STORY 1: I HATE YOU

ASHANTI

I glare at the towering doors of the throne room, my wrists raw from the iron cuffs around them.

Fuck.

This place really looks like hell just like the rumors described, although the air here is cold and strangely smells nice like night-blooming flowers. The two vampire warriors on both my sides dragged me here after I burned one of their blood farms because obviously, humans are not supposed to fight back in Nyxris, the vampire kingdom.

But I did. I fought back.

I always have.

Just then, the doors in front of us swing open without a sound. Next, the guards shove me forward and I stumble into the big room.

Bastards.

My vision adjusts to the environment around me and I can see the black floors under my feet. They look spotless, shining under the flickering candlelights. The air is colder in here and I feel like I have been thrown into the deepest, coldest depth of the ocean.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, I lift my eyes forward and at the far end of the room, on a throne carved from what looks like thousands of melted gold, sits him.

Lord Vesper Bloodbane.

He looks barely thirty and breathtakingly handsome with his sharp cheekbones, hypnotizing blue eyes, and raven black hair falling across his forehead.

However, everyone knows he is not barely thirty because he has walked this world for over a thousand years.

“Get rid of her cuffs and leave us,” he commands the guards and I can instantly feel his power rolling off him just from his voice alone, the force of it filling my skin with goosebumps.

The guards do as they are told.

And now, I am alone with the bloodsucker devil.

Ignoring the way my heart is now hammering against my ribs, I lift my chin defiantly at him, rubbing my wrists and boldly speaking out the first words in my mind.

“I don't care who you are, but if you are going to kill me, do it quickly because I won’t beg for mercy.”

He says nothing in response, but he rises slowly from the throne, his broad shoulders and intimidating height instantly making me gulp.

He is tall, very tall, and dressed in black silk draping majestically over his powerful frame.

Next, he steps down the stairs of the throne and circles me like a predator, stopping just close enough for me to feel the unnatural coldness of his body.

“Kill you?” A dark chuckle escapes him. “No, little rebel. I have better plans for you.”

His hand suddenly shoots out, his fingers gripping my jaw hard enough to bruise.

I try to jerk away, but he holds me still, forcing me to meet those merciless blue eyes.

“You have caused enough chaos,” he snarls. “Tonight, you will become mine. My fledgling. And I will make sure my blood will bind you to me in ways you cannot even begin to imagine.”

Fear spikes through me.

But so does something hotter.

Anger.

Defiance.

And a traitorous urge of dark curiosity.

“I will never be yours,” I spit.

He smiles cruelly. “You will. And you will scream for me before tonight ends.”

Before I can react, he yanks my head to the side, exposing my neck.

And in a flash, his fangs sink deep into my throat.

White-hot pain instantly explodes through me and I cry out, my body arching against him.

I try to fight him, but he seems to be doing something to my body that is making me numb and powerless against him.

My vision blurs as he drinks greedily, his arm banding around my waist and pulling me flush against his hard chest. The pull of his mouth is so intoxicating and I hate that I want more.

I fucking hate it.

My breath hitches as he keeps drinking and I can feel my strength draining away with every pull of his lips. The throne room is blurring around me more and more.

But next, the blurring stops when he pulls back, his mouth stained crimson with my blood.

My hazy eyes meet his and I can see the glowing hunger in those blue eyes.

Without warning, he slices his own wrist with a fang and presses the bleeding wound to my lips.

“Drink,” he orders.

The command slams into me and my body instantly obeys even though my mind is screaming a big fat NO.

I feel… different.

And I can't help the urge.

I grab his wrist and drink, his warm, potent blood flooding my tongue.

Fuck. He tastes like dark wine laced with sin.

I moan against his skin, hating how good he tastes. I can feel him watching me with dark satisfaction, his fingers tangled in my hair.

“Good girl,” he growls. “That’s it. Take it all. I want you to feel me becoming part of you.”

My body burns as I keep drinking, his blood fueling the waves of unwanted heat in my belly.

I can't get enough.

But just as I continue sucking, my bones start feeling like they are breaking and reforming.

I stop drinking, now gasping in pain as I clutch his shirt.

Something is happening to me.

My eyes are burning hot. My skin is getting paler.

And I can feel two pairs of my front teeth turning into sharp canines.

Dear God.

When the feeling finally subsides, I don't need to ask what I am.

I already know what I am.

Still gasping, I collapse against him, every nerve in my body adjusting and tingling with the new ME.

