Dinner

The afternoon went by slow as Rose lay on the bed, waiting for someone to come get her for dinner.

She had showered and changed into a short, navy-blue dress. She left her hair down, which was probably a mess now since she'd been tossing around on the bed. She was wearing a tinted balm on her lips and had curled her eyelashes, not really in the mood to go through a full makeup routine to look good in front of Caleb. She finished the look with some black heels before she'd thrown herself on the bed.

So, here she was, waiting to be summoned. She couldn't help but wonder if the rest of her life was going to be like this, always waiting to be told what to do next.

She sat up when she heard a knock at the door. "Come in," she said, halfheartedly.

She watched the door open and the woman she had seen earlier walked inside, stopping just inside the room. "Miss, I've come to get you for dinner."

Rose nodded and got up reluctantly. She walked towards the woman and waited for her to lead the way out of her room.

"I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. My name is Barbara, but you can call me whatever you'd like."

Rose nodded as she followed Barbara out of the room and down the hallway. "It's nice to meet you Barbara."

Both women walked in silence after that, they made their way down the stairs and turned right towards the dinning room. A couple of men opened the doors to the dining room, and Rose followed Barbara inside the large room. She stopped just inside the room, cautiously inspecting her surroundings.

Rose watched Caleb sitting at the head of the table while other people filled the chairs around him. The table was big enough to sit twenty people, at least. It was like watching a king surrounded by his subordinates.

She noticed the four men she had seen earlier sitting closest to Caleb, and on his left was a woman, sitting tall and proud.

"Your seat is by my side," Caleb said as he stood up and walked towards her.

Rose felt self-conscious as all eyes turned to her when Caleb spoke. All eyes except for the woman who sat to his left, and she couldn't help but wonder who she was.

Rose took Caleb's hand as he reached out for her and followed him. He pulled out the chair to his right and she obediently sat down.

Caleb took his seat at the head of the table, with the aura of a king. He looked over at Rose and noticed how nervous she was. "Stop staring," he ordered, and at once all eyes turned away from her. "From now on, no one is allowed to stare at my wife, it makes her uncomfortable."

Rose heard the word wife and frowned. She wasn't married to him yet! She heard their voices in unison as they agreed to his command, all except for the woman who sat across from her.

"Bring in the food," Caleb said to the maids waiting around the table.

Rose's heart began to beat out of her chest with his words. The food? Was she going to witness them devouring a human? She felt sweat running down her back and her temples as fear began to run through her. She couldn't do this. She wasn't ready for this scene. She sat, silently, looking down at her hands on her lap, refusing to look up. She had never imagined this would happen on her first day here.

Caleb watched her reaction and a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. What was his little wife thinking? "Relax, its just food," he said, trying to ease her fear.

Rose swallowed and looked up at him, skeptical. She looked around as the maids began to lay their plates on the table, and to her shock, it really was regular food. In front of her sat a big steak, with vegetables and mashed potatoes as the sides. She looked around and noticed everyone had a smile on their lips. "But, I thought you only drank blood," she said as she looked up at Caleb. "You can eat human food?"

A chuckle was heard from someone sitting on the table and Rose felt her cheeks burn in shame. She really didn't know much about them, except for what she'd heard over the years. She had refused to learn about them before she came, not that she'd had much time anyways. And now she regretted her stubbornness.

"Yes, we can eat whatever we want," Caleb answered as he looked at her, amusement shinning in his dark sight. "We're not much different from humans. You'll learn more about us in time." About me, was what he really wanted to say, but held back, trying not to scare her more than she already was.

She nodded and looked back at her plate. She picked up her silverware and began to eat, maintaining elegance and etiquette. She had studied how to be a proper lady over the years, even though she didn't care much for it. But, sometimes, those studies did come in handy.

Everyone ate silently, eyes looking up at her now and then while trying not to get caught by their king.

Even though the atmosphere was calm and relaxed, Rose's mind was in chaos. She was terrified of them, and every minute she sat with them was hell. She ate as quickly as possible without embarrassing herself and when she was done, she looked up at him. "May I be excused? I'm finished."

Caleb fought the smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips. He could hear her heart beating furiously as she hurried to finish her meal. "Actually, I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce everyone to you."

Rose's shoulders slump dejectedly as she realized she wasn't going anywhere. "Okay," she said as she continued to look at him.

"First I'd like to introduce Katherine. She's like a sister to me, though we are not related by blood. I'd like for you to think of her as your sister as well from now on. If you need anything at all she will do it for you."

Katherine looked at Rose, but didn't say anything as she sized her up.

Rose gulped under the intense gaze of her supposed new sister. She felt a shiver run down her spine as the woman's eyes narrowed at her. "Nice to meet you," she mumbled.

Katherine nodded in acknowledgement. "Likewise."

Caleb ignored Katherine's attitude. It would take her some time to accept Rose as her new queen. He looked at the man next to Katherine. "This is Ksien. He's my assistant." He continued to introduce everyone on the table until Rose knew everyone's names. "If you need anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask anyone here. They all know you are their new queen."

Rose gulped as the word queen rang in her head. Why did she feel doomed? Rather than a queen, she felt more like a prisoner. She wasn't a queen; she was a normal girl who wanted to live a simple life! She looked up at Caleb and hesitated to talk, feeling eyes on her.

"Speak," he said as he noted her worry.

Rose looked around the table nervously before her eyes landed on Caleb again. Yup, everyone was watching her. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. She hated being the center of attention.

