Two weeks had passed, and Alec’s beloved Brie once again was healthy. It seemed her near death experience brought them a lot closer than they were before. As proof, Alec could go back to violating her at will. Also, Boris and Selena had made up. Things were finally getting back to normal in the Clan of Farmers.
On a very rare occasion, the nursery would be empty. During this time, there were other things around the farm that required attention. Seasonal painting and repairs, and the paperwork needed to be caught up. With his newfound knowledge of his son’s affection for Brie, Bartholomew was more determined than ever to keep them apart when he could.
He wanted to do this because he had her first, and intended on keeping her all to himself if it were possible. So Bartholomew decided it would be best to separate the foursome. He decided to send Alec and Boris out of the castle to tend to different clan business. Brie, meanwhile, would staff the nursery and catch up on the necessary paperwork, while Selena would sit around and do nothing. This would allow Bartholomew to have Selena whenever he wished. Once he made his mind up, he called them together to tell them about their new duties.
“Since there aren’t any new babies, it’s time for us to replenish our blood bank,” he started to explain. “Alec and Boris, the two of you will go out and find donors for us. Brie and Selena will remain here.”
Boris, not happy about the prospect of leaving Selena alone, spoke up. “Forgive me for asking, my lord, but what will Selena be doing?” he inquired. “After all, she’s usually the one chasing down donors for us.”
“She’ll do what’s asked of her. She’ll fit in where I need her,” Bartholomew said in an angered tone. “If a pregnant mother comes in while the two of you are gone, she’ll do both Alec’s duty and your duty. If the donors in the blood bank need tending to, she’ll do that. If I need her to go on a diplomatic mission for me, she’ll do that. Understand?”
“Yes, my lord,” Boris replied, somewhat relieved Bartholomew’s response did not get physical.
“Well, what are you waiting on? We’ve had ten donors die in the past week. The blood bank is low. Get to it boys.”
Following their last confrontation, Alec still was afraid of Bartholomew, but he couldn’t resist speaking up either.
“And what of Brie?” Alec boldly asked. “Will you keep her safe?”
“Not to worry, Alec. Your precious Brie will be here when you return.”
“Thank you, my lord,” he said, satisfied.
“I said get going. Summer is upon us and the nights are short.”
Alec and Boris left the castle to seek out humans and vampires who were willing to risk their lives in the name of the Clan of Kings.
Along the way, they learned it was not as easy as Selena made it seem. They had to beg, plead, and pay most of the human donors. They had to threaten the vampires they came across with bodily harm. Despite this, they were actually enjoying themselves. But it wasn’t long before the spell Isabella put on Boris began to manifest itself. One moment, Boris was Alec’s friend. The next, he was the grumpy, foul-mouthed, ill-tempered man Alec met when he first arrived at the farm.
Alex, still worried about Brie’s safety, had enough of his companion’s complaining, and decided to find out the other side of Isabella’s story.
“Damn it, Boris. Please shut up for just a minute,” Alec lashed out as the two stopped and sat down on some tree stumps. “You’re really getting on my nerves.”
“Fuck you, Alec,” Boris spewed. “Remember, you’re sitting pretty in my old chair, and because of you, I’ve been reduced to a servant.”
“Relax my friend. You don’t have to talk to me like that. I know why you are the way you are.”
“What the hell do you mean? You know why I am the way I am? You know nothing about me.”
“How quickly you forget. I’m the most favor-”
Boris had heard this speech many times during their eighty years together, so this time, he finished it for Alec.
“Yes, I know. You’re favored above all, and the most handsome. I know Alec,” Boris said as he got up and glared at Alec. “I’ve heard it a million times. By the way, I’m the most handsome, not you. The only one who wants you is Brie. All of the women in our clan want me, including Brie.”
“Now I know you’re so full of shit you can hardly stand your own smell,” Alec said before noticing two vampires entering the house they were watching. “Be still my friend,” Alec said in a hushed voice. “Remember, we have clan business to take care of.”
Alec and Boris gathered their thoughts before entering the house. There, they found ten vampires who weren’t members of their coven. Alec and Boris immediately showed the young vampires they were very scary men before getting them to submit two days later. Once the collectors gathered the vampires from the house, Alec and Boris were onto the next location.
“Hey, what do you mean you know why I am the way I am?” Boris asked all but picking up where they left off two days earlier.
Alec had completely forgotten about the conversation. “What?” he asked. Not sure what Boris was talking about.
“You said you know why I am the way I am. What did you mean?”
“Oh, well, when Brie was hurt, Lady Isabella came to me and told me something that intrigued me.”
“What did the dragon lady have to say?”
Alec stopped in his tracks and turned to Boris. “She told me you were once her servant. Is this true?”
Boris hung his head in shame.” Yes, my friend,” he answered. “In a sense, I did belong to her and my clan leader at one time. What else did she tell you?”
