The Vampire Prince

by Juliette N Banks

  Anyway, it’s my job to find them and bring them home safe, though they’re probably dead. The vampires who took them will die at my hands if my instincts are right.

  However, I doubt you’ll be happy to know that I have killed. And will kill again. Or the fact that I have mated with you and will need to kill you to turn you into a vampire so I can spend eternity with you. No biggie. I’m sure my cock is worth it.

  He groaned.

  “I signed a new client and sent off some quotes. Pretty uneventful,” she said as the groan escaped him. “Sounds like you had a bad one. What happened?”

  “Nothing major.” He shrugged. “Just some Human Resource issues.”

  “Oh God. Super stressful. That’s why I freelance.”

  He glanced over and nodded, a small smile on his lips at her delightful and total ignorance of his dangerous life.

  Once back in the house, Willow poured a glass of wine for herself, and handed him a beer. He’d gotten used to their nightly routine, and settled onto his stool at the kitchen counter. They chatted away until he pulled her onto his lap, nuzzling into her neck. “You smell delicious.”

  “I’m all sweaty.”

  “Like I said, delicious.”

  “Brayden.” Hooded eyes glistening with joy blinked at him.

  “Willow.” His voice was dark as he cupped one of her breasts just in case gravity doubled.

  “I missed you today.”

  “I miss you every damn day.” He kissed her softly.

  “You’re leaving in two days.” She sighed and gazed at him vulnerably.

  He lifted her chin, scanning her beautiful face, burning the raw emotions into his memory. It could be the last time she looked at him this way, and he wasn’t missing a damn thing. In a moment he was going to tell Willow who he was, and he’d have to watch the love and affection turn to utter fear.

  No, I can’t do it.

  But he had no choice.

  “You feel it too?”

  “What?”

  What were they talking about? Oh. Shit. He really needed to stay focused.

  Her face fell.

  “Yes. I do. Willow, please look at me. You have become particularly important to me.”

  Tears formed in her eyes.

  “Shit, baby.” He caught one escaping from her eye and gently wiped it away.

  Who knew a female could soften the edges of such a hard male? While she brought out the possessive alpha in him and he would kill to protect her, he also turned to mush when he saw her in pain.

  As those eyes full of emotion held his, they stirred up feelings of hope deep within his soul. Damn, he hoped like hell it wouldn’t be the last time he was blessed to be held in such esteem by this beautiful female.

  Lost in the energy flowing between them, the words just fell out. “I love you.”

  She sucked in a breath, and though he wasn’t sure, he thought he’d done the same. “Willow, I love you.”

  Frozen in his lap, she imitated a goldfish, mouth gaping and closing.

  “I’m in love with you. So, fucking much.”

  Oh my God, stop talking.

  Her lips landed on his, and the next minute he was carrying her into the bedroom, their clothes flying off them.

  No romance. No foreplay.

  Willow pressed herself against him. He pushed her onto the bed, lay over her while he pulled her legs around his waist, then pushed in. Wet and ready. Tight and gripping.

  “ShitmyGodIloveyoutoo.” She gasped and arched her back.

  Ignoring the inner dialogue that flashed ahead thirty minutes to her inevitable reaction to his identity, Brayden raised her bottom and pumped faster.

  About twenty-five seconds later, he collapsed on her, panting.

  A squeak under him got him moving his big body off her. Flopping onto his back, he pulled her to him.

  Willow laid her head on his shoulder, drawing lines over his pecs as she always did, until the silence grew heavy and he knew it was time to talk.

  He swallowed heavily.

  Rolling to face her, he placed a hand on her cheek. His chest swelled as he took in her post-sex glow. Yeah, he thought, she’s been royally fucked. Literally.

  “You really love me?” he asked, needing to know her feelings were strong enough to carry her through what he was about to tell her.

  “I do,” she said with shy, downcast eyes. “I didn’t want to tell you because it’s so soon.”

  “I knew.” He smiled.

