with Mouse, who was frowning at him severely. She didn’t have to sign at him to tell him what she was thinking.
“Don’t touch anything without Mouse’s permission.”
Analie nodded distractedly, wondering if she might be able to use any of this against the vampires. Maybe with this much weaponry her inexperience wouldn’t matter. She’d have to worry about it later, since Royce was nudging her along again. Mouse led the way, bringing them to a sparsely furnished bedroom beyond the kitchen.
“Mouse’s last roommate took his things with him when he left,” Royce said. “You can redecorate however you like. If you damage any property, it will be added to the existing tally.”
Analie’s shoulders slumped. Her new room was many times larger than the one at home with Gavin, but this one was cold, empty. There was a large bed, an end-table flanking either side of it, and a dresser. There was a bathroom and closet across the room. No windows. No artwork or posters or anything to make it feel more inviting. No sprawling crayon drawings of epic battles in the backyard left behind by Jo-Jo. Just plain, off-white walls and the acrid reek of vampire musk and old blood. That this was home now brought unbidden tears springing to her eyes, hurrying inside to avoid the leeches beside her.
Royce wondered how long it would take her alpha to hit the roof and contact him to negotiate the pup’s freedom. Bringing her to his haven was both a blessing and a curse. Once she returned to her people, she could tell them details about his home, true—but she would also bring word of his strength of numbers and how powerful his progeny were. It might be enough to stave off an assault.
He disliked the necessity of having such a dangerous beast sharing room and board with one of his people, but Mouse was the least outright intimidating of his number who could hold her own if Analie lost control and shifted. He’d expected and wasn’t moved by her distress, though he hoped Mouse’s relatively gentle temperament would prove a good match for the pup. He frequently dealt with upset humans once they realized what they’d gotten themselves into by signing contracts. At this point, he was more worried what might happen if Analie channeled that upset into the shift or some other violent tendencies.
He’d truly hoped that Christoph would have been the one to come with him tonight. He would have been useful. The girl would make for good leverage in negotiations, but he wasn’t entirely sure the Los Angeles-based pack of werewolves would have anything he might want. If they didn’t, of course he’d hold her to the five year arrangement. However, unless he invested more of his resources into her, she wouldn’t be useful to him for months. Even so, she might not even be truly valuable to him until she returned to her pack.
He was well aware of the dangers the Goliath Weres posed to his kind. He’d have to weigh the benefits of having a groomed contact in the pack later versus any immediate monetary gains and potential retaliation from the intense hatred stirred up by his actions. A very small part of him felt a thrill of fear at the idea of coming face-to-face with a Were that had survived for centuries by dining on the blood and flesh of vampire-kind. An act so heinous and unclean, it made the undead seem positively normal by comparison.
The rest of him was delighted by the possibilities. Either way, he’d have to do everything he could to make sure she came around, viewing him with the awe and adoration the rest of his people held him in. It would be gradual, of course, but he was confident he could sway her over time.
“If there is anything you need, tell Mouse and she will inform me. Before I leave, is there anything you require? Anything to eat? Something picked up from where you were staying with Christoph, perhaps?”
Mutely, Analie shook her head, closing her eyes to stem the flow of tears trickling down her cheeks. At least they couldn’t see her cry with her back turned to them both.
“Very well. I’ll leave you to get settled. I’ll check back with you tomorrow evening.”
The two vampires left her, Royce shutting the door to let her have her moment of grief in peace and solitude. Once the futility of the situation settled in, he could start building her up as he desired.