Chapter 5:

• Trisha’s P.O.V:
• My phone started ringing halfway through my way to the office. I picked it up without looking at the screen.
• “Hello?”
• “My office. 10 minutes.”
• Although the message was short and curt, there was no mistaking who it was from. That voice never softened, never lost its power. And even after everything he did to me, that voice still made a shiver run down my spine.
• I only realized how hard I was gripping the steering wheel when I felt the dents in the metal in the shape of my fingers. Throwing my phone on the passenger’s seat, I turned the car around and headed towards the Castle as fast as I could without running someone over. The guards let me through without checking my ID and my stomach twisted in knots. Damien was waiting for me.
• Once parked in front of the huge arched doorway to the castle, I took off my shades and placed them on the passenger’s seat. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my phone and stepped out of the car. A valet was waiting for me so I handed him the keys and made my way inside.
• The New York Castle was gorgeous; one of the best pieces of architecture ever created post Wipeout, but today, I didn’t feel the urge to admire its magnificent interiors; the broad archways, the walls designed in gold and the mahogany doors carved with a thousand different stories. I already knew the way to his office by heart, although I don’t meet him in person unless it was absolutely necessary, such as to discuss a new law and order protocol. His room was completely off-limits for everyone; moreover no one knew its exact location.
• Reaching the second floor via the spiral staircase, I stood in front of his office and pushed past the door when I found it ajar…and froze.
• Damien was sitting on one of the large sofas on the far side of his office, but he wasn’t alone. A woman sat on his lap, straddling him and she was pretty much stuck to him like glue. I don’t know why but I was unable to move, unable to take my eyes off of them as ice formed in my chest. I curled my hands into fists as the woman’s loud moans filled the room, making me feel like some just sliced open my heart. But still I couldn’t move.
• And what do you know? The woman was none other than Sabrina Rudolf, Vandal’s daughter. Not by blood, because just like Jonathan, Vandal had also turned a mortal and adopted her as his daughter to rise in the public’s eye. He liked to copy other people sometimes and this had been one such incident.
• She had her hands braced on Damien’s chest, head thrown back in pleasure as Damien lowered his head to the slender column of her throat. And that was when his eyes met mine, those vibrant emerald orbs bore holes right into my soul.
• And then he opened his mouth, his fangs extending to their full length as he bit down on Sabrina’s neck, making her scream in pleasure.
• A vampire’s bite might be painful for a human or any other vampire, but it was erotic for another vampire. It was an act akin to making love for humans and not all vampires bit their partners or lovers. Sharing blood was special. If Damien was drinking from Sabrina…
• Sabrina’s scream resonated through the huge room and I finally found the courage to turn around. I was about to march right out of the room when Damien’s voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
• “Wait.”
• I grit my teeth together but didn’t turn. I could hear Sabrina’s shocked gasp and the ruffle of clothes as she hurried to get off of Damien. Within a few minutes, Sabrina brushed past me and the door slammed shut in my face, trapping me inside with Damien.
• “Have a seat. I need a shower.” He said; his tone neutral.
• It was only after I heard the door to the en-suit bathroom shut and I heard the shower turn on that I turned around to face his desk. I dared not turn my gaze towards the couch because if I did, I’d burn it down to splinters. It was when my jaw began to hurt that I realized I was still grinding my teeth together. Unclenching it with sheer strength of will, I strode forward and took a seat on the opposite side of his desk. I’ll be damned if I let him see me this affected. It felt like the cruelest of betrayals even though I had no reason to feel so.
• Yes, I always caught my breath when Damien was in the room. Yes, I admired him just like every sane woman with a working libido admired a fine male specimen. Yes, I like bantering with him in Court because that’s the only time I get to interact with him so fiercely. But none of them justified the reaction I had when I found him in the company of other women. It was pure jealousy, for a man who was leagues above me and one I couldn’t have.
• Because Damien wasn’t just any man. The power dynamics between us was too wide. We would never be able to be just Trisha and Damien. Even if we ended up in bed, I would always be his subject, his to command.
