Control

Chapter Six

Hope woke up an hour before nightfall and frowned looking around before realizing where she was. “Damn it,” she muttered. She got up and looked out her window. The sun was just beginning to set. She wished she could go out to watch it.

That led to thinking about the vampire in next room. Did Locke miss the sun? When was the last time that he had seen it? She turned on the light and sat for a few minutes just enjoying being warm and comfortable. She got up and walked around the room. She didn’t find any clothes but did find a nice white terrycloth robe.

She walked into the bathroom and wondered if she’d be overstepping his generosity if she were to take a shower. She saw two new towels on the counter, a note sat on top which read simply: ‘Make yourself at home.’ With a smile she got undressed and took a long shower. This was one thing she could get used to. A warm shower was much nicer than a cold lake.

She got out and dried off before putting the robe on. A knock on the door startled her. She secured the robe and opened he door. “Good… evening,” she said softly.

“Well, don’t you look… edible,” Locke purred. Immediately, her cheeks reddened. He grinned. “I’ll meet your downstairs.”

“What about clothes?”

“You mean you don’t want to wear that all day?” he asked looking surprised.

“Um, no.”

“Darn. I’ll grab something for you to wear then we’ll go shopping. Sound good?”

Her green eyes widened with fear but she nodded. “Sure.” He took his shirt off and she left hastily. He laughed shaking his head. When he came downstairs she was standing surrounded by a group of vampires.

“Can I help you?” Locke snarled. Hope ran to him and he saw that her robe had been opened.

“Master,” she greeted. She was shaking and he wanted to hold her but knew that the other vampires would see that as weakness.

“Tie your robe,” Locke said coolly. “What in the hell is going on here?”

“We were just acquainting ourselves with your new girl,” Marius, an elder, and a man that Locke wanted to rip apart of sheer principle, said. “Is that a problem?”

“I filed the papers,” Locke growled. “This girl is to be my mate and you have the audacity to touch her?”

“She’s a virgin and in season too,” Marius said his dark gaze sliding over Hope.

Locke crossed his arms. “And this matters how?”

“She’s… tempting,” Marius purred still staring at Hope.

“Resist,” Locke snapped stepping between the men and the still trembling girl. “What do you want?”

“There’s been disturbing talk that your slave doesn’t know her place.”

“There’s always talk,” Locke said dismissively. “Hope, go upstairs.”

“Yes, master,” Hope said inclining her head respectfully.

“That’s my girl,” Locke said. She walked away. Locke turned back to the men. “I don’t want her broken so my training methods are different than some.”

“She does obey,” Lukas said. “I’m satisfied. And I apologize for our behavior.”

“Yes,” Marius said reluctantly.

“I must ask,” Locke said arching a brow at the five men, “if you weren’t.”

“We’d take appropriate action,” Marius said.

Locke snorted. “Of course. Well, I think you can show yourselves out.” Lukas gave a quick bow and led the other men out. Locke sighed in relief and walked up the stairs. Hope was waiting at the door to his room. “You did well.”

“Are they gone?” she asked softly.

“Yes. We convinced them,” Locke told her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. That was just… terrifying.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, sweetheart.” He walked into his room and grabbed the clothes that he had found. “They were my sister’s,” he explained at her confused look.

“What happened to her?” she asked before wincing. “I’m sorry. That was personal. Forget I asked.”

“She died during the wars,” Locke said. “She was pregnant when she was set upon by some soldiers. She abstained from fighting, she hated war. That didn’t matter to them. That captured her, tortured her, and killed her when she no longer amused them.

“Jesus, Locke, I’m sorry,” Hope breathed. She was quiet for a moment before asking, “Why would you care about what happens to me at all if humans did that?”

“I never said they were human,” Locke said bitterly. Hope’s mouth dropped open. “Yeah, our own kind. Go ahead and get dressed then we’ll go shopping.” She nodded and walked into the bathroom. She came back out looking embarrassed. The clothes were big on her. Tiffany had been slim but curvy and 6ft 2in. Petite Hope looked like a little girl playing dress up. Locke smiled. “First thing we do is get you a bra.” Hope looked down and flushed seeing how close she was to flashing him.

“Sorry.”

“Are you apologizing for how you’re built?” Locke asked leading her downstairs.

“Yes?”

