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From Protector of the Grey House:

“Who is this?” Dominic stepped forward to ask the question. He had a lecherous look on his face as he looked Natalia up and down.

Natalia stepped away from her man, and faced the bold vampire down. He was the same height as her. Natalia stared at him coldly until he looked away and took a step back. She still scrutinized the man, and assessed him as he tried not to meet her gaze. He fidgeted in his new suit, uncomfortable with the tight cotton. It was obvious he almost never wore anything so formal. Vincent had sent his Lieutenants suits and dresses, as he knew that most did not own formal wear. The new clothing made half the assembled look uncomfortable.

As Natalia stared down Dominic, another voice echoed the question. This voice was more submissive, more admiring. “Yes, Vincent. Who is this?” Natalia turned to the voice, smiled to Rowland, then gave him a small bow.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“I am done with secrets. Fetch Natalia, now.”

“Really? Fetch? As if I’m a plaything? Or a bone?”

Her voice stopped him dead in his tracks. She stood to the left of the staircase, her hand on the railing. She wore a flowing blue top, with slacks and sensible shoes. He narrowed his eyes. He wanted her out of those clothes and in his bed. Vincent growled and turned his attention to Joseph. “Where is Anthony?”

“Here, Vincent.” His voice came from the right, near Vincent’s study. The man looked troubled but relaxed.

Vincent looked back and forth between the two, then growled at Natalia again. “You betrayed me.” His anger, which he thought satiated, came back ten-fold. “Tell me why I shouldn’t strip you of your rank and toss you into the oubliette.”

Mierka appeared in front of Natalia out of nowhere. “You do and you’ll have to deal with more than you bargained for. Her actions were not her own.”

Vincent bared his teeth and growled at Mierka as his hands formed fists. Joseph moved to stand between Mierka and Vincent. Vincent growled louder and elongated his fangs.

“I will fight both of you! Step aside and let her speak!”

“You wouldn’t listen to us, which leads me to believe you would not listen to her either.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

Vincent glanced toward Edwin, who stood in the middle of the room surrounded by the others. He was filthy. Dirt and blood coated his clothing, and he hid his missing hand. The crowd parted to allow Vincent and Natalia to enter the circle and closed in after them. Vincent let go of Natalia’s arm and went to stand in front of Edwin. He looked at his Lieutenants again, then back at Edwin. Vincent crossed his arms and smirked.

“Do you remember when you came here looking to take Natalia from me?”

Edwin looked confused by the question but nodded.

“What happened that night? Answer truthfully and this will go well for you.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

His voice and touch were tender, but the look in his eyes betrayed the deadly seriousness. Natalia felt compelled to argue, but knew she had no reason to, therefore changed tactics. “When I told you of my dream, why didn’t you tell me the room existed?”

“I want you to ask me to change you into a vampire because you wish it to be me, not because I have a room that was in your dreams.” Irritated with the conversation, he turned and started for the door. “This discussion is over. Shower while I feed.”

She watched his retreating back, but kept her words to herself. She trounced off to their bedroom, grabbed her robe and headed for the bathroom, as she fumed about his attitude. A tiny thought in the far reaches of her mind tried to speak up about her own attitude, but it was stomped into oblivion before it had a voice. She angrily ripped off her clothes, threw them aside and stepped into the shower.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Sire. Your warriors have returned.”

“There is blood if you need it.” She announced to the group at large. She linked her arm with Vincent’s, started him toward the house, and almost ignored the rest. “Come. Take me to bed and tell me all about it.”

The disquieting feeling a mere mouse of a whisper in the back of his thoughts, he picked Lorraine up, carried her into her house, and upstairs to her bedroom. She laughed delightedly the whole time. Behind them, a disgruntled Rowland scowled after them. Joseph, who understood Rowland’s feelings leaned forward and voiced his thoughts.

“When was the last time you shared her?”

“The last time he was here.” Rowland shared Lorraine’s bed for many years, as long as Vincent was on the other side of the country.

“Why not take another while he sleeps within your sire’s house?”

“Because currently, I don’t desire another.” Rowland walked into the house in search of blood. Joseph smiled to himself and followed the disgruntled vampire in as Anthony came up beside him.

