Luna was forced to sit next to the Vampire King's empty throne alongside three of his declared concubines.

A submissive Lady Clarence and a scowling Lady Catriona were on her left while Cederic sat across her.

Luna sat with her legs dangling off the high seat and her eyes on the slash on her palm. Her blood still dripped from the cut she made, leaving her to wonder what in the world had she done.

Was her High Priestess vow worth it?

The murmur at the door rose to a buzz.

People stumbled over one another in an exciting rush, clearing a path for the king.

Anxious faces were forced into pleasant smiles, not daring to show their fears to the vampire who made his way through their midst.

This person is not just a man, not even a lesser vampire.

He was the supreme High Lord in the Vampire Realm, the Vampire King, one of their ruling nobility: beautiful, lethal, and merciless.

He was not just a vampire leader.

He was a warrior, too, and had isolated all of the vampires in this realm for thousands of years with his barrier.

The vampire king was at least six feet tall with a muscular body and a leonine grace coiled in each movement. His strides were long and sure, and his handsome face arrested the eye's attention. He had a chiseled face, a strong jaw, with a shadow of a beard.

Luna's gaze swept over him once more.

His shoulders were broad.

His shaggy, windblown hair was as dark as midnight, and his lush lips curved up into a wicked smile.

His nose, cheeks, and brows were covered by a black and silver mask fashioned after a snow tiger's features, concealing all but the lower half of his face.

He made her heart rate kick up a beat.

It was as if his form had been carved by the masterful of artisans.

The lines of his face were clean and male.

Without a doubt, he was the most beautiful vampire she had ever seen.

The Vampire King sat in his throne, his long fingers drumming a rhythm on the arm of his chair. "I see everyone is enjoying the celebration without me."

A thick layer of foreboding muffled a hundred voices of people arguing into low murmurs.

The laughter and the music halted in an instant.

All the vampires, guests, and servants paid tribute to the Vampire King as he sat on his throne, honoring him in silence.

The harps stood untouched, propped against the concrete walls.

Cupbearers filed through the hall, filling goblets with wine for the non-vampire guests, fresh blood for the vampires, and ears with rumors they had heard, rumors about the curse.

So, this was how the vampire king looked. Cold and calculating.

He had a smile like a Cheshire cat but one wrong move, and he was ready to tear everyone to pieces.

He was the epitome of everything that appealed to her senses.

If Luna wanted a man, she wanted someone like him.

All her life as an Amazon, she was stronger, faster, and unfeminine for men.

"Bring me the blood slaves."

All eyes turned to the Vampire King as he spoke.

The guards opened a massive mahogany door with fancy dragon carvings in them, and the blood slaves were ushered inside and brought to their knees in front of him.

The voices rose, then fell silent as he stepped off the dais and descended from the throne to pace at the lower platform, waiting for the slaves to kneel at his feet.

"These blood slaves. Remember their faces when they finally accept their punishments for the unspeakable crimes they committed." He turned to look at the crowd then resumed his pacing. "I thank the guests for their offerings."

The Vampire King picked up one female and slid his hand up to the split of the beautiful human's skirt.

Luna's eyes were fixated on the excruciating pleasure expressed on the female's face as the Vampire King stroked the redhead's ivory skin.

She swallowed as the other woman moaned.

The Vampire King's mouth hovered a teasing inch above the pulse on her neck, just below her ear, as he whispered a promise of ecstasy.

Blood hit the floor, the scent making the vampires in this hall stir in a frenzy.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

Luna's skin began to tingle.

Bloodlust-ridden vampires killed viciously, and they didn't stop until they got what they wanted.

Drip.

Drip.

She heard a tearing sound straight out of a nightmare.

The Vampire King's parched bones swelled, filled with life, but he needed more.

More.

He drained them all as he licked his lips in satisfaction.

Reaching out, the Vampire King pulled his black leather gloves off and dropped them on the floor.

He anchored his left hand on the nape of the female's neck, and she shivered.

The vampire king had a deadly touch.

The prisoner released a sharp hiss when his long nails traced the indentations of his food's collarbone.

Her fingers grasped his wrist with insolence and drew his hand to a halt before she pushed it away from her.

Luna couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The hand that touched the Vampire King darkened.

Luna's eyes darted up to the Vampire King's face in alarm only to find him smirking as he watched the prisoner.

It didn't take long before her shoulders were also covered in that same black, blue, and violet webbing spread throughout her skin.

The vampire king was scaring the life out of her.

This man...This cold man with death and cruelty in his eyes.

Those cobalt eyes in a face that turned Humans into slaves, killed beings without batting an eye, and night-dark hair which framed a look of perfect grace that had a wildness to it.

He wasn't pretty.

He wasn't handsome.

He was not anything so tame.

He was dangerous, strong, and deadly.

Too late.

He sucked the soul out of the woman as she crumpled to the ground, leaving nothing but an empty husk of the person she used to be.

He faced the crowd, hands resting lightly on his hips. "This is what will happen to those who disobey my orders."

Luna was furious but, at the same time, fearful of this ruthless creature.

Her palms were so damp, and there was a thin sheen of perspiration on the side of her forehead.

She wanted to pour out all of her hatred and spit on the Vampire King's feet.

All the slaves brought up to him were killed.

"Let the Blood Moon Banquet begin."

All Luna could see now were the lush brushstrokes of sensual play--an erotic mix of male and female, the vampires, their food, and their pleasure.

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Edited by: RedPandaChick