“Jesus tap dancing Christ! Did not realize you were here! Sorry! Hi, I’m Liv.” I awkwardly reached a hand toward her. The girl didn’t even acknowledge my existence.
“Don’t bother. She’s Compelled,” Aleric said as he slid out of the car.
“Oh.” I stared at the girl, remembering what Warin had explained vampires could do to the human mind. But one thing was to hear about how his kind could mindfuck people—it was something else entirely to sit in the car with a human who looked like nothing more than a ventriloquist’s dummy.
Goosebumps crawled down my arms and up my legs, and I hurriedly unbuckled my seatbelt and climbed out, leaving Aleric’s companion behind. Was that how most humans in contact with a vampire ended up? No wonder Roy wasn’t keen on me going to this shindig.
I wanted to rip into Aleric for keeping the poor girl as a mindless pet, but I had his warning in fresh recollection—he expected me to behave like I’d been Compelled too, and there were more than a few vampires around us now, all making their way to the house. So instead, I quietly seethed by his side as he offered me his arm and led me into the mansion.
The last time I’d been to Warin’s house, I’d felt like I’d been surrounded by vampires the second I stepped inside. This time, however… there had to be maybe two hundred people present.
“How many Night Lords do you guys have?” I whispered at Aleric as he led me through the foyer.
“Worldwide, I’m not sure anyone has an exact number. Only thirty-six are here tonight. The rest are favored human pets and court members.” He nodded at a couple pale-looking women who watched us pass with no hint of emotion in their cold eyes. “But please do keep any further questions until the end of the show. It’s time for you to be a good little pet. Not to mention quiet.”
We walked into a large living space sparsely furnished in a hideously modern style. Toward the far end, on a white armchair in neo-modern Scandinavian design, Warin sat with a blank expression on his face, one ankle resting on his knee. He looked like a bored king on his throne, except for the ultramodern surroundings.
Aleric marched me straight across the floor toward him.
“My blood,” Aleric greeted, voice formal. “I bring your pet, as requested.”
“Thank you, brother,” Warin said flatly. They both ignored my grimace at being called “pet,” but Warin raised a hand toward me, palm up.
Hesitating for just a beat, I awkwardly put my hand in his. “Hey. Nice party.”
Judging from Aleric’s huff, he’d been quite serious about the “quiet” part of my role.
Warin offered me just the briefest tilts of his lips, proving that there at least was some part of him left behind the stoic wall. With a smooth movement, he drew my hand to hand to his mouth, brushing a kiss to the back of it that sent an unexpected thrill through my arm. “A vision of beauty, as always.”
“Thank you. You scrub up pretty well too.” I let my gaze slide over him, quietly wondering how he could look so immaculate in the dark gray suit at the same time as seeming completely casual. But then again, Warin was always well-dressed.
“Sit with me, my dove,” he said.
“Um…” I cleared my throat, trying not to blush at the term of endearment. From the grand total of two comments he’d spoken to me so far, I was getting the impression he had his formal hat on tonight. It wasn’t like he was normally the most chill dude, and I glanced at his lap, trying to determine if he meant he wanted me to sit on him.
“The floor, Snack,” Aleric murmured, discreetly kneeing me in the hamstring to push me in the right direction. Only then did I spot the pillow by one of the chair legs.
“Oh.” Oh. He’d been literal when he talked about me sitting by Warin’s feet like a dog. Grimacing at the idea of subjecting my amazing dress to the floor I stepped up next to Warin’s chair and, with the support of his grasp on my hand, sat down as gracefully as I could manage. Which wasn’t particularly graceful at all.
Only when I’d gotten into a somewhat comfortable kneeling position on the pillow did Warin release my hand.
Aleric, apparently happy he’d fulfilled his delivery obligations, nodded at his brother and walked off, leaving us behind.
I glanced up at Warin, unsure of what I was supposed to do now, but he didn’t so much as spare me a glance. He just sat there, looking as bored as before as he stared out over the slowly filling room.
Well, this looked like it was going to be a fun-filled night. I heaved a sigh and tried my best to mimic the empty doll-like expression on Aleric’s pet’s face. At least my guilt over making Warin go to Denver to visit my family with me was sharply declining.
We sat in complete silence for a good twenty minutes before a small group of people—vampires, judging by their pale skin—approached us.
“Lord Warin,” the woman said, inclining her head an inch while the two men behind her bowed deep.
“Lady Lizanne,” Warin greeted. “Elliot. And… your new Son, if I’m not mistaken?” His blue eyes swept to one of the male vampires—a tall, blonde young man.
“Yes, this is Peter, the newest addition to my bloodline.” Lizanne made a motion for Peter to step forward. She looked like a proud mother—but when he moved closer to Warin and she let a hand slide down the small of his back and over his ass, I instantly regretted the comparison. Clearly, vampire families had different moral codes than humans.
Warin nodded. “Congratulations, Lizanne.”
“And you, Warin? Still childless?” The female vampire let her gaze slide over me. “Or are you perhaps reconsidering, after all these years? This is the first time you have claimed a pet, if I’m not mistaken.”
“There is a world of difference between a pet and a Child,” Warin said, his dismissive tone making me bite back a small bloom of hurt. It wasn’t like I wanted to be Warin’s creepy vampire-daughter, either. “As I’m sure you are well-aware.”
“Of course. Nothing good ever comes from forcing a bond with a Child who isn’t worthy of the Embrace.” The woman looked back to Warin. “But to get onto more urgent matters… I have instructed my Guard to look into any irregularities with the blood supply, as well as increasing surveillance of any suspected witch activities.”
“But nothing’s been reported to you? No increase in disappearances?” Warin asked.
“Nothing. But I will continue my investigations. As unfortunate as the occurrences in Chicago are, I appreciate your warning and your diligence on the matter—no one wants these occurrences to spread across territories.”
“We will see,” Warin said. “I thank you for your participation in this matter.”