Table of Contents

The Vampire's Pet

About the Book

The Vampire's Pet

Prequel

Part One

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Part Two

Chapter One

Chapter Two
Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Part Three

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Author's Note

Hell, Meet Haunted

Billionaire Rancher Stepbrother

My Vampire Billionaire Boss

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 Eighteen-year-old Zari Baltimore is suffering from an identity crisis.
Her new school La Scala Legaturia, a training ground for strengthening
bonds between Masters and pets, wants Zari to take pride in her role as
a human pet to Alexandru. But how can she do that when Alexandru, her
Master and a legend among his kind, appears intent on releasing her from
his possession?
Maybe it's time to start distancing herself. Start planning to live without
him and practice her skills as a soul seer.
Or maybe it's simply time to look for a new Master, in case Alexandru
suddenly throws her out. But then Zari has a vision of someone killing
her...and losing Alexandru becomes the least of her problems.
* This book was previously published as The Master & His Soul
Seer Pet under Marian Tee and Blood Gift under my pen name Sage
Matthews.

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Z
ari inhaled, preparing herself to reveal to the world the truth about her
Master.
Yes, go on, pet. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
Her head jerked, her eyes landing on the silent figure that had come into
the classroom in patent disbelief. The class, picking up on her shock,
followed her gaze, and everyone squealed when they saw Alexandru at the
back.
It had been one month. One month since she had last seen him, and
somehow it felt like one month had wrought such a huge change in him. He
was taller than she remembered, his powerful aura more authoritative. Even
his sheer gorgeousness came as a shock to her, with his wavy black hair and
green eyes. Had he really been this beautiful from the very start?
All in all, Alexandru made a larger than life figure, and the way he took
everyone’s dumbstruck attention as nothing out of ordinary just made him
more intimidatingly attractive. Zari’s head reeled at the thought that the
vampire everyone was staring dreamily at was her Master. And she – a
person as ordinary as her – was his human pet.
Zari watched her Master’s lips curve in a familiar sly smile. “Go on, pet.
I’m eager to hear what you have to say. What do you think of me as a
Master?” Before she could answer, he continued in his mind, Because
earlier I heard exactly what you thought. Pervert, wasn’t it? And bully, too?
Alexandru almost laughed out loud when he saw the look of horror
dawning on his pet’s face just before color spread in her cheeks.
And there it was, the blush he had missed seeing. It was disturbing, the
way he had found himself thinking about that blushing look on Zari’s face
so many times while he had been out hunting.
Small and with a body so slim it was almost boyish, Zari would have
appeared average if not for her lush, ash-blonde hair. But what he really
liked about his little pet were her large gray eyes and expressive face. In all
the years he had roamed the earth, and they were very many years,
Alexandru had hated all things that could be described as cute...until this
girl came into the picture.
With her, “cute” was synonymous to arousing and right now, she was
being extremely cute with the way she lied in a straight face. “My Master is
the kindest Master on earth. He is the most intelligent, the bravest, and just
the very best all around.”
 The entire class was silent, as if unable to decide whether Zari was
being sincere or sarcastic.
Zari lowered her head in shame. She was such a major fail at becoming
an ideal pet.
Alexandru slowly shifted on his feet, not wanting anyone to catch how
his cock had reacted to Zari’s futile attempt to butter him up. Did she know
how cute she was? Did she?
Madame Lavinia cleared her throat. “We are so honored you have found
the time to visit us, Master Alexandru. Class, please give Master Alexandru
a warm welcome.”
Wide-eyed, Zari watched the entire class quickly and gracefully slide to
their feet and drop to a curtsy. She hurried to do the same, not wanting to be
the odd duck out...again.
“Welcome, Master Alexandru,” the entire class chorused.
“Welcome, Master Alexandru,” Zari hurried to say, but she was too late.
Her Master knew it, too, judging by the amusement glinting in his green
gaze.
It’s not funny, Master, she griped at him glumly.
It is. And since I find the way you make the worst human pet in the
entire school entirely delightful, you should be thankful.
She glared at him. Is that supposed to make me feel better?
His smile widened. You see, pet? You should have been happy about
what I told you, and yet here you are, glaring at me in front of the entire
class—-
Zari jerked at Alexandru’s words, and when she looked back at the other
girls, she realized that all of them were glaring at her on her Master’s
behalf.
“Go and give your Master a proper welcome, dear Zari,” her teacher
urged.
Before Zari could even think of what a proper welcome meant, Madame
Lavinia was already pushing her forward, leaving Zari no choice but to
walk towards Alexandru. She stopped when she was in front of the vampire
but kept her gaze down. She needed a moment to herself because right now,
all she could think about was that her Master was really indeed here.
Did you miss me, pet?
No, Master.
 Alexandru chuckled in her mind. As always, the lies. You know I have to
punish you for that, don’t you?
Her head snapped up, Zari ready to protest.
Alexandru took that as his cue to kiss her, his fingers curling around her
nape just before his lips took hers.
Shock and embarrassment flared up inside Zari at the unexpected touch
of Alexandru’s lips over hers. Oh, she should have known! She thought
about struggling but decided not to, knowing that would only make her lose
much-needed brownie points with her teacher. The only way she could
resist then – and stay sane – was to refuse her Master entry to her mouth.
Fists clenched against her side so she wouldn’t accidentally cling to
him, Zari did her best to keep her lips pressed together.
Alexandru knew Zari was doing her best to resist him, but it only made
him want her more. It only made more determined to have her begging.
Open your mouth, pet.
No, Master.
If you don’t open your mouth—-
Slowly, he moved his hands, settling them on her waist. Just that one
simple touch and he felt her shudder. She was so beautifully responsive, and
Alexandru knew he would die a happy man if she remained like that for all
eternity.
Will you open your mouth now?
No—-
He lifted his head up, reluctantly ending the kiss because he wanted to
see her reaction. When her eyes slowly drifted open, Alexandru
immediately moved his hands up, enough to reach the undersides of her
breasts.
Zari stiffened in shock at her Master’s touch, unable to believe where
his hands were. Just as unbelievable was the lack of protest from the teacher
and the other girls in the room. Did they all think this was a proper
welcome for a Master?
In a moment, I’m going to cup your breasts and play with your nipples.
So one last time, pet – are you going to open your mouth?
Knowing Alexandru was not the type to bluff, Zari did one better.
It was Alexandru’s turn to be surprised when, instead of simply opening
her mouth, Zari threw her arms around his neck and initiated the kiss. He
recovered from his shock right away, of course, and returned the kiss with
hungry passion, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth, dying for another
taste of her sweetness.
Just one kiss, and Alexandru knew it would be impossible for him to
stop.
Zari felt her Master sweeping her up in his arms just before breaking the
kiss. She opened her eyes, dazed, and saw Alexandru staring at her like he
was one inch away from devouring her.
She gulped.
Do you know how much I want you right now?
Err—-
I hope you’re ready for another private lesson about being my pet.
Her jaw dropped at his words. Did that mean...surely he couldn’t
mean...
No, Master—-
I can’t wait, pet.
But they will ALL know why—-
And they’ll hate you even more. Isn’t that wonderful?
She dropped her head in defeat, hiding her face in the crook of his
shoulder and neck.
Her Master laughed in her mind.
Bully.
Yes, I am, Alexandru agreed. Out loud, he said, “Madame Lavinia,
please excuse Zari from your class. I need a private moment with my pet.”
“Of course, of course.” But this time, Zari could hear the awkwardness
in Madame Lavinia’s tone, and she knew even the professor was taken
aback at her Master’s boldness.
As he walked away, Zari still in his arms, Alexandru told her cheerfully,
You should have seen their faces, pet. They were all grinding their teeth and
glaring at you.
You are a BULLY, Master.
Yes, yes, I know. But we both know you like it that way, pet.

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 by Marian Tee
*This book was previously published as The Master & His Soul Seer Pet
under Marian Tee and Blood Gift under my pen name Sage Matthews.
Copyright 2020 by Streak Digital Publishing
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced
or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of
the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real
persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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This prequel is of Zari Baltimore’s life before coming to study at the La
Scala Legaturia or the School of Bonds
A human pet is not supposed to say “No” to his or her Master.
But there are no rules that say you can’t bargain, blackmail, nag, lie, cheat,
manipulate, (insert all the other sneaky verbs you can think of here).
Zari’s Rules for the Modernization of Relationships between Human Pets
and Masters

A
lexandru was careful to keep his distaste from showing as he was led
down the mining shaft, which had been boarded shut for over a
hundred years. Once the site of a grisly massacre, the place now served as
the venue for the illegal auction of pets.
Around him, “candidates” were either chained to the wall or tied to the
posts, all of them naked and suffering from every kind of degradation that
potential Masters could think of. Some of the pets’ eyes were dull with
despair while others had not yet quite lost hope. Those were the ones he had
a difficult time ignoring. Everything in him clamored to release his fury on
their tormentors, but Alexandru managed to keep his violent urges under
control.
Soon, he promised himself. Once he found what he was looking for, he
would tear this place apart.
After several turns that took them deeper into the torch-lit tunnels, the
imp he had bribed finally stopped at the end of a heavily guarded
entranceway. The gate was made of reinforced steel, and a huge, scowling
troll stood on each side.
Even as the bloodthirsty creatures gazed at him suspiciously, Alexandru
had no trouble keeping his face impassive. He knew they were trying to
determine his identity and figure out how strong or weak he was. But he
also knew, no matter how hard they tried, they would not be able to read
him.
Centuries spent hunting down the kingdom’s outlaws had made him
well-versed in deception. His skills ensured that people would only see
what he wanted them to see, and right now, with his dirty but expensive
cloak, hunched shoulders, and blood-stained teeth, all the others saw was a
lustful vampire with an uncontrolled appetite for human virgins.
Fishing out the bags of gold coins in his pockets, he handed one to each
troll. “There is more of that for you if you allow me an hour’s pleasure with
this candidate.” Licking his lips in seeming eagerness, Alexandru rasped in
a lewd voice, “The imp promised me she’s a virgin. Is it true?”
The trolls were having a hard time taking their gazes off the bags of
gold coins. They were like leprechauns in that sense, but they weren’t as
fussy. All that mattered to trolls was wealth, and they didn’t mind what
form it came to them.
At the word ‘virgin’, though, one of the troll’s head jerked up, a wary
expression flickering in his soulless eyes. “The bosses told us that she must
remain a virgin. A high roller’s going to arrive tonight. He’s done and paid
a fortune to have her untouched.”
“But I want to taste her, just a small taste. I promise I won’t take her
pussy,” Alexandru whined. “Her ass would do. It won’t make a difference if
I take her ass, right?”
The wariness disappeared from the troll’s eyes. “Yeah, yeah, that’s
gonna do.” He unlocked the door. “Just don’t ya take your money back if
she ain’t made you happy.”

THE MAKESHIFT ROOM housing the star of tonight’s auction was curled
in a ball on a dusty pallet. Her left wrist was manacled, its thick chain
bolted to the wall. Her body was almost boyishly slender, and if not for her
long, ash-blonde hair, Alexandru might not have recognized her as a girl.
The scent of her blood didn’t hit him until he had been inside her room
for half a minute. It was so faint, so delicate, that a younger vampire would
surely have missed it completely. And maybe, if he had not been
forewarned about her existence, he himself might have failed in singling it
out as well.
Inhaling deeply, Alexandru took in her scent, committing it to memory.
A vampire’s sense of smell was not as good as a shapeshifter’s, but he
preferred being thorough. He wanted to be sure that after this mission, he
would be able to spot a soul seer even miles away, whether by sight, smell,
or feel.
The girl twitched ever so slightly, and Alexandru’s lips curved. He had
known from the start she was pretending to be asleep, and he had allowed
her to pretend, curious as to what she planned to do. The spark of interest
inside him was a surprise, but one he also welcomed. It made him realize
how completely detached from life he had become in the years he had spent
roaming the world, killing without ever living.
The girl on the bed was taking deep breaths now, as if bolstering her
courage.
Ah, little soul seer. What are you planning?

ZARI BALTIMORE’S GREATEST sin was her curiosity. She knew it, and
she had always done her best to curb it. Her curiosity tended to get her in all
sorts of scrapes, and she would have been the first one to laugh if someone
had told her that curiosity would end up saving her life.
But it had, several times in fact.
Curiosity had kept her sane in the past few days even though the things
she had learned were beyond frightening. When she had woken up alone in
the dark, her fingers encountering the steel around her wrist that kept her
chained to the wall, curiosity had kept her from losing her mind. Curiosity
had given her the courage not to cry and focus on one word.
Why?
Why was she here? Why was she chained? And most importantly, why
were her parents not here with her?
The last thing she remembered was being on the rubber boat with her
parents, the three of them trying furiously to paddle their way back to safety
and away from the roaring falls.
And then nothing. No matter what she did, she just couldn’t remember.
Another thing Zari learned by listening to the creatures talking outside
the door was that captives like her were called “candidates”, and that they
were being auctioned off, one by one, to become pets.
While most candidates were sold in a day or two, Zari was being held in
isolation because she was special. Even now, she couldn’t quite decide
whether being special was a good thing or not. She was afraid that it would
mean her future Master would be just as special, but in a terribly bad way.
Every night, she was unable to sleep, fearing that the moment she
closed her eyes, her faceless Master would come and do his worst.
Sometimes, she found herself hoping that he would finally come. She
wanted it over with——
Zari stiffened on the bed when she realized that someone was opening
the door.
 Would it be Troll A and B? Or maybe it would be one of the
“organizers” of the auction? Those were even more terrifying than the
trolls, with their eyes like toxic pools and their overpowering stench.
A shadow fell over her, and a jolt shot through Zari’s body when she
realized that she was no longer alone.
Don’t show your fear, she told herself as she kept her body immobile,
hoping it was enough to make it seem like she was sleeping. No matter
what, don’t ever show you’re afraid. If she had to die right now, she would
not die groveling in fear.
The silence lengthened, tension thickening in the air. Frustration and
fear butted heads inside her, making Zari’s body twitch involuntarily.
Shit! Any moment now, she would be flipped on her back, devoured,
and—-
Nothing.
She swallowed, inhaled, and exhaled, repeatedly, and as silently as she
could. Deep in her heart, she knew that this was the end. Everything would
change right this moment, and her only choice was whether to face it
quivering in fear or head on with courage.
Never. Show. Fear.
She repeated the words to herself like a mantra, counted one to three,
and flipped to her back, her heart and mind prepared for—-
Her jaw dropped.
What the heck was a GQ model doing in her prison?
Despite his horrendous-looking cloak and mud-caked clothes, none of it
was successful in making him less than perfectly gorgeous. His hair and
eyes were the shade of ebony, his skin a smooth, dark bronze, and his body
sculpted and toned like a statue.
He was possibly the most handsome man she had ever seen, and that
was saying something since she had once met the actor playing Captain
America in real life.
When she started to speak, he placed one finger on his lips, indicating
that she had to be quiet.
Against her better judgment, she did.
A moment later, she came to regret her decision because apparently,
keeping quiet meant permission for him to maul her. He was on top of her
in an instant, her body trapped under his muscular form. Something sharp
pierced her flesh, and when she looked down, she saw the man’s mouth
sucking on the skin right above her heart.
Oh my God, he was a vampire and he was going to suck her dry!
She screamed, and a moment later, the trolls burst through the door.
“Help!”
But her screams died when all they did was laugh at her. The way they
were gazing at her made Zari’s skin crawl, and she realized she had
foolishly forgotten something just as important.
She. Was. Naked.
“Got thirsty right away, did ya?” Troll A cackled. She recognized him
by the gash on his forehead.
“Just don’t ya kill her,” Troll B reminded.
The man on top of her shifted, his body shielding hers from the trolls.
She was almost grateful for it, but then he lifted his head. That was when
she saw the faint traces of blood lining his lower lip, just before he licked it
dry. The way he did it so calmly left her dazed, enough for Zari to start
doubting herself. Was she really going to survive this without succumbing
to fear and madness?
“Come on, give us some privacy.”
Zari jerked in shock under the vampire, his strange tone leaving her
even more bewildered. Her attacker had been the picture of formidable
strength a moment ago, but now his mewling voice made him seem
pathetic. Maybe she really was going crazy.
The vampire was still whining. “I can’t get my cock up when I have an
audience.”
Troll A snickered. “Doesn’t matter if it stands or not. It’s still gonna
look like a piece of shit next to our dicks.”
Troll B laughed. “That ain’t no way to speak to our rich friend
here...even if it sure is true.” They began shoving at each other in jest as
they trudged out of the room, the door closing behind them.
She opened her mouth to speak, but instead she ended up swallowing
several drops of blood. Her eyes darted up, and that was when she saw the
vampire had his wrist above her lips, his flesh ripped open and blood
trickling out of the wound.
Zari choked, but it was too late. The metallic taste of the vampire’s
blood was flowing down her throat.
 Easy, pet. There is nothing to be afraid of. I had to do this so we can
share a blood bond.
Her eyes flew wide open at the voice inside her mind.
I’m sorry I had to do that suddenly. It was the only way to communicate
with you without the others knowing.
Zari stared at the man still half-lying on top of her. His face remained
impassive, but a gentle, quiet sense of strength shone from his bright green
eyes. We may be watched, so do not say anything out loud, he continued
inside her head. It is best to be careful.
Was this really happening, Zari wondered dizzily. But then – after
everything that had happened, surely this one shouldn’t seem so
unbelievable?
Can...you...hear...me? She asked the question haltingly, unsure if this
strange form of communication was two-way.
Yes...I...can. He deliberately mimicked her halting tone and, after a short
stunned pause, Alexandru was rewarded with a murderous glare. Her fiery
response pleased him since it meant her captors had not succeeded in
breaking her spirit.
I’m going to get you out of here, but I need your help.
How? Zari asked the question warily while determinedly squashing the
spurt of hope trying to blossom inside her. She wanted so much to be free
that false hope would kill her at this point. She didn’t think she’d be able to
handle the disappointment if that happened.
Here comes the fun part, Alexandru thought. You need to pretend that
I’m having sex with you while we’re talking. Otherwise, they’ll think that
we’re too quiet inside here.
The way her cheeks puffed and her lips formed a perfect O in surprise
like a cartoon character nearly made Alexandru slip. Dammit, that had
almost made him grin. Did this girl know how ridiculously expressive she
was? It was extremely cute, and usually, Alexandru hated anything that was
“cute”.
Did you just say—-
—-that you should fake sounds that would make them think we’re
having sex? Absolutely. They expect me to do it to you and if they don’t hear
any sound coming out from you anytime now—-
Almost on cue, they heard the noise from outside the door suddenly
dropping, as if the trolls had thought of listening to the door and making
sure they were still inside. Realizing that the trolls were once again
suspicious, Alexandru reached out to the soul seer and pinched her cheeks.
Hard.
She yelped.
He winced. That didn’t sound like good sex, but in situations like this,
that was probably a good thing, his reputation in the bedroom be damned.
That hurts!
Really? Then I should do it again, I guess. He pinched her cheeks again,
applying greater pressure.
This time, though, instead of shrieking in pain, she growled. A loud,
angry growl that rumbled from the deepest part of her stomach, making her
sound like someone suffering from a demonic possession.
It was a frighteningly realistic sound. It was a cute sound, and damn if it
didn’t make his cock twitch inside his pants. His body’s reaction to the soul
seer’s cuteness made Alexandru pause and stare down at his body in
amazement. It had been a long time since he had found himself this
sexually affected by a woman, and it was just his luck that his body had
chosen to be attracted to a woman he was honor-bound to keep from harm.
That definitely made having sex with her out of bounds since he was
notorious for being the bed ‘em and leave ‘em type.
Zari stiffened when she realized that the vampire on top of her was
looking at her like he wanted to devour her. Which should have been a good
thing – if he didn’t live on human blood. She did her best to cross her arms
over her chest even though it was silly.
Ah, pet. Why are you covering yourself? I was just enjoying the sight of
your naked body.
She gaped at him, irked, frustrated, and just plain confused at the same
time. How can you joke at a time like this? Don’t you realize that this is a
dangerous—-
I do, of course, which is why I told you that I needed your help. I need
you to distract them a while and buy me some time. He stroked her cheek.
Now, how about doing better this time? Scream for me please.
Her lips took a mulish slant for a second, as if everything about her
hated having to follow him. As all the women he knew had been eager to do
his bidding, may they be human or not, he found her determination to resist
him refreshing.
And cute.
 Cute and hot, and again he was tempted to do something. It was a toss-
up between grinning and kissing her senseless.
Well?
His lips met in a straight line as she glared at him. She took a deep
breath, opened her mouth, and screamed.
It was irritatingly high-pitched, making Alexandru wince. Outside the
room, he heard the trolls stop talking.
“Do you think he’s hurting her? They’re gonna kill us if he hurts her
bad,” one of the trolls muttered nervously.
Hearing that, Alexandru said hastily to the soul seer, Change of plans,
pet. Now we have to convince them you’re enjoying sex.
Whaaaat?
If not, they’ll barge in here and then you’ll leave me no choice but to
make love to you. They’re worried that I’m hurting you. They’re scared of
the repercussions since they’ve been asked to keep you unharmed at all
costs.
Zari tried to understand what the vampire was saying, but it was hard to
concentrate when there was a very hot and intensely male body pressed
against her. For the past ten minutes now, she had been doing her best not to
think about the fact that something had stirred into life against the junction
of her thighs. Something long, thick, and so amazingly hard.
Do it now! Or they’ll come in—-
Zari let out a scream.
Alexandru’s jaw dropped. That sounded like someone had just tried to
kill her. I said, make it sound like you’re enjoying my touch.
That WAS what I was trying to do!
Ah, okay. Then try it again but less like...you’re being killed?
Frowning, Zari tried again, and this time she added a little moan.
Alexandru slowly ran a hand over his face, using it to keep the fact that
he was laughing his ass off hidden. This time, she had succeeded in not
sounding like the next victim of Norman Bates. This time, she succeeded in
sounding like a ghost.
Outside the door, the trolls were becoming more anxious, the bag of
gold coins in their pocket ignored.
Ah, damn. He was left with no choice—-
Zari froze when she heard the door being opened.
 She looked up at the vampire, and once again he took her by surprise by
closing his mouth over hers. The kiss was hot and deep, drugging her senses
to the point that she had a hard time remembering this was not what she
wanted. She tried to struggle against the vampire, but every movement only
made her cock slide up and down against her flesh, which was
slowly...getting...wet.
The realization made her whimper in dismay against his lips, a sound
that only made him chuckle before he deepened the kiss, his tongue
invading her mouth and making her head whirl. She tried to beat his chest
with her fists but when he started sucking on her tongue, her hands
somehow ended up clutching his shoulders, nails digging deep in the
sinewy strength of his back.
Passion was beginning to cloud his mind, but Alexandru did his best to
remain alert. Slowly, he moved his hand up, brushing against the sides of
the soul seer’s soft body before cupping one breast. The little whimper she
did was as cute as he feared and hoped, and his cock ached even more at the
sound. Knowing that all her attention would be focused on his hand on her
breast, Alexandru reluctantly pulled away from their kiss to address the
trolls.
“I need some privacy,” he whined even as he started kneading her
breast. With his back to the trolls, the soul seer’s nudity was completely
hidden from their view and only her face was visible. He needed the trolls
to see the expression on her face to assure them he was not going to kill her.
“You sure giving it to her good, vampire,” one of the trolls muttered.
“I like her soft with pleasure before I start to hurt her,” he answered
without looking away from the soul seer. When she glared at him at his
words and opened her mouth to retort, Alexandru’s lips only curved – just
before his fingers around her breast closed in on her nipple. And then he
pinched, ever so gently, just enough to make the pain arousing.
No man had ever touched her breast, and no man certainly had ever
touched her nipple. The sensation was so shockingly intense that she forgot
what she wanted to say to the vampire and ended up whimpering instead.
His fingers moved again, rubbing and pulling on her nipple, and Zari bit
her lip, not wanting to make another embarrassing sound.
Even as Alexandru heard the trolls leaving and shutting the door behind
them, he couldn’t make himself stop teasing the tender, sensitive flesh
under him. What he was doing now had nothing to do with convincing an
audience about his ability to bring a woman to an orgasm. Right now, all he
cared about was the girl under him – and teaching her the real meaning of
pleasure.
His cock throbbed urgently at the look on the soul seer’s face. Her eyes
were hazy with desire, her cheeks flushed with pleasure. If this went on any
longer, he really would fuck her now, and that just wouldn’t do.
In his mind, he called to his men. Are you in position? He had given
them as much time as he could to follow the coordinates he had provided.
Yes, milord.
Thank fuck. Alexandru untied his cloak and wrapped it around the soul
seer, surprising her. Stay here and do not leave this room until I come back
for you. Do not trust anyone except me.
The words made Zari pull the cloak tighter around her body. She didn’t
want to admit it, but she was worried about the vampire. Even though he
had taken gross advantage of her body, he was still the nicest “monster” she
had encountered ever since her abduction. He was, in fact, the only living
creature she knew, now that her parents were...missing. She didn’t allow
herself to think they were dead.
What are you planning?
There is nothing for you to worry about.
She stiffened. I’m not worried.
A sly smile flashed on his lips. I truly must teach you not to lie to me
one day. Do you know that every time you lie, you only become irresistibly
cute and it makes me want to fuck you even more?
Her mouth opened and closed. She had no idea what to say to that, and
judging by the glint of amusement in the vampire’s green eyes, he knew it,
too – and was relishing it.
His fingers twisted around her hair all of a sudden, and before she could
think of pulling away, he was already moving in, taking her lips in a deep
kiss. One last kiss to wish me luck.
One blink, and he was gone from her side, the sound of the door
smashing against the wall the only clue about where he had gone.
Another blink, and she saw terror distorting the troll’s already-hideous
faces just before they slumped to the ground, their necks twisted.
Third blink, and Zari heard everyone outside screaming.
DAWN HAD BROKEN BY the time Zari stepped out of the mining shaft,
the carnage behind her a nightmarish memory she probably would never
forget. The rocky walls of the tunnels had been splattered with blood, the
ground littered with bodies.
When the vampire came to stand next to her, she whispered, “The other
candidates? What happened to them?”
“They’re all safe, pet. You need not worry about them.”
“Are you sure?” She didn’t think she could live with herself if they had
suffered because of her.
“I always speak the truth. Lying is a waste of time for me.”
She nodded, paused, and mumbled, “Zari.”
Alexandru slowly turned his head to look at her, pretending not to
understand what she had said. “What’s that?”
“My name.” She swallowed and pulled the vampire’s cloak closer to her
body, feeling cold and alone all of a sudden. “It’s Zari.” She glanced up at
him. “What’s yours?”
“Alexandru.” Before he could say something else, one of his men
approached him, kneeling in courteous greeting before speaking. Alexandru
mentally winced at the show of respect. The old guard just couldn’t accept
that he was no longer a part of the ruling family of Sangre.
“My lord, all the slave masters have been accounted for.”
Zari started at how the other man – vampire? – addressed Alexandru.
He was a nobleman vampire? Like Count Dracula?
Zari’s thoughts were so loud that even though she hadn’t meant to use
the blood bond between them, Alexandru was still able to hear them. Her
last thought made him cough, and he said in exasperation, I am not like
Count Dracula.
When her jaw dropped, it was clear that she had also forgotten they
were able to communicate mentally. This was also cute, but the way his
cock instantly reacted to it was not. Alexandru rubbed his jaw grimly. He
had to get rid of the soul seer as soon as possible. He didn’t like the way his
body was reacting to her.
“Alexandru?”
When he turned to Zari, none of his frustration was evident on his tone
as he asked, “What is it, pet?”
“My parents...” She told him what happened, doing her best to keep her
voice void of emotion. If she heard herself break down just the tiniest bit,
she didn’t think she’d be able to stop crying.
Alexandru carefully considered her words. If her parents had indeed
drowned, then his men should have found their bodies. They had scoured
the woods far and wide several times to make sure that none of the slave
masters had escaped.
But if they had not drowned, where were they? Why had they not come
to claim their daughter? The information he had been given about Zari’s
parents were unclear. No one could say if they were her biological parents
and thus full-blooded soul seers as well. But if they were, surely they
should have sensed the danger hunting them down?
“Do you think there’s a way to find out...where they are?” She couldn’t
make herself question whether they were alive or not. She just...couldn’t.
“I will do my best.” Alexandru expected her to ask for more
reassurance, but Zari only nodded, surprising him. He cupped her chin, and
when their gazes met, he felt a strange pang in his chest when he saw her
blurry gray eyes.
His tone gentle, he said, “I mean it, you know. I will do my best to find
out what’s happened to your parents.”
She managed a smile. “I know. You told me you don’t lie, remember?”
Ah.
The way she trusted him so even though they had just met? Cute.
The way she was doing her best to maintain a strong façade even if it
was obvious she was worried about her missing parents? Cute.
Everything she did was too damn cute, and right now, it wasn’t just his
cock affected by it. His whole damn world was impacted by her every word
and smile.
And that was not good.
Not good at all.
“Alexandru?”
He blinked, realizing that she had been calling his name several times
now. Looking around, he also realized that his men were nearly finished
with cleaning up, ensuring that there was not a speck of evidence that might
allow humans to discover their existence.
This particular mission was already complete in other words, so what
was he still doing here? He had never lingered around this long and had
certainly not spent this much time with any of the targets he had rescued.
“Alexandru?”
 Damn. He had lost himself in his thoughts again. Looking down on
Zari, he said gruffly, “I apologize, pet. What is it?”
Zari bit her lip, suddenly finding herself self-conscious and awkward.
She had rehearsed what she intended to say over and over in her mind
before calling for Alexandru. But now that she had his attention, his
gorgeous green eyes focused on her completely?
A sliver of memory drifted in her mind, of Alexandru tweaking her
nipple—-
Fires burst on her cheeks. Oh my God, why did she have to remember
that now?
Alexandru’s brow lifted when he noticed Zari blushing madly.
Interesting. “What are you thinking?” She didn’t answer and was unable to
meet his eyes, either. He put two and two together and from there, it was
easy to deduce what was suddenly embarrassing her.
His lips curved, and he murmured wickedly, “Have you just
remembered that I’ve seen your body naked, touched your breast, and
played with your nip—-”
Gasping, she reached out to cover his mouth, forgetting that if she did, it
would mean opening her cloak and revealing her nakedness.
But Alexandru hadn’t, and he reacted swiftly, pulling her close.
She gasped again as her body slammed against his.
“Idiota. Have you forgotten you haven’t a stich of clothing under my
cloak?”
She had.
But because she hated feeling like an idiot and hated even more that he
had pointed out her idiocy, Zari just glared at him in response. “It’s all your
fault!”
He laughed at her stubbornness, which he found ridiculously cute as
well. Dammit. What was wrong with him? Why was it that every little thing
this slip of a girl did was so interesting?
When Zari struggled, he let her go immediately, which she found
strangely disappointing. The thought had her shaking her head mentally.
God, what was wrong with her? Maybe this was all because he was the only
living person she knew now and that was why she was feeling so attached
to him.
“Zari?”
She scowled at him, her way of keeping her defenses up. “What?”
 Did she know how cute her scowl was? He hoped not. It would be a pity
if all this was a ploy to ingratiate herself to him.
“Do you have anyone I may contact? Anyone who could take you in
while I search for your parents?”
She shook her head.
He had figured as much. The information provided to him had
mentioned about Zari and her parents living isolated lives, trekking jungles
all around the world. “In that case, I will take you to a place where you can
be safe. I trust the people there completely – they will never allow any harm
to befall you.”
Zari bit her lip hard.
He frowned. It was obvious she wanted to say something. “What is it?”
Looking down on her shoeless feet, she muttered, “What about you?
Where are you going?”
Her emotionless tone told him that she was feeling strongly about the
question, and in an instant, he realized that his little soul seer was scared.
“The people I’m entrusting you with are people you can trust. I promise you
that.”
Her fists clenched against her side. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I have no home, Zari. You know what I am, right?”
“A vampire.”
“Yes, and my job is to protect my race. I’m asked to go to different
places and make sure that vampires who violate our laws are...eliminated.”
She shivered at the last word. It made her realize that the vampire
before her had likely killed some of the creatures inside the mining shaft.
The fact should have frightened her, but she strangely found it reassuring.
Somehow, she knew instinctively that he would only kill not to harm...but
to protect.
“There’s nothing for you to be afraid of—-”
Looking up, she burst out, “Why can’t I stay with you instead?”
The words left both of them arrested. She hadn’t planned to say them,
and he had never expected to hear them.
Her silver eyes were round with worry, her body taut with anxiety. It
was clear how she was doing her best not to break down, and her strength
both impressed and frustrated him. It was great that she was so brave, but
dammit, it only made her even more attractive to him, and that was what he
wasn’t comfortable with.
 He sought to make a joke of her words, giving both of them an out as he
said in a deliberately teasing tone, “Will you be willing to be my human pet
then? Because that’s the only way I can have you with me. As a human pet
and nothing else.”
Alexandru expected her to say something sharp, but instead she asked
seriously, “What does a human pet do?”
The words left him stumped. She was supposed to be furious and
insulted, not curious! “It means being a life source to creatures like me. It
also means following my every command and calling me Master—-”
Zari repeated incredulously, “Master?”
Aha! An inborn feminist. He should have known. “Yes. It’s an
unbreakable rule. I will of course give you permission to address me by my
name in private—-”
She said sarcastically, “Gee, thanks.”
“—-but in public, it would be very offensive for otherworlders to hear
you address me without respect.”
“You’re really serious?”
Alexandru said honestly, “It is the law.”
“You do know your law is antiquated, don’t you?”
He repeated, “It is the law. I am a citizen of the kingdom of Chalys, and
thus I am bound to obey its rules.”
Her eyes widened. “Chalys?” Everyone knew about the kingdom of
Chalys, a place where people still followed Victorian customs, from their
clothing to their mode of transportation. Instead of dresses, women wore
corsets and gowns, and instead of jeans, men wore britches. There were no
phones, no Internet, and instead of cars, people there still rode horses and
carriages.
If not for its strict policies for accepting foreign tourists, Chalys could
easily have been the number one tourist attraction in the world. Instead, the
kingdom remained a mystery to the outside world, with the way it clung to
old traditions. But now that she knew vampires like Alexandru lived there?
Its anti-technology ways made perfect sense. At least there was no way for
people to ever take accidental photos of non-human creatures.
“I can see in your eyes you know the place.”
“Everyone knows about Chalys.”
“Would you want to live in Chalys?”
 She almost said yes until he added, “The people I’d entrust you to live
there.”
Zari looked down at that, not wanting the vampire to realize how his
words hurt. He really was in a hurry to get rid of her.
Alexandru was about to speak again when a voice in his mind said, My
lord, the ride for the soul seer has arrived.
And so it had.
Zari was surprised when Alexandru suddenly took her hand. “What is
it?”
“Your ride’s here,” he murmured as they started to walk.
Oh.
This was really it. He had rescued her for some reason, and now he was
passing her off. She had so many questions in mind but she just couldn’t
ask them. She was too busy feeling betrayed that he was giving her up to
people she didn’t know.
Didn’t what happen between them matter to him? The question had her
cringing. Technically, nothing had really happened between them. It wasn’t
as if he had taken her virginity.
In minutes, they had walked out of the clearing and she saw a huge
black Jeep waiting for them. Alexandru dropped her hand, murmuring,
“Wait here,” before walking ahead of her to talk to its driver.
This was really it. After this, who knew if she would ever see him
again? And even if she didn’t, why should it matter? She should just focus
on finding her parents and rebuilding her life. She should forget about ever
finding out that not only humans existed in this world. That was the
smartest thing to do.
“Zari? It’s time to go.”
She looked up at the words and found the vampire’s eyes hooded as he
returned her gaze.
Slowly, she walked towards him and allowed Alexandru to assist her up
the Jeep.
“Make sure you don’t forget about me,” he said teasingly, but his smile
faded when she didn’t answer, didn’t even look at him. Her gaze remained
at her tightly clenched hands on her lap. Another strange painful pang hit
his chest, but he told himself it was nothing.
“Goodbye then, little pet.”
Still not looking at him, she muttered, “I’m not your little pet.”
 The smile that curved on his lips didn’t reach his eyes. “I know.” He
closed the door. As he started to walk away, he heard the driver starting the
engine.
Master.
It took him a while to realize that he was hearing Zari’s thoughts.
Master. Master. Master.
She was muttering the word out loud, practicing the word over and over
in a tear-choked voice.
Alexandru closed his eyes. God, what an idiot. Ridiculously proud,
strong, brave, cute idiot.
One moment, Zari was fighting back tears. The next moment, a strong
gust of wind hit her, and the next thing she knew, she heard the door burst
open and slam shut. When she blinked her eyes open, a shriek of surprise
slipped past her lips at finding Alexandru sitting next to her.
“What are you doing here?” She tried to sound like she was angry even
though she was feeling incredibly relieved at the sight of him.
Her expressive face gave her away, and he shook his head. “You truly
should quit lying, little pet. Your face will always give you away.”
She flushed at his words, but even so, she said stubbornly, “You haven’t
answered my question.”
His beautiful green eyes bored into her. “What do you think?”
She couldn’t say the words she was thinking, afraid that it would mean
hoping for nothing.
His voice lazy, he continued, “After saying Master over and over in
your mind, after telling yourself you could swallow your pride and call me
Master, what do you think?” He waited for a second, and as expected, he
was rewarded with another comical look of surprise as Zari’s cheeks puffed
up, reminding him once more of a cartoon character.
Zari wanted to die of embarrassment. She couldn’t believe how she had
forgotten that the vampire was able to hear her thoughts.
“You can still change your mind, you know.” He stopped, frustrated at
the way he was privately torn between wanting and not wanting the soul
seer to change her mind.
“It will not be an easy life with me. And though I may look and speak in
an easy matter, I am unfortunately very traditional. I do not want you taking
your role as my pet lightly.” His eyes narrowed. “Among other things, it
means having to call me Master.” He lifted a brow. “Can you do that?”
 She thought about it hard, and in the end she realized one thing. At the
end of the day, Master was just a word, and it was up to her to decide what
that word meant. For others, it might mean giving up one’s freedom. For
herself, it meant having the vampire in her life.
Slowly, Zari nodded.
“I’m afraid that’s not good enough, pet.”
“Master.” She choked on the word and glared at him as she said it.
Too fucking cute.
Not caring that there was another person inside the jeep, he reached for
Zari. In a moment, he had her on his lap, his hand in her hair and his lips on
hers. He kissed her hungrily, unable to believe how much he loved the taste
of her even though they had just met. Even though she was no one to him.
Even though his heart already had someone else inside it.
When the vampire’s lips drifted down her throat, Zari arched her neck,
unable to stop herself from giving him more access because it just really felt
good. “Is this...part of...being...a human pet?” The way she sounded so
breathless made her embarrassed, but she couldn’t help it.
The way Zari’s skin turned pink was a turn-on, and Alexandru’s lips
moved back up as he took her lips for another kiss. The way she returned
his kiss was still inexperienced and clumsy. It should have made the kiss
distasteful and boring, but instead he found her innocence all the more
arousing. He had never been a possessive lover, but with the soul seer, he
realized that he liked – really fucking liked – the fact that he was the first
one to kiss her, to touch her, and soon...to take her.
“With others, it’s...optional,” he whispered against her lips. He lifted his
head, his gaze intense as it met hers. “But with me, it’s non-negotiable. If I
shall be your Master and you my pet, I want the right to touch you as you
will and make you cry out in pleasure. It’s a right that I alone shall have.”
Slowly, seductively, he traced her lips. “Do you agree with that?”
Even as her cheeks turned redder at his blunt words, she whispered,
“Yes.” There was no other answer, not when she couldn’t imagine any other
man doing what he did to her.
When his lips curved in a smile, her heart tripped, making Zari realized
how much this person had suddenly meant to her. He meant so much, to the
point that she hungered for his approval. The thought had her discomfited,
and she blurted out, “Alexandru?”
He raised a brow.
 After a beat, she realized what it meant and she said, “Master?”
His head bent, and then he was sucking on her lip, as if giving her a
reward. When he lifted his head, he asked, “What is it?”
“Is seduction one of your powers?”
He choked.
“Tell me honestly.”
“How would I know?”
She said glumly, “It must be. I’ve never been interested in boys, much
less kissing, but with you I’m just...” Her hands flapped in the air.
He suppressed a smile. “Just...what?”
She glared at him.
Too damn cute.
He kissed her again, and when he released her mouth, she said, “It’s
definitely one of your powers.”
He laughed but didn’t answer her. He had a feeling it was better for both
of them that the little soul seer believed he was manipulating the sexual
attraction between them. Instead, he said, “If you are serious about being
my pet...”
He stopped, giving her a chance to change her mind. In all honesty, he
didn’t want to give her that chance. In his mind, he already saw her as his.
But he was nothing but fair—-
“I won’t change my mind.” She looked down. “Until we find my
parents, that is.”
He inclined his head in agreement. “Understood. But for now...you are
mine then?”
She flushed at the words, as expected. When she saw him grin, she said
with a glare, “Stop it—-”
He raised a brow.
She said chokingly, “Master.”
He stroked her cheek, and the tender gesture made her blush harder. She
knew that it was his silent way of apologizing.
Alexandru sighed. “Those blushes of yours, pet...remember that they’re
only mine, mm?”
Before she could answer, he was kissing her again, his tongue
possessive and bold as it danced with hers.
When he released her mouth, she muttered dazedly, “Is there some kind
of antidote I can take so I’d be immune to your kisses?”
 He chuckled, but his voice was sober when he said, “There’s one last
thing you have to know about being my pet...and about your real identity.”

“WHY DID YOU TAKE US back here?” She tried to keep her voice from
shaking when she found herself standing in front of the entrance of the
mining shaft once more. Although it was already broad daylight, the sun
appeared unable to penetrate the darkness inside the tunnels. Its blackness
was like a living creature, hungry and intent on devouring everything made
of light and life.
If she closed her eyes, she wouldn’t be surprised if she started to hear
the same screams, over and over.
“I told you I came to rescue you, didn’t I?”
She nodded.
“It’s because I was sent to look for you.”
She shook her head, bewildered. “Why would you...a vampire...look for
me?”
“Because you’re no ordinary human.” He took her hand. “Do you trust
me?”
“Yes.”
Again, her unquestioning loyalty sent a pang through his chest, and
Alexandru swore to himself that it was something he would cherish forever.
Slowly, he drew her inside with him, and again she didn’t hesitate even
though he felt her body start to tremble in fear next to him.
When they had walked deep enough into the tunnel that it was black all
around, he took her hand and placed it on the wall.
He said quietly, “I’m going to bite you now, just to open your mind a
little more and let you see.”
“I don’t—-” But she forgot what else she had to say when Alexandru’s
fangs sank into the side of her neck. She gasped at the pain of it, and then
she gasped again, her body jerking as images from long ago invaded her
mind.

BLACK.
 Everything in black jumped at Zari, leaving her blind to any other color
but black.
Black. BLACK. BLACK.
The blackness of the soot that marked the children’s clothes as they
crawled into the narrow passageways, their tiny fingers gripping explosives.
The color of the sky as they worked into the wee hours of the night. The
shadows under their eyes as they struggled against hunger, thirst, and most
of all, fear.
And then the scene changed, hundreds of sheets of paper falling to the
ground. She tried to reach for a piece, and it was only then she realized that
she didn’t exist, not in this world from a hundred years back.
Black.
The descent of the papers slowed down in front of her eyes, as if
someone had set everything in slow motion. Words written in black ink
screamed at her.
MISSING!
Toby Manderley, Age 7.
Katie Sanders, Age 11.
Darwin Colt, Age 5.
Another shower of paper fell, torn sheets of newspaper falling from
somewhere above her.
More words cried out to her, headlines printed in black.
Wealthy clan owning mines denies allegations of child labor!
Furious, grieving parents file lawsuit against the Richmond family!
A possible truce? Parents invited to inspect mines!
A tragedy! All 98 parents buried alive by explosion!
Mining explosion declared accident by experts!
Richmond family builds memorial in remembrance of victims!
Tears ran down Zari’s face. She wanted to cover her ears as the howls
and tears of despair reached her. In front of her, parents sank to their knees
as they were shown the skeletons of their missing children, all of whom had
died from either sickness or abuse. She cried harder when she saw the
moment the parents realized that they were never leaving the tunnels – not
alive anyway.
She thought it would end there, but it didn’t, the world twirling around
her into something new, something different, and something terrible.
Black.
 The color of vengeful souls, the color of hatred, the color of death—-
Ghosts of murdered parents seeking retribution against the Richmonds.
An eye for an eye.
A solitary sheet of newspaper once again drifted down, big, bold black
letters on the front page spelling the fate of the owners of the mine.
Entire family found decapitated in their beds, mutilated, no signs of
struggle!

“COME BACK TO ME NOW, pet.”

