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I spent more than an hour staring at my ankle and testing its mobility. It seemed perfectly fine, but as I recalled all my previous injuries, I became highly aware that none of them healed so fast. Now, I could either assume that my ankle wasn't as badly twisted as I thought, or stick to the bizarre theory that my boss miraculously appeared in my room and gave me something that might have been a magic potion, which healed me. The latter sounded ridiculous—my entire dream seemed ridiculous! Anyone who would even suggest that whatever happened in my dream was real should have questioned their sanity! But I couldn't ignore the fact that, in the typical blur of my surroundings, all my dreams with Ash had one extremely vivid element—him.I couldn't explain it, but he, his scent, his touch, his whole goddamn presence felt real. I shook my head as if it could possibly chase the thoughts of him away from me. Unsurprisingly, it didn't work. I took a deep breath and then another one, summoning
I didn't have Carrie's number. I didn't have her twin sister's number either. I asked the other girls, but it seemed like I was the only one who heard the scream. How was that even possible? The shriek had sliced the air in the entire club, making people's heads snap toward the upper floor, but when I asked around, no one could recall hearing anything strange.It bothered me. It scared me. I might have tried to convince my mind that I heard wrong, that it was just my gloomy imagination, and I would have... if only I could talk to Carrie.I couldn't sleep. I was lying in my bed with my eyes fixed on the ceiling. My heart painfully pounded against my ribcage. Perhaps my fears were irrational. I knew that Carrie, Carol, and I were all scheduled for Friday. I knew that I would have to wait until then, hoping that Carrie would come over and laugh out my darkest assumptions.Maybe I was just paranoid. Even if someone had screamed then, it could have been anyone—a staff member or a client—an
Something stirred inside me, heated my blood, and electrified every fiber. The tiny bubbles of inner energy grew until they erupted in my muscles, as if my scream had activated them. Suddenly, my arms tensed, and I pushed the blond-haired man away from me before his teeth pierced through my skin.This had to be a nightmare. Things like that couldn't possibly be real. My mind was unable to rise above panic mode or rationally plan my next move. I stood still, trembling, as my eyes locked on the guy who tried to bite me.He stumbled back, his eyes widening in shock as if I were the first to defy him. Then his lips instantly curled up, and his eyes filled with something savage and wicked. The rest of the beast-like men stopped feasting as their eyes shifted to me. I glanced at their victims—the limp, barely conscious waitresses. Their gazes seemed blank, while their lips slightly curled as if they were actually enjoying being drained of blood. For a moment, nausea had won against other ex
I stopped breathing. My heart might have stopped beating for a moment as well. An avalanche of icicles fell down my spine as I looked at those three men in the room, and my sense of security dissolved in the air. I stared at the crimson flare in Nicor's eyes and felt the panic building inside me."We're not going to hurt you, Nala." Ash's deep voice made my head snap in his direction. He stepped toward me, and I wished I could sink into the wall I was leaning against. "No one can bite you unless you are willing."I groaned in frustration. "What does it even mean?" I looked at Nicor and the other man and watched uncomfortable grimaces appear. My frustration turned into anger. "I highly doubt if those waitresses were"—I air-quoted with my fingers—"willing."The man with white hair chuckled. "They thought they were, and in the eyes of the council, that's all that matters."His words confused me even more, but something aside from his words caught my attention. I didn't realize it when he
I couldn't even pretend to be calm; my whole body shivered despite the seemingly warm breeze brushing my skin. Two members of the council—whatever this council was—pulled the chain from my cuffs as if I were a dog they led straight to its cage. I wasn't wrong about the cage part, though. As soon as we got closer to the castle grounds, the two men led me down the stone steps toward the dungeons.As the warm breeze turned colder, my shivering body started to rattle without any control. Panic erupted, and sobs escaped my throat while tears dampened my cheeks and neck. Dread squeezed my insides. I swallowed shallow breaths, raising my chin as if only an inch of me was above the water."Silence, mortal!" the brown-haired man roared. "Either you remain quiet, or we'll make you, and it won't be pleasant."I clamped my mouth shut, but weak sounds still slipped through my lips. I couldn't control it. It was all too much. I had just learned that something like vampires existed, and now I was in
I stared at the cold, pale faces and watched them whisper to each other. Their taunting gazes pierced through me like sharp spikes. What had I done for them to treat me with such disdain? I was the only one standing in the arena, allowing the members of the council to look at me from every angle. I doubted that it could serve their better judgment during trials. I bet it was created to intimidate those who stood there before me, to lessen their comfort, to make them feel bare…The dressed-in-red member of the council clasped his hands, and the commotion within the hall faded until it turned into silence. Then he smiled coldly and gestured for me to step forward. I was too terrified not to disobey him. Once my feet moved toward him, his lips twitched into a grin, revealing hints of his sharp fangs.The council member sitting next to the one in red stood up and looked to his left and right. "By the allowance of the Head of the Great Vampire Council, Abdiel Tenebris, I will now open the
I woke up on the soft bed. I was lying on my stomach with my naked back delicately brushed by the warm breeze. I felt all but pleasant, except for the upper left side of it—the place where the brand had been burned on me. Surprisingly, the pain became bearable, and I felt something cool radiating from the now-dressed wound. My cheek sank into the pillow, making it harder to see anything beyond the edges of the sheets and bed. Shifting at an unbearably slow tempo, I turned to one side, trying not to tense my back muscles, which was next to impossible. I wasn't sure how long it took, but I finally managed to slightly lift my upper body. It was just enough to see that I was in a chamber, probably the size of my entire apartment. A magnificent amount of light was falling through the floor-to-ceiling windows, half-shaded by black velvet curtains. The bed I was lying in was large enough for the three of me to sleep in, and the rest of the room seemed to provide the luxury I had only read ab
Amanda left as soon as she helped me put on my dress, telling me that someone would soon come for me. I accepted that information rather numbly as I still processed her previous words. I sat on the bed, pressing my hand against the place where I felt my heart thundering. Why would Ash say something like that? Calling someone you had just taken as a slave the Lady of the House sounded ridiculous. Not that I wanted to be treated as a slave, but I couldn't understand any of it. The more I thought of everything Amanda had said to me, the more I was wrapped up in uneasiness. Should I congratulate myself for not losing my mind yet? In the last few days—minus three days when I was unconscious—everything I thought I knew about the world turned upside down. I learned that vampires existed, and I wouldn't be surprised if some other fantastical creatures turned out to be real as well. I was now in another—not mortal—world bonded by rules I had yet to become familiar with. I had been judged, sent