by T. S. Ryder
She struggled as hard as she could, but it was no use. She was confined in the fabric and the strong arms of the woman. She was lifted off her feet and tossed over the vampire’s shoulder. They made a left-hand turn at the door and then they were hurrying somewhere.
“Help! Let me go! Someone help!” Avery struggled, but it was in vain. She fought as hard as she could, but it was futile. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew who had her. Myrcel. It had to be. She thought of the little thing growing inside of her. Did Myrcel know? What was she going to do? Why hadn’t she told Alastair? If only she had told him, he would have protected her. How long was he going to be gone? How long would it take for someone to know she was missing?
They were going down, she could feel as they descended a steep set of stairs. The dungeon, that was where they were taking her. Down and down they went as the air around her grew cold and damp. She could hear someone far off moaning in pain.
Finally, they reached level ground. The vampire took a few steps and then threw Avery roughly onto the cold, wet floor where she was unraveled from the fabric until finally she was free.
Gasping for breath she looked around the dark cell. It smelled terrible, like stagnant water and human waste. The three stone walls were wet and cold, the fourth wall was iron bars. The vampire that had grabbed her, slammed the door and laughed at her from the other side.
“Why are you doing this?” Avery screamed. She jumped up and raced toward the bars, but there was nothing she could do but weakly pull at them.
“Human whore,” the woman said her face in a nasty sneer. “You’re getting exactly what you deserve.”
“I demand you release me. I am the Flower of the Court to the Crown Prince Alastair Thorne. I share his bed and I am protected by him.”
The woman scoffed and said. “Look how far his protection has got you.”
“He’ll know I’m missing. He’ll come looking for me.”
“It will be far too late when he does,” the vampire said as she nodded behind Avery. That sick, twisted smile appeared again.
There was something behind her. Taking a deep breath, Avery turned around slowly. In the far back corner of her cell was a body, next to it a large sack overflowing with gold coins. The body was slumped over and clearly dead. She moved slowly towards it.
She toed the corpse and it fell over.
She couldn’t scream. It got trapped in her throat, her mouth was open, her eyes wide. She was screaming and screaming, but no sound came out. It was her brother. It was Tristan. It looked like something had ripped his throat open. His body was pale save for the huge red gash across his throat.
“I was almost impressed with his arrogance,” Avery recognized the cold voice of Myrcel instantly. “He tried to blackmail me. Can you believe it? This peasant dressed as a guard. I laughed right in his face. He didn’t like that, fortunately, he didn’t live long in his anger.”
Avery turned and looked at the tall beautiful Vampire Princess. Even here, in this dungeon, she was stunning. Her long blond hair was perfectly arranged and her clothes were the finest Avery had seen. But always there was that snide expression on her face.
“I want you to know something,” Myrcel said slowly. Her eyes never leaving Avery’s. “You are nothing. You are not special. You are not going to bear a great hybrid King. You are a whore and a plaything. Alastair can put all the fancy jewelry he wants on you. It changes nothing. I am his wife. I will bear his heir, not some human slut.”
“You think he would return to you after hearing about this?” Avery demanded. “He loves me. He hates you. If he finds out you’ve touched me his vengeance will be swift and fierce.”
“Yes, if that were the case. But Alastair will hear of none of this. What he will hear is that you attempted to escape with your brother, a bag full of his treasures in your hands. You were found by the guards and you tried to run, but took a terrible fall. The palace is filled with my allies. I will have witnesses to confirm it.”
“He won’t believe you,” Avery said.
“He will have no choice but to believe me. I will have all the proof and you will be nothing more than a messy smear on the ground. Don’t worry little human, he will not mourn long. He has had many playthings before you and he will have many after you are gone. In a few years, you will be nothing more than a hazy, distant memory and my son will take the throne. Everything is falling into place now. Enjoy these last few moments, human. Death is coming for you.”
She turned and walked away. Panic flooded Avery’s veins. She needed to do something. She struggled at the bars, but they were built into the walls. She searched the bag, hoping for something to use as leverage, but there was only the soft and malleable gold.
She took a deep breath and turned over her brother’s body hoping he had some tool on him. His skin was cold and she tried her best to avoid looking at the huge gash on his neck. But his pockets were empty. She was trapped.
Forlornly she touched her belly. A smear on the pavement. That was her destiny. She would never give birth to the human vampire hybrid that would reunite the Kingdoms.
Chapter Eleven
He opened his doors and was surprised that Avery wasn’t waiting for him. He had got used to her always being there. But now that she wore the Flower she could come and go as she pleased. He took off his jacket and his boots and moved over to his table, looking for a correspondence. There on the table was the carved box the flower came in.
He smiled when he looked at it, it would bring Avery safety. But as he looked at the box, something shone from the corner, so he reached over and flipped the top up. The necklace was inside, one of the strands hanging out a little bit.
Why wasn’t she wearing it? If she left his chambers without it, there was no protection for her. Something twinged in the back of his head. His instincts were that of a warrior and he knew to trust them.
