by Anna Santos
“And this has nothing to do with the woman that you want me to follow since I told you about your brother’s having a girlfriend?”
“I have no idea of what you are talking about.”
“I’m talking about Beth, the vampire woman that you are obsessed for.”
He grabbed her arm. “What more do you know about her and who told you?”
“You are hurting me.”
“It’s intentional.”
She kept glaring at him. “She’s your brother, now.”
“Over my dead body,” he groaned.
Olivia moved her arm and released it from his grip. “That wouldn’t be that hard to them since you are nothing but a weak human.”
“I can easily enter their palace and … kill them while they are sleeping.”
“You and what army? I don’t see you hiring anyone else to help you with this. I also don’t see anyone dangerous in this town. There are vampires, werewolves, and even hybrids but they seem to like to live here.”
“Hybrids,” he spat. “Worse than scum.”
“You promised me that we would travel the world. Instead, you brought me to this town and put me to work while you follow your family around. Where is all your fortune? Why aren’t you looking for your wife? Beth, that pretty vampire woman isn’t your wife. Your wife name is Marie.”
“A mistake that I pretend to correct.”
“So why aren’t we looking for her?”
Alaric sucked a breath and threw the bottle against the wall. “Stop annoying me with questions. I have no idea where that bitch is with my child.”
“You said it was her lover’s child, not yours. What else did you lie about?”
He smirked and grabbed her by the waist. “What do you care? All you think about is taking me to bed and take advantage of me. You are shallow and just want about money and a good life. There’s more to life than that. There’s more to life than a good fuck. But you are a child and can’t understand it yet.”
“I’m not a child.” She pushed him back. “You might be handsome, but I’m not planning to stay around if you keep treating me as if I’m not important to you. I’ve been working my ass off in the coffee shop, and when I get home, I still have to clean after you. Meanwhile, you stay here all day and do nothing. Where do you even get these bottles of whiskey from?”
Alaric laughed. “You are just tense. Come back here, and I’ll make you feel better. Come, I’ll take care of you tonight. It’s been a while. I’m neglecting your needs.”
Olivia growled. “A prince my ass. You are just useless, and Father was right. You are insane, and I don’t want to play with you anymore.”
“Of course your father was right. Fathers just want what is best for their kids. Except mine. My mother was an angel. She deserved better than him.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” He got up and grabbed her. Smacking his lips against hers, he spoke. “I’m hard, really hard. Be a good girl and let’s go to bed.”
“Get away. You reek of booze and haven’t showered yet. Just go clean yourself, and I might reconsider.”
His hand connected with her cheek before she had time to understand what was going on. “Don’t talk to me like that, bitch. I deserve a little respect. I’m your lover, and you’ll do what I want and behave. I’m getting tired of your jealousy and tantrums.”
Tears ran down Olivia’s cheeks. She fisted her hands and slammed them against his chest. “You hit me. You bastard. You piece of shit. I’ll leave you to root here alone. You need me, you piece of...” Alaric grabbed her wrists and pushed her back.
Olivia hit her head against the wall and lost her senses.
“Finally, peace and quiet,” Alaric said as he sat back on his armchair. “What a waste of good whiskey. What am I going to do now?” He looked at Olivia and narrowed his eyes. “I guess I have no other choice than to continue to fuck this useless cunt.”
Getting up, he grabbed her arms and placed her over his shoulder. He walked to the bedroom with her and threw her in the bed.
Olivia moaned and squinted her eyes as she regained consciousness. “What are you doing?”
His belt was off, and he was opening his pants. “Proving to you how much I love you. Even if you don’t deserve it.”
The look of terror in her face made him smile. “That’s it, darling. Fear me. I like it more when they fight back.”
He grabbed her arms and fell on top of her as she shrieked and begged him to stop. Before he could do anything else, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Saliva rushed to his mouth, and he screamed. Rolling in the bed, he grabbed his stomach and yelled as if someone was ripping his stomach open.
“What is wrong?” Olivia kneeled beside him and grabbed his hand.
“It hurts so much. What the hell is happening to me?”
Sweating and spasming, Alaric continued to experience pain. Whatever that was, Alaric wanted it to stop but didn’t know how.
“We need to go to a hospital,” Olivia shrieked.
“No, no hospital. No one can know that I’m alive. They ask q-questions.”
“This isn’t normal.”
Alaric endured a few more minutes of pain until it stopped and he fell asleep.
Chapter Twelve
Alaric woke up with a nasty headache and feeling as if someone had pissed inside his mouth. Fluttering his eyelids, he looked at the female next to him. Her big brown eyes seemed to come to life when he groaned.
“What are you still doing here?” Alaric asked Olivia.
“Where did you want me to be?” she knelt and reached for a glass of water.
Sitting up, he grabbed the glass and looked around. His vision wasn’t blurry. If anything, he could see in the darkness. “What happened?”
“You started to shout in pain, and then you passed out.”
Tasting the liquid, he spat it back in the glass. “Ugh, this tastes like iron.” He raised his head and moved his eyes from one side to the other. Then he clenched his teeth and pulled his lips back. “Grrr.”
