ONE

Someone was taken from me. Granted, it was by her own volition, but regardless, it should never have happened. And I came to find out that I just couldn’t live without her. She’s been gone for about a week now, and though a week to a preternatural like me is nothing, when your soul mate is not there… it feels like an eternity. Echo, the shape shifter that literally saved me from myself, was my life. I just had to find her and I absolutely had to get her back.

When she went after Giapetto to get my mother back, she did it to help me, because she knew that I missed my mother dearly, and that I didn’t want that son of a bitch to do anything to her; at least, more than he may have already done. To my knowledge, my mother had died when I was younger, but due to a recent phone call to Giapetto, it turns out that was just a lie. He must have taken her the night I thought she died, and seemingly has had her ever since. Echo was just trying to help by going to Giapetto’s compound and retrieving my mother for me. It just didn’t seem to turn out the way she had planned, since she was still gone.

I know that I must be the one to get her back. It’s up to me. Niko, the vampire that I currently reside with in his castle in Hungary—and the vampire that had a part in my turning into the super beast that I am—doesn’t care if Echo is found or not, she’s nothing to him—but she’s everything to me, and that’s why I had to find her.

I knew that she was just doing what she thought was right for me, which I totally appreciate, however; I was not okay with the fact that she just up and left without even discussing any of it with me. A note was all that she left me. The words haven’t stopped playing in my mind since the first time I read it. ‘I am so sorry to do this to you, but I think it’s for the best. I am going to go get your mother away from that son-of-a-bitch. I love you with all of my heart and I just want you to be happy. I will come back with her for you when this is over. Please just wait for me, I WILL BE BACK. I love you so much’. Well that was all fine and dandy, but she still hadn’t returned, and it had been almost a week. And again, no, that doesn’t sound like very long, but the fact that she had gone to Giapetto’s lair or compound, it certainly left an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I looked down at the floor through my legs as I sat on the edge of my bed figuring out the best course of action. Niko knew the coordinates as to where Echo had gone, and though we have gone over them, and devised a plan as to how to bring her back, it just didn’t seem like it was going to work. Niko already had told me that he wasn’t going to leave his castle any time soon. Since he just recently got back from visiting the Ménage, he didn’t think it was such a good idea to up and leave his stuff again with no vampiric supervision. I just rolled my eyes when he told me that, but whatever. I could and would figure out what I was going to do to get Echo back, even though I was all by my lonesome.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying not to think about what could be happening to Echo right now, though I desperately hoped that she was alright. Upon opening them, I knew what I was going to have to do. I was going to go to the coordinates that Niko had given me and just go in, guns blazing, and kind of play it by ear. And if it came down to it, I would trade myself for her freedom—that is, if she did get caught.

I stormed out of the room and barged into one of the humans’ living quarters, where I knew that Niko would be—not only getting his fill on a healthy blood-related meal, but also filling up the little human—in every way imaginable.

I could sense his irritation with me, but I didn’t care. He might be too busy to care about Echo, and that was fine; but I wasn’t going to let his—activities—stop me, even if it would only delay me by a few minutes. “I’m going.”

He barely had time to get out and off of Emily to sit and cover up—though I have seen him before so I don’t know why he was so shy about it with me now, but whatever. His obvious irritation with me came through in his speech, “Vhy iz eet zo ‘ard for you to knock? Zees iz not ze first time eizer, da-a-aling.” His Hungarian accent was thicker when he was angry, I noticed.

I gave him a look of are-you-fucking-kidding-me? “Of course I do, but not when it’s important. You can finish getting your dick wet later. Even though you probably don’t care, I wanted you to know that I’m leaving. I don’t know how long I am going to be gone for, but I am going to go get Echo by myself because I am sick of waiting on her return.” I turned to leave, and just before closing the door behind me, I finished by saying, “I know you don’t care for Echo, but I am hoping that you would like for me to return. I hope to see you again. Good-bye Niko,” I said quietly as I shut the door behind me. I really didn’t want to hear anything he had to say, just because I was so set on getting Echo back. I knew that he would just say something to get me to stay, and there was no way that I wasn’t going to go get my love.

