Vampire Sugar Daddy

Ariana POV

Elina's face was a storm cloud. "SHE'S here."

Ariana blinked. "Who?"

Spilling the coffee in a brown waterfall, Elina pressed the intercom button. "Security, whatever you do, do NOT let that woman into the villa. She's forbidden here. Threaten her with garlic on a spit, do whatever you have to, but whatever you do, keep her away."

Logic told Ariana the whole story.

There was only one woman she could think of that would incur Elina's protective wrath. Princess Irina, Dimitri's so-called fiancee.

"This place has security cams, right?" she asked.

Elina nodded, her fingers flying over a tablet in the kitchen that displayed the security camera live feeds. "Absolutely. No blind spots. Prince Dimitri is anal about that."

"Then let me see this menace."

Elina glanced at her, assessing her, then enlarged one of the security cam feeds. 

The woman standing at the gates looked like something out of a Victorian novel. Tall black silk hat. Flowing sumptuous red gown. Black hair elegantly styled in a way that defied gravity. Gray eyes. Pale skin. Red lips that no cosmetics could achieve normally.

"Wicked Queen," Ariana muttered.

Elina raised her eyebrows. "How did you know they call her that behind her back here?"

"I was making a comment about her appearance ... they really call her that?"

Elina pressed her hand to her chest. "I swear to the Elder Gods, who created us."

Ariana could practically smell Irina's perfume. Like Chanel had made a custom scent that blended blood with flowers. How could she smell the vampire princess from within these walls? Maybe because of the bond with Dimitri?

"Hey, Elina, do blood companions report having enhanced senses?"

Elina nodded. "Yes. It's a by-product."

"So that's why I can smell her perfume."

Elina's frown deepened. "That's impossible, even for a blood companion. Do you know how thick these walls are? It must be your imagination."

Arians shrugged. "Maybe I just don't like the look of her."

Elina's mouth turned up in a smile. "I am so happy she's not marrying Prince Dimitri."

Several quick swipes of cloth cleaned up Elina's coffee spill, and Ariana poured more coffee into the dispenser. Strong, rich, and bracing. "Let's have the staff get these out to the troops. I hate to take charge like this, but--"

"Why?" Elina shook her head, baffled by Ariana's attitude. "Out of all of us, Prince Dimitri trusts you to be in charge."

Ariana's mind whirled.

He called her his toy. His sugar baby. Elina obviously was no fool. She had to be aware of what was going on. But maybe, just maybe, being a blood companion was a step up from "vampire's sugar baby."

She wet her lips. "Is being a ... a blood companion some kind of respected position?"

Elina threw up her hands. "I am going to wring his neck. Has he told you nothing? When this is over, I'm going to personally educate you. Don't pay any attention to what his family might say or the history between your kingdom and ours. Being a blood companion is sacred among our kind. And you are a human princess. Your bloodline dates back hundreds of years. The prince better hope he survives long enough to get a lecture from me."

Ariana desperately hoped so, because the sight of the glamorous and sophisticated princess on the security cam gave her a stomachache. 

When she glanced at the tablet, though, Irina had vanished. Ariana minimized the feed and toggled between the various feeds.

"Elina? She's gone."

Elina nodded, satisfied. "Good riddance."

* * * * *

Dimitri POV

He didn't see Irina anymore in the city, and he'd notice her near the villa.

All he saw were the bodies of Rostovs littering the ground. Sprinkling holy water with one hand and garlic salt with the other, he watched the corpses smolder and burst into flame. His own personal incineration service. A funeral pyre of sorts. He did the same for the vampires of the city and his men.

He picked his way through the bodies, heedless of the flames, until he reached his men, Karl, Jens, Sergei, and Ervin, who held the two surviving Rostovs, Piotr and Andrei. 

They also happened to be two of the six Rostov brothers who led their clan along with their sister, Haniel. It always amazed him that one of the ruthless Rostovs was named for an angel. Haniel no doubt pulled the strings from Rostov territory. 

"Talk," he said tersely. "Piotr, we'll start with you."

Scrawny, and so slight you could blow on him and make him fall down, Piotr Rostov had pallid skin, almost translucent. His eyes glowed red. "Die, Lyunov scum."

"Ah, Piotr, always so witty," Dimitri laughed. "Your brother here, on the other hand, has more than enough sense to keep his big mouth shut."

