by Bianca Cole
My stomach twists with nerves. Will the truth put him off me? I have nowhere to go, and being his blood giver is my only choice.
He grabs my hand and leads me to a rock by the lake. “Come on, tell me.” He sits down and forces me to sit in his lap, straddling him. Vlad kisses me cheek softly. “What is it?”
I breathe in hard, before nodding. “I’m a virgin, Vlad.”
He tenses beneath me, eyes wide. “A virgin?”
I nod, feeling the heat pulsing through my cheeks. It’s so embarrassing, telling a hot, sexy, dominant vampire like him. “Yes, I understand if you don’t want me to—”
He kisses me hard, silencing me. His cock feels even harder, pressing into my center. “Fuck, Rosie.” He rests his forehead against mine. “I want you more knowing you’re untouched, but this is certainly not the time or place.” He kisses me again softly. “We will get to know each other better, first, even if it will be torture,” he groans.
I pull away, raising a brow. “How will that work?” I shake my head. “You said that you couldn’t be gentle with me in public. Don’t you think people will notice?”
He smiles, shaking his head. “No, as I never sleep with my blood givers anyway, so it won’t make any difference.”
I can’t understand why a shiver races down my spine. Why does Vlad want to sleep with me? The question is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t ask it.
He grits his teeth. “I’m giving you an out, Rosie. You can come with me, and it will be like this when we’re alone, but I’m not sure you will like the way I treat you in public.” His eyes darken.
“How will it be in public?”
He shrugs. “I’ll be cold and indifferent toward you. You will follow me, averting your gaze, and not speaking.”
I swallow hard, wondering if I’m capable of that. I can’t see what choice I have. Vlad can protect me from the shifters that want me dead, and it can give me a clean break. “Do I have a choice to leave?”
Vlad’s eyes flash. “You won’t want to leave once I’ve had my way with you,” he growls, grip tightening on my hips.
I lick my bottom lip, believing that more than I want to. Vlad is my addiction already. I can’t help but feel that the main reason I agree to go with him is because of hit bite. Maybe he has me hooked on him, and I’m not thinking straight anymore.
I step away from him, trying to get some distance. “Maybe this is a mistake.”
Vlad growls softly. “No chance, baby girl, I can’t let you go.”
My eyes widen as I glance back at him, wondering if he would kidnap me. Is this situation about to take a turn for the worse?
“What if I don’t want to go?” I ask, knowing I don’t mean it really, but I need to know what kind of man I’m dealing with.
His eyes narrow. “Rosie, where else would you go?”
I lace my fingers together and avert his gaze. “I’ve got by up to now. I’ll find somewhere to rebuild my life.”
He steps forward, fists clenched. “I can’t let you go.”
My brow furrows. “Why the fuck did you make out I had a choice, then?”
He comes for me, fast. I hardly see him move as he’s a blur. His hand tightens around my throat, making it difficult to breathe. “Don’t test me. I don’t like being told no.”
I swallow hard, trying to get out of his grip. “Vlad, please.”
His red eyes flash with a mix of desire and rage. “Rosie, let’s make this easy. You’re mine, and I can’t let you go.” He moves his lips closer to mine. “I’m sorry.”
“What for?” I ask, still struggling to breathe as he holds my throat.
He smiles wistfully. “This.” He sinks his fangs into me hard, and it’s different this time. It’s not pleasure that floods my body, but a terrible coldness.
Suddenly, my vision starts to blacken. Vlad removes his fangs, and I meet his gaze briefly. “I’m sorry, Rosie.” My vision darkens further, and his face is just a blur, as my body goes limp.
What has he done to me?
It serves me right for trusting a damn vampire.
11
Vladimir
Pure rage pulses through my veins as I stalk toward the meeting point. Rosie is slung over my shoulder, limp, and knocked out. It was going so well until she started questioning me.
Rosie should know better than to deny the fucking vampire king. She wants me, but the idea of being a slave was too much for her. I had to take matters into my own hands and knock her out before she tried to fight me.
