CHAPTER THIRTY EIGHT
Leon
I WALKED THE halls of the Ninth with confidence, and I was greeted by our officers with warm smiles and approving nods.
Everyone had been called in from all the outposts for Valerius’s yearly Christmas party.
We weren’t invited, though. It was for the elite, for Valerius to manipulate and control politicians, CEOS and the like.
‘Human business’, he’d call it. He liked to show a face of force by having all units readily available and standing guard.
The humans were oblivious to the supernatural energy of course, with only a few in the know, a bunch compelled and the rest blissfully ignorant.
Being one of a handful of true borns here gave me authority and respect from pretty much everyone, with the exception of Valerius, of course. I didn’t think he respected anyone to be honest, certainly not the lives of those beneath him, and he viewed everyone as being beneath him.
But just because we were on equal footing in terms of age and on account of being true borns, didn’t mean that I wasn’t very aware of our differences.
He was a scary motherfucker on a good day, not someone you ever wanted to disappoint, and the best way not to do that was to simply do as he told you.
So that’s what I did. Sure, some might say that makes me his lapdog, but what choice did I have?
He brought me here, gave me a purpose and because of that, I owed him.
It’s all I deserved in all honesty, so I’d made my peace with it. Still, I didn’t much like being summoned to his office. But I was a master of schooling my features and my smile could hide a million insecurities.
I tied my long hair into a tight bun as I walked.
Valerius hated that I kept my hair long, said it made me look unkempt.
But I liked it like this and I took pride in my hair, so fuck what he thought.
Though flaunting it before him would have been plain dumb.
That was the thing about Valerius, you just had to know how to stay out of his wrath and you’d be safe enough.
The glass door swung open and I was met with Brandon’s ugly mug.
“He’s ready for you,” he said, as though the words hurt him.
Brandon was Valerius’s second in command, and a complete cunt.
He couldn’t have been further up Valerius’s arse if he tried.
He hated me because I was better than him in every way.
Smarter, more charming, stronger, with the ability of magic, and of course I was much better looking.
Oh, and people actually liked me. He liked to think that I was after his post, but I really didn’t want to be that close to Valerius.
I liked the tiny bit of freedom I had, I wasn’t looking to give that up.
I stepped into the open space that was as imposing as an office could be. I supposed the views were nice, though there was too much grey for me, personally. It was void of personality, just like him.
“Take a seat.”
I did as I was instructed, taking a seat, but making sure to keep my posture upright. He wouldn’t like it if I appeared too relaxed.
“I have a task for you,” he said, not turning, his attention still fixed on the city sprawling beneath the glass, hands clasped neatly behind his back like he owned every inch of it. Because he did, even if they didn’t know it. “I have a special guest attending tonight that will need supervision.”
“I’m to be their bodyguard?”
“Something like that,” he said, crossing the room with that same effortless authority, stopping at a polished cabinet set into the wall. It opened with a soft click, revealing a selection of items that most would never recognise for what they really were.
My jaw tightened slightly as he reached inside.
When he turned back to face me, he held a small device in his hand—sleek, fitted with a narrow, wicked-looking needle at its tip.
He approached me without hurry. “Hold still.”
I already was.
The needle sank into my arm without warning, sliding between muscle. Pain flared, but I didn't react. Didn’t even so much as flinch.
I knew what this was and he knew that I knew.
There was no point in addressing it, or in protesting.
We’d been here before.
It was ultimate control. Not just a tracking device, but a way to subdue my magic—not quite suppressing it completely, but dulling it so I couldn’t be a problem.
“I want you to flirt with her, get her comfortable with you,” he said lightly. “Get her to trust you.”
Ah, so this was about a woman. “Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said with an almost smirk.
“This is serious, Leofwin.”
Fucking hell, I hated it when he used my full name like that. Everyone knew to call me Leon. But I wouldn’t rise to it, wouldn’t show my annoyance because that’s what he really wanted. A reason.
“I understand.”
“Good, because I’d hate to kill her. She could be useful for the breeding program. You know as well as I do how our numbers have depleted in the last few centuries.”
Oh shit, this must be that true born the officers had been whispering about these past few weeks, and the one that’s got Davien—the prick—in hot water. There’d been rumours of a true born, unregistered and unknown to us. Which wasn’t just rare, it was unprecedented. It didn’t happen.
Ever.
And it was a woman, of course he’d want her for his father’s twisted breeding program.
The one where female true borns were sold to the highest bidder and forced to breed.
The problem being that almost none of the pregnancies ever resulted in healthy live babies.
