Page 35 of Club Blood

That was the best way to explain our curse, though none of us ever talked about it, not explicitly. Be it fear or our unspoken acceptance of our fate, theneedinside us was never uttered under whispering breath. It was like a leech, a living, breathing entity that drove us to immortal fates. It used us to feed and to recruit, traveling through one body to another and causing destruction in its wake. We all thought we were the powerful ones, but it was moments like this one where I felt conquered by the weight of its domination over me.

I would never wish this life on anyone. Though it created the queen that stood proudly over her servant, it was notpleasurethat I felt, but exhaustion and horror. Maybe that was why theneedthirsted so regularly on the primal pleasures our bodies allowed us. It depleted every other reserve we had.

The choice was never mine to make, my innocence and humanity had been taken from me long before I understood the aching loss of it. It was my belief, my rule, my law, that gave the others in my coven the power of free will. Sin City never had the reputation for offered consent, and so I built it. Everyone under my reign learned the true extent of the virus, about its deadly potential. They knew the risks, but they also came to know me. I was Mercy Petrova, and the rewards of being mine vastly outweighed the associated risks.

When our blood infiltrated a pure system, theneedtook hold quickly. It spread and attached, leeching onto your veins, your organs, and your heart. It found its way to your brain, and it influenced you, and controlled you. Even though it gave you more power than any person knew what to do with, it was just as debilitating to let it take over.

I taught my vampires control. Now here I was, slowly losing it, all from the fault of Narcissa’s jealous words. It was a constant fight, the virus and I, and we spiraled together. I was no better than a rabid dog.

“You toss me the scraps, and you will pay for it.”

She would not dare disobey me. Herneedanswered mine, not the other way around.

“You are becoming weak, Mercy. And your fucking weakness willkillyou.”

The virus screamed at her, my mouth letting out a terrifying yowl before my nails dug into the sweetness of her skin. It cut like butter, the movement from her neck to her chest long and swift. The floor of my office turned crimson at the pool of blood that formed beneath us.

“Weakness?” I snarled, relishing in the tenderness of her submission and the shaking of her fear that vibrated heavily through her body. I would never let her forget who it was that owned her, none of this would ever happen again. I was a fuckingqueen.

“Mercy!” Narcissa whimpered from under me. I let go of her, letting her limp body crash to the floor. She curled in on herself, whining as blood covered her, staining her cropped hoodie and glistening against her boots.

My eyes widened and my nostrils flared in satisfaction, a smile forming so cruelly at the sight before me. If only Cecelia could see me now, how frightened would my little flower be?

It was a miracle that our long list of immortal advantages included naturally accelerated healing. The tear across her chest healed quickly, sewing itself back together in the time it took for me to gather my rage and lower myself onto one knee in the puddle of Narcissa’s blood. I took her chin in between two fingers and raised her face to meet mine. Her eyes squeezed closed and she bit back her moans of pains, sucking in slow, shallow breaths.

“You believe that I am weak?” I challenged her again. Narcissa opened her eyes gently, cringing when she saw the satisfaction on my face. She took a big gulp before shaking her head. I tugged on her chin a bit harder, pulling her so close that I could taste each bit of air that left her mouth.

“You answer to me withwords, or else I will tear that heart of yours out of your chest, and I will crush it between my fingertips. You will be no better than Nathaniel Tusker, and no one will even have the decency to remember your name.”

“N-n-no,” I heard her whisper.

I nodded, letting go of her face and throwing her back against the floor. A gratifying crack against the hardwood met my ears.

“I gave you the benefit of the doubt, Narcissa. And I have given you countless chances to rectify your actions.”

“I . . . I’m sorry, Mercy.” Her apology was genuine, fear coating each word. I wondered when the last time she said them out loud was, and if she ever meant them.

I loved the way she groveled, but I would not give her an opportunity to insult me any longer, even as my mind relished in the exciting possibility of this moment happening again. Her place in my coven was nothing, Narcissa wasnothing. I turned on my heel to walk towards the doorway, pushing back the rage and the want and the destruction. I swallowed it down until it was nothing but a drifting suggestion at the back of my mind once more. Soon, my vision cleared again and my mind felt no fog, and I crawled back from the high of the hunt.

I could hear Narcissa push her body from the floor with a small grunt, her boots squeaking against the blood pooled across the wood. When I turned around she had her arms wrapped around her legs, her eyes wide and calculating her escape. I stood in the open doorway, myneedbegging her to try to run. I was the predator, and she was my prey, not so unlike her as she prowled the casinos, looking for her next meal. She always acted as if I didn’tknow.

“I would expect you to keep this quiet,” I said with a note of finality. It had felt like the end of something, and the beginning of another, “For your benefit, anyway.” I watched as she nodded her head feebly.

“As you wish, Mercy,”

“And you will not show up unannounced in my living quarters, specifically naked and in my en suite.”

“As you wish, Mercy,”

“You will not speak to me, or to Warren, unless you are spoken to.”

“As you wish, Mercy,”

“And, under no circumstances, Narcissa, will you ever lay a fucking finger on Cecelia. If I scent you within fifteen feet of her, I will not hesitate to tear your limbs from your body. I am not the weak monster you pretend to see me as. I have my kingdom at my disposal, and if she dies, I will see to it that you perish alongside her.”

There was a deadly sort of silence that followed. Our eyes battled for dominance, but there was the slightest tilt of her head and a whisper of a sound exiting her lips.

“Narcissa,” I warned. There was a brief flash of fire that crossed her face, and she narrowed her eyes. The battle was won, but I knew there would be more to come. Narcissa never handled rejection well, and the blow to her ego was a harder pill to swallow.

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