I made my way into the kitchen, grabbed Niko’s car keys and a few credit cards for easy traveling that he had told me—well. once—that I could use, and headed towards the door. Once I was in the car, I started it and began driving down the gravel driveway. Without looking back, I knew this is what I had to do, because deep down I had a gut feeling that Echo was just not alright. Something was definitely wrong, and I needed to be there for her. I just hoped that she was still alive when I got there.

*****

Soon I realized why Echo had been gone for so long; the trip to Giapetto’s compound was both strenuous and long. After taking two different planes, a train, and trekking over about twenty miles of rough and rocky terrain, I had finally arrived there. All in all, it had taken nearly two whole days.

I don’t know why, but I half expected to have guards with rifles strapped to them surrounding the premises, and tanks out on the lawn, almost like something out of a movie; but upon my arrival, there was no one to be seen. I dropped the walls around my mind to see if I could hear anyone’s thoughts that may be nearby. I listened for a moment, but nothing came about, so I replaced the walls around my mind. I would have liked to have kept them down to listen for Echo, but if I did happen to hear her, it could have ended up catching me off guard when I needed to be on one hundred percent alert. I decided that I would keep the thought in the back of my mind and listen for her only if I knew I was in a safe-ish place.

I waltzed right on up to the door and opened it like it was nothing. As rude as it may have been, I didn’t knock, just strolled on through like I owned the place. Once inside, I took a quick glance around, noticing that there were only three doors around me; one right in front of me, and the other two on either side of me. I chose to go through the door directly in front of me. If it happened to be the wrong one, well, I would just go to the next until I found the right one. Either way, I was going to find Echo, or at the very least, Giapetto.

I opened the door and went through it, making sure to close it behind me—I didn’t need anyone trying to sneak up from behind me after all. I glanced around once more, and noticed that there was a banister the length of the room right in front of me, but up high, since there were stairs directly to my left. There wasn’t much in this room, just a desk directly in the middle, with a chair behind and in front of it, and a couch on the opposing wall right next to the door I just came through. Nothing sat on the desk except one lonely lamp, and there were no pictures or anything hanging on the walls. There were a couple of doors on this same floor, but nothing else. Just a bare, grey room; and that was it.

After about five minutes of not seeing anyone or hearing anything, I was getting a wee bit irritated. I was done pissing around; it was time to get down to business. “Giapetto! Where is she!?” I yelled. I knew he could hear me even if I hadn't yelled—he actually probably already knew that I was here—but damn, did it make me feel a little better.

I heard a rustling sound up the stairs to the left, so my eyes darted to it. Giapetto sauntered out from behind the door with a confused look upon his face. “There is no need to shout, Ms. Dennings,” he stated as he made his way to the banister. He carefully put his right hand on the railing and started descending them, one step at a time, at what seemed like as slow as he could possibly go. As soon as he reached the bottom he inquired, “Now, who are you referring to?” He asked almost nonchalantly, like he really didn’t care whom I said.

I glared at him. Was he fucking kidding me? “You know who. Don’t fuck with me Giapetto.” It came out in a low growl.

A low, menacing chuckle escaped him. “Oh,” another chuckle, “her.” He snapped his fingers one time and out of the same door that he had entered the room from, another person had entered.

I didn’t need to see who it was, the voice told me everything. “ ‘ello luv!” Maximus.

I said nothing as Maximus strutted—yes, strutted—his way down the stairs to stand beside Giapetto. “How are you?! I just love having these little moments with you. Care for a match? I know that I can kick your a—“

But he wasn’t able to finish his last sentence. Giapetto turned and looked at him with piercing eyes and said, “We don’t have time for a ‘match’. Go get her.” He said it quietly, but the whole time his tone was dripping with malevolence, so Maximus didn’t argue. He turned around quickly and strode towards another door that was on the same level as us. It made me giggle on the inside though; acting like the little bitch that he was. What a good little doggie!

He wasn’t gone but maybe fifteen seconds, and what I saw as he came back through the door made me both terribly sad, but even more so, really, really pissed off. They had put Echo in a cage, maybe three feet by three feet, with wheels so they could tote her around like Maximus was doing. They also had her chained down within the confinements of the small cage. I don’t know how they did it, but in the near week that Echo had been gone, they somehow managed to make her look grungy; and so thin that I would have thought that she hadn’t eaten in weeks, maybe even months. Her normally vibrant orange hair was ratted, tangled and dull. It was as if the life had been sucked right out of her. She was sitting on the flooring of it and didn’t even look up as Maximus pulled her into the room that Giapetto and I were waiting in.