Olivia circled him and stopped in front of him with puckered lips. “What are you doing?”
“Checking if my fangs are working.”
Rolling her eyes, she leaned back and got out of the bed. “You’re still drunk.”
He ignored her and kept willing his fangs to show. When they did, he fisted his hands and punched the bed. The impact of his strength made the mattress bounce, and he almost fell off the bed. Pulling himself together, he exited to open plan kitchen with the living room.
“I’m back!”
He found Olivia in front of the fridge with a hesitant grimace.
“I need you to grab me some supplies from the pharmacy while I call Seth.”
Olivia frowned at him. “What do you want with that Seth dude?”
“It’s business. Let’s just say I have something that he wants, and he can give us the money we need.”
Olivia jumped up and down at the mention of money. “Will we have enough money to get out of here and travel?”
“Yes. After my plan is complete, we’ll leave this forsaken place. Now.” He moved closer and patted her head. “Be a good girl and get me needles and empty vials to store my blood. Also, I need you to find me blood to drink. I’m sure there are places here where you can find it.” He winced forward. “I’m thirsty, and you smell rather delicious at this point.”
Her face became pale. Nodding, she grabbed her purse and coat and looked for money in a drawer before leaving and closing the door behind her.
“That bitch must have given birth,” Alaric mumbled to himself. “Took her long enough.”
***
Olivia removed the needle from Alaric’s arm and got up to place the last vial of blood inside the recipient that she was going to store in the fridge. His powers had come back, and he was thirsty. She was happy to have found enough bags of blood to satisfy his craving.
“What are you pl
anning to do with this blood?” Olivia asked even if she had an idea.
“Business. Don’t worry your pretty head about this.”
“Even if you got your vampire powers back, you still aren’t strong enough to deal with all your family on your own. They also have bodyguards protecting them.”
“You have become friendly with one of Beth’s bodyguards, haven’t you?”
“Brandon? He’s a nice guy, but I’m sure he won’t betray his loyalty to your father and brother.”
“How do you know that? Why don’t you use your charm on him and go out for a coffee?”
Olivia rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t work like that, Alaric. We need a lot of men if you want to do something to your flesh and blood.”
She walked to the kitchen and stored the blood in the cold. Before she closed the door, she slipped one vial into her sleeve and headed to her purse. Pretending that she was looking for something, she dropped the vial inside and took a pack of gum.
“What are we doing now?” Olivia asked, looking at her nails.
“I’m going out. I need a stronger drink. You sleep and go to work in the morning.”
Without waiting for a reply or complaint, he disappeared with his new-found superspeed and Olivia released a long sigh.
Her body was tense because she didn’t know what he would do to her. But it seemed that he still needed her help. She was going to play along until the supposed money appeared and she could find a way to ditch him and move on with her life. Alaric was far from being the charming hero she was looking to fulfill her fantasies. If anything, he was the dumbest antagonist that she had ever found. Risking everything for a stupid revenge without any plans or means to achieve it. He was mad and obsessed. She blamed all the books she read that gave her unfeasible expectations.
***
Traipsing into the bar where Seth’s contact was to meet him, Alaric walked to the corner of the room and found himself an empty table to sit at. He adjusted the hoodie over his head and looked around for signs of trouble or anyone recognizing him before waving over a waiter.
The skinny looking girl with pale legs and slender thighs approached him with a smile. “How may I help you?”
“A glass of your strongest drink would do,” he responded.
She leaned backward and peeked at him. Alaric glared at her, and she grinned before leaving.
Once the girl returned and placed the glass in front of him, he grabbed her by her wrist. “I’m in search of a man named Julius. Do you have any idea where I can find him?”
“He’s my boss.”
Alaric smirked. “Is he here?”
“Yes. But you need to have an appointment with him.” She chewed the chicklet inside her mouth and burst a bubble. “He’s dangerous. Are you sure you want to talk to him?”
“Oh, honey, I’m a lot more dangerous than him.”
She arched an eyebrow as if she didn’t believe him.
His grip around her wrist tightened, and he revealed his extended fangs slightly from underneath his hoodie to further convince her of his seriousness.
She gave him a half smile. “Who do I announce to him?”
“Tell him that Seth’s friend is here.”
“It will be my pleasure,” she purred closer to his face. “My name is Selina. I get off at midnight. Are you free?”
“I’m always free for a good time,” he indulged her. Patting her ass, he added, “Now be a good girl and tell Julius that I’m here.”
She winked at him and swayed her hips, disappearing into a door at the back of the bar.
Chapter Thirteen
Eric was in his father’s office, staring at the TV in the hall that was divided into several different camera footages.
“We have landed and are in the back of the building. Kevin will take the front,” Anna reported in her communicator.
Eric talked to the mic on his father’s desk, “Be careful.”
Beth grabbed his hand harder. “Are you sure that she’s really there?”
“Her credit card was used here,” Anna replied.
