The Chosen (24 page)

Aleksei knew horde leaders were notorious for keeping harems within their horde, but one so young? She was clearly a human female, which went against everything Aleksei and any Blood Breed knew and felt. The female looked to be unharmed, but he saw the fear in her eyes.

“Before any of you go all Rambo on me and charge after the little human, know that she has never asked to leave since I have been here.

In fact, she seems almost fearful of doing so.”

Of course she wouldn’t ask to leave, and of course she would seem fearful. She clearly didn’t know the outside world and what it had to offer. Instead, she lived amongst monsters that looked like they were created out of nightmares. They all walked in silence, a deadly air covering them along the way.

They came upon the three tunnels that led to the different chambers. He didn’t need Osip to tell him which one led to the
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Bloodless
since their stench came through the last one, strong and overpowering. The smell of old and new blood coated the air as well as the walls and the floor.

He stopped right before the last one and split up the Breeds. He went with Garrik, Adrik, and Osip, while the other five split up through the other two tunnels. Osip explained the other two took different routes, but all three eventually led to the main chamber at the center of the mountain. Aleksei unsheathed one of his blades as they moved forward. Garrik and Adrik did the same, and Osip walked ahead of them, his attitude uncaring and nonchalant.

Loud voices sounded close as the light grew brighter. At the mouth of the tunnel, he stayed in the shadows and watched the drunken show. They laughed and slammed their mugs against the table while they sang old Russian songs. Females passed among the vampires, their hands filled with goblets of alcohol and blood. All the women were naked with bite marks on their skin and smiles on their faces. The women were all
Bloodless
, their eyes black pits of lust and greed. The rogue males fondled and groped at the passing women. It was clear their senses had been dulled by the alcohol since they still hadn’t detected Aleksei or the three other males with him.

“I can cloak all of us long enough to slip past them if you want to skip the beat down.”

Aleksei didn’t bother replying to Osip’s statement. He itched for a fight, and he knew all of his warriors felt the same way. Osip raised his hands in surrender and bowed his head in understanding. Aleksei focused his attention to the four
Bloodless
males in the room and reached out with his mind to gain an advantage as to what they were thinking. The only thing that came through was that all of them were lusting over the females in front of them.

The rogue males were massive, their fangs huge and glinting off the light when they grinned. The bottomless black eyes roamed over the females’ naked bodies with desire and hunger. It was true all Blood Breeds looked like that when they changed, but when it was
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paired with the immoral sickness of what a
Bloodless
thought and did, it made them the monsters they truly were.

Aleksei turned to the other two Breed males and nodded to let them know it was time. Adrik and Garrik closed their eyes and let the change overtake them. Aleksei did the same, his body stretching and growing and priming for a fight. He looked into Adrik’s and Garrik’s bottomless black eyes and smiled. His fangs scraped against his bottom lip, and he couldn’t wait to sink them into his enemies’ flesh.

The three of them looked over at Osip in unison. He didn’t change—couldn’t change, but still, he was as muscular and large as they were now. He didn’t know too much about
Seekers
, but knew the bastards were deadly—they had to be in order to track and hunt their prey. In one swift move, the four of them charged through the tunnel’s opening and gave a deafening roar of the oncoming war.

* * * *

Lana’s eyes went wide at the man who stepped out from the shadows. His hair was dark as the night and fell to his broad shoulders. He stood well over six and a half feet tall, and she could tell under his expensive suit that his muscles were massive. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t put her finger on it.

He smiled at her, his straight white teeth shining brightly in the dim lighting.

“Please, have a seat so that we may speak.” He swept his hand toward the table and chairs in front of the fireplace, his voice a soothing concoction to her ears. She eyed him hesitantly before slowly inching her way toward one of the seats. He hadn’t moved any closer to her, just stayed where he was and watched.

She sat down, the fireplace’s warmth seeping through the thin dress and into her skin. The neckline was obscenely low, and Lana felt exposed in front of this man. She brought her hands up to her neck and rubbed nervously, all the while watching the man watch her.

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His eyes latched onto her neck, the area where she was rubbing, and she heard him swallow.

She cleared her throat before dropping her hand in her lap. “Who are you?”

He smiled and gestured toward the seat across from her. He didn’t speak, but his actions were clear. He wanted her permission before moving forward. She swallowed and nodded, her heart beating so fast and hard she could feel it in her throat. He moved forward and sat down, the chair groaning at the extra weight. A table lay in between them and gave Lana some measure of relief.

“Who are you, and why are you keeping me here?”

“My name is D. Well, you see, you might not like my answer.” He leaned forward and uncorked the wine bottle before pouring the red liquid into the glasses. He pushed the filled glass toward her and leaned back in the chair. His eyes never wavered from her face, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

“So, you would like to know why I have kept you.”

Why did he seem so familiar?

“You see, my dear, you are very special…very special, indeed.”

He rested his elbow on the chair arm and ran lazy circles over the red leather, all the while smiling at her.

“W-What do you mean?”

“I see he did not tell you. Well, that really doesn’t surprise me.

You, my sweet, are the
Prophesied Female
and my future queen.”

Lana looked around the room as the conversation went from strange and awkward to horribly frightening. Had she heard right?

The
Prophesied Female
? His future queen?

“Look at me, Lana.” His voice held no room for argument, and she looked him in the eyes.

Everything around her went fuzzy around the edges, the room blurring away so the only thing that was clear was him. His face was frightening in its intensity. An unforeseen force held her in her place and made her focus on this lone man, although he wasn’t a man at all.

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She watched in horror as his eyes started to go black, the darkness slithering out of his pupils and moving toward the whites. He smiled at her, and she watched with mouth open as his flat canines grew to sharp points. His body grew as well, his already large form filling the chair and blocking out everything behind him.

