Chapter 9
Chaos and Blood
Keres
My foot was tapping against the golden floor of the hall, and I knew I should stop. The tapping was a sign of agitation and impatience. Both emotions I wasn’t interested in showing anyone around me. However, the news I was receiving in mumbled apologies was making my skin crawl with agitation.
“Where is Cora?” I asked no one in particular. There were guards around the room, along with Vega and Voss.
Vega was one of my most powerful weapons and Voss was her twin brother and my second-in-command. Although you’d never know they were twins, the only commonality being their blond hair and light brown eyes.
Vega was a dainty female and Voss was nothing but height and muscle. Vega had short hair that she kept right below her chin, and Voss had hair halfway down his back that he kept half braided in tight plaits against his scalp.
Vega was a powerful Esoti with the ability to dive into people’s subconscious and dig through their memories, and Voss had fire magic that rivaled the dragons of legend. They’d been by my side since the beginning of this endeavor. No one in this court was more loyal to me and my goals.
Voss stared down a guard who quickly left the room in search of my little dove.
“How is it going in the Court of Wolves, Voss?” I changed the subject while I attempted patience. “Have you received any updates since you’ve returned?”
“Exactly as you wish, My Lord. Chaos and blood. We’ve locked down the borders securely so even if the others find out about what’s happening, they won’t be able to enter to help. It’ll be a pile of ash for you to rebuild upon in no time,” he said.
I nodded slowly. Once I had the Court of Wolves fully rebuilt, it would be half the country under my control. I’d be two steps closer to ruling all of Kostbare, just as my birthright commanded.
The others he spoke of were the two males standing in my way—Raiden and Paine. I honestly thought the Outcasts would be more successful than they had been. We’d finally been organized, I still believed they would’ve been if it hadn’t been for my darling Silvie.
Absolutely no female had ever affected me the way she did.
When she’d rode down the streets of Whitbourne, her silver hair shining under the moonlight, it had taken all of me to remain standing on the steps of my castle.
To act as if I didn’t know who she was. Cora swore to me the beating had affected her memories. I had to see for myself.
A small part of me wanted to regret treating her the way I had before she’d escaped, but I didn’t.
I’d do it all over again even knowing what I know now.
Watching her bleed across the golden floor covered in my cum was something magical.
She may not have been able to carry my heir, no matter how hard I’d tried, but fuck she was a perfect release for my aggression.
Cora came gliding into the room. She was everything her sister should’ve been.
Grace. Sophistication. The ability to read my moods and act accordingly.
She was the perfect doll, and I hadn’t given up on her carrying my heir.
I’d told her to focus on the fucking bird.
But I hadn’t let the dream die, not yet.
I knew vampires getting pregnant was rare, and I’d had a visionary—one I’d killed shortly after—tell me it was no longer possible without divine intervention from the Fates, but I wasn’t interested in quitting. Why bother quitting when the process of making them bleed was so fun.
Logically, I was born before any of the meddling Fates intervened in the perfection of our world, so why would their new laws apply to me?
That was why I went out of my way to find Silvana and Cora.
Finding young ones so close in age and power was extremely rare.
They were quite the find and their father tried to sell them for mere coins.
As if he couldn’t have used their lineage as a bargaining chip for higher payment.
Cora and Silvana were both powerful born vampires, which should increase their chances of getting pregnant in my mind when combined with my abilities. I clenched my fists a few times, trying to rid my body of the built-up tension coursing through me.
I was meant to rule over all of Kostbare, and nothing would stop me from doing so. Having a stunning female on her knees next to me couldn’t hurt the situation, and when I ruled it all, the Fates would be something I’d deal with accordingly.
Cora approached the dais, breaking my thoughts away from the future I held dear. Her eyes on the floor. She wouldn’t look up at me unless I gave her permission—she was perfect like that. A perfect queen when the time was right.
“I’ve had a sudden thought, my little dove. I think I shall have a collar and leash made for you,” I said as she knelt in front of me. Voss smiled, probably enjoying the thought of her degraded in such a way. I knew his taste was even more depraved than mine.
“Whatever pleases you, Master,” Cora replied, her voice soft and pliable as always.
I ignored her. I wasn’t interested at the moment, my brain too busy thinking about her sister.
“Vega, tell me what’s going on with the bird. Why don’t I have any information yet?”
I knew internally Vega was dying at the lack of information she’d collected for me.
She wasn’t used to not getting the results I wished for, but she didn’t show it outwardly and I admired that about her.
The full-on control she had over her emotions and reactions.
It was things like that, that kept her in a place of power in my inner court.
“Something is… off about his memories, My Lord. I’m not sure, but I’m working with Rusor on getting through to what we want,” she said, her voice very matter-of-fact as it normally was. No room for nonsense with this female.
“What exactly does that mean, Vega?”
“Well, typically, as you know, when I dig through memories they play as scenes for me, but with the shifter it’s almost as if something is clouding his mind.
Everything is somewhat off, as if his mind can’t remember what happened.