“She said you were in love with her.”
“How much did she tell you?” Boris said as his head jerked his back up.
“As much as she could without compromising her position. Boris, tell me. How do you feel about her being in the same bed as Bartholomew?”
“I don’t feel anything about it. You know my feelings for Selena.”
“Well, personally I think Lady Isabella is in love with you, and has been for a long time.”
“Why do you say that?” Boris asked.
“Because she told me she has invaded your secret dreams. Dreams of her. She’s under the impression you were in love with her. She warped your mind. Because of this, you’re the foulest creature on the planet when you’re not with Selena.”
Boris stood there looking at his friend almost unable to comprehend what was coming from Alec’s mouth.
“Look, Lady Isabella has been in control of your mind for years,” Alec continued to explain. “Not only did she invade your dreams, she put, dare I say it, she put a spell on you. This makes you the foul creature you are now when you’re gone from the one you love for too long.”
“Why are you telling me this now? You’ve known about this for weeks,” Boris said as he clinched his fists in anger.
“She also told me she can’t reach anyone’s mind if they’re at least 100 miles away. Think about it. I’m out of her reach, and she can’t get to me. Forgive me, my friend. I would have told you sooner, but since she has told me of this, she has been watching to see if I would tell you. I couldn’t risk saying anything back home. She would have been all over me, and I couldn’t risk it.” Boris said nothing. He only stared at Alec. “What’s the matter with you?” Alec asked as he waved his hands in front of Boris’s face.
Boris suddenly cracked a smile. “The dragon lady has just helped our cause,” he said.
“She did? How?”
“Well, if you think she’s in love with me, perhaps I’ll find out.”
“Selena will castrate you.”
“Not if she doesn’t know what I’m doing.”
“Well don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”
“Good, because I wasn’t going to tell you anyway.”
Alec just smiled. “Whatever, how many donors are we up to?”
“With the ten that went with the collectors, I think that’s fifty.”
“Good. I think Master Bartholomew should be happy with that. Let’s go home.”
While Alec and Boris were out of the castle, Bartholomew was having his way with as many of his clan he could. Sometimes he had up to three at once. Isabella was always included if he was with more than one. She herself enjoyed a good threesome, especially if it were she and two men.
Bartholomew stayed away from Brie, but Selena was fair game. He was careful not to hurt her because he didn’t want Alec and Boris angry with him. He kissed her softly, and only nipped at her. He even transformed into the swarm of butterflies so she would receive pleasure that way. When he penetrated her body, he wanted so badly to try to tear up her insides, but still, he was gentle.
Once he was finished with her, he would send her back to her room. To her surprise, she would find three male vampires waiting to take turns with her. Once they were finished, she was completely exhausted.
Bartholomew knew this, but still would make her get up and tend to the donors. Once she was finished with that, she finally could sleep.
Bartholomew wasn’t doing anything out of his usual nature. But since he couldn’t have Brie, he had decided to punish all those closest to her. Perhaps if she saw this, she would come to him, he thought. To his surprise, she never did.
It took two days for Alec and Boris to return to the castle. As they got closer to the courtyard, they could see a figure scrubbing the stones, but they couldn’t see who it was.
As they watched, the figure suddenly collapsed. Alec and Boris ran to see who it was. To both of their surprises, it was Selena. Boris was beside himself.
“Selena, honey wake up!” he shouted, but Selena didn’t move. “Selena, wake up!”
Alec said nothing, he only ran inside the castle to get the medics.
“Selena, wake up damn it!” Alec could hear Boris screaming as he ran down the hallway.
When Selena finally came to, she looked up at Boris, and quietly whispered, “Kill him,” and she went right back to sleep.
As she lay in his arms, Boris started to examine her body closely. There were no scars or bite marks on her. But she was filthy, and she reeked of both human and vampire blood. He picked her up and began walking inside when Alec, Brie, and the medics came running to help.
They saw Selena’s limp body in Boris’s arms and immediately thought the worst.
“Is she…dead?” Brie asked as a tear fell from her right eye.
“No. Just sleeping,” Boris answered as he continued to walk.
One of the medics held his arms out to take Selena, but Boris was not having it.
“Master Boris, please let me take her,” the medic pleaded.
Boris held onto Selena even tighter, and hissed at the medic, who quickly backed away.
Now that Alec knew Selena was okay, he had to get Boris to let her go. “She’s fine Boris. Let the medics do their job,” he reasoned with his friend.
“No!”
“I’ll make sure she’s okay. I’ll go with her,” Brie said as she touched Boris on the arm. “I won’t let anyone hurt her. I promise.”
Boris looked at Brie, and then at Alec. Alec nodded his head.
