I stepped back, feeling my heart pounding. I knew I should act calmly and confidently, and that Sariel's mark was my protection, but I couldn't. Aryan was towering over me, and with his strongly built body standing this close to me, I could feel as if he could crush me with his hand if he wanted to.
"How about a drink, beautiful?" he asked, and immediately rushed towards the nearby table without waiting for my answer.
He went back carrying two glasses of prosecco and handed me a glass. I looked at the liquid suspiciously.
"There is no poison inside," he chuckled, noticing my hesitant reaction.
I figured that arguing with him certainly wouldn't be a good idea. I smiled nervously and took a sip while cautiously looking into his eyes, then immediately put the glass away. He grinned and drank his wine in two big gulps.
"Now, tell me, lovely lady… What makes you smell so delicious? " he said, alluringly deepening his voice.
"I'm a werewolf
I could literally choke from the amount of hostility floating in the air. Dominique stepped closer to me as if she was going to shield me from attack. Suddenly, someone's hand hit my cheek. The slap came so fast and was so hard that it made me fall on the floor. The high-pitched sound inside my ear that came from the blow felt as if it was going to burst my head. It took me a few seconds to lift my eyes and realize what had happened."How dare you! Raising your voice on a noble is severely punished!" Duke Orseolo's fuming voice spread through the room.He was still holding his hand high from hitting my face. He must have come from behind and was too fast for Dominique to notice him on time. She was standing next to him, glaring at him with an outraged expression, yet she remained silent.The other nobles gathered around me, staring at me with disdain. They were whispering about the punishment I should receive for my words. Anger rose within my veins. I was weake
Dominique grabbed my hand and dragged me to the side of the room. Some nobles left in a hurry, trying to avoid being accidental casualties in the duel of those who appeared to be the strongest among all vampires."If the Duke challenges me, then I will accept. After I win, I will take your marked one, fuck her until the breaks, and then drain her to the last drop of her blood," Aryan grinned viciously while licking his lips.Sariel gritted his teeth. His fury instantly made him pull out his deadly claws. The hellish fire in his eyes was prepared to burn his enemy to ashes."What is the meaning of this?!" The Princess's enraged voice filled the room.Those who stayed in the room immediately turned their eyes on her. She looked at the bleeding-out on the floor, Duke Orseolo, the crashed wall, and Aryan and Sariel, who were ready to fight to the death. She ran towards Sariel, panic clearly rising in her eyes."What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled
I wanted to stay like this forever. I melted in Sariel's embrace, ignoring everything that surrounded us. Nothing mattered except for the fact that he was safe, and he was there close to me. His arms were hugging me tightly. Neither of us wanted to let go. He was kissing my hair while gently stroking my back. I let my tears wash away some of the blood from his suit jacket as I tried to hide my crying eyes in his chest. We could have stayed indifferent to the awkward silence around us if it weren't for Dominique and her ostentatious throat clearing."Perhaps you two should wait until you get back to the castle," she grinned, while meaningfully raising her eyebrows.Sariel sighed. He released his arms around me but grabbed my hand instead, so I could stand beside him, facing the crowd. I didn't mind being dirty with blood. I felt more confident than ever, ready to look those other vampires in the eye.I gazed around; there were around thirty of them, cautiously st
Sariel held my hand the entire time while we were on our way back to the castle. He stayed silent and seemed to be deep in thoughts. I smiled at him every time our eyes met, and then he briefly smiled back at me, but I could see his mind was elsewhere. I felt that something was bothering him, something he was keeping from me. I began to wonder what he and the Princess talked about in private. I had a feeling that whatever happened between them in private made was the reason for Sariel's current restlessness.“If I may… Master…” Leo started hesitantly, “Count Desai will probably visit the castle shortly, demanding an explanation for his eldest son's death.”“I'm aware of that,” Sariel sighed, his frowning face showing concern, “Faris Desai is an intelligent man. He will understand why his son had to be punished.”“I will prepare everything to receive him well,” Leo claimed.I glanced
I woke up with my face on Sariel's chest. Although his chest was a little too firm for me to use as a pillow, his cool skin had been extremely soothing for my tingling in excitement flesh. I only hoped that I didn't drool overnight…I felt strangely comfortable,as if our relationship was completely natural. I felt happy… absolutely exhausted but happy. I smiled, looking at Sariel's face. His eyes were closed, and he looked like a sleeping angel, an amazing sculpture carved in alabaster and decorated with silver."Are you done staring?" he muttered, suddenly opening his eyes.I gasped, surprised, then snorted. "No. I could stare at you all day, every day. I love looking at you…" I paused.The word "love" slipped out of my lips so easily, like I had said it a million times. It was strange that it didn't bother me that much. I thought I could learn to use it.Sariel smirked and tightened his embrace around me. "Just remember
I stared at my hand, petrified. A minute after sitting on the bed motionless, I got up and looked at myself in the mirror as if I wanted to check if there were no changes in my appearance. My human-like reflection didn't dissolve my restlessness entirely, but it was a start. I took a deep breath and made a strong resolution to ignore the problem for the time being, or at least until I talked to Will about it. Of course, it didn't change the fact that my mind was filled with restlessness, and even the logical argument that it might be a temporary side-effect didn't make my frantic heart calm down.I grabbed my purse and a coat and went outside. Mike was already there to drive me to the bank's headquarters. I realized that I hadn't been there since my kidnapping. So many things had happened in that short time. I had changed from a simple employee to Mistress of the House of Calvet… although I still wasn't certain what the hell my position meant. I was wondering if any of
After leaving Gabriel's office, all the bows and greetings I received felt slightly less uncomfortable. I still didn't know how I should respond to those people, but at least I took control of the state of panic it was causing before. When I got back to my workplace, I saw a familiar, tall, black-haired man standing in front of my door."Mr. Kim!" I shouted happily and then rushed to throw my arms around his neck."M-miss Calvet… P-please…" Patrick nervously looked around the corridor while awkwardly smiling."Sorry… I overreacted," I grinned, stepping away from him and opening the door to my office.I entered first and went straight to my desk to put away my purse."I'm just really glad that you are…" I turned around and saw Patrick kneeling on the floor, "…alive," I mumbled, finishing the sentence."I need to apologize." He bowed down. "I should have protected you. I should have sensed the dander while I
I was one step away from losing my sanity. I ran out of my chamber and ran straight to the south wing, where I knew I would find Martha. As soon as I saw her sitting in the corridor, right outside the kitchen, I sighed in relief. "Martha, please… Call Doctor William Duarte and ask him to come. Tell him it is urgent," I said while panting heavily. Martha jumped up from her seat and started frantically looking me up and down, searching for signs of any injury. "A-are you sick? Do you have a fever? Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked feverish questions while walking around me. "No," I said firmly, "Just do as I said. Quickly, Martha. This is important." She nodded and ran somewhere to make a call. I exhaled heavily and walked back to my room, hoping that Will would take my request seriously and show up as soon as possible. As soon as I closed my door, I started wondering if I should try testing my strength as well. I somehow managed to smash the gl