know. What kind of big sister are you to keep such important secrets from your baby brother?” To the guard, he said, “Strap this young human male to the table. I’d like to give him a little hands-on demonstration.”
She had to stall him. Every second brought Dom closer to her. “You seem to know a lot about us. So who the hell are you?”
The man tipped his head back and laughed, his large mouth gaping open like a macabre puppet and revealing long, yellow-stained teeth. “Yes, I suppose I do know quite a lot about you and your family. You’re Mackenzie Shaw—forgive me—Foster-Shaw and this is your brother, Corey Shaw.”
“Kenzie?” Corey looked as if he was going to throw up.
Skeletor continued. “Some know me as Pavlos, but, honestly, I prefer to be addressed as the Overlord.” He bowed, swept his arm dramatically in front of him, and her breath clogged on a thick lump in her throat.
The one who killed Dom’s parents.
Fury settled into her veins like a fast-acting poison and heat rushed to her face. This was who Dom had been searching for.
When Pavlos straightened, he snapped his fingers at the guard.
“You keep your filthy hands off him.” She moved completely in front of Corey and widened her stance.
“Isn’t that touching? I’d prefer to demonstrate on you, but I’m afraid I’d be unable to stop.” His hollow gray eyes darted hungrily from her face to both shoulders, or maybe both sides of her neck, then took a slow journey down her torso, finally stopping at her toes.
Instantly her skin felt dirty—she wanted to shed it like a snake.
“It’s been weeks since I’ve had a sweetblood because we’re saving those we find for our little experiment. Wait. I lied.” He covered his mouth with one bony hand. “I did have one yesterday. She failed to pass our tests, so I disposed of her myself. Besides—” he crinkled up his nose “—you reek of him. I’d need to have you properly prepared for me before I’d consider partaking in you.”
Corey’s eyes widened, the whites showing all around.
Pavlos snapped his fingers again. “I can’t wait all night.”
Their guard grabbed Corey as if he weighed nothing. Although she knew it was no use, she clung to her brother as tightly as she could.
“Alfonso, get her, will you?”
Mackenzie gasped when a figure emerged from the shadows near the doorway. How could she not have noticed him standing there when they walked in? Had he come in later?
Wait. Did Pavlos say Alfonso? As the man drew closer, her eyes widened. Although the coloring was different, the strong jawline and the icy-blue stare were exactly the same.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
“MISS SHAW, MEET your boyfriend’s brother, Alfonso Serrano. He’s one of my lieutenants and has been for years.”
She shrank from Alfonso as he loomed above her. Before she knew what was happening, he clamped a strong hand on her shoulder and pulled her away from Corey. Like a mother bear protecting its young, she kicked at his legs, swung her handcuffed arms, but it was like hitting a steel pillar. He slid an arm around her neck and held her immobile.
“Bastard,” she breathed.
“He doesn’t subscribe to the apostasy of his brother—or his whole family, for that matter. Or the rest of the Council and their Agency lackeys. He believes in the supremacy of the vampire race, as do all those affiliated with the Darkblood Alliance. Isn’t that right, Alfonso?”
“Yes, m’lord.”
“Your boyfriend may have gotten the tenacity, but his brother here got the brains.”
Alfonso dipped his head and kept his eyes on the ground as Pavlos continued.
“We are the superior race, Miss Shaw, and I’m afraid that you’re just a delicious dietary requirement.”
Mackenzie watched in horror as the guard strapped Corey to a gurney and Pavlos approached him. Although she couldn’t be sure, it felt as though Alfonso’s grip around her neck softened once Pavlos had turned away from her.
“Don’t worry. He won’t kill him right now.” The words were spoken so softly against her ear that she thought she may have imagined them. She swiveled around as best she could, but Alfonso’s expression was dark and guarded; only the muscle at the base of his jaw twitched.
Corey whimpered on the table as Pavlos took his hand.
“Unfortunately, Miss Shaw, as a sweetblood female in her childbearing years, you’re too valuable to sate my temporary needs with right now. But if you don’t pass our tests, we’ll get to know each other a hell of a lot better. I promise.”