Curse of Christmas: A Collection of Paranormal Holiday Stories

by Thea Atkinson

  Laughing, I pulled him down; it was my turn to claim him… but a knock came at the door.

  “Seriously?” Mathew half grunted as he lunged for my neck again, and my lips twitched.

  “Who is it?”

  “Dove! I got your dress for tonight.”

  Grinning, and with renewed excitement, I pushed Mathew out of the way and hurried to the door, swinging it open. “Show me.”

  “Be careful, Sister. Its already steamed and I don’t want you to wrinkle it,” Dove instructed, handing me the huge garment bag and entering the room. She had on an elegant royal blue jumpsuit that complemented her fair skin, aqua eyes, and long mahogany black hair perfectly.

  I had always prided myself on my good taste, but no one knew fashion like Dove did.

  Her brows wrinkled when she glanced towards the bed, to find my husband half strewn on the mattress like his life had no meaning anymore. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “You just interrupted his sexy time,” I admitted, trying to repress a smile while I made my way to the closet.

  “Oh, please. Men are so dramatic.” She rolled her eyes. “You’ve been married an entire year and you still hump like rabbits. That’s enough. Calm yourselves down.”

  “Hey, I’ll have you know that we are still in the honeymoon stage,” Mathew defended, sitting up, while amusement shone in his eyes. “Besides, you and Alfie are the same way,” he challenged knowingly.

  Alfie, Mathew’s best friend and Léonie, lovingly nicknamed Dove, had fallen head over heels since the first moment they saw each other. She narrowed her eyes at him, trying not to smile and give him the win.

  “Also, I may be married but I’m only nineteen,” I reminded her, hanging the garment bag on the closet door, and began to unzip it.

  “Eternally nineteen,” my chosen sister clarified.

  “I hardly see the difference.” I gave her a one-shoulder shrug and she laughed.

  “Why did you need to bring the dress now, anyway?” Mathew protested, standing from the bed after finally giving up on any hopes of us taking a sexy nap. “The party isn’t for like another three hours.”

  My eyes widened in alarm. “Three hours?! How could I be so distracted? I have to start getting ready.”

  “That’s what I’m saying!” Dove threw her arms in the air. “Forget about checking out the dress, it’s perfect. Trust me. Just go shower and do your hair, I’ll do the same and come back to help you with your makeup.”

  The door closed as I took a set of lingerie from the drawer, a robe, and rushed to the bathroom.

  “Can I at least join you in the shower?” my poor frustrated husband called after me, and I threw a naughty glance at him over my shoulder.

  “Frankly, Mathew. Is there any other way for me to bathe?”

  Chapter 2

  “Now, that’s a dress.” Mathew whistled appreciatively once I stepped out of our room that evening. His mint-green eyes twinkled naughtily, enticing me—not exactly hard to do with the sleek tuxedo he was wearing.

  He looked absolutely delicious.

  Taking my hand, he slowly twirled me, fully taking in the red, corset ball gown I wore. It was delicately embroidered with crystals, depicting thin winter branches along the cleavage, the edge of the ample skirt, and along the slit on my left leg. They sparkled under the lights, and the vibrant yet deep color contrasted beautifully with my pale Vampir skin, calling attention to my vibrant red hair, and my lips of the same color.

  His eyes roamed my form from head to toe, particularly appreciating my cleavage and my fully visible leg through the slit. “Wow,” he whispered, fully taken aback by the sight. “Mo bhean ghràdhach. You are absolutely breathtaking.”

  Oh, he was smooth…

  A smirk curved my lips at the endearment, he knew how crazy it drove me when he called me my sweet wife in Gaelic, the native tongue of his race, but I ignored him. I had enough, with the anxiousness clawing at my stomach and making me nauseous, to lose focus because of that tantalizing man tonight.

  There was too much on the line.

  He attempted to pull me into his arms, to kiss me, but the large skirt of my dress didn’t let him. His lips twitched as he narrowed intelligent eyes at me. “Stunning, powerful, and unreachable… just the way it should be,” he confirmed. “That is the only language those Vampires understand. Just remain so high above them that all they’ll be able to do is revere you.”

