I hadn’t met my new neighbor yet, only witnessed the movers, who’d been werewolves. Which wasn’t that big of a surprise, they often held manual labor jobs such as that. It didn’t indicate anything about the new inhabitant of the condo necessarily. From what I could tell from the furniture being brought in, he was probably very old and very rich. Maybe he was part owner of one of the casinos, or just liked to gamble his fortune away every night. Either way, he wasn’t likely to be a bother, so I would let him live. I should have purchased the other condo myself when it’d been empty, of course coming up with that much money wasn’t always easy, I didn’t exactly hold down a job. I was more of a casual observer who liked to sell secrets to the highest bidder, mostly dealing in human secrets—they didn’t hide them well. It did mean that my income fluctuated heavily. Which had led me more than once to accept a date from a supernatural suitor, just for the gifts and travel. I wouldn’t make that mistake again; it had partially led to this whole mess I was in now.
Falcon stood close to me as the elevator crept up, it stopped on the first floor and a prostitute got on. I could smell the sex and drugs on her immediately. Her bloodshot eyes were all over Falcon. Falcon moved away from me, as if he were going to proposition the girl. She looked to be no more than twenty, dressed in a shiny, snake print, cocktail dress. She smiled brightly at Falcon, ignoring me completely. Her eyes were rimmed in dark circles and her makeup looked like it had been applied yesterday. She’d attempted to straighten her hair into a ponytail, but it had ended up lopsided and there were pieces falling around her face. I felt sorry for her; what a wasted life.
“Hey there, handsome, you going to the party?” She thought he was a prostitute as well, I was sure. “Can you hit eight,” she said casually to me, not taking her eyes off Falcon.
“Eight!” I gasped and she finally looked my way. Her smile vanished as she took in my appearance, and something instinctually told her I was dangerous.
She recovered quickly, obviously she didn’t have enough sense of self-preservation in her head, which is probably why she’d become a drug addicted prostitute in the first place, instead of a kindergarten teacher or something equally noble. “Yeah, some guy up there is throwing a party. My girlfriend called me to come over with party favors.” She smacked her dirty, black leather purse—it looked like it was older than her. She smiled and I could tell the drugs had already affected her teeth. She was a walking dead girl; she just didn’t know it. Worst of all, she was heading to my floor!
I didn’t like any of this. I stepped forward, she backed up until she hit the wall. Her eyes were wide, like a frightened deer caught in a hunter’s spotlight. Her damaged brain was trying to turn fast enough to figure out what was going on, what kind of threat I was. “Go home, back to whatever small town you came from. Apologize to your parents for being such a bitch. Get off the drugs, go back to school, and make yourself into a decent human if it’s not too late.” She nodded, mouth gaping, eyes unfocused.
I stepped back and Falcon was looking at me with an identical look as the girl; shocked, scared, and dumb. The doors opened on eight, I motioned Falcon out and hit the lobby button for the girl, before stepping off. She didn’t move, probably wouldn’t until the elevator opened again at the lobby. Her brain wouldn’t remember this conversation or these last few minutes, but she would have an irresistible urge to follow every command I’d given her, and she’d be better for it. I smiled to myself—a good deed done, that made up for the bad one I was in the middle of.
I heard the music coming from the door on the left end of the short hallway. My door was at the opposite end and the elevator came up between. The two penthouses were mirrors of each other, so I could imagine exactly what it looked like on the inside, and from the sounds of it, it was full of people tonight. I didn’t like one person on my floor, let alone an entire party! I could go in and slaughter them all in record time… mesmerizing them all would take too long, some might escape. Visions of bloody bodies filled my mind and my fangs extended.
“Are we going to a party?” Falcon whispered in my ear, bringing me out of my bloodthirsty thoughts.
I glared at my neighbor’s door. “No.” I turned and walked to my door, Falcon followed with a disappointed look on his face, his feet dragging. I held the door open for him and he walked in, oohing and aahing at what he saw. I rolled my eyes and turned to shut the door. I wondered if he would be less annoying once he was back to himself; probably not.
