Chapter 3

************

I hadn’t even touched her, and she is out cold… weak creatures. Running my fingers through my hair, I walked over to the side table and poured myself a drink, gulping everything down in one go.

“Peter!” I called through the mind link. He rushed into the room after a few seconds, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at the body of the girl on the floor. Alive.

“Drag her out! I don’t want to set eyes on her or anything that looks like her in this palace again,” I purred, trying my best to keep my emotions in check. “Bring in another girl!”

“Yes, Sire,” Peter bowed and dragged the girl out by her ankles.

I waited, drumming a strange rhythm on the armrest, trying to keep the voice of this deranged monster out of my head. It’s thirsty. It wants blood. But I am not allowing any bloodshed tonight. Not happening.

The doors are pushed open again after a few minutes. Another girl is led into the room by Peter, shaking like a cat drenched in a down pour. My eyes narrowed with hunger, my beast getting ready for a brutal ride.

“Sire—“

“Just get out, Peter,” I cut him off, keeping my gaze on the trembling girl. Peter bowed and hasitly slips out of the room, shutting the doors quietly.

“Do you want me to snap your neck before you strip?!” I growled, infuriated by her stupidity. She is just standing there, trembling so hard. The scent of her fear was far stronger than the first girl.

Then, she stripped, letting her dress pool to the floor and taking slow steps toward me. She stopped right in front of me and dropped to her knees, her fingers flying up to loosen my robe. Quite bold.

The moment my robe comes off, her eyes widens in utter shock. “It’s so huge,” she muttered under her breath.

“Shut up!” I snapped, glaring down at her. “You were sent here for a purpose.”

She nodded vigorously, wrapped her tiny palms around my huge member and began stroking me. The friction sent a jolt of electricity rippling through my veins, making me harder. My eyes bled a fiery crimson, the beast threatening to break out of its cage. But I tried. I tried to hold it down.

“Faster,” I groaned, grabbing her hair and pulling with a little force. She finally took me in her mouth, sucking just the tip, because that was all her tiny, little mouth could take. But it wasn’t enough. I wanted more.

She kept sucking, trying to take more of me, but that will only tear her mouth apart. The tension building up inside of me was growing bigger than it should. The way her mouth sucked on just the tip of my member infuriated me further. I grabbed her hair and pulled her mouth off , it came off with a pop sound. My hands wrapped around her tiny neck, choking her.

“Just a simple job, and you cannot perform well? What exactly were you sent here for then?”

…FEED ON HER! ABSORB HER SOUL! LET HER BLOOD ENRICH OUR VEINS!…

“Shut up!” I growled at the voice inside my head. I threw her across the room, my hand flying to my forehead as I try to get rid of the voice in my head. My fingers turned pitched black, my fangs already emerging.

“Get lost!” I yelled, she scrambled to her feet, picked up her clothes and sprang out of the room.

The moment she left, I fell back in the couch, the flower tattoo on my chest already emitting a blinding glow. Peter rushes into the room, shielding his eyes from the light until it finally diminishes.

“Your majesty —“

“No more, Peter,” I raised my hand, shutting him the hell up. “If I see anyone else as close as to my door tonight, I’ll bathe in their blood and use their flesh for rugs.”

**********************

Amelia’s POV

I lay quietly on the bed, fear was beginning to override my senses, but I clenched my fist, refusing to give in. I must leave this place. I must try.

The moment I tried to shut my eyes and give in to the slumber tugging at my eyelids, the double doors flung open again for the third time in one night. The strange woman walked in again, her shoes clinking heavily against the cold marble floor. The first two girls were no where to be seen. Did he kill them? That monster.

She paced again, her eyes stopping briefly on each bed. Suddenly, her gaze turned to me and remains fixed on me for a moment. She walked closer to my bed, her eyes never leaving mine until she was inches away from my bed.

“It’s your turn,” she says coldly. Those few words instantly stole air directly from my lungs. This can’t be happening now, I already planned to escape when the palace has gone entirely quiet tonight.

Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and headed for the door. I sat frozen, looking down at my trembling hands. This is it. I am going to die tonight, just like the other two girls.

