The Vampire Prince’s Mate (BBW Paranormal Romance)

by T. S. Ryder

  With that, Arjin, Angulic, David and Viktor all marched out of the office one by one and disappeared behind the door into the hallway.

  Chapter Nine

  Calissa stared at the door for a long while after the Council had departed, barely daring to breathe.

  “What do you suppose they are talking about out there?” she asked, barely taking the time to spare a glance at Lee. She didn’t want to miss their initial facial expressions when they walked back into her office.

  “It’s hard to say, really,” Lee admitted, though, realizing that only made Calissa all the more anxious, he rested a hand against her shoulder and squeezed it gently.

  “Hey. Look at me,” he said, tilting her chin with a finger, smiling as her eyes finally met his own. “It’ll be OK. This is the most they’ve listened in a long time. I bet you they agree to help.”

  “And if they don’t?” Calissa asked, her eyes wide with anxiety. If they didn’t agree, then the blame for the coven’s deaths would fall directly onto her shoulders as the new coven monarch. The very thought almost made her sick.

  Lee took her hand and pulled her to her feet before wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. “Well. If they don’t, then we figure something else out,” he said, his telltale confidence shining through. “They are not the only force in this world that can hunt down humans. If need be, we go to others. To werewolves and fairies, witches and the dragons themselves. It’ll be ok.”

  Calissa just nodded and buried her face against his love-marked neck with a shudder. “I just hope it doesn’t have to come to that. So many more vampires will die.”

  “I know… I hope it doesn’t come to that, either,” Lee admitted. “But, if it does, we have other options.”

  Calissa nodded, her arms tightening around Lee for a brief moment, though she immediately jerked away when Viktor and Arjin stepped back into the office. The other two were nowhere to be seen.

  “Where are the others?” Lee asked in surprise, having never remembered a time when the Council members hadn’t appeared as a full unit of four in his life.

  “We told them to head out to the car. We won’t take much longer here.” Viktor said, as he handed over a sealed roll of parchment to Calissa. “My dear Lady Calissa, I’m pleased to finally be giving this to you and the coven of the Northern Isles.”

  With that, he and Arjin both bowed slightly before they departed once more, this time leaving for good.

  Calissa then just stared at the rolled parchment in her hands, holding it as though it might become a living creature and bite her. “What should I do with it?” she asked, wishing Lee was still prince so that he’d have to be the one to open it instead of her.

  “Open it. There is nothing to be afraid of,” Lee encouraged.

  “Nothing to be… Lee! Our entire life, the lives of the vampires under our control – the life of our child! – depends on what is written in this!” she said, appalled by his indifference but empowered by his calm.

  Calm that crumbled away when her words finally sunk in.

  “Our child?” he asked in hollow voice, sounding exactly as shocked as he looked... and Calissa herself felt no better. She didn’t intend to blurt it out this way – but, damn it, she wasn’t sorry because she knew she was right!

  Leaving Lee to deal with the revelation on his own, Calissa took a deep breath, broke open the wax seal and began to read what was written in a soft voice.

  “As decreed by the Lords of the Vampire Council, Arjin, Viktor, Angulic and David,” she paused, glancing up at Lee for moral support before continuing, “We hereby grant permissions to the Guards of the Lords of the Vampire Council to dispatch to the Northern Isles effective immediately. Once there, they are to defend the coven members of the Northern Isles Coven to the death, and shall attack any suspicious humans they come across, especially if these humans—Lee! Lee, they’re sending help!” Calissa all but sang as she jumped up from her desk and launched herself into Lee’s arms.

  As if expecting her reaction, Lee swept Calissa up off of her feet and spun her around with a laugh that filled the room with a blissful warmth. His lips met hers in an adoring kiss just before he set her back down on her feet.

  “How long have you known?” he asked, and Calissa, swept away by the good news, found herself baffled by the question. “Lee... I just found out,” she replied, giving him an odd look, and he laughed.

  “About the baby!” he exclaimed, grinning wildly, and she couldn’t help laughing with him. “Not too long,” she told him, smiling, “I just couldn’t find the right moment to tell you.”

  “Well, I can’t think of a better moment than this,” Lee chuckled and kissed her again. “I’m so proud of you!” he told her as their lips parted again, resting his forehead against hers. “I knew you could do it. I knew you could convince them!”

  Calissa giggled, a blush faint on her pale cheeks. “I didn’t do it alone, you know. I had your help.”

  “I didn’t do anything!” Lee protested. “I just stood here. You’re the one who did this. You should be proud of yourself. I know I’m proud of you,” he whispered, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

  “You know, Calissa… I have a question for you,” Lee said suddenly. An intense fire that took Calissa’s breath away had filled his gaze when she met his eyes.

  “Yes? What is it?”

  Smiling, Lee took her hand in his own and dropped down to one knee, his eyes never leaving hers. “I know it’s late, and we’ve already tried this once before… but I truly love you. I love you more than I love life itself,” he said softly, his lips pressing kisses against her knuckles.

  “Wh… What are you saying?”

