. His tongue lapped furiously at the blood exiting her beautiful throat. He had dreamed of this since he had first tasted her, and finally he had her. He couldn’t believe he’d actually been lucky enough to find her again. The taste of her blood was like godly ambrosia, and he feared his first taste had gotten him quite addicted to the taste. His tongue had never rejoiced as it did this moment, like it was seeing a long lost lover.

---

---

As Balthazar replied, Lena said nothing. She did not know why he had even bothered offering his assistance and part of her did not wish to know. She had enough problems to deal with on a daily basis, and to add the royal adviser into that pile would be more than a little bothersome. The demon king’s personal servant was a timid, sweet creature, and although she did much to remain out of sight, trouble always seemed almost to seek her out particularly. Like right now with Balthaar. Lena wondered at the reasons why he would possibly want to help her. She had been around long enough to know that Balthazar’s silver tongue and gifts of manipulation had benefited no others than himself, and this, above all, made her wary.

He did, however, seem finished with her, and so Lena kept standing there, practically feeling time go by. She was in a hurry, but apparently the adviser was not, and so she was forced to remain there, doing nothing. Why did he have to interrupt her search in such a way? Not that she expected to find her remedies anymore. If they were not in the kitchen, they were not available. She would have gone to Merry, but the other half demon had not accompanied the king on this trip to earth. Besides, she would most likely tell Sabine if she suspected anything.

See, Merry wasn’t quite the sort Lena was. In fact, the older Halfling was mostly respected by their kin, even the king held her in high regard. She was just… that kind of woman. Lena had often wished to have that same strength in her attitude, the same stature so demanding of respect that even the king had to recognize it. Lena adored Merry, and oftentimes it felt like she was the only one she could properly talk to, but Merry’s views on Lena’s troubles was much different than her own. The other Halfling felt that Sabine should know every time, so that he might be able to ultimately stop it. Lena dared not hope for such a future.

She frowned very slightly, but nodded once when Balthazar asked her whether she agreed that the king should be served the best way possible. She was hesitant though. Where was this leading? She almost help her breath as she waited for him to continue. Then, however, he commented the state she was in, and Lena straightened herself, as if to say “I’m fine,” but she kept her eyes down and her mouth shut. Her body language said all she needed it to, however, even if Balthazar would not believe her.

His following offer, however, surprised her and she quickly glanced up at him suspiciously. What was he playing at? What did he want from him? What were the conditions of this rather generous and very spot-on offer? Oh, here it comes she quickly thought to herself as Balthazar continued speaking, this time of the ‘but’ she had expected. Only once the adviser had finished speaking, did Lena start thinking of what he had actually said, quietly structuring it in her mind, picking out bits and pieces she did not feel quite right with.

Then, finally, she spoke, her tone quiet, but not weak. “If I may be excused to note so, my lord, first you, sire, tell me that what I say will be confidential, correct? Except then you speak of merely not giving it away for free. If my lord will allow me to add something, might I suggest that this confidentiality will stretch beyond this and in fact also be fully recognized in the event of you being offered payment for the rephrasing or retelling of my words, my lord?” She was honestly feeling more than a little awkward standing there, discussing this highly unusual agreement. Lena had not even contemplated whether or not to take it, because honestly she knew she needed it. She got hurt too often not to have remedies available.

More so, she hated that she needed to make this agreement in the first place. She couldn’t quite see why anyone would have moved her things. But then, she was an idiot for not merely keeping them in her room in the king’s wing. That didn’t mean she intended to be detailed in her replies when he asked her. In fact, she was already perfectly aware of what she would answer to this first question of his. It was painfully obvious that, like many others, the adviser was underestimating her.

---

---

Alanya let her body enjoy the delicious, tingling sensation as Daniel pulled her closer, his lips teasing hers. She didn’t mind at all, actually. She loved to let tension build. Things always ended up all the better in the end, ah, she did very much appreciate pleasure in its purest form. Her eyes slid closed when those snooping lips of his found her neck… that spot just beneath her ear. Her nails teased the nape of his neck as he hands slid into his dark hair, letting him know she did indeed enjoy his advances. Her breath was slow, yet controlled, her lips parted slightly, almost as if ready for the next kiss… the next teasing touch.

