Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (116 page)

“
Vinnie, my boy, I snagged
a virgin werewolf. It was so simple. In my disguise I dreamed up –
not this of course – I was a … Well, never mind. Anyways she came
right up to me. It was so easy. I fear she’s not terribly bright,
but that won’t matter. I’m sure she’ll do well in the games.” In
between puffs on his pipe, Father produced a series of wide grins
that showed off a mouth full of yellowed fangs.

“
My name is not Vinnie,” I
uttered through clenched teeth.

“
You know what I meant,
Vincent.” He pronounced my name with a grand amount of sarcasm and
disgust.

“
You kidnapped a member of
the royal family of the Golden Kingdom? And you want her in the
games? Tell me you cleared this with one of your brothers?” I
rarely indulged in listening to my father’s ridiculous schemes, but
this one was beyond insane if I had my facts straight about who the
woman was. Immediately I cursed the fact that my father was not as
well read as I was or he’d know his Lunar mythology. He wouldn’t be
getting a kill this round, not if I could help it.

“
Nope. Don’t need them on
this one. Our city is hosting the games this year. I have news for
my brothers. We’re going to win. And you, my boy will lead that
werewolf into the games.”

“
I fight alone, Father. I
don’t need a werewolf.”

“
Always the loner. You’re
too good to fight with your demon brothers? Besides a werewolf will
give you an edge, a sexy edge. I’ll give her a warm welcome if you
decline to. I bet she tastes delicious.” He roared with laughter as
a ring of smoke rose above his head.

“
I realize Sarif is busy,
but you at least notified Mammon about this. Didn’t you?” I
attempted to bring him back to reality with my subtle threat. His
comments were revolting.

“
No.”

“
Belphegor
then?”

“
No.” He threw his hands up
in the air. “Honestly where is your spirit of adventure? I have it
in me because I write about it every day.” He thumped his chest
with pride. “I suppose you do not. You’re a pale-face hybrid. Plain
as vanilla. With no imagination. Why did I get such a useless
son?”

“
You don’t have to make
this personal, Father. I may be simply a vampire, but I’m also a
warrior of the Dark Place. I serve to protect others and keep the
peace. I don’t need to look for adventure. You find enough
‘adventure’ for me to clean up as it is.”

“
You are such a dumb
brute,” he said. “You think being a warrior makes you important
among us, demons? You’re a fly on my ass. That is all!”

Refusing to get into a shouting match
with him because the door remained open, I held my tongue. Instead,
I shut the door to his study and assumed a calm, yet defensive
position. Hearing his lack of love for me always reminded me that
my chosen path was the correct one. I didn’t want to be the man he
was. Not now. Not ever. I didn’t want to rule the Dark Place in the
condition it was currently in. Things needed to change.

His
passive aggressive nature tempted me to lose my temper, but I
wouldn’t do it.
He
was the one who lacked imagination. Instead, I straightened my
back and legs, crossed my arms, dug my nails into my well-toned
biceps, and glared down at my father. Given his short stature of
five feet, it was easy to do. It pleased him to remind me of my
lineage. He may be my demon father, but my mother was human and I
favored her ancestors, not his or that of his brothers. He
delighted in reminding me of that.

I had the same bright blue eyes, pale
complexion, and shiny raven black hair as my mother did. From her
journals and letters, I had obtained, she dreamed about my growing
up to overthrow my father someday and becoming a ‘great divine
warrior’ as she phrased it. One day I would have revenge because my
father was the reason I could no longer see my mother. He had
banished her to the Beyond. I had yet to discover if she was alive
or dead. If she was dead, there would be Hell to pay. That I
knew.

Father’s voice brought me back to
reality as my nerves gnawed a hole in my stomach. “I don’t have to
run every single idea by my brothers. All I have to do is create
some havoc for the werewolves now and then. They’ll love this plan.
When opportunity comes knocking, what am I to do? Look away? I
think not. And what better opportunity than kidnapping Lividius’
daughter? She’s a peach, my boy. Not the brightest star in the
cosmos, but she’ll make a terrific pet. Fuck her well or
else.”