From Protector of the Grey House:

“You, Mierka, Anthony, myself. When she’s up to it. Maybe two or three weeks from now.”

“Do you think it’s wise to use Anthony?”

“We need to use someone we trust whom she wouldn’t want to possess her.”

“As you wish.”

Vincent stared at his bodyguard, another subject rising to the surface. “I hear the smirk in your voice.”

“You’ve decided in Natalia’s favor for all this.”

Vincent leaned back in chair and thought about Joseph’s statement for a moment or two before nodding. “I suppose I have.”

“It’s the right course of action, sir. She wasn’t to blame. She sits in the bedroom, on the bed she shares with you, a pensive, almost lost look in her eyes. She feels remorse for her actions.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Help me!”

“Go to Hell.”

When she dressed earlier, Natalia had the urge to wear her favorite boots. They were a deep rich red, made from hard leather with a steel toe tip. She wore the boots whenever she was headed for a fight as they were almost weapons unto themselves. She was delighted she had gone with the impulse as she prodded his fingers with the inch thick, hard rubber soles. His face turned to pure terror as she very slowly and very carefully stepped on his fingers and ground his bones with her boots. He and the creature below him howled in unison as pain, then fear, echoed in the oubliette. Franklin fell when she stepped onto his other hand. Her smile was pure pleasure when she heard his bones crunch. He apparently didn’t know how to fall.

From Protector of the Grey House:

She paused again. Vincent went to stand behind her and placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. She looked as if she wanted to pounce on Anthony. “I went. I had no desire to hurt the Slayers; they gathered knowledge, not bodies. I arrived at their apartment and Wayne was there, captured, and tied to the wall. There were six Slayers there I had never met, along with the four that I had been talking to. The six new ones were dressed in tight comfortable clothing, like we do when we spar here. I figured them for warriors, rather than information gatherers. Apparently, Wayne didn’t know not to look through Slayer’s windows. The four I knew had seen him and called reinforcements. When I arrived, two of the warriors grabbed my arms. I let them, as I wanted to understand what was going on. I recognized Wayne but wasn’t sure why he was there.”

She ground her teeth and her hands formed into fists. “They spent the next few hours cutting his skin off in thin strips. When he wouldn’t talk, they fed him my blood.” Vincent’s hand tightened on her shoulder. Anthony glanced away from her to watch Vincent’s reaction. The lead vampire revealed no emotions, therefore Anthony once again captured Natalia’s gaze. He listened to her story, to try and find any lies.

From Protector of the Grey House:

Natalia stood by the window in the sitting room and stared out at the land around her. She tried to peer into the darkness, and wondered where the wolves were. The sky was clouded over and hid the nearly full moon. Time spun away as she stared into the gloom and a small voice in her mind called to her and urge her to return to the secret room. Worn out from the past few days, she stood at the window and pushed all thoughts aside. She didn’t hear when Mierka and Joseph passed her. They moved silently which allowed Vincent to sneak up behind his woman. Her first indication of his presence was when he placed his hands to either side of her on the window and pressed himself against her. The action trapped her between the windowpane and the large vampire. She leaned into him fully and waited for his next move.

“Did he do anything to you that I haven’t?” He nuzzled her neck as his hunger grew.

“He told you?” The glass was warmer than he and she could feel his desire in his strength.

“He didn’t have to. You smell like him. If you didn’t reek of his scent, I’d have thrown you on the floor and taken what’s mine.”

From Protector of the Grey House:

“Hello?” Natalia paced the small room as she answered the prepaid phone.

“He’s returning tonight and would like to see you.” Joseph’s stoic voice revealed nothing.

“How is he?”

“He isn’t listening to either Mierka or myself. He still thinks you betrayed him by going into his room.”

She stopped and looked out the window. There was a motel parking lot beyond the glass and not much else. “Didn’t I?”

“Think of this carefully: is this really something you would have done on any other occasion? Has there been an occasion where you wondered if there was a hidden room?”

“Joseph, I don’t know. It’s never come up.”

“Why hasn’t it?”

She paused. “What?”

“In all the years you’ve lived in this house, why have you never wondered about a hidden room? You’ve seen that hallway thousands of times. Why did you never, until this instance, feel the need to question its lack of doors?”