If I hadn’t already been so stunned by the contents of the
room, I quite
possibly would’ve been shocked immobile by the palpable
interest of over a
dozen—old—no, ancient—vampires locked on me. This included
Max, whose steely
grey eyes had widened as he sat up in the oxblood leather
chair he had been
lounging upon, clearly taken aback by my spectacular
entrance. The weight of
age in this tiny room was crushing; a football stadium would
be too small to
contain the power they were unconsciously radiating. It only
took a few
seconds for me to figure out that, whatever the hell they
were doing here,
obviously they now considered me part of the menu. I hastily
backed up, using
my arms to cover as much of myself as I could, while Max
schooled his own
features into a passably blank expression.

“Of course,” Max said, his smooth voice carrying only the
tiniest hint of
irritation as he eased back in his seat and nodded in my
direction, “I had not
intended to showcase her so soon, though I don’t suppose
there’s any harm in
it. She is newly arrived, and has not been groomed properly
for servitude yet.
I doubt you would be interested in one so fresh, Kyle.”

I skittered back, but a guard who had been standing to one
side of the door
barred my escape and I backed right into him. He laughed at
how I jumped at
the unexpected contact before giving me a little shove in
Max’s direction. I
pivoted and darted to the side so I could press against the
wall instead.

No weapons, no way out, and surrounded by vampires. I was on
the verge of
hyperventilating, and Max didn’t seem keen on stopping the
guy he’d addressed
as Kyle from approaching me.

This new vampire was well dressed in a tailored “I make a
thousand dollar suit
look like cheap trash” way. He set aside a cane with a
freaky demon-looking
thing crouching on top with what I would swear were real
diamonds for eyes
before approaching me. The power of his mien paled to the
invasive
metaphysical touch that brushed over my skin, tasting some
intangible part of
me and making me want a piece of sandpaper, a pumice stone,
and the world’s
hottest shower to scrub the feel of it off of me. His
manicured nails were
blunt, shining as brightly as that whiter-than-white smile
when he ran a
smooth fingertip over my cheek, the other hand lifting to
toy with one of my
bra straps. I flinched and batted his hands away before
twisting aside and
putting some much-needed distance between us.

“Mm, perhaps you’re right. Aside from being fresh, she’s got
facial scars. I
do hope you weren’t intending on offering damaged goods.”

Though I wasn’t often hung up about my looks, his comment
sent my hand flying
to my lower lip in reflex. I often did my best to forget
about the scar left
behind when Peter bit me, nearly tearing my lip in half in
the process of
assaulting me.

Another vampire spoke up, his tone dripping disdain. “Look
how scrawny she is.
No meat on her where there should be. And that skin of hers
is a wreck—the
mark on her face is not the only one I see.”

And another. “This one is disappointing, Euphron. Very
disappointing.”

Scowling, I dropped my hand away and balled my fingers into
tight fists of
rage at my side, finding the condescending laughter of the
others in the room
too much to bear. Max started speaking but I cut him off,
shouting loudly
enough for most everyone to flinch.

“I’m not a f**king pet, I’m not your f**king plaything, and
who gives a flying
f**k if I’m scarred? Ask Max how it happened. I got it while
I was busy
killing one of your own, you f**king leeches.”

Stunned silence followed my pronouncement, and I took
advantage of the moment
to dive for the door again, shoving the surprised guard out
of my way.

“Stop.”

The word was quiet but forceful. Every muscle in my body
went rigid and I
found I couldn’t move.

“Come here.”

The other vampires watched with interest as I turned around,
breaking out in a
cold sweat as I fought the command. I managed to hold out
until I made the
mistake of meeting Max’s eyes. Though I didn’t want to do
it, one foot lifted,
then the other, bringing me closer to him. After three
steps, I was back in
the room—and found at that point that I could stop, though I
couldn’t
withstand the power of his spell enough to run again.

“Extraordinary,” commented another vampire that had been
quiet up until now,
his fangs glinting as he favored me with a wolfish grin. “I
do believe this
one doesn’t care for you, Euphron.”

A few of the others seemed to find this funny, smirking or
making wry comments
of their own. Catty bastards.