Page 6 of Tamed By Her Vampire Protector

I spent the rest of the day talking with Amanda, Rose, and Lizzy as they filled me in on what their lives were like after the Diamantis vampires claimed them as their human pets.Well, those weren’t exactly the words they used to describe themselves.

My best friend even claimed that Alex rescued her, even though I thought it sounded like she was sold as a slave.However, the glow of happiness in Amanda’s face was more than enough to make me bite my tongue and hold back the harsh words that wanted to spill out.It wasn’t my place to judge her for trying to find a bit of happiness in this shitty world we found ourselves in.

Lizzy’s story was just as strange.For the sister of one of the most powerful witches in the world to betray her coven for a vampire was hard for me to believe.From what I knew of the witches, they were determined to restore sunlight to the world and destroy every last vampire, even if it meant their own deaths.As she talked about her life here in the vampire clan with Grant, she seemed relieved to be free from the influence of her powerful sister.There was definitely a story there, but as nosy as I was, I bit my tongue.

Rose lived a life similar to mine after the vampires took over the world.Except, she was fortunate enough to avoid being betrayed by her fellow humans and sold as a slave.Still, the dark days she described of scrambling for supplies and fighting with rats for scraps of food were all too familiar to me.Though I knew she was mated to Dante, I still couldn’t wrap my mind around the image of this tiny sweet angelic looking girl willingly binding herself to a vicious vampire warrior, which is how I’ve heard the others describe Dante.Dante, according to the gossip I’ve overheard, was the master vampire’s guard and enforcer.

Life here was as good as it was ever going to get for any of us.It wasn’t like the sun was going to come back any time soon.That was as likely as the vampires voluntarily giving up their power and banishing themselves to the shadows.We were never going to be free to live life as it used to be.This was the new normal, and the best we could hope for was a life as a cherished human pet of a vampire.Even I had to admit that it beat living out on the streets and fighting for scraps of food until you were captured and sold as a slave.

A knock on the door interrupted our conversation.

“Just a minute!”Amanda got up gingerly.The weight of her heavily pregnant belly threw her off balance, so she shuffled over to the door in a waddling gait.

Leo nodded at her and bowed slightly as a show of respect to her position as the master vampire’s consort.“Alex received your message.Meghan will take one of the remaining suites in this wing of the compound, and the other girls will be moved to a bigger room.”

I looked at them in surprise.“I’m getting my own room?”

Leo nodded.“If Amanda trusts you, then the Master trusts her decision.The other girls are unknown factors, so we can’t let them wander around freely so close to the Master’s living quarters.I will provide them with furnishings and bedding to make them more comfortable.”

“Thank you, Leo, I appreciate it, and I’m sure Meghan does too.”Amanda shot a pointed look at Leo and then at me.“Actually, now that I think about it, Meghan should have a guard to escort her when she’s out of her room and out in the compound, that is, until we work out all the kinks of the cloaking potion.”

I cringed on the inside.I knew what she was trying to do.This was just like Amanda.Back when we were traveling around Europe, she would constantly try to set me up with friends of whichever boy she was having a fling with at the time.The last thing I wanted was to become a vampire’s mistress like the other girls in this room.Even if said vampire looked like a elfin movie star with glacial blue eyes and luscious golden hair.

Nope.That was one line I was not going to cross.

There was no way I was going to sleep with the enemy.That’s what the vampires were, even if they were housing and feeding us.This life was an illusion of normalcy masking the fact that we were being held captive in a silken cage.

I scanned Leo’s face for a reaction to her suggestion, but he was as mysterious and impossible to read as ever.“I’m sure the last thing any of the girls needs is me hovering over them.”

I didn’t dare mention that the other girls would like nothing more than to be watched by Leo.“Yeah.Leo’s probably too busy with important business to play babysitter.I’ll be fine on my own.I’m sure the potion to mask my smell will work, and the vamps won’t pay any attention to me.”

“Don’t be silly.You’ll be vampire chow the moment a minion snaps and loses control.”Leo frowned and paused for a moment.“There are some issues with the shipments from Greece that I have to take care of first, but it shouldn’t take too long to wrap things up.I can’t promise that I will be available all the time, but I can spare an hour or two if you need to come up to visit your friends.”

Meghan beamed.“See, that’s settled then.”She gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, “I know you hate being watched, but just give him a chance, Meghan.He’s a good guy.”

I shot a look at Leo, who looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him whole as he pretended to not hear our conversation with his vampire hearing.

The walk back to the jail-like room I shared with the other captured girls was silent and awkward.The last thing I cared about was what any man thought of me, much less a half undead one.Yet, I had to admit that I missed the easy way we talked earlier in the day.Did I do something to upset him?Perhaps he resented being my chaperone.I was sure that Leo was busy enough due to his high ranking in the vampire clan.

“Listen, you don’t really have to follow me around.I’ll tell Amanda I changed my mind or something.”

“It’s not you.Things have been chaotic around here, and we’re having some problems with our business in Europe.If anything, you’ve been a welcome distraction.”

I blushed.

He paused and looked down at me as if he wasn’t sure if he should be confiding in me.“My mother has made some choices that she will soon regret.”

I’ve never even met the woman, much less know all the gossip around the compound, so I had no idea what his mother could have done, but it sounded serious and dire.“I’m sure whatever it is, it’s fixable.”

Leo shook his head.“There’s no coming back from this.In vampire law, the punishment for betraying your clan is death by beheading.She won’t dare show her face around here or contact me again, yet she won’t last long with the Aurelians either.A traitor never has the trust of either side.”The muscle in his jaw twitched as he clenched his teeth.“She’s as good as dead either way.”

“I’m sorry.”I had no idea what to say.From what I heard about Leo, not only did he lose his father, but now his mother willingly chose to abandon him and defect to the enemy for whatever nefarious reasons.

“Well, we’re here.”He scuffed his feet.“Thanks for listening.I don’t know why, but you’re one of the few people around here I’m comfortable talking to.”

I looked around and was surprised to see that we were already outside the room I shared with the captive girls.Talking to Leo was so easy and natural that it seemed like the outside world didn’t exist.“I won’t tell anybody what you’ve told me today.”I was flattered that he decided to confide in me for whatever reason.

His shoulders visibly relaxed as he nodded.“I appreciate it.It’s not like I can talk about these things with the rest of the clan.Most vampires aren’t big on family or feelings.”

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