Auctioned Off

Chapter Three

I followed close behind Cain, my eyes wandering. He was dressed in black dress pants, with a dark blue dress shirt that fit him much too perfectly. I could tell that he was extremely toned beneath that expensive fabric.

“Isabella briefed you, correct?” He asked, heading to separate staircase than the one that he originally showed me. This must be the Masters’ staircase, because of course they couldn’t share the same one as the slaves.

“Yes.” I responded, before remembering my manners. “Sir.” I followed quickly.

We headed down to the first floor, and into the kitchen. It was larger than any kitchen I had ever seen before, it was larger than Madame Emily’s living room. Cain went straight to the refrigerator, grabbing a bag of blood. He emptied the blood into a wine glass. He must have been an older vampire, to be able to survive on such little blood. The older the vampire was, the less blood it needed in order to live.

He started to leave the kitchen, glass in hand, and I couldn’t help but ask.

“Sir?”

“Yes?” He paused, surprised that I stopped him.

“Why didn’t you warm the blood up?” I asked, confused. Most vampires couldn’t stand the taste of cold blood, they compared it to drinking a flat, warm beer.

Before I could blink, Cain’s intimidating form was towering over me. He was staring at me with such intensity that I couldn’t look away.

"What is the point of drinking warm blood if I can't feel the heartbeat or the spirit of a human as it leaves them?" Cain asked. He blinked, coming out of whatever trance he was in. He quickly drank the glass, then set it on the counter. “Do something with this.” He ordered and then left the kitchen.

I hurriedly placed the glass in the sink and then rushed after him. When I walked out of kitchen, towards the direction he went, I was met with another staircase, and I panicked. I rushed up the stairs, heading to the next floor, hoping that he had went to his office. The hallway looked long and confusing, but my panic dissipated when I saw that Cain left the door open for me. I slipped into what I assumed was his office, and I found him already seated and doing paper work. I remembered that Madame Emily used to talk about the technology that the humans used to use. When the vampires took over they outlawed most of technology, finding no use for it. They kept phones, and basic electricity but got rid of the internet.

I stood there for a moment, looking at him. He was working so intensely that I couldn’t help but admire him. His dark hair was slightly tousled, which contrasted severely with his stern look.

“I do not need you at the moment, go check on Milo. He’s at the south end of this floor. Be back here in an hour.” Cain instructed, never tearing his eyes from whatever it was he was working on.

"Yes sir." I paused, unsure of what Milo would expect of me. I had not heard much about him, and if he was another like Isaac, I was nervous.

“What is it?” He asked, looking up from his work. He must have sensed my hesitation.

“What is Milo like?” I questioned.

Cain smiled, and it lit up his entire face. Suddenly, he became everything I had ever wished for in a man. He seemed so innocent, so pure. “He’s a good man. A gentle person for a vampire, I would say his only downfall would be his love for women.” He said, and suddenly his smile vanished, and I remembered he was anything but pure.

I nodded in response, and then took my leave. I was in shock of the man I had just seen. He was being nice, and I had yet to see his bad side, so maybe all of the rumors weren’t true.

Walking down I realized that I didn’t know whether Milo was in his office, or his room. And for that matter I did not know which door lead to either of the rooms. Or, at least that was what I thought until I saw the door. A huge “M” was painted on the door with bright colors, and next to his door he had a gold name plate. Well, I knew that the “M” did not stand for modest.

I knocked on the door lightly. It was only about nine, so I wasn’t sure if the vampire was up yet.

“Come in!” A muffled voice yelled. I cracked the door open, and peered inside. It was dark, with only the light coming in from the edges of the curtains, but I could clearly see the naked vampire getting out of bed. “Hello! I remember you, you’re Lana.” He said, shamelessly walking past me to his closet.

“Yes, sir.” I said, looking everywhere else but at the very handsome, naked vampire.

“Well, there’s no need for that ‘sir’ stuff, just call me Milo.” He said from the closet. Hopefully he was putting clothes on.

“Master Cain sent me to see if you needed anything.” I said, as he emerged from the closet fully dressed. If I had not seen it, I would have never guessed he had been naked only two minutes ago. He was dressed in grey slacks, with a light purple, short sleeve dress shirt. He looked like the more relaxed version of Cain.

“Cain was always one to pawn his slaves off when he has no need for them.” Milo shook his head. “I could ask something of you, but I feel like you wouldn’t enjoy it.” He said with a wink. I shivered, knowing what he was talking about. “But, I could go for some bagged blood. I want it in a mug, warmed for about a minute. Make sure you stir it.” He commanded, and I quickly left the room.

Cain said he was nice, but I did not enjoy his playboy attitude.

Running down the stairs, I collided with Isabella. We both fell to the ground.

“Sorry!” I said, helping her to her feet as soon as I stood up.

“That’s fine, what has you all in a rush?” She asked, fixing her uniform.

“I’m getting blood for Milo.” I said, starting to walk away.

“Really?” She asked, and her confusion stopped me. “He usually just drinks from his slaves.”

“He what?” I asked harshly. He drank from his slaves? I don’t know why I had never considered it before, of course the vampires would drink from their slaves. If they let us be, that would mean that we would be wasted blood.

"...you...you didn't know?" Isabella shifted awkwardly. "How many vampires have you been owned by?"

"Two females, both lower in status. I had never seen a vampire feed from a slave.” I admitted, feeling stupid for ever thinking that they would respect our bodies.

"Yeah, well rich, powerful vampires feed from their slaves..." She concluded awkwardly.

"Does Cain?" I asked, needing to know. I had to prepare to defend myself if Cain thought he was going to drink from me. I was not someone’s plaything.

“Not usually, he will sometimes take a favorite that he drinks from but that isn’t too common. He usually just drinks from the bags.” She said, and I felt a weight leave my shoulders.

"Who is his favorite?" I asked, but I wasn’t sure if he had one.

“Um...she left a long time ago. I need to leave.” Isabella said, and then ran upstairs. What was that about?

I shook my head and made my way to the kitchen. I followed Milo’s instruction, while thinking about what Isabella said. She got very nervous when I asked about Cain’s favorite, as if it were a topic she didn’t want to discuss.

I pulled the mug out, and stirred the blood up. It was still thick, and just the sight of it turned my stomach. I remembered hearing about slaves falling in love with their masters, simply because they were obsessed with the idea of being turned. I never wanted to become a vampire, I wanted to live my human life and then be done with it.