“I think that kid screamed the loudest yet.” Vlad joined her during a lull in trick-or-treaters. “It’s fun to show my fangs without worrying. They all assume I have cool prosthetics.”
“Just imagine how amazing it would be if I could cast a spell on the décor,” Belladonna said as she popped chocolate into her mouth.
“I was thinking… and don’t get too excited because this is just an idea,” Vlad said, “but I’m considering?—”
“Sir?” A guard rushed into the foyer, interrupting him.
“Where’s Bartholomew?” Vlad asked, scanning the area as if suddenly realizing his right-hand man was missing.
“There was an issue, and he left to handle it,” the vampire answered.
“An issue? Why wasn’t I made aware of it?”
“Bartholomew said not to interrupt you, but something’s wrong,” the vampire said. “He’s missing.”
“Missing?” Belladonna asked.
“We lost contact with him, and we’ve received news of a massive gathering on the outskirts of our territory,” the guard said. “Something is going down, sir. We need to go.”
“Shit.” Vlad looked down at her.
“Sir, we need to go now,” the vampire urged. “Reports of unprecedented unrest and bloodshed are pouring in. Vampires are dying.”
“Go.” Belladonna gripped his arm to convey her understanding. “Go take care of what you need to.”
“I won’t be gone long.” He captured her face in his broad palms and kissed her before racing from the room, leaving Belladonna with an acrid taste in her mouth and a rock in her stomach. She didn’t know why, but something in her gut whispered that Vlad wouldn’t be back. That she’d watched the man she was falling in love with walk out of her life for the last time.
Vlad and his men raced across town, anxiety thick in their midst. Vlad’s body pulsed with adrenaline as concern consumed his brain. All this violence and unrest, yet he hadn’t the faintest clue what was causing it, and as he readied to plunge headlong into the fray, his mind turned to his wife. Was she making him weak? Was his obsession with her blinding him? For decades, he’d ruled with an iron fist and brutal laws, yet suddenly his reign was threatened. Had he lost his edge? Was his sudden desire for peace a death sentence? Was the witch consuming both his house and soul destroying him?
Only Belladonna wasn’t an obsession. She wasn’t a weakness. He’d felt it the moment he first saw her at the church, and it had become crystal clear when he left her with a kiss barely an hour ago. Belladonna was his mate.
“Where is everyone?” Vlad asked as their cars skidded to a stop. He launched out of the vehicle, expecting to plunge headlong into battle, but there was… nothing. Nofighting, no vampires, no blood. There wasn’t even a decent streetlamp present.
“Where the hell are we?” He whirled on the guards who’d escorted him to this supposed battlefield. “What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” the vampire from earlier said, cowering before Vlad’s intimidating height. “We had no choice.”
“No choice?” Vlad stormed for him, grabbing him harshly by the throat. “I suggest you start talking, otherwise I’ll begin at your ankles and peel your skin off your body inch by inch while you watch.”
“It’s for your own good!” The vampire could barely speak as Vlad’s fist crushed his vocal cords. “We had to! We’re doing this for you.”
“What are you doing for me?”
“Please, sir,” the vampire said. “Just stay here. It’s for your own good.”
“What’s for my own good?” Vlad’s body went still with icy fear. He didn’t like this. Something was wrong, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. “Answer me!”
“Please don’t make me,” the vampire begged as the other guards closed in around them, boxing him in on all sides. “We had no choice. This is how it must be, but it’s for the best.”
“You have five seconds before I break your neck,” Vlad growled.
“We had to get you out of the mansion, but you’ll thank us in the end.”
Vlad stilled. Even his breathing stopped as his body became still as stone. He’d been wary about this report of unrest, but the vampire’s words about getting him out of his house instilled fresh fear inside him. Bartholomew was missing. The older guards he normally trusted were absent in favor of these younger vampires. He’s been so consumedby the rumor of bloodshed that he hadn’t seen the wrongness of the situation until it was too late.
Vlad leaned forward, increasing the pressure on the vampire’s throat. The guards closed in around him, but he didn’t see their movements. He didn’t register that he was outnumbered. He couldn’t process anything but that one horrible realization.
“Where is my wife?”
