The Witch and the Vampire King (Immortal Love Series Book 2)

by Anna Santos

  “I think you have had too much to drink already,” Dulce said, grabbing the glass out of her hand. Jessica complained, trying to take it back. “We must go back to the palace now. The king must be worried sick.”

  “Why would he be worried about me?” Jessica asked. “Why do you keep talking about him? I really don’t care about that arrogant, freaking hot, archaic, rude person, I mean, vampire,” she babbled. Dulce arched an eyebrow, even more confused. “I’ve promised Anna that I wouldn’t, but it is really hard, you know? I swear I tried to ignore him,” she mumbled, putting her arms around Dulce’s neck and dropping her weight on her. She was definitely drunk and rambling. “Anna doesn’t want me to flirt with him. But he is so—captivating, and I’ve...been having these dreams.”

  “Jessica, why are you acting so strange?” Dulce asked. Her slurred speech didn’t make any sense. “We should go home. You will see the king and talk to him, and if you are having a disagreement, you can fix things. I’m sure Anna doesn't object to your relationship with him.”

  “Relationship? He loves his dead mate. He doesn’t even look at me! He doesn’t even want me in his precious library!”

  “You aren't making any sense,” Dulce complained.

  “You are the one who isn’t making any sense.”

  Dulce sighed deeply and looked around for the hundredth time. She knew most of the people there. There were a few members of her pack and other people from town. However, it was those she didn’t know who concerned her. She had an uneasy feeling of being watched.

  There were some lonely guys checking out girls on the dance floor. Jessica and she had been approached by some of the guys, but she had smiled and sent them away. Jessica didn’t seem to be there to meet a man, but just to have fun. Yet, she was afraid that the witch did something stupid just to make the king jealous.

  “Hi there gorgeous!” A good-looking vampire guy stood behind Jessica, talking into her ear. He had two drinks in his hands.

  Dulce didn’t know him and that was enough to make her suspicious. She remembered seeing him with another guy and a girl back at the bar in town; they’d been staring at them. Now it seemed like they had followed them there. One of his friends was against a wall, watching them while the girl was talking with one of the future queen’s bodyguards. Before Dulce could share her suspicion with Jessica, she was already talking to the vampire behind her.

  “I’m sorry, love,” Jessica said with a giggle, “but I don’t accept drinks from strangers.”

  “I’m Matt,” he said and grinned at her. “And you are?”

  “I’m Jessica, and this is Dulce.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. My friend and I were wondering if two pretty girls like yourselves wanted to join us outside for a bit of fresh air and a drink.” Matt pointed to the other vampire across the room.

  “Sorry, but we aren’t interested,” Dulce said, refusing before Jessica could accept.

  Grabbing Jessica’s hand, Dulce led her away from the guy. She searched the room for the bodyguards so they could all go back to the palace. But they were nowhere to be found, not even the one who had just been talking to the girl.

  “Come on, we promise we won’t bite,” Matt said in a playful tone, reappearing in front of Dulce.

  “Was that supposed to be funny?” she asked with a serious face, trying to discourage him.

  “Matt, you are cute and all, but we are not interested,” Jessica said, moving out from behind Dulce.

  “Just a drink then?” He showed her the glass again with a wide smile on his face. His eyes, however, were not smiling at all, in Dulce’s opinion. The other vampire was now behind Matt’s back and she shifted Jessica behind her in a protective manner. “You are a suspicious little wolf, aren’t you?” the vampire muttered, dropping his smile.

  “Yes, I am,” Dulce said softly like she was teasing with him, letting her eyes glow.

  The vampires tensed up and looked around. Her aura and power warned them that she was no ordinary wolf. Other wolves moved in their direction, called by Dulce’s mental link. Whatever the vampires’ intention was, they wouldn’t be successful this time. Not while Jessica was under Dulce and her pack’s protection. She witnessed how they stepped back and raised their hands in defeat.

  “We are leaving,” Matt said with a forced smirk.

