Master Read online

  Master:

  Tamed & Trained #3

  A Fate of the Fallen Story

  r. phoenix

  &

  m.a. innes

  Master

  Copyright August 2018

  by R. Phoenix & M.A. Innes

  Cover by Vicki Brostenianc Graphic Design

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  This book is meant for sale to adult audiences only. It contains sexually explicit scenes and language which may be considered offensive. All sexually active characters in this work are eighteen (18) years of age or older.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One: Liam

  Chapter Two: Zain

  Chapter Three: Liam

  Chapter Four: Zain

  Chapter Five: Liam

  Chapter Six: Zain

  Chapter Seven: Caleb

  Chapter Eight: Liam

  Chapter Nine: Caleb

  Chapter Ten: Zain

  Chapter Eleven: Liam

  Chapter Twelve: Caleb

  Chapter Thirteen: Zain

  Acknowledgements

  About R. Phoenix

  About M.A. Innes

  Books by R. Phoenix

  Other Books by M.A. Innes

  Other Books by Shaw Montgomery

  master

  noun

  someone in control of something

  an individual who owns a person, animal, thing, etc.

  an expert in a certain topic

  adjective

  the directing or controlling person or thing

  the original item from which copies are made

  verb

  to become an expert at

  to conquer

  Chapter One:

  Liam

  “What. Is. This?” The man’s deadly quiet voice enunciated each of his words to the point where his accent was all but gone, but that was the only sign of his displeasure.

  Without the blood bond between them, Liam wouldn’t have even known his sire was furious.

  Isaiah had had centuries to master the art of looking calm, of feigning any and everything. He could mimic others. He’d had plenty of time to learn different trades so he could slip in and out of society — at least, society as it had been.

  For all that he’d never say it aloud, Isaiah hated the Takeover. He didn’t have to say it. Liam knew because he could feel the disdain, the scorn, emanating from his sire when it was brought up. It was familiar, and it felt just like right now, when the weight of his sire’s gaze pierced him.

  Him… and Zain and Caleb, who had just come inside from playtime, looking delectable with the sweaty sheen to their skin and their tousled hair.

  The moon had risen only an hour before, and Liam had been looking forward to dinner and a nice fuck — probably at the same time — when the knock had come from the door. Quiet. Perfunctory.

  Familiar.

  His dead heart had sunk deep into his chest. He recognized the pattern of those knocks, and this wasn’t supposed to happen. His sire wasn’t supposed to be there yet, especially not when Zain was home. Liam had had plans for introducing that particular element of his life, and it had not involved a surprise visit or an impromptu conversation.

  Yet, there he was.

  Isaiah was old-fashioned enough to still cling to morals that had been almost obliterated by the Takeover — almost, because they were carried on by ancient creatures such as these. He wouldn’t approve of Zain or Caleb, though how he would react was unknown even to Liam.

  “This is Zain,” Liam said evenly despite the way very unfamiliar anxiety swelled up within him. “The dog is Caleb.”

  “I do not care. They are both mutts,” Isaiah said coolly. “One simply looks more like an abomination than the other in this moment.”

  Zain looked to Liam and raised one eyebrow. He mouthed abomination like he found the word too distasteful to actually say aloud. Liam didn’t reply.

  Not seeming to get the response he wanted, Zain frowned and glanced down at the pup before looking back up at Liam. “We should probably give you some privacy. I’ll take Caleb to play in the yard so you guys can talk business.” Leaning over, Zain gave Caleb a pat on the head. “Come on, boy. Outside time.”

  Giving both vampires a cautious stare, Zain started leading Caleb back into the kitchen toward the back door they’d just come from.

  Liam let them go.

  Only when they’d left the room did Isaiah turn his harsh gaze back upon Liam. His sire was the only vampire — the only creature — who intimidated him, but Liam would never admit it to anyone else. He deferred to the man, of course, because who wouldn’t? Beyond him, those he respected were few and far between.

  “I have established a foothold here,” Liam said. He had fulfilled his duty, at least, so Isaiah couldn’t say he had gotten too distracted. “There was competition, but—”

  “The mutt and the abomination,” Isaiah interrupted him sharply.

  That was never a good sign. Isaiah was usually single-minded when it came to work, and when he focused on something else instead… Nothing was going to get in his way until he was satisfied with the answers he received.

  “My pet and my pup,” Liam corrected him, straightening his spine and offering Isaiah his own bland look.

  “Do they… live here?”

  There was a part of Liam that wanted to say no merely to avoid the argument, but Isaiah would be staying there, too — and there was no way he was going to hide a werewolf in his home.

  Even if there was, Liam was no fledgling. He was perfectly capable of making his own decisions, even if his sire didn’t seem to agree at the moment. If those decisions included fucking a werewolf, that was his own concern. “Yes.”

  “You allow a werewolf to live with you,” his sire repeated, lip curling slightly in the start of a sneer.