“Why are you still there?!” the woman’s harsh voice snapped me out of my thoughts in an instant. I wanted to argue. I wanted to play defiant and say no. But she murdered one of us in cold blood, she will kill me too and just choose another girl to replace me.

I sprang up from the bed, straightened my nightgown with trembling hands and followed closely behind her. The walls of the hallway felt like they were closing in on me, like they had eyes and they were watching every step I took.

We walked for a long time until we finally ascended a sleek, circular staircase that led up to a grand hallway. There were several, mean looking stone faced bodyguards draped in black suit standing on each corner of the hallway. We stopped in front of a massive, double mahogany doors.

“Please inform His majesty, I have brought another girl for tonight,” she said to one of the guards. He nodded and was about walking to the door when it flung open, and another stern faced man with an auburn hair stepped out of the room.

“Lord Peter,” the woman greets, bowing slightly. The man takes his stern gaze to me, then back to the woman.

“Take her away. The king’s orders. No more for tonight — unless we want to bury a lot of bodies,” he said and walked away without another backward glance. I blinked rapidly, my clenched fist slowly retracting as a wave of relief rushes through my spine. I don’t get to meet him tonight. I don’t get to die.

“You heard him,” the strange woman said, eyeing me like a predator. “Go back to the quarters, for now. Until you are summoned again.” She turned on her heel and walked away, leaving me alone to find my way back. I didn’t hesitate, I immediately followed through the same route with which we came here and within a few minutes, I was back at the quarters.

I pushed the doors open and walked in, closing it quietly behind me. The remaining girls sprang up from their beds in fear, thinking it was time for another one of them to be chosen. But when they saw me, their expressions changed to shock.

“How is she still alive?” one of them muttered, eyeing me with suspicion. I totally ignored them and walked to my bed, lay down and waited until the palace got entirely quiet to carry out my escape plans.

I lay awake on the bed and kept glancing over at the wall-clock. It was already past midnight, perfect time to make a move. I slowly got up from the bed and stepped down, dropping my feet to the cold floor quietly so i don’t alert the other girls. I tiptoed to the door and grabbed the metal knob, twisting it slowly until the lock clicked. Thank heavens it wasn’t locked from outside.

I stepped quietly into the dark, cold hallway, the coldness of the floor cutting into my feet like blades. But I didn’t mind, as long as I leave this wretched place in one piece. I shut the door quietly and turned around, scanning the premises to be sure there was no one in sight. Then I started walking, I have no idea where the exit is, the entire place looks different in the dark. But I’ll find it.

My feet was beginning to feel frozen but I kept pushing it further and further until a loud, dark guttural growl shattered the silence behind me. I paused, the hammering of my heart getting louder. What the hell was that? It didn’t sound like anything normal. I tried to keep moving but I found myself turning around and heading toward the direction of the sound.

Why’s this happening? Why am I being pulled to it?

I kept walking until I stopped in front of a massive door. The sound came again, louder and deafening this time. I blocked my ears with my palms until the growl died down. Then my hand moved to the knob, and I threw the door open. I stepped slightly into the room and what I saw made my heart stop instantly.

Evil.

A monster.

No. The devil.

And it was actually in a man’s form — fiery crimson eyes, lethal fangs, pitch-black claws and a horn. He had a fucking horn.

There were rattling chains binding his hands and legs. Every instinct screamed at me to run! But I was pinned to a spot, not being able to move. As if being pulled by a force, i made my way toward him, and then , his eyes met mine, and instead of attacking me, his high pitched growls came to a stop, reducing to painful whimpers.

I kept moving closer until I was just inches away from him, then I stretched out my hand and touched him slightly. “What are you?” I murmured. The moment my hand met with his body, he began transforming, his horns retracted revealing a bright red hair, his claws and fangs vanished, revealing an indescribable handsome man.

The raw power radiating off his body pushed me meters away from him, almost throwing me to the ground. He looked up at me, his gaze piercing and dangerously dark. My chest tightened as I took several steps backward until suddenly I couldn’t move anymore. I was pinned to a place.

“Who are you?”