Eric released me, and ordered the witch to leave. She had done all that he had asked of her, and I envied her ability to walk away. It had only just begun to sink in, the moment I watched the woman's frame disappear down the hall, that I was bound. Every waking moment of my life, until he deemed I was of no use, I would be by Eric's side. Any commands he made, however arduous or demeaning, I would have no choice but to do.

I felt pathetic, stuck to his side like a dog. Underling was a position I had never held. I had always been in power, presiding over my kind as an Elder, a powerful one at that. I descended from one of the oldest, strongest Hounds, and it was my birth right to be respected. Feared.

And all that was stripped away in such a short amount of time.

I could only imagine the humiliation I would have to endure returning back to the Underworld, the insults I would receive upon the Elders and other Hounds hearing I was bound to such a weaker species.

Of course my kind respected Vampires to a point, even admired them, if only for their audacity to reveal themselves. But we demons were at the top of the food chain, and playing servant to those who were often dinner rather than equals... I curled my lip in a snarl at the thought.

There was no use in being angry now. It was done, and I was Kept, without any say in the matter.

I stared at Eric's back as he talked to the others, who he had briefly introduced me to, and contemplated killing him. I could move faster than he could, and before he could even force one sound from his lips, I could kill him.

It was a foolish thought, as much as I hated to admit it. If I killed him, I killed myself. The only way to break the bond would be if he died naturally, or broke it off himself.

For some reason, I got the feeling that wouldn't be anytime soon.

I was led across the hall to an office, one I could only assume belonged to my new Keeper. The space was no bigger than the storage room, and held a large mahogany desk that took up the far wall of the room. Across from the desk were two leather chairs. I took a seat on one of them while the blonde rounded the desk and sat in his own seat.

Long, pale fingers were steepled in front of his face as he regarded me like a dog would a new guest, a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Eric's expression bore nothing, a stony facade that I matched, studying the Vampire with a hardened glare, making my distaste for the situation as obvious as I could, without huffing and puffing.

We kept it up, this staring contest, for several minutes, until he had grown tired of our silence. He didn't have the chance to speak; as he opened his mouth, as the first syllables spilled from his lips, I raised a finger to my lips to indicate my need for his silence.

I turned my head toward the wall to my right, focusing on the new energy, a darker energy, that lie just beyond the layer of drywall and stone. I could hear them, each one of them—at least five—shuffling along the wet asphalt, mumbling quietly to themselves. They were anxious, but who wouldn't be upon arriving at a densely Vampire populated area?

Eric leaned forward. "I don't appreciate being interrupted, especially without good reason."

"Oh, I have good reason."

"Would you mind sharing that reason?"

"I would, actually. My reasons are private."

He quirked a brow. "Nothing is private when I own you."

I turned back in his direction, scoffing at his words. "Own me? Mr. Northman, I must say, you're quite funny."

"And you're quite the insubordinate grunt, aren't you?" The corner of his lips slowly turned up in the faintest of smiles.

"Insubordinate? Definitely. A grunt? Now, I never liked that word," I shook my head. "If you'll excuse me, Keeper, I have some things to attend to."

Eric rose the same time I did, and I paused, waiting for him to say something, to utter a command. And while I hadn't minded at all waiting, for whatever was outside could be my way out of this, I could feel the need growing within me, blossoming into a dull panic, concern for my new Master. The more I tried not to care, the more I worried for him and his safety. It was a strange feeling, to care for someone else, one that I had not felt in centuries.

"So long as that witch was telling the truth, I was under the impression that you were to stay by me unless I commanded otherwise."

I cocked my head to the side. "That may be true, but unless you feel like dying tonight, it would be in your best interest not to argue with me."

"Why, are you going to kill me?" Amusement crept into his tone as he spoke, walking around his desk to stand in front of me.

"As much as I would like to, no. I'm not. But whoever's outside certainly wants to," I said. "Now will you let me leave?" I turned to face the wall.

"How will I know you'll come back?"

I sighed. "Please. I have no fucking choice."

My clothes dropped to the floor as my body dissipated, an invisible mass of thick black smoke without a concrete form, flowing through the walls and out into the parking lot, toward the gathering that huddled off to the side of the entrance of the bar. They crowded around an old, red pickup, their backs turned to the Vampire establishment behind them, as if that could keep them from discovering just what they had in mind.

My body formed, appendage by appendage, invisible still to their eye, but my presence was felt. I made sure of it, and listened while their words were caught in their throat, as the chills ran the lengths of their crooked spines, and their hearts pumped just a little faster, filling the air with the sweetest scent.

Their thoughts flowed like water through my mind, like the gasoline they were prepared to douse the club in. A red can was positioned on the ground at their feet between them, the fluid sloshing around in the metal canister as it was passed around like a joint, each unwilling to be the one to make the first move, a move they would never have the chance to make.

Anger blossomed in my chest and I lurched forward, nails extended, and drove them deep into the back of one of the men. His screams filled the air, drawing the attention of the humans waiting on line. Claws scraped against the bone that hid under his meaty flesh, piercing through into the marrow. I relished the feeling of his body wriggling under my own, defenseless and suffering a blinding, white hot pain, and flipped his frame onto his back.

With a swipe of my paw, his entrails spilled into the chilly air, slick and hot. I chewed at the plump ropes, reducing his organs to pulp that seeped through the bloody pile and back into his body, mixing with his fluids.

The others screamed, frantically reaching for their friend, unsure of their own realities; the drugs had made their blood acrid smelling, more than the sulfurous fumes that poured from my unseen body. They couldn't tell, was he really being torn apart, or were they all suffering from hallucinations?

His death was as real as the earth they stood on, and satisfied with my destruction of this one's insides, my focus was turned then on the cowering group to my left, and for a brief, fraction of a second, I revealed myself to them. The canine form I currently held, massive and muscular, standing taller than the truck behind them, I sprang forward, taking two of them down at once and reduced them to shreds.

The remaining live member had bolted for the streets, a worse move than if he had stood still, awaiting his fate.

Even though I knew full well there was no danger, no threat to Eric nor his progeny, I couldn't resist the chase.

Adrenaline pumped through my veins, pushing my body harder, taking longer strides. I caught up with him in seconds, and pounced, driving my maw deep into his back, teeth wrapping around his spinal column, drinking deep the blood and spinal fluid that rushed down my throat.

I stepped off of his corpse and returned back in the direction of the club, a certain, unusual sense of pride taking place of the blood lust as I padded down the road. My Keeper was safe, that much I knew, and the more I mulled over what I had just done, the more enjoyment I felt knowing it was I that had ensured his safety.

It was an odd feeling, a foreign one at that, but pleasant no less. I wonder quietly as I weaved through pedestrians and shrubs that had overtaken portions of the road if I would feel this again soon.

The sign for the club came into view, and I found myself jogging toward the wall at the rear of the building where I knew his office to be and excitedly materialized through the brick, in a much better mood now that I had had my fill of blood and gore for the night.

I shifted, taking human form once more and collected my clothes from the floor, dressing my blood stained body in record time. My eyes scanned the room; he was gone, as was any trace of his scent. I took this chance to sit down and stretch, my feet perched on the edge of his desk.

If I'm going to be here a while, I may as well make myself comfortable.