The words sounded like they came from a great distance. They were
repeated over and over, louder and louder, until it roped her back into
reality and Zari found herself falling to her knees, a silent scream lodged
against her throat.
Frightened gray eyes sought Alexandru.
His first instinct was to reach for her, but he forced himself to remain
still, knowing it was the only way to help Zari become stronger. “Breathe
slow and deep.” He issued the command in a soft voice.
Zari instinctively followed the order, a part of her recognizing the fact
that everything Alexandru – her Master – would ask of her was for her sake.
Always for her sake.
She concentrated on breathing, and little by little, the chills racking her
body subsided, enough for her to be coherent. “The children...” She started
to cry again. “Their parents...” She looked around her, and this time she saw
them with new eyes.
“What you saw was from the past, and you’re able to see it because
you’re a soul seer.”
She whispered, “I don’t understand.”
“It’s why I was searching for you. You are one of the last of your kind.
Most members of your race had been annihilated by an ancient war.”
Demons in particular had been responsible for nearly wiping out their
existence, but for now, he decided to keep that fact to himself. It was clear
that Zari was suffering from shock, and it was best to tackle such
knowledge on another day.
Zari rubbed her temples, her head literally hurting at how hard she was
trying to understand what had just happened. She said haltingly, “But I’ve
never seen something like that before. So why—-” That was when she
remembered his earlier words.
I’m going to bite you now, just to open your mind a little more and let
you see...
She gazed up at him. “Why...did you want me to discover what I am?”
“Because it’s who you are, and in my world, you’ll need your powers as
a soul seer to survive.”
The words struck her as both true and untrue. “That’s not the only
reason,” she said quietly. “Is it?”
A smile touched his lips. “No. It’s not.”
She waited for him to say something more, but when more than a few
seconds passed and his handsome face remained impassive, Zari said,
“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
No. He wasn’t. Not when he knew that his reasons could – would – hurt
her.
He said finally, “Just know it is for your sake that I’ve done this.” He
offered his hand, wondering if she would take it. If she still trusted him.
She took his hand.
Again, the pang through his chest, one that felt more and more familiar.
He helped her to her feet, and when she was upright, he was the one
who bent down to dust off her knees. It made Zari inhale in surprise. “You
don’t have to—-”
When he straightened, he murmured, “It’s my duty as your Master to
look after you.”
“Oh.”
“You’re glaring at me, pet.”
Because the way he was smiling at her was making her heart throb, but
of course Zari couldn’t say that.
Alexandru suddenly yanked her to him, causing her body to slam
against his. Her cloak parted open, and she gasped at the contact of her
naked skin against his fully clothed form. She opened her mouth to yell at
him for being a pervert, but he beat her to speaking.
“This is the last time I’ll ask you.”
Zari froze.
In all honesty, he did not want to ask her again. In his mind, she was
already his. But he also knew he would not be able to live with himself if he
did not give her this one final chance to be free of him. One last chance to
live a life without pain because sooner or later, Alexandru was sure he
would only make her cry, and it wouldn’t be tears of pleasure.
“Are you sure you want to remain by my side as my pet?”
The words had her looking down. She didn’t want the vampire to see
how relieved she was at what he was saying.
“Zari?”
She said softly, “Yes.”
The world seemed to shift the moment she spoke. When she gazed up at
Alexandru, she could see that it was the same for him.

It is not politically correct to call human pets as food.

If that was the case, then we pets have the right to call vampires bats with
feet.
Zari’s Rules for the Modernization of Relationships between Human Pets
and Masters
~ Zari ~
LA SCALA LEGATURIA.
The words, spelled in molded black steel on top of the gates, supposedly
meant the School of Bonds. Since this was a training ground for human pets
wishing to serve their Masters well, I had to wonder if the double entendre
behind the name was intentional. If most vampires were like my Master, it
probably was.
Beyond the gates, a sprawling structure made of ancient red bricks
soared against the overcast skies. It would be my home for the next few
years, assuming I was accepted as one of the school’s privileged students.
“Scared, pet?”
I looked up at the question, and the sly smile that accompanied the
words made me lift my chin and say, “Nope.”
It was a lie, of course, and my Master knew it.
He threw back his head and laughed, the rich dark sound echoing in the
night like a dangerously addictive melody.
My heart skipped a beat at the sound, and when I glanced back at the
vampire, my heart skipped again. I wished it didn’t, but it was no use. Tall,
dark-haired, and broad shouldered, Alexandru remained the most gorgeous
man I had ever seen in my eighteen years of existence. And since I had
become a part of his world? That was saying a lot. Every – and I mean
every – nonhuman male I got to know had been prettier than me.
My Master clucked his tongue. “You and your lies,” he chided softly. “It
is not bad to admit to a few weaknesses, pet. That is why I am your
Master.” He spread his arms wide open. “Would you like me to comfort you
with my body?”
My cheeks heated.
When I saw an unholy gleam light up his emerald-green eyes, I realized
belatedly that I had fallen for his trap. Again. We had been together for less
than a week, most of it spent on the road as we traveled from the wilds in
Brazil to the mysterious isles of Key West. That much time in his company
was enough to make one thing glaringly clear: nothing brought him greater
pleasure than seeing me blush.
My Master suddenly laced his fingers with mine, making me stiffen in
surprise.
Before I knew what he was doing, he had raised my hand to his lips, and
my cheeks burned hotter when I felt his kiss on my flesh. “Master!” I
hadn’t been able to call him that the first time we met, but now, the word
slipped past my lips easily.
“I vowed that no harm shall ever befall you, pet, and you must be aware
by now that I always keep my word.”
I nodded, slowly. It was the truth. He always kept his word, no matter
how hard, no matter how gruesome.
“This place shall be your sanctuary. It will give you time to heal and
find out what you want in life.”
I nodded again, but this time it was only for show. While I did believe
that time could heal, I didn’t think the other one was true. Rather, I didn’t
think it was necessary. I already knew what I wanted in life. I was going to
be his pet, a damn good one. So much so he wouldn’t ever think of
replacing me.
My Master frowned at my lack of response. “Zari—-”
The sound of the gates slowly opening interrupted him, saving me from
replying. Someone in a black hooded dress came out. Her face was unlined,
and I would have thought her ordinary until her smile revealed her fangs.
“Alexandru, welcome.” She greeted him with a curtsy, surprising me.
Alexandru bowed in response, and when he looked at me meaningfully,
I dropped in an awkward curtsy.
 The woman smiled in approval. “You are Zari, I believe?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I thought about it and added lamely, “Milady.”
She reached out to squeeze my hand reassuringly. “My name is Lavinia,
and I am one of the teachers in this school. You may call me Madame
Lavinia, as the other students do.”
Her expectant smile made me mumble, “Good evening, Madame
Lavinia.” When she continued looking at me, I found myself curtsying one
more time.
She clapped her hands. “Perfect.” She started walking again, leading us
inside the school. The gates swung silently shut behind us without anyone
touching them. Automatic controls or magic? With this crowd, you just
never knew.
“You are quite the fast learner,” she remarked in a pleased tone. “I now
see why Alexandru has chosen you.”
My Master’s sly smile reappeared at the words. “Believe me, Madame
Lavinia, it is not the only reason I have chosen her. You see, I have also
seen her—-”
A thought crossed my mind, of Alexandru’s first sight of me, when I
was tied to the bed, naked. Panicking, I stepped on his foot, hard. Master or
no Master, I didn’t want anyone learning about that.
Madame Lavinia glanced at us over her shoulder. “You saw what,
dear?”
“I saw her potential right away,” he finished without missing a beat.
“She will make me the perfect human pet.” His gaze slid to mine, his eyes
just as sly. “Correct, pet?”
“Yes, Master.” I had to choke the words out even though I was itching
to yell at him for being so darn mean.
Our hands remained entwined as we followed behind Madame Lavinia.
The contact between us kept me from panicking, but I would rather hang
myself than admit it.
An expansive cobbled road led straight to the school, reminding me of
my Master’s earlier explanation about the “training” that I would receive if
I were admitted.
Next to the thick, tall walls securing the property was a gatehouse, and
when we went inside, I realized that it served as an admission center of
sorts for the school. My heart became heavy with insecurities. Could I
really make it here?
 “Please make yourself comfortable while I get the paperwork ready,”
Madame Lavinia said, gesturing to the receiving area before leaving us.
Looking around, I had expected the whole place to look like a kinky
fantasy come to life, but so far, everything was just vast and tastefully
decorated. This room, for instance, strongly resembled a hotel lobby, with
its creamy stenciled wallpaper, carpeted floor, and elegant furniture.
My Master sat on one of the leather couches. When I started for the
armchair next to him, he shook his head.
“Where do you want me to sit?”
He patted his lap.
My eyebrows shot up. “Are you serious?”
“Do I look like I’m joking?”
I couldn’t help it. I demanded again, “Are you really serious?”
“Oh dear.” The words had me whirling around and I saw Madame
Lavinia on the doorway, a look of dismay on her kind face. “You should
never question your Master, young Zari. That is one of the most sacred rules
for human pets.”
“Umm...” I could feel my Master’s smile stretching to a smirk behind
me.
“If your Master wants you to sit on his lap, you should be grateful for
such a sign of affection. It only means he cherishes your company.”
“Err...”
Her hands made a flapping wave towards Alexandru’s direction, as if
silently urging me to do as he asked.
Slowly, I turned around to face my Master.
As expected, he was smiling ever so beautifully...and ever so slyly.
Heat burst in my cheeks, but knowing that resistance was pointless, I
slowly made my way to him. When I was just an inch away, I waited,
hoping he’d just tug me to his lap so I wouldn’t have to do it myself.
But of course, my hatefully contrary Master wasn’t the type to make
things easy for me. Instead, he stayed still, a mockingly patient expression
on his face.
“Zari?” Madame Lavinia asked, her tone bewildered.
Cringing in mortification, I slowly lowered myself on his lap, back
ramrod straight. I stared straight ahead, knowing that if I caught sight of my
Master’s sly smile, it would only get me blushing harder. That or strangle
him. It could be either.
 Madame Lavinia sighed in relief. “There, there. I’m so glad you’re not
as stubborn as the other First-Mades.” Taking the couch opposite us, she sat
down and handed each of us a folder. “Please take your time answering
this.”
She directed a questioning glance to my Master. “Would you like a
moment of privacy while you fill this out?”
“If it wouldn’t be so much trouble, please.”
“Nothing is too much trouble for you, my dear,” the older woman said
warmly.
When she left, my Master’s fingers drifted against the small of my back,
which I now knew was his way of telling me he wanted my complete
attention. “Read the forms, pet. I’m sure you’ll have questions.”
I glanced down at the form. The first line told me that he was right. I
would have questions – a lot of them.
Legacy or First Made?
“She mentioned this a while ago,” I murmured. “What does this mean?”
“Legacy refers to all those who come from families who have served as
human pets for generations. First-Mades are like you – humans who have
been acquired by other means.”
“You mean sold in auctions?”
My Master’s face became grim. “I’m sorry, pet, but your circumstances
are rare...and unfortunate. Most other First Mades are a result of a simple
legal agreement between humans and otherworlders.”
The surprises just kept coming, I thought. “You mean, someone would
really choose to be a human pet?”
He raised a brow. “Why not? Your main responsibility is to feed us
when we need sustenance. In return, you will be able to live in the lap of
luxury forever.”
“But it also means a lifetime of not being free to do whatever you
want,” I argued. “You told me before that I can’t even have a relationship
without your approval.”
“Naturally. It is for our race’s safety. We must make sure that people
who know of our existence are all trustworthy.”
“But—-”
“I understand and respect your opinion, pet.” His tone was gentle but
firm, and I knew it was his way of subtly reminding me of what we were.
Master and pet, and whatever way you want to look at it, it would always be
one commanding the other and never the other way around.
My gaze moved back to the form, scanning the rest of the questions
until I saw one that I couldn’t understand.
Claimed or Unclaimed? If Claimed, please state your Master’s
name.
“I don’t understand this.” I pointed to the words that caught my
attention. “I’m guessing I’m Claimed, but what about the Unclaimed ones?”
“They’re humans who come from the most illustrious Legacy families.
They’re highly sought after, which means they can afford to refuse offers of
claiming. To put it simply, they prefer to be claimed by only the most
powerful Masters.”
“I see.” The bonds between Master and pet were turning out to be a lot
more complex than I thought.
Are you willing to share your pet?
My Master caught sight of my stunned expression and when he saw
what I was staring at, he chuckled, the sound tickling my back.
“Occasionally, otherworlders come here in need for immediate sustenance,
and some Masters are quite generous with their pets.” He cupped my jaw,
making me look at him. “You have nothing to worry on that count, though.”
“I’m not worried.”
His lips curved, and his sly smile was as sinfully sexy as ever. I
wondered if there’d ever come a time that I would be immune to its sight,
wondered if there’d ever come a time that my heart would stop skipping a
beat when he smiled at me like that.
“You and your lies.” He clucked his tongue. “Do you really think you
can fool me?”
“I’m really not worried—-” The rest of my words disappeared into his
kiss, turning me into a statue on his lap. But still his kiss continued, its fiery
heat making my body melt. When his fingers sunk into my hair, using it to
angle my head so he could deepen the kiss, my resistance weakened even
more.
“Are you really not worried,” he whispered against my lips. “Because if
you’re not, I’m going to leave you this very moment—-”
“No!” The word burst out of my lips, my hands clutching his shoulders
in desperate and instinctive protest.
 Laughing, he kissed me again, fiercely, seductively. “I was just teasing
you, pet. I will never leave you. I promised you, didn’t I?” Slowly, he
pulled away. “You do understand why I need you to stay here, Zari?”
I didn’t answer.
“Zari?”
I shrugged.
He sighed. “Answer me, Zari.”
The commanding tone left me no choice but to answer, and I muttered,
“Just because I understand doesn’t mean I agree. Master.”
“You know the kind of life I lead. I want you to have a long life by my
side, but that won’t ever happen without proper training.”
“You could train me.” I hated how petulant I sounded, but I couldn’t
help it.
“True, but I have much more important uses for my time.”
I winced. As blunt as ever, my Master.
“Are we agreed on this then? You will stay here if you are accepted?”
It wasn’t like I had a choice.
You’re thinking too loudly, pet. Of course you have a choice. I will never
be the kind of Master who’d take that kind of freedom from you.
I bit back a sigh. He didn’t understand. How he was a Master wasn’t the
problem here. It was me – what I wanted – that was leaving me without a
choice. With each passing day I spent in his company, the urge, the drive,
the need to please him grew and grew until I had to keep my hands behind
my back – the only way to prevent myself from embracing him and never
letting go.
“Zari?”
I bowed my head. “Whatever you want, Master.” And God help me, but
I meant that.

I WAS ACCEPTED, OF course. I had a feeling I would be, seeing how

Madame Lavinia treated my Master like royalty. After all forms had been
signed, we had been immediately escorted to the dormitory. My room was
at the corner of the third floor. It was spacious and elegantly furnished, with
velvet drapes, a four-poster bed, and an en-suite bathroom.
My Master waited for the older woman to bid us good night and retreat
before asking, “What do you think?”
 “It’s beautiful,” I answered simply.
“You think you will be happy here?”
“Of course.”
He sighed. “Honesty, pet. Is it too much to ask?”
“Acceptance, Master. You need to accept that I’ll always be like this. Is
it too much to ask?”
He strode towards me and made me gasp when he flicked my forehead.
“Stubborn pet.” I gasped once more when he lifted me in his arms. “Brave
pet.” He carried me to the bed and as he laid me down, he said softly, “Cute
pet.”
“Cute?” I pretended to be offended, but my voice just came out shaky
and breathless.
“Yes, cute.” He flicked the first button of my blouse open. “In an
arousing way.”
I clutched his hands in shock when I felt his fingers working on the
second and third buttons. “What are you doing?” My voice came out
strangled.
“What do you think?” By the time he finished speaking, my blouse was
completely undone.
“But—-”
Again, my words disappeared into his mouth.
The kiss shocked me. He hadn’t kissed me like this since the night he
found me.
The kiss slayed me. I couldn’t say it, would probably never be able to
say it, but I was addicted to his kisses. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough of
it.
Dimly, I felt him discarding my blouse, and soon the rest of my clothes
followed until I was entirely naked. When he pulled back to study me from
head to toe, I writhed under his gaze in embarrassment.
“You’re turning pink all over,” my Master purred in obvious pleasure.
“Shut up,” I muttered, even more embarrassed by his words.
My Master only laughed. His fingers cupping my breasts, he murmured,
“I missed this. You do not know how much I missed this.” His head bent
down, and I felt him nuzzling the valley between my breasts.
I half-struggled, half-writhed under his powerful form. “Master.” The
word came out as a plea, but I had no idea what I was begging him for.
 “You smell so unbelievably sweet.” His words were a tantalizing
whisper, a delicious caress against my skin as his lips trailed down my
neck. “It makes me mad with jealousy, wondering if someone other than me
would notice your scent.”
His lips moved further down, and another gasp escaped me when his
mouth closed over one nipple. My body arched under him as he started to
suck. He had never kissed me this way – never!
My hands found its way to his body, moving against his back restlessly
as he sucked and sucked. When he moved to my other breast, worshipping
it the same way, my hands moved up in its own volition, clutching his
shoulders as my body curved in helpless desire against him.
“Please.” I still didn’t know what I wanted. All I knew was that what I
needed, only my Master could provide. When he bit my nipple, I cried out.
“Please!”
His head lifted, and a sinful kind of promise glittered in his eyes.
“Soon,” he rasped.
I felt his hands moving over my body, shaping my curves slowly and
thoroughly, as if he wanted to memorize every inch of my skin. Down,
down, down his hands went until I felt him prying my thighs open.
Trembling, I allowed my legs to fall apart, and then his hand was there.
Right where I was most sensitive. It was the hottest part of me, the part that
throbbed and ached so much the sensations filled my every thought.
“Master!” My head tossed from side to side as his hand traced my wet
folds. I was so wet it was embarrassing, and I would probably have blushed
again if I wasn’t so caught up in the sensual magic of his touch.
“Look at me. I want to see your face as I please you.” His gaze held me
captive as our eyes met. “Does this make you feel good, pet?” Slowly, he
slid one finger inside me.
I cried out, my body shaking harder even as my flesh contracted and
expanded, my inner muscles tightening around the part of him that marked
his first possession of my body.
“Answer me.”
“Yes.” I sobbed the word out as he started to move his finger, sliding it
in and out at a slow, steady pace.
“Do you want more?”
“Please.” I squeezed my eyes shut, my body tightening with every
thrust of his finger.
 I felt him moving down, his hands pushing my legs up to form a wide
W. I looked down just in time to see his head disappear between my legs.
And then there it was, his warm hot tongue flicking against the sensitive
bud.
I screamed.
His tongue started to play with my clit, and I screamed once more.
Again and again until I saw stars and it was so hard to breathe. When he
started to suck on my clit, the same time his finger moved in and out of my
pussy, my body began to shake. Something inside me was unfurling,
something so strong and powerful, wracking my body—-
My Master slid a second finger inside me, thrusting hard and deep just
as he caught my clit between his teeth.
That unfurling force inside me burst, releasing a wave of pleasure so
intense I was drowning in it. My body jerked with every gush of wetness
flowing out of me. I clutched at him helplessly as I came, never imagining
that an orgasm could feel this strong. This consuming. This beautiful.
As I drifted into a deep, heavy slumber, I thought I heard my Master
whisper in my ears, “This is what I want you to remember when you feel
alone, sweet pet. I will come back to you, I promise.”
Such tender words, too tender for a man as private as my Master to
speak of.
When I woke up, my Master was gone.
When I woke up, I knew that the words weren’t a dream. My Master
was worried about me. My Master cared. The thought had me swallowing.
Even though he was as contrary as ever, I knew it was just a front, a way to
keep himself apart.
He was a good man, my Master.
But then I saw what he had saved on my phone – a photo of him, naked
and holding a piece of paper. A message was written on it—-
My pet told me that if I gave her a hundred photos like this, she would
be the happiest pet in the world.
I gritted my teeth. I take it back. He was not a good man, my Master.
Definitely not.
But somehow, I couldn’t make myself delete the photo in my phone.
A bad man, my Master, but he definitely knew how to not make his pet
feel lonely.
 A knock sounded on the door. “Lady Zari? I’ve been asked to remind
you that classes are to start at seven in the morning. Do you need me to help
you with anything?”
The words had me reaching for my robe. Today, a brand new chapter in
my life would start. Alexandru and even my parents had risked many things
to keep me alive, and it was a gift I was determined not to waste.
I glanced at the mirror mounted on the wall next to the bed and
practiced smiling. I didn’t want anyone to think that I was so childish and
unprofessional, pining away for my Master, even if it was true.
“Lady Zari?”
Tightening the robe’s sash around my waist, I called out, “Coming!”
A voice slipped inside my head, familiar and sly. Coming? Are you
really coming, pet? Does that mean you’re touching yourself?
I tripped on my way to the door.
~ END OF PREQUEL ~

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“The best way for a Master to show his or her pet respect is to take the time
to know him or her.” Zari read the words from her draft as she paced the
length of their bedroom.
“You just want the whole kingdom to know about the time I forgot our
anniversary,” Alexandru drawled.
“I do not—-” She stopped talking mid-sentence when she glanced at her
Master. He was on his side of the bed, one leg propped up, a copy of her
proposal in his hand. He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of loose
cotton pants...and glasses. Glasses?
She shook her head in confusion. “Why are you wearing glasses? You’re a
vampire. You’ve got perfect eyesight.”
“You asked me to review your proposal, didn’t you?” He flashed her a
devastating smile. “I thought I should look the part as your editor.” His
eyes took on a knowing look. “I also thought you’d like seeing me with
glasses. You do, don’t you, pet?”
Zari’s red face was his answer.
“Stop laughing, Master. It’s not that funny!”

W
alking along the empty school corridors, Alexandru enjoyed the
brief respite from the obsessive attention of La Scala Legaturia’s
giggling students. A hundred years back, this school had been akin to
hallowed grounds, a place where young ladies took their studies seriously
and were intent on perfecting the art of pleasing their Masters. But now?
He shook his head, remembering the girls he had passed by at the
entrance hall and the way they had simpered at him. Did they not know that
vampires as old as he had no time for idiots?
Alexandru paused when he reached the back door of the last classroom.
Inside, he heard the teacher, Madame Lavinia, asking for a moment of
silence. “Ms. Ellen? Would you be so kind as to start today’s reporting?”
As Alexandru listened to the students report one by one, he realized that
their homework was all about explaining the bond between Master and pet.
His lips curved. This should be good, Alexandru thought.
Inside his mind, he tapped into the blood bond he shared with his own
pet. As usual, she remained oblivious to his presence, her full concentration
directed at her nonexistent essay.
My name is Zari Baltimore. She was mentally reciting the words as she
scribbled them, thus allowing him a glimpse of her thoughts.
 I’m eighteen years old. My dad...
There was a pause in her thoughts, marked by a silence that was both
grave and personal, and Alexandru knew his pet was wondering at that
moment about her parents’ whereabouts. The last time she had seen them
was right before the boating accident, one that resulted in her parents
missing and Zari being abducted by trolls. That was over a month ago, and
even now, with his men searching for them tirelessly, Alexandru still had no
news to share.
My dad is a wildlife photographer and my mother is a wildlife
journalist.
The use of present tense told him that she had decided to believe her
parents were still alive. She had a tenacious will, his pet, and one he
strongly approved of even if it also frustrated him at times.
My Master is Alexandru—-
The pause that followed made Alexandru lift a brow.
What was his last name anyway? Was he orphaned? Or maybe he
dropped it, sort of like Prince? Maybe his real name went something like
The Vampire Formerly Known as Alexandru?
Come to think of it, did vampires have any surname? Maybe they were
like rockstars and popstars? Eminem, Rihanna, Pink? Maybe he even used
special characters like Ke$ha? This had Zari mentally laughing her ass off.
Maybe he wrote his name as @lexandru?
The thoughts wiped the smile off Alexandru’s lips completely. He was
going to kill his human pet very slowly, that was for sure.

“...LASTLY, I BELIEVE THE special bond I share with Master Anton is

because of our love for travel.”
“...I can’t think of being a pet to anyone but Master Doru. Our family
has served his family for generations, and so it shall be forever and ever.”
“...my Master kicks ass, and it’s my dream to follow in his footsteps and
serve the ruling family of Sangre when I finish my training.”
“Zari?”
She pretended not to hear it, hoping Madame Lavinia would take pity
on her and move on the next student.
“Zari? It’s your turn now.” Madame Lavinia actually came to stand right
next to her desk.
 Drat. There went her escape plan.
“Sorry, Madame Lavinia.”
“That’s okay.” Madame Lavinia started walking back to her desk. “I’m
sure I’m not the only one who’s eager to learn about what you have to say
as a human pet to Master Alexandru.”
At her words, half of the girls in Zari’s class looked disgruntled while
the other half looked envious. Either way, she knew that all of them would
kill to swap places with her.
Grabbing her notebook from her desk, Zari reluctantly followed behind
her teacher. Since she always sat at the back and classrooms in La Scala
Legaturia were all vast and luxurious, she had a lot of distance to cover.
Just as she was about to reach the platform in front, someone suddenly
stuck a foot in front of Zari.
“Aaaah!” Zari flailed like a fish out of water to keep herself from
falling, balancing herself on her toes before pulling back. The whole class
burst into laughter throughout her antics, and when the girl to her right
snickered, saying, “Loser,” another round of laughter followed.
Zari was red-faced with embarrassment, but she didn’t bother saying a
word despite knowing exactly who had tried to trip her.
A petite brunette with exotic features, Ellen Carne was one of the
school’s most popular girls, an unclaimed pet born to a family who had
served vampires for centuries. Unclaimed meant she still didn’t have a
Master, and if rumors were to be believed, she was dying to steal Alexandru
from Zari.
When Zari’s eyes clashed with Ellen’s, the other girl demanded, “What
are you looking at?”
Zari bit back a sigh. She had been so silly to think the supernatural
world of vampires, trolls, and what-have-yous would be different from the
world she came from. Apparently, bullies were bullies, regardless of their
form or species.
Ignoring Ellen, Zari proceeded to the front, not wanting to get into an
argument. She hated arguing. She wasn’t used to it at all since she had spent
most of her life in the jungles, and the company she had kept then was only
made up of her parents and wild animals.
Madame Lavinia beamed from her seat behind the teacher’s desk. “You
can start anytime.”
 How about never, Zari thought glumly even as she answered, “Thank
you, Madame Lavinia.” She remembered just in time to curtsy after the
greeting and was rewarded with an approving nod.
Zari welcomed the teacher’s positive reaction. These days, Madame
Lavinia appeared the only one to believe she shouldn’t be kicked out of
LSL. Who knew? Maybe this week, she could finally enjoy a higher grade
than C for the first time.
Turning to the class, she opened her notebook and began to read. “My
name is Zari Baltimore. I’m 18 years old. My dad is a wildlife
photographer, my mom a wildlife journalist. My Master’s name is
Alexandru.” She waited for the class to laugh, but they didn’t.
Mm...maybe her Master really didn’t have a surname? Maybe he was
like the vampire version of...Usher? She thought about it. Nah. Usher was
too good a dancer to be like Master Alexandru. Maybe...Bono? Yeah, that
sounded about right, age-wise.
She flipped to the next page, coughing, buying herself time because
after that little paragraph, she had nothing. Taking a deep breath, Zari
decided to fake it. From scratch.
“The bond between Master Alexandru and I is, umm, kinda new.” Like,
one-month-new since that was exactly how long she had known her Master.
It was the exact opposite of most of the other pets in school, whose
relationships with their Masters had either started or had been predestined
since the day they were born.
From the first row, Ellen rolled her eyes. “New is such a vague word.
Tell it as it is, First Made trash.”
Control, control, Zari reminded herself. If she got into a fight with any
of the girls here, that would definitely reach her Master, and she didn’t want
to cause him any trouble.
As if sensing a possible argument, Madame Lavinia asked brightly,
“What’s Master Alexandru like as a master?”
What was Alexandru as a Master? The word ‘pervert’ immediately
came to mind. The first day they had met, he had kept touching and kissing
her. The word ‘bully’ also flashed before her eyes. He was definitely a
bully, the way he liked doing and saying stuff that would make her blush.
Zari inhaled, preparing herself to reveal to the world the truth about her
Master.
Yes, go on, pet. I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.
 Her head jerked, her eyes landing on the silent figure that had come into
the classroom in patent disbelief. The class, picking up on her shock,
followed her gaze, and everyone squealed when they saw Alexandru at the
back.
It had been one month. One month since she had last seen him, and
somehow it felt like one month had wrought such a huge change in him. He
was taller than she remembered, his powerful aura more authoritative. Even
his sheer gorgeousness came as a shock to her, with his wavy black hair and
green eyes. Had he really been this beautiful from the very start?
All in all, Alexandru made a larger than life figure, and the way he took
everyone’s dumbstruck attention as nothing out of ordinary just made him
more intimidatingly attractive. Zari’s head reeled at the thought that the
vampire everyone was staring dreamily at was her Master. And she – a
person as ordinary as her – was his human pet.
Zari watched her Master’s lips curve in a familiar sly smile. “Go on, pet.
I’m eager to hear what you have to say. What do you think of me as a
Master?” Before she could answer, he continued in his mind, Because
earlier I heard exactly what you thought. Pervert, wasn’t it? And bully, too?
Alexandru almost laughed out loud when he saw the look of horror
dawning on his pet’s face just before color spread in her cheeks.
And there it was, the blush he had missed seeing. It was disturbing, the
way he had found himself thinking about that blushing look on Zari’s face
so many times while he had been out hunting.
Small and with a body so slim it was almost boyish, Zari would have
appeared average if not for her lush, ash-blonde hair. But what he really
liked about his little pet were her large gray eyes and expressive face. In all
the years he had roamed the earth, and they were very many years,
Alexandru had hated all things that could be described as cute...until this
girl came into the picture.
With her, “cute” was synonymous to arousing and right now, she was
being extremely cute with the way she lied in a straight face. “My Master is
the kindest Master on earth. He is the most intelligent, the bravest, and just
the very best all around.”
The entire class was silent, as if unable to decide whether Zari was
being sincere or sarcastic.
Zari lowered her head in shame. She was such a major fail at becoming
an ideal pet.
 Alexandru slowly shifted on his feet, not wanting anyone to catch how
his cock had reacted to Zari’s futile attempt to butter him up. Did she know
how cute she was? Did she?
Madame Lavinia cleared her throat. “We are so honored you have found
the time to visit us, Master Alexandru. Class, please give Master Alexandru
a warm welcome.”
Wide-eyed, Zari watched the entire class quickly and gracefully slide to
their feet and drop to a curtsy. She hurried to do the same, not wanting to be
the odd duck out...again.
“Welcome, Master Alexandru,” the entire class chorused.
“Welcome, Master Alexandru,” Zari hurried to say, but she was too late.
Her Master knew it, too, judging by the amusement glinting in his green
gaze.
It’s not funny, Master, she griped at him glumly.
It is. And since I find the way you make the worst human pet in the
entire school entirely delightful, you should be thankful.
She glared at him. Is that supposed to make me feel better?
His smile widened. You see, pet? You should have been happy about
what I told you, and yet here you are, glaring at me in front of the entire
class—-
Zari jerked at Alexandru’s words, and when she looked back at the other
girls, she realized that all of them were glaring at her on her Master’s
behalf.
“Go and give your Master a proper welcome, dear Zari,” her teacher
urged.
Before Zari could even think of what a proper welcome meant, Madame
Lavinia was already pushing her forward, leaving Zari no choice but to
walk towards Alexandru. She stopped when she was in front of the vampire
but kept her gaze down. She needed a moment to herself because right now,
all she could think about was that her Master was really indeed here.
Did you miss me, pet?
No, Master.
Alexandru chuckled in her mind. As always, the lies. You know I have to
punish you for that, don’t you?
Her head snapped up, Zari ready to protest.
Alexandru took that as his cue to kiss her, his fingers curling around her
nape just before his lips took hers.
 Shock and embarrassment flared up inside Zari at the unexpected touch
of Alexandru’s lips over hers. Oh, she should have known! She thought
about struggling but decided not to, knowing that would only make her lose
much-needed brownie points with her teacher. The only way she could
resist then – and stay sane – was to refuse her Master entry to her mouth.
Fists clenched against her side so she wouldn’t accidentally cling to
him, Zari did her best to keep her lips pressed together.
Alexandru knew Zari was doing her best to resist him, but it only made
him want her more. It only made more determined to have her begging.
Open your mouth, pet.
No, Master.
If you don’t open your mouth—-
Slowly, he moved his hands, settling them on her waist. Just that one
simple touch and he felt her shudder. She was so beautifully responsive, and
Alexandru knew he would die a happy man if she remained like that for all
eternity.
Will you open your mouth now?
No—-
He lifted his head up, reluctantly ending the kiss because he wanted to
see her reaction. When her eyes slowly drifted open, Alexandru
immediately moved his hands up, enough to reach the undersides of her
breasts.
Zari stiffened in shock at her Master’s touch, unable to believe where
his hands were. Just as unbelievable was the lack of protest from the teacher
and the other girls in the room. Did they all think this was a proper
welcome for a Master?
In a moment, I’m going to cup your breasts and play with your nipples.
So one last time, pet – are you going to open your mouth?
Knowing Alexandru was not the type to bluff, Zari did one better.
It was Alexandru’s turn to be surprised when, instead of simply opening
her mouth, Zari threw her arms around his neck and initiated the kiss. He
recovered from his shock right away, of course, and returned the kiss with
hungry passion, his tongue sweeping inside her mouth, dying for another
taste of her sweetness.
Just one kiss, and Alexandru knew it would be impossible for him to
stop.
 Zari felt her Master sweeping her up in his arms just before breaking the
kiss. She opened her eyes, dazed, and saw Alexandru staring at her like he
was one inch away from devouring her.
She gulped.
Do you know how much I want you right now?
Err—-
I hope you’re ready for another private lesson about being my pet.
Her jaw dropped at his words. Did that mean...surely he couldn’t
mean...
No, Master—-
I can’t wait, pet.
But they will ALL know why—-
And they’ll hate you even more. Isn’t that wonderful?
She dropped her head in defeat, hiding her face in the crook of his
shoulder and neck.
Her Master laughed in her mind.
Bully.
Yes, I am, Alexandru agreed. Out loud, he said, “Madame Lavinia,
please excuse Zari from your class. I need a private moment with my pet.”
“Of course, of course.” But this time, Zari could hear the awkwardness
in Madame Lavinia’s tone, and she knew even the professor was taken
aback at her Master’s boldness.
As he walked away, Zari still in his arms, Alexandru told her cheerfully,
You should have seen their faces, pet. They were all grinding their teeth and
glaring at you.
You are a BULLY, Master.
Yes, yes, I know. But we both know you like it that way, pet.

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 “A Master must be made to understand that all rules of possession are void
in times of life-threatening emergencies,” Zari said as she munched on a
fry. She was seated cross-legged on a chair, next to her Master, who was in
his usual position at the head of the table.
A rare scowl appeared on Alexandru’s normally smiling, handsome face.
“No.”
“Be reasonable, Master,” she cajoled. “What is one feeding in exchange for
saving a life?”
“Read my lips, my pet. NO.” He fisted her hair, bringing Zari forward so he
could kiss her hard. “Everything of you is mine, and I do not care how
many men have to die because of it.”

Y
ou can put me down now, Master. Zari didn’t really mean it, but she
thought she owed it to herself to say the words. After all, this feeling
of wanting to be close to Alexandru and being attracted to him was simply a
side effect of his powers. It was not real. She had to remember that.
Alexandru gently lowered Zari to her feet upon reaching the spiral
staircase, a majestic masterpiece with rails made of gold and the steps
covered in lush red carpet.
His sly smile reappeared when he caught the look of dismay on his pet’s
face. “Disappointed I let you go?”
“Of course not.” But as usual, her face belied her words as her cheeks
turned pink with guilt.
His smile widened. “Liar.” He adopted a regretful tone. “I’m sorry, pet.
I don’t think I can carry you all the way to the first floor. You’ve gained a
little weight—-”
Her jaw dropped. “I did not!” She wrapped her arms around her middle,
feeling self-conscious. Had she? Come to think of it, she had noticed how
she ate more than most girls in school. All of them seemed to survive only
on leaves and fruits while she couldn’t survive a day without being a
carnivore. Was that why—-
Alexandru’s laugh put a halt to her thoughts. “Relax, pet. I was only
teasing.”
The look on his face told Zari he meant it. She sputtered in indignation.
So many words flew into her mind, but in the end all she could grit out was,
“Bully!”
 Still laughing, he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips. “You
must forgive me. It’s only because I’ve been away from you for far too long
that I need to have my fill of your blushes.”
His words made her blush harder and she accused, “You’re doing it
again.”
“Am I?” He looked at her with sham innocence, and he did appear like a
black-haired prince who could do no wrong.
Just like that, and her irritation vanished. Gah! She was so hopeless. All
he had to do was give her his puppy-eyed look of innocence and poof!
There went her always-justified feelings of anger, and instead she was left
feeling all gooey and mushy.
Was there really no way to combat a vampire’s powers of sexual
attraction?
Alexandru tugged on her hand then, making Zari glance up. “Shall we
go?”
She went with him, walking with her Master hand in hand even as she
asked, “Where?” Her voice was embarrassingly breathless, but she couldn’t
help it. A part of her was still in shock by the fact that Alexandru was really
here with her.
As they descended, Alexandru asked, “How are you finding school so
far?” He rubbed her knuckles as he spoke, a simple gesture that had her
swallowing as it sent tingles all over her body.
Clearing her throat, she mumbled, “It’s fine.”
“Liar.”
Her Master said it in such a cheerful tone she had to glare up at him.
Alexandru chuckled. “But you are. I only had to spend a few seconds in
your class to know that everyone hates your guts.”
“They do not.”
“Of course they do. I’m your Master, aren’t I?”
“Yes,” she said very seriously. “They hate me because you’re my
Master and you are a disgrace to your race.”
Laughter, dark and as sinfully attractive as its owner, followed her
words, and it was clear to see that nothing she’d say would succeed in
putting a dent in his humongous ego.
When they reached the foot of the stairs, Zari was surprised when she
felt Alexandru reach for her head and ruffle her hair. She was even more
surprised when she heard her murmur in her mind. I’m sorry, pet.
 Their gazes met, his green eyes unreadable, her gray eyes questioning.
What are you apologizing for, Master?
I’m apologizing for leaving you her for so long, despite knowing that
your personality wouldn’t have allowed you to make friends easily with the
other pets.
His sincere apology made her frown very hard at the ground. His words
touched and embarrassed her, but at the same time, a part of Zari was also
hurt. She was right then. Her Master had known the predicament she would
find herself in. He did know her well enough to guess she’d have trouble
fitting in.
But in the end, he had still left her.
Perhaps if Zari had been any other pet, she would have been able to tell
him he was wrong for leaving her. She would have been able to demand he
take her with him next time. But she was not. She was Zari, the human pet
who had forced herself on her Master.
So out loud, she said, “I’ll make friends eventually, Master.”
“I’m sure you will.”
She grimaced. “You could have tried to sound more convincing,
Master.”
“If I had,” he argued, “what would be the fun in that?”
Before his pet could think up a retort, he changed the subject, asking
soberly, “Have you seen anything unusual lately?”
She frowned. “You mean, about...” She wasn’t sure if she could say it
out loud and so she continued in her mind, Are you talking about visions?
He nodded.
No. I’ve tried touching every surface to have a feel—-
A laugh escaped him. It doesn’t work like that, pet. It starts with a color.
Remember when we were at the tunnels and you told me the first thing you
could see was just black?
She cried out, You mean the whole time I’ve forced myself to touch the
soil at the graveyard—-
He laughed harder.
“Master, you should have told me!”
He protested innocently, “I thought you’d have figured it out.”
He was about to say something more, probably something that would
either have her gnashing her teeth or blushing and wishing he was far, far
away again, when someone called his name.
 Both of them turned around, and Zari saw the headmaster of La Scala
Legaturia walking hurriedly towards them, an amazed expression on his
chubby face. She had always thought that all headmasters of nonhuman
schools like LSL would have long white hair, a beard, and an air of
wisdom. However, Sir Richard was the complete opposite. Balding with
gray hair, short, and chubby, the headmaster more often tripped than not—-
“I am so glad to be able to reach you, Master Alexandru—-” A look of
horror crossed Sir Richard’s face as he managed to miss seeing the huge
warning about the wet floor in front of him and started to slide.
—-like now.
Both Zari and Alexandru reached for the headmaster, and they each
managed to catch a hold of his arms, preventing him from falling.
“Are you all right, Sir Richard?” Alexandru asked, only releasing the
man’s arm when the headmaster had finally regained his balance.
Sir Richard smiled sheepishly as he took out his handkerchief to wipe
the sweat off his brow. “My apologies, Master Alexandru. Old age, you
know.”
Zari wisely held her tongue despite knowing age had nothing to do with
it since Sir Richard was immortal like her Master. The headmaster had his
pride, too, after all.
Most other pets would have laughed at the headmaster’s lame excuse,
but his pet didn’t, and his eyes gleamed in approval at Zari’s sensitivity. In
the ways that mattered, Zari definitely promised to be the best human pet he
could ever ask for.
To the headmaster, he said congenially, “I understand, Sir Richard.” He
didn’t say anything else, simply waiting for the other man to speak.
Sir Richard glanced at Zari.
Zari automatically said, “May I be excused, Master Alexandru?”
You are getting better and better at this, pet.
The sheer amount of happiness she felt at the compliment made Zari
want to hang her head in shame. Dear Lord, she was hopeless. Hopeless,
hopeless, hopeless!
Out loud, Alexandru said formally, “Of course. Please wait for me at the
courtyard.”
“Yes, Master Alexandru.” She managed to remember to curtsy before
leaving.
 In her mind, she heard her Master remark in mock amazement, Are my
eyes deceiving me? Did you actually remember to curtsy?
She pressed her lips together firmly, not wanting to smile. Not funny,
Master.
A smile underlined his voice as her Master replied, I will be with you
shortly. Thank you for being understanding, pet. It is beyond what I expect
and deserve.
As Zari slowly made her way to the courtyard, she found herself
mulling over Alexandru’s last words. Was he saying her good behavior was
more than what he expected and deserved? If so, why? She hadn’t been
living here for more than a few days when she started to hear people
constantly talking about him.
To both pets and vampires at LSL, Alexandru was a celebrity of sorts, a
vampire whose skills in the battlefield were unmatched. His charm was just
as legendary, and Zari had lost count of the number of times she heard the
other girls gushing about him.
When she considered all the great things she heard about him,
Alexandru’s words made less and less sense. If anything, he deserved a
human pet who was a lot better than she was.
Zari absently seated herself on one of the stone benches lining the
pathway. Her position allowed her to enjoy a sumptuous view of the
school’s picturesque courtyard, with its marble fountain and ivory statues,
but the beauty surrounding Zari was lost on her.
Would Alexandru always be a mystery to her?
Would she always feel undeserving of him?
And last but not the least, would he really keep her waiting much
longer? The question crossed Zari’s mind when nearly two hours had
passed and there was still no sign of Alexandru. Had he forgotten her? Had
he left her? Had he—-
Don’t think that way, Zari, she scolded herself. Her Master may be a lot
of things, but one thing he was not was rude. A man who insisted that she
avoid cursing, carry anything heavier than a kilo, and open doors without
assistance would never be discourteous enough not to let her know she
could go ahead without him.
Right?
But Zari forgot her troubles soon enough when she heard a commotion
at the edge of the courtyard, which was near one of the school’s main gates.
There were lots of shouting, and the sense of urgency surrounding the men
who came running into the courtyard was unmistakable.
They were carrying a stretcher with a bloodied and injured man on top
of it, and one of them kept shouting “Ajuta” over and over.
She understood enough of the language now to recognize the word
‘help’ and Zari didn’t hesitate, hurrying towards the men. She kept one
hand behind her, making sure that her skirt didn’t inch up and expose her
cotton undies as she ran. The preppy uniform LSL insisted on was
ridiculous, the way its buttoned-up top was so tight and its skirt so short.
When she reached the men, she asked, “May I be of assistance?”
“You’re human, aren’t you?” The one who appeared to be the leader
asked, a desperate look on his face as he gestured for his men to lower the
stretcher on the ground. “Are you Unclaimed? Lord Erou has lost a massive
amount of blood, and he needs to feed right away. It’s the only way he can
fight off the poison that’s entered his body.”
She was not Unclaimed, but—-
Zari looked down at the man on the stretcher. He was extremely good-
looking, she noted absently, but what made her swallow was how pale he
looked. Vampires were extremely strong, and even that was putting it
mildly. She could only imagine what this man had gone through in order to
be near death.
“Miss? Could you tell me if—-”
Zari wordlessly offered her wrist.
“Thank you,” the man said feelingly.
She expected him to use a knife or any other sharp object to slice her
flesh, but instead he pulled her forward, and she found herself falling on top
of the man on the stretcher.
A second later, she felt warm breath warming the side of her neck
before fangs pierced her flesh.
In her mind, she heard Alexandru hiss in displeasure. Who dares taste
my pet?