“
If she’s a Livonian
werewolf, Father, that means she’s bound to the Moon Goddess, and
she’s a threat to us. If she’s a virgin, she’s extremely dangerous!
Do you really want the Moon Goddess showing up and blasting us away
or exiling us to the Land of Intolerables?” I asked.

Father scoffed at me, repeatedly
rubbing the lapels of his velvet jacket with one hand as he chewed
on the tip of his pipe with the other. I had hit a nerve. He and I
both knew living in our city of Asmodian was fine. Being banished
to the Land of Intolerables, a place inhabited with creatures far
scarier than either of us, was a thought neither of us wanted to
entertain.

“
No one has seen the Moon
Goddess in centuries,” he replied. “She doesn’t exist. That’s a
myth Lividius came up with to protect the Golden Kingdom, and so is
that Livonian werewolf crap. They can’t keep us out, and I proved
that today. The Golden Kingdom has no one protecting it. The Moon
Goddess is gone. Wait until your uncles hear about this! They’ll
owe me!” He bounced around his desk like a school kid.

“
You’ve taken leave of your
senses. This will plunge us into war.”

“
Doubtful. I bet Lividius
won’t even notice she’s missing. She’s a female. A woman can’t be a
Livonian werewolf, virgin or not. Women are good for one thing,
fucking. Okay two. Fucking and then killing. They don’t count
unless they are dead.” He laughed again. “Don’t worry. I’ll return
her at some point or get rid of her. Yes, I’ll get rid of her after
the games and add her to my wall, with the rest of her family.” His
eyes glowed, and he glanced over at me. Quickly he looked away when
he saw I was not amused. “But don’t you get any bright ideas.
You’re not letting her escape. I mean what I say. She’s to be your
pet and presented at the first tournament, or else.”

For a few moments, I glared at him,
and then I turned on my heel, not waiting to hear anything more my
father had to say. Staying out of this shit storm had suddenly
disappeared as an option.

***

“
Sir, I did the best I
could. I had to settle her down before she created an incident.”
One of my domestic assistants, Johann met me at the door to my
bedroom. His agitated demeanor was on overdrive. He raked his
fingers through his wavy red hair as his eyes darted from side to
side, avoiding making eye contact with me. Being a werecat, the
presence of a wolf sent him over the edge.

“
What did you do, Johann?”
I inquired attempting to appear calm.

“
I had to think of
something quick. She broke her chains and was shifting all over the
place. I had to protect myself, and I couldn’t let her escape,
sir.”

“
That’s fine. I’ll see to
it now, Johann. Thank you.”

“
Yes, sir. I’m sorry I
couldn’t help more.”

I nodded, hoping my loyal friend of
many years, would adopt the same composure before someone from
Father’s staff heard us.

Johann stood frozen in his tracks, his
eyes remaining extremely wide as he rapidly blinked his eyelids and
twitched his nose and lips. Werecats were skittish forest
creatures.

“
Bring me some
refreshments, towels, soap, that sort of thing. Okay? Leave them by
the door here.”

“
Yes, sir.”

“
Thank you, Johann. That
will be all.”

“
Oh sir, should I get her
some clothes or something?” Cautiously he backed away from the door
when he heard a thud on the other side.

I smiled at him, keeping my fangs
hidden from view. In a normal situation, I thought, I would have
said yes. However, this was not going to be a normal situation. Far
from it.

“
She’s a gift from my
father, a pet. She’s to serve me…” I paused for a moment, searching
for the proper phrase of words.

“
In the games,
sir?”

“
Yes, among other things,”
I mumbled. “Okay?”

Johann’s pale face turned beet red.
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Thank you, sir. I’m sorry. Yes, okay.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.”

