Martha told me that I could go wherever I pleased around the castle. She even drew me a simple map, so I wouldn't get lost in case I decided to take a walk. Luckily, after wandering through those corridors all day, I could now at least find the dining room, where I had eaten breakfast with Sariel, and the patio, where I could get some fresh air. Additionally, I could go back to my chamber afterwards without getting lost on the way. That certainly was progress.
Even though the castle was huge, it took me only several hours to find this place boring. Everyone except me had something to do, and the one thing I always hated was doing nothing at all. I thought that taking a break from work would do me good, but the more I had time to think, the more I kept finding this free time devastating to my sanity.
I heard that when people face something traumatic, they visit a shrink or some therapist to help them deal with their inner demons. The only person I could talk to was Ma
"W-what?" I mumbled, terrified. "I heard those wolves were standing at the castle gates for several hours demanding an audience. They said that they were coming in peace, and only because the Duke has something that belongs to them…" Martha explained. "And those wolves were let inside the castle?!" I called out anxiously. She replied hesitantly, "They must have said something that finally convinced the Duke to let them in." My heart started to pound erratically. I wondered how werewolves knew that I was in the Duke's castle. Was there a spy working for my father that lived here? Or perhaps there was someone at the auction who saw me and notified the wolves? I was in a complete panic. I had no time to tell Sariel the truth about where I came from and who my parents were. Now, things could get drastically complicated. I had no idea what those wolves could have said to convince the Duke to give them an audience. I was terrified at the mere though
All shapeshifters turned into their animal form in a split of a second. I stood on the platform a few meters away from all of them and observed the situation terrified. I looked at Sariel. He was smiling wickedly as if the werewolves did something he was hoping for. Declan as a red-fur wolf stood as a leader. He was glaring at Sariel with his fiery eyes. Sariel spread his arms wide open, provoking him to attack, and Declan's fury had already overpowered his rationality. He charged up ahead at Sariel. The others followed. "No!" I screamed, but my scream died among the snarling sounds of fury. Suddenly, Mr. Gotha and three other vampires barged from the back of the audience hall. They must have already been prepared to take action in case of attack. A few enraged wolves stormed at them while Declan and the rest of the wolves charged at Sariel. Sariel didn't move an inch. He just waited for the wolves to come at him at their full speed. Declan jumped to
I gasped and stared deeply into his eyes. "My father… did what?" I muttered, fearfully. "You heard me. Now, tell me… would you be so eager to "protect" a child of your mother's killer?" Sariel smirked coldly. "I am nothing like him!" I burst out, "I don't even resemble him in the slightest! You know very well that his features are determined by the wolf gene, which I don't have!" "Is that supposed to be the reason why I should protect you from him?" He chuckled mockingly. I clenched my teeth. There was no way I could cover my tracks in New Argent City after three days. Until then, my father would surely mobilize an army of wolves to block every possible communication road out of the city. I could as well give myself in. Duke's protection was the only chance I had to survive… "I'm… begging you…" I mumbled, "You have a reason to hate my father, but so do I…" "Oh, poor little princess! Do you think I care that you rebelled because you and
I was walking along the castle corridor following Mr. Gotha. We were clearly going towards the north wing. I only went there once while taking a tour around the castle with Martha, and even there I wasn't allowed to enter any of those rooms, since they were off-limits as the Duke's private chambers. While walking I kept clenching my fists, encouraging myself to keep my emotions at a minimum level and focus solely on business. I knew that I could be confident and strict as long as I keep it all around my area of expertise. I assumed that we were going to the Duke's study room which I was told was combined with a grand library. I was sincerely looking forward to seeing it since until now I could only look at its door… We were getting closer, and I even became a little excited about entering that grand library, but Mr. Gotha passed Duke's study room and kept walking. "Um… Am I not supposed to meet the Duke in here?" I pointed at the door we passed. "Mast
I walked inside slowly, not because I wasn't confident, but more because I still didn't feel comfortable in the high heels that Martha forced me to wear. She was fanatically excited about choosing my outfit for my first day at work. She picked a simple black, fitted dress with short sleeves and a pair of bloody-red heels. She told me that I had to be dressed to kill on my first day. Well, judging by the curious glances of the people standing in the entrance hall, she was right. I could smell their hostility from the moment I crossed the threshold. I walked to the reception desk and realized that for the first time I would probably have to use the name that I had hated all my life to introduce myself. I clenched my teeth and looked at the lady receptionist. "Good morning, my name is Lilith…" "Ms. Lilith! I'm so glad that I can finally meet you!" I heard a man's voice coming from behind me. Reacting to the sound of that man's voice, the eyes of the lady
