For Love of a Wolf: Alric's Story
by SpikesKat
Chapter 5
Alric had to mark her. It was expected.
Especially since he’d have to take her back tonight with him when he returned to the Wong Kei restaurant. He had a Chinaman to find and a possible introduction to the person or persons who’d managed to successfully consolidate the smattering of European-based demons dealing in human slaves, creating one big show.
They’d been aware of the few demon species that had a penchant for human slaves – his own breed included. And, before now, Spike had let it be. They couldn’t save everyone.
But, now that this trade show of sorts had been formed…
Well, it upset the balance. It was time for their interference.
The idea had been too well received by the demon community, if the large crowds were anything to go by. If it were allowed to continue, demand would grow, necessitating more slave breeders… and more humans being captured and turned into slaves.
They needed to nip it in the bud, and decimate the organizers.
A lesson to all that might attempt to follow in their footsteps.
His mind back on his task, Alric bent his head, and before he could question his actions, sank his fangs into the girl’s neck. He tried to make his bite as painless as possible, have it over and done with before he’d barely begun. Not much was needed to brand the girl as his, after all. She wasn’t like Buffy; the marks would stay on her for several days, if not weeks.
He wasn’t trying to claim the girl either. Only provide a little window dressing, of sorts, as he mingled among the other demons at the trade show.
She stiffened in his arms as soon as he struck, and although she didn’t cry out, he clearly heard her indrawn breath. He was all set to release her, but then her body relaxed into his, and she actually pushed her body closer, driving his fangs deeper into her throat.
Her blood spilled out onto his tongue and he couldn’t resist taking a hard pull of the life-giving sustenance. His eyes rolled up into his head at the taste of her – innocence and a strong warrior spirit hit him with equal force. And he drew her closer, crushing her bare breasts against his chest – equally devoid of clothing; a growl erupted somewhere deep in his throat, and Alric bit deeper as he drank down another mouthful of the sweet nectar.
The kitten-like mewl she made jarred him out of the pleasure-induced haze her blood had caused and he shook off his demon and began laving at the marks he’d left.
“I’m sorry,” he couldn’t help but apologize, his voice barely above a whisper against her neck, realizing he’d gone a bit overboard. He continued to tease the flesh around where he’d bitten with his lips and tongue, knowing that the pleasure derived from the action would eclipse the pain he’d caused her.
The girl had just begun to whimper in his arms, eagerly responding to his slight seduction, when his cell phone rang. He growled at the interruption and pulled back to dig around in his jeans pocket. His hand closed over it, but with the girl draped over his lap like she was, it took a bit of maneuvering before he managed to pull it free.
“You’re late,” the voice spoke into his ear before he could snap out a terse greeting.
“I was in the middle of something, Adam,” Alric ground out, the exasperation in his tone a good indicator of what, exactly, he’d been in the middle of. Adam’s chuckling at his expense didn’t help matters. “I was getting ready to call you.”
“I’d say I’d call back in five, but our sire wants an update on the situation at the trade show. Actually, it was Buffy that was pushing for me to call, though hearing that I’ve interrupted something—”
“Watch it, Adam,” he all but growled into the phone, surprising both himself and probably Adam as well with his vehement protest to the direction of the other vamp’s thoughts were taking. Realizing how he might have sounded – possessive and protective at the same time – Alric tried to distract Adam by complaining about the Slayer’s renewed attempts at matchmaking. “So… Buffy’s at it again, huh?”
“Yeah,” Adam complained. “And apparently she’s not wasting any time either. Joseph’s already warned me she’s already started on him with her ‘you need a mate’ crap again.”
“Uh oh.”
“Uh oh is right. You’re just lucky you’re in London and can escape her for now. Although… I could put her on the phone. Only right you get your fair share of ‘you need a mate’ from the girl.”
“Don’t you dare! Why isn’t our sire keeping the chit busy?”
“You know Spike. I swear our sire is a sadistic bastard… bet he does it on purpose just to see us squirm,” Adam complained. “Hell, even having Renee’s childe around isn’t enough to keep the Slayer off our backs. If anything… seeing Jocelyn only makes it worse. I tell ya, I’ve taken to hiding, Alric. Hiding! Thankfully the Duchess’ estate is rather large and I’ve been able to avoid her so far.”
Alric bit his lip to keep from laughing outright at the vamp’s obvious pain. And he thought he had problems.
The two lapsed into silence for a minute. Not for anything would either one give up what they had – not even the Slayer’s machinations. As much as the males in the clan liked to joke about it, they were all secretly touched that Buffy wanted them to be as happy as she was.
