by T. S. Ryder
"I would expect a vampire to demand no less." The Alpha snarled but shrugged. "Very well."
"Will these other shifters obey if Darius kills you?" Cleo shouted desperately.
"I am their Alpha. They will obey. It will give you even more to lose as I choke the life out of you, vampire, to know that you failed your kingdom as well as your mate."
The bear pulled a knife from his belt.
"Wait," Darius nearly stepped back until he realized it would put him on the outside of the ring, "where's my weapon?"
"You don't get one."
The Thunder charged him, muscles strained and tendons popping from his neck. Pure hatred shone from the man's eyes. Darius pulled in a quick breath before running straight back at the bear. As the beast sprang forward, shouting, the knife in his hand glinting, Darius ducked. He slid under the bear's feet and twisted on the ground, aiming a solid kick at the bear's knees as he landed.
Darius jumped back to his feet as the bear stumbled. He followed it up, punching the bear in the kidneys. An arm flew back. He ducked, but it clipped him on the top of his head. The sheer force of impact made him stumble. The Thunder roared, swinging the knife at him. Darius blocked him, using both arms against the bear's one. The force of the blow still forced him back a few steps.
In the back of his mind, Darius knew that the shifters around them were shouting, that somewhere was Cleo's voice as well, telling him not to give up. His muscles strained as he fought to keep the knife from plunging into his body.
A huge fist sunk into his stomach. Pain exploded through his body, blinding him. He was just able to keep his hands wrapped around the thick wrist, to keep the knife away. His heartbeat had nearly stopped from the blow. When a second one came, stealing his breath, Darius did the only thing he could.
He lunged forward, clamping his teeth in the shifter's shoulder. The hand with the knife jerked and the bear pulled back. Darius took the opportunity to put distance between them, spitting out blood. It tasted awful like he had dragged his tongue through diesel.
The bear inspected his shoulder. It was dribbling blood, but the wound was superficial. It would be healed before Darius had a chance to get his breath back. His lungs felt like an elephant was sitting on his chest.
"I should have expected such a low blow from a vampire," the bear growled.
"Low blow?" Cleo shouted from somewhere. "You're the one with the knife! If this were a fair fight you'd already be dead, but you're too much of a coward to face him on equal footing."
The bear turned, snarling. Darius saw the opportunity to attack – but he was just able to draw in a single breath. If he attacked now, his strength would be greatly diminished. The Thunder would easily turn the attack against him.
"And as for you, you wuss of a vampire, just take him out!"
Darius couldn't help but smile. Always directly to the point. It was exactly what he needed. He didn't bother wasting time looking for his wife in the crowd.
He ran forward, springing off the ground right before he clashed with the bear. The shifter spun on his heel to follow him, but Darius kicked him hard in the face before landing lightly and driving his knuckles hard into the bear's abs.
The bear gasped for breath a moment, but raised his knife again and shook off the blows. Rage was still in his eyes, but there was something else as well. Desperation. Pain. And even as they continued to trade blows, Darius suddenly felt a surge of sympathy for his opponent. If their positions had been reversed and it had been Cleo to die… wouldn't he have done the same thing?
There were only two options for the shifter. Revenge or death. There was nothing else for him. Not without his mate.
Silence fell around them. It was just the two of them, fighting for so much more than their own lives. And when Darius twisted the knife from his opponent's hand and drove it through his throat, there was no joy on his face. There was no fear in the Thunder, either.
"I'm sorry," Darius whispered, pulling the knife back out.
The bear sagged, and he caught the massive brute and lowered him slowly to the ground.
"I'm sorry for killing your mate," the vampire whispered. "I hope there's an afterlife where you may be rejoined with her."
He got to his feet and backed away from the bear. Glancing around, he saw absolute fear on the faces of the shifters. Maybe that was a good sign. His shoulders slumped as he gestured to their Alpha.
"The last thing he sees should not be the face of his enemy."
The shifters stirred. A second man, almost as big as the bear he had just defeated, stepped forward. "Take your mate and leave. We will do as was promised and leave vampire territory."
Darius nodded at him. Nobody challenged him as he went to Cleo's side. Tears shone on her face and there were red scratches oozing blood on her arms. He picked her up, holding her close, and started walking. He knew in his gut that the shifters would honor the agreement their Alpha had made. The war, at last, was over.
If only there was a way this could have ended without violence, he thought sadly. But at least it is over now.
Chapter Ten – Cleo
The sun shone brightly through the leafy foliage of the elm tree that Cleo and Ed sat under. The sisters had a blanket spread out under them while Ed carefully cradled her newborn nephew. Cleo smiled at the sight. Even though she knew that baby vampires, just like the adults, couldn’t contract diseases, she had been nervous about bringing her son to the hospital Ed lived in. He was going to age at the same rate as humans until he hit adulthood, but, at the moment, he just looked so small and helpless.
Seeing how her sister beamed made her glad she had decided to come visit.
"He's so cute," Ed crooned. "What's his name?"
"Tobar. I wanted to name him Eduardo so I could call him Ed after you, but Darius said that it was too close to Edward. Tobar was his father's name, so we decided on it."