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“Before I read to you the next line, I want you to promise me that you won’t
freak out.”
Her Master gave her an arrogant look. “I am not the type to freak out.”
His pet looked unconvinced. “Well, if you say so...” She glanced down at
her proposal. “In the interest of equality, a Pet must also have the right to
terminate a Claim and choose another Master—-”
He roared, “No!”
She winced. “See? I told you not to freak out—-”
“The fuck I won’t freak out! You are asking me if I will ever give you the
chance to choose someone else over me—-”
“I’m not asking that,” she hurried to say. “This is not for me—-”
“No.” He yanked his pet to him. Another yank and he had her imprisoned
between his body and the wall. “Anything that could free you from me will
never get my support.” And his lips slammed down on hers, putting a stop
to whatever else she had to say.

“W
hat is it that you want to say, Sir Richard?” Alexandru wasted
no time asking the moment his pet was out of earshot.
“It is best we speak about this in private, milord,” the headmaster
answered, a grave expression on his face.
Sir Richard led the way to his quarters, and Alexandru followed behind.
As was his habit in recent times, his mind searched for Zari, a part of him
wanting to make sure she was just nearby and nothing untoward had
happened to her. He didn’t care if it meant he was being overzealous. She
was his pet, after all.
When he was assured of the soul seer’s safety, Alexandru relaxed and
allowed himself to enjoy the school’s picturesque landscape. Although the
school itself was built like a fortress, with its heavy walls and brick
structure, efforts had been made to make the rest of the property beautiful.
Trees ranging from pines to mahogany created natural shades everywhere
while rows upon rows of flowerbeds added dazzling color to the scenery.
Benches made of marble lined the pathways and every so often, there would
be an ornately designed gazebo with its own set of tables and chairs that the
girls could use as a study area. Around them, birds sang from a nearby
aviary while fish of every size and color swam lazily under floating lilies in
manmade ponds.
 Words like ‘serene’ and ‘exquisite’ were definitely an understated way
of describing the scene before Alexandru, but he knew all the beauty in his
surroundings was only meant to hide one essential fact: this school was not
completely safe.
La Scala Legaturia was one of the few places that otherworlders like
him could consider a sanctuary outside the kingdom of Chalys. And
because it was so, the school was also like a ticking bomb, one that could be
placed under attack by their enemies at any time.
“Here we are.” The headmaster’s quarters were housed in a stone tower
connected to the school’s main building. Most believed that it was to afford
the headmaster privacy, but the truth was, Sir Richard was the ever-vigilant
type. He liked being able to see everything that was going on in his school
and making sure all his students were safe.
The entrance to the office was deceiving. Upon reaching the end of the
twisting staircase, people would find only a blank brick wall. But instead of
one of the bricks acting as a special lever, one had to find the right floor tile
to step on three times for the wall to swing open.
The smell of leather and old books greeted Alexandru as they entered
the headmaster’s domain, which was decorated in a mixture of rosewood
and leather. The living area was lined with wooden shelves, and at the
center were a tan-colored couch and matching armchairs, a dark gray area
rug, and a bronze chest with a flat top serving as a center table.
“Sit, sit,” Sir Richard said as he turned to bolt the door shut.
Alexandru lowered himself on one of the armchairs. “What is it?”
“I had wanted to ask you for an honest update on the situation in
Chalys. Do you believe it is best if I suspend any future claiming for now?”
“I don’t think you have to go that far, no, but extra precautions are
always better.” Alexandru knew it was not what the headmaster truly
wanted to ask and the other man was simply biding his time. They spoke at
length about Chalysian politics, Alexandru answering all of the
headmaster’s questions.
When the headmaster paused, Alexandru felt it was time to cut to the
chase. “You may speak freely with me, Sir Richard. Is this about my pet?”
“Partially.” Sir Richard grimaced at the other vampire’s insightfulness,
but then it was only to be expected from their kind’s most powerful hunter.
Settling his elbows on the armrests, he clasped his hands as he said,
“There has been talk about an increasing number of attacks of demons
outside Chalys for some months now, but last week was the first report
about it happening here in Key Sanguis.”
“It’s Lilu’s doing.” Alexandru referred to the demon duke who lorded
over Sulphur, the city of demons in Chalys. “Like everyone, he’s heard
about his son finding a heartkeeper. Building a stronghold outside the
kingdom is like his Plan B, in the event Silviu Draghici decides to wage a
war against him – and he loses.”
Sir Richard was aghast. “Do you mean he would be involving humans
in the war? Doesn’t he know that could result in genocide?” Otherworlders
might be a hundred times stronger, but their numbers were paltry compared
to humans. With technology also on the humans’ side, a war between both
races could destroy the world completely.
“Demons care nothing about humans,” Alexandru said grimly. “But
please do not worry just yet. It’s why I have been sent back to this area. The
Duke of Sangre has heard of the same incident and has asked me to resolve
the case as soon as possible.”
“The soul seer will help you?”
“If necessary, yes.”
Sir Richard looked uncomfortable. “But you see, I was hoping that with
your permission, the soul seer could be consulted by the school’s
enforcers.”
Alexandru didn’t have to think, saying flatly, “No.” Soul seers like his
pet, being able to see the past and future, were very rare nowadays. If even
one demon was ever to learn about Zari’s existence, his pet would be
targeted for the rest of her life.
“We would not be consulting her openly—-”
“I’m sorry, Sir Richard, but my answer will always remain the same. If
you need help, you only have to ask me, but my pet must not be involved in
anything requiring her skills as a soul seer without my approval.” His voice
turned into steel. “I hope we understand each other.”
“Yes.” As a lower-ranking vampire, the headmaster had no right to go
against Alexandru’s words.
Alexandru stood up. “Then if you’ll excuse me—-” His voice trailed off
as the blood bond he shared with Zari suddenly blazed in pain, an intrusive
force trying to break it. Without a word, he left the headmaster, going
straight to where his pet was.
Who dares taste my pet?
 But his little soul seer did not answer, her senses in a disarray as another
vampire drank from her neck, and his rage, kindled by a mix of jealousy
and possessiveness, burst into life.
A second later, he was at the courtyard, his gaze unerringly locating
Zari. When he saw her wan face, he roared. The sound had the other
vampires in a panic, but Alexandru didn’t give a damn. He would kill them
all.
Flying to her side, he tore his pet away from the vampire on the ground.
Shaking her awake, he said her name roughly out loud and in her mind.
Wake up!
Her eyes blinked open. “Master...” Her voice was faint, but he still
managed to hear it.
“Did he hurt you?” he demanded, not bothering to speak through their
minds, knowing that she was too weak to answer in the same vein.
“No...don’t...angry. Don’t...hurt...him.”
“You’re not making sense,” Alexandru gritted out. “Tell me you are all
right, at least. Talk to me, Zari!”
But she didn’t answer, her head falling back as her body went limp.

“WELCOME BACK, SLEEPING beauty.” The murmured words came

from her Master, whose handsome but strangely grim face was the first
thing Zari was able to focus on when she woke up.
Disoriented, she had to blink groggily several times before the world
around her settled. She was alone with her Master in a room filled with
several neatly made beds. Its walls were painted in cream and the floors
made of shiny white marble. Memories came back to her in a striking flash
of pain, and she whimpered, eyes squeezing shut. Zari automatically
reached for the side of her neck. The vampire had fed on her so hungrily
that there was none of the usual tingling pleasure she felt every time
Alexandru drank from her.
Alexandru’s lips compressed tightly at the sight of pain on his pet’s
face. He waited for her to open her eyes before reaching forward to flick her
forehead. Hard. “Serves. You. Right.” He flicked her forehead with each
word.
He had been on bedside duty for over an hour, and each minute that
passed without her waking up had been nerve-wracking. The school’s
human nurse, Mrs. Humphrey, had told him it was normal for someone who
had lost a good amount of blood, but for Alexandru, the experience was an
eye-opener. He had never spent a lot of time with humans until this pet of
his. They were turning out to be more troublesome than he expected. More
fragile, too, and he didn’t think he’d be able to forget the sight of his pet
losing consciousness anytime soon.
“Ooooowwww.” Zari rubbed her no doubt red forehead when her Master
was done torturing her.
He asked abruptly, “Why did you let another vampire feed on you?” He
expected his pet to be flustered at the question but instead she gave him an
odd look, as if she expected him to have known the answer already.
When she answered, “Why do you think?” Alexandru flicked her
forehead again, harder than usual.
She gasped in pain. “That seriously hurts, Master! I’m not kidding.”
“Because you’re being too cute this time, not giving me a straight
answer.” When their gazes met, he said flatly, “You know you’ve violated a
rule, don’t you? So unless you have a good reason...”
She turned to face him, lying on her side. “He could have died if I
hadn’t let him drink from me.”
“Even so.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.” Avoiding his gaze, she
mumbled, “What if it were you, Master? What if you were the one in need
of blood? If that day comes, I hope that what I did today would be returned.
That another human pet would help you, Claimed or not.”
When silence was her only answer, Zari forced herself to meet her
Master’s gaze and found Alexandru’s eyes resting on her broodingly.
“What?” she asked, feeling defensive without understanding why.
Alexandru slowly leaned against his seat. A now-familiar pang had
struck his chest when the intentions behind his pet’s words became clear,
uncomfortably so. She had done it for him. He mentally shook his head at
the realization. Did she know how cute that was? He was an ancient
vampire, whose powers were unmatched by almost every creature in the
world, and yet this human girl dared to be terrified...for him.
“Ouch!” Her Master had flicked her forehead again. “What was that
for?”
“Because you’re too cute. Is that all you’ve learned in this school?
Being cute and turning me on?” She gaped at his words, and that was cute,
too, which was why before she could even reply, he did what he had wanted
to do the first time she woke up.
Zari’s eyes widened when she saw a familiar look in Alexandru’s gaze.
She automatically protested, “No, Master—-”
But of course, he didn’t heed her. He never did, and if she was being
honest, she didn’t want him to. His blasted powers of attraction made sure it
was so.
Zari’s toes curled under the sheets as Alexandru bent forward and
captured her lips with his own.
Her Master was kissing her.
Oh, dear Lord, her Master was kissing her again, and each kiss just felt
more addictive than the last. This kiss, however – it was rougher than usual,
his tongue exploring every inch of her mouth, Alexandru sucking her lower
lip hard. She was breathless in a few seconds, and she found herself
clutching his shirt hard as the kiss went on and on.
Don’t do that again. His voice sounded savage in her mind, the words
accompanied by Alexandru’s lips trailing down just before he licked the
side of her neck. The flesh under his tongue tingled hotly, and the soothing
tenderness of his kiss made her toes curl harder. It was as if her Master was
asking for her forgiveness and blamed himself for what had happened.
Promise me, Alexandru demanded.
Even as she arched her neck to give him better access, she gasped in her
mind, I can’t. Because it could happen...you needing blood. When that day
comes-—
The rest of her thoughts were cut off as she felt him whip the covers off
her body. Before she could react, he was already unbuttoning her blouse, his
fingers swift and sure. And then he was pushing her bra up, baring her
breasts to his gaze.
Zari whimpered, the heat of his eyes as they rested on her nakedness
making her blush. She tried to cover herself, but the shake of her Master’s
head had Zari forcing herself to keep her hands on her side. Instead, she
begged, Don’t stare.
Why not, pet?
His fingers moved, cupping one straining breast. She could only stare
helplessly, the pink in her cheeks deepening as her nipple became erect
right before her eyes just as Alexandru purred in his mind, Is this body not
mine?
 When she didn’t answer, he tweaked her nipple, making his pet gasp. Is
it not?
It’s yours, Zari gasped, and no sooner had the words left her mouth did
her Master take one nipple in. His tongue swirled around it, the movement
tantalizing and making her clutch his shoulders involuntarily.
Logically, she knew that all the explosively hot sensations inside her
body were a result of his powers at work.
Illogically, a part of her insisted on believing it was not just that.
Illogically, a part of her wanted to believe that it was more than that.
That her body felt like this because the bond between her and
Alexandru was more than what a pet and Master shared. Just the thought
was terrifying, but it also made her feel heady. She couldn’t help
surrendering herself as he began to suck hard on her nipple, and when he
moved on to her other breast, she arched her back, wanting him to take all
of her.
While sucking on her sweet nipple, Alexandru let one hand roam freely.
Her long, shapely legs were as soft as he remembered, and his cock
hardened at the way they trembled at his touch. Zari...
Yes, Master? Even communicating like this, her voice shook, her brain
hazy with need for his touch.
I’d like to make you come. Actually, he didn’t just want to. He needed to
make her come, but he wouldn’t do it if she still felt the slightest bit ill. He
would never satiate his desire at the expense of her health.
Her Master’s words were confusing, enough to have her opening her
eyes and seeking his. When she saw the concern in his green gaze, Zari
knew then that if she wanted to, she could put a stop to it. And maybe, if
she was being sensible, she would have.
But she never was sensible when she was with her Master.
Zari?
Cheeks heating up, she stammered, Y-yes.
Alexandru groaned at the sexy look of embarrassment on his pet’s face.
Goddammit. Too cute. Too fucking cute. Releasing her breast, he looked up
and captured her gaze with his just as he moved his hand back up until his
fingers reached under her skirt.
In a second, he had her skirt bunched up around her waist. In another
second, he had ripped her panties away and then he was touching the core
of her flesh.
 Her entire body stiffened at his touch, but just as quickly she melted
around him, her lips parting with desire as his fingers stroked her folds until
they were soaked with her wetness. His desire rose to nearly uncontrollable
proportions as he watched her bite her lip hard, doing her best to keep quiet
as he pushed one finger in. As his finger pushed in and out of her, his pet
looked like she was about to cry – in pleasure. In desire. In need – for him.
Goddammit, too cute! No one could ever be as cute as his pet right now.
His cock jutted demandingly against his pants, and he realized with
disbelief that he was very near to coming himself. The thought had him
even more aroused, and he instinctively reached for her hand and placed it
on his cock.
“Hold me,” he gritted out.
The words had her gasping. While this was not her first time to be with
him, today was definitely the first time he had invited her to touch him. She
was stunned to find the demand embarrassing and exciting at the same time,
and her fingers shook as they wrapped around his cock.
Either her hand was so small or his cock was so massive – whichever
the case, her fingers couldn’t meet in a full circle around his cock, and the
thought that he was that large had her swallowing. Dear Lord, if his
thrusting finger already felt this good, how it would feel to have his cock
penetrate her?
The thought had her crying out, her hips lifting up to meet the thrust of
his finger.
A sly smile touched his lips. Naughty, naughty pet. What are you
thinking?
Nothing!
Liar. Another finger joined in, and he pushed harder and deeper into her
pussy. Tell me.
She shook her head. She tightened her hold of his cock at the same time,
making him grit his teeth.
Sneaky, stubborn pet. He pushed a third finger in, stretching her flesh
wide.
Her eyes widened, a gasp escaping her. He hadn’t ever done this before,
and the new sensation made her feel even dizzier. Oh God, three fingers
now – was it as thick, no, it definitely wasn’t.
Throughout her rambling thoughts, he had not stopped fucking her with
his fingers, and something inside her started to tighten. Now, she knew what
it was. She couldn’t stop herself from moaning, her fingers instinctively
moving up and down his length as helpless anticipation burst inside her—-
Her Master suddenly pulled his fingers out until only the tips were
inside.
She cried out in protest. Master!
It took him a while to answer because his pet had instinctively learned
how to torment him as well, her fingers freezing around his length. Tell me,
he growled. What were you thinking?
She lifted her hips up, trying to get his fingers back in, but he moved his
fingers at the same time, keeping them out of reach.
This time, his pet really looked like she was about to cry. Bully!
I know, he said unsympathetically. So tell me—-
I was thinking of you. Of your cock, and how big it is and how it would
feel——
“Aah!” She couldn’t prevent herself from crying out loud as his fingers
sank back into her. Zari’s fingers responded reflexively, resuming its
movement, and Alexandru’s growl of pleasure bounced around the room as
she started stroking him once more. Her movements were clumsy but even
so, they were unbearably arousing and he couldn’t help moving forward,
wanting more of her touch.
His other hand moved, his thumb finding her burning clit. He started
pinching her clit in rhythm with his thrusting fingers. It was all too much,
and her body convulsed heavily around her as she came, the creamy
moisture of her orgasm streaming down her thighs.
She grasped him hard throughout her orgasm, and Alexandru’s fangs
flashed out as he struggled to hold on to his self-control. He wanted to focus
on making his pet feel good first, and Alexandru kept his fingers moving
until the very last wave of her pleasure shook the frame of her body. He
released her only when her eyes drifted closed, and only when her fingers
fell away from his cock did he hurriedly unzip himself. Just a few damn
strokes, and he was coming in his hand, aroused like a teenage boy by the
mere sight of his slumbering pet.
When he was spent, Alexandru couldn’t help but grimace at his state.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had to pleasure himself this way, but
if he was honest, he couldn’t remember the last time he had felt this good
after sex, either.
 Standing up, he gazed down at his pet, the exhaustion on her face
making his heart clench in a discomfiting way. She was beginning to mean
too much to him, and that just wasn’t good at all.
Zari wanted to open her eyes when she felt something faint and soft
touch her forehead. Was that a dream...or had her Master just kissed her on
the forehead? She wanted to open her eyes, but she was so tired and sleepy.
Dimly, she felt her Master leaving her side. She wanted to protest, but
before she could, he was back, and she choked in embarrassed protest when
she felt him pry her legs open.
“Sssh...”
Her Master cleaned her up like he was wont to do, and when he was
finished, she felt him putting her clothing to rights before pulling the covers
over her. “I’ll come back in a while. Rest well, pet.”
She rested.
When she woke up, she expected her Master to be seated next to her
bed, but another man had come to take his place. Hair and eyes the shade of
gold, skin almost the shade of ivory, and a body that appeared just as hard,
the man looked very familiar—-
Oh.
It was the man who had fed from her earlier!
His voice was gentle and beautiful when he spoke. “Hello.”
She croaked out, “Hello.”
Feeling weird at the way he was looking at her, Zari made an effort to
sit up. She was also tempted to pull the covers up but managed not to,
telling herself she was overreacting. It wasn’t that the man felt like a threat.
It wasn’t that at all. But the way he looked at her made Zari feel exposed,
like he could see a part of herself that should be hers and her Master’s
alone.
“Thank you for allowing me to drink from you.”
She nodded, unsure if it was right to explain why she did it.
“I came to ask you something.”
When he didn’t say anything else, she asked, “What is it?”
The serious expression on his almost-pretty face didn’t change as he
said, “I would like to know if I may claim you as my pet.”

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 Leaning back against his seat, Alexandru picked up the latest draft of his
pet’s proposal and read aloud her newest amendment.
“A Master’s commitment to his or her pet must be shown beyond financial
and material means.”
An inelegant snort escaped him, and grabbing his pen from the desk, he
began to scribble.
DENIED. THIS IS JUST A FANCY WAY OF SAYING YOU WANT A
MASTER TO KEEP SAYING RIDICULOUS THINGS TO HIS PET.

E
rou Damaschin, only son of the Earl of Avere, was contemplative
when he left the school’s infirmary. There was an unknown feeling in
his chest, and if he had to use a word for it, then it would be...curiosity.
Unlike other vampires, the time he spent with humans had not been
restricted to feeding or sex. Work had required him to live among humans,
eat with them, talk with them, and do everything else that allowed Erou to
pretend he was like them.
Surrounded by humans, he had learned one essential thing about them:
everyone’s loyalty could be bought for the right price.
Or at least he had always thought so until that girl.
The thought made him hesitate for a fraction, his hand on the knob
turning still as the last words he had exchanged with the young Zari
Baltimore replayed in his mind.
“Can you...what?” It was obvious she had heard him perfectly, and it
was just as obvious she doubted she had heard him right.
He repeated himself patiently, his face remaining impassive as he made
his offer. All the while, his own gaze remained on her. Even though he had
drunk so much of the girl’s blood – the only way for him to survive his
injuries – he had not been able to retain any clear memory of the episode
except for one thing: her scent.
It was what he had clung to the whole time he had been in limbo in that
gray world between life and the afterlife, a scent that was an addictive
mixture of freshly bloomed primrose and almost-ripe strawberries, a unique
fragrance that hinted of innocence and budding sexuality.
When Erou had woken up, his men were eager to tell him about the
beautiful girl whose heart was so pure she had fed him despite being the
much-envied human pet of their race’s most skilled hunter.
“Alexandru?” he had scoffed then. “He’s never taken a pet before—-”
 “But he has now. Perhaps like the great Alexandru, you, too, will
change your mind and find yourself a pet.” His second-in-command,
Mathieu, had given him a sly look. “Perhaps you might even want to steal
this one yourself.”
Then, Erou had been dismissive of Mathieu’s words. But now that he
had finally met the lady who had saved him?
She had the most interesting face, every feature of it expressive, from
her wide gray eyes, pert nose, and pink rosebud lips. He had learned she
was eighteen, but her coltish body made her appear younger and boyish
even. It was a little hard to believe that someone who appeared as innocent
and unsophisticated as this girl could be the human pet of someone as jaded
and wicked as Alexandru.
The human girl was shaking her head. “I’m sorry, but...”
“I know you belong to Alexandru, but I thought you should know you
have a choice. It would be my honor to have someone as courageous and
selfless as you as my pet.”
She started to wring the ends of the bed covers, the action indicating her
distress, which he regretted. Seeing it, he came to his feet his gracefully. “I
apologize if this has distressed you.”
“It didn’t.” The girl was utterly unconvincing. “It’s just that...” A
discomfited expression fell on her face. “I will always belong to Master
Alexandru.” This time, she spoke the words simply, but each and every one
of them rang with sincerity. When she said her Master’s name, her gaze had
also softened, and the look on her face had made Erou stiffen.
He wanted her to look at him like that as well. He did not understand
why. All he knew was that he wanted a girl like her to see him with the
same eyes.
Remembering that look on Zari Baltimore’s face had Erou expelling his
breath. No, he had to be considerate of her condition. He should allow her
time to fully recuperate before approaching her again.
Turning around, he shut the door, and that was when he noticed another
vampire’s presence in the hallway. When he raised his head, he saw none
other than Alexandru himself coming to an abrupt halt as he turned around
the corner and found Erou standing outside the door of the infirmary.
WHEN ALEXANDRU SAW the younger vampire coming out from the
infirmary, his first instincts were to throw the other man against the wall
and demand that he stay away from his pet.
One second passed, both of them staring at each other, sizing each other
up.
The baby vampire was tall, perhaps only an inch shorter than he was.
And pretty. Too damn pretty to be allowed too close to his pet. If he hadn’t
known the other guy was a vampire, Alexandru would have been willing to
bet the boy had gone as far as dyeing his hair to make it even more eye-
catching.
Although more of the same thoughts ran through his head, none of it
showed on Alexandru’s face as he started forward.
Erou grimaced when he saw the older vampire had taken the first step to
approach him. He had always prided himself in his ability to do everything
correctly and according to the rules, but here he was, violating one of the
basic rules of courtesy among Chalysians. Alexandru was not only older
than him by centuries, but he outranked Erou as well. He should have been
the first one to greet the other man, but Erou just couldn’t make himself do
it. He felt like if he did, it would be akin to admitting the other man was
better than him.
“Lord Erou, I believe?” The hunter’s voice was smooth and strong, a
polite smile still playing on his lips as he spoke.
Erou forced himself to bend his head in acknowledgment. “Lord
Alexandru.”
Alexandru almost smirked at the ill-concealed disapproval on the
younger vampire’s face. Nice young gentlemen like Erou Damaschin
always did hate hunters like him. Erou’s generation believed in peace talks
and battles fought in the shadows, preferring to avoid everything that could
shake the tenuous balance between the world of humans and nonhumans.
For them, hunters like Alexandru were a threat, a throwback from the Dark
Ages that would only serve to make their race appear more uncivilized.
“I came to thank Lady Zari for her vital assistance this morning.”
“Yes. You were very fortunate that my pet was at the right time and
place.”
Erou flushed, too smart to miss the hunter’s pointed barbs, despite
having spoken in a bland tone. In just one sentence, Alexandru had been
able to remind him of his ownership over Zari as well as the
inappropriateness of what had happened – an offense that Alexandru was
making clear he would not allow to happen again.
It pissed Erou off, the way the other vampire seemed to have completely
dismissed his ability to steal Alexandru’s pet from him. He heard himself
saying, “I also let her know that I desire to claim her as my pet.”
“Is that so?” Alexandru’s eyes cooled even though a smile continued
playing on his lips.
“Yes. I thought she should know she has a choice.” Erou threw the
hunter a look of challenge. “It is only right you do not hold her back if she
wants to break your claim on her.”
“I agree with you completely, boy. But the question is...”
Erou watched warily as the other vampire crossed his arms against his
chest.
“Do you really think she would want to leave me?”
Alexandru smirked when he saw the other man’s lips tighten, an
indication that the boy had indeed asked and was rejected. Something in his
chest eased at the sight, and it was only then he realized that he had been
tense all the time he had been waiting for the boy to answer. His pet really
was beginning to mean too much to him, Alexandru thought uneasily. He
had to do something about it soon.
Erou’s temper ignited when he saw the hunter smirk. “You should let
her go. A girl like Zari is not to be played with.” Throughout his childhood,
Erou had grown up hearing of Alexandru’s legendary exploits but for some
reason, Erou had never been overly impressed with it. He had always
disliked the nonchalant way Alexandru treated his every mission, as if
hunting down criminals was more a pastime than an honorable duty.
And if there was a woman involved in the mission? It was a foregone
conclusion that Alexandru would have her in his bed. None of them,
however, had been elevated to anything more than a one-night stand...until
that girl.
Erou’s eyes widened in realization. “You care for her, don’t you?”
Alexandru’s gaze became hooded. “Now you’re talking nonsense.”
“Say all you want, hunter. I’ve seen through you. You don’t want to let
her know you care for her, do you? Why is that? Are you thinking a
vampire like you is too good for her? You don’t want other vampires
finding out that you actually fell for a human girl?”
Alexandru’s lip only curled. “You know nothing.”
 Erou laughed jeeringly. “Yeah, sure, I know nothing. And you know
what? I’m actually going to wish you luck. You just keep doing your thing
and I’ll keep doing my thing, and mark my words, the day will come...”
Ignoring the other vampire’s words, Alexandru strove for calm. But his
mind resisted, invaded as it was by a treacherous image – of his pet naked,
and this boy feeding on her neck—-
Alexandru hissed, “SHE’S MINE!” His power was unleashed through
the words, his voice making the thick walls tremble and the air around them
crack with tension. At that moment, Alexandru’s true self was revealed, the
one he fought to hide with a mask of playful charm.
Killer. Murderer. Beast.
Erou inhaled sharply when he saw the sudden change in the other
vampire, one that gave him a tiniest taste of fear. This was no longer
someone to be reasoned with.
The door opened, Zari coming out, confusion clouding her eyes when
she saw Alexandru and Erou in the hallway.
Alarm struck Erou when he saw the door open and the human girl step
out. “Zari—-” But the moment he said the girl’s name, Erou knew right
away it had been the wrong thing to do.
Hearing the name of his pet on another man’s voice acted like a trigger,
and with a furious growl, Alexandru launched himself at the younger
vampire. He would have had Erou in a stranglehold when suddenly a slip of
a girl stood in his way.
She looked frightened and determined, and her voice shook when she
said, “Master, no.”

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 “Ahem.” Zari cleared her throat, trying to catch her Master’s attention as
she came to stand behind him.
But it was as if he had lost all his powers and was now a mere mortal, with
the way he was unable to sense her presence or even hear her. He continued
to survey his men in practice, calling out occasional pointers to rookie
soldiers.
“Master, I know you’re just pretending.” No answer. “Master, you’re being
so childish. You’re five hundred years old, not five.”
A cold voice in her mind snapped, And you should keep in mind you are
contracted as MY pet, not his.
Zari’s eyes lit up. “Exactly what I want to talk about. Because it’s what I
want to change—-”
He spun around, his face hard. “You no longer want to be mine?”
This time, she had to bite back a smile. “No, Master. It’s about the
contracts.” Looking down, she mumbled, “I still want to be yours. I’ll
always want that.”
He didn’t answer, but a moment later, her cheeks burned under his pinching
fingers. “You are just too damn cute.”

O
ne moment, Alexandru appeared a hair’s breadth away from
committing murder. Another second passed, and he was suddenly
back to normal, the dangerous light in his eyes fading and the cruel slant of
his lips disappearing. Everything was back to normal, too. There was no
longer that creepy, electrifying feel in the air, like a nuclear dynamite was
about to explode any minute.
Her Master stepped forward, placing Zari behind him like a target to be
shielded. Slowly, she looked up at him, but his face was as bland as always.
Her gaze moved to the other vampire. He was slightly easier to read, with
the way he held himself so stiffly, his stance vigilant for any possible
recurrence of danger.
She asked finally, “Master? Is something wrong?”
Zari jumped when she felt Alexandru reach for her hair, curling a lock
around his fingers. The gesture felt odd and possessive at the same time, as
if her Master wanted to see if she knew whom she belonged to.
Alexandru waited for his pet to move away. Despite all his efforts to
teach her, he knew that Zari was far from being used to any display of
ownership. He expected her to dodge his touch, but he was stunned instead
to find herself striving to keep still, as if she instinctively understood his
need to show possession of her.
His gaze locked with hers. “Nothing is wrong, pet. Or at least not on my
part.”
The sly smile that followed Alexandru’s words made her feel nervous.
When he smiled like that, bad things always tended to happen—-
Still playing with her hair, he said slowly, “But as for the other vampire
staring intently at us...” He turned his head to face Erou, and Zari found
herself doing the same. “He definitely has a problem.” Not waiting for an
answer, he continued, “He told me he wants to claim you as pet. Because I
think he has a crush on you.”
Alexandru expected the younger man to deny the words. “Isn’t that
right, Lord Erou?”
But he didn’t.
Erou knew what the other vampire was planning. Alexandru wanted to
shame him into rejecting the words and thus kill off all chances with the
girl. Well, two could play this game. And so he said coolly, “It just may be
so.”
At the words, Alexandru’s head immediately snapped towards his pet,
just so she could see how fucking serious he was as he growled, Don’t you
dare blush. Don’t you dare.
But it was too late—-
She had already blushed.
And with it, she had shown her cutest face to another vampire.
Alexandru immediately pinched both her cheeks, hard, hoping it would
distract the other vampire. Disobedient pet.
I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it!
You will pay for this, he told her ominously. Go wait for me in your
room.
She started. B-but—-
No buts. That is an order. And hold your cheeks as you go. That is an
order, too.
Zari’s mouth opened and closed. Are you serious?
If you do not leave as I say and in the manner I have asked in five
seconds, I will go to your class tomorrow and have you come right in front
of—-
 Zari didn’t hear the rest of her Master’s threat. She took a quick step
back, covered her cheeks, and turned to face Lord Erou.
Alexandru’s eyes narrowed. Zari—-
I can’t just leave so rudely, she protested just before she gave Lord Erou
a handless curtsy. “It was nice meeting you, Lord Erou,” she mumbled just
before racing away.
Alexandru glared at his pet’s fast retreating back. Stubborn and
disobedient as ever. He really should punish her soon.
“Why do you not want her to know you care for her?”
Alexandru was grudgingly impressed that the younger lord still had not
backed down even after seeing him lose his control. Erou was a strong
vampire, and he would get stronger as the years passed. That was a fact, but
also equally true was that Erou would never gain enough power to defeat
him.
Alexandru said mildly, “You won’t be able to steal her from me.”
Erou inclined his head in acknowledgment. “I know that. But I also
know I don’t have to. I have a feeling it’s all a matter of time before you
push her away. Before you lose her and only have yourself to blame.”

ZARI FINGERED THE HANDWRITTEN note from her Master. She had
been hoping they could enjoy a meal together on his first night back, but
apparently that wasn’t to be. She glanced back down at his note.
Something has unfortunately come up that requires my attention.
Rest well and I will see you tomorrow.
Your Master,
A
The note didn’t sound like Alexandru at all. It was too formal, too
impersonal. She read it again and again, trying to read between the lines,
but there just wasn’t anything she could glean from it except for the fact
that her Master appeared too busy for her.
Forcing herself to temporarily set it aside, she moved on to the packet of
papers that came with it. Every week, Alexandru would send her new
information that his men were able to compile from the ongoing search for
her parents.
Going through the papers, she saw with a heavy heart that nothing new
had come up – not a single clue about whether they were even alive or
dead. Closing her eyes, she prayed for the strength to keep hoping. They’ll
come back, she told herself. One day, they’ll come back and everything that
happened would just be a bad dream.
A knock sounded on the door, a servant bringing dinner to her room as
ordered by her Master. Zari forced herself to finish the meal quickly. She
hated feeling weak, and more food in the stomach meant being stronger.
When the vintage alarm clock on her bedside drawer told Zari it was
already nine in the evening, Zari decided to take matters in her own hands.
Leaving her room, she asked for directions to Alexandru’s room and was
directed to the tower housing the teaching staff’s quarters.
On her way, Zari noticed all eyes following her, none of them friendly.
She caught bits and pieces of their words, and what she managed to
understand made her hurry even more.
I really don’t understand what Alexandru sees in her.
She should be ashamed of herself, letting another vampire feed on her
when she’s claimed.
I heard she’s also seduced Lord Erou—-
By the time she reached the other building, Zari was ready to cover her
ears. All entrance gates of buildings in LSL were guarded by enforcers. She
slowed down, nervously waiting for them to bar her way, but the pair only
glanced at her cursorily before letting her pass.
When she reached the door to Alexandru’s room on the third floor, Zari
paused, her hand raised. She took several deep breaths, trying to figure out
what a good excuse would be—-
From inside the door, she heard Alexandru speaking. “Yes? Is this the
enforcers? I would like to report a security issue. Someone is breathing
loudly outside my door—-”
Gasping, Zari hastily opened the door. “Master!”
She found Alexandru inside, his chair facing the door, a sly smile on his
face, and his phone lying unused on the desk. He had fooled her – again!
“Master!”
His smile widened at the way his pet growled at him like an angry kitty.
Legacy pets would never have done that for they would have grown up
hearing about him and thus be too in awe of Alexandru. Other human pets
wouldn’t have dared, either. They would only think of the billions in his
bank account, something he had easily accumulated over the hundreds of
years he had lived, and they would never say or do anything he didn’t care
about.
But this stubborn, disobedient, cute pet of his?
He patted his lap.
She knew what that meant, knew it would be futile to resist because his
powers were no doubt at work now, but even so, she tried anyway. Glaring
at her Master, she shook her head.
Come close and let your Master pet you.
No.
What’s the name of that girl in your class? The one who hates you?
Maybe I could call her and let her know how you’ve just refused your
Master—-
She hurriedly shut the door at the threat and went to him.
Alexandru’s fingers closed around her wrist, pulling her to him until she
tumbled against his chest. He caught her in his lap and he immediately took
her lips for a kiss. His pet yielded to him at the first touch of his lips on
hers, her body softening as her arms went around his neck. Unlike before,
he didn’t have to coach her to open her mouth. She welcomed his
possession, and possess her he did, thoroughly and passionately, his tongue
claiming every inch of her mouth.
When he lifted his head, she was dazed. Normally, that was a good
thing, but since she was still recovering from blood loss, it worried him
instead and he regretted taking advantage of her immediately.
“Are you all right, pet?” His voice was rough with concern.
The way her Master was looking and talking to her made Zari look
down as she muttered awkwardly, “I’m fine.” She remembered what the
other girls said and at that moment, she found herself wondering the same
thing. She remembered this morning’s reporting, which felt so long ago.
What kind of bond did she share with her Master? Was it the kind that could
never be broken?
It had her asking in a small voice, “Are you angry with me, Master?”
Alexandru answered readily, “Very much.”
Her head lifted sharply, and she looked like she was about to cry.
It almost tempted him to smile, but he forced himself to maintain a stoic
façade. He wanted his pet to pay. For daring to let another vampire feed on
her, for actually even listening to another man offer to claim her, and most
of all, for making him say ridiculous things because he had, for one very,
very short moment, felt that his ownership of her was threatened.
He did not want to feel like that again. She must be made to understand
that, and so Alexandru said in his iciest voice, “Do you know the last time I
learned about a woman who had not been faithful to me?”
Eyes wide with trepidation, she whispered, “No.”
“I gave her to my men to eat.”
“No!”
“And they ate her, all at the same time—-”
Zari gasped. “You’re kidding...right?”
“I swear on my blood, I am not lying.”
“I see.” She had turned white at the words, knowing that Alexandru did
not say such things lightly. If he said that he wasn’t lying, then that was it.
Alexandru watched his pet turn away and start for the door. “Where are
you going?”
“To the nearest window.”
His lips twitched. “Why?”
“Oh, I’m just going to kill myself—-”
A laugh escaped him, and a second later, he had blocked her way to the
door with the use of his race’s preternatural speed.
As he swept her up in his arms, she demanded worriedly, “Did you
really mean what you said?”
Slowly, he nodded, and he laughed again when she struggled anew,
trying to get out of his arms. “Zari, relax. I did mean it – but not in the way
you think.”
She wailed, “Eating is eating even if they don’t chew before they
swallow—-”
He laughed harder. Making his way to his bedroom, Alexandru gently
laid her down on his bed. Then he flicked her forehead. “Idiot. Do you
really think I would let any harm befall you?”
She didn’t answer, her gray eyes filled with apprehension.
He flicked her forehead again. “They were eating her body...for mutual
pleasure.”
It took her a few seconds to understand what he meant. “Oh.” She shook
her head, the images his words invoked making her swallow convulsively,
and she blurted out, “Like...a buffet?”
He choked, managing to say, “I suppose you could say that.”
 Gnawing on her lip, she asked haltingly, “And...you...Master? Did
you...try the buffet, too?”
His smile turned sly. “If I said yes?”
She thought hard about it. “I’m going to cry.”
His jaw dropped at the unexpected response, but when she only
continued to look at him with a mulish expression, his smile slowly
returned, but this time it was one of approval. “You are getting as good as
me at blackmail.” He pinched her cheek, hard enough to make her squeal.
“I’m not sure it’s a good thing, though.”
She reminded him, “But you still haven’t answered my question,
Master.”
He said solemnly, “I did not, as you put it, try the buffet.”
“Why didn’t you?” She held her breath as she waited for his answer.
He said simply, “I hate sharing.” He was about to say something else
when they heard his phone ring from the outer room.
When a frustrated look flittered over his face, she asked, “What is it?”
“A call from one of my men. They are the only ones who know my
number.” Reluctantly, Alexandru pulled away from his pet, leaving one
knee on the bed as he straightened.
The sudden distance between her Master and her was painful. She
wanted to call him back to him but bit her lip to keep the words inside her.
A thought occurred to Zari, and sitting up, she asked, “So...when you wrote
the note about something needing your attention, you really weren’t lying?”
He flicked her forehead. “What do you think?”
“I think you like avoiding giving me straight answers, Master.”
He rolled his eyes. “Between you and me, which of us do you think
utters more lies?” He shook his head in exasperation. “Of course it was
true.” His voice gentled. “We had been parted for a long time. I wouldn’t
have given up the time I have with you if it was not something important.”
He paused, as if realizing what he had just said.
Dammit! What had he just said?
She gasped. “Master, you’re blush—-”
“Don’t. Say. Another. Word.” He glared at her. “I think you’re also a
bully yourself, pet. You like making me say the most ridiculous things.”
Turning away and walking to the door, he said over his shoulder, “I must
leave the room for a while and let the headmaster know that I’ve received
the call we’ve been waiting for.”
 “I don’t want to,” she said automatically.
But he only laughed and closed the door behind him.
Alone in his bed, she tossed and turned but couldn’t make herself fall
asleep. She opened his bedside drawer, hoping to find something to read,
but instead she found a piece of parchment with her name written below.
It took her a while to understand the words since it was written in
Chalysian. It was a contract of claiming, with her name and Alexandru’s –
but unsigned. Did it mean she was not his pet, after all?

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 “Can I read the next item, Master?”
Alexandru groaned. He was lying on his back on one of the sun lounges, the
two of them enjoying a rare vacation at Alexandru’s secret island retreat.
Taking off his dark sunglasses, he looked at his pet in exasperation. She was
floating lazily on his private pool, lying on the inflatable bed. Her bikini-
clad body made him think of more other interesting things to do than talking
about her proposal.
“Did we not agree this would be a work-free vacation, pet?”
“I know, but it’s just one item. Please, Master?”
Alexandru scowled. “You won’t be always to get your way just because you
say ‘please’.”
“Please.”
Dammit, his pet knew he was lying.
With a sigh, he dove into the pool, creating a huge splash that had Zari
shrieking. “Master, unfair!”
When he surfaced from the water, the paper she held was completely wet,
the ink smearing and making the words illegible.
“Sorry.” He swam to her side, floating in the water.
She beamed. “Good thing I’ve already memorized that one item.”
He grimaced and wondered if he should drown his pet next.
Zari was saying, “A pet must have the freedom to perform duties other than
her obligations to her Master.”
He frowned. “Duties? Do you mean work?”
She nodded. “Like what I do as a soul seer—-”
“Which I still disapprove of.”
“And I still consider under negotiation.”
They glared at each other.
She broke down first. “There must be a way to compromise about this,
Master. I can’t just ignore my visions—-”
“You can.”
“I’m one of the few soul seers left—-”
“Exactly,” he said flatly. “There are still other soul seers, but there is only
one Zari Baltimore, only one girl who could be my pet.”
Her cheeks burst with color.
Ah, too cute.
He reached for his pet.
 “Master, no, we haven’t stopped...” Zari moaned as Alexandru untied her
bikini top.
“It’s your fault for blushing.”
“But YOU were the one who made me blu—-” This time, she could no
longer speak, not with his mouth on her nipple.
When he lifted his head, he asked, “Your choice. Should we talk now or do
we continue with this?”
“Continue,” she whispered.
“I can’t hear you, pet.”
“Continue please.” She was blushing hard now.
“Mm...still not hearing you. Maybe you should just offer your breast to me
if you want us to continue.”
She cupped her breasts.
His smile turned sly.
“Bully.”
He kissed her hard. “Good pet.” And he kissed the rest of her, starting with
her breasts.

