Chapter Twenty-Seven
Learning to tie a corset was easier said than done. By the Goddess, what kind of demon had invented the thing? Pemma didn’t seem bothered by wearing one and had even instructed Kele to pull harder on the strings.
“Okay let me check yours.” Pemma could move like water when she wanted to and circled Kele before she could get away. The omega tugged on Kele’s corset strings. “That’s too loose. It’s meant to slim your waist, not make it seem bulkier.” She undid the ties and put her knee against Kele’s back. “Exhale.”
Kele could hear her ribs creak as Pemma pulled. “By my dead parents’ souls, I will eat your firstborn if you don’t loosen this idiotic piece of clothing.” She gasped for air after using what she’d had in her lungs to shout at the omega. The only purpose for the garment was to shove her breasts higher in the air while crushing her organs together.
Pemma’s sigh seemed burdened but she loosened the corset.
Pulling the same dress as yesterday over her head, Kele did her best to keep her voice calm. “Pemma, couldn’t I go with you anyway? I doubt Ewald will notice my absence.”
Pemma brushed her hair and paused in her strokes as she considered Kele’s reflection in her mirror. “I think he’d notice.”
She’d hoped Pemma would have just agreed to her request. She didn’t like the way Ewald’s gaze lingered on her as if he undressed her in his mind’s eye. Twisting the hem of her wide sleeves in her fingers, she couldn’t meet Pemma’s gaze. “What if I went anyway?”
“We’d get punished even more severely.” She set her brush down. “I did something yesterday that made him very angry. Ewald may not love me like he would a wife but he does consider me his possession. I crossed a line to free you. The blow to his ego is more damaging than the one to his heart and now we must both pay for that act.”
“If he’s already angry, then it won’t matter if I sneak out with you. Once you deliver me to Benic then all will be well for both of us.” She would be away from Ewald’s heated looks and she could convince Benic to help her retrieve her packmates from Timothy.
“You have a point.” Pemma tapped her hairbrush against her chin. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to sneak you out of the house.”
Someone knocked on the door before entering—one of Lord Weis’s servants. She curtsied. “Lord Ewald asked me to retrieve Kele and bring her to the study.”
Kele took an involuntary step back.
“Come along, follow me.” The female gestured for her to move.
Dragging her feet, she tossed Pemma an alarmed glance. “Aren’t you coming?”
She nodded and hurried after them.
The study was dark with plush leather furniture and a cold hearth. Ewald leaned against the mantel and stared at the floor. When she stepped inside the room with Pemma, he lifted his head. “Pemma, what are you still doing here?”
“I’d like to go along with her.” Kele swallowed hard. “Master.”
“No, you’ll stay here. It’s time you earn your keep.”
“Ewald.” Pemma sounded as scandalized as Kele felt. “She might not be pack, but I ask that you treat her as if she is.”
Ewald smirked. “I was going to have the servants teach her how to serve lunch. What did you have in mind, Pemma? It sounded quite salacious.”
Kele watched a scarlet blush bloom on Pemma’s cheeks and burn a path to the tips of her ears. “It was.” She gave him a sharp nod. “Be good. I’ll be back quickly.”
Kele tried to catch her by the hand as she left but only grasped air.
Pemma strode away, leaving her alone with Ewald.
Body heat caressed her back as he pressed behind her, as if watching Pemma leave as well.
“I think it’s cruel that you are sending her unattended into the city.” To a slaver, Pemma would be a nice coin to pocket.
“Who said she’s unattended? Lord Weis was kind enough to lend me a few of his hunters to track her.”
“Won’t her pack do it?”
“Of course they would, she’s the pack darling, but they’d also lie for her.” He traced the seam of her sleeve with a fingertip. “Don’t misunderstand me. I care for Pemma in my own way, but she sometimes strays. This is a gentle reminder of who she truly belongs to.”
Kele clenched her jaws to keep her thoughts her own. Vampires and their double-edged words. Why couldn’t they sit down and discuss these issues instead of playing games with each other? He was mad at Pemma. She understood this. Take her upstairs and spank her. Get it over with. Instead, he sent her away with implications of wanting to seduce Kele.