” She appeared deep in thought, and I’m sure it’s because losing wasn’t in her arsenal.
“We’re going to try to give him a higher dose of venom and start looking through his subconscious while he’s in a sleeping state instead.
I think it’ll be easier if he’s unconscious and unable to fully control what I’m seeing. ”
I set my chin on my fist and nodded. “Make it happen, Vega. Oh, Voss? Summon Lovel. Maybe he can help… aid your sister along the way. I already have him working on the shifter, but you never know what he will uncover when working next to someone as powerful as Vega.”
“Lovel, My Lord? Are you sure?” Voss asked me.
As if he had the right to question me, but I swallowed down my annoyance.
I understood why he was worried. Lovel was powerful and not to be underestimated.
His touch was deadly when used appropriately.
But I had a feeling it’d be worth the trouble to get into the bird’s head.
“I’m more than sure, Voss. Make it happen. If I don’t have results soon, kill the bird. No use wasting good blood on a pointless task, no matter how much my little dove enjoys a lost cause.”
I glanced down at the female in question.
I should’ve killed him that day on principle, but she’s never asked me for anything before.
Not since I spared Silvie. So I gave it to her.
Just this once. I figured, what was the harm?
However, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
Why did she want to save him? What did she hope to gain from his life being spared?
“Everyone out. My little dove and I need some alone time,” I muttered, not taking my eyes from her dark halo of curls. Everyone rose from their seats and walked out of the hall, leaving me with my prized possession. “Come.”
She rose from the floor and knelt in front of my chair, the action stirring a memory in my mind I hadn’t thought about in many moons.
“We found her, My Lord,” a guard came to me, already knelt down, his hands placed on the golden floor before me.
“Where?” The question came out more as a growl than a fully formed sentence, but I was beyond caring now.
I’d tried to be kind since I’d lost Silvie. I’d tried to teach Cora lessons on her behavior. On things that were and weren’t acceptable.
Time in the dark had taught her nothing. The beatings had meant little to her.
No. She’d run. Left. And now those around her would pay the price for her insolence.
It didn’t take long before I found myself standing in the midst of a small village. I’d give it to her, she made it farther towards the border than I believed she was capable on her own.
Approaching the shack where my guards pointed, I pushed the front door open.
When they’d found her scent, I’d told them to hold back.
I needed to see the look in her eyes when she knew I was here to bring her home.
And the look on her face, down to her soul, when she witnessed what happened when you crossed me once again.
I was done playing the nice vampire she’d come to love.
“Hello, little dove,” I said with a smirk.
Her lips parted in surprise as she rose from the small wooden table and took a step back. I paid no mind to the humans surrounding her, but I could smell their fear.
Waving a hand to the guards that flanked me, I left the command simple.
“Kill them all. The neighbors too. Burn the houses to the ground, but leave the rest of the town alone.” She began opening her mouth, to plead her case, I’m sure, but I held up a hand at her.
“Let it be known what happens to those who take what belongs to me.”
Three long strides across the room and my nails dug into her soft flesh as I dragged her back out of the door and into the snow. The smell of smoke and the sound of screaming bouncing off the walls behind us.
“You didn’t have to kill them,” she whimpered as her hand tried to push my own off her arm. “I would’ve come back without it.”
Once out of the shack, I shoved her to her knees before me. “You do not get to decide who I do and do not kill, little dove. You never have and you never will. My patience with you wears thin. It’d do you well to remember that, lest you find yourself on the other end of my blade.”
Coming back out of the memory to find her still on her knees before me, my words from all those years ago echo in my head.
“Why did you want to save the bird, Cora?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“I—”
“Look at me,” I interrupted. I needed to see her. I needed to ensure she wasn’t lying to me like so many others. Her dark eyes rose to meet mine, a slight sheen of terror soaked into her pupils—my favorite look.
“I just thought he’d have information on the other courts, Master. Like I said before. I swear to you, that was all,” she said quietly.
I thought over what she said. “Why did you think I’d care about the other courts, Cora?”
She stared at me, as if lost for words. I wanted to hear her say it. I wanted to hear her tell me she was always listening, always paying attention when she sat at my feet during meetings as my pet.
“I-I-I just… I know you’ve talked about wanting to get rid of the incompetence in the other courts, Master. I believed that… that the shifter would be able to help you ascertain how to do so.” She looked back down at the floor.
I stood from my throne, bending down, I gripped her chin and pulled her eyes to mine.
“I don’t expect you to think, Cora. Your only thoughts right now should be on dragging information out of the shifter, and acting as one of many warm holes for my dick to sink into.
Nothing else. Do not forget your place.”
“Of course, Master. I’m sorry,” she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. With a roll of my eyes, I shook my head.
“Now stand and undress. I have better uses for the tears you so clearly need to expel over this.” Maybe I’d even make her bleed tonight. She’d deserve it; all this time together and she still thought. I couldn’t have it. She couldn’t turn out the way her sister did.