His Beloved_Paranormal Vampire Romance

by Anna Santos

  Daniel helped her get back into her seat. Sitting opposite to her, he rubbed his hands, looking at her with gloomy eyes. “No. I didn’t want to read it. I want you to tell me your version of the events. I’m old enough to know that some journalists manipulate the truth to sell magazines.”

  Jade couldn’t help clenching her teeth before she muttered, “The title is quite explicit, isn’t it?”

  “It’s rather stupid and sensationalist,” he retorted. Getting up, he sat next to her and placed an arm around her waist. “Stop crying, darling. Whatever happened to you, I’m on your side. I know you were the victim. Jade, look at me,” he requested, using his fingers to raise her chin. “We haven’t known each other long, but I’m good at reading people. You aren’t a bad person and your hate for vampires tells me that someone hurt you badly. We had decided that you would tell me when you were ready. Are you ready now?”

  “Yes,” she mumbled, trying to control the sobs. “I’m going to tell you everything that happened to me.”

  “Good. Now calm down, take a deep breath and relax.”

  Jade nodded, cleaned her tears, and tried to calm down. She had a lot to tell Daniel. It was a long and painful story. She shouldn’t be sobbing when telling him since she needed him to fully understand the facts and know how everything began and ended.

  Chapter Twenty-Six: Creepy Obsession

  “All of this started when I was fifteen. My dad worked for a big pharmaceutical company. My family wasn’t rich, but we had a good life since he was a famous and important genetic researcher. We were happy. I was happy. At that time, I was an only child and a normal teenager. I had good grades, I had a gorgeous and caring boyfriend, and I thought the world was perfect.”

  Daniel caressed her cheek and nodded.

  Sucking in a breath, she continued, “Everything changed when we went to a Christmas party, and I was introduced to my father’s boss. He was a vampire, an old one. It was the first time I was seeing a real vampire. He didn’t look young, he was older, at least, old enough to make a teenager see him as someone as old as her dad and not dating material. The problem was that the vampire started to come to our home often. He began by giving me expensive gifts and asking me a lot of questions. Then, he stalked me. He tried to grab me and kiss me. I didn’t like him. I didn’t want his romantic declarations, but he was obsessed. Even with my rejection, he kept insisting until he tried to buy me from my dad. It was then that my life became a nightmare.”

  “He tried to buy you? As if you were a thing?” Daniel’s voice came out hard as his eye-color changed to black.

  Jade nodded. “I’ll go back to that. But, first, you need to understand that things didn’t happen fast. It was a slow process. First, he tried to charm me with the expensive gifts and the rich life he could give me. At the time, I didn’t think he saw me as someone he could date. I thought he was just being nice. He wasn’t. He had sexual intentions. Since I didn’t reply to his ministrations and told my family about it, he got mad.”

  “What did he do? Did he hurt your parents?”

  “My dad tried to fix the problem. We went to the police. We reported the stalking and the attempt of buying me. Apparently, we weren’t rich enough to have the police’s attention. The vampire must have had important friends and the case was dismissed. My dad lost his job and was disgraced. The company lied about his work. They said he’d tampered with his samples. Dad wasn’t able to find another job after that. He was doing an important work to understand why vampires were vulnerable to the sun. Since he wasn’t willing to give me to his disgustful and crazy vampire boss, he was no longer allowed to pursue his research. Nevertheless, he continued to work at home and spent all his money in trying to keep the vampire away from me. He sued him. He contacted groups that were supposed to help vampire victims. Some actually helped us. Yet the guy would always find a way to scare our helpers away.”

  “It sounds terrible.”

  Gulping as she fought the tears that prickled her eyes, she said, “It was. We decided to change our names and move to another town. Our home was taken by the bank. My dad had to take out a mortgage to pay the bills, and then he couldn’t afford the mortgage. We had nowhere to live, and Mom, by then, was pregnant with Stevie. It was hard to live with the guilt. Sometimes, I wanted to give up and just go to the guy and let him have me if that was what it would take to make him stop ruining my life and hurting my family. But, my dad and mom weren’t going to be bullied and give up. It cost them their lives, though.”

