They were finally approaching the road into the city, and Ana continued to insist that the same car drove directly behind us. They never changed direction or allowed another car to stay between them for more than a few miles. “If they are going to do anything, Ana, it will be soon. That’s the first turn up ahead. So brace yourself I’ll slow down, but if they try anything, I’ll be forced to speed up.” George hated this part of the road, even when he rode a horse, but this would be the first time he’d taken this part of the journey driving a car. He’d been warned that it could be dicey here if one drove too fast around the curves. The guards he’d spoken to about the road during a casual conversation. All mentioned driving in this spot as a place where several accidents like the one he’d walked away from had already occurred. However, in their cases, no one walked away from these accidents.George was surprised with Ana because she’d climbed into the c
George didn’t know who drove the other cars. He would accept any help gratefully, but this would be the end of him if anything like this happened again. What if whoever they were wasn’t there to block that other car from getting to theirs? Would they now be at the bottom of the ravine in a twisted metal heap? Either way, he needed to ditch this car. He’d leave it as agreed in a bar’s parking lot next door to the hotel. The keys were to be left with a bartender inside the bar. Once that was done, he’d return to Ana and not leave her side again for a good long while. The problem he would have is that the bar closed three hours ago. So unless someone was there cleaning up, he could abandon the car in the parking lot, but the keys were his until the bar opened for business the next evening. All good, he’d planned it this way, because he feared if he tried to give the schedule less wiggle room, they’d end up missing an important connect
The hotel appeared busy and looked amazing. Where everything splendid within the palace always turned out to be an antique. Here the impressive structure’s details were all new and beautiful appointed. A huge fish tank sat in the centre of the lobby and acted like a moat to keep visitors away from a handsome statue of a naked vampire feeding on a hapless soul. It wasn’t pretty and then Ana realized the statue was supposed to depict the emperor conquering the empire. George interrupted her thoughts when he finally returned with the key and explained the problem he’d encountered. What would she say? What could she say to him about this? Edger pulled one of his weird games with their plans and probably based them on something the emperor spoke about. Ana mention her sisters and mother, then regretted it. Thank goodness George didn’t remind her that two out of three were dead. It slowly sank into her mind, and she cou
It didn’t take long for George to drive the vehicle over to the bar. He needed to be fast about this because the sun would rise soon. He hated being caught in the sun’s rays. They burned and made seeing very difficult. With the advent of sunglasses though, his eyed didn’t water as badly. Which made seeing easier and he could move faster. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot at this time of day. He found someone stalking toward him from the bar. Which he’d not expected. “You’re the driver?” He demanded to know. When George nodded, the old, balding barkeeper went on. “You’re early. Good on you. The boss will give you a bonus when I tell him about this. I’ll take the keys so you can be on your way. The sun will be up soon. Nobody wants to get caught in that.” George tossed him the keys and waved the man off before he returned to the hotel. He didn’t get into the hotel any time too soon. George could feel the b
“You’re saying this person is not necessarily of the guardian caste, but in fact an undocumented member of the Van Der Naught lineage.” Franco sat on an elaborate chair within his private audience chamber. Eva rested in his chamber at this point with guards watching her. He’d heard that Tatiana’s people were stretching their legs and testing the waters at court to see how much power they actually possessed. Franco could feel the climate going from bad to worse. “We know at the time of their presumed deaths, the patriarch and matriarch were about to be parents within weeks. The age you gave us, and the likeness all point to this male, being the next patriarch of that lineage. It may not have died out as we thought. She may have survived long enough to have her child, or someone could save her child. There’s been some strides into surgically removing a child from a mother without the need to have the mother go into labour. Or even remove the child fro
Having finally fled the old tavern, Tatiana experienced genuine fear for the first time with Sabre. Sabre passed a hard line by bringing a man into the punishment. Tatiana hated men in general because they ignored her needs for their own. She spent her days forced to deal with fools and blowhards because they wanted one thing or another. They believed her to be a pushover. The few times she’d had sex with men she felt weren’t a threat to her, only to come away unsatisfied. Now she felt fear and yet felt he met all her kinky needs. Whoever he was, he’d left her spent and fearful that no one would unbind her. Sabre also went too far. She was supposed to ask her permission before tying her down. Tatiana never heard the vitriol that spewed from Sabre’s mouth. How could she say those things? There was no way at the time Tatiana could register Sabre’s unspoken message. Sabre wanted her to hurt for some reason. Now, after that encounter,
