Feral Bonds

Chapter 6

"Looks like you handle daily draws just fine," Vincent commented, watching his bite marks fade away. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Natania admitted.

"Expected." He walked in front of her. "Let me know if it becomes too much."

"All right." She could deal with tired. It was no worse than being constantly on alert, waiting for someone to creep up on her while she was sleeping. At least here she could sleep uninterrupted, even if she had constant nightmares.

"Is the food to your liking? You can leave requests with my chef if not." He frowned. "I'm afraid I don't need to eat so I haven't tried it myself."

"I'm not picky," she said. Even if she had been, the food alone was worth the discomfort of the bites. The chef made a large homemade meal three times a day, and between those times there were snacks laid out. Crackers, meat, cheese, fruit, vegetables and sandwiches cut into little triangles.

The previous day's dinner had been some sort of pastry wrapped roast she'd never heard of before with potatoes and honey glazed carrots. The weight she had lost was slowly returning, and she could no longer count her ribs from a mile away. She scratched her head. "It's good."

"Good, good," Vincent muttered, then glanced around like he wasn't entirely sure what to do with her. "Do you need anything else?"

"I'm okay," she muttered. "Thanks." She found it odd the vampires were treating her like some honoured guest instead of the indentured servant she technically was. Especially after what she'd heard about the master vampire while looking for him. She'd half expected to be chained up in a dungeon with IVs attached to steal her blood. But it was all normal, except for his weird taste in red velvet furniture.

Natania rubbed her arms. "Have you..." he raised an eyebrow and she glanced at the ground, "heard anything about my pack?"

"There have been more wolves in the area lately," he said, "but I highly doubt any will be brave enough to approach my home, even if they were positive you were here." His tone softened. "You're safe."

Safe. It felt like a foreign concept. She didn't even remember the last time she had actually felt safe. Maybe before her father had discovered her relationship with Leah. Natania nodded once.

"If they do," Lily spoke up from behind her, the pink haired vampire had taken to waking and escorting her each morning until she got used to the schedule. Natania had suggested using the alarm on the provided clock, but Lily had assured her that none of them wanted to listen to that kind of sound when they woke, and escorting her was no trouble.

Natania turned her head to meet Lily's gaze. "They'll learn quickly to stay away." Lily gave Natania a warm smile.

Natania tried not to grimace in response. She didn't want any of her pack dead, it wasn't their fault they had to follow orders. Wasn't their fault Rigaldo had enough magic to charm a porcupine out of its spikes.

Her stomach growled suddenly, and loudly. Natania winced in embarrassment. Vincent snorted. "Go eat."

Lily looped her elbow around Natania's arm, practically dragging her toward the kitchen. "Come on wolfie."

Natania followed after her obediently. They walked past several staff members, all of them scurrying out of their path when they caught sight of Lily. Natania frowned as Lily slowly lost her easy smile with each one that fled.

She didn't know why they were all so afraid of Lily, but she made a mental note to see if she could do anything about it. Her persuasion magic was weak for one of her kind, but there were other ways to shift the fear of humans.