"What's wrong with Edward?"
Cleo shrugged. "He said that there are already too many princes named Edward and that we wouldn't be adding to the list."
"Why is he a prince?"
"Oh!"
Cleo shook her head. She had been so concentrated on her little son that she hadn't even remembered to tell her sister about the many changes that had happened over the past two months. The Rebeluna pack had kept the Thunder's terms of the fight against Darius. They had retreated from vampire territory, taking with them all the shifters fighting against the vampire armies.
With them gone, shifter incidents had virtually stopped. King Iosif had publicly praised Darius for staking his life on the chance to drive them out. And just last week, there had been a huge celebration for three days and nights, at the end of which Iosif declared Darius his new heir. It was everything the two of them had hoped for.
"Darius was adopted by the king," Cleo told her sister, deciding to leave out the complicated politics of it all. "He's the prince now, and he's going to be king someday."
Ed stared at her with wide eyes. "That means you're a princess!"
Cleo nodded. "Yes. It does. Speaking of Darius, he should be here soon. He said he was going to come spend the afternoon with us."
Both sisters looked around. Ed pointed, although she was very careful to keep cradling Tobar's head. "There he is! And Gordon is coming, too."
"I see them."
Cleo stayed where she was, smiling at her husband as he and his friend approached. Both of them returned the smile. Ed started to fidget, trying to smooth her hair one-handed while still holding the baby. Her eyes were glowing, and Cleo felt her own smile widening. Since she and Darius shared all their secrets, they had been visiting her sister often.
Gordon came with them quite a bit, and Ed had developed quite a crush on him. Cleo's own relationship with the vampire was improving as well. They weren't friends, but they were getting there.
"Hello, lovely ladies," Darius said, bowing to the both of them. "Do you mind if we join you on this fine day?"
"No,
you can join us," Ed said. "Gordon, sit next to me. I have a new cat’s cradle trick I want to show you."
Cleo retrieved her baby as her sister started rooting around in her pockets for the string. Gordon sat beside her, a patient smile on his face.
I'll have to remember to thank him for being so good with her, Cleo thought. It's not just a show, he really does listen to everything she says and doesn't get tired of her. She needs people like that.
Well, maybe everybody did. But Cleo didn't care about everybody. She cared about her sister, and she was glad that she had a real friend that wasn't there because he was being paid. Although the staff at the hospital were terrific, Ed needed to have friends from the outside world as well.
"Let's go over to the bench to play cat’s cradle," Gordon suggested, offering a hand to Ed. "I think Darius has something he wants to tell Cleo."
"Okay."
They went off, leaving Cleo alone with her baby and husband. The human turned a puzzled look on the vampire. "What did you want to talk to me about?"
Darius was grinning. It stretched from ear to ear, and he looked so excited he was practically glowing. This was something special, Cleo could tell. But her husband shrugged, as though it was no big deal. He plucked a blade of grass from the ground and teased her nose with it. Cleo batted it away.
"Don't keep me in suspense."
"Okay. Well, I've been doing some research and asking around. I've arranged it so that Ed can come visit us at the estate regularly. And not just a drive out and drive back here. I'm getting a room set up for her there, too."
Cleo's jaw dropped. "Can we really do that? She doesn't do well outside the hospital."
"I've spoken with all her doctors, along with many other professionals. None of them see a problem with her leaving for short vacations. I've already hired a special staff to look after her at the estate and here, to minimize disruption of her routine. And it's not like we're going to let her run out of her meds, is it?" Darius brushed Cleo's hair from her face. "I know you feel guilty for not doing more, even if there wasn’t really anything more you could do. You were right, she needs professional caring, but we can facilitate that at the estate now."
A warm feeling of love swept through Cleo and she kissed her husband, tears pricking her eyes. "Thank you."
"You're not crying, are you?" Darius' soft voice was teasing. "The baby hormones are still getting to you."
"Yes." Cleo laughed as she wiped her face. "I think you did that to me on purpose, getting me pregnant so you can tease me about my emotions being all over the place."
Darius kissed her again, taking the baby as he did so. The tiny bundle of blankets looked so delicate in his arms. He beamed at his son. "Did you hear that, little man? You have made your mother an emotional wreck. But that's okay, isn't it? Because we don't have secrets from each other anymore – except for surprises and presents."
"I'm glad we decided on that policy," Cleo said. "Sharing secrets. I didn't realize there was so much about my life that I wanted to share with you until I started telling you."
"I'm glad, too. And I'm glad that you're my wife." Darius stroked Tobar's fluffy dark hair. "I'm glad we have a son. I'm glad we have peace. I'm glad that I'm the king's heir, but I'm gladder that I was able to save you. I could keep going forever."
Cleo nodded. She understood the feeling. There was so much to be grateful for. But most of all, she was grateful for her husband. That he loved her. That she loved him. She leaned into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. Yes, she had everything she had fought for. But she had far more than that.
She had love. And even if everything else was taken from her, she knew that love would sustain her the rest of her life.