I am no longer fully human.

“Finally,” Vesper smiles and lifts me effortlessly, carrying me to a massive bed draped in black silk at the side of the room.

There, he lays me down on the bed, his body hovering over me while his gaze rakes over my body with raw possession.

“You are mine now, fledgling. My blood runs through you, and my commands are yours to obey.”

“Fuck you,” I snap even though my new vampire senses keep making every inch of my skin hypersensitive. I can smell his sandalwood scent mixed with something spicy.

And the scent is so damn good.

“Such pretty stubbornness,” he laughs darkly, his hand sliding down my body and cupping my breast through my torn dress.

My nipple hardens instantly under his thumb and he pinches the peak until I whimper.

“See? You are already a needy stubborn whore, but don't worry, I am going to enjoy breaking that stubbornness.”

As soon as those words leave his lips, he tears my dress open with one sharp tug of his hands, exposing me completely.

The cold air hits my heated skin and I try to cover up, but he slaps my hands away and quickly pins my wrists above my head with one hand.

“Don't hide yourself from me,” he growls, his eyes raking all over my naked body. I squirm under him, trying to free myself, but my new strength is nothing compared to his power.

“Look at you. I bet you are already wet for me,” he taunts, his voice rough with desire.

“I am not,” I lie, but my thighs are pressing together anyway, trying to quench the dripping wetness flowing out of me.

“Should we confirm that?” He taunts again, his fingers slipping between my thighs.

He smiles when he finds me slick and aching.

Fuck.

His thumb slowly circles my clit, his eyes watching my face the entire time while he keeps teasing my swollen clit.

I bite my lip hard, fighting the sinful moan rising in my throat.

“Still lying to me?” He pushes two thick fingers inside me without warning.

I gasp, my back arching off the bed.

“Your body already knows who it belongs to,” he growls and starts pumping his fingers deep and slow, curling them against that spot inside me.

Stars burst behind my eyes, the wet sounds of his fingers filling the room while making me feel both humiliated and aroused all at once.

“Vesper—” I gasp his name before I can stop myself.

“Yes?” His voice drips with dark amusement. He leans down, his fangs grazing the nipple of my left breast. “Beg me, little rebel. Beg your new master to make you come.”

“I hate you,” I moan, my hips rocking against his hand despite my refusal.

He chuckles.

And without warning, he bites down on my nipple, his fangs sending a sharp spike of pleasure and pain through me.

“ARRGH!” I scream, feeling the shockwaves of the pain and pleasure zapping through my veins like wildfire. Blood wells up from the bite wound around my nipple and he licks it away with a groan before he starts drinking from the wound while his fingers increase their pace, thrusting harder and deeper inside me.

Fuck. I can't take it anymore.

“Vesper!” The combination of his fingers and his fangs shatter me and I come hard, crying out his name as more waves of intense pleasure crash over me. My new vampire body seems to be amplifying every sensation, turning every pulse and ripple inside me into an endless ocean filled with this twisted desire between us.

I continue riding my throes of pleasure and Vesper doesn’t stop. His fingers keep working me through my release, drawing out every last shudder until I am finally panting beneath him, my body nearly limp as I try to catch my breath.

“Good girl,” he purrs, withdrawing his fingers and bringing them to his mouth.

Next, he licks them clean while holding my gaze.

“You just went through your first punishment,” he growls. “But I am not done with you.”

His words ignite me again. I say nothing, my chest heaving, my body still buzzing as I keep lying under him, not moving one inch.

The blood bond pulses between us.

Hot.

Alive.

And making me crave more.

I can feel him inside my veins, inside my mind, and even deep in my soul. He is like a dark possessive presence I can’t escape.

And the worst part?

Some treacherous part of me doesn’t want the escape.

Next, I watch him as he strips slowly, my mouth instantly watering when his black robe drops to the floor, revealing a body of temptation that suddenly makes me want to indulge in every sin available in the world.

In addition, his cock is thick, long, and already leaking at the tip.

I bite down my lower lip, my mouth watering MORE at the sight, my dark hunger clashing with the burning hatred I feel towards him.

“This is only the beginning,” he whispers against my lips and settles between my thighs, the heavy weight of his cock pressing against my entrance. “By the time I am done with you, you will crave my commands. You will beg for my bite, and you will burn for me in all the ways possible. Now, be a good girl and take my cock.”

Without further warning, he thrusts inside me in one powerful stroke, stretching me open and claiming me completely.