Tourmaline Truth by Khloe Wren Page B

those monthly sessions were his favorite.
    Burke sighed contentedly as he peeled her robe wide open.
    "Alone at last, beautiful."
    Great . Sharon could do nothing to prevent the tears that ran down her face and landed in her ears.
    So it begins, once again...
    ~ * ~
    Hearing the scrape of the entrance door opening, Barret swallowed against his dry throat. He was so thirsty. The hunger for food had passed a very long time ago, but his thirst for Sharon's blood would only cease when his life did. A small squeak of a wheel indicated it was feeding time. Barret was never sure if he'd get a small taste of his Bride or a harsh hosing down with cold water when that door opened. Not that he felt much these days; his body barely functioned. All he had was his mind. Thoughts and memories that haunted him and broke his heart, because no matter how bad this felt for him, he knew his Sharon had it so much worse. That bastard Noble had made sure he knew what lay in store for her.
    He slowly turned his head as he smelled his Sharon's blood and heard the bag being hooked up to the machine. Holding his breath, he put all his effort into lifting his arm to reach for the tube, which would gift him with her divine taste. Oh, how he missed his precious Bride. They'd had such a short time together, but every moment was entrenched into his memory. He pressed the tube into his mouth and heard the machine come to life. His fangs throbbed as the thick liquid hit his tongue.
    "Your Bride needs you. Now."
    Nobles never spoke to any of the Vampires. Barret frowned in confusion, even as he continued to drink what had to be more than his usual ration. As his body began to come alive with a buzz, he drank faster, uncertain this Noble wouldn't change his mind and turn off the machine. He grew more curious as the man moved around the room and appeared to give each Vampire a full bag of blood. Four times their usual allocation. Once the man finished, he headed to the exit.
    "Wait."
    Damn his voice was hoarse. He hadn't used it for who knew how long. He'd stopped yelling out for Sharon soon after he'd been put down here. It did nothing but upset the other Vampires, who had enough to bear without him adding to their torment. The man came back to his cell.
    "Yes?"
    Barret licked his rapidly healing cracked lips before he spoke.
    "Why are you helping? What has happened to my Sharon?"
    "I am a Noble by birth, not choice. I swear to you, I never knew what they did to your brides. Now I do, and I refuse to stand idly by while they are abused and raped. You need to stop it and rescue them as soon as possible. The brides are with their guardians, who have permission to do whatever they wish, so long as they don't have actual intercourse. Then, at midnight, they'll be forced to be with the Elder Nobles."
    So, the added power wasn't only from the extra blood but from it being the eve of his Bride's fertile day. A deep growl left his throat at the thought of another touching what was his. He welcomed the ache in his bones, the pull of his muscles as they regenerated. As his strength returned, he moved to sit on the cot he'd spent, however many years he'd been here, on. The air current in the room against his back felt so good.
    "Can you get out on your own? If I trigger the release, they will know and you'll all be drugged before you can leave the dungeon."
    "Give us five minutes, for the blood to soak into our systems. Then we'll break out just fine." Barret was grateful for this sole Noble with a conscience and bowed his head in gratitude. "Thank you for your help."
    Barret took several deep breaths as his body continued to heal and regenerate. Once his vision was clear and the aches in his body were only dull, he stood. Walking to the door, he looked around the large room, counting the cells with closed doors. Including himself, there were twenty. So many.
    "Are you all ready? We need to work together to do this and save our Brides."
    He got a chorus of variations of