*****
THE END
Chosen by the Vampire King
Description
A BBW who needs money PLUS a vampire king who wants to impregnate her PLUS a violent enemy out for revenge!
Maribel Arnaz never thought she’d sell off her virginity. But she’s about to...
Robbed of everything by an ex-boyfriend, Maribel needs money. One signature and some blood, and she has what she wants – a job as a vampire’s blood donor. This should be easy, right? Right. Until the sexy-as-hell vampire king makes her an offer. She can have whatever she wants, if she bears him a child.
It’s just a business agreement. No emotions involved. So why is she so drawn to that predatory gleam in his eyes?
Vampire king Sheridan wants an heir and has found the right woman for the job. But he can’t satisfy his needs, because he might lose control and hurt his human mate. What is he supposed to do? She tortures him with her golden-olive skin, lush curves and body made for love. How much longer before he gives into temptation?
When others try to take her away from him, there’s nothing he won’t do to make them pay. There’s only one way to make them obey a vampire king. Fight. Destroy. Anything to get her back.
Chapter One – Maribel
The hair on the back of Maribel's neck prickled at the unblinking stare from the vampire across from her. If she had known that it was going to be this creepy to be in such close proximity to them, she wouldn't have applied to becoming a living blood donor within their city walls. Even now she was considering just cutting this interview short and going home.
Except she didn't have a home anymore. So that wasn't an option.
"Why did you decide to apply for this position, Miss Arnaz?" the vampire, Patricia, asked her.
Maribel mentally grimaced. Even though she had prepared for this question, she wasn't exactly sure what to say. There were a lot of reasons she had decided to do this. How much information was too much?
She was being evicted from her apartment because she was unable to pay the rent, having gotten fired from her job six months ago. The bank repossessed her car. She was half a million dollars in debt because her cretin of a boyfriend had stolen her identity and gone to Vegas, and apparently there was nothing the banks could do about it because she didn't report the suspicious activity sooner. It put her in a position where she didn't have a lot of options. Finding a new job in this economy was next to impossible. And vampires were always looking for a human to use as a juice box.
"Honestly, the money," Maribel said after a moment of thinking. "Ten thousand dollars a month just for being here, another hundred dollars per ounce that gets… consumed. Not to mention the possibility of being picked to be exclusive with a vampire, and the benefits that come with that."
Patricia nodded. She was insanely gorgeous, with long, thick, silky black hair and deep black eyes in a diamond-white face. All of her features were carved delicately. "You do realize that the act of being drunk from is often highly sexual, yes? You would be compensated with an extra twenty-five thousand dollars if things… heat up while being drunk from."
"Yes."
Her heartbeat increased at that. That was the most difficult thing about this job. She had been determined to wait with sex until marriage. It was still what she wanted, although she knew that there was nothing wrong with not waiting. Still, selling off her first time wasn't something she ever dreamed of doing.
Patricia continued to stare at her. "You will need to sign consent forms stipulating you understand the process."
"Yes, I understand." Maribel straightened her shoulders. So what if she was becoming some sort of glorified prostitute? She wasn't getting any help from the people who would sneer at her for doing it. She wasn't getting help from anybody.
"Alright. Then I would like you to fill out these forms."
Maribel jumped slightly. "I've been accepted?"
"You're in your prime, you have a clean bill of health, and you're a semi-rare blood type." Patricia smiled. "There is always more demand for fresh blood than there is supply. One of the reasons why vampires will pay so much to be exclusive with a donor."
Maribel nodded, feeling dazed. She hadn't expected it to be this quick. But that was a good thing. Less time for h
er to doubt herself or change her mind.
She quickly filled out the forms and read through the agreement before signing it. Her hands trembled as she handed the papers back to Patricia. There. It was done. She would start earning money at once, and then she'd be able to pay off her student loans and the ridiculous amount of money Phil had spent using her identity. There was a chance she was going to get out of this without tanking her credit rating after all.
"Excellent. I'll have Quinn show you to the girl's wing of the palace. You'll interact with our vampires in various formal and casual settings during the first month, but it's prohibited for them to feed on you until—" Patricia's head turned towards the door as it opened. "Excuse me, but we are—"
She gasped and jumped to her feet. Maribel followed her gaze. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the vampire that had just strode into the room. To say he was tall, dark and handsome would be an understatement. He was perfection. Shoulder-length wavy black hair, a face that put Hollywood actors to shame. But there was far more to him than just looks. Everything about him spoke of power, from his sharp business suit to the intense stare in his blacker-than-black eyes.
"Your majesty." Patricia curtsied awkwardly. "I did not expect to see you in the recruitment office today."
King Sheridan. Maribel had seen his face on the news and always thought his hawk-like eyes were intimidating, but close up she could see how beautiful they were as well, like pieces of the universe's soul staring right at her. It took her breath away.
"Has she signed all the consent forms?" His eyes never moved from her.
"Yes," Patricia said as Maribel nodded.
"Good." Sheridan held his hand to her. "You will be my personal donor."
Maribel gaped. His personal donor? The king's? Was this some sort of bizarre stress dream? "Me?"