The Vampire Prince

by Juliette N Banks

  The other vampires were headless corpses.

  “Stefano, the game is over,” Brayden growled as the rebel vampire swung his sword at Craig.

  “You killed my father and now my brothers!” he roared, swinging widely, his skill better than Craig would have expected as the two of them leapt from over the tables and chairs dueling.

  Willow was wrapped in Brayden’s arms, his fangs close to her neck. The blood call of a mate was so enormous, Craig wasn’t sure his friend could fight it.

  “Bray!”

  Bang. Clash. Leap.

  “Fuck you, Russo!” Craig pushed with his sword and knocked the guy back enough steps to buy himself a few seconds. Racing over to Brayden, he pulled the two of them apart.

  “Don’t, Bray, you’ll regret it. Let me take her to get cleaned up.” Brayden stared at him, confused. “You take Stefano.”

  The last thing he wanted was his friend biting his mate and regretting his actions after the promise he’d made to himself all those centuries ago. He’d waited this long for Willow to choose him; he could wait a bit longer. Craig knew how important this was to the prince. Heck, he’d stood by Brayden’s side as he swung his sword and took his father’s head.

  “What?” Brayden’s eyes cleared and his forehead creased.

  “Luca and Marco are down. Take Stefano. I’ll take Willow.”

  Brayden stood up and tucked his mate under his arm. “Where the fuck is he, Craig?”

  What?

  Craig whipped around and began running around the room, looking under the table and out the side door.

  “Stay here.” He heard Brayden say to Willow.

  “Are you kidding me? No!” Willow cried, her voice giving away she was following them.

  “Jesus Christ. I can’t wait for you to be a vampire, woman.”

  Wait what?

  An hour later, with the whole team searching, they returned to the security room. Brayden threw a blanket around Willow and seated her at his desk. The human was wiped out.

  Craig’s mind flashed to Brianna and what she might be doing.

  Shut it down right now. Fuck, man.

  “He must have flashed out,” Lance said. “He went out the side door, but there’s a blind spot.”

  Brayden cursed. “The fact he knows that kind of detail...Jesus, we have some work to do.”

  “What do you want us to do with Marco and Luca?” Tom asked.

  Yeah, technically they were the male’s brothers-in-law. Brayden glanced at him briefly.

  “That’s the king’s decision. Put the other bodies out in the daylight to ash them. Go speak to Lucinda, Tom,” the prince said.

  “Thanks, man.” Brayden simply nodded.

  “Okay, let’s clean up,” Craig instructed the team. “I want the LCs to do another sweep, then lower the alert and let everyone out of their rooms. Go shower, the rest of you.” He sighed and sat down, removing his weapons.

  Clunk. Bang. Thump.

  When it was just the three of them, he looked up. Brayden was staring out the window, a mere inch from his mate, his hand running over her hair.

  “I’ll clean up here,” he said.

  Brayden turned, his eyes blazing with emotion. “You didn’t know, Craig.”

  He scowled. “I fucked up. We both know that.”

  Brayden pulled Willow to her feet. “No. Fuck. Maybe. But you couldn’t have known.”

  “No, but I should have put the safety of everyone and everything first. I didn’t, and that’s an enormous fuck up you can’t ignore, Brayden.”

  He wasn’t the commander of the Royal Vampire Army because he made excuses for his actions. He took full responsibility for his complete lack of judgment. He had let his feelings—or the feelings of the prince—distract him, and now their number one enemy was out there somewhere.

  “So you’re sticking around?” he asked Willow.

  “Yes. If people stop trying to kill me.”

  He was happy for the prince. Willow would be a stark reminder of that sexy redhead every day, but then again, she had never left his mind.

  “You should probably let the king and queen know they can come out.”

  “I don’t know. It’s nice and peaceful for a change.”

  The edges of their mouths lifted.

  “I’ll let them out. Double their security. I doubt Stefano will be in any position to act again quickly, but I’ve been wrong about him before. He’s a fucking psychopath.”

