chapter 5

Chapter 5

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The grand chamber within the vampire king's castle was bathed in an eerie, crimson glow as candles flickered in their ornate holders. The air was thick with a sense of unease, a palpable tension that clung to the walls like a dark shroud. The king himself sat upon his obsidian throne, his regal form a stark contrast to the haunting atmosphere. In the shadowy corners of the chamber, his loyal friend Maurice watched with bated breath.

“ Your Highness” He breathed out, careful with choosing his next words in front of the brooding king.

“ We have searched around the plains, it was as if the pack disappeared from the face of the Earth. We couldn't locate them Your Highness” Maurice explained to the king who was paying no attention to what he was saying.

“ I shouldn't have left her alone. I did it again” He whispered with a heartbroken tone. He looked pale and ragged because he hadn't fed very well in a very long time, ever since he lost Diana in the forest three years ago. The blood tasted like poison in his mouth.

He remembered the first time he got to know that Diana was a werewolf, the day she shifted for the first time to defend herself against her human father who abused her then. She had come to find him in her wolf form unsure of what to do and he had left her in the forest because he didn't want a werewolf as his mate. Because of his actions, she was found by her long-lost pack and they did everything to sever the mate bond and now they have succeeded.

“ your highness” Maurice coughed but The king couldn't care less. He could feel Diana around the pack house, they were still there and they were doing a horrible job of masking their presence with that witch's magic. The only problem he had with entering that territory was being invited in. He has been using his dream walking powers to communicate with Diana in her sleep hoping she would invite him in but she was in a coma and she always forgot every one of their interaction.

Once she invites him into their poor excuse of a hideout, The pack house will be visible once again and he will be able to reunite with her. With a wave of his hands, he dismissed Maurice who grumbled out of the throne room.

He knew that his king was in turmoil, his thoughts consumed by the memory of his mate, Diana—the one he longed for with a burning intensity that threatened to consume him. As the minutes stretched into hours, a figure emerged from the darkness.

Erica, one of the vampire king's most seductive and cunning minions, slinked forward with a sultry grace that had ensnared many a heart. Her raven-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her sapphire eyes shimmered with a mischievous glint. She had loved him for over a century before he found his mate but he would never give in to her.

"Your Majesty," Erica purred, her voice like honey, as she approached the brooding king.

"Perhaps I can offer you some... distraction from your troubled thoughts."The vampire king's crimson eyes, usually so impenetrable, briefly flickered with a mix of desire and frustration. He knew Erica's intentions all too well—she aimed to seduce him, to draw him away from the torment of his memories. For a moment, he considered allowing himself to be lost in her embrace, to forget the ache in his heart.

But as he closed his eyes, the image of Diana's face—the face of his beloved mate—loomed in his mind, and his control slipped. In an instant, his demeanor changed. His features contorted with a wild fury, and he seized Erica by the throat with a vice-like grip. She gasped, her seductive facade crumbling as fear overtook her.

"Your Majesty, I... I didn't mean to..." Erica's words were choked, her life hanging in the balance. The vampire king's rage was a tempest, his eyes blazing with an intensity that could incinerate the strongest of wills. He released Erica, sending her stumbling backward, gasping for breath.

"Leave," he commanded, his voice a low growl, his fangs bared in a menacing display of power.

“ It's been three years! She wouldn't come back!” Frustrated by his rejection, Erica yelled at him. She hated Diana with her every being and she was happy the little minx was out of the picture but Vampires only mate once in their lifetime and that applied to the vampire king himself. She has loved him ever since he turned her but he wouldn't look at her that way.

"Leave before I decide your fate."Erica wasted no time, fleeing from the chamber with a haste that left her shaken to her core. She had dared to tempt the vampire king, to offer herself as a fleeting distraction, and she had come perilously close to losing her life. Alone once more, the king's thoughts returned to Diana.

The pain of their separation gnawed at him, driving him to the brink of madness. He paced the chamber like a caged beast, his emotions in turmoil. Diana was with the werewolves, the very pack that had attacked them, nearly ending her life.

The thought of her among those who had dared to harm her filled him with an indescribable rage. He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white, as he envisioned the torment she might be enduring. The vampire king's struggle was twofold—the relentless desire to reunite with his mate and the seething anger directed at those who had taken her away.

He knew that he would stop at nothing to reclaim Diana, to protect her from the very forces that sought to keep them apart. But in the depths of his conflicted heart, he also understood that his inner demons threatened to consume him.

His rage was a double-edged sword, a force that could either drive him to victory or lead him down a path of self-destruction. As the night wore on, the vampire king's mind remained a tempest of emotions. Diana was out there, and he would move heaven and earth to find her, no matter the cost.

He closed his eyes once again preparing to enter her dreams once again. That was the only way to see her and even though he couldn't hold her or caress his mark on her neck and watch her little die eyes roll back in pleasure at the contact. He would manage to see her face and hear her voice through her dreams.

“You are here again” her little voice whispered immediately he appeared at the clearing once again.