The dining hall was enormous and crystal white. On one side of the wall were four floor to ceiling arched glass windows. They pulled the sheer curtains back to reveal the late night already. The dome ceiling had lights along the edge. A glass rectangular dinner table in the middle with several white, elegant chairs. To the right of the table was a group of erotic dancers for entertainment.

Sitting at the table, there were several elegantly dressed female and male vampires.

I should have known that dinner for vampires was not dinner for a normal person. In front of each vampire was a human. The vampires were openly fondling their human. It wasn't a full-on orgy, but the vampires didn't mind caressing their human's thigh or brushing their lips along the neckline. The human seemed to be in some kind of magical trance. Their hooded eyes and lips parted.

I sat in my seat next to Atlas and Silas. Silas even had a human female across his lap. In front of me was a plate of spaghetti and garlic bread. With a jerk of Lazarus's finger, one available human female headed in Atlas's direction.

I watched the young woman walk closer. She was pretty with long flowy blonde hair. Her makeup was on point. She dressed in a thin, light purple sheer dress with a low neckline. Anybody could tell she was more than happy to entertain Atlas. I couldn't blame her, though. A vampire's presence was damn near hard to resist. It was what made them predatory to their prey. A human's mind was weak from their power.

Before she could sit on Atlas's lap, Atlas denied her with a dark look. He blocked her access to his lap with his arm. The woman looked at Atlas before looking at Lazarus. Lazarus waved his hand to dismiss her.

Picking up my fork, I dug into the food placed in front of me. My eyes wandering between Lazarus and Atlas. Honestly, Lazarus was a handsome devil, too. The guy looked like he popped out of a model magazine. His black suit fitted him perfectly. When he smirked, he looked even more captivating. Then there was the straight nose, sharp cheekbones, and playful azure blue eyes. No wonder there are so many human females around him. The guy was a chick magnet.

Atlas's hand rested on my thigh before he squeezed it hard. I returned my attention to him and immediately gave an apologetic smile. I could see the accusing look in his eyes. He saw me looking at Lazarus. Putting my hand on top of Atlas, I tried shoving his hand off my thigh, but he tightened his grip. I narrowed my eyes at his hand before glaring at him. Atlas practically ignored me and leaned in to speak to Silas quietly.

Ignoring how his hand was resting on my thigh, I focused on finishing my food before someone took it away from me. Who knows when my next meal would be? These people don't eat the way I do.

"So, tell me more about yourself, Ophelia," Lazarus questioned.

Halfway slurping my noodles, I lifted my gaze to Lazarus. His red eyes glimmered mirthfully. Sticking my tongue out, I licked along the lines of my lower lips and the corners. I didn't think twice about what I was doing. When I eat pasta, I tend to get sauce all over the place. I never wear white because I was such a messy eater. Even so, I had Lazarus looking at my lips hungrily.

Grabbing the nearest napkin, I wiped at my lips. I shrugged my shoulders while answering him.

"There isn't much to tell about me. I have no family members. I lived alone basically my entire life until I found Atlas."

"Atlas, huh?" Lazarus chuckled and looked at Atlas. Atlas was sitting behind me, so I didn't get to see his expression. Lazarus's eyes slid back to me.

"How did you and my King meet?" Lazarus questioned.

"At an auction."

"At an auction? I'm surprised to hear this. In all my years that I've known him, he has never been interested in pleasurable activities like that." Lazarus seemed more intrigued by the second. His meal was completely forgotten in his lap. He leaned toward the table.

"I don't. I was at an antique auction show. She was... there."

I mean, we weren't telling lies here...

"Ah, so you two met coincidentally. Do you want to know how I met him?"

I lifted the garlic bread and took a large bite out of it. Atlas and Lazarus were opposite, but it seemed the two were closer than they wanted to admit. Otherwise, Atlas would have stopped all his questioning. Lazarus didn't wait for me to answer.

"I met him at the crowning ceremony. Atlas had just earned the crown prince title. His father kept a hard grasp around Atlas. Refused to let the man out to enjoy what the world could bring. Atlas was a total rebel back then. He slipped out of the castle and wondered into an illegal underground fighting. Nobody knew who he was, but I knew. He wore the royal ring." Lazarus gestured to Atlas. I looked and saw a silver, red band around his pointer finger on his left hand. "Long story short, he got himself into a brawl and we fought together. There was blood everywhere. Every fucking living creature shifting and fighting. It was a good time."

Lazarus grabbed the collar of his dress shirt and pulled it down. I saw a large bite mark on his shoulder.

"Fucking werewolves almost got my arm ripped off while I tried pulling him out of the fight. Atlas had no battle marks. The man stepped out of the brawl with only a lip wound." Lazarus grinned, and his eyes sparkled with memories of the night.

"Anyway, he got home and disappeared for a very long time."

"Father wasn't happy with me. He put me on lockdown and punished me for my unruly mistakes," Atlas said.

"Punished?" I turned to look at Atlas.

"My uncle used to whip Atlas until his back was cut and bleeding dark blood."

