9. Bistrita

Chapter 9

Bistrita

I shouldn't even sully her with another kiss, but I haven't followed one of my rules since meeting the beauty. I draw her to me, absorbing her heart rate as her chest beats with emotion, cradling the softness of her body against the hardness of mine before crushing her with my kiss.

Her fingers entwine in my hair, drawing me closer when she should be pushing me away, fearful of so many things, including my fangs. The warnings are there, but I disregard them, keeping the beast controlled while ravaging the beauty whose heart beats with untamed desire, just the same as mine.

When I allow our kiss to end, her eyes haze over with that lusty look that has filled the images in my mind since first laying eyes on her. I push a wayward strand of hair from her face, listening to her murmur, a soft feminine little sound of appreciation and desire that I find intoxicatingly erotic as I brush her lips with another small kiss.

"Come, I'll walk you to the suite you'll be staying in with Taylen until I return."

Her eyes widen as she looks up at me. "You're going to find the rogues?"

I nod, placing a hand to the small of her back and guiding her to the door, so I can show her around and put some well needed distance between us. "It was always the plan. They have to be stopped. I'll show you where the witches have put out a feast for everyone, and Natalia can introduce you and Taylen to everyone later. You will be safe here for now. The perimeter the shifters got through has been fixed, and we have an extra layer of protection in place that wasn't there when they attacked the first time."

We walk in silence for a distance down the hall. Her heart still beats way too fast. "I don't want you to go, but I know that you have to," she says, so quietly that even with keen hearing I need to concentrate to hear each and every word.

She will need something constructive to think about while I'm away. Something that will keep her mind off of thoughts of all the bloodshed from earlier. I touch her shoulder and draw her eyes to mine. "I'll have one of my assistants drop by your suite a little later tonight with a contract. I want you to read it carefully. This will give you time to decide if a trial with me is something you're still interested in. I will be disappointed but understand if you decide it's not for you."

"What if I'm ready and you find out you're not interested when you return?" she asks, looking up at me with a gleam of mischief in her eye.

I smirk. "Let's walk before you run, love. Read the contract, text me with any questions. If you don't hear from me right away, I'll reply once I'm able."

Her blood races, no doubt from thinking about the bastard shifters and what they can do with those snarling jowls and gnashing teeth. If I hadn't needed the information for the good of the vampires, I would have destroyed those shifters with my bare hands for the fear they caused Chara.

I draw her closer to me as we walk, my hand cradling her waist, knowing that I'll have to let her go in precious moments. At least until my creamy-skinned beauty agrees to be mine. I blow out a breath realizing how much I want her to say yes.

We pass through a slate black set of double doors, entering the common area for the masters and other VIP members we invite.

My hand falls back to my side when the others come into view. I gesture to our group, who are seated around small tables with white linen cloths, eating and drinking as we walk in.

I point to the table at the back of the room that has been luxuriously decorated and adorned with heaping piles of sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and fruits of all colors and sizes. No doubt some of this was the work of the witches and some from catering just down the street. "Feel free to come here anytime of the day or night. It's always open, and there will always be fresh food out, or in the refrigerator around that wall," I tell her, gesturing to the opening that leads to the little galley behind the room.

A few eyes look our way, but I ignore them. I take Chara's elbow and guide her away from their view and toward her suite, smirking when we reach the door that now has a cardboard square taped to the outside with her and Taylen's name on it, coincidentally right next to mine. I make a mental note to thank Gregor later; nothing gets by that vampire at all.

I unlock her door with my master key and follow her inside. "One of my rules. You won't be wearing anything as revealing in public going forward. I would change clothes before you go to eat, unless you're interested in learning what a punishment spanking feels like."

Her eyes widen. "It's not like not wearing this uniform will be a hardship, but it's the rule. I have to wear it because I work for Club Descallia."

I tip her chin to me. "I am part owner of Club Descallia. I help make the rules, and we can change them as we see fit. There will be no argument if I want my submissive wearing clothes. You won't be wearing this in public."

To my genuine surprise, she smiles. A real, genuine heartfelt smile, just for me. "I have some clothes in my locker. I'll have Natalia or Taylen grab them for me and change before I go down."

"Good girl."

She grins, and her eyes light with amusement. "Just for the record. I don't like wearing minimal amounts of clothes in public, but don't think I'm just going to roll over and submit to everything you want either. If that's what you're looking for, that's not me."

I smirk. "Chara, you present a beautiful and interesting challenge. Read the rules, see if you can live with them, and then we will discuss the future." I glance at my watch and grimace. "I need to go. Stay at the club until I return. This is where you will be the safest."

Her eyes glisten. "Please be careful."

My chest expands with emotion, but I don't touch her again. If I do, I'm going to pick her up and show her exactly what she can expect from a vampire who wants to show her everything about his world. "I'll be careful and be looking forward to hearing what you think, or answering any questions that you have. Remember, after reading the document I'll have delivered later tonight, there's no shame in telling me that you're not interested. What I am proposing and will demand is not everyone's cup of tea."

Chara nods as though she understands, but I know better. The decision will not be easy. "Good night, love," I tell her, half hoping that it won't be the last time I call her that but expecting that it may be.

I reach the masters' VIP lounge in time to see Raven wave a wand and magically replenish a plate full of sandwiches, while Romano laughs at the vampires' reaction. "She feeds me well," he says, which earns him a playful narrowing of the young witch's eyes.

Raven is not a vampiress, yet Romano is happy with a witch as his mate, as are the others who have found mates who want to be with them, despite the differences when they met. They will tell me that it was destiny that brought them together, that they were all fated to be mates and that I too will find the one. But they are not all as depraved as you, my friend. And I'm afraid nothing will change that, not even the red-haired beauty, who without a doubt could be the one for you, if you weren't such a monster.

