The members of the Great Council were slowly leaving the room. Sariel stood up and silently observed them leave. He was clenching his fists, his face revealing a faint smile, proof of his satisfaction. I kept sitting in the uncomfortable, massive chair while my heart thundered. I felt like I had just dodged a bullet. My hands were still shaking, even though I kept telling myself that it was all over.
Soon, Sariel, Mr. Gotha, and I were the only ones in the courtroom. I locked my eyes on Sariel until he finally looked at me. He smirked and walked over to my seat.
"You used me." I glared at him while getting up.
"I didn't use you. Our reasons might have been different, but the goal was the same." He shrugged.
"Do you have any idea how terrified I was? You should have at least told me something about your plan… And who is that Judge Calvet?!" I burst out.
"Dominique Calvet is my sister," he stated calmly.
"So you could have told me that s
I was dead tired. My office work had already stressed me out, but compared to everything that happened at the court trial, my time at the bank felt almost relaxing. I was glad that a kind of justice had been served, but the events from my time in the headquarters of the Great Council filled me with anxieties I couldn't even explain. I knew that the Duke of Calvet had power and authority among other vampires, but the fact that really worried me was that he had already messed with my father twice in one week. He killed Declan, one of my father's warriors, and his entire team, and now he had indirectly caused the death of another important member of my father's pack. Not that any of them hadn't deserved their fate. Declan alone was responsible for killing half of the pack that once decided to go against my father's wishes. The pack was weak; they didn't pose a threat to anyone, and they only wished for peace. Declan and his team attacked that pack, wiping them all out,
I painted another awkward smile on my face, thinking that I was turning more and more mute the longer I sat there. I felt like I was some kind of a doll, a decoration that was brought for their entertainment, or definitely Dominique's entertainment. I gazed at her and suddenly saw a flash in her bright eyes. I knew another wicked thought invaded her mind. "One more thing, my dearest, strict brother… How is it that Lilith has your ability?" She smirked, curiously gazing at Sariel. "What?" I mumbled, suddenly feeling more sober than ever. "My brother has always been able to recall every single detail. His memory is absolute." She turned my way and gazed suspiciously at her brother, "I wasn't going to say anything during the trial, but I have never heard that you could pass your ability onto anyone. How did you do it?" She grinned, her eyes impatiently awaiting an answer. I looked at Sariel as well. I had to say, for once, I was as intrigued as she was.
A sharp pain pierced my head, forcing me to acknowledge that I was alive. It took me some time to open my eyes and a little more time before I adjusted my vision to the bright sunlight that stroked my face. As my consciousness was coming back, flashes from last night invaded my mind. In a sudden realization, my hands started to touch my neck, frantically searching for bitemarks. I couldn't find any. Thinking about my current state came second. I was lying on one side of a grand bed. It certainly wasn't my bed. I cautiously lifted the sheets and found out that my dress was gone, but I still had my underwear on me… my black lace, revealing underwear. I looked like I hadn't been raped nor bitten, but I had no idea where the hell I was. I tried to get up. I lifted my head and immediately felt an excruciating headache. I wasn't sure whether it was the hangover, the drug's aftereffect, or both, but it hurt like hell. I sat up on the bed, my hands holding my head in one position. I
I stared at Martha, trying to process everything. I knew well that I would never get the truth by asking Sariel about it. All I could do was pick up the pieces of the story, hoping to put them together. I could only guess that Sariel brought me to his bedroom since he found some sort of guilt within him after his sister's so-called prank on me. He had taken off my dress, but at least he hadn't left me naked. He hadn't bitten me and probably left the room after putting me on his bed. Still, that didn't explain his sudden bloodlust. Did it actually have something to do with me? I knew that people sought sensation where there wasn't any. Perhaps it was all a coincidence. Sariel's revenge was completed. All sorts of emotions must have been crumbling inside him, even though he seemed composed. Maybe drinking all of the blood was his way of rebounding? Nonetheless, as usual, the rumors about what had happened the night before were about to make my life even more complicated than it alread
I had never seen any medic so excited when collecting blood. Doctor Duarte surely couldn't control his constantly increasing enthusiasm while watching the drops of my blood fall into another test tube. At that moment, I already knew he was insane, but his insanity was also his charm. Certainly, he kept sniffing the drops of my life essence as if they were the world's greatest perfume, but my instincts were telling me that his scientific excitement was even greater. When he finished, he bowed down to me, thanking me for the fifth time that I had agreed to test my blood. I would lie if I said that I wasn't curious about his test results. When I was a child, my father, whom I knew had never shared an interest in science, managed to gather a team of experts from among the pack, and they got the results that tagged me as a pricey item. What if their results weren't correct? Or what if I possessed some supernatural ability that I could actually develop and use? I bet that the outc
When my vision became less blurry, I saw a grey wolf lying right next to me. It was embracing me with its warmth. Its large tail covered half of my small body like a blanket. It was huge, yet I didn't fear it. Furthermore, I somehow knew its name, a male human name. His name was Ezra. He was the wolf that protected me from the cold of the night. I sat on the ground observing him. My faint movements woke him up. He raised his large head, stroking my cheeks with his furry forehead and ears. That tickled and made me laugh. He fawned over me. I could barely remember when I felt such happiness and peace. It was almost like I was being loved and cherished by someone. I hugged his huge neck and sank into his fur. For the first time since I lived in the orphanage, I felt safe… We didn't use words to communicate, yet I knew that he had to go before anyone woke up and that I would meet him again in the evening. It was as if I could hear his thoughts. I said goodbye to him, the
From that night, Ezra became my family, the only family I had. I was glad to have him. He not only taught me how to fight, but he also taught me how to cope with the situation I was in and how to act in the best possible way to survive. I learned to pretend that I cared about the teachings the nuns gave the children living at St. Anna's, and that started to work to my advantage. I was given more freedom and lesser labor. The price for that was to accept the tag I was given as the "demon's child healed by God's grace". My clothes were still worn-out and the food I was given disgusting, but I wasn't being watched as carefully as before and that gave me more time to practice with Ezra. Ezra said that I had a talent for martial arts. Although my body was small, he found my agility unique. He taught me certain techniques to use my body wisely, and at the age of ten, I was able to take down a grown, medium-skilled human. At the same time, Ezra discovered that my fighting abilities
My choices were obvious. I could either surrender and suffer abuse until I die, or run away. Ezra often mentioned that I would have to leave here at some point, but some part of me desperately hoped that my father would forget about me and set me free from his surveillance. How foolish I was. I was eighteen years old, and I was about to find out what it meant to live as a fugitive. I couldn't meet Ezra as frequently as before. The wolves were everywhere. I had seen them near the bakery where I worked, and they were always around the building where I lived. Ezra told me that he would prepare an escape plan. He spent two weeks figuring out the best place for me to get out of the pack's influence and the safest possible route to get there. All I had to do was get a false ID. "I don't care about the last name, but please let me stay as Lilith." I looked at Ezra with pleading eyes, "I know this might sound childish, but I spent my time at school being Lucy, and the only t
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