Chapter 5
About half an hour ago, Kieran tossed me into the same room I had gotten ready in the other night. He ordered me to hurry up and shower, but didn’t tell me anything else, so I’ve been pacing back and forth in a towel.
A loud knock sounds on the door, making my heart nearly bolt from my chest. Maybe Thane changed his mind and decided to kill me after all. Another knock pounds against the door, making my pulse skyrocket. I suppose if he wanted to kill me, though, knocking on the door wouldn’t be a priority.
After the third knock, I decide I’m being irrational.
“Oh, grazie a Dio! My arms were starting to give out.”
A petite brunette with olive skin and a slight accent waltzes into the room, holding a pile of dresses in her arms. She tosses them onto the bed along with a backpack and spins around, greeting me with a bright smile.
“You know the door locks from the outside, right?”
“Yes, but letting myself in would’ve been rude.” She takes a peppy step forward and reaches her hand out. “I’m Sienna!”
“Fallon,” I say, shaking it.
She pulls my hand to her face, taking a deep whiff, and I quickly snatch it away, glaring at her.
“Sorry,” she apologizes bashfully. “It’s just been a while since I’ve smelled a human.”
“Riiight.”
“Anywho,” she says, clapping her hands together. “Let’s pick out a dress for you to wear!”
“To wear for what?” I ask, as she begins sifting through the pile laid out.
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” She holds up one of the dresses to my body and then tosses it on the ground.
“Who? Kieran?”
“Alpha.”
I shake my head. “We’re not exactly on the best terms.”
She laughs. “No, I don’t suppose you would be.”
“What have you heard?” I probe, as she holds up another dress.
“Not much, to be honest. I was just told that Alpha had found a human girl to keep as his pet, and I was to assist her, starting with the semi-annual Formal Meetings.”
“The what?”
“Twice a year, the leaders from the other territories come here for a week of meetings and events. I’m never invited, so I’m not quite sure what goes on, but they discuss growing concerns and other important matters.
” By now, she’s separated the dresses into two piles.
The ones on the floor, which I assume are the rejections, and the ones on the bed, I assume are the remaining contenders.
“How many leaders are there?”
“Sixteen vampires and sixteen werewolves.”
“Great,” I mutter sarcastically.
“The good news is you’re under Alpha’s protection!” she says in a cheerful voice that makes me look at her sideways.
“You act like that’s a good thing.”
“It is! I mean, if you weren’t, they’d probably all fight over your body.” The minute she looks up at my face, she begins to backtrack. “I just mean—”
I wave my hand, cutting her off. “It’s fine. I know I’m nothing more than a piece of meat to you all.”
She immediately drops the dress she was holding and reaches for my hands. “Not to me!” she promises, not letting go of my hands. “I actually think we’ll come to be great friends!”
I pull my hands away. “I don’t do friends.”
“Oh,” she sighs, and I feel a tinge of guilt.
She was just trying to be nice, and I could probably use a friend around here.
It’s just that I don’t like to get close to people.
I was always moving homes and then everyone I ever knew died during the Last War.
The idea of having someone to call a friend has been long forgotten over the years.
“Well, maybe we can just start with acquaintances,” she adds with a hopeful smile.
“Sure,” I offer with a half-smile she seems to gladly accept.
“Okay, so which of these do you like best?” She motions to the four dresses sprawled out on the bed.
“The black one,” I say without any thought.
“Really? But it’s so…”
“Black?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to give Alpha the wrong idea of me.”
She giggles and starts unzipping it. “You’re feisty,” she says, looking at me with a sparkle in her big brown eyes. “I like it!”
“Yeah, well, you’re the only one.” I take the dress from her and make my way to the bathroom to get changed.
When I come back out, she helps me zip the back the rest of the way.
The dress is made of a thick black lace that hugs my body until it flares slightly at my knees.
There are no sleeves, and the lace crawls all the way around my throat.
It would be beautiful if it wasn’t ruined by the metal collar still latched around my neck.
“Bellissima!” she says, looking me over.
“I wasn’t sure about this one, but you make it look good!
” Her eyes stop on the collar, and she sucks her teeth.
“It would look so much better without this stupid thing.” She shakes her head and begins shuffling through a small bag.
“Here, maybe these will help.” She holds out a couple of silver cuff bracelets and slips them onto my wrists.
“At least this way, it’ll look like it’s part of the outfit.
” She starts sifting through the backpack. “How are you with heels?”
“How do you think?”
She looks up at me and grins. “Three inches it is!”
She motions for me to take a seat on the edge of the bed and proceeds to fasten the silver heels around my ankles.
When she’s done, I stand up and take a lap around the room.
The dress still touches the ground, but not enough to trip over when I walk.
As for the heels, they’re uncomfortable but manageable.
“Thank you, Sienna. You’ve made this part of the evening almost enjoyable.”
She beams at my words like they mean the world to her, and it makes me wonder if she’s often overlooked by the others.
“Of course! I’m not sure what the night holds for you, but at least you’ll look good.” She picks up the dresses from the floor and adds them to the others on the bed. “Do you need help with your hair?”
“Oh, I was just going to leave it down,” I reply, running my fingers through the soft ends.
