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Seven Years Ago
day 324 since capture
The lavender scented essential oils didn’t help as much as Shiloh was hoping. Nor did soaking her body in the warm water, with relaxing music playing in the background, alleviate her stress levels. Merely being in this place for the past few days had turned her back and shoulder muscles into knots so tight, no amount of aromatherapy was going to unclench them.
One more day, she reminded herself. She only had to endure being here for one more day, then she’d be on her way back to Drake’s estate...
... and then what?
She believed Drake when he told her he’d gotten the vampires under control, that none of them was going to hurt her anymore. But that didn’t stop the nagging voice in her head, whispering that she was missing something, a terrible secret brewing beneath the surface. How much longer could she keep leaning on Drake’s support and ignore—
Suddenly, somebody kicked open the bathroom door with a loud bang that made her jump. She started to scream, until she realized it was Drake and stopped herself. But then she got a good look at his face. There was something dangerous there, furious and desperate all at once.
“We need to leave. Now.”
“W-what?” Shiloh asked, her heart kicking into overdrive.
“We can’t wait till tomorrow; we have to go home right now.”
“But... won’t that look bad?”
“I don’t care how it looks, we’re going.”
Her head started spinning. “Drake, I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
“Later. Pack everything you need while I go get the others.”
She didn’t want to upset him further, but she also needed to know what the hell was happening. “Okay, look, why don’t you tell me while I pack and then we can—”
“Stop talking and do as I say!” he exploded, his golden eyes flashing brighter than ever as he advanced on her in the tub.
Shiloh recoiled away from him, eyes wide with terror, which he noticed immediately. But despite the remorse in his eyes, he couldn’t easily control his rage. He was too agitated to calm himself down. Still, he took one brief, deep breath.
“Shiloh, please,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “There’s no time to explain. Just get whatever is essential and let’s go.”
Wordlessly, she turned and obeyed. Her eyes stung as she grabbed everything she had brought with her—the few things she had unpacked, at least. Her body shook the entire time but she forced the tears not to fall.
It wasn’t until they were several miles away from the estate, headed to a private airport where Drake had impulsively rented a jet for the night, before he finally spoke to her. He took a gentler approach, reaching for her hand. She involuntarily flinched before he could touch her, which made him sigh.
“I am sorry, my love. Truly. If I had stopped to explain, you would have panicked, and I might not have gotten you out of there safely.”
Tentatively, she turned to face him. “Why would I have panicked?”
Some of that raging fury was back in his eyes, but it was much more contained now that they were far away from danger. “One of my elites defected to Lord’s Henry estate. She reported to him everything we’ve been doing. He tried to send someone after you, but I stopped them before they could hurt you.”
She blinked at him, uncomprehending. “I don’t understand. Why would he do this?”
“Because you’re important to me,” he replied, like it was obvious.
“I mean, why does he care what you do?”
He hesitated. “Things are so much more complicated than we originally thought.”
“Tell me.”
“Shi... It’ll only scare you.”
“I need to know,” she insisted.
The fear must have shown in her eyes, but her determination to be informed clearly took him by surprise, urging him to let her in.
“Lord Henry doesn’t have a typical recruitment process. He doesn’t hire human staff the way other vamphyrs do, and even his vampires are tightly controlled. He hand picks his favorite children every year, and those are the ones he gives the choice to leave. Anyone else at his estate, even if they were born there, stays there forever.”
“But,” she blinked, “how does he keep all the vampires fed if there’s no population control or a recruitment system?”
“He takes servants that other vamphyrs don’t want and trains them as his own. The younger, the better.”
Shiloh’s confusion gave way to horror.
“I’ve been trying to find a way to stop him since I ascended,” he assured her frantically, just as her thoughts began to spiral. “Or maybe convince him to change his methods, I don’t know, whichever worked. Either way, he didn’t like it. That’s why he sent people after you. But Shiloh, I’ll find a way to keep you safe. I promised you no one would hurt you again, and I mean to keep that promise.”
She couldn’t hear a word he said anymore. All of a sudden, the veil of pretend ignorance she’d been trying to hide behind was lifting, forcing her to acknowledge the horrors of this world and call them out for what they truly were.
All vamphyrs had a hand in human trafficking in one way or another. That much was evident from the beginning, though she’d been working very hard to avoid labeling it or even thinking about it. To make matters worse, vamphyr business often involved sexually assaulting some of their servants, to ensure that more and more fledglings were born. Shiloh had never considered that there might be a selection system in place for that, but there must have.
But now, as if all of that wasn’t enough... trafficking in children?!
The thought was enough to make her vomit, which Drake helped with by handing her a bag.
Was that why Lord Henry had seemed so interested in her when he first saw her? She was barely a legal adult, not even old enough to drink yet, but she’d always had youthful features. What would he have done if he’d managed to get his hands on her back then?
And what would he do once Drake could no longer keep him at bay?