Brie backed away as Boris handed Selena to the medic. They all turned and walked into the castle with Brie in tow. Boris just stood very still and watched as they took her inside. When she was no longer in sight, he allowed a tear to roll down his cheek. Alec saw this and immediately became concerned. He was afraid Boris was going to storm inside and attempt to kill their master. He knew he had to find out what was going on inside Boris’ head.
“Boris, she’s okay. She’s just tired, is all,” Alec said in an attempt to console Boris.
“He tried to kill her,” Boris replied without hesitation.
“I don’t think so.”
“He can’t get to Brie, so he’s punishing her friends.”
“Why would he do that?”
“To make Brie come to him. You know how sweet and nurturing she is. She would do anything to keep those around her from suffering.”
“Do you really think that’s what he’s doing?”
“When you went inside, Selena woke up long enough to say two words to me. Do you want to know what she said?”
“What?”
“Kill him.”
Alec’s earlier concern now turned to worry. “Boris, don’t go in there. If you do, he’ll kill you.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’ve had just about enough of him. He was always cruel, that I can handle. Abuse is another matter.”
“My friend, we’ll deal with this, just not now.”
“Then when?” Boris screamed as he punched the castle wall.
“Calm down. We’ll go to the elders. They’ll deal with him.”
Boris just laughed. “The elders? The elders? Alec he’s a clan leader. He holds a seat on the council. They won’t do anything to him.”
“You forget my friend. I have the power to make it happen.”
“Really? How do you suppose you’re going to be able to convince a bunch of age-old vampires to do your will? Tell me that, please.”
“I guess I’ve been Master Alec for so long, you’ve forgotten.”
“Forgotten what? What an ass you can be?”
“No. You’ve forgotten that my surname is Thorn.”
“I did forget. Forgive me, my lord,” Boris said as he offered up a smile to Alec.
“Look, just don’t do anything. I want you to take care of Selena because she’s going to need you to watch over her,” Alec said as he patted Boris on the back. “I want you to go inside the castle and be good. When Bartholomew asks to see you, go. When Bartholomew speaks to you in the hallways, be respectful and speak back. If he asks you about Selena, and you know he will, be respectful. Don’t talk back, and don’t get angry. Act as if you don’t even care about what happened to her.”
“What are you going to do?”
“While Selena is resting, I’m going to visit my father. I’ll be taking Brie with me. She hasn’t seen her father in a while. It would do her some good. Do you think you can behave without me?”
“As a matter of fact, I think I can.”
“Good.”
“Alec, what if the elders don’t do anything to fix things?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead yet. If this doesn’t work, we’ll find another way.”
“Alright, fine.”
“Now, go to her, she-”
Before Alec could finish his sentence, one of Bartholomew’s personal servants interrupted him. “My lord, Master Bartholomew would like to see you,” the servant said as he lowered his eyes.
Alec slapped Boris on the shoulder and said, “Go to her.” He then turned and went into the castle to see what Bartholomew wanted. When he arrived at his master’s chamber, he knocked as he usually did.
“Come,” Bartholomew bellowed.
“You wanted to see me, my lord?” Alec asked.
“Yes, Alec. Come in and have a seat.”
Alec entered the room and closed the door behind him. He sat down in the seat that was right next to Bartholomew.
“What is it, my lord?”
“How is Selena?”
“She collapsed in the courtyard, and the medics are taking a look at her now. I don’t yet know of her condition.”
“When you know how she is, please let me know.”
“Certainly.”
Alec knew Bartholomew wasn’t in the least bit concerned about Selena since he was the one who was working her so hard.
“I just wanted to also say you and Boris did a good job. Selena has never sent back so many,” Bartholomew said.
“It was a lot harder than it seems. The humans were easy. It was the vampires that were hard.”
“Good job anyway.”
“Thank you.”
Bartholomew stood up, walked halfway across the room, and turned to Alec. “Alec I want to apologize for the way I treated you the last time you were here. I never should have struck you,” he said.
‘What is he up to?’ Alec thought. ‘He never apologizes for anything.’ Alec was suspicious but didn’t want to be rude. “It’s very kind of you to apologize, my lord, but might I ask why?”
“Simply put, I need you. I’ve said it before. You have run the farm with outstanding precision since the first day you arrived. I’ve sat back and watched the ones around you trust you, befriend you, and dare I say, love you.
“After I struck you, I realized I was punishing you for protecting one you care about, and it wasn’t fair. I mean it’s perfectly normal for you to be in love.”
“Master, pardon my asking, but what are you getting at?” Alec asked as his skepticism grew.
“I think I’m ready to let you run the farm, I’m ready to move into the Castle of Kings and take my place as a clan leader and council member.”
Alec was still not comfortable with this conversation, so he pushed harder to get at the truth. “So, what you’re saying is that you want me to be in charge?”
“Yes, Alec, that’s exactly what I’m saying. However, there’s one condition.”
