by Mara Leigh
Pike grunts, then moves to the sofa Rock vacated, crossing his arms over his chest once he sits.
“Vampiric Law dictates that the throne cannot remain empty for more than twenty years,” Gray says. “After that, a missing sovereign is declared dead and must be replaced.”
“So, if he’s not found before the end of the month,” I say. “Who is named king?” And what has any of this got to do with me? Gray’s supposedly big revelation is distracting me from more pressing problems.
I turn toward Colton to make sure he’s okay. As the one full human amongst us he’s wide-eyed, but doesn’t look like he’s about to bolt—or stake anyone—at least for the moment.
He turns toward me, and I give him a reassuring smile, relieved when he returns it.
“You,” Gray says.
My attention snaps toward Gray. “Me, what?”
He shakes his head. “You, princess.” He grins, sheepishly. “You are heir to the throne. You take the crown. You actually are a princess.”
My body and mind flood with static, and I shake my head. I can’t focus on anything.
Gray crosses, crouches in front of me and rests his hand on my knee. “I was sent here, to Toronto, because of a rumor. A rumor that the king had sired a child with a human.”
“I thought that was impossible?” Rock says.
“Improbable. Not impossible.” Gray looks into my eyes, and I see none of his teasing mischief. He’s sincere. Whether or not he’s speaking the truth, he believes it’s the truth.
“You carry the king’s blood,” he says. “Vampire DNA. That must be how you transitioned without feeding from your Maker.”
My breath catches in my chest. My mother refused to tell me about my father. Acted like she didn’t even know who he was. Did she know? Or that he was a vampire? A king?
“And it’s why you’ve grown so strong, so quickly.” Gray leans in to whisper. “Not to mention why you’re so delectable.” His breath is hot on my throat.
“How would you know? You’ve never even drunk my blood.” Leaning back, I stare into his eyes, trying to make sense of any of this. It’s got to be a joke, or a dream.
“I don’t need to feed to know how you taste.” He licks my vein lightly, and I feel it everywhere inside me. His saliva penetrates my skin and sets off explosions in every cell in my body, especially between my legs. My fangs pulse, urging me to plunge them into Gray’s throat.
I lean away from him and rest against Rock’s chest. I’ve barely come to terms with being a vampire, never mind being a vampire princess? It’s not real.
Gray straightens and turns his back to me heading for a chair.
“How long have you known?” I ask him, softly.
He stops in his tracks, but doesn’t turn. “Since the first night we met.”
I suck in a sharp breath. All this time. He’s known the whole time and hasn’t told me. Gray knew who my father was. He knows—he always knew—how I became a vampire. And the whole time he’s been calling me princess.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Looking down, he shakes his head.
“Why Gray?”
“Because I failed in my sworn duty. Because I’m selfish.”
“Selfish how?” I leap up and face Gray who still has his back to the others. “What do you mean by that?”
“Selfish because I didn’t want anyone else to know who you are.”
“So don’t tell anyone, then.”
He looks down.
“Why does it matter anyway?” I ask. “And how does that make you selfish?”
“Because once your identity is revealed, everything will change. Everything.” He looks up and his eyes are so full of regret and pain it sends a shiver racing through me.
I want to know more. I want to understand what it all means, but I can’t deal with any more tonight.
I glance up at the others and they’re all looking at me with concern.
“What does it all mean?” Rock asks. “And what happens now?”
Gray turns toward them, away from me. “It means that in less than a month she takes the throne.”
“No!” I have so many questions, but every new piece of information only makes things worse.
I can’t breathe. I can’t concentrate. I need air.
I rush from the room, out of the house and into the night.
Running and running, without destination or purpose, air rushes past me so fast I feel like I’m flying.
Realizing I’m far north of the city, I finally stop, lost and tired.
I’m not sure where I am and—I glance at the sky—it’s almost dawn.
Chapter 18
Colton
When Selina runs, I leap to my feet wanting to follow, but as quickly as I reacted, the others are way ahead of me. The two vampires reach the door first, then Rock, then me. When it comes to athleticism, I’m top of the heap against most humans, but amongst these three I’m on the bottom.
The four of us stand on the front porch of the massive house looking out into the darkness. There’s not a sign of Selina. It’s like she evaporated into the night.
“Let her go,” the scary-looking vampire says. “She needs time to think.”
Gray nods. “She’ll be back.”
Rock is silent, but his fists are clenched at his sides. Fists the size of small boulders and I expect as solid.
I raise my hands to my head. Every part of me is trembling—I hope not visibly—but I feel like there’s an earthquake underfoot, a volcano building in my guts, a tsunami gathering height and planning it’s devastating onshore crash with me as the shoreline.
My legs give out and I drop to the stone steps.
“Hey, buddy.” Gray sits down beside me. “You doing okay?”
“I’m not your buddy.” It’s not like the word enemy comes to mind, but at best Gray is my rival, the player who’s been pursuing Selina and not treating her with the respect she deserves—but at this particular moment I have to admit that we’re in the same boat. Does that make us buddies? Buddies in fear, maybe.