“M
aster Alexandru is gone?” Zari echoed dumbly the next day
after her classes. She felt like wilting on the spot. She knew that
a Master did not owe his pet any explanations, but he had always told her
before when he was about to leave her.
“I’m sure it was for very important reasons he has left you so suddenly,”
Sir Richard said helpfully.
Important reasons like...he was in a quest to search for another pet?
Perhaps he had lied about not being disgusted with her?
After thanking the headmaster, Zari went back to her room and debated
about what she should do next. Impulsively, she tried reaching out to him,
wondering if he would hear her or not. Master?
But he didn’t answer. Had she really expected him to?
Three more days passed, and she still hadn’t heard from her Master.
After class, she hurried to the library on a whim, the thought of the
unsigned contract still weighing on her mind. Zari knew she could have
asked any of the professors, but she didn’t want to. This was something not
to be shared, especially if her suspicions were true.
In the library, she searched for the shelves that bore books on the legal
agreements between Masters and pets. Grabbing the first book she could
find that focused on contracts, Zari went to one of the tables at the back of
the library to ensure her privacy.
It was when she was halfway through the book that the information she
was seeking finally came up.
It is for the protection of both Master and Pet that a binding contract
must be drawn. Thus, the Master’s claim and ownership may be made legal
and the appropriate aid may be provided to human pets in the event that his
or her Master was to suffer from premature death.
Claims that are not legalized will unfortunately not be recognized by the
authorities, and thus Unclaimed pets are free to propose to Masters who
have unofficially bonded——
“Is that for your homework?”
Zari jumped in her seat in surprise. It was Lord Erou, and he had taken a
seat across her without Zari even knowing it. He was as handsome as ever,
but this time instead of civilian clothes, the vampire was back in his
uniform, which bore the colors of Sangre. Some men would never look
good in a uniform. Some men did. Lord Erou was clearly the latter, with the
way the uniform emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and his lean
muscular form.
“Good afternoon, Lord Erou,” she stammered.
“Good afternoon, Lady Zari,” he returned pleasantly.
“Err, do you always come here?” The question was to distract him as
she slowly snapped the book shut, hoping the vampire wouldn’t notice.
“I always visit libraries when I have the time, yes. In fact, I came from
another one this morning.”
“Oh?”
“It’s the one in the next town. It has very good books about vampire
lore.”
“I see.”
“Do you really not want to tell me what you were reading about?”
Zari cringed. “Was I that obvious?”
Lord Erou frowned when he noticed the dark circles under the girl’s
eyes. He had heard about Alexandru leaving the compound and wondered if
that was the reason for Zari Baltimore’s drawn expression. He said
apologetically, “I know you’re lying.” He nodded to the book. “I caught a
glimpse of the text.”
Ah, damn. She had forgotten about vampires’ really good eyesight.
 “Students don’t tackle the subject of contracts until the last year.”
“Well, that’s just plain wrong,” she muttered under her breath. When he
lifted one brow in surprise, she flushed, stammering, “I’m sorry if that came
out as disrespectful, Lord Erou.”
He shook his head. “That’s not it at all. I simply wondered why you
have such a desire to study the subject. If you have anything you’d like to
ask, I would be more than happy to—-”
She blurted out, “Why would a Master make someone his pet without
making it official?”
Erou’s lips tightened. Did this mean she had found out that her Master
had another pet in another territory? “It’s unfortunate, but such things do
happen, and it’s not against the law,” he said finally. “Most likely, a Master
does that when he feels the bond between him and his pet is likely to be
temporary.”
Zari felt herself whitening. “I...see.” She lowered her hands to her lap so
Lord Erou wouldn’t see the way they were trembling. “That’s a little unfair,
don’t you think? When a vampire approaches a human girl, it’s not like
she’d have her wits about her.”
Erou was puzzled. “Why wouldn’t she?”
“Because he could just use his vampire powers and seduce her into
being his pet—-”
“It’s still your choice to refuse—-”
“Ha! Don’t think you can fool me with that. I know about your powers
—-”
He interrupted her, asking slowly, “Lady Zari, are you under the
impression we’re able to control your mind, perhaps hypnotize you into
doing our will?” She didn’t need to answer, the disapproving expression on
her face telling him what she believed.
He shook his head. “We don’t have such powers, Lady Zari.”
“Of course you have—-”
“No, we don’t.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Lady Zari, I swear on my life, we do not.”
Her mouth opened and closed. Now that sounded true. And if it was
true, then—-
 Either she was a nympho, or she felt more than she should be feeling for
her Master.
Opposite her, Erou remained quiet, wondering yet again if she was
aware that her face was like a live TV display. Her eyes blinking
rapidly...she was in shock at what he had revealed. Her teeth gnawing on
her lip...she was thinking about what it meant. Her cheeks puffing up...she
was mustering the courage to—-
“Lord Erou, I would like to ask you something.” Her cheeks were like a
balloon that inflated and deflated every second, and it was fast turning a
deep shade of rose.
The vampire’s gaze settled on her. Intent, sharp, and transparent –
someone who saw everything but hid nothing.
Inching forward on her seat, she took a deep breath and brought her face
close to the vampire.
Erou hissed in surprise, not expecting the girl to do such a thing. Her
scent wrapped itself around him, and he dared not close his eyes then. If he
did, he knew something would happen – the kind that could force a duel
between him and Alexandru.
Zari took another deep breath. She would try kissing Lord Erou, and if
she didn’t feel the same thing...
Lifting herself off her seat, she leaned closer towards Lord Erou, who
bent an inch backwards every time she inched closer. She stopped moving,
stammering, “Why are you moving back?”
“What are you intending to do?” He grimaced at how hoarse his voice
had become. Did this girl know how much he found her scent addictive?
How it was making his cock respond inside his pants? He was this close to
forgetting all about playing by the rules. His body begged him to take her
and be damned with the consequences.
She couldn’t believe the vampire was asking her such a question. “You
know!”
“No, I do not.”
“Yes, you do.”
“No, I do—-”
“I’m going to kiss you!” She closed the distance between them in one
lunge over the library desk.
The words hit, and his eyes automatically closed in expectation of Zari’s
kiss.
 But nothing happened.
He opened his eyes and saw that Zari had a terrified expression on her
face.

RED.
Everywhere it was red. Red. RED. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED
——-
The crumbling spines of ancient texts shelved in the corner. The painted
lips of the librarian behind her desk. The decorative squares on the tiled
floors. The rust on the steel handles of the wheeled book tray—-
Red all over, but like her first vision, it only meant one thing.
Death.
So many deaths.
People she wasn’t able to help.
The whole world turned red, everyone dripping in blood—-
Oh God, she was next.
She was going to die next.

“BREATHE, ZARI, BREATHE!”

The harshly spoken words were reduced into a distant echo when they
reached her ears. When she opened her eyes in a daze, she found her mouth
covered by—-
Zari gasped.
Lord Erou pulled away immediately, and that was when she realized she
was lying on the library floor. He was crouched next to her, and forming a
circle around them were curious students.
“You fainted, Lady Zari.”
“I—-I’m sorry.” She mumbled the words, not knowing what else to say.
As she forced herself up, Lord Erou was swift to assist her, placing one
hand on her back. “Are you sick? Would you like to go to the infirmary?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s probably because I hadn’t eaten
much today and I only had a few hours of sleep last night.” She dared not
tell him about her vision.
 Lord Erou was clearly skeptical. “Are you sure?” Before helping her to
her feet, he dealt the crowd a look. Just one was enough to have everyone
walking away, not liking to be the recipient of the vampire’s glare.
When Zari looked up, she was surprised but relieved to find that the
crowd had dispersed. When Lord Erou helped her to her feet, she was
dismayed to find herself still shaky, forcing the vampire to carry her in his
arms. “No, please—-”
“It’s all right, but I do insist on bringing you to the infirmary. You will
need medication at the very least.”
His firm tone told her it would be pointless to argue so she didn’t,
holding onto him as carefully and loosely as possible when he carried her
out of the library. Everyone was staring at them again, and she didn’t want
them to think she was clinging too hard to Lord Erou.
When Lord Erou stepped out of the library, they both heard a familiar
voice ask silkily, “Is this meant to make me jealous?”
Her head jerked up.
Alexandru!

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 It is both a courtesy and precaution for a Master to let his pet know about
his coming and going.
For a deeper understanding, please refer to the written apology of Master
Alexandru and his pet Zari Baltimore, Exhibit 1.5.1, p. 16
Alexandru spewed his coffee when he read the footer.
Next to him in bed, his pet giggled. Zari knew exactly what made her
Master do that.
“What the fuck? You’re going to include it in your proposal?”
“If it’s any consolation,” she said ever so helpfully, “the Duke of Brimstone
has already read it and he wholeheartedly approves—-” She gasped.
“Master! Did you just call His Grace an old asshole?”

A
lexandru’s fangs gnashed against his teeth as he did his best to
maintain his smile even though he wanted to smash the other
vampire’s face to pieces.
“Your pet fainted.” Erou’s lip curled.
His jealousy dissipated at the words, and his eyes went to Zari. “Are
you all right?” He strode forward, noting the pallor of her skin. He extended
his arms. “I’ll take her to the infirmary.”
Erou stiffened. “I can handle it—-”
“I’m sure you can,” he said casually, “but you may not. She is my pet.”
Erou glanced down at Zari. “It’s your call, milady.”
Without looking at her Master, she mumbled, “It’s okay.”
“Are you sure?” Everything in Erou told him not to let her go, but if she
really meant those words—-
She nodded.
Reluctantly, he passed his precious cargo to the older vampire. A part of
him hoped that Zari would call his name and ask him to take her back. But
she didn’t.
Alexandru easily handled his pet’s weight in his arms. “Thank you,
milord. I will endeavor not to trouble you again.”
“She’s never trouble,” Erou said coldly.
“Nevertheless, I shall ascertain something similar will never happen
again.”
Erou watched the hunter turn around and walk away, noting how Zari
still held herself stiffly, even though now she was with her real Master.
 Alexandru waited for his pet to speak but she didn’t, and for some
reason her silence made him uneasy and, if he were to admit it, guilty as
well. When they reached the building where the infirmary was and she still
hadn’t spoken a word, he asked finally, Are you still feeling ill?
She shook her head.
Ah. She really didn’t want to speak to him then.
Are you mad at me for leaving without a word? It felt a little petty, but
he acknowledged that it had been rude of him to do it in the first place.
She shook her head again.
It was an emergency involving my work. But I know that is no excuse. I
promise I won’t do it again.
She shrugged.
He frowned. Are you really going to sulk the whole time?
No. She was not. Because she hadn’t been sulking from the start. The
problem was that she was tongue-tied. She hadn’t expected herself to be,
but she was. It had started the moment she saw him.
They reached the infirmary without his pet speaking a single word or
even looking at him. The school nurse was there, but one look at
Alexandru’s face and she obviously thought better of greeting him in a
cheerful tone like she usually did. Instead, she was brisk and efficient,
getting Alexandru to lay Zari on the nearest bed.
The nurse asked her several questions and concluded her diagnosis with
an advice of getting more sleep and food in her system. “It sounds very
simple, but it’s not. You’re close to being anemic and that’s no good for a
pet. It’s your obligation to be in good health for your Master, in the event
that he needs to drink from you.”
Zari only nodded, the nurse’s words stinging. There it was – another
reason why she did not make a good pet. No wonder Alexandru hadn’t
signed that contract with her. The thought was so depressing, she didn’t
realize the nurse had tactfully left them alone until her Master spoke.
“Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong now?” Her Master’s face
suddenly appeared above her, Alexandru bending down to peer at her face.
She gasped, his electrifying proximity causing her to fall back against
the bed on her elbows.
Something that tasted disgustingly like jealousy flared up inside him.
Had he not seen her getting so close to that damn knight-like vampire a
while ago? And now, all of a sudden, she wasn’t able to bear his presence
up close?
He moved forward aggressively, caging her between his arms. The more
he pushed forward, the more she backed away on the bed until she found
herself lying flat on her back, with nowhere to move.
Alexandru was now crouched on top of her on all fours, her body
between his arms and legs. She glanced up fearfully, and his green gaze
captured hers.
Her Master growled, “Why are you moving away from me?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but then, sensing her voice was going
to fail her and give her away completely, she snapped her mouth shut.
Alexandru stared at his pet broodingly. Do you want to be Erou’s pet
now?
She jerked in surprise.
Is that it?
She found herself searching her Master’s gorgeous face for a clue to his
real feelings. Why was he asking that question? Was it because he was
jealous, or was it because he was fine with giving her away?
I won’t get mad if you say yes. Alexandru found himself wanting to
laugh bitterly the moment he said the words to his pet. Not get mad? Yeah,
sure, that was true because if she did want to be another man’s pet? He
wouldn’t just get mad. He would go berserk.
And that – that wasn’t good.
None of this was good anymore, and sooner or later he knew he would
be forced to make a decision.
Zari was stunned when her Master abruptly pulled away from her. He
was visibly on edge, his body taut with tension. Her heart jumped to her
throat. Was this it? Was he going to tell her it was over? When he turned to
her, intent on speaking, she panicked.
Zari blurted out, “I had a vision a while ago.”
Alexandru’s face turned grim. “What did you see?”
“It was like what you said. It started with a color – red.” She thought
about telling him that the visions also had to do with her possible death but
decided against it. She didn’t want him to think she wanted his pity.
“How did you see it? What were you doing? Where were you when it
happened?”
Her cheeks flushed at the question.
 He said flatly, “You were with him?”
She nodded.
“So that’s the way it is then.”
No, it was not! She wanted to cry out in protest, but she could only look
at him. If he really wanted her as his pet, shouldn’t he be telling her now
that he wouldn’t be giving her up – no matter what? Wasn’t that what he
promised the day he claimed her?
But then...he hadn’t really claimed her, had he?
Alexandru felt strangely empty. He had never felt like this before, not
even when...no, that was nothing like this terrible waking emptiness inside
him, telling him that it would be worse if and when Zari did become
someone else’s pet.
But if that was what she wanted, would he really be selfish enough to
keep her against her will?
The beast in him roared in protest. He had given her a choice, he
thought savagely. He had asked her several times and he had warned her he
would not let her go if she said yes. It was not his fault that she changed her
mind.
When his eyes slowly went to his pet, he saw her lip trembling and it
was obvious she was doing her best not to cry.
He didn’t want her crying, dammit – not those kinds of tears, anyway.
“Sleep here for the night. I will have enforcers posted at the door so you
will not need to be worried. You are not to leave this room until I am sure
the danger’s been averted.” Alexandru moved to the door, pausing when his
hand reached the knob. “Once we have this case related to your vision
resolved, I promise we’ll talk about you becoming...someone else’s pet.”
Alexandru left without looking back.
The door closed behind him.
One, two, three, four, she counted to herself. “Fifty,” she whispered to
herself. Alexandru would no longer be able to hear her now. And that was
when she started to cry, covering her mouth because even so, she didn’t
want to accidentally make a sound.

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 Alexandru was carefully tending to the Venus flytraps his pet had him
nurturing in the greenhouse when he suddenly felt the hairs of his nape
standing up and evil eyes glaring at his back.
“Rule #23.5 Verbal abuse from Masters should be considered a serious
offense and violators should be sanctioned accordingly.”
He turned around, saying in exasperation, “I haven’t even said anything
yet.”
She continued glaring at him.
He threw his hands up. “What do you want me to say, pet? I’ve already
apologized for that incident, have I not? I have expressed my support for
this proposal of yours—-”
“The sanction for this offense is for a Master to serenade his pet in public.”
His brow shot up.
She said seriously, “And it has to be a Sam Smith song. No one sings love
songs like Sam Smith, Master.”
He looked at her like she was crazy. “Who the fuck is Sam Smith?”

W
hen Erou received the summons from Alexandru, he knew what it
meant. A meeting at midnight in a location outside the school? It
was a duel, definitely, and one he was determined to win.
But when he reached his destination, he was stunned to find the hunter
accompanied by his men, and all of them were dressed for battle.
He said in disgust, “I had expected more from you, Lord Alexandru.”
Alexandru only smiled. “Is that so?”
Someone stepped out from behind the older vampire, and Erou was
even more surprised to discover it was Zari. She was not wearing her school
uniform. Instead, she had on a cotton shirt and jeans, and her feet were clad
in heavy-duty sneakers. He shook his head in confusion. “What are you
doing here?”
She appeared just as shocked. “What are you doing here?”
What the hell was this? Had the human girl just been leading him all
along? Erou said coldly, “I’m not sure what game you’re playing—-”
“I’m not playing any games,” Zari protested, her eyes darting nervously
between Lord Erou and her Master...for now.
A smile that didn’t reach his eyes still playing on his lips, Alexandru
was the one to answer the younger vampire, drawling, “Relax, Lord Erou.
This is no setup. As you appear to play a special role in my pet’s life, I
thought it would be prudent you were made aware of the truth about her.”
Erou asked warily, “And what’s that?”
“She is no ordinary human pet. Zari is a soul seer, one of the last of her
kind in fact.”
The younger vampire shook his head in disbelief. “A soul seer?” Like
many, he had believed that reports about soul seers still existing were just
rumors.
“You must swear to keep this a secret, of course. Too many are willing
to be in possession of a soul seer’s skills.”
“I will never do or say anything that will harm Lady Zari,” he countered
stiffly. “But I must confess, Lord Alexandru, I don’t understand why you’re
telling me this.”
Instead of answering the other vampire, Alexandru glanced down at his
pet, who still stood quietly by his side. “Do you know what Lord Erou was
thinking when he came here?”
Slowly, she shook her head. Although his tone and gaze were both
unreadable, Zari had a feeling she wouldn’t like his answer.
“He thought I was challenging him to a duel. For your ownership.”
Her gaze flew to Lord Erou in dismayed surprise.
Behind her, her Master continued, “And despite seeing me with my
men, he did not back out. He still intended to fight me – and even my men –
for the right to claim you.”
For a moment, their gazes locked, Master and pet.
He waited for her to say something.
She waited for him to say something.
But the silence remained, and Alexandru was eventually the first one to
break it. Looking away, he gestured to his men, his voice turning brisk as he
said, “But we can talk about that later. For now, we have a case to solve.”
Glancing at Zari, he asked, “Is this about the spree of murders in the
nearby towns?”
“Correct, Lord Erou. An astute guess to make. Lady Zari should be
quite impressed.”
Erou flushed at the mocking approval in the older vampire’s face,
knowing that the hunter was well aware he had said it because he wanted to
make Zari realize he truly could be of help in cases like this. When standing
next to the five-hundred-year-old vampire, Erou knew his measly ten years
of fighting paled considerably in comparison.
Zari, however, appeared truly impressed. “You knew about it, too, Lord
Erou? I hadn’t heard anything about it, I’m afraid, and I’ve been trying to
get a vision the whole time I was here.”
He said readily, “It’s not your fault, Lady Zari. The enforcers did their
best to suppress the news.”
Alexandru knew he should have been the one to say something like that
to his pet. But he was not that kind of Master, and he wouldn’t be like that,
he told himself grimly, even if it meant Zari choosing someone ‘kinder’
than him.
Kinder, ha. A kinder Master might be able to wipe away her tears, but it
wouldn’t be able to keep her alive when the world learned about who she
really was.
Even knowing it was childish, Alexandru stepped in between the two.
They had been looking at each other far too long.
“I never thought someone like you could be this immature,” Erou said
under his breath, making sure his voice was low enough to be undetectable
to human ears.
“Immature or not, you must take care to remember who this girl belongs
to,” Alexandru returned in the same tone of voice.
Zari, sensing a sudden tension in the air, instinctively huddled closer to
her Master.
Alexandru automatically wrapped an arm around her waist even as his
gaze went to the boy.
Erou’s teeth gnashed against each other when he saw the other man
smirk. Damn him. He swore to himself then that he’d get back at the hunter,
no matter what.
“Lord Erou, my pet had her vision when she was in your company. This
is likely to mean that the murders had occurred at a place you had recently
visited.”
Erou raised a brow. “I’m surprised you aren’t considering me a
suspect.”
“I would have known right away if you meant my pet harm. I am her
Master, after all.”
Zari couldn’t make herself look at her Master after such words. She was
blushing too hard because of it. However, it didn’t make her completely
happy, the words making her glumly wonder if this was the last time she
would hear Alexandru call himself her Master.
Her heart lurched at the thought, but she forced all feelings of despair
aside, telling herself she had to concentrate on the case. Several innocent
people had already died, and she had to do what she could to prevent
another murder from taking place.
Erou was recounting the places that he had been to, with Alexandru
listening intently. “None of those seem to fit. All those places are too
public, and the way the bodies have been mutilated, it appeared the killer
had all the time in the world to torture his victims.”
Erou rubbed his jaw. “A private place...”
“But what about the library, Lord Erou? Didn’t you tell me earlier about
visiting the library?” Zari ventured.
Alexandru asked, “You went to one?”
Erou nodded. “But I didn’t think it was worth mentioning because a
library didn’t seem a likely place for the murders to take place.”
“But what if the killer had access to the library at night?” Zari
suggested. “Like an employee, something like that?”
“The lady may be on to something, milord,” one of Alexandru’s men
piped in.
The compliment was unexpected, and Zari would have blushed if not
for her Master suddenly flicking her forehead. She yelped in pain instead.
“What was that for?”
Not wanting to tell her he didn’t like her looking cute in front of so
many men, Alexandru lied gruffly, “There was an, err, insect about to bite
you.”
Behind Alexandru, his men groaned in unison through the blood bond
they shared with their leader.
Alexandru grimaced. Shut up.

THE LIBRARY WAS A THREE-story concrete building, with guards at

every entrance. Located at one of the smaller streets in town, she saw how it
could serve as a place of murder. Her skin chilled as she continued to study
its dark shadow, and she knew it was an ominous sign of things to come.
She closed her eyes and when she opened it, everything was red again.
She gasped, and the red veil covering the world disappeared.
 Beside her, Alexandru asked sharply, “Another vision?”
Zari nodded. “I feel like...something’s about to happen.” She let out a
frustrated sigh. “I wish I could understand how this...I wish I could
understand my visions more.”
Seeing Erou about to open his mouth and spout out more useless
platitudes made Alexandru say harshly, “It’s not like you could readily do
anything if you did see more of the murders.” He had wanted to assure her
that she was not to blame. But the moment the words left his mouth,
Alexandru knew they hadn’t come out the way he intended them to.
The words had his men looking away uncomfortably, Erou glaring at
him, and Zari—-
She didn’t look like she was about to cry. This time, she only looked
sad.
Alexandru cursed under his breath. “Zari—-”
“I understand.” She bowed her head in apology.
His mood worsened, the fact that she had preferred to bow in apology
like a supplicant instead of calling him Master not slipping his notice. The
distance between him and his pet just kept growing. He should have been
happy about it, but he wasn’t. Goddammit, he wasn’t.
Without a word, he stalked towards her, curved an arm around her
waist, and made a leap to the third-floor balcony. He took another leap,
landing on the roof of the building. Through his blood bond, he told his
men to scatter and take Lord Erou with them. I’ll take care of the third floor
with the soul seer. Just be certain you keep Lord Erou well away from me
unless the killer’s been found.
Zari’s eyes closed the moment she realized they were up in the air, and
her arms automatically went around him.
When she opened her eyes, they were on the—-
“What are we doing on the roof?” she cried out. This was her first time
to find herself so high off the ground, and it was not a good feeling.
He slowly set her down on her feet, which would have been good if not
for the fact that he had placed her at the very edge, with half of her feet
floating in the air.
She clutched his arms tightly. Do you want me dying with fright?
I’m considering it.
She gasped. Master!
 His eyes darkened. Because of that, he snarled. Do I really have to place
you here just so you’d call me Master again?

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 When Alexandru saw his pet hovering by the doorway of his study, he put
aside his books and asked with a sigh, “Come on in, pet. You know I won’t
be able to concentrate if you keep looking at me like that.”
She hurried inside even as she protested, “I didn’t say anything—-”
“You don’t have to. Your eyes, your face, hell, even your nose – they all do
the talking for you.”
When he patted his lap, she went to him without a murmur.
He looked at her suspiciously. “That bad?”
She looked at him innocently. “Huh?”
He sighed again. “Just spill it, pet.”
“Well, you know about the rule regarding terms of endearment and how I
thought we should have Masters and pets calling each other names than,
well, just ‘Master’ and ‘pet’?”
“And?” Personally, nothing made Alexandru happier than hearing his pet
call him Master. He was almost certain it was the same for other Masters,
but he supposed it was different for pets. Women were strange creatures,
after all.
“I was thinking, maybe you could translate this for me...” She showed him
her list.
Apple of my eye. Star of my sky. Love of my forsaken life. The fries in my
happy meal. The Taylor in my Swift.
And those were the more palatable ones.
“What the fuck is this, pet? You want all Masters to die choking? Is that
it?”

Z
ari was unable to speak. So her Master had noticed her omissions. She
thought he wouldn’t, but he had, and foolishly, knowing he had made
her happy. It meant her calling him Master was important to Alexandru.
When did it start?
She looked at him incredulously. Are we really going to do this now?
Have you forgotten—-
Answer the question, he growled.
She sighed. When did what start?
The relationship between you and Erou Damaschin.
We have no relationship—-
And that’s why he just happened to be around when you fainted?
 Hating the way he was making her feel defensive, she shot back, At
least he’s around! At least he really wants me to be his pet-—She choked,
her throat clogging.
What the hell are you talking about? Are you saying he had the gall to
make you believe I do not want you as my pet?
He didn’t have to tell me anything, she cried out. I know it!
You know what?
You’re really going to deny it?
How can I deny something I don’t understand—-
The contract! Zari saw his face whiten and knew he finally understood
what she was talking about. I was trying to look for something to read.
That’s the only reason why I saw it. Her fingers dug into his arms as she
threw away her pride and asked, Why haven’t we signed a
contract...Master?
The pain on her face made his heart clench. Never had he wanted to see
her hurt like this, and it felt a thousand times worse, knowing that he was
the cause of her pain. Her own Master, someone who was supposed to be
taking care of her.
It’s not what you think, pet. Alexandru started to say something else but
stopped, having sensed another otherworlder approaching.
A chill swept over her at the grim look in her Master’s brilliant green
eyes. H-he’s here, isn’t he?
He nodded.
There was no surprise in his eyes, and she realized in a flash, You knew,
didn’t you?
Yes. When you mentioned the library, it struck me as well as being the
most likely place for the murders to take place. In every crime scene we’ve
been to, it had been clear that the victim had been killed at around this time
and then dumped elsewhere in the morning.
Which was why you knew it was okay for us to talk. You even chose to
talk here on the roof because you wanted a bird’s eye view of him coming
back. You’re using me, aren’t you? She was hysterical, screaming at him in
her mind. You only want me as a soul seer, don’t you? You’ve never really
cared—-
Alexandru shut her up with a kiss.
Her gaze flew open. It took her more than a moment to remember to
struggle, but she could only do so weakly, fearing he would accidentally let
her slip away from his grasp.
Alexandru savored the kiss. It had been only a few days, but it felt like
forever. It also felt like the last kiss, the way she tried to keep her lips
pursed together, and he didn’t want that. He could not accept that. She was
his, dammit. She was his pet!
I care, he said savagely. I care more than I want to. If I had a choice, if I
could bear sending you away—-
His voice rose to a furious hiss. I would have!
She couldn’t speak when Alexandru stopped, her entire body shaking at
the strength of his emotions.
I didn’t sign the damn contract for you. You deserve a better Master
than me. But if you think you’re ready to take such a leap, we can sign it the
moment we get back.
The words had her reeling, a good part of her unable to believe what she
had just heard. When Alexandru suddenly hauled her close, this time she
didn’t even think of struggling, clutching his shoulders as he leapt down to
the third-floor balcony.
He’s coming up. Alexandru tried the doors, found it unlocked, and
walked quietly inside, making sure to keep his pet behind him. Pulling the
doors back close, he had them crouching in the shadows.
Won’t he sense us here?
No. We’ve masked our presences. He’s at the second floor now, but
he’s...alone.
Telling herself to concentrate, Zari pushed away all thoughts but the
scene before her, trying to see if she could see grasp any kind of vision.
Seconds passed, and the world around her remained normal.
I can’t sense anything. Frustration made Zari shake her head.
Alexandru, moving behind her, lifted his pet’s hair off her neck.
She looked at him over her shoulder. Master—-
His fangs pierced her flesh.
Her lips parted in a soundless gasp. As he started to drink from her,
ecstasy hit Zari, her senses spiraling, waking the part of her that could see
—-

RED.
 Blood dripping through intravenous tubes and into bottles. Blood
splattered on hands covered with surgical gloves. Blood on the skin around
the killer’s mouth just before he licked it away, slowly, savoring the taste
——
She started to choke, unable to breathe because of the overpowering
smell of blood. It was too much, she didn’t want this scent. How could
anyone live with this scent? And cold. It was so damn cold. She rubbed her
arms, the chill in the room making her teeth chatter.
Hack. Hack. Hack.
Pieces of flesh flying in the air, and now the smell worsened. It wasn’t
just the smell of blood. Now it smelled like decaying flesh—-
Zari backed away, trying to escape the smell, and bumped into
something hard and made a rattling sound. Whirling around, she saw a
ceiling-high shelf stacked with computer servers—-
Alexandru caught her before she fell to the ground.
Her eyes were wide with fright. “He’s a vampire like you,” she gasped.
She knew she should be communicating quietly with him, but she was too
weak, too disoriented. “He’s at the server room—-”
I understand. I will need to leave you. Will you be fine?
“Yes.” She could still see the bits of flesh falling around her like
snowflakes, and she gagged as the thought occurred to her that all of it
could belong to just one woman. Was she still alive when she was being
ground to pieces?
Alexandru swore under his breath when he saw how locks of hair,
dampened by sweat, clung to her too-pale face. Cupping her face, he
demanded, Are you sure you will be fine? You do not look all right.
She lied, “Y-yes. I’m o-okay.” A vision was starting to show, and she
didn’t want Alexandru around when it happened. She had a feeling he’d be
overprotective and not let her do anything. A sense of urgency hit her,
driving Zari to push herself out of her Master’s hold.
“Go. H-he knows we’re here now. You need to take him b-before he
kills again...”
Alexandru grabbed her jaw and kissed her hard. “Stay put. That’s an
order, pet.”
She managed a smile. “Yes, Master.”
And then he was gone.
 She sank to her knees, shaking. Her palms hit the cold marbled floor
and she started to see once more.

RED. RED. RED. RED. REEEEEEEEEEED——

The walls, the stairs, the ceiling – everything was painted in red, and it
was all blood, the reason he killed was because he wanted to paint the town
red, literally, and where best to start than home sweet home?
A dungeon at the bottom of the stairs, and inside it was the girl he had
come to kill—-
Zari’s eyes locked with the girl’s.
Please, the girl begged.

THE WORLD SPUN AROUND her when she resurfaced, but she forced
herself to stand, knowing there was no time to waste. Half-leaning against
the wall, she made her way to the door. She headed to the end of the
hallway, where a painting hung from the wall.
She took it off, revealing a secret panel. At the press of her fingers, the
panel opened, revealing the stairway she had seen in her vision.
She gagged. Oh God, the smell. How could someone do something like
this?
She didn’t want to touch the walls this time, forcing herself to
concentrate on each step even as the world still shook and danced around
her.
She counted the steps as she descended but the staircase seemed to be
endless, its last step disappearing in the darkness. Terror gnawed at her like
a hungry rat, but she forced herself to ignore it, telling herself she had to
move faster—-
“Please.” That voice. It was that voice she had heard in her vision.
She missed a step, stumbling down the rest of the stairs. When she
opened her eyes, she found herself right in front of the dungeon, its
cavernous interior lit by a single lantern hanging high from the ceiling. A
woman was huddled in the corner, her hair scraggly, and her skin dirty and
scraped raw in parts.
 “Are you okay?” she called out hoarsely as she crawled towards the
door, unable yet to stand.
“Please.” This time, the whisper had turned into a moan.
She reached up for the door and found it unlocked, the door swinging
open with a loud creaking sound.
Alarm bells started to ring inside her mind. Something was wrong.
Swallowing, she pulled herself up using the bars and took a small step
forward.
A keening cry of hunger—-
Oh God!
Even before Zari looked up, she already knew what was coming for her
and what she had gotten oh so wrong.
The woman in the dungeon lunged towards her, Zari barely managing to
escape. Her tongue had been cut, her teeth all pulled out, which was why
the man upstairs had to grind the flesh. It was the only way this woman
could eat her meals—-
Zari tried to run, but the woman managed to catch one of her ankles.
One strong yank, and Zari screamed as she fell. Her face would have
smashed against the ground if she hadn’t managed to cover her face first.
The woman flipped her around, her incredible strength telling Zari that
this was no human she was up against. An otherworlder as well, perhaps
another vampire—-
Long, sharp, blood-encrusted nails glinted in the dark like silver as the
woman raised her hand, ready to slice Zari’s throat.
She screamed, in and out of her mind, “Master!”

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 “Additional grounds must be provided for a pet to use when terminating a
claim.” She had read this over and over in front of the mirror, but when it
was time to read it out loud in front of her Master, her practice was all for
naught, her voice breaking at the end.
With a groan, Alexandru reached for his pet, and when she was on his lap,
he pressed a tender kiss on her forehead. “You must stop torturing yourself
with this. I know I agreed to it, but if it’s only going to bring up bad
memories that hurt you—-”
She shook her head. “It’s all right, Master.”
He flinched.
Her eyes widened in alarm. “What is it?”
“I remember the last time you said that to me...and you didn’t mean it.” He
cupped one soft cheek. “You told me it was all fine, but in the end you still
left me, pet. So I beg you now – don’t tell me it’s fine if it’s not.”

A
lexandru reached the server room just in time to see the killer about
to escape through the window. Without hesitation, he went into
attack mode, fangs extending as he made a swipe for the other vampire’s
throat.
But the killer was strong – too strong for an ordinary vampire, making
Alexandru suspect that the killer had fed on a demon. Demon blood had the
power to give an otherworlder incredible strength – if he didn’t go crazy
first.
Walls cracked and equipment crashed to the floor as they fought and
tussled on the ground.
Slash. Alexandru managed to slice the killer’s chest open.
The other vampire howled as he charged towards Alexandru, managing
to leave a long red gash on Alexandru’s arm.
The door burst open.
Erou leapt into the fray when he realized what was happening, and with
the younger man’s help, Alexandru was able to subdue the vampire. When
Erou lifted his hand to kill the vampire, Alexandru said sharply, “No.”
“Why?” Erou demanded.
“I want him interrogated,” Alexandru said. When his men arrived, he
ordered them to take the man to the enforcers.
As the others left, Erou looked around the room, demanding, “Where is
Lady Zari?”
 “I left her upstairs.” His tone was distracted, Alexandru unable to shake
off the feeling that he was missing something here. The flesh of the women
had been missing in parts, and in some crime scenes, there had been bits
and pieces scattered on the ground. There had to be a purpose for that. Even
killers had motives, no matter how crazy, and he just couldn’t understand
why a vampire who seemed to lead the quiet life of a librarian would do
something so heinous.
It didn’t make sense unless—-
Unless he was doing it for someone else?
His blood chilled.
And that was when he heard it—-
Master!
“Zari.” He didn’t realize he had said his pet’s name out loud until he
saw Erou glance at him sharply.
“Something’s wrong, isn’t there?”
He didn’t bother answering, racing out of the room and hurrying the
sound of his pet’s screams. I’m coming.
She didn’t answer.
Zari, wait for me!
Knowing that he would only waste precious time if he traced his pet’s
steps from scratch, Alexandru simply followed the source of the sounds,
crashing into walls and furiously digging his way down until he smashed
his way into the dungeons.
He saw a female vampire on top of a frightened-looking Zari.
With a roar, he charged towards the vampire.
There was no fear in her expression when she saw him. Just hunger and
rage as she launched herself towards him—-
She was as strong as the other vampire, but she was no match against
Alexandru.
Everything in him was focused on keeping his pet safe, and what
threatened her must be eliminated.
His fingers closed around her neck.
Zari gasped as she watched Alexandru lift the female vampire up in the
air—-
His fingers closed around the neck, squeezing until the vampire was
flailing, her legs kicking in the air. He squeezed until bones cracked—-
The female vampire went still.
EVEN BEFORE EROU REACHED the dungeons, he already knew that
Alexandru was gone – together with Zari. He found a dead female vampire
on the ground, the flesh of her neck torn and the bones inside it smashed
into pieces.
So she had made her choice, Erou thought. And unfortunately, the Lady
Zari had not chosen him.

AN HOUR HAD PASSED since her Master had brought her back into the
safety of his room, and still he had not talked. He had waited outside her
door when she asked if she could take a bath, and when she was done, he
had carefully carried her to bed and tucked her under the covers.
She had thought he would talk to her then, but he had simply kissed her
on the forehead.
And then he had left, just like that.
Zari told herself to be patient, to wait for her Master to come back to
her, but in the end she couldn’t do it. Her Master just had to accept that she
was not the most patient person in the world. Swinging her legs over the
bed, she padded barefoot to the door and when she opened it, she found her
Master seated on the couch, the room cast in darkness except for the table
lamp glowing brightly next to him. He had a glass of whisky in one hand,
and his gaze was brooding when it met hers.
Slowly, she walked to him, her heart beating loudly. She had so many
things to say, to ask, but the way he was looking at her told Zari that
whatever her problems were right now, it was nothing compared to the
burden weighing him down.
Zari whispered, “What’s wrong, Master?”
His answering laugh was hollow. “Are you certain you want me to be
your Master still?”
She took a few more steps, stopping only when she was standing right
in front of him and her shadow fell over her Master, making him look like a
dark angel. She repeated quietly, “What’s wrong, Master?”
This time, he didn’t speak, a blank mask settling on his face.
Somehow, that scared her and she found herself falling to her knees,
adopting the ceremonial position of pets when they were claimed by
Masters. She hadn’t actually done this before, but she had read about it. The
position was supposed to symbolize a pet’s complete allegiance to her
Master, and she was hoping her Master knew that.
When she heard Alexandru suck in his breath, she knew she had made
the impression she wanted. Seconds later, he was tipping her chin up, and
he asked tightly, “Why are you doing this? Didn’t you want to be released
from my claim?”
“Only if it was what you wished, Master.”
He gritted out, “I am not the best Master for you. When I thought...” He
expelled his breath in a furious hiss. “When I thought you were about to
die, I blamed myself for ever bringing you to this kind of world. I should
have sent you to Sangre and let you lead a normal life there—-”
She shook her head vigorously when she realized what he was saying.
“No, Master.” She thought about what he was proposing, about what life
would be like without him, and her voice broke. “Don’t send me
away...please.”
“You’re not safe here.”
“I don’t care.”
“And I can’t...I can’t be the Master you deserve.”
“You are—-”
“No. I’m not. I can’t ever be. I’m sorry if this is not something you wish
to hear or believe, but I am only being honest for your sake. I care for you,
pet, but there are things I can’t ever do for you—-”
“Let me be the judge of that, Master,” she said fiercely. “Just don’t send
me away.” Blinking back tears, she choked out, “Please.”
When she looked up, she saw that his face was a mixture of despair and
hope.
“Ah, pet.” His hand shook as he reached for her hair and stroked it.
“You’re too damn cute.”
She waited for him to kiss her, to seduce her like he always did, but
instead he remained unmoving except for his hand, which continued to
stroke her hair. Somehow, the fact that he was not making a move on her
this very moment made her heart pound hard like it never had before.
Slowly, Zari laid her head on his knee as he combed her hair with his
fingers. When she rested her hand on his other knee, she was surprised to
see him reach for it, twining his fingers with hers.
 Tears struck her eyes, but again she blinked them back quickly. “This
time,” she heard him murmur above her. “I mean it, pet. I will never let you
go.”
She closed her eyes. I never wanted you to, Master.

WHEN SHE WOKE UP, SHE found herself alone in her Master’s bed.
Sunlight had filtered into the room from the windows, and she rubbed her
eyes groggily. When she sat up, her gaze fell on the parchment on the table.
Her breath caught at the sight of it, and her hand trembled as she slowly
reached for it. She started to cry when she saw his signature at the bottom.
She touched it, wanting to trace every curve—-
She began to see.

ZARI FOUND HERSELF in a palatial room, decorated in rich colors and

fabrics. An array of battle weapons cast in gold hung on the wall, and in
every corner was a priceless piece of art, ranging from a waist- high vase
made of pure jade to an ivory sculpture.
At the center of the room was a long table made of heavy wood. Seated
at the head was a man who bore a strong resemblance to her Master, only
his face was more stoic, and his build more akin to a Viking warrior than a
knight’s.
To his right sat her Master, whose usual sly smile was nowhere to be
found.
“I heard you have found your heartkeeper,” the man at the head of the
table said.
Alexandru did not speak.
The man leaned forward. “Listen to me, brother. You know my words
are for your sake—-”
“I didn’t say it was not, Mihail.”
“Just listen then.” Mihail waited until his brother had turned to face
him. “Do not make yourself suffer just to prove me wrong. I already know
how strong you are. You are, in fact, one of the strongest persons I know –
more so than me because you had the courage to love. You fought for that
love even if it meant leaving us—-”
 Alexandru said tightly, “I didn’t want to do it, but you leave me no
choice.”
Mihail shook his head. “The past is over and done with. There is no
need to argue over it. What matters is today – the present – and you and I
both know that you have found her.”
“It doesn’t make a difference—-”
“Of course it makes a difference,” Mihail exploded. “She is your
heartkeeper, Alexandru! You know what that means——” He broke off
when his brother stood up.
“I apologize, milord. I recall a previous obligation that requires me to
leave—-”
Mihail watched his brother turn his back and head for the door.
“Alexandru—-”
Alexandru paused. Without looking back, he said, “I respect you,
Mihail. Not only as an older brother but as the Marquis of Sangre. You
know I will do almost anything for you, but not this. Do not expect me to
change my mind about this.” He exhaled sharply. “Even if Zari is indeed
my heartkeeper, I will not claim her as such. My heart belongs to Katarina,
no one else.”

