"Lord Jesse?" Areon says softly after knocking on the study door.
"Yes, Areon, what can I do for you?" Jesse asks intently. In the five years Areon has lived with them he rarely seeks an audience with any of the lords. Only if it has to do with Esmeralda does he seek them out.
"That bitch sister, Leslie, has been causing problems for Lady Esmeralda again. She and a bunch of her whore sheep came out of the slave quarters and started bullying my lady. She managed to hide the tears until she reached her room, but she spent hours crying afterwards."
Jesse pinches his lips down in anger. That isn't the first time Leslie has caused problems for Esme, she had been warned that if she did it again then she would be further punished.
"Thank you, Areon, I appreciate you telling me. Esmeralda holds it in and refuses to say anything."
"That's not all, my lord. That man whore married to Leslie has been creating problems among the men. They are bad mouthing Lady Esmeralda. She hasn't heard it yet, but some of the servants have and brought it to my attention. I overheard them talking. They are planning something against her, but I don't know what. I didn't dare wait to let you know."
Now Jesse is furious. His pen snaps causing ink to splatter every where. "You did right in telling me. Would you find and send in my brothers please?"
"Yes, my lord, right away." Areon leaves as fast as he dares. He quickly locates Carlo and sends him in. He searches for the twins and finds them. After sending them to Jesse he lets out the glee at what he's sure to see. That bitch and her whore boy are about to receive the punishment they should have received years ago.
Soon Leslie will be brought to term with the fourth child and she'll be sent to the werewolves. She is still unaware of her further punishment. Areon's father has several nasty punishments waiting for the whore. Now with the agitation that the whore boy is giving he'll likely be given to the wolves as well.
Areon is pleased and not surprised in the least that there is a call for them all to assemble for a punishment. He goes and gathers Esme for the mandatory call. He escorts her to the platform. Jesse and his brothers will want her near to them as they give out the punishment.
When this happened the first time, Areon was worried that it would cause Esmeralda problems. Instead he finds her satisfied that her former villagers are being punished. When he questioned her he found out that they are the ones that followed her sister and made her life miserable when she was growing up in her village.
Jesse smiles warmly at Esme when he sees her take her place and gives Areon a nod. Areon makes sure that he remains watchful and vigilant. More than one of the humans have tried to harm Esme during one of the punishments. The first time it happened he almost failed to protect Esme. It was only him placing himself in front of the crude knife that Esme was spared. Had it not been for Jesse giving him his healing blood he would have bled out before the wound could close sufficiently to keep him alive.
He loves serving Esmeralda and now owes Lord Jesse his life. He will serve them both for as long as his services are required. Even after he takes over as alpha if it is asked for. Lord Jesse has his loyalty and Jesse knows it and won't abuse it.
Once everyone has the chance to assemble Jesse looks over the crowd. His brothers have taken a roll call and nod to him to signal him to start the punishment.
"Welcome once more. It seems that some people need some harsh lessons to learn their place and show respect to those that have saved their asses." Jesse smiles cruelly as he looks over the slaves and they cower away from him, both the males and the females.
The servants look at him in confusion. The servants are the females that were forced sexually. They are treated well and don't understand why their fellow villagers keep doing things to antagonize the vampires that they serve.
"Bring up Leslie and her dog of a husband." Jesse demands playing with the whip in his hand. Carlo carries the screaming bitch up to stand beside Jesse. Desanto and Santo each grab the struggling man and force him up to the pillar where they tie him tightly his back facing the crowd.
Leslie sneers at her husband as he stands there terrified. She thinks that she is safe as she is now seven months pregnant.
Jesse looks at Esme hard as he begins to speak. He's more than a little irritated that she hasn't told him what is going on herself. If it weren't for Areon he wouldn't know any of it.
"It seems these two just can't help themselves from making trouble for the very one that kept you all from death. Well it ends here and now. Leslie will be given to the wolves as soon as she has her bastard. It will be taken from her immediately since it is far enough along to survive on it's own. The father of the child will be given it's care."
