Initiation (14 page)

Addison’s eyes turned to Mitch, one of Christian’s vampires, who had been walking down the passage and had stopped to look at her. He narrowed his eyes on her, taking something out of his pocket and popping it in his mouth casually. Mitch chewed as he spoke, saying something to her
Sarvonese
that she didn’t understand. He got angry when she didn’t answer him right away, his voice raising as he pointed toward the sitting room.

"Sorry." Addison sniffled as she hung up her phone and looked up at him. He was very intimidating, and she didn’t want to stay and see if he was friendly or not. She knew she needed to leave before he got violent with her. "I don’t understand you."

Mitch grabbed her arm when she tried to walk away from him, evil in his features as he studied her. He was rough looking, some dried blood caked on his unshaven face. He wasn’t like the clean-cut, poster boy vampires Addison knew in Caron. Mitch was uncouth, coarse, and not attractive at all. He was a mammoth, standing over her and using his advantage to intimidate her.

Trying to twist her arm out of his grasp, Addison’s voice came out girly, "I don’t…" Her face contorted in various degrees of discomfort, her nose wrinkling and showing her small fangs as she tried to get away from him. "Understand…you…"

Still speaking in
Sarvonese
, Mitch shoved her up against a nearby wall, and Addison shuttered a little as he pinned her there. She closed her eyes and shrank backward as he shouted in her face, baring his fangs like a vicious dog. Apparently, she was someplace she wasn’t supposed to be by the hand motions he was making. He didn’t seem like the kind of man that was easily reasoned with, and he was not going to be patient with her.

Mitch had a hold of Addison’s neck, so her voice came out higher pitched than normal. "Let me go." Her eyes were open wide in fear, and Mitch’s nose was almost touching hers. "I’m part of your family. I…" Her fearful eyes darted all over Mitch’s face as she saw him lick his lips and eye her neck. "I came with Master
Vallore
yesterday."

Mitch tried to bite her, but Addison fought him off. "Don’t touch me!" Addison’s face showed her distress, her features wrinkled as she used all her strength to try and shove him away. She kicked him square in the balls, but instead of making him cringe like a normal man, it just made Mitch chuckle. "Let me go!"

One of the female vampires walked up behind Mitch and motioned toward Addison as she spoke in
Sarvonese
. Both of them laughed at something Mitch had said about her. While Mitch was turned slightly to speak with the woman, Addison gathered up a burst of strength and bolted from his arms.

In her hasty sprint to the sitting room, Addison accidentally bumped into a young woman, Mia, who was coming out of the room. Mia put her arms around Addison after she slammed into her, looking down at her curiously. She said something to Addison in
Sarvonese
, but her attention quickly switched to Mitch, who was barreling toward them. They started arguing, Mia still holding onto to Addison. After a few heated words, Mitch stomped off angrily.

"Who are you?" Mia stared at her with hard eyes, speaking in Caron because she had heard Addison using that language. "A tourist from Caron?"

"No." Addison frowned, readjusting her sweater, which was now a little ripped. "I’m from your family in Caron. I came here with Master
Vallore
yesterday."

"I should’ve guessed." Mia licked her lips, a devilish smile on her face, as she looked Addison over. "You’re one of those weaklings from Caron. Why did the Master bring you here? Where is your mate?" Mia put her hands on her hips, while Addison looked over her shoulder at the room beyond, the doors now open wide so she could see inside. "You look like a prize, so you have to belong to someone."

"Umm—" Addison’s nervous eyes glanced down at the floor, avoiding Mia’s condescending ones. "He left me earlier, so I came down here to find him."

Addison searched the sitting room, her gaze settling on Christian, who was talking to the women near him. They were fawning over him, giggling and hanging on him as they vied for his affection. Addison looked away when she saw one of the women rub her breast against Christian’s shoulder, her angry eyes burning holes in the tiles at her feet.

"What’s your name?"

"Addison." She fidgeted with her fingers nervously, her gaze wandering back to Christian, who was now speaking to Darien.

