Claimed By The Blood Sovereign

Cold metal bit into my wrists as heavy iron chains slammed me against the velvet-draped pedestal. My bare feet trembled on the freezing marble floor. Bright lights blinded me, but I felt the weight of hundreds of dark, predatory eyes locked onto my skin. “Look at her,” the auctioneer’s booming voice echoed through the underground ballroom of the Crimson Gala. The Gala was a secret market where ancient vampire lords bought human servants and rare bloodlines. “Pure, untouched human blood. No chemicals, no alterations. Starting bid: five million dollars.” My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird. I did not care about the money. I cared about the five-hundred-thousand-dollar debt my uncle stacked against my life—the debt that led to my kidnapping three nights ago. If I was sold tonight, I became a corpse or a plaything. There was no middle ground. A heavy hand grabbed my chin, shoving my head back to expose my neck. A cold shiver ran down my spine as a fat vampire with yellow eyes leaned close, sniffing the air near my vein. “Six million!” a voice shouted from the front row. “Seven million!” another hissed from the dark. “Ten million!” The bidding spiraled out of control. Dark laughter and greedy whispers filled the air. Panic clawed at my throat. I pulled hard against the chains, the thick iron links rattling violently, but my human strength meant nothing against forged steel. My skin burned everywhere the cold metal pressed. “Do I hear twelve million for the girl?” the auctioneer shouted, raising his glass gavel. “Going once—” “Fifty million.” The voice came from the high balcony overlooking the entire ballroom. It was a deep, low baritone that cut through the noise like a blade. It carried a natural power that made every single vampire in the room freeze. The temperature in the hall dropped instantly, freezing the air solid. I lifted my head, my chest heaving as I tried to pull air into my tight lungs. Standing at the edge of the balcony was a tall man framed by candlelight. He wore a sharp dark suit, his broad shoulders and commanding posture radiating complete control. His face looked like carved stone, marked by a sharp jawline and dark hair. But his eyes locked me in place—piercing silver eyes that glowed with an ancient, dangerous hunger. He was Julian Von-Reyes. The Sovereign. He was the ruler of the Blood Court, a creature so old and powerful that even the most vicious vampire lords bowed their heads to him. “Fifty million,” the auctioneer whispered, dropping his gavel to the floor with a dull thud. “The... the girl belongs to the Sovereign.” Before the crowd could speak, a dark blur cut through the air. Julian did not take the stairs. He jumped from the twenty-foot balcony, landing with terrifying grace right in front of my pedestal. The force of his landing sent a cold gust of wind blowing across my body, whipping my hair around my face. I pulled back as far as the chains allowed, but he moved faster than my eyes could follow. In a fraction of a second, his large, cold hand wrapped around my waist, pulling my stomach straight against his solid chest. My breath hitched. His body was rock-hard and freezing cold, yet the moment his fingers pressed into my bare skin through my dress, an electric shock shot straight down to my thighs. “Look at me, human,” he commanded softly. His voice vibrated against my ribs. I clenched my jaw, fighting the heavy pressure in the room, and stared straight into his glowing silver eyes. “Get your hands off me.” A slow smile curved his sharp lips, revealing the white tips of his fangs. “Fierce,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to my chest before rising back to my eyes. “Fierce, and completely at my mercy.” With a simple flick of his wrist, he snapped the heavy iron chains around my wrists as if they were dry twigs. The metal links shattered against the marble floor. Before I could fall or run, his arm tightened around my waist, lifting my feet off the ground and pulling me flush against his chest. “What are you doing?” I gasped, placing my palms against his chest to push him away. Touching him felt like touching cold stone, but my skin burned everywhere our bodies met. “Taking what I just bought,” he whispered against my ear. His breath was cold, smelling faintly of rich wine and dark spices. I shuddered as his lips brushed the sensitive skin below my ear. A sudden, deep ache bloomed low in my belly—a scary reaction to his body that I could not control. Julian’s nostrils flared as he took a deep breath against my neck. His entire body went stiff. The silver in his eyes turned into a deep crimson red. Sanguis Purus. I remembered the stories from the dark market guards. Sanguis Purus was a rare human bloodline so pure that a single drop acted like an addictive drug to pureblood vampires. It restored heat and real feeling to their cold bodies. He smelled it in me. “Your blood,” Julian growled, his voice dropping into a low purr that vibrated through my bones. His hand slid down my spine, his palm cupping the back of my thigh and lifting it around his hip to hold me close. “It’s untainted. Pure.” “Let me go!” I demanded, my voice shaking. I slammed my fist against his shoulder, but it was like hitting a wall. “I’m not your dinner!” “You are whatever I say you are, Elena,” he murmured, knowing my name before I had even spoken it. He turned his back on the silent crowd of vampires and carried me toward the private exit behind the stage. His grip was made of iron. Every step he took rubbed my bare thigh against the heavy fabric of his suit, sending waves of heat through my body. My heart pounded fast, but alongside the terror was a dark pull I could not explain. He kicked open the heavy oak doors leading into his private carriage room. The space was dim, smelling of leather and fresh rain. He shoved me back against the leather seat of his private car, stepping into the space between my knees before I could move away. I tried to slide to the side, but Julian leaned over me, trapping me completely. His hands slammed into the seat on either side of my head, blocking my view with his broad shoulders. “Listen to me very carefully,” he said, his red eyes burning in the dark. He reached out, his long fingers wrapping around my collarbone and tracing the fast pulse at the base of my throat. His touch was cold, making my skin react instantly. “Your life ended the moment you stepped onto that stage. You belong to me now.” “I’ll fight you,” I spat, my breathing ragged as his thumb stroked my neck. “Every single day.” Julian leaned down until his lips were a millimeter away from mine. I felt the sharp edge of his fangs resting against my lip. The heat between our bodies was thick and heavy, making my knees tremble. “I count on it,” he whispered, his hand sliding down my neck to grip my hip possessively. “Because the harder you fight, the sweeter your blood tastes when I finally break you.” Outside, thunder cracked, shaking the heavy car doors. Julian did not pull away. His hand slid up my inner thigh, pulling my dress upward as his fangs brushed against the pulse in my neck.