She bit down on her lower lip, a quiet “mmm” escaping her when his breath tickled that sweet spot, his chuckle sending bolts of lightning through her. She half opened her eyes, the half lidded look of pleasure in her amber eyes, almost scolding. She was a rather passionate girl, and she was young enough to still experience pleasure very intensely, so Daniel’s careful seduction was not lost on her. She took a deep breath, however, brought out of her haven of pleasure when he spoke. She opened her eyes fully, pulling back from the hand he’d used to tease her skin, now positioned at the base of her throat, but as she pulled back, she also removed her hands from his, and used one to clasp his wrist and confiscate that hand, placing it on the side of the chair.

Her eyes, though still passionate, had turned irritated. It was certainly a good thing that he’d paused before kissing her again, because she had very suddenly lost the feel for it. She did not move from him entirely, wanting to at least give him the option to actually correct the massive mistake he had just made. She wanted Daniel, but she would take no more from him than anyone else, and she suspected her knew it, considering the way he’d paused, reading her eyes before going in for another kiss. She said nothing, her own arms moved from passionately embracing him, to resting on his stomach, keeping him at a distance. She didn’t like this.

She didn’t like the way he spoke to her as though he was allowed to purposely offend her. She might be close to him, she might like his company, and she might very well care for him in her own twisted way, but that certainly did not allow the male to deliberately irk her. Alanya had her limits in that regard, being a very proud princess, and he had just crossed several. People who did so had a tendency to disappear rather suddenly. That, or they were publicly humiliated. It depended on the person and the crime. Daniel, as it was, would most likely lose both arms and be stripped of his position and possessions.

Well, if he kept this up, anyway. She simply would not accept it. She refused to. And Alanya always got her way. It had been like this since the day she was born, and by the gods, she intended for things to keep going in that direction. She raised both eyebrows at him, her eyes burning into him. “Do not play that game with me, Captain Bowman.” She said, her voice authoritative and slightly warning in spite of her more compromising position. For some reason, it did not matter how she was seated, only that she spoke as the heir to the vampire throne; the princess she truly was. “You have exactly ten seconds to remedy this.” She then concluded, looking at him expectantly. The time limit would certainly put a stop to the game. He was trying to turn his insult into a joke, instead of merely apologizing. He needed to know it was unacceptable, that was all.

---

---

Sapphire watched the tall blonde male before her with the utmost vigilance she could muster. The was that… thing… beneath the surface again, flaring up every once in a while. Some level of something he did not wish to recognize perhaps, or maybe he just didn’t like to utter the words to describe it. Whatever it was, it was intriguing, like uncovering a mystery, or completing a very complicated puzzle. Yes, that was what he was: puzzling. Perhaps he thought the same of her then? Found her interesting? Well, it was possible, was it not?

Oh, she had no actual clue. It all just felt odd and confusing, hard to focus on properly because she honestly did not wish to. Perhaps she was afraid of what she’d find in the bottom of her own mind, or his, for that matter, if she thought about this too much. Sabine was looking back at her, having gone quiet after she’d asked him her last question, green meeting blue, because the blonde woman did not waver for a second. She would not avert her gaze, because oftentimes that seemed to be what he wanted and expected her to do. Besides, in spite of all the reason she should fear him, she did not. Not for a second. She had seen him fight, beating up several rather well-built young men like it was nothing, he watched her with an unnerving intensity, he was stalking her… yet she did not fear him. Not even a little.

And she couldn’t explain why. Not even to herself in her mind. She was as puzzled as any other would be as to why she was standing there, insanely talking to a man she had, perhaps even more insanely, craved and missed for two years. It pissed her off like nothing else, which was probably why she seemed to be such a time bomb around him. Why was he so quiet though? It was taking him forever to answer, and the young woman was starting to grow a little nervous, but she managed to keep it off of his face, defiantly staring back at him with that fire in her eyes, even if it seemed like he’d left his to go think.