Finally getting back to the matter at hand, Alric launched into the particulars of the previous night, explaining the ins and outs of the show – the size of the operation, the demon species he recognized, layout and security, and anything else he could think of that might prove useful. He deliberately left off that he’d acquired one of the human slaves for himself, even if he told himself the reason he’d done it was to save her; there was no way he wouldn’t catch hell from the Slayer if she were to find out. He also mentioned that he had a debt to collect from one of the humans and was hoping to use that for an introduction to one of the higher ups within the organization.
There was a knock at the door to his suite, and Alric heard Bob leave the kitchen, where he’d been puttering around to give the vampire some privacy, in order to answer it. The man returned a moment later with an envelope held in his outstretched hand.
“Hang on. Bob’s brought me something.”
Alric mumbled his thanks to his employee, taking the envelope, his name written elaborately across the front. He shifted the girl on his lap so he could have use of both of his hands to open it and his eyes widened slightly upon seeing the engraved invitation. No expense had been spared creating the invite, and Alric quickly scanned the elaborate text of paper he held, noting the date, place, and time of the event.
“Looks like I’m invited to a party tonight,” Alric told Adam, using his shoulder to prop his cell phone against his ear as he spoke into the phone. “And, it appears someone’s done some checking up on me if they were able to find me here at the hotel.”
He dropped the invite on the dining room table and gripped the phone with one hand; the other found its way to the girl’s hair, unconsciously running his fingers through it as she lay with her head against his chest.
“Guard your back, Alric. I know we set you up there specifically to be found, but I don’t like how quickly it was accomplished.”
Alric snorted. His entrance into the Landmark London had practically screamed “notice me.” And, if whoever was behind the trade show had any smarts, they would have had spies in each of London’s more prominent hotels. At least, that’s what he would have done.
“Where’s the party?” Adam asked.
“Place called the Golden Phoenix. Exclusive nightclub not far from Wong Kei’s.”
“Alright. I’ll update our sire with what you’ve told me. Don’t be surprised if you have houseguests when you get back from your little ‘do.’”
Alric rang off with his promise to call the same time tomorrow if not and dropped his phone onto the table, once more returning his attention to the girl curled on his lap. His gaze locked on the marks he’d left upon her neck as he brushed her hair away from her face.
~*~
While her master talked on the telephone, Tala allowed her mind to wander. His voice was oddly soothing though she didn’t recognize anything he said, and she quickly tuned out the words if not the cadence.
In college, she’d been forced to take a foreign language to complete her major, and for a brief moment had thought he’d been speaking French. She changed her mind soon after, because the words rolling off of his tongue with such ease appeared to switch from French, to what sounded like German… and even Russian – not that she considered herself a language expert.
Although, she clearly understood the name Adam when it was spoken with irritation towards the caller.
That’s when she’d given up. There was no way she was going to be able to understand any of what he was saying.
So, she settled in to wait, staring fixatedly at a point across the room. Anywhere but at herself, and the vampire whose lap she was sitting on. Trying to ignore the soothing fingers gliding up and down her bare arm.
“Tala…I wanna ride. Take me riding.”
The plaintive voice drew Tala from her studies, and she looked up to see Hakan lurking in her bedroom doorway.
“Can’t, sweetheart. I have a test tomorrow. I’ve got to study.”
“You’re always studying,” the boy complained, bottom lip jutting out in a pout.
“That’s so I can do well in school.”
She didn’t explain her scholarship money was contingent on her being near the top of her class. Her four-year-old brother wouldn’t understand. She sighed, glanced over at him, and saw his hopeful expression.
And promptly caved.
He was all that was left of her real family. And since their parents’ sudden death two months prior, he’d become increasingly clingy – which had caused her grades to slip a bit because her brother couldn’t bear for her to leave him to go to school. Thankfully her teachers had been accommodating, allowing her to study from home for the first few weeks in the wake of her parents’ funeral.
The only time he behaved like the four-year-old boy he should be was when she took him riding.
“Thirty minutes… no more,” she told him, arms crossed over her chest as she mock-frowned in his direction. Not that he noticed. The Indian whoop he gave as he raced down the hallway to the kitchen could have been heard down the street. “Go let Nana know, and meet me in the paddock,” she called after him, raising her voice loud enough to be heard over his exuberant cry.
Tala sighed wistfully at the memory. But, it was those that kept her going. Kept her in line. The alternative was to allow Hakan’s tear-streaked and dirt-smudged face, his horror at the beasts that held him captive, to occupy her mind. How he’d kicked and screamed and called out her name repeatedly for her to save him as he was led from the slave chamber that had been her home for several months before he’d arrived.
