Chapter 1
Piper
If anyone had told me last year, that I would be standing here in front of an expansive mansion that looked like it had forgotten it wasn't the fifteenth century anymore, I would have laughed in their faces.
The reddish grey stone of the mansion decorated every inch of the exterior, including the little fence that wrapped around the backyard. Large white windows filled the walls of all three stories. There were pointed metal weathervanes on the tops of the darker grey shingled roof and an actual tower on one side of the mansion. However, none of that compared to the large set of double doors looming before us like a vortex of doom waiting to suck us in and never let go.
I shifted in my seat in the limo as it pulled up to the entryway along a gravel drive. The double doors swung open just as we parked, and a severe looking man stepped out. He reminded me of Darren the first time I met him—stern demeanor, no emotion in his eyes, and every piece of clothing perfectly in place. Except unlike Darren, who was every woman's fantasy butler, this guy was old. Like, ancient old. Mummies had better skin than this guy.
"Who's that?" I murmured to no one in particular, as I stared out the tinted windows. The six men—vampires—in the back of the limo were tense and quiet as we prepared to leave the confines of the vehicle. It wasn't until I asked my question that they broke their silence.
"That is the housekeeper, Fauns. Think of him as Darren, but less..." Wynn smirked. "Fun." Wynn tilted his head to the side, watching with amusement as his ebony hair fell into his face, covering those gorgeous blues for a second. Wynn always had a laid-back, carefree kind of air about him, but today was different. While he put on his usual persona, today it was forced. There was a tightness to his jaw that wasn't there before, and believe me, I watched him enough to know. It made me nervous for what was about to happen.
My eyes shifted over to Antoine. By all accounts, now that I was his human servant, he could feel my apprehension. But, if he did, the head of the Durand house didn't show it. He was perfectly at ease, bored almost, and ready to get this over and done with.
As if feeling my eyes on him, Antoine's shifted from the window to meet mine. Those pale, almost white blue eyes watched me with interest. The bite on my neck pulsated and my hand immediately went there. His eyes followed, filling with heat that made me blush and press my thighs together. There was a subtle shift in the other occupants of the car and a deep inhale, before a collective set of groans filled the backseat.
"Let me out before I bust a nut in here," Drake growled, his large form pushing through the others and shoving the limo door open before Darren could open it. While we had left just after dusk, it was almost dawn now, and the sky had lightened considerably. My masters were no doubt happy for it, since light was no friend of theirs.
Vampires. I huffed a laugh to myself. Talk about things I'd never have believed. If the mansion was impossible, then the men exiting the limo like the devil himself was on their heels were improbable. However improbable though, I couldn't imagine going back to my life before. I couldn't bear it.
Fauns stood outside by the limo door, waiting with an umbrella over his head as if he were expecting rain.
"Me too." Rayne crawled out of the car next, but not before moving those amber eyes over me once more. There was hurt and confusion in his gaze. I wanted to wrap my arms around the youngest of the vampire brothers and make him understand my choice.
There really hadn't been a choice at all. I hadn't wanted to become anyone's human servant, and yet here I was, bitten and wondering what the hell I had been thinking.
Still, I hadn't picked Antoine to hurt Rayne or any of the others. I was being practical for once in my goddamn life. It came down to one big reason really.
Valentine scared me.
Antoine scared Valentine.
Hence, Antoine had to be the one to do it. It was as simple as that. Still, even if I had all the best reasons in the world, I didn't think it would make Rayne hurt any less. At least the others seemed to be taking it rather well, or as far as I could tell. They weren't big on showing their hands to anyone, least of all to me.
"Piper." Wynn's voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I realized I was the last one in the vehicle. Wynn had waited behind and was offering me his hand. With a small, shaky smile, I slipped mine into his cool grasp.
Pulling me from the car, Wynn wrapped an arm around my waist and lowered his mouth to my ear. "How are you feeling?"
I hummed and glanced away from the looming mansion to meet his gaze. How was I feeling? I had pushed my feelings to the back of my mind because of what waited for us here in Washington. Back on the plane, though, it had been a blur of anxiety and excitement, and then there was the mixture of pain and pleasure. Then...nothing. After I woke up, we'd been ready to get off the plane and head to the house. I hadn't had much of a chance to assess how I felt.
If I was being honest, I expected…more. Like, superpowers or something. It was silly, I guess, to expect to suddenly have super strength or I don't know…something.
I did feel different sure. Not like I expected though. It was like I'd had the best sleep of my life and was hyped up on a triple shot of espresso. I couldfeelso much more than before. The colors were brighter, the sounds...louder, and even the air tasted different. Not better, per se, but I could point out different scents unlike before. Kind of gross honestly.
For example, the limo.
Pre-biting—PB for short—I would have just said it had a clean smell to it. Like sheets fresh out of the dryer. But now...I could tell that someone had smoked in the back at one point in time. Another person had spilled some kind of alcohol on the back seat...and there was just a subtle scent of musk and sweat. I didn't want to think too much about what that was from. Part of me shuddered just thinking about it.
"Cold?" Wynn asked, dropping his arm with a frown. "Sorry, I forget sometimes."
I shook my head and offered him a smile. "No, it's not you. And for how I'm feeling...okay, I guess. Overwhelmed. Wondering why Antoine is being a dick and if Rayne will ever forgive me."
Rayne, who stood by the front door with the twins, stiffened. His shoulders bunching up to his ears. I could see the strain he was under as he tried not to turn around. I knew he'd hear me talking to Wynn, it was hard to keep anything a secret around this bunch. Hopefully, that meant he knew how badly I felt about it all.
Wynn gave me a lopsided grin as we walked up the steps to join them. "Don't worry too much about it, lovely. There are worse things, believe me."
Allister moved in next to us and jerked his head towards the open door. "And most of those are inside this house."