Vampire Enslavement (Lords of Bondage) (11 page)

“The druid would be best served with another. It is a simple matter to fix. Just choose a different lady for Sulian.” Modez scanned the ladies surrounding Snotti with an approving look. The rest of the ladies-in-waiting were flawless models of Asstrumnian womanhood, without a hair out of place and perpetually poised in composure. They were completely different from Kiera.

Snotti paced the same stretch of grass while her ladies scurried to keep up with her. “Sulian has been invited here specifically for Kiera. Diermont is pushing for the match.”

“So she must stay to perform for the prince. How nice,” Modez’s lip curled in a sneer. “If only he would be so kind to see us all so entertained.”

Snotti’s eyes took on a calculating gleam. “I am sure he would allow you to watch as well, should you desire it.”

“Please spare me that sight,” Modez said with a shudder. “That was not what I meant when I asked for entertainment, Princess.” He glanced briefly at Kiera and said, “Diermont must acknowledge the girl is out of control. Something must be done about it. If a warrior was to show such defiance and disobedience, the punishment would be death.”

“Is that a threat?” Clearly Lord Halloran wanted to get rid of her. Kiera said, “You should remember that I’m not one of your warriors.” He had no control over her.

“Kiera, you will
not
question your betters and you are to speak only when addressed,” Snotti said before turning to Modez. “You are right. Kiera is not ready to participate in the mating tests. I will explain this to Diermont. I am certain he will agree to postpone the event until she is deemed worthy.”

Kiera wanted to scream in frustration. How had that fuckball managed to ruin things for her? She shot Modez a furious glare. “You have no right to dictate the terms of my mating test.”

Modez grunted and said, “A Halloran can dictate pretty much anything.” He smiled at Snotti and said, “And a Halloran’s pleasure takes priority over all things. It is a hostess’ duty to make provision, yet my bed remains empty.”

“It pains me to leave you in such a state,” Snotti said. “There is still time for you to participate in the mating tests. I would give you the lady of your choice.”

“The situation does not leave one satisfied. I’d rather wait for a trained bed servant so I can have the freedom to use her as I see fit.”

Sickening. How had she ever thought him handsome?

“I sympathize with your need, Lord Halloran. And now all the ladies here know of it as well,” Snotti said with a giggle. “The transport of bed servants, I am told, is on hold indefinitely due to the dronusfly swarms.”

Ha! The poor baby wouldn’t get to play with his favorite toys. She should find him a pacifier to give him something with which to suck.

“Travel to Asstrumnia is not recommended until the danger passes, and with all the dwellings currently shielded, opening a portal there would prove extremely difficult.” Snotti placed a hand on his shoulder. “I promise you that your cock will not remain neglected. I vow to ensure my favorite lord is serviced properly.”

“I would like to know how you plan to address this situation.”

“There is a reason no one travels during times of dronusfly activity.” Snotti pushed a stray hair from her face when the outside wind picked up speed. “Diermont heard of the problem and that is why he agreed on the mating tests.”

“I will not be participating in the grand event, so that will not solve my problem. Just how do you plan on keeping your promise to me?”

Interesting. Males generally didn’t turn down an invitation to a mating test. Lady Prudencia looked most disappointed. Kiera was surprised he hadn’t jumped at the chance to bed the female.

“I am sure there are many ladies present who would love to assist you with your problem, Lord Halloran, but you must be patient. One cannot service you whilst participating in the mating tests.”

Lady Prudencia bit her plump lower lip and raised her hand in the air to gain Snotti’s attention. “I would like to offer my assistance to Lord Halloran, but he must promise to use his mating fangs on me. I will be no man’s bed servant.”

“No biting.” His eyes passed over Lady Prudencia with a bored, indifferent look. He shook his head and wrinkled his lips, appearing annoyed. “I am not here to take a mate. I am here for the fighting and the despoiling.” Modez looked again at Snotti and said, “And your promise to me? Will I have to risk a trip to the palace with those dronusflies swarming about?”

“Oh please!” Kiera stomped her foot in frustration. “Don’t fall for his manipulative tricks. He will survive without the bed servants. He is so spoiled that he cannot handle it when he doesn’t get his way. He’s such a child.”

