Chapter 6 #3
As the club started to fill up, I watched as a few humans began to circulate with platters full of glasses of red wine.
However, there were other trays full of shot glasses that went far more quickly.
By the way the vampires licked their lips, I assumed that it was probably blood.
The waitresses themselves were dressed in skintight blood-red dresses that exposed just about as much as they covered.
The skirts dipped just below their bottom cheeks and would likely show off even more as they leaned over to serve their guests.
It was elegant and scandalous all at the same time.
I took a moment and brewed a fresh mug of coffee. When I sat down once more, I saw that a number of new faces had appeared. As I took a few sips, I watched as the Asamire began to arrive along with them.
I didn’t recognize any of the higher ups just yet, but their soldiers had certainly started to circulate amongst the invited guests. Their positioning was peculiar. Many of them stuck to the outside perimeter of the room. They had to be preparing for something. I was sure of it.
The lights gradually dimmed, and most people found a place to sit down, settling in on the lounges and bar seating throughout the room as the room grew darker. The violet stage lighting began to glow brighter, and a hush of excitement fell over the crowd.
The show was about to begin.
Two men strode forward, each of them holding a leash.
They were pulling a single hooded figure along between them.
I could tell that the person’s hands were bound in front of them, but the lighting was engineered in such a way to keep them cloaked in shadow.
The physical stature of the hooded person was small and dainty enough to suggest that of a woman.
I studied her a bit more closely, but I couldn’t recognize anything further about the way she walked.
“I want to thank each and every one of you for coming here to celebrate with us tonight,” a voice rang out.
I recognized it. It was Banu Asamire, the man who had arranged for all of this to happen tonight. My body simmered with tension. The link to my pack simmered with the same feeling.
“In order to give back for all the things we’ve accomplished here together, I’ve arranged a special gift for all of you as a token of my appreciation,” he continued, and I watched the feed as the men guided the hooded woman across the pool on a clear glass runway.
The men walked onto the dance floor and stood to either side of her so that the leashes were held taut between them.
She stood there with a quiet confidence, which only captured my attention even further.
“Some of you like to enjoy a glass of expensive alcohol or sit back and smoke a delicious Cuban cigar, but all of you know that the blood of a beautiful virgin is a delicacy that must be truly savored,” Banu continued suggestively.
The crowd chuckled knowingly, and a hard shudder tore down my spine at the sinister sound.
Banu moved to join the woman at the center of the dance floor, reaching around her shoulders and untying the cord at her neck.
Carefully, he gathered the fabric in his fingers and pulled it back, slowly stripping her of the hood to reveal the blonde hair on her head.
When he’d pulled the robe away, he tossed it to one of the waitresses nearby.
The woman was staring down at the floor.
The lights grew brighter as the collared woman slowly lifted her head. Her pale blonde hair shone in the red-tinted glow, straight and beautiful and familiar in a way.
At first glance, I thought it was Irina, but when the camera finally caught her face in full view, I realized it wasn’t her at all.
It was my Natalia.
She was dressed in a magnificent white dress that flowed around her like silk.
It shone under the lights in a way that just made her beauty seem that much more otherworldly.
Her pretty pale blue eyes glittered with challenge, as if she was undaunted by the room full of vampires all around her.
She looked positively regal and as much as I wanted to paddle her bare little bottom for getting involved in something so dangerous, I was oddly proud of her for figuring out a way inside that I hadn’t been able to.
She really was a special prize.
“This is the first of many virgins that will be available for all of my special guests. This one is an absolute treat though. She hails from Belarus. We found her on the streets all by her lonesome,” he continued, and an excited murmur buzzed around the room.
“She’s been fed only the best foods for weeks now and just an hour ago, she drank a very fine glass of red.
Her diet has been especially tuned to bring out the rich undertones to her Belarusian flavor.
This pretty little human is going to taste absolutely divine,” he purred excitedly. I studied Natalia’s face.
