Ensnared (3 page)

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.