  “Stop.”

  He couldn’t stop smiling. His mate was just adorable. Sexy, sweet, smart, and just a little bit sensitive. So this was what it felt like to be in love. Totally worth the wait, but terrifying as fuck.

  He wanted to tuck her into his chest and keep her safe from...well, fucking everything. However, there was only one thing that was going to terrify her right now.

  Him.

  “Come on, smelly, let’s get you into the shower,” he joked, wanting to delay the inevitable for a few more minutes.

  “Hey, you said I smelled delicious!”

  She did, but he knew she’d be more comfortable dressed when he told her.

  As it turned out, he waited until they’d eaten dinner. And watched a show. Then he ran out of excuses.

  He glanced at the clock.

  Is it too late now?

  What time was the right time to announce to the female he loved that he was the world’s most dangerous predator? Literally.

  Craig.

  Boss man.

  Just call me prince if you want to be all official and shit.

  Nah.

  He smirked inwardly.

  I think I might be here a while. Everything okay over there?

  Yeah, Regan’s talking up a storm. I’ve briefed the SLCs, and one of the LCs is now his personal guard.

  Okay. Select three of our best LCs and advise them they’re off to Italy tomorrow. Top secret level. Book them on commercial; they go undercover and bring home his family.

  Roger that. There was a moment of silence before he continued. Kurt is going to watch things for a few hours. I’m heading out.

  Brayden fell silent. It had to be important for Craig to leave his station at a time like this. Then again, here he was, sitting in his female’s living room watching Supernatural or some shit. He watched the screen and tilted his head. The car and music were awesome, he’d give them that. But this was different; he was the prince and Willow was his mate. This was important for the royal family and the vampire race.

  He frowned to himself. He knew where Craig was going. And it was very fucking interesting that he was choosing to go amidst the chaos.

  I’ll be back in a few hours.

  Go. Just...fuck me, Craig.

  I’m not going to hurt her, Brayden, hell.

  He sighed. He needed to let the two of them do what they wanted. Craig wasn’t a male who would take a female without permission. Brayden trusted the guy with his life; surely he could trust him with Willow’s best friend.

  He liked Brianna, and for that reason, he didn’t want to see her heart broken. Especially after he’d just freed her from that bondage.

  Do me one favor. Flash through her memories. I did a thing. You’ll find them behind my energy signature. Then decide how you want to proceed.

  Yeah, okay.

  He looked down to find two beautiful eyes staring back at him. Leaning down, he kissed her lips.

  “Are you going to tell me how you got to the park so quickly tonight?” she asked once again. “Were you following me?”

  He let out a deep sigh and stretched.

  “No, baby. But you’re going to wish I was.”

  As she frowned at him, he sat her up and turned them so they were facing each other on the sofa. He felt a chill run over his body and shivered.

  Willow tensed and her forehead furrowed. “Brayden, what’s going on? You promised me you weren’t married. Tell me you are not fucking married? Was that man dangerous? Are you p
art of some gang? What is it?”

  He reached and rubbed her arms. “No, calm down, please. My heart belongs to you, Willow. One million percent. There’s no other female—woman, fuck. Just no. I’m not in the mafia or a gang.”

  I’m a vampire. Say it.

  She nodded, taking a deep breath. “Then what’s going on here?”

  V A M P I R E. Say it, for God’s sake.

  “I really fucking love you.”

  “Okay, now you’re freaking me out. What is going on?”

  “I want you to know that under no circumstances would I hurt you. Ever. Nor will I let anyone else hurt you. Not a hair. Ever. Not now, not ever.”

  Brayden watched her face begin to pale.

  “You’ll be under my protection forever. All our protection. This isn’t a movie or a book, Willow. We’re a family, a community, just as humans are.”

  Eyes full of confusion and disappointment at her world falling apart in front of her filled his chest with a pain he never knew was possible. He had failed her. She had seen him as the perfect man and fallen in love with that dream.

  He wasn’t a man. He was a vampire.