What was she doing there? Had she been captured, or had she taken her sister’s place? I had so many questions and zero answers.
My first instinct was to rush in and save her from whatever mess she had gotten herself into, but there was something about her body language that gave me pause.
Behind her, at least six more hooded figures were led forward and several more guided out onto the club floor.
The lights lifted a bit more and a quiet stream of music began to pulse through the speakers throughout the room.
“This one is special though and as much as I wanted to share her with all of you, I’ve been grooming her for two very special people here as a gift,” he said, his voice loud and sure. The crowd groaned in disappointment.
“Don’t worry. They’ll be plenty more virgins to go around all night.
Let me show you,” Banu added, and the audience proceeded to laugh with delight.
From all corners of the room, more women were herded out, all hooded and all accompanied by Asamire vampires.
There were at least three dozen of them, if not more.
Seeing them all in the room at once was a bit daunting. We would have our work cut out for us tonight.
Natalia lifted her chin. There was the slightest hint of a knowing smile playing at her lips, and I sat back.
Her posture was subdued, but her muscles were taut with tension.
She was ready for something and when I caught the determined glint in her eyes as she quietly observed the room, I knew that she had something up her sleeve.
I pressed the button on my earpiece. “Hold, men. Don’t engage yet.”
The lights lifted a bit more, flashing red, pink, and purple as the women were unhooded and revealed to the crowd.
The vampires watched in awe. Several of them reached out to touch the virgins, almost as if they couldn’t believe that such treasures were going to be available to them in just a little while.
I watched as they licked their lips and one of them was even bold enough to grasp one of the women’s hands so that he could suck on a finger.
A roaring cheer reverberated throughout the room and finally died down when Banu held up his hand.
This was making me more uneasy by the minute.
“Would Isabella and Nathaniel please join me?” Banu called out and the two vampires grinned with excitement.
This seemed far too strategic to me. Aside from the Asamire, the Lasombre clan was the second most powerful family in the city.
It was as if Banu was making sure they partook in the drinking of virgin blood.
By making such a public offering of Natalia, they would have no choice but to feed off of her.
Natalia stood a bit straighter as the couple stood up and joined her. Isabella took one of the leashes in her hands and jerked it slightly. Natalia arched toward the woman, but she didn’t lose her balance. Behind her, Nathanial took the other leash into his fingers.
They drew closer to her as Banu drew back.
My uneasiness grew. I really didn’t like this. Every single instinct inside me was screaming to go and rescue my mate, but her body language was telling me otherwise.
I held off for just a little while longer. It was difficult, but I did it.
For her.
“Everyone, please raise a glass for the Lasombre clan. Without them, Las Vegas wouldn’t be what it is today,” Banu exclaimed. He lifted a glass of red wine, and the guests did the same.
“To new beginnings,” he added curiously, and the crowd was so distracted by the promise of expensive wine and virgin blood that they didn’t see the gleam of excitement cross Banu’s face.
He tipped the glass slightly to the left and I noticed that all of his people began to move as if he’d given them an order.
The more I watched their behavior, the more I was convinced that the Asamire had every intention of murdering every guest that had been unfortunate enough to accept their invitation.
“Please, enjoy everything I’ve prepared for you, my guests. Let’s make tonight a night to remember,” Banu called out and a roar of applause reverberated throughout the room. Vampires got up from their seats and started to surround the virgin women in droves.
This really wasn’t good.
I was just about to make the call for my pack to go in, but Natalia caught my focus once again.
Curiously, her hands were no longer bound and if I looked even more closely, I could see an end of the ropes sticking out from beneath her creamy white skirts.
She shifted the dress just a little and the ropes disappeared entirely.
Sneaky little human.
I slid my thumb back and forth over the rim of my coffee mug. I would let her carry out whatever plan she had in mind, but at the end of the night she would be naked and bound to my bed.
She wouldn’t have a choice.