Caleb stood up and stretched his arm out to her. "Come, we can speak somewhere else." He looked up at the others. "You may leave. Dinner is over."

Rose took his hand and stood up. She almost jerked away as he wrapped her arm around his. Her heart stopped for a second and she looked up at him.

"Relax, I'm not going to eat you," he said with a smile. Well, not now anyways.

She gulped and nodded. She followed him as he led her out of the dinning room. A sense of relief suddenly ran through her as she escaped the room full of vampires.

"I don't want you to be afraid of anyone here. No one is going to hurt you, I promise."

"How do you know that? I can tell they don't like me."

He frowned. "They're not used to you, that's all. They will soon come to accept you as part of our family."

She bit her bottom lip and frowned at his words. She didn't want to be part of his family. She had already chosen her own family, or at least the man she wanted that family with. Her heart clenched painfully as she thought about Jack.

"If anyone offends you or hurts you in any way, let me know and I will take care of them." He led her towards the study, keeping his eyes on her, watching the many emotions flashing through her eyes.

She swallowed hard and looked up at him. "Take care of them?"

Caleb couldn't help but chuckle. "What kind of monster do you think I am?"

She chuckled dryly. "No, I didn't say you were a monster." She shook her head in denial. "I just mean… in what way, do you take care of people?"

He stopped outside the door to the study and released her arm. He faced her and observed as she looked up at him nervously. She really saw him as a monster. He couldn't blame her though.

Vampires didn't have the best reputation in this city. And truth be told, there had been chaos before he'd stepped up and took the reigns from his father. He was the one who had returned order to his kingdom, making rules, and punishing justly when those rules were broken. He had loyal friends who had supported him, and with their backing, he had gotten things under control.

Eventually, everyone under him had understood the new way things were going to work. He was their king and he would not tolerate disobedience or betrayal, and he had banned hunting in the city. No vampire was allowed to drink blood from any human, unless the human knew about their existence and was willing.

He had his own blood bank, where blood was stored, and distributed throughout his kingdom. And he was working on getting a few more in hopes of convincing others to join him and stop taking innocent lives. But, it was hard. Not everyone saw things his way. Some vampires only saw humans as food, and refused to abide by his rules. Anyone who had turned him down had been chased out of the city, and anyone who had broken his rule, had met with a tragic end.

But, was he ready to tell her that? Would she think of him as a just man for punishing those who had killed innocent humans? Or would her image of him become worst knowing his hands were stained with the blood of others?

Rose frowned and looked around nervously as his glimmering gaze lingered on her, becoming more and more intense. "Caleb?" she asked cautiously.

He frowned as her words snapped him back to the present. "I apologize. I got carried away."

She shook her head. "It's okay." For a second there, she was wondering if vampires had the ability to turn to stone as she watched how still he had become. She shook her head and followed him inside the study as he opened the doors for her. She took a few steps and froze. She was left speechless as she saw the many bookshelves to her left, overflowing with books. The bookshelves seemed to go on forever and she couldn't see the end of them. "Holy shit!" She finally exclaimed and quickly covered her mouth as she realized what she had said.

Caleb chuckled happily as he watched her reaction. "I'm glad you like it."

Rose nodded and looked up at him, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she lowered her hand to her side.

"This is where I work. If you ever need anything from me, you can find me here," he said as he urged her forward.

Rose walked with him until they reached a desk cluttered with papers and books. For some reason she had imagined the place to be a lot cleaner, and organized. Weren't vampires supposed to be clean freaks?

He cleared his throat as he watched her frowning while she looked over the things on his desk. "No one is allowed to come in here and clean. This room is off limits to most people, and I don't normally have time to do it myself," he said, trying to find an excuse for the mess.

She shook her head. "It's your room. You can have it any way you want."

He smiled and turned to face her. "Now, tell me, what was it you wanted to ask me in the dining room?"

She gulped as he reminded her of her question. She turned to look up at him and frowned, suddenly noticing how ridiculously handsome he was up close. She hadn't really checked him out before, but now that he was so close to her, she couldn't help but be amazed that such a creature existed in this world. How unfair to the rest of the male population. She had no doubt women threw themselves at his feet and she wondered how many of them had had the luxury of being in those muscular arms.

He was tall, well built, every inch of him rippling with muscles, and the aura around him exuded power and dominance. She gulped as she considered how to ask her question. "Do you… have any humans here?"

He frowned. "We do employ humans," he said as he wondered where she was going with this.

"Oh, no, I mean…" she swallowed hard. "Do you… have any humans… for food purposes?" She felt her body shiver as his eyes bore into her. Shit. Maybe she shouldn't have asked. Why did she care anyways? It was none of her business. She tried quickly to think of a way to make him forget about her question, but he spoke before she had a chance to come up with anything.

"You can ask me anything, and I will always tell you the truth. I will never hide anything from my wife," he said as he looked down at her.

Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught at the sincerity in his gaze. "Thank you."

"To answer your question…" he said and leaned closer to her. "No, we currently don't have any humans here that serve that need."

Currently? Need? How many needs did they have? Her cheeks turned red as she considered other needs humans might have to fulfill for these vampires. Shit. If he didn't have any humans here to fulfill his "needs" would he dare to use her? "You… are you okay? I mean, you don't need to drink any blood right now?" she asked nervously.

He could hear the worry in her voice. The corner of his lips lifted into a sexy crooked grin and he lifted his hand to wrap around her head. He lifted her face closer to him until their breaths mingled together. He met her panicked gaze and held her still as she tried to move away. "Why, are you offering to fulfill my needs Rose?"