  Craig kicked the foot of his desk. “We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

  “That we do, my friend, that we do.” Brayden began walking out but stopped and turned around. “Oh, and by the way, don’t even fucking think about quitting, and you’re not fired. Get back to work.”

  Craig grinned. It was more than he deserved, and as always, he’d give his prince one hundred percent.

  CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

  Willow sat cross-legged on the bed which was covered in plastic. She had a towel wrapped around her.

  “This is all kinds of fucked up.”

  Brayden stared at her nervously. “Do you want to do it somewhere else? Another room?”

  She dropped her head in her hands. “Can’t I get a sedative or something?”

  Brayden crouched; his brows knitted. There was really no way of doing this without inciting fear. He could barely imagine how she must feel. “Willow, do you trust me?”

  “Yes. No. I mean, for God’s sake, you’re about to kill me! How am I supposed to feel?” She jumped off the bed. “I need to ring Bri. I know you said I shouldn’t, but I haven’t spoken to her since the day we left LA...and can I go to the beach just one more time?”

  Brayden ripped the plastic off the bed and folded it up. He had let her drive to the beach twice already over the past five days, each time during the day when he couldn’t go out. With Stefano on the loose, it had nearly killed him. He’d paced the castle and punched walls the entire time she was gone.

  “No,” he said as calmly as he could.

  He realized then, finally, he had been too accommodating, and it was to her detriment. It was one thing to give one’s mate the choice, but to ask them to lie down and have their life drained was pure torture. He saw it now. And it was time to be cruel to be kind. This was what unconditional love was about. A gift, and a curse.

  “What are you doing? Are we stopping?”

  He didn’t answer. There had been enough talking. Dropping the plastic into the cupboard, he took off his shoes and pants, then his shirt.

  “While I appreciate this strip show, what are you doing?” He stalked to her, tugged on the towel, and as he knew she would, she let it fall to the floor.

  “Oh, this is much more fun.” She grinned. “I like the way you think.”

  He gripped a breast and tugged her to his lips. “I love you, you beautiful human.”

  She purred against him and reached for his cock. He groaned. There would be no release for him tonight. His mouth moved along her neck, her delicate collarbone, and back up to her wet and open lips.

  “I love your lips.”

  He grinned. “You love my fingers too.”

  “And your—” His lips swallowed her words as their tongues met and danced together in the now familiar way. Lifting her, Brayden laid her on the bed, her eyes questioning. He spread her legs; her eyes calmed. A lick, a satisfied gasp. He worked her clit in circles, flicking it with his tongue.

  This could backfire on him, but he was out of options. An orgasm rolled out of her easily, and Brayden climbed up her body, wrapping her legs around his wide body.

  There was risk in turning humans, he’d told her. Briefly. They hadn’t dwelled; he’d made sure of it.

  Inside he went. Deep. Slow. He held her sparkling eyes, and they smiled at each other in the way lovers do, her tongue running over her bottom lip.

  Then her eyes began filling with tears.

  He blinked. She knew.

  “I love you,” she said, a tear falling
down her cheek.

  “Willow...”

  “Do it, Brayden. Do it, my love.”

  He hesitated a moment, then dropped his head into her neck. His fangs expanded.

  And he bit.

  CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

  “Come in, Vince.”

  He could hear his brother’s footsteps outside his front door. A moment later, those feet were walking up the stairs and into his bedroom. They glanced at each other then at the female lying on the bed. Still a dead person.

  “How is she?”

  Brayden shrugged.

  “It’s been seven days. I thought it would be quicker than this?”

  After taking her blood, Willow had drunk from his vein, and he’d emptied her body of all her human blood. Over the next few hours, he’d fed her more and more blood as her body began the transition.

  Then she had fallen into the deep sleep. Inside she was changing, developing stronger muscles, her heart and lungs doubling in size. Hormone production was supercharged, and unused parts of her brain were triggered.