Then, finally he spoke, and Sapphire quirked her head just slightly, watching him, reading him, trying to figure out what it was she could just about glance under that controlled, calm surface. He didn’t know? Okay, that sounded honest enough. Somewhat, anyways, because she didn’t know what she wanted from him either. Then again, she had not claimed to him that she needed anything at all. He had to her, so she supposed he should be somewhat aware, should he not? Ah well, his next words caused her to raise a single eyebrow just a little, scrutinizing the statement. Ah, so she was merely amusing, was she? She didn’t believe it. She wasn’t sure why, but it was… something in his eyes. Perhaps the same doubt and confusion she was feeling.

That would make sense in some ways. It seemed to her like he was trying to cover up the slightest sign of some sort of care for her she had spotted previously. She couldn’t help smiling wryly, dryly amused by that concept. Mostly because it sounded so much like something she would do herself. They weren’t really that different, but perhaps that was the exact problem? His final question, as he looked to search her face, however, made her blink a couple of times, suddenly thoughtful in a much different way. What did she think he wanted from her? She didn’t actually know. How could she possibly? He didn’t give off a lot of vibes. She sighed let out a small gust of air, shrugging.

“Honestly, I think you’re just as confused as I am, but you’re not quite used to admitting such things,” She shot honestly. “My guess is that the only reason you don’t know what you want from me, is because you don’t want to admit it to yourself. What that is or why you’re doing it, I do not know. I’m not certain I want to know.” Then she paused, pursing her lips slightly, not caring one bit that she was being painfully honest. So she offered him a wry smile and continued, “but I do believe there’s more to it than my being amusing, and I reckon that so do you.”

Simone’s body was twisted away from him and yet he still clasped her, reaching behind her with a cold glare to dip his hand into the back pocket of her pants. Within a blink he had her iPhone in front of her and in the split second that it connected, she watched him crush it with his own fingers.

Such a thing wasn’t remotely possible, especially since her phone was encased in an Otterbox meant to save it from falling several stories (she was just that accident prone when it came to her cell phone – the lemurs had taken it a few times…)

It terrified her.

For as soon as she had gotten her mobility back, Simone found herself taking it for granted. While she had thought through her top options and had essentially written off attacking him, she still tried to, irrational self defense kicking in as she grew violent. Alexander, however, was much faster than she anticipated. With her right hand poised to grate her nails across the left hand side of his face, Simone threw herself into the action only for his left hand to snatch her wrist in midair – and tightly. She screamed as he did, trying to wrench free and in the process of course tossing her shoulders back in a violent swing only to catch the driver side window. The force of her movement was so strong that the glass shattered, showering them both in cascade of shards with larger pieces hacking through her coat and into her shoulder. The impact caught her off guard but the slicing of her own skin didn’t register until she felt herself bleeding openly, the smell of rust and iron filling the air. Her shoulder was pulsing and she felt as if it had been stabbed – and effectively she had done just that, while also nearly dislocating it in her actions. For a moment she moved to flex her fingers, feeling her nerves pinch and a tingling sensation begin to spread from her palm to her elbow.

Shifting, she reached for her phone, which he suddenly dropped to the floor in parts. Simone’s eyes followed it and she groaned, only to find her only wrist captured by his. Like a military expert he gathered her hands behind her lower back, the movement causing her to cry out as her right shoulder shifted, the cuts squeezed by his motion. They began to sting and she could tell that she had slashed herself quite deeply as she looked over to see her own blood drip down her arm and onto his pants. For the split second that she watched it gather and then fall onto him, her eyes widened before looking back up into his face, nostrils flaring, cheeks paling. Simone fell silent, feeling him shift to sit upright and off the back of his seat, pushing her back into the steering wheel so that she was arched away from him, her hips grinding close to his as her calves flexed from being pushed away while her legs were still bent on either side of his thighs.

