Blood red love by Dripping Creativity
Chapter 82

Blood red love

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They didn’t meet in ‘The red lady‘ as they usually did. No, this meeting was not going to be something they wanted to handle in public or in earshot of humans. Instead, Vidar drove his car to the docks, to a warehouse owned by Jun. Every fibre of his being shouted at him to go after Charlie, that he wasted time seeing his clan when he should be out replaceing her. When she should be tearing the person who took her from him into tiny, tiny pieces so slowly it would take them centuries to die. But his rational mind knew his time was better spent in this meeting. His brothers would help him and there was someone here that had information he needed. He took a deep breath and reined in his instincts as he walked into the warehouse. Crates were stacked high in a way which formed a maze like structure. Vidar knew the pattern by heart and it didn’t take him more than a minute to get to its centre. The narrow pathway opened up into an open space with a round table with seven chairs, one draped in red and one had a white ribbon edged with gold tied around it. The white ribbon made Vidar’s heart clench. It was a symbol of someone lost. It was the sign that Charlie wouldn’t join them in this meeting, as she was no longer free to do so. Henry walked up to Vidar. He didn’t say anything, just put his hand on Vidar’s shoulder. Vidar gave him a curt nod. He appreciated what his friend was telling him, but right now Vidar needed action. He needed something to do to distract himself from the overwhelming anger and sorrow. Jun stood talking with Adisa. They both nodded toward Vidar when he walked up to them. When Nasir walked out from between the crates, they all sat down around the table.

“Where is Min?” Nasir asked in a cold voice.

“On her way,” Jun said.

“Any news on Caine?” Henry asked.

“He’ll live, but he will be down for at least two days,” Vidar told them.

“He must be going crazy,” Henry remarked. Vidar nodded. The truth was, he had ordered the medical team to keep Caine sedated until he was healed enough to take part in the hunt for Charlie. Vidar knew his old friend would not be able to keep to his sick bed if he was conscious. Jun’s phone dinged, and a text flashed on the screen. He held up a hand, and they all fell silent. A moment later, Min walked into the open space.

“I don’t know how you can replace your way through that thing without the helper,” she said.

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Vidar gripped the table to keep himself from tearing the head off her.

“Come here, Min,” Jun said. Min smiled and walked over to the table and Vidar could see she had her eyes trained on the chair with the white ribbon on it.

“Touch it and you will lose a hand,” he told her in a low voice. He saw her jump.

“I–I wasn’t,” she started.

“That’s enough, Min,” Jun told her. She looked at him and Vidar could see how confused she was. Jun had probably never spoken to her in such a hard tone.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“We will be asking the questions, Min,” Adisa told her. His honey coloured eyes were locked

on her, as was the case for all the men around the table.

“Jun?” she asked.

“Be quiet, Min. I have protected you long enough. You need to learn that your behaviour has consequences,” Jun said.

“Where is she?” Vidar asked. He didn’t have the time or the patience to take it slow or beat around the bush.

“Who?” Nasir moved fasten than even Vidar’s eye could track. He had his hand around Min’s neck and lifted her off the floor.

“The maiden,” he hissed. Min hissed back at him. Her secondary teeth were showing and her claws were franticly digging into Nasir’s skin as she tried to free herself. Nasir didn’t blink. He stood with his hand around her neck, dangling her a couple of inches above the ground. Min’s eyes sought out Jun. Jun just looked back at her with cold eyes, not moving a muscle to help or to object.

“Fuck you,” Min hissed.

“Wrong answer,” Henry said as he got up and walked over to the flailing woman. He took out

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a velvet bad from the inner pocket of his jacket. He put on gloves and took an object out of the bag. Vidar shivered at the small object. It was no bigger than a razor, but it was made out pure silver with a handle and what looked like a stamp. Hery held the object up to Min for her to look at. Then he ripped the sleeve of her blouse and pressed the stamp–looking part of the object against her shoulder. Min screamed and her flesh sizzled where it met the object. When Henry removed it, the object had marked her skin. There vas a small V covered by a larger and bolder T. She was now and forever labelled a traitor for all to see. Min would no longer be accepted into any vampire society worth its name. “Next time it goes someplace you can’t cover it,” Henry told her. Min was still struggling to breathe as Nasir still dangled her by her neck. Tears were running down her face, and she looked terrified. But not terrified

enough, Vidar thought as she looked at Jun and begged for him to help.