My office was spacious and kind of luxurious. I hadn't been to many offices before, but I had seen some in movies and TV series. Each time I saw an elegant wooden desk, a comfortable office chair, carefully designed cabinets, or an exquisite coffee table with sofa and armchairs, it was a place that belonged to someone from the higher-ups. It could be the general manager's office or the department director's office. The place where I was standing, a place that was supposed to be my office, looked exactly like the ones I saw on the TV screen. I felt strange. I walked around delicately stroking the desktop and my new, top-class laptop. I even had my very own coffee machine. It was all so different from how I used to work, although it was hard to compare my current situation with sitting on the bed or floor with a laptop on my knees while drinking the remains of cold coffee that I made myself several hours earlier. I knew that my abilities should have given me a five-digit month
It was understandable that no one was going to help the most hated human working at the Argent Investment Bank carry heavy boxes of documents. I had to do it all by myself. Certainly, Sariel didn't even think about assigning someone to assist me. I bet that in normal circumstances there would be at least five people working at the external audit, but since I was the one who suggested this I had to accept the fact that I had become a one-person department. Working alone wasn't a problem. I used to handle assignments that involved hundreds of documents without any help. At that moment, it was all about those damn boxes from the archives. I carried three boxes at once. The boxes weighed around thirty pounds each. These were merely documents from the first quarter of the year 2011. I walked through the corridor while people were passing me by, wickedly chuckling or smirking. I wouldn't be surprised if one of them decided to trip me. "Lilith, calm down and think of it as
My body started to shiver when I began to process Gabriel's words. "H-how?" I mumbled, my gaze pleading him to say more. He smirked, then continued, "Twenty years ago, when the old Duke of Calvet was still alive, Sariel enjoyed his life as a young master. Many women craved him, and many women belonged to him. He could almost bathe in the blood of his marked ones. Everything changed when he fell in love with one and started dismissing others." "It sounds like a romantic story." I smiled sourly while feeling a dull pain in my heart as if I were actually jealous of the one he once loved. "It was, and it was a big scandal," Gabriel sighed. "He rejected the daughter of the Marquess of Balliol, and openly claimed that he would turn his loved one and marry her." I envied that human girl more and more, even knowing that their story didn't end well. "He must have been committed, so what went wrong?" I waited impatiently for the rest of the stor
Fucking Adragna! I could barely stand sitting in front of the Marquess or his sons, knowing that they were the ones who planned the attack on my parents. I should have squeezed my fingers around their necks and watched smug smiles disappear from their faces in agony, and yet, I was forced to keep calm, pretending I didn't know because I had no way to prove it. Those fuckers were good at killing witnesses. I hated them just as much as I hated those mongrels from the Southern Woods Pack. I was the Duke and a future king. I had the strength to crush those bastards to dust, but I had to sit there doing nothing. Why? Because King Mael said so! This old vampire thought that it would be refreshing if our annual meeting were held in his mansion in the Blue Valley, completely ignoring the fact that it was in the middle of fucking nowhere. I couldn't stay there a minute longer. I didn't care if King Mael would be pissed. I wouldn't lose his favor anyway. I was the strongest of all the
"My friend will finally wear the crown!" Martha's enthusiasm nearly made my eardrums explode. Truthfully, I couldn't care less about the crown. It was the wedding dress that was freaking me out. Who would have thought that the vows "till death do us part" would actually mean being together for at least a few centuries? I didn't doubt Sariel's love or mine for him, but still… I still hadn't sorted out the whole "vampire issue". After a month of living as a super-duper-commoner, I knew that I didn't need human blood; drinking Sariel's blood was enough for me. I was ecstatic to find out that he didn't need to drink any other blood than mine either. Will told us that it was a "mates' thing", and that this dependence would bind us forever as well as make us stronger. Yet, it didn't solve all the issues that made me anxious. Commoners lived forever, literally, and nobles had extended but limited lifespans. Would I be forced to live without Sariel? The thought of that formed a knot
"Good morning, my Queen."I would never get enough of hearing it. Sariel made it sound amazingly enticing. His smiling eyes were eating every piece of me. The intensity of his gaze made me flush. We were both naked, although I couldn't recall the moment I lost my silk nightgown. Sariel's arms were wrapping me tightly, and our legs were tangled. The air around us was saturated with arousal, so electrifying that the mere spark could cause an explosion. As my eyes roamed down from Sariel's eyes to his lips, I saw a smug grin. One breath later, his hands cupped my buttocks, lifting me slightly so I could feel his erection against my sex. I gasped."I see you're all healed," I chuckled nervously."Almost…" he smirked. "Now I need a different kind of therapy."His lips blocked mine before I could say anything else. He pinned my hands down on both sides of my head and deepened the kiss with passionate, lush licks. As I surrendered to his caresses, his han
