I shifted in Ash's embrace and faced him. Seconds after he made his bold statement, his expression showed nothing but absolute confidence. He daringly kept his eyes on Morfran while my heart hammered like it was going to burst out of my chest. I knew that it was all an act. It must have been, but still, hearing him say that his heart belonged to me made all the pesky butterflies jolt and bounce in my stomach."You cannot seriously talk about the archaic blood bond?" Prince Metis suddenly interjected, stepping forward. "This ancient stuff has not been witnessed in over a thousand years!"Ash smirked. "And yet, I can feel the bond when I'm with Nala. I can feel it with every fiber within me."Alvara walked in front of me, frowning as she locked her eyes on me. "What you feel is her blood, nothing more!" she snarled before raising her eyes to Ash. "What we had was real! How dare you reject it!"My hands fisted as I looked at her. I seriously wanted to punch her, but with all my luck, I w
I felt as if time stopped... or that it was my heart that stopped beating. Alvara's lips stretched into a grim smile while her eyes widened in excitement. Metis's stare was fixed on me, his tongue disgustingly tracing the edges of his fangs.Ash's eyes blazed, and he straightened in his seat. "King Morfran, you cannot be serious about this." His voice trembled in barely containable rage."Oh, I am deadly serious." Morfran's eyes zeroed in on me. "If she wants to raise her social status, she must be prepared to pay the price. Fortunately, I find her quite"—he inhaled through his nose, sniffing my scent—"valuable."I looked at my hand with a still-rouging bite mark and then at the King and Ash. Perhaps giving the King a few drops of my blood couldn't hurt me... beyond the level I could bear, but he didn't mention how much of my blood he would drink...Ash leaned forward, shifting to the edge of his seat. "My King, please be reasonable. I am weakened, and you are the most powerful vampir
"Calvel! Calvel stop! We have to do something!" I struggled as he dragged me through the corridor. "They're going to kill him!"Calvel pulled me to a halt and pushed me against the wall. "What do you expect me to do?! Fight the entire royal army?! Ash knew the risks! He's been through it before!"I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks. "He offered double the amount of his blood, and Morfran himself said that it will probably kill Ash... Especially since he is going to inject him with silver after they take his blood."Calvel growled out a curse and dragged his fingers through his hair. I looked at him as he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "Nala, there's nothing we can do," he strained."B-but he will suffer!" I cried out. "What if he—" I stopped myself before I could finish."Nala..." Calvel grabbed my shoulders and lowered his head to level his eyes with mine. "We need to hope that he didn't overestimate his strength. He also drank from you not long ago. I only hope t
Ash's eyes flared as he lifted his head from the pillow. His nostrils widened as the drops of my blood slowly flew from the cut on my hand. I lied about not being scared—I was terrified because I knew that I would not stop him no matter how much of my blood he wanted to drink. I knew that he needed it to heal.His fangs flashed and grazed my flesh as I lowered my hand. I braced myself, knowing that this time his bite could be different. This time his instincts would lead him, and they would tell him to do what he should do to recover. He neither would be gentle nor care about me. I knew that. I accepted that."Nala," he rasped before licking the blood from the cut. His whole body shuddered, the chains on his arms and chest rattling. The way he lay there, resembling a wild animal with nothing but a pair of sweatpants on, tightened my chest. I closed my eyes, and then I felt it. His fangs pierced my skin, sinking deeply into my flesh. A shuddered breath escaped me as the pain radiated t
I spent the next two hours in bed with Ash. I couldn't tell when my embarrassment disappeared, and I started to enjoy being with him. We embraced each other and exchanged soft kisses. Every single detail of it felt new to me. This kind of intimacy was something I had never experienced before—absolute bliss.Giving my blood to him left my body exhausted beyond my limits. I could barely move. Ash took care of me. He prepared a warm bath with oils that were supposed to help me regenerate. Then he lifted me in his arms and carried me into the bathtub. He gently soaked my body in water and then sat by my side, watching me."You're beyond beautiful," he whispered, his eyes roaming up and down my body, leaving scorching trails wherever they landed."Don't say things like that," I muttered, trying to cover my breasts.He smiled. "But that's the truth. You might be the most beautiful creature in the entire Dark Realm."My eyebrows rose. "A creature?"He chuckled. "We all are creatures. I'm awa
"It's the Black Moon Pack," Hunter hissed as we watched the bulky men jump out of the cars that blocked our front and back.I swallowed hard. "What do they want?"Hunter chuckled dryly. "You, I guess."Then another man got out of the car—the scarred man I saw in Ash's office. He stepped forward and spread his arms wide. "There's no need for any of you to die today. All we want is the girl. Give her to us, and you may leave," he said as a dark grin curved his mouth.Hunter leaped out of the car and closed the door behind him. "You must be out of your mind, Beta Dex. Attacking Lord Malacious's fiancée? Drive away before you sign a death sentence on your entire pack."Dex stepped forward, as did the four men who flanked him. "I heard that Lord Malachious was thrown out of the King's castle like a piece of trash! He is weak, and he's going to pay for what he's done to me and my Alpha!"Hunter smirked coldly. "You shouldn't listen to the rumors. I can assure you that Lord Malachious is abs