“Enough is enough!” Jun called out and stood up so fast his chair flew back. “I have told you over and over again that the only thing that counts is honour. I have showed you how to live honourably. I even faced alienation from my imprinted one because I honoured my promise to your mother. And this is how you show gratitude?” he continued, walking up to her he grabbed her long, black hair and drew a knife from some place and in an effortless swoop he cut all the hair off, leaving Min with only jagged ends in uneven clumps.

“I love you,” she wheezed.

“You don’t know what love is. Love is honour, you have neither,” Jun told her. Adisa stood up and joined the group. His presence made Min look at him.

“Tell us where Charlie is and this will all stop,” he told her in a dark voice. When she

hesitated, Henry put the branding iron to the top of her chest, just where the neck started. Min cried out as the silver seared another mark into her. Vidar got up and moved to them.

“I want you to tell me where she is, or what they have been doing to you will all seem like child’s play,” he told her. He meant it, he had seen things in his centuries of being alive, of fighting wars, that would make this new vampire faint. something in his look made her nod. Nasir let go of the grip he had on her neck. She fell down onto the floor in a pile. She supported herself on her arms and tried to catch her breath. Vidar crunched down and took a hold of the little hair there was left and lifted her head for her to look at him. “Talk.”

“I don’t know where she is,” Min cried. When Henry moved closer with the brand raised, she tried to scramble back. But Vidar’s grip and the legs of the surrounding clans‘ brothers meant she got nowhere. “Don’t, please don’t. I swear I don’t know. All I know is that Millard planned

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it all, and he wants her for his own,” she pleaded.

“Why? Why would you betray me like this?” Jun asked. Vidar could hear the pain in hist

friend’s voice.

“He promised me he would get rid of Liwei and spare your territory. We could be happy,” she cried. Jun backhanded her.

“Filth. To think I would ever be with you like that.” jun turned her back toward her like he couldn’t stand the sight of her.

“What will he do with Charlie?” Vidar asked. they had got too far of topic for his liking.

“I don’t know, I swear! My job was to make sure to divert the car and keep Caine out of their way. I did that. I don’t know anything else,” she desperately called to him. They all stood. around her and looked down on the crying woman, except Jun, who still had his back turned. Jun looked toward Vidar.

“She is yours to do with as you please,” he told Vidar. Vidar nodded and took out his phone.

“Vidar, do you know what time it is?” a woman answered. Vidar did the maths in his head.

“I would say around four your time,” he said, not apologising for probably waking her.

“Well, as long as you know,” she sighed. “If you are calling to plead for my husband’s sake…”

“I’m not. I have an offer that will be mutually beneficial and enjoyable to us,” he told her.

“I’m not sleeping with you,

Vidar.”

“I wasn’t offering. I have imprinted.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you. What would you say if I delivered Min to you all dressed in a nice bow?” he asked. There was a long silence.

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“Conditions?”

“None, you are free to do with her as you please.”

“And my husband?”

“He has no opinion on the matter. She is no longer under his protection,” Vidar stated.

“About time he saw her for what she is. I will owe you for this,” Liwei said.

“No, she took something precious to me. You are doing me a favour. She’ll arrive within

twenty–four hours. Have fun.”

“Thank you, my friend. Let my husband know i said ‘Hi‘.”

“I will.” They ended the call, and Jun looked at Vidar and nodded. Min sat on the ground, frozen. She had, like everyone else, heard who he talked to and what they had said.

“No. No, you can’t. Not that,” she said.

“Looks like you are going home. I hope your stay will be pleasant,” Vidar said. He sent out a message and four of his men made their way into the protected area and took Min away with them when they left. “I need to replace her!” Vidar exclaimed and punched the table hard enough to split it down the middle.

“We will. The easiest way to smuggle someone out of the country is by ship,” Adisa told him.

“I have contacts in the harbour,” Jun said and started tapping out messages on his phone.

“We’ll get her back,” Henry told Vidar. Vidar just felt the emptiness in his chest grow for each moment. He needed Charlie, and he needed her now.