I Belong To My Three Forbidden Masters

Chapter 94: Chapter 94

Lysander’s pov

I wrapped my hands tighter around my drink, watching the pink liquid swirl against the ice.

The weight of their curious eyes tried to drown me. I could feel them trying to guess the answer.

Drake’s name felt too dangerous to throw out into a casual conversation with strangers, even ones who seemed this warm.

If word got back to the floor that the High Sovereign’s newly claimed mate was sitting in a secluded booth drinking with another vampire and four humans, it would invite a kind of scrutiny I wasn’t ready to handle.

"I’m just... meeting a friend," I said, offering a small, vague shrug and keeping my eyes fixed on the table.

Matt let out a low, scolding whistle, shaking his head as he leaned back against the deep button-tufted leather. "Well, your friend is pretty rude to leave someone like you sitting out in the open, waiting like an afterthought," he said, his pale amber eyes scanning my face with a light, sympathetic frown. "A guy who looks like you shouldn’t be left alone in a place like the Vault. Not for a single minute."

Before I could reply, Matt raised two fingers at a passing server. "Bring him another one of these. And make it quick."

"I really shouldn’t—" I started, my voice small.

"Consider it a token of hospitality," he interrupted smoothly, giving me that same easy, disarming smile that didn’t show a single tooth. "You look like you’ve had a long week, Lysander. A little sugar and fruit isn’t going to hurt."

The server set the second chilled glass down on the table before I could protest any further. The sweet, tart scent of cranberry drifted up, making my mouth water again.

My throat still felt dry from the suffocating heat of the cavern below, so I reached out and took a long, deep swallow, letting the icy liquid wash down my throat.

Under the table, I pulled my phone from the pocket of my trousers. The screen illuminated my face in a soft white glow. I opened my messages and tapped on Drake’s contact, my fingers moving quickly across the glass keyboard.

I’m sitting in the back alcove near the VIP stairs with a guy named Matt and his friends. Having a drink while I wait for you. I miss you.

I pressed send, watching the small blue bubble pop up on the screen.

"Who are you texting?" Maya asked, leaning closer with a playful nudge of her shoulder against mine.

"Just... my friend," I murmured, sliding the phone back into my pocket with a faint, embarrassed flush warming my cheeks. "Letting him know where I am so he doesn’t think I disappeared."

"Good," James chimed in, tossing a chocolate-covered strawberry into his mouth. "Wouldn’t want some brooding vampire tearing the club apart looking for you."

I didn’t bother to correct him on the vampire talk.

I swallowed the rest of the second Cosmopolitan in two heavy gulps, the sweet syrup masking a faint, metallic bite at the bottom of the glass that I barely registered.

A sudden, heavy wave of warmth bloomed in the center of my chest, loosening the tight coil of anxiety in my stomach.

My head felt light, a pleasant, floating haze settling over my mind as the heavy bass of the club below began to sound like it was vibrating underwater.

I blinked, my eyelids suddenly feeling heavy. My legs felt loose, warm, and slightly numb beneath the leather cushion.

"Excuse me," I mumbled, clearing my throat as I gripped the edge of the mahogany table to steady myself. "I... I think I need to use the bathroom."

"Down the hall to the left, past the curtain," Matt said with helpfulness dripping from his voice as he pointed down the alcove corridor.

I pushed myself up from the booth. My knees wobbled slightly, a small, dizzy rush making the room tilt for half a second before I caught my balance against the padded wall.

I rubbed my temple, letting out a small, quiet laugh at my own clumsiness. I was definitely tipsy. Two sweet drinks on an empty stomach after an intense night had hit my system much faster than I expected.

I navigated the dimly lit hallway, splashing cold water onto my face at the black marble washbasin. The cold droplets helped clear a tiny fraction of the fog in my brain, but the heavy, pleasant hum in my blood remained.

I dried my hands on a cloth towel and slowly made my way back toward the recessed alcove.

When I stepped back into the booth area, Matt and his four human friends were already standing up, gathering their coats and small leather bags.

"You back?" Matt asked, turning to me with an easy, warm smile as he adjusted the lapels of his dark blazer. "We were just getting ready to head out. We’re moving the party to a private lounge upstairs. You take care of yourself, Lysander."

A pang of quiet disappointment touched my foggy mind. They had been so nice to me, the first people in months who hadn’t looked at me like a piece of meat or a broken lab experiment.

"Oh," I said softly, a loose, tipsy smile touching my lips as I took a small step forward. "Okay. Thank you... for the drinks and the company."

Overcome by a sudden, liquor-fueled burst of affection, I moved in closer, reaching out my arms to give Maya a warm goodbye hug.

The moment I stepped past Matt, a sharp sting bit into the soft skin right at the base of my neck, just above the edge of my dark leather collar.

"Ow!" I gasped, my hand instantly flying to the back of my neck. My fingers brushed over a tiny drop of fresh blood blooming on my skin.

A violent, icy sensation flooded outward from the prick, sweeping straight down my spine like liquid nitrogen. The warm, pleasant haze of the alcohol dissolved instantly into a sickening, paralyzing dark shockwave.

My knees buckled beneath me, my vision blurring into wildly flickering shapes.

I stumbled backward, my hands flailing for balance, but my limbs felt like they had been filled with wet concrete. I couldn’t lift my arms. I couldn’t move my legs.

I forced my head up, my eyes wide with sudden, terrifying shock as I stared at the group in front of me.

Maya, James, Sarah, and Leo weren’t smiling anymore. Their warm, friendly expressions had vanished, replaced by cold, hollow, bored masks as they stood in a tight semicircle, watching me collapse toward the floorboards.

Matt stepped into my fading line of sight. He wasn’t looking at me with gentle concern anymore.

His pale amber eyes were wide, glittering with a dark, unhinged malice, and a wide, sickening grin stretched across his face, exposing two sharp, white fangs that hadn’t been there a minute ago. He twirled a tiny, empty glass vial between his long fingers before sliding it into his blazer pocket.

"What... what did you..." I rasped out, my tongue feeling thick, heavy, and completely useless in my mouth. My chest heaved as panic seized my throat, but my body refused to obey my brain.

Matt leaned down, grabbing me by the hair at the crown of my head and pulling my face up until I was staring directly into his glowing amber eyes. His breath smelled of bitter almonds and stale wine.

"Don’t worry, little bird," he whispered, his voice dropping into a raspy, cruel purr that cut through the roaring bass in my ears. "We’re going to have so much fun tonight."

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, a silent, screaming plea echoing in my head as my vision began to go entirely black.

Drake...

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