Instantly, the murmurs filled the audience hall. As the commotion increased, I could see the evil sparks in the eyes of those who were invited to the auction. Their gazes were filled with a horrifying desire to devour me. They made me uncontrollably shudder. The fear paralyzed me to the point I couldn't breathe, and I could barely hear the distorted sound of their laughter that sometimes overpowered the auctioneer's voice through the microphone.
The numbers they bid on grew fast. I could hear the auctioneer calling for one million dollars, two million, three… Those bidders were standing up, fighting each other, and I kept wondering why. I used to read once about rich, old people giving themselves blood transfusions of younger ones just to prolong their lives. Was that what it was about? Seriously, I couldn't let myself think of anything else, although my mind kept wandering around with strange thoughts, ones I was unable to come to terms with…
I learned about the exi
It looked like my only chance was to surrender. I knew that my mental and physical state didn't give me any chance against those people. Besides, were they even human? Mr. Gotha and those around him kept staring inside the room full of corpses, but there was something strange in their eyes. They didn't seem to be looking at a scene of a horrific murder, but more like a pile of spoiled food that had to be thrown away. There was also some kind of terrifying superiority in the way they were looking at me, yet I certainly found their company much safer than being around those people from the casino… I slightly nodded my head, agreeing to go with them. Mr. Gotha smirked, then grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room filled with blood. He looked me up and down and clicked his tongue. I certainly didn't look presentable. The simple white dress, the only piece of clothing I was wearing, was painted in red, as well as my feet, most of my body, and hair. I stood there looking int
It took me more than an hour to wash off the blood from my body, then to wipe the stains I left on the floor. Afterwards, I wore a night gown that was prepared for me in my chamber, and I lay down in bed. It was a restless and mostly sleepless night. This wasn't the first time I was haunted by nightmares, but this time they were far too vivid. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Carla's face covered in blood and her expression distorted by an agonizing grimace. In my nightmares, she kept calling my name, begging me to save her while I was locked inside my cage, using all my strength to break the bars. After waking up screaming for the third time, I kept my eyes open until dawn. I got up from bed at 6 AM and spent half an hour washing my face in cold water to reduce the swelling in my exhausted face. Afterwards, I sat on the bed and anxiously waited for someone to come for me. I didn't even grab the door handle by myself. I figured that walking out of this room wouldn't be a g
I gasped and turned my head away from Sariel, unintentionally exposing my neck. He smirked, and leaned even closer, nearly touching my skin. I could feel his cool breath. It gave me a tickling sensation that quickly flooded my entire body. "Your smell… It makes me want to devour you whole," he whispered seductively. His words triggered my heart. It began pounding, uncontrollably. He chuckled. "Don't get too excited or I won't be able to stop myself from sinking my teeth into your neck," he said, smirking, then moved away from me. I blushed. I couldn't help it. Everything about him was captivating me, to the point where I ignored all my fear. "When your heart is rushing, it increases your scent. It makes me want to mark you…" Sariel snickered. "To m-mark me?" I asked hesitantly. "You know, to leave my teeth marks and make you mine," he explained casually while gazing straight into my eyes. Chills ran through my entire bo
I nervously played with a strand of my hair while looking for words to describe my situation. I didn't know if I could trust Sariel, and I didn't know what he would do with the knowledge I was about to give him. Every fantasy book about werewolves and vampires pictured them as mortal enemies, and as I could recall, Sariel, as a vampire, wasn't fond of werewolves either. How could I now tell him that I was actually a daughter of two alphas and that my father was the leader of the pack?! "My story is… complicated," I began, laughing hysterically. He stayed persistent. "I'm quite certain that I will understand," he said. "Well, as you know, I am a human, but…" My hesitant speech was suddenly interrupted by someone knocking on the door. Sariel clicked his tongue. "Come in!" he called out harshly. A servant hurriedly walked into the room and bowed in front of Sariel. "Master, there is an urgent message from the council," he conveyed
I turned on my laptop and went through over fifty emails I had received in the last two days. I had rejected new assignments before since I wanted to take a couple of days off. Ironically, I was now spending those days off on my mental recovery. Of course, the fact that I announced that I wouldn't be taking any new work for a week didn't make my clients stop sending me their requests. For once, I regretted that I was so good at my job. I wished they would just leave me alone for a short while. I spent half an hour answering emails, or rather copying and pasting the same message, saying that due to private matters, I wouldn't be able to fulfill their requests. It certainly was one of those times when I wished I could have a stable job, working for one company instead of taking care of numerous demanding clients, but there was nothing I could do about it. Those who offered me positions were absolutely unable to protect me or stand against my powerful father. Suddenly,
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
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