  Vampires used up to five percent more of their brains than humans, which didn’t sound like a lot, but when you considered Homo sapiens currently only used ten percent, it was a big jump.

  She’d sweat so much Brayden had put her in the bath and spoon-fed her electrolytes. She’d convulsed so aggressively that he’d called Kate, who had stood looking as hopeless as he’d felt.

  “I just don’t know, Bray. It’s not usually this bad. I’m sorry.”

  Finally it had stopped, and she’d slept. It had now been seven days with no change, her heartbeat at half the rate it should be. She was breathing awfully slow, shallow breaths.

  Over the past one hundred and sixty-eight hours—more commonly known as seven days—he’d experienced a roller coaster of emotions. Regret, anger, sadness, utter anguish, shame, fear...and now he just really missed her.

  “Our blood is strong, Bray; she’ll wake when she is ready.”

  He wiped his face with a hand. “Or too strong.”

  Vincent sat on the side of the bed and picked up Willow’s wrist, feeling her pulse. While he hated anyone touching his mate, his brother was the king. Willow was now one of his vampires.

  “I do not pity you this, brother. May your vamp babies find their mates among our kind.”

  He smiled. “And yours.”

  Vincent shrugged. The words hung in the air, unspoken. Why Kate hadn’t yet fallen pregnant, they didn’t know. One hundred and thirty years.

  “I need a shower. Can you sit with her for a few minutes?”

  Vincent nodded. “Of course, go. I was going to say you stink.”

  Brayden grinned, his first smile in a few days. Then he felt guilty as his eyes dropped to his lifeless mate.

  “Go,” his brother said softly.

  He stepped into the master bathroom and stripped off. Nikes, gray sweatpants, and his filthy white T-shirt all landed on the ground.

  Brayden stood looking in the mirror at his long-drawn-out face. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he needed to shave. He rubbed at his jaw. He certainly didn’t give a shit about that right now.

  Stepping under the water, he ran his hands over his body, feeling his strong broad shoulder and muscles. Down his stomach, the ripples of his abs were defined and hard. He washed between his legs, soap covering his cock and balls. It felt good.

  He poured shampoo over his dark curls and scrubbed. It felt robotic. Brayden knew his body was a powerful machine desired by millions of women. Yes, he’d taken advantage of it thousands of times, yet standing here with water pouring over him, he couldn’t remember any of them.

  Except his mate. Willow Moretti.

  Brayden, get out here now!

  His head jolted up. He turned the water off and ripped the door open. Nearly skidding on the floor, he flew into the bedroom.

  “What? Fuck, what?”

  Vincent covered his eyes, grimacing. Brayden shook his head. “For God’s sake, you’ve seen my penis a million times.”

  “It doesn’t mean I want to keep looking at the damn thing.” He scowled, dropping his hand. “Willow. She blinked.”

  “Are you sure?”

  The tilted head and raised eyebrow told him his brother was, in fact, sure.

  “Fine. She blinked.”

  Twitch.

  “Did...was that...”

  Blink. Wriggle.

  Vincent patted him on the shoulder and began to step away. His brother forgotten, Brayden knelt beside the bed and sat staring at her like she was an apparition.

  A finger moved. Another eye. Her lips twitched, then opened slightly.

  “Willow. Baby, I’m here. Come back to me.” The words he’d repeated like a mantra for days spoken again. “Open your eyes, sweetheart. Breathe.”

  Suddenly she sucked in a deep breath and began coughing.

  “Here.” Brayden tipped her on her side in case fluids were caught in her throat. She wasn’t the delicate human she once was anymore, but he found himself unable to stop taking care of her.

  Willow sucked in breath after breath, then finally, her eyes opened.

  Blink. Blink. Blink. Stare.

  Blink.

  “Hey.” He wiped her hair away from her forehead.

  Blink.

  Er, she had her memories, right?

  Blink.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  She felt her consciousness returning. She wasn’t in a dream so much as outside of herself; not like in those movies where someone watched themselves during an operation or standing outside the pearly gates reflecting on their life.

