If anyone had told me a vampire owned this building, I wouldn't have believed them. But there it was, Château Sangreal emblazoned above the entrance as we rode past, his motorbike rumbling into the cracked old parking lot just as the sun began to rise behind us.
Arms around his waist, I buried my face on his shoulder as we descent down into the darkness. Music vibrated through these walls, rattling the place.
A tall, lanky dark-skinned man stands at the entrance wearing a bespoke old suit with his hands crossed over his chest nonchalantly.
"Prince Ravić!" he exclaimed just as Ravić rolled his bike to a stop. "Thought one of my guys was joking when he said he saw you entering my city."
I twisted my head at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Prince?
"And this lovely lady is..." he trailed, approaching me and extending his hand.
Ravić must've shot him a look, because he quickly pulled his hand back and raised both palms in a gesture that said, Alright, alright.
"Rose Everen," I said, ignoring the look Ravić was shooting at me as I climbed out of the seat and offered him my hand.
"A newborn," he grinned, dropping into an elaborate bow. "I'm Laurent, His Majesty's...old friend."
"Laurent was vampire royalty," Ravić said as he dismounted his bike, kicking down the stand. "Before he was exiled."
"Not nearly as powerful as you, Your Majesty," Laurent added smoothly.
I turned to Ravić. "You didn't tell me you're a prince."
No wonder the humans have been chasing us so relentlessly. And why his file was practically empty, mostly classified from top to bottom.
"Well," Laurent clapped his hands together, "let's head inside and have a drink, shall we? I bet the journey must've leave you parched."
I was about to say that I'm still quite full, but a rumble in my gut and the growing ache in my jaw says otherwise. Which is insane, considering I literally just had a squadron's worth of blood.
"You have the blood of a prince, sweetie," Laurent said, looping my arm around his as we walked up the stairs. "You're bound to be hungry and horny all the time."
"Don't I know it," I muttered under my breath just as we reached the main floor.
The lobby reeks. The stale air thick with blood and...sex. The stench is unmistakable.
I crinkle my nose, unsure if the source comes from the room itself or the half-naked humans loitering all over the place. Parts of their bodies are wrapped in bandages stained with blood. I pursed my lips in a futile attempt at keeping my fangs from making its descent.
Ravić grabbed my hand, giving it a tight squeeze from behind and I relaxed.
"This is Amber," Laurent grabbed the human woman standing by the reception dressed in a pair of black bra and underwear.
She giggled against his hold, revealing the side of her neck that's bandaged.
"She's going to show you to your room," Laurent winked at Ravić, who straightened immediately as if lost in thought.
"There's no need for that, Laurent," he said, shaking his head. "We're not planning to stay long."
"Nonsense," Laurent scoffed. "Stay, at least for the night. It's been far too long since we last saw each other."
"Just for a night," Ravić relented. "We're in a hurry to reach the border."
Amber's eyes lit up at his words, her gaze snapping to Ravić with fascination.
"Great!" Laurent exclaimed, "I'm holding a party for our prince, right here!"
My nails dug into my palm as I struggled to appear indifferent. Never have I ever wanted to hurt a person as much as I want to hurt her, just for looking at him that way and it scares me.
Laurent must have noticed my expression, because he smoothly looped my arm through his, earning a sharp glare from Ravić, one he blatantly ignored.
"Go," Laurent said, practically shooing them away. "I'll make sure little Rosie here have what she needs."
He shot Amber a knowing look, as she dropped into a curtsy before disappearing along with Ravić into the dark hallway littered with even more half-naked humans.
If I didn't know better, I'd say he's running a brothel.
"Come," Laurent tugged my elbow towards the other direction. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't interested."
"Nothing's going on," I shrugged, even though I want nothing more than to chase after Ravić like a scorned lover.
"Either way, tonight's party is going to prove my theory," he muttered, ushering me through a hallway that's different from where Ravić was ushered off to.
This one exuded a haunting kind of old-world beauty. The air was thick with the scent of something aged. Perfumed, powdered and long dead. It didn't take a genius to see this place once hosted only important guests. Now it's practically a blood brothel.
"And what theory is that?" I asked curiously as we entered a room.
Laurent twisted back, one hand braced above my head, pressing me against the door hard enough to make it click shut behind us.
"That he had claimed you," he murmured, voice low and velvety.
His fingers slid through my hair, revealing the tender puncture wound at the curve of my neck.
"Years I've known my prince," he whispered, his finger gliding over my wound with a touch so gentle, I gasped not out of desire but from the violation.
"Never once did he hunger to sire. Let alone a human so..." his gaze lifted, searing through me, "so fragile."
Damn these vampires and their egos.
"Well? Are you done?" I asked, not bothering to mask the sarcasm in my voice. My fangs throbbed again, sharp and insistent.
"Either tell me what's expected of me tonight, or I won't be of much use to you."
He pulled back, a low chuckle curling from his lips.
"Now I see why," he said with a low laugh, crossing his bedroom to pour himself a drink. Blood, dark and thick, swirled in the crystal glass. I can't help but stare at it, hypnotized.
"You may look innocent, but you're feisty. Just his type," he added with a grin, offering me a glass.
I take it, sipping slowly and never breaking eye contact as his irises began burning red.
"Don't worry, little Rosie," he said, edges of his lips twisted like a demon, "I'll help you get your prince."
I wanted to tell him that I didn't want his prince.
Though that would've been a lie.
It's just that I don't want to own him.
I just want to understand what the hell is this.
More importantly, what the hell I'm getting myself into.