“The wolves are the last thing we need sniffing around. Kill any pixies you come across, regardless of whether or not you get any information from them.”

“What about the fae?” Cain asked him.

“I will deal with the fae. It will take someone nearly as old as me to take them out. I’ll make some calls.” Sincaro disconnected the call without another word.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and nearly threw something when the door to his chambers opened. “What?” he snapped.

“You asked me to notify you when your dinner was ready,” the female vampire responded.

Sincaro breathed out a sigh. “Ah, yes. Thank you. Bring her in.” He felt his teeth growing as he began to anticipate what was to come. The only time he had any peace was when he was feeding the monster inside of him, and the only thing that satisfied it was blood.

He turned around slowly as he heard the door open and close again. Her scent filled the air like a fragrant buffet. She was pretty enough, but his kind didn’t care about looks. There was nothing sexual when they fed, contrary to the popular fiction that humans loved to read. Vampires had no desire to couple with their food any more than a human would want to couple with the cow they were turning into hamburgers. No, humans were strictly food, nothing more.

Sincaro stared at the young woman. She’d been feeding him for many, many years now. And as long as the fae, pixies, and wolves minded their own business, she would continue to do so.

“Come here,” he told her, knowing she would obey. She hated him, but she also feared him, and that’s what guaranteed her obedience. She walked toward him, her shoulders held back and her chin lifted stubbornly even after all these years. She was a strong female and, no doubt, would have been an asset to her race. But, she’d practically fallen in his lap and he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

As she stopped before him he reached out with his hand and tilted her chin to the side to inspect her neck. The wounds healed supernaturally fast, so he didn’t have to change the locations of his feedings very often. He preferred the neck because of the larger vein, but he could feed from the wrist if needed—it just took a little longer. When he saw that there were no signs of puncture wounds on her skin, Sincaro struck as fast as a snake, sinking his fangs deep into her neck. He heard and felt the satisfied pop of the vein as it was punctured and then tasted the flood of warm iron as it filled his mouth.

Bethany had been with him since she was a child. She was strong and she wasn’t fully human, which meant she was able to withstand a larger drain than others. It was one of the many reasons he enjoyed having her for his meal. Sincaro drank until he began to feel her weaken and then finally released her. She swayed on her feet and he knew that the only thing keeping her standing was pride.

“It’s too bad you are not a female of my race,” he purred to her. “You would have made a fine queen. I’m sure those of your race would agree with me that you are a strong female. In our world, only the strong survive.”

Her jaw clenched in obvious rage and he chuckled. “Why does my comment anger you?”

“I am human,” she bit out. “Even if I wasn’t, I would never be anything like you.”

“Yes, you are human, but that is not all you are. How many times must we go over this? I do grow tired of your stubbornness.” He let out an exasperated sigh as he pulled a kerchief from his pocket and wiped his mouth. He then wiped the blood from her neck and ignored the way she flinched away from him.

“One day, if you live long enough, perhaps, I will be able to prove to you exactly what you are. Then again, your kind might very well be hunting me and mine at this very moment, so you might get to meet your relatives sooner rather than later. Though you should know one thing, now that you have been tainted for years by the bite of a vampire, they will not want you. No male would ever take you as his own and the humans would never understand or accept what you are. So you see, you are better off here with me.”

“If what you say is true, then you alone are the source of all my troubles. You alone would cause my rejection. You are the one who tainted me. You are the one who continually says I am not human. You are the one who ruined me,” the female growled at him.

His hand flew out before he had time to curb it and connected with her cheek. She flew across the room and crashed into the opposite wall. Had she been fully human, the blow would have shattered her cheekbone.

“Unthankful whelp,” he snarled at her. “You are only alive because I say you can live. Do not forget who holds the fate of your life.”

She pushed herself up slowly from the wall and spit out a mouthful of blood. Such a waste, Sincaro thought at the sight of it.

“This isn’t a life. This is a miserable existence and I’d rather be dead.”

“Perhaps, I will grow tired of your disrespect and you may get your wish.” He made a motion for her to leave. “Get out. We’ll see if your attitude has changed after a few days in the maze.” Her eyes widened and fear began to roll off of her. “Not so brave now are we?” he smirked.

She exited through the door and back into the care of the female vamp who’d dropped her off.

“Take her to the maze,” Sincaro called out to the vamp. He would check on the female in a few days and see if she’d learned to keep her impudence to herself.

With his hunger sated, Sincaro could once again focus on the problem of Perizada, Alston, and Nissa, the three high fae that had been in his territory. It was a problem that was going to have to be remedied very, very quickly.

He wasn’t as familiar with Alston or Nissa, but Perizada, she was one he knew all too well. Though it had been a very long time since their last encounter, he still had the souvenir she’d left on his chest just over his heart.

“Maybe it’s time for a little payback, Perizada of the fae,” he said into the empty room as a wicked grin spread across his face

Bethany shuttered as the door slammed closed behind her. The absolute darkness wrapped around her body, stealing her breath and every bit of sight she had. If she had ever wondered what it was like to be blind, she’d found out by being down here. Her breathing sounded unusually loud to her ears as all other noises were shut out. She knew she was deep beneath the ground, the cool, moist air made that clear. But how deep, that was a question to which she didn’t know the answer and, honestly, she didn’t know if she wanted to. It wasn’t her first time in the hell that the vampires so affectionately called the maze. She’d been in it many, many times but no matter how many times she visited, the fear never abated. Even though Bethany knew exactly what was hunting her, knew that she would get no sleep as long as she was down here, she was still terrified.