“That’s ridiculous.” He grabbed a safety pin and shut the shirt then took off his own belt and tied it around her waist. “Now you look like you belong in the 1980’s.” He put on a jacket and held out his arm for her. She took it and they walked out onto the street. She kept her gaze on the ground as they walked down the street making Locke once again wonder how she knew so much. “Remember, Hope, obedient and quiet. At least around others.”

“Yes, master,” she said not raising her gaze.

“You’re doing very well, little one.”

“Can I talk?”

“Yes, Hope, just watch what you say.”

“Why slaves?”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You’d like a history lesson?”

“Please.”

“So very polite,” he smiled. “When we took over, the original plan was to use all of you as livestock but after many council meetings and uproar from the vampire community they decided that we would be permitted to keep some humans as slaves. One of our inventors created the collars. It was ten years later that they decided to allow us to turn the slaves if we so wish and soon we had the practice and soon we had the practice that we have now.”

“What caused the takeover? Was it just wanting to be on top or what?”

“The elders said that the human world had evolved enough to accept us.”

“I take it that it hadn’t.”

“The humans were scared, soon we were being blamed for everything. Massacres that occurred hundreds of years ago, genocides. The world had found the perfect scapegoat. The humans struck first. We merely defended ourselves.”

Hope was quiet a moment digesting that. “Were we all like that?”

He smiled without humor. “No, the reactions ran the gauntlet between obsession, to acceptance, to abject terror. Unfortunately, it was the people in power who were the most scared.”

“What happened?” Locke looked at Hope closely. She was watching him raptly. He smiled, she was eager to learn and picked up information quickly. This was a very good thing.

“One of our main buildings was bombed,” Locke told her. “We lost twenty people including a pregnant woman and two elders. It was called an act of war and we retaliated. The war began.”

She bit her lip looking deep in thought. “Hmm…”

“Yes, little one?”

“I was just thinking about how all of that could have been avoided. Were there meetings?”

“A few but never with the presidents, prime ministers, or royalty.”

“That was stupid. It could have been over quickly.”

“I have some suspicions that this could have all been part of a conspiracy. There’s no proof, of course, just a gut feeling.”

“But you said that two elders were killed in the explosion. Why would they sacrifice their own people?”

“All part of the plan. It makes it seem impossible, doesn’t it?” He stopped in front of a store. “Here we are.” He led Hope inside. A man walked up to greet them.

“So this is the great Locke’s future mate,” the store’s proprietor said looking Hope over critically.

“Lars, nice to see you,” Locke said warmly. “Hope, meet my cousin, Lawrence.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Hope said giving a deep curtsey.

“Indeed,” Lars said circling Hope. “Well, let’s get her presentable.” Lars led the two into the back of his shop where a salon chair sat. “When was your last hair cut?”

“Um,” Hope murmured. “I cut it a couple months ago.”

“You cut it? Well, that explains a lot. Sit.” Hope sat down in a chair. “Let’s see, with your facial structure and your eyes… this will work.” He got out a pair of scissors. “Stay still.” She didn’t move at all as he went to work. “Perfect!”

“It looks great,” Locke assured her as she stood to look at herself in the mirror. Her hair was cut just below her shoulders. Her bangs were cut to fall into her right eye.

“Now clothes. She looks so sweet and innocent. Do we want to accent that or slut her up?” Hope resisted the urge to glare at him for that comment.

“Can we do both?” Locke asked.

“Ooh, a challenge. I like it.” Hope bit her lip following the men back into the store. Lars walked through the store throwing stuff into some bags. “You can wear this out.” He handed her a bundle of clothes.

“Is there a room that I can change in?” Hope asked.

“I’ll show you,” Locke said leading her to a changing room.

“Thank you, master,” Hope said.

“You’re welcome, Hope.” She walked in and got dressed. The bra was easy to figure out. She put on the shirt which had a v-neck and long sleeves, then the tight black jeans. Hope looked at herself in the mirror. She hardly recognized herself. The clothes clung to her body accentuating her curves and her slim frame. She walked out and faced Locke nervously.

“Amazing,” Locke said. “Are you ready?”

“If you are, master,” she said. Locke grabbed the bags.

“Mail me the bill,” Locke told Lars. The road was busier when they walked out. Locke wrapped his free arm around her shoulders.