“Avery!” he shouted. He raced around his rooms, checking everywhere, but there was no sign of her. She wasn't here. Where was she? What had happened? There was no sign of struggle, nothing overturned, no clue of what might have happened to her.
Myrcel, it had to be. There was no one else who hated Avery. Even his father approved of the human.
Storming down the hallway he raced to Myrcel’s rooms, throwing open the door. A maid went scurrying away. But he was too fast for her. He grabbed the girl and held her fast.
“Where is your mistress?” Alastair demanded. She cried out and shook her head back and forth. “Do not make me ask you again.”
“Dungeon,” the girl whispered and he dropped her and raced down the hallway. Every step seemed to take an eternity. It felt like he was trying to run through water. This was a nightmare. One where he couldn’t get where he needed to go fast enough. It felt like miles between him and the dungeons.
He raced down the stairs two at a time and found the dungeon master. He grabbed him by the throat and pushed him back against the cold walls.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“Who, My Lord?” the dungeon master said. His voice choked as Alastair tightened his grip. “Lie to me and there will be no end to the suffering I bring to you.”
“Please, My Lord. The Princess, she threatened my daughters-”
“Where are they!?” Alastair screamed.
“The lowest level, My Lord,” the dungeon master answered. Alastair threw him against the walls and raced down. Guards got out of their way as he passed, their mouths hanging open.
“Come with me,” he ordered and they all fell in line behind him.
The lowest level, they raced down to the deepest dungeon. This was where they put the real criminals. The ones who they made suffer as much as they could. It was no place for his soft human. She would never survive down there. The door was locked, but one of the guards had a key. He quickly opened it and then stepped into his own fetid dungeon.
“Avery!” he screamed.
“Alastair!” the call was far away. It
echoed around the dungeons.
“Find her,” Alastair ordered and the men scattered and began racing through the jail. He called her name again, but there was no answer. Someone must have her and they must be covering her mouth with their hand. The thought enraged him. He would kill that person and rip out their throat with his teeth.
He raced towards where he last heard her voice. He came around the corner and there was Myrcel. She looked at him furiously, baring her teeth.
“You go too far, Myrcel!” Alastair screamed, vibrating with rage.
“I go too far? You bring this human peasant into your bed. You give her The Flower of the Court. You would have her sons replace mine and I am expected to do nothing! Bearing an heir is my right.”
“What are you talking about?” he demanded.
“The prophecy! It decries that the human who will lay with the Vampire King and bear a son that unites the empire.”
He pushed past her. There in the cell was Avery. A strong vampire woman had her hand around her throat.
“I am the Crown Prince, I order you to release her,” the woman’s eyes travelled between him and Myrcel and then fell on the dozens of guards who had gathered around them. They were whispering to each other, the words son and prophecy echoing in the room. Finally, the female vampire released Avery.
Alastair threw the door open and she ran to him. He grabbed her in his arms and glared at his wife.
“We are done, Myrcel. Prophecy or no prophecy, Avery is the only woman who will bare my sons.”
Myrcel gaped at him, her mouth hanging open as Alastair hurried Avery up the stairs.
Epilogue
The Fire Islands were beautiful. The shores were white sandy beaches backed by blue ocean waters. The interior was a thick jungle. Everything burst with life. Fish practically jumped into fisherman’s nets. Fruits dripped with succulent juices, falling from the trees when they were ripe.
To Avery, who had spent her life in dirty back alleys and old caravans, it was a paradise. Alastair put her in a house right on the beach for her confinement. Every morning she woke to a strong ocean breeze blowing the heat away. She strolled the beaches, her feet sinking into the sand. Servants met her every need as the baby grew inside of her.
In a few months’ time, they would return to the palace, but the Vampire Princess would no longer be there. In his infinite kindness, Alistair had given a gift to Myrcel—Castle Deep Stone. It was located seven leagues to the north of the Severed Lands, buried deep in the northern mountains. When he, Avery and their child returned, the Vampire Princess would be long gone.
Alastair had no trouble putting down the small uprising of the Fire Islands. The rebels put up only a paltry fight and the people were happy to see them defeated. By the time the baby was due, he was back from his campaign and sleeping beside her.
It was a moonless night when her contractions started. She gave birth to their son in the bungalow with the roaring sea behind them. A beautiful, perfect boy they named Brandon.
With the birth over and her eyes heavy with sleep, Avery watched as her Vampire Prince held their little baby in his arms. He was so gentle and delicate with Brandon and Avery allowed her eyes to close knowing that he would permit no danger to befall them.
“Our son,” she heard him whisper and her heart swelled.
*****
THE END
Vampire Romance: The Vampire Prince's Mate
Description
A BBW trying to save her coven PLUS a hot vampire prince claiming her PLUS a brewing war between humans and vampires!
It’s not easy being a vampire, and Calissa knows it better than anyone else. She hates having to hide from the world and strategize as a top militant official, locked away in the vampire manor. But she hates even more that Lee, the sexy vampire prince of her coven, has an insatiable appetite for her and her alone. He will stop at nothing to win her heart and claim her as his mate and future wife.
