Dante and Cassandra pt1

The road was empty and quiet other than the roar of Dante’s 09 Challenger as he drove down the lonely stretch of highway, racing dawn. KoRn blared from his system, filling the empty air in the car with guitar and bass.  Dante looked in his rearview mirror checking the horizon to see if the sun had started to rise. He’d stayed at Expression too long drinking and scoping out civilians; if he didn’t hurry the hell up he was going to end up fried.  Casually leaned back in the seat with one hand on the wheel, Dante glanced down at his speedometer, 165 mph. He chuckled, pulled the E brake and drifted around a sharp turn, not as concerned with the coming dawn as he should be. As he started down a straight stretch of road, he saw something flashing up ahead. He squinted and saw a car pulled over on the side of the road. The tail lights were flashing and three doors were wide open. Dante sped up and looked in the mirror, the sky was still pitch black. He had enough time to see what was going on. Dante pulled over on the side of the road, stopped behind the abandoned car and got out. He stopped first to listen, see if there was anyone still near the scene. He heard grunting and pleading from within the woods back from the road, not too far away. Dante pulled a knife from his back and started into the dense collection of trees. He could hear someone being punched over and over again; the sound of bone slamming into bone didn’t sound the least pleasing to Dante’s ears. As he silently made his way through a maze of dumped trash, fallen branches and dried leaves, he could hear a female’s voice, crying and begging to stop being hit. Dante pulled a second knife from his holster as rage, hot like fire, started building up in his system. He hated when females were abused whether they were human or vampire. Females were precious; they had the ability to bring life into a world men often destroyed. Dante took two more steps and was in a small clearing. On the other side he could make out the outline of three moving figures. One was on the ground in the fetal position, the female. The other two were standing over top of her, kicking and hitting her. Dante tore through the small clearing and sliced through one’s neck before he had time to smell the sickening vanilla that filled the air. The first Smith fell to the ground, his head completely cut from his body. “Move!” he growled at the woman crumbled on the ground. The second Smith ran at him, hands extended and contorted like claws. Dante bent down and ran forward, ramming his shoulder into the Smith’s stomach. He grabbed the Smith around the waist and threw him down on the ground.  The Smith tried fighting back as a thin blade made of silver, ejected itself from Dante’s coat sleeve. He brought the blade straight down, stabbing it into the Smiths chest and piercing its heart. He got up and backed away as the Smith started to convulse and burst into ash. He turned his back to it and looked down at the other Smith. His body was twitching while his head lay several feet away, his lifeless eyes wide open. Dante bent on one knee and stabbed the silver blade through the Smiths heart, just in case they somehow knew how to reattach body parts. Dante stood up and looked around the area for the woman. She was crawling on her hands and knees away from the scene. Dante walked after her. She was injured, he could smell the blood, and she needed care. He was behind her in three strides. She looked over her shoulder, saw him coming after her and screamed hoarsely. She tried crawling away faster but Dante grabbed her ankle and stopped her “Don’t run from me. I’m here to protect you.” He said bending down and scooping her up. She was jerking in his grasp, moving like a wild cat as she clawed and kicked her legs despite the pain her body was in. Dante shook his head and increased the tightness with which he held her “You’re hurt, you shouldn’t be moving like that.” He said as he started walking back through the woods with her. The sky was lightening now and he needed to haul ass. The woman was still crying and she was talking about something Dante couldn’t understand. He stopped and used one hand to push her face straight where he could look into her eyes “Do you live close by?” he asked looking at the sky from the corner of his eye. The woman nodded “6th Street. Terrace Hill Apartments #4D.” she said her voice a mess of broken sound. Dante nodded and ran the rest of the way to his car, to the west, the sky was turning colors.

