Page 11 of Master Bistrita

Her eyes widen as she looks up at me. “You’re going to find the rogues?”

I nod, placing a hand to the small of her back and guiding her to the door, so I can show her around and put some well needed distance between us. “It was always the plan. They have to be stopped. I’ll show you where the witches have put out a feast for everyone, and Natalia can introduce you and Taylen to everyone later. You will be safe here for now. The perimeter the shifters got through has been fixed, and we have an extra layer of protection in place that wasn’t there when they attacked the first time.”

We walk in silence for a distance down the hall. Her heart still beats way too fast. “I don’t want you to go, but I know that you have to,” she says, so quietly that even with keen hearing I need to concentrate to hear each and every word.

She will need something constructive to think about while I’m away. Something that will keep her mind off of thoughts of all the bloodshed from earlier. I touch her shoulder and draw her eyes to mine. “I’ll have one of my assistants drop by your suite a little later tonight with a contract. I want you to read it carefully. This will give you time to decide if a trial with me is something you’re still interested in. I will be disappointed but understand if you decide it’s not for you.”

“What if I’m ready and you find out you’re not interested when you return?” she asks, looking up at me with a gleam of mischief in her eye.

I smirk. “Let’s walk before you run, love. Read the contract, text me with any questions. If you don’t hear from me right away, I’ll reply once I’m able.”

Her blood races, no doubt from thinking about the bastard shifters and what they can do with those snarling jowls and gnashing teeth. If I hadn’t needed the information for the good of the vampires, I would have destroyed those shifters with my bare hands for the fear they caused Chara.

I draw her closer to me as we walk, my hand cradling her waist, knowing that I’ll have to let her go in precious moments. At least until my creamy-skinned beauty agrees to be mine. I blow out a breath realizing how much I want her to say yes.

We pass through a slate black set of double doors, entering the common area for the masters and other VIP members we invite.

My hand falls back to my side when the others come into view. I gesture to our group, who are seated around small tables with white linen cloths, eating and drinking as we walk in.

I point to the table at the back of the room that has been luxuriously decorated and adorned with heaping piles of sandwiches, meats, cheeses, and fruits of all colors and sizes. No doubt some of this was the work of the witches and some from catering just down the street. “Feel free to come here anytime of the day or night. It’s always open, and there will always be fresh food out, or in the refrigerator around that wall,” I tell her, gesturing to the opening that leads to the little galley behind the room.

A few eyes look our way, but I ignore them. I take Chara’s elbow and guide her away from their view and toward her suite, smirking when we reach the door that now has a cardboard square taped to the outside with her and Taylen’s name on it, coincidentally right next to mine. I make a mental note to thank Gregor later; nothing gets by that vampire at all.

I unlock her door with my master key and follow her inside. “One of my rules. You won’t be wearing anything as revealing in public going forward. I would change clothes before you go to eat, unless you’re interested in learning what a punishment spanking feels like.”

Her eyes widen. “It’s not like not wearing this uniform will be a hardship, but it’s the rule. I have to wear it because I work for Club Descallia.”

I tip her chin to me. “I am part owner of Club Descallia. I help make the rules, and we can change them as we see fit. There will be no argument if I want my submissive wearing clothes. You won’t be wearing this in public.”

To my genuine surprise, she smiles. A real, genuine heartfelt smile, just for me. “I have some clothes in my locker. I’ll have Natalia or Taylen grab them for me and change before I go down.”

“Good girl.”

She grins, and her eyes light with amusement. “Just for the record. I don’t like wearing minimal amounts of clothes in public, but don’t think I’m just going to roll over and submit to everything you want either. If that’s what you’re looking for, that’s not me.”

I smirk. “Chara, you present a beautiful and interesting challenge. Read the rules, see if you can live with them, and then we will discuss the future.” I glance at my watch and grimace. “I need to go. Stay at the club until I return. This is where you will be the safest.”

Her eyes glisten. “Please be careful.”

My chest expands with emotion, but I don’t touch her again. If I do, I’m going to pick her up and show her exactly what she can expect from a vampire who wants to show her everything about his world. “I’ll be careful and be looking forward to hearing what you think, or answering any questions that you have. Remember, after reading the document I’ll have delivered later tonight, there’s no shame in telling me that you’re not interested. What I am proposing and will demand is not everyone’s cup of tea.”

Chara nods as though she understands, but I know better. The decision will not be easy. “Good night, love,” I tell her, half hoping that it won’t be the last time I call her that but expecting that it may be.

I reach the masters’ VIP lounge in time to see Raven wave a wand and magically replenish a plate full of sandwiches, while Romano laughs at the vampires’ reaction. “She feeds me well,” he says, which earns him a playful narrowing of the young witch’s eyes.

Raven is not a vampiress, yet Romano is happy with a witch as his mate, as are the others who have found mates who want to be with them, despite the differences when they met. They will tell me that it was destiny that brought them together, that they were all fated to be mates and that I too will find the one. But they are not all as depraved as you, my friend. And I’m afraid nothing will change that, not even the red-haired beauty, who without a doubt could be the one for you, if you weren’t such a monster.

I make myself a plate, determined to focus on the daunting task at hand and be well-nourished and in rare form before we meet the rogues who after today will be no more. Overmaster Descallia and Oradea separate from the others and join me, both taking another sandwich from the heaping platter before us.

Knowing Descallia is on edge right along with the others, I feel compelled to alleviate some of his angst. “Things are safe here, the perimeter has been tightened, and we know where they are. We still have a full night ahead. They probably think we’ll take the night, recover, and regroup. I’d like to surprise them tonight. Especially if they’ve moved into my region. I have eyes and ears on the ground that will alert me as we go.”

Overmaster Descallia nods in agreement, right along with Oradea, neither with any hesitation at all. Descallia snugs a jewel-tipped dagger into the side sheath of his black leather vest. “My patience with this was done months ago. We end them tonight, and I will be a happy man. I spoke with Sheba shortly ago. He has a small team, but he and his pack will meet us wherever we ask them to be. He wants to help. It’s something he feels the need to do after so many of his pack betrayed the vampires and himself.”

That gives me an idea, and as we talk, plans come together quickly, especially since we know the stones will help guide our way. “Can you fill the others in on the plan while I go restock weapons? Also, can you ask Magnus and the soldiers you asked him to bring to run point on the topside of the mountain range?” I ask Overmaster Descallia.

“Excellent idea. I’ll ask him personally. Sheba and his closest loyals are bunkered in, waiting to take on any of the straggling bastard shifters,” he says.

I head for the lower-level gym and into the secret tunnel and room where we keep an arsenal at the ready. I load up a long duffle bag filled with items we will need to ensure that we have enough stakes to drop these fuckers back into the ground where they belong.

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