One of the women had left, and now only one sat next to Christian. She was very beautiful. The sight of an adversary made Addison forget she was being interrogated by Mia, her possessiveness taking over as she narrowed her eyes on the woman with Christian.

The woman was naked except for a pair of very lacy underwear and had been the woman she saw rubbing up against Christian earlier. She was hanging on his shoulder and saying things into his ear, trying to get him to pay attention to her. Christian seemed to be ignoring her, which was making her try even harder. Finally, he grabbed her face, saying something angrily to her and shoving her away.

"Jealous are we?" Mia laughed, looking over at Christian as well. "Well, wait in line. The Master’s not biting today."

"Who’s that girl?" Addison was looking at the woman with Christian, a sour expression on her face as she watched the tramp closely.

"Her name is Delilah." Mia put her hands on Addison’s shoulders, squeezing them a little as she spoke teasingly in her ear. "She’s normally the Master’s favorite, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in sex today and it’s driving her crazy."

Mia smirked at Delilah, who was glaring at them now, her angry eyes meeting with Addison’s and then Mia’s. "He wouldn’t even allow a single kiss in greeting. He’s acting very strange… The Master always lets us pleasure him. I think his mind is somewhere else. He needs to do some hunting to clear his thoughts."

Mia took her arms off Addison’s shoulders and crossed them over her own chest as she looked at Delilah once again, who was being shooed away from Christian. "Once he gets rid of all that built up malice from being with you weaklings in Caron, I think he’ll be more like himself again. He’s tense, and he needs some release."

"Can’t sex cure that, too?" Addison giggled as she looked over at Mia, a playful grin on her tender face. "Pleasure is a great way—"

"Shut up, you little bitch." Wrinkling her nose at Addison, Mia scowled at her, not finding her joke funny. "How dare you talk down to me?" Stabbing a finger into Addison’s chest, Mia’s angry advance made Addison retreat backward a few steps. "Don’t you dare touch the Master. Your little pretty princess ways aren’t his type."

"Really?" Addison smiled devilishly. She beamed as she strode quickly over to Christian. "Master!" She opened her arms, jumping in his lap and straddling his hips.

"Addison." Christian laughed as he focused his attentions on her instead of his conversation with Darien. Reaching his hands up to her face, he gave her a devilish smirk. "Did you sleep well?"

"No." Her answer came quickly as she frowned, wrapping her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear, "I heard screaming and loud noises. I was scared, and I couldn’t find you." There was a small pout on her lips, as her eyes looked into Christian’s, their noses resting against each other’s.

"I am sorry." Christian was cradling her cheeks, his fingers covered by her soft, brown curls. "I thought you’d be sleeping soundly."

"I missed you." Addison giggled, one of her fangs holding her lower lip prisoner as her devilish stare remained entirely focused on him. Leaning close to his ear, her voice was flirty and playful, one of her hands fiddling with the buttons on his shirt. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course." Christian chuckled, but his happy mood suddenly turned sour when he saw Addison’s torn shirt. "What happened?" He pushed Addison away from him a little, quickly checking her neck and pushing up the shelves on her sweater to check for any bite marks. "Who touched you?"

Turning around on Christian’s lap, Addison changed her position and sat next to him instead of on top of him. "That guy tried to bite me." Addison indicated Mitch, who looked confused when he saw her point to him.

"He hurt you?" Christian’s face was stern, the thought of someone touching his mate switching on his killer instincts. Addison nodded her head quickly, a small frown on her face that was more cute than sad. Speaking in his signature velvety voice, he leaned over and gave Addison a kiss on the cheek, suddenly cheerful again, "I’ll be right back. Stay here."

Christian took a few calm steps away from her then darted for Mitch. He grabbed Mitch by the throat, yanking him out of the room. All the people in the room were silent as they listened to the sound of Mitch’s screams, Christian obviously slamming him around in the hallway.