Vampires fangs have two toxins. One can knock out their prey, the other causes pleasure. Rosie just experienced what happens when she doesn’t play by the rules.
Alastair is sitting in his old ford, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. It’s beaten up and rusted, but it serves a purpose.
A branch snaps under my foot, bringing his attention to me.
His eyes widen, and he gets out of the car, rushing toward me. “Sir, you are okay.” The shock in his voice irritates me. “We were sure you’d been caught or worse.” He shakes his head.
I growl, hating that anyone would underestimate me. “Alastair, watch your tongue.”
He bows his head. “Sorry.” His attention flicks to Rosie. “Should I ask?”
I shake my head. “Best not,” I grunt. The last thing I need right now is Alastair asking questions about Rosie. My actions toward her have been questionable.
Alastair’s face falls, and he walks back to the car, opening the trunk to put Rosie inside. I can’t understand why the thought of stuffing her roughly into the trunk grates on me. “Back seat, Alastair. She’s not waking for a while. I pumped her full of the knockout toxin.”
Alastair raises a brow, but he doesn’t protest. He opens the door, and I put her in carefully, letting my hand linger on her soft, creamy thighs.
I’d been so close to taking her virginity—being the first man inside of her. Perhaps I should have taken her and ignored her hesitation, but for some fucked up reason, I care about the girl.
Rosie will come to learn the truth. She will come to learn to enjoy the bite and the way I make her feel.
I sit in the passenger’s seat, arms crossed over my chest.
Alastair glances at me as he turns over the engine and pulls onto the road. “So, did you get it?” he asks.
I nod, pulling the chalice out of my jacket. “I’ve had it since yesterday morning.” I smirk, glancing at him. “I was outside all day, mate.”
He smiles, clapping me on the shoulder. “I knew you could do it.” I narrow my eyes. “Bullshit. You thought I’d end up torn to shreds by fucking werewolves.”
He pulls onto the main road, speeding away from London. We’re not exactly out of the woods yet. The order won’t be happy that they lost the chalice, and roadblocks are common.
Alastair clears his throat. “Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room, or, more specifically, the human in the car?” He glances in the mirror at her, licking his lips. “I’m quite hungry, you know.”
I growl at him. “She’s mine, Alastair. My new blood giver, so keep your fangs to yourself.” I sit in the passenger’s seat, arms crossed over my chest.
Alastair tenses, hands clenching the steering wheel hard. “Is there a reason you knocked out a blood giver.” He glances at me. “She is willing, isn’t she?”
“No, but she will be when I’m finished with her.” His brow furrows. “Why take an unwilling human when there are so many willing blood givers.” He clears his throat. “What about David?”
I shake my head. “He’s got too attached, and it’s time to cut ties. This human took my fancy, and her blood is like nothing I’ve ever tasted before.”
Alastair nods. “She smells good, for sure, but not anything special in my book.”
I can’t understand the rage coursing through my veins at hearing Alastair say she’s nothing special. She’s everything—a perfect specimen—my future blood giver and my future queen.
When I first scented her, something inside of me changed. Vampires don’t take mates, but there’s something between us. A bond before I’d fed from her. A bond that feels far deeper than a blood bond anyway.
It means I will own her in every way possible, and there is nothing she or anyone else can do about it. There’s a reason I’ve held power for so many years—I take what I want.
“So, you intend to hold her captive until she’s hooked on the venom?” Alastair asks.
I nod, glancing out of the window to signal the end of the conversation. Alastair and I have been friends for years, but he can be shit at knowing when I’m not in the mood for conversation.
Many of my followers have said I should take a wife for years—a queen—a strong vampire who could sit by my side, strengthening my position. I’ve found her, but she’s not a vampire.
“Shit,” Alastair says, slamming the brakes on.
“What is it?” I look forward, and my heart skips a beat. There is a roadblock a mile ahead.
