by T. S. Ryder
“You kept those?” she asked incredulously, though she slipped them on without question and unzipped the skin tight, lace dress. As she pulled it on, Lee continued.
“It’s Arjin I’m worried about,” he admitted. He was briefly distracted as his eyes roamed all over Calissa’s voluptuous frame and the way the lace dress clung so perfectly to every angle and curve of her body, but he stopped himself before his looking turned into touches. “See, Angulic and Arjin are a married, mated pair. Anything he says, she’ll agree with. David is so soft spoken that his opinion rarely makes a difference.”
“Help me with this?” Calissa said, once she’d gotten the dress all the way on save having it zipped. She turned around to face the wall and hummed as Lee zipped her into the dress. “So, what you’re saying is if I win Arjin over—”
“The rest of the Council will likely follow,” Lee finished. He turned her around once he’d zipped her in and looked her over with a smile. The dress looked as though it’d been tailored specifically with her frame and size in mind, it fit her so well. Slowly, he pressed a kiss to her lips.
“How hard is it going to be to convince Arjin to send in the guard?” she asked hesitantly.
“Extremely.”
A knock sounded at the door then, and Calissa’s heart sank. The vampire on the other side of the door claimed the Council was there in their foyer.
“I thought I’d have more time to prepare for this!” she gasped. Fear shone in her eyes as she looked up at Lee, but, as he pressed a comforting kiss to the top of her head and pulled her into a warm embrace, her nerves settled.
“You can do this, Calissa. I know you can. And don’t worry,” he said, looking down at her with a wink. “Call for an ambassador, and I’ll get to be by your side the entire time.”
“Promise me?” Calissa whispered.
“I promise.”
Chapter Eight
“Lords of the Council,” Calissa called, as she appeared at the top of the stairway. Her heart fluttered nervously in her chest, especially now that Lee was not beside her. Four pairs of eyes stared up at her, showing various stages of irritation and boredom.
As she descended the stairs, Viktor moved toward her and met her at the bottom, a smile on his lips. “Lady Calissa, your recent ascension into ruling monarch of the house suits you well.”
“Enough with the pleasantries, Viktor. We didn’t come here for small talk,” Arjin grumbled, as he approached the pair. “Well, Calissa? What do you have to say about these alleged human attacks?”
“Ah. I appreciate…” Calissa paused, swallowing hard. Viktor met her gaze and nodded slightly, encouraging her to continue. “I appreciate your willingness to get started, b-but I feel the need to call an ambassa—”
“You don’t need an ambassador, woman!” Arjin cut in, irritation plain in his eyes. “This is nonsense! Why have we even come out here if we aren’t going to speak about the matter at hand?”
“Peace, Arjin, my dear friend,” Viktor soothed. “Lady Calissa has rights to an ambassador just the same as any monarch of any coven,” he reminded, before turning his attention back onto Calissa with a smile. “Please, dear lady, call your ambassador,”
Calissa smiled gratefully at him and nodded. At least Viktor was on her side. “I’d like to call Lee Dameron as my ambassador so that he might hear and scribe our conversation.” And, just like that, Lee was at her side again, a lazy, easygoing smirk on his pale face.
“Hello boys, and Angulic,” he grinned, waving a hand as a form of greeting. “Long time, no see. Has it really been but a day?”
Arjin advanced on Lee as if to strike him, but Calissa stepped in front of him before things could get out of hand.
“Please don’t fight in my house,” she said, eyeing Arjin first, and then Lee, before returning her attention to the Council as a whole.
“Follow me to the study, where we can talk a bit more comfortably,” she said. Despite how calmly she spoke, she reached out for Lee and grasped his hand tightly when he took hers in his own. Her heart hammered so harshly in her chest that she was almost positive she’d pass out.
Yet the walk to the study was uneventful, and thankfully without incident or accident of any kind. She ushered them all into her office and pulled chairs around her desk for each of the Council members to sit in while Lee stood at her side.
“Look,” she began, choosing to be both blunt and upfront with them. “Our people are dying,” she stated, shocked by the utter lack of compassion her words were received with.
“And?” Arjin questioned, an irritated look on his face. “What do you expect us to do about your lack of control and protection?”
Calissa had to grit her teeth to keep from retorting, and Lee shifted beside her angrily. Was Arjin intentionally trying to rile them up?
“I expect you to do your jobs,” she stated bluntly, as she looked between the four of them. “The purpose of the vampire Council is to protect all of us when we can’t protect ourselves, is it not?”
“How dare you accu—”
“I said, is it not?” Calissa demanded, her confidence in their case returning now that she was in her own territory, so to speak. Her office was the most familiar place in the world, and no one was going to try to speak over her.
Arjin looked taken aback by being talked over, and for once the angry, old vampire cracked a sideways smile. “Alright, alright. You’ve made your point.”
“When we created the Council centuries ago, that’s exactly what we intended,” Viktor agreed, smiling genuinely as Calissa took full control of the conversation.