Ana woke with a start early the next evening to the faint light of the small tiffany lamps on the bedside tables. She hadn’t moved or opened her eyes. But there George was, lying sound asleep beside her with his arm thrown over her. She wasn’t sure at first what to do with herself. How did she get out of this embarrassing situation without humiliating herself? “Sh… It’s early yet. Go back to sleep.” His voice came from inches away from her ear in a near whisper. She could hear how drugged his voice sounded because of how deeply he slept, and probably still. “I need to get up. I won’t be long.” She said before she pulled her body and limbs out of his embrace. Ana felt the chill in the air as the blankets slid away from her body. She realized then all she wore was her slip. “Hm… Okay, hurry back,” George growled as he settled back down into the bed. His half shuttered eyes slowly took in her body from head to toe an
Adriana couldn’t believe how just the smell of him, and a few words growled at her lightly, had her body preparing for so much more. She became aware of her breasts like she never had before and a rush of heat between her thighs had her clenching her thighs. When he threatened to spank her, it became impossible to resist and continue standing. At first, she thought he joked with her. But when she found herself suddenly across his lap, his hardened shaft digging into her lower belly, teasing her body into responding even more. His first slaps were overwhelming. Hot and briefly painful. The pain soon disappeared, and the heat blended with the fervent desire and need building between her thighs. She couldn’t keep her legs closed anymore and soon his hand toyed with her there, driving her mad. She couldn’t lie there still. She writhed and cried out. The sheets teased her nipples even as he found her clit and teased it as he finger fuck
Please Note: If you hate the idea of it never happened that way or a cliffhanger ending. Please don’t read past Chapter 153. Ragnar, you can’t do this. I know the timeline is altered and I understand it could have devastating consequences. But we can’t go around using magic to change things back the way they should have been. I’m sure things have changed like this before, and you didn’t do anything then.” “It’s out of my hands. The Dragon Council is sitting right now discussing this issue. I’ve got no say in it beyond my report. If they feel everything that’s happened must be changed, then that’s what will happen. It’s a last resort. But Maximus Lioness isn’t the vampire who should have that name. Something went wrong there, and that’s just one problem with the timeline, as you call it, is wrong. Adriana and George shouldn’t be in the positions they are in. All the things that happened to Adriana weren’t supposed to happen. Her mother shouldn’t be h
North American Ruling Council - Two Weeks Later Ana walked the halls again of the NARC Headquarters, doing her thing. The meetings did not differ from they’d been before. Her plans were falling into place. Her father was pleased and Caun finally could do his original job before easing into his position as a titled royal. The talk around the building didn’t stop with creatures awake at all hours of the day and night. From wild affairs to several battle royale, Ana was busy catching and keeping up with it all. She’d already been requested to assist with preventing a war from breaking out between the Nanaue, a Hawaiian shifter race of sharks, and the Merfolk, mermaids, and mermen. Fun times for all, as there are more than enough sharp teeth and injured pride to go around. This wouldn’t be a simple mediation, and Ana craved the challenge. The Dragon Ambassador did something. Ana suspected magic, because when she retur
Four Days Later - Meeting About the Future Ana woke that evening to find Caun wasn’t beside her, which was odd. When she found him, which took some effort, he was in Tatiana’s night garden exploring it with several of their guards. She had to ask several people to track him down. “Caun, what’s the matter? Why are you here?” “Oh, good evening, love. I was speaking to your father and the attacks on Tatiana came up in our conversation. You were still asleep, and I didn’t want to interrupt you. While we were talking, your father said that no one could tell me how her attackers from the first incident entered here. Since we have several excellent investigators as our guards, I thought we’d take a look around to see if we could find something that could explain how, if not, who did this.”“Oh, good grief I can understand my father not asking me how she pulled this foolishness off, but Caun I’m surprised you didn’t ask me.” That had Caun
