AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Pathetic mutts.
“Could be,” I finally said. My hands ran through my long hair, fingers combing through a few clumped curls, sticky with small droplets of blood.
A knock pounded on the door and both of our attentions moved to the guard who stepped inside, his nose flaring slightly at the stench of blood that still filled the room. His gaze never wavered from mine despite the itch I knew he had to look at the dismemberment before him.
“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but one of the men on patrol said that Ottavia La Rosa has been spotted sneaking into Invictus.” His throat bobbed with his hard swallow, waiting for my reply.
My eyes flicked to Declan, his raised brow saying more than any words could.
Now, what could Mattia’s daughter possibly be doing on my land mere hours after her brother’s death?
Whatever her reasoning, I’d be sure to find out for myself.
“What, uh, what should we do about it, sir?”
Attention drawn back to the guard, I smiled, a toothy, crooked grin that made him shift uncomfortably on his booted feet. “She’s ta be left alone.” My cold, dead heart nearly thumped back to life with something akin to excitement, my interest fully piqued with the latest turn of events. “Na’ a single ’air on her head ta be touched by anyone ba’ me.”
Ottavia
Chapter Six
Killing had always been easy.
As I carved my lips out with dark liner, I let the knowledge that I was going to kill again flow through my veins. It ran through me like a cold rain—numbing me out, shutting down the parts of me that felt anything, and leaving behind a cool detachment.
I had taken my first non-human life at nineteen and now, nearing thirty, I had nearly a dozen vampire kills under my belt. I wasn’t a professional hunter by any means, but Iwasan experienced killer, and most importantly, I had the element of surprise on my side.
The Ó Ceallaigh Abhartach had never met me.
I could easily slip inside that well-known club of his, Invictus, under the guise as a willing donor and, when the animal tried to draw blood from me, I would stake him in his monstrous heart.
I felt a sudden wave of gratefulness for the press releases my father had forced me to watch of Ó Ceallaigh. if I hadn’t, I wouldhave no idea what he looked like and this opportunity would be wasted. As I stared at my reflection in the mirror, taking in my calm countenance, I realized I was fully aware that I would likely be exiting Invictus in a body bag tonight.
But that was okay if it meant I took down the Abhartach king with me.
With all the commotion in the compound, sneaking beyond the walls of the La Rosa mansion was easier than I had anticipated. Luca had been regulated to outdoor guard duty for a few hours while my father and numerous guards traveled with my brother’s body back from the morgue. And as much as I would miss Luca’s company, this could not have happened at a more opportune time. It was so fortuitous it nearly made me suspicious, but my anger overrode caution and my better judgment.
I sauntered through Invictus, permitting the heeled boots that slicked up to my thighs to do the work, allowing my hips to roll naturally with each step. The strobing lights caught and sparked off the glittering flecks on my fishnet tights and the shiny material of my vinyl bodysuit reflected in arcing rainbows. The bodysuit sat high on my wide hips, showing off my thick thighs and the robust curve of my ass. I had the front zipper pulled down to a concerning degree, where my voluptuous breasts nearly spilled out from the tight material. I had my long, dark hair pulled back into a sleek, high ponytail so that my neck was exposed, and my pale skin nearly glowed under the lights, appetizing to those with and without fangs.
My eyes were half lidded with early satisfaction of my planned kill, and I knew it made me appear drowsy with arousal.
Letting the beat drip through my veins and the bass reverberate against my bones, I rolled my hips to the rhythm of the dreamy, drum-heavy music. Bodies pulsed against me. Chests and hips flowed through my hands, mouths pressed against mine and disappeared again just as quickly. It was a roiling mass of people, all high on adrenaline and music, some drunk on vamp pheromones and alcohol, but each of us lost in the moment.
Even the cause of my anger was difficult to grasp when I was drowning in the pulsating rush of bodies.
But just as the music changed, the beat dropping to something sinuous as the singer sang about infidelity, I spotted him. Eoin Ó Ceallaigh.
The Abhartach was a level above me, coming in and out of sight in between the strobing lights. He stood alone, above the swaying masses, a king surveying his peasants from his tower. I couldn’t make out his expression from this far away but I knew it was him.
And I knew he was looking at me.
His stare was brutally piercing, primal. The lizard part of my brain was waking up, shouting at me to run because something deadlier, something far more terrifying than me, was sizing me up, and it found me lacking. Terror froze my body for a moment and I was suddenly jostled in the sea of bodies rather than flowing with it. The movement jolted me back to reality and I realized that the bastard had enthralled me, that easily, with his gaze.
Motherfucker.
I slowly began dancing once more, weaving my way toward the metal stairs. I kept my gaze on Eoin, so I didn’t lose track ofhim. This time, I was sure to keep my eyes below his face so he couldn’t enthrall me again.
He wore a white dress shirt, the top two buttons undone and showing a tantalizing vee of dark skin. His arms were draped over the railing, and thanks to the folded-back sleeves, I could see the muscles in his forearms rolling as he rotated the glass tumbler dangling between his fingers with careless ease. As I ascended the staircase, he brought the glass to his mouth and drank the rest of the golden liquid before handing it to a random server that happened to be walking by.