"Nala!" A roaring, hoarse voice stabbed me with its power. The voice belonged to a man—a man I knew. Other sounds followed, but they were too distorted. A wheeze, a rasp, and then a loud wailing sound. They assaulted my ears when all I wanted was to sleep. I felt too tired. Unable to open my eyes and immobilized by the pain, I shut down the noises in my head. I wanted to drift into nothing."You need to drink!" The thundering sound jerked my entire body. I didn't like that order, but someone parted my lips, and then I felt thick, oddly sweet drops falling down my throat. A weak moan left me as the liquid heated my insides. More of it fell down my throat, and the fever spread to my limbs. "That's it, drink, Nala." The voice became softer, coaxing. "You will live," the voice told me. "I will not let you die."I might have smiled upon hearing those words. I swallowed another portion of sweet and thick liquid. It tasted smoky, decadent… It tasted wicked, but it also tasted like life. I dr
I shot the door behind me and finally got Ash's and Calvel's full attention. They both cursed as their heads snapped toward me. I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you mind explaining to me what the hell you meant?" I strained angrily.Calvel sighed and spread his arms wide. "I gave you my blood to heal you. And, yes, I knew that you might have been too far gone and that you would wake up being… different afterward."I sucked in a shaky breath, my eyes widening. "Different… as in turned into a vampire?""Yes, that's what would have happened," Ash stated curtly."But nothing like that happened, and Nala is completely fine," Calvel argued, sending Ash a cold glare."Don't say it as if it wasn't a big deal," Ash hissed before turning to me. "The reason why I'm so mad about it has nothing to do with the fact that Calvel gave you his blood." He sent Calvel a brief but icy glower. "He could have accidentally turned you into a lowborn. Which means that you would suffer from permanent bloodt
NALA A week later Happiness. I think that was what I felt. Bliss and happiness. I woke up naked in our bed. Ash was lying behind me, his naked chest pressed against my back. One of his arms served as my pillow, while the other casually rested on my waist. I would never get tired of waking up like that. I could feel his cool breath brushing the crook of my neck, and a shiver traveled down to my lady parts. "Is my Queen getting aroused?" Ash purred into my ear, and I bit my lip to stifle a moan. "I'm not your Queen yet," I told him, pretending that his voice didn't increase the humidity between my thighs. "You have a crown on your lovely head in my eyes already," he said, kissing my neck. "I think I'm hungry." His arms wrapped around me, pulling me close and melting my body with his. His teeth grazed my skin as I shuddered in anticipation. "How does it feel?" I asked him all but breathlessly. He chuckled and nibbled on my earlobe. "How does what feel?" "Drinking blood," I said.
NALA"Wake up, angel. Please, wake up." Ash's voice slowly pulled me out of unconsciousness. I opened my eyes and saw his worried face brighten up with a smile. He held my head on his lap and stroked my hair, and the relief I felt when I saw him made my whole body shudder in sweet relief.Tears gathered in my eyes. "Ash," I murmured, my voice cracking. "You're here… This isn't a dream."He shook his head and chuckled. "Of course I'm here. I had to save you." He leaned down and kissed my forehead.As I retrieved my awareness, anxiety flooded me. "W-where is Drystan?" I stuttered, looking around.Ash pointed at the fountain, and the stone soaked in blood. "He is gone," he said, but I heard restlessness in his tone. Then I felt the ground shaking and small stones dropping from the ceiling.I swallowed and looked into Ash's eyes. "What's going on?"He stroked my hair and took a deep breath. "I need to get you out of here. Calvel should be close to the temple." Before I could say anything,
ASHWe found the temple, but it wasn't the map that brought me here; it was her. I could sense Nala from miles away as we moved through the wasteland. I ran ahead, leaving the map to Calvel and the rest while I rushed to the temple of Belial. I was the fastest, and I needed to be there as soon as I could. I had to stop this—stop Drystan and stop the apocalypse.I burst the door open, and my eyes instantly found her. Nala was lying by the stone fountain in the center of the hall. Her entire neck and most of her angelic face were covered with blood. The wounds on her neck were fresh and still bleeding. That cunt, whom I used to call my brother, fed from her. He caused her unimaginable pain…My blood turned into molten lava. Fury stormed inside me, ready to erupt. My claws were out and prepared to rip the flesh of those who harmed her. I saw tears falling down her pale cheeks, blending into the streams of her blood. "Ash," she murmured, her voice barely audible, but I could still hear he
