Page 5 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness (Grimm Cove #7)

Chapter Five

Vlad

Vlad stood near the cell door, blocking the exit. The lowest level of his Romanian estate was reinforced to hold supernaturals, most of the time against their will. The estate had been built centuries ago and was not the castle he once called home. This was bigger and more secluded, yet very castle like.

Tourists flocked to the castle that had once been his. They listened to the lies that were spun about his life and his death, hanging on tour guides’ every words. It brought much needed revenue to the area and regardless how he felt about the way history painted him, he loved his country. He wanted what was best for it.

Vlad had commissioned the building of his current estate long ago, wanting to be further from the general public. He’d overseen the construction himself. The lowest level was a place normally reserved for his enemies. The cell’s current occupant was here to keep her safe—even from herself.

It had been five days since Ponytail Girl had come into his life. Five days since she’d managed to turn his entire world upside down. From the moment he’d brought her and her sister to his home, wanting to help them with their transition and keep them safe.

While her wounds had healed, her mind had not. At least not yet, and Vlad was starting to fear it never would. She was like a feral animal. She didn’t speak, only growled, hissed and snarled. She ate very little, if anything, despite Vlad bringing in a world-renowned chef specifically to cook for her and her sister—who had yet to leave wolf form.

Of course, he’d had to put the chef under his direct protection because Radmila wanted to rip his head off simply because he was male and breathing and Teya suggested she be allowed to keep the severed head to brush its hair later. So far, the chef still had his head. If the twins didn’t start eating, he wasn’t sure how long that statement would be true. Vlad might be his undoing if his food did not work.

Vlad had first put the young women in private bedrooms on the upper levels. He tried to lavish them with whatever they could want—whatever might help them through their transitional states. That had ended in an epic failure. They had torn the rooms to bits trying to get to one another. When he’d put them in the same room, they’d stuck together like glue, snarling and attacking anyone who dared approach.

Lucian had assisted in getting the white wolf to the lowest level of the estate and into a cell, while Vlad had taken on the task of transporting Ponytail Girl. The task had been easier said than done. He’d had the bite marks and claw marks to prove just how capable the young woman was of defending herself. They’d healed over almost instantly. He’d done his best to avoid causing her harm but had been forced to overpower her to get her to a secure location. Saying she was less than thrilled with him was an understatement.

The only person she would permit in her vicinity, apart from her sister who was in a cell down the hall, was Katarina. At first, that had even been iffy. Now, a week into it all, and Katarina was able to get close enough to assist Ponytail Girl with showering and putting on the clothing Katarina had seen to having on hand for the women.

Katarina had given a list of items along with sizes to one of the many human staff members Vlad employed and sent them out to shop for everything the twins might need. Vlad wasn’t sure why women required so many items, but he’d long ago stopped questioning the process, all too happy with the outcome.

Katarina’s choice of scents for shampoos and body washes mirrored what Vlad continued to pick up from Ponytail Girl—night jasmine and honeysuckle. Thankfully, the smell of death had faded from the young woman. It would return if she did not eat.

“You must eat,” stressed Katarina, who held a tray full of food choices.

There was an assortment of meats, cheeses and fruits as well as a bag of human blood. No one was sure what Ponytail Girl might crave or need to live. Ponytail Girl was an anomaly. She wasn’t a full vampire—Vlad would know if she was. And she wasn’t fully human either. She was something in-between.

She wasn’t undead, but she wasn’t mortal either. That much he could sense on her as well as her sister who had only just started allowing Lucian to approach without incident.

White Wolf was the only reason Vlad had permitted Lucian to continue to draw in air. He’d had every intention of killing Lucian for daring to side with Dragos and for playing a part in what had happened to the twins. Every intention of making the man he’d considered his best friend suffer before snuffing out his life. The white wolf was important to Ponytail Girl and right now, the white wolf needed Lucian’s assistance; therefore, he lived— for now .

Katarina raised the tray of food choices toward Ponytail Girl.

It went as well as Vlad expected it to.

Ponytail Girl hissed and tried to slap the tray away.

He darted across the room and caught her wrist gently yet in a way that let her know he was in charge.

Ponytail Girl hissed and flashed her mini fangs at him.

