2

Considering the vampire king was almost six centuries past when most of his kind found their mate, it was shocking to hear that he was finally claiming his and that she lived in Gardena. Gardena was barely on the map, only notable for having cheap living accommodations still within walking distance to the city center. It was widely accepted that when he did find his mate, she would be from Harpsmore or one of the provinces that were governed by a titled member of the gentry.

“So any thoughts on who she could be?” Janus asked once we were at the bistro. She was bouncing in her seat from excitement.

“Who is she?” her boyfriend, Kyle, asked, leaning over to try and plant a kiss on her cheek. He finally grabbed her face with both hands and kissed her forehead.

“She is the vampire king’s mate!” Janus squealed excitedly and Kyle and I exchanged a look. It wasn’t like Janus to be this excited over something that didn’t involve skulls or rituals. Often confused for a vampire mate, she wore her black hair long with blunt bangs, black contact lenses in her eyes, and black clothes from head to toe. She only wore black lipstick and enjoyed anything that involved death. The exception was Kyle, who worked for the IT department of the palace. He currently wore khakis, a white button up, complete with pen in the front pocket, and wire rimmed glasses that never sat on his face correctly. His light brown hair was combed over and held in place with copious amounts of hair gel. The two were complete opposites in everything except their love of obsolete card games. It was the glue of their relationship.

“Who is?” Kyle repeated.

“Apparently, a girl in my building,” I answered, opening a menu.

“Really? Is that what all the crowds and cops were for?” Janus nodded, looking out the window at all of the people still walking around.

“She must have just turned twenty-one. Do you know anyone that young in your building?” Janus asked, making our twenty-eight years sound old. I shrugged.

“It’s probably Lily. Her family are nobles and she just had her twenty-first birthday. Could be one of her roommates, they’re all twenty-one too.”

“If she’s a noble, why is she living in Gardena?” Kyle asked. Janus made a face.

“Lily’s a spoiled brat. Her dad got sick of her attitude and wanted to teach her a lesson, so he made her live on her own. Her friends’ parents loved the idea, so they did the same. Although, it’s hard to learn a lesson when mommy still pays for everything,” she explained.

“Ugh, just what we need in a queen. Too bad it’s not you Raya,” Kyle said, taking a sip of his water.

“Uh yeah no. I would be the worst queen ever.”

“You think so? You’re always so nice and doing things for the community. I’d say those are pretty “queenly” qualities,” Janus said.

“One is just good customer service and the other is civic duty. Anyone can accomplish those,” I explained. The waitress came and took our order. Janus went with a beet salad, Kyle ordered the lasagna, and I decided on the fettuccine alfredo.

“But still, Lily as a queen would be awful. She’d declare a class war for sure,” Janus continued.

“Maybe the king will get sick of her and eat her,” Kyle suggested and I wrinkled my nose. The vampire king did have a reputation for ruthlessness. He had essentially ended the war because no one could defeat him and the current werewolf and human kings decided it was better off to join him than die.

“One can only hope,” Janus snickered. I changed the conversation to one of the card games she and Kyle loved and then spent the next twenty minutes zoning out while they argued about the best way to play. My mind drifted to what it would be like to be with the vampire king. In the pictures I had seen, he was well built, broad shoulders, long legs, chiseled features, a Roman nose, dark hair that hung just over his dark eyes. Most vampires were pale in coloring, still preferring to only go out at night, even though hundreds of years of breeding with humans had made it possible for them to go out in the daylight. The vampire king’s skin was golden brown, a shade or so lighter than my own brown skin. With his desirability, the rumor mill thrives on his endless affairs. Of course, they all say how good he is in bed, but what else would they say?

Our food finally came and when we were finished, we stood outside, chatting a little while longer. They wanted to walk me home but they lived in the opposite direction. With the heavy police presence still around, I insisted that I would be fine and gave them a hug. I assured them I would call them once I was in my apartment and headed home. When I arrived, the crowd had thinned some and I easily pushed myself up to the barrier in front of the main door.

“Hi, I live here,” I told the police officer, holding out my ID. There must have been a shift change since I didn’t see the last officer I spoke with.

“You’re in 22B?” the officer said, his voice sounding shaky as he handed back my ID.

“Yes, is there a problem?” I asked, hitching my purse higher up on my shoulder.

“N-n-no problem. Have a nice evening ma’am,” he said, practically tripping over himself to open the barricade.

“Uh, thanks. You too.” What a weird interaction. I decided to forego checking my mail in the lobby and headed straight up the stairs to my third floor apartment.

When I unlocked the door and stepped inside, I was hit with an immense pressure on my chest. I desperately felt for the light switch, flipping it several times, but nothing happened.

“You’ve kept me waiting,” a gruff voice rumbled from the corner of my living room. A set of red eyes were suddenly staring at me and I tried to take a step back but a wall was blocking my way. I turned to get around the wall and realized that it was a giant person. I turned back around, ready to scream, when a hand clamped down over my mouth and nose. I struggled to get away but an arm had come across my chest and was holding me in place.

“Relax, no one is going to hurt you,” the voice said, and I sensed movement but the hand over my face was cutting off my oxygen. “Do you know who I am?” My mind was completely blank and the lack of oxygen wasn’t helping. “Do you know why I’m here? You can answer me, I told you, no one is going to hurt you.” I can’t answer you idiot! I can’t breathe! Still struggling, the hands on me tightened. My lungs were screaming.

“Listen, if you’re going to be my mate, you’re going to have to talk to me. Unless you’re mute. A mute queen would pose an interesting challenge.” I’m not mute, I’m dying! “Honestly, this is ridiculous. How about your name? I’ll start. I’m Trick, Vampire King. And you are? Listen, I need to know what to call my queen.” Queen? It was the last word I heard before I lost consciousness.