Deak took another sip from his glass and placed it on the table. He closed his eyes and rubbed the sides of his temples to relieve the headache pounding in his head; it wasn’t working. Deak opened his eyes and found Tabitha glaring at him from across the table.

“Why do you look at me that way?” Deak asked.

Tabitha crossed her arms on the table and leaned forward on them. “So, how long have you known?” Tabitha questioned.

“Not long.”

“How long?” Tabitha demanded.

Deak slammed his hand down on the table, causing the drinks to shake and weird glances from the people around them. They continued to stare at each other in silence.

Marco shook his head as he took a drink from his glass. “This isn’t awkward or anything,” he muttered.

Deak let out a slight growl and conceded. “The night of the Mating Ceremony.”

Tabitha leaned back in her seat with a look of guilt etched on her face. “I’m sorry,” she admitted. He was right; it hadn’t been long.

Deak pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to control his temper. “It’s fine.”

“I guess you haven’t had a chance to deal with it, have you?”

Deak looked around the room. Something wasn’t right. Vita wasn’t anywhere near him; the voices were growing. Deak shook his head as he tried to gain control of his thoughts. “No, I haven’t. I don’t know why I mentioned it; I hadn’t planned on saying anything until we got back home and learned all that it entailed to being the Lycan King. I was so angry that someone had invaded my home and touched my Vita. I wanted answers.”

Tabitha sat up alert and raised her hand to stop him, “Wait, what happened with Vita? Is she okay?”

Deak nodded. “She used her astral projection to look for a book back at my house, and someone was able to grab her. She immediately came back to us and told us what happened. I didn’t know something like this could happen.” Deak rubbed his face with his hands. He was getting frustrated; his emotions were all over the place. He thought a drink would help numb the pain, but it seemed it was only making it worse. Deak shot up from his chair, pulled some money from his pocket, and tossed it onto the table. “I need to be by myself,” he told them and left the place.

Marco looked over at Tabitha, who was staring absently at the table. “Tab, what’s going on with you?”

Tabitha looked up at her mate, confused, “What do you mean? I’m fine.”

Marco shook his head. “No, this isn’t how you act. You are not rude to others, especially to our elders. We are warriors; we take orders and do not question authority. And Deak? You pushed him to tell you information he wasn’t ready to disclose to anyone because you had to know.” he scolded.

Tabitha looked at her mate with surprise and hurt. At what point did he think it was alright to speak to her like that? “Maybe, I’m tired of jumping on everyone else’s bandwagon and constantly being their support system. When’s our chance to just be young and careless? Oh wait, we can’t because we’re warriors!” she yelled. Tabitha finished her drink before slamming the glass back down and walking off.

Marco sighed as he got up and followed his mate out the door before she got too far.

***

The cottage door slowly swung open as a woman stood in the entryway. She walked into the small place and down to the lower level, where she knew her dark prince kept the most precious things he held dear to him. It was cold and dark in the damp cellar. Rita leaned and blew on the blackened wick; as smoke began to form, the candle came to life and ignited the rest of the candles in the room to burn.

Rita sighed as she glared at the lonely coffin in the center of the room. “The master’s true love is still locked away in her prison. You poor, poor thing. Don’t worry, I’ve been making sure to keep master’s bed warm when he sleeps,” she taunted as she moved toward the coffin.

Rita moved to the front and was tempted to look at the forbidden girl. As she reached for the lever, a bolt of electricity shot out and zapped her. The woman whimpered as she looked at her burnt nails. “Damn, I had just gotten those done.”

She stomped her foot as she turned and stormed to the other end of the room. She leaned against the threshold with her arm and placed her hand on her hip as she looked around the room. Her eyes lit up when she saw the glass case beside the desk.

“Jackpot.”

She walked over and lifted the weighted glass with care, and grabbed the large leather-bound book.

“Now, to make my master happy,” she said aloud as she turned and left the room. She walked back through the small entryway and passed by the lonesome coffin once more. “Enjoy your solitude, wench.” she huffed before returning upstairs. Once back on the main floor, she closed her eyes, chanted her spell, and disappeared.

Rita appeared in the deserted town just outside of Silver City. She groaned, “Fiddlesticks.”

As a cloaked figure appeared from nowhere. “State your business,” he demanded.

“I’m here on behalf of the Vampire King. Now open up the portal,” she ordered.

The cloaked figure snarled as he turned and pointed his staff into the air, and a spiral portal appeared.

Rita smirked as she made her way through the spinning twister and stepped through. The sparkling city appeared before her, and she smiled. “Home sweet home.”

She disappeared and reappeared in the Vampire King’s penthouse hallway. Her heels clicked against the floor as she swished her hips back and forth.

Quincy’s eyes rolled into the back of his head when he heard the annoying sound of that woman’s shoes hitting the floor. “Your grace, your visitor is here,” Quincy announced just before Rita entered the room.

Emil smirked and looked up from his papers, and gave a knowing glance to his faithful servant. “Quincy, behave.”

Rita flung open the doors, “You called for me, master,” she said as she entered the room and approached his desk. She deposited the book onto the large table and leaned against it.

“I did, my sexy little kitten, and I see you’ve brought me what I asked for. Such a good little kitty,” he teased as he ran his fingers up and down her leg. “You’re just in time for lunch.”

Rita’s eyes lit up with excitement as Emil wrapped his arms around her and dipped her to his chest. He brushed her hair back to expose her neck, arched his head, and released his fangs.

Rita’s heart beat fast against her chest as she watched Emil’s face before he launched forward and pierced her skin with his teeth. At first, she winced from the pain it caused, but then she relaxed as Emil took what he needed from her, and Rita smiled in euphoria.