  Daniel stroked her hair as his other hand held hers tight.

  Jade swallowed her pain. “Once Stevie was born, we were on the run again. We had found a group that was willing to give us shelter, a new identity, and move us to another continent. It was a more reliable group. Its leader was fearless. He had a daughter of my age. We became friends. Life seemed to get back on track. I went back to school and made new friends. Then, I was attacked. My new friends were killed, I was taken hostage. Before they could deliver me to their master, I was saved, and we had to move.”

  “He killed your friends? Why didn’t the police do anything?”

  “We were on the run. He had high-placed friends. We had no proof that he was the one behind the attacks. It seemed like a random act of violence.”

  Daniel nodded. “Then what happened?”

  “My family and I weren’t able to leave town. He tracked us down. The car he was in pushed us off the road. My dad died in the crash. A branch pierced his chest. My mom, I thought she was dead, too. Stevie was crying out with fear. I was scared, too. I could see my stalker walking to our car with a distasteful smile on his face. He was coming for me. I had no idea what he was going to do to me. I tried to push him away when he ripped the door away to pull me out. He entered, mumbling my name while smiling wickedly, showing his fangs and his dark eyes.”

  Daniel’s hand held hers tightly and his hand rubbed her back.

  Jade cleaned the tears from her eyes. “He had killed my parents, and I knew he was going to kill my brother. He was saying that I was an ungrateful whore and that I was going to pay for my rejection. He wanted to reach Stevie and kill him. I wasn’t going to let him touch my little brother. I kicked and punched him, but he was stronger. He grabbed my arm and pulled me out. When I thought he was going to kill me, his eyes opened wide in shock as my mom had rammed a stake into his back. He turned around and slapped my mom’s face so hard, he broke her neck. I screamed louder than ever. Then I did what I had been taught to do. I grabbed the gun that Dad had put in the car and shot him in the middle of his forehead. He fell backward.”

  “Was he dead?”

  “I believe so. I wasn’t sure about what I was doing. I was acting out of instinct. I grabbed my brother and ran to the road. I saw the police lights coming our way. There were other cars stopped, people staring, others on the phone, but no one wanted to help us. We were covered in blood and crying. Only when the ambulance arrived someone gave us assistance. The people who were helping us intervened, and we were taken somewhere else. We changed our surnames again. I found a job, I raised Stevie and…then you found me.”

  Daniel’s hands trembled when Jade finished her story. He looked shocked.

  “I’m sorry. I can understand if you don’t want to…”

  “To what?” he asked, frowning.

  “To marry me.”

  “The only thing I want to do is kill the vampire who hurt you over and over again. It was not your fault. Why wouldn’t I want to marry you, darling?”

  “The person who wrote the article made it seem as if I had seduced the guy and was the one to blame.”

  “That person is a fool and should be sued. No one will publish anything about your tragedy. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll protect you and Stevie. I found you and won’t let anything ever hurt you, Jade.”

  She nodded as tears fell down her cheeks.

  His thumbs pressed against the tears and he leaned his forehead against hers. “This doesn�
��t change anything. We are getting married, and we’ll continue to be happy.”

  “I wanted to tell you sooner. But…I didn’t know how to tell you. It would have only cast a shadow on our happiness.”

  “I understand.”

  “I’m glad I told you everything,” she said.

  “You are a strong woman, babe.”

  “Bad things happen to people all the time. We just need to move on and leave the past behind,” she whispered. She was the one crying, but she didn’t want him to feel bad for all that happened to her. He couldn’t do anything about it.

  “Does anyone else know what happened to you?”

  “Jenna knows. She is the only one. Her and her parents. They are members of the group who protect humans who were victims of vampires.”