His hands had settled on her waist.
Or maybe not implications. She stepped out of his grasp. “What did you want the servants to teach me?”
He gave her a knowing crooked smile and closed the study door. “You don’t play coy very well.” He leaned against it. “You seem like a very direct female. Were you a hunter in your pack?”
“I am a hunter.” Shifters didn’t lose their nature just because some vampire spawn branded their hands. “I’m also mated.”
He chuckled. “You’re lying. Nice try.”
She didn’t think vampires could smell lies. That was supposed to be only a shifter gift. Maybe the vampires from Europa were different.
“It’s in your eyes. Shifters are terrible liars. They think only with their noses, where my people learn to use all their senses. If you don’t practice lying enough, it becomes very easy to detect.”
“Really?” She crossed the room, making sure to place the chairs between them.
He followed with an unnatural speed, cornering her against a side table. “I’ve never met a wolf shifter with your coloring.”
“I’ve heard this before. My father’s lineage comes from the most northern packs. They’re all white wolves.”
He touched the button on her dress between her breasts, circling the fastener round and round. “As far as I know, there are no white packs in Europa.”
“Don’t touch me, Ewald.” A warning growl burned in her throat.
“I never gave you permission to address me as such. It’s Lord Ewald.”
“I got permission the moment you undressed me with your eyes.” She shoved him away and he stumbled from her strength. “Try to remember I’m not one of your domesticated lapdogs. I’ve tasted vampire blood and I liked it.” That was a half-truth. She’d bitten a vampire when they attacked on her mating day, but she couldn’t remember how he tasted.
He straightened his vest and grinned, the spark of interest blazing in his eyes. “I’m counting on it. Like Pemma, I like to stray and get a taste of wilder things now and then.” Curling his fingers, he dared her to come closer. “Come, Kele, bite me.” His grin grew wider and his fangs showed. “Better move quick, because I might decide to catch and bite you instead.”
The sun shone overhead and lit the city streets as Pemma hurried along the sidewalk. Yet a shadow seemed to hover over the people of New Berg. Some ran errands and others gathered in small groups, but none of them smiled or laughed. A group of hunters strode down the street and many of the shifters shrank against the building, heads bowed low. Instinctively, she did the same thing.
If a shifter didn’t want to fight, then they didn’t try to attract attention. What surprised her was how many shifters submitted. They might as well have lain in the dirt on their bellies. The same was implied. The hunters were strong and the rest of them weren’t. Was it the same in Europa? She couldn’t recall. It hadn’t mattered then.
Thoughts of wild shifters and their packs had dominated her thoughts ever since disembarking the ship. New Berg seemed full of omegas and crafters. Had the hunters been diminished? If she were a vampire wanting to tame a pack of wild shifters, the first thing she would do was kill their strongest members.
A shudder ran over her spine. These types of thoughts wouldn’t do her any good. It would make her feel colder toward Ewald, which her pack couldn’t afford. Already her stomach turned at the thought of him.
Poor Kele. Pemma had wanted to take her along but Ewald wouldn’t let that happen. Once he put his mind to wanting something, he got it. Just like this journey. Her only recourse was to hurry and return with Lord Benic quickly. She knew Kele loved Peder and she’d keep Ewald at bay for as long as she could.
Pemma reread the tiny piece of parchment the chamberlain had given her bearing directions to Benic’s inn. Ewald had also left specific instructions that she wasn’t to use a carriage. How childish. He’d set her aside like a broken toy so quickly her head still spun.
Once the hunters had passed, she crossed the street and searched for a proper sign. Not all the corners were marked though. She walked as quickly as her short legs could take her while continuing along the main road. Her heart raced as she scanned for some sign that she was heading in the right direction.
As she increased her steps, her hurried walk turned into a gentle jog. The small hat she wore kept trying to cover her eyes, so she yanked it off and tossed it to the ground. She weaved through the growing crowd of pedestrians and noticed the buildings seemed less kept and the people somewhat shadier.
There, on the corner, she finally noticed a street name she recognized. It would lead her to the inn. Purposely discarding her upbringing, she let loose her restraint and ran full out, skirt hem flouncing around her knees. Her hairpins had come undone so her long tresses trailed behind her in the wind.
