“They make for good blood donors,” Vlad piped up.

Glen was horrified. “You’d suck blood from a baby? It would die!”

“Shut up,” the master snapped. “The boy would be a relative of mine, and therefore I would put him to work for me. I could use any boys as day guards.” He glanced at her stomach. “I prefer the first one you have to be my queen. I don’t want to have to wait too long to claim her. I’m lonely.”

“You have your brides,” Vlad whispered.

“Brides aren’t my queen,” the master hissed at him. “Silence!”

“Brides? Plural?” Glen had caught that.

The master arched an eyebrow and frowned. “I have five of them, but not one is worthy of me. They serve my physical needs, but my queen will rule at my side.”

He’s bat-shit crazy, she decided. Oh God. I hope he can’t turn into a bat. That was a disturbing thought.

“I’ll introduce you to the VampLycan. He’s vicious, so try to keep far from his mouth when you breed with him. He won’t willingly agree to this.”

“I don’t agree either,” she reminded him.

“As I said, your wishes are irrelevant.”

Glen stared at him, her mind working. “Let me get this straight. You want me to have a baby so you can marry a relative and this…whatever…doesn’t want to touch me either, but you expect us to have sex?”

“Exactly.”

Glen blinked a few times, letting that information sink in, then had to lock her knees to remain upright. “No.”

“I’m not asking. He’s being cleaned right now. I didn’t think you’d find blood appealing, and you’ll need to be in the mood. He’ll be chained down flat, so just climb on. I’m aware you’re not a virgin.” He shook his head. “Young women these days are so promiscuous. You even lived with a man for two years. In my day, your parents would have disowned you for such shocking behavior, but at least I won’t have to instruct you on the mechanics of getting pregnant.”

The guy had nerve. “You expect me to just climb on some poor guy and, um…do him? No way in hell. You’re crazy!”

Her pale relative grinned. “He can’t hurt you if he’s the one chained down. You’ll do it—or I’ll wait for him to go into heat. They do that, you know. It’s disgustingly crude, but it will serve my purpose. You’ll be the one tied down, naked, at his mercy. And they have none. He’ll rut on your body until he no longer has the need. That’s when he’ll decide to kill you, but I’ll stop him before his cycle ends. You’ll hopefully become pregnant. I just don’t know what shape you’ll be in after a few days of taking his lust.”

Vlad chuckled. “He could crush her bones. They aren’t gentle in heat. But she isn’t his mate, so how do you plan on getting around that? They can only impregnate a mate, from what we’ve learned.”

“I’ve thought of that.”

The master snapped his fingers and the creepers suddenly lunged.

Glen screamed and tried to twist away but they were on her in a heartbeat, taking her to the floor. Her back hit the dirt so hard, it knocked the air from her lungs.

The master was suddenly straddling her hips, and she watched, horrified, as he withdrew a big syringe. It was full of something dark, looking suspiciously like blood.

Then she screamed again in terror as he buried the needle into the skin of her left breast, right above the edge of her low-cut shirt. “What is that? What are you doing?”

“It’s the VampLycan’s blood.” The master finished injecting her and withdrew the needle. He lifted it to his lips and licked the tip. “Mmmm.”

“How long?” Vlad hovered over them.

“A few minutes.” The master continued to sit on her while the two freakishly pale creepers held her arms down. “Did I properly introduce myself, my dear? I’m King Charles Borrow, at your service.”

Her maternal grandmother’s maiden name had been Borrow, a hint that he must come from that side of the family. “You’re insane! I’m going to die now. Have you ever heard of people going into shock by being given the wrong blood type?”

“Human blood, but not VampLycan.” He used one hand to withdraw an old-fashioned timepiece from his pocket and used his thumb to lift the lid. “Right now his blood is mixing with yours.” He leaned in close enough for her to smell his breath, not a pleasant thing. “What does it feel like?”

She was petrified and a little lightheaded but that was from the fear. Those horrible creepers were too ghastly to look at, their cold hands on her wrists what she guessed it would feel like to be held down by corpses. They were animated though, real freak shows. Her relative wasn’t much better. Part of her hoped the blood would kill her. It beat living in the hellish nightmare her life had become.

“I asked you a question. What does it feel like?”

She took some deep breaths and tried to ignore everything but her body. Her heart raced and the lightheadedness was more pronounced. “I think I’m going to faint.”

“Don’t crush my amusement.” He suddenly jabbed the needle into the other side of her chest, again just over her breast.

Glen screamed out from pain once more, tried to struggle but couldn’t get away as he dropped his other hand on her rib cage to hold her down. She watched helplessly as he used the dirty needle to draw her blood. It filled the large syringe.

The pain dulled when he withdrew the needle and eased his hand off her ribs. She sucked in another breath, blinking back tears. His weight lifted off her middle as the crazy Vampire master rose to his feet.

“Now it’s his turn to be given your blood. It’s a bit barbaric but it will fool your bodies into thinking you’re truly mated, at least long enough for you to get pregnant. Get her on her feet.”

The creepers yanked her up and released her. Glen spun away, putting as much distance as she could between all of them and herself. There wasn’t anywhere to really go except to press against the rock wall.

Vlad bent to retrieve the forgotten watch and return it to his master.

“Now what, Master?”

The blond handed over the filled syringe. “Inject him and shove her inside his cell.” He glanced at her. “Go near his mouth and he’ll kill you. He could drain your blood or just tear you open enough for you to die of blood loss. The only way you’ll walk out of here alive is if you produce a girl for me. I give you my word as a gentleman that you shall have your freedom then.”