Rotten Apples

"You bastard, you rotten bastard. . . I will make you pay for this.”Lucianda threatened in a provoked voice but Prince Hakeem only laughed outrageously as he glinted down at her exposed breasts. "You and who will do that?" He made a mocking sound. "My dear Lucianda, the only reason you escaped from my wrath was because my findings indicated you are a decent woman, but don't try to take advantage, you will pay dearly for it." He warned coldly and Lucianda shivered physically. Laughing devilishly at her fear, Prince Hakeem kept his eyes on her pouty breasts and just when Lucianda felt she would die from the embarrassment and the unwanted passion washing over her body, he gave an insulting snort as he got up from the bed, and before she could do anything, with a blank expression, he covered her body with a wrap. “Try to know your place.” He said before striding out of the room. Only then did Lucianda give way to tears. What was her offence? She was just a disillusioned widow trying to get over all that had happened in her life and here is another cruel soul, trying to create more problems for her. ***** Lucianda Castos, the widow of the late powerful Alex Castos, refused to mourn the death of her husband. All she wanted was to start the process of healing. Prince Hakeem, her husband's equally powerful but ten times deadlier rival, would not permit her to do that. He had another thing planned and Lucianda did not know what that meant for her. She hated her husband and everything that had to do with him. And she would avenge the pain they made her go through. She has only two missions; to protect her son and to hurt those who hurt her.

So there I was, stuck in this dark Victorian mansion for a whole freaking century, thinking I'd never get out. Then, out of nowhere, these two gorgeous girls swoop in and rescue me! I couldn't believe it, and we instantly hit it off. They showed me a whole new world I'd only ever imagined, and I was all about living a normal human life.   But just when I thought things were looking up, this vampire named Vivaldi pops up out of thin air, grinning like a possessed Jack-o'-lantern. I mean, a name like Vivaldi is bound to give you the creeps, right? He claimed I had some ancient first blood running through my veins and demanded that I sign some crazy blood contract with him—the kind of deal that comes with some seriously freaky consequences.   Vivaldi was trying to sell me the idea that this blood contract was his only lifeline, the only way to save his skin from something worse than death. But I wasn't some clueless newborn vamp; I knew better than to just dive into something as serious as a blood contract. Those things come with some heavy consequences, and I wasn't about to sign up for that without a second thought.   The problem was, if I didn't go along with his messed-up plan, he promised to make my friends' lives a living hell—the very people I'd started to care about. I was trapped between a rock and a hard place. If I decided to team up with Vivaldi, I'd be keeping him around, which is far from ideal. But if I refused, my friends and the whole town of Shadowvale would be in serious danger.    It felt like I was caught in this impossible situation, like I was trying to choose between two rotten apples.