According to the legendWill found, the mate's blood had the greatest effect on the full moon. Well… no surprise there. Conveniently for us, the full moon was tomorrow. The problem was that the whole ritual was quite risky since it required unplugging Sariel from any monitoring equipment in order to grant us an intimate environment. The healing ritual should have been performed between the two mates alone, without any disturbances. I could actually agree with that last one. The moment when we exchanged blood last time, well... I wouldn't want anyone to be around when it happened. Still, I was restless. What if we unplugged Sariel because we believed the legend, and he would die because of this choice?I asked Will if I could read everything he found about that legend, and he agreed to bring me all the centuries-old books that had mentioned something like "mates" among vampires. The moment I began to read it, my heart started to pound. The words describing the bond
After coming back to the Palace, I was dragged away from Sariel. The King was unconscious, and the reign of the kingdom had to be settled immediately. I was led to the study, where I met Gabriel, a group of lawyers, and Leo. I had no idea what my role was in all of this, and I didn't care. I would rather sit by Sariel's bed until he woke up, yet Leo firmly held my hand, convincing me to stay. He told me that there was a certain protocol I, as the queen-to-be, should follow. Reluctantly, I gave up and decided to listen.One of the lawyers stepped forward. He held a sealed envelope. He showed everyone the unbroken seal, and then he opened the content. It was an emergency protocol. It was only supposed to be open if something happened to the King. Acknowledging the reason we were gathered in that room made my head spin. I was suffocating. I stumbled, taking a step back. It was too much. Sariel wasn't dead! I couldn't bear to do anything as if he had already died!"It's on
When I saw Jarred standing over Sariel, who was lying on the ground, my heart stopped beating. My King was bleeding heavily from multiple cuts on his chest, his shoulders, his arms… When I ran into the arena and stopped in the middle, everyone's eyes shifted to me. I struggled to take a breath as the tears flooded my cheeks. Jarred growled and gestured at two standing-by guards so they could take me out of there. Jarred should have known better than to send two rogue werewolves against me. As I roared warningly and pulled out my claws, the wolves stepped back, recognizing my strength.I knew that I couldn't interfere in Sariel's fight. I was no match for Jarred, nor did I want to take away Sariel's pride. The only thing I could do was to bring back his will and courage. I couldn't lose him when we had just gotten each other back. As he turned his head towards me, I met his eyes. Their fire was slowly dying. The view devastated me, but I was not allowed to give up.
I ran towards the screen, processing the situation. The arena was surrounded by a rising ring of metal constructions with wooden boards lying on them, creating a provisional place to stand or walk. A few seconds later, Sariel and Jarred were joined by the audience. They stood on each floor of the construction. They were Jarred's men: rogue wolves and commoner vampires, hiding their flesh under the thick hoods and robes. The outcasts. They were all chanting Jarred's name and spitting underneath Sariel's feet. I could hear their spiteful voices coming through the speakers. Hearing their hatred tore my heart apart, but Sariel seemed unmoved. My King stood proudly, glaring at his enemy while he enticed the crowd, fueling their furious shouts. "Where's Lilith?" Sariel clenched his fist, seeking my presence in the audience. Jarred raised his hand, silencing the crowd, before speaking, "My Sister is safe. She is resting in her room." He curved his lips into a smile, but his
I turned towards the door and observed the overly tall shape of a man emerging from the shadows of the corridor. As he passed the threshold of my cell, I stepped back, soaking my bare feet in the puddle of Ian's blood. My instincts forced me to keep the right distance despite the circumstances. His dangerous aura filled every corner of the room, making every breath more and more uncomfortable.A second later, I saw a man with wavy, naturally ruffled black hair. The irises of his eyes were green with light shades of gold, captivatingly glowing in his olive complexion. He had strongly underlined cheekbones and a sharp jawline, giving him a highly intimidating look. As he entered, his eyes were locked on me. He never spared a glance at Ian's bloodied corpse. He stepped forward, and I instantly stepped back. Once I did, his full faint-pink lips formed a wicked smirk. He walked my way until my steps back brought me against the wall.He easily towered over me, shutting me in
"Lilith." Someone cautiously called my name, pulling me back to awareness.Waking up was hard. It instantly brought me pain before I could even open my eyes. My mouth twisted in a silent scream as I felt my body burning from the inside. My senses were dull, and I could barely feel anything except the pain."Silver is still in your blood. Try not to move; it will be less painful that way," the low voice advised.As more of my consciousness came back, I found myself lying on the bed. I opened my eyes and saw my hands in shackles, restrained by chains on both sides of the bed. There was also a cold metallic collar on my neck. The advice I heard was accurate: the pain lessened as soon as I stooped to move, yet I needed to find out more to evaluate my situation. I slowly turned my head to the source of the voice and saw Ian standing beside my bed.I instantly frowned. "Traitor," I mumbled.He smiled wryly. "I merely chose to be someone better than a dri