The king and Jessica were also there. Jessica was seated next to Marcus, holding hands.
“I don’t want anything to happen to my granddaughter,” she mumbled with a tensed expression.
Marcus hugged her by her shoulders and pulled her against his arm. “No one does.”
“We’re engaging. There are guards,” Anna reported with the sound of guns being fired as background noise.
“We took out four in the front,” Kevin said.
The cameras on their jackets showed their movements, though the image was mostly blurry and confusing with shots of walls, doors opening, and men holding guns coming their way and being killed.
Eric focused his attention on Anna and Kevin’s camera. “Kevin, to your right.”
Kevin turned his body and shot the enemy aiming at him.
“The clinic is almost abandoned. Be careful not to hit the doctors and the nurses,” Anna conveyed. “The back stairs are clear.”
“Our helicopter is in the air to prevent anyone from leaving,” Kevin said after putting another magazine in his gun.
“Why is it taking so long?” Beth asked.
“They have to search floor by floor,” Eric replied.
“Maybe the baby had some complication, and that was why she had to go to a clandestine hospital,” Beth whispered. “Do you think that my sister is still alive?”
Eric placed her in front of him and massaged her shoulders. “Beth, calm down. Anna and Kevin need to focus and can hear you.”
She nodded, and he kissed the top of her head.
Beth shrieked with fear when fires were heard, and white explosions made the cameras blind.
“Report! Are you okay?” the king asked, jumping to his feet.
“I told you that they needed a witch help,” Jessica recoiled in her seat. “I should have been there with them.”
“Kevin?” Eric asked after a moment of silence. His nephew’s camera had dropped to the floor, and all they could hear were the guns sending rapid fire.
“He’s good,” Anna said with a gasped voice. “We took out the guards in this floor. The camera dropped with the impact of a bullet in his vest.”
Kevin’s camera was unplugged, but Eric and the rest could see Kevin through Anna’s camera.
Shane showed beside them and spoke to his comm. “They are in an aisle in the fourth floor, and we assume that the baby is there too. We have no idea if Alaric is there, though. There are four more body heats upstairs. We found some nurses and are questioning them.”
“Good,” the king said. “The baby safety is a top priority.”
“Understood,” Shane replied.
Once the team moved to the fourth floor, the rest of the combat was confusing, and the movement of the cameras didn’t allow to understand what was happening.
Eric kept holding on to Beth while the king and Jessica couldn’t take their eyes off the cameras.
When everything stopped, they heard the cry of a child and Kevin showed on Anna’s camera with a baby wrapped in a blanket, crying his heart out.
“It’s a girl,” Kevin announced with a beaming expression.
“Oh my god. Is that the baby?” Beth walked closer to the camera.
“Oh, my granddaughter,” Marcus said with a grin.
“She’s so small and has great lungs,” Jessica pitched in.
“She’s gorgeous,” Beth mumbled, cleaning the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “What about my sister?”
“Anna?” Eric called to see if they had heard the question.
“Marie is fine. Unharmed. But Alaric isn’t here and never was,” Anna said, walking away from the baby into the corridor. “She was alone with a bunch of bodyguards. She thought that we were Alaric’s men.”
“What do you mean?” Eric asked before anyone else.
Anna spoke lower in her communicator. “I’m not sure what is going on. She’s weak and
scared. She keeps asking for her baby. We are going to calm her down and call the doctors to know if it’s safe to remove her and the baby from here.”
“It’s okay. Do what you have to do,” Marcus replied and looked at Eric who nodded.
“We’ll call again when I have more details.”
The communication ended, and all cameras were disconnected.
Beth walked to the couch and sat. “She escaped from him to have the baby. That can only be. In the cave, I have thought about what happened a million times. She somehow managed to escape Alaric.”
“So, where is he?” Eric asked, taking a seat next to his mate.
***
Alaric sat in his apartment with a view to the street. The night was covering the blue sky with purple and pink shades, making it look almost beautiful if he wasn’t so annoyed by the fact that Beth had missed her appointment that day with her best friend from the coffee shop.
Now that he had his powers back and money was in the way, he could pay for transportation out of there and a new hideout. Once he did what he wanted to do, the roads in and out of the town would close, and he just had a few minutes to get the hell out of there. Seth had provided the connections he needed to pull that off. Plus, since Beth was alive, he didn’t really need to kill his family. For now, at least. He had to restore his empire, find his betraying mate, and convince Beth that she was the love of his life. Having her displaying signs of affection with his younger brother made him beyond mad. How dared Eric touch his woman? He should kill him for his nerve.
He got up from the chair when an SUV stopped in front of the coffee shop where Olivia worked, and a blonde girl got out.
Mom.
Not Mom, an imposter.
Jessica was alone. No signs of Beth for his dismay.
He walked over to his seat and grabbed the cup of coffee from the floor.
The witch had taken a seat close to the window, and Alaric pondered if he could pull it off and grab two women instead of one. He would need Jessica to break the spell that still bonded him to Marie. But he missed the key ingredient to perform the spell—his mate.