  “I’m a prince,” he said, nodding though he had no idea why he was doing it. “My brother, Vincent—he’s the king.”

  The pain in her eyes shifted as she blinked. They narrowed a little as she peered at him. A slow swallow and a little nod.

  “I see.” The pity in her voice nearly made him smile, but he didn’t.

  “His mate—wife...well, mate. Kate. She’s our queen.”

  More of that nodding, the kind you did when you met a mental patient and felt it best to just agree with them. Her body shifted away from him a few inches, likely an unconscious move.

  “The family business,” she finally said, humoring him.

  He nodded.

  “You are a prince of a royal family.” It wasn’t a question, but he nodded again.

  He took her hand, and she looked down at the spot their bodies joined. She was dead still but for the moisture beading on her palm.

  “Prince of...?”

  Her heart began beating faster. Some primal part of her was beginning to understand.

  They stared at each other. She swallowed. He counted the seconds before he said the words that would change her life and his forever.

  God, I love her.

  His heart was physically aching.

  “The vampire race.”

  Willow’s eyes widened and her eyebrows shot to the top of her brow. Then they narrowed, and she slightly turned her head while her eyes remained affixed to his.

  All righty then. He hadn’t factored in the possibility of her not believing him.

  “I see.” She nodded over and over. “So you’re a vampire. A vampire prince?”

  He nodded.

  “I see,” she repeated.

  More nodding.

  “Willow...”

  She stood and took a few steps away, then turned. “Is this what you do during the day? Hang out with your vampire people?”

  He nearly—nearly—let out a little laugh. Willow thought he was playing vampire dress-up with a group of people. He cringed. He could only imagine what she was thinking right now. He wanted to chuckle in that laugh-during-a-funeral kind of way, but Brayden saw it for what it was. Willow was looking for some rational explanation to make sense of this all. While she enjoyed watching paranormal entertainment, having it show up in her reality was a whole different thing altogether. It would be unkind to let her stay in denial for long.

  “We’re not people. We’re not human, Willow. We’re vampires.”

  “Hmm, yes. Right. Of course.” She gazed around the room, chewing her lip. He could feel her pain and confusion.

  “Willow, listen. I know this sounds crazy,” he started, walking over to her and wincing at the disgust on her face. “Let me prove it to you.”

  “How? Do you have fangs?”

  He nodded.

  “Jesus, Brayden, I heard you could get them done at the dentist. Christ, is this why you were at that clinic?”

  He frowned, confused. Then it clicked. “Oh, that clinic? No, we were there for Vincent’s...argh, never mind. No, we are born with them. All vampires are.”

  Willow shook her head and screwed her nose. “Jesus fucking Christ. I can’t believe this. I thought I’d finally met the perfect man. I’ll be honest; I’ve been waiting for the other shoe to drop, but this”—she waved her hand at him—“I never saw this coming!”

  Brayden hated that she was looking at him like a crazy lunatic, but soon, the real fear would set in.

  And that would be far, far worse.

  He had two days. Two fucking days to help her adjust to this new reality before taking her back home with him. If she chose to go. It wasn’t a lot of time and dragging it out wasn’t helping either of them.

  “Let me show you.” He began to open his mouth, and her eyes flew open. “Damn it, Willow, I’m terrified of scaring you. Fuck!” It went against every cell of his being.

  “You’re my mate, for God’s sake, this is—”

  Willow’s eyebrows shot through the ceiling as he realized what he’d just said. Nothing like putting all your cards on the table.

  “A what, now?” she yelled, her heart rate pounding in his ears. “Oh my God, are you going to put me in a pod or something?”

  “A what? Why would I put you in a pod?”

  “You need to leave.” Willow began pushing him toward the front door while grabbing his jacket off the arm of the sofa. He grabbed her wrist in one hand, her arm in another, then gently stopped her. Fear lined her face as she felt his strength, and the truth began to sink in.

  “Please.”

