THE VAMPIRE KING'S PET

CHAPTER 4

SOPHIA TYRIAN

“You… are you going to mark me now?” I ask, drying my eyes.

Aiden looks at me and sighs, glancing at the door.

“No. We don’t have time. If someone catches me in here, it will be my death. And yours too.”

“Please… Don’t leave me alone with him. I can’t stand it. I can’t.”

I close my eyes when I feel his hand touching my shoulder.

“I know what you’re feeling. Seeing your mate die like that was horrible. But you need to hold on just a little longer. Pretend. Lie. Let the king believe you belong to him. And when the time comes… we will kill him.”

When I open my eyes, I feel the tears again.

“I can’t…”

“Yes, you can, Sophia. Manipulate the king, don’t let him manipulate you.”

“And Marco? Where is his body and what did they do to him?”

He lowers his head as if he doesn’t want to tell me, but I need to know.

“Vampires don’t bury the bodies.”

“What?”

“They… throw them to the animals.”

I widen my eyes, placing my hands over my mouth to keep from sobbing.

“Werewolves like us are nothing to them, Sophia.”

I shake my head.

Marco died because of me and I couldn’t save him.

“Please… Help me. Just that. Just let me bury him. I’m begging you.”

“That’s asking too much, Sophia.”

I sob harder.

“Then… just let me see him. Just once. Please.”

He closes his eyes, as if fighting something inside himself. Then he turns to the door.

“I will return, Sophia.”

And then he leaves, abandoning me alone in the room.

I look at my hands stained with Marco’s blood and run to the bathroom where I wash them quickly and cry more.

I return to the bed, grab the pillow and hide the dagger underneath it.

I’m so afraid, but I need to do what Aiden told me.

I lie on the bed, but I can’t sleep.

I cover my ears when I hear the screams of women coming from somewhere in the mansion, and thinking that they might be feeding on them makes me sick.

I am trapped in hell.

I don’t know how much time has passed, but I’m asleep, and when I try to open my eyes I feel a hand on my face.

For a moment I think it’s Marco, but he’s dead, and then I realize the hand is far too cold.

My eyelids are heavy, and I almost fall back asleep when I feel it.

My eyes open in shock, and I almost scream when I see the figure before me, or rather, the monster before me.

The room is dark, but Kael’s red eyes shine along with his fangs.

He smiles, coming closer to me, and I wrap my arms around myself.

“Did you think I was finished, my pet?” he murmurs, moving closer to me.

My heart almost stops.

“I haven’t even started yet, little one…”

My body freezes.

I can barely breathe. Then I notice what he holds in one of his hands.

Shackles.

No. No.

Kael seems to notice the fear on my face, and it makes him smile even more cruelly.

I am lost.

“Angering me like that was not a good idea, Sophia.”

“I’m… so… sorry…” I whisper, and he shakes his head, rattling the shackles.

I blink, still hearing Marco’s screams of pain inside my mind.

“After that ridiculous show you put on for us, I went to learn more about you. I imagine what you must have done for your father to hate you so much he sold you to me.”

I clench my fists in anger.

“I did nothing, and he’s not my father,” I whisper, and he laughs.

“Oh, I know that. Sweet, defenseless little wolf, you fell into my den, and I will never let you go, Sophia.”

“Give me your wrists,” he commands, and I frown.

“I…” I try, but then I see the anger in his face.

“I will not ask again.”

I stretch out my arms, feeling the shackles tighten around my wrists.

I try to swallow the lump stuck in my throat, but my mouth is dry.

“W… what are you going to do with me, my lord?”

“You still don’t understand how things work here, my pet?”

I want to spit in his face, want to scream that I hate him.

But Aiden’s words echo in my mind: lie, pretend, hide the anger.

I lower my head quickly, trying to sound submissive.

“I understand, my lord. I swear I understand.”

“Do you?” His fingers graze the collar of my sheer tunic.

“Then show me.”