“You broke my car,” he stated, a smirk pulling at his lips. Simone didn’t respond, watching something change in his expression…seeing how he seemed to change, the coldness fading as he smelt the air. He’s a self confessed vampire and I’m bleeding profusely in front of him… Simone thought suddenly. She swallowed, staring into his eyes, her steeling grey eyes still resolved and yet now showing genuine fear. Flexing her fingers, she tried to roll her wrists against his grasp only to find his one hand entirely capable of keeping her pinned as she was. It didn’t held that her forearms were pressed tightly into her back, pinned by her own body weight and the steering wheel behind her.

“I assure you I am quite healthy,” he teased her. Simone snorted in response. “And yes, Simone, all humans can be owned,” Alexander added. He leaned in then and she found herself stretching her head back to keep the distance between them what he had been – only the degree that she could was incredibly limited. She turned her head away from him and toward the window, closing her eyes and feeling her body begin to tremble. His breath swept across her neck as he drew his lips across her carotid, a motion that made her begin to squirm beneath him, twisting her hands in his grip, trying to get her hands into a position where she could try and hurt him…if that was possible. His free hand shifted though and he held her face – her cheek fitting into his palm. She tried to shift again and again, to move her shoulders which was incredibly painful, to wrench her hands free, anything to get away from him but he had her. Simone couldn’t help it then as she sensed she knew what was coming, only she couldn’t quite bring herself to believe it. She bit down on her lip and began to whimper, steadily growing louder the more he seemed to draw it out.

Then he pulled back and when she turned her cheek to look at him, her skin still pressed between his fingers, she saw him…his mouth transformed itself in front of her, fangs descending over his lips. Simone screamed, her entire body panicking as she looked at him and saw nothing but an animal looking back at her – and he was far more terrifying than a lion or a tiger that had been starved.

He bit her and she cried out then, feeling her body arch off the steering wheel, her chest sliding against his frame. The piercing of his teeth into her neck was far more evident to her than throwing her shoulder into the glass. He groaned on top of her, and Simone felt her mind retreat from the moment, suddenly drawn away from how heavy he felt on her and how trapped she felt beneath him.

Alexander was suddenly drawing something else out of her entirely. The fear melted away within seconds of him beginning to feed. Her body was numbed initially and her entire body slackened against him. Then it came like an explosion in her head – bliss. Simone’s cheek fell into his hand and she moaned, panting through parted lips as her endorphins began to flood her brain. Her legs clenched against him. The more he took the more intense it became. The effect was incredibly dizzying. Alexander was giving her extreme pleasure.

It was quick but it was long to her, her body feeling every sensation wholly. When he withdrew she was breathless, her body shaking from the blood loss and the experience. She slumped towards him, her forehead coming to rest on his shoulder, her eyes glazed over and words beyond her.

Ah, that scream. As he drank the aphrodisiac which had taunting him so for the past two years, Alexander’s mind couldn’t quite stop thinking about the scream. Her scream. The sensations mixed to an unbelievable high because part of him thought of it as yet another thrill; her fear of him. It was delicious. Alexander had always enjoyed riding his victims with fear because it made the blood so much sweeter as adrenaline intensively soared through their veins, and this time was not different in that regard. Yet a tiny, tiny, almost unrecognizable part of him didn’t like the tone of her scream, like he’d wanted a different kind of scream. It taunted him, this odd little jab. This little inkling of something he was not quite familiar with… not with humans.

Normally Alexander would be so busy feeding; his mind would numb itself to fully enjoy every little sensation in the taste of the sweet life source, but this time her scream simply kept lingering, much like the taste of her blood had previously. Strange, it was – so very strange. The blood he could understand, but now this? As if he didn’t fully appreciate the fear in her scream and the horror in her eyes. Hmm. Ah, but the scream did not take long to change into a moan, and as that sound mixed with the remnant of her scream, it fell into the background. He liked the sound of a woman in pleasure much, much more, be she human or vampire.

She’d stopped fighting him, instead reveling in the pleasure, and Alexander finally let himself do the same when her thighs tightened around his. He almost automatically let go of her wrists to snake his arm around her waist, bringing her infinitely closer. He couldn’t say he disliked the way she melted at his touch, the way her body worshiped his teeth in her. Normally humans would feel pain at him feeding from them. In fact, he had never found a human who actually reacted this positively to the bite of a vampire. Perhaps pain turned her on? That was the only real explanation he could think of, but the thoughts didn’t linger long, because by the gods, she was sweet. So sweet.

