Vampire King’s Little Killer

Preference: a greater liking for one alternative over another or others.

Tessa

I was in the middle of an early dinner when I was contacted by Chad, my handler for the Albanian mob. He was telling me that they have a job for me. It had been too long since I’d done work for them, mainly because I was busy with my King. But lately, because I was busy with my half-brother. I’ve calmed down since the hit at the cage fight. Then I’ve been busy with Marshall, the issue with the sired son Nero told me was ours still left me speechless.

Also, there was the inner turmoil that still hadn’t made me decide what to do about Lowell, my half-brother. The guy was still held against his wishes here at the den. It was wrong, I should never have held someone without certainty of their fate. I never had this many feelings swarming around in my mind that made my head ache.

“You want me to go where?” I asked Chad when the line was disrupted for a second. My appetite was gone when I took the last bite of my meal and drank down my water.

“The big boss wanted you to lure out the big guns. The bad Russians. Come on, Beauty, don’t tell me I wouldn’t find out about your late-night excursion to the Russian cage fights?” Chad paused letting me take in the information. “That half-brother of yours had gone missing, right… I know about that too.”

Chad was giving me an annoying vibe. He knew. The man knew and wasn’t trying to give me any information that I might need. I was close to ignoring him and ending his call before he told me that the bad Russian knows about me.

“We can make it for both of our benefits, you know… killing two birds with one stone?”

“You mean your benefit? Since I’m done with them when I visited the cage fight.” Now, it was my turn to smirk although he couldn’t see me from the other line. “I thought the big boss had an in with Komarov’s rival, what’s his name? The one with the hotel chain around the country?”

I have learned from Aldrich that the Russian thugs that we killed were headed by Dimitri Komarov, not the smartest in the bunch. But I also heard that his uncle Yubkin was the one to be feared of.

Chad grumbled from the other line before he spits out a name. “Markov, don’t even try to go after him, Beauty. Whatever mistake you think the guy has on you, Markov is much scarier than those Russian thugs. Our boss may be a badass but he knows how to be respectful. Between one cartel to another, there’s a fine line that should not be crossed and since you are employed under us I’m telling you not to go near Markov.”

“Okay… okay, damn… he must be pretty scary to have your panties in a twist.” I almost giggled but contain my amusement to myself. Chad may seem friendly but I know how to be a good assassin when needed and this next project seems to be it. I mean, I didn’t want to get all rusty with the human world right? What if Nero and I were not going to cut it in the future, where else would I get my killing from without risking jail time?

“Good, now… on to our plan, meet me at our usual meet up. We’ll talk more.”

I could imagine the snarky smile on his handsome all-American face as he ended the call. The guy didn’t have the looks to be bad, but he played the annoying guy to perfection and I wish I was in his vicinity so I can show him my knifework.

Returning to human civilization didn’t appeal much to me. I was starting to feel homey here in the den. These vampires know how to give me space and never question my behavior. To them, I was the future queen. So why do I keep on dragging my future with Nero? Okay, I might still be confused about that too.

Maybe this little side job with Chad will help me figure out what I wanted for my future. Damn, I never thought I’d think about a future for myself. I always thought that I’d die young, buried six feet under somewhere in an unmarked grave without my parents ever finding out about my death.

I’d assume one of the boss’s enemies will get to me, hell, I’d assume I was going to die when I receive the three months warning. I even came up with a bucket list. Wait… where did that list go? It felt like years ago when it was actually months. I haven’t used my car or my bike in weeks. Ugh, was I going to be one of those vampire-perfect mates? Was there even one?Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

The thought gave me a chill. I shuddered just in time when Nero finds me pacing around the dining room. He ushered me to the lounge, telling me that he just fed Marshall and our son was resting waiting for his next feed.

Our son. Um…

“I’ve talked to Vesper, he’s going to guide Marshall with his transition. Don’t worry, he had helped Lucius and Constantine with their transition too and they turned out to be great vampire princes.”

I hummed and nodded in agreement. This was not my field of expertise and I was not going to give any suggestions. Besides, my mind was still busy with my conversation with Chad. It was simple enough that I’d say yes. But the truth was, do I even want to go when I have all the comfort I need at the den?

“You have something on your mind?”

“I do. Chad called. He has a job for me. Wanted to see me tomorrow for a talk.”

“Why? Do you need a job? Or is it just to keep yourself busy?”

“I guess to keep myself busy. I mean I like it here and I haven’t had the urge to go back to my apartment. I guess it’s time. Though I’m not having that real giddiness to meet up with Chad. It’s weird, you know… well, I guess you don’t. But back before I met you, meeting with Chad means that I had a chance to let go of my killer instinct. And since our last outing to the underground fight, I guess I’m good for a couple of weeks.”

Nero smiled at me and pulled me into his arms. His cold skin soothes me, and I instantly relaxed in his arms.

“I’m glad you feel that way, what time is your meeting? I would like to have one of my guards around you. You’re my future queen, any time day or night, I’ll have someone to watch over you.”

I sounded stalkerish, I should be offended. But somehow the tight leash he has on my freedom made his possessiveness hug me, and my cold heart seemed to like it. “You would have humans watch me when daylight comes?”

“Yes, aside from human housekeepers, we have them on the payroll for security purposes too. We need our den guarded in the daylight, this has been happening since centuries ago. And both parties have been satisfied with the arrangement.”

“Well, that’s very convenient.”

“It is. So you can share your meeting details with me or Aldrich later, he can arrange everything before you leave.”

“Um, thanks… though I’m still weighing if I want to go or not. I think being here had made me lazy, not all humans can stop being annoying. Here, everyone practically leaves me be. Ignore me. And I like it.” I grinned and that made Nero laugh telling me that they probably do that since they know what I have stashed in my walk-in wardrobe.

“Maids talk, these vampires love to gossip. I think no one would want to be your target practice.” Nero shrugged and it made me itch to pull something devious just to mess with the human maids for talking about me behind my back.

Yeah, I was definitely going to think of something when I return after I meet with Chad. And with that quick thought, I made up my mind.

I was going to go to and meet up with my handler.