The Vampire Prince

by Juliette N Banks

  None of which was casual watercooler conversation.

  Also, if anyone called what he was doing with Willow banging, he’d rip their throat out.

  “Fuck! I apologize,” he said, shaking his head and turning away for a moment.

  Craig simply nodded. And that would be it. The centuries of history between them would take more than a butting of heads to break.

  “There’s more.” Brayden gritted his teeth as Craig continued. “Regan asked me to double the queen’s security.”

  Brayden tensed momentarily, then forced himself to relax. There was no way anyone could know about the discussion between him and the queen yesterday. No matter what happened, it was one secret he would be taking to his grave. If he ever had one.

  “I want eyes on Regan.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket, but stopped. Looking at his commander with narrowed eyes, he gave him a direct instruction. “In fact, they need to be yours. The queen’s security stays as it is. If he tries to dictate any security changes again, direct him to me.”

  Craig nodded and walked back to his bag, picking it up.

  “She’s not my mate,” Brayden said quietly, finally answering the male’s question. He sent Willow a text as he spoke. “She’s important to me, but she’s not my lifemate.”

  “Are you sure? Because you were sparkling like a firecracker a minute ago.”

  He turned back for the door. “Like I said, she’s important.”

  He heard Craig groan behind him.

  Even if she were, he couldn’t destroy her life. She deserved better than having her life ripped away from her like his mother had.

  Fuck, he had no mental capacity right now to think about that.

  Right now, he had a queen to deal with.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Kate rolled her eyes at her mate.

  “Not on your life, sunshine.”

  Vincent laughed. “Sunshine would end my life, so another reason to consider one.”

  “I am not getting a vibrator. You’re still here and functioning fine, thank you very much.” She wriggled in his lap and felt his body confirm her statement. He slid his hand up her thigh, under her dress, and she slapped him playfully. “Stop, someone could come in.”

  “I’m the king, what the hell are they going to do, tell me off?” He laughed. “Plus, you know I can lock the door, just as you can, from here.”

  Kate had planted herself on Vincent’s lap after finding him seated in the large chair behind his desk. She’d been going stir crazy since speaking to the prince. How could she have done it? How could she not?

  Admitting to herself that she had done it partly due to self-preservation was hard, but the truth was, she was terrified of losing her mate. She loved him more than life. To produce an heir would mean the world to him. Vincent had always wanted children, though he never said so to anyone outside their relationship.

  Both had suffered from guilt for their lack of procreation yet chided the other when it rose to the surface. Producing vampire children was not easy; they didn’t breed as abundantly as other animals on the planet. It was a rarity, which is why their population was low. However, after one hundred and thirty years and still no heir, it wasn’t looking hopeful.

  Such things were not talked about openly, but it was a concern for the race’s long-term existence. Just another thing the resistance pushed back against. They thought a recruitment program to change humans was a bright idea.

  Fortunately, the king was highly opposed to it.

  Kate was now in a fertile window, and they had been making love frequently, but these days, it was done with little expectation it would result in a child.

  She knew it was a long shot with Brayden, but should they be successful, it would change everything.

  Whether the prince was willing and whether the two of them could follow through on the act was another story. The prince was a wildly attractive vampire, yet the thought of sex with someone other than her mate made her sick to her stomach. That was the way of mates.

  “So back to this vibrator, do you think they come in extra-large? Because obviously—”

  “Oh my God, please stop talking about this.”

  “We could get a custom one made.” He grinned, and she raised an eyebrow. “What? They could make a mold of my cock and then you’d...” He caught sight of her expression and grew quiet. “Too much?”

  She nodded, eyes lowered, heart clenching at the thought of losing him.

  “Sorry, my love.” Vincent pulled her closer and nuzzled into her neck gently.

  “Please don’t give up,” she said in a small voice. As if on cue, the king started coughing, and she handed him a ball of tissues to soak up the blood.

  If only it were as simple as replenishing it with her own, she would do anything to keep him alive. Slowly his powers were fading, his movements slowing. It pained her to watch such a powerful male suffer, especially since he was supposed to be immortal. Heck, they all were meant to be.

  For those in the know, keeping the situation contained had been a priority. Word of a potential coup by the rebellion grew every day, and if the king were challenged today, he would lose.

  Brayden wouldn’t. He was the most powerful vampire among them. They would lose the king, but it would mean the Moretti bloodline would be safe.

  Safe enough for her to bring an heir into the world.

  She hated that this was happening to the vampire she loved, to his beloved brother, and to her. Together, the brothers were a great team, with Vincent as the diplomat and Brayden as the muscle. Vincent had evolved his father’s reign, and the race was now thriving under his lead. Modern times and modern thinking had been contributing factors. The only thing the Moretti brothers disagreed on was Brayden’s belief they needed to take a stronger stance against the resistance.

  She suspected that was about to change.

  “I’m trying my best, darling. For everybody.”

  Kate nuzzled into his neck, allowing herself a rare moment of weakness.

  “Hey, did you guys...oh, fuck. Sorry.”