  “Just them…” I clarified, and his mesmerizing smirk returned. “Absolutely, the second we return to our room, that dress will be nothing but shreds.”

  Chuckling, his hand reached for mine, helping me along the hallway, but as we reached the main hall’s staircase, I stopped, taking a settling breath.

  “Everything is going to go according to plan,” Mathew whispered, kissing my hand. “You are Countess Dariah Dracul, their Absolute Sire, and the ruler of the Adevărată Imperiu,” he added, perfectly pronouncing it in Romanian. “It is because of you, that the True Empire lives again.”

  “And because of you.” Kissing my fingertips, I pressed them to his mouth. Mathew often forgot that if it wasn’t for him, I would have never found my father again. I wouldn’t have rediscovered myself and finally been back home.

  Smiling, we descended the staircase together, reaching the group of people that awaited us on the second floor.

  “Tată!” I greeted my father, surprised to see him there. Happiness captured my being, easing my nerves a bit. “I wasn’t told you had arrived from your honeymoon.”

  “I told them not to. We wanted to surprise you.” He winked at me, looking all debonair like a seasoned James Bond in his black tux. Reaching for my hand, he placed a reverent kiss on my knuckles.

  “Alekxandru,” Mathew greeted with a head bow, receiving one in return from my father. “Did you cut your trip short?”

  “Do you really think we were going to miss this history making event? Let alone our first Christmas together in the official True Empire?” Anne’s voice answered instead of my father’s.

  My gaze moved behind him to see her walking towards us with Marie by her side, her hand in her granddaughter’s. Her presence warmed my heart. Anne had come into my life at a moment when I needed her most; she became my friend and then found love with my father. A feat not easily accomplished after she’d suffered under the Dynasties’ cruelty. They had just gotten married three weeks ago, so I didn’t expect them to be here tonight; now the night was complete.

  “Anne!” I called, extending a hand to her.

  “We wouldn’t miss this night for the world, sweetie,” she answered, squeezing it reassuringly. “You’ll do great tonight, and you look gorgeous.”

  “She looks confident, powerful, and stunning,” Tată confirmed. “Like the leader I always knew she would be.” He wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist, pulling her to his side, and a part of me wanted to take a picture of them.

  Anne was poised, sweet, and demure as usual in an elegant, one shoulder black dress, with a long cape that spilled from the back, reaching the floor. It still amazed me how much her features resembled Kate Beckinsale’s. They made the perfect couple.

  “You look beautiful too, Marie,” I addressed the sweet young woman that stopped next to Anne. She had chosen to remain with us through it all, and I loved her like another sister. Marie would turn sixteen in a few days, making this celebration even more important for our family.

  “Shall we?” Father asked, offering me his hand and I accepted it, taking the staircase down to the main hall while Mathew took my other side. Anne and Marie followed.

  “Absolute Sire. Absolute Mother. Countess of Transylvania…”

  Two male voices recited in unison when I arrived at the door of the ballroom, showing their utmost respect for me. A smile stretched my lips when I glanced at Sebastian, former dynasty ruler—now the Vampir Chancellor of Austria and several nearby territories, after we dissolved the dynasties. He bowed his head gracefully.

&nbs
p; “Uncle Bastian,” I greeted, blowing him a small kiss, since he couldn’t reach me or kiss my cheek. From that point on, I couldn’t be seen physically interacting with anyone… other than my husband, of course.

  “Countess,” his partner, DeLorean, the Căpitan and fierce leader of our Vampir army, bowed to us too. He had supported us since the start of our race.

  “Nyvith Stăpân”—Nyvith Master, they both greeted Mathew, who stood by my side.

  “We were waiting to escort you into the room,” DeLorean added.

  “All the Vampiri Chancellors are present?” I asked, acknowledging the meaning behind his words. The nauseous feeling returned to my gut. Why was I so on edge?

  “Yes, Countess,” Uncle Bastian confirmed. “Even the ones from the new appointed territories—North America, South America, Africa and Asia.”