She tilts her chin down, waving her hands around.
“No, no, no. A high neckline like that calls for an updo.” She drags me into the bathroom and immediately gets to work.
By the end, she’s pulled it into some sort of twist, leaving two long pieces to fall around my face.
“I wish my hair had a slightly natural curl like yours.” She strokes her straight chocolate-brown hair with her hands before tossing it all behind her shoulders.
“Ahem.”
The two of us peer around the bathroom doorway to see Kieran waiting not so patiently for us to finish up.
“She’s ready, she’s ready,” Sienna tells him as if he had been rushing her. She turns to me and adds, “Vampires,” with a roll of her eyes.
“You’re just jealous, wolf.”
“You’re sooo right,” she agrees sarcastically. “I only wish I had sickly pale skin and two razor-sharp teeth instead of a mouthful.”
He scoffs, and she tosses me a wink that makes me like her a little more.
Maybe she has a bit of feistiness to her too.
While she finishes grabbing her things, Kieran escorts me down the stairs.
Thankfully, he doesn’t grab onto me this time, and I’m able to cling to the railing for support as I carefully avoid falling to my death.
“This way,” he orders when we make it to the first floor.
“We’re not going to the dining room?”
“Not tonight,” he answers with a mischievous look that raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
We stop in front of another set of double doors, where a symphony of conversations is coming from the other side.
Sienna told me the leaders of the other territories would be here for meetings, and I’d bet money they’re just on the other side of these doors.
A pit begins to form in the depths of my stomach, but I do my best to ignore it.
Feeding into the fear will only make things worse.
Kieran steps in front of me, and with one swift push, the two doors go flying open to reveal an enormous marble room full of vampires and werewolves, each with their eyes locked on me.
I ball my hands into fists and dig my nails in, trying to focus on the pain rather than all of the eyes staring back at me.
“There she is.” Thane stands from a throne-like chair at the other end of the room and motions for me to join him.
The room full of monsters seems to part down the middle, creating an aisle.
“What the hell?” I nearly lose my balance when I’m tugged forward by the neck.
A chain that wasn’t there a second ago is now attached to my collar like a damn leash. Kieran tugs for me to walk forward, but I wrap my hands around the chain and pull back as hard as I can.
“Fuck you!”
Though the words are aimed at the vampire pulling me, they’re meant for the beast down the aisle, who seems to be enjoying the show.
The crowd laughs at my poor attempt to fight back, fueling my endless contempt for the two species who have taken over.
“Now, now.” Thane steps off his perch and begins strolling toward me. “Why don’t you be a good little human and do as you’re told?”
“Go to hell!”
I tug on the chain again, and a violent shock sends me crashing to my knees.
My body convulses against the marble floor as an electric current shoots through me.
It feels like I’m being burned from the inside out, and the pain of it is so excruciating it takes my breath away.
Eventually, faint sounds of “oohs” and “ahhs” fill my head as I fall still.
The tips of my fingers cling to the cold marble while I fight to catch my breath.
Every cell in my body feels like it’s been fried.
I’m still trying to recover when my head is yanked up by my hair.
Thane’s moonlight eyes bore into mine while his fangs emerge like a silent threat.
He releases his hold on my hair, letting my head fall, and it takes almost all of my strength to push myself up into a sitting position.
Snickers and laughter come from the leaders as they point at the human girl who was just electrocuted by a shock collar.
I can feel them looking at me with amusement, but all I can focus on is Thane as he slithers back to his throne.
I expect Kieran to pull on the leash, but it seems he’s waiting for Thane’s order.
“Crawl.”
Everyone’s head whirls around to look at Thane, who is now seated with his hands folded underneath his chin. When I don’t move, he leans forward, and I know it’s his last warning before I’m hit with another shock.
I reluctantly get to my hands and knees, still feeling weak. For a second, I think I might collapse, but my will is too strong. I’d sooner claw my own eyes out than give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.
The leaders eye me like I’m an animal in a zoo, but the building rage feeds me strength as I begin to crawl. It’s not even the humiliation I despise. These people are demons, and their opinions don’t concern me.
But he does.
He’s quickly taking away the freedom that I’ve worked my whole life to get.
I’ve faced my fair share of monsters, both human and other, but no one has ever gotten under my skin like he does.
Even now, the boastful smirk he wears as I crawl across the room like a dog with its tail tucked, sends a surge of hatred coursing through my entire body.
I stop in front of the three stairs that lead up to him, and he motions to Kieran, who is still holding onto the chain latched to my collar. I watch as the vampire wraps it around one of the front legs of the chair Thane is sitting in.
“Leave us.” Kieran takes off, and I start to stand, but Thane orders me to stop. “Lie down.”
“Was crawling to you not enough?” I bite back.
“Are you refusing?” he asks with a look that tells me he’d gladly shock me again if that’s what it took.
I reluctantly give in to his demand and turn my back on him. I’d much rather look at the crowd of leaders than the man who insists on making my life a living nightmare. I stretch out on my side and prop myself up on my elbow, resting my chin in the palm of my hand.
“I’d think twice about spitting in my face next time.”