Reign of the Vampires Read Online Free Page A

finding a suitable vampyr would take months if not longer. She needed someone who could be both blood slave and secretary. And she needed them soon.
    Chase leaned back in his chair, and steepled his fingers. “What happened to you?” he mused. “It wasn’t so many decades ago that I was pulling you out of Vampire bars and off of your latest human snack.”
    She inspected her nails and then rubbed her fingers together at the mention of her more carefree college girl days. “You know very well what happened,” she whispered.
    Her uncle was tall and thin, with long white hair and light gray eyes. The kind of man she’d seen in the eighteen hundreds as an English gentleman, complete with top hat and cane. But Chase was old in numbers only. She had witnessed him move with the speed of a panther and take down three rogue vamps in an effort to save her aunt and cousin.
    Chase nodded and stood. “I hope you find a slave who’s good for you. If you don’t have a mate to take care of you, at least you’ll have someone to give you sustenance. Vamps were never meant to be minions to our kind.” He opened his mouth to say something else, but smiled instead and left without another word.
    Chase had never told her, I told you so , when it came to Xenock. But he had told her so. Vamps, born human and mutated into a Vampire subspecies by an airborne virus unleashed fifteen years ago, were never meant to mix with Vampire royalty. The once-human vamps had become the lower class to the Vampire’s ruling society. They were nothing, and in many society cities, treated worse than the non-mutated human slaves. Xenock had shown promise, so she’d taken a chance, and it had almost cost her life.
    She scanned the files sitting open on her desk again. The human faces stared at her with vacant eyes. Hitting the speed dial on her phone, she waited, letting it ring, once, twice—
    “Regency House, how may I direct your call?”
    “This is Danika Chekov to speak with Clive.”
    “Right away, mistress.”
    The sounds of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony floated through the receiver. Xenock’s image stood in the corner, watching her on the phone. A scowl planted on his face.
    “Hello, Lord Danika. You’re well, I hope.”
    “I am quite well, Clive, thank you.” She cleared her throat. “I hear you’re holding an auction tomorrow. I’d like to come and have a look if I might.”
    There was a pause on the other end. “Well, I don’t usually allow such things, otherwise I would be inundated with requests, and it tends to make the humans quite restless. But I’m sure I can make a small exception for you.”
    “Of course, Clive.” She took a deep breath, trying to keep her temper in check. She drummed her fingers on the desk. “Your commission would be doubled, should I win the auction for my desired item, for the inconvenience.” Danika knew how to play the game, though she loathed having to do it. If he wanted her to pay to come in and look, why didn’t he say it was going to cost her?The need to feed rose inside of her again, causing her throat to burn.
    “Lord Danika, that’s most generous. With such an offer I could make sure all of our goods are well and presentable for your liking at your earliest convenience.”
    “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. I have a car coming around now.”
    “I look forward to it.” Before the call had even ended, Clive shouted to ready the goods for inspection. She smiled as she pushed the button to hang up the speakerphone. She enjoyed the power and privilege of being a Vampire lord, and one of the richest women—if not the richest woman—in the world. It had its perks, even if it came with a price.
    Danika pushed her feet under her and stood. Her legs felt like lead in her high-heeled platform boots. The lack of feeding left her heavy and burdened. No time to think of that now. She would deal with it later. Right now she had to go down and pick out a new slave. As soon as she’d bonded him