            The sky was pink and purple with the rising sun, the city was starting to come alive as Dante flew down the street, his foot pressed down hard on the gas, his speedometer pushing 170 mph.  The woman was curled up in the passenger side seat, her head buried between her knees, her arms wrapped around herself. Dante saw Terrace Hill Apartments up ahead, his entire body screaming as the first rays of the sun started to rise over the skyline of buildings and mountain tops. Ignoring cars, ignoring everything in his way, Dante swerved into the first parking spot he saw and quickly shut off the engine. He grabbed the woman out of the passenger seat, jerked her out of the car and started running towards the building. He could feel the sun on him, his skin burned and his survival instincts were telling him he had a minute before he burst into flames. Dante squeezed the woman tight as he ran up the stairs of Terrace Hills to the 4th floor where this woman lived. Stepping foot on the fourth floor was like stepping into a pool of sunlight. The woman was crying now as Dante started stumbling, the pain of sunlight cutting into him like a thousand knives. He saw 4D and ran forward; breaking the door in with his shoulder he leapt inside, hoping like hell the windows were covered. He fell to the floor and rolled to his feet, the woman still pressed tight to him. He looked around the dark apartment, thankful for the covered windows. With a sigh, Dante closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He crawled over to a corner of the kitchen and grabbed a kitchen chair. He threw it at the open door, the sunlight spilling into the apartment. The door slammed shut and the chair fell broken to the floor.  Dante leaned against a cabinet and tried catching his breath. He looked down at the injured woman in his arms and saw the burns on her skin! “Are you a vampire?” he asked between breaths. The woman looked up at him and nodded “I am a blood slave. The Smiths were transporting me for my Mayster … Julian.” She said softly, exhausted. Dante shook his head, shocked. He had thought Casey and Rafe destroyed what was left of the Blood Slave trade when they killed Jim, Dakota’s old boss, and the Kings Man Saul. Dante looked down at the woman, saw the circle tattoos on the side of her neck and lifted her wrists. They were there too, and he figured they were on her breasts and the inside of her thighs. She really was a blood slave! The circles marked the point on her vein where the richest, sweetest tasting blood flowed.  The perfect places to bite and drink. Dante looked around the apartment for a place to lay her; he needed to make sure the Smiths hadn’t done unfixable damage to her. He saw a couch and grabbed a hold of the counter. He held her in one arm and used the other to pull himself vertical.  “Do you have a first aid kit?” he asked as he walked over to the couch and gently laid her down. The woman nodded and pointed towards a hallway “First door on the right.” She said hesitation in her voice. Dante walked down to the bathroom and searched through her cabinets in the dark, finding a small black box that held her medical supplies. Bandage, rubbing alcohol and a tube of burn cream was all that was inside. Dante walked back into the living room to see the woman sitting up, her arms back around herself. He bent down in front of her and laid the alcohol and a wash cloth out beside him. He poured the alcohol out on the washcloth and reached forward. The woman flinched but it didn’t stop Dante from pressing the alcohol soaked cloth to her face, scrubbing gently to wash the blood and grime from her skin. He carefully washed around the burns; he would take care of them next. She was quiet as he attended to her; she watched the gentle movements of his hand and thought about what had happen inside her. He couldn’t fix that damage with anything in this world. She sighed and leaned back against the couch, her body still shaking from the adrenaline. Dante squeezed a palm full of the burn cream into his hand and started to smear the mixture over her arms and chest, along her neck and up the side of her face, completely unconcerned with his own burns. “What’s your name?” he asked as he made sure the stretch of burned skin was covered in a thick coat of the cream. “Cassandra.” She said softly. Dante smiled, her name was beautiful but he didn’t say anything as he wiped the last bit of blood off her body. He noticed the way she shook, how she was gripping the arm of the couch for dear life. He looked up at her face, she looked sick and starved. “When was the last time you fed?” he asked getting up off the floor and sitting down on the couch beside her. Cassandra shook her head and looked down at the floor. Dante knew blood slaves were starved of blood to teach them obedience but he wondered how far the Kings Men took it. “Cassandra, tell me how long it’s been.” he said again, more forceful this time. She sighed and meekly replied “Nine months.”  Dante whistled through his teeth and shook his head. He couldn’t imagine going that long without blood. Four months was as far as he could go and that drove him pretty crazy but nine months … that was torture. She was going to drink from him, he couldn’t allow this female to sit there in such pain another minute.  “You’re going to drink from me.” He said reaching for her. She shrank away from him, a look of horror on her face “I can’t! I’ll drain you dry … I could kill you!” she said shaking her head. Dante grabbed her wrist and pulled her across the couch to him “I’ll let you know when I’m feeling weak. I can’t let you sit there, dying before my eyes.” He said as she continued to fight him. Julian had always gone out and ‘caught’ her dinner like those humans were prey or something. He’d force her to drink or she’d pay for her insubordination through skin, he’d beat it out of her. She looked up at the man and shook her head “I can’t.” Dante ignored her as he took off his ruined jacket and threw it in a chair. He didn’t care what she was thinking about, what was causing her to not want to drink … she was going to. He was a Warrior; he couldn’t allow a female to starve to death. Dante grabbed her around the waist and put her in his lap; he tilted his head to the side and forced her head into the crook of his neck “Feed Cassandra. You’re free now, you must drink!” He said keeping her head still. Cassandra started crying as she extended painful fangs and sank them deep into his neck, striking rich with his blood. A shock of electricity danced its way through Cassandra’s body as she drank, gulping back mouthfuls of this man’s blood.  He tasted dark and hot, so deathly good it made her want to cry even more. She put her arms around him and held on tight, afraid of being cut off from such a delicious source of life. She drank and drank surprised that his blood was still coming in deep full gulps. She never felt the man beneath her getting weaker; in fact she felt arousal in him, started tasting it in his blood. It scared her, the arousal because that’s the way Julian had always been but the man beneath her held onto her, reassuring her that he could not hurt her. Dante sat there with Cassandra in his lap, her fangs in his vein, his head buzzing from the satisfaction of feeding a female. He’d never let anyone drink from his vein till now, it was intoxicating. He held on till he felt his veins shrinking in protest to her excessive drinking. “Cassandra …” he warned. She instantly pulled away from him and looked down in his eyes, her own big blue eyes wide with shock. “I’m sorry.” She said, her lips stained with his blood. Dante shook his head and wiped the smear away with his thumb “Its fine. Are you feeling better?” he asked keeping her in his lap. Cassandra nodded but Dante knew better. Nine months of blood lust couldn’t be cured with one feeding but she knew he was weak and would try to feed her again. “How long have you been a blood slave?” he asked scooting her over so she was pressed against the curve of his body. “Two years.” She said softly. Dante shook his head wondering how Casey and Rafe had missed a Mayster. They’d went through hundreds of Maysters, freeing thousands of women from slavery. Her Mayster must have hidden Cassandra carefully; he must be going out of his mind now that she was missing. Dante took a deep breath and looked down at her. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing deeply, she was asleep. Dante held her close and stayed on the couch with her.

            “I'm coming undone, too late, I'm coming undone, one looks so strong, so delicate.” Dante opened his eyes and looked around for the source of the music. He looked down and saw Cassandra, curled up and asleep next to him. Dante smiled as the music registered in his mind. It was his ringtone! Dante twisted around and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. The number on the screen was the Pound. Dante flipped the phone open and put it to his ear “Hello?” “Where the hell are you?” Dante smiled and titled his head back “Hi sweetie, how are you?” he heard Eric chuckle on the other line and knew the brother was rolling his eyes. Eric hated it when the brothers spent nights outside the Pound. It was risky considering how large the Kings Men were growing in number. “Where are you Dante?”  Eric asked his voice full of annoyance. “I’m in Terrace Hills Apartment 4D. I rescued a blood slave last night.” Dante looked down at Cassandra and smiled, she was still sound asleep and Eric was ranting on the other line “She’s alive?” “Yes.” “Alright, the guys are going to Expression tonight on patrol.” Dante felt Cassandra stirring against him, she’d wake up soon. “I’ll be there.” He said snapping the phone shut. He started shifting positions to put his phone back in his pocket when Cassandra jerked awake, a fearful look in her big eyes. “Good evening.” Dante said slipping an arm around her waist and smiled at her “You’re safe.” Cassandra nodded and looked around her apartment. She felt like she was in a dream, she hadn’t been here for over two years, it was almost unreal. Cassandra let out a sigh of relief and looked around her apartment and back into the eyes of the man holding her. She frowned and continued to stare at his face, trying to recall a name but she couldn’t. All she knew was that this man was a vampire and that he’d saved her life. “What’s your name?” she asked. “Dante.” He said watching as a small smile graced her lips. Dante smiled back and looked towards the covered windows at the end of the living room. He knew it was dark outside and the brothers would be heading to Expression soon. If he wanted any of the action he needed to leave soon, not to mention the fact that he needed to feed for Cassandra, she was still hungry and he knew it. “I have to leave but I’ll be back before dawn.” He said watching her face shift into a frown. Dante sighed, he had planned on asking her about going back to the Pound but he knew she was happy to be home. He’d seen it on her face when she looked around her apartment upon waking. He didn’t want to be like Julian, her Mayster, and take her away from a place she loved and felt safe in. Cassandra looked around her