She could only pray that Glarshnic kept his word. That as long as she was the dutiful slave and pet, that her brother wouldn’t be harmed.
If not… there was no place on Earth that the demon could hide to escape her wrath. And she’d gladly die exacting her revenge – she had the blood of generations of warriors filling her veins as proof to that.
It helped that her new master was not unpleasing to the eyes, and for some strange reason his touch didn’t make her skin crawl – not like Glarshnic’s had. Then again, the vampire had yet to beat her… or touch her really, until recently.
He’d bitten her.
Tala didn’t know what shocked her more – suddenly finding out he was a vampire, or his whispered apology. She fingered the marks on her neck and unconsciously twitched on her master’s lap at how sensitive they were; her eyes widened at the pleasurable rush that coursed through her body at the slight contact.
And she quickly pulled her hand away as if scorched.
‘What has he done to me?’
Then his fingers were in her hair, and she didn’t care what he’d done to her.
Not as long as he kept on running his hands along the long strands, petting her like one would a cat.
~*~*~*~*~
“Up you go, pet,” Alric told her, dragging her back to the here and now as he helped her to her feet. “Looks like we’ve a party to get ready for.”
Her eyes widened.
A party? She was going to a party?
“Bob!” she heard her master call out, and a moment later, the man from earlier appeared in the room.
“Yes, Max?”
“I need a hairstylist and manicurist. Oh, and someone to do the girl’s makeup. See to it, will you? Have them come here. And find me a damn robe while you’re at it,” he grumbled as an afterthought. He started towards the bedroom, not surprised when the girl fell silently into step behind him.
“Yes, sir.”
Bob placed a call to the front desk and was immediately connected with the in-house spa whose receptionist assured him that someone would be up posthaste to see to his request.
The girl was sitting on the edge of the bed when he entered the master suite, and Bob was careful to keep his eyes averted as he walked over to the wardrobe to retrieve one of the hotel robes. The water was running in the bathroom and Alric was nowhere to be seen, so the chauffeur figured he was taking a shower.
“Uh… for you…” he told the girl as he laid the robe on the bed. “Someone will be up shortly.”
When the girl just sat there, making no move to take the robe and put it on, Bob frowned.
“It’s ok… you can wear it. Max… he…” his voice trailed off, seeing that he wasn’t getting anywhere with the girl. Like he wasn’t even in the room.
Bob marched over to the bathroom and shouted, “She won’t put on the damn robe, Max.”
“What?”
“I said—”
“I heard what you said. Dammit.”
Alric silently counted to ten. It was his fault; he hadn’t actually told the girl the robe was for her. But the implication had been there to anyone smart enough to deduce. Only, she was a slave and slaves followed orders not assumptions, he hastened to remind himself – all the while kicking himself in the ass.
“Tell her I said to put the robe on.”
“Don’t think that’s gonna work, sir.”
“Oh for the love of…” Alric stomped out of the shower, oblivious to his nudity, and stalked to the door.
“Put the damn robe on!”
He turned on his heel and got back into the shower, not bothering to see if the girl complied with his order or not. Anger at himself and on the girl’s behalf caused him to be a bit harsh with his scrubbing and his skin bore a few red spots from where he’d scrubbed a bit vigorously.
Alric stayed in the shower, long after the hot water had run out – not that he particularly noticed. He just wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t take his bad mood out on the girl; it wasn’t her fault so acted the way she did.
It was his own distaste at owning a slave that had him in a funk.
With a towel slung low on his hips and another being used to wipe at his wet hair, Alric walked out into the bedroom. The girl was sitting in one of the plush chairs near the vanity, her feet soaking in a small tub of sudsy water while her fingernails were being seen to. She sat still as a statue, something akin to shock on her face as she stared at the hotel employee working on her hands. Though once she spied him, her features evened out until all trace of emotion was wiped from her face and her head lowered submissively.
And just like that, his temper was back in full force.
At least she was wearing the robe.
‘Of course she is, you git, you ordered her to.’
He dressed quickly, figuring he could get in a quick meal before the girl was finished being primped. Maybe some fresh blood would go a long way towards appeasing his ire.
“I’m going to step out while you get finished up here,” he told the girl. “I’ll be back shortly. Oh… and… leave your hair down for me?” He made it sound like a request for the benefit of the beautician.
Seeing her deferential nod, Alric smiled.
“Bob’s in the other room if you need anything,” he called out over his shoulder, so missed the slightly anxious look that suddenly appeared on the girl’s face.