Jasper rushed into the anteroom so suddenly that Bree jumped up startled. The sudden motion caused her to momentarily lose her balance and in an attempt to right herself she thrust her hand out to grab the first thing she could find, which happened to be a dainty tea table. The sudden leaning of her weight into it caused it to skid across the floor a few inches until it butted against the rug. It then tipped, throwing the delicate tea spread across the floor. Bree gasped as she snapped the table back up but whimpered when the beautiful array of fine foods and pristine porcelain continued their flight off the table into the wall and onto the floor. The shattering sound of the smashing bone china brought a young slave girl into the room right behind Jasper so quickly that she crashed right into him when he stopped short.
Jasper turned on the girl and clutched her firmly by the shoulders, shaking her once but hard. She cried out but the force of his jolting her caused her jaw to clamp shut, cutting off her voice suddenly with a chomp to her tongue. Blood rushed from her mouth when she opened it to gasp, but seeing Jasper’s blood thirsty eyes with the addition of Zane now jumping up behind him, she was quick to suck in what she could as she drew her lips together tightly. She did not know what she had done so wrong to deserve the Emperor’s wrath when she heard him growling and hissing, for she had merely come running at what sounded like something that needed her immediate attention. The more quickly a spill is cleaned, the less likely it is to stain, right?
“Will you watch where you are going, you fool!” Jasper was yelling at the slave now, his gray eyes vicious and angry as he glared at her. His shoulder length hair draped over part of his ashen face, silky and smooth and inky black. His father stood behind him and they looked like brothers to the trembling slave, who peered nervously from one to the other and back. They could have been identical in age she thought, and neither looked over 25. Both had the same jet black hair and silvery eyes, the only difference was where Zane’s features were beautifully chiseled into gothic splendor, Jasper possessed the softer curves of his mother’s face accentuated by his sleek shoulder length locks as opposed to Zane’s spiky layers. Both father and son, however, had the same sneering mouth, each with a set of lethally sharp fangs now fully extended. The poor girl melted in fear… did such an innocent mishap really warrant such cruelty to follow?
Bree did not see her husband and son descend upon the helpless slave with the intent to devour her. She was eyeing the ruined spread of what had only a moment ago been a gorgeous little display of French macaroons in pretty pastel shades and mini pastries. Just as she knelt down to begin picking up what she could of the smeared mess of roulades and tartelettes meshed with broken shards of china, Zane’s sharp command caused her to freeze where she was, her slender hand in mid air just above the floor. He was next to her in a flash, ordering her not to clean what that clumsy slave should be picking up.
Bree looked at him and spoke with a soft and timid voice. “It was not her fault this happened.” She turned and put her hands on Zane’s hands, massaging them in an effort to calm his fierce anger. “Please do not take it out on her, it was me who did this and I cannot bear the thought of being responsible for what pain you want to inflict upon her because of my own mistake.” Her eyes plead with him as the young slave could be heard whimpering under Jasper, who had not yet released his hold on her. Bree stood and left Zane to go to Jasper. The slave, a pretty teenage girl with ashy blond hair and a simple face, looked at Bree with tears in her deep blue eyes. They seemed puffy, thought Bree, as if the girl had spent the night before crying in her sleep. She begged Jasper to release the girl and he did, but not without another sharp thrust to her as he cast her away from him. She stumbled backward and turned to leave but stopped suddenly when Zane ordered her to stay and clean the mess on the floor. She crept back over to where he was crouching, fearing coming too close to him lest he decide to snack on her blood.
