It's a while before Bastien returned. He looked pleased to find me sitting on the bed. He didn't look at all surprised to see me there.

"I did think about running, but Henry scares me."

"Henry should scare you." He gestured for me to get up and follow him. We walked down the hallway and took the steps that go straight down to the basement level. He unlocked the door and ushered me ahead of him. Right back into that room and my waiting cell. It had been cleaned out at least. Considering how much blood I'd been wearing, it had to have been all over the floor and the walls.

All the girls were wearing fresh, clean clothes and their cells looked scrubbed as well. None of them were happy to realize what their instincts had turned them into when they first awoke either. I was still reeling from the knowledge myself, so I understood their horror.

Bastien locked me in my cell and turned back to address the room. "You will meet our host tonight. Dominic is a no-nonsense man who will kill you as soon as look at you, so for your own safety, do not give him a reason to look too hard at you."

Bastien handed out trays of food through the bottom of our cells. There was a slot big enough to put it through. I squatted down and picked mine up. It looked like grilled chicken and some kind of salad.

"This food will help you. It might make you a little nauseous, but your body needs it. Once the transformation is complete, you won't need it. Eat and prepare yourselves."

With that, he took his leave and I stared down at the chicken, my stomach queasy. The plastic utensils he'd provided were not sharp enough to actually cut through the chicken so I picked it up and took a hesitant bite.

My stomach revolted and I tossed the chicken back onto the tray and put it back down on the floor. Bastien could be right about the food, but I'd wait until later to try and eat. I did not want to throw up again.

"Are you okay?" my neighbor asked. "When he took you away, I was worried."

"I'm fine. He put me somewhere Henry wouldn't try to get to me while I slept. My mind freaked a little and I needed time to let it heal."

"Nichole freaked too. Her sister is the one that got sent away. Not as bad as you, but he made her sleep too."

"Did you guys get showers?"

"Yeah. He took us one at a time to clean up and gave us fresh clothes."

"Bastien doesn't seem so bad," another girl said.

"He's the reason we're here," Loretta, the smart mouthed girl from last night said. "He turned us into this thing."

She wasn't wrong and as mad as I was about that, I couldn't bring myself to hate him. I wanted to. God knows I did, but I didn't. It was weird and it scared me. I didn't want to feel the things I was feeling when it came to our captor. I was not one of those girls who fell for their kidnapper. I wasn't.

But deep down, maybe I was.

"Is everybody okay aside from the obvious?" I asked, trying to distract myself from my own thoughts.

"Yeah," my neighbor said. "I'm Sherry."

"Kathryn."

"You know Loretta and Nichole. The other two girls are Ana and Gina. They're not talking to anyone."

"Probably shock," I murmurede.

"I think we're all in shock." Sherry moved closer. "We've been talking about ways to try and escape."

"I wouldn't talk about that out loud," I warned. "They're listening to us."

"You think?"

"I would if I were them. Easiest way to thwart plans before they get started."

"We didn't think about that."

Of course they didn't because they didn't have Bastien whispering in their ears.

"I would whisper if I were you."

"So do you want in on the plan?"

I started to say yes and then thought of Bastien. He was doing everything he could to protect me. I believed him when he said that.

"No. I'm going to wait and observe before I do anything. I don't want to be given to Henry."

"He scares me," Sherry admitted.

"Me too." I pushd away from the door and lay down on my bunk. "I'm going to go to sleep. My head still hurts and I'm still a little jumbled up in there."

"Sure," Sherry said. "I hope it gets better."

"Thanks."

I heard her walk over to Loretta's cell and start talking. They seemed upset I didn't want in on their escape plan, but I didn't care. My goal was to get out of here safely and without being given to Henry. No rule breaking for me.

What was I going to tell Neely's mom? Would I even be allowed to contact her or my own parents? It would be more than cruel to let them think we'd disappeared without a trace. Her mother was like a second mom to me. The loss of her only child was going to devastate her.

It devastated me. I kept waiting for my emotions to start to die like the rest of my body. Well, I guessed technically it didn't die, it changed. Some of the strangeness I'd felt since I woke up yesterday was gone too. I started to feel really good. At least physically.

I could probably break the chain around my leg...wait, Bastien hadn't chained me up. Maybe he trusted me not to escape? It was a foolish trust in one way, and it meant a lot to me in another way. I hated being chained. Maybe he'd heard me thinking that and tried to make me as comfortable as he could?

An hour later, the door reopened and Bastien came back in, followed by Henry and another man. Dominic. He was tall, not as tall as Bastien, but close. Dark hair and even darker eyes surveyed us like we were cattle up for auction. They were dead eyes with no hint of an emotion. No sympathy and no lust. Henry's eyes were always lustful.

This man was dangerous.