  “You are a badass wolf. I really like you right now!” Jessica said with a giggle. Dulce rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be like that! I didn’t—” Suddenly she stopped talking as her eyes landed on a figure coming their way.

  * * *

  JESSICA

  Jessica was feeling dizzy and nauseous because of all she had drunken, however, her eyes and senses caught his presence when he entered the room. He was tall and gorgeous, wearing a tuxedo that was totally out of place in a casual party like that one. His blond hair was short and his handsome face was clean shaven. He had astonishing blue eyes and a mouth to die for. He was older than the rest, maybe forty, and he looked familiar.

  Suddenly, everything seemed to be quiet and time seemed to stop. She just had eyes for him and he was aiming his gaze at her while slowly moving towards her. She felt the uncontrollable urge of opening her arms and running to him. But she didn’t have to because he pulled away the people who weren’t moving to let him pass and grabbed Jessica in his arms.

  A heavenly feeling was all that hit her and made her sigh in pleasure. He smelled heavenly and felt nice against her. It was like she had been made to fit his embrace and stay there forever. She had no idea why she was reacting that way to a stranger, but she didn’t really care. She wanted to be near him.

  When he let her go and put her down, the music was silenced and several people were on one knee, bowing to the vampire that was in front of Jessica.

  She frowned at what was happening and gulped when he began to lecture her. “Why in the hell are you ignoring me and not picking up your phone to talk to me?”

  “What?” she asked, putting her hand in her pocket and not finding her cell phone. “I think I left it in the kitchen of the palace. But...who are you?”

  “What do you mean?” the man questioned, his sparkling eyes turning somber.

  “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” Dulce intervened. “I tried to bring her home sooner. But she has been acting strange all day.”

  “Your Majesty?” Jessica asked, staring from Dulce to the vampire.

  Cupping his face in her hands, she stared carefully at his beardless features. “Are you Anna’s grandpa?”

  “You lost your memory, honey,” he whispered tenderly and his whole demeanor changed. He removed her hands from his face and kissed her palms, as though he was enveloped in sadness.

  Jessica suddenly lost her balance and leaned up against his chest. “I’m sorry, I’m a bit drunk,” she confessed, gazing into his gorgeous, blue eyes. “What day is it today?”

  “It’s Tuesday,” he answered. “How far back do you remember?”

  “I thought it was Sunday. Why are you calling me honey? You don’t even like me…”

  “Let’s go home, Ellie, and I promise I will explain everything to you.”

  She furrowed her eyebrows. “Who is Ellie?”

  “I’m sorry. I’ll call you Jessica.”

  “Who are you?”

  “I’m the king.”

  “No, who are you to me?”

  “I’m your mate,” he answered, making her gasp. “Will you come with me, Jessica? Our do you want me to call Eric or Kevin to explain this to you?”

  Jessica stepped back and turned to face Dulce. “That was why you spent the whole day talking about the king!” Dulce, who nodded. “Did we meet before? Have I forgotten you, too?”

  “No, I just met you today.”

  Meanwhile, the partygoers around them left the room at the king’s gestured command.

  Jessica spun to face the king and rubbed her forehead as she squinted her eyes. “Okay. Then let me try to understand all of this. I lost my m
emory and—we—are mates. When did that happen? What month is this?”

  “You found out Sunday. You just lost three days of memories,” the king replied.

  She sucked in a breath, relieved. “That’s not much.”

  “It was a lot. We...I thought we would have a bit more time before you lost your memory.”

  Jessica grimaced in pain as she thought about the last thing she remembered.

  “What is wrong?” the king inquired.

  “I remember when we talked Sunday. We had a barbecue, didn’t we?”

  “Yes.”

  “And then you were mad at me and Eric…”

  He nodded again, his eyes showing that he hoped that she remembered something else.

  “You knew I was your mate…all this time?” Her voice disappeared when her heart swelled inside her chest. His index lifted her face so she gazed at him. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

  The king placed a kiss on her forehead. “I didn’t know you were Isobel.”