It took everything in me not to freak out on both of them and run to her aid. I did, however, glare at both Giapetto and Maximus when I noticed the haughty look on both of their faces. “What have you done to her? She hasn’t even been gone a week,” I quietly whispered, knowing full and well that they both could hear me.

“You’re absolutely right, Ms. Dennings, it hasn’t been quite a week. That being said,” He spoke slowly and meticulously, “when there are hungry vampires,” he stopped for a moment and shrugged his shoulders almost nonchalantly, “they must be fed with what is available.”

He let them feed on her?! His statement boiled my blood. I could feel it coursing through my body at an extremely fast rate, making me want to turn into some unthinkable beast that would devour him in one bite, but I knew that I couldn’t act upon my feelings. I had to try to get us both out of this alive, and getting all pissed off and transforming wasn’t going to get the job done this time. I let out a controlled heavy sigh and said, “Of course. Vampires must feed.” I swallowed audibly. A part of me hated myself for saying that and falling into his clutches, but the other—more practical, understanding side—knew I had to say what he wanted, in order to get on his ‘good side’ (if he even has one of those) to get the person I love back in one piece.

He gave me a curious look, “Yes, exactly. I’m surprised you agree with me, Ms. Dennings.”

God, did I want to punch the prick in the face! “Well I am part vampire, so it would only make sense for me to agree with you.” I gave him a little smirk of a smile.

He nodded his head in what seemed like agreement with me. Maybe it was shock, I couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t push it any further. He snapped his fingers again and Maximus opened the cage right away. What was he doing? I wondered.

Maximus unchained Echo and forced her to walk over to where I stood. She walked almost like she was drunk, but then again, she was obviously low on blood and possibly hadn’t eaten at all since she left Niko’s castle, so that’s the way that she should be walking, though it broke my heart nonetheless. She slowly raised her head and looked at me, but it didn’t seem like she really saw me; almost like she didn’t even realize who I was. She practically looked right through me.

“So, what do you want for her release and safety?” I asked as steadily as I could manage, knowing the answer already.

He chuckled a little and gave me a wicked smile that showed me his elongated fangs, “You.”

Called it!… I tried not to roll my eyes, “Well that’s a given. But how can I be sure you won’t try anything to her after she leaves this place?”

Giapetto and Maximus glanced at each other, and then Giapetto looked back at me and said, “Though my word may not mean much to you Ms. Dennings, I do always keep it. I promise you that she will not be harmed, and Maximus will be the one to return her to Niko’s castle.” I took a moment to glance over at Maximus, and realizing that he looked slightly upset, and this too made me giggle inside.

“She needs sustenance first. You can’t expect her to survive out there—even with an escort—with how weak she is right now. You will provide her with food and water until she is fully revived.”

“Demanding little bitch, aren’t you?” Maximus said, with his British accent. At one time I thought that he was attractive, especially with the accent, but now, knowing what kind of cruel beast he was, it seemed to just piss me off more.

But before I had a chance to respond, Giapetto grabbed Maximus by the throat and pulled Maximus close to his face. When he spoke, his voice was low and menacing once more, “No need for name-calling, Maximus. We will do it, because we must prove to her that I can be trusted. And you wouldn’t want to ruin that for me, would you?”

Maximus’s eyes looked like they were getting ready to bulge out of their eye sockets, but he shook his head as best as he could. As soon as Giapetto was content with his response, he withdrew his hand. Maximus took in a deep breath, and put his hands around his throat. It seemed as if Giapetto hadn’t choked him before. Hmm, that was interesting…

Giapetto turned back towards me and said, “I will make sure she gets fed properly and is at one hundred percent prior to leaving. Satisfied?”

Of course I wasn’t satisfied, but it was the best I was going to get. I nodded my head a little, but also said, “I would also like to see her before she leaves. At least have a few moments so that I can speak with her. Can that be arranged as well?” I hoped that I didn’t sound like I was groveling, but I didn’t want them to just send her on her way without me speaking with her to let her know that I was going to be alright.

