The Vampire King

by Heather Killough-Walden

  Her climax laid waste to her, wringing every last ounce of resistance from her new immortal body, and infusing it with a sense of calm she had never known. That peace drew a shuddering sigh from her throat and forced her eyelids closed as Roman released her wrists and slowly, tenderly, brushed his hands along her arms to settle them in around her waist.

  Roman broke the kiss and drew her gaze to his. His eyes had gone black once more, and Evie saw stars in their endless darkness. She got lost in them, floating in that mesmerizing outer space.

  His gaze lingered on hers for several long moments, and then dropped to her mouth. Evie felt her lips twitch. She ran her tongue over the tips of her teeth – and her eyes widened.

  Fangs. She had fangs.

  They were new and small and very sharp.

  Above her, Roman smiled. It was a warm smile, welcoming and proud. Evie hesitated only a moment more before she returned the smile, revealing to him what he had given her.

  For a moment, Roman looked stunned. His smile faltered and his expression became bewildered. Evie, came his whispered awe. My God…. You’re perfect.

  Evie’s smile broadened. As far as compliments went, the Vampire King knew how to dish out the best. She ran her tongue over her teeth again and experienced a new kind of thrill. Quite unexpectedly, she felt the sudden, quick urge to pull Roman back down and sink those new fangs into his strong neck; it was an automatic notion and one that gave her a bit of a charge.

  But of course, she didn’t. Maybe later.

  And then Roman’s eyes darkened. The aura around him intensified, going from blatant awe to blatant hunger in record time.

  Every chance I get, he repeated to her, allowing the deep, dark promise he had made earlier to register. Evie pressed her palms into his chest with the intent to put space between them, but she didn’t get far. Roman was still lodged deep within her, and when he moved, the sensation forced Evie to go still, her breath hitching, her body once more tingling with the beginnings of vampire yearning.

  God help me, she thought as, before her eyes, the vampire king’s gaze shifted from black to burning red once more. It was going to be a very long night.

  Epilogue

  Three months later….

  “On a chess board, the queen is always more powerful than the king,” said Lalura as she slowly walked alongside Roman. “Her powers will continue to grow.”

  “They are already,” he said, smiling. “She threw my clothes at me this morning,” he chuckled. “Telekinetically.”

  Lalura nodded. “She is already a strong seer. Soon, she will have all of your abilities and more, fortunately for her. Otherwise that orb up there,” she stopped, lifted her cane, and pointed at the sun shining bright in the sky, “might have posed a problem.”

  They walked in silence through the budding spring garden for a while, Lalura’s arm woven through Roman’s. It was a warm day with a gentle breeze. Lalura Chantelle was in a quiet mood, as she was every time they walked through his gardens. He knew they reminded her of someone. Someone she’d lost long ago.

  Every once in a while, the old witch stopped and bent with great care to brush her fingertips across the new petals of a flower or take in its scent.

  “Have you told the Thirteen about my vision?” she asked, most likely already knowing the answer.

  “I have.”

  “I assumed so,” she said, confirming his guess. “It’s been a while, but I figured you needed time.” They moved on and were silent for several minutes more before she spoke up again. “And what will you do about your law now?” she asked.

  “It’s been remanded,” he told her.

  Lalura stopped and slowly turned to face him, her small hunched form bending back to meet his piercing gaze. “Offspring can now turn a mortal into a vampire if they so wish?” she asked, again probably already knowing what his answer would be. There wasn’t much that went on in the supernatural world without her knowledge.

  “Yes.”

  She lifted a brow. “And you trust your people to choose wisely, do you?”

  Roman took a deep breath and considered that. “I must,” he said softly. “I believe that for the most part, Offspring are good.”

  “What will you do when another goes rogue? Or takes someone he or she isn’t meant to be with?”

  “I will have to deal with each case on an individual basis,” he stated. He’d given this a lot of thought and in the end, it wasn’t fair to ask his people to go through eternity without a mate when he had just chosen to do the opposite. There would be repercussions. But he would deal with them.

  To their left, there was a small scuffling sound. Roman smiled, turning to face the path that led into the rest of the mansion’s gardens. He’d felt her coming. It was like a warmth in his blood, a comfort that couldn’t be named. He felt whole when she was near. Complete. It was astounding to him that for three thousand years, he hadn’t even known he was broken.

  She came around the corner like a dream, dressed in a white sundress, her long, thick hair loose and shimmering in the sunshine. The world slowed for him, turning each second into a year, and he took the extra time to memorize every detail.

  My queen, he thought helplessly, stunned by how much his heart ached and raced at the same time.

  She smiled at him, and stole his breath. My king, she said, her beautiful voice brushing through his mind and body like a lullaby.

  He watched her draw near, each step the very image of grace and perfection. And he realized something. He would never get used to this. Not in another three months, not in three hundred years.

  Not in three thousand.

  He loved her a little more every day. And if the way she smiled at him was any indication, Evelynne D’Angelo felt the same.

  *****

  Ramses turned to face the door when the Hunter entered. The young man bowed slightly and said, “My lord, there is a young woman here to see you.”

  Ramses’ gaze narrowed. “Oh?”

  The Hunter nodded. “She somehow found the headquarters on her own, my lord. We don’t know how, and she knows exactly who we are. But she claims she has information that will lead you to the Vampire King.”

  Ramses blinked. Then he straightened. “Show her in,” he said softly.

  The Hunter turned and exited the room, leaving Ramses alone once more. He looked down at the phone in his hand. He had been looking at pictures on it; footage of Dannai Caige and her husband, Lucas. Lucas was a werewolf.

  It gave Ramses much food for thought.