  “But you knew that I was your mate, didn’t you?”

  “I did.”

  Pain clenched her heart once again, and she leaned back to put distance between them.

  “How did you find out I was Isobel? I remembered, didn’t I? That’s why I lost my memory from these past days. I was…I had memories of my past life.”

  “Yes,” he confirmed, placing his hand on her hip to pull her closer to him. “How are you feeling?”

  His voice was caring, and the way he touched her showed a part of him that she had never experienced before. His eyes showed love. Not anger or annoyance, but acceptance. But it wasn’t always like that. He didn’t look at her that way when he first saw her. He didn’t talk to her like that when he didn’t know she was Isobel.

  “You are a vampire. You knew that we were mates the moment we met, didn’t you?” Her body trembled when she looked at him, afraid of his answer. But he didn’t need to answer. His expression told her everything she needed to know. “You were going to reject me. That’s why you…You didn’t want me.” She stepped back as hurt shot throughout her body and made her breathing labored, making it hard to catch her breath. The room began spinning as her eyes welled up with tears.

  His hands grabbed her shoulders and prevented her from stepping back. “We need to talk. You need to understand my reasons. But this is not the place for this conversation.”

  Jessica looked around, noticing the empty room and Dulce behind them. But there were mumbling sounds coming from outside.

  Cringing, she shoved his hands away and fisted her hands. Tears fell down her cheeks, and she felt sick to her stomach. “You were going to reject me. You didn’t want me.”

  “Jessie, honey…”

  She evaded his attempts to bring her to his arms while clumsily brushing her tears away. “Does Anna know?”

  “Everybody in our family knows,” the king replied. “Sebastien and Dulce know.”

  When Jessica looked at him, he was staring at Dulce and signaling her to leave the room.

  “No, she stays,” she said, grabbing Dulce’s arm. “You stay.”

  “You should let him explain,” Dulce said as she glanced at the king. “I’ll be waiting outside.”

  Dulce removed Jessica’s hand and squeezed it as to give her the strength to continue that conversation. Then her heels echoed on the wood floor until the sound of a door closing was heard.

  Jessica grabbed her left arm while trying to look at the floor and ignore the king. She felt hurt and confused.

  “Honey,” the king voice sent tingling sensation down her spine as she tried hard to ignore the feeling of sadness lacing his voice.

  “All along, all that time, you knew and you didn’t tell me because you didn’t want me.”

  “I had made a promise to my wife. I didn’t know that it was possible for you to be Isobel’s reincarnation. I thought that it was a new bond. I didn’t want a new wife. I love my wife and always will. I don’t know how I can explain it to you any better, Jessie. But I didn’t want to make you miserable. Why should you be bonded to someone who was in love with another?”

  It took a while for his elaborate explanation sink in her brain. Until it made sense. “And now that you know that I used to be Isobel. How do you feel?”

  His hand reached to grab hers. “I’ll never leave your side again. And I’ll make sure no one ever takes you from me again, either.” Jessica stepped forward until her head was nestled against his chest and his arms surrounded her in a warm embrace. The last sobs of sadness rippled down her body as her hand grabbed his jacket and his palm caressed her wet cheek. His next words made her happier. “We belong to each other. You are home.” He placed a kiss on the top of her head.

  “I don’t have her memories anymore. It’s just me now. Jessica.”

  “That doesn’t change the fact that you are still my mate and I came here to take you home.”

  Jessica sighed, reassured by his words. “Where is home?”

  “Home is with me. In our palace. Let’s leave,” he urged, stepping back and holding her by her arms.

  Jessie squinted her eyes and breathed out a pained gasp. “I had too much to drink, and I’m feeling dizzy.”

  “It was irresponsible of you to leave the palace with all what is happening…I guess you don’t remember. I shouldn’t have left the house.”

  “You look really different. I didn’t even recognize you.” She looked up at his shaved face and cut hair, ignoring the lecturing in this tone of voice. “Did you do that for me?”