“Kiera, you are not to criticize your betters,” Snotti said before turning to Modez. “I will keep my promise. If the dronusfly situation continues, I will assign one of my ladies to assist you. After the mating test, of course.”

“Have mercy, Princess. I fear I may
explode
long before then. There must be a way to solve this problem without making whores of your ladies. Such misuse of your loyal servants would be scandalous.”

“I agree such a thing would be ruinous to a lady. However…”

“It would be preferable to temporarily lift the ban restricting sex with humans. The city is filled with Roman slaves. They would serve their master eagerly. It would take only a few minutes to obtain a few for the villa. Your ladies would remain unmolested.”

“That is unacceptable,” Snotti said. “Roman influence would corrupt even you, Lord Halloran. I refuse to risk
your
ruination. I will appoint one of my ladies to assist you. Dozens are ruined every Season and no one really cares, not unless the lady in question is of high enough station.”

“There are so few hybrid females. The virtue of our own should not be squandered.”

“Once a lady fails mating test after mating test, her virtue becomes irrelevant. She is already by then deemed unfit to be a mate. Her only choice is to become a courtesan. Some of my ladies are in their last season anyway, so it hardly matters if they are used a bit early.”

“Those ladies will be unavailable for at least a month, the duration of their final mating test. The Roman females are available now.”

What was his agenda, anyway? Kiera knew he was up to something.

Snotti’s face filled with annoyance. “You know that contact between humans and hybrids is restricted, except in special circumstances. This one does not qualify.”

“I believe it does. The benefits outweigh the risks. While it may be true that some hybrid males had an adverse response to human sex, I believe that for the vast majority, it is safe.”

An adverse response
. Kiera thought that was minimizing things quite a bit. She had heard some disturbing accounts of human sheath addiction.

“That is not what the prince says.” Snotti was noticeably distressed by Lord Halloran’s suggestions. “I must say that I am in complete agreement with Diermont. The ban will not be lifted.”

“Have you a better solution, then?”

“Not yet.” Snotti’s lips thinned. “I suppose if your need becomes too strong, I will have to end one of the ladies’ mating tests prematurely in order to assign her to you.”

Oh shit. Kiera wondered if this had been his agenda all along, but immediately dismissed the notion. The lord could have any female he wanted for the mating test and he knew it.

The lord shook his head. “A woman mourning the loss of her mating eligibility status would be a poor bedmate. Tears tend to make a man go soft.”

“I would order her to perform the task happily.” Snotti had lost her patience and was shouting at him now. “My ladies will obey me if they wish to remain at the palace. There is nothing worse than being banished from court.”

“What if the lady is not to my liking? The selection here is somewhat limited.”

“Sometimes one must
make do
with what one has, especially in circumstances such as this.” Snotti crossed her arms beneath her chest and gave him a mulish look. “I am sure you will find at least one of my ladies to be adequate to the task of servicing you. If anyone in particular catches your eye, I will do my best to accommodate you.”

“And if I select a female, you expect me to wait patiently while some other male ruts with her and attempts to form a mating bond. You expect me to take a female to my bed whose sex is still wet with another male’s seed?”

Snotti waved her hand in the air. “The baths should make her clean enough, but you may wish to wait a few days to let the female recover.”

“I don’t want another man’s leftovers.”

“Surely you do not expect a virgin,” Snotti said with a shrill laugh. “I doubt you would even find one in Rome. Any human females you find will be well used and no doubt wet with
human
seed
.”

“A lady with experience is appreciated as long as I am unable to scent who came before me. It ruins the entire experience.”

Snotti sighed heavily. “So you are asking me to cancel one of my ladies’ mating tests until you are done with her. I have already agreed to postpone one test indefinitely. Delaying yet another would be problematic.” Snotti’s eyes drifted to Kiera and said, “It is bad enough that I must disappoint Sulian. I would prefer the remaining tests go forward as planned. Perhaps Kiera could—”

“Do
not
even suggest it.
Making do
is one thing, but
doing her
is another thing entirely. It is supposed to be an act of pleasure, not torture.”

“I was not about to suggest that you use Kiera,” Snotti said with an affected chuckle. “I believe everyone knows that she is not to your liking. I wish to reward you, not punish you. Do not worry. You will find the lady I choose to be pleasing.”

“I await her pleasure. Thank you, Princess,” Modez said before vanishing from the room.

Kiera had watched the rest of the exchange silently. Holding her tongue had proven difficult, but she had feared that Snotti would banish her from the villa if she said anything. Since her homeland was currently under a dronusfly attack, going there now would get her killed. She had never been more furious. Because of Modez, she had lost her chance of becoming Sulian’s mate. She didn’t understand why Snotti treated him like royalty. It was insufferable! It appeared one of them would be forced to whore for him, but at least it wouldn’t be her. It was a good thing he couldn’t stand her or she would have been chosen out of convenience. She was glad he didn’t want her, but she was angry that he felt the need to shower her with insult upon insult. He didn’t have to say that sex with her would be torture. No doubt, the ladies would be snickering about it for weeks. The other lords would hear of it and her popularity would plummet even further, making it even more difficult to secure a match. He interfered in her life yet again, making her miserable while he paid no consequences for his actions. No one would ever criticize his behavior or ask him to change. They wouldn’t because he was a Halloran.

It was up to her to punish him. As long as he wreaked havoc in her life, she would ensure he remained equally miserable.

It would begin this night. He would be punished.

Chapter 8

After Modez made his exit, he met Shane McDonald at the edge of the perimeter. “Remind me again why I’m helping you with this?”

Shane sat down on a tree stump. “You would benefit from it as much as the rest of us.”

“I doubt your plan will work.” Modez sat on a nearby stump and studied his companion. He had been on raids with Shane several times now and it was clear the other warrior didn’t enjoy the indiscriminate killing of human females. They had that in common. “There is no one more hardheaded and stubborn than Diermont. He’s not one to change his ways, especially on this. His prejudice runs too deep.”

“It will work. It’s a shaping technique. You start by getting him to agree to a temporary lift of the ban. Get him accustomed to the change. The other males will fall in line without difficulty. Most will embrace the change after they’ve had a taste of human. They will pressure Diermont to make further allowances. Slowly, we will convince the prince to concede more and more until restrictions are no longer imposed upon us. Before he knows it, the ban will be no more. We will be able to do as we wish and everyone will profit.”

“You, more than most.” He suspected Shane was motivated by coin. Although there were few humans in Southwestern Asstrumnia, the other regions were known to be involved in the trade of humans.

“Cabrian would benefit and so would Adonis.” Shane paused to swat a giant flying insect that had the poor judgment to land on his knee. He wiped the carcass away and said, “I believe Cabrian will want Cassia to be formally recognized as his mate.”

“And you would be okay with that?” He knew that Shane still viewed Cassia as the enemy.

“Well, that’s Cabrian’s call to make, not mine. But the way things stand now, the king will never consent to it.”

Modez knew that Cabrian had claimed Cassia for future breeding purposes, but he hadn’t realized the overlord meant to keep her permanently. Many would criticize Cabrian harshly for getting his heirs off a Roman, but it was an accepted practice when there were no alternatives. It might be more accurate to say the practice was barely accepted. There would be extreme opposition to making her more than just a breeder. “This plan will only help Cabrian if it results in humans being taken as mates. You and I both know that any taken will be forced into slavery or serfdom.”

“At first, but that could eventually change. Especially since there are so few females and even fewer who can breed.”

Modez agreed that eventually there would be no choice but to consider humans as mates. Already some bloodlines were in danger of extinction, but few seemed to recognize this fact. It was not unusual to wait decades upon decades for a compatible mate to be born into the world. It wasn’t perceived to be a problem since their lifespans were so long. However, there were fewer and fewer births these days and most of them were male. It wouldn’t affect his ability to find a mate since he was a Halloran, but a sharp decrease in the hybrid population would have a devastating impact on them all. It was for this reason he supported the importation of human females for breeding purposes. Their offspring would be less powerful, but they would serve them well enough during times of war. “Our efforts may go to waste. I’ve done what I could, but I don’t think Diermont will agree to lift the ban. Snotti would rather force one of her ladies to play the whore than see the ban lifted. What then?”