  “That is a very good sign,” Father added, pleased, but not the least bit surprised. “Their presence alone signifies a show of loyalty, and their acceptance of your reign.”

  “Thank you, Tată.”

  His gaze travelled from me to Sebastian. “Very well, then we shall not make them wait.”

  With those words, my father offered his arm to his wife and walked through the doors into the ballroom the moment DeLorean’s guards opened them for us.

  Marie followed them as Sebastian and DeLorean took their place behind Mathew and I, waiting for us to enter. The energy coming from the room electrified my nerve endings in both an exciting and troubling way, and I gripped my husband’s arm, stopping him before he could take his first step.

  “Something is not right,” I whispered. “There is a strange energy making my instincts go haywire.”

  “You are just nervous, baby, and it’s understandable. Tonight is the first time since the battle when all the Chancellors will be in the same room, bending a knee to your authority after the collapse of the Străbun Dynasties. This is the true confirmation of your ruling, and their veneration of your empire. Nothing is going to go wrong.”

  “La naiba!” I cursed under my breath, glaring at him. “You just jinxed it, Mathew.”

  A throaty chuckle left him. “Stop. It will be fine.”

  I sighed, glancing at the people who fully bowed to my father on the other side. Everyone there was dressed in black. “Okay… but stay alert.”

  Nodding, he offered me his hand. “Now let’s show them who we are, just in case they are thinking of messing with us.”

  That brought a slow spreading smirk to my red lips, and I straightened. Taking his hand, my black feathered wings extended from my back, the sharp talons at the top ominously pointing to the crowd.

  My husband’s back broadened the next second, his beautiful brown bat-like wings unfolded behind him, a green shimmer pulsing over them like a heartbeat as his warrior magic awoke.

  Lifting from the ground, we flew through the door, hearing breathless gasps escape the guests the instant they saw us. All other sounds died until utter silence engulfed the space. We flew to the dais set up at the front of the room, landing before the regal, black and iron-carved seat that had been made specially for me and placed in the center.

  Father and Anne stood on the right side, waiting for us.

  I faced the audience with Mathew by my side, noticing how their amazed eyes roamed over my rare wings, my face, and every other inch of me visible to them, taken aback by my presence. Although I was a Vampir too, I was the first and only Vampir ever to be born, and that—among other things—made me like no other that existed. Not even my father.

  Their fascinated gazes soon turned to my husband. The Nyvith magic that ran through his veins illuminated the runes on his chest through the shirt, exuding from him in soft green waves.

  “Do you recognize Lady Dariah Dracul as your Countess and ruler?” Sebastian asked the guests, landing at the foot of the stage. His pearly white bat wings gleamed under the chandeliers as brightly as his long, platinum-blond hair did. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he looked like an angel.

  “She is our Countess,” hundreds of voices vowed in return, once the shock began to fade.

  “Then bow to your Absolute Sire. Absolute Mother. Countess of Transylvania!”

  One by one, the Vampiri began to bend the knee, the wave of movement fluidly spreading until it reached the back.

  “Absolute Sire. Absolute Mother. Countess of Transylvania…” the men and women repeated, pledging utter loyalty and obedience to me.

  “Bow to your absolute mother,” DeLorean demanded, and I realized a few guests along the ballroom had remained standing. “I will not ask again.” The commander’s warning was clear, but the men and women still glanced up at me, seeming out of sorts by my presence.

  Raising a finger, I signaled to DeLorean to let me handle it, and my wings lifted me once more, taking me to the center of the room where a few of the individuals stood. Others moved out of my way when I landed, following the unspoken rule that no one was meant to approach me or even stand near me.

  Calling onto one of my gifts, I glanced straight into the man’s eyes. “Bow,” I whispered, and I watched his eyes widen as his body inevitably followed my command, taken by my limitless compulsion. The man blinked, now on his knees before me, and looked up at me briefly. A hand touched his heart the next moment, and he bowed his head.

  “Absolute Sire,” he pledged, voice filled with astonishment.