  Kate turned to see Brayden standing in the doorway looking apologetic and beginning to back out.

  Shit.

  She tensed.

  Vincent glanced down at her in question, and after a moment of panic, she realized what he was asking.

  She nodded.

  He rubbed her arms as he called to his brother, “Come in, Brayden.”

  “I’ll come back.”

  “I doubt it. You are rarely here.” The king scowled.

  “I’m here enough. Don’t start, brother, we have more important things to discuss.”

  Kate moved to the seat next to the king and smiled as he took her hand. His thumb rubbed over her knuckles unconsciously.

  “Is there something wrong?” She wasn’t worried he would betray her; he loved the king. He might not agree with her crazy request, but he wouldn’t hurt Vincent.

  “I’m being followed by some of Russo’s men.” He crossed his arms. “I don’t quite know how or why, but I think Regan has something to do with it. We’re investigating further, but I wanted you to know. Limit what you share with him.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “Trust no one, brother. He asked Craig to double Kate’s security.”

  Vincent frowned. “Why?”

  Brayden nodded thoughtfully as if this confirmed what he was thinking. “Then it wasn’t at your request.”

  “No, for what purpose. She is not in any danger.”

  Brayden nodded. “Craig is going to monitor him.”

  “So everyone is following everyone.”

  Brayden rolled his eyes at the king and walked to the floor-length windows, gripping the top of the frame with his hand. The windows in all their properties were coated to protect them from turning to ash. Handy, but daylight still drained them rapidly if they did not sleep, just as night did with humans.

  “Pretty much,” he replied. “I’ll bring more i
nformation to you as soon as I hear anything. We need to be more alert. Something feels very off about all this.”

  The king stood.

  “Why is Regan interfering with the queen’s security, in any case?” Irritation turned to anger as he spoke.

  Kate watched Brayden turn to the king, relieved his brother had finally begun to take this seriously. “It’s an interesting question.”

  The king frowned.

  Kate placed her hand on his arm. “Regan is probably just overstepping his boundaries, as he’s prone to do.”

  “Possibly, but Brayden is right to be cautious. I want to be kept informed. Immediately. I don’t give a fuck who does what around here, when it comes to the queen, I get told first. Capisci?”

  The prince nodded. Then he glanced at her, just a little, enough to know...yes, she should go to him. Her chest tightened, heart pounded, and there was nothing she could have done to stop it.

  “What’s wrong, my love?” Her mate was attuned to her heart just as she was to his. Brayden glared at her and she winced.

  “I just don’t want this to upset you or make you any more ill.” It was a half-truth. “Let the prince take care of it.”

  Vincent shook his head. “If my advisor is up to something, Kate, I need to know about it. Especially if it involves your safety.”

  “Do not confront him, Vincent. Give us time to watch him and the others.”

  The king nodded.

  Brayden began to walk out.

  “Have you finished playing with your little human now, brother?”

  Kate could nearly hear the prince’s teeth grinding.

  “Her name is Willow.”

  Vincent’s face remained blank, though she knew him too well not to notice the flicker of interest in his eyes. Like her, he had noticed subtle changes in the prince. Brayden might think he was fooling everyone, but he most definitely was not.

  This woman was important to him. There was every reason to believe she might be his mate, and no reason to believe she was.

  She would check his irises again when she visited, though the fact that he appeared to have agreed to her proposal gave her pause.

  Surely, he wouldn’t go through with it if he had bonded.

  Then again...how could she?

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Brayden lifted his phone again and checked for a response from Willow. Nothing.

  It was nearly midday, and he needed a few hours’ sleep. He didn’t know when to expect the queen; it could be any time. Until he did, he needed to stay here.

  And afterward?

  Could he return to Willow and act normal? Would he ever feel normal again?

  “Fuck it.” He sat up, leaning on the headboard, and dialed her number.

  Ring. Ring. Fucking ring.

  “Hello!”

  The sound of her voice calmed him. “Hey,” he said, all husky. “Switching to FaceTime.”

  “Oh hey...oh hey!” she repeated as his face appeared on screen. “Where are you? It’s all dark. You okay?”

  Oh, right. He hadn’t thought this bit through. He was also shirtless. What good reason would he have for lying in the dark in the middle of the day? Jesus, he was losing it.

  “Migraine,” he said. Thank goodness for human TV.

  “Damn, I get them occasionally. Do you have medicine?”

  Medicine?

  Nope, and he didn’t have the information of what they used stored away, so please don’t ask, he silently prayed.

  “Yes. I’ll live, but I wanted to see your face before I crashed.”

  A smile spread across his lips as a blush hit her cheeks. God, she thrilled him. The way she reacted to his voice, his body, his mind—it was beyond anything.

  “You are so sweet.”

  Yeah, fuck, he was not sweet in the slightest.

  Warmth spread through his chest at the way she was looking at him. “I’ve never been called sweet before, Willow.”

  The blush deepened and she chewed her bottom lip. His cock stiffened.

  “I don’t want you to be sweet all the time.”

