Page 21 of Club Blood

A chill went down my spine.

14

MERCY

Immortal days were always long,but these last three days felt like torture. The city never sleeps, and duty had always inevitably called, whether I liked it or not.

I hated it.

Right now, I wanted nothing more than to be sleeping with beautiful women in the comfort of my large, plush bed, not sitting in a cavernous, gloomy conference room with far too many vampires, their metaphorical dicks swinging around as they argued. Fuck, anywhere was better than here; I’d had three ongoing days of this shit.

That isn’t to say that there was an inadequate amount of beautiful people here. Many of the Known wore immortality in the loveliest way, and most didn’t adhere to the monogamous expectations of our human counterparts. I’d enjoyed so many vampires and consorts alike at this event, legs tangled and limbs contorted in pleasure. For the first time in months, I’d felt properly satiated for both sets of needs vampirism threw my way— blood and sex.

Despite being . . . thoroughly occupied, however, I’d found myself thinking more and more of my human pet back at the villa. I wondered what Cecelia was doing in her room, on the couches, in the bathtub. I wondered what she was wearing, and, far more frequently, what was underneath those clothes. I never felt so infatuated with a human blood bag before. Even with the exorbitant amount of sex I was having every waking moment at this conference, my mind inevitably drifted back to her beautiful round eyes, and the blood pumping from the magnificent veins near her neck.

Thoughts of her drove me to moans. Narcissa might have been right, I was obsessed with her.

It was distracting.

I didn’t hear much from Cissa while she was away gathering information for me, although that could have been because she’d been rightfully pissed at me for not taking her. I didn’t blame her, and I trusted her enough to contact me if she had heard anything damning.

It was a lackluster affair, anyway. All for show. It meant nothing, in the grand scheme of things. I hated events like this, even for formalities— I didn’t need the validation like Narcissa craved. I knew I was fit for this life and this job. I was the obvious choice for the Keeper of my region. Nate always liked me best, and even despite being the only woman on council, no one seemed to bat an eye.

I wondered if it was because the world was changing, or if it was because they were afraid of me. I always had to be more willing than the others, crueler, more intimidating. I was the West Coast Bitch. They wanted to bed me, then kill me.

I welcomed the challenge.

It was why I hired the best. Both Narcissa, my guards and staff, and even Warren kept me safe. They’d have to, now; I had a very big target on my back. I was coming home with more power than I knew what to do with, and it felt like the largest win I’d ever had. Even with my worries that we had forgotten something, the Authority was quick to dismiss my involvement in Nate’s murder.

Like I had told Warren, Nate was not careful. It was not a surprise he had died, but rather, a surprise he lasted as long as he did.

That didn’t mean they weren’t trying to find his murderer. It just meant that the heat was off of me, for the time being. I cocked my brow at a neighbor, waving his hands around in an effort to make his point seem more interesting than it was. The conference room now held the twenty highest ranked Known vampires on the council. It was a big deal to be in this room, and I sat right in the thick of it. The others departed shortly after the funeral; the first day was full of morbid toasts and quiet remembrance, and through the second day and night it was nothing but parties, alcohol, and sex.

The conference room I was occupying had lost my interest quickly. I could tell by just the incoherent rambles and obscenities being yelled across the room that none of them had a damn idea what they were doing. As a newly appointed High Lady, I had very little say, although I knew they’d benefit from my voice at the table. Instead, I sat back in my chair, my legs crossed and a stern expression firmly cemented on my face. My arms were crossed over my very black and very tight blazer, my cleavage practically spilling from it.

“There was a body found,” someone yelled from across the table. That interruption caused the entire room to quiet.

“No shit,” I heard another hiss in exasperation.

“Not just Nathaniel Tusker,” I turned my face to a burly, confident vampire that had his legs on top of the conference table. Another dick swinging know-it-all then. “Another body was found fifty miles south of Tusker. Not in as bad shape, but definitely done by one of us.”

My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t heard about the second body. Had Narcissa played with her food after cleaning up our mess?

“Newborn, I’m guessing,” the vampire said, “Her body was drained, and was caught in a suspicious fire incident. The blood bags are too stupid to realize it was one of us, but my guy has a lead.”

“Well don’t hold out on us,” a skinny, well-toned Known grumbled from my left. My head was whiplashing back and forth, interest piqued.

“Why don’t you ask Mercy?” he antagonized. All twenty pairs of eyes found their way to me, causing an uncomfortable tension to form between my shoulders. I narrowed my gaze at him in a challenge, my dead heart beating a thousand times a minute. What did this man know?

“Well, Mercy?” someone sneered, “Holding out on us, princess?”

I hated that nickname. My lips curled over my teeth, fangs exposed and I spit in his direction. “I don’t know what in the hell this buffoon is talking about,”

“You are known for your newborns being properly turned and trained,” the burly vampire noted, disapproval coating his voice, “but this one seems to have gotten away from you. Taking on too much, now? You know, the newborns are the first sign that someone isn’t fit to rule.”

My fists tightened, the nails cutting into the skin.

“I am a Queen, a High Lady,” I stated with confidence, my hands slamming down on the table, causing a few neighbors to jump, “I am no longer your fucking princess. Do not address me as such.” I bit my lip in frustration before continuing. “And, since you seem to know me and my newborns so well, please enlighten the room. I’m dying to know who the fuck you think you are, and what you think you’re doing bringing my name into this serious, terrible offense.”

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