***

Knowing it wouldn’t take Father long
to find an excuse to stop by my chambers and check in on the woman,
I quickly considered my options. As I watched Johann scurry down
the hallway, I entered through the door of my library, adjacent to
the bedroom. I shut the door and glanced about the room. I waited
and listened. The thudding sound had subsided. Assuming the woman
was loose in my room, I decided it would be best to materialize
instead of walking through the door and possibly frightening her
again. I retrieved the bottle of potion Michel had given me from a
hidden compartment in one of the large walnut bookcases that
surrounded my library and drank down the contents. Instantly I
vaporized into a trail of blue smoke and found my way through the
locked bedroom keyhole.

Nothing could have prepared me for the
scene in my bedroom. The startling realization of seeing the woman
in wolf form crammed into a wire cage jolted me out of my vapor
form. I fell to the floor in a heap. I’d have to speak to Johann
immediately. She wasn’t going to remain in a cage.

I approached her.

She growled, showing me her sparkling
white fangs. Her thick, light beige fur rose along the ridge of her
back. She slammed her head into the cage a few times, threatening
to attack if she could break free. Once she stopped moving, she
continued to watch me with angry eyes, her head swaying back and
forth like a snowy owl, all the time remaining defiant, fearless,
and ready to kill me at a moment’s notice.

I knelt before her, hoping my research
on Lunar mythology was accurate. A wolf chant may calm her down. I
had to reason with her in this form before Father arrived. Would
she understand me? Would the chant work?

I spoke
to her in the language my mother had taught me. It was the language
of the Lunar world and allowed me to speak with many others who
were shifters or practiced the Magics. She probably knew it too.
Maybe I could convince her I wasn’t a threat? “
Una bellezza come nessun altro. Così bella. Calmati. Calmati.
Io non ho intenzione di permettere a nessuno di farti del
male
.”

Her eyes glowed a magnificent shade of
amber unlike anything I had ever seen before.

I repeated the phrase again and again
and again. It didn’t matter what I said as long as I repeated it,
like a chant. Quickly, I sped through the words. I wanted her to
know she was safe.

Her eyes
flashed. She slumped down, touching the steel surface of the cage
and slightly whining as she placed her paws over her head.
Damn it. I spoke too rapidly. She was in
pain.

“
Come on, Vincent. You can
do this. It’s a lot like snake charming.” I laughed at that last
statement I said to myself, recalling the last time I had seen my
uncle Sarif in snake form. A giant black cobra, arching 10 feet in
the sky, spitting fire down on his servants like a crazed dragon
when they failed to prepare enough meat for the feast. That had
been a fun family visit.

I returned my attention to the
she-wolf, saying the chant again, this time slowly, softly, and
with feeling.

After a
few moments, her back legs slouched and collapsed on the bottom of
the cage. She continued to glare at me. I held her gaze, commanding
her to hear me.
I’ll help you get out of
here, but you’ve got to trust me.
Soon
enough her eyelids grew heavy, and she passed out.
Welcome to Hell, little one,
I mentally added, knowing the connection was
broken.

“
Vincent, how are we doing
in there?”

Father’s voice boomed from my library,
instantly bringing me to my senses.

***

I slammed the bedroom door behind me,
forgetting the noise would likely disturb my guest. “It’s a mess in
there, Father. I can’t let you in.”

“
I’m not interested in your
interior decorating or lack of. It’s not like you have any,” he
said, probably referring to my basic attire of a black fitted
T-shirt and black leather pants to go with my steel-toed leather
boots or my few pieces of furniture in my rooms. I spent my
earnings on weapons or books, not meaningless knick-knacks like
those that he did.

“
I have things under
control here,” I announced.

“
I’d like to visit our
pretty pet.”

“
She’s not ‘our pet.’ She’s
mine, remember? Besides she needs time to adjust. She’s not exactly
happy with this situation.” I continued to block the door as he
wandered around my library.