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
I felt as if my blood was becoming heavier and thicker, making my fragile heart nearly blow with every beat. I inhaled and exhaled erratically while locking my eyes on Will, begging him for a proper answer. "What am I turning to?" I muttered, shivering in anxiety. "Will, what am I about to become?!" I cried out. "Lilith, calm down!" He jumped up and placed his hands on my shoulders. "Look at me and breathe…" he said calmly. I nodded and took air into my lungs while looking into his eyes. "You don't have the wolf gene, but your DNA is special. Whereas some genes in your code stayed silent and now have been activated, I think you have assimilated something from vampire DNA as well," he explained. "What do you mean?" I asked, trying to quickly process his words. "There is a certain element in vampire blood called "nummularius" — a changer. It works quite much like a virus, injecting its DNA core into human cells and initiating the turn in
A hesitant smile appeared on my face. Sariel seemed proud, but underneath his confident mask, I could sense anger, although I wasn't sure why he would be angry. I gently stroked his cheek, trying to brush off the shades of darkness from his face."Should I call you "Your Majesty" from now on?" I laughed faintly."Perhaps on some very formal occasions. You may bow down to me too," he chuckled cockily.I nudged his shoulder, pouting. He laughed, then he embraced me tightly, kissing my forehead, my eyes, and my cheeks until he hungrily reached for my lips."I shall make you my Queen," he whispered while kissing me down my neck.His words felt like a sword piercing my heart. I kept chasing the thought of what would happen to me after Sariel became the King, and now it was time to face reality."Queen…" I repeated, smiling bitterly, "I doubt that the nobles would let a human sit by your side.""I will make them accept you," he said
I could understand why it was such a big thing to move into the Royal Palace. It was a place far beyond my imagination. A slightly modern interpretation of Bavarian Neuschwanstein combined with India's Amber Fortress, all surrounded by magnificent gardens; the romantic style of the nineteenth century sprinkled with the mystic aura of the southern Asian style."Wow…" was the only word that could slip through my lips.The palace had a remarkable main building, reserved for the King and those closest to him. The eastern part of the palace was supposed to be a harem. It was connected to the main building by several secret passages. Certainly, only the King was allowed to use them. The western part was the place for the important guests and their families. The servants and the military men lived in two separate grand buildings a bit further away from the castle. The area was huge. Only after seeing this did I realize the power of the vampire king.We arrived a
Sariel's words rang in my ears, agonizing the pain in my heart. The crowd cheered for the future king and queen as I stepped back against the wall, praying to miraculously escape this place. What was I even doing there? I became a humiliated mistress, tossed away by the Duke, who was now becoming the King. Sariel spared me no glance at me as he and Elora stood on the edge of the podium, surrounded by the hand-clapping sound. My sight became blurry. I didn't know I was crying until I felt the wetness filling the neckline of my dress. Pathetic. I felt I did it to myself. I lowered all of my defenses and let myself get stabbed right when I was the most vulnerable. "Are you all right?" I heard someone's warm whisper. I knew that kind voice, but the tears made my eyes too cloudy to see. I tore my eyelids, trying to regain sharpness in my sight. Only then did I realize my whole body was leaning against Patrick's arms. He must have prevented me from collapsing onto
Bewildered, I stared into Sariel's eyes, hoping that those three words weren't something I had imagined. I felt real, but the confusion that had taken over my mind before wasn't something I could easily chase away. He kept his eyes on me without even blinking. He seemed confident and strong-willed. No. My mind sent me a warning that I couldn't get fooled again. I couldn't be swayed so easily. I looked away, but he instantly grabbed my chin and turned my head to face him."I love you," he repeated calmly.The warm tone of his voice was like a balm put on my wounded heart. The sound felt like a blanket he wrapped over my shivering body. He placed his strong arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I didn't want to resist him. My mind was perfectly ready to buy any story he wanted to sell. I just needed one semi-reasonable argument to stay with him."A-are you married now?" I asked, almost choking on my words."Yes." His reply felt like a kick in the
I froze, looking into his eyes. He pulled me close and stroked my hair, trying to coax me, but it hardly had any effect. My heart was pounding erratically from the moment I heard him say my father's name. I could ignore the presence of any other Alpha but him. Even though I was no longer defenseless, and I had someone equally powerful to protect me, I was horrified at the mere thought of looking Randall D'Apolito in the eye. Did it make me a coward? Perhaps. But I couldn't deny the fact that the mental advantage he had over me was turning me into the most fragile person I knew when facing him."W-why does he have to be there? He killed your mother, didn't he?" I shivered, trying to comprehend the reason for inviting someone like him."This is exactly why I want him to be there." Sariel painted a cold smirk on his face, "I want to look into his eyes and place fear in him. I want him to know that the day when he will pay for his sins will come soon."I could under
I was standing on the threshold of my chamber, motionless. I could hear Sophia's screams as she was being dragged by the guards through the corridor. When they were further away, I looked at my hand. My fist was clenched to the point where my nails were stabbed into the flesh of my palm. My whole body trembled. Was it because of the rush of adrenalin I felt? Or was it because I had done something ruthless for the first time in my life?The pondering over my state of mind was interrupted by the clapping sound of someone's hands. I turned, searching for the source of the sound, and saw a man coming my way. As he was closer, I realized I had seen him before. He was at the coronation, standing near the podium. I remembered him because he was the only one glaring at Elora. Now, he was coming my way, grinning beamingly and clapping his hands. His blue eyes were glowing and locked on me. I gazed at him, puzzled."Bravo!" he exclaimed, "you've only been at the palace for a day
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