Chapter 1

{Merryn's pov}

 He’s the King of Vampires, and I’m to be his bride, yet here I am, pussy-footing at the door of his work office, barefoot on the ice-cold, gray marble floor. I wasn’t about to run back to my room to grab a pair of shoes. The only thing that would accomplish would be to infuriate him. He already had quite the short-fuse temper, and making him wait after he had already made plans to see me during his work schedule would get me into a heap of trouble. Even though right now, he was the one making me wait for him.

 Standing outside his office, I tapped my foot impatiently on the ground. His job seemed very demanding and far more critical than I, his little fiancé. His underage fiancé, whom he cannot get married to for at least a few more months. I am only 17, and he is at least a few centuries old. Although Samael is over a few centuries old, he doesn’t look a day over 23. The perks of being an immortal vampire, I presume. 

 Samael and I have been close since I was about two years old when I first learned to feel safe around him. It started as more of a caregiver and child relationship that quickly grew into a close friendship. Though, it wasn’t until a few months after I lost my mother all those years ago that I learned he felt something more than a friendship with me. 

 At first, it was awkward how he would parade me around in front of his people, addressing me as his to all of them. I had not understood what it meant to belong to someone. Initially, I felt like he was more of a big brother to me, but as time passed, I tried to move past those old feelings. Samael assured me we had no biological connection. He also said that once I turn 18, the confusion will go away. He was confident that we belonged together.

 Sighing in annoyance, I pushed these thoughts out of my mind and banged my fist against the heavy mahogany door. It had already been five minutes since I stood outside Samael’s office. There was no need to keep me waiting any longer other than to tick me off, and, unfortunately for me, that was one of his favorite things to do. “SAM, open this flipping door right now!” I hollered at him, banging my fists against the door several times.

 I heard the familiar whoosh of his chair sliding across the floor, then the clink of the metal chain sliding out of the lock, and, finally, he pulled open the door just a crack to peek out. “Hola? Is anyone out there?” Samael called out in his smooth Spanish accent, pretending not to notice me even though I was staring straight at his stubborn face. If he weren’t a damn vampire, I would have almost believed that he didn’t know I was there. He was over half a foot taller than me, reaching 6’2, while I was only 5’5. I knew better than to fall for his stupid games and just continued to glare up at his face.

 Clearing my throat, I reached out and jabbed my finger into his chest. “You agreed to meet with me today, Sam. Please don’t act like you cannot see or smell me standing right in front of you. What took you so long to answer the door?”

 Samael rolled his eyes, chuckling underneath his breath as he finally met my gaze. His eyes were a very light baby blue color. Sometimes if he was feeling exceptionally moody, these orange streaks appeared in his irises. When that happened, his eyes resembled bright blue propane flames. Ignoring my question, he stepped back enough to pull the door open the rest of the way so that I could step inside. 

 I felt his eyes training my movements as I walked over to his desk and sat on the chair across from him. After I sat comfortably in my seat, he pushed the door closed and used his vampiric speed to flash over to his chair, sitting in front of me as he crossed his right ankle over his left knee. Then he folded his arms across his chest, making his toned biceps flex while he leaned back in his chair, fixing me with an expectant look.

 Shaking my head at him, I sighed aloud and spoke. “Tomorrow evening until early the next morning. There is this party that I would like to attend. It is a celebration for all the seniors, and I want to attend it. Since I am also a senior, this will be my last chance to go out and be a normal teenager.” I explained, flashing him my dazzling smile before adding, “You know before I graduate and get married to you.”

 Samael tilted his head to the side, studying me like a new insect under a magnifying glass. He uncrossed his arms, lifting his right hand to his mouth as he tapped his index finger against his lips. “Hmm, are there going to be boys, mi amada?” (my darling)

 “That’s a silly question. Of course, there will be boys. It’s not like I attend an all-girls school.” I chuckled, rolling my eyes at him. Yes, there would be boys, booze, bikinis, and a big bonfire. However, he did not need to know most of those details. I planned on having a great time and, hopefully, with no embarrassing parental supervision. “Sam, you know I am trustworthy. I know my place is with you. That is why I have not dated anyone or tried to talk to a male. Not unless it was you or Kota.”

 Samael stood up from his chair, flashing around the desk to stand behind me. Craning my neck back, I looked up into his bright blue eyes. I could see his amber flames sparkling within his irises. It sent an icy shiver down my back. Swallowing nervously, I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth to chew on it. A habitual act of mine. His gaze flickered down to my lips before a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat. Samael reached out, placing his fingers on my bottom lip to tug it from between my teeth. 

 “Tentadora, do not do this to me.” (temptress) He rasped, closing his eyelids before peeling them back open. I noticed the flames were gone, and he stared at me with apprehension. “Amada mi, you must promise to be careful and take Dakota with you. Do you understand?”

 Nodding, I beamed a bright smile. “Yes, Samael, I understand. Thank you, thank you!” I quickly hopped up from my chair and skipped to the door.

 “Ah! Ah! Not so fast, Meri.” He called out, forcing me to halt in my steps and turn to face him. “Ven aquí.” (come here) He instructed, bending his finger at me to indicate he wanted me to go to him. I did as he commanded, walking over and standing before him. He reached out and took my hand, pulling me into his embrace. Slowly, he leaned toward me until his face was mere inches away from mine. Samael lifted his opposite hand, the one that wasn’t still wrapped around mine, and he tapped his cheek, turning his head to the side.

