I listened for any unusual sounds. “There. ten o’clock.” I slide into York and Novak’s minds. We all tilted or turned, trying to spot what, or who, was out there. I angled my body to the right and twisted my head like I was talking to the guys. I really wished one of my powers was heat sensitive vision right now.
A sudden pain struck my right thigh, followed closely by a stinging sensation in my left shoulder. I felt the blood oozing out before I saw it. The sound of a silencer registered too late for me to move out of the next bullet’s trajectory. I looked at York’s blurry face, his fear and rage consuming me. “Call… Jack,” were the last words I said before something slammed into my skull with the force of a freight train, and everything went black.
Epilogue
Kadence Moore
Tuesday Early Morning
Everything was going according to plan. Now all I had to do was sit back and wait for shit to really hit the fan so I could take over as High Coven Mistress. A title I deserved much more than Nathaniel or his filthy daughter. I’d been serving under Nate on the council for decades. No longer would I be willing to serve, though. I should be served. The time to step up and forge a new path for the vampires was upon me. I’d made all the right alliances and planted the seeds of doubt in all the right minds.
As I sat on my throne, I picked dried blood from underneath my nails. I studied the lineup of poorly chosen, purebred vampires in front of me. Old, young, weak, strong. The weak ones never tasted good. They left a foul flavor lingering in my mouth when I fed on them. The old ones had a sour taste that always had me wishing I’d picked them a few years earlier. Feeding from the young ones who weren’t strong was like drinking liquid candy by the pint. It was the strong ones that were addictive. Strong and old could be compared to sipping an exquisitely aged bourbon, relaxing and intoxicating. Strong and young blood was the cream of the crop. Draining one would have me flying high and brimming with magic. But draining two? I could run a week long marathon without growing fatigued.
The simply old and young were perfect specimens for my latest obsession. They could handle the side effects, allowing us to examine and research them properly. The weak wouldn’t last days before going mad. I pointed to each vampire that I wanted to dismiss. My staff would take them away, promising them compensation for their time before injecting them with that brilliant fucking drug my brother created. They would then be carried to my basement-turned-lab and quarantined for five days. If they made it that far then I would release them, after placing magic trackers under the skin on their necks.
The two vampires left standing in front of me were in for a treat. They were going to have the honor of being my meal. I strode to the impeccably dressed female on the right. She’d be the perfect appetizer. I motioned with my hand for her to follow me to the soundproof chamber near my bedroom. I didn’t want to scare away my main course. When I closed the metal door behind us, she started to shake. She would find no remorse from me, though. A Queen had to eat, and my subjects were scrumptious.
I attacked from behind without warning, giving her no time to defend her back. I wrapped my hand around her neck, squeezing just enough to hear her choked cry of surprise. “Scream for your Queen,” I commanded her. The first shriek was music to my centuries old ears. I closed my eyes to revel in the echoing sadness that she felt. She knew this was the end of the road for her. It would make her taste all the better. I slowly pierced the flesh of her neck, holding my venom back. I wanted her to feel honor in her sacrifice. She was noble, even if she was unwilling.
Her blood held the flavor of sun-ripened strawberries picked fresh from the field. It reminded me of my childhood with my twin brother, Kelvin. He’d love the taste of this one enough to not drain her. I didn’t have that kind of control. She went quiet and limp in my grasp. As I sucked away the last of her lifeblood her skin chilled. I dropped her to the ground when I was finished, wiping my mouth with my index finger and wearing a sultry smirk on my face. Someone would be along soon to clean up my mess.
She was a great choice, but the male would be better. I was already feeling tipsy and energized when I strutted out of the chamber. No one else was in here, except me and the charming male before me. I’d make him watch in the mirror as I jerked him off, then drained him dry.
“Come with me,” I encouraged in my drunken state. “Let your Queen pleasure you. Surrender to me,” I whispered in a worship-filled voice. I hooked my fingers in the waist of his pants and tugged gently to lead him to my favorite mirror. It was a gleaming piece of etched artwork that was older than me. The fixture stood in the corner behind my throne like a frozen guardian, waiting to heat up and allow me passage to my father's location. He owned one of the mirror’s counterparts and had spelled the rest for fast travel to his children.
My main course didn’t budge as I continued to tug at him. His curled upper lip twitched with distaste and rebellion. “You are not my Queen. You’re nothing but an unchaperoned advisor to the Master whose ego has outgrown her title,” he growled out.
My manic laughter reverberated around the empty room. “Oh, sweet boy,” I acknowledged as I grabbed his jaw in an iron grip. “I am your new Master. I am your Queen. You will show me respect, or I will freeze your blood, stick a straw in your heart, and drink you like my favorite cocktail.” Now that I was thinking about it, that sounded like a grand idea.
He tried to pull his bottom jaw from my fingers, so I tightened my hold. “You are nothing,” he ground out, striking every nerve in my body with his blatant disrespect. My left eye jumped as I forced myself to remain calm. “Marge,” I yelled, “bring me my vodka.”
I dragged Mr. Rude to my mirror with my grip on his jaw alone. I heard a snap followed by his hiss of pain. I smiled viciously, feeling accomplished and a little less irritated. When we reached the dias my throne and mirror sat upon, I snapped my fingers, thrilling in the sound of shackles dropping from the rafters above us. I cuffed his hands and spun my right index finger in the air to shorten the length. By the time I was done, he was barely standing on his toes and Marge had appeared with a bottle of vodka and two stainless steel straws. I waited for her to leave before I addressed the nuisance in the room.
“Scream for your Queen, and watch as I suck every drop of lifeblood from your body,” I demanded of him. I opened the top on my bottle of vodka and dropped one of the straws in, taking a big swig and enjoying the burn trailing through my chest. I inspected my second straw as I confidently spoke the spell to drop his body temperature. It had to be precise. I wanted him to be conscious long enough to watch himself wither away at my touch.
I plunged the sharpened metal straw into his chest, careful not to pierce all the way through his heart. I capped the end of the straw with my thumb to keep his blood from spilling before I was ready. With one more sip of vodka in my mouth, I removed my thumb and eased the straw passed my tightly sealed lips. He didn’t taste as good as I’d hoped, but his disobedience made up for his lack of flavor. I drank and drank until I felt my stomach swell. I was riddled with disappointment because he never made a sound. By the time I had him sucked dry, my mind was so muddled I could only stumble to my plush throne and enjoy my inebriation.