Caun stood in line with the last of the guests filing through past him. He’d lost count of the hundreds of hands he shook. There were guards everywhere, and it made him uncomfortable, be he as George, who he still identified as, belonged with them. He kept his eye on his mate and marvelled at how she pretended not to be bored and uncomfortable with the many comments on her unique dress. The side-eye glances and the judgemental glares. It would be a difficult and busy evening. Caun hoped things would get better from here on out. That they’d be busy enough that she wouldn’t be able to brood or her the courtier’s opinion on anything.“So far, so well, this evening. Let’s see how far we can go with no scenes with any of the superficial fools who think they are powerful people.” He whispered this into Ana’s ear. It was a joke, because no matter what he said to Ana, she wouldn’t believe him. She now was a secretly powerful person. “We’ll see the night is sadly still young
Evening of the Celebration of the Life Partner Pairing Adriana thought it was crazy to see the clothing laid out for Caun and her. She’d never seen Caun every in such regalia and her own unique sense of fashion so intricately woven into the more traditional garb of a formal event. Instead of a full-length gown with sashes, ruffles, and silk flowers enveloping it. Ana wore a full dress with a closed slit up the front of the gown. Beneath it, she wore a pair of trousers and boots. Her bodice was a beauty with false draping that allowed her to wear a short, cropped jacket that Matched Caun’s jacket only it was far shorter. It was feminine, but allowed her to show her rank as the Vampiric Ambassador and a soldier within her father’s military. Which pleased her greatly because it meant her skills weren’t a dirty secret or an embarrassment to her father. Ana’s lady’s maid didn’t have a comment or criticism about anything she assisted Ana
Ana could see the sigh of relief at her words in the way her father relaxed and Eva, too. As if even this setting didn’t quite keep her father’s anxiety at bay and Eva somehow shared in it. Could she really be supporting this?Ana couldn’t see how this would be in her best interest to let this happen. If she even pretended to go along with it and encourage it, then Ana could, too. “I am relieved to hear you say this. Eva has been pressuring me to get this done before we celebrate anything because she doesn’t want there to be any miscommunication between us. I admit I agree with her. There’s been too many things keeping me from being fully in your life and now with most of that gone, I hope you will accept my attempts at rectifying that.” Her father stood up at saying this. “Come here. There’s one thing I’ve missed since you could talk.” Ana frowned because she wasn’t sure what he was speaking about and took a step back.
Ana couldn’t help it. When they entered the private well-lit moon garden of the Vampiric Emperor, she had to marvel at the artistry of it’s many curated garden paths. It was like a maze laid out before her and put Tatiana’s garden to shame. Here her father could find a little quiet solitude away from the prying eyes of his courtiers and guards alike and he guarded that privacy as if it were more precious than gold itself. She held onto Caun’s arm as they entered the space and stepped down toward the pathway Edger used to lead them to her father. The gravel that made up the surface of the path crunched softly under their feet as they followed. The sounds of night birds in the trees floated down to them as a few random lightning bugs flitted between the trees, and the space looked like someone had infused it with a sweet healing magic that was full of warmth and gentleness.“I have to say I like your father’s choice of private spaces. Between this and
Edger did return after they’d relaxed a little and changed. Ana still couldn’t help it. When she discovered the clothing, her father had commissioned for her, she’d stopped dead in her tracks in disbelief. Her new lady’s maid gave her a note written in her father’s handwriting which spoke volumes that he’d not dictated it to someone. He’d taken the time to write to her. Ana knew that wasn’t a normal relationship between child and parent, but they weren’t exactly normal people. [Adriana love, this note is to ensure you understand that situations of safety and security forced my hand to do and say things I never wanted to say to my daughter. You aren’t hidden or an embarrassment to me. I am relieved to have proven you are my daughter. Your mother tied my hands when it came to raising you, but I kept eyes on you at all times. Your life partner and you will find I’ve arranged for clothing for you in the tastes you are comfortable in, with a touch of nob
Ana entered the suite first, followed by Caun and finally Edger. A smartly dressed couple stood there waiting for them. They weren’t in the royal livery, though they clearly wore a livery. It wasn’t unusual in the days before Adriana’s birth for other leaders to have their servants in their own livery. There were a few these days, but many were no longer used since the houses no longer existed. “The Emperor took it upon himself to outfit your servants in your personal livery. This is Jacque and Rachel. They will ace as your personal maid and valet.”Ana nodded at them in recognition. These were people her father hired for them, and that was fine. They knew enough not to say anything suspicious in front of them. The pair curtseyed and Ana dismissed them. “We’ll speak later. I’m sure you have plenty to keep you busy. Are my weapons going to be a problem for her Edger?”“No, Princess, she has received training to look after, maintain, and store your weapons appropriately should the need