I turned to close the door and froze when I saw him across the hall, standing in the open door of the condo. He was enormous! He took up the entire doorway. Long, golden brown hair that curled slightly, giving him a wild look and his eyes were dark, assessing. Even from this distance I could feel the impact of them as they watched me, categorized me. His mouth was set in a hard line and his dark eyebrows knit together; he obviously didn’t like what he saw any more than I did. He wasn’t dressed for a party; khaki shorts, unbuttoned, and no shirt. I could guess what he’d just been doing with a house full of prostitutes. His bronzed chest was hairless and mouthwatering, covered in strange tattoos—hieroglyphs perhaps, or something even older? He had a bottled beer in one hand, the other was held in a tight fist. My eyes shot back up to meet his.
“Werewolf,” I whispered and slammed the door shut, but not before I saw him twitch as if he were about to bound across the hallway and rip me apart. I locked the door and took a shivering breath. The door wouldn’t keep him out if he really wanted in, but I had to hope he wouldn’t want to make a scene in front of his guests. Werewolves on the job in my building was one thing: but living next door! That was dangerous, they didn’t like their territory invaded by vampires and even though I was here first, he might not agree that it’s mine.
“Cool!” I heard Falcon exclaim.
I pulled myself out of shocked fear and back to the task at hand. I might die at the hands of a werewolf, but not before I had exacted a little revenge against my father. Falcon was looking out the windows at the view of the city, it was quite impressive. I had picked this place partially because of that view.
“Falcon dear, I need you to sit in the chair with the chains.” I kept my voice calm and even.
“Okay.” He walked to the chair I’d indicated. It was a comfortable enough chair, even for such a tall man. He sat and I got quickly to work, covering as much of his skin as I could with a blanket so the iron chains around his legs, chest, and arms wouldn’t kill him. “I don’t like these,” he whined.
They were necessary, they would prevent him from being able to use his magic, or his strength, to get out of them and as long as he didn’t move too much and shift the blanket around, they wouldn’t harm or kill him by touching his skin. By morning he’d be over my venom induced mesmerization—and he’d be pissed off—but he would also be stuck until I let him out. Now that I knew my neighbor wasn’t human, I didn’t worry that Falcon’s cries for help would be answered. That was one problem solved at least.
I stepped back and looked at my brother, who had hated me for so long, who had followed my father’s every command, and been his pride and joy. Now he was my prisoner, and our father was going to pay dearly to get him back.
“Go to sleep now, Falcon.” I commanded, then walked to the balcony. I breathed deeply, smelling the familiar city air, and bid my wings to unfurl from my skin. They popped out perfectly from my back without harm to my outfit, thanks to the halter top I was wearing. I looked around, thankful that the balcony for the other penthouse was on the other side of the building. There also weren’t any buildings nearby this high, another reason I’d bought this place, it allowed for very private entering and exiting when needed. Not to mention no prying eyes into my windows, which most often remained blacked out during the day anyway. I could handle a bit of sun, but still preferred the dark, and slept very deeply when the sun was up. I leapt from the building and swooped through the night air, careful to stay close to the building, nearly invisible in the dark shadows.
I landed near the guard station and tucked my wings away before approaching Ben. He was distracted, looking at his phone and didn’t notice me approach. “Ben.” My voice was light, friendly.
He jumped and dropped his phone, holding his hand over his heart. I almost felt bad, he was old and overweight enough that a bad scare could probably give him a heart attack. “Christ there Vivian, you nearly made me shit. I almost grabbed my stun gun! You can’t sneak up on an armed man like that.” He was serious and gave me an admonishing look.
I nearly laughed; I was the dangerous one here, not him. He just didn’t have enough sense to see it, some humans didn’t. They usually ended up as someone’s dinner. “Sorry about that, love. I just wanted to ask what you knew about my new neighbor.”
“Oh! Yeah, I met him today, nice fellow. A little gruff, but hey, moving makes me cranky too. Name’s Sobahn Pharaohs I think, strange name. He had an accent that I couldn’t place.” Ben looked thoughtful but I doubted he had anything more to say that would interest me, and I had really just come here to make sure he didn’t remember Falcon.
“Ben,” I said quietly, gaining his attention and his eye contact. “You don’t remember seeing anyone in my car with me tonight.” Then as an afterthought I added. “You didn’t notice anything strange about Sobahn.”