Soon, actually much too soon it seemed, Alexander felt his endless thirst diminish and he was full at last. He had not been since he had last fed on her, and it was as satisfactory as anything he had ever experienced. The king drew his teeth out of the human woman in his arms and let her head slump onto his shoulder her frail body trembling against his. He let out a slight sigh, the hand which had remained on her cheek, moving to brush through her hair, his other one holding her close. Her full lips were parted as she tried to regain the breath he seemed to have stolen.

Alexander himself was as calm and collected as ever, finally having sated his seemingly endless hunger, and he finally opened his eyes, glancing down at the red mane his fingers were currently caressing, her fiery locks flowing effortlessly between his strong fingers. He licked the remaining blood off the side of his mouth before leaning in to let his tongue remove the remains from her neck, easily licking it clean, healing up the puncture wounds as his fangs slid back into hiding. This had been a rush unlike any other. He didn’t know why, but it had been different from last time, perhaps because he had let her be aware and in control of her body through the experience. This was better than slaying Lykae on the battlefield.

And he was still holding her for some reason he did not recognize himself. He didn’t want to let go, but then, he saw no actual need to either. She was dazed and sated right now. It would be a while till her mind fully realized what had happened, and he intended to have her settled in properly beforehand. Already he dreaded the day when she would die of old age and he could no longer drink her blood, because right now it felt as though he could never drink from another. This was not loyalty, nor was it any kind of possessiveness. He merely liked her blood.

Alexander shook off the thoughts then, moving only the hand in her hair to unlock the car and somehow managed to elegantly step outside of it with her still half in his arms in only a second. Swiftly the king moved then, the human quickly moved to be nestled in his arms much like you would carry a bride, and his legs bore the two into the mansion. With a wave of his hand he dismissed the groveling servants at his feet, most likely wondering what their king was doing, and why. Hm, he didn’t much care for their gossip, so he’d only added a brief “Get me Nebellia.” They could think what they wanted, really. He was certain they would reach a somewhat correct conclusion anyway.

He carried her with easy through the building until he reached a room unoccupied. He had intended this room for her from the second they had arrived at the house; earth, really. He opened the door with the one hand he could loosen from her without letting her go, and then, as he stepped inside, a foot elegantly, yet harshly, kicking the door shut behind him, he let her slide onto her own two feet, his firm hand continuously resting on the small of her back, the other one moving up to tuck her chin upwards, forcing her gently to look at him.

He was not being forcible with her, because he didn’t feel the need to. He wanted her to know that when she was acting the way he wanted her to, like now, he would return the favor. Alexander could be gentle, and he could feign warmth unlike any other. She would learn soon enough that she would be treated much better if she sought to please him. Although… honestly he liked a little bit of resistance. He simply needed it to be more… playful, for all intents and purposes. He liked for it to be a bit of a game, like when she had played hard to get in that bar, pretending she was not interested, yet obviously was. He’d liked it because it was different. That didn’t mean he wanted actual resistance.

Ah no, Alexander liked his women more willing than that, and they always came to him in one way or another, but with her, because he could not be without her blood, he’d simply had to make an exception. Ah well, she’d come around soon enough. He supposed. Alexander smiled vaguely at that thought as he looked into her grey eyes. Perhaps a few things still needed explaining. “I can give you many things, Simone… so much pleasure.” His voice was calm and sated; a little seductive, as though he had been through that orgasm right along with her, his green eyes intense to be point of almost hypnotizing, as though she was the most important thing in his life.

“Please know that I do not intend to take your body against your will. It is yours to command if you so wish, but I will require your blood once a day. You have no choice in that matter, of course, but I do myself recognize that my own behavior has not been exemplary, and for that you may consider me less than I am, but I assure you that will change.” He let go of her then, feeling comfortable now that she was in the room he’d wanted her to be in. “I understand that your trust will come slowly, and you may not believe me, but I sincerely do wish for you to be as comfortable as possible in my home.”

