[Tabitha’s POV]I stare at myself in the mirror, taking in the woman that is staring back at me. She’s beautiful in her floor-length ball gown with rose accents and a black and red rhinestone corset that hugs her figure just right.She looks almost foreign, but like me at the same time due to the dark makeup that covers her face and her half-updo, so her curls hang down here and there. But the piece de résistance is the black, sparkly mask that sits on her face, giving her a mysterious vibe.What the hell was all of this, and why was it even necessary? They were dolling me up to prance me around their high-standing, blood-sucking council, only to turn around and turn me into a fucking toy.Sighing, I turn and find myself staring at Vance. Frowning, I turn to the mirror again and find that he isn’t reflected there, and then turn to face him once more.“Shocked?” He asks, quirking a brow.“Not really,” I admit. “It’s normal for vampires to not have reflections, yeah?”“That’s correct.”
[Tabitha’s POV]“Who is that?”The words are leaving my lips before I can stop them, but dammit, one of the suspects in the string of murders I was investigating was sitting right in front of me.“My father,” Allister responds, giving me a look. “What? Are you interested in him?”“In a way,” I mutter.Shit, what were the chances that the key to figuring out who was stalking me and murdering so many humans was going along with these vampires? But what am I supposed to do now? I couldn’t just report my findings while I was here. I had to figure out how to get away.“Come along,” Allister says, snapping me out of my head. “Let’s take our seats. Dinner should be served soon, and then the festivities will begin.”“Festivities?” I repeat just as the door behind us opens. Turning ever so slightly, I watch Vance enter with Alissa attached to his arm, and when his eyes meet mine, I’m sure that I see a twinge of possessiveness there. “Yippee.”Tearing my gaze away, I allow Allister to lead me u
[Tabitha’s POV]“What?” I hiss as Vance’s weight presses against me. “What is this about the moon?”“The blood moon,” Abigail gasps, slumping to the ground and pressing her hand between her thighs.Frowning, I take in the two, trying to make sense of what is going on. When I can’t seem to understand, Vance pushes me against the wall and presses his crotch against my stomach so I can feel the bulge there.Eyes widening, I look up into Vance’s fevered gaze.“The blood moon,” he grunts, seeming to truly struggle. "It's a heat period for all vampires.”A heat period... So they all became mindless animals and fucked like crazy during the blood moon. This was what Allister meant by it being their most sacred period. Then would this be my chance to escape while they were all so fucking out of it they couldn’t stop me?Snapping out of my head, I stare into Vance’s eyes to find not only lust but also pain there, and despite knowing that I shouldn’t care, I feel guilt.“Sorry.”Not willing to m
[Allister’s POV]"I'll let you do whatever you want.”Hearing those words leaves me feeling powerful. Who knew that it would take a single human to get this defiant woman to become an obedient pet?“Whatever I want?” I repeat, looking from her to her friend, who is lying down on the floor, so that Vanessa can straddle him. “Then come here.”For a moment, Tabitha doesn’t move as she watches the man begin to thrust his hips so that he moves in Vanessa. Her eyes are filled with an odd emotion that I don’t recognize and don’t care to understand.“Now,” I snap, drawing her attention to me. “Otherwise, I’ll kill him.”Eyes widening, Tabitha begins to move, scurrying toward me and then dropping on her knees. Fixing her gaze on mine, she waits for my next command.“Give me your hand, pet,” I order, reaching out.She doesn’t hesitate to lift her hand so that I can take it and bring it to my lips. Even if she would go along with what I wanted, I didn’t want her to be like a lifeless toy while I
[Atticus’ POV]I sit in a cell, staring at the bars in front of me while trying to figure out how the fuck I ended up in this place, especially when Tabitha needed me. Oh right, those bastard vampires set up the perfect trap and set me up.Closing my eyes, I see the scene again. The destroyed living room, Bonnie’s body lying motionless on the ground, and the empty space where Tabitha should have been but wasn't—it was all still so fucking fresh, and it caused me to feel utterly useless.The panic I felt in that moment was very similar to the night I lost my family, almost, but it was enough to make me want to turn the fucking city upside down. However, before I even got the chance to do it, the police appeared. I could only assume that Bonnie’s neighbors heard whatever commotion was going on before her death, and there I was, the prime suspect in a fucking murder investigation.It didn’t take long for me to be cuffed and brought downtown, and despite explaining the situation to my sup
[Atticus’ POV]“Mmm.”My body feels heavy and stiff. What the fuck was this, and where exactly was I sleeping? The surface beneath me is hard and cold, and the faint scent of incense drifts around me, mixed with herbs.Slowly, I open my eyes to find that I’m in a room whose walls are lined with the very things that I’m smelling.Frowning, I sit up, ignoring the protest from my back. Once I’m upright, I continue to look around until I find August sitting at a desk with a mug in hand.“You awake?” He asks, dropping the papers he is looking over. “About damn time.”“What the hell happened?” I huff, rubbing my temples. “And why do I feel like I have a wicked hangover?"“Probably because you drank yourself into oblivion,” he chuckles. “I was beginning to wonder if you managed to kill yourself.”Drank into oblivion? Well, that most certainly didn’t sound like me. At least not recently. However, when my clan was first murdered, I spent many nights in dangerous places with different women to
[Vance’s POV]A chill races down my spine as Allister’s words echo in my head again and again. I wouldn’t have much time. Did that mean that my father was already planning my trial?“Oi,” I call at the motionless man in front of me. “Can you hear me?”I knew that it was a long shot that he was actually able to wake up, let alone attempt to help me get these fucking cuffs off, but I didn’t intend to stick around and see what my father and brother were up to.“If you just lay there, something bad is going to happen to Tabitha.”To my surprise, the man begins to move at the mention of Tabitha, and when his dark eyes lift to meet mine, they are full of rage.“Tabitha,” he rasps, clearly struggling to form words. “Where is she?”Where indeed. My only assumption was that she was with the rest of the toys, but maybe Allister was keeping her close. That was the only thing I could think of given the situation, but why was father and Allister so determined to have her?Something was off. This w
[Tabitha’s POV]“Don’t you remember?”Turning, I take in the handsome man with messy brown hair and sparkling golden eyes that hold so much hope that it makes my heart hurt.“This was where we first met.”As he speaks, a door opens, and someone dressed in all black bursts in. From the build and height, it is clear that it is a man, and he is holding a stake in his hand.Lunging forward, he pulls the blanket off of whoever is lying on the bed, and when the person is revealed, my eyes grow wide. It is like I’m staring in a mirror, as the one there has my face. But she isn’t quite me—at least not the me I am now. Her face holds no semblance of emotion, and her eyes are dull.“You’re finally here to kill me?” She asks quietly. “Finally.”At her words, my heart squeezes painfully, and a familiar feeling hits, as if I were once where she was. I easily recognized that look of wanting to give up but not quite being able to do it.For a moment, neither person in front of us speaks as they exam