“ZARI?”
“Zari?”
The first thing she saw was a blurry image of her Master as he came to
sit at the side of the bed.
“What’s wrong, pet?” His voice was rough with worry, and when he
reached for her face to wipe her tears away, that was the only time she
realized she was crying.
“Did you have a vision again?”
She shook her head, still crying.
“Then what’s wrong?” Alexandru demanded, the sound of his pet’s tears
hurting him.
She could only look at him, the vampire she used to think she was being
manipulated to care for.
“Tell me what’s wrong, pet.” His gaze fell to the contract. “Is it because
of that? You do not want...you have changed your mind then?”
 Her heart broke at the question. Oh, if only she could change her mind.
But even after what she had learned, she knew it was too late.
She loved him.
She was hopelessly in love with her Master, and he was just as
hopelessly in love with another girl.
Managing a smile, Zari said, “I’m all right, Master. I’m just happy...”
She reached for the pen he had left on the bedside table. Head bent, she
signed the contract. By placing her name next to his, she knew she had
made a choice.
Over her head, her Master said quietly, “It is done then.”
Not looking at him, she whispered, “Yes, it is. Master.” Zari’s tears
started to fall again as she watched his hand cover hers, their fingers
entwining with each other. Their gazes met as he raised her hand to his lips.
Alexandru asked softly, “Why do you keep crying?”
She shook her head.
His voice turned harsh. “No more lies, pet.”
She wanted to say she was afraid. So, so afraid. She was afraid of her
Master leaving her, of realizing he couldn’t ever love her, of a woman
named Katarina taking him away from her.
But of course she couldn’t say that. She owed it to her Master, to her
parents – to herself to be strong. So many people had risked their lives to
keep her from harm. The least she could do was to enjoy the life they had
gifted her, even if it meant living with half of her heart in pieces.
Slowly, Zari looked up, her chest squeezing painfully when she saw the
worry in her Master’s gaze. She knew then she wouldn’t be able to lie to
him, not when he was looking at her like that. And so she reached for his
face instead, knowing this was the only way she could avoid saying the
truth.
Her Master drew his breath sharply at her touch, and Zari knew it was
because she had never been the first one to touch him and certainly not like
this in the past.
She whispered, “Master...kiss me.”
For a long time, Alexandru only gazed at her.
And then he smiled, a beautiful smile that was both warm and sad, and
she knew then that he was aware she wasn’t quite being truthful with him –
that he thought she was regretting her decision to be his pet but unable to
say it.
 The realization had her lips parting in painful dismay. Oh, God, no, she
didn’t ever want him to think like that, didn’t ever want her Master to feel
hurt like that. But before she could speak, he had beaten her to it.
“My pleasure, pet.”
He drew her in his arms, his lips touching hers, and unlike in times past,
her Master no longer allowed her to resist or struggle. He kissed her with a
hungry, all-consuming need, his mouth devouring hers, and his passion
inflaming her every sense until all she could do was feel.
~ END OF PART I ~

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 “You have to be serious.” Her voice was a mixture of embarrassment and
frustration. “You can’t possibly spend the whole day with me.”
Alexandru only raised a brow. “Why not?”
“B-because you have duties,” she sputtered. “That’s why.”
He traced her lips, something he liked to do because he knew how sensitive
they were. At her shiver, he murmured, “The only duty I care about is what
you want me to do for you.”
She shivered even more, knowing that so many women would have sold
their souls just to have someone like Alexandru say that to them. And yet
those words were for her, the one who didn’t deserve him.
ZARI

A
lthough the walls of La Scala Legaturia were behind us, this part of
the land still belonged to the school. A dense forest made treacherous
by its poisonous plants, it was one of LSL’s first lines of defense. Humans
like me could so easily die just passing through it, but all of us there knew
the forest wasn’t to blame in this case.
The dead man on the ground was unkempt, his clothes frayed at the
edges, his shoes worn. The flesh on one side of his neck had been ripped
apart, but this was no vampire’s doing. It was worse. The bite marks, the
way the flesh had been torn – no, this was done by another human. It meant
this man had to suffer prolonged agony. No death made quick and painless
by a vampire’s razor-sharp fangs. Instead, his last few minutes on this earth
had been made excruciating by dull human teeth.
The crowd parted on the other side, Sir Richard, our school’s
headmaster, coming forward with a worried frown on his rounded face.
I quickly stepped back, hiding behind other students. Sir Richard was
one of the few persons who knew what I was. Like other students, I was
human, tasked to master the ways of becoming an ideal pet to my Master.
But unlike other students, I was also a soul seer, possibly the last one left in
this world. Being a soul seer meant seeing the past and the future, a skill
that some otherworlders or non-humans wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.
LSL was to be my temporary sanctuary, a way to keep my identity
secret. One of the few rules that my Master had asked me to follow was to
never get involved in anything that could expose what I was. Going to a
crime scene? That would definitely qualify.
 “Who are the suspects?” Sir Richard asked as he crouched down to
inspect the corpse more closely.
I moved further away, not wanting him to catch my scent. If he knew I
was here, he would surely tell my Master about it.
“Two students, sir,” the enforcer replied. Enforcers worked like vampire
police, tasked to solve crimes involving otherworlders. “A Miranda
Donnelly and the other one is Rhapsody Norwood.”
The first name I easily recognized. Miranda was often referred to as the
school’s Madonna. An ideal human pet, in many ways, was like a geisha,
trained to serve and please her Master and find honor in her ability to do so.
Miranda, who was in her last year of training, certainly excelled at that.
Demure and soft-spoken, graceful and gracious, she was said to make even
vampires’ hearts skip a beat – and that was saying a lot when most
vampires didn’t have hearts to speak of.
“Miranda?” Sir Richard repeated, visibly surprised.
“It’s been confirmed, sir. Several students saw her leaving through the
school’s exit closest to the forest.”
The headmaster straightened up with a shake of his head. “That doesn’t
make sense.” After telling another enforcer to cover the body and have it
autopsied, he asked, “What about Lady Rhapsody?” His gaze strayed, and
following his line of sight, I realized that most of the students in the crowd
were looking at the same person, too.
The girl was tall and slender, with black hair and incredibly fair skin.
She would probably be beautiful if she smiled, but right now her face was
so pale and expressionless it was like looking at a ghost.
Murmurs rose from the crowd. It made me wince because they weren’t
being exactly quiet or discreet about what they were saying.
It’s the new girl.
I’ve always thought she was weird.
That Miranda came out here is just coincidence, I’m sure. She could
never have done something like this. But that girl?
She’s the killer. I’m sure of it.
Rhapsody started walking away, and the murmurs grew louder, as if
they all wanted her to hear it. I found myself following her.
When she was past the gates of the school, she suddenly turned around,
making me jump in surprise.
 “Why are you following me?” I had expected her to hiss, shout, or
maybe even cry. But instead her voice was calm. Soft. Soothing. Like her
name.
Her question had me shrugging awkwardly. “I’m not exactly sure why,”
I confessed honestly.
She blinked at my answer.
I offered my hand. “I’m Zari, by the way.”
She took it. “Everyone knows who you are.”
I grimaced, knowing it wasn’t because I was near-perfect like the
Madonna. Rather, it was because my Master was Alexandru, the greatest
hunter among vampires, and someone, despite having lived hundreds of
years, who had never acquired a pet...until I came along, that was.
She cocked her head to the side. “You don’t seem to think I’m the
killer.”
I thought about it seriously. “No. I don’t.”
“Then do you think she’s the killer?”
I shook my head. “I’m not sure about that. I just...” I looked at her,
really looked at her, trying to see her as a soul seer. “I just know you’re not
the killer,” I finished.
“You are...odd.”
I tried, I really tried to stop myself from grinning, but I couldn’t help it.
Rhapsody’s lips twitched ever so slightly, no doubt having realized the
irony of her words as well.
We started walking again, heading to the dorms. All students were
required to board, the school being the safest place for pets to feed their
Masters. There were also times when injured vampires came here to drink
from unclaimed pets, but it was up to us to offer or refuse them blood.
“So...you just transferred here?”
She nodded. “Last week.”
“And you didn’t have a hard time catching up with the lessons?” I
couldn’t help but be envious. Right now, I had one of the lowest grades
among first-years. A perfect pet naturally adored her Master. Most times, I
was lucky if I didn’t naturally abhor the things I had to do as a pet.
Rhapsody shook her head at my question. “Before coming here, I was
already being home-schooled about being a proper pet,” she said simply.
“Oh. I didn’t know that was possible.”
 “My Master’s very powerful,” Rhapsody said matter-of-factly. “Most of
the things are possible for him.”
ALEXANDRU
How could she say something like that so easily? His pet’s thoughts
came to Alexandru loud and clear, which meant she was very close by.
My Master’s very powerful.
Alexandru’s brow arched in surprise at the thought.
Blech.
He smirked. Now that was more like his pet.
No matter what, I don’t think I can say it like that. I really can’t.
Alexandru mentally shook his head. Of course she couldn’t. While she
made an adorable pet in many ways, she was also quite the little liar, the
kind who would rather jump off a cliff than say something nice about him –
even if it was what she thought.
Suddenly feeling impatient to see her, Alexandru used a burst of speed
to get where Zari was. In LSL, there was no need to pretend he was not who
he was – a vampire so ancient and powerful that even otherworlders shook
in their boots at the sight of him.
He landed noiselessly just a few feet behind Zari and her new friend, the
girl with the anonymous Master. Stealth did not come naturally to
otherworlders, but for Alexandru it was a skill he had honed in the centuries
he had hunted down vampires and other creatures that had gone rogue and
lost themselves in the frenzy of bloodlust.
For a moment, he remained where he was, savoring the chance to look
his fill of his pet. She was small and slim, coltishly so, the gentle curve of
her dainty breasts only made noticeable by the tightness of her school
jacket. But her legs were incredibly long, and her short black skirt made
them even shapelier.
Unlike most pets who strove hard to be womanly, his pet didn’t appear
to care about mastering the art of ladylike walking. Instead she walked
briskly, her shoulders square, her back straight, and her long blonde hair
swaying almost in rhythm with her hands, which she couldn’t seem to keep
still against her sides.
An unusual pet, and not just because she was a soul seer. Dangerous,
too, because she was beginning to mean too much to him, and he didn’t
want that.
 Ahead of him, his pet was peppering the new girl with questions – and
all of it had to do with homeschooling. His eyes narrowed. He had a feeling
he knew where this was going—-
“So...” Zari’s tone was calculating. “Does LSL offer homeschooling,
too?”
The new girl nodded. “Your Master only has to request it.”
“I see.”
“Why do you ask?”
“My Master travels all the time.”
The other student nodded understandingly. “Naturally. He’s a hunter.
But wouldn’t you be in the way if you traveled with him?”
The astute question was his cue to intrude. If allowed to continue, his
little pet might end up revealing something about herself, something that
could set all the demons in the world after her.
And that, he would never allow.
In a blink, he was directly behind them, and before his pet could answer,
he had already bent down to whisper in her ear, “Hello, pet.”
The whispered words, combined with the mesmerizingly familiar voice,
had Zari jumping. She whirled around and jumped another step back at the
sight of Alexandru. What was he doing here?
Her Master’s voice was the soul of innocence as he asked, “Did I
surprise you?” He was as beautiful as ever, with his jet-black hair looking
slightly wind-tousled and a wicked gleam making his green eyes brighter.
He had on his usual all-black attire, which meant he had come to LSL
directly from a hunt.
Beside Zari, Rhapsody curtsied, prompting her to curtsy as well. She
always, always forgot to do that.
“Lord Alexandru,” Rhapsody murmured.
Alexandru bowed. “Lady Rhapsody.” At his words, he saw his pet’s
eyes widen, as if surprised that he knew the other girl’s name.
“If you would excuse me, milord,” Rhapsody said and at his nod, she
turned to Zari. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Lady Zari. I look forward to
furthering our acquaintance.”
“Umm...sure. Me, too.” Her sudden formality impressed, intimidated,
and confused Zari.
When the other student left, Alexandru said dryly, “Is it shocking that
not all girls say ‘see ya’ when leaving?”
 She made a face. “I don’t always say that.”
Instead of answering, he simply opened his arms. As he expected, she
didn’t fly to him right away. He knew his little pet well, after all. First she
would blush—-
In front of him, pink had blossomed in her cheeks.
Then she would look around—-
His pet’s gaze was darting left and right now, self-consciously looking
for people who might see them.
Then she would look at him—-
Their eyes met, gray and green, their desire mirrored in each other’s
gazes.
He asked huskily, “Did you miss me, pet?”
The words had her drawing a shaky breath—-
And then she was flying to him.
Her arms curled around his neck as his own went around her sweet little
body. He bent down, his mouth capturing hers in a kiss.
Did you miss me? He asked it again, but this time through the blood
bond they shared as Master and pet, one that allowed him to be connected
to her, in ways that not even human couples married for decades could
yearn to experience.
Yes, Master. She said it freely in her mind, knowing that no one but
Alexandru would be able to hear the longing in her voice. This latest hunt
had her Master gone for a week. Seven days of wishing he was next to her,
of wondering whether he ever thought of her.
When he ended the kiss, both of them were breathing hard. He glanced
down at her, satisfaction surging inside of him at the swollen look of her
lips.
Zari remained still and silent, unable to pull her gaze away from her
Master. Need glittered in his eyes, the very same emotion that had every
inch of her body tingling. She fought hard to veil her thoughts, something
she had asked Lord Erou to teach her in the days Alexandru had been gone.
It was a skill she practiced day and night, knowing it was the only way to
keep her Master from learning how helplessly in love she was with him.
“You’ve become good at hiding your thoughts.” Surprise tinged his
tone, his pondering gaze slowly roaming her face.
“H-have I?”
His lips curved in a smirk.
 Drat. That only meant one thing. He had seen through her. Not wanting
to give him a chance to ask her why she wanted to hide her thoughts from
him, she said hurriedly, “I have a question, Master.”
He looked at her for a moment, as if debating whether to push the issue
or not. Finally, he took her hand, making Zari silently breathe a sigh of
relief. As they walked, Alexandru asked, “What is it?”
“Umm, Rhapsody. How did you know who she was?”
An odd glance was slanted towards her. “How would I not? She’s come
to the place where you live. I had to make sure she wasn’t a potential threat
to you.”
“B-but she’s just a student,” she sputtered.
“Her circumstances are mysterious. It aroused my curiosity.”
“Mysterious?”
“Her Master’s anonymous.”
Confusion clouded her tone as she asked, “Anonymous? Do you mean
we don’t know who her Master is?”
“Not only that. She doesn’t know who he is either.”
“But how’s that possible?”
“If my information is correct, she only communicates with her Master
through letters.”
“Oh.” She tried to understand how that would work but couldn’t. A pet
was supposed to be the source of life for her Master, but if they only
communicated through letters, what kind of duties was Rhapsody able to
perform?
By the time they had reached his rooms, his pet still hadn’t said a word.
Closing the door, he turned to find her looking at him seriously. “Why
would a Master want to be anonymous?”
Zari didn’t know why it bothered her so much, but it did.
Alexandru said slowly, “I don’t know.” He wished he did, though. The
circumstances bothered him as well. At Zari’s frown, he told her frankly,
“Most Masters don’t really think they owe their pets any explanation.”
This had his pet glaring.
Soon, the claws would be out and she might even end up hissing at him.
Zari in fighting form was always a cute sight. If it had been any other day,
Alexandru would have deliberately provoked her.
But unfortunately, they had more important matters to discuss right now.
“Sit down, Zari.”
 The tone had his pet frowning questioningly, but she did as asked,
lowering herself on the couch.
“Won’t you ask me why I’ve come back earlier than planned?”
Zari froze.
He took out the notice from his pocket, something the school had sent.
At the sight of it, his pet’s eyes widened. He asked grimly, “Why haven’t
you been attending your classes, pet?”

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 Walking back to the castle, she and Alexandru passed a vampire feeding on
his pet. When they were out of earshot, she whispered to him, “It’s just not
right. I really think this pet business is just a form of vampires taking
advantage of humans.”
Alexandru only shook his head. “You always surprise me with how
contradictory you are. It’s the way of the world.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time, but the silence wasn’t good. Just
when he was about to ask what was wrong, she said something. So softly he
wouldn’t have heard her if she didn’t own his heart.
“Like us?”
She looked at him with sadness in her eyes, and like she always did, her
next words disarmed him, her honesty something he had never been able to
match. “We can’t be together because it’s the way of the world?”

A
sob tickled Zari’s throat as her Master knelt in front of her. It was not
right, this position. It should have been the other way around, and
that it wasn’t so threw her off, tempting Zari to think of things that she
didn’t have a right to think. It wasn’t just because she was only his human
pet. There were things she could never ever think because...because
although she loved her Master, he loved someone else.
Alexandru asked quietly, “Is something wrong?”
She shook her head, unable to meet his gaze.
He sighed. “Even if you don’t tell me anything, even if you’re able to
hide your thoughts, it doesn’t matter. You know that, don’t you?”
He touched her heart, surprising Zari into leaning back, her head jerking
up. In that moment, he was able to capture her gaze. “I only have to feel
your heart beating, and I know when you’re sad, happy, afraid—-”
“You’re being too melodramatic, Master,” she tried to joke, but it fell
flat.
“You’re being too secretive.”
The words scraped her raw even though she was sure he didn’t know it
would make her feel that way. She was not keeping the secrets here. He
was. And that secret had been tearing her apart ever since she had found out
about it.
She remembered the last time she had a vision of Alexandru, something
she had never told him. He had been talking to his brother, Mihail, and his
last words were of...her. But it was not the kind she had ever wanted him to
say.
“Even if Zari is indeed my heartkeeper, I will not claim her as such. My
heart belongs to Katarina, no one else.”
Without thinking, she asked, “What’s a heartkeeper?”
Alexandru froze. How had she known? Could she have had a vision of
him? It was the only possible answer since those who knew about her were
also people she couldn’t have ever had the chance to talk to.
He looked into her eyes, and what he saw made him reach for her
hands. She tried to pull her hands back, but he was too fast, and he
tightened his hold, letting her know he wouldn’t be letting go.
“Zari...”
She flinched. Somehow, hearing him say her name like that hurt. No,
she didn’t like him calling her that. It was her given name, but somehow
when he was the one saying it, he made her feel like a stranger.
Seeing her pet flinch made him curse silently. This conversation was
going nowhere. “Whatever it is, it’s not something you should worry
about,” he said gruffly. He stood up, and a second later, he had lifted her up
in his arms. Words were pointless now. No matter what he’d say, Alexandru
knew it wouldn’t be able to make her feel any better.
Her vulnerability was made more apparent when she didn’t even
protest, only hiding her face in the crook of his neck.
He laid her on the bed, kissing her as he followed her to it. “Don’t
think,” he whispered against her lips. “Just don’t think.”
Zari nodded. It was a command she was more than willing to obey since
thinking would only bring more heartache. She closed her eyes as she
surrendered herself to her Master’s expertise. They moved in synchrony
even without either of them speaking, her body automatically lifting up so
he could take off her jacket and blouse. Soon, they were both naked, and it
became so much easier not to think the moment his hard body pressed
against her, covering every inch of her heated skin.
So easy not to think, not to feel, not to remember that he hadn’t been
able to tell her what a heartkeeper was.
And maybe it was better this way, Zari thought as she squeezed her eyes
shut more tightly. Not knowing what it was meant not knowing how much
her Master had given up, how much he loved that other woman more than
he could ever care for her.
 Above Zari, her Master said, “You’re still thinking, pet.”
Her eyes flew open. “I didn’t—-”
His smirk was her only warning, and then his fangs slid through the side
of her neck. Pleasure burst inside her, Zari’s body arching against
Alexandru’s as her senses swam. He drank from her, and she embraced him
more and more tightly with every sip, her arms and legs locking around
him.
There was nothing like this, the sweet, sinfully drugging beauty of
feeding her Master, and she rocked against him, breathless and silently
begging him to never stop.
The sinuous movements of his pet’s body were intoxicating, making
Alexandru want to drink from her more and more. But he forced himself to
stop in the end, not wanting her half-conscious when he took her. He
wanted her alive and aware the moment he possessed her with his cock,
wanted to hear her make noise because she wanted him as much as he
wanted her.
Zari couldn’t help but sob when Alexandru retracted his fangs. He
licked her skin to help it heal, pressing a kiss to the same spot afterwards as
if apologizing for ending it. “Master.” She moaned, the only thing she was
capable of saying to express her acute need for him.
“I know, pet.” His hands caressed her breasts, making them swell
against his palms. He licked her nipples, using his fangs, and instead of
fearing its treacherous sharpness, she was aroused by it, her nipples
puckering up.
“Master...” Her moan was louder, more plaintive, and he could have
listened to it over and over because he loved it when she was like this. She
never asked for anything, this pet of his...or at least she didn’t ask him for
anything but this.
And this, the passion, the desire, the pleasure, he would more than
gladly give to her. Fuck her until they were both out of their minds, for as
long as she wanted.
He sucked her nipples until she was panting loudly, her nails scraping so
hard against his back he knew it would leave marks. But still he continued
sucking, using his tongue and fangs to play with her nipples until he got
what he wanted, her legs tightening around his waist, and she was grinding
her lower body against his, pressing her pussy against his cock.
 The friction it caused was delicious, the way she rubbed and ground her
wonderfully moist flesh against his rigid erection slowly driving him out of
his mind as well.
Her fingers tightened around his hair, forcibly pulling his head off her
nipples, and he let her because he liked it when she was a fierce little kitty
like this.
Her eyes had turned into a stormy shade of gray. “Master, take me.” A
demand and a plea.
“As you wish, pet.” And he used his preternatural speed to take her by
surprise.
His pet screamed, the shock of his cock sliding into her – when it was
nowhere even near her pussy a second before – intensifying the pleasure.
“Master.” She panted it out, screamed, whispered, moaned – she
released whatever sound she needed to ease the ache inside her body, one
that only Alexandru could satisfy.
His cock was like a large, hungry animal, and only her body could feed
it. His cock devoured her, taking and taking more with each thrust. And she
gave, oh, she gave his cock everything it wanted because deep inside, that
was what she wanted. As his human pet, she wanted him to feed from her,
to be satisfied with her and by her, forever.
His need going out of bounds, Alexandru could no longer control his
thrusts. His body slammed against her, his cock plunging inside her, over
and over.
This time, when Alexandru growled her name, she didn’t mind it
because this time, it didn’t sound like goodbye.
“Zari,” he gritted out. His hands clasped the cheeks of her butt,
tightening. “I want you to come with me.”
“Yes, Mas—-aaaaaaaaah!” Again, he had used his powers to take her by
surprise, his cock moving so fast and hard no human could ever think of
matching it. It was like a machine, but God, in such a good way, so fast and
hard she wished he could pound into her forever.
She came, as fast and hard as his thrusts, and only moments passed
before he was shouting her name again, his seed pouring inside her, hot and
creamy, and so good it made Zari throw her head back even as she clung to
him as tightly as she could. She wanted it all, didn’t want a single drop of
his come to leak out of her. If she couldn’t have her Master’s heart, surely it
was okay to have even just this.
 Her eyes drifted closed again as she felt the aftershocks of her release
fade. Dimly, she felt her Master kissing her forehead. She protested
drowsily when she felt him pulling away, but it didn’t stop him, her Master
only chuckling and pressing a kiss on her lips. She could have sworn he
whispered he wouldn’t leave her, but she was too tired, too sleepy, to be
sure.
When she woke up, her Master was gone. Panic bubbled inside her, but
she forced it down, trying to keep herself calm as she reached for her
phone. She only wanted to check if she had a message from Alexandru, but
instead the dead came calling, sending a vision so horrid it had her crying.

GREEN.
The color of leaves above him as the world started to blur. Someone
was drinking from his neck, and because Zari was inside him, this man who
was dying, she felt like that person was drinking from her.
It hurt, so much because it had taken his (her) killer fifteen painful
minutes to rip a hole in his neck. God, if he (she) had known, he (she)
would have given his (her) attacker his (her) own knife instead.
Kill me now. That was what he (she) wanted to say.
Pain merged their thoughts, his and hers, and the green leaves around
him seemed to merge as well, or maybe it was just because they were dying,
making their imaginations start to play tricks on their minds.
A shadow fell over them, the world temporarily losing its greenness.
Now, the world had the face of their killer.
And it was not Rhapsody.

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 The door was open, allowing him to enter the workshop without knocking.
He found her bent over the desk, several open books before her. Her long
blonde hair fell against one shoulder, exposing the lovely slim column of
her throat. The sight of it had his fangs coming out, and memories of the
taste of her blood had his body hardening. There just wasn’t any pleasure
that could match what he felt when drinking from her.
His presence masked, he was able to stand directly behind her without her
hearing a thing. He cupped her nape, and as she gasped in surprise, he
already had her facing him and stealing a kiss from her sweet lips.
When he pulled away, the way she looked at him had Alexandru kissing her
again and again, until both of them were panting, bodies straining against
each other.
“You shouldn’t be doing that,” she said breathlessly when he lifted his
head.
“Then don’t look at me like that. Like you want me but can’t have me.” He
brought her hand to his cheek, and turning his head slightly, he brushed his
lips against her palm. It was made coarse by hard work, but it didn’t repel
him. Rather, it made him proud, the way she fought so hard to be
independent and carve an identity for herself. This coarseness was the
result of the many people she had helped, of lives she had saved with her
very own hands.
“You have me,” Alexandru whispered. “You always had me. Just say the
word and I’ll let everyone know who owns me.”

L
ord Erou Damaschin stood next to her in the forest, his boyishly
handsome face sober as he studied the outline on the ground. Or at
least that was what he had said. The outline of where the corpse had been
found was drawn using a special ink, one only otherworlders could see.
Zari tried to keep still as she waited for Erou’s conclusions. With golden
hair and eyes, fair skin, and a gentlemanly air about him, he looked every
inch the nobleman that he was, being the son of the Earl of Avere. If not for
the soldier’s uniform he was wearing, no one would have guessed what his
chosen profession was.
“To reach this spot,” Erou murmured, “you would either have to come
from the school or the other end of the forest, which borders the town
proper.”
 “I don’t think he’d have been able to enter and exit the school without
anyone noticing,” Zari said.
“I think so, too.”
“But...” Zari glanced at the forest, which she herself hadn’t ventured
into. “He couldn’t have made it here through that, could he? Unless all
those stories about poisonous plants are just stories?”
‘Creepy’ didn’t just cover it. The trees were bent with age, their leaves
not just dark and withered but black. No matter how much she squinted,
everything in the forest was black. The age-spotted trunks, the rotting
leaves, the mud-swathed ground...it was all just black.
Something inside her head clicked. “Lord Erou,” Zari gasped. “He
didn’t die here.”
Erou straightened. “What do you mean?”
“In my vision...one of the last things he saw was green. The leaves
above him, they were green. So he died in a forest, but not this forest.”
“So that’s why.” Erou crouched down, brushing his fingers on the
ground. “When someone dies, the person would usually leave some kind of
essence, a remnant of his last dying moments. But this one...I wasn’t able to
sense anything.”
When Erou came to his feet, his gaze was troubled. “I hope you haven’t
made your interest in this case obvious.” If it had been up to him, he
wouldn’t have allowed her to come here. But since he wasn’t her Master, all
Erou had been able to do was accompany Zari and make sure she was safe.
Zari couldn’t meet his gaze.
That wasn’t good. “Lady Zari?”
“I, umm, might have...befriended...one of the suspects in the case?”
Erou groaned.
“But it’s just because everyone thought she was the one who killed the
man even though they have no proof at all,” she said defensively. “I felt bad
for her and so I just wanted to talk to her and then...” Her voice trailed off.
“You know what I think?” He took a step closer to her. In the past,
doing so would have made her back away. But she didn’t, which convinced
him further that his hunch was right.
“All this is just your way of distracting yourself about what’s really
bothering you.”
She looked away, muttering, “Nothing’s bothering me.”
 “Yes, there is. Something has been bothering you since the time we
caught the serial killer at the library.” She had almost died there, and
thinking about it still made Erou’s heart race. Even though he had spent so
many years in the company of humans, pretending to be like them as part of
his job, their fragility had never really dawned on him until he realized how
Zari had placed herself in mortal danger, using her visions to track down a
killer who had been preying on the humans in town.
Since then, Erou had been unable to stop himself from keeping an eye
on her, and it was for that reason he was able to tell her, “I know you’ve
been skipping classes, too.”
Her eyes widened.
“The school’s administration is very understanding and forgiving, but it
has its limits. If you continue with what you’re doing, you could be
suspended – even expelled.” He paused. “I’m sure it was what’s on Lord
Alexandru’s mind as well and why he came back mid-hunt.”
This was news to Zari. “I didn’t know he hadn’t finished the hunt.”
Alexandru had made it seem like it was done, she thought uneasily. Was that
so she wouldn’t feel guilty like she was feeling now?
The revelation didn’t please Erou. Anything that hinted of the powerful
hunter thinking of Zari as something more than his human pet was
definitely not good news, at least not where he was standing.
He looked at Zari. Eighteen. Soul seer. Human. They were not the ideal
pair, but the urge to claim her vibrated strong and constant like his
heartbeat. There was something about her that made him feel. All these
years, honor and pride in his work had been the only things that kept him
going. But they had not made him feel alive.
Only Zari did.
When he had been dying, she had come to his aid, uncaring of the rules
she would break. That they had been strangers then didn’t matter to her
either. “That day,” Erou heard himself say. “Why did you do it? Why did
you let me feed on you when Alexandru’s your Master?”
“You were dying—-”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t think that’s just it.” He captured her
wrist when she was about to turn away, using his strength to pull her back.
She gasped as their bodies came into contact, his muscular body making her
feel even softer against him.
 Zari said nervously, “Lord Erou, please let me go.” She couldn’t
understand what had gotten into her friend. He had never been
this...insistent. Although he had let her know from the very start that he
wanted her to be his pet instead of Alexandru’s, he had always respected
her decision.
Until now that was.
Erou said quietly, “I’ve been called by my father. I need to go back to
Chalys and stay there indefinitely.”
Oh.
“I want you to come with me.”
Her heart broke at the words. “Lord Erou...”
His lips curved in a bleak smile. “That’s what I figured.”
Her heart hurt a little more. “I can’t,” she whispered.
“That’s why I asked. That’s why I hope you can answer.”
She wanted to look away from his gaze because she knew what she was
about to say would hurt. But she didn’t. Lord Erou deserved her to face his
feelings head on, just as he had shown her his feelings openly, even if he
had known from the start that she belonged to someone else.
“I was thinking of my Master.” Even though her voice wavered, her
gaze remained steady on him. “I thought that if I gave my blood to you, the
day would come that when he needed the same help, there would be another
person who would do the same thing for him.”
And so it was always the hunter, he thought. Always had been the
hunter.

“YOU HAVE BEEN CRYING.” Rhapsody’s words were matter-of-fact like

they always were when she made the observation. Zari was in the other
girl’s room. When Erou had insisted on walking her back, she had found
herself blurting out about wanting to visit Rhapsody first. Anything was
better than having Erou take her straight to her Master’s rooms. Above all,
Erou and Alexandru should not come face to face, especially not today.
At the girl’s words, Zari leaned back to check her reflection on the full-
length mirror mounted on the wall, and the red eyes that stared back at her
made Zari wince.
“Did Lord Erou make you cry?”
Zari was startled. “You know him?”
 “Part of my lessons during home schooling was to know every
important member of Chalysian society.”
“You’re amazing,” she told Rhapsody honestly.
“No. I’m just being practical.” The tone was as practical, without any
sense of bragging or false modesty.
Zari sighed. “I wish I could be more like you.” If she was, maybe none
of this would hurt as much. Something occurred to her, and she asked
haltingly, “Have you...have you studied about heartkeeping?” She held her
breath.
“Of course.”
“You have?”
“What do you want to know about it?” No curiosity, just a practical
offer of help.
Zari beamed. “I think I love you, Rhapsody.”
Slowly, the other girl blinked. “I apologize. I am not a lesbian.”
Zari burst into laughter. “It was just an expression, silly.” She turned to
face Rhapsody directly, who was seated in front of the computer, her fingers
flying over the keyboard as she typed her daily letter to her Master –
information that Rhapsody had also voluntarily given up. With the other
girl, Zari thought with a smile, what you saw was what you really got.
“What is a heartkeeper?”
“The closest term to it would probably be ‘soulmates’. Every creature
with demon blood—-”
Zari paled. Demon blood? Lord Alexandru had...demon blood?
“—-is born without a soul. Not having a soul makes it difficult for one
to be good. That’s the simplest way to define their challenge. Their only
hope of gaining a soul is through a heartkeeper – a person destined to share
his or her soul with the one with demon blood.” Rhapsody paused in her
typing, looking at Zari as she asked, “Do you wish to know more?”
“Lord Alexandru...he has demon blood?”
“He is half-demon, yes. His father was a demon, his mother a vampire.”
“And all the years he’s lived, he didn’t have a soul?”
Rhapsody hesitated. “I do not like talking about hearsay.”
“I do,” Zari answered promptly.
“What I will tell you has not been confirmed,” Rhapsody warned.
“I still want to hear it.”
 The other girl said slowly, “It’s been said...that in his younger days, he
had fallen in love with another vampire. And that girl was the one who
saved him, her heart acting like his soul.”

OceanofPDF.com
OceanofPDF.com
Alexandru watched her prepare to leave. She had come a long way to reach
this point in her life. To be strong and independent, to have the power to
help others. She was no weakling, this woman of his, but even so, it did not
stop worry from darkening his thoughts and making his heart heavy. He
said abruptly, “I don’t like you doing this.”
She didn’t look at him, didn’t stop packing her things as she said, “I know.
But this is what I’m meant to do.”
“Is it?” Alexandru couldn’t stop himself from asking.
Her hands stilled. The air became cold with her sadness. He almost took the
words back but he didn’t because it was what he felt.
Still not turning to look at him, she said softly, “Yes. It is...because I don’t
want my life to be defined just by what we feel for each other. I don’t want
people to only remember me because of who I am to you.”

“A
nother demon’s involved in this, am I right?” Sir Richard voiced
his speculation reluctantly, and it was clear to see on his face that
he already knew the answer to it.
“It’s the only possible way for the victim to get into this place,”
Alexandru answered. The two of them were locked inside the headmaster’s
office, which was hidden high on the school’s tallest tower. Although most
people thought of the chubby vampire as clumsy and harmless, Alexandru
knew it was only a façade and that the other man was, in fact, one of the
most vigilant protectors the school had on its side.
“Do you think the demon’s acting alone, or is it truly possible that one
of my students is involved?”
Alexandru’s gaze returned to the two files on the desk before him. One
was the girl everyone called the Madonna and whose Master was a well-
respected baron. The other was a mystery and her anonymous Master even
more so. Of the two, it was clear who appeared more likely a suspect. Of
course, leave it to his pet to befriend that same girl as well.
“Why did you accept this girl in your school, Sir Richard?”
“She was escorted here by vampires I personally know. They are
trustworthy. I would stake my life on the fact that they would never choose
to serve a vampire who wasn’t.”
He had many resources at his disposal, but none of it had proven useful
in unearthing any information about Rhapsody. Alexandru had a feeling
whoever her Master was, it would be someone even more powerful than he
was, and such beings were only a handful.
“Has her Master been informed of what’s happening?”
“Yes.” It was obviously all Sir Richard would say. “Have you come up
with any possible motive for this, Lord Alexandru?”
He shook his head. “I hate to say it, but another corpse will be the only
way for us to gather more clues.”
Sir Richard sighed. “I feared as much.” His fingers restlessly tapped on
the armrest. “The students are getting worried, though. I need to take some
kind of action. For the time being, I may have to place those two girls under
house arrest.”
Alexandru nodded in understanding.
“The Madonna, of course, will only look even more pitiful. She has that
kind of persona. But as for Lady Rhapsody...I am afraid this will only
isolate her even more. And people who are close to her may likely be
treated the same way.”
“You mean my pet.”
Sir Richard asked frankly, “Has she had a vision about the murder? Is
that why she’s suddenly developed a friendship with the other student?”
Alexandru shrugged, unwilling to admit the truth, and that was that his
own pet had stopped confiding her thoughts to him. He could, of course, try
to read her mind, stealthily, but such a thing was beneath him. Doing so
would make him seem to care too much about her thoughts, and that was
not a direction he wanted to take.
When he went back to his rooms, he expected Zari not to be there. She
had been avoiding him of late, and the only reason she was able to was
because he had let her. Since he had come back, his pet had looked at him
like being with him was an open wound. One neither of them wanted to
heal.
He opened the door, and the first thing that greeted him was her scent.
“Zari?” Her name slipped past his lips, surprise evident in his voice.
She was already dressed for bed, but instead of her usual pajamas she
had on a nightgown. With its high neckline, loose billowing sleeves, and
ankle-length hem, it would have been extremely modest if not for the fact
that it was completely transparent. Completely.
And his pet?
His wicked little pet was just naked under her nightgown.
 Completely.
“Welcome back, Master.” She was seated on the floor, her knees bent,
legs folded to the side.
Alexandru slowly locked the door behind him. As he walked towards
her, he asked, What’s this all about, pet?
He took a seat on the couch. She immediately moved close to him, and
Alexandru stiffened as her breasts, covered with such thin silk it felt almost
bare, brushed against his legs, making him stiffen.
At the question, she took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself.
What she was about to do was something she had read from Pet Grooming.
The magazine had the silliest name, but Rhapsody had assured her it gave
the most “proper” advice for a pet.
So...here...goes...
She looked up at her Master with the widest eyes possible. According to
the magazine, this was supposed to make her as irresistible as a puppy.
Alexandru’s lips tightened. What in hell was she doing really? Right
now, she appeared to be attempting to look like...an alien, with the way she
was trying to stretch her eyeballs to incredible proportions.
He told her as much.
Zari gasped, quickly returning her eyes to normal.
“What are you doing?” He had to ask. There were few things in this
world that his mind failed to comprehend, but this was definitely one of
them.
She mumbled, “I was trying to look cute.”
He was stunned.
“It’s been a while, Master. Haven’t you noticed?” Zari’s voice was
tremulous. “It’s been a while since you called me...that.”
Her words had the power of a nuclear bomb, quiet and precise at the
way it had his heart devastated, breaking into thousands of pieces.
His pet was rubbing her eyes, trying furiously not to cry, and his heart
shattered anew. “Zari...”
She looked at him.
And at that moment, it became undeniably clear.
She knew.
About Katarina.
About her being his heartkeeper.
About his heart no longer being Alexandru’s to give.
 “Right now, you are that.” His voice was hoarse. “Too damn cute.”
Heartbreakingly so.
“Make me feel like your pet, Master.” Because that’s all I can ever be.
She felt her Master stiffen, and she wondered numbly if he had somehow
managed to read her mind.
He felt so fucking helpless, the way his pet was struggling so hard not to
cry. Who had told her? He smelled the scent of two people on her. The Lady
Rhapsody and his rival, Lord Erou. Which one of them had told her the
truth – one he had been too much of a damn coward to tell her?
“Zari...”
There was something about his voice that warned her of what he had
decided. He was going to tell her about the girl who was his heart – his soul
– and she didn’t think she could handle it right now.
Maybe, maybe if she was older. Maybe if she wasn’t alone anymore and
it didn’t feel like he was all she had in this world.
Maybe then she could handle it.
But she wasn’t any of that.
And so Zari shook her head. “Master, this is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity.” She tried to sound lighthearted. “Are you sure you’re not
going to command me?”
His head dipped low, silently acknowledging her plea. If you don’t want
to talk about it now, pet, then we won’t talk about it. We will never talk
about it if that’s what you want.
Out loud he asked her, “Are there any limits to what you’re willing to
do, pet?” He saw her eyes light up, as if he had said something she had been
hoping he would say.
“There is nothing that I’m not willing to do for you, Master.”
He would give her an A minus for that, managing to choke only on the
last word. But even so, Alexandru couldn’t deny the thrill of possession that
jolted through him. Vampires like him were inherently proprietary and
dominant, and the words, no matter how it was delivered, were like a
seductive melody to his ears.
“Are you sure, pet? Anything?”
“Anything, Master.”
Had her voice always been this throaty? The thought had him looking at
her throat, and he imagined sinking his cock inside her mouth, so deep until
his entire length was covered and the head of his cock would hit the back of
her throat.
“Eat my cock.”
He expected her to blink in shock, to pull away or protest, but instead
she wet her lips, the erotic action causing his engorged cock to try burning a
hole out of his pants.
“I would love to, Master,” she whispered, “but you’ll have to teach me
how to do it properly.” The words, combined with the way she looked at
him under long lashes, were beyond potent.
In an instant, his clothes were on the floor and he had Zari on her knees
between his legs. “Wherever you’ve learned this stuff, pet—-”
The words had Zari’s eyes widening. How had he known she had
practiced for this?
He bared his fangs. “Keep learning it.”
And then he was drinking from her, making Zari gasp and shudder. But
it was over before she could even think about it, and her Master was leaning
back against the couch like an indolent god who knew that it was a
woman’s privilege to pleasure him. It was so blatantly arrogant she should
have been turned off but instead she was aroused, and dear Lord, wasn’t
that another proof of how hard she had fallen for her Master?
Zari felt his hands holding her head, and she let him guide her to his
erection, which looked even more enormous up close. She closed her mouth
over the huge sensitive head of his cock and was rewarded by the way her
Master groaned.
Slowly, patiently, he taught her how to eat his cock. She learned where
to lick, when to squeeze his balls, and how fast he wanted her fingers to
move. She learned how much he liked it when she gripped his cock tightly
like a vise, learned how biting his head ever so gently made him go out of
his mind.
Soon, his hands were gripping her hair tightly, his hips jutting, his cock
pushing fully inside her mouth in frantic motions. Once, he tried to pull her
off but she resisted, digging her nails into his thighs to let him know this
was what she wanted.
Him coming in her mouth.
“Zari.” The ragged note in his voice told her he was close, making her
strive to get all of him inside her mouth. She worked hard to control her gag
reflex, sensing how important it was for her Master to have the entire length
of his cock warmed by her mouth.
So. Fucking. Good. The words were all Alexandru could think, his mind
blown away by his pet’s unrestrained passion and desire to please him. Inch
by inch, his cock was lost deeper in her mouth, and when the head of his
cock hit the back of her throat—-
“Zari.” The strength of his release had him throwing his head back
with a groan, his cock shooting out jet after jet of come. Instead of being
overwhelmed, his pet took it all, swallowing every drop, and seeing her do
it had him coming even more, prolonging his orgasm until he didn’t think it
would ever end.
When it was over, he watched his pet lick her lips dry, a gesture that had
his semi-erect cock start to stir. She saw it, too, and her eyes widened at the
sight. “Master?” The way her Master’s cock was swelling in size, bit by bit,
had her gulping. Eating his cock had been an unforgettable experience, but
it was tiring, too, and she didn’t think she would survive it if her Master
took her now. The pleasure would just be too much.
Still, his cock grew.
“Master?”
Her panicky tone amused him. If he wasn’t feeling so spent himself, he
would probably have taken her, just so he could see his pet panic even
more.
“Relax, pet,” he murmured finally, taking pity on her. He patted his
knee, and she immediately rested her head against it. A second later, she felt
her Master’s fingers threading through her hair, stroking and massaging her
scalp. It was wondrously restful, and her eyes began to drift close.
He said quietly, “You didn’t go to your classes again, did you, pet?”
She didn’t want to answer.
After a beat, he murmured, “Where have you been then?”
“With Rhapsody.”
“And?”
“I was out in the forests with...Lord Erou.”
“Ah.” The hand on her hair stopped moving for the briefest moment. “If
you want me to be jealous, I am.”
She looked up at him. Was he jealous? Could he be jealous when she
was only his pet and another woman held his heart?
 Slowly, Alexandru said, “You’ve been looking at me like you’re always
on the verge of saying something.” He paused. “Is it the contract? Do you
want out?”
Zari looked away. “I’ll only leave you if you tell me to, Master.”
Gazing at her, he wondered why she felt both so close and yet so far. He
said flatly, “Then you must also remember that I’m selfish. I gave you a
choice in the past, pet. You chose to sign the contract and be with me. I
won’t ever let you go unless you ask.”

HER MASTER WAS GONE again when Zari woke up. It made her wonder
where he spent his time, made her wonder if he ever thought of her when
they were apart. The thoughts made Zari hate herself but even so, she was
helpless against the doubts that crowded her heart.
This is not like you, Zari, she berated herself as she took a quick shower.
You’re the girl who spent your whole life in the jungles, hunting for your
own food, building shelter from twigs and leaves, and living right next to
lions and tigers. It won’t be the end of the world if your Master leaves you.
But no matter what she said to herself, the words were all useless, her
heart stubbornly beating only for her Master and no longer for herself.
Outside her dorm building, Zari was surprised to find Lord Erou waiting
for her, looking like one of the Knights of the Round Table with his uniform
and the hilt of his sword gleaming under the sunlight. Girls who walked
past him all turned to give him second and third glances, longing in their
eyes. She had a feeling they would have fainted dead away if Lord Erou had
cared to return any one of those glances.
When she came to him, he said formally, “Good morning, Lady Zari.”
“Good morning, Lord Erou.” She belatedly remembered to curtsy,
making him smile.
“Where to?”
She blinked. “I don’t understand.”
“Are you going to class then?”
“Umm...”
“I thought as much. So where are you heading then? I’m sure,” he said
in a gentle teasing voice, “you’ve spent some time last night thinking of
another way to get yourself in trouble.”
She reddened.
 It was Erou’s turn to blink, the way she blushed so becomingly making
him lose his train of thought for a moment.
“I was wondering if there was a place we could go where we’d be able
to look up the Madonna’s background.”
“The library,” he answered readily. “There’s a section which only
Masters can access, and it contains all the necessary information about the
pets enrolled here.” At her questioning look, he explained, “It helps with the
selection process when a Master’s looking for a pet.” Again, he smiled, and
the friendliness of it had Zari wishing for one moment it was Lord Erou that
she had fallen in love with instead. Foolish, stubborn heart. Why couldn’t it
just beat for one whose own heart could still beat for her?
Inside the library, Erou’s presence was enough to have an assistant
hurrying to serve them, scraping and bowing as he escorted Erou and her to
one of the private offices at the back. He looked so nervous and intimidated.
Zari was beginning to wonder if she really knew anything about the
vampire beside her. He was always the perfect gentleman with her. It didn’t
make sense, Zari unable to think of anything Erou could have done to
inspire such fear.
Inside the office, Zari was stunned to find state-of-the-art servers
spanning an entire wall. Since the school went by the old-fashioned name of
La Scala Legaturia, which in English loosely translated to the “School of
Bonds”, she had expected the rest of the school to be just as primitive, with
dusty handwritten records rather than files encoded in a private database.
Erou headed to one of the computer stations and held out a seat for her.
“Lady Zari?”
“Thank you,” Zari said and tried not to be too self-conscious about his
nearness when Erou sat down next to her and bent forward to reach for the
computer mouse.
She jerked when upon moving the mouse, his arm brushed against her
breasts.
Erou flushed. “Apologies.” He hadn’t meant to cop a feel, but he was a
man, too. He would not forget how soft she felt against him.
She cleared her throat. “It’s all right.” Blushing, too, she quickly turned
her gaze to the screen. “Is it there?”
“Ah...yes.” This time, he was extra cautious as he moved the computer
mouse. He entered his password as a potential Master to access the database
and in seconds, he had retrieved the files of Miranda Donnelly.
 According to the files, Miranda was a Legacy pet, which meant she had
come from a family who had served vampires for generations. It was the
opposite of her situation. Zari was a First Made, a pet acquired through
“other” means.
She read the name of Miranda’s Master, who also happened to be a
baron. “Do you know him?”
Erou nodded. “He’s a jolly fellow, carefree, the kind who spends most
of his time in balls.”
“Do you mean parties?”
He shook his head. “No. I do mean ‘balls’. He’s lived in Chalys all his
life.”
“Ah.” Now Zari understood. The Kingdom of Chalys was a world-
famous attraction because all its people still lived according to traditional
Victorian customs. Women wore corsets and gowns, men wore breeches,
and people rode carriages and horses instead of cars and buses. There was
no Internet, no digital gadgets, and plumbing and air-conditioning were the
only modern-day technologies allowed on the land. Outside Chalys, humans
believed the customs were to make the kingdom a permanent tourist
attraction. What they didn’t know was that the old ways were to prevent
humans from finding out that ninety-nine percent of the kingdom was made
up of otherworlders.
“There’s a note on the file,” Zari remarked. “Something about her not
being a native from Chalys. Does that matter?”
“For old-fashioned families like the baron’s here, yes. Legacy pets
raised outside Chalys are considered...impure.”
“And the plot thickens,” she muttered. Miranda was the killer. That was
a fact. But why did she kill a homeless man? She needed evidence to clear
Rhapsody’s name, but her visions didn’t count since Alexandru would kill
her if she ended up revealing herself as a soul seer.
“Insanity is always a possibility,” Erou suggested, his tone pensive as he
scrolled down to read the rest of the file. “But I’ve talked to the guards
deployed to watch her and they haven’t noticed anything strange about the
girl.”
“Then maybe, whatever made her do it only happened in the past. And
it has yet to happen again.” Her eyes slid back to the screen and the photo
of Miranda Donnelly looked back at her. She was like Little Miss Girl Next
Door, someone who wouldn’t even be able to hurt a fly. Her background
was impeccable and there was nothing dysfunctional about her family.
“What if it’s the baron?” Zari asked. “What if he’s the one making her
do it?”
“For what purpose?”
She lifted her shoulders in a confused shrug. “I don’t know...I just feel
like this girl’s so devoted to her Master...wouldn’t it seem like whatever’s
caused her to do that, it would have something to do with the baron?”
Someone knocked on the door.
“Enter,” Erou said.
The door opened, the assistant bowing before mumbling, “Another
Master would like to use the room, milord.”
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Erou said. “Thank you.”
“Understood, milord.” The assistant bowed again before leaving.
“We have to go,” Erou told her as he stood up and pulled her seat out
for her. “This room can only be used by one Master at a time.”
“Oh. I see.”
The worry in her gaze prompted him to say, “I’ll have someone ask
around about the baron.” His words had her brightening. The sight of her
smiling was both a painful and joyous sight. Why, he wondered, did he have
to feel this strongly for a girl who couldn’t be his?
“Lady Zari...” He had been about to reach for the knob before turning
around, surprising Zari into stepping back. The sight had his jaw hardening.
This time, she was stepping back. It meant something had happened
between her and the hunter – something that probably caused Zari to harbor
false hopes again.
“You know this won’t end well, don’t you?”
She nodded.
Frustration lined his voice as he demanded, “Then why? Why would
you choose him?” He stepped towards her, something in him making Erou
want to hold her—-
But before he could, the door opened.
In front of him, Zari whitened.
Even without looking behind him, Erou already knew there was only
one person who could make Zari react like that.