  “She seems to like vampires a bit too much for someone who was born in a family that is against the existence of vampires,” he claimed.

  “They don’t hate vampires. They just think humans should be able to protect themselves from vampires when they are attacked by them.”

  “What do they teach there? How to use a stake or a gun?”

  “Personal defense, how to use a gun, a stake, and who to call in case of an attack,” she explained. “I won’t be using any of that against you,” she added, trying to be funny about it.

  “I’m a good vampire,” he said with his wicked smile.

  Smiling, Jade nodded.

  “And you love me. I’m not some creepy stalker.”

  She stared at him with a pensive grimace on her face. “Are you sure about that? If I recall it properly, you took me here against my will.”

  “You had signed a contract.”

  “That I had no clue was a contract when I signed it.”

  “I didn’t hurt you and… I didn’t, did I?”

  “No,” she reassured him, touched by his concern. “You can be a bit rough around the edges, but you are sweet on the inside.”

  “You are my beloved. I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “And…I look quite young for my age,” he retorted.

  Jade laughed while wiping her new tears away.

  “I’m not a disturbed man with an infatuation for young girls. You were too young. He was a deranged person. He was a powerful vampire and that gave him the wrong idea that he could have you against your will. Still, you are mine, and if something had happened to you, and I had found you in his possession, we would have big problems. Beloveds are sacred.”

  “Please, let’s stop talking about it.” She didn’t want to listen to any plans or crazy revenge plots against a bad excuse of a person that had killed her parents and ruined her life. “I told you so you’d understand my past and wouldn’t believe all the lies people want to tell you.”

  “I know, but I can’t help feeling protective of you and pissed with that vampire who tried to make you his.”

  “I know, I understand,” she declared, putting her hands on his face and staring into his eyes. “Now, calm down and relax.”

  “I should be calming you down.”

  “You should,” she agreed with a smile. “I love you, and we are going to get married. The past isn’t going to haunt us in our happiest days, is it?”

  He shook his head. “So, have you decided on the dress, yet?”

  “I’ve been here since the last dress I tried. How do you want me to decide on anything?”

  “I wanted you to think about something else. The florist is arriving for you to choose the bouquet and the flower arrangements.”

  After sighing deeply, she requested, “Can’t you help me with that? I have no idea of what I want. What do you think?”

  “White roses with lilies.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “Stevie and I are going to try our wedding outfits on in a moment. He asked if he could take the wedding rings.”

  “Do we have wedding rings?” she asked, reminding herself about that important piece of the wedding ceremony.

  “I have that covered,” he said with a smile. “Do you want him to walk you down the aisle or would you rather have Jenna’s dad doing that?”

  “I would like Stevie to walk me down the aisle,” she whispered.

  He nodded. “All that’s left is for you to choose the dress.”

  “No pressure then,” she joked.

  Daniel held her in his arms and kissed the top of her head. “No one will ever harm you again. I promise.”

  “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  “I want to take care of you.”

  “I guess I can live with that,” she agreed, feeling her stomach clench with happiness.

  “I’m a nice vampire, and I would never hurt you.”

  “I know, I know.” She raised her head to look at him. “Hush, don’t worry about me. I’m okay.” She kissed him to prove that.

  Jade didn’t want anything about her past to ruin her happiness. She was ready to start a new life. Even if her parents weren’t there to see how happy she was, the fact was that everything was possible because of them.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Wedding

  The night was beautiful, full of stars and without a single cloud. The garden looked glamorous. The flowers were glowing under the lights. From the balcony, Jade watched the waiters finishing the last details on the tables and the orchestra tuning their instruments.

  The wedding would take place at 9 p.m., and the party would happen shortly after. The newlyweds would leave for their honeymoon destination at four o'clock in the morning. Daniel had planned something special for them, a whole week away by themselves. He would have planned for longer, but Jade didn't want to stay away from her brother for too long. She had no idea where they would spend their honeymoon, yet she was certain that it wasn't going to be on an island in the Pacific Ocean.