The truth was, true borns were dying out.
I had my own theories and opinions on that, but I held my tongue.
I nodded my understanding.
“Excellent,” he exclaimed, a sudden shift in his demeanour, and history told me this wasn't a good thing.
“Now,” he said, pausing to make some gesture to Brandon.
“Take this one down to be dressed for the show. Denise will know what you mean. I expect you to greet our guest in the red room at seven pm sharp.”
Brandon retrieved a terrified looking woman from the adjoining suite.
His pudgy fingers dug into the soft flesh of her upper arm, causing it to whiten, as he dragged her.
She was bruised, with a glassy eyed look.
She was clearly human and compelled, but the scent of her fear still permeated the air around us.
She wasn’t fully present, her focus drifting somewhere just beyond the room, caught between awareness and whatever command had been forced into her mind. She wore what was probably once a nice outfit, but it was dirty and stretched in places now.
Her hair was tangled, falling loosely around her lightly freckled face in uneven strands, like she’d run her hands through it too many times, or not at all.
She looked so… ordinary.
Painfully so.
The kind of person who should have been anywhere but here.
I fucking hated this shit.
Valerius was known to hurt people for shits and giggles, and it enraged me. He liked to do it in front of people to remind them of their place.
I scratched at my stubble to stop my jaw from flexing as I stood and made my way to the door. This was as much a test as everything else. If I rebelled now, he’d kill her on the spot and I couldn’t take that chance, so I played along.
I wrapped my arm loosely around her back, to guide her away from Brandon and Valerius and I could feel the coldness of her skin through the thin layer of fabric.
Curiously, she didn’t have any visible bite marks like they usually did, but that only deepened my suspicions.
I shuddered at the thought of what she’d likely been through.
“I’d love to make you promises that this all ends here.
But, I’m in no position to make such promises,” I whispered into her ear.
I wasn’t sure if she’d even hear me, no one knew how far Valerius’s compulsions went.
But I wanted to give her some sort of comfort.
Give her something so she’d know I wasn’t like them. Not by choice, at least.
I let my magic flare to the surface ever so subtly, Valerius wouldn’t take kindly to me using my magic like this, but I had to do something. Anything, to at least give a smidge of comfort. The fire in my veins coursed from the tips of my fingers and into her body, warming her.
The goosebumps that littered her bare flesh soon receded and I sighed in relief that at the very least I was able to do that for her.
Who was I kidding? I was just as bad for being a coward.
We walked in silence down a narrow corridor that branched off from the main suite.
I pushed the door open and ushered her inside.
The room was beyond bright, almost offensively so, mirrors lining the walls and racks of clothes—expensive, curated—lined one side, while a team moved about with practiced efficiency.
Denise’s eyes swept over the girl with what looked like pity at first glance, but knowing Denise, I knew that it was mockery. Like she was already calculating how much she’d have to waste on the girl to make her presentable.
“Well,” she drawled, circling slowly, her heels clicking against the floor in a rhythm that grated. “Aren’t you a mess.”
The girl didn’t respond. Didn’t even seem to hear.
Denise hummed under her breath, reaching out to tilt the girl’s chin this way and that, inspecting her like an object, rather than a person. “We’ll fix you up,” she added lightly, but there was no kindness in it.
My jaw tightened.
“She’s to be dressed for the show, you don’t have all night to play dress up,” I said, my tone flat.
Denise’s attention snapped back to me then, her entire demeanour shifting in an instant. Her lips curved into something softer. “Always in such a rush, Leon,” she said, stepping closer than necessary. “You could stay. I wouldn’t mind the company.”
I didn’t move.
Didn’t react.
Her hand brushed lightly against my arm, lingering just a second too long.
I pulled away.
“Not interested,” I said bluntly.
It wasn’t subtle, but subtly was wasted here.
Denise pouted slightly, though there was no real emotion behind it. “Shame,” she muttered. “You’re missing out.”
Unlikely.
I’d built a reputation, I knew that—but not here.
Never here, no thank you.
The Ninth had a way of turning everything into a transaction, and I had no interest in becoming part of that particular currency.
“Right, well I’m off,” I said, turning for the door, pausing before unlocking it. “Try not to be too harsh with this one, alright? The boss’s orders.” It wasn’t. But his word had more weight than mine and I really didn’t want her being rougher than I knew she’d already be.
Part of me didn’t want to go, the other part of me reminded myself that this wasn’t my business. But something was at play here, and I’d been pulled right into the centre of it.