Satisfied she had everyone’s attention, Calissa sat up a little straighter in her chair, cleared her throat and looked at them all. “OK. We need your help. Human hunters have built a village in the middle of our territory. Just this week alone, sixteen of us have turned up staked by human hands. There isn’t much we can do to stop them without a proper fighting force.”
“What exactly do you intend for our Council Guard to do?” Arjin asked, as he exchanged a look with his mate before looking back towards Calissa again.
“Well,” she said, biting her lip thoughtfully. She looked toward Lee for some form of guidance, but the former prince merely shook his head. This was her decision and her decision alone. This was the part that was important to get right.
“We don’t want them to actively attack the humans. They are our food source, and without them we’d all die. But we do need to defend our people. If that means having them turn the human hunters into the hunted and killing them before they have a chance to kill any more of my coven, then so be it.”
At this, all four of the Council nodded their head slowly and exchanged glances with each other. Hope fluttered in Calissa’s heart. Would they finally agree to deploy the Council Guards after the coven had been being hunted for so long? After so long of being denied the help they so desperately needed?
“Give us a moment to speak alone,” Arjin said, as he looked around at the other three. “There are… logistics that need to be discussed before a final verdict can officially be reached.”
With that, Arjin, Angulic, David and Viktor all marched out of the office one by one and disappeared behind the door into the hallway.
Chapter Nine
Calissa stared at the door for a long while after the Council had departed, barely daring to breathe.
“What do you suppose they are talking about out there?” she asked, barely taking the time to spare a glance at Lee. She didn’t want to miss their initial facial expressions when they walked back into her office.
“It’s hard to say, really,” Lee admitted, though, realizing that only made Calissa all the more anxious, he rested a hand against her shoulder and squeezed it gently.
“Hey. Look at me,” he said, tilting her chin with a finger, smiling as her eyes finally met his own. “It’ll be OK. This is the most they’ve listened in a long time. I bet you they agree to help.”
“And if they don’t?” Ca
lissa asked, her eyes wide with anxiety. If they didn’t agree, then the blame for the coven’s deaths would fall directly onto her shoulders as the new coven monarch. The very thought almost made her sick.
Lee took her hand and pulled her to her feet before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. “Well. If they don’t, then we figure something else out,” he said, his telltale confidence shining through. “They are not the only force in this world that can hunt down humans. If need be, we go to others. To werewolves and fairies, witches and the dragons themselves. It’ll be ok.”
Calissa just nodded and buried her face against his love-marked neck with a shudder. “I just hope it doesn’t have to come to that. So many more vampires will die.”
“I know… I hope it doesn’t come to that, either,” Lee admitted. “But, if it does, we have other options.”
Calissa nodded, her arms tightening around Lee for a brief moment, though she immediately jerked away when Viktor and Arjin stepped back into the office. The other two were nowhere to be seen.
“Where are the others?” Lee asked in surprise, having never remembered a time when the Council members hadn’t appeared as a full unit of four in his life.
“We told them to head out to the car. We won’t take much longer here.” Viktor said, as he handed over a sealed roll of parchment to Calissa. “My dear Lady Calissa, I’m pleased to finally be giving this to you and the coven of the Northern Isles.”
With that, he and Arjin both bowed slightly before they departed once more, this time leaving for good.
Calissa then just stared at the rolled parchment in her hands, holding it as though it might become a living creature and bite her. “What should I do with it?” she asked, wishing Lee was still prince so that he’d have to be the one to open it instead of her.
“Open it. There is nothing to be afraid of,” Lee encouraged.
“Nothing to be… Lee! Our entire life, the lives of the vampires under our control – the life of our child! – depends on what is written in this!” she said, appalled by his indifference but empowered by his calm.
Calm that crumbled away when her words finally sunk in.
“Our child?” he asked in hollow voice, sounding exactly as shocked as he looked... and Calissa herself felt no better. She didn’t intend to blurt it out this way – but, damn it, she wasn’t sorry because she knew she was right!
Leaving Lee to deal with the revelation on his own, Calissa took a deep breath, broke open the wax seal and began to read what was written in a soft voice.
“As decreed by the Lords of the Vampire Council, Arjin, Viktor, Angulic and David,” she paused, glancing up at Lee for moral support before continuing, “We hereby grant permissions to the Guards of the Lords of the Vampire Council to dispatch to the Northern Isles effective immediately. Once there, they are to defend the coven members of the Northern Isles Coven to the death, and shall attack any suspicious humans they come across, especially if these humans—Lee! Lee, they’re sending help!” Calissa all but sang as she jumped up from her desk and launched herself into Lee’s arms.
As if expecting her reaction, Lee swept Calissa up off of her feet and spun her around with a laugh that filled the room with a blissful warmth. His lips met hers in an adoring kiss just before he set her back down on her feet.
“How long have you known?” he asked, and Calissa, swept away by the good news, found herself baffled by the question. “Lee... I just found out,” she replied, giving him an odd look, and he laughed.
“About the baby!” he exclaimed, grinning wildly, and she couldn’t help laughing with him. “Not too long,” she told him, smiling, “I just couldn’t find the right moment to tell you.”
