days as a low-rank.” Christoph laughed. “I’d love to see you try to pull some of your fancy moves now. Look at you, they’re not even guarding you anymore. I swear, I wish I had a camera. Send the pictures home titled: Ashi just got neutered.”
“You joke when you’re scared,” Ashi said, staring at the floor.
Christoph clenched his jaw. “Shut up.”
He didn’t joke anymore after that.
Arnold glanced at them warily from Royce’s desk, pausing in his task of etching the glyphs into the leather of the second collar. “You’re lucky you can still joke. If you’d done this kind of thing to the Moonwalker alpha or at The Circle, we would’ve killed you. I don’t know why the hell he wants to keep you around.”
John spoke up hollowly from the corner he’d pressed himself into, watching Christoph with overbright eyes. “Food.”
Arnold jerked his attention over to John, the horrified look quickly passing into one of understanding and distaste. “Free meals. They’re Others, so you don’t have to contract them. You’re sick.”
Mouse made a soft hissing noise. John sneered at the mage.
“Shut up. You don’t have any idea how hard it is for us to get by without being able to take what we want anymore. Some of us practically starve ourselves so we don’t break those stupid laws.”
Arnold said nothing, bending back to his task, looking grim and unhappy.
Christoph laughed upon hearing what John said, his voice almost cracking. Laugh lest he cry.
“See, Ashi? Lots to laugh about. We should get bumper stickers. ‘I got bitten in New York and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker.’ But that could get confusing because we could have been turned Were in New York. You’d have to say something like, ‘I got sucked in New York’ or ‘eaten’ or ‘was a smoothie’ or something like that.”
“Shut up,” Ashi muttered, still holding onto his collar.
“Hey, maybe we get juice and cookies. Humans get juice and cookies when they finish donating blood. Hey, you’re human now! You could get juice and cookies.”
“Would you shut up!” Ashi snapped.
“Maybe it’s tailored to fit our tastes. Maybe I get beer and chips and you get whatever it is in life you enjoy. Beaten children and fear.”
“I am very serious about wanting you to shut up right now.”
“Then come over here and beat me up with your superior strength. Oh, wait.” Christoph laughed again. His voice was definitely cracking.
Ashi rolled his eyes. “Good to see you’re holding up well under the strain.”
“We’re like punchbowls!”
Ashi shook his head.
“At least you’re like punchbowls instead of plastic cups, to be used and discarded,” John snarled, pacing now as they waited for Royce to return. “Some of us would never have been so kind. If I was in charge, you would’ve been sucked dry and left to rot, not kept like treasured pets.”
Mouse, though still vigilant about keeping Christoph under guard, was rolling her eyes. Arnold muttered something unheard under his breath.
“I mean, look at you. You barge in here, tear up the master vampire’s bedroom, and he leaves you alive. Don’t you think you should be thankful you aren’t smears on the walls right now?” John was avoiding looking at anyone, pacing back and forth, fangs extended and eyes showing hints of red from his agitation. “Damn it, if I’d been in his place, I would’ve just killed you both.”
“Then I suppose we should be thankful that I’m still the one in charge,” Royce stated mildly as he came through the door, though the implied threat underlying the words had John cringing back and stuttering apologies. Royce cut him off with a sharp motion of his hand, ignoring him and walking over to study Arnold’s handiwork. The second collar was aglow, ready except for the few drops of blood that would be needed to key it to Christoph.
Arnold picked it up and trudged closer to Mouse, shoulders slumping. For his part, the ancient vampire was quiet, nodding affirmation to Mouse.
She seemed rather apologetic when she nicked Christoph this time, the cut tiny and precise, not nearly as deep as what she’d done to Ashi. Arnold reluctantly handed the second collar over to Royce, who didn’t waste any time in moving closer to Christoph to set the studded leather around his neck.
* * *
Analie shuddered, an uncomfortable, tingling feeling bolting up her spine. She wasn’t sure if it was because of some magic going on upstairs or because of the idea of her packmates being collared.
* * *
'Walk the quiet path