apartment again, seeing all the covered windows and the dark hallway, she thought of the rooms in her apartment. Empty and dark … perfect for anyone to hide in, waiting for the right moment to either kill her or take her back to Julian. She trembled at the thought, just knowing he was leaving her alone made her feel vulnerable and weak. “Where are you going?” she asked looking towards the big windows. Dante starts to mention his Society status then stops. He didn’t know how she’d feel if she knew he was a Warrior, he didn’t want to scare her by telling her he belonged to the Society. He sighed and ran a hand up and down her arm, thinking. “What do you think of the Society?” he asked watching her face. She took a deep breath and looked over to her fireplace where a portrait of her mother and father hung from the wall. Dante followed her gaze towards the painting and saw two people, obviously her parents, with stern, unhappy looks on their faces. “I don’t hate the Society … I never did. I hope those Warriors kill every Kings Man there is.” She said looking away from the portrait and back at Dante. He nodded and gripped her arm a little tighter; at least she would support him when he told her who he was instead of trying to run away, thinking he was a heartless female killer like the rest of the race. “I am a Warrior Cassandra. I have to take care of some business tonight but I’ll be back before the dawn.” He said looking into her eyes, judging her reaction. Cassandra nodded and looked at the holsters on his body, the weapons that adorned him. Was he going to just leave her with no protection at all … with no weapon to defend herself with if someone came for her? Cassandra looked away as her chest started to rise and fall faster and faster. She closed her eyes, tried telling herself not to freak out but she couldn’t help imagine being left alone, to fend for herself with no knife or gun in her hand. Then, she felt Dante grab her hand and place something cold and weighty in her palm. She turned back around and saw a gun in her hand. Cassandra gripped it tightly and looked up at Dante “Do you know how to shoot one of these?” he asked. Cassandra flexed her fingers on the handle of the gun and nodded “Yes.” She replied. Dante nodded then stood up, his frame unfolding to a ferocious six feet eight inches tall. Cassandra looked up at him while he looked down on her, the gun still in her hand. Even though everything about her looked better today than it had yesterday, Dante knew she still needed at least one more feeding. Her skin had regained the lightest of pinks, her hair looked more vibrant and healthy; even her eyes sparkled more than before. “Is there anything I can do for you before I leave?” he offered. Cassandra stared up at him; her neck craned all the way back. She thought about all those dark rooms and thought about asking him to make sure no one was hiding in them but decided against it. She’d sound like a two year old afraid of the boogey man. Cassandra shook her head and laid the gun on the empty cushion beside her “No.” she said. Dante nodded then walked over to the door and out of the apartment without another word.

            Dante stepped onto Rose Avenue, a block away from Expression and saw Casey, Rafe and three Smiths. Casey had one down on the ground and was punching the Smith in the face with brass knuckles made of silver, leaving burning sores on the Smith’s face. Rafe was out numbered; two Smiths were attacking him while Rafe swung with sword and fist. Dante pulled a gun from his back and started towards Rafe and the two Smiths. Casey looked up from the Smith beneath his who was now barely more than a bloody pulp “Nice of you to show up!” Casey yelled after Dante as he pulled a spike from his side and stabbed the Smith through the chest. The sound of breaking bone and ripping muscle followed Dante as he ran across the street and right behind one of the two Smiths. Dante threw an arm around the Smith’s neck and pulled him off of Rafe. He slammed the hybrid to the pavement and kicked him towards the middle of the street. Dante stood back on the sidewalk, watching the pathetic Smith struggle to stand up on his feet. He looked to his left and saw Casey wiping the blood of his knuckles and putting them back in his pocket. Rafe was still battling it out with the Smith behind him; he knew the brother was in need of the fight. Dante sighed and looked straight ahead; the Smith was coming at him, a look of rage twisting his ugly face. Dante rolled his eyes, took aim and pulled the trigger. The Smith’s head exploded as the bullet tore through his eye socket and out the back of his head, ripping apart his brain and skull. Blood, bone and brain matter sprayed everywhere and the Smith fell to the ground as his body started to burn from the inside, turning to ash. Dante looked over at Casey and smiled “It looked like you had it under control to me.” He said as he heard a popping sound from behind him. Rafe was finishing off his Smith. Casey shook his head and looked at the dark spots on the ground where the Smiths had ashed. “Where have you been?” Rafe asked walking up beside the two Warriors, blood dripping down his face. Dante started to answer when all three men heard something scrape against the pavement. They looked behind them and saw a Kings Man coming out of the shadows “Nice job Dante, taking care of that Smith so easily.” Dante dropped the gun to the ground and pulled two slender blades from his back, was this Cassandra’s Mayster? He felt his entire body tensing, ready to slice the fucker to ribbons. Casey and Rafe pulled out a second weapon as well but Dante shook his head, his eyes never leaving the eyes of the Kings Man “Go ahead, I’ll meet you there.” He growled. He didn’t want to hear what this bastard had to say but at the same time he did. He knew he had to get to Expression, feed and go back to take care of Cassandra but if this Kings Man had anything to do with her, he had to take care of this first.  “Dante-““Go!” Dante said cutting Casey off. He didn’t want any of the brothers involved in this; it was his battle. Rafe and Casey put their weapons back in their holsters and turned around to leave. Once Dante couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore, he flexed his fingers on the blade and stared the Kings Man down “Those Smiths you killed last night were valuable to the Kings Men. We are not happy with you for slaying them like animals.” William, the Kings Man said. Dante chuckled and shrugged his shoulders “Do you think I give a shit? Yea, I killed them … what are you going to do about it?” Dante taunted. William glared at Dante and pulled gun out of nowhere “You’ll regret killing them.” He said before opening fire. Dante rolled out of the bullet’s path and ran at William, his sword slashing forward and leaving a trail of blood down William’s arm. Dante twisted and ran behind him; he grabbed William by the shoulder, pulled him back and thrust the sword forward through his stomach. William screamed as Dante shoved the sword through his body to the hilt. “I’m not regretting anything Kings Man.” Dante growled in his ear. William tried laughing, the sound coming out raspy and forced “You will.” He said before firing a shot downward, the bullet hitting home in Dante’s leg. It went straight through, scraping bone and coming out the other side in a burst of blood and hot metal. Dante bit down hard on his tongue and let go of William, ripping his sword from the Kings Man’s body at the same time. Dante looked down at his leg, saw the ripped fabric; the bloody torn flesh. He looked up and saw the Kings Man had disappeared. Dante threw his sword to the ground and started cussing as he walked towards Expression.

            Dante walked back into Cassandra’s dark apartment, his thirst satisfied and ready to take care of hers. He closed the door and looked around; Cassandra wasn’t in the living room or the kitchen. The apartment was silent like a tomb and there were no lights on, the windows hadn’t even been uncovered to let in light from the moon. It looked exactly the way it had before except there was no Cassandra. Dante took silent steps down the hallway, listening carefully for a heartbeat or breath. As he passed the bathroom door, he noticed it was standing ajar and that a panicky breath was coming from inside. He stopped, slowly pushed the door open with his hand and flipped on the light. Cassandra was curled up in the bathtub, the gun clutched in her hand. Dante smiled and walked inside, her hair was wet and he could smell her clean soapy scent from across the tiny bathroom. “Are you okay?” he asked extending his hand out to her. Cassandra quickly took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet and out of the bathtub. Dante took the gun from her and laid it on the counter before pulling her to him by the hip “Are you okay?” he repeated, smelling the fear beneath the soap. Cassandra looked past him out into the dark hallway, her eyes straining to find something evil in the dark. “Someone was … someone was knocking on my door … and on my window. I freaked out … are you leaving again?” she asked looking up at him, her lip quivering. Dante shook his head and gave her hip a squeeze “Where’s your bedroom?” he asked picking up the gun and taking her hand. He walked her out in the hall and Cassandra pointed to a room at the very end of the hall. “You’re safe now.” He said opening the door and ushering her inside. Cassandra walked over to her bed and turned on a lamp, all from memory. The light came on and flooded the room with its soft glow, making visible a room that used to be Cassandra’s place of refuge, where she used to be able to hide from the world. She stood by the bed and looked around at the pictures hanging on her walls, the magazines and books and cds and everything that filled her room making it hers. Now it all seemed so pointless, surrounding herself with material things. Dante came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders “Lay down.” He whispered in her ear as he reached around her and pulled back the covers, revealing crisp, clean white sheets. Cassandra nodded slowly and laid down, the soft material of the sheets rubbing nicely against her skin. She sighed and buried her head in the pillows, the material felt like a cloud, light and fluffy. She closed her eyes and sighed, inhaling sweet laundry detergent and the scent of her favorite perfume. When Cassandra opened her eyes, she saw Dante walking around the bed and pulling the covers back on the other side. She turned around and watched quietly as he climbed in the bed and scooted next to her. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close to him, their bodies pressing tightly against one another. Cassandra looked up at him, waiting for him to say anything but he didn’t, he just looked down at her with his green eyes. His body was rock hard and solid like a stone wall. His arms wrapped around her like vise grips, thick with muscle. She felt safe like this, wrapped up in his body this way she felt like nothing would ever harm her again. Cassandra let out a deep breath she’d been holding in and closed her eyes, forcing her to completely relax. “I need you to feed from me again Cassandra.” He said barely a minute after she closed her eyes. Cassandra opened one of her eyes and looked up at him “Why?” she asked. Dante sighed and pushed her hair back from her face gently, his hand brushed against her forehead “One feeding is not enough to satisfy six months of starvation. I went out and fed tonight so you could feed. Now come here.” He said sitting up and pulling her up with him. Cassandra sighed and nodded as the smell of fresh blood reached her nose. She looked around the room but didn’t see anything bleeding. “What is it?” Dante asked watching her look around the room with a confused look on her face. Cassandra looked back at him, frowning “Are you bleeding?” she asked looking his upper body over. Dante started to shake his head when he remembered being shot by that Kings Man, a through and through in his leg. Dante nodded but pulled her up into his arms, her head and his neck close to one another “You need to feed!” he said urgently, as if she were wasting away in his arms. Cassandra sighed and leaned in; she opened her mouth wide and sank her fangs deep in his vein. His blood was so pure, so dark and delicious and still tasting of arousal, his arousal. She wasn’t afraid this time as she drank raw desire into her body; she knew he meant her no harm. Cassandra drank all she could from him, finally feeling herself returning to full strength. As she pulled away from him, his blood staining her bottom lip, she felt different, strong and clear headed. She looked into Dante’s eyes and saw them shining like emeralds, the green almost florescent. His eyes were doing as Julian’s did when he was dangerously aroused. Cassandra started to back away, even though the beauty of his eyes captivated her. Dante saw the spark of terror in her eyes and turned his back to her, not wanting her to see him this way. He didn’t know why she affected him, they were not mates. He had looked into her eyes, deeply into her eyes many times and never felt anything like the bonding. “I’m sorry.” Dante said, listening to her shaky breathing behind him. Cassandra stared at his large expansive back as she scooted all the way to the other side of the bed, waiting to see what he did next. Dante swore under his breath, he could hear her heartbeat and she was afraid of him. This wasn’t what he wanted but when her fangs sank into his skin, every muscle in his body tensed and he shivered with arousal. Dante took deep breaths to calm down and quickly started to feel like himself. When he felt completely normal he turned back around and saw Cassandra sitting there with her knees clutched to her chest, her eyes glued to him. “I’m sorry.” He said reaching his hand out to her. Cassandra’s eyes went from his face to his hand, she stared at it for a minute before reaching out and letting him pull her back across the bed to him. “I’m really sorry; I’m not sure why that happens.” He said gently pushing her down onto her back, in a sleeping position. Cassandra nodded without a word and watched Dante as his eyes did a sweep of the room. His eyes rested on a magazine on her nightstand, dated almost three years ago this month. Dante looked from the magazine, he didn’t want to ask her questions about her disappearance but they were in his eyes. Cassandra looked over her shoulder at the magazine then back at him, nodding “Yea, I’ve been gone that long.” She said softly. Dante ran his hand over her face and sighed “Go to sleep.” He said, willing the sleep of their race upon her. Once he was sure she was asleep, Dante grabbed the gun he’d given her off the nightstand and walked out into the living room. He sat down on the couch and fell into a light sleep, ready to pounce at the first sight of trouble.

            William walked into Magnus’s hall feeling uneasy. He’d been given a specific order by the King himself and he’d failed, miserably, to complete the task. Two blood slaves opened the doors to Magnus’s hall and William walked inside, his boots clicking against the marble floor. “William, good news I hope.” Magnus said as soon as William was within hearing distance. There were four blood slaves sitting around Magnus, one holding a bottle of wine and another with a tray of delicious looking fruit. William took a deep breath and dropped to one knee before Magnus “My Lord, I’m afraid it’s bad news I bring.” He said not daring to look up. Magnus took a deep breath and waved the blood slaves away, his eyes zeroed in on the failure before him. Once the four slaves had left the room and the doors were closed, Magnus spoke “Rise William.” He said his voice void of emotion. William rose to his feet, not daring to upset the King now. “Tell me what happen.” Magnus said looking down on William. He sighed and twisted his arm to show Magnus the deep wound running down the length of his arm, the injury Dante had left him. “I took three Smiths with me to look for the blood slave, instead we ran into three Warriors. They killed the Smiths and the third one challenged me. We battled briefly but he was good and all I managed to do was injure him. There is still no news of Julian’s blood slave.” William said keeping his head up high, his eyes on Magnus. “And what do you plan on doing to correct this problem?” Magnus asked, uninterested. William opened his mouth to answer when the doors to the hall opened Julian walked into the room, his face a twisted mask of anger. “Where is my blood slave?” he asked looking from Magnus to William waiting on an answer. Magnus looked at the two Kings Men and smiled “William was sent out to look for your blood