"Aliana, our Master owns you. All of you. He can take what is his when he wants. It is your duty as his pet to please him." I looked at Silver. Terror evident in my eyes. "Try not to panic, Aliana. This will be your first time. It will hurt...
As I drove with Philip back to the Crimson Castle, I could only think of the clusterfuck that my life had become. I had a very deep and very real desire to take Aliana and run. We could hide out in one of my many estates and finally get the time alone we deserved. The time we needed to reconnect and to strengthen the tenuous bond between us.
Instead I had just sat through the most frustrating meeting with my father and Philip. My father, in his infinite wisdom, had decided that we should explore the possibility of a Duo Fata. Philip had given him enough proof to believe that Aliana had been a help to his Madness. The fact that he had killed Britney and his maid while Aliana had been with me at her parents, had only helped to prove the girl had influence on him. He was found with the corpses, which he'd shredded to pieces, mumbling Aliana's name. He hadn't improved until she had returned to the castle. He'd sensed her presence and had gotten a bit of his sanity back. Seeing her at the meeting had been like a tonic, he'd said. Like a tonic. Bloody hell. What a fucking drama queen.
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Now, in his infinite wisdom, my father has asked that we share Aliana. Since I purchased her first and since I did not have an heir yet, she remains mine to breed. Philip will need to use a condom when he sleeps with her until she gives me an heir. After that it won't matter who breeds her. Any child she bears will be important to the Family. Since my place is larger, Philip will move in with us, though he will keep his apartment for his own use. Now my upstairs will need to be renovated to accommodate a new apartment space. So we will be living in Philip's home for a week while a crew of Vampires works 24 hour shifts to complete the work in a week's time.
Philip looked over at me. "I think we should tell Aliana that Britney killed herself. I don't think she would take the truth very well, even if I explained it was the Madness that caused me to do it." I rolled my eyes. "My father isn't here anymore, Philip. I think we can be honest with each other. I saw both your maid and Britney's condition before we left the castle. You're "so called Madness" started long before we left and both the maid and Britney were on their way to their deaths."
Philip gritted his teeth. "Yes. I took my frustrations about losing Aliana...losing my mate...out on Britney, but I wasn't planning to kill her. You know very well that I usually dispose of my pets by trading them to another Original, giving her to one of the Half-Bloods, or setting her free. I could easily have given Britney to a Half-Blood. I had planned to keep her as a servant. It wasn't until Aliana left the castle that I lost control and killed both Nelly and Britney."
Alex couldn't shake the feeling that Philip was faking this, but he had no choice but to believe his story. "Fine. We'll tell Aliana Britney committed suicide. Did you do anything to compensate the family?" Philip grunted. "Yeah. I didn't take another family member to compensate me for my loss of a pet." I shook my head. "Did you at least notify her family?" He looked away and out to the passing scenery. "I'll write to them. They have a fourteen year old daughter. I'll exempt her from the Selection. I'll have the council sign the certificate and send it along with a check for double the full amount I paid for Britney. This way, they don't feel like they are losing money by keeping their other daughter." I nodded. That was actually generous.