  “Willow, sweetheart, I’m not going to hurt you. Ever.”

  “Please just go.”

  Tears formed in her eyes as she pleaded. Brayden shook his head and led her to the sofa. He sat opposite her on the coffee table, his legs surrounding her shaking body.

  “I’m not crazy, Willow. Please look at me right now, and I’ll tell you everything.”

  She lifted her head.

  “You love me. I love you. Remember that. Remember all the time we’ve spent together. How we’ve made love. Remember how protective I’ve been of you.”

  She nodded while her shaking increased, shock beginning to take hold.

  “I’m going to show you my fangs. The ones I was born with. Do you want to hold my hand?”

  Willow shook her head, then nodded.

  Brayden held her hand gently in his as he slowly peeled his lip back and extended his large, sharp incisors. As he did, the veins in his eyes began to fill with blood, an automatic response that meant nothing but looked menacing.

  “Oh God!” she gasped and pulled away. He understood it was fear, but it irrationally burned a scar on his heart. “How?”

  “We’re a different race. We’ve always lived among you and other animals on planet earth.”

  Willow simply stared, so he continued.

  “When humans first appeared, we existed in relative peace, as we did with all other creatures. We were predators, they were hunters. At one point, there was even a collaboration type of coexistence. As they continued to evolve and their brains developed, the ego appeared, and the desire for dominance ruled. Humans saw everything as a threat that needed destroying.”

  He noted her breathing beginning to calm as he spoke in even tones.

  “It will be your eventual downfall, but that is neither here nor there today.”

  She blinked at that, and he imagined her asking more later.

  “Eventually, humans were able to grow more dominant due to their fast reproduction rates, and we chose to hide in remote areas. As civilization’s matured, we adapted to blend into the human way of life. It was difficult in those days, as we’re nocturnal beings. Not just nocturnal—the sunlight kills us.”

  “I never see you during the day,” she said slowly, her eyes drifting left to refl
ect on her memories.

  “No.”

  Willow chewed her lip and he continued.

  “So, with the slow growth in our population and the wisdom of longevity, we have lived among you, gaining wealth and staying an unknown entity.” He took her hand. “We are no threat to the human race, despite our speed and power, and before you ask, no, we do not run around draining the blood of humans.”

  Well, some vampires thought they could and tried, but the royal family had decreed it against their laws, and those who were caught were punished. They survived on wild animal blood just as well. Plasma was the most nutritious source, no matter the animal it came from. Rich with proteins, the royal family had a regular supply of the yellow juice from local medical facilities.

  Willow began to shake as the adrenaline overtook her body. Okay, fuck, he could have worded that better.

  “Shit. Breathe. Please remember I love you and you are safe.”

  Her wide eyes held his. “Am I?”

  “Yes, God, yes.” He scrunched his eyes. “Look, I’m going to return your memories, the ones I’ve taken from you since we met. You will know absolutely everything. I want there to be no lies between us.”

  Willow squinted in confusion. “You took my memories?”

  Instead of explaining, Brayden held her eyes with his and spoke. Remember, Willow.

  A few seconds later, her hand flashed to her mouth. It was a lot. The teleporting, the robbery at the ice cream parlor, socializing and having sex with vampires. Once or twice when his fangs had escaped, he’d done a quick wipe.

  “OhGodohGodohGodohGodohGod.”

  He sat still, holding his place, giving her time.

  “You-You...how did we get to those places?” Her hand covered her mouth.

  “Teleportation. Humans will be able to do it eventually. It’s just an evolutionary thing. Manipulating matter. Energy. Nothing magical.”

  Her eyes flew around the room. “You protected me. The gunman. Craig was there...oh, he’s a vampire?”

  “You’re my mate, Willow. I will always protect you,” he answered, ignoring the last question.

  More flying eyes.

  “Brianna, you—oh my God! Craig! Fuck.” She stood up. “We have to warn her. He’s a vampire!”

  He pulled her back down. “He won’t hurt her.”