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 The moment Alexandru appeared in the doorway, a breathtaking smile
broke over her lips, prompting him to ask teasingly, “Did you miss me?”
Instead of answering, she asked, “Did you miss me?” She didn’t wait for his
answer, running to him with a laugh. He caught her in his arms, his lips
catching hers even as her legs went around his waist.
He raised his head. “Does that answer your question?”
She nodded.
“Come with me next time and we—-” He stopped since she had been
shaking her head the moment he spoke.
“You know I can’t,” she said softly. “You know you can’t. I will only be a
distraction to you when you hunt, and I don’t want that.”
“You’re not a distraction—-”
“No one will believe you even if it’s not true. You’re part of the ruling
family, and I don’t want the day to come that your people will think you’ve
failed them because of me.”

T
roubling reports from his men had Alexandru going to the library.
Killing demons could be complex, depending on their position in the
hierarchy. The demon he was hunting down was particularly high up in the
rank, and the more information he had about his opponent, the better his
chances of defeating the demon without any innocent bystanders suffering.
But when he reached the library, all thoughts of demon hunting were
forgotten when he saw his own pet entering one of the offices at the back
with another man.
It was Lord Erou of course.
The library assistant approached him. “You would like to use the office,
milord?”
He nodded curtly.
The assistant returned to him after a few moments. “They will only be a
minute.”
“That’s fine.” He walked towards the office, cracking his fists. He was
supposed to be a cold-blooded hunter, but right now all he could think about
was hauling the other vampire’s ass out of the office and beating him to
within an inch of his life.
This was not right. This feeling of obsession, of possession – he was not
supposed to feel this way for his pet. It was a betrayal in every sense of the
word, and he only had himself to blame.
 His powers muted, Alexandru was able to reach the office without either
of the two being aware of his presence. He listened to them talk about the
murder suspect, his body stiff with tension. He knew it was only a matter of
time before the soldier would talk about something else.
And he was right.
You know this won’t end well, don’t you?
A harsh smile touched Alexandru’s lips. Of course. A direct stab. He
should have expected that from the ever-uptight vampire.
Then why? Why would you choose him?
If he was a good man, he would turn his back now and let nature run its
course. Let Damaschin open his pet’s eyes to the truth – that she had no
reason to choose Alexandru.
But he was not a good man where Zari was concerned.
He had always tried to be one, but with her, it was as if he was destined
to sin. And he would keep sinning, Alexandru knew, if that was the only
way to keep her as his pet.
Alexandru opened the door, Zari paling at the sight of him. The younger
vampire seemed to be as aware of his identity, murmuring “Lord
Alexandru” even before he had completely turned around to face
Alexandru.
His gaze didn’t let hers go. He wanted her looking at him and only him.
Alexandru offered his hand. “Let’s go.” His voice was neutral, but the
words were a command nonetheless.
When Zari took a step forward, Erou said bitterly, “I would have given
her up, you know. I would never have made a move if I thought there was a
chance you’d eventually admit your feelings for her.”
Alexandru’s jaw hardened at the challenging words, but he didn’t let his
gaze veer away from his pet. “Zari?”
“I see it in your face,” Erou snarled. “You want her—-”
“Of course I want her,” he exploded, finally looking at the other
vampire. “Would she be my pet if I didn’t want her?”
Zari’s heart was beating faster and faster as she listened Erou and her
Master exchange words. She didn’t know what to say or do, wasn’t even
sure that she should interfere. But then she heard Erou say, “You want her
more than that. Admit it.”
Her head snapped towards her Master.
 His pet was looking at him now, her heart – fragile but brave all at the
same time – in her eyes. In that moment, the weight of his past, all the
memories, good and bad, collided with the present, which came with the
most dangerous risks and the most wonderful promises.
But in the end, he knew he could only make one choice.
When Alexandru looked at her, Zari’s knees nearly buckled. Even
though he hadn’t yet spoken, she already knew, just by the way her Master
was looking at her with regret in his eyes.
“I wish it was so, but she can only be my pet.” Before he was even done
speaking, he was already striding towards Zari, the pain his words caused
her something he felt as well. “Zari—-” He reached for her.
She pulled back unthinkingly, her heart breaking when her Master
whitened at her rejection. “Master, I...” But she was still at a loss for words.
What was there to say when he had good as killed all her hopes?
“Look at me.” A command. “Is it that bad?” His voice was almost
violent. “Tell me. Is it that bad, being my pet? Have I ever made you feel
that you don’t matter to me?”
He reached for her again, and this time she let him. But the moment
their hands touched, she went still, her eyes turning completely white.
Alexandru stilled as well, knowing that she was about to have another
vision.

BLUE. SO, SO DARK, but it was blue. The darkest shade of blue, like
sapphires kissed by death.
Choking. She was choking, and she was struggling against something.
Not someone. Something. Inhuman. Too strong. Too fast. One moment,
breathing was a part of life. The next moment, breathing had become a
luxury.

WHEN SHE CAME BACK, she was in her Master’s arms, a place that was
once her haven. But now?
“Let me go,” she whispered.
Because she sounded like she was so close to breaking down, he
released her reluctantly. “What did you see?”
 Zari shook her head. Not meeting his gaze, she said, “Master, I had a
vision when I touched you.”
Alexandru’s face became expressionless. “And?”
“Did you really come back mid-hunt because of me?” A little laugh
escaped her, the sound tinged with hysteria. “You made me think it was
because of me, Master. Please don’t deny it. Everyone thinks the same
thing. Even Lord Erou.”
“Zari—-”
“But you didn’t, did you?” Her eyes became glassy. “You came here
because the hunt is here now. The demon you’re hunting is here now, and
you couldn’t even be honest with me about it.” She took another step back,
as if just his nearness now poisoned her. “Master, right now, I don’t even
feel like I’m your pet.”
“It’s not like that,” he gritted out. “Zari—-”
Her voice started to rise. “Right now, I can’t stop myself from thinking
about why you were looking for me in the first place. God...” Her voice
broke. “I just can’t stop thinking like I’m a tool to you. That you came back
here because you might need me to see—-”
“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT.”
“How can I believe you,” she cried out, “when I know that it’s for her
you’ve become a hunter? That you want her to be proud of every successful
hunt, that you want to prove everyone wrong, the people who stood in your
way—-”
He hauled her into his arms. “It’s not like that.” He cupped her face,
wanting her to see the truth in his eyes. “It’s not like that.”
But she didn’t answer, and her body remained cold and unresponsive in
his arms.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO HIDE your sadness from me.” The practical
advice came from Rhapsody as they headed to the dorm where Miranda
Donnelly lived.
Her Master had been gone for three days, hunting down the demon she
had seen in her vision. If she had one iota of sense in her, Zari thought
miserably, she wouldn’t care that Alexandru was gone.
Zari heard herself asking, “How did you get to be so strong? How do
you do it? How have you survived without your Master for so long?”
Pained bewilderment had her shaking her head. “I mean, you’re under
suspicion for murder and you don’t even seem to care.”
“I don’t.”
Zari’s jaw dropped.
“I know I didn’t kill that man. The Master knows the same thing. He
believes in me. That’s all that matters. He won’t let anything happen to me.”
The other girl’s face remained expressionless all throughout, and her voice
was a mirror of it.
“I wish I could be as strong as you,” she muttered.
“I’m not being strong, Lady Zari. I’m only being practical.”
They stopped in front of Miranda’s dorm. “Well, what we’re about to do
isn’t practical.”
The tall girl beside her nodded. “I agree. So why are we doing it again?”
“Because it’s the only thing we can do. We have no evidence against
her, I don’t want to battle a demon, and I’m too impatient to wait for
additional information about her Master. She’s our best bet.”
“So we will be playing the good cop, bad cop routine?”
Zari nodded. “It should work.”
It didn’t.
Fifteen minutes in the Madonna’s presence, and Zari and Rhapsody had
only succeeded in making more enemies for themselves. Although Miranda
had agreed to speak with them alone, she hadn’t really done much talking.
Also, she wasn’t alone. Instead, the other girl only cried her eyes out and
managed to look like the prettiest bully victim in school, the way her big
blue eyes welled up with unshed tears.
“I just don’t understand why you’re doing this to me,” Miranda sniffed.
Her soft voice shook with every word, and around them Zari could feel the
girl’s friends glaring even more malevolently at them.
She said in a low voice, “We know it’s you who did it.” She added
quickly, “And we have evidence.”
A beat of silence before Miranda shook her head, her angelic face pale
with hurt incredulity. “How can you utter such lies?”
“It’s not a lie. And we just thought we would like to give you a chance
to confess what you’ve done rather than have the enforcers take you away.”
Zari paused before saying meaningfully, “Before your Master finds out the
truth.” It was a shot in the dark. If Miranda’s Master was somehow behind
the murder, then she had just given herself away.
 The other girl didn’t answer, simply shaking her head like a dejected
pup.
When Zari and Rhapsody turned away, Miranda’s friends immediately
crowded around her.
“They’re still glaring at us, aren’t they?” Zari said under her breath to
Rhapsody as they reached the end of the road.
Rhapsody nodded. “You lied to her, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I did.”
“Why?” The other’s girl was quizzical.
“I wanted her to panic. Guilty people tend to give themselves away
when they panic.”
“Ah.” Rhapsody nodded. When they reached her dorm, the other girl
gave Zari a curtsy. “Thank you for helping me, Lady Zari.”
The sudden formality threw her off, and Zari hurriedly curtsied back.
“It’s, err, no problem.”
“I will write to my Master,” she told Zari in a still-serious voice. “I will
ask him what I can do for you, as a way of showing my gratitude.”
And then the other girl turned away and left before Zari could think of
what to say. She found herself smiling as she walked back to her dorm.
Perhaps...perhaps she had just made her first friend in school. It would
come in handy, especially considering what had recently happened between
her and her Master.
On her way to the dorm, Zari noticed new announcements pinned to the
community board. She stopped in front of it. The last time she had failed to
read the latest news, she ended up violating a new rule and landed in
detention because of it.
Please Welcome Our New Doctor!
Oh, finally, Mrs. Humphreys, the nurse at the infirmary, had an actual
doctor to help her out. It was good news...until Zari saw the name of the
doctor.
Katarina?
Surely...surely it was just a coincidence. Right?

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 Demons surrounded them, waiting, hissing, glaring. In other words, it was
just another day of hunting. Or it was except for the fact that this time,
Alexandru was not alone. Accompanying him was the Duke of Brimstone
himself, Silviu Draghici – the strongest half-demon in the world. And of
course, where Silviu went, his Galeré went as well.
“What,” Mihail, Alexandru’s brother, asked as he turned to the demon duke,
“do you think about before you go hunting?”
Silviu shrugged. “The usual. To kill as many demons as I can.”
Mihail glanced at Adrijan, and the half-Cetus said, “That it will be over as
soon as possible.”
“Before you even ask me,” Ilie, the shapeshifter, drawled, “I always think
of the same thing.”
His friends said in unison, “You want to fuck.”
Ilie’s sharp teeth flashed in the darkness. “Exactly.”
Alexandru suddenly sensed all eyes on him, making him pause from wiping
his sword clean. Without looking up from his task, he murmured, “Who
else?”
Mihail’s tone was careful when he asked, “You truly think of her that
much?”
“There’s never a second I don’t.”

A
nother day of unsuccessful hunting comes to an end, Alexandru
thought as his men came back to report to him. He had assigned each
of them a part of the town to scour, hoping that their combined presence
would force their target out of hiding.
But looking at his men’s faces, he knew that none of them would have
good news to share.
Even so, he asked, “Not a damn thing?” This demon, whoever it was,
might already be aware of Zari’s presence. And if that was so, then
Alexandru would kill him, even if it required him to go to hell and back.
What mattered was keeping his pet safe.
“It’s probably found a host,” one of his men answered.
Alexandru nodded. “We’ll just have to try harder tomorrow.”
His men bowed to him before they left, blending into the darkness
before disappearing completely. In a second, he was alone in the forest, but
Alexandru could feel it in his guts – the demon wasn’t that far away. Like
sensed like, and they both shared the same beast inside them. The only
difference was Alexandru had found a way to anchor himself in goodness.
The demon, however, had allowed itself to be swallowed by its inner beast.
Every time he finished hunting, he would call out to her. It had started
as a way to reassure her he was alive. Eventually, it had become his way of
staying in touch, one he continued to do faithfully throughout the centuries,
even if she had never replied. Not after they had parted.
I still haven’t found the demon, Kat. It worries me, but I do not let them
see this of course. He spoke to her in Chalysian, his words becoming formal
without Alexandru being aware of it. Back when they were young and the
world was just as young, it had been the only way for them to talk. The
more flowery the words, the emptier they were, and the simpler their
language, the more they felt – but couldn’t express.
I don’t know how or why, but I think it’s aware of Zari. Or at least it has
an idea of what my pet is. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping again tonight. I need
to be ready. I don’t want it to catch me unawares.
Alexandru’s head bowed.
Wherever you are, I hope you are all right. You are, as always, in my
heart.

ZARI’S HAND TREMBLED as she knocked twice on the infirmary’s door.

Mrs. Humphrey, the school’s human nurse, was the one to open the door,
her face visibly surprised as she asked, “Don’t tell me you’re injured
again?”
Zari quickly shook her head, stammering, “I’m, umm...” She hadn’t
really thought this through. Stuck for an excuse, she found herself clutching
her belly. “I feel pain here.”
Mrs. Humphrey’s eyes widened. “That kind of pain?”
She blinked.
But the nurse was already nodding understandingly, opening the door to
let Zari in. “Dr. Anton? A student is here to consult you about an unplanned
pregnancy.”
Zari sputtered in disbelief. What was the nurse saying? Before she
could correct Mrs. Humphrey’s erroneous assumption, the door to her left
opened, and a tall woman with short brown hair strode out of the room. She
walked with both confidence and grace, and her aura was warm and
friendly when she saw Zari fidgeting near the infirmary’s main door.
“Hello.” She had a cool, clear voice, the kind that belonged to someone
used to being in command. Like those of her kind, her face was unlined by
age, and the only hint that she was not human was when she smiled. It was
a beautiful smile, but it also showed the barest hint of her fangs.
Jumbled thoughts ran through Zari’s mind. How old was Katarina? Did
she grow up with her Master? Were they each other’s first love?
Her imagination went into overdrive, and suddenly all she could see
was her Master...with her. Alexandru and Katarina holding hands. Kissing.
Drinking from each other. Fucking.
Zari’s tummy hurt, this time for real.
The female vampire stopped next to Mrs. Humphrey. Still smiling, she
said, “I’m Dr. Katarina Anton.” She offered her hand.
Zari really didn’t want to take it, but good manners forced her to, and
just as she shook the doctor’s hands, Mrs. Humphrey said, “This is Lady
Zari, Doctor.”
The hand Zari was holding went still.
Did she know? When the doctor released her hand, Zari immediately
looked at the other woman’s face, and what she saw in the doctor’s eyes
told her she wasn’t the only one aware of who they were in her Master’s
life.
“...she’s one of the best doctors among her kind,” Mrs. Humphrey was
saying. “So it’s quite a coup LSL has managed to acquire her services.”
When the nurse had finished, the doctor gestured to her private clinic.
“Perhaps you could join me inside?”
Zari could only nod and as she followed the doctor to the clinic, feeling
like she was about to walk to her own death, the doctor suddenly stopped.
Turning around, she told the nurse, “I’m sure I can handle it from here, Mrs.
Humphrey.”
Zari’s eyes widened. No, wait – did that mean she was going to be alone
with this woman?
The doctor glanced at her wrist, the sleeve of her lab coat falling back to
reveal her watch. “It’s getting late anyway. It’s okay for you to leave for the
day.”
The nurse’s face brightened. “Really?”
Behind the doctor, Zari shook her head wildly at Mrs. Humphrey. Don’t
leave me!
The nurse frowned. “Lady Zari?”
 The doctor turned to Zari.
Zari immediately schooled her face to be expressionless. Or at least she
hoped it was.
The doctor asked pleasantly, “Is there a problem, Lady Zari?”
Was it just her imagination, or was there a threat in the way the doctor
said her name? Zari gulped. “Umm, nothing, Doctor.”
Before she knew it, the nurse was gone and she was all alone and locked
inside the doctor’s office. Looking at the doctor as she took her seat behind
the desk, Zari could still feel herself battling with disbelief. Was this
really...Katarina? The woman her Master loved?
The thought had her wanting to run away, but she knew it would be
pointless. Lord Erou was away from school again, but even if he was there,
he wouldn’t be the right person to talk about this. There was Rhapsody, too,
but it didn’t feel right either, troubling the other girl with her problems
when they barely knew each other.
She really had no one to run to, Zari thought painfully. None except her
Master, but it seemed like even her Master wouldn’t be hers much longer.
“So, Lady Zari...” The doctor – Katarina – inclined her head to the side
in question. “Would you like to talk about your—-”
Her eyes widened, and she belatedly remembered what Mrs. Humphrey
had said. “I’m not pregnant,” she said quickly. “Mrs. Humphrey...she
thought...wrong.” Her voice trailed off, her cheeks flaming in color.
“Oh.”
Was that, Zari wondered, relief in the older woman’s eyes? When
Katarina smiled at her again, it also seemed warmer, and unease started to
stir inside of Zari.
“I apologize for the misunderstanding.” The other woman paused. “But
if that wasn’t what you’ve come here for, then...is there any other thing I
may help you with?”
Zari bit her lip.
“I’m sure,” Katarina continued, “you didn’t come here for no reason.”
Hating how the other woman made her feel so defensive, Zari blurted
out, “I can say the same for you, don’t you think?” Unable to bear being
rude, she added reluctantly, “Dr. Anton.”
She expected Katarina to deny it, but instead the doctor’s smile faded,
and her face turned serious.
“Very well,” Katarina murmured.
 Unease turned into panic, and Zari suddenly didn’t feel like hearing the
truth. She burst to her feet. “I don’t think—-”
But Katarina had also come to her feet. “I—-”
She shook her head wildly. “I don’t want to hear this—-” She hurried to
the door, but of course Katarina beat her to it. Human speed would never be
a match against vampires.
When their eyes clashed, Katarina said, “I was wrong.”
Zari froze.
The older woman’s voice shook. “I know, you have your own lives now.
But I just can’t...I just can’t not...I know I was wrong. I was wrong to make
him leave. To push him away.”
She asked tremulously, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I want him back.”
Shock caused Zari to sway.
Katarina’s eyes widened in alarm. “Lady Zari—-” She reached for Zari,
and the moment her fingers curled around Zari’s arm, everything changed.
A vision.
One that may be her last—-
Zari started to scream.

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“Where is she?” Alexandru roared. Rationality no longer had a place in his
mind. He didn’t care how many vampires he had to knock unconscious,
didn’t care how many he had to fucking kill. If he had to turn the entire
dukedom upside down, he would. Whatever it took to find her again.
“Cease this.” Mihail appeared at the doorway, his eyes cold as he surveyed
the destruction his younger brother had caused. Dozens of his own soldiers
littered the ground, and their only sin was that they had followed the
command of their marquis.
Alexandru whirled around to face his brother, his face white with rage. “I
do not want to fight you, but I will if you do not tell me where she is.”
“I don’t know.”
“Stop with the lies,” Alexandru roared.
Mihail’s tone didn’t change. “Listen to me, brother. Truly listen. My voice.
My heartbeat. I do not know.”
Alexandru staggered back.
“It was her choice to leave.”

A
vision, just a vision, and visions can’t hurt.
She whispered the words over and over to herself, but still her
fears escalated, still Miranda kept walking towards her, and the closer she
got to Zari, the less she resembled a human. When she was in front of Zari,
she was no longer Miranda but a demon.
He lunged at her, and Zari screamed.
DON’T INTERFERE.
The demon threw her into the water.
She flailed and gasped, but it was as if someone was forcing her down.
Water rushed into her, and she began to choke.
She squeezed her eyes shut. A vision, just a vision, and visions can’t
hurt—-
ZARI.
The voice.
That voice.
It was her Master’s voice.
ALEXANDRU WAS BACK in the mainland, scouring nearby towns in the
off chance that he could sense the demon’s presence, when he heard his pet
scream.
The sound was filled with so much terror he immediately checked on
her using their blood bond.
Her pulse was faint, but her heartbeat was racing, and he knew she was
having a vision. The kind where the person she was seeing had also sensed
Zari’s presence...and turned the tables on her.
Zari. He used their bond to call her name. Cold sweat enveloped his
body as he waited for his pet to respond. He dared not do anything,
concentrating all his efforts on reaching out to her.
Something in their bond stirred.
Zari.
M-Master?
Come out of your vision.
I’m drowning.
No. You’re not. The panic in her voice made him want to kill someone.
Just follow my voice—-
B-but I c-can’t b-breathe—-
ZARI. His voice turned into a command. Do you trust me?
Her heartbeat raced faster at his question, and he knew, whatever Zari
was fighting, it was trying to literally scare her to death.
Master...
If you trust me, follow my voice and I will take you out of your vision.

KATARINA BREATHED A sigh of relief when she saw Zari Baltimore’s

eyes blink open. Vampires didn’t really have heart attacks, but if they did,
then it would probably be similar to what she had felt at seeing Alexandru’s
pet scream herself into a faint.
The young girl was disoriented at first, looking at Katarina as if unable
to even remember who she was.
This girl was everything that stood in her way, but at that moment, she
forgot all about it. At that moment, Zari Baltimore was a patient, and it was
Katarina’s duty as her doctor to make sure she was all right.
“Lady Zari.” She kept her voice soft and soothing, seeing how the
young girl was still trembling with shock. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”
 Consciousness started to return, the cloud of confusion gradually
clearing from the girl’s gray eyes.
“Relax. Don’t speak just yet. You’re still in shock.” Katarina checked
the girl’s pulse and placed a stethoscope on the girl’s chest, listening. What
she heard confirmed her thoughts, and she said quietly, “Lady Zari, it’s
really all right now. You’re fine. You’re safe. You’re no longer trapped in
your vision.”
The girl’s eyes widened.
“Yes. I know what you are.” The question in the human’s gaze was easy
to read, and Katarina said, “Your Master told me.” She knew, the moment
she had said the words, it was the wrong thing to do. It was petty, the way
she had this uncontrollable urge to prove to the girl that she was still in
contact with Alexandru even after all these years. Even if Alexandru was
her Master and Zari his pet.
But just looking at Zari made the urge stronger, more irresistible, and
Katarina heard herself saying, “He talks to me every time he finishes a hunt.
It’s to let me know he’s safe.”
The girl turned her face away.
“Please don’t think I will tell anyone about you. Your secret is safe with
me.” She said the words even though she knew it wasn’t why Zari was
desperately trying to hide her crying face, and she had the same reason for
not telling the girl that in the past few weeks, all Alexandru had been able
to talk about was her. His human pet.
Her Master had been talking to Katarina all this time. It felt like
betrayal even though Zari knew she had no right to feel that way. She may
be Alexandru’s most cherished pet, but at the end of the day, she was still
just his pet.
Did they talk about her, too, Zari wondered painfully. And if they did,
what did her Master say about her? Perhaps everything – including the fact
that she was so clearly crazy in love with him, the same way he was crazy
in love with this woman?
It was so tempting to cry, to lose herself in her pain, but Zari knew she
couldn’t afford it. Lives were at stake – and not just hers.
She forced herself up, taking silly satisfaction in the way her actions had
so obviously surprised the doctor.
Katarina frowned. “Lady Zari, I don’t think—-”
 “Thank you for taking care of me, Doctor,” Zari said, taking childish
pleasure in cutting the doctor off. “But I have someplace to go.” She didn’t
bother saying goodbye, yet another thing she took foolish pleasure from.
When Zari reached the school’s gates, she hesitated. As the doctor was
the one to trigger the vision, it was very likely she had been to a place that
the demon frequented. The question was – where?
If Katarina had only just arrived, then there could only be one possible
place she had been to before this. The more she thought about it, the more
certain she was that she had the right place. But...would she really go there
alone? Wasn’t it be better to tell her Master—-
A shudder of distaste ran through Zari. The thought of telling her
Master anything felt repulsive. She imagined her Master telling everything
she said to Katarina, and it made her want to gag.
Zari squared her shoulders. She could do this herself. It was time she
stopped acting like her only role in life was being her Master’s pet. It was
time for her to learn how to be a soul seer. Soon, it may be all she had left.

KEY SANGUIS WAS ONE of the largest keys in Florida, a place that
otherworlders had turned into a nest of haunted legends to discourage
humans from visiting. Every place in the island was foggy, but none more
so than Key Sanguis’ port. Since this was the first thing humans would see,
it had been deliberately built to dissuade and repel. The boardwalk was old
and creaking, the alleys surrounding it dark, twisting, and narrow. The
water was empty of boats, for everyone who lived in the island knew that
Key Sanguis had another port at the back, a beautiful secret that only locals
were privy to.
Here, Key Sanguis appeared to be dying, and the only sounds one could
hear was the whistle of winds that blew nonstop and turbulent waves that
were just as relentless as they rose and crashed.
As Zari made her way to the port, she was slowly able to piece together
a plan. It should work perfectly as long as she didn’t panic.
Once she saw Miranda, she would do Step 1, which was to send a text
to Rhapsody to get the enforcers to come here.
Step 2 would be to call Erou and set the phone to loudspeaker. He
would be her witness to their conversation, and he would be able to prove
that Rhapsody wasn’t the killer.
 Step 3 was if Erou didn’t answer. That was the only time she would
call...him.
Now, she only had to wait for—-
There.
From the opposite side of the road, Miranda was walking alone. Zari hid
herself behind one of the trees as she watched the other student suddenly
stop moving. She was visibly shaking, but her face was determined – it was
the first time Zari saw the other girl without her Madonna-like smile.
A second later, thunder began to clap above Zari. She waited for it to
rain, but none came, and yet thunder still roared above her. When she
looked up, Zari realized in horror that what she had been hearing was
actually a demon’s wings. They were dark and veined, vast and seemingly
with sharp edges. The demon’s wings flapped over her, and then it was
swooping towards Miranda. Caught between its vicious-looking jaws was a
man, whom the demon held by his collar.
When the demon was flying right above Miranda, it dropped its burden.
The man screamed, first in fright at the thirty-foot drop, but soon the
sound turned into one of agonizing pain, Zari hearing the bones on his back
snapping as he hit the boardwalk.
You know what to do.
Zari quickly covered her mouth at the sound of the demon’s voice, not
wanting to risk accidentally making a sound. Terror rose inside her because
she knew that voice. It was the exact same voice she had heard in her
vision.
The demon flew away, but Zari remained crouched behind the tree, fear
making her extra vigilant and cautious.
Soon, the darkness had swallowed the sight of the demon, and even the
thunderous sound of his flapping wings had faded. But even so, Zari
couldn’t make herself move, was no longer sure if she really had it in her to
face the demon again, if that was what it would come to.
From a distance, she heard something stir, and when she looked back at
Miranda, she saw that the other girl was reaching for the man’s neck—-
Oh my God, this was not part of the plan!
Zari panicked. Her mind skipped the first steps and went directly to #3.
She called her Master, set her phone to loudspeaker, and hurried to
Miranda. “Wait!”
The other girl’s head jerked up.
 Zari “accidentally” dropped her phone midway, not wanting the other
girl to notice it and realize what she was planning.
“Step back!” Miranda screamed. The man on the ground didn’t stir, his
injuries having rendered him unconscious.
Zari forced herself to a halt just a few feet away from the other girl.
“Why are you even doing this?”
“Someone like you would never understand,” Miranda spat. “You don’t
even know how lucky you are!” The girl’s eyes were crazed with despair
and fear. “Everyone knows your Master will never replace you—-”
“I-is that what this is about?” Zari stammered. “Your Master?”
Miranda let out a wild laugh. “You idiot! You really don’t understand
anything about being a pet, do you? Everything is about our Master. As it
should be!”
“Make me understand then. Because I just don’t see why you’d ruin
your life by killing someone—-”
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” Hatred blazed in Miranda’s eyes. “You
really are an idiot. A perfect life?” Her tone was harsh with irony. “My
Master is being forced by his parents to replace me. I’ve tried so hard to be
the perfect pet, but no matter what I do—-” She shook her head. “This is the
only way.”
“How can killing someone be the answer?”
“Because I’ll be a demon. I’ll be the only demon pet in the world, an
immortal. Someone who can feed my Master and make him powerful
forever.”
Miranda’s plan actually made sense, Zari realized in dismay, but only in
the most heinous, inhumane kind of way.
A cold light entered the other girl’s eyes. “And now you know too
much.” Her voice was calm. “You have to die.”
Zari slowly took a step back. There was something menacing about the
way Miranda sounded so calm and rational. Weren’t the craziest people like
this? The calmer they were, the more dangerous they were because they
were utterly convinced that they were sane and that everything they did was
right?
“Miranda, stop.” But she could only back away more and more as the
other girl moved towards her without stopping.
“Don’t do this—-” But even as she tried to reason with Miranda, Zari’s
mind was already considering the alternative. Of fighting for her life. The
girl was smaller, but there was no telling how strong she was. What if she
lost? The thought had her speaking again, loudly, hopefully enough for
Alexandru to hear her.
If he had cared to pick up the phone.
Right now, she wasn’t even sure if he was willing to do that for her.
“Killing isn’t right, Miranda.”
But the girl didn’t answer. She only continued to walk towards Zari and
look at her with impassioned and calculating eyes, as if she was already
trying to figure out how to hide Zari’s corpse when it was all over.
The thought had her babbling. “This isn’t like you. This isn’t you.”
But Miranda still didn’t answer.
Turning desperate, Zari blurted out, “Do you really think this is what
your Master wants from you?”
Something in the other girl’s eyes flickered, something that seemed the
only remnant of humanity left in Miranda. It wasn’t much, but Zari clung to
it, the only piece of hope that she could use to believe that she would get
out of this alive.
“I’m not talking about his parents. I’m talking about the baron –
because I know about him. I’ve r-read about him. He seems like a good
man, someone w-who would really appreciate—-”
Zari lost her footing and fell on her back. When she opened her eyes,
she almost screamed, because Miranda was right in her face. A moment
later, and the girl’s hands were around Zari’s neck, and slowly, Miranda
started to squeeze. Hard.
Her vision started to blur. She tried to push Miranda away, but the other
girl was too strong.
“Miranda.” She looked at the other girl desperately. “Think...”
“You have to die.” Calm. Cold. Every emotion suppressed. “I’m sorry.
It’s nothing personal.”
Zari still tried to struggle. “Please.”
“I need to do this—-”
“Miranda.” She fought for breath even as the world became blurrier
with each second. “Baron. You really think...he will be...happy...you
became like this...for him?”
Miranda didn’t speak.
But slowly, her fingers answered for her, easing around Zari’s neck. She
choked and coughed, gasping for breath, unable to believe that she had
managed to get through the other girl. When she opened her eyes, Miranda
was crying.
“Miranda—-”
The other girl shook her head. “Run.”
It was the last word Miranda said before her face morphed into a
demon, the parasite on her soul completely taking over.
Zari scrambled to her feet and ran. Her feet padded hard and loud
against the road, but no matter how fast she tried to run, it seemed like she
couldn’t get away fast enough, the sound of her attacker’s furious and
hungry snarls always sounding like it was just an inch away from her.
As she veered towards the boardwalk, heart thumping hard against her
chest, Zari couldn’t help but look back—-
It was her biggest mistake, the action slowing her down. It was all the
demon-possessed girl needed, and Zari screamed as Miranda’s arms
wrapped around her, chaining Zari to her just before she tossed Zari and
herself into the water.
It was her vision all over again.
Zari kicked and shoved, trying desperately to get away from Miranda.
But still the girl clung to her, the demon making Miranda’s lips stretch into
a ghastly grin even as Miranda’s own body was dying with Zari’s.
She held her breath as long as she could underwater, but she could feel
herself weakening, the constant struggle to break free causing her to
consume even more oxygen under water.
Each second made her dizzier, and her lungs felt like they were about to
burst into fire any second. Was this really how she was going to die?
Above her, a streak of white flashed, something – someone – diving in
and causing the water to ripple.
It was Katarina.
The vampire swam towards them, a knife in her hands. Miranda’s eyes,
made red by possession, widened at the sight of it.
Katarina reached them and Miranda fought wildly even as she kept Zari
to her, never letting go.
The presence of Zari in the arms of the possessed made it difficult for
Katarina to attack, the female vampire fearful of accidentally hurting Zari.
But even so, she didn’t stop going into the offensive and finally, when
Miranda started to weaken, her own lungs failing her, Katarina dove
forward, and this time she managed to slice the girl’s arm, drawing blood.
 Behind her, Zari felt Miranda stiffen as the girl’s blood slowly turned
the water around them into pink.
And then she heard Miranda whisper.
Please don’t tell my Master.
The arms around her fell away.
When Zari flipped around, she saw Miranda’s mouth parting open.
Katarina’s wound had allowed the girl to reclaim her body from the demon,
and this time Miranda had decided to keep permanent ownership the only
way she knew possible.
In death.

IT HURT ZARI’S PRIDE to let the female vampire swim her back to the
surface, and it hurt even more that Katarina had to carry her up because she
no longer had any strength left. Even when she was lying on the boardwalk,
right next to the still-unconscious man that the demon had chosen to be
Miranda’s next victim, she still couldn’t stop choking. Couldn’t stop crying.
“Doctor?”
Still on her knees, her body shaking because of the fight, Katarina
turned to the girl.
“Miranda asked...” Zari swallowed. “She asked me not to tell her
Master.”
Slowly, Katarina nodded.
“She loved him...” Zari whispered. “—-very much, you see.”
Katarina said quietly, “I promise. I will keep her secret.”
“T-thank you.” Zari closed her eyes. “H-how did you find me?”
“I knew enough about the case and your abilities to figure out that your
vision may have made you decide to hunt down the killer yourself.” A
pause. “Alexandru’s been trying to talk to you through your bond, but I told
him you’re too weak.”
Unlike her, Zari thought dully.
Zari heard Katarina get up. Forcing her eyes to open, she saw the female
vampire walking away. When Katarina came back, what she held in her
hand made Zari’s lips part in a silent gasp. How did Katarina know?
Katarina’s eyes were on her as she spoke. “Alexandru?”
There was a moment of silence before Alexandru spoke. “Is my pet
okay?”
 “Yes. She is.”
Another pause. “Good. I’d like the chance to kill her when I reach her.”
“I don’t think I’ll bother to tell her that.”
A chuckle, one that made Zari’s heart break.
And then Alexandru asked, quietly, so quietly, Zari almost couldn’t
make the words out. “Why are you there, Kat?”
Looking at Zari, Katarina said, “Because I want to be with you.”

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 He had chased her to the ends of the earth, and finally they met again.
“Alexandru.”
It made him furious that she sounded so surprised. “You really think my
love can be killed just like that, Kat?” He gripped her arm, hauling her
close to him. “If you disappear, I’ll just hunt you down. If you marry
another man, I’ll just kill him. That’s how much I love you.”
“But I’m not your heartkeeper,” Katarina said brokenly.
“It doesn’t matter,” he hissed. “Do you understand me? It will never matter.
I don’t give a fuck if you’re not my heartkeeper. It’s MY heart. MY heart. Do
you understand? It’s MY heart, and I decide who keeps it for me.”
“I cannot be with you. My honor will not allow me.”
Alexandru looked sick at her words. “You will truly choose honor over
me?”
“Don’t look at it like that,” she pleaded.
“Sometimes, I wonder if you truly love me.” Alexandru’s voice was bitter.
“I’ve turned my back on my inheritance for you. I’ve chosen to give up ever
having a soul for you. But still you choose not to be with me.” He shook his
head. “What more, Kat? What more do I have to do to make you choose
me?”
Somewhere deep inside her, Katarina knew he was right. She loved him, but
she loved her honor equally. Perhaps, like he said, she loved it even more.
The right thing would be to finish everything between them now, once and
for all, but she couldn’t do it. She wanted it all. She wanted her honor and
she wanted Alexandru to keep loving her.
“I will always love you, Alexandru. Even if you find your heartkeeper, even
if you allow your heart to be snatched by another woman, I will always love
you.” She said the words, knowing that Alexandru’s own honor would make
him believe she said them to free him. But that had always been his flaw. He
had always thought she was someone good, but she was not.
She looked at his eyes and knew that he believed every word, knew that
Alexandru didn’t suspect the truth. She said the words to bind him to her
forever. To prove to those who were against them that no matter what
happened, this hunter would be hers. Forever.

W
hen the enforcers officially declared the murder case solved, Zari
was startled to feel someone squeezing her hand.
It was Rhapsody.
 She asked immediately, “Are you okay?” It was not like her new friend
to display any kind of emotion.
Rhapsody slowly released her hand. “Thank you for clearing my name.”
She added solemnly, “My Master and I have also thought of a way to return
your kindness.” Her voice lowered. “If you ever wish to leave and be alone,
he can have it arranged, even just for a while, and there is nothing – not
even your Master or the headmaster – can do about it.”
As they joined the queue of people filing out to leave the courtroom,
Rhapsody stressed, “Anytime, Lady Zari. You just have to say the word.”
They stepped out of the room. “I must go now. I still have to write to my
Master about what happened today.”
And then Rhapsody was gone before Zari could even say goodbye.
Suddenly, the hairs on her nape started to prickle.
She whirled around.
There, standing out in the crowd of students, was Alexandru. Her
Master. Even though it had only been days since she had last seen him, last
night’s events had made it feel like an eternity. Had he always this been
gorgeous, she wondered painfully. It was weird, but somehow it felt like he
became more and more irresistibly beautiful in her eyes each day.
She started to call out for him, but then she heard another voice calling
his name. Her head whipped around. It was Katarina, hurrying towards
Alexandru.
When Alexandru saw the light in his pet’s eyes fade, he started for her
immediately. Dimly, he heard Katarina – his Katarina – calling his name at
the same time. Everything in him wanted to answer her. It had been so long
since he had heard her voice, so long since he had last seen her. Touched
her.
But right now, he knew that it would be the gravest sin to do so.
Right now, he had to focus on his pet.
Zari was already walking away, but he caught up to her easily, spinning
her around to face him. The pain in her gray eyes made Alexandru flinch.
There were just so many times he had hurt her. He had promised to cherish
her, to protect her. And he had meant it. So why did he keep hurting her in
the end?
“Zari...” He found himself strangely lost for words. His feelings no
longer made sense. All he knew was that he just wanted his pet to stop
hurting.
 She wanted to answer, but again she saw her. She said tonelessly,
“Someone wants to talk to you, Master.”
Alexandru refused to turn around. “I’m here to talk to you.”
Behind him, Katarina said his name again, making him freeze. The
Katarina he knew was not like this, drawing attention to herself – to
themselves. She had been the opposite in the past, doing her utmost best to
hide the fact that they were together.
So what made her change now?
“Alexandru—-”
“Not now, Katarina.” His gaze never wavered from his pet as he said the
words.
“I understand.” Her voice shook, making Alexandru’s conscience sting
with guilt. He hadn’t meant to sound so dismissive, hadn’t meant to hurt
Katarina.
“I will wait for you to speak with me. I want you to know I understand
your responsibilities to your pet. And I would never want you to abandon
her.”
Alexandru heard Katarina inhale, as if trying to manage the pain
without giving up. “But I also want you to know that I’m here to stay. That
I came back to fight for you.”

HER MASTER HAD BEEN talking all this time. Nothing in his demeanor
showed that he minded how she hadn’t said a single word since they had
left the courtroom together. He told her how worried he was, let her know
that he had flown as fast as he could from the mainland to get to her. He
talked and she listened, and if he asked a question, all she could do was nod
or shake her head.
It was not revenge.
It really was all she could do so as not to break down.
Inside his rooms, Zari remained silent as she watched her Master draw a
bath for her and didn’t murmur a single protest when he took her hand and
slowly undressed her.
His arms were strong and gentle as he carried her to the tub, and then he
sat on the edge before slowly soaping her body.
Realization dawned, and she found herself looking at him. He was
pampering her. Why? Was it because she was his pet? Or was it because he
felt guilty?
Suddenly, she remembered the words he had told her.
I won’t let you go unless you ask.
Zari looked at him.
Alexandru froze when he saw his pet’s eyes. One look, and he knew
exactly what she was thinking. One look, and his heart felt so damn raw and
exposed. When she started to speak, he knew he couldn’t let her.
He just...couldn’t.
“Master—-”
Alexandru shook his head.
Don’t ask it.
Her body jerked at the words.
Her Master’s face was pale, but his voice inside her mind was fierce and
tight.
Don’t ask it.
I beg of you, pet.
Don’t ask it.
One, two, three teardrops started to fall. And soon it was countless, tears
raining down her cheeks. You’re so unfair, Master.
His heart bled at the sight, but still he couldn’t find it in him to take the
words back. When he reached for her, she closed her eyes, laying her cheek
against his palm. A sign of trust, one that had his heart bleeding even more.
Alexandru knew there were so many things they had to talk about. But
in the end, all he could say hoarsely was, “I’m sorry, pet.”
“I’m sorry, too, Master.” A tear-clogged whisper, one that revealed just
how vulnerable she was feeling, and it was all his fault.
He said fiercely, “My loyalty is to you, pet.”
“I know, Master.” And she did. But that had never been the problem,
Zari thought. What she wanted was her Master’s heart, but what she
wanted, he had already given to another woman.
~ END OF PART II ~

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D
ear Miss Baltimore,
Thank you for your interest in Academie Nu Exista (ANEX).
For your reference, we would like to share with you the highlights of
what would be your curriculum and the type of student life you would enjoy
if you were to decide on pursuing a mid-year transfer to our school.
Personal adviser
Every student of ANEX is provided a personal adviser, who they are to
meet once a week on a one-on-one basis. The school uses an extensive and
thorough selection process to determine the ideal match. Generally
speaking, however, we aim to provide students with personal advisers who
are most skilled in nurturing their diverse talents and helping them harness
their skills to reach their full potential.
Bespoke curriculum
Individuality is a characteristic we appreciate here in ANEX. As such,
we make sure that courses are tailor-made to fit the needs of the student
and/or the requirements of the student’s sponsor.
Student life
ANEX prides itself in providing the most luxurious accommodations for
its students. To ensure students’ privacy, residential quarters are strictly
awarded at a one-person-per-room basis. However, each dormitory is
equipped with common areas to encourage a healthy social life.
Recreational facilities in each dormitory include an infinity pool, a fitness
center, a 50-seater cinema with its own popcorn and soda dispenser, a game
area, and its own private ballroom for functions organized by any of the
dormitory’s residents.
Self-governing and non-hierarchical
Last but not the least, ANEX is a self-governing unit as prescribed in
Statute 341. As such, pre-existing non-filial relationships founded on legal
agreements are temporarily put on hold once a student is enrolled in our
school. This is to promote free thinking among our students and ensure that
their learning and growth is not hampered by any concerns from their
outside life.
We hope that this brief summary of what we offer meets your approval.
If you are interested, guided tours for admission candidates are also offered
on an appointment basis.
 Be guided by your blood,
Academie Nu Exista

DEAR LADY ZARI,

I trust this letter finds you well. On behalf of my pet, I would again like
to express my sincerest thanks for your assistance in clearing her of all
charges.
ANEX has already received my recommendation for your transfer and
they only await your decision. Please note, however, that you are in no way
obliged to take any action. I only wish you to take comfort from the fact
that you are not without options.
Lastly, I give you my assurance that if you do choose to take advantage
of this offer, I will take care of all the necessary arrangements, including
your temporary or permanent release from your contract as pet to Lord
Alexandru. As he is one of my subjects, he is blood-bound to bow to my
command. As he is also my brother, I will endeavor to make him see that
your decision, whatever it may be, must be respected.
Sincerely,
Lord Mihail Gheorghiu
Marquis di Sangre

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 ZARI

W
here was he?
Ahead of me, the midnight moon painted a silvery path on the
school’s vast courtyard while nocturnal birds sang a haunting lullaby from
the towering trees they were perched on. They created an eerily beautiful
atmosphere, but worry had made me blind and deaf to my surroundings.
“Five minutes before we leave,” Madame Lavinia announced with a
clap of her hands. “So do get moving, girls!”
At her announcement, the other students of La Scala Legaturia shrieked.
They rushed in every direction, excitement on their faces. I envied them. I
wanted to be excited, too. Today was Ziua Excursi, an annual school
celebration where students were whisked away on a supervised holiday.
More importantly, Masters were encouraged to accompany their pets, and
that was what I most looked forward—-
There he was. I finally saw my Master, walking into the courtyard with
his usual brisk grace.
Alexandru.
He was dressed completely in black. and so gorgeous it was almost
painful to look at him.
I can feel you staring at me.
I almost jumped in surprise. The words I heard in my mind weren’t
imaginary. My Master and I were able to talk this way, thanks to our blood
bond.
When our eyes met, he said teasingly, Missed me, didn’t you?
I lifted my chin. You wish. Thank God we were talking like this. If I had
to speak out loud, he would have known how he had rendered me
breathless.
Suddenly, he was there, his preternatural speed enabling him to reach
my side in a blink of an eye.
He smirked down at me. As always...you lie.
I turned away, not wanting him to see me smile. Another moment, and I
had no reason to smile at all.
“Alexandru, wait.” The voice was familiar, too familiar.
I stiffened.
“Katarina.” His voice was stiff.
I closed my eyes.
 Poor Master, I thought dully. Torn between his pet and his first love,
and honor required him to stick with me.
“I know you said you won’t be working today, but this is important.
We’ve received news about a sighting...”
I knew what that meant. And I knew what she was doing.
While the news about a demon sighting was sure to be true, I had no
doubt it was also something she brought up now in order to prevent him
from coming with me.
Forcing a smile, I turned around to face them. “Master, it’s all right.” I
forced myself to keep smiling even though I hated seeing Katarina’s fingers
on his sleeve. Like Alexandru, she was a skilled vampire hunter, and it gave
the tall brunette a certain kind of confidence that made her appear
extremely attractive.
Alexandru frowned. “What—-”
I didn’t let him finish, curtsying instead as I murmured, “I will see you
Monday, Master.” I hurried away.
Zari, wait.
I pretended I didn’t hear him.
When I reached the bus I was assigned to, I handed my consent form to
the professor. Pets weren’t allowed to leave the campus without permission
from their Masters.
“Your Master will follow soon?” the professor queried. “He knows
we’re about to leave anytime now?”
“He knows, and no, he won’t be accompanying me.” I struggled to keep
my voice even.
“I see.” The professor struggled to keep the pity from hers.
Unfortunately, we both failed.
It was clear in her expression that she, too, had caught sight of my
Master, had seen he wasn’t alone, and had probably even understood why
he wasn’t coming with me.
I managed a bright smile. “May I go up now, Professor?”
“Oh, yes, yes, please!” The professor was flustered as she waved me
away.
As I took the first step leading to the coach’s passenger section, I heard
it.
My Master’s voice.
Zari, let me—-
 It’s really okay, Master. And I don’t want to keep talking about it. This
time, I closed the mental connection between us, which was like slamming
the phone down on his ear.
I hate him. I love him. I hate him.
I threw myself into my assigned seat, fidgeting.
I wished I had brought even a single flower with me. I needed
something to keep me hoping, and even a little bit of false floromancy
could do. Fumbling inside my schoolbag, I pulled out a blank sheet of paper
and started tearing it into pieces.
Papyrumancy should still work, right?
I took out another sheet of paper from my bag and began tearing it into
pieces as well. He loves me. He loves me not. He loves me. He loves me not.
When the last strip would have ended on a negative, I stripped the last
one into two.
He loves me.
I repeated the words to myself even though I knew it was a lie.