"These are for our master, yes?" His voice was cultured unlike Henry's. It still had a Creole tone, but he didn't let it creep in so much it changed the way he spoke, unlike Henry.

Bastien nodded. "Yes, hand-picked by me."

"Have they been tested yet?"

"No. Their abilities will manifest over the next few weeks. We'll test them after they've been acclimated to their new lifestyle."

"When do you plan on moving them..."

They all stopped moving and went completely still. It was the freakiest thing I've ever seen. They went from breathing beings to stone statues.

Something slivered through the room and I went still as well. No one spoke, but we all sensed the presence with us. It touched us, sifted through our minds, and came away with a complete understanding of us. I felt violated.

When the door opened next another man came in. He wasn't nearly as tall as either Bastien or Dominic, but his presence inspired more fear than either of them. His blue eyes were assessing as he walked to my cell. Blond hair spilled over his forehead as he attempted to push it back.

"Kathryn."

I swallowed thickly. "Yes."

"My right hand has been fretting over you. He thinks I should give you to Dominic because you are a distraction for our collector."

My eyes shot to Dominic who gave off serious serial killer vibes. "Please don't."

"Bastien is trying to conceal from me that he wants you for himself, but he should know he can't hide his thoughts from me. I am his master."

"He's afraid you'll kill him."

"He's right. Coveting what is mine is punishable by death."

"You're Niko?"

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I am."

"He..."

Niko held up a hand. "I wish my collector no harm. I saved him from death. He's safe from my wrath. You, however, are the problem."

I couldn't breathe. He was contemplating killing me. I saw it in his expression.

"You are truly gifted, little one. It would be a shame to end you even though you carry Bastien's blood and not my own. He is going to answer for that one."

"I don't understand."

"Each piece of my collection carries my blood. I am their sire. My collector keeps bags of my blood on ice for the transformation. He gave you his blood and not mine. He made himself your sire."

"How do you know?"

"Because I can smell his blood in you. I made him so I know his scent as well as I do my own."

I saw Bastien blink and then he wheezed as breath whooshed back into his body. His gaze landed on Niko and they widened in sheer terror.

"Niko..."

"Did you think I would not find out what you did, Collector?" Niko's tone was casual, but he was pissed.

"I...forgive me, Master. There was something in her that called to me and I tried to give her your blood. Part of me rebelled. She's mine."

"I can see that you made her yours."

"Do not punish her for something I did, Sire. Please."

"I have no wish to punish either of you, but you've made that impossible, Bastien."

Bastien's face blanched.

"You saved me, Master, and it's a debt I cannot repay. I never ask for anything because of that, but I'm asking you for her. Please don't hurt her. Do what you want with me, but please let her live in peace."

Niko turned sideways to study his child. Bastien stood there, rim rod straight, eyes staring straight ahead. His expression was hard to define. It was partially defiant, but mostly resigned.

"And you, child, do you wish him to be spared? I sense your anger and your grief. You blame him for all of this."

"I..." I cleared my throat. "I don't wish him harm. He's been kind to me."

"Kind," Niko murmured. "Bastien sometimes is too kind, but he's never fixated on someone the way he has you. He cannot go unpunished either."

"I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit, Niko, but let Kathryn live."

"Kathryn shall live, but like you, she will serve me until I die."

I wasn't so sure about that, but it was better than dying.

"You will go into the box for the next year as a punishment." He held up a hand to stop anything Bastien would say. "Your punishment will begin once you know she will be safe to leave alone. Take her to the apartment complex we have for our new citizens and stay there with her for a few days. Teach her what she needs to know. Then report to me for your punishment."

"I...thank you, Master."

Niko smiled. "If you were not my favorite of all my children, you would be dead, Bastien. Do not let this happen again."

"I won't." He flicked his eyes to me. "She's all I need."

"Take her now. I will deal with the rest of the women."

"Thank you, Sire."

Bastien wasted no time in coming to let me out. He took me by the arm and pulled me out of the cell. Niko didn't smile at me. He was pissed I was the cause of having to punish his favorite. I knew it without him having to say it. I felt it.

"Bastien, there was an issue with one of Dominic's people you wished to discuss with me?" Niko stopped him before he could escape out the door.

"Henry, Sire. He seems to think there are no consequences for defying your orders or even Dominic's. Kathryn and Nichole's mind reacted badly and they needed rest. Henry had plans for them without giving them time to rest and recover. The turning is a difficult thing, different for each of them."

"And he was going to take them?"

Bastien nodded. "I caught him trying to remove Nichole from her cell."

"And I assume you addressed it?"

Bastien nodded. "I did, but I think he needs a lesson from someone stronger than either me or Dom."

"Understood, Collector. I will handle Henry. Take your child and leave before I change my mind."

Bastien pulled me from the room and we rushed up the stairs and outside into the night. He put me in a car and then we were backing up out of the driveway and speeding off into the night.