Santo smiles brightly as he jumps down from the stage and goes among the male slaves and pulls a shocked male with him to stand besides Jesse. Then Jesse takes a knife and Carlo forces Leslie to the ground. As soon as she was down on the ground Jesse rips the top off her and then cuts gently across the distended abdomen. He carefully reaches in and removes the baby. Carlo moves the father over to take the baby as Jesse cuts the cord on the child.
Then Jesse stitches the open wound of the female before him. Once he's done he forces her to drink his blood. "You have now had four children, only one of which belonged to your husband. Your time here is done. The alpha will be here shortly and you will be leaving with him to finish serving your time with the wolf pack. Have fun!"
Then not even washing the blood off his hands he turns to the man tied before him. "You have been warned about causing problems. You seem to have problems remembering that you are no longer of any importance." Jesse nods to Santo and he rips the shirt off the man's back.
He flicks the metal laced whip giving him ten lashes and smiles as the blood is flicked over himself as his brothers lick it from there lips and hands where it lands.
Before he finishes the human is slumping against the ropes that are holding him upright. Jesse smiles even more as he flicks out ten more times. Finally the punishment is over. "You have gotten more than five females other than your wife pregnant since you've come. Your punishment is finished here as well. You will be finishing out your punishment with the wolves once the alpha gets here."
Once more Jesse forces his bleeding wrist into the mouth of a hated human. He makes sure that the man swallows the blood that he so desperately wants to spit out.
"There will be no more disrespect towards Lady Esmeralda. If there is anymore shown or any conspiracies to harm her then you will all face stricter punishments than you have received yet. The more we give the more harsh they will be.
"You are merely servants and slaves, Lady Esmeralda is an honored guest here. She is dear to us and we will not hesitate to do whatever is necessary to protect her."
With that Jesse dismisses the crowd.
"Esme, wait up." Jesse says softly.
Esmeralda halts abruptly and faces her protector. "Yes, Jesse?" She tries to smile at him and it fails. She tries hard to not cry and once more the tears show her weakness.
Jesse pulls her into his arms. "I'm sorry. I know you love her."
Esmeralda gives up and allows herself to cry. After some time she finally manages to stop the tears. "I'm a fool, Jesse. I know that I am. All I ever wanted was to be loved by my family. What is wrong with me that they can't love me?"
Jesse holds her away from him and holds her there until she looks at him. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. There is something wrong with her. She's an uncaring, cold, bitch. All she cares about is herself. She has no grace with in her. You my love, had all the grace of your entire family.
"You understand why I had to punish her like I did?" Jesse asks her almost desperately.
"Yes, you have given her several warnings already that she's ignored. She is only escalating things, it's inevitable."
"Your brother-in-law was stirring up trouble as well. Make sure that you don't go anywhere with out Areon or one of us. I'm not sure that the trouble has been laid to rest as of yet." Jesse tells her intently.
"I understand, I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused, Jesse." Esmeralda tells him whisper soft and she looks at the floor.
"Hey," Jesse says and lifts her face up. "Now, none of that. This isn't your mess, you are the victim, not the instigator. I'm sorry you can't feel safe in your own home." Jesse pulls her into his arms once more then walks out with her.
"I'm afraid I got your clothes all covered in blood." Jesse tells her as they walk back towards the bedrooms.
Esme giggles, "I guess you'll just have to go with me tomorrow and buy me a new outfit."
Jesse rolls his eyes. "Yeah, I guess I will. What would you like for your birthday?" Jesse asks her before they separate to go to their respective rooms to change out of their blood covered clothes.
"Just you four and a quiet night at home." Esmeralda says happily.
"So simple? Of course, perhaps we could go for a ride?" Jesse says gently.
"Sounds great!" Esmeralda says excited at the thought of spending time with her four favorite men.