Page 13 of Blood Lovers

They know what they’ve done.

Actually, they probably don’t.

None of these mongrels is old enough to remember the last dying feeder. For all they know, feeders are eternal, like me.

But feeders are not eternal. And drinking from one without my express permission has always been forbidden.

She has a finite amount of blood. Idiots.

I feed them all with this single old woman. And they do this in return?

Getting angry is not my style. I am almost always in control. But I want to be angry about this. The hidden witch was dreamwalking over my awakening body. Ryet is God knows where, the old feeder is dying, and my house is filled with idiots.

I let out a breath and force myself to take the high road. “We will discuss what happened here tonight another time.”

I’m speaking to all of them, but I’m looking Lucia in the eyes when I say this. Her evil eyes. Her witch eyes. They betray her bloodline. For she is not like me. Nor will she ever be like me.

Neither is Josep, but at least he didn’t start his life as a witch.

“What I really want to know, and one of you had better have a very good reason, is why no one thought to wake me up as the feeder across the compound was dying.”

“Dying?” Several mongrels gasp this word out. And then the kitchen is filled with murmurs.

“Feeders can die?”

“I didn’t know that. Did you know that?”

“What happens when they die? Do we get a new one?”

They are so foolish.

But who can I blame but myself?

I am their lord and master. This idiocy is a reflection of me and it is in this moment that I decide things around here need to change. Drastically.

“Echo!” I’m bellowing again. She peeks her head from around a corner, waiting, apparently. “Come with me. We need to check on the feeder.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Paul—” Lucia puts a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“You did. You absolutely did.” I seethe at her. She is a formidable bitch. But when I am in the room, she is nothing but a cowering fool.

She hates me. She has always hated me. But I have always hated her too. Lucia and I have a very sick relationship that has been going on for hundreds of years and I have hundreds of opinions about her and a million more things that I would like to spit in her face.

But it’s not wise to be impetuous with Lucia. She is vengeful, greedy, thoughtless, and everything she does comes from her ego, which is easily bruised. Not that I’m worried about her feelings—I’m not. But I don’t have the time to deal with her now.

So I leave the rest unsaid. “Let’s go, Echo.”

We turn and leave Lucia in the kitchen with the halfbreeds, and then Echo leads me through the house towards the front door, but I divert towards the back staircase that leads directly to my apartments.

“I thought you wanted to see the feeder?”

“I do. But I want to check my rooms first. Will I find people fucking in my bed right now?”

Echo gasps. “Oh, no, sir, my lord. No, sir. I cannot imagine someone doing that.”

“Even a human?”