‘I knew it,’ Alec thought. “Okay, and what would that condition be?”
Bartholomew’s facial expression went from kindness to greed in a matter of seconds. “I want Brie,” he declared.
Alec was angered, but decided he would hide it. He was not about to give Bartholomew the opportunity to hit him again. So instead, he tried to alter the conversation a bit.
“My lord, what of Lady Isabella?”
“I’m clan leader. I choose the woman who is going to be at my side, and that’s all you need to know.”
Alec knew he could use this to his advantage, so he decided to continue playing the game. “Master, will you give me a few days to think about it?”
“What’s there to think about? I’m about to give you the best prize in the entire coven. All you have to do is let me have Brie.”
Alec stood up, looked Bartholomew in his eyes, smiled, and asked, “Did you try and kill Selena?”
Bartholomew was surprised by Alec’s query. “Of course not. While you and Boris were gone, there was a lot of work to do, and she was available. I did say before you left she would be here to do what was asked of her.”
“Yes you did, my lord. I apologize.”
“Apology accepted.”
“I must say that what you’re asking of me is titanic. Not saying I couldn’t handle the task. I just need some time to think about letting you have a woman whom I’ve loved since the moment I laid eyes on her.”
“You couldn’t have loved her that long.”
“Yes, master, I have.”
Bartholomew turned his back to Alec. “Take all the time you need.”
“I will my lord, thank you.”
The two of them stood in silence until Alec spoke up. “Master, do you think it possible that Brie and I take a vacation?”
“There’s no such thing as a vacation Alec,” Bartholomew replied as he turned to face Alec. “Didn’t I just say you’re the heartbeat of the farm?”
“Yes, you did, but I’d like to get Brie away from here. She hasn’t left these walls in a year.”
“What will you do?”
“I’ll take her some place nice and discuss what you’ve just told me. I think she’ll be more receptive to the idea if it came from me away from here.”
“I’ll let you go only after you’ve told me of your decision.”
“Agreed, my lord.”
“I’ve said all I intended to say. You’re excused.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Remember. Be sure to let me know of Selena’s condition.”
“I will, my lord.”
Alec left Bartholomew’s room, and immediately went to check on Selena. When he arrived in her room, the medics had just finished cleaning her up. She was lying in bed with a needle feeding her intravenously. She still was asleep.
“What happened to her?” Alec asked a deeply concerned Boris.
“Exhaustion and blood deprivation. She’ll be fine when she wakes.”
“I’m glad. Master Bartholomew was concerned about her condition as well.”
“Alec, you can’t believe that. He was the one who did this to her. He kept her so busy she had no time to feed.”
“Relax, old friend. When they’re finished with her, I would like to speak with both you and Brie. There are things afoot.”
“Understood.”
“I’m going to report Selena’s condition back to the master. Stay here. We’ll talk when I get back.”
Alec reported Selena’s condition to Bartholomew, who was satisfied with the news. He really wanted Alec to rise up and get angry over their earlier conversation, but since he didn’t, Bartholomew excused him.
When Alec returned to Selena’s room, Brie and Boris were just where he left them.
“So, what things are afoot?” Boris asked.
“It’s as we suspected. He did this to Selena to get Brie to go to him,” Alec explained.
“I knew it,” Boris said angrily.
Alec looked at Brie and said, “He admitted to me he wants you as his mate.”
“Alec, you can’t let him do this. He’ll kill me,” Brie said as she tried to control her anxiety.
“Of course I’m not going to let him have you,” Alec said as he stroked her hair. “I love you, remember?”
“I love you, too.”
Boris was getting impatient. “Enough of this you two. What are we going to do?” he asked as he started to pace the room.
“I haven’t told you everything,” Alec said.
“Well?” Boris asked.
“He told me he would give up the Baby Farm, leave everything to me, move into the Castle of Kings, and take his place amongst them, if I let him have Brie.”
“Always an impossible condition with him. So, Master Alec, what’s the plan?”
“Whatever it was you planned with Lady Isabella, I need you to do it, but only if it will help us. In the meantime, I’ll accept his proposal.”
“Alec, you just said that-”
Alec interrupted Boris and said, “I’m not going to give her up. However, in order for me to take Brie with me to see the elders, I have to give him my answer. Otherwise, he’ll never let us leave. Therefore, I’m going to accept his proposal. When we return, I hope the elders will summon him. If everything goes to plan, he’ll be gone. If not, it looks like we’ll have to take care of him ourselves.”
“Way to go, most favored above all,” Boris said in excitement. “When will you leave?”
“Not until Selena has healed. She’s a good fighter, and if things get ugly while I’m gone, you’re going to need her at full strength.”
Brie thought all of this was wonderful, but she suddenly thought of something she hadn’t up until that moment. “Alec, but what of the children?”
~~~