He nodded with a glazed kind of look on his face and I walked away, back to the shadows where I again unfurled my wings and took flight. Only this time, I took the long way, flying around the building, and from a distance, spied on Sobahn’s little party. His place was packed, with prostitutes mostly, and a few males who looked to be very much enjoying their attentions. I didn’t see Sobahn at first, so I perched myself on top of a nearby building and looked up at his windows from a distance. The party was hopping, all the men were large, and I assumed they were all werewolves. They always traveled in packs. I was sure all the girls were human; I could smell their blood from here. I just hoped they all made it out alive, werewolves were not always gentle. I watched a small group of girls huddle on the balcony, lighting up cigarettes. I shook my head; humans were so fragile and yet they chose to take the stupidest risks with their lives.
Then Sobahn came out, and I noticed nothing other than the way his body moved, so animal like. He stalked rather than walked and seemed surprisingly agile despite his large muscles. He shooed the girls away, demanding they stop smoking. His strange accent floated across the space to me—I couldn’t place it either, but I liked it. The most confident of the group put a familiar hand on his chest and pressed her lower body against his. He just looked down at her with disdain until she moved along, flipping her hair as if she didn’t care at all that she’d just been turned down. I couldn’t help smiling, she probably hadn’t ever been, she was gorgeous by human standards. Thin, with large breasts, and a healthy ass. She was wearing a black lycra dress that was hardly more than a shirt, and silver heels. I couldn’t hold back the laugh when she tripped on her way in the door.
Sobahn’s eyes shot over to me and I cursed under my breath, it was dark, but his supernatural eyes could likely spot me without trouble.
If he could, would he recognize me as the same person he’d seen in the hallway? I moved quickly, flying well away from the building before circling back around to my own balcony. Hopefully I’d thrown him off enough to at least leave him with doubt. The less he knew about me, and the more he assumed, the better. I was often mistaken for a banshee, because of my grey wings. Banshees were almost as rare as me.
I tucked my wings and went inside to find Falcon still passed out. I locked the balcony, closed all the curtains, and went to my bedroom. As I crawled into bed I grabbed my phone, ready to make my next move.
I texted my father. Falcon is being held until you are ready to release my inheritance. -Princess Vivinity
I fell asleep with a smile on my face.
There’s a feeling you get when you see someone and your soul changes. Like an instant white-hot alert that reverses the direction of the universe. Suddenly there is a new center of gravity, a new place where the sun rises and sets. That’s how you know love, Sobahn.
My father told me these words when I was young, and my heart had been broken for the first time. I knew then that it hadn’t been real love, the kind that lasts forever and you would die trying to save. I let it go, I turned to enjoyment—pleasure of the flesh—and I waited, over a thousand years I waited, for my universe to shift.
When he had come to me with the news that I must go to America, go to Las Vegas and seek out my soulmate, I wasn’t sure I wanted anything to do with that. I had a steady stream of women in my bed; humans, fairies, witches, demons, vampires, werewolves, even a mermaid at one time. None had held my interest long, but that was fine. Enjoying life, that was what I was about. I couldn’t imagine wanting to stay with someone for long, to tie myself to another and be bound by a promise to make them happy with every ounce of my being. That kind of responsibility was terrifying.
“You cannot deny him,” my father had growled when my face showed only doubt. “He is never wrong; his visions foretold this union since before she was born.”
I had heard that a few times, on the rare occasion my father had thought I was spending too much time with a female—when he thought I was letting her get too attached—he would remind me that my destiny was bound to another. “I will go, I will look, but if she doesn’t pull my soul, I will not link myself to her in this life.”
“I would not ask you to, my son. I only want for you, the ultimate in happiness.”
I had growled in response and walked away to pack, no intention of letting my soul be touched by anyone. Not even the world’s most luscious beauties had managed it in a thousand years, this little thing who I was being sent to, would not either. She was in some kind of trouble, I was willing to help, then I would return to my life of luxury and pleasure. I honestly couldn’t imagine only one woman for the rest of my long life and into the underworld as well. It seemed impossible, unfathomable, and depressing.
Then I saw her.