“Fuck. What the hell are they doing this far out?”
Alastair shrugs. “Trying to make sure the chalice doesn’t leave the area.”
I glance back at Rosie, who rolls over, groaning.
The toxin should have knocked her out for hours, but she’s starting to wake. “We’ve got no choice but to go on foot.”
Alastair groans. “Fuck, it’s more than one hundred miles back to Nottingham, mate.”
I shrug. “You’re a vampire, suck it up.” I narrow my eyes. “Or, I can take Rosie and the chalice and meet you past the checkpoint say ten miles down the road?”
Alastair looks thankful, smiling. “Good idea.” They will search the car because I’m a vampire, but they can’t stop me from moving through.”
I nod at Alastair. “Take care. Wolves can be unpredictable.”
“Vlad, Thanks. I should have had more to drink before coming out tonight. I’m weak as fuck.”
I nod, getting out of the car and making sure the chalice is in my jacket. Rosie groans as I lift her out of the car and hold her in my arms, feeling the need inside me grow the moment I touch her.
“I’ll see you ten miles past the checkpoint.” I nod at Alastair and then move away, listening for a crossing that isn’t guarded. The wolves don’t want to let this chalice go, but I will climb a fucking mountain if I have to. I’ll get it back home along with Rosie, even if it kills me.
Rosie has ignited a strength in me that I haven’t felt in years. Her blood turbocharges me like nothing ever has.
All I have to hope is she doesn’t wake up. We may not know each other well, but something tells me she won’t be happy about being kidnapped—not many humans are.
The sound of rushing water catches my attention, and I know it will be the perfect place to cross London’s outer limits. They won’t patrol a stream.
Wolves expect vampires to be stupid, but they don’t realize we are cunning.
Rosie stirs, eyes flickering open briefly as I continue to run. My fangs ache. I know I’m going to have to knock her out again, but I hate it. I want her to want me the way I want her.
She needs to be unable to resist me, chained to my bed, and begging me for more.
Rosie will have been reported as missing from the hospital, which means they will be searching for her. A human’s scent is hard to mask from wolves. I hope that Alastair gets by the checkpoint without a hitch.
He’s my best friend in this world, and I won’t be able to live with myself if he doesn’t make it.
As I rush up to the stream, Rosie shifts again in my arms. This time, her eyes open wide, and she stares at me. “What the fuck are you—”
I set her down on her feet, jolting her suddenly. “Sorry, Rosie. It’s easier this way.” I grab her hard and try to sink my fangs into her neck again, but she kicks me in the nuts.
“Fuck,” I growl, doubling over as she makes a run for it.
“Stay away from me, you bastard,” she shouts, rushing away.
Once I regain my composure, I focus in on her scent. She’s foolish to run from a vampire, particularly me. My senses are fine-tuned to her scent, so I’m sure I could track her for miles.
I rush after her, passing her on the path and stopping in front of her.
She’s not quick enough to react, slamming straight into my chest hard. The impact floors her, and she stares up at me, eyes wide. “Stay away from me. I told you I don’t want to go with you.”
I smirk, wishing she wouldn’t be so foolish. “I’m the vampire king, and I’ll do what the fuck I want.” With that, I yank her to her feet, holding her close.
She glares at me with pure anger in her eyes, and for some reason, it makes me want her more.
I tease my lips against her earlobe. “Don’t look at me like that. I know you want me.” With that, I sink my fangs into her neck and pump her full of the knockout toxin. It’s not long until she turns limp in my arms.
She should have been out longer the last time, so I pump in more than before, knowing it can’t harm her.
I’m getting her home with me whether she likes it or not. Now, I just need to meet up with Alastair and get back to Nottingham. I break into a first sprint, a fresh load of Rosie’s blood coursing through me. When I make it to the ten miles checkpoint, I’m surprised that Alastair isn’t there. My brow furrows as he should have beat me here easily.