  He laced his arm around her waist and walked with her to the door. “Let’s go home. We still have a lot to talk about.”

  The king opened the door to exit, and she witnessed a small entourage of the remaining attendees of that party looking at them. She didn’t have time to give it too much attention because the king laced her arms around his neck and then took her in his arms, bridal style, before super-speeding his way out of there.

  Moments later, she begged him to stop. She wasn't used to being carried around at that speed and she’d had too much to drink. Her stomach was rolling and she needed to throw up.

  He stopped just in time. She swiftly walked a few steps, then threw up in the forest. There was nothing but moonlight around them, but Jessica was too busy throwing up all she had in her stomach while Marcus held her hair back.

  When she was finally finished, they walked a little further, and she fell back into the king’s arms. He set them down gently on the ground and offered her a tissue for her mouth.

  “Are you mad at me for leaving the palace?” she asked when the dizziness calmed.

  “No, you forgot. It was not your fault.”

  She sighed deeply. “I’m sorry about that. I hate it when I forget things.”

  It was cold outside. She moved closer to him and protected herself in his arms.

  “Are you—disappointed?” he asked as he caressed her hair.

  “With what?”

  “With me being your mate. You are so young and...”

  “I’m not,” she whispered, hugging him tighter. “Don’t be silly.”

  “We should continue on back to the palace. I will make you a strong cup of coffee and then I can answer all the questions you have. It is cold outside, and you aren’t feeling well.”

  “Do you love me?” she asked, not paying attention to his insistence on leaving.

  “What do you think?”

  “I think you should answer yes or no and not reply with another question.”

  “You don’t need to worry about that. I love you, Jessica.”

  “Did you love me before you knew I was Isobel?”

  “That’s a complicated question.”

  Her face grew sadder. “Not even a little bit?”

  “It’s too cold for you to be out here. We can talk about this at home.”

  “I’ve missed you,” she whispered as her hand caressed his face, and she gazed at his sparkling blue eyes in the
darkness. “I can’t believe that this is happening. That we are together again. But I need to know if you will love me even if I don’t have my old memories.”

  “I could ask you the same question, Jessica. I know that you’ve been dreaming about us. Our past life. You must have an idea of what I was then. But do you think you can love me for what I am now? Your mortal brain isn’t able to handle the past memories. You didn’t want to forget, and I didn’t want you to, either. Now you no longer remember our love. And…I’m older. Outdated. Grumpy.”

  Jessica smirked as she brushed her fingers along his neck and chin. “You were lonely. I was lonely too. I can only imagine what you went through without me.”

  “I don’t want to lose you again. It may take us a little longer, but we’ll survive this, and I’ll wait for you to accept me.”

  “Don’t be silly. You are my mate. I’ve been dreaming of you as long as I can remember. I love you. I loved you before I knew you were mine. I envied Isobel.”

  The king brushed his lips against her ear before placing a kiss on her cheek. Jessica’s heart slowed down as she felt the smile in his kiss. It was an innocent kiss, but it felt perfect as a sign of his affection and respect. Yet, she needed more. She hungered for his lips on hers and wanted to experience the softness of his skin against her palms. But that was not the place to indulge herself in fulfilling her sexual fantasies.

  “I must look like a mess,” she breathed out, cringing at the taste of the alcohol in her mouth. Then she frowned at his fancy clothes. “You smell nice and look sharp. Where were you going dressed like that?”

  “We were supposed to have a date tonight.”

  “And I didn’t show up? Is that why you came to James’s house and looked so annoyed?”

  His hands rubbed her shoulders, soothing her. “Yes. I was worried sick, and there you were partying and oblivious. I didn’t know you had lost your memory. If I had, I would have tried to find you sooner.”

  “I’m sorry. Can we have a rain check on our date for tomorrow? I promise I won’t forget again.”

  “Of course, honey.” He grinned, and it warmed her heart the way he called her honey.