Across the hall with some other male! A nearly naked male! I wanted to shift, to tear him apart, then force her to understand that she was my everything. She would have no other and she would never leave my side, or my bed. I wanted to crush her to me and mark her with my scent. I would tear off any hands that had touched her and scratch out the eyes of any who’d ever had the pleasure of looking upon her body in lust. No one could have what was mine and now I knew, she was mine!
She was… not just a fae either! I knew who her parents were, but she was more, she was a vampire! Never in my life would I have imagined such a beautiful combination. The possibilities of attending to her every need just got more enticing. I shivered as I imagined letting her sink her fangs into my skin and draw upon my body for sustenance, she would need no one else.
When she’d turned and noticed me, I’d been ready to see my feelings mirrored in her face. Would she pass out from the pure pleasure of looking at me? Or would she race across the short distance and throw herself into my arms? Either way, I was prepared. What I wasn’t prepared for, was her soft blue eyes narrowing on me with fear. My heart had stopped, how could she fear me, didn’t she feel the pull? My soul was undeniably and eternally linked to hers. I would do anything to make her happy and I would kill anyone who touched her! None could harm her or displease her without earning my wrath, I was her warrior, her lover, her everything. Her eyes said nightmare and I didn’t know how to respond.
When her door shut behind them it had taken every ounce of control I had to turn and walk back inside, to shut my door between us, to attend to the mass of humans and werewolves in my home who were sent to welcome me. It had seemed like a great idea to have a party, to take a couple humans to bed. Now I wanted to kill them all. I needed space and time to think. Nothing mattered as much as her, she was in trouble, and she was my soulmate.
A whore approached me, one who I had thought about bedding earlier in the evening. She had long, died blonde hair, green eyes, a plump backside, and her breasts were spilling out of her top. Now looking at her disgusted me, there was no pleasure in another now, only Vivinity.
“Fuck,” I groaned. I was destined to be with only her for the rest of my life, and damn if I wasn’t excited about the prospect!
“Hey, I thought we were going to have a little private time,” she slurred slightly, intoxicated. Her hand laid on my chest with a familiarity that I didn’t like. “I have a friend coming soon to join the fun!”
“No,” was all I said and walked away. Her eyes had widened with shock, but I could tell she wasn’t going to give up. I buried myself into meaningless conversation for a while as my mind ran through every scenario possible for going over to her door, ripping it down, and killing whoever she was with. The only thing that stopped me was that look in her eyes. Why did she fear me, how could she not know instantly what I knew?
Then I sensed her again, outside my balcony this time. I walked out and ordered the girls who’d gathered there to leave. The blonde approached me again. With a look I sent her on her way, she held no appeal, none of them did. There was a beacon in the darkness calling to me. I searched the skyline and saw her. A dark winged angel atop a roof, watching me. I wanted to call to her, bid her come to me. I couldn’t, not with the humans here refusing to leave. Our first meeting should be private, should be perfect. When I speak to her, I will woo her with silken words and soft touches. I will ease all of her fears and she will melt into my hands like no other.
Watching her take flight from her perch nearly killed me. I roared back inside and ordered everyone out, now! I didn’t care if I offended anyone at this point. The werewolves were smart enough to see I wasn’t kidding, they made quick work of leaving, but it took a little more pushing to get all the humans out. When they were gone, I went into the hallway between our doors. I sniffed around her door. I could smell her in there, with him. Who was he? Were they lovers? The thought filled me with rage. She was meant for me; I could feel it in every cell and I would make sure she stayed that way. I shifted, not caring that I ripped out of my clothes. Then I did something I had never thought I would be inclined to do… I marked my territory. All around her door and down the hall in front of the elevator. This was where my mate was, and I wanted everyone to know it.
I trotted happily back into my condo, ripped clothes in my jaws, and kicked the door closed. Then I circled in front of my door and settled to sleep. I would hear her, or anyone else, come through the hall and I would make sure she was safe. Would she sleep all day? Dead to the world like her vampire kin? How much was she vampire and how much was she fae? Would she enjoy sinking her fangs into my flesh? I would enjoy letting her, I had no doubt. I’d been with a vampire before but hadn’t permitted her to bite me, but for Vivinity… anything.