Redemption: My Vampire Lover Part #2 (A Dark Realm Novella Series) (2 page)

“If she’s a Livonian werewolf, Father, that
means she’s bound to the Moon Goddess, and she’s a threat to us. Do
you really want the Moon Goddess showing up and blasting us to
Kingdom Come 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 Lycaon
came up with to protect the Golden realm, and so is that Livonian
werewolf crap. They can’t keep us out, and I proved that today. The
Golden realm 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 Lycaon won’t even notice
she’s missing. She’s a female. Remember? And they’re 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.”

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, Frederic 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, Fredric?” 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, Fredric.
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.

Fredric 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, Fredric. 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?”

Fredric’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 Fredric 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 Orlando 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 Fredric
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 Fanged 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, Raphael. 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.

“Raphael, 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.

He noticed the small bottle of potion on the
floor and sauntered over to where it was. “She’s still in wolf form
then?” He picked the bottle up and examined it carefully as he
spoke.

“I’m afraid so. We wrestled, and I knocked
her out,” I lied. In my haste, I had made a grave error.

“Pity. I was hoping to get a look at her this
evening before the hunt. I hate hunting on the grounds, but perhaps
the tents by the stadium are set up already. I may go over there.
Care to join me?” He strolled around my desk in his hunting outfit
which consisted of a long red riding coat over a silk shirt with
white slacks stuffed into black leather riding boots. He tossed the
bottle near a stack of my books.

“I have my blood tea. Thank you just the
same.”

He arched his eyebrow at me, clearly
displeased with my answer. He was extremely hungry, and it showed.
I wasn’t letting him anywhere near the she-wolf. His wrinkled face
and sunken eyes reminded me of the welcoming globes that would be
used to light the roads leading to the stadium for the games.

“Perhaps another time.”

“Certainly,” I replied as I impatiently
waited for him to make his way across the room and out the
door.

“My boy?”

“Yes, Father?”

“Just because your mother was a sorceress
doesn’t mean I want you dabbling in Black Magic. You were born a
vampire, and you’ll remain as such. I’ll not have you become a
threat too, so no hocus pocus.”

Before he could finish his second threat for
the day, I added ‘or else’ and nodded with an over-exaggerated bow
of sarcastic respect. “I may be a warrior, protecting the Dark
realm, but I know my place in your city. I’d never jeopardize my
standing among the guard,” I announced.

“Just so we are clear.”

“Crystal,” I snapped, not caring if that
implied I’d be consulting my crystal ball later. I didn’t own one.
The realization that he referred to my mother in past tense
startled me.
She couldn’t be dead. You, cocksucker, if you
killed her…

I turned around to return to the bedroom when
I heard the library door open again. I hissed and dropped my fangs
in that direction, ready for the threat. Father stood, holding the
door ajar for two of his staff members as they slunk into the room.
One deposited the bathing supplies on my leather couch while the
other dumped several feet of chain and a black dog collar on the
Persian rug in the center of my library.

Both held their heads low until Father
summoned them with a cluck of his tongue. He followed the
domesticated hellhounds to the door.

“By the way genius, silver paralyzes the
movements of werewolves. Unlike the others,
these
chains
should keep your pet in her place. I
will
see her the next
time I visit.”

Mentally I heard the threat with his ‘or
else’ words again being added despite the fact I had not heard him
utter them. My father, Lord Asmodeus was spectacular at being an
asshole. I had to come up with a plan and fast.

Chapter 2 - Caroline’s Realization

Author’s
Note: This chapter is told from Caroline, the heroine’s point of
view. Remember each chapter goes back and forth, sharing the hero
and heroine’s point of view.

The minute I awoke, I knew I was alone. For
how long I had been alone, I didn’t know. “
Move, Caroline.
Move
,” I thought to myself. Cold steel stung my naked flesh,
and I realized I was finally in my human form. I opened the door to
the cage and wiggled my way out.

The bedroom was sparsely decorated with only
a few items positioned strategically in the room. The enormity of
it halted me in my tracks as I searched for something to put on. A
square dining table that doubled as a writing desk and nightstand
was shoved up against the wall next to the largest Victorian
four-poster bed I had ever seen. A pile of books and papers was
scattered on the table amid a few small blue glass bottles, bowls,
and ceramic cups. Almost touching the seven-foot-tall wooden
ceiling, the bed was made of the same red mahogany wood and had a
green velvet bedspread and curtains lined with gold tassels. The
bed stood on a plush forest green and tan rug that peeked a few
feet out from beneath the bed. Clearly a man had decorated this
room, but what kind of man? A giant?

“
I hate hunting on the grounds this close
to the games. Will you join me perhaps?”

When I heard voices in the other room, I dove
into the closet.
Weapons,
I thought.
Clothes or
weapons.
What can I use as a weapon?
I stood frozen in
fear, contemplating, questioning my every move.
How was I going
to do this?
My hands began to tremble uncontrollably.
Control, Caroline. Get control of yourself.

Immediately I called upon my wolf sense, the
wonderfully intuitive side of my lunar nature that kept me
balanced, focused, and ready to take on the world. A warmness
settled in my stomach, and I stretched my neck through a man’s
long-sleeved shirt that reminded me of silk. Problem one solved. I
realized I’d be sore for weeks after shifting half a dozen times
because of my human fright, but I pushed that to the back of my
mind. I continued to search through the closet, and then suddenly
felt cold steel.
These will do.

Exiting the closet, I raised my nose in the
air and breathed in, hoping to understand my surrounds.
Wolf,
where are we?

In the land of demons.

***

When the door partially opened, I took aim at
a large, dark figure and threw the first knife of several. I stood
behind the massive bed, using it as a bunker, as the person came
into view. This demon was not going to take me alive.