I make myself a plate, determined to focus on the daunting task at hand and be well-nourished and in rare form before we meet the rogues who after today will be no more. Overmaster Descallia and Oradea separate from the others and join me, both taking another sandwich from the heaping platter before us.

Knowing Descallia is on edge right along with the others, I feel compelled to alleviate some of his angst. "Things are safe here, the perimeter has been tightened, and we know where they are. We still have a full night ahead. They probably think we'll take the night, recover, and regroup. I'd like to surprise them tonight. Especially if they've moved into my region. I have eyes and ears on the ground that will alert me as we go."

Overmaster Descallia nods in agreement, right along with Oradea, neither with any hesitation at all. Descallia snugs a jewel-tipped dagger into the side sheath of his black leather vest. "My patience with this was done months ago. We end them tonight, and I will be a happy man. I spoke with Sheba shortly ago. He has a small team, but he and his pack will meet us wherever we ask them to be. He wants to help. It's something he feels the need to do after so many of his pack betrayed the vampires and himself."

That gives me an idea, and as we talk, plans come together quickly, especially since we know the stones will help guide our way. "Can you fill the others in on the plan while I go restock weapons? Also, can you ask Magnus and the soldiers you asked him to bring to run point on the topside of the mountain range?" I ask Overmaster Descallia.

"Excellent idea. I'll ask him personally. Sheba and his closest loyals are bunkered in, waiting to take on any of the straggling bastard shifters," he says.

I head for the lower-level gym and into the secret tunnel and room where we keep an arsenal at the ready. I load up a long duffle bag filled with items we will need to ensure that we have enough stakes to drop these fuckers back into the ground where they belong.

I look around, dressed and ready but for one thing. One very important item that will not wait until I return. I pull up the saved document on my phone. In centuries, something I never thought I would want to use. I peruse the boiler plate document from the Club Descallia archives, personalize it quickly, and send it to Gregor. Thankful that he too is under the same non-disclosure agreement as the rest of the staff and can be trusted to keep what he does and reads for the masters to himself. I send him a message to go along with the six-page document.

Please see that Chara receives this packet. If she signs the cover letter, you may leave the NDA document with her and give her my personal cell.

With that done, I pocket my cell and hoist the arsenal that will make it possible to infiltrate our enemies and get rid of them for good. This time, maybe we won't miss the centers of their dark-souled hearts and they'll stay in the ashes of death for longer than a few centuries before rising again as so many of our enemies have done.

My jaw locks with irritation as I reach the others, and they start fighting amongst themselves yet again. I look to the spiky haired man with a piercing through his nose who has joined them. Silver stands with his hands on his hips, glaring at the masters. "I refuse to help unless there is a plan to bring Embry home safely," he demands.

Embry again. Fucking Embry is the bane of my existence these days.

Overmaster Descallia growls, so loud that the empty dishes on the table rattle. "There are no plans for traitors. If she is, she will die the death of one. If she is innocent, then the plan is not ours to make. She will prove her innocence. Am I clear?"

Silver holds his own admirably against our overmaster, who is not known for his patience or tolerance of anyone outside of our group, but my understanding is that he hand-picked the young man to work on the special ops team, and clearly Lucianna believes in his abilities too. Silver gives Descallia a nod, as though he's listened to what the overmaster had to say and is reserving his right to his own opinion without disagreeing with him.

Descallia glares at the young vampire. "I said, am I clear, Silver? If Embry is innocent, she will be the one who proves it. She is one of the smartest women we know and a trained special ops agent. It's her move. Understood?"

"You've been clear, Overmaster," Silver says. We all know that if at any time we were in this situation we would figure it out. We would fight to the bitter end to get a message out to our brothers and end the rogues even while they thought they were in control. That's exactly what Embry should have been doing all this time but has not, because she is with Lucas, whether the young pup wants to think so or not.

I turn to Silver. "We all hope that she is innocent, but from what Master Oradea has shared, she basically lured him down to the basement and kept him just long enough so that Lucas could lure Natalia out of his estate. She helped him against one of our own. She can't just walk away from that, nor should we want to let her if she's guilty."

The witches have quieted, all contemplating the different facets of the situation, probably trying to guess what they would do if the situations were reversed. I try to soften the blow for all of them. "Look, we all hold out the hope that Embry's part of this can be explained. Let's see where the night leads us, yes?"

Willow gives me a nod of appreciation, and Raven wipes a tear from her eye. I look up to see Lucianna's eyes glowing a deep crystalline green that spreads a hue of color across the room. "It's time to go," she says quietly, looking at the witches. "If the stones begin to warm or color, you'll let us know right away?"

All the witches touch the stones around their necks. Three stones that are prophesied to help light the way to the rogues and help us end them, for the good of all the underworld. The stones all begin to glow purple at the very same time. The minute we step out into the night, we know that this was the night that destiny had planned all along.

A long silver spark of lightening streaks across the sky, thunder rumbles in the background, and another bolt of lightning sparks. Humans must make the transition to our side, being allowed to embrace eternal life only after proving their worth.

It is clear that tonight, destiny plans to test us in much the same way. The righteous and pureblooded vampires will do battle, and this will not be an easy fight. All of our training, all of the information that our special ops team has provided, all the loyalty of the underworld, at least those not associated with Isala, against the rogue vampires and what's left, if any, of the shifters.

Even the witches, who until recently we would have sooner burned at a stake than fought side by side in arms, are with us tonight, stones aglow and ready to fight.