5. Chapter Five

Aquiet calm lingered in the front of my mind. I knew Iver had subdued my demon but the rest of me was still on edge. I could feel my magic churning deep in my gut, the constant swirling of it making me feel nauseous. Or that could be the copious amounts of blood I tasted. Demon blood was bitter and the other vampires that I’d attacked were nothing like Jasper or Mordecai. I’d also not been able to swallow any of it. As soon as it had hit my tongue, I’d spat it back out again. Seems Mordecai had been right. I couldn’t drink from anyone but him until I’d finished my first thirst. I just wish I knew how long that would last, I didn’t want to be tied to him any longer than I needed to be.

I hated that I’d almost killed Jasper. That Mordecai had that much control over me was terrifying. I looked down at my fingers, all signs of the demon gone, but they were still coated with blood. Jasper’s blood. Oh, God. My hand had been inside Jasper’s chest. I’d actually held his heart.

I retched. Fuck, I was going to hurl.

I ran in the direction of what I hoped was the bathroom. Luckily my intuition was correct and I made it to the toilet before the contents of my stomach made an appearance.

Not that there was much to see. Just blood. I didn’t need to eat food anymore. I was a vampire.

A sob broke from my lips as everything finally caught up to me. I’d been turned against my will, forced into some sort of relationship with Mordecai, almost killed the man I love and all for what? Mordecai’s grand fucking plans. Anger flared hotly in my chest. This was bullshit. I needed to find a way out of here, but first, I needed to see Jasper. I had to make sure he was alright. He’d lost so much blood he hadn’t even been able to stand on his own when they’d carted him away from me. I was going to find Mordecai and I was going to get some goddamn answers.

After a quick shower to wash away all the blood I threw on some fresh clothes, which mainly consisted of black lace and leather – I mean, jeez, how stereotypical could you get? – and thought about where to look for Mordecai. I was in a different room to the one I’d woken up in earlier, I guess that had been his private quarters. Lucky me. This room appeared to be set aside for me. My lace up boots that I’d been wearing when Selene had fixed my soulbond were placed neatly next to an expensive looking collection of heels, surrounded by a vast amount of clothing which all seemed, rather creepily, to be in my size. I had no idea how long Mordecai was planning on keeping me here, but this collection seemed to indicate it might be for a while. But that was not going to happen. I was going to escape before then. Or kill the guy. That would work too.

I opened the door into the corridor and interestingly found there were no guards. Either Mordecai had found a way to keep me here without me needing to guard me or my little power trip in the grand hall earlier had shown that no demon or vampire would be able to control or subdue me. Apart from him or Iver to a certain degree. I looked down the corridor and then felt a pull behind my solar plexus tugging me to go left. I followed the sensation for just a few measly steps until it stopped when I was in front of the door to the room next to mine. I raised my hand to knock, but before my knuckles hit the door, it opened inwards and Mordecai filled the doorway.

Of course. Why was I not surprised that I now came with an internal GPS that would lead me straight to my sire. I hoped it didn’t work both ways. There was no way that I wanted Mordecai to be able to know where I was all the time. That would be beyond creepy.

“Hello, little one. Please, come in.” His tone was all politeness, which was jarring after the manic version I saw of him earlier. His ability to shift between manic and sane was unsettling.

I stepped into the room and saw Iver was also present. He was intimidating to look at. Tall and broad, a powerhouse of muscle and covered head to toe in tattoos. While some of them looked like art, most of them were intricate symbols that seemed to dance over his skin when he moved, making me think that they weren’t tattoos at all.

“Hello again, kitten.”

My demon bristled at the pet name. Her claws scratched at my skin asking to let her try to put him in his place, but now wasn’t the time.

Play nice, demon.

She huffed but retreated. I wasn’t sure what brought on this new dynamic between the demon and me, but we were starting to feel like two halves of the same whole. I was starting to think Selene was right. She’d told me that she thought I’d miss the demon if she left me. At the time, I’d told her that was ridiculous, but now… Now I wasn’t so sure.

I looked Iver straight in his fully black eyes. “Call her that again and I’ll let her claw your face off.”

He cocked his head to one side and he looked at me like a puzzle to solve. The corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk as if he’d realised something I didn’t know.

I wasn’t sure what to make of Iver. He’d said that Lucifer had let him go, but did that mean he was working with Lucifer? Demons tended to be devious by nature so I was going to keep Iver at an arms length until I figured out where his loyalties really lay.

I brushed him off and focused my attention on the vampire.

“What the fuck was all that about?”

He laughed darkly. “Merely trying to progress my plans. You really are something. Not even the oldest vampires would have been able to resist the amount compulsion I was pouring into you.”

“I guess you don’t have as much of a firm grip over me as you thought,” I jibed.

His smile darkened. “Don’t think that just because I let Jasper go, doesn’t mean I won’t kill him later. I meant what I said about removing that annoying little bond between the two of you. But perhaps Iver is right. Keeping him under my thumb will keep you in line.”

My body moved at vampire speed without me even realising. One second I was by the door, the next, I’d manoeuvred to the other side of the room and stood directly in front of Mordecai. My fangs elongated and the sudden need for violence burst to life.

“If you harm one hair on his head, I’ll kill you,” I snarled.

Mordecai laughed in my face before pulling a small knife from one of his pockets and placing it in my hand. “Go ahead, little one. Try.”

My fingers wrapped around the hilt, and I didn’t waste a second. I slammed my hand down towards his chest, aiming for his heart but, right at the last second, my hand stopped, its downward decent halted by some unseen force.

The tip of the blade hovered right above his sternum.

“What?”

“It’s impossible for you to kill me.” Mordecai tucked a strand of hair behind my ear affectionately. “I am your maker and it is forbidden for a sireling to kill their sire.”

Dammit. Although I had expected something to backfire when he’d handed me the knife. I knew he wouldn’t really have been stupid enough to put his actual life in my hands. But it was disappointing to know that I’d never be able to hurt the fucker.

“Now then, onto more important matters. I remember you saying that you would do anything in order to go and see your vampire.” Mordecai took the knife from me and put it back into his pocket. “I’m more than happy to let you spend some time with him if you do something for me.”

I ground my teeth. Knowing him, it was no doubt something unpleasant. “What do you want?”

His ruby red eyes glittered manically. “I want you to steal something from the Conclave for me.”