Page 40 of Stalked By Seduction and Shadows

Did anything I did even matter? Against a powerful vampire who knew where I lived?

Think, Scarlett.

It couldn’t have been the vampires who took my sister. They’d been born. Or had they been? That was my assumption, given the bare bones of information I had about Rune, his clan, and the born’s psychopathic predilections. The turned were once human. They wouldn’t take human slaves, would they? That was one of the reasons they’d risen to power in the first place—to establish a rule that valued mortal life more than Lillian’s demons did.

Also, why the hell would traffickers break into my apartment only to fill it with expensive, surprisingly well-chosen décor and furniture?

My head was spinning. In a last-ditch effort, I grabbed the bouquet, hissing when thorns pierced my skin. Sure enough, a note fell from the center.

Shhh. Calm down, baby. The only reason you’d have to worry is if you were to invite a different man to enjoy what belongs to me.

Anger boiled in my blood as I crumpled the note in my fist. What belongs to me. This creep clearly didn’t know how gifts worked. Unless he meant…

No.

I smiled bitterly, now fueled by pure spite. Even if they weren’t traffickers, vampires loved to treat humans like property they could use, command, and dispose at will. I would not be intimidated, nor would I be told what to do by some faceless stalker.

Then, I saw Rune’s face, and my stomach sunk. He’d implied I belonged to him yesterday, too. He was similarly bossy, and he’d also be able to command any of the turned to do anything he wanted.

No. He wasn’t a plausible candidate. Flirting with a server in his club was one thing, but going to these kinds of lengths? For a random human he’d just met? He must’ve had a million more important ways to spend his time as the most powerful vampire in Valentin. As quickly as the thought entered my mind, I discounted it.

My objectives here remained the same, though a few more had been added to the list. I’d now need to uncover the latest dickhead who’d fallen too far under my spell and snap him out of it. I also wanted to teach him a lesson in humility.

I’d keep my dagger close at all times. Phillip had gifted me a thigh holster, probably because he thought it looked sexy—and it definitely did—but it was also extremely functional. No more forgetting my only safeguard against vampires at home.

I also needed to learn more about Rune, whether or not he was the delusional, possessive furniture-giver. Either way, now that he was at least in some part paying attention to me, he was best positioned to either help me find Isabella or get in my way.

“Wait, what?” Snow asked.

I’d explained to her what my afternoon had entailed, and her jaw was on the floor as she stared at me in her mother’s bakery, Marigold Bakeshop.

“Could it be him?”

She shook her head. “Rune?” She idly stirred her coffee with a tiny spoon. “No, babes. I mean, no offense, because you know you’re fucking gorgeous. But he isn’t the wooing type, even if it is deranged. He’s ice cold. Unbreakable. I’ve seen the prettiest, most talented courtesans and turned women make their best moves and leave crying.”

“Crying?”

“He cannot be seduced. He takes what he wants and only what he wants. I’ve heard rumors of what he does downstairs, but other than that… I’ve never even seen him feed. He’s like a…” She frowned.

“God?” I asked. He’d never hear me say that, though.

She nodded, glancing away. “He’s a vampire, yes, but he doesn’t act like one. He’s crafted his image to appear as something even more terrifying. Unknowable. I’ve never seen him show a single sign of bloodlust or craving. Not an ounce of doubt or hesitancy. No one has."

She continued. “I know that there’s literal darkness around him, at all times, but I sense it lives even deeper. I can read auras, sometimes, but with him—it’s like his energy is completely opaque, unseeable. He’s ancient, and there’s more than one reason he’s called Rune the Ruthless other than the nice alliteration.”

“In other words, stalking me just to furnish my apartment is unlikely?”

She laughed. “Yes.”

I joined in on the nervous laughter, happy to be cutting through the tension. We quickly sobered.

“Okay. Then who?”

“I think you’re right that it’s probably one of the wealthier turned vampires, someone higher up with influence. We’ll both keep an eye out during our next shifts.”

I nodded, taking a bite of my blueberry scone. Penn was in the back, leaving Snow to tend to any customers. It was clear she didn’t want to hear a single word about Odessa, and my story wouldn’t have helped matters.

“I’m worried for you, Scarlett. I need you to be extra safe and careful going forward,” Snow said. “But you don’t seem particularly surprised for someone who arrived from dry lands only two days ago.”

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