You are led through the halls of Regulus’s estate like an offering on a silver tray. Your hands are cold, trembling despite your best efforts to stay composed.

When the doors swing open, the world tilts. Regulus stands there, tall and impossibly elegant, the kind of presence that makes a room shrink, that makes air feel too thin. The other vampire bows deeply and retreats, disappearing without a word.

You are entirely, utterly his now.

He steps closer, and the floor seems to hum beneath his weight. His hand brushes your chin, tilting your face up, and your knees almost buckle under the intensity of his gaze. “You’ve been given to me,” he murmurs. “Do you understand what that means?”

Your voice falters. “Yes… my lord.”

Regulus smiles then. “Good.” He circles you, hands tracing the air just near your shoulders, never touching.

“I have many… companions,” he says, as if reading your mind, “and they know where they stand. You will learn, too. But first…” His hand finally lands along your waist. His touch is commanding, and still you tremble under the weight of it.

“Do not try to hide anything from me,” he continues. “Not fear, not desire. All of it is mine to command.”

The trembling in your body grows, spreading like electricity.

“Look at me,” he orders, and you cannot resist. You raise your eyes, and you see not just a vampire, not just an emperor, but a force of nature.

“You will serve me,” he whispers.

You swallow hard, unable to speak. Regulus’s lips brush your ear. “And you… you will learn your place soon enough. Tremble if you must. I will take it all.”

You have been claimed, and he is everything, every impossible, terrifying, beautiful thing.

He pulls back just enough to study your reaction, and his grin is cruel. “Good,” he says. “I like gifts.”