WE ARRIVED AT Key Moarte a little before dawn. There, I met up with

my friend Rhapsody, who was part of another class. I didn’t have a hard
time looking for her. It was just a matter of finding someone who looked
like a life-size porcelain doll, thanks to her ebony hair, expressionless face,
and exceptionally fair skin.
“Rhapsody!” I found her standing under one of the trees lining the
boardwalk.
She returned my wave by moving her hand...once.
I frowned. “You okay?”
“New places make me uncomfortable,” was all she said. “I’ll get better
in a bit. I just need to...acclimatize myself.”
Big words for an eighteen-year-old, but they were pretty much the usual
for Rhapsody.
“Your Master is not with you?”
I glared at her.
“But did he not promise you—-”
“Our school doctor needed a word with him about important stuff.” I
couldn’t make myself say her name. “So I thought it was better if he just
stayed behind rather than waste his time babysitting.”
 “Ah.” My friend nodded knowingly. “You cut your nose to spite your
face again, did you not?”
“Shut up.” I snatched the book she was holding and started flipping the
pages. I needed something to distract me from the truth, needed something
to—-
The photo on the page caught my eye, and I swallowed at the sight of it.
Oh, drat. Here we go again. I really should be more careful about what I
wished for. Most times, they came true, but in the most nightmarish forms.
“What is this?” Even though the photo was sickening, I forced myself to
take a closer look.
The grainy image was of a broken, fire-scarred, wooden life-sized doll.
It was missing one eye, and red paint had been smeared haphazardly on its
lips, creating the illusion of a bloody, crazy smile.
It couldn’t be a voodoo doll, could it? We had studied about voodoo last
week as part of our defense class. Although a pet’s main responsibility was
to provide blood for her Master, LSL took pride in teaching its students
various healing arts that enabled them to keep their Masters alive in more
than one way.
Rhapsody peered at the book over my shoulder and shook her head.
“How can you not know that?”
I was even more stunned. “I should know about it?”
“It’s what this trip’s about.” She tapped on the page. “That’s Elsa, the
most infamous haunted doll in Key Moarte.” She took the book from me.
She’s our case study.”
Oh God, she was talking gibberish as far as I was concerned. Haunted
dolls? Case studies? Where was I when all these had been tackled?
As if hearing my question, Rhapsody said matter-of-factly, “You were
probably in your rebellious phase when Professor Martin discussed this.”
I winced at her term. Rebellious phase indeed. She made me sound like
a seven-year-old kid throwing a tantrum. Then again, that was a good
definition of how I had been last month, with the way I had acted out, and
all because I had learned my Master already loved another woman.
I squeezed my eyes shut in mortification. “I’m so pathetic.”
Rhapsody hesitated then patted my hand awkwardly. “You’re being too
hard on yourself, Lady Zari.”
I glanced at her gratefully even though I was pretty sure she was just
practicing how to be empathetic, which was part of the practical exams for
social graces. It was her weakest point, the only subject she got a lower
grade than A for.
“You are anything but pathetic.”
I smiled at her. I really hope she’ll pass this year’s exams, I thought. She
was trying so hard—-
“Rather, you’re just a girl who may be clinging too hard to the illusion
of love.”
I take it back, I thought. I hope Rhapsody fails.

AN ENTIRE RESORT, EXCLUSIVE to otherworlders, had been reserved

by LSL for the trip. This was necessary since each student was provided her
own room. Sharing was not an option, for there was always a chance a
Master might drop by and require privacy for feeding.
It was nine in the morning when we finished with breakfast and the
professors had us boarding the buses again. Our first stop was the public
hospital. It was located in the old district of Key Moarte and was one of the
many abandoned buildings that made up the key’s ghost town. It was also
Elsa’s birthplace, and that was the reason why we were visiting it.
Glancing outside my window, I had to shield my eyes from the sun,
which seemed to burn more brightly than usual.
As the driver steered the bus into its parking slot, the professor with us
came to her feet and clapped her hands to call for our attention. “Listen
well, ladies. Once we reach the hospital, I want you girls to note down all
your observations. If you are one of the more sensitive types, I caution you
against touching anything if you do not wish to have any unwanted
glimpses into Elsa’s past.”
The professor smiled, revealing her fangs, and I flinched. She had such
a gentle manner, such an unassuming face, that I had forgotten she was only
pretending to be harmless.
I glanced outside the window again, and the hospital where Elsa had
been born stared back at me, a sad, decrepit building with broken windows,
unhinged doors, and long, spindly cracks that spread across its façade like
black veins.
Just a harmless old building, but this time I wasn’t fooled.
Rhapsody was waiting for me at the foot of the stairs leading to the
hospital entrance. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
 I grimaced. “Not yet.”
She blinked. “Pardon?”
I shook my head, mumbling, “Nothing.” We’d be doomed if I ended up
scaring Rhapsody, too, with her paranoia. We’d never get anything done if
so.
“You’re a little red in the face, too,” she noted. “Are you sure you’re
fine? You’re not suffering from heat stroke?”
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with my handkerchief. Thank God
we weren’t required to wear our school jackets for the trip or I really might
pass out from heat exhaustion. “I’m okay,” I told Rhapsody. “Let’s go?”
Rhapsody nodded. We ascended the stairs side by side, and I frowned
when I caught a glimpse of the vandalized walls in the hospital’s lobby.
ELSA. The letters on the wall were spray-painted in orange.
Rhapsody paused at the doorway when she saw me frozen on the third
step. The other students filed past her, most of them chatting noisily while
the others were busy taking photos and peering at their haunted
surroundings through the zoomed lenses of their cameras.
“Lady Zari?”
I started to feel faint. Oh no, not here, not now—-
Someone bumped me from behind, causing me to lose my balance.
I started to sway.
It was the last sign.
I started to see.

HEAT. SUCH SCORCHING heat, burning my skin like the sun was next to
me.
Orange. Everywhere was orange.
Swaying. It was hungry and uncontrollable, dancing like...a flame.
FIRE.
I screamed in my mind as my vision burst into life.
La Scala Legaturia was burning in the distance.
I sank to my knees. Sobs of guilt tore out of me.
Katarina was in front of me. Crying. Burning. Dying.
Noooooooo—-
I reached out to her, but the flames kept me away.
This was all my fault, all my fault, all my fault.
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 ALEXANDRU

“T
his is not like any demon we have dealt with.”
Alexandru couldn’t count the number of times he had heard
that line before, and yet every time it was uttered, it proved to be true. It
was as if Hell had nothing to do but birth demon spawn one after another,
and they always came out more evil than the last one.
“We don’t know what it looks like, but we’ve seen enough of its
victims.” In front of him, Sir Richard clicked on the pointer for the next
slide to show up on the wall, revealing human corpses whose eyes were
gouged out, ears torn from their heads, and their tongues ground into pieces.
But the worst thing about it was that these wounds were not mortal, and
autopsy reports had showed that they had been made to suffer the pain until
they had finally bled to death.
The human enforcers in their midst looked fit to throw up. Beside him,
he heard Lord Erou suck in a deep breath in reaction, which didn’t surprise
him. The baby vampire’s experience with human warfare might be
considerable, but humans could never be as evil as demons.
On his other side, Katarina was still and silent, a figure from the most
buried part of his past. Even though a month had already passed since she
had come to work in LSL, Alexandru was still unable to unbend in her
presence.
Once, he had thought he would be the happiest person alive if he were
ever to be with her again. But now that she was here?
Even just thinking about it didn’t feel right, and Alexandru forcibly
shoved all such thoughts to the back of his mind. There would be time
enough for it later.
His gaze returned to the images on the wall. Every death was a game to
these demons, a way to taunt those who wanted to banish them back to the
underworld. And always, even without meaning to, they would leave
behind a clue because that was how demons were. Arrogant and believing
they were as perfect as God.
“Based on the data we’ve gathered, we’ve come to the conclusion that
this demon is relatively young and needs to feed every week.”
Young, which meant it had only seen its first century on Earth. Young,
which meant it might even be under the command of one knowledgeable in
the black arts. Young, which meant it had something to prove and thus was
willing to go where the older demons wouldn’t dare.
Alexandru looked at the images again, rearranging them in his mind like
puzzle pieces until it all came together. Finally, the demon’s message
became clear, and he murmured, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.”
The passage was supposed to be a moral lesson, but trust the demon to have
twisted it into something evil.
Everyone turned towards Alexandru.
“The wounds symbolize it,” Alexandru elaborated. He walked forward
and tapped the victim’s missing eyes, ears, and tongue.
Lord Erou’s eyes widened in realization. “Guilt.” He glanced at the
vampire hunter with grudging admiration. Such an angle would never have
occurred to him. The only thing he had gleaned from the photos was that
the demon was another sadistic creature, but so was the rest of its race.
Alexandru nodded. “It’s targeting humans burdened by guilt.”
“And I suppose the heavier the burden, the stronger the demon
becomes,” Katarina murmured. “The question is – why would it come here?
Key West isn’t exactly in the running to be the next Sin City.”
A frown settled on Sir Richard’s round face. “You are saying the demon
has deliberately chosen this place then?”
“I think it’s the only plausible explanation. It wants something, and it
doesn’t care about the consequences of its actions to have what it wants.”
She gestured to the photos. “The more corpses humans have to analyze, the
closer they will be to figuring out the truth. It’s only a matter of time before
they exhaust all human angles and start thinking about the non-human ones.
About the possibility that we exist.”
“Then what do you propose?” one of the enforcers asked. “We figure
out what it wants and if it’s worth giving up, then we strike a compromise
and let the demon have it?”
Katarina paled. “No, of course not.” She glanced at Alexandru, and the
cold light in his emerald green eyes made her swallow.
“Then what are you suggesting?” another enforcer demanded.
Before she could answer, Alexandru said, “I would like to know the
same thing as well.” Alexandru faced her fully. “And I hope you speak
plainly this time, hunter.”
He saw Katarina flinch, but his frigid gaze on her didn’t ease. This
woman might have once owned his heart – might even own it still – but that
did not mean he would let her speak ill of his pet. Ever.
“Alexandru, I—-” She started to reach for him, but her hand slowly fell
back to her side when she felt it.
Everyone felt it.
The air in the headmaster’s room, dropping to sub-zero temperatures—-
“If you believe my pet is to blame...” Alexandru’s voice was velvety
soft, almost musical. “Then say so.”
Katarina paled.
She had heard that tone innumerable times before, but he had never
used it with her, and she had never thought he would because when
Alexandru had used it in the past, it was always just before he killed.
“I’m sorry.” Fear had her speaking between stiff lips.
“Calm down, my friend.” The headmaster’s voice was quiet. “I’m sure
Katarina did not mean any such thing.” As he spoke, puffs of cold air came
out of his mouth.
Alexandru started to speak, and Katarina held her breath while tension
gripped the rest of the room’s occupants, all of them vigilant as they waited
to see if Alexandru would snap.
No words came from Alexandru.
Her heart beating madly, she mustered the courage to look at him.
Oh.
Alexandru’s eyes were closed, his lips tightly compressed. She knew
immediately that he was no longer with them, with a part of his mind
locked with his pet through the blood bond they shared.
When his eyes opened again, fury swirled in its green depths. “I must
go. My pet needs me.”
And then he was gone, his powers fully unleashed, its impact like a
torrent of wind that left the humans falling to their knees with dazed
expressions on their faces.
Katarina only had a moment’s hesitation before a rare sense of
impulsiveness seized her.
She followed him, tracking Alexandru by his scent. It was the only way
since Alexandru was moving too fast, making it impossible for Katarina to
keep him in sight.
When he slowed down, she slowed down, too, and Katarina realized
that they were at Key Moarte. She remembered then that today was the
scheduled trip—-
 A scream spilled past her lips as fingers came out of nowhere,
encircling her wrist and whipping her back. She stumbled to a stop and she
screamed again in shock, this time upon finding Alexandru looming before
her, with nothing to shield her from his powerful aura.
Leave now if all you have come for is to cause trouble.
Alexandru’s menacingly soft tone in her mind made Katarina shudder. It
was like hearing a stranger speak, a terrifyingly volatile stranger and not
like a man who had once loved her more than anything else in the world.
I come in peace, Alexandru. She dropped to her knees. It wasn’t just a
sign of respect, it was also to acknowledge that he was the brother of the
marquis and thus he, too, ruled over their kind.
She said in her mind, I am a healer, Alexandru, and your pet may need
my help.
Silence, vicious and taunting, as if Alexandru was weighing how much
he wanted her alive—-
Her name is Zari, hunter, and I will not forgive you again if you ever
speak ill of her.
Katarina bowed her head. Yes, milord.
She knew then he was no longer the Alexandru she loved, no longer the
Alexandru who had loved her. But even so, she would not give up.

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 ZARI

I
t had only been minutes since I came back to the hotel room when I felt
the door open behind me, followed by a cool blast of wind coming from
the outside. Since I knew air-conditioning units couldn’t walk, I had a pretty
good idea what caused it.
“Master.” I turned around, and it really was Alexandru.
He came to me wordlessly, cupping my face and looking into my eyes.
His touch made me tremble, and I stayed still as he ran his hands over my
body, searching for any sign of injuries.
“I’m fine.” I didn’t want him to worry.
His gaze returned to my face, and I realized that my reassurance hadn’t
done any good. I could feel his hands shaking. “You were burning,” he bit
out. “I could feel it, even though I didn’t see your vision—-”
Good, I thought numbly. Because he was the last person I wanted to
know about my vision.
Shaking my head at his words, I cut him off, saying, “I was just...hot.” It
was supposed to be a quip, but it fell awkward between us and when his
gaze narrowed, I immediately looked away.
“What did you see, pet?”
I didn’t answer.
He cupped my face again, forcing me to look at him. “Zari...”
“I can’t.” The words were torn out from me, and suddenly I could see it
again.
The school was burning...
Katarina was dying...
Guilt flamed into life, a fire that didn’t just burn me but crushed me
under its weight, nearly bringing me down to my knees.
Oh God, had it all happened because unrequited love had turned me into
a selfish and vindictive bitch?
“Just tell me this, and don’t fucking lie,” Alexandru said in a hard voice.
“Were you in danger in your vision?”
Biting my lip to stop it from trembling, I shook my head slowly and
watched my Master’s powerful body relax at my answer.
A sob rose to my throat, but I forced it back down.
If only.
If only it could be me—-
 Someone knocked on the door, and Alexandru stiffened, making me
look at him in surprise. “What is—-”
“May I come in?”
I paled.
Katarina was here?
“She came with you?” The words came out of my mouth in a hiss.
“You’ve been with her all the time?” In the back of my mind, I knew that I
was acting out like a kid, knew that the anger was my defense against the
guilt.
Alexandru’s handsome face had turned rigid. “You know I’ve been in a
meeting. Read my mind if you will. I’m not lying—-”
“Why is she here?” I was shouting now. Outside, Katarina had fallen
silent but we both knew that she was still standing there, hearing everything
that was going on. The whole school may be outside for all I knew, but I
couldn’t seem to make myself care.
I just wanted to be mad.
I wanted him to be mad.
So damn mad that he would punish me the way I deserved.
It was better than having him find out the shameful truth.
“What’s gotten into you?” Alexandru demanded. “You are not being
your usual self—-”
“And that’s what? Someone who just stands aside every time she calls
for you?”
“You know it’s not like that.” Alexandru gripped my shoulders almost
as if he was prepared to shake some sense into me. “All this time, you know
I’ve been avoiding—-”
“Really?” I let out a hollow laugh. “You’ve been avoiding her? Oh,
that’s rich,” I spat. “You may be trying to avoid her, but we both know you
weren’t really trying too hard—-”
“Stop this.” A muscle started ticking in his jaw.
“No!” I shook my head wildly. “I want to hear you say it—-”
The door opened behind us, and Katarina appeared in the doorway, a
troubled look on her oh-so-lovely face.
Emotions warred inside of me.
Jealousy, bitterness, even hatred, but most of all there was guilt, and it
made me want to scratch her eyes out, just so she wouldn’t accidentally see
the truth in mine.
 The thought left me paralyzed with shock.
Oh God, when had I become this evil?
“I’m sorry for intruding.” Katarina closed the door behind her. “But I
thought you two should calm down—-”
She thought we should calm down? Who cared about what she thought?
She wasn’t part of this—-
I shut that line of thought down, but the effort left me shaking.
Why was I so vindictive? Evil? Bitchy? Why?
“I’m going.” I wrenched myself out of Alexandru’s hold. I had to leave
before either of them realized how low I’d sunk.
I only managed a few steps before he spun me back around. “Where are
you going?”
“Somewhere, anywhere I won’t have to see you.”
He froze. “What the fuck’s wrong with you?”
“Why do you even have to ask?” I was screaming again. I was losing it,
and the more he kept me with him, the more I’d lose it until I was nothing
but an empty shell, a being made soulless by my guilt.
“Zari—-”
“Let go of me! You want to be with her, don’t you? So be with her—-”
“I never said—-”
“But you’re always with her—-”
“Because you keep pushing me away!” This time, Alexandru had
shouted, too.
The vampire hunter who was legendary for never losing his control, for
always being so beautifully mannered, for never letting his temper get the
best of him—-
I whitened at the realization that I was the only one who had made him
this way. Mortification flooded me as the knowledge that everyone who had
heard us would have known the same thing, too.
Alexandru was pale, too. “Zari, I—-”
I spun away.
There was nothing he could say that would change the truth.
This time, he didn’t stop me.

MOPING was something I had become really good at in the past months. I
had the art of isolating one’s self down pat, with people generally steering
clear once they had taken a good look at my face.
I had also developed a sixth sense for the best places to drown in self-
pity, and at the resort I found it in the remotest part of the beach, a tiny strip
of sand hidden behind the woods.
It was restful here, if not a little creepy. I would have been terrified if I
hadn’t felt my Master’s presence in my mind, the blood bond between us
giving me a sense of safety. It sucked, but it was the truth. I probably
wouldn’t even have thought of venturing here if I wasn’t so sure Alexandru
could be by my side in a second if I needed him to be.
Lying on the sand, I turned to my side and gazed at the woods. Autumn
had just started, but the trees were all dead, branches thinning into leaf-less
sticks. When I had passed it, there weren’t any birds either, as if the winged
creatures knew only death awaited them here.
Time moved ever so slowly, and when I checked my phone, I was
stunned that only five minutes had passed.
I slept.
When I woke up, Katarina was seated beside me, knees drawn up. She
had her back to me, but I could see her shoulders were shaking.
“Katarina?” My voice was a low strained whisper. What would I do if
she really were crying?
Wordlessly, she turned to me—-
Katarina’s entire face was gone, leaving behind a gaping skull
blackened by fire. Your fault, this is all your fault, YOUR FAULT—-
She lunged for me.
I screamed.
ZARI!
ZARI!
And then I felt it, Alexandru shaking my body, hauling me out of my
nightmare.
My eyes flew open.
Was I really awake this time?
“Zari,” Alexandru said hoarsely.
And then he was hauling me into his arms, and relief slammed into me
as I felt the familiar heat of his body.
Thank God.
I didn’t even think of refusing the comfort my Master offered. I
wrapped my arms around his neck as tightly as I could. I listened to his
still-thunderous heartbeat, inhaled his scent, and pressed my hand against
his chest. I did everything I could, feverishly, to assure myself that this was
not another nightmare.
Before I realized what was happening, I had already started to cry, the
tears falling silently down my cheeks.
“I’m sorry, pet.” My Master’s voice was raw. “I’m sorry for shouting at
you.”
I shook my head against his chest. I deserve it. I didn’t dare speak yet. I
was afraid if I did, I would find myself crying harder and the tears would
never stop.
Guilt remained a crushing weight inside me, forcing me down into a
bottomless pit of despair. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it was pointless. All
I could see were my visions.
The school, razed to the ground...
Katarina, dying in front of me...
What if I really was the reason she would die?
What if she wasn’t the only one who’d die?
What if everyone in school died...and just because I was exactly what
Rhapsody said – someone who loved a man who might not be able to love
me in return?
Would I let everyone die just because of that?
My fingers tightened on Alexandru’s shirt. Master.
Alexandru stilled. What is it, pet?
I need to talk to Katarina. Alone.

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 ZARI

T
hat night, Katarina and I met in a private room in one of the resort’s
restaurants. One of Alexandru’s guards accompanied me, and I
watched silently as he performed a spell that would ensure whatever
Katarina and I spoke of in this room, no one would hear.
The guard walked back to us and held out an empty chalice.
Katarina reached down, and I blinked when she came up with a
pocketknife. Where could she have hidden that, I wondered absently. She
was dressed in a one-shouldered tight-fitting gown, and I hadn’t even seen
the barest outline of a knife under the silk.
I had dressed for the occasion, too, but next to her and her C-cups, I
looked more like a boy pretending to be a girl.
Katarina noticed my gaze on her knife. As if she sensed my curiosity,
she explained, “I hid it in one of my shoes.”
I frowned.
“I literally step on it all the time.”
What?
Pulling the knife out of its sheath, she said, “This one, I use for ordinary
stuff.” She pricked her finger with the tip of the blade and a drop of her
blood fell into the chalice.
I gulped. This was ordinary stuff for her?
“The knife on my left foot, on the other hand, that’s for killing demons.
Its blade is dipped with poison.” As she spoke, Katarina twirled the knife in
her hand before handing it to me, with the blade pointed at her for my
safety.
I hesitated. Who knew if she had used preternatural powers to trick me
into thinking that this was the same knife?
“Lady Zari.” Katarina’s voice was gentle. “Do you truly believe your
Master would ever like someone able to commit cold-blooded murder
without just cause?”
I took the knife from her hand. Pricking myself made me suck in my
breath, and I was shaking by the time the guard walked away with my
blood. “Thank you,” I mumbled as I gave the blade back to her.
The guard completed the spell with our blood and bowed to us
afterwards before leaving. When we were alone, Katarina asked,
“Alexandru says you wanted to talk to me?”
 Something about her voice made me look at her. She hadn’t been...as
cold as this before, when we first met.
“Are you actually angry with me?”
Reaching for her wine, she asked lightly, “Why do you sound so
shocked?”
I shrugged awkwardly. “Probably because, I dunno...maybe because
you’re centuries old, I’m eighteen, and it’s like getting mad at a baby?”
She laughed. “Oh, Lady Zari. You of all people should know that love
has the power to make children of us all. Brats really, with the way it can
make us selfish, greedy, and...” Her voice lowered a notch. “Shameless.”
My cheeks burned at the subtle dig, but I didn’t deny it. I had been
shameless in the way I had blown up on Alexandru, and I would only act
more like a kid if I couldn’t make myself accept that.
I said stiffly, “That’s not what I want to talk about.”
“I know.”
Again, she surprised me. “Y-you do?”
She nodded. “It’s been clear to me from the first day that you’re the type
who dislikes confrontations.”
I tried not to grimace.
“You’re the type who’d rather suffer in silence than admit someone’s
hurt you.”
“Congratulations then,” I said flatly. “You’ve got me all figured out.”
Her lips curved. “I do.” She paused. “Which is why I also know the
only reason you’d want to talk to me is because of your visions.” Her eyes
remained steady on me as she asked, “You’ve seen me, haven’t you?”
“Yes.” I was pale and shaking in my seat, doing my best not to
remember, doing my best not to surrender to the crushing weight of guilt.
Silence.
“And it’s not good.”
Her voice was so calm. How could she sound so calm when I realize
now that she really had figured me out, that she knew what I had to say
even without me speaking a word? How?
“I’m sorry.” I choked the words out.
“I doubt it’s your fault.”
I shook my head. “You don’t understand—-”
“No, Lady Zari. It’s not your fault.” Her voice turned gentle, and I
remembered then that she wasn’t just the woman who I was jealous of. She
was also a hunter, bound to protect the innocent, and a healer, committed to
saving lives.
I remembered that she was a good person, and it was because of me a
good person like her would die.
“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.” My voice was thick with unshed tears. If
Katarina weren’t going to seek comfort in tears, then I wouldn’t either.
“Lady Zari, I mean it. I’ve been around long enough to know the truth.
If Death wishes to claim me, it will, and there’s no stopping it.”
“I n-never wished you were dead, Lady Katarina. I’d never—-”
“I know.” She paused. “Do you...do you know when it might happen?”
She held her hand out as she asked, which showed just how much she knew
about soul seers.
Shakily, I reached out to grasp her hand.

BURNING HOT, THE FLAMES dancing, rejoicing as it reached new

heights and turned the world into orange.
Everywhere, it was orange.
In the distance, I saw the school.
I ran towards it even as the walls of the school crumbled, one after
another. It was falling apart before my eyes, the roof crashing down, the
floors giving out, and—-
I covered my ears as I heard it for the first time.
Screams.
Hundreds of human pets screaming—-
Burning—-
Dying—-
And at the center of it all was Katarina.
She too was screaming, burning, dying.
And it was all because of me.
I forced myself to move even as I sobbed. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” I tried
to search for a clue, wiping the tears and ashes constantly from my eyes as I
did. I had so little time left before I had to go back or burn with this world.
Praying for strength, I took a deep breath and jumped through one of
the doorways. Fear engulfed me, my skin melting under the heat, but I
ignored the pain and doggedly searched for a clue.
This was not real, I told myself. This was not real.
 I stumbled towards the reception area, the pain crippling, and I started
to gasp for breath.
I fell on the counter and began rummaging. A slip of paper caught my
eye, an appointment note that had the date encircled—-

I TORE OUT OF MY VISIONS with a gasp, and I could only nod in

thanks as I took the glass of water Katarina held out. The icy cold water
relieved the irritating and burning sensation in my throat. Even now, I could
feel the sting of smoke on my eyes, the way the heat cooked my skin, and
the pain, oh God, the excruciating pain.
Katarina didn’t say a thing, only watching me patiently, carefully.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
She froze. “A year then? A month?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry.” I didn’t think I could ever say it enough.
“You don’t even have a week.”
“Oh.” Her eyes turned glassy with shock. “I s-see.” She leaned back
against her seat. “But these visions...” It was my first time to hear her sound
so hesitant. “They don’t always happen, yes?”
I nodded vehemently. “We can do something to stop it.”
“Yes. Definitely.” But she didn’t sound like she believed me.
I bent my head down, and it was all I could do not to let my shoulders
droop even as the weight of my guilt became heavier and heavier.
Even now it was unclear.
How it would happen, why it had to be her, what it had to do with me...
But one thing was certain.
Whatever happened, her death would be my choice.
I would choose whether she lived or died.
“Lady Zari?”
My head jerked up. “Y-yes?”
“Were you always able to prevent your visions from happening?”
I almost didn’t answer, but in the end, I knew I had no right to withhold
the truth. And so I whispered, “No.”
“Then I really may die.”
“Yes.”
“And I have barely a week left?”
I nodded.
 “Then...if that’s so...could you please give me Alexandru back while
I’m still alive?”

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 ALEXANDRU

T
hey set out early to hunt the next day, him and his pet, with Katarina
to serve as their medic along with Erou and his team of enforcers. If
anyone asked, the official answer was that Zari’s Master simply wanted her
with him to ensure he was on hand if she ever fainted again.
He turned over his shoulder and saw Zari and the baby vampire talking
in low whispers, their heads bent. His lips tightened. He was not the kind of
man to stand by and just watch his pet, his woman – and Zari was his, will
always be his – be seduced by another man.
But this was different.
She had been different, ever since she stepped out of the door, white-
faced and unwilling to talk to him. Katarina had managed a smile for him,
but her eyes were glassy. He had seen that look on her once, and it was the
day before she had left him. She was hiding something from him again, and
he had a feeling it was a secret she shared with Zari.
“Talk to me.” He sat on the edge of the tub, washing Zari’s back.
His pet only shook her head.
“Don’t make me force it out of you.”
“I’ll hate you forever if you do.” She looked up at him, and he was
stunned to see in her eyes that she did mean it.
But he saw something else, too.
Guilt.
And that was when he realized the demon already had its claws in its
next victim.
Someone tapped him on the shoulder.
“Hunter.” His voice was chilly as he acknowledged Katarina even
before turning to look at her.
Katarina winced. “Ouch.”
He knew it was an attempt to regain their old camaraderie, but it didn’t
work.
Her smile faded.
Once, such a sight would have been heartbreaking. He could remember
the days when just the thought – the memory – of it would have made his
chest tighten. And that had been as recent as a month ago, Alexandru
thought. But now it did nothing to him. Now, he knew that he had changed
as well. Now, he realized that for so long a time, he had clung to the
memories – even when the love had faded – out of pride.
He no longer loved her.
Katarina.
He could say it freely now, and it did not hurt.
Alexandru turned to her, blindly, his chest heavy with regret.
Their eyes met, and a stricken look crossed her face. No. She walked
past him, nearly running.
He went after her.
She deserved that from him now at least.
Katarina, wait.
Don’t call me that. Her voice was a sob in his mind, and Alexandru’s
fists clenched. Even though she no longer had a claim to his heart, it did not
erase the fact that she had been a large part of his life. He didn’t like seeing
her hurt, would never stand by if he ever saw her in pain.
Katarina—-
I said, don’t call me that. Call me a hunter, call me a bitch – call me
anything but that if you can’t say it like you used to.
They were in the woods now, the same woods that he had torn past in
order to reach his pet when she had been trapped in her nightmares. It was
one of the greatest hazards of being a soul seer. Visions lent more power to
nightmares, turning them into murderous weapons.
Ahead of him, Katarina stumbled.
He was by her side in a second, knowing that a skilled huntress like her
would only lose her footing like that for one of two reasons. She was
dying...or she had her heart cut off, the way she had cut off his when she
had left.
Slowly, he helped her up. Katarina, I’m sorry.
She closed her eyes tight. I don’t want to hear you say it.
I no longer have to.
She released a strangled sob. How can you be so sure you won’t love me
again?
I know—-
But you haven’t given me a chance—-
I know. He spoke with both certainty and remorse because he did not
want to give her any false hope.
 Did you ever love me, Alexandru? She was crying now, beating his
chest. I feel like such a fool. You didn’t really love me, did you? You only
told yourself you did because you needed me while you haven’t met her yet
– your heartkeeper—-
She sagged against his chest, her tears soaking his shirt.
Perhaps I did need someone to save me from myself all those years, but
do you not realize? It could have been anyone else, but my heart chose you.
Katarina released a keening cry at his words.
So, yes, if you need to hear it, I loved you. With every thought, every
beat of my heart, I loved you—-
Katarina sank to her knees, and he followed her, cupping her face so she
would see in his eyes that he spoke the truth.
I love you, too, Alexandru. I never stopped, so how can you stop—-
“Because you left me.” This time, he spoke the words out loud, not to
hurt but to have her hear the truth and make her realize just how big the
hole she had left in his life – the hole he had been unable to fill until his pet
stumbled into his life, a half-naked slave who ended up stealing the heart of
her owner.
“If you had not left, we would have been happy together. But you did,
and somewhere along the way, it faded. And I hadn’t known until today,
until it was completely gone...” He looked into her eyes. “...and I realized
that my heart already belongs to my pet.”
ZARI
“You’re not going after them?” Erou asked.
I shook my head, not even looking their way as I heard their footsteps
fade.
Erou stopped walking. “What’s going on?” he asked quietly. “All this
time, you’ve been talking to me about silly things—-”
I reddened. It was the truth. I had babbled endlessly, just so I wouldn’t
think about the fact that Alexandru and Katarina were walking side by side
– and there was nothing I could do.
And then she ran away, I thought nastily, leaving him no choice but to
—-
I paled when I realized where my thoughts were heading.
Again.
Was this how it started, I wondered crazily. Jealousy, vindictiveness,
and finally murder? If I thought about it now, I couldn’t see myself killing
Katarina simply because Alexandru loved her. I just couldn’t. But what if I
did end up doing it? I was already changing, unable to recognize myself.
Who knew how much worse it would get?
“Lady Zari? Is everything all right?”
I forced myself to nod. “Let’s not wait for them,” I muttered. “They
know where to meet us.” I started walking, not bothering to wait for him.
Faster and faster I walked, trying to outrun the guilt, but it was
impossible. It dogged my footsteps, and its weight grew heavier on my
shoulders as we neared the hospital where I had the vision.
I shouldn’t be doing this alone. Master should be with me, but where
was he now? Back with his trollop, the woman who had left him first. Why
couldn’t he understand that I was the better choice?
The hospital loomed before me, decrepit and abandoned still, but now I
saw it with new eyes.
No one would know if I did it here.
No one—-
STOP IT, ZARI, STOP IT!
I covered my ears and closed my eyes, willing everything to be blank.
“Lady Zari?” Erou demanded.
But no one would know if you did do it here. You’re a good girl.
Everyone knows you’re a good girl. Why won’t you just do it and end your
problems?
I shook my head wildly. Why was I thinking such thoughts? Why?
“Zari?” But the voice didn’t belong to Erou this time.
It was Alexandru.
My eyes flew open.
I almost cried out in relief until I saw her.
Jealousy, vindictive, murderous, evil, screamed inside of me like a
banshee.
I knew then that the visions were true.
I will kill Katarina, sooner or later, and then it would be over for all of
us.
I had to be free of Alexandru. I had to make sure I never saw him and
Katarina together, and I prayed that it would be enough to stop this
poisonous feeling inside of me from spreading.
My decision made, there was only one thing left for me to do.
Spinning around, I threw myself at Erou and kissed him.
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 ALEXANDRU AND ZARI

T
he worst things in life always seemed to happen in slow motion. He
had learned this in the hundreds of years he had spent hunting down
outlaws and seeing comrades fall in battle, often without warning.
None, however, had been as excruciatingly slow and so agonizingly
painful as seeing his pet suddenly fling herself into another man’s arms and
place lips that should have only been his on another man’s mouth.
“NO!” Alexandru did not hesitate. In the blink of an eye, he was there,
throwing the younger man aside. Erou flew through the air, landing over a
dozen feet away, his back hitting the second floor window of the hospital
before crashing back to the ground.
If he had been human, he would have been dead.
Fury iced his veins, threatening to unleash the demon side of him that
Alexandru always kept chained. With a curse, he turned his back on Erou.
He dared not spare the other man a glance, and that alone was already an
act of mercy. If he took another look at the baby vampire, Alexandru knew
he would end up killing Erou Damaschin.
His head snapped towards Zari. “Why did you do it?”
He was angry, Zari realized shakily. But under the rage, she saw
something else – pain. Her heart broke at the sight of it, but she knew this
was how it should be. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she ended
up killing Katarina just because she couldn’t stand the thought that
Alexandru didn’t love her.
“I want to be free—-”
He whitened. A second later, and he had her in his arms, his mouth
covering hers, his lips swallowing the rest of what she had to say. Kissing
her hard, he snarled in her mind, Never. I will never let you be free of me.
She tried to struggle away, tried to wrench her mouth from his, but it
was no use, Alexandru no longer bothering to temper his strength even the
slightest bit. She opened her mouth to scream, but he only used it to drive
his tongue inside, further deepening the kiss.
Only when she gasped for breath did he lift his mouth. But he didn’t let
her go, his arm even tightening around her waist as, without taking his gaze
off her, Alexandru commanded, “Leave.”
He didn’t turn around to ensure that his order was obeyed. It was
already a foregone conclusion because with the mood he was in, only the
world’s greatest fool would have dared disobey him.
Zari couldn’t believe it. “Lord Erou!” she screamed.
But Erou had already started walking away, and the other enforcers
trailed behind him.
Her head snapped towards Lady Katarina, and she couldn’t believe her
eyes when she saw that the other woman was also walking away. “Don’t
you want him back?” she shrieked.
“Enough.” Alexandru’s harsh voice had her head snapping towards him,
and Zari gasped when she saw the lust glittering in his eyes.
“I should have done this the moment you started pushing me away,”
Alexandru rasped.
Her eyes widened, her Master’s words the only warning she was given
before he sank his fingers into her hair, gripping her in place before his
mouth slammed down on hers again. She gasped into his kiss, stunned at
the speed in which her body betrayed her. She had been wet the moment she
felt his touch, but now she was soaking, the wetness even dripping down
her legs.
“No!” She beat his chest, trying to shove him away. “Let go—-aaah!”
Zari screamed as he pulled her down to him, and he fell to the ground while
she fell on top of him. His arms slackened slightly, and she took advantage
of it, crawling away.
Her heart raced madly as she tried to escape. She mustn’t let him make
love to her. If she did, her love for him would reach unparalleled heights,
and so would her jealousy, her vindictiveness—-
And then she felt it, fingers circling her ankle just before she was pulled
back.
“Noooo!” she screamed.
“You can scream all you want, my pet, but it won’t do you any good,”
Alexandru growled. “Your screams aren’t out of fear...and everyone knows
it.”
“Shut up!” She didn’t dare look at him, only thrashing and kicking. She
managed to land a kick, and when he grunted in pain, she tried to crawl
away again. The skin on her knees was starting to feel tender, but she didn’t
stop moving—-
Alexandru grasped the back of her dress shirt.
“Let go—-”
Riiiiiip.
 The sound and feel of her clothes being ripped off had her body
trembling in fear, anger, and something terribly akin to excitement. When
Zari felt her jeans being ripped off next, the fabric no match for a half-
demon, half-vampire’s strength, her pussy only quivered and became even
wetter. She knew then. Alexandru was right. She wanted this.
“Come back here.”
She bit back a moan, only realizing then how much she had missed
hearing the seductive purr of his voice. Even so, she still struggled,
thrashing wildly as he yanked her back—-
She gasped, eyes flying open as she slammed back into him, still on her
knees, and her bottom connected with his bulging arousal.
“Noooo!” Excitement and fear colored her screams as Zari felt
Alexandru positioning himself behind her, heard Alexandru unzipping
himself. Dazed with desire, she looked around them, wondering if they
really were doing it here, in the middle of a freaking ghost town, and in
broad daylight.
She shrieked again when she felt his hand on her panties. A moment
later, he ripped it away from her—-
“Jerk! Bully! Bastard!”
But her Master only laughed, a rich dark sound that spoke of his
arrogance and knowledge of her. “You can say whatever you want, my pet,
but we both know this will tell the truth.” And as he spoke, he slid one
finger into her without warning, thrusting all the way down, until his finger
was knuckle-deep inside of her.
“Aaaaah.” Her back instinctively arched in response, bringing her
bottom up even as her entire body tensed and shook.
Seeing her naked response, the way her breasts shook at the smallest
movement, snapped Alexandru’s control. With his free hand, he grasped her
bra from the front—-
“No!” But the word came out a moan.
—-and he ripped it away in a second.
She screamed, but it only seemed to excite Alexandru even more, with
the way his breathing had become harsher. She could feel his big strong
body shaking harder, too, and she wondered dizzily if he would really force
himself on her. And would it really be force? Would it really be rape when
she was so wet—-
She had her answer in a heartbeat.
 His cock shoved into her without warning, big, long, and hard as a rock.
Zari screamed. “Bastard!”
Alexandru only laughed, pulling his cock out and then thrusting it back
inside her hungry pussy.
His laughter incensed her, but his arrogance aroused her. She tried to
struggle away from his pounding cock but every time she did, he only
pulled her back to him and drove his erection harder and deeper into her.
“I hate you!”
He pounded into her harder, eliciting a gasp from her, and Zari’s back
arched once more. “I can see how much you hate me,” he taunted. Gripping
her by the hair, he forced her head to the side so he could lean forward and
kiss her. She tried to bite him, but he was too fast and he punished her by
reaching for her breast and pinching her nipple hard.
She gasped into his mouth, and she gasped again as he kept pinching
her nipple while his cock plunged into her relentlessly. “Bully!” She spat
the word out even as her throat tightened and her body quivered. Oh God,
she was close!
And he knew it, too.
The knowledge worked like an aphrodisiac, triggering his own orgasm,
and his balls tightened. “Be glad that I want you too badly to punish you,”
he gritted out. “Because if I had the strength, I’d like to fucking leave you
here, aching and hungry for my cock until you begged for it—-”
“Never!” But the way she was already pushing her bottom towards his
cock belied her answer.
“Never, you say?” He laughed humorlessly. “This day won’t be over
when I prove you wrong.”
She tried to get away from him again, but her stubborn resistance only
excited him more. It proved to be the final trigger he needed to push him all
the way. He groaned, realizing his orgasm was just a few thrusts away.
Wanting them to come together, he reached under her body for her clit—-
She screamed, her back arching, her eyes rolling back to her head—-
“Come for me, pet. Now.” He pulled out and then hammered his cock
back inside her as hard and deep as he could.
She screamed.
He groaned.
Both of them came in an instant, and Alexandru let his senses take over.
 Zari’s eyes closed as her orgasm swept her away. His movements were
wild. It was a mindless rutting, his cock nearly ripping her apart, his fingers
digging into the side of her hips.
She loved every minute of it, and she wanted more. She moaned with
each thrust, her body jerking as he filled her with his hot sticky cum. There
seemed to be no end in sight, Alexandru’s thrusts not slowing down the
slightest bit, and his cum overflowing out of her pussy to streak down her
legs.
When he finally pulled out of her, she fell down on the ground, tired and
limp.
She thought it was over but she was wrong. Another moment later, she
felt Alexandru’s strong hands holding her by the waist, and then she was
being flipped to her back. He was still fully clothed, his cock jutting out
from his pants, still powerfully erect. And yet here she was, naked and lying
on the ground, her legs parted like she wanted more of him.
The thought had her whimpering, and she realized with shock that it
really wasn’t over for either of them.
His emerald green eyes captured her gaze. “Beg for it.” A cruel, playful
taunt that should hurt her, anger her, or even just make her run away, but it
did none of those things.
Instead, it made everything go away, made Zari so lost in the heat of the
moment that everything ceased to exist. Where she was no longer mattered.
Who could see them, hear them, was no longer important. But best of all,
even the guilt was gone, too. Just this moment, she was free.
“Please, Master.” Her voice was delicate, innocent and provocative at
the same time, and filled with aching need.
Hearing her say the words like that, seeing her eye him so damn
hungrily like she wanted to eat him then and there, made Alexandru
shudder. Too goddamn long, he thought violently. It had been too goddamn
long since he had heard her call out to him like that!
“Again,” he commanded. “Beg for it.”
She moaned at the order, the submissive part of her yearning to be
dominated. “Master, please. Please, Master—-” She gasped, the rest of what
she had to say cut off at the feel of his hands on her ankles as he pushed her
legs wide open.
Their eyes locked with each other again.
 “Promise me,” he said savagely. “Promise me you will never kiss
another man again, never let another man fucking touch any part of you
again. Promise me!”
Unable to resist the authoritative demand in his voice, she choked out,
“Yes.”
She had barely finished speaking when he drove into her. Zari
screamed. Again and again she screamed as he shoved his cock into her
heated warmth. Master, Master, Master.
It made him shudder, made him bend down to plump one breast and
feed it to his mouth without slowing his thrusts.
Zari wrapped her arms around his neck as Alexandru began sucking on
her nipple. “Master!” This time, she sobbed his name out because she could
feel it again, the stirring of another powerful orgasm—-
Her Master bit her nipple.
And that was it for her, Zari screaming as she came. “Master!”
“Yes,” he growled as he lifted his mouth off her breast. He sank his
length into her again, claiming every inch of her wet, shaking pussy. Her
come surrounded his cock, filling her passage, and allowed him to slip his
erection deeper until the tip of his cock hit the wall of her womb. It was an
unbelievable sensation, and with a jerk, he started to pump his seed into her
a second time.
“Zari. Look at me.”
She turned towards his voice, her gray eyes made hazy with pleasure.
“I will always be your Master, and you will always be my pet.”