  He looked up again, clicking the phone off and pocketing it as the sound of heels neared his doorway.

  “Lord Ramses,” the woman said as her female form filled the doorway. She crossed her arms over her ample chest and leaned against the doorjamb, her eyes roaming over his body with obvious interest – and lust.

  Ramses knew at once that she wasn’t human. She was beautiful, tall and lithe, and her body gave off an all-too sensual feel. There was a gleam in her dark blue eyes that was entirely unnatural.

  He waited.

  “I’ve brought a gift,” she said. She lifted off of the doorjamb and uncrossed her arms. She waved her hand and a single CD in its clear case appeared on the round metal table in the room beside Ramses.

  Ramses glanced at it. She was either a witch, a warlock or a vampire. He was narrowing it down.

  “What is it?” he asked, always one to cut to the chase.

  “The Vampire King has taken a queen,” she said, and something nasty flickered across her lovely porcelain features. “This will help you find the both of them.”

  Ramses watched her for a moment, considering her carefully. His keen gaze picked up the jealousy in her eyes as easily as a print in snow.

  “Why would you do this?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “The new queen took something that should have been mine,” she stated simply. “Something very dear to me.”

  Ramses’ lips twitched, threatening a s
mile. “I see.”

  The woman’s gaze narrowed. “Don’t waste the information,” she said. “It wasn’t easy to come by.” She turned to leave, but before she disappeared, Ramses sent out a pulse of his own power, drawing her up short.

  She froze and he heard her inhale sharply. Slowly, she turned in place, her expression a lot less certain than it had been a moment before. She was no longer all that sure who it was that she was dealing with.

  “I want your name,” he told her. It wasn’t a request. It was plainly a command.

  The woman swallowed hard. Her throat had gone dry. But she nodded once and said, “Ophelia.”

  Ramses absorbed the name. “Thank you,” he said.

  Ophelia waited several beats. And then she turned and left him alone once more.

  The End.

  The title and release date of book two in The Kings series are yet to be announced.

  For a thrilling journey into the Big Bad Wolf series that spurred the creation of The Kings, check out the Big Bad Wolf Romance Compilation, Books One through Four by Heather Killough-Walden, available as eBooks via Amazon and Barnes and Noble:

  Enjoy Heather Killough-Walden's critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling Big Bad Wolf series, now combined in one tome of sexual tension, romantic suspense and dark paranormal bliss....

  "I was strictly a vampire girl until I came across this pack of big bad Alphas -- Killough-Walden has converted me! Sexy, daring, and action-packed from start to finish. Warning: if you have a faint heart, do not read this." - Dianna Hardy, paranormal romance author of The Witching Pen.

  “Heather Killough-Walden happens to write books so brilliant, I'm a fan! (I was the minute I started reading Hell Bent.) There aren't many I'd give my crown to, but this lady is totally worthy of my adoration!” – Poppet Author, paranormal romance author of Dusan.

  "Hold on tight as these big bad wolves take you on a paranormal romance ride you won't soon forget!" - Christine M. Butler, paranormal romance author of Moonlit Dreams

  1. The Heat, Book One:

  Lily St. Claire is a simple Southern girl who has no idea what she is in for when she decides to move back to her home town in Louisiana after a decade of being away. But between the two very different alpha werewolves who instantly begin fighting to claim her as their mate and the serial killer who has her in his sites, she's about to find out.

  2. The Strip, Book Two: (warning, contains graphic violence)

  Green-eyed Malcolm Cole is a cursed werewolf, an alpha in the most powerful sense who has given up hope for any kind of happiness or peace in his life.

  Until he catches wind of Claire.

  Claire St.James, Charlie among friends, is an amazing young woman with an incredibly special gift. Cole recognizes this at once and swears on the spot to claim Charlie as his mate.

  Of course, he isn't the only one with such plans. Charlie is too precious to let go without a fight, and one of the most powerful alphas in the world has already staked a claim, whether Charlie - or Cole - like it or not.

  3. The Spell, Book Three:

  Dannai, aka the Healer, has begun dreaming of werewolves. She'd always been able to hide the fact that she was a dormant, using her magic to shield her promising scent from the alphas she's been forced to work with. But now that they've invaded her dreams, her world has been turned upside down. For, though every dormant dreams of her intended mate - Dannai is dreaming of two wolves, not one. And neither one of them is good news. One is a notorious killer. The other is Lucas Caige.

  Lucas Caige is a man with a haunting past. A warlock took his brother from him fifty years ago and he's spent his life outrunning that dark magic. But fate has a way of throwing sand in your gears, and just when Caige thought he could forever leave behind the magic that brought pain to his life, his path crosses that of the Healer. Dannai unwittingly casts her spell over him the moment he lays eyes on her. She's stunning, she's kind, and everything about her wreaks havoc on his senses. She's also magic incarnate.

  But if Dannai thinks that's going to stop him from doing everything in his power to make her his mate, the little witch has another thing coming.

  4. The Hunt, Book Four:

  Byron Caige has been a prisoner for the last fifty years of his supernaturally long life. Just when he gives up hope of ever knowing freedom again, he is unwittingly rescued by the very same woman who only wants to see him dead. Katherine Dare – Kat – is smart, fast, strong and beautiful – but unfortunately she’s a Hunter, and she’s convinced that Byron murdered her father twenty years ago.

  She’s also Byron’s dormant.

  As war breaks out amongst the otherworldly of Earth and threatens the existence of entire races, Kat is faced with a terrible decision. Should she give up her cause and believe Caige when he professes his innocence? Or should she fight him and possibly avenge her father’s taken life – even while she forfeits her own?

  Thank you for reading! 