BRAN
“You have a call from Corey.”
Bran turned towards the sound of the voice. Edgar stood a few feet away from him, cradling a phone a phone in his hand.
Bran’s phone that was currently lighting up with a call from Corey.
He sighed, walking over to Edgar and collecting the phone from him. He had wanted to call Corey and let him know the status of things after the first interrogation, but apparently, the son of a bitch was turning out to be even more hot-blooded than Bran.
He wanted his own share of the Maria Hatzi. And he was going to get it.
If only the fucker could just wait and let him have his own piece first.
Bran had barely lifted the phone to his ear when Corey spoke.
“How’s the witch?”
“Still alive.”
“Is she still in one piece?”
“Yes, although not for long.”
There was a pause. Then, “You sick fuck. What exactly do you plan to do to her?”
“Hell if I know. What I do know, is that there’s going to be a lot more torture, and a lot less chit-chat.” Bran decided to answer truthfully.
Corey inhaled audibly. “We can work with that.” As if he had a choice. “Tell me how it goes.”
A beep sounded, singling the end of the call.
Bran shook out his hand, avoiding Edgar’s look as he tossed the phone back to him.
Torturing women had never been his forte, but for this woman, he would make an exception. She deserved every hurtful thing they would do to her. He planned on summoning the most experienced torturers just for her.
He loathed her with a vengeance that he hadn’t known was possible and she was going to know what it felt like to be on the receiving end of his wrath. She had brought it upon herself the moment she decided to even come within six feet of a Karras. Anyone he cared about, even.
What a coincidence it had been that she was also the one that had wiped out Corey’s entire household. She had blood hanging over her head.
And she was going to pay for them with her’s. But first, she was going to tell him where she kept his sister.
Determination fuelled his steps as he stormed down the hallways towards her cell. With each step he took, he tried to shed off the guilt he felt. He was not going to feel guilty for doing something that needed to be done.
He was not going to feel guilty for doing everything within—and outside—his powers to make sure that he got his sister back. Even if it meant going against everything he stood for.
Even if it meant hurting a woman.
He pulled the door open, damn near ripping it off its hinges in his anger. The damn thing needed to be changed anyway. It wasn’t his intention to alert people whenever he walked into the cells and that was exactly what the door did. Groaning like it was in fucking pain.
This time when he walked in, he flipped the switch, turning the light on. The last time he was down here, he had not bothered to turn them on because they hadn’t been important. They were now. He needed her to see his face and to know that he wasn’t here to fuck around.
Not like last time when it had seemed like he was humouring her, answering her questions like he was on her payroll.
Light filled the room, drawing his eyes to the little lump on the cot.
He frowned as he walked closer to her cell. He had purposely deposited her in one of the cells with shorter beds just so that she would have to suffer and bitch about the bed being too short for her. So, how was it possible that her entire body fit into the cot?
She was tall. Almost nearing six feet, if not more. The bed was not up to six feet long. It didn’t add up.
The lump shifted and slowly, she sat up on the cot, facing the other side of the cell. Bran couldn’t see her face, but he knew that she was definitely pissed as hell. Over the pasty few days, meals had been given to her only once a day. Not that were actually meals when you thought about it. They barely took up half of the plate.
Edgar, his right hand man, and the person responsible for her feeding, had told him that she asked for a bath, which he had flat out laughed at. He wasn’t here to take care of her.
The only reason he was feeding her in the first place, was because she needed to stay alive for the questioning. After that, he didn’t give a fuck what happened to her.
“Hey, Princess.” He mocked. “Care to tell me how you’ve been faring so far?”
When she didn’t say anything and just kept on staring at the other side of the cell, his control snapped. “Answer me!”
“Go away.” She finally said weakly. “I don’t want to speak to you.”
Her voice was husky, probably from crying.
“Good thing you don’t have a fucking choice, then.” He snapped. “Here’s how its going to go, Princess. You’re going to turn the fuck around and answer all my questions.”
A minute passed, and just when it seemed like she was going to ignore him, she climbed off the cot and stood. He frowned, but before he could say anything, she turned around and faced him, effectively knocking the breath from his lungs.
Many things weren’t right.
For one, she wasn’t six feet tall anymore. She now stood at five and a half foot.
Second, she wasn’t a redhead anymore. In fact, there was not a single red on her body apart from the cloak she was wearing. She had dark hair, perhaps even as dark as his.
Third…
Third, was that the woman standing in front of him as a fucking knockout. And she was younger than the redhead he had initially abducted.
“Take off your cloak.” His voice sounded hoarse even to his own ears.
She hesitated, before silently reaching for the clasp at her neck and freeing it, letting the cloak fall around her feet. And, God save him, the moment she became bared to him under the light from the bulb, his knees weakened, threatening to buckle.
Full wavy black hair cascaded down her back, some spilling to her front and stopping at her stomach. She had pouty pink lips, the kind that promised to ruin a man, and a body that was made just to bring a man to his knees. In fact, had it not been for sheer will, he would have dropped to his knees and crawled to her already.
Bran’s eyes trailed down her spell-binding face, her elegant neck, her full breasts straining against the T-shirt she wore that had his palms fisting and opening unconsciously, her taut stomach, wide hips, bare thighs in the shorts she was wearing and finally, her pink painted toenails. Then back up.
Involuntarily, he took a step closer to the bars. He wanted to know what colour this version’s eyes were. Before, they had been blue.
Dazedly, he realised that they were a mesmerising grey.
She stuck her small upturned nose in the air, staring down it at him. He was taller than her by far and yet, she still managed to look down at him. Did she think that presenting him with a body that looked like it had walked right out of his dreams was going to distract him from what he really came here for?