The act nearly made him smile. For a second he couldn’t tear his gaze from her lips. Her long hair was free from the ponytail, framing her face, drawing attention to her mouth. He found himself studying her face more, mentally counting the tiny freckles that dotted her pale skin. Her pulse raced under the weight of his touch. He began to caress her inner wrist with his thumb as thoughts he shouldn’t have filled his head.

Thoughts of having her mouth on his, of her fangs sinking into his flesh filled his head. That spiraled quickly into having her mouth on other areas.

He stifled a groan.

It was far from the first time he thought of such things since she’d come into his existence a week ago. She consumed his waking hours and had even managed to invade his dreams. At first, Vlad had assumed it was his doing, that the strange pull he had to her had manifested in his subconscious mind. Then, he’d realized she truly was invading his dreams. A gift very few vampires could do with any success. He was one and he knew of only a dozen or so more. It was a skill that came with age and power.

Ponytail Girl had managed it and she wasn’t even a full vampire. She was something in-between. Something else.

She swiped out at him with her free hand.

He caught that one as well, lifting a brow, impressed with her tenacity. He had to wonder if that would extend to bedroom play as well.

Vlad stiffened. She is too young for us.

His demon chuckled darkly within him.

You are not helping , he pushed out mentally.

It laughed more.

“Master,” said Katarina, worry in her voice. “She has not even had water today.”

Vlad stood between her and Ponytail Girl. “You must drink something.”

Ponytail Girl hissed and struggled in vain against his hold.

He sighed. “ Lumini?a mea , enough of this. You will drink something.”

She shook her head and while it was yet another act of defiance, it was something in the wheelhouse of reasoning and understanding. It was hope.

“Yes,” he returned.

She flashed her baby fangs at him again.

He grunted even though he found the act endearing. “Eat or I shall force feed you, lumini?a mea .”

“Master,” repeated Katarina.

“Leave us,” he said, never sparing her a second glance, his full focus on Ponytail Girl.

“Master, you have other matters to attend to,” stressed Katarina, brazenly disregarding his command. “I can see to her needs. You do not have to trouble yourself.”

Vlad kept hold of Ponytail Girl’s wrists and turned his head slowly, his gaze meeting Katarina’s. He exhaled slowly, trying to keep his temper and his demon in check. “Leave the tray and go. Now .”

She gave in and went toward the cell door. She set the tray on the stone floor and exited, but not before looking back at Ponytail Girl with worry in her eyes.

Vlad’s jaw clenched.

Katarina scurried away, leaving the cell door standing open wide.

Ponytail Girl thrashed, wild and desperate, trying to get free from Vlad’s grasp, her sights set on potential freedom.

He pinned her to the wall more to keep her from harming herself than anything else. “Enough!”

She stilled, her eyes still filled with black, her breathing fast, her pulse racing.

He didn’t release her. “You must eat something.”

Her nostrils flared.

“Water,” he said through clenched teeth, unsure why it was he cared so much if she lived or died.

Maybe it was misguided guilt over Harker’s plea for him to assist but him being too far to do anything more than aftermath cleanup. Was this a new leaf he was turning over? If so, he didn’t much care for it. Being indifferent was far less time consuming and easier on his nerves.

He had yet to be able to connect with Harker again. He’d even tried more traditional means—like the phone. Whatever had happened to him had left him unreachable mentally. As far as Vlad knew, Lucian hadn’t had any success reaching out that way to him either.

“Agree to water…just water to start,” he murmured, his voice a quiet threat. “Just water to start.”

She hissed again.

“ Lumini?a mea ,” he warned, his voice dropping lower. “You will soon find I am not easily bested in a test of wills,” he stressed.

Her breathing slowed, as did her pulse—fierce still, yet no longer frantic.

Progress.

He released her wrists, half-expecting her to claw at his face and neck.

Her hands shot to his shoulders but she didn’t tear into his flesh. She did, however, rip something—his shirt. She tore it right off him in one swift motion.

Vlad had no shame about his body and knew it was toned and something others found greatly appealing, even with his scars. Prior to becoming a creature of the night, Vlad would spend hours upon hours a day training, always ready for battle. It had been that way since he’d been in his teens. Then, when darkness came for him, leaving him sharing his body with a demon, it increased his strength, speed, and agility.