This.
This was what she was missing. To run wild as a shifter should. She could have gone faster if not for the darn corset vampire fashion insisted she wear. Those shifters she passed raised their heads and sniffed the air with interest. A few even ran at her side for a few paces before recalling what they’d been doing.
Pack instinct still ran in their blood after all. They wanted to run as she did.
The inn came in sight and she barreled into foyer. “Where’s Lord Benic’s room?”
Kele crouched in a fighting stance, wishing she’d never listened to Pemma about wearing this torture contraption around her chest. “I’ve fought many challenges, vampire, and won. I was one of the top hunters of my pack.” She rose on the balls of her feet. Maybe she should just shift and tear his head off and be done with it all. “What of you?”
He rolled his head and cracked his neck. “I have at least a hundred years of experience on you.” Circling her, he never stopped grinning, as if this was a grand game. “Try to remember exactly where you are standing, though. If you kill me, like you seem to be pondering, what do you think Lord Weis will do with my pack?” He loosened his tie and tossed it on the table, then undid his top shirt button. “Do you think he’d understand you weren’t part of this pack and their alpha hadn’t ordered it? Weis has no love lost for your people. He fought in the shifter wars and has actively supported the movement to eradicate all wild packs.”
She licked her dry lips. Kele should have killed him before letting him talk. Vampires won their battles with words and Ewald had excellent verbal skills. He’d won without a single drop of blood being drawn.
“Come Kele, kneel before me.” He undid the fastenings of his pants. “If you’re good, maybe you can take Pemma’s place. She’s obviously grown tired of me.”
Kele stared at the floor by his feet. He wanted her to submit? “Have you ever been with a hunter, Ewald?” She ignored his title. Benic had been her friend since she was a pup. He’d taught her a few things about words.
Ewald’s hands slowed in undressing and his eyes lifted, though he hadn’t moved his head. “No, I usually prefer my females docile.”
She clenched her teeth. He thought her docile enough to dominate? The thought roared inside her head and blinded her until she sensed the satisfying crunch of bone under her knuckles. She blinked and caught her breath.
His lordship lay on his back at her feet, a hand clasped over his mouth and nose. The sweet scent of blood filled the air.
She took a step forward. “I don’t have to kill you to feel better. I can accept beating you until you cry for your mother.”
He rolled to his feet in one smooth motion then spat out a fang in his palm. “Fuck.” His gaze narrowed. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth. No wonder Timothy let you go for a bargain price.”
She took another aggressive step toward him. “I was more expensive than you’d ever guess, but Pemma paid that price for my freedom, you sack of spoiled vampire flesh. And don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’ve been hinting at it ever since we arrived yesterday.”
“So you confirm she fucked the slaver when I was only a few rooms away.” His face went red and sweat beaded on his forehead.
Kele pointed to the door where the petite omega had wandered alone into the dangerous city. “She did it to save my life and to save you coin.” Her voice cracked with volume. “Why do you care so much? She’s just a pet to you. Do you have any idea how much courage it must have taken for her to do that?” Kele was a coward next to Pemma. She wouldn’t have been able to sacrifice her body as the omega had done. “She wanted to do the right thing.”
Ewald wiped a trickle of blood from his fat lip. “Get out.” He sounded raw and wounded. Not what she had expected. Did he love Pemma?
If the Goddess had wanted vampires and shifters to mate, she wouldn’t have made our cultures so different. Nothing good would come from their bond.
No to mention, she probably made things worse for Pemma and her pack by blurting out the truth to a vampire who probably didn’t know how to handle honesty. Before she could say another thing to complicate poor Pemma’s life she rushed out of the study and collided with a servant.
Kele steadied him. “My apologies. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
He smiled and nodded. “I was sent for you. Lord Ewald wanted me to teach you about serving lunch.”
Lunch? In the storm of emotions of the conversation, she’d forgotten all about Benic. “Yes, let’s go somewhere else. I think Lord Ewald wishes to be alone.”
She wouldn’t be kept from this lunch.