"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
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
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
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.
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
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
"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
"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
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