by T. S. Ryder
“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?” Calissa 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 ado
red 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.
Her Vampire Prince
On the seventh full moon of a red year
The only daughter of a seventh son of the lands of Mygie
will lie with a Vampire Prince
In nine months’ time,
she will bear him a son born on a moonless night
Half-human half-vampire, he will be beautiful and terrible to behold
He will conquer the world and reunite the Severed Kingdoms
He shall be the greatest King that Varlyn has ever seen
The world will shudder from his power
- Celisa the Prophet of Four Boulders
Chapter One
He could smell them. Prince Alastair Thorne lifted his nose in the air and took a deep breath. Humans, he could smell their sweat, the smoke from their camp, the fat of a roasting rabbit dripping into the fire. His mouth watered. He tongued the sharp fangs in his mouth knowing that soon he would be able to fill his thirst.
He listened to their sounds. Men and women went about their business unaware of the monsters lurking in the shadows. He ignored the low mutterings of men and focused on a woman singing a slow mournful song. The grumbling men were of no concern to him. He wasn’t interested in their kind. It was the women he wanted.
He could hear their light, high-pitched voices creating a tantalizing music that danced towards him. Closing his eyes for a moment, he just listened. He heard laughter from a group, a tittering that sounded like bells and a deep longing surged to the surface. They were so close.
He gripped his sword, his fingers digging into the supple leather of the handle. The blood lust was coming on. His heart began to pound, adrenaline pumped through his veins.
His pupils dilated and the darkness around him lit up. He could see everything clearly. Every blade of grass stood out in bright detail. The wind picked up making the boughs of the trees shudder. It was as if nature herself knew what was coming.
“On marks,” Alistair ordered. Behind him, fifty men unsheathed their swords and bared their fangs.
“Now!”he said. He took off at a run, racing towards the bright fires of nomad’s camp. He ran across the flat grassland as his men fanning out behind him. The dogs in the human camp began to bark furiously, tugging and straining at their leashes. The sound only made Alistair’s feet go faster. He opened his mouth and let out a screaming war cry echoed by the men around him.
They crashed on the camp the way a wave crashes on the shore. Swords clashed as women screamed. Men leapt up from their chairs and reached for their swords, but they were too slow and their blades dull.
The nomads were not fighters. As the vampires descended on their camp, the men panicked and fled. They abandoned their dull weapons on the ground to speed up their cowardly retreat. The abandoned women began running in all directions clutching at each other and screaming for help. It was chaos and madness. To his left there was a bright burst of flame as one of the elaborately decorated caravans of the nomads caught fire.
He was halfway through the camp before he came upon the first man willing to put up a fight. A fat nomad raced towards Alistair, holding his no doubt stolen sword like a cudgel. Bringing up his own sharp, well-hewn blade, Alastair took a moment to sneer at the nomad before cutting him down with one slice of his blade.
In disgust, Alastair watched as several men threw their women in front of them, attempting to use them as shields. Alastair ignored the women, leaving them weeping on the ground, crying for the men who had left them behind. Racing past them he charged down their weak men. With a fury, his sword raked across their backs and legs sending them screaming to the ground.
Heaving for breath, Alastair looked around the chaotic camp searching for another threat, another enemy. All he could see were women huddled together holding onto each other. Caravans burned, his men emptied the elaborate carts searching for anyone attempting to hide from their fury. He needed a warrior, someone willing to put up a real blade. Was there no one left? Had they really defeated the nomads that easily?
Alastair wasn’t ready to be done yet. Bloodlust pumped through his veins. He wanted a real fight, a real challenge. These weakling n
omads had disappointed him. He felt unfulfilled. He spun in a circle his eyes scanning the camp for movement. There must be someone who would give him a proper fight.
He heard a scream from a caravan behind him and he turned around in time to see a woman tumble to the ground. There was a man behind her, holding her by her hair, wrenching and pulling her forward. She screamed and fought against him, her hands trying to pull him off her hair. But he was bigger and anytime the girl managed to get her feet underneath her he would kick them and she would fall again.
Alistair snarled and the man whirled around, bringing the girl with him. Her face was screwed up in pain and wet with tears. The crying had smeared her make-up, leaving tracks of dark tear lines down her pale skin. It did nothing to hide her beauty.
“Take her, not me,” the man screamed throwing the woman on the ground in front of him. She tumbled, falling directly below Alistair. On her hands and knees, she looked up at him beseechingly. Even there, in the hectic chaos of battle, she did not quiver with fear or beg for mercy. He expected to see anger and hatred in her face. Instead, she looked up at Alistair like he was her savior. He stared into her deep grey eyes and the longing in his stomach surged.
By the Gods she was beautiful. Alastair let his sword drop as he took all of her in. She had a full head of thick, dark hair, clear alabaster skin and grey eyes that shone in the moonlight. Through her poor nomad's dress, he could see she had an hourglass figure with full breasts and hips.