Joseph made an effort to assist in the kitchen, but in reality, he was neither needed to assist nor to oversee. He liked to make himself visible though, to act as a friend and mentor, and not as though he was above the menial housework. In his scheduling, he made it a point to assign himself some of the myriad of chores, though it always seemed that Lord Alexi had so many slaves that even in this gigantic mansion, there was sometimes simply not enough work to go around.

~*~*~

By the time Lord Alexi entered, Erik had been awake for about two hours. He had tried to take one of the books from the nearby shelf and just read, but for some reason he was far too jumpy. There was a moderate pain in his chest, and he was sweating lightly. Such symptoms were not unfamiliar to him, as the supply of blood could be scarce in the Resistance. But he knew he had to feed soon. Unfortunately, the vampire also knew that he would not be allowed to do so, not unless he caved in and took that damned potion.

“What the hell do you want?” he demanded as Alexi came in the room. His eyes glowed a dark red, and his fangs extended slightly, though his voice remained only somewhat hostile. How he would have loved to be free of these chains just to take a bite out of this arrogant slaver. Sure, Erik never bit a human he was allied with, such as those who joined the Resistance or supported them in other ways. But as far as he was concerned, this lunatic tormentor was fair game.