slave. He took three Smiths with him and still couldn’t get the job done. So Julian, your blood slave is still out there somewhere.” Magnus said reaching over and grabbing his glass of wine and taking a sip of it, a smile on his face. Julian turned to William, the Kings Man body swelling with anger even though his face was calm. Julian chuckled and shook his head “The little blood slave is obviously smarter than we thought if she’s managed to be found by a Warrior. Now who was transporting her? Whose fault is it that she got away in the first place?” he asked looking straight at William. William shook his head and took a step back “It wasn’t me Julian. I didn’t know anything about this until Magnus called me in to look for her.” He said shaking his head. Julian looked up at Magnus and put his hands on his hips as his gaze went back to William “I want her found or I’m going to be taking it out of your back.” “Hey, who in the hell do you think you are? You can’t order me around!” Julian stepped forward ready to say something when Magnus stood up, stopping them both “Both of you shut up! I will assign a small group of Smiths to looking for Cassandra. Now as far as the Smiths who were transporting her that night, Dante killed them.” Magnus said sitting back down. Julian glared at William then looked up at Magnus “But how did he know where they’d be?” he asked. Magnus shook his head “The night the Smiths were transporting Cassandra she tried to escape. They pulled over on the side of the road and started beating her; unaware of what she was carrying. It’s my belief that at the same time, Dante was driving past, saw them and rescued the blood slave.” By that time, Julian was seething. Cassandra was his favorite of all his blood slaves, he’d tried since buying her to get her pregnant and now, it was all out the window. When he found her, he would kill her, for her insubordination and because she was of no use to him now. But first, he wanted her found. “Who put the Smiths in charge of transporting something so precious?” he asked looking over at William, glaring. “I put the Smiths in charge; while it’s very unfortunate what happen, there is nothing you can do about it.” Magnus said, daring Julian to challenge his authority. Julian roared, the sound echoing throughout the hall “I want her found in three days or I’m taking it out of someone’s back!” he yelled, looking straight at Magnus. The Kings nodded and looked to William “You better get busy looking for the blood slave.” He said with a smile.

            Dante opened his eyes and looked around the apartment, silence, darkness, nothing. Cassandra was still in bed. He stood up, walked over to the window and pulled back the heavy curtains that covered them. Moonlight instantly poured into the room, filling it with silver light. Dante looked outside, watching for any strange activity before he went to take a shower. When he didn’t see anything, not even a stray dog sniffing in the garbage, Dante grabbed his duffle bag and went to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and changed clothes before walking to Cassandra’s bedroom. When he opened the door, the light from the hall spilled into her room, illuminating her sleeping figure on the bed. The blankets were twisted around her legs like shackles and her t shirt was bunched up under her breasts, showing off a bruised and battered stomach. Dante walked into the room, closer to her and saw scratching on her stomach, like something had been etched into her skin. Dante took a step forward for a closer look and felt the blood rush to his face, his hands tightening into fists and spots appearing before his eyes. Seven names were carelessly carved into her stomach! He growled at the monstrosity of the act, the sins committed against this female. Blood Slaves circles, names scratched into her skin … Dante stared at the names, wanting to kill every man whose name was in her skin and any others who’d ever touched her. He sat down beside her, his eyes glued to the names. All of them were Kings Men; all of them were going to die. Dante took a deep breath as he tried to calm down, he didn’t want Cassandra waking up knowing he’d seen the names. With shaking hands, Dante pulled her shirt back down over her stomach and gently untwisted her legs from the covers. When he was satisfied that she was comfortable, Dante turned his back to her and pulled out his phone, seeing that Mordecai had called him sometime during the day. Dante looked over his shoulder at Cassandra’s sleeping face and dialed the Pound. “Hello?” “What’d you have for me?” Dante asked turning around and looking down at Cassandra. Her face was no longer pale but now it had a beautiful glow to it, her hair even seemed more healthy and alive. “She wasn’t from any of the Five Families but she was important. Tanvi and Ojore Laken.” Dante whistled through his teeth, continuing to stare at the woman sleeping beside him. Her parents were some pretty important people, no doubt they were close with the Five Families.  