Why was he explaining himself, really? He wasn’t sure, if he had to be honest, and hell, that right there had almost been an apology. Well, obviously that was only to make her want to work more with him. Yes, of course. Earth born human women had a tendency to be rather defiant in their behavior, and he did so wish to have her body pliant while he drank from her, so of course he would have to remedy his previous, rushed mistakes. Yes, that was all there was to it.

The room they were in was luxuriously designed in Victorian style. It had all that she would need to feel comfortable: a writing desk with a chair, a very expensive double bed, even a sofa by the barred windows, a big closet, and her own bathroom attached which included both a shower, a tub and of course a toilet with a complimentary sink – that much was of course a given. The room was not the biggest in the house – although it was still quite big by normal standards –, but Alexander considered it more than fitting.

If she required more modern décor, he would procure it. Mostly because he himself did not particularly care how she wanted the room and if she felt uncomfortable, she was more prone to try to escape. His guards would most likely be as rough with her as they were with the other slaves. Maybe even take a sip. He’d have to make sure they did not, because he’d already found he did not like others drinking from her. On the subject of drinking, where the hell was his adviser anyway? As the thought came to mind, a mousy voice peeped up from the door beyond the closed door: “Your majesty, Miss de Rozeriem is not on the premises.” Alexander outwardly appeared to ignore the servant, but he’d most certainly heard her, and he was not pleased. Not in the least.

He would have to send someone to retrieve her. Perhaps the captain would be most successful in that particular endeavor. His adviser could be most difficult to deal with and where the hell was Brigitte even? If she was not home soon, she would face punishment once she did arrive. He would not tolerate any sign of her maybe disobeying his orders.

Simone’s body felt heavy, like something had sat on all of her limbs and each of her arms and legs had fallen asleep. Flexing her fingers, she realized she was free of his grip but she had no energy to fight him. Breathing heavily, she felt his hands pull her towards him, her back cracking as she shifted from being arched away from him on the steering wheel to being hunched toward him. As his fingers wove through her hair she shook, feeling the roiling of desire spread with a rush over her body. Yet something in her mind told her it was deeply wrong, that she shouldn’t be enjoying this. But he wasn’t human, that much was evident now. When she closed her eyes she saw his face contorting again and again, his lips pulling back in a sickening way as his fangs descended, his eyes darkening with his hunger. Hunger for me. Simone swallowed and felt her fingers tremble as sensation was slow to come back to her. She wanted to lie down and a large part of her wanted to still be with him. But the fire was there. For all he made her feel, he had done this all against her will. Moreover Alexander had called her his property.

Simone stiffened when he leaned back to draw his tongue over the puncture wounds on her throat. Her right shoulder ached, her pulse thudding in the joint violently. Her head was swarmed by remaining endorphins while her adrenaline faded. With her heart beating so loudly it was all she heard in her ears. The fast paced thud traveled from her shoulder to her head, coming to rest in a dull ache at the back of her skull. Her stomach sank, hungry and suddenly at a loss for sustenance.

With heavy eyelids, she watched him shift, releasing her head to unlock the car doors. She watched his fingers dance across the button, energized and content. Simone wanted to sit up then, to slid off his lap and to run screaming to whoever happened to be nearby. With the door open she could hear the sound of a car passing. She whimpered as he shifted her then, sliding her legs from either side of his so that she sat across his lap instead. When he exited the car he lifted her with him, one hand under her knees while the other held her under her arms. She leaned into his chest, unable to do anything but slump towards him. Wrinkling her toes in her boots, she tried to fight for awareness in her body. Still her legs protested, a pins and needles sensation spreading through her feet and to her knees, growing increasingly painful as her nerves came back from the sensation of heated passion.