  Lee smiled up at her, his very heart in his eyes. “Calissa, will you marry me? Will you make me the happiest creature in this world by becoming my mate?”

  For a moment, it looked as though Calissa was about to cry, but then she threw her arms around him, effectively knocking them both over onto the floor. “Of course!”

  With that, Calissa kissed him deeply, and her heart fluttered happily against her ribs. The sense of despair and frustration she’d been harboring in her very soul for so long had finally lifted, and for once, everything felt as though it’d be ok.

  Epilogue

  Their wedding was set on the night of the full moon in the middle of September, and Calissa couldn’t have been happier. Lee had allowed her to go all out with this wedding, ordering thousands of crimson and black rose petals to decorate the backyard of the manor along with thousands upon thousands of tea lights that bathed the yard in flickering light.

  Her wedding dress weighed a ton. It was handcrafted black lace with a train almost as long as she was tall, and thanks to her rapidly growing baby-bump, a little tight in the waist.

  She absolutely adored it.

  Yet, even if she hadn’t had all that, even if she’d only had her normal clothes and the middle of a summer day, her wedding day would have felt perfect.

  “Are you almost ready, Lady Calissa?” Viktor asked her, as he offered his arm to her, a small smile on his pale lips. He’d offered to escort her personally down the aisle on her wedding night since the Council Guard had uncovered a plot by the humans to destroy the Council itself. It seemed that humans were an even bigger problem than Calissa and Lee had originally thought.

  Smiling, she nodded her head and looped her arm delicately through his, not wanting to catch the lace of her long-sleeved dress on the cufflink buttons of Viktor’s suit.

  He nodded at the pair of younglings to open the backdoors to the yard. Music started playing with the visual cue of the doors and a hush fell over the vampires in attendance as they all got to their feet and turned to look at her as she began the long, slow walk down the aisle.

  She told herself not to look at the end, to focus on getting to the altar before she took her first glance at Lee, but the second the altar was in view she couldn’t help herself.

  Lee sto
le the very breath from her lungs the second her eyes found him. He was handsome, dressed in a simple black suit with a long, flowing set of velvet robes around his shoulders. His eyes were all for her, and a tender smile was on his face, so different from the cocky, playful attitude he showed everyone else.

  Time seemed to both slow down and speed up as the music ended and she stepped up onto the altar beside him.

  “You look beautiful, my princess,” he whispered, reaching out a hand for her to take before they faced the crowd and the Council.

  “And you look dashing, my prince,” she whispered in return, just as Arjin sliced a long, shallow gash along first her wrist and then Lee’s.

  “Under this full moon, on the 13th day of September, Lee Dameron and Calissa Gerber have chosen to join together as a blood bound pair. The Council has recognized and approved of this joining personally, and wish the couple the happiest of lives for the centuries to come.”

  With that, Lee pulled Calissa into his arms in a rough hug and pressed a kiss to her lips full of all the things he felt for her. Love. Affection. Adoration. Lust.

  Calissa couldn’t help but shed a few tears of genuine happiness. If this was how life was supposed to be, she’d gladly live it. After all, she had a new mate to look after, a child born out of their love to raise with him, and a coven to run. With the Council on her side, and the threat of the humans eradicated, nothing was about to stand in her way.

  *****

  THE END

  Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed reading “The Vampire Prince's Mate” as much as I liked writing it. Please consider leaving an honest review here; it means a lot to me to hear from you.

  T.S. Ryder

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  Bonus Book 1: Abducted by the Vampire Prince

  Description

  A curvy witch chosen as a bride PLUS a vampire prince fighting fate PLUS a deadly prophecy!

  She loved him before she met him.

  Rachel is a witch and a Seer, capable of seeing the future, and what she has seen is the vampire prince, Henry. When she and her younger sister, Leila, are kidnapped by vampires, she already knows that he will choose them both to be his brides. She already loves him, and can't wait until her belly grows with his baby.

  On the day Henry was born, it was prophesized that one day he would kill his father. He has always shrunk from that knowledge, determined to change the foreseen future...

  But the conception of the prince's child heralds the death of the prince's father. He has no way of knowing when he first sees Rachel that he will love her, or that, when she gets pregnant, his father will order him to kill her.

  With fate dictating that he must kill somebody he loves, his father or his bride, Henry takes the only choice available to him: with his brides at his side, he flees the underground kingdom.

  But there is no running from fate. It will always follow, and Henry's father will never stop hunting them…

  Can they survive and change their destiny? Will their love conquer all?

  Chapter One

  The only light in the sky was the moon. It was full and round. Pregnant. If she peered close enough, Rachel could almost make out the image of a baby in the dark spots on the glowing orb. Her heart pounded against her ribs and her mouth was dry as she gazed upward, her eyes bright as she searched the moon, as if it could confirm she had made the right choice. A gentle breeze blew through her long, dark hair.

  "This is it," she whispered, hardly daring to break the silence. She tore her gaze from the sky and scanned the area around them. They would be coming soon, eyes glowing in the inky black. "As soon as a cloud moves over the moon."

