Page 49 of Blood Ties (City of Blood #1)

“Have it your way.” He snaps his fingers and two large vampires in black suits enter the room behind me.

One of them grabs me by my arms and lifts me to my feet while the other one tilts my head back and bites me, pain searing through my body at the point of contact.

I whimper as my knees buckle and he rears his head back, screaming, as the man holding me tightens his grips on my arms, yelling to figure out what happened to his partner.

“What the hell is happening?” I hear Nicolas exclaim as he rounds the desk. I can feel the blood running down my neck.

“The bitch has some sort of protection charm,” the man on the floor tells them as he claws at his throat. Nicolas turns his hazel eyes on me, and drops them to my neck, to the pendant hanging between my breasts.

“Oh, he loves you does he? He must, to have gotten you such strong protection. We will get rid of that.” He calls out for someone named Stephan who enters the room through the door from the sex room. “Remove that from her,” he tells him pointing at my neck.

I thrash and scream in the iron grip of the vampire holding me. “No, don’t touch me! I’ll take it off, don’t touch it!” I twist to try and get free. The man holding me only tightens his hold until I feel bones grinding under my skin, threatening to break under the pressure.

Stephan reaches up and grabs the pendant in his fist, yanking until the chain gives way.

“Toss it in the fireplace,” comes Nicolas’s order.

“No, Nicolas, please. Just give it to me,” I beg.

“Sorry, little princess.” He rubs his hand down my cheek. “The time for you to ask me for anything has passed, you had your chance. Take her away.” Turning from me, he walks over to his desk and relaxes back into his chair.

The man holding me drags me from the room, defeat starting to truly infiltrate my soul.

Instead of taking me back to what I have come to accept as my room, I am taken to a different room altogether.

The type of room that makes me shudder in fear, my heart races as we enter and a trickle of sweat runs down my back.

It looks too much like the dungeon room at the Velvet Tomb.

It’s not so archaic—no stone walls but the cement floor with the drain, the shackles mounted into the concrete, and the metallic smell in the air all indicate exactly what this room is.

Fear strikes me, raw and electric, and I feel my heart rate accelerate, forcing the blood through my veins and drawing the attention of the vampires in the room.

My captor pulls me toward the wall, circling my ankles and wrist in manacles, holding me in place, at the mercy of the four vampires, three men and one woman, who line the room.

I’m trembling and can feel my knees weakening.

I sag against my restraints, too tired and overwhelmed to stand any longer.

“The prince says you belong to us, little princess.” All of the vamps gathered in the room bare their teeth at me, long fangs on display, as they stalk toward me slowly. Tears stream down my cheeks even as I try to remain strong.

“Let’s see if you have any signs of your vampire nature peeking through, shall we? Jon, how should we test her?”

A man I have never come across before, with long black hair and disheveled clothing, hisses and responds, “I think we should test her healing first.” My breath comes in sharp pants, my adrenaline kicking into high gear.

Snapping his finger and smiling, my captor tells him, “Excellent idea. Perfect. Bring me the scalpel. That's a good place to start.”

The lone woman in the room steps forward, holding a scalpel, handle side out, handing it to my would-be torturer.

“Please, please, help me. Don’t do this. It was a mistake. Please.” I’m disgusted at myself for begging for anything from these vamps but the danger in this room is so potent, I can almost feel it coating my skin.

“Watch it, princess. I will gag you if you can’t be quiet.

Nobody likes a mouthy woman.” He grabs the back of my hair and pulls my head back, bringing the blade to my collarbone and sliding the sharp edge against my skin.

I feel the knife slide into my flesh, can feel it in my teeth, like nails on a chalkboard.

The blood drips down my chest and into the valley of my breasts.

The vampires press closer at the sight of the spilled blood, and he starts to lap at my skin like a dog.

“Marc! Fucking share.” Jon scolds my torturer, Marc.

“Shut the fuck up. You’ll get your turn.

” He rubs his fingers into the blood, smearing it around before he rips my shirt down the middle, exposing more tender flesh to his hands.

Grabbing my thigh and pushing my legs apart, he steps into the space he created, pressing his body against me.

I’m trembling, praying he doesn’t press his advantage and cross from torturer to heinous monster.

“So pure and clean. Not a scar, a tattoo, or a blemish. So creamy,” he tells me as he rubs his bloody hands across my stomach. “Look at that, Anna, the blood is already stopping. I can’t tell if it’s fast healing or a shallow cut. We better try again.” Backing away from me, he beckons her closer.

This time Anna approaches, almost wearily. She looks curious but not as blatant in her excitement or enjoyment of the torture happening in front of her.

I try again. “Anna, you don’t have to do this. I’m like you, don’t let these men do this. Help me, please, don’t do this.”

Quicker than I can even follow, Anna snaps her arm out and cuts my arm deeply from elbow to wrist, the blood flowing freely and dripping onto the floor. She leans forward and licks the blood from my arm and sucks at the artery which is spilling my life onto the concrete.

“You idiot! She’s a human, you’re going to kill her.

Fuck!” Marc pushes her out of the way as he wraps his hand tightly around the wound.

The edges of my vision begin to blur and I feel my head drop against the cold wall behind me.

“Fuck, Nicolas is going to kill us. He needs—” I don’t hear anything else as I lose consciousness.