 “Oh, I almost forgot.” I chuckled before raising up on my toes to kiss the side of his face.

 However, at the very last second, before my lips could contact his cheek, he turned his head back around, and my lips pressed against his. Immediately, I felt my whole body heat up, and I was sure I looked like a ripened tomato. Jerking back, I stared at him with wide, startled eyes while he threw his head back, laughing at me as if stealing my first kiss was not that big of a deal. “Ay Dios mío! Your face, it is priceless.” (oh lord) Sam cackled, with tears of amusement forming in the corner of his eyes. “You look so adorable, Meri. HA! Mi pequeño tomate.” (little tomato)

 Growling at him, I balled my left hand into a fist and punched him in the shoulder. “Asshole, that is not funny!”

 “Sí, it is. It is hilarious!” He continued laughing, teasing me.

 “Go to Hell.” I pouted, storming past him, and headed out the door.

 Just as I stepped out of the room, he shouted, “Only if you come with me, sunshine!” before I slammed his office door shut behind me.

^~*~^

 The rest of the afternoon seemed to pass pretty quickly, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of Samael’s lips pressed against mine. It had only been for a split second, but that straightforward caress left me unsettled. My stomach was twisted into tight knots, my heart couldn’t stop thumping wildly against my ribcage, and every tiny hair on my body stood at attention. Worst, I was starting to develop the world’s worst migraine. That wasn’t an over-exaggeration either. Throughout my entire life, I got these awful headaches. My mom could never get me to stop crying as a baby when they would appear. 

 She even tried taking me to many doctors to run multiple tests, but nobody could figure out what was wrong with me. They could only provide her with a diagnosis called Chronic Migraine Syndrome, or CMS. An incurable disorder, or so they thought. It wasn’t until the day my mom crossed paths with a powerful vampire who offered to drink my blood. And all the pain disappeared after he fed on me for the first time. From then on, whenever I developed a headache, my mother would reach out to Samael, and he would drink a bit of my blood to temporarily cure it.

 Usually, I had no problem going to him for help. However, that was before he tricked me into stealing my first kiss. Sure we’ve been engaged since I came to live with him at the age of 12, and sure we would be married in a few months. However, I was still technically just a kid, and it wasn’t right that he just kissed me without my consent. Then acted like it was some stupid joke to do that, to steal someone’s first kiss like it wasn’t a big deal. It was a huge deal! Sometimes, like in this incident, I couldn’t stand him, or the audacity he thought was acceptable. Sometimes, I just wanna grab him by the collar of his stupid shirt and shake him around like a sack of potatoes. Maybe even bang his foolish head against the wall a couple times!

 Grabbing the nearest pillow off my bed, I stuffed my face into it and screamed as loudly as possible. The pillow muffled the sound considerably, but I was still living in a castle full of vampires with a heightened sense of sound. Though at this moment, I gave zero fucks who heard me. Even if the devil himself overheard my screams, I didn’t care. Let him laugh and enjoy my pain! Holding the pillow in front of me, I repeatedly pummeled my left fist into it. I imagined my pillow was Samael’s face, using it as a punching bag until I was satisfied.

 “Stupid, butthole, POS, royal pain in my ass!” I screamed, chucking the pillow across the room. Regrettably, it flew over to the bedside table and knocked the costly vase off, causing it to shatter against the marble floor and scatter thousands of shards all over my room. “Fudge, I am screwed!”

 “Meri, what is going on in there?” came Samael’s voice, startling me out of my skin.

 I jumped, gasping in shock, and quickly hollered back, “N-nothing, Sam. Everything is fine! I-um… I just spilled my glass of water, don’t come in. I’ve got it handled.”

 “Are you sure? I heard you scream earlier. Do you have a headache? I can help. You know that, do you not?”

 “I’m alright, Samael. Please, just leave me alone.” I tried to sound truthful, but I was sure my heartbeat betrayed me. After all, it felt like a band of gorillas banged their heavy fists against my ribcage.

 Samael released a deep sigh. I was sure he had his forehead pressed against the door. He tends to do that when I stress him out. Soon, silence filled the air, and I took that as a sign that he had finally left. Vampires have supersonic speed, making it almost impossible to hear them coming or going when they use that ability. After a moment, I lowered myself to the ground and gathered the broken shards in my hand. I found pieces on the other side of my room, under my bed, and some in my bathroom. 

 Sighing in annoyance, I picked up handful after handful before only the shards under my bed remained. Then I laid flat on my stomach and scooted up to pick up those pieces. My hands reached out, grabbing a few pieces I could see, and, as I pulled my arms back, I felt a sharp sting in my left hand. “Ouch!” I hissed, jerking my hand out from the bed to get a good look at it.

 My bedroom door flew open to reveal a very pissed Samael. His eyes widened at the sight of my wounded, bleeding hand with a 4-inch piece of glass embedded in my skin. Sam wasted no time running over to me and scooping me up in his arms. He said no words as he carried me into my bathroom, closing and locking the door behind us. Sam placed me on the bathtub’s edge and turned the faucet on. After a few seconds of the water running, he reached out and tested the temperature with his fingertips. Then, he roughly grabbed my wrist and placed my hand under the faucet. His flaming blue eyes bore into mine with so many raw emotions flashing in his cold gaze. He looked beyond livid, and for the first time since I’ve known him, I felt terrified of what he was capable of.