THEY MADE LOVE UNTIL darkness had fallen and she ended up
sleeping in his arms in a state of exhaustion. When she woke up, she was in
his bed, still naked, and curled in the arms of her Master.
She whispered, “Master?”
What is it, pet? His arms tightened around her as he spoke.
Swallowing, she told him shakily, “Something’s wrong with me.” It was
the only thing she could risk saying. She was too ashamed to admit the
entire truth.
I know.
She stiffened, and she stiffened even more when her Master shifted. She
thought he would let her go then, but instead she felt his lips pressing on her
forehead.
Tears burned behind her eyelids.
Her Master was a hunter, whose work required that he become cold-
blooded and anything but gentle.
But with her?
He had always been with gentle with her. Always, Zari realized. How
could she only realize that now? And God, why couldn’t it be that he was
gentle with her because he loved her and not because she was his pet?
Will you tell me what you feel is wrong with you?
She shook her head.
Alexandru was grim. He remembered the autopsy reports he had
received last night, compiled by both humans and otherworlders, and the
picture had been grisly. Once the demon was able to sink its claws in a soul,
a quick meal for it would be to drive the victim to suicide. That had
happened with its first few victims. But lately, the demon had become
stronger, smarter, more daring, and it had been able to manipulate its
victims into committing a graver sin: murder, and all to hide guilt.
I need to tell you something, my pet.
Her eyes rose to his, anxiety darkening them almost to black.
There is a demon on the loose again, and it feeds on guilt. He didn’t
speak right away, allowing the words to sink in. When she whitened, he
knew that she had realized the truth.
That she was the next victim, and the demon had already sunk its claws
into her soul.
“How did it happen?” she asked dully.
“That’s what I intend to find out. I’m betting the demon’s found a host.
We kill the host, we end its hold on you.” Alexandru was grim. “But for
now, I ask you again. What has it made you guilty of?”
“Something...I can never tell you about.”
He cursed under his breath. “Zari, dammit—-”
“I can’t. Just know that I won’t ever do it, ever. Even if it means I have
to be another man’s—-”
Never. His tone was savage. Haven't I made myself clear enough? In an
instant, he was on top of her, his weight imprisoning her but not
overwhelming her. He pinned her arms over her head. “You are mine.”
His mouth crushed hers, and even as despair swamped her, she couldn’t
stop herself from kissing him back. Soon, their mouths were no longer their
only connection. He rose over her, and when he came back down, his cock
slid into her. His mouth returned to her, and she moaned into his kiss even
as her legs snaked around his waist and her body welcomed his possession.
With her arms still pinned over head, she could only moan and writhe
under him, unable to satisfy her yearning to feel the hardness of his chest,
the power in his body. “Master.”
He groaned at the plea in her voice, and with another groan, he pumped
his seed into her. She screamed as his warmth flooded her, and arching to
meet his frenzied thrusts, she rubbed her clit against him. Heeding her plea,
he inserted his hand between their bodies. He flicked the nub of flesh – hard
enough to have her vaginal muscles squeeze tightly.
She came, whimpering his name. Alexandru.
When she opened her eyes again, he was on top of her, bracing himself
against his arms and his gaze on her face. “Zari, believe in me,” he
whispered fiercely. “I will not let harm befall you.”
She shook her head. “You don’t understand.” And she couldn’t explain
to him and have him possibly hating her. That was something she couldn’t
ever handle.
Honor meant everything to Alexandru. Everything. If he did not have
honor, he would have put his own desires above everything, would have
gone after Katarina and convinced her to marry him. But he had not.
Because he was honorable.
Nothing, however, was honorable about murder.
“I need to leave,” she whispered.
“You’re mine.”
“And I will be yours for as long as you want me to, but I need to leave.
Will you let me go to Chalys?”

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 ZARI

“Y
ou are...odd.” Rhapsody shook her head at me when I finished
telling her everything. Something about my friend made me feel
at ease in letting her know the truth, something about her too-old eyes that
told me she would be the last person in the world to judge.
However, she could still be pretty dense and tactless most times.
“I’m odd?” I repeated crossly. “I’m heartbroken, not odd.” We were in
her hotel room, and it was again protected by the same spell to keep our
conversation private. She had performed the ritual herself, which both
stunned and impressed me. She must have had seriously kick-ass professors
when she had been homeschooled. But then, her Master turned out to be the
Marquis of Sangre. It figured.
Remembering that little fact had me shaking my head back at her. “I
can’t believe you’re that man’s pet.” I considered her thoughtfully. “Or
maybe I can. Based on what I've heard, you guys are cut from the same
block.”
There was a flush in her cheeks, adding rare color to her normally pale
face, when Rhapsody answered sharply, “We have nothing in common.”
Whoa. Rhapsody was showing emotion beyond mild interest? I opened
and closed my mouth, wondering if she knew how much she was giving
away.
She glared at me.
Oh Lord, she was even furious now!
“Umm, okay, if you say so.” My head bobbed several times. “Nothing
in common, right.”
Rhapsody inhaled, and afterwards she looked much like her
expressionless self. “Let’s not talk about my Master,” she said. “You have
worse problems than I do. I’m not the one who is likely to attempt murder
on my Master’s ex-lover—-”
I winced.
“And whose Master hadn’t stopped me from leaving for Chalys—-”
I grimaced.
“Instead of sending the other woman away—-”
“Rhapsody. I get it.” I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Every word
she had said was true.
 My friend blinked, as if only realizing now how her words had hurt.
“Oh.” She reached for my hand and gave it an awkward pat. “I am terribly
sorry, Lady Zari.”
I shrugged. “You win some, you lose some,” I said lightly. Checking my
watch, I realized it was already time. “I need to go.”
Rhapsody only nodded. She knew about my plan. “But if things do not
go your way, I urge you to tell your Master about your vision.” She
hesitated. “I have heard about the kind of demon after you, Lady Zari. It is
not...pleasant. It is more revolting than most because it makes its victim do
all the dirty work. The longer you withhold the truth, the harder you’ll find
it to resist the demon’s urges.”

KATARINA APPEARED SURPRISED to see me when she opened the

door of her room. She was dressed to hit the outdoors in a tank top and
exercise leggings. The short tight top emphasized her breasts to perfection
and bared her well-defined abs. Just looking at her made me want to kill
myself, and I wasn’t even listening to the demonic whispers that filled my
head the moment I saw how, well, fit she was.
“Oh, Lady Zari.” She looked over my head searchingly.
I cleared my throat. “It’s just me, Lady Katarina.”
“I see.” A ready smile immediately appeared on her lips, and I had to
give it to her. She was really good at faking. “Is there anything I can do for
you? I’m actually just about to leave for training.”
Training? She still had to train? I managed to return her smile. “Umm,
great, I’ll watch you train!”
Katarina didn’t demur after that, but she did send me an odd look that
wasn’t so different from how Rhapsody had glanced at me earlier. Maybe
they were right. Maybe I was odd, and I’d probably appear even odder once
my Master’s ex-lover found out why I was accompanying her.
We headed to the same woods, and I asked Katarina why it appeared so
dead.
“Trees are extremely sensitive to the air, and that...” She jerked her head
towards the ghost town. “Too many bad souls linger there, poisoning the air,
preventing the trees from being able to properly breathe. The trees are too
strong to be killed, though. I think they’ve been under the care of nymphs
once and that’s why they’ve survived this long.”
 “Nymphs,” I repeated dumbly. “Aren’t they...” The word extinct came
to mind, but I didn’t think that was the right word to describe the
annihilation of their race. Like soul seers, the nymphs had been destroyed
by demons, too.
Sadness flickered in Katarina’s eyes. “Yes.”
We were quiet again until Katarina asked, “Why are you accompanying
me?”
Rather than answering her straight, I said, “What you asked me in the
past, I know what my answer is now.”
Katarina’s head swung to me sharply.
“I won’t give you my Master now.” I managed a smile. “I’ll give him to
you after, once I’ve made sure you're not going to die.” My next words
made it hard for me to look her in the eye, but I forced them out all the
same. “When I’m sure...I won’t end up killing you.”
From somewhere, a demon screamed in agony.
I thought I was imagining it for a moment, but then I saw the alarm
flashing in Katarina’s eyes, and I knew we both heard it.
She grabbed my hand. “Run.”
I didn’t bother questioning her. We ran, and I tried to keep up with her,
my heart in my throat as the demon kept howling in rage inside my mind. It
was furious that I had spoken the truth to Katarina, thus weakening its hold
on my soul. So damn furious it wanted to kill both of us.
Suddenly, I felt it, the talons that sank into my soul, trying to rip it out
of my body.
I fell to my knees, screaming.
Kill.
I shook my head. Never.
Katarina tried pulling me up. “Lady Zari, we have to go—-”
The talons dug deeper into my soul, trying to tear it into shreds, and I
screamed again.
Kill.
I shook my head. Never. I would rather die, and I hope I took it with me.
My Master’s voice intruded in my mind, fierce and urgent. Zari, I can
feel your pain.
D-don’t mind me. His voice came to me faintly, and I knew it was the
demon working against me. It’s nearby. Find it. End this.
 Katarina was still trying to pull me to my feet. “Lady Zari, it’s not safe
here—-” She stopped when I tightened my hand around hers.
I wanted to tell her that there was no point in running. The demon was
inside me. “Lady Katarina...” The urge to kill her now, here, the urge to fill
the forest with her cries of pain smashed into me, and I wanted to yank her
down—-
But I didn’t.
And so the demon kept clawing against my soul instead.
“I’m sorry.” I forced the words out.
Inside my mind, the demon roared, the words burning wounds into its
skin.
I forced myself to look at Katarina, my body shaking with the effort not
to wrap my fingers around her throat and squeeze the breath out of her. “I’m
sorry I want to kill you.”
“Lady Zari, this isn’t the time—-”
Cutting her off, I gasped out, “I’m sorry I think you’re too tall for
Alexandru!”
The demon howled and took revenge as more talons pierced my soul.
Ignoring the pain, I went on, “I’m sorry I think you’ve got abs like a
guy. I’m sorry I think you’re a heartless bitch for pushing him away but
stringing him along for hundreds of years—-” I choked back a sob as the
demon, weakened but furious, extended its attack to my physical body.
It clawed my arms from the inside, and I started to bleed.
“Lady Zari!” Katarina dropped to her knees. I could hear the healer in
her taking over as she ran her hands over my wounds, whispering words I
didn’t understand. But with every wound she healed, two more appeared,
and I knew that if she continued this, I might just end up bleeding to death.
“Stop.” I coughed out blood. The demon was working on my throat, too,
preventing me from speaking.
Katarina released me, realizing that she was hurting me more.
Silence hummed and inside of me, the demon had also ceased its attack.
I knew it was resting to regain some strength. Around us, the air had turned
still, and the dead trees were nothing but a circle of indifferent witnesses.
“It must be near to cause this much pain,” Katarina muttered. “I should
look for it—-”
“No!” I coughed out more blood. “I don’t know...how it got into
me...we can’t afford for it to get into you too...” My fingernails pierced her
skin, and I realized too late what I had done when I saw her wince.
I released her right away. “Sorry.” Tears streaked down my face as I
fought the urge to kill her.
Katarina’s gaze narrowed. A moment later, she said tightly, “I’m sorry.”
I only stared at her, too tired and in too much pain to ask what the
apology was for.
Another moment, and she answered my question.
“I’m sorry because there are times I want to kill you just as badly.” She
tightened her grip on my hand. “I want to kill you because I can see that
you love him, more than I have ever loved Alexandru.”
Inside of me, the demon started to stir, its unease communicating itself
to me.
Katarina’s voice remained steady as she continued, “I want to kill you
because with you alive, he will never be mine—-”
The demon screeched with pain, and I realized that with every word of
apology uttered, my hatred and guilt lessened, and with it the demon’s hold
on my soul weakened.
“I want to kill you—-”
The demon wanted to flee, but it was unable to. Forgiveness replaced
guilt and understanding replaced hatred, and my soul turned into the
demon’s cage.
“Because he chose you. And so even if you were to leave him, a part of
you will always linger. I want to kill you because no one can ever compare
to the way you’ve surrendered yourself to him.”
The demon went wild and it lashed out, doing everything it could to get
free. I could feel my eyes burning as if they wanted to pop out of their
sockets. A buzzing filled my ears and my tongue started to swell.
“Lady Zari...” She was smiling at me, but her eyes were glassy with
tears as she saw me bleeding all over. “I owe you a c-couple of apologies.”
I concentrated on her words, knowing I had to bear the pain because it
was the only way for us to kill the demon for good.
Katarina started to speak. “I’m sorry I think you’re a pain in the ass –
Alexandru has enough enemies as it is, but with you around he’ll have the
world out for him, especially once people find out you’re a soul seer.”
“I’m sorry I think you’re so small, it should make Alexandru feel like
he’s making love to a kid. I’m sorry I think you’ve got the body of a boy, it
should make Alexandru feel like he’s gay when he’s kissing you.”
 I coughed out a bloody laugh.
It was the demon’s death knell, and as I felt it thrashing desperately in
its attempt to escape, I heard Alexandru’s voice in my mind. We’ve found
the demon.
The talons in my soul disappeared.
The demon was dead.
I collapsed to the ground.
“Lady Zari?” Katarina cried out.
“I’m...okay.” It was still hard to speak, and my words came out as a
croak. “Alexandru found the demon. It’s dead now.” I opened my eyes. We
looked at each other, and suddenly we laughed. Even as tears formed in our
eyes, we kept laughing.
“Do you need help?” Katarina asked as she came to her feet. At my nod,
she offered her hand.
I took it.
Nooooooo—-
“Lady Zari?”
But it was too late.
Around me, the world had turned into orange – everything was
completely orange—-
This isn’t real, I told myself feverishly, but then the fire grazed my skin,
and I screamed at the pain of it.
I closed and opened my eyes. The world was still orange, and I was still
guilty. I closed and opened my eyes. The world was still orange, I was still
guilty, but I was not alone. She was there in front of me and she was
burning alive.
COME BACK TO ME, ZARI. It was my Master’s voice, snatching
me back to reality, and when I opened my eyes, I was in Alexandru’s arms,
his face ashen. I saw Katarina behind him, her face drawn with worry.
I started to cry. “I don’t understand.” I lifted my eyes to Alexandru. “I
saw her, Master. She was still burning, and it was still my fault. The
demon’s dead, but I still end up killing her. Why?”

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 ALEXANDRU AND ZARI

Z
ari and Alexandru only had a moment alone when they made it to her
Master’s room. He had carried her in his arms all the way back to the
resort, and when the other girls from school saw them, he had simply said,
“She fainted.”
Even though she was weak and tired, the excuse had her gritting her
teeth. When they entered the elevator, she hissed, “Master, couldn’t you
have been more imaginative?”
But the vampire hunter with legendary cunning and skills only threw
her a blank look. “What’s wrong about that?”
She sent Katarina a commiserating look before she realized what she
was doing. She stilled. Would the other woman think she was rubbing salt
in her wound?
But then she heard the female hunter laugh, and Zari almost sighed in
relief.
“How can you be so smart and be an idiot at the same time?”
Zari gasped at Katarina’s words.
The other woman snorted. “If a girl keeps fainting, what do you think is
the first thing that would occur to other people?” When Alexandru’s cheeks
stained with color at her pointed question, she crossed her arms over her
chest. “Exactly. You made everyone think she’s pregnant with your child.”
The elevator doors opened to her floor, and stepping out, Katarina asked
Zari over her shoulder, “Are you sure you think he’s really what you want,
Lady Zari?”
The doors closed before she could answer.
Alexandru glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m still thinking.” But Zari ended up gasping and laughing a little,
even though it hurt to do so, as he suddenly shifted her in his hold. Her
arms went around his neck, her legs wrapped around his waist as Alexandru
pushed her back against the wall.
Supporting Zari with just one arm, Alexandru tucked loose strands of
her hair behind her ears. After the fucking scare his pet had given him, he
savored even the smallest things and would never take for granted the
chance to touch her like this.
He asked, “Made up your mind yet?”
 She couldn’t answer right away, his playful tone wreaking havoc on her
senses.
Alexandru flicked her forehead.
“Oww,” she exclaimed, more out of surprise than anything else.
Suddenly, he bent his head, and their foreheads touched.
A ragged sigh escaped him, and she stiffened at the sound. “What’s
wrong?”
“I thought I almost lost you.” His voice was a strained whisper, and it
was the first time she had heard him speak like this. He looked up, and he
flicked her head again.
Zari would have found it touching if it hadn’t hurt a bit more. “What’s
that for now?”
“For lying to me.”
“Lying to you?”
“You said you were fine!” The elevator doors parted open, and manners
prevented Alexandru from continuing. He carried her out of the elevator, his
hard embrace telling her it was far from over.
Entering his suite, he kicked the door shut and, in a blink of an eye, they
were on his bed, Zari flat on her back and Alexandru looming over her with
a scowl on his handsome face.
“You were bleeding all over,” he hissed. “Here. Here. Here.” He
touched her eyes, her ears, her lips. “You were dying!” Just remembering it
made his hand shake.
The raw fear in Alexandru’s gaze had Zari placing her hand against his
cheek. “But I’m alive now.”
“By the fucking skin of your teeth,” he bit out.
Since she couldn’t argue that, she just said, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I
terrified you. I didn’t mean to. Lady Katarina had it under control.”
He shook his head. “What she fucking did was a wild guess,” he said
tightly, “and you were just damn lucky it paid off!”
She tried to find something positive to say and only ended up with a
cliché. “But Master, all’s well that—-”
Alexandru snarled, “You won’t want what I’ll do to you if you dare
finish that thought.”
“—-ends well?”
Both of them froze.
“Zari.” A growl and a groan at the same time.
 She threw her arms around him before he could punish her. “Master.”
She tightened her hold and pushed her breasts against his chest.
He choked back a laugh. “Are you trying to seduce me out of getting
pissed?”
Hiding her face in the crook of his neck, she nodded. She also rubbed
her body against him.
His cock became fully erect and he gritted out, “I have to say...it’s
working, pet.”
“Master?” She closed her eyes. “Lady Katarina said...” She felt him
stiffen, but she knew she had to ask. “She said you chose me.”
Silence.
“I did.”
She couldn’t breathe. “Why?”
Because you own my heart now, and it will always be yours. The words
came out of nowhere. He hadn’t planned to fucking say it, but now that he
did, he knew he wouldn’t take it back. It was a fucking relief that it was all
out now, a fucking relief that everything was finally clear to him.
Katarina was the past. Zari, his pet, was his eternity.
When she didn’t say anything, his jaw clenched. Zari?
Yes, Master?
You want me to strangle the words out of you?
Not a good joke—-
Stop fucking with me—-
Zari suddenly pushed his chest, and when he fell on his back, she
climbed over him, bracing her hands beside him. Their eyes met, and he
sucked in his breath at what he saw in her gaze.
He had his answer, and she knew it.
Even so, she gave him a tremulous smile as she said, “In case you need
to hear it...” She wiped her tears. “I love you, Master. Alexandru. I love
you.”
She bent down, and their lips touched.
But they didn’t kiss.
Because she started to see.

“YOU SURE YOU WANT TO do this?” Erou asked as, at his nod, his
enforcers cut the yellow tape that barricaded the room where the demon’s
host had been found and killed this afternoon.
Zari nodded.
Stepping aside, he warned, “We’ve cleaned it to escape human
detection, but there are sure to be remnants that you’ll notice.”
When Alexandru opened the door, Zari was immediately hit by a rotten
smell that wafted out of the room. She shook her head in dismay. It was
such a bad odor, she couldn’t believe most humans wouldn’t be able to
smell it.
Alexandru and Katarina stepped inside first. There was no jealousy in
her heart as she watched the two working together, checking all parts of the
room before Alexandru came back for her. “It’s clear.”
Accepting his hand, she followed him inside and found the smell even
worse, making her feel like throwing up. Nothing looked untoward about
the room at all, the enforcers having done a good job at cleaning. The host’s
possessions remained in their place, and those were what she was most
interested in.
“Do you think she’s been its host from the start?” Zari asked shakily.
“Most likely,” Alexandru answered grimly. “If you check the shower,
you’ll see dozens of bottles of hair dye. Hosting a demon will take its toll
on a body, even a vampire’s, and this one had to dye the hair black
constantly to avoid unnecessary questions.”
Her gaze strayed towards the host’s ID, and she recited a quick prayer
for the soul of the vampire whose life the demon had stolen. It had been the
professor assigned to her class’ bus, and she had been the reason why the
demon had been able to sink its claws into Zari. It only needed one touch,
and the host had managed that when she took the consent form from Zari’s
hands.
Now, the vampire was dead, the demon was dead, but the danger wasn’t
over.
Zari’s orange-colored visions were proof of that.
Taking a deep breath, she touched the ID.

THE SCHOOL WAS BURNING. The hospital was burning.

People were dying all around her, but she had to be saved because she
was the soul seer, and she hated it.
“Go!” It was Katarina, screaming at Zari to leave.
“Go!” It was her Master, desperate to see her out of harm’s way.
And both of them were being burned alive.

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 ZARI

I
was alone when I stole out early in the evening. I had told Alexandru
that I needed to talk to Katarina, and I wanted him to pretend he didn’t
know anything about it. I told him it was to keep Katarina from feeling
awkward even more, but it was all a lie of course. More and more, I was
convinced that I could be the world’s best liar as long as the situation called
for it.
And this one definitely did.
Zipping my jacket up to my neck, I quickened my pace and prayed to
God that I wasn’t lost. Only the sound of my feet hitting the pavement
broke the silence around me. Everything else was deadly still.
Fear enveloped me when I finally came to a stop at the foot of the stairs
leading up to the hospital entrance. Still abandoned, old, and decrepit, but I
saw the place with new eyes. Now, it was more terrifying because in my
visions, this was where Alexandru and Katarina would both die.
For me.
Taking out the book I had borrowed from Rhapsody, I opened it to the
page I had bookmarked and reread the passage about turning a demon into a
familiar, a practice that offered an individual almost infinite power but
required huge sacrifice in return.
Erou had told me that they had suspicions about the demon not working
alone. It had been too methodical, he said, for a lower demon. It was either
a high-ranking demon masking its powers or it had been working under the
command of another being.
Tonight, I would know for sure which one of it was.
The hospital doors created an eerie sound as I pushed them open.
Pulling the torch out of my pocket, I switched it on and beamed the light on
my surroundings. It was still hard to see the place, but at least I could
slowly find my way without having to bump into a lot of things.
Retracing my steps in my visions, I circled around the stairs and,
bending down, I ran my hands over the asymmetric wall under the steps.
Finally, I found it, a tiny button that vandalized drawings had caused to
disappear.
Pressing the button had the concealed door under the stairs swinging
open, and the silence of the motion unnerved me. I almost wished it had
made the same eerie creaking sound as the other door. Silence was too
terrifying because it could mean so many things.
Crouching, I stepped inside and, looking around, I made sure it was the
same passageway I saw in my dreams. Straightening to my full height, I
fumbled my way to another set of stairs, which should lead to the basement.
I had already taken the first step down when I saw that someone was
waiting for me below.
She was missing one eye, her lips were the same grisly shade of red in
the photo I had seen of her, and patches of her vein-less skin had been burnt
to a crisp.
Elsa.
Once, she was a mentally abused girl whose parents had killed her by
encasing her in a wood, turning her into a doll, before burning her alive.
Now, she was a ghost who left her wooden shell every night, not
understanding that her little games had turned the place she grew up in into
a ghost town.
Behind her, the shadows moved.
Elsa was not alone.
Whirling around, I ran as fast as I could, but Elsa suddenly popped up in
front of me, in the way only ghosts could.
I stumbled back with a scream and felt myself falling, tumbling down
the stairs.
Then everything went black.

I WOKE UP WITH MY HANDS and feet bound on the floor. A fire roared
from the fireplace, and the sight arrested me. I could almost feel the whole
world turning orange as I continued looking at it.
“I knew you’d come.”
My head snapped towards the sound, the hairs in the back of my nape
standing up as I tried to search for the voice’s owner in the shadows. It was
a female’s voice, but that was all I could tell.
Alexandru? Master?
“Don’t bother contacting your Master with your blood bond. It won’t
work here.”
I tried not to show how her words terrified me. I really was alone then.
 “You’re quite the headstrong girl,” she remarked in a chillingly pleasant
tone. “You remind me of someone I hate. You’re also remarkably,
irritatingly selfless, and you know what that makes you?” The woman in the
dark chuckled, the sound making my skin crawl. “Predictable. It makes you
predictable, and so I knew, if I kept to the plan, it was only a matter of time
before you’d have your visions and you’d come to try and save everyone
alone.”
“Who are you?” I squinted my eyes, trying to see her, but she was one
with the darkness. In the periphery of my eye, I saw Elsa in the opposite
corner, playing with her hair, watching us speak with a bored expression on
her disfigured face. I forced myself to look at her, making contact. She was
my Plan B in case something happened and I needed someone to help me.
When the woman in the shadows didn’t answer, I said, “You made the
demon your familiar, didn’t you?”
A hiss, and I knew I had guessed right. This woman, whoever she was,
sounded too bitter for a pure demon. It was too human a feeling, and pure
demons only typically knew of anger and greed.
“Why would you do something like that?” I asked, buying myself time
as I put Plan B into action. “It requires so much sacrifice and—-”
“And yet you ruined it,” she hissed.
Something in the shadows started to move.
“It was a great sacrifice, a risk I took because there was something I
needed.”
“Me?”
“Yes,” the faceless woman spat.
“Because I’m what I am?”
Another cackle. “You mean a soul seer?”
I didn’t answer.
The cackle turned into a soulless laugh. “How naïve you are. You think
not answering will confuse me? I wouldn’t have come this far, Zari
Baltimore, if I were unsure. You are a soul seer—-”
“You won’t be able to make me speak of my visions—-”
She laughed again. “Ah, but that’s exactly why I want you dead. You,
soul seer, are destined to see, but I don’t want you to see. And the only way
to stop you from seeing is to kill you.”
It made perfect sense, even if it did involve my death. “If you want me
dead, then why burn the school down?”
 I could feel rather than see her smiling at my question, as if knowing
that she’d cause so much death pleased her. “Why do you think, soul seer?”
she taunted. “Can’t you see the reason?”
I shook my head.
A dark blur of movement and then I was screaming as I felt someone
crouch behind me. Whispered words crawled into my ear. “See for
yourself.”
Hands from the back crept forward and covered my entire face.
I saw.

RED.
It was the color of her hair, a beautiful shade that had everyone in the
small village she was born to gasp in wonder for they had never seen such a
thing.
Red.
It was her favorite color as she grew up because she realized it was the
color of blood.
Red.
She was fifteen when she painted her entire village red, killing them all
single-handedly. She invited everyone to supper, and they all came to
celebrate the day she was born, not knowing that it would also be the day
they would die. For everything had poison in it and one by one they
dropped to the ground like flies.
When it was over, she slit their necks for the blood to run and turn the
nearby river into the same shade of red. Then she threw her hands in the air
and forsook God before throwing herself prostrate on the ground and
offering her soul to the Devil.
There was no rhyme or reason to what made her evil.
Some people just were.
When she left, she thought it was all over. But she was wrong. A child
had been left at home for her parents thought she was too young to join
such celebrations. And so that saved her life. When she came to look for her
parents found death surrounding her, she, too, fell to the ground, crying.
She prayed to God, asking Him to use her line to deliver justice.
And God said yes.
 A day would come when one of her descendants would be His weapon,
destined to deliver justice and put an end to the Red Witch.
ALEXANDRU AND ZARI
Zari was in grave danger. His instincts told him so, and he had learned
to trust it over the centuries. He searched for Katarina and found her dining
with the enforcers. They were the only patrons in the restaurant, and the
entire resort felt empty with all professors and students on their way back to
the school.
“May I speak with you?” He wasn’t quite able to keep his voice from
being harsh with worry.
“Yes, of course, my lord.” Katarina excused herself as she stood up. As
they walked away from the table, she asked, “What is it?”
“How did your talk with Zari go?” He knew he wasn’t supposed to ask
about it, but Alexandru thought it might give him a clue about where his pet
was now. He had tried contacting her through their bond but while he could
feel her presence, it was all he was able to glean.
She had effectively blocked him out, and she had never done that
before.
Katarina appeared confused. “My...talk? But I haven’t seen her since we
were all together.”
Alexandru whitened.
Zari? Answer me, Zari.
But there was no answer.
Stiff with tension, he thanked Katarina for her help and spun around
wordlessly. He called to his men in his mind. Be ready to leave.
“Alexandru, wait!” Katarina caught after him. “What’s happening?”
“Zari’s gone,” he said curtly without pausing in his stride. “I have a
feeling she’s gone back hunting on her own so I’m going to the hospital,
where she had her first vision.”
She paled. “On her own? Why wouldn’t she tell you? Or any of the
others?”
“She might have told others. I’ve let Sir Richard know about what’s
happening and he’ll let me know if he’s find out something.” His jaw
clenched. “But if she’s lied to me then she must have seen me in her
visions.”
Katarina was able to read between the lines. “And she saw you, like she
saw me, didn’t she?”
He didn’t have to answer.
Goddamn you, pet. I’m going to kill you for this.

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 ZARI

T
he burning heat woke me up. The visions had tired me out, the
senselessness of the killings making me unconscious. I screamed
when I found myself surrounded with fire. It was everywhere, my
nightmare come to life.
I looked around and saw that the Red Witch was gone, probably so she
could watch LSL burn to the cinders. And while the school had all kinds of
spells protecting it, I knew it might not be enough.
The Red Witch was strong, and she had unfinished business there. The
one destined to kill her was studying in LSL and she wouldn’t stop until
every student in the school died.
Knowing I had little time left, I turned towards the shadows, where I
knew she lurked, watching silently as she always did.
“Elsa.”
The ghost appeared before me, her disfigured face becoming more
ghastly as she gave me an inquiring smile.
I forced myself up, which was doubly hard with my hands and feet
bound. She watched me struggle, not offering to help. I wasn’t sure she
even knew how to speak. None of the case studies ever recorded her
speaking, but most of the studies reported that she did understand when
people talked to her.
“Elsa.”
She looked at me again.
“I need you to come inside of me, like you did before, with the boy. You
remember him? His name was Jeremy?”
The single eye she had lit up.
“Help me. Come inside of me.” With her inside of me, I would be free
from the pain. It was the only way I’d have the courage to go through the
fire and save myself.
I closed my eyes.
Something cold blew.
She was inside of me.
Elsa and I walked through the fire. She didn’t feel it because she was
immune to pain, not because she was a ghost but years of parental abuse
had made her so. My body was wracked with coughs as we finally made it
to the stairs, only to find the door locked.
 No!
Tears from smoke stung my eyes.
It couldn’t end like this.
With Elsa’s help, I slammed my shoulder into the door, again and again,
hoping it would give way.
ALEXANDRU AND ZARI
Fire. It rose in the night, swaying and roaring like a hungry beast.
Alexandru broke into a run, using his speed as a vampire hunter, no
longer caring if humans might see him. The others followed him, Katarina
just behind him a few steps. They found the entire hospital in flames, and
Alexandru realized that if this was happening then her other vision might
happen, too.
Everyone, go inform the enforcers about what is happening. Accompany
them back to the LSL and tell them to prepare for an attack. Someone will
try to burn the school down.
His men bowed and disappeared into the night.
Katarina was aghast. “But Lady Zari...”
His jaw clenched. “She would want it this way, too, Katarina. Too many
lives are at stake for me to be selfish.” His gaze went back to the hospital.
This was no ordinary flame. This was Hellfire, something that could kill
even immortals like him.
“Stay here,” he told Katarina.
“No. I’m going to help—-”
“She saw you die—-”
“And if it will happen, it will happen. I won’t just stand by if someone
needs my help.” Katarina looked at the hospital. “Just like old times, right?”
“Just don’t die on me,” he said grimly.
“Same to you, hunter.”
They looked at each other.
On the count of three, Alexandru murmured.
Katarina nodded. Three.
They burst into the broken windows, both of them wincing as the fire
licked their skin. Immediately, they heard the banging on the door.
“Zari!” Alexandru shouted.
“Alexandru!” A coughing reply.
Relief slammed into him. He sped towards the door, his only thought
saving his pet. But the moment he touched the knob, the spell on it came to
life, blowing him straight into the fire.
The door swung open, in time for Zari to see Alexandru’s back hitting
the opposite wall and falling in the middle of a burning hallway.
“Alexandru!” she screamed.
She and Elsa ran towards him, and when she reached her Master,
Katarina was there, too. Together, they helped Alexandru up, who was
shaky on his feet, his back badly burned.
“Hellfire,” Katarina explained shortly. “It’s fatal to immortals.”
Carrying Alexandru slowed them down, and with each second that
passed, fewer passageways were left for them to travel unscathed. The last
one that Katarina and Alexandru had used was already completely gutted
with fire.
“There!” Katarina pointed to a window to their left. It required them to
balance on a plank of wood that had so far escaped the fire, but they both
knew it wouldn’t last long.
“You go first,” Katarina instructed. “Crouch down and carry Alexandru
like this.” It would mean Zari having to move backwards towards the
window, but Zari knew it was the only way she could carry Alexandru on
her own.
“Ready?” Katarina asked. “I’ll follow after you. It won’t hold all of our
weight if we go together.”
Zari hesitated. “Lady Katarina—-”
The other woman shook her head. “Remember what I said, Lady Zari. If
it will happen, it will.”
Zari started to move, slowly and carefully, not wanting to place too
much weight on the plank. Alexandru was heavy but she gritted her teeth
and pulled her with him. Only a few feet now, Master. I’ll save you this time.
We’ll save you—-
And then she felt it—-
The plank creaking, giving out on their weight—-
She screamed as the plank split into two and they started to slip.
But Katarina had dove forward, managing to grab the edge of the plank
and pulling it back up before Zari and Alexandru could fall into the
basement, which was completely engulfed by fire.
Katarina’s face was red with exertion, and her entire body was shaking
as she bit out, “Go now!”
Zari shook her head. “No!”
 Because now, it was clear to her that this was what the visions were all
about.
“If you don’t go now,” Katarina said hoarsely, “we’ll all die...even
Alexandru. And I’ll kill you if you let that happen.”
Zari started to cry. “Lady Katarina, no.”
“Move,” Katarina screamed. “I can’t hold on much longer!”
“Lady Katarina, please, we’ll...”
“Zari.”
It was the first time Katarina had called her by her first name like that,
and it was the first time she saw the hunter’s face streaked with tears.
“Promise me you’ll love him the way I’ve never been able to?” Katarina
whispered. “Promise me you’ll be the one protecting him? Promise me,
Zari. It’s the only way I can go in peace.”
Zari whispered, “Yes.” She looked inside herself. Elsa. Go to her. Keep
her from feeling pain.
And then she started to move, pulling Alexandru with her.
The moment she pulled Alexandru out through the window, the fire
roared up as if it was unwilling to go without taking someone with it to
Hell.

LA SCALA LEGATURIA was no more when Zari and Alexandru came

back. It was completely burned to the ground, just like how it was in her
visions. But no one had died, with everyone’s lives saved thanks to the early
warning Alexandru had sent.
Or at least everyone had lived but Katarina.
Hunters all over the world came to pay their respects as Katarina’s body
was taken back to Chalys and laid to rest.
When the rites were over and her casket sealed in the marbled tomb,
Alexandru drew his pet to his side.
Rest in peace, Katarina.
Beside him, his pet squeezed his hand. You have very good taste in
women.
The words almost made him smile. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know
you think so.
They walked together in silence, and as they came further and further
away from the others, it was only then he asked, What now, pet?
 Zari took a long time to reply. I want to be strong, Master. Strong
enough so that people like Katarina won’t have to die for me. Strong
enough so I can protect you on my own.
It was his turn to be silent.
Master?
You understand that if you study in ANEX it will mean we will not be
able to see each other for two years?
She wasn’t even surprised that he knew about it, even though she was
sure the marquis had yet to speak to his younger brother about her intended
transfer. Master, I’m yours for eternity. Two years won’t matter.
You speak as if you’re already immortal. His lips curved, but the smile
didn’t reach his eyes.
The haunted look in his gaze made Zari ache. Master, if you don’t want
me to go—-
I don’t. His voice was grim. Alexandru cupped her face and brought her
mouth to his. She leaned into the kiss, loving the way it was hot, hard, and
possessive.
Alexandru raised his head. I despise the thought of you not being by my
side where I can always guard you...but I can’t – I won’t stand in the way of
your destiny.
Tears stung her eyes as she felt her Master’s lips press to the top of her
head. It was a long road ahead, but she knew she had made the right choice,
knew she owed it to Katarina’s sacrifice to learn to be strong on her own.
She laid her head against his heart. Master, this isn’t goodbye. I’ll
always be yours. Always.
The End

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27Thank
March 2020
you so much for taking the time to read this book. I hope you
enjoyed reading it, and in case you're new to my work, this book is actually
part of a series, and I'm working on republishing older works of mine that
take place in the same "universe".
As for some personal updates, we're still under enhanced community
quarantine here in Metro Manila, and I've been mostly whiling the time
away reading and writing. If I need a break, I do Netflix and watch pen-pal-
with-me videos on YouTube. :) I'm not spending enough time praying
though > . < So I hope to rectify that starting today. The pandemic is one of
those rare things that affects the entire world, and rather than let it sow
discourse among us, we should turn it into an opportunity to reach out and
help each other.
Stay at home as much as you can, practice social distancing, and keep
spreading positivity! Thank you again for spending your precious time with
me.

UNTIL OUR NEXT JOURNEY,

Marian Tee
P.S. As always, if you guys enjoyed this book, I'd like to ask a moment
of your time to post a review for The Vampire's Pet. It's such a huge help to
indie authors like me, as more reviews tend to have a positive effect on
algorithms, i.e. my books enjoy increased visibility in the market.
P.P.S. Please also consider joining my newsletter to stay updated on my
upcoming releases. I only send you guys a message when I have a new
book out.
P.P.P.S. I included excerpts of my works (under Marian Tee and other
pen names) that are also available on Kindle Unlimited, in case you'd like to
give them a try.

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 A LORD OF THE UNDERWORLD NOVEL
BY MARIAN TEE WRITING AS ALICE BLOOME
"H ow do you know so much of these things?" I couldn't help asking.
"It's part of my job."
"Talking to ghosts?"
"Yes."
"Like a psychic?"
I saw him frown as if seriously weighing the relevance of this term to
his job, and then after a moment, he said simply, "No."
"Is it why I can touch you and vice versa?"
"Yes."
"Can't you just tell me what your job is?" I asked with a laugh.
"Hm."
I started tugging his sleeve. "Come on, please."
"Why does it matter what job I do?"
"Because I only date guys with actual jobs, and in case you're
wondering - no, I don't consider any kind of criminal activity as a career."
"Is that your way of saying you want to go out with me?"
If I had still been in my teens, I wouldn't have even dreamt of answering
him with the truth. Would have been too insecure to even consider it. If I
had been in my twenties, I'd be weighing my options and gauging his level
of interest, just to play it safe. But since I was in my late thirties (and
forever would be), I was at that age where I knew and loved myself enough
to take even the craziest, occasional risk.
And so...
"Can I ask you a question first?"
The sudden huskiness in my tone had Hadrian's gaze gleaming. "Go
on."
"You really didn't lie about not being married?"
"I'm recently divorced, if that means anything."
"It doesn't." I watched the interest in his eyes change into something
else as I spoke, and my toes curled. "May I ask one - um, no, may I ask two
last questions?"
"Ask."
Just one word, but this time, Hadrian's voice had deepened and turned
more velvety.
 "Does hooking up constitute a sin?" I might always be game for wild,
hot sex, but not if it screwed with my chances for meeting my parents in
Heaven - oh no, wait, make that Isle of the Blessed.
"It doesn't."
"Oh, thank God."
His eyes gleamed. "And your second question?"
"Is something very easy," I said with a wink. "All I'd like to know is if
you know anyone who'd be interested in, say, hooking up with a redheaded
ghost?"
"I think..." Hadrian reached up to trace my lower lip with his thumb,
and I almost died at the sheer sensuality of it. "The ghost already knows the
answer to that."
"Oh my God, you're hot." The words had him chuckling, and even the
mere sound of it was sexy as heck, too. Leaning close, I whispered into his
ear, "You were right earlier."
"About what?"
"I want to go out with you."
There was a beat of silence, and I found myself holding my breath even
though I wasn't really breathing anymore. Was he going to pull over? Was
he going to kiss me? Was he going to—-
"Hold that thought."
—-do something I didn't see coming? Apparently, yes. And I couldn't
help choking out a laugh. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
"What if I said no?"
A smirk played over his lips, and I had never seen anything sexier in my
life, dead or not dead.
"Do you want me that much?"
"Yes," I said shamelessly.
Hadrian glanced at me. Just one swift glance, lasting no longer than a
second, but the smoldering heat in it...mm, well, let's just say it was hotter
than Hell, enough to make me clear my throat and start fanning my face.
Phew.
"You're looking a little red," Hadrian murmured.
"Am I? It's getting a little hot. Must be your air-conditioning," I
quipped.
"Or I'm just too hot."
 I couldn't help laughing even though we both knew it was true. "That
should've made you sound like a butthole," I said with a sigh, "but it didn't."
I tugged his sleeve again, asking hopefully, "Are you really sure you can't
spare even just five minutes?"

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 Stepbrother
BY MARIAN TEE
"H ow does it feel, now that Foxtown's about to be unveiled to the
world? Are you excited? Nervous?"
"I'm looking forward to its launch."
She couldn't help laughing at his matter-of-fact tone. "You so don't
sound like it."
"Not everyone has to squeal and giggle like you used to do," the
billionaire retorted, "to show excitement." A pause. "Or are you still like
that now?"
"Mm." She gave him a mysterious look. "That's a secret."
"Careful, little Sarah," he murmured. "You know how I am with
secrets."
Her heartbeat spiked up. Was it just her imagination or did he sound like
he was flirting with her back there?
The billionaire arched a brow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
And there it was again: a rich, velvety tone that was slowly and
sinuously working to make her years-dormant body ache and swell back
into life.
"Don't worry," she managed to say. "Everything's different now. I'm not
going to jump on you the first chance I get—-"
"I won't stop you if you would."
"Ha. Ha. Ha." Oh God, why was he saying these things?
"It wasn't a joke."

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 BY MARIAN TEE

W
hat if you've fallen for your gorgeous but aloof boss, and you end
up finding out he's a vampire?
Spencer is tired of being in love with a man who's not just out of her
league but someone who doesn't even seem to notice she's a woman. She
wants to start fresh, and to do that, she decides to symbolically kill her
feelings by selling her virginity. But what she finds out too late is that the
anonymous man she's made love with in the dark...is none other than
her boss...who also happens to lead a double life as a vampire prince.

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