Addison was looking down sheepishly, trying to avoid all the eyes that were on her. Christian was not only killing one of his vampires, he was torturing him, a fight that could’ve ended in just a few seconds dragged on for countless minutes.

After the sound of Mitch’s cries stopped, the room was silent as Christian walked in and sat down next to Addison. She was afraid of Christian when he was angry and immediately clung to him in hopes of making him happy. Making a sour face, he sighed in annoyance, still angry about what Mitch had done. He wrapped his arm around her and let her lay her head on his shoulder.

* * * *

Speaking in
Sarvonese
, Christian’s words were like gibberish to Addison. "This is the woman I was telling you about, Darien." Turning back to Darien, he was calm again, a small smile on his face as he spoke. "Addison."

Darien laughed, speaking in
Sarvonese
as he looked at her. "She’s a cute little thing, isn’t she? I’d love to break in an innocent little—"

Speaking in
Sarvonese
, Mia’s voice held an angry tone, "And she can’t understand a word of our language." She sat down on the arm of Darien’s chair, a scowl on her face as she glared at Addison. She crossed her arms over her chest. "She’s a child. She’s not fit for your greatness, Master."

"She is young, yes…" Christian snickered as he looked down at Addison, who was trying to lay as still as possible. "But she will learn. She has never been on her own before, so give her time to warm up to our lifestyle here." He stroked her hair then looked back at Mia and Darien. "I took her from her mentor yesterday, and she’s having a hard time adjusting."

"Her mentor?" Looking confused, Delilah put on her shirt as she sat next to Christian on the couch. "She still has a mentor? How
young
is she, Master?"

"A few weeks." Christian laughed, a devilish smile on his face as he took in Delilah’s blank expression. "She hasn’t even made her first kill yet."

"So she’s still a baby!" Mia giggled as she pointed to Addison and spoke with her hands.

Sneering, Delilah licked her lips as she looked at Addison like she were a tasty meal. "Corrupting an angel will be a fun challenge for you, Master. It will be fun to break her."

"I have decided not to make her a hunter. I would like to preserve her innocence." Christian smiled. "Owning this angel is the closest I will ever get to Heaven." As his eyes met with Addison’s large, expressive ones, Christian knew she was afraid and could feel her fingers tighten their grip on his shirt.

He looked back at Mia. "She’s perfect. I have been waiting for her for a very long time. The House informed me of her appearance a few years ago, and I have been traveling the world looking for her."

"She was chosen by the House? Why?" Delilah sat on the edge of the couch so she could participate on the conversation. "Who is she?"

Christian chuckled, his lowered brow intensifying the evil spark in his bright blue eyes. He looked away from Mia and smiled at Darien. The men grinned at each other knowingly as they both shared a devilish snicker, the old friends knowing what the other was thinking without saying a word.

"She’s not just a lover is she, Master?" Mia looked down at Addison’s perfect artist hands, noticing the ring on her finger. "She’s too dependent on you, and you seem very protective of her. You’ve molded her to be a mate, haven’t you?"

Gazing up at Christian, she laughed when she saw the sly look in Christian’s eyes as he looked away from her and back at Darien. "I’m right. She’s your mate, isn’t she?" Pointing at him a few times playfully, Mia’s mood suddenly became upbeat as she giggled. "Don’t keep us in suspense. Give us an answer." Mia waited, but Christian wouldn’t budge.

"I will require your help with her. Her status will make her a desired target for both hunters and rouge members of our family." Christian smiled at Mia, his handsome face holding her eyes and making her giggle like a chatty schoolgirl.

"I agree." Delilah nodded quickly, "I’d love to—"

Cutting Delilah off, Mia’s face filled with the biggest grin she could produce. "I’ll do it." She sent a rude glance Delilah’s way before looking back at Christian. "I speak Caron, and Delilah can’t."

"She will have to work on that." Christian sighed, staring down at Addison again. "I’ve arranged for a private tutor for her. For now, you can be her translator for the rest of the family."

"I’d be happy too." Mia smiled smugly as she put her hands on her knees and sent Delilah a cocky glare.