Meanwhile, a storm between human hunters and the vampire coven is brewing, meaning that if she wants her race to survive, Calissa will have to set aside her hatred for Lee and work together with him to destroy the hunters before it is too late.
Can Calissa convince the Lords of the Vampire Council to defend the coven? And can she resist Lee’s attempts to make her his?
Chapter One
The sun had long since risen above the horizon line, and yet Calissa found herself wide awake. Her ruby red lips, redder even than the blood she was drinking from the wine glass to her left, were pursed in frustration, while her long, immaculately manicured fingernails drilled rhythmically against the hard wood of her desk.
Three younglings had been staked the previous night, and it had been due to a serious lack of foresight on her part, something she found highly inexcusable.
As she looked over a hand-drawn map, detailed with all the attacks against vampires in the past month, the door to her study opened. A male vampire dressed in simple blacks entered, without any form of warning or permission.
A sigh escaped her lips and she bared her fangs in an unfriendly fashion as the man invited himself to a chair, flopping into the soft, maroon cushion with a noisy sigh.
“You’re not invited,” Calissa snapped, eyeing the man in clear irritation, at which he merely shrugged, a grin on his face.
“And I didn’t ask for your permission to be here. Last I checked, this manor belongs to me, so I can go anywhere I want. This chair is the most comfortable, so I think I’ll sit here for a while,” he hummed.
“If you enjoy it so much, why don’t you take it somewhere else, hmm?” she asked, rolling her eyes when he merely sank deeper into the chair and made a show of getting more comfortable. “I don’t have time to deal with you today, Lee. Your people are dying. You’d think you’d be a little more interested in how to stop the humans from killing them.”
This highly infuriating creature was none other than Lee Dameron, the prince of the vampire coven she belonged to. The fact irritated her to no end, particularly because he showed absolutely zero desire to rule his coven, which meant that, as the coven warlord (or lordess, in her case), any responsibility not fulfilled by his “royal highness” fell to her.
As if she didn’t have enough problems in her own job description to handle.
“Oh come now, Leesi—”
“Calissa,”
“It can’t be nearly as bad as you say. You’re just simply not sending out the right vampires to put a stop to the humans’ shenanigans,” Lee hummed. Had Calissa had anything but her map and the wine glass of blood, she’d have thrown something at his smugly smiling face. “Besides, one of these days the Council will step in.”
“Careful, Lee. Arrogance is not a trait that attracts women,” Calissa snapped. Her eyes, dark brown and brooding, glared daggers at the crowned prince, yet, as always, he didn’t seem perturbed in the slightest.
In fact, he snatched her glass from her desk and took a deep drink, his eyes fixed on her in amusement.
Disgusted, Calissa slammed her hands down on the table, stood up from her chair and walked threateningly over to Lee, her skin tight jeans and low cut shirt accentuating every curve and angle of her body.
“Listen here, Lee Dameron,” she hissed, a strand of her usually perfectly curled, pinned up hair flopping into her face. “If you have nothing productive to contribute towards destroying the human hunters, then you can march your pretty little ass out of my office so I can try to save your people. Understand?”
To her surprise, a feral light flashed in the vampire prince’s eyes and he moved with inhuman speed and grace, so fast that she could barely track him with her eye. Before she really understood how it had happened, she was pinned against the wooden wall of her office, his hands on either side of her shoulders and his fangs sinfully close to her throat.
“Be careful, Leesi,” he purred. A tongue like ice flicked out from between his lips and licked against her neck, while the very points of his fangs pricked a
gainst her skin, leaving beads of dark, red blood welling up to meet his tongue.
Calissa shivered softly and her hands instinctively tangled in Lee’s dark hair as she pulled his mouth closer to her throat. Faint memories swirled in her head; memories of many nights of passion, drunk off lust and with the thirst for blood satiated by the taste of another vampire.
A hum rumbled deep in Lee’s throat as he sank his fangs deep into Calissa’s pale throat, his lips locking around the wound he had made. Blood welled up into his mouth, leaving the searing burn of lust on his long dead heart. As he pulled away, and Calissa whined despite herself, a smirk crossed his bloodied lips.
“That’s what I thought,” he purred smugly. “Now, where can’t I be?”
Calissa just glared as she brought her hand up to cover the bite wound in her neck.
“Satisfied?” she growled, a husky, lustful hint in her tone despite her hostilities.
Lee nodded and licked his lips free of her blood as he moved toward the door. Just before he shut it, he poked his head back in and grinned wolfishly. “Oh. If you happen to finish anytime soon, you know where my bed is,” he winked, cackling as this time Calissa chucked her wine glass at the door.
By the time it shattered against the wood, Lee had already disappeared, leaving a trail of laughter behind him.
Chapter Two
Like every other time Lee had interrupted her planning, Calissa found herself waking up naked in his bed, wrapped up in his arms, the following evening. His chest rose and fell softly as he breathed, and, as if he was mocking her even in sleep, a smirk quirked at his lips.