He continued staring down on her sleeping face, wondering if her parents had been part of the mob so hell bent on destroying the Society and out casting them? If the Reynolds hadn’t turned on them, the Society could have found Cassandra sooner, saved her from the damage that had been done to her. Dante ran a hand down her shoulder as Mordecai talked about her parents. If they were important, Cassandra was too; the irreversible marks on her body would be grounds for Shyunning. The Five Families would kick her out on her ass in a heartbeat if she attempted to try and fit in again. Dante wouldn’t let that happen to her. It wasn’t her fault, the things that had happen to her; he wasn’t going to let her suffer for it. “What else did you find out Death?” Dante asked, still looking down on Cassandra. A sigh on the other line “She was kidnapped nearly three years ago at Expression. Her parents went to Magnus, there was a month long search and that was it. They have a fuyneral for her and no one’s spoken a word about her since. Not much to this Cinderella story.” He said. Dante could hear him exhaling a lung full of smoke on the other line. How could her parents be led so blindly by the same man who’d allowed their daughter to be turned into a blood slave? Magnus had lied straight to those people’s faces while Cassandra had probably been in the dungeon, getting those circles forever tattooed on her body.  Dante took in a deep breath even though his body was shaking with rage, he couldn’t let the men who’d hurt her go on living without fear; he was going to pyunish her Mayster and all the ones before. He was going to go through the line of men who’d put their hands on her with a gun and knife till he was surrounded by a pile of ash. On the other line, Mordecai could hear Dante’s breathing, it sounded like a savage animal, ready to tear someone to shreds. “You cool man?” Mordecai asked on the other line. Dante nodded and looked down at Cassandra again, she was slowly starting to wake up “Yea, I’ll try to be at the Pound tonight but if not, I’ll defiantly be there tomorrow.” He said hanging up the phone and putting it back in his pocket as Cassandra’s eyes opened and she looked around. She stared up at him, confusion filling her eyes. Dante smiled at her, reassuring her she was safe. Cassandra looked around her and looked back at him, starting to smile back. “Good evening.” She said pushing herself into a sitting position and stretching her arms upward, happy to be in her own bed, in her own home. Cassandra popped the bones in her ankles, back and wrists before looking back at Dante and seeing rage on his face, fire in his eyes. He looked ready to kill; the way his fists were clenching told her he was jonesing for a gun or knife. “Are you okay?” she asked giving him a fearful look. Dante shook his head and reached over for her hand, he gripped it tightly “I know who you are Cassandra, I know who your parents are. And since those bastards didn’t care enough to find the men who kidnapped their daughter, I’m going to Pyunish your Mayster and all the men whose names are carved into your stomach.” He said watching her eyes grow to the size of blue dinner plates. She pulled away from him, her hand going to her stomach as she shook her head “Don’t do that, it’s over now.” She said, mindlessly tracing each name through the cotton of her t-shirt. Dante stands up and started pacing the room “How can you say that? They violated you Cassandra, they carved their fucking names into your skin; they’ll never go away.” He said looking over at her, sitting on the bed, her face downcast. He sighed and started towards her when Cassandra looked up, her eyes fierce “He starved me of food and blood the first two weeks I was there. At first it was just Julian but then … he started letting other Kings Men come and rape and beat me, drink from me till there was barely a drop in my veins. I was dead but not dead enough to die. He’d rent me out; let them keep me for a few weeks to do with whatever they pleased. That was usually when a new name was carved into my skin. For two years … it went on for two years.” She said, her body shaking as memories flashed through her head like old movies. The emotions hit her all at once. Fear, pain, sorrow, nothingness … she felt like she was drowning. Then, she felt strong arms like a life jacket, wrapping around her and holding her tight. Cassandra buried her face in Dante’s stomach and closed her eyes, trying to put it all back where it belonged, buried deep in her memory. Dante ran his hand down her back as he held her tightly, trying to absorb all her pain, wishing he could bare it for her. “Cassandra, as a Warrior it’s my job to Pyunish your tormentors. Even though we’ve been outkasted by the Five Families, I’m still a protector of those who wish to be protected.” He said softly as he rubbed her back. Cassandra felt herself smiling; she’d never imaged being this lucky. She pulled away just a little, not wanting to lose the contact and looked up at him “Why aren’t you with the Society now?” she asked softly. “I’m busy protecting.” He said leaning down and brushing his mouth across her forehead. Cassandra felt herself blushing; she buried her face back in his stomach.  She had a feeling all these years, that even though the Five Families wanted nothing to do with the Society, they’ve been there protecting where Magnus and the Kings Men had clearly failed. Dante tilted Cassandra’s chin up so he could look into her eyes “I have to go back to the Pound soon but its fine. I’m still going to be able to protect you.” He said seriously. Cassandra slowly nodded, staring up into his dazzling green eyes. Her stomach flip flopped as she thought about the concept of being left alone, again. She knew she needed to get back on her feet, get past what happen to her; dwelling on it would drive her insane. Cassandra nodded and looked away from Dante, making a sweep of her room. She was surprised that no one had broken into the place and stolen all her things. Of course, she’d been smart when buying the apartment. She’d paid ten years of rent and bills, bought a top of the line security system and ensured her home would be safe.