My lungs seize when he orders:

“Lift your clothing, my pet.”

My hands reach for the light fabric, but stop halfway. I can’t. I don’t want to.

“No…”

“You don’t need to be naked.”

“I just want to have some fun with you, Sophia. To teach you that I am your only master. And the sooner you accept it, the easier it will be for you.”

I do as he says.

I’m not completely exposed, but I feel as vulnerable as if I were.

“That’s better.”

He gestures with his hand.

“Sit on the bed.”

My legs are heavy, but I obey.

He locks the chains to the headboard, leaving me bound for him.

I pull at my hands, but I can’t break free.

I close my eyes, trying to control my breathing. I can’t lose it here and now.

“I’ll give you another lesson.”

Suddenly, he pushes me hard against the bed, forcing me to lie down.

The king is so close I can smell the blood on his lips.

He inhales deeply, his nose brushing against my neck.

“Your blood…” he whispers, eyes closing as if savoring the scent alone.

“It’s too delicious. Perhaps you will become my favorite, Sophia.”

I breathe deeply, trying to seem obedient.

“Yes, my lord.”

He stands, removing his black coat, left only in his dark shirt and trousers.

Kael ties his long hair back, and I pull at my wrists again, recalling Aiden’s words.

When he turns back, I see what is in his hands.

My heart races when I see the whip in his grip.

A whip.

“No… My lord, please…”

His smile widens.

“You know, Sophia, your defiance gives me so many ideas. And I don’t like when my possessions think they have a will of their own.”

“Please, my lord. I already understand. I truly understand.”

He lifts the whip, its tip sliding over my bare skin, cold and threatening.

“Are you sure, Sophia? Then say it.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, controlling my rage once again.

“I am yours, my master. Only yours.”

I want to grab the dagger hidden under the pillow, want to stab it into his heart and end it all.

But I can’t. Not yet. I would die before even trying.

He lets out a low, satisfied laugh.

“That’s right, Sophia.”

I shiver as the whip slides down my legs and belly.

I bite my lips hard before saying something I don’t want to, but need to, to start manipulating him.

“I am yours, my king. Completely. If you think I need another lesson to understand that, then do it, go ahead, my lord…” I whisper, opening my eyes.

What I said surprises him.

Kael touches my face, brushing my lips with his fingers.

“Wow… I see you’re becoming tamer too quickly, and I like that… keep it up, and maybe you’ll live, my pet.”

“Yes, my lord.”

He rubs the whip against my mouth, and I bite the tip, watching his red eyes darken.

“Say it. Tell me what you want me to do to you.”

I take a deep breath and do it once more.

“Kiss me, my lord. Show me you’re my master.”

He smiles, leaning down, and then he kisses me.

I close my eyes, letting out a false moan and trying to touch him.

“What else, Sophia?”

“Touch me, don’t hurt me, please. I’m begging you, my lord,” I whisper very close to his face.

He licks my lips before biting them slightly. I moan as his fang pierces and seconds later, the taste of my blood mixes with our tongues.

“Where, my pet?”

“Everywhere, wherever you wish, my king…”

He drags the whip along the curve of my shoulder, down my arm, across my abdomen, stopping at my thigh. The leather tip makes my skin shiver.

“Good girl.”

With a quick motion, he flips me onto my stomach, pulling the chains so I can’t move.

My face sinks into the mattress.

“Now… you will learn my way.”

I feel his breath close to my ear, and I squeeze my eyes shut.

“I want you to count, my pet.”

I bite my lips hard when I feel the whip strike my body with force.

I pull harder at my wrists, feeling the skin being torn.

“I didn’t hear you, my slave.”

I open my eyes, feeling angry tears wetting my face.

“One…”

It happens again, and all I want is to grab the dagger and kill him.

He thinks he can break me, but he’s wrong.

“Two…”

“Three!”

He will pay. All the vampires will pay. Not today, maybe not tomorrow, but they will all die.