Andrei, who looked like Mr. Universe, glowered at Dimitri. "We thought you'd be too busy with your human slut to bother defending yourself."

Ervin dug his fingers into Andrei's muscles. A tree branch would be softer and more pliable. "You want your mouth stuffed with garlic and sewn shut?"

"Ervin! There's no need to be barbaric," Dimitri snapped. "Besides, what awaits him at home makes any vengeance we could dish out seem merciful. I hear Haniel turns into an avenging angel when her brothers screw up."

Both vampires gasped, looking like Munch's "The Scream."

Breathless, Andrei said, "You wouldn't."

"Please," Piotr burst out. "We'll tell you everything ... I mean, it was all this elaborate web with your brother Luc, Princess Irina, and our family."

Dimitri felt a leaden weight settle in his stomach. 

This was a plot. 

He had to get back to the villa.

"Take them prisoner," he ordered his men. "Don't harm them. Put them in our dungeon and keep them under guard. They might be useful."

Whirling, he ran past the servants who wheeled carts full of coffee, soup, and tea down the hill and maneuvered them onto the sidewalk. He barely stopped outside the gates before the guards buzzed him in. He had to get to Ariana before Irina did.

* * * * *

Irina POV

Who needed the gates or entrances when you hypnotized one of Dimitri's guards into letting you inside?

Irina made her way through the circular courtyard with the Mediterranean-style reflecting pool, blue tile with gold filigree, fringed by flowering plants. A golden statue of a falcon, Dimitri's personal emblem, sat in the middle of the rectangular pool. Cozy chairs had been arranged around fire pits. Sculptures dotted the courtyard, as well as elaborate topiaries.

And some human toy was going to enjoy all of this, and be the mistress of the villa? NO.

Approaching the thick oak front doors set with opaque glass panes, Irina could even smell the human wretch and feel her energy. If Dimitri wanted a human toy, that was his business. Many vampires of both sexes had them. But for Elder Gods' sake, that shouldn't interfere with a union that both their families planned when she and Dmitri were just baby bloodsuckers.

The door opened.

Please, let it be her. Let it be the human equivalent of a chihuahua that Dimitri was enamored with. Let it be this princess who didn't even know what it meant to be royal.

Instead, Elina, Dimitri's vampiress guard dog, stood in the doorway, her head up, looking down on Irina.

"You're not welcome here," Elina said with bravado.

Irina smirked. "Oh, little Elina ... this pit bull routine is cute, but I'm not scared."

Elina held up a crossbow with a flaming stake nocked. "Are you scared now?"

Dimitri's murderous voice rang out in the courtyard. "If she's not, she will be."

Throwing back her head, Irina laughed. "Your human teacup poodle can't fight her own battles, I see."

Delicate-looking, with beautiful eyes, Princess Ariana pushed past Elina and took the crossbow from her, lining up the point of the stake with Irina's heart. 

"You'll find this poodle has plenty of teeth," Ariana said in an eerily calm voice.

Irina smirked, feeling a surge of respect. "Then, little puppy, why don't you attack me? I doubt you have the guts to shoot me. I'll make you a deal. Dimitri can have you on the side. It's common enough for our kind. We'll even look the other way about the whole treaty and sacrifice deal. You can be an amusing object at court. A curiosity."

"NO."

Irina snickered. "You really think you have any shot at avoiding your fate? How cute. But you don't. You were dead before you were born. You should have just hid in one of your hick towns in America working at the local diner or whatever it is you people do. Married some jock, pumped out more disgusting humans, become a soccer mom with a boring life. But no, you had to be arrogant enough to make you could get a degree, make a difference."

"At least I'm not a bloodsucking princess who terrorized an entire city for a guy who clearly doesn't want her," Ariana snarled.

Dimitri grinned. "She doesn't even need to fire that weapon to do damage, Irina. I suggest you leave now."

Irina smirked, and beckoned to her loyal guard who'd slipped in after her. "Oh, but I have one final offer."

Her guard dragged in two middle-aged humans. The woman halfway looked like a Wilberforce, but the man was utterly dull.

Ariana gasped in horror. "Aunt Sally? Uncle Bill?"

Savoring the upper hand, Irina offered, "You agree to our deal, and you can have your aunt and uncle back unharmed. Refuse, and I'll drain them both dry. What's it going to be?"