He didn’t take long at all to answer, which shocked me, but I was gonna take what I could get. “Of course. I think that I could have at least a few minutes arranged.” Then he gave me a sly smile, “Will I need to be getting a special room for a conjugal visit?”

Bastard. I kept my cool though. “That won’t be necessary, thank you for the thought though.”

The look on his face proved to me that he was disappointed, but I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of possibly witnessing Echo's and my alone time. That was our time, dammit! No way in hell was I going to let him witness it!

“That’s a shame.” He turned away from me and went to the staircase and began ascending it. I watched him, unsure of what I was supposed to do, where I was supposed to go, but he stopped in the middle of the stairs and looked pointedly at me and said, “Coming Ms. Dennings?”

I looked at Echo, hoping that he would keep his word and I would be able to see her again once she was healthy and could take care of herself. I watched Maximus unchain her entirely and gently force her into another room. Hoping that she was alright, I slowly followed Giapetto up the stairs. We went through the door that he originally came through, and what was behind this door made me do a double take.

Giapetto had an enormous bed, literally the size of at least four king sized beds. The room was humungous as well, with two different couches and what looked like a kitchen to my immediate right. I saw a couple of doors towards the back of the room, and assumed they were possibly bathrooms or some sort of study or something. He gestured for me to take a seat on one of the couches, but I declined. I wasn’t about to get all chummy with the enemy. He seemed to look slightly disappointed, but said, “I know there is another reason you are here, aside from getting your lover back.”

I looked at him with caution, not knowing what he was going to try to pull. He picked up a bell that was on the little table next to the chair he was in and gave it a little jingle. As soon as he was satisfied, he replaced the bell on the table and continued with, “I know there is someone here that you are just dying to see…”

One of the doors towards the back of the room began to open, and what stepped through it was something I should have seen coming, but hit me like a bag of bricks to the face nonetheless. My mother was wearing a practically see-through red night gown, and began walking up to Giapetto with a sexy stride, almost like she didn’t even know I was in the room. As soon as she reached him, she gently placed her long fingers around his neck in a lover’s caress. She then walked in front of him and put her right leg over his right shoulder, and hiked up her nightgown, then somehow dipped herself to him, like she wanted him to lick her sweet spot. I watched in horror at the scene before me. How did she not see that I was here?! I still couldn’t believe that my mother, who was supposed to be dead, was standing right here in front of me trying to get licked in the most inappropriate way!

I could see in Giapetto’s eyes that he was half tempted to have a fuck session right here and now—yes, with me in the room—but something deterred him from accepting and he gently pushed my mother off of him and made her turn to face me. When she did finally look over at me, she said, “What is she doing here?” When she spoke it came out nearly like a screech, though she clearly wasn’t talking to me, but more asking Giapetto a question. I looked at Giapetto and my mother, very much confused as to why she wouldn’t be excited to see me. “What’s going on Giapetto? Am I not enough for you now? You have to bring someone else in the mix?”

A smug look from him revealed to me that he must have done something to her—like maybe brainwashed her or something—for her to not realize who I was. She must have only known on the phone because he had told her to speak to me like I was her child… The horror of what he had done to my mother struck me hard. What kind of monster was I dealing with? He had defiled her, somehow erased her memory, and what was worse, made her love him and adore him like he was the most magnificent being in the world. Oh, if she only knew…

Before I could say anything, he spoke first, “Ms. Dennings, you already know who this is, so there is no need for introductions. There is someone else I would like you to meet, but that must wait until your little friend is safe from any harm like I promised. Right now, I need you to go through the door to the left in the back. There is a room back there with a bed on which you can rest. If you need a blood fix or anything at all, just pick up the bell that is on the nightstand and give it a little jingle. One of my servants will meet you at the other door momentarily and bring you anything you could possibly need.” With that, he shoo-ed me away with one of his hands, while the other reached up to my mother and grasped one of her breasts. I heard her let out a cry of pleasure, and I knew that it was definitely my time to vacate the area. I so did not want to see my mother—no matter what her state of mind was in—and my nemesis getting it on.

I strolled over to the door at the back of his room and went through it quickly. Once on the other side, I slid down the length of the door and sat on the floor against it. What had I gotten myself into? And how was I ever going to get out of this mess?