A memory suddenly hit me, and I bit the inside of my cheek by accident.

"Again! You need to move faster. Your pathetic human speed will have you killed before you could advance, Ophelia."

Pain sliced through my bare back.

Atlas squeezed my knee, and I snapped out of the memory. Our eyes collided, but he said nothing to my reaction. I looked back down at my plate of food and picked up my fork. Eating was a distraction.

Halfway through dinner and I heard a moan. My eyes snapped to the couple opposite of me. The male vampire had his hands between the human's legs. His mouth on her neck.

"Please be respectful of our special guests, Cato," Lazarus chided, and I turned to see that he was smiling at me wickedly.

Atlas's hand on my thigh tightened. Immediately, Cato removed his hands from between the woman's legs. Blood dripped down his bottom lip and stained his upper lip. Lifting his fingers, he ran it across his bottom lip before sucking on his thumb.

"I apologize, Lazarus," Cato answered huskily. His crimson eyes landing on me.

Lazarus cleared his throat and changed the subject and air like it wasn't just heavy with sex a moment ago.

"How are things back home, my King?" Lazarus inquired.

"Quiet," Atlas breathed one word, and it was enough, it seemed. Lazarus chuckled as if they were old friends.

"Is the castle renovated?"

"I'm afraid I do not live extravagantly as you, Lazarus. I renovate when necessary."

"Ah, yes, well, I love the extravagant life. It is indeed an endless life, my King, I need to change my taste to keep my interest for the years to come."

"You change your taste every two days, Lazarus," Cato joked, and Lazarus's smile broadened, revealing a pair of dimples on each cheek.

"I won't deny the accusations. I enjoy the simple and luxurious pleasures in life." Lazarus leaned forward, adjusting the human in his lap. His lips stained with blood as well. His eyes focused on Atlas.

"Remember when you were fifty years old, and I took you to one of my clubs?" Lazarus's eyes twinkled.

Atlas stiffened and pointed Lazarus with a dark, warning look. Silas seemed on edge. This couldn't be more interesting. I lifted my wineglass to take a sip. Leaning back in my chair, I tried to cross my legs, only to remember Atlas's tightening grip was still on my thigh.

Sighing, I straightened back up in my seat. What happened fifty years ago? Why did it provoke such reaction out of Atlas?

"It was one hell of night. Lot of bloodshed and screaming." Lazarus backed off.

I thought they were good friends and Lazarus was a loyal subject. Whatever happened fifty years ago, probably distant the two more than they realize.

"Enough," Atlas snarled, slamming his fist onto the glass table. It shattered and my half eaten plate of food fell onto the clean, marble floor.

"My food," I spoke up for the first time.

Lazarus burst out laughing as if his expensive glass table didn't just shatter into a million pieces in front of him. Silas placed a hand on Atlas's shoulder to calm him down.

These skin crawling vampire dinners ruined my appetite.

It looks like dinner hasn't even started and there were already done. The atmosphere was a mixture of tension and humor.

"Well then, let's move ourselves to the room next door. I apologize sincerely, Ophelia. I'll have Claudia bring you another plate of food."

I stood up and made sure not to step on the glass with my open-toe heels. I took a step and heard the glass make some noises. Before I could move again, Atlas slipped his arms beneath me and lifted me into his arms. I wrapped my hands around his neck.

Without looking at me, he carried past the shattered glass and followed the rest of the crew. We were a distant behind everyone else.

I leaned closer to whisper, "What happened at the club?"

His fingers dug into my side, and my eyebrows furrowed at his reaction. His pinched lips and dark eyes revealed there was definitely a story behind it. Maybe I can try asking Silas if I ever have time to speak to him.

"Nothing of importance."

I didn't believe him for a second, but I decided not to press. He didn't push me to divulge my past. Why do I have to push him if he didn't want to? His past wasn't important to me.

We entered another room that was much smaller than the dining hall. It had a large round table in the middle. The chandelier lights flicked on when we entered.

This time, Lazarus didn't provoke Atlas. The conversation turned dull with talk about obtaining a hard drive to complete the build of the technical device. They were smart to leave out important information when conversing. I could barely understand what they were talking about since this was fifty years before my time. It sounds like alien talk to me.

I paid no attention to it, until I felt the familiar tugging sensation in my guts. The red crystal was calling for me again. It twisted my gut. The instant pain had me almost bent over.

Luckily, no one saw. I stood up quickly from the seat and murmured an excuse. Atlas's eyes were on me as I sped walked out of the room. The pain worsen and I knew I will disappear again. Groaning, I leaned against the wall outside of the closed door.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Atlas stepped out. He grabbed my upper arms to hold me up.

"What's wrong?" he asked, worry etched on his face.

"It's calling me," I moaned weakly.

"Do you need to get back to the room? I could carry you."

I chuckled with panted breath. "No, I will disappear. It won't matter. No matter what, it'll take me back to the red crystal."

"What can I do?" He was still holding me.

My body began disappearing in front of him. He watched me for the first time before disappearing. The last thing I saw was his red eyes before I disappeared.