  Beside her, her younger sister, Leila, scowled fiercely as she shifted. She flipped a coin nervously through her fingers, making it disappear from one palm and reappear in the next. "I hope you're right about this… scratch that, I know you're right. I just hope you know what you're doing and that your visions haven't blinded you."

  Rachel allowed a smile at her sister's growl. It was a calculated risk, after all. Visions couldn’t always be interpreted exactly. Precognition was a rare magical gift, especially among witches with only minimal training, like her and Leila. If things happened the way she thought, they would never see the surface again.

  But humans were becoming more and more aware of the magic in the world around them, and it was only a matter of time before the sisters were caught and locked up. Going underground was the best choice. Even if Rachel didn't know exactly what was waiting for them below, she knew enough.

  "I can't just stand around waiting for them to take us," Leila said abruptly, shaking her head. "They're vampires, for Hela's sake. This is a bad idea."

  "Hela's sake?" Rachel arched a brow at her sister. "Since when have you started worshiping the Norse gods?"

  "I haven't. But I certainly don't worship any asshole named Pete."

  Rachel laughed. She dug into her backpack and pulled out a kindle reader, handing it to her sister. "I got a bunch of those comics that you like. I thought it might help relax you a bit."

  Leila made a noncommittal noise in her throat and plopped down on the bridge, bracing the kindle against her knees. Rachel lifted her face back to the pregnant moon, watching it. Unconsciously, her hand drifted to her stomach. What would it feel like, to be full of life?

  She closed her eyes, trying to remember the vague impressions she had got from dreaming of a baby inside her. The dreams had been getting stronger lately, and she knew tonight was going to be the night. She was going to meet the man she already loved. They would be parents within the year.

  It was difficult being patient when she wanted it so badly.

  When Rachel opened her eyes again, her heart stopped. The lights along the path around the lake had all gone off and the sky was black. Dozens of stars along the lake level blinked on and off, drifting closer to the sisters.

  Fear rose up Rachel's throat, choking her. Even though she had known this moment was coming, had lived it dozens of times in her dreams, now that it was happening, she couldn't stop the tendrils of doubt curling around her heart. What if she had interpreted her dreams wrong? What if the future had changed?

  "Leila."

  Her sister looked up and jumped to her feet, clutching the kindle tightly in her hands. She cursed when she saw the eyes surrounding them.

  Rachel took a deep breath. "Put the kindle back into my pack. We don't want to lose it."

  She stood still as Leila did as she said, and then the sisters joined hands. Rachel could feel Leila shaking, and knew she was fighting to keep herself from lashing out. She was used to finding a way out of a situation and worrying about consequences later. Rachel always took her time to assess and plan. Both strategies had gotten the sisters into trouble in the past, and both had gotten them out of trouble as well.

  Was this one of those times when Rachel was getting them into trouble?

  "They're not running," a voice right behind her said. "Odd."

  Rachel jumped, just stopping herself from screaming, and turned. She couldn't see anything of the man who had just spoken expect his glowing blue eyes.

  "We don't want this one, anyway," another voice said, and strong fingers pinched her arm. "Her blood will be useless. The king has to watch his cholesterol, after all."

  Leila snarled. "Forget this!"

  Rachel opened her mouth, but Leila had already ripped her hand away. Fire coated her sister's hands, illuminating a dozen men surrounding them. There were a few cries, but even as Rachel started to shout at Leila to put out her magic there was a sickening thud. The light went out and Rachel felt Leila collapse beside her. An arm wrapped around her throat, choking her.

  "Witches," the
vampire holding her hissed.

  "Bring them," another, deeper voice said. "And whatever you do, don't taste their blood."

  The arm tightened around Rachel's neck. She struggled instinctively, but the glowing eyes staring at her were fading. Her lungs cried out for air, and then there was only darkness.

  ***

  When Rachel woke, she found herself lying on a thin mattress directly on a cold, stone floor. Her head hurt, but the familiar black walls around her had her sighing in relief. This was the vampire palace, and soon they would be taken to see the king. Her heart sped as she pushed herself to a sitting position. Leila lay on a mattress similar to hers nearby. From the dim fluorescent light overhead, Rachel saw some dried blood on the side of her face.

  Her eyes were open, though, and she shot Rachel an annoyed glance. "You didn't mention that I’d get knocked in the head."

  "You wouldn't have if you hadn't started threatening them."

  Leila shrugged. "How long do we wait now?"

  "I don't know. Time doesn't really mean much in visions." Rachel sighed, rubbing her temples. "Do you need to be healed?"

  "No, I've already healed myself."

  That sounded like a good idea. Rachel closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest, focusing on the aches in her body. She called the magic that pooled in the center of her body, drawing it through her veins and to her injuries. The dull ache in her head disappeared.

  The door opened and four vampires came into the room. Rachel had to stifle a gasp–even though she knew what they looked like from her visions, seeing them in person was something completely differently. These vampires were broad-shouldered and bare-chested to show off their impressive muscles. All were so pale their skin was almost gray, and their hair was long and pulled back into braids down their backs. One of them had a whip secured to his belt.