Carefully, I set Rosie down in the wood, covering her over with some leaves, so she’s not found. The thought of leaving her makes me sick to the stomach, but I don’t have a choice.
I sprint back a mile from the checkpoint, stopping when I see the car bashed up on the side of the road—a trail of ash leading from it.
Alastair.
I sprint toward it, my heart poundings at a thousand miles an hour. I fall to my knees when I see him, crumbled to ash. The bastards decapitated him, and only his head is still intact. His eyes are staring at me as if he were still alive. “Motherfuckers,” I growl, punching the ground.
A howl breaks out, and I know I can’t stay here. I need to get away before the wolves find me, Rosie and the chalice. I grab Alastair’s head, quickly burying it under cover of the trees. “Rest in peace, my friend.”
Pain grips at my heart, but I don’t cry. I haven’t cried in centuries, and I won’t change that now. I glance back at his ashes scattered across the road, tearing myself away. There’s no time to collect them, but at least a part of him is buried. I jump into the car and drive back toward Rose, painfully aware that shifters are around, and she is exposed.
Alastair tried to warn me about entering London, worried I wouldn’t survive. Instead, my decision has cost him his life. The shifters must want war. Attacking a vampire outside the city limits it’s pure fucking wrong. I won’t rest until I make them pay, but first, I need to make it back to Nottingham in one piece.
12
Rosie
I wake with a pounding headache, lying in the back of a moving car. My memories are hazy as I try to remember what happened. I remember Vlad’s face and him telling me he wasn’t letting me go.
The coldness that filtered through my veins as he knocked me out. I sit up suddenly, panic coursing through me. Then, I woke in the woods again and tried to escape, only to repeat the fucking process.
My heart pounds hard and fast as I realize there’s no way out. I’ve been kidnapped by a fucking vampire who can catch me any time I run.
Vlad is sitting in the driver’s seat. Eyes fixed on the road ahead of him.
“What the fuck did you do to me?” I ask, shifting to sit up in the backseat. My hands are taped behind my back, making it impossible to try the back door.
Vlad’s jaw clenches. “I knocked you out because you were unreasonable.”
“You mean deciding I didn’t want to be your fucking slave is being unreasonable?” I ask, shifting in the seat.
He slams the breaks on, making me jerk forward. “No, I lost one of my best men tonight, and
I’m not in the mood to argue. Do you understand?”
I shake my head. “What are you on about?”
He sighs heavily, shoulders tense. “You missed a lot while you were knocked out.”
I grind my teeth together, irritated that he’d take this shit out on me. Fine, his friend died, but that doesn’t change the fact he is kidnapping me. “Fuck’s sake. I’m sorry you lost a friend, but I won’t be kidnapped and made a slave.”
He glares back at me, for the first time looking at me since I woke. “You will do as I say.” He turns back and starts driving again. “As for my friend, I knew him for eight hundred and fifty years. He was like my brother.” His grip tightens around the steering wheel. “Those bastards murdered him in cold blood for no fucking reason.”
Eight hundred and fifty years.
How old is this vampire?
There’s such a change in him from before. One minute, he’s kind and sexy, the next he’s turned into a damn slave driver—literally.
“Please, Vlad, I made a mistake saying I’d come with you.” I shake my head, panic rising inside of me. “I’m not exactly good at being told what to do.”
Vlad growls softly. “Don’t worry, baby girl. I’ll change that.” His eyes remain fixed on the road, but I can see his face in the mirror. The desire burning in them makes my stomach twist. “You will submit to me and love it.”
I swallow hard, sitting back in the car seat. The thought of him dominating me in that way sends a thrill down my spine, but at the same time, I can’t let him do this.
“You said that humans get the choice, why are you taking mine from me?” I ask.
“Because you are different,” he says, jaw clenched tightly. “Now, I told you to keep quiet, Rosie, don’t make me gag you before we even make it back to my bedroom.”
I glare out of the window, heat pulsing through me at the thought. I need to find a way out of this, no matter how attractive this asshole is.