  She was excited about the surprise. It had been a long time since that kind of emotion filled her body. Yet, there was also a cold sensation in the pit of her stomach and crazy butterflies were threatening to come out from her mouth. Going to her bedroom, she ignored the anxiety and focused on getting dressed and having the perfect hairstyle. She wanted Daniel to be wowed by her dress. It had taken her a lot of time to choose it, and she was sure she had found the perfect one.

  Jenna was also looking stunning in her pink silky mermaid dress. She was a real beauty, a perfect doll. Jade always thought that Jenna was a gorgeous woman, but she needed to value herself a bit more. She was too reckless about whom she dated, disregarding gentlemen for idiots that were only interested in having a good time. Regardless, it was Jenna's life. Jade had no right to tell Jenna how to live her life.

  Her best friend seemed nervous while being a perfectionist with Jade's hair and makeup. She wanted everything to be perfect. Being the maid of honor was an important task. And Jenna wasn't just doing the part of the maid and the best friend, she was acting like Jade's mom. Jade was finding that to be quite funny. Jenna was taking her job seriously and wasn't chasing some hot guy around. Well, she was chasing guys, but only the ones that were preparing the party. She didn't want things to go wrong, and she could be a bit bossy when she was in charge of something.

  “You are the prettiest bride ever,” Jenna said, clapping her hands.

  Jade looked in the mirror for the hundredth time. She caressed her dress, then turned around to see the back. The dress was fashionable and simple. It was strapless and the bodice was embossed with pearls and crystals. The sheer tulle bottom—short in the front but long in the back—had a small swish of a train that trailed for a half foot behind her.

  “Do you really like my dress?”

  “It's stunning. Your hair is perfectly styled. It won't fall to pieces, I promise. Your makeup is waterproof since I don't want all your crying ruining the pictures,” Jenna explained.

  “I'm sure I'll cry a lot. I'm almost crying right now,” Jade whispered, moving her hands and trying to cool down. “Do you think I'm ready?”
r />   “I'm sure you are. A bride always arrives late, and it's too soon to go downstairs. Daniel is still getting dressed.”

  “How do you know?” Jade asked.

  Jenna motioned to her ear, where she had an earpiece. “I've been monitoring everything. They will tell me when Daniel gets downstairs.”

  “Peekaboo,” Stevie said, giggling, after opening the door and peeking in.

  “Baby! Are you ready? Let me look at you!” Jade yelped, excited to see her brother.

  “No hugging, no jumping, no touching,” Jenna warned the kid, who pouted and walked like a grown up in his white suit.

  “You look so cute!” Jade exclaimed.

  “I look sharp,” he argued with a proud face.

  Jade leaned down and teased his cheeks. Pinching them and landing a kiss on his forehead, she left a red lipstick imprint. He protested wildly, only to smile at her words. “You look adorable!”

  “You should wait for your sister downstairs,” Jenna said to him.

  “I came here to see if she didn't run away.” He stared at Jenna proudly.

  “Why would she run away?” Jenna asked.

  Stevie shrugged. “I told him that she wouldn’t, but he was nervous and wanted me to check on her.”

  Jade giggled.

  “You can tell Daniel that I won't let her run away,” Jenna assured, wiping the lipstick from his forehead, fixing his bowtie, and sending him away.

  “Weren't you too hard on him?” Jade asked.

  “I want Daniel to be wowed so sending Stevie to spy is against the rules.”

  “Okay, calm down, maidzilla. I'm ready, you’re ready. I'm not going to run away. All we need is Daniel downstairs, and we can start the marriage ceremony.”

  “Aren't you nervous?” Jenna asked.

  “Of course, I'm nervous!”

  “But you don't look nervous.”

  Jade placed her hands on her hips. “Should I be running around hysterically?”

  “No. I guess you are actually sure that you want to marry Daniel.”