• “You look different today.”
• I gasped, turning around to find Damien behind my chair, a glass of whiskey in hand. I’d been so engrossed in my thoughts that I hadn’t notices the shower turn off or heard Damien exit the bathroom. Damien was the Vampire King, so it was nearly impossible to predict or hear his movements, but the only explanation I could come up with as I took in the closed bathroom door was that he’d purposely teleported right behind my chair, probably so he could judge my reaction in silence.
• “What are you doing?” I snapped at him; I hadn’t meant to but it just came out. And by the look in his gemstone green eyes, he knew what I was talking about.
• “Keeping Vandal busy.” He moved to stand in front of me, now dressed in black pants and a black silk shirt with the top two buttons unbuttoned, revealing porcelain white skin underneath. He had been wearing similar clothing before as well, but everything Damien wore was in shades of black, so I had no idea if it was the same dress or not. “As long as he’s busy using my position to uplift his political status, he’ll stay away from you and that brat you’re protecting. But this isn’t permanent, Trisha. Get rid of that boy or hand him over. Vandal is very possessive about his property.”
• “Wow!” I smiled bitterly. “I didn’t know you were such an altruist. What’s next, a political wedding with all the Aristocrat’s daughters to keep them from rebelling?”
• “I’d gone nine centuries without needing a mate, a few more wouldn’t cause an uprising,” he looked at me over the rim of his glass. “Unless you’re planning on causing more trouble.”
• “I’m not giving him up,” I said, referring to Neema. “So maybe you should start sleeping with every Noblewoman in town already.”
• “You wench!” The next instant I found myself suspended in air, Damien’s arm in a vice grip around my throat. “I’m trying to keep you alive the best I can. Don’t try to make everything I’m doing go in vain.”
• I was dropped to the floor as he released his grip and I raised my hands to my neck instantly to ease the pain. This is the first time I’ve seen Damien so angry with me, angry enough to yell. Even in the warehouse he had been calm and composed. But I didn’t care whatever he did to me anymore, as long as he didn’t lay a hand on Neema.
• “I had a son once.” I whispered to him past the pain, knowing that he’ll be able to hear me without straining his ears. “His name was David. He was four during the Wipeout, when my entire village was massacred. I’d been nearly dead too, but Father found me before I breathed my last breath and turned me at the last instance. I hadn’t been able to save David then, but I’d rather die a thousand deaths than let anyone harm Neema.”
• I got up from the floor and faced Damien, looking him dead in the eyes. He didn’t say anything, just kept looking at me with those gemstone eyes that saw far too much for my liking.
• “They look the same.”
• A small smile lifted my lips. Even though my memories have faded, I was still able to remember David’s face clearly. Maybe it had been the resemblance to Neema that had brought back his memories, or it was the fact that mother’s never stopped loving their children, even after they were long gone. “Same golden locks…same blue eyes that are too large for his face.”
• “I didn’t know you were married.” He spoke quietly, hands folded in front of his chest. “What about your husband?”
• I tried to think back to 2019, about my life before the Wipeout. Couldn’t. “I don’t remember much about him. My father owned a farm and liked to stay in our village. I’d met my husband when I was attending college in London. Honestly, I don’t even remember his name, or his face. All I remember is that we fell in love, got married after he got a job and I became pregnant soon after. When London had proved to be too risky to stay in, we moved in with my father in the countryside. But that werewolf attack had come out of nowhere. Almost everyone had been murdered in their sleep.”
• I hadn’t known then but that attack was one of the first signs of the uprising that had started the Wipeout. Werewolves had always been short tempered and quick to spring into action, so it was no surprise that they had pretty much been the match that lit the fire.
• “So you want the boy because he reminds you of your son?” he asked, picking up his drink from the desk.
• “Yes.”
• “Fine.” He moved around the table to sit on his chair. “I’ll have a talk with Vandal. You can leave now.”
• I grit my teeth together to get my temper under control. But all I said was, “As you wish, Your Highness.” And then I turned and left.