  No, this was more like floating in black space. Terrifying yet incredibly peaceful. Like a supercharged meditation session, except she wasn’t sure she could get back to her body.

  There was a reason she should, she just couldn’t remember why. She barely had thoughts, so she just floated, enjoying the calm ease. Eventually, the desire to go back to her body grew, the reason for it still evading her.

  Was she hungry? Barf, no.

  She began to move parts of her body and felt different.

  Voices. Male voices. It sounded like they were at the end of a tunnel. Echoey. A hand on hers. Warm, tingly.

  Her reason.

  She began to cough, then felt her body being tipped gently by strong hands. Forcing her eyes open, she began to blink. More blinking. She couldn’t see. It began to clear. A body. The man, he was in front of her. Staring.

  Her reason.

  “Hey.”

  Blink, blink, blink.

  “Hey, it’s okay. Willow, you’re back.” He placed his hand on her cheek.

  Her name was Willow. Yes.

  Holy shit!

  She sat up and grabbed him, her body hurting all over, and she groaned.

  “Whoa, baby, take it easy.”

  “I’m alive,” she croaked out before coughing.

  “Yes,” he confirmed, putting a straw to her mouth. She sipped on the yellow fluid and groaned at the delicious taste. “Do you know who I am?”

  Her eyes flicked up to his. His forehead was creased, dread in his eyes. She smiled, her lips feeling tight as she did.

  “The man I love.” An eyebrow rose. “Brayden, why would you think I don’t know who you are?”

  He sat back on his heels, his head falling into his hands. “Thank fuck.”

  “Sorry I scared you.”

  He looked up, eyes full of relief. Then he launched at her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him on the floor. Willow’s body ached, but she didn’t care. She let him envelope her in his cocoon of a body and gently rock. That he was completely naked wasn’t lost on her.

  “How long was I out?” she mumbled, her face squished into his chest.

  “Approximately seven hundred and twenty million years.”

  She let out a laugh.

  “A week, Willow.” He let her go enough so she could look up at his gorgeous face. She laid a hand on
his cheek. “How do you feel?”

  “Achy. Happy. Strong.”

  He nodded, smiled, and sighed. “I believe the aching will go away quickly once you start moving about. We heal fast.”

  Brayden carried her to the shower and washed every inch of her body, kissing her tenderly as he went. She reminded him he didn’t need to be so gentle anymore. He shrugged. So, there’d be no changes in that department, then. Willow wasn’t disappointed—she loved the way he protected and cared for her.

  She brushed her teeth and looked around at the world which now seemed brighter and more vibrant. The desire to run for miles overcame her. She was now a vampire, and here she was, brushing her stupid teeth.

  Oh. Teeth.

  “How do I...?” She poked inside her mouth.

  Brayden stepped up behind her. “It will happen naturally. You’ll learn to control them.”

  “Where are they?”

  He took her finger and pushed behind her incisors. Holy crap, they were sharp. A prick of blood appeared on her finger which Brayden sucked off slowly, holding her gaze. Heat pooled between her legs. Powerfully.

  His eyes widened. “Wow, baby, I scent your desire.”

  A split second later, Brayden had her on the bed and was on top of her. He’d used vampire speed. This time, though, it hadn’t been a blur.

  Suddenly, he sat up. He stared at the wall behind them, frozen, then looked down at her.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Brianna is here.”

  What?

  “WHAT?”

  CHAPTER FIFTY

  Craig paced the driveway beside Brianna’s car. Thank fuck it was evening.

  Hurry the fuck up!

  He’d telepathed Brayden as soon as he’d been advised of Brianna’s arrival.

  We’re coming, but fuck, Willow has just woken up.

  Jesus.

  Five minutes. Keep her, um, occupied. Not with your dick.

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Craig! Where. Is. Willow?” Brianna shouted again. “I am not leaving until I see her.”

  Yeah, well, he guessed she hadn’t flown across the country, hired a car, and driven here just to be waved off. What a complete fuck up.