Simone felt her stomach drop as they entered the mansion, knowing that she was being brought beyond the threshold and into a prison, however nice. On kidnapping shows, they always say the people are deceptively close or a world away. I’m mere blocks from my life and no one knows…I should have told Sydney where I was going, Simone thought dimly. She shifted in his arms as they entered the house, looking to the side of his shoulder and seeing herself surrounded by nothing but luxury. And people. Her eyes widened and she found herself doe eyed and staring at strangers dressed in odd clothes, all of whom seemed eager to speak with the man who held her. He waved them off and she flinched

“Get me Nebellia,” he ordered. Simone’s eyebrows furrowed. “Nebellia? What kind of name is that? Aren’t these people normal? Why aren’t they freaking out over a man bringing a bloody girl in their house!”

They began moving again, and faster than she felt she could handle. Vertigo hit her hard as they moved up a set of stairs and down a series of hallways until he reached a room. Simone expected a basement prison with soundproofed walls. Instead, Alexander stepped into a master bedroom fit for a princess in old Europe. Simone didn’t want to take it in. She didn’t want to think. She just wanted to feel like herself, to not be so docile with him.

Slowly he dropped her feet to the ground and Simone balled her hands into fists, holding them against his chest. When she was left to stand on her own two legs her knees buckled, blood rushing to her toes in a torrent and only proving to make her feet feel heavier, like they were still asleep or a nerve was pinched somewhere. Still, as she was forced to stand, the pins and needles returned again, and as quick as they came they faded. Still, Simone found herself leaning into him as he was the only thing near her that could support her as she tried to stand.

Alexander moved, drawing a thumb under her chin and forcing her to look up at him. Her neck gave in and she conceded, her face wearily looking up at him, unsmiling, eyes glazed. Her hair fell away from her face and behind her shoulders. Simone felt his other hand on the small of her back and she wondered absently when he was going to start tearing her clothes off or when the knife was going to come out that would chop her to bits.

“I can give you many things, Simone… so much pleasure,” Alexander told her. His tone had changed drastically, returning to the smooth seductive groveling voice that had stuck around in her head for two years after their first encounter at the bar. It sent a shiver through her as it always did, but this time she welcomed it, as her body was brought back to the present and the fact that he was there in front of her, holding her, able to pin her, to do whatever he wanted. Still, she couldn’t reply, only looking at him with a vacant stare.

“Please know that I do not intend to take your body against your will. It is yours to command if you so wish, but I will require your blood once a day. You have no choice in that matter, of course, but I do myself recognize that my own behavior has not been exemplary, and for that you may consider me less than I am, but I assure you that will change,” He explained before stepping back from her entirely. Simone swayed, reaching out to slam her hands against the top of a dresser to hold herself up. Her biceps twitched and flexed, her fingers scrambling to grip the ledge while she caught herself.

“That will never change,” she murmured, her voice strikingly bitter. Her lips began to shake as she felt her anger return to her. When she looked up from the floor, from her own two feet, to her white knuckled hands that supported her weight against the furniture she moved to stare at him, seething and moreover betrayed.

“I understand that your trust will come slowly, and you may not believe me, but I sincerely do wish for you to be as comfortable as possible in my home,” Alexander told her.

Simone let her eyes drift over the room, catching side of a set of steel bars stretched across a large set of windows on the one wall. The furniture was immense and Gothic. Everything looked expensive and beyond anything she could have ever afforded. It was so…not her.

“You’re insane,” Simone told him again bluntly, allowing her eyes to again rest on him. “You kidnapped me, you did this….whatever this is…” her hands fluttered in the air in reference to herself, her state and the feeding. “You violated me!” she yelled suddenly, her throat burning with the effort to scream at him but the words were loud and booming. It was incredibly energizing however and as her emotions seized her she reached out for an ornate blue and white hand painted lamp, ripping the cord from the wall with a tug and hurling it at his head. Of course, it missed him but it shattered against the wall behind him with a loud crash. Her chest seized as she breathed and she felt her heart fluttering so fast she felt like she would faint.

“Your majesty, Miss de Rozeriem is not on the premises," a faint voice suddenly asked from behind the door. Simone stepped towards it. He hadn’t locked it.

“Help!” she screamed suddenly. The realization that there was someone else there, well that was something. Your majesty. Jesus they think he’s a king too…is he?

Simone rushed the door suddenly, her hands reaching out for the knob as she threw her other uninjured shoulder into it. “Help me please! Please!”