Something he never took for granted.

Never once in all his years had he worried what another thought of him—until now. Did Ponytail Girl like what she saw? Did she find him as visually pleasing as he found her? Did she yearn to touch him as he did her?

Her pulse quickened again.

At first, Vlad assumed she’d attack—again.

Instead, her hands found his chest. Her touch sent fire shooting through him. He made a move to grab her wrists to pull her hands away, but his demon shot up, nearly breaking free.

No! it shouted. Permit her to touch us. She may drink something even.

Vlad highly doubted hydration was on the demon’s mind.

Her fingers followed the lines of the numerous scars crisscrossing his upper body. Most were from swords, some daggers, a few had been from women hell bent on clawing him open to prove how good of a lover he was. All had been given to him when he was alive. Before the demon merged with him, gifting him supernatural healing.

Ponytail Girl’s fingers mapped each scar, her brows furrowing. She leaned in, putting her face close to his chest.

It was Vlad’s pulse that raced now.

“ Lumini?a mea , I have only so much control,” he whispered, struggling to maintain his composure. “I would rather you attack me than this.”

Speak for yourself , huffed the demon. I happen to prefer this. Encourage her to do more.

“She is too young for us,” warned Vlad, earning him a confused look from Ponytail Girl.

The demon laughed. She is of age.

“That may be so but it is younger than I prefer. You have never shown an interest in a woman her age before.”

None of them were her and I have already told you, she is of age. I sense at least eighteen years of life on her. She may be nineteen even, the demon offered like that made a difference.

“And I am six hundred. You are far, far older than that,” reminded Vlad. “Nineteen is a million miles apart from us.”

Some famed lover of women you are. The demon grunted. There are very few, if any, women who are my age.

Vlad rolled his eyes.

Ponytail Girl’s tongue slid out and over the scar on Vlad’s chest from the killing blow Radu had delivered. The one that matched locations with her scar.

The act left Vlad jerking back, trying to put space between them.

Ponytail Girl followed, staying pressed to him.

Let her lick us anywhere and everywhere she wants , said the demon. Give her the following suggestions…

“No!” roared Vlad.

Ponytail Girl’s gaze snapped up to meet his. She sniffed him and flashed her fangs at him. Her still black gaze fixed onto his exposed neck.

Vlad felt it then—the hunger. The call of blood. He’d been the subject of its temptation many times before. “You require sustenance, lumini?a mea .”

Volunteer us as tribute , suggested the demon.

Vlad ignored it.

Ponytail Girl’s breathing increased, her gaze never leaving his neck.

“There is bagged blood if you require it,” Vlad said, his voice barely above a whisper.

She moved fast, putting her face against the crook of his neck.

Need slammed through him and he stiffened, trying to gain control of himself before he did something stupid, like get fully naked with a woman who was far too young for him. “ Lumini?a mea. ”

Her tongue darted out and over his skin once more.

A shudder wracked him.

“ Doamne, ai mil? de mine, c?ci sunt pierdut .”

His demon didn’t mock his pleas for God to have mercy on him because he was lost. It knew better. Knew she provided a temptation that was too great. The young woman standing before them held power over him, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

Vlad let out a shaky breath and moved back from her so fast and far that he bumped the tray of food and blood.

Ponytail Girl eyed the open cell door.

He assumed she’d try for freedom.

She took a step away from the wall and turned to black mist so fast even he had trouble seeing it occur. She was across the cell and reforming in less than a second, her pupils dilated. Turning into mist wasn’t something that newly turned vampires could do. And it sure in the hell was not something someone who was in-between—not a vampire, yet not fully human—should be able to do. Yet she had.

“ Lumini?a mea ?”

Raw need emanated from her. The way she watched him made him feel a lot like a slab of meat. He wasn’t sure if she wanted to sink her teeth into him or play with him.

His demon was fine with either.

“Water?” he asked again, hoping to head off whatever was happening between them.

She looked him up and down slowly and he was fairly sure she was undressing him with her eyes.

Remove the rest of our clothing , pushed his demon. Let her look her fill. Maybe she will lick us again.

Stop assisting.

It laughed.