“Do not move, and stay silent until I say.” The girl’s body stilled, and her brown eyes widened as she tried to take a step but couldn’t. Perfect.
“Now, go heat us some tea and bring it to the table. We’re going to have a little chat, Flower.” She winced at the harshness in my voice, but without a choice did as I said. The monks liked to call my power compulsion. I didn’t care what it was, only that when I used it people listened. I strolled to the floor cushions and sat down to wait. The girl’s heartbeat raced as she heated us tea, and minutes later carried them over.
“Sit.” She plopped down on the opposite side of the table. I grasped the tea in my hands and inhaled the scents of the steam. I’d been asleep for so long, I’d nearly forgotten how a moment to simply enjoy tea could release tension within.
“Is your name Kitty? You may speak now.” I’d only heard her father utter that name in her presence.
A deep breath flew past her lips. Tears brimmed her eyes, and I loathed the sight.
“Are you gonna kill me?” She trembled, and I grumbled. My patience already grew thin.
“Not yet. If I wanted to kill you, I would have drained your life in front of your family already. Instead, I’m settling for your pain-in-the-ass part of my revenge. To answer questions before you pathetically ask them. I am not human. I am what your kind calls a vampire. I do drink blood, and I may drink yours if I want a snack. I will claim revenge on your family for the crimes of your lineage against mine. You will hate me, and I do not care. You will do as I say, and you will tell no one of who or what I am. Or what I have planned. You will act cordial to me around others, like I am another human. Do you understand, Little Flower?” I hoped that got the annoying questions out of the way, and we could move on. I’d hate to get frustrated and kill her prematurely.
“A vampire?” Tears fell, and she shook so much her tea spilled over the rim of her cup multiple times. An exasperated sigh escaped my lungs.
“Yes, and you still haven’t told me your name.”
“Katsumi.” Her voice squeaked, and I questioned my choice of using this girl in my plot. Her family probably shielded her because she was too soft to handle the dangers of their world, a world I would make her immerse herself into. A world that would most likely break her kitten spirit.
“Katsumi.” I tested her name on my tongue, and her eyes narrowed.
“I am Tatsou. We are going to be spending a lot of time together and getting acquainted. You’re now my servant in this time until I have no more need of you.” I let my fangs drop and grinned. She continued to tremble but did not shout in fear.
“What is it you want from me?” She poured herself another cup of tea and patted with a cloth the mess she’d made. Slowly, she worked to even her breaths and calm her horror of sitting across from a true vampire.
“Do you know the history of this place, Kitten?” I gestured around the room with my arms, and her face tightened. She did not like me calling her a nickname others used for her. Perfect, I needed to unleash my anger a little here and there. If calling her Kitten pissed her off, then that would bring me peace.
“It had been fallen apart before I found it. I did what I could to restore it.” She spoke with pride despite the hint of terror laced in her voice. It wasn’t the same as when I lived here, but I could see she tried.
“This was my home in the fifteenth century. This whole property and the temple belonged to the Sohei. I lived here, fed here, trained here, and bathed here. The Sakura clan were our enemies, and while I rested, they attacked. They butchered my people and stole the land. Adding salt to a fresh wound by making our sacred temple into the disgrace it has become.” I thought back to the time I last saw the temple in its former glory. Monks meditating inside its halls. Training resumed in the courtyard where the ninjas practiced their fighting skills.
“My family didn’t do any of that. Why punish us because some assholes of the past hurt you?” She set her tea down and glared at me. I scoffed.
“Family is everything, Kitten, like your current family wearing a mask of nobility and wealth. Take the mask off, and they are the worst sort of humans. Dealing in . . . what is the word? . . . drugs, women, and weapons . . . evil in its purest form. Your kind calls them . . .” I struggled to remember the word. So many names for simple things in this language.
“A crime syndicate.” A silly name, but by the confused look in Katsumi’s eyes, I assumed she knew the word but didn’t associate it with her family. Of course she wouldn’t.
“Don’t believe me? I’ll show you.” I extended my hand out of politeness but if she refused to take it in a matter of seconds, I’d force her. However, she was a curious kitten. Her delicate, pale hand raised, and she set it in mine.
Chapter Five
Katsumi
What the fuck was wrong with me?
A vampire was in my home. He just sat there at my table in his too-tight clothing, showing off all sorts of muscular muscles I did not need to subtly find hot. Then he claimed to have lived here before, and he plans to use me to hurt my family. Oh, and the best part is that my family is part of the mob. The mafia! A freaking crime syndicate! Vampire or not, the man had a brain malfunction.
Maybe I was in shock. That would explain the reason why I placed my hand in his. I stood as he did, and he led me toward the darkness outside. Surely, this wasn’t really happening. What had been in my father’s tea?
“This is probably going to hurt.” Tatsou laughed like a villain as my skin tingled. Then my muscles ached, and I tried to pull my hand away from his. I’d made a mistake—a huge one. His grip tightened where if I moved again, bones would break. I cried out as pain seared my bones and head. My vision blurred and while I didn’t pass out again, I wished I would have. Darkness swirled around us, then in an instant we were in a dimly lit garage hidden in the shadows. The pain in my body eased instantly. Tatsou leaned in to face me, and I stared at his startling gold eyes.
“Do not make a sound.”
His words slapped a metaphorical padlock on my lips, and I couldn’t even sigh if I wanted to. Whatever power this vampire possessed, it was impossible to break. Sheer will and force did nothing. I wanted to scream to tell him to fuck off, but my body was a prison, and I, a silenced prisoner. A muffled yell startled me as I turned to look at a man sitting in a chair with his hands bound and a gag in his mouth. I looked at Tatsou to do something. Surely he could use his superpowers for good and save the guy. The vampire nearly raised his eyebrow in my direction. He would not be stopping this; we were here to see something, and I knew I wasn’t going to like it. I looked around the garage for something to grab onto but my warden’s grip tightened once more. I tried to weep from the pain but nothing came out.
“Watch,” he growled against my ear, and my body shivered. This vampire could kill me in a second, and my body knew it. I stared at the poor man and searched for whoever held him here. Only, the more I looked the more I recognized this place. It was the garage of the main house. My family’s house. My father’s Jaguar sat delicately at the end, then my mother’s silver Mercedes Benz next to it, and my sister’s black Mercedes SUV. This isn’t right. My whole body froze, and it had nothing to do with the dangerous force tethering me to this spot. The door from the house opened, and my father walked into the space.
He’d always had a presence about him when entering the room. Confidence, intelligence, and power, which I had assumed came from being so successful. Takeo and Rei, were also in the group of men and my hand flew to my lips.
