Chap 4

Amelia's POV

I had thought that when the blue jade eyes landed on me just as they had on all of the other staff, they would move of their own accord so it made me self-conscious and almost entranced when we both stared at each other, the silence around us thick and tense as his eyes watched me like he was observing a phenomenon that could not be possible. 

His pupils dilated and I swallowed, unable to break our stare. 

Elizabeth cleared her throat and from the corner of my eye, I saw her step forward and give a deep bow. 

"Welcome Alpha, to our Master's home." 

The rest of us followed suit, bowing and repeating her words and when I raised my head, he was still staring at me. 

Pulling me behind her gently, Elizabeth smiled at him and gestured towards the large entrance doors. 

"Let me show you to where the Master is waiting." 

He nodded and as he walked forward, I noticed how his hands had turned into fists, his knuckles, white, and his jaw, clenched. 

It made me wonder what he had seen that suddenly made him angry. Was it me? I highly doubted it.

Following behind them, I was still lost in thought about why I had felt very strange after laying eyes on the Alpha when Elizabeth dropped a step back to walk beside me and squeezed my hand gently. 

"Don't get into trouble, Amelia. Be careful, okay?" She whispered and I nodded.

Nothing good could come from being stared at like that, I summed up and the other staff stopped at the entrance of the dining room, just Elizabeth and I entering after the Alpha and the two men that had come with him. 

Cassius was standing beside his seat, a fake smile on his face as he gestured towards the other dining room seats. 

"Welcome to my home, Alpha Damien. It is a pleasure to have you." 

I wasn't even the Alpha and I could feel the insincerity of that greeting. Then again, the air was already tense the minute Damien entered the room with the two men who I was sure were werewolves too. 

Unlike Damien who had a stoic face, as he nodded in response to the greeting, the two men could not hide their displeasure at being here. 

It was obvious that whatever this was, it did not change the fact that Vampires and Werewolves still did not see eye to eye and perhaps would never do so. 

Damien. So that was his name. Finally, I could put a name to that ridiculously handsome face. 

Nodding at his men to sit, Damien sat at the same time that Cassius did and Cassius gestured for Elizabeth and me to serve the food. 

Getting to work, I fought the urge to not stare at Damien as I served him, even though I could feel his eyes on me as I moved from seat to seat. 

After serving the food, I served the wolves wine and filled Cassius's glass with blood. 

"Would you like anything else?" Elizabeth asked and when Cassius shook his head, the two of us bowed and turned to leave until Cassius grabbed my hand. 

"You stay. Beside me. Elizabeth, leave. I will send word if I need anything else."

My eyes widened and I looked at Elizabeth, my eyes begging her to not leave me here with all of these men. 

Giving me a sympathetic glance, Elizabeth merely bowed deeply and left the room. 

The door slamming and Cassius's grip on my head made me realize that I was indeed trapped here until my Master said so. 

Releasing my hand, Cassius raised his eyebrow and I moved to stand beside him, placing me in the direct line of sight of Damien. 

When I looked up, I saw that his eyes were on me again. Those blue pupils watched me lazily as if I was a movie that was hard to decipher. I hid my shaky hands behind my back and swallowed nervously as Cassius spoke. 

"Again, thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to make it to my home, Alpha Damien"

Damien folded his arms and smiled if that could even be called a smile because it was all shades of sarcasm.

"Thank you for having me here, Cassius." 

I glanced at Cassius and saw that his face hardened at being addressed so ordinarily but he feigned a smile again and I knew that I was not the only one that felt the tension in the room. 

"So, about what we had discussed over the phone before you arrived here, I have no wish to continue in this situation a tad longer. Do you?" Master glanced at me and I realized that he was trying to be cautious of what he said because I was there. I was a human, after all, and they, two powerful Lords of their species.

I didn't understand why he insisted on still having me here then if what he wanted to discuss was private but then again, Cassius always did whatever he wanted to do. 

"I, too, despite what you might think, do not have any desire to keep fighting you. That is why I am here." Damien replied and the two men that followed him bristled in their seats. 

They looked very unhappy to be here and I wondered which of them was the Beta between the two. Probably the one that kept glancing at Damien and back to me.

Zoning out for most of the conversation as I stared at one of the landscape portraits hanging on the wall, I froze when I heard the conversation switch to me.

"I see you got yourself a new slave," Damien said, his eyes on me again and Cassius grinned, grabbing my arm and sinking his fingers into my skin. 

"Indeed. She is my personal slave. And she is such a good girl, aren't you, Amelia?" 

I didn't dare answer that, especially when his fingers sank even deeper into my skin, inflicting intense pain and I bowed my head, holding in my reaction to his public torture and hating everyone in the room for speaking about me like I was an object, a property to be sold and bartered away. 

"She can be shy sometimes too. Ignore her." Master Cassius added, finally releasing my arm and I sucked in a breath of relief, raising my head to see Damien staring at me, an emotion on his face that I couldn't decipher. 

And then as quickly as the emotion appeared on his face, it was gone. Turning to Cassius, he raised an eyebrow. 

"May I be shown to my room? I would like to retire for the evening. It has been a long trip for me and my people."

I saw Cassius frown and knew that he did not anticipate having the Alpha stay overnight. 

"Alpha, I prepared just one room because I believed you would be coming alone."

"Well, then, we shall use whatever we get, Cassius," Damien assured with a tight smile and Master's frown deepened. The Alpha was still addressing him without respect. 

"We are not hard to please. Besides, we are yet to speak on many things. It would be a shame to leave without addressing them. Let your slave show me to the room while you have your staff prepare rooms for my men."

Cassius's  frown turned into a smirk and he looked at me. 

"As you wish, Alpha Damien. Amelia, show him to his room." 

I wondered what made Cassius smirk and knew that it could be nothing good. 

"I do not like to be kept waiting, slave." Damien's cold and emotionless voice made me turn sharply to stare at him as he rose to his feet and I knew that this was only the beginning.