Page 33 of Flock This

I didn’t respond, unsure what to say back.

“You’re masterless, aren’t you? I see no collar around your neck. Normally, thralls like you are fun to play with, but you’re different.” As he spoke, he dragged his gaze over my body, the dress covering skin but doing nothing to hide my figure. “I could bite you. I bet I’m stronger than whatever vampire made you a thrall to start with.”

“Hard pass.”

He smiled, the action showing his teeth, and boy were those some long fangs. “You don’t think your life would be better? Instead of living off that medication, you’d get real venom from me. It’s better that way—the medication helps with withdrawal but it’s like trying to live off saltines. It’ll keep you alive, but you won’t thrive. You wouldn’t have to live in the regular housing either, wouldn’t have to clean. Instead, you’d become my personal property.”

I somehow kept myself silent when I wanted to tell him becoming someone’s property wasn’t the kind offer he thought it was. Instead, I said the politest rejection I could come up with. “Thanks, but I’m going to have to pass. Now, if there’s no cleaning you need…” I took a step backward, wanting to get the hell out of this room as fast as I could.

Before I made it all the way back, something tight wrapped around my wrist. The vampire had moved so fast I hadn’t tracked him at all. It again reminded me just how terrifyingly strong a vampire really was. He leaned over the desk, yanking me closer so I mirrored his stance.

He reached with his other hand, and despite my automatic flinch, he grasped my hood and pulled it off.

He moved his gaze over my hair, my face, studying each piece as if he found them all equally fascinating. I knew my hair was still brown, having used the shampoo that applied more of the dark dye just this morning to keep the blue hidden. Still, that level of study made me uneasy.

“I knew I was right about you. Leaving you with the general thralls is such a waste. You’re the sort made for more personal service.”

“I thought taking someone else’s thrall wasn’t allowed,” I said, pulling against his grip with all my strength but unable to gain even an inch. I knew that he couldn’t hold me for long, that soon my natural ability to escape would kick in, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make good on his threat before then.

“Normally, no, but you weren’t claimed, which means you’re up for grabs. I’m just lucky to have gotten to you first, because I have a feeling you’ll be quite popular.” He yanked me forward again, the action causing me to sprawl forward, over the table. He moved my dress farther to expose my neck, sending chills down my back.

I didn’t think that a vampire bite could turn me into a thrall, but fuck if I wanted to test it. I had no idea what I was, so there wasn’t much in the way of precedent for me to know what might happen. This was all uncharted territory.

Somehow, I thought the worst that might happen was me dying. Why hadn’t it occurred to me that I could end up as a thrall? The idea of living on, trapped in this building, by this vampire—that sounded far worse than death.

“Why are you always such a noisy eater?” The new voice made me freeze, unsure if I was better or worse off.

Kelvin was always a loose cannon. He could help me, but he could just as easily be the thing that ended me.

“It’s not my fault. Some meals are worth savoring.” The vampire dragged his nose against my throat, the action making me squirm more and making no progress. “Why are you bothering me?”

Kelvin hadn’t seemed to notice me, and my dyed hair covered my face, which probably was why he hadn’t recognized me. He also didn’t seem all that curious, as if the noise were his only problem.

I could almost hear him saying, ‘I don’t care if you eat people, but please do it a bit more quietly.’

“Will you have the reports ready for the council meeting tomorrow?” Kelvin asked.

The vampire pulled back slightly with a sigh, as though Kelvin was a pest. “Yes. I have no more information on Grey’s whereabouts. She seems to have run off.”

My own name made me shift again, now that the vampire wasn’t holding me as tightly, distracted by the conversation.

“Well, if she’s out of our hair, that should make it all easier,” Kelvin said.

“No one will let this go. They’ll track her until they find her.”

“That’s her problem—not ours. Make sure you get that report to me in the next hour so I can look it over and get it to the temporary council seat.”

The vampire let me go. “Fine. I planned to start my day with a good meal, but it seems that won’t happen.”

I caught my breath as I scrambled off the desk, the action leaving me still facing the vampire with Kelvin behind me.

A laugh echoed in the room, familiar and amused. Kelvin amused was never good. “Well, I’d recognize that ass anywhere.”

Fear swamped me. Kelvin was a wild card I couldn’t come close to predicting.

“You know this one? She’s new,” the other vampire said.

“Oh, I know this one all right.” A hand on the nape of my neck caught me and pulled me back—gentler than the other man but just as impossible to fight against. Kelvin turned me so I looked up and into his familiar face. “What are you doing here?”

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