“Well, I can’t think of a better moment than this,” Lee chuckled and kissed her again. “I’m so proud of you!” he told her as their lips parted again, resting his forehead against hers. “I knew you could do it. I knew you could convince them!”
Calissa giggled, a blush faint on her pale cheeks. “I didn’t do it alone, you know. I had your help.”
“I didn’t do anything!” Lee protested. “I just stood here. You’re the one who did this. You should be proud of yourself. I know I’m proud of you,” he whispered, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You know, Calissa… I have a question for you,” Lee said suddenly. An intense fire that took Calissa’s breath away had filled his gaze when she met his eyes.
“Yes? What is it?”
Smiling, Lee took her hand in his own and dropped down to one knee, his eyes never leaving hers. “I know it’s late, and we’ve already tried this once before… but I truly love you. I love you more than I love life itself,” he said softly, his lips pressing kisses against her knuckles.
“Wh… What are you saying?”
Lee smiled up at her, his very heart in his eyes. “Calissa, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest creature in this world by becoming my mate?”
For a moment, it looked as though Calissa was about to cry, but then she threw her arms around him, effectively knocking them both over onto the floor. “Of course!”
With that, Calissa kissed him deeply, and her heart fluttered happily against her ribs. The sense of despair and frustration she’d been harboring in her very soul for so long had finally lifted, and for once, everything felt as though it’d be ok.
Epilogue
Their wedding was set on the night of the full moon in the middle of September, and Calissa couldn’t have been happier. Lee had allowed her to go all out with this wedding, ordering thousands of crimson and black rose petals to decorate the backyard of the manor along with thousands upon thousands of tea lights that bathed the yard in flickering light.
Her wedding dress weighed a ton. It was handcrafted black lace with a train almost as long as she was tall, and thanks to her rapidly growing baby-bump, a little tight in the waist.
She absolutely adored it.
Yet, even if she hadn’t had all that, even if she’d only had her normal clothes and the middle of a summer day, her wedding day would have felt perfect.
“Are you almost ready, Lady Calissa?” Viktor asked her, as he offered his arm to her, a small smile on his pale lips. He’d offered to escort her personally down the aisle on her wedding night since the Council Guard had uncovered a plot by the humans to destroy the Council itself. It seemed that humans were an even bigger problem than Calissa and Lee had originally thought.
Smiling, she nodded her head and looped her arm delicately through his, not wanting to catch the lace of her long-sleeved dress on the cufflink buttons of Viktor’s suit.
He nodded at the pair of younglings to open the backdoors to the yard. Music started playing with the visual cue of the doors and a hush fell over the vampires in attendance as they all got to their feet and turned to look at her as she began the long, slow walk down the aisle.
She told herself not to look at the end, to focus on getting to the altar before she took her first glance at Lee, but the second the altar was in view she couldn’t help herself.
Lee stole the very breath from her lungs the second her eyes found him. He was handsome, dressed in a simple black suit with a long, flowing set of velvet robes around his shoulders. His eyes were all for her, and a tender smile was on his face, so different from the cocky, playful attitude he showed everyone else.
Time seemed to both slow down and speed up as the music ended and she stepped up onto the altar beside him.
“You look beautiful, my princess,” he whispered, reaching out a hand for her to take before they faced the crowd and the Council.
“And you look dashing, my prince,” she whispered in return, just as Arjin sliced a long, shallow gash along first her wrist and then Lee’s.
“Under this full moon, on the 13th day of September, Lee Dameron and Calissa Gerber have chosen to join together as a blood bound pair. The Council has recognized and approved of this joining personally, and wish the couple the happiest
of lives for the centuries to come.”
With that, Lee pulled Calissa into his arms in a rough hug and pressed a kiss to her lips full of all the things he felt for her. Love. Affection. Adoration. Lust.
Calissa couldn’t help but shed a few tears of genuine happiness. If this was how life was supposed to be, she’d gladly live it. After all, she had a new mate to look after, a child born out of their love to raise with him, and a coven to run. With the Council on her side, and the threat of the humans eradicated, nothing was about to stand in her way.
*****
THE END
The Vampire Prince's Prisoner
Description
A curvy nomad in search of an escape PLUS a sexy vampire warrior who is heir to the throne PLUS his cold wife who has evil plans!
Avery Lathe is a nomad. Her entire life she’s travelled between the Severed Kingdoms and the land of Varlyn, ruled by the Vampire King Granzen Thorne. Avery has never thought of herself as special or important, but somehow, this poor curvy nomad has captured the eye of the Crown Prince.
Crown Prince Alistair Thorne is a vampire warrior, heir to the Crown of Varlyn. Married to a cold and distant princess, he cannot help but be drawn to the beautiful human Avery. After destroying her caravan and killing her abusive father, Alistair welcomes Avery into his bed, promising to protect her from the powers in the palace.
A prophecy exists that tells the tale of the half-human half-vampire prince that will unite the Severed Kingdoms and bring peace to the realm. Could Avery be the human woman to bring the prophecy to life? What will happen when the Vampire Princess senses a threat to her position? Caught between political intrigue and the machinations of her devious brother, Avery must not only survive, but also protect her unborn child: the bastard son of her Vampire Prince.