All four of us. No matter how we feel about each other, it’s obvious that we all love Selina.
Terror grips my chest. Selina didn’t simply run off into the night. She ran off into the immanent dawn. Gathering every ounce of power I have left, I stand.
“What happens if she’s not back before sunrise?” I ask no one in particular.
No one answers.
“Why didn’t you tell her sooner?” Rock asks Gray. “Shit. You’re saying you’ve known all this about her for weeks? Since the first fecking night you met her?”
The big man shakes his head. His hands remain fisted and veins rise from his neck and bulging arms. This massive dude must do some serious steroids. He looks ready to explode and when he does I do not want to be in his path.
I turn away from the other men. I’m not part of this particular dispute. Her status as a princess, or who knew what when, isn’t relevant. I’m still trying to process the fact that the woman I love isn’t a woman at all. Not a human one anyway.
It’s bad enough she’s a bloodsucker, never mind the Queen of the Bloodsuckers. What the actual fuck.
I drop back down to the steps.
“Seriously.” Gray settles beside me, his long legs effortlessly flexing to lower his strong body with the weight of a feather. “You sure you’re okay?”
I nod.
Gray vanishes as quickly as he sat down beside me.
I turn.
Rock has lifted Gray by the shoulders and is holding him against the stone pillar at the side of the porch.
“Why. Didn’t. You. Tell. Her?” Rock’s voice is low and deep and comes out with such force I’m shocked that Gray’s hair doesn’t fly back.
“I should have,” Gray responds from where he’s suspended. “I couldn’t. You don’t understand. Once I tell the Order about her, that’s it.”
“What do you mean that’s it?” someone asks.
He steps forward, his body tense but not hostile, but then again, this guy’s mere existence is hostile. Menacing pretty much sums him up.
Still suspended against the pillar, Gray whistles out a breath through tight lips. “Might I suggest that we all go inside and discuss this in a civilized manner?”
Rock drops Gray to the stone porch and turns back to the door. Gray smoothes the fabric of his fancy-looking shirt and then follows. The scary one just stands there, his amber eyes staring from his terror-inducing face.
I rise, planning to follow Gray and Rock inside.
“You’re Colton,” he says gruffly. “I’m Pike.”
Of course your name is Pike, I think, but instead of saying anything, I offer my hand to shake his. He accepts the gesture, and his grip is surprisingly warm and firm. I’m relieved that he doesn’t try to crush my fingers—or kill me.
He gestures toward the door, then follows me back inside.
When I reach the living room, Gray is pouring some kind of alcohol from an intricately carved glass carafe into four equally impressive glasses.
“Cognac?” he asks and I nod.
He hands me one and the four of us sit, each choosing one side of the rectangle formed by the furniture in the center of the large, ornately-decorated room.
I fully take in the space for the first time. I always thought this Gray guy was pretentious, a stuck up asshole, but this room…it’s like something out of a Dickens novel. Not that I’ve read any Dickens, but I did see the original Christmas Carol movie and it seems like the kind of house the rich dude in that had. Everywhere I look there’s some kind of fussy vase or statue that looks like something from the Royal Ontario Museum. Except fancier.
“So she’s a princess?” Rock says, leaving it there.
“Rightful heir to the Vampiric Throne. Yes.” Gray rests his elbows on his knees, holding his glass of cognac between his palms.
I take a tiny sip of the amber liquid, expecting bourbon or rye, but this is something much better. I’m not one for hard liquor, but after the initial burn, the taste of the cognac stays sweet and smoky in my mouth. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted.
Pike downs the contents of his glass in one gulp, then sets the crystal down hard on the coffee table.
My mind swirls with a million things but keeps returning to the fact that I love a vampire.
And she’s not here. And I need her to be here. I need to hold her and kiss her and have her by my side until the day I die.
Until I die…
Is Selina immortal? Is she already dead? I think of all the questions I should have asked Rock while we were still downstairs. I wish I’d been able to concentrate better.
“Thing is,” Gray says. “Once I turn Selina over to the Order, she’s gone.”
“Gone?” Pike stands. “What do you mean, gone, because I won’t let anyone hold her captive. Not ever again.”
“Not gone like that,” Gray says. “She won’t be a prisoner per se, but she’ll have responsibilities, duties, and that’s not the worst of it.”
“What?” Rock growls. “What the fuck aren’t you telling us, now?”
“Her Mates.” Gray closes his eyes for a moment as if fighting pain. “Not one of us is worthy.”
“Worthy?” Rock shakes his head. “Selina’s not like that. She won’t care that none of us is a prince or whatever the feck is deemed worthy. She would never reject me just because she’s a queen, she wouldn’t reject any of us because of some stupid title.”
Pike sinks back into his chair, crumpling into the leather almost like he’s been dehydrated.
Instead of menacing, Pike now looks more like a badly-abused puppy cowering in the corner of a cage full of angry Rottweilers at the pound.
Pike clearly believes Gray, not Rock. He believes he’s not good enough for Selina and he’s right about that. I almost feel sorry for the guy. As for me, I don’t know what to think.