  The delicious moment hung between them until it became awkward. Like full-of-feelings-and-sexual-need awkward.

  He coughed.

  “Are you feeling okay today? After last night?”

  He’d been hard on her body. She had loved it, but he suspected she would be sore today. God, he really wanted to be with her right now, taking care of her.

  She nodded, not shyly but in an intimate way only the two of them understood.

  “I’m all right. I was in the bath soaking, which is why I hadn’t responded to your messages.”

  His body relaxed at the explanation, and he mentally reminded himself to kick his own ass. What a pussy. Then he realized it wasn’t insecurity but a need to ensure she was safe.

  Fine, not a pussy. Thank fuck.

  “Do you need anything?”

  “No. I’m fine, Bray, honestly. You get some rest and take care of your migraine.”

  His body tensed with the need to port to her and hold her. To gently make love to her or simply massage her. Instead, he ran a hand through his hair and sunk down into his bed. God, how he wished she were in his arms and they could just lie and talk all day.

  It never felt like he had enough time with her.

  “I’d rather you were here.”

  Whoa.

  Where the fuck had that come from?

  It was one thing to think these emotional thoughts, another to say them out loud.

  “Same.”

  More of the staring.

  Speak, for fuck’s sake.

  “Well...” He coughed. “Yeah, I’ll get some rest and head over. If...” He’d been planning to make an excuse for tonight, assuming Kate turned up, but now he was so fucked up in the head about everything he didn’t know what to do.

  About anything.

  “If you don’t feel up to it, stay home. Or I could come to yours?”

  Nooooo.

  His heart literally skipped a beat. It could never, ever happen. He watched Willow’s beautiful, hopeful eyes poke dents in his heart.

  “I’ll text you later to tell you how I’m doing, okay, beautiful?”

  She nodded, giving him a small smile at his nonanswer.

  “Bye,” he said, soaking up every little inch of her as she blew him a kiss and ended the call. Brayden slammed the phone on the bed, frustrated, his fangs extending.

  What the fuck?

  He sat up, touched his fangs, pricked his finger, cursed, then licked to seal the wound.

  Now, this was new. Not the fangs, he’d had those since birth. His powerful and aggressive reaction to his female was new.

  His?

  Goddamn it.

  He teleported into his bathroom because walking was too slow in a moment like this. He had to know.

  Just fucking look.

  Taking a deep breath, he peered into the mirror.

  Yes? No? Maybe.

  Heart pounding, he couldn’t tell if he was imagining a fine, thin line appearing around his irises, or if it was real.

  Jesus fucking Christ.

  He needed to figure this out fast. Walking around with shades on like U2’s Bono wasn’t going to cut it.

  The knock on the door and the tiny body which slipped inside without his permission made his blood go cold.

  Kate picked up on his reaction from a room away and didn’t try to pretend otherwise.

  “I feel the same.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Regan pulled the briefcase out of the wardrobe and proceeded to unlock the three different padlocks.

  The sad part was that he didn’t need them. No one would ever suspect him of having such an item on his person. He was the king’s advisor, as he had been for the king before. He had loyally served both kings for over one thousand years.

  Until recently.

  Shame spread through him.

  It wasn’t by choice. Like any bonded mate, his
loyalty was to his mate. It was nature. It was the way of the vampire.

  Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined he’d be tested like this. If he’d thought there was another way, he would have gone with it, but they’d taken his mate, Selena, and daughter, Lily, while they were in Italy visiting relatives.

  They being the Russo family. Stefano Russo, leader of the vampire resistance.

  As their father had done over one hundred and thirty years ago, in 1891, Stefano and his brothers were now making their move for the throne. This time, however, they were not doing it with honor or following the way of their race. Instead, they were using him as their weapon, along with a poisonous substance Regan had to give the king each day.

  At first, he’d thought it would be ineffective. Vampires didn’t get sick. But with each day, the king grew worse. Now, Regan had been instructed to increase the dosage.

  They hadn’t told him anything, but after months and months of overthinking it all, he suspected the Russos planned to weaken the king so they could infiltrate the castle and take the throne from him.

  Regan wondered what they planned to do about the Moretti prince. Brayden was a powerful—some would say the most powerful—vampire.

  If his brother was beaten in a challenge, the prince would immediately step into the role as king, a role he was mentally preparing for now, if reluctantly.

  He’d known Brayden and Vincent since they were born. In fact, he’d go so far as to say he loved both the king and the prince; he certainly respected them. And so, he knew that once his involvement was exposed—and one day, it would be—Brayden would destroy him.

  Regan would beg for his mate and daughter to be saved, and then he would accept his punishment. It was deserved.

  He should have confessed the moment it happened, but how could he risk their lives? The Russos were rich and powerful, and had been planning this for over a century. He had no idea where they were keeping Selena and Lily; he was given photos of them looking terrified and hungry, and had to trust they were recent.

  He hung his head in shame and placed the small plastic bag containing the powder in his pocket. All he had to do was deliver the king’s evening tea with a dose stirred in. He always watched to make sure the vampire king drank it during their nightly briefing.