NALA I begged Drystan to stop, but he didn't. Then I begged him to kill me, but he only chuckled through his teeth as he sucked my blood. Finally, I embraced the sweet darkness around me. Losing awareness was my bitter reward for getting through another night of torture. I drifted through nothingness until the vague sounds reached my ears. I floated toward them, toward the soft light that suddenly opened in front of me. I saw spiral stairs carved in stone. Someone ran up. I couldn't see the face. I could only hear the clanking of the heels hurriedly hitting the stone steps. I followed that person and quickly found myself in a castle tower. The one whom I followed stopped by the window and untied the strap of a black cloak. As the heavy cloth fell down, it revealed a familiar, black-haired woman—Estelle. She wore a white cotton dress covered with blood stains. Her black hair was untied and tousled, and her slender hands and face were dirtied by bloody mud. She looked at her trembling
ASHIt had been two days since I had been losing my mind. How could I make such a foolish mistake?! How could I not predict that one of our allies might have been followed?! Drystan and Baltazar killed one of the groups that wanted to side with us. They tracked them, murdered the entire pack, and forced their Alpha to give them our location before they ripped his heart out.Drystan knew that he would never defeat us in our territory, but what he had planned wasn't a surprise, full-on attack. He only wanted Nala. I didn't know why at first, but then I learned about the ancient ritual that could give the demon's spirit enough strength for him to be reborn. The strength he needed was in Nala's blood. Now, for two days, I sensed her agony and couldn't do a fucking thing about it."Did you find that old fox?" I asked Calvel as soon as he entered the meeting room.The grim look on his face couldn't mean anything good. "I found that fucker, Jarrod, in two pieces. Someone decapitated him—a cl
When I regained consciousness, my whole body rattled from the piercing cold. Drystan wasn't lying. Whatever he did when he bit me filled me with raw fire, burning my insides to ashes. Once the pain pushed me to madness, I wished for death. I thought I had died when the relief finally flooded my senses. But I was still alive, and as the scorching flames left me, the slightest breath of wind sent icy needles to prickle my skin.The shackles were still on my wrists, and the heavy chains restrained my movement. The skin around the cuffs was torn and constantly bleeding. I couldn't stand up or even lift my head. I wish I could say that I survived the previous night, but I couldn't even call it surviving. Drystan let me breathe only to finish this three-day ritual.The realization filled me with a new wave of pain… I should die. Not because it was remarkable that I was still in the world of the living, but because only my death could stop the apocalypse. Without my blood, Belial would not b
I opened my eyes and winced from the pain. Every part of my body hurt, and the fact that I was lying on the cold stone ground wearing nothing but a partially torn nightgown made the pain more vivid and overwhelming. My hands were shackled in chains so heavy that I barely mustered the strength to lift them. The chain was bolted to a large stone at the foot of some kind of sculpture. Struggling, I rose to a sitting position and focused my eyes on my dimly lit surroundings. The place where I was, resembled ruins. I could see broken columns and crushed rocks lying around a spacious, round hall with a dome-shaped ceiling.I turned around and took a close look at the sculpture next to me. It was at least seven feet tall and resembled a terrifying man-like creature with massive horns on its head. His huge arms were armed with stone-shaped claws, while his feet melted into the center of the podium. The stone where my chain was bolted was part of a ring, placed within a three-foot radius of th
I stared at the mesmerizing mark on my neck and couldn't help the grin that curled up my lips. I brushed it with my fingertips, and it seemed to faint under my touch and then reappear once I took my hand away. "Do you like it?" I heard Ash's voice coming from behind me. It didn't startle me as much as before. This time, I could feel his presence seconds before he spoke. I turned around to face him. "Your mark looks beautiful," I said. He chuckled and touched the spot on my neck. "Actually, it's not mine, but ours. It represents our union." Then he leaned down and kissed it, sending a wave of pleasure down my body. "Don't do that," I breathed. "Do what?" he teased. "This?" He traced the mark with the tip of his tongue. I moaned, fisting the collar of his half-unbuttoned shirt. Then I forced him to face me. "You are not playing fair," I told him, frowning. "This mark is… extremely sensitive." He grinned. "I know. As a matter of fact, from now on, I will know your feelings. I will
A few hours later, I was sitting in my chamber and combing my shower-damp hair in front of the mirror. Was I truly the only one able to stop Belial? But how was I supposed to do that? Should I attack the Drystan-Belial duo the way I attacked everyone in the auditorium? But the last time I used that power, it drained me, and even now, I didn't fully regain my strength. Perhaps I should concentrate the stream of power on Drystan and Belial without dispersing it, but what if that still was not enough? What then? As a descendant of an Archangel, I could only possess a mere percentage of his power. Could I truly be a match for the true fallen, even in his weak, spiritual form? I groaned in frustration, tossing my hairbrush on the table."You are worrying too much. It's overwhelming, isn't it?" Ash suddenly appeared in my mirror, and I almost screamed."Don't do that!" I frowned at him. "Make a sound at least!"He chuckled and stepped closer, taking a few strands of my hair between his fing