Forcing himself to regain his control—which proved almost impossible, Bran cleared his throat. “What do you think you’re going to achieve with this?”
When she merely gazed at him in confusion, he fought the urge to throttle her.
“Do you usually change bodies like costumes, trying to find the one that works for you?” He couldn’t hide the anger in his voice even if he tried. “Or did you do it because you thought that you could seduce me into letting you go?”
“I—Change bodies?” She stared at him incredulously. “This is me.”
He scoffed. Did she honestly think he was that stupid?
“Of course, it is. And the redhead? Who was that?” He cocked a brow. “Your sister?”
She shook her head. “Look, I’m not wearing anyone else’s….” She trailed off. “What are your questions?”
As if he could concentrate with a body like that in front of him.
“Not until you change back.”
“I can’t!”
“Well, then, you’re only prolonging your stay here.” He was already turning away and walking towards the door. He couldn’t look at her for a second longer. “Whenever you’re ready to change and answer my questions, call for me.”
With those last words, Bran fled.
I honestly do not know how to react properly to the fact that I just completed this book, but I am going to try my possible best and bring out all the words that are stuck in my heart. The Vampire King's Captive, Bran and Maria's story, has come to an end and I have never been more reluctant to let my characters go. Seriously, I found myself sitting in front of my laptop about to start writing in Maria's POV only for me to remember that I'm already done with the book. 😭I. Was. In. Pain. I have written about three books and this is the only one that I found hard to let go. I guess I'll just have to settle for re-reading their story and seeing bits of them in the next story in this series.Yes, you heard that right. It's going to be a series but whether you're going to keep reading depends on how much you want to get to know the characters(I really hope you read). The next book in the series is Corey and his mate's story, and the last book is Iris' story. I honestly cannot wait. I c
ONE MONTH LATERMARIA"Put the head in.""Bob your head faster.""Squeeze it—yeah, just like that."Flattening her tongue along the underside of Bran's cock, Maria watched his hands clench into fists, lost in the throes of pleasure and pain, his face contorted to match the emotions. In broad daylight when they both had things to be doing, such as Maria learning her new duties as a queen and Bran who was supposed to be having a meeting with his most trusted advisors, they had both snuck off into their room, wanting to take the edge off. One would think that with how hot their passion was, it would burn out quickly, but instead, it was like the more they had each other, the more insatiable they became for one another, seeking each other out during the day to get the most intense parts of their desires off before they would meet at night. But then again, maybe it was because they rarely saw each other during the day lately.Right now, he was leaning against the door shirtless, with je
BRAN Bran wasn't going to lie. When he'd walked into that crowd, he'd gone in with a plan B because he knew that he had wronged Maria terribly and the chances of her forgiving him—or even listening to him—were very slim. With his heart in his throat, he'd poured out his feelings, baring the contents of his soul in the words he'd spoken to her. He'd gone against everything he'd learnt and knew, using his words instead of his actions to show her how he felt. He had put everything on the line, professing his love out in the open for his people to hear, knowing fully well the risks behind it—knowing that she could refuse him and that the shame would have destroyed him, along with the pain.The news of what he'd done would no doubt travel far and wide across all realms, but he'd been prepared for it. As he had been prepared for the disappointment he would feel if she'd refused him. His plan B, had she refused him, was for him to tuck his tail between his legs and return back to his cast
MARIA"Don't go," The object of her suffering called out, his voice low and broken, filled with longing, want and all the things Maria couldn't bear to hear right now but wanted to hear still. "Please."Maria stopped, hyper aware that they were in the middle of a crowd and that everyone was looking at them. She wanted to run away from the onslaught of emotions that she was feeling, but a greater part of her wanted to stay, to go to the one man who could make her feel whole again. "Please," Iris added, weakening Maria's already tenacious grip on resolve. She felt betrayed that Iris had pulled such a move on her but deep down, Maria knew why she had done it and that was the only thing stopping her from feeling real anger towards Iris. Maria stopped but she didn't turn back around for fear of what she would do if she faced Bran again. She couldn't bear seeing him hurt and not go to him. Even with her back to him, she knew that he had walked closer to her. She was just that in tune to
MARIA "Why are you dressed like that?" It was the day for Iris' welcome party, and the host, currently standing on Maria's doorstep, was wearing a simple straight gown that reached her ankles. "What's wrong with my gown?" Iris frowned, pulling the material away from her body to examine it. "There's nothing wrong with it except for that fact that it's too casual to wear for your own party, don't you think?" Maria subtly stepped out of the way, making space for Iris to pass but she kept her feet firmly planted on the mat. "Oh," Realization flicked across her features and she waved a hand dismissively. "Don't worry about that. I'll change once I get to the castle. There's time."Maria nodded, now understanding why she was wearing that gown. She had probably showed up like this because she didn't want her gown to get rumpled or stained while coming here. Still, Maria hedged. "Do you want to come inside for a few minutes before we go?" Her eyes flicked to the car sitting in the drive
MARIAWe need a cook, Maria thought as she stirred the mixture in the bowl while fetching pans from the rack on the wall at the same time with her powers. Over the past few days, she had taken on the task of hiring a live-in maid, a cleaner that would come every two days and gardener, but she hadn't employed a cook yet. She had not been allowed into the kitchen when she was younger and therefore didn't know how to prepare a decent meal, so for the past three days—because while heartbreak couldn't kill her, she could very well die of hunger—she had taken up the task of cooking. To save her time, all she would have to do was envision the meal she wanted and it would appear in front of her, but she had recently come to see how important a cook was. She wanted to learn how to make at least a few meals and it didn't hurt to learn with a cookbook. That was what she'd been doing for the past three days anyway, and the meals had come out okay—most of the time. The doorbell rang through th