  Vampiri were the single most dangerous creature that existed—after me and my husband of course—and the only way to rule them was with an iron hand. They revered nothing in this world like they did power, so power got their respect. Luckily for them, I had plenty of that.

  With a curved grin, I glanced at the others who had previously stood. They also bowed to me, bending the knee, and I suspected their hesitation hadn’t been ill born, this was exactly what they had wanted to witness.

  Chapter 3

  Returning to the dais, I took my place in the throne, but not before exchanging an amused smile with my husband. He had come to the same conclusion I had.

  “Tonight is a glorious night,” I spoke to all for the first time. “Tonight, we officially welcome a new era among our race. We return to you the empire that created you all and made you powerful beings among the humans. You were created to never be their equal, but you were also taught never to be their oppressors.”

  Heads nodded as they agreed with my statement, the hope and recognition of a new life shining in their eyes.

  “Look at the men and women next to you. Look into their eyes and recognize your brothers and sisters in this new family that will never leave you to fend on your own. We are stronger as one, and that is what my ruling offers you. A family. A way of life where there is no more hatred and war. Where we live our best lives among humans, who willingly donate their blood to our survival, just as we donate ours to eradicate the illnesses that threaten their existence. We are stronger as one.”

  I glanced at my sired sons and daughters, seeing them smile at each other as their gazes met, acknowledging my words as true.

  “I vow you will live peacefully with human allies who no longer see us as abominations, but as protectors. Humans who appreciate us just as we do each other. Who love us, not in spite of what we are, but because of it. This is not an illusion, but a reality that already exists among us.”

  My gaze found my father taking Anne’s hand in his and raising it to his lips for a kiss. I gestured towards them, just as movement from my right called my attention. A smirk stretched my lips with Antoine and Zoe’s arrival.

  “Proof of this can be seen here tonight,” I continued. “Confirmed by the marriage between your Count Alekxandru Andrei Dracul and Anne Vernier, a human. As well as the union between the Vampir Chancellor of France, Antoine Laurent, and Zoe Dimitropoulos, also a human… and many more.”

  Antoine winked at me naughtily when I gestured towards them, while his girlfriend, Mathew’s other best friend, simply smiled at my husband and I. Taking tw
o champagne flutes, he handed one to Zoe; the waiters had begun offering them to everyone present.

  Mathew handed me a champagne glass too, and I lifted it, seeing everyone follow my signal.

  “So, let us honor the wonderful opportunities placed before us by this new era, and let us celebrate once and for all, our first Christmas as a new family. We are stronger as one!” I cheered our new vow to unite us.

  “We are stronger as one!” everyone answered, clinking their glasses together and drinking.

  “To the Adevărată Imperiu!” Sebastian lifted his flute again.

  “Long live the Adevărată Imperiu!”

  Laughter and cheers rose in the air as they drank in my reign’s name, and the music began to play all around us, officially beginning the festivities.

  “Well done,” Tată offered, walking to my side with Anne, and I stood to meet him halfway. He kissed my hand. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to dance with my dazzling wife.”

  Anne’s cheeks blushed as he pulled her with him to the dance floor, and I chuckled, facing my husband. Grinning, he retracted his wings into his back, and I followed suit.

  “I told you everything was going to go well. You had nothing to worry about.” He pushed my skirt back with his knees and yanked me close for a stolen kiss.

  Laughter escaped me the second before his lips claimed mine… unfortunately, his delicious touch was not the only thing to reach me. Suddenly, the scene before me stopped—everyone frozen in time except for me—and another one of my powers flourished to life.

  The Future’s ghost.

  My eyes followed what looked like the spirits of the people present begin to move again, but much slower. Mathew and I were still on the stage, but most of our guests were no longer dancing. Instead, most of the Vampiri stood in a line, waiting to make their way to me and personally pay their respects to their true ruler.

  Antoine’s ghostly figure slowly danced with Zoe in the background, alongside a few other couples, including Alfie and Dove, who was the only person wearing a white gown instead of the black attire. Sebastian and DeLorean also swayed to the romantic tune, while a new couple found their way to the stage, taking their turn to personally meet us.