“You see, my dear Lana, you were supposed to be mine.
He
got to you and corrupted you. Although I am but a male and will take you as I can get you.” He inhaled deeply, a distorted growl leaving his mouth. “It is truly a shame that he has already claimed you and left his mark within you.” He shrugged and smiled. “The child we will have will give me more power than anyone could imagine.” He reached out and ran a big finger down her cheek. “He will be raised and trained to fight next to me and overcome all of the
Otherworld
.

Of course, you will be kept for my sole pleasure. Maybe I will let some of my minions sample you if they behave themselves.”

She wanted to slap his hand away, but she sat there frozen, her body no longer hers to control. He licked his lips, his body leaning forward so he was mere inches from her mouth. Why couldn’t she move? She screamed on the inside, needing to move away from the mental hold he had on her.

“I might want to keep you all for myself, though. You do smell incredibly delicious, and I bet you taste even sweeter.”

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Aleksei and the three males behind him moved with deadly focus as they charged through the tunnels. The four
Bloodless
males had been too easy to kill in their drunken stupors, and he was sorry it hadn’t lasted longer.

The other Breeds just came out of the other two tunnels, blood coating their clothing and smiles on their faces. They regrouped and made their way toward the main corridor that all three tunnels eventually led into. Before they even reached the entrance, Aleksei could hear guns being cocked and swords being drawn. He drew his own weapon of choice—his ancestral family sword. The sword fit nicely in his palm, and the shining silver moved through the air with clarity and precision.

The light of the main corridor broke through the tunnel as the Breed males rushed in and gave a war cry. The main room was filled with
Bloodless
either lounging or fucking—typical behavior of the lazy bastards. There were ten male rogues that filled the room, and at the Breeds’ roar, they jumped up and took fighting stances.

They stared at each other—the Breeds on one side and the rogues on the other. The room was filled with tension and anger that pulsed like a living entity. A male stood out in front of the others, the leader of the pack. He smiled the widest and had the most blood covering his mouth. He looked around and started to laugh, causing all the vampires behind him to do the same.

“Boys, it looks like we have a dance tonight.” He dragged his tongue over his lips and licked off the blood. “You just missed one hell of meal, brothers.”

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Aleksei growled, causing the males next to him to do the same. “I am not your brother.”

“Slice his head clean off, Stefan.” The rogue held his hand up for the
other Bloodless
to be silent, his smile big as he stared at Aleksei.

“Silence. These fine warriors are our guests. Tell me, fine warrior, did you lose something and have come here to retrieve it?”

Aleksei knew he was being goaded, and it was working. It took all his control to stay where he was and not charge them.

“I don’t blame you for wanting her back.” He licked his lips again. “I bet she tastes real good. I bet her pussy feels real good, too.”

Just as Aleksei was about rip the little fucker’s head off, a tray clattered to the floor. All heads turned to stare at the same female Aleksei saw earlier…Kasia. Her green eyes were wide and she gasped. She quickly covered her mouth and stared at a room full of fully changed vampires.

“Fuck! Kasia get out of here now!” The leader, Stefan, looked panicked to see her. She held her hands up, and that was when Aleksei formed an idea.

“Youri, step forward.” Aleksei called to one of the Breed males who had a
gift,
one
that would be useful at this moment. He kept his eyes on Stefan as the male looked around frantically, eyes wild.

“Bring her here.” Aleksei smiled at Stefan, who bared his fangs and crouched forward.

“You don’t touch her! Kasia, stay the fuck where you are.” The female looked around, her hands in front of her like a shield.

* * * *

Kasia was in a far worse hell than she could have ever imagined.

Not only were there ten of those monsters in the same room with her, but to top it off, the ones she saw in the tunnels earlier, the ones who looked like men, were no more than the same crazed monsters she lived with. She looked around frantically, wanting to listen to Stefan,
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but at the same time wanting to run. She despised Stefan, but he always made sure none of the other monsters touched her.

She stared at Stefan, who looked scarier than she had ever seen.

As one of the men called forth someone, she whipped her head around and stared at hollow black eyes. His head was shaved to his skull, and his eyebrow was pierced. He was the same as everyone else in the room—massive body and scary eyes. He smiled down at her and held his hand out to her. She could vaguely hear Stefan issuing a command for her to leave at once, but staring into the stranger’s eyes had become paramount at the moment.

His eyes started to swirl in color, white twisting with black until she felt like she was in a dream. She could hear a male voice in her head, a voice urging her to come to him, and she was helpless to stop it. She couldn’t hear anything other than his voice in her head, and she was filled with such a peace from it. He stood in front of her and smiled down at her as she stared in a daze. She placed her hand in the warmth of his much larger one. Her eyelids grew so heavy the act of keeping them open seeming like an impossible act. She was so tired of everything that all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

The world went dark around her, and she welcomed it with relish.

She wished she could stay in this peaceful dream forever…hoped she would never wake up.

* * * *

Aleksei smiled as Stefan became frantic when Kasia moved toward Youri. How he wished he could mesmerize like Youri could.

Stefan yelled at Kasia to leave, but she was too far gone to hear. The other rogues stared at Stefan as he became a shaking mess. It was clear this one had feelings for the human female, and Aleksei planned to use it against him.

Just as Aleksei thought, Stefan charged after Youri in an unorganized way. His movements were sloppy and uncoordinated,
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exactly what he hoped for. The males
behind him took the cue to charge forward. Metal clashed and bullets flew as Breed males came up against
Bloodless
males. Aleksei charged for Stefan just as he was about to wrap his hand around the female. He brought his sword down and smiled when the silver sank into Stefan’s forearm. Stefan roared and stumbled back, gripping his flesh as blood poured from the wound. He stared at Aleksei with murderous intent and stalked forward.