“I’m sorry, master,” Zack said sharply. “Josefina is right. I’ve had enough for tonight.”
Without waiting for permission, Zack spun and stormed out of the ballroom. He made it to the path between the event hall and the mansion before he heard Roger calling after him. Muscles clenching, he turned to face Roger. “What?”
“You can’t behave like this,” Roger said in a quiet, scolding voice. He closed the distance so there was less than a foot between them.
“I know,” Zack snapped. “It’s all anyone’s been saying for months.”
“Do you think I like this?” Roger replied.
“You’ve been doing this for hundreds of years.” The words were out, but Zack wished he could take them back as Roger stepped away from him with a distant glaze in his eyes. Zack twisted around so he didn’t see the hurt in Roger. Because it didn’t make sense. Roger had boasted about having sex dungeons when they met. He’d prided himself on being a “good master” in the past.
Before he met Roger, Zack assumed all the vampires lived as if humans were lesser than them. The family lore taught that vampires’ pets were always half-dead, mindless sex junkies.
But that wasn’t Zack’s relationship with Roger at all. When Zack had cried himself to sleep, Roger had held him the whole time. He’d watched trashy movies and what had to be boring documentaries. He’d looked absolutely wrecked when Zack first woke from the surgery. Hecared.
He’s not turning me into some feeding bag. He’s not.Zack wiped at his eyes and tried not to feel the weight of the collar around his throat. “I’m sorry. It’s just … this is a lot.”
Carefully, Roger stepped forward and put his hands on Zack’s shoulders. He kissed the back of his head and slowly wrapped his arms around him in an embrace. His tone shifted to one that Zack wanted to think of as his boyfriend voice. “If this is too much, we can find another place for you.”
Because Zack couldn’t go home.
The only place he might belong was Taliville, but he didn’t want to stay without Roger. And the thought of Roger facing Seamus without him froze his inside. He wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing Roger was putting himself in danger every night.
His only choice was to shovel down the shit and not choke on it.
So Zack pulled himself together and sealed his mask into place. He smiled the brightest he could and turned around in Roger’s embrace to face him. “I’ll be fine, master.”
“Zack,” Roger said tenderly.
The eggshell mask that Zack had constructed threatened to crack. He slipped away from Roger’s side. “Don’t, master. We’re outside of our room. This is how it’s supposed to be, isn’t it?”
A shift came over Roger, like the closing of a hardcover book. “You have a point, sweetheart.”
Zack nodded, not trusting his voice.
Roger nodded once in a silent agreement. “I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, master,” Zack whispered. Then he turned and walked into Nell’s mansion.
Zack would sink his dagger into Seamus’s heart and complete a hunt that even Cal couldn’t compete with. Roger would take over the coven and end Seamus’s reign of terror. Everything would fall into place, and all that he’d sacrificed was temporary. He’d get a better life in return for the one he’d given up.
He just had to hang on.
It will be worth it. It has to be.
CHAPTER 3
Roger clenched his teeth to smother a groan as Nell’s blade sliced through his leg. He swiped at her with his own knife, but she backstepped with an enviable grace. While her domain was currently at peace, Nell had defended herself and her people for ages. She was an ancient vampire a few decades older than Seamus, and she outclassed Roger in every skill.
Training with her was a lesson in humility, but Roger had made some progress. While he and Zack had trained together, he would fare better if he was the one to land the final blow in Seamus’s heart. Vampires were immortals, never planning for the night they’d die. Among their own kind, one vampire could claim the possessions of any vampire they killed. That included leadership. Holding the title of coven master might be difficult, but Roger wasn’t worrying about who might attempt to kill him for the role.
He feinted his next strike and kicked at Nell’s knee, but she effortlessly dodged his attempt. With a growl, he relied on his supernatural abilities, and his speed increased. He hoped to catch her off guard.
But his use of powers broke the unspoken agreement between them. Nell’s eyes flared ruby red as she relied on herown vampiric nature, and she attacked with a speed and ferocity that Roger could only counter. They continued at breakneck speed, but each moment drained him. Though he was at full strength, he didn’t have Nell’s endurance.
He was going to lose. Just like he always imagined he’d lose to Seamus.
Desperately, he swung toward Nell’s heart. She countered, taking hold of his wrist, and she used his momentum to flip him onto the training mat. She stabbed her blade through his back, a half inch below his heart.