“The sovereign’s Mates must be approved by the Council,” Gray continues. “Each must be from a different one of the ancient lines, and then, even if a potential Mate is deemed worthy of her, a tall order in itself, each Mate’s compatibility must be further confirmed by a priest during the ceremony by the mixing—”
“Of blood.” Pike finishes. “Their blood when combined must combust to prove they’re in love.”
“How do you know about that?” Rock asks him.
“From Xavier’s court.” Anger fills Pike’s eyes. “I saw him take at least a dozen mates. And the asshole tried to marry Selina thirteen times. Their blood never combusted.”
“Of course it didn’t,” Gray says. “Xavier could never be a worthy Mate for our queen.”
Blood combusting? Dozens of mates? My mind spins. It’s like I’ve been caught in a fairy tale—or nightmare—and I keep expecting to return to reality, or wake from this bizarre dream. And bizarre it is.
From the moment I realized I loved Selina, I hoped—no expected—that one day she’d feel the same way. That she’d leave Gray and Rock and choose me. That we’d be together for the rest of our lives. And that’s before I even knew about Pike.
But the other three are talking as if the only obstacle to any of the four of us being with Selina is the fact that she’s some kind of royalty. Like we aren’t rivals—obstacles to each other.
“More than a dozen mates?” I blurt. “Did I hear that right? And who the hell is Xavier?”
“The vampire who held Selina captive,” Rock continues. Then sneers. “He calls himself a king and wanted her for a Mate. Pike was his Guard.”
“What?” I spin toward the scarred vampire.
Pike’s torso contracts as if my gaze landed a punch to his guts. “It’s true.” His voice is quiet, like it’s being filtered through gravel. “Horrible things were done to her under my watch.” His gaze remains on his knees.
His hand slides into the pocket of his leather jacket, and he winces in pain that’s so obvious it’s hard to believe it’s not physical. His body is tense, and I push down my cop instincts that want to demand he take his hands from his pockets. It’s clear whatever he’s holding there is sharp—possibly a weapon.
“Where is this Xavier guy now?” I ask returning my focus to something I can process. “Has he been arrested for what he did to Selina?” I shake my head as soon as the words are out of my mouth. Vampires have no concept of laws or justice.
“He will be arrested,” Gray says. “Our people are hunting him down and when he’s caught, he’ll stand trial for his crimes and be in prison for the rest of his life.”
“He’ll stand trial?” I am so confused. “No way will the police arrest him, they’ll stake him.”
“We’re not talking about the human police,” Gray says coldly. “Our justice system is far less barbaric.”
“What did you say?” I rise to my feet.
“Hey,” Rock holds up his hands. “Let’s stay focused. The most important thing at the moment is the safety of the woman we all love.”
I drop to my chair.
“We do all love her, right?” Rock runs his hand through his hair.
Pike and I nod in agreement. Gray leans forward to hold his head in his hands.
“How are you all not jealous of each other?” I ask. “And can she really love all four of us?”
Rock stretches his beefed up arm across the back of the sofa. “I don’t doubt it for a second. Selina’s got a lot of love to give.”
“And…” My mouth is suddenly dry. To wet it, I take another sip of the cognac, hoping it will also settle my churning stomach. “Have you all had…sexual relations with her?” I know that Gray has. Selina admitted it
to me. Is she really having sex with Rock too, like he implied downstairs? And Pike? My stomach flips.
None of them answer, so I look around the room and the truth is obvious in their faces. “All of you?”
Everyone except me has had sex with her. The idea makes my guts turn inside out.
“Not me,” Rock says.
“I’d call that a technicality, mate.” Gray looks at Rock. “I don’t know exactly what you two get up to in bed—when it’s just the two of you—but when the three of us…”
Rock holds up his hand to silence him.
My jaw drops. I want to know what Gray means by the three of us, but at the same time I don’t. I really, really don’t. And Rock clearly doesn’t want Gray to share it either.
Gray leans toward me. “Rock and Selina haven’t fucked yet. His cock’s too big.”
I suck in a hard breath, feeling like it might be my last. Now that I have that image in my mind I’ll never be able to breathe again.
Gray leans back in his chair. “This is all irrelevant. No matter how much any of us loves her, no matter what kind of sex life any of us has—had—with her, none of that matters. Not anymore. In a few weeks, it’s all over. Not one of us can be with her. Selina will ascend to the throne and her choice of Mate will no longer be up to her.”
“Vampires have arranged marriages?” I blurt.
“Not exactly.” Gray shakes his head. “Selina will marry for love. It might take decades, centuries, before she finds the right Mates.” He shakes his head. “Her father never took a Mate, and that’s part of the problem. If he had, one of his Mates would ascend—”
“What if she doesn’t want the title?” Pike interrupts. He removes his hand from his pocket and I spot dried blood on his palm as he brushes hair from in front of his eyes. “What if she says no to the throne?”
Gray shakes his head. “It’s her duty. Her destiny. Selina won’t turn her back on all vampirekind and—” he looks down “—as a Knight of the Order of Sanguis, it’s my duty to make sure she takes the throne, no matter the cost.”
Chapter 19
