Page 3 of Blood Moon Bound

Fear fired through me as she led me to the dressing table by the window and sat me down. I refused to give in to the fear. Whatever came next couldn’t be worse than what I’d already endured. Years of loneliness and neglect, of mental abuse and manipulation. No, anything would be better than remaining here.

Agatha arranged my hair, leaving it loose in long, silky waves. She’d just finished applying my deep red lipstick when the sound of another car arriving reached us.

I shot out of my seat and ran to the window. “The last of The Five.”

Agatha moved in beside me.

The door opened at the back of the car before the driver could get to it.

I froze, unable to look away.

The male who stepped out was huge. He had to be close to seven feet tall. His dark hair was slicked back, and when he straightened his tie with scarred, tattooed hands and did up his dinner jacket, the fabric over his broad shoulders and thick biceps strained.

He glanced up.

My breath caught as his eyes, the deepest violet, so dark they looked black, came right to me and held. I grabbed the window frame when my knees threatened to give out from under me.

A jagged scar ran down the side of his face, curving around his square jaw. The utterly terrifying male didn’t blink, didn’t smile, just stared right at me.

Then his lips peeled back, flashing sharp fangs. Not a smile, a sneer.

I darted back out of view, my hand flying to my chest. My gaze slid to the door as I envisioned myself shoving it open and running out of here, just running and never returning.

But that wasn’t an option.

My stepfather would hunt me down and bring me back in a matter of hours. I’d humiliate and dishonor him, and he’d make me pay for it. I’d been told often that I was lucky, that I was special, that this was the kind of honor young females dreamed of.

Suddenly, I felt like a lamb going to slaughter, born only to feed a monster, to obey his demands without question or resistance.

There was an assertive knock at the door.

I grabbed the edge of the table as nerves exploded through me. I spun to Agatha, and her eyes were round and filled with concern.

“What is it?” My gaze sliced to the window, then back to her. “Do you know who that was?”

Lips trembling, she gave my shoulder a squeeze but didn’t reply, then bustled to the door. She opened it, and Douglas stood there, tall and cold, immaculate in his dark tux.

I gathered my composure and turned fully toward him. Cold and cruel, he spent little time with me, except when he wanted to remind me of what was at stake, what would happen to me if I failed to fulfill my duty. I fought back a shudder of revulsion. He’d been so excited when we learned I was to mate one of The Five. My alliance tonight with one of those rich and powerful males would elevate his status, would gain him the respect he’d been hungry for all his life, and would make him rich when my mate gifted him a dowry in exchange for me, and that was all that mattered to him.

His gaze swept over me, and he gave me a short nod of approval before offering me his arm. “They’re waiting.”

Curling my fingers around his forearm, I let him lead me along the hall and down a sweeping staircase. The sound of voices, all talking over one another was louder now.

“My uncle is in attendance this evening. If you embarrass me in front of him, Delphine, in front of all these people, I will make you wish you were never born. Understand?”

His uncle sat on the Vampire Court and was a very important male. Douglas was always trying to impress him. He stopped suddenly, and grabbed my jaw, forcing me to look at him, and what I saw in his eyes made me quake with fear.

“The things you’ve seen in my dungeon will be nothing to what you would suffer,” he snarled in my face, his eyes glowing, the thought of hurting me exciting him.

I nodded woodenly. I didn’t need his warning, though. I would be leaving tonight, no matter what. I was nervous and scared, but out of all the monsters here tonight, my stepfather was worst of all.

Two

DELPHINE

My mother waited at the bottom of the stairs. When I reached her, she took my hand, pulling me aside before we could walk through the massive double doors that would lead into the ballroom. I didn’t know why she stayed with Douglas; probably because, like a lot of our race, she was cold and calculating. Many vampires, especially the older ones, didn’t possess the ability to feel emotion, and I wondered if my mother was older than she said. Mating, the process of falling in love, if love came when a couple mated, could bring those emotions back in older vampires, and maintain the ability if younger. That obviously never happened for the cold female staring down at me.

“Mother?” I used to crave affection from her—a hug, a simple touch—but it never happened. I couldn’t remember her ever holding me.