in this territory posed a single threat to me. Lilith just hadn’t acknowledged that fact yet, but she would soon when I informed her that I had no intention of stepping down.
The meetings might be tedious, and I hated the political games, but it was quite clear this world could use my expertise. This new society hadn’t just gone to hell; they’d taken up residence somewhere beneath the devil’s ass. I really needed them to resurface somewhere closer to humanity to save our kind from a serious blood shortage in the future.
And this idiot across from me only added to that problem.
He’d gone through thousands of humans in the last six months by allowing his “clients” to overindulge on the product. It was grossly inadequate and fucking unacceptable. Blood camps required sufficient handlers, not gluttonous fools.
“You could try writing the names,” Damien suggested before glancing at me. “And yeah, he’s on the list.”
I shook my head. “She’s lost her fucking mind.”
“She wants a puppet,” Damien corrected. “Which you are not.”
I snorted. “I’ll give her a puppet.” Preferably with his head on a silver platter, delivered to her posh Chicago suite.
Oh, sorry. Lilith City suite.
I nearly rolled my eyes, but it felt too juvenile for the situation. Why the council chose her to lead them, I’d never understand. Several of them were too old to play into her scheming. Perhaps they were just bored and wanted to see how far she’d take it. As it turned out, she’d gone well into the deep end with all this reformation, destroying what used to be a rather intriguing world to live in. And none of them had done a damn thing to stop her.
Hence, my new role.
Someone needed to correct this shit, and apparently, that someone was me.
Yavi started scribbling on paper using one of my pens—which he didn’t ask to borrow—while Damien supervised. I didn’t bother to look, fully confident in Damien’s abilities to memorize the names and handle them appropriately. Any vampire who chose to live on infant or child blood didn’t belong in my territory. They can suck on rocks at the bottom of the ocean instead.
While Yavi worked, I used my monitor to flip on a visual of my suite. I’d left Willow fully sated in bed, her blood still a taunt on my tongue. She was an addiction I couldn’t quit, not that I wanted to.
I found her still lying in the bed, her blonde hair fanning across both our pillows. The sheets were tangled with her legs, leaving her upper body exposed. Seeing her all soft and sleepy made me want to ditch this meeting and go back to my suite, but I had a full night of this shit to get through first.
She stretched as though she knew I was watching, her tits beckoning for my mouth.
Soon, pet, I thought at her, wishing she could hear me.
It’d been hard not to fuck her these last two weeks. However, a lot could be said for delaying the inevitable. It intensified my yearning and added a strange challenge to the mix. I wanted her to choose me. To beg me. To demand it.
Only then would I give in to the desire to truly claim her.
Yavi finally finished his list, his expression bordering on irritated as he slid it across my desk. I didn’t even look at it, instead giving it to Damien. He folded it and slid it into the pocket of his black trousers, then went back to his corner again.
“Great.” I leaned forward with my arms on my desk and my hands clasped together. “So here’s the thing—I’m mandating a policy in my territory that forbids the purchase and consumption of blood from any human under the age of twenty. They’re not mature enough until they reach adulthood, which is why they are typically not sent to the blood camps until that age.” I glanced at Damien. “Right?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“Fantastic.” I refocused on Yavi. “So I believe our work here is done. Consider your request denied.”
He gaped at me. “Excuse me?”
“Yes, you’re excused,” I agreed, falling back into my chair. “Damien, if you schedule another meeting of this nature, I’ll kill you.”
“You can try,” Damien returned, smirking.
Fair. He wouldn’t be all that easy a mark because he knew me too well. And he’d learned from the best—me.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand,” Yavi said. “You can’t just deny my request. There’s not enough blood to feed those living in Yavi City.”