The Rose Mafia

18

"Father, Ivan has them gathered below." Rosalie says hesitantly. She'd never seen her father cry before. There has been no sign that the turning took with Natalia.

Nikolai looks to his daughter, "They were or rather are hunters."

Anger such as Rosalie has never seen shines from her father's eyes. "Hunters? They shoot the two humans when they have the king and prince of vampire's at their mercy? What the hell is their game? It doesn't matter now." Nikolai smiles in a way that he hasn't for centuries. Only his father has seen him like this, and Zarin.

Zarin falls back with eyes wide when Nikolai comes out. All the vampires do the same, many falling to their knees. Their prince comes in all his power.

"Father?" Nikolai says  but in that one word there is so much power that Ivan turns to look at his son. He eyes go wide.

"This is the family of hunters responsible for Natalia and Samantha dying." Until they arise as vampires they will be treated as dead humans.

"Why are they still dressed?" Nikolai demands.

He looks and captures the attention of each hunter, "Strip."

The oldest of the hunters, a grizzled older man, Nikolai estimates late fifties to early sixties, sneers, "Your vampire mind control won't work on us."

Nikolai sneers at the man in turn, "Your conditioning is for young vampires. Even other vampires obey when I order. Now strip!" Nikolai can tell that the man fights the order, but in the end he along with all the others comply.

Nikolai looks over the lot and chooses five, among them the oldster that challenged Nikolai. "You will be my mate's meal when she awakens." Nikolai turns from their horrified look and orders two of the vampires to escort the humans to a room and make sure that they are showered.

"You will go with them and not give them any trouble." Again he can see that they fight the compulsion but they go meekly behind the two vamps to the guest room.

"Sebastian, choose out five for Samantha for when she awakes." Nikolai demands as his son joins him at the bottom of the stairs.

Sebastian randomly chooses five and they too are lead away to another room to be cleaned.

Nikolai spots a mated pair, the female obviously with child. "You two come here."

The two look at him fearfully but move before him. "You can be sold at auction or become my pets which do you wish?" Hunter blood is highly desired among vampires, to be sold at auction Nikolai would earn a great deal of money and it would be a death sentence for them.

The female looks to the male then back to Nikolai, "What of my child if I become your pet?"

"The child will be bound to me through blood. When it comes of age it too will have the same choice you have now." Nikolai responds coldly.

With tears the female kneels to Nikolai, "I will become your pet, master."

Nikolai looks at the male, and sees the anger and frustration in him as he too kneels before him and says those fateful words that will seal him to the vampire until death.

Nikolai finds another mated couple and has them come forward as well. "What is with your family? Taking pregnant females on hunts? Is or was that normal?" Nikolai demands an answer from them.

"All the females are pregnant by my father. We were all forced to come, including the children." Nikolai had overlooked them. He smiles as he sees them, a glitter comes into his eyes. The smile is definitely one that has his father nervous.