  “Isaiah, neither of us has the patience for this,” Liam said, only to see the man’s eyes narrow further. “I know you disapprove, but this has been the arrangement for some few weeks now. I am pleased with it.”

  “The werewolf leaves,” Isaiah said flatly, as though Liam hadn’t even spoken.

  “This is my home,” Liam replied, his voice sharp. It was rare for him to argue with his sire, and the fact that he was doing it for Zain spoke volumes. “The werewolf stays.”

  “I will not live here with the creature. The… human-dog-creature is another matter entirely, and we will have words about it. But for now, rid the house of the danger. You established this household for me, not the other way around,” Isaiah replied.

  Liam wasn’t used to people steamrolling him, but then, he wasn’t used to his sire being around either. Isaiah’s stubbornness was legendary, and once he set his mind to something, there was little chance of deterring him. Liam couldn’t deny that the man was right, even though he wanted to. The house had been purchased as a base of operations and to give his sire a place to stay when he arrived. Still, this was his life. He wasn’t some fledgling to be ordered around.

  Except for the fact that he, apparently, was.

  “The dog-creature’s blood is particularly nourishing,” Liam said stiffly. He wasn’t getting rid of Caleb. He
didn’t want to lose Zain’s ass, either. He’d only just started to get into a routine he liked, and he didn’t want to see it ruined.

  “How did he…” Isaiah’s disgust was written across his face as he gestured to the back door, as close to a loss for words as Liam had ever seen him.

  “Lady Desideria,” Liam replied, lifting his head up slightly in defiance. No one threw that name around lightly, and Isaiah wouldn’t have the nerve to publicly denounce her for what she’d done. Even if he tried, they’d set too much of a trend already, and there would be too much backlash.

  “The madwoman,” Isaiah said flatly. “And what did you pay the madwoman to do these alterations to that creature?”

  Liam wanted to argue that the creature was a human rather than some beast he was fucking, but Caleb wasn’t human, not really. Not anymore. Between the changes the vampiress had made to the man’s body and Zain’s flawless training, Caleb wasn’t really human anymore.

  Either way, it wasn’t his sire’s concern.

  “I have been released from your care,” Liam said quietly, staring his sire down. “You deemed me worthy of traveling the world alone.”

  “Perhaps I was wrong,” Isaiah replied with a flash of fangs.

  It wasn’t often that Liam felt, but he felt then. Anger raged through him, leaving him feeling hot inside. “I am no fledgling,” he said, fighting his temper. The best way to prove his sire right would be to lose his calm. He had no intentions of doing anything of the sort.

  “Then perhaps you ought not act like one,” Isaiah said. “Get rid of the mutt. If the creature’s blood is what you say it is, he may stay, but I do not wish to see him.”

  “You will need to see him to feed on him,” Liam pointed out, vindication under the surface and ready to be let out.

  “No. You will drain him of what I need and bring it to me, as needed.”

  Liam blinked at his sire, trying to understand the words that were so clear and yet impossible to comprehend. “You scorn those who drink blood from anything other than the source.”

  One of the cheap plastic cups he’d bought for Zain’s use was not going to cut it.

  Isaiah’s eyes narrowed. “Mind your tongue, Liam. Remember it will grow back if I remove it.”

  Liam wasn’t used to being rebuked. He wasn’t used to being anything but the solid authority in the room. But his sire…

  “Yes, sir,” he said at last. “I will speak to Zain.” He deliberately said the werewolf’s name, as though it might help to show that there was some relationship beyond mere fucking — though why that would matter…

  Isaiah didn’t look moved.

  Liam’s jaw clenched, but he spun on his heel and went to the door. He opened the door and made sure to close it behind him before striding into the yard. He gestured curtly for Zain and Caleb to follow — but much to his irritation, Isaiah followed in his wake.

  The fact that he didn’t want to do this troubled him. Liam shouldn’t have cared, but it meant his pup would be alone often and his pet werewolf would be gone. It would benefit none of them.

  Once he stood face to face with Zain, Liam stated, “I established this household so that my sire might have a safe place to live once he arrived.” He paused, hating admitting that it wasn’t his home in full. “Now that he has arrived, I am afraid your presence here cannot be tolerated.”

  Tolerated. As though he wasn’t furious about what was going on, as though Zain had ever been something to be tolerated like some burden.

  Zain blinked at him, staring like he didn’t understand the words that Liam had stated so clearly. Finally, his mouth opened. “What?” Before Liam could repeat his words, Zain shook his head as if he were clearing the fog from his brain. “You’re kicking me out! What the hell?” Even though it had clearly been a question, Zain charged ahead. “That’s not what you said last night when you were fucking me, or hell, even ten minutes ago when you were giving me instructions. You said this is my home!”

  Liam’s focus was on Zain, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Caleb trying to wrap his body around Zain’s legs. He wasn’t sure if the pup was trying to comfort Zain or maybe even soothe his own fears. Either way, even though the pup was still deep into his new role, he seemed to understand something was wrong.

  Caleb had always been mouthy, not stupid.

  “Liam, really,” Isaiah scoffed. “You had… relations with this creature?”

  I would have thought that would be obvious, Isaiah. He didn’t dare say the sour words aloud.

  Zain took a deep breath, giving Isaiah a quick, disdainful glance before focusing back on Liam. “Creature?”

  Liam kept his features neutral, though there was a part of him that wanted to defy the older vampire. It went back to when he had first been turned, when he had constantly yanked against the yoke Isaiah had put around his neck.

  He had been a good sire, but he had been too strict. It bothered him that Isaiah didn’t trust him, but then, Liam supposed that he had invited one of their most dangerous adversaries into his home.

  But it was his home, and Zain was so little like a werewolf that he might as well not have been one at all.

  His eyes went to Caleb as the pup tried to disappear in plain sight, but he wasn’t the right one to settle his pet down. “He is new to our world,” Liam tried one last time, primly. “He has not been brainwashed into believing vampires are enemies.”

  “Then he was recently human.” The words fell like stones.

  Damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.

  Liam straightened, fury threatening to overwhelm him. “He is my pet. He has done everything I have asked. He has taken care of my home and my pup. He has—”

  “You are defending a beast who can kill you with a single bite,” Isaiah said, finally starting to sound impatient.

  “I could snap his neck or drain him before he had a chance to fight,” Liam retorted.

  Zain’s jaw tightened. A flash of anger Liam couldn’t remember seeing before in the ‘wolf’s eyes sparked. The words were forced out between clenched teeth, “That’s not the kind of relationship we have.”

  “Mind your place, mutt,” Isaiah said, and his sire was suddenly a step away from Zain, fingers curling around the back of his neck and yanking his head back. “It seems my childe has been too free with you.”

  Liam hadn’t even seen him move. It was one thing to know his sire was much older than he was, but it was another entirely to see it on display after so long.

  Zain’s fangs descended, and his lips curled as his entire body seemed to vibrate with energy. “You might be able to kill me, but I’m wondering how you’ll deal with my entire pack coming after you. I might be new, but do you really think they’ll stand for something that blatantly disrespectful? They know where I am and who I’m with.”

  “They know where you are, and they haven’t cast you out?” Isaiah asked, his fingers digging into Zain’s skin.

  Caleb growled softly from behind Zain, but he didn’t seem willing to come out from behind his master. His reticence was good. Isaiah would destroy him if he tried to defend either his alpha or his master.

  “Isaiah,” Liam said sharply. “Enough.”

  Isaiah released Zain, turning angry eyes on Liam. “You disrespect your sire and defend this creature?”

  “Well, unless you’re fucking him too, then I should hope he’d defend me.” Zain seemed to realize how dangerous the comment was because his jaws snapped shut.

  Too late, of course, but at least they closed.

  “If I were not abiding by the rules of hospitality, I would rip your heart out through your mouth,” Isaiah snarled.

  “But we are,” Liam stated. He watched Caleb as the pup trembled and listened to his heart race, the terror radiating from him like some sort of tangible force. This was all out of control, and he absolutely hated it when situations were out of his control. “Zain, my decision stands. Now that my sire is here, you will leave. I will pay you for the wo
rk you have done.”

  “Pay him?” Isaiah asked sharply.

  Liam ground his teeth. “Respectfully, Isaiah, I would like to handle this. You and I can speak of it later without further embarrassing ourselves.”

  “You are the one who has embarrassed us,” Isaiah shot back, but he fell silent.

  “So your crazy boss is going to move in, and I get kicked out? When were you going to tell me about this? Maybe you should have thought about that before you fucked me!”

  The way the werewolf’s eyes blazed had Liam’s attention fully focused on him, and he wanted nothing more than to bury his fingers in his hair and force him to submit, to fuck any defiance out of him. He stayed still instead, doing nothing and saying nothing.

  Then Zain took a ragged breath and straightened. “Fine. If you’re giving in to the crazy vamp, then I’m not going to argue with you. What are you going to do about Caleb, though? Remember? That’s why you hired me to begin with.”

  “That ‘crazy vamp’ is the man who made me,” Liam said sharply. Now that was crossing a line even he wouldn’t tolerate, and he stared at Zain with warning in his gaze. “You will speak to and of him respectfully, or you will not speak at all.”

  Isaiah pursed his lips, not looking pleased, but at least he allowed Liam to take care of the situation.

  “Caleb will remain with me. He is no longer your concern. Come here, Pup,” Liam ordered. So help him if the creature disobeyed him or hesitated in front of his sire…

  His pup whined, looking torn as his eyes went first to Zain then to Liam. He went halfway between them and sat, and Liam felt the rage start to rise again as his order went only partially obeyed.

  “You are still mine, Caleb,” Liam snapped.

  Thankfully, before Caleb had to choose, Zain stepped forward and crouched down beside the pup. Leaning in, he whispered low enough that even Liam